parks victoria technical series marine natural values study vol 2 ...
parks victoria technical series marine natural values study vol 2 ...
parks victoria technical series marine natural values study vol 2 ...
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Parks Victoria Technical Series No. 79<br />
Flinders and Twofold Shelf Bioregions Marine Natural Values Study<br />
purple wrasse Notolabrus fucicola (Edmunds et al. 2010b). Other fish species include the<br />
banded morwong Cheilodactylus spectabilis, sea sweep Scorpis aequipinnis, Maori wrasse<br />
Ophthalmolepis lineolata, one-spot puller Chromis hypsilepis and white-ear damselfish<br />
Parma microlepis (Parks Victoria 2003). The eastern blue grouper Achoerodus viridis is also<br />
a prominent species, but present in low numbers (Parks Victoria 2003).<br />
Point Hicks MNP provides important feeding and roosting habitat for several threatened bird<br />
species such as the hooded plover Thinornis rubricollis, little egret Egretta garzetta and fairy<br />
tern Sternula nereis which are listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee (FFG) Act<br />
(1998). The latter two are regarded as endangered. The MNP protects feeding areas for<br />
species of national environmental significance under the Commonwealth Environment<br />
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act (1999) and species that are listed<br />
under the Japan–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA) and the China–Australia<br />
Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA, Parks Victoria 2006f). The conservation listed southern<br />
right Eubalaena australis and humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae, killer whale<br />
Orcinus orca and whale shark Rhincodon typus use the MNP waters. The leopard seal<br />
Hydrurga leptonyx have been observed in the waters in and around the MNP. Although not<br />
recorded the leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea probably also occurs in the MNP.<br />
Eleven species of <strong>marine</strong> flora and fauna are believed to be at their eastern or western<br />
distributional limits within the MNP.<br />
Serious threats to the Point Hicks MNP include limited ecological knowledge of important<br />
processes. Invasive <strong>marine</strong> pests from commercial and recreational boats; poaching of<br />
abalone; and climate change all pose serious threats to the integrity of the MNP (Carey et al.<br />
2007b). Measures to address or minimise these threats form part of the management plan<br />
for Point Hicks MNP (Parks Victoria 2006f). Ongoing intertidal and subtidal reef monitoring,<br />
and specific research aims to increase ecological knowledge about the <strong>natural</strong> <strong>values</strong> of,<br />
and threats to Point Hicks MNP.<br />
2.3.1 PHYSICAL PARAMETERS & PROCESSES<br />
Point Hicks MNP is 3810 hectares in size which makes it the 5th largest of the 24 Marine<br />
National Parks or Sanctuaries in Victoria (Table 14, Figure 17). Point Hicks promontory is<br />
granite with a wide rocky and bouldery shore, which includes some metamorphic outcrops<br />
west of the lighthouse (Bird 1993). Sandy beaches flank the headland backed by extensive<br />
dunes (Figure 18). The seabed has a relatively steep gradient with reef descending into<br />
deeper water relatively close to shore (Ball and Blake 2007). The subtidal reef consists of<br />
granite slopes, boulders and outcrops (Williams et al. 2007). The seafloor of the park drops<br />
away rapidly to 88 metres in depth (Holmes et al. 2007a). Greater than 80% of the MNP is<br />
>20 m depth. Prevailing winds and swells are generally from the south-west and north-east<br />
(Parks Victoria 2006f). Most of the subtidal reef in Point Hicks MNP is highly exposed to<br />
westerly swell and seas (Williams et al. 2007). The coastline is influenced by high energy<br />
waves and twice daily tides. Tidal variation is 0.9 metres for spring tides and 0.6 metres for<br />
neap tides (Plummer et al. 2003). Surface water temperatures average 19° C in the summer<br />
and 14 °C in the winter. The MNP is influenced by both cool southern waters and the warm<br />
East Australian Current. The continental slope is quite close and cold-water upwellings are<br />
frequent (Williams et al. 2007). These upwellings provide nutrients to the inshore<br />
ecosystems, contributing to high productivity (Williams et al. 2007). No estuaries or<br />
intermittent creeks run directly into the park (Table 14).<br />
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