The coastal wetlands host regionally significant populations of
breeding waterfowl and waterbirds and are of international
significance as migratory wader bird habitat. Coastal wetlands
including adjacent seagrass meadows
in near shore waters provide regionally significant fish habitat
and nursery areas and are recognised as a productivity hotspot
supporting major commercial and recreational fisheries (Cappo &
Kelley 2001).
The coastal Townsville- Burdekin wetland aggregation is one of
the most extensive on the Australian east coast (EPA 1999) and part
of it is listed under the. International Ramsar Convention . You can
find information on Australia's Ramsar sites, wetlands of
international importance listed under the Ramsar Convention, and
the nationally important wetlands listed in the Directory of
Important Wetlands in Australia in the Australian
Wetlands Database .
Australia is signatory to bilateral agreements, the
China and Japan Migratory Bird Agreements (CAMBA and JAMBA),
for the protection of migratory species, most of which are wetland
birds. Up to 50% of the migratory
species species listed under the JAMBA and CAMBA agreements
occur in these wetlands (EPA 1996).
Significant areas of intact wetlands dominate parts of the Lower
Burdekin and Haughton River floodplains. These areas form part of
the
Bowling Green Bay National Park . Bowling Green Bay wetland
constitutes an asset of international significance and is one of
Queensland's few
RAMSAR-listed wetlands .
Significant features of
Bowling Green Bay National Park include its:
- diversity and extent of wetland types.
- representative of the richest coastal wetland habitats typical
of the coastal wet-dry tropics of northeastern Australia.
- plays a substantial role in protection against erosion by
cyclones.
- provides an extremely important bait fish, finfish and
crustacean nursery, providing critical habitat at particular stages
in their lifecycle.
- provides feeding grounds for vulnerable species such as
dugongs, estuarine crocodiles and green turtles, and several bird
species.
- important for the abundance and diversity of avifauna and
sustaining the genetic diversity of the region is dependent on
maintenance of the site for continued use. The site is of special
significance as breeding and feeding habitat for brolgas and magpie
geese, and seasonally supports a wide range of waterbird species
well in excess of 20,000 individuals.
- support for substantial numbers of all Australian waterbird
groups, including post breeding populations of 4000 brolgas, magpie
geese (10,000), and various species of Anatidae
(4000-5000). Although population sizes are poorly known in northern
Australia, it is likely that, seasonally, populations of brolgas
exceed 1% of the total population.
Other significant wetlands listed in the
Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia located the in the
Burdekin Dry Tropics region include:
Brigalow Belt
- Burdekin Delta Aggregation
- Burdekin-Townsville Coastal Aggregation
- Lake Dalrymple*
- Ross River Reservoir
- Southern Upstart Bay
Desert Uplands
- Cauckingburra Swamp
- Doongmabulla Springs
Einasleigh Uplands
- Great Basalt Wall*
- Lake Lucy Wetlands*
- Minnamoolka Area*
- Poison Lake*
- Wairuna Lake*
- Walters Plains Lake*
- Valley of Lagoons*
*These lakes are
inland non-arid lakes – a special category of natural
water bodies that occur predominantly on alluvial soils in
Queensland.
Marine areas