The Mareeba Wetlands
What is a wetland?
Wetlands are areas that are inundated by water cyclically, intermittently or permanently and can have fresh, brackish or salt water. The main wetland types include swamps, marshes, bogs, and fens. Wetlands are the link between land and water and are some of the most productive ecosystems in the world. Depending on the type of wetland, it may be filled mostly with trees, grasses, shrubs or moss. An area doesn't need to be permanently wet to qualify as a wetland. It just needs to be wet long enough for its plants and animals to be adapted to – or even dependent on – wet conditions for at least part of their life cycle. Many wetlands in inland NSW can be dry for 10 years or longer, before being inundated after heavy rainfall …show more content…
Pandanus Lagoon is the largest and a drawcard for birdwatchers, attracting Australia’s only stork, the jabiru. The Mareeba Wetlands lie within the traditional Country of the Muluridji people in Northern Queensland; protecting over 5000 acres of savannas and wetlands and providing a sanctuary for much of tropical Australia's savanna and wetland flora and fauna, as well as its cultural heritage. 204 species of birds, over twenty mammal species and a myriad of lower vertebrates and arthropods are a testimony to the environmental values of the …show more content…
Its name is a little misleading, as the bird’s neck is black in only with poor views. At other times, it has can be seen to have an iridescent green-and-blue sheen. In northern Australia, the species is traditionally called the Jabiru. The bird feeds on fish and invertebrates by jabbing with its large bill. The jabbing is down quickly so that fish and invertebrates don’t get away. The black-necked stork is a fairly quiet animal which helps its hunting. These birds have often been seen frolicking around in wetlands, without staying in the same spot for too long. This is thought to have stopped their long legs from getting stuck in the muddy bottom of the wetlands.
Identify threats to wetlands and suggest why it is important to preserve.
The life-supporting importance of wetlands was largely unrecognized in the past. People drained, dredged, dammed and channelled wetlands, eliminated or converted them into dry land or filled them for lakes and water retention areas -- changing wetlands into cropland, pasture and subdivisions, mining the underlying resources, ridding insect life, filling in for road beds or flooding them for open water lakes, and using them for dumping grounds for waste and sewage.
Wetlands are a critical part of our natural environment. They protect our shores from wave action, reduce the impacts of floods, absorb pollutants and improve water quality. They provide habitat for animals
Wetlands are areas that are inundated by water cyclically, intermittently or permanently and can have fresh, brackish or salt water. The main wetland types include swamps, marshes, bogs, and fens. Wetlands are the link between land and water and are some of the most productive ecosystems in the world. Depending on the type of wetland, it may be filled mostly with trees, grasses, shrubs or moss. An area doesn't need to be permanently wet to qualify as a wetland. It just needs to be wet long enough for its plants and animals to be adapted to – or even dependent on – wet conditions for at least part of their life cycle. Many wetlands in inland NSW can be dry for 10 years or longer, before being inundated after heavy rainfall …show more content…
Pandanus Lagoon is the largest and a drawcard for birdwatchers, attracting Australia’s only stork, the jabiru. The Mareeba Wetlands lie within the traditional Country of the Muluridji people in Northern Queensland; protecting over 5000 acres of savannas and wetlands and providing a sanctuary for much of tropical Australia's savanna and wetland flora and fauna, as well as its cultural heritage. 204 species of birds, over twenty mammal species and a myriad of lower vertebrates and arthropods are a testimony to the environmental values of the …show more content…
Its name is a little misleading, as the bird’s neck is black in only with poor views. At other times, it has can be seen to have an iridescent green-and-blue sheen. In northern Australia, the species is traditionally called the Jabiru. The bird feeds on fish and invertebrates by jabbing with its large bill. The jabbing is down quickly so that fish and invertebrates don’t get away. The black-necked stork is a fairly quiet animal which helps its hunting. These birds have often been seen frolicking around in wetlands, without staying in the same spot for too long. This is thought to have stopped their long legs from getting stuck in the muddy bottom of the wetlands.
Identify threats to wetlands and suggest why it is important to preserve.
The life-supporting importance of wetlands was largely unrecognized in the past. People drained, dredged, dammed and channelled wetlands, eliminated or converted them into dry land or filled them for lakes and water retention areas -- changing wetlands into cropland, pasture and subdivisions, mining the underlying resources, ridding insect life, filling in for road beds or flooding them for open water lakes, and using them for dumping grounds for waste and sewage.
Wetlands are a critical part of our natural environment. They protect our shores from wave action, reduce the impacts of floods, absorb pollutants and improve water quality. They provide habitat for animals