Mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or small tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves occur worldwide in the tropics and subtropics between latitudes 25° N and 25° S; the total mangrove forest area of the world in 2000 was 137,800 square kilometres, spanning 118 countries and territories. Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees called halophytes, are adapted to life in harsh coastal conditions, they contain a complex salt filtration system and complex root system to cope with salt water immersion and wave action. They are adapted to the low oxygen conditions of waterlogged mud; the word is used in at least three senses: most broadly to refer to the habitat and entire plant assemblage or mangal, for which the terms mangrove forest biome, mangrove swamp are used, to refer to all trees and large shrubs in the mangrove swamp, narrowly to refer to the mangrove family of plants, the Rhizophoraceae, or more just to mangrove trees of the genus Rhizophora.
The mangrove biome, or mangal, is a distinct saline woodland or shrubland habitat characterized by depositional coastal environments, where fine sediments collect in areas protected from high-energy wave action. The saline conditions tolerated by various mangrove species range from brackish water, through pure seawater, to water concentrated by evaporation to over twice the salinity of ocean seawater; the term "mangrove" comes to English from Spanish, is to originate from Guarani. It was earlier "mangrow", but this word was corrupted via folk etymology influence of the word "grove". Mangrove swamps are found in subtropical tidal areas. Areas where mangals occur include marine shorelines; the intertidal existence to which these trees are adapted represents the major limitation to the number of species able to thrive in their habitat. High tide brings in salt water, when the tide recedes, solar evaporation of the seawater in the soil leads to further increases in salinity; the return of tide can flush out these soils, bringing them back to salinity levels comparable to that of seawater.
At low tide, organisms are exposed to increases in temperature and desiccation, are cooled and flooded by the tide. Thus, for a plant to survive in this environment, it must tolerate broad ranges of salinity and moisture, as well as a number of other key environmental factors—thus only a select few species make up the mangrove tree community. About 110 species are considered "mangroves", in the sense of being a tree that grows in such a saline swamp, though only a few are from the mangrove plant genus, Rhizophora. However, a given mangrove swamp features only a small number of tree species, it is not uncommon for a mangrove forest in the Caribbean to feature only three or four tree species. For comparison, the tropical rainforest biome contains thousands of tree species, but this is not to say mangrove forests lack diversity. Though the trees themselves are few in species, the ecosystem that these trees create provides a home for a great variety of other species. Mangrove plants require a number of physiological adaptations to overcome the problems of anoxia, high salinity and frequent tidal inundation.
Each species has its own solutions to these problems. Small environmental variations within a mangal may lead to differing methods for coping with the environment. Therefore, the mix of species is determined by the tolerances of individual species to physical conditions, such as tidal inundation and salinity, but may be influenced by other factors, such as predation of plant seedlings by crabs. Once established, mangrove roots provide an oyster habitat and slow water flow, thereby enhancing sediment deposition in areas where it is occurring; the fine, anoxic sediments under mangroves act as sinks for a variety of heavy metals which colloidal particles in the sediments have scavenged from the water. Mangrove removal disturbs these underlying sediments creating problems of trace metal contamination of seawater and biota. Mangrove swamps protect coastal areas from erosion, storm surge, tsunamis; the mangroves' massive root systems are efficient at dissipating wave energy. They slow down tidal water enough so its sediment is deposited as the tide comes in, leaving all except fine particles when the tide ebbs.
In this way, mangroves build their own environments. Because of the uniqueness of mangrove ecosystems and the protection against erosion they provide, they are the object of conservation programs, including national biodiversity action plans. Mangrove swamps' effectiveness in terms of erosion control can sometimes be overstated. Wave energy is low in areas where mangroves grow, so their effect on erosion is measured over long periods, their capacity to limit high-energy wave erosion is in relation to events such as storm surges and tsunamis. The unique ecosystem found in the intricate mesh of mangrove roots offers a quiet marine region for young organisms. In areas where roots are permanently submerged, the organisms they host include algae, oysters and bryozoans, which all require a hard surface for anchoring while they filter feed. Shrimps and mud lobsters use the muddy bottoms as their home. Mangrove crabs munch on the mangrove leaves, adding nutrients to the mangal muds for other bottom feeders.
In at least some cases, export of carbon fixed in mangroves is imp
Rock-wallaby
The rock-wallabies are the wallabies of the genus Petrogale. The medium-sized colourful and agile rock-wallabies live where rocky and steep terrain can provide daytime refuge. Males are larger than females with a body length of up to 59 cm and a 70 cm long tail. Rock-wallabies are nocturnal and live a fortress existence spending their days in steep, complex terrain in some kind of shelter and ranging out into surrounding terrain at night for feed; the greatest activity occurs three hours after sunset. Their reliance on refuges leads to the rock-wallabies living in small groups or colonies, with individuals having overlapping home ranges of about 15 hectares each. Within their colonies they seem to be territorial with a male’s territory overlapping one or a number of female territories. At night the wallabies do not move further than two kilometres from their home refuges. There are three categories of habitat that the different species of rock-wallaby seem to prefer: Loose piles of large boulders containing a maze of subterranean holes and passageways Cliffs with many mid-level ledges and caves Isolated rock stacks sheer sided and girdled with fallen bouldersSuitable habitat is limited and patchy and has led to varying degrees of isolation of colonies and a genetic differentiation specific to these colonies.
The rock wallaby height is ranges from 60 cm to 70 cm. Their total numbers and range have been drastically reduced since European colonisation, with populations becoming extinct from the south; the ongoing extinction of colonies in recent times is of particular concern, though some have argued it is blown out of proportion. In 1988, at Jenolan Caves in New South Wales for example, a caged population of 80 rock-wallabies was released to boost what was thought to be an abundant local wild population. By 1992 the total population was down to about seven; the survivors were caught and enclosed in a fox and cat-proof enclosure, the numbers in this captive population have since begun to increase. Scientists consider foxes the major reason for the recent extinctions, along with competing herbivores goats and rabbits, diseases such as toxoplasmosis and hydatidosis, habitat fragmentation and destruction and a lower genetic health due to the increasing isolation of colonies. Habitat conservation and pest management addressing foxes and goats appear to be the most urgent recovery actions to save the species.
The national recovery team with support from non-government organisations such as the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife has implemented various programs ranging from land acquisition to captive breeding and awareness raising projects. Monitoring programs are implemented to register any changes in population sizes. Genetic surveys establish the genetic diversity of populations. Fox and goat eradication aid the survival of local populations, captive breeding programs are used as an'insurance policy' to build up wallaby numbers to boost wild populations. In the case of the yellow-footed rock-wallaby these strategies have prevented the extinction of the species in New South Wales. Genus Petrogale P. brachyotis species-group Short-eared rock-wallaby, Petrogale brachyotis Monjon, Petrogale burbidgei Nabarlek, Petrogale concinna Eastern short-eared rock-wallaby, Petrogale wilkinsi P. xanthopus species-group Proserpine rock-wallaby, Petrogale persephone Rothschild's rock-wallaby, Petrogale rothschildi Yellow-footed rock-wallaby, Petrogale xanthopus P. lateralis/penicillata species-group Allied rock-wallaby, Petrogale assimilis Cape York rock-wallaby, Petrogale coenensis Godman's rock-wallaby, Petrogale godmani Herbert's rock-wallaby, Petrogale herberti Unadorned rock-wallaby, Petrogale inornata Black-flanked rock-wallaby, Petrogale lateralis Mareeba rock-wallaby, Petrogale mareeba Brush-tailed rock-wallaby, Petrogale penicillata Purple-necked rock-wallaby, Petrogale purpureicollis Mt. Claro rock-wallaby, Petrogale sharmani
Grevillea
Grevillea is a diverse genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, native to rainforest and more open habitats in Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia and other Indonesian islands east of the Wallace Line. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Greville; the species range from prostrate shrubs less than 50 cm tall to trees 35 m tall. Common names include spider flower, silky oak and toothbrush plant. Related to the genus Hakea, the genus gives its name to the subfamily Grevilleoideae; the brightly coloured, petal-less flowers consist of a calyx tube that splits into 4 lobes with long styles. They are good bird-attracting plants, honeyeaters in particular are common visitors, they are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the dryandra moth and the Pieris rapae. Many species of grevilleas are popular garden plants in Australia but in other temperate and subtropical climates. Many grevilleas have a propensity to interbreed and extensive hybridisation and selection of horticulturally desirable attributes has led to the commercial release of many named cultivars.
Among the best known is'Robyn Gordon', a small shrub up to 1.5 m high and wide which can flower 12 months of the year in subtropical climates. The cultivar'Canberra Gem' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, they can be grown from soft tip cuttings from December -- seed. Many harder-to-grow species can be grafted onto hardy rootstock such as Grevillea robusta. There is an active Grevillea Study Group in the Australian Native Plants Society for people interested in grevilleas, both for uses in horticulture and for conservation in the wild. Grevillea flowers were a traditional favourite among Aborigines for their sweet nectar; this could be shaken onto the hand to enjoy, or into a coolamon with a little water to make a sweet drink. They might be referred to as the original "bush lollies". Drinking nectar direct from the flower is best avoided as some cultivated grevillea species produce flowers containing toxic cyanide. A grevillea wood veneer was used on a Pembroke table, a small table with two drawers and folding sides, made in the 1790s for Commissioner of the Royal Navy, Sir Andrew Snape Hamond.
The timber from which the veneer was made, referred to as'beef wood', was sent from Port Jackson by Surgeon-General John White, who arrived in the new penal colony of Australia with the First Fleet. This table is in the collection of the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. There are over 350 species which are endemic to Australia, including the following: Five species are endemic to areas outside Australia. Three of these - G. exul. G. gillivrayi, G. meisneri are endemic to New Caledonia while G. elbertii and G. papuana are endemic to Sulawesi and New Guinea respectively. Two other species, G. baileyana and G. glauca, occur in Queensland. Data related to Grevillea at Wikispecies ANBG.gov: online Flora of Australia treatment of Grevillea — by ABRS−Australian Biological Resources Study ANPSA.org: Grevillea website — by ASGAP−Australian Native Plants Society. Grevilleapark.org: Illawarra Grevillea Park website PlantList search for Grevillea. Retrieved 20190318
Peninsula
A peninsula is a landform surrounded by water on the majority of its border while being connected to a mainland from which it extends. The surrounding water is understood to be continuous, though not named as a single body of water. Peninsulas are not always named as such. A point is considered a tapering piece of land projecting into a body of water, less prominent than a cape. A river which courses through a tight meander is sometimes said to form a "peninsula" within the loop of water. In English, the plural versions of peninsula are peninsulas and, less peninsulae. List of peninsulas Isthmus
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is named after the city of Perth, Scotland and is the fourth-most populous city in Australia, with a population of 2.04 million living in Greater Perth. Perth is part of the South West Land Division of Western Australia, with the majority of the metropolitan area located on the Swan Coastal Plain, a narrow strip between the Indian Ocean and the Darling Scarp; the first areas settled were on the Swan River at Guildford, with the city's central business district and port both founded downriver. Perth was founded by Captain James Stirling in 1829 as the administrative centre of the Swan River Colony, it gained city status in 1856 and was promoted to the status of a Lord Mayorality in 1929. The city inherited its name due to the influence of Sir George Murray Member of Parliament for Perthshire and Secretary of State for War and the Colonies; the city's population increased as a result of the Western Australian gold rushes in the late 19th century.
During Australia's involvement in World War II, Fremantle served as a base for submarines operating in the Pacific Theatre, a US Navy Catalina flying boat fleet was based at Matilda Bay. An influx of immigrants after the war, predominantly from Britain, Greece and Yugoslavia, led to rapid population growth; this was followed by a surge in economic activity flowing from several mining booms in the late 20th and early 21st centuries that saw Perth become the regional headquarters for several large mining operations located around the state. As part of Perth's role as the capital of Western Australia, the state's Parliament and Supreme Court are located within the city, as is Government House, the residence of the Governor of Western Australia. Perth came seventh in the Economist Intelligence Unit's August 2016 list of the world's most liveable cities and was classified by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network in 2010 as a Beta world city; the city hosted the 1962 Commonwealth Games.
Perth is divided into 30 local government areas and 250 suburbs, stretching from Two Rocks in the north to Singleton in the south, east inland to The Lakes. Outside of the main CBD, important urban centres within Perth include Joondalup. Most of those were established as separate settlements and retained a distinct identity after being subsumed into the wider metropolitan area. Mandurah, Western Australia's second-largest city, has in recent years formed a conurbation with Perth along the coast, though for most purposes it is still considered a separate city. Indigenous Australians have inhabited the Perth area for at least 38,000 years, as evidenced by archaeological remains at Upper Swan; the Noongar people lived as hunter-gatherers. The wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain were important to them, both spiritually and as a source of food; the Noongar people know the area. Boorloo formed part of the territory of the Mooro, a Noongar clan, which at the time of British settlement had Yellagonga as their leader.
The Mooro was one of several Noongar Indigenous clans based around the Swan River known collectively as the Whadjuk. The Whadjuk themselves were one of a larger group of fourteen tribes that formed the south-west socio-linguistic block known as the Noongar sometimes called the Bibbulmun. On 19 September 2006, the Federal Court of Australia brought down a judgment recognising Noongar native title over the Perth metropolitan area in the case of Bennell v State of Western Australia FCA 1243; the judgment was overturned on appeal. The first documented sighting of the region was made by the Dutch Captain Willem de Vlamingh and his crew on 10 January 1697. Subsequent sightings between this date and 1829 were made by other Europeans, but as in the case of the sighting and observations made by Vlamingh, the area was considered to be inhospitable and unsuitable for the agriculture that would be needed to sustain a settlement. Although the Colony of New South Wales had established a convict-supported settlement at King George's Sound on the south coast of Western Australia in 1826 in response to rumours that the area would be annexed by France, Perth was the first full-scale settlement by Europeans in the western third of the continent.
The British colony would be designated Western Australia in 1832 but was known informally for many years as the Swan River Colony after the area's major watercourse. On 4 June 1829, newly arriving British colonists had their first view of the mainland, Western Australia's founding has since been recognised by a public holiday on the first Monday in June each year. Captain James Stirling, aboard Parmelia, said that Perth was "as beautiful as anything of this kind I had witnessed". On 12 August that year, Helen Dance, wife of the captain of the second ship, cut down a tree to mark the founding of the town, it is clear that Stirling had selected the name Perth for the capital well before the town was proclaimed, as his proclamation of the colony, read in Fremantle on 18 June 1829, ended "given under my hand and Seal at Perth this 18th Day of June 1829. James Stirling Lieutenant Governor"; the only contemporary information on the source of the name comes from Fremantle's diary entry for 12 August, which records that they "named the town Perth according to the wishes of Sir George Murray".
Murray was born in Perth and was in 1829 Secretary of State for the Colonies and Member for Perthshire in the British House of Commons. The town was named after the Scottish Pert
Cape Arid National Park
Cape Arid National Park is an Australian national park located in Western Australia, 731 kilometres southeast of Perth. The park is situated 120 kilometres east of Esperance and lies on shore from the eastern end of the Recherche Archipelago; the bay at its eastern side is Israelite Bay, a locality mentioned in Bureau of Meteorology weather reports as a geographical marker. The western end is known as Duke of Orleans Bay, its coastline is defined by Cape Arid, a bay called Sandy Bight and, further east, Cape Pasley. The first European to discover the area was the French Admiral Bruni D'Entrecasteaux in 1792 and he named it Cap Aride. Pioneer graziers arrived in the area in the 1870s and the ruins of homesteads and buildings as well as gravesites can be found near Pine Hill and Thomas Fishery. Bay whaling was conducted by Thomas Sherratt at Barrier Anchorage in the 1870s. John Thomas seems to have had a bay whaling operation in the 1860s at Thomas's Fishery; the area is composed of sandy beaches and rocky headlands to the south with low granite hills extending to the north to join the jagged Russell Range, composed of pre-cambrian quartzite.
The highest point of the park is Tower Peak, located within the Range, which reaches a height of 594 metres. The eastern boundary of the park joins the western side of Nuytsland Nature Reserve. Sand-plains that are rich in flora surround the hill areas. A wide variety of habitat exists within the park which supports a wide variety of fauna; the park is an important site for the bird life in Western Australia. It is home to over 160 species of birds including some that are restricted; some of the birds found in the park include: the western ground parrot, the Australasian bittern, Carnaby's cockatoo and Cape Barren geese. Fauna that can be found include the western brush wallaby, the southern bush rat, many small marsupial predators and a variety of reptiles and amphibians. A rare and primitive species of ant of the genus Nothomyrmecia is thought to inhabit the area. Vegetation found within the park is on young dune systems that have large communities of coastal heath with smaller systems of yate, banksia and mallee.
Species of orchid and ferns exist near Mount Ragged including a small population of the sticky-tail flower. Many walk trails can be found in the park, including the Len Otte Nature Trail, Tagon Coastal Trail, Boolenup Walk Trail and walks up both Mount Ragged and Mount Arid; the most accessible campsite is at Thomas River with conventional drive access, barbecues and water tanks. Other campsites at Mount Ragged, Poison Creek and Deal Creek are only accessible by four-wheel drive vehicles. Protected areas of Western Australia
Lilium
Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are native to the temperate northern hemisphere, though their range extends into the northern subtropics. Many other plants are not related to true lilies. Lilies are tall perennials ranging in height from 2–6 ft, they form naked or tunicless scaly underground bulbs which are their organs of perennation. In some North American species the base of the bulb develops into rhizomes, on which numerous small bulbs are found; some species develop stolons. Most bulbs are buried deep in the ground. Many species form stem-roots. With these, the bulb grows at some depth in the soil, each year the new stem puts out adventitious roots above the bulb as it emerges from the soil; these roots are in addition to the basal roots. The flowers are large fragrant, come in a wide range of colors including whites, oranges, pinks and purples.
Markings include spots and brush strokes. The plants are late spring- or summer-flowering. Flowers are borne in racemes or umbels at the tip of the stem, with six tepals spreading or reflexed, to give flowers varying from funnel shape to a "Turk's cap"; the tepals are free from each other, bear a nectary at the base of each flower. The ovary borne above the point of attachment of the anthers; the fruit is a three-celled capsule. Seeds ripen in late summer, they exhibit varying and sometimes complex germination patterns, many adapted to cool temperate climates. Most cool temperate species are deciduous and dormant in winter in their native environment, but a few species which distribute in hot summer and mild winter area lose leaves and remain short dormant in Summer or Autumn, sprout from Autumn to winter, forming dwarf stem bearing a basal rosette of leaves until, after they have received sufficient chilling, the stem begins to elongate in warming weather. The basic chromosome number is twelve.
Taxonomical division in sections follows the classical division of Comber, species acceptance follows the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, the taxonomy of section Pseudolirium is from the Flora of North America, the taxonomy of Section Liriotypus is given in consideration of Resetnik et al. 2007, the taxonomy of Chinese species follows the Flora of China and the taxonomy of Section Sinomartagon follows Nishikawa et al. as does the taxonomy of Section Archelirion. The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, as of January 2014, considers Nomocharis a separate genus in its own right, however some authorities consider Nomocharis to be embedded within Lilium, rather than treat it as a separate genus. There are seven sections: Martagon Pseudolirium Liriotypus Archelirion Sinomartagon Leucolirion DaurolirionFor a full list of accepted species with their native ranges, see List of Lilium species Some species included within this genus have now been placed in other genera; these genera include Cardiocrinum, Notholirion and Fritillaria.
The botanic name Lilium is a Linnaean name. The Latin name is derived from the Greek λείριον, leírion assumed to refer to true, white lilies as exemplified by the Madonna lily; the word was borrowed from Coptic hleri, from standard hreri, from Demotic hrry, from Egyptian hrṛt "flower". Meillet maintains that both the Egyptian and the Greek word are possible loans from an extinct, substratum language of the Eastern Mediterranean; the Greeks used the word κρῖνον, krīnon, albeit for non-white lilies. The term "lily" has in the past been applied to numerous flowering plants with only superficial resemblance to the true lily, including water lily, fire lily, lily of the Nile, calla lily, trout lily, kaffir lily, cobra lily, lily of the valley, ginger lily, Amazon lily, leek lily, Peruvian lily, others. All English translations of the Bible render the Hebrew shūshan, shōshan, shōshannā as "lily", but the "lily among the thorns" of Song of Solomon, for instance, may be the honeysuckle. For a list of other species described as lilies, see Lily.
The range of lilies in the Old World extends across much of Europe, across most of Asia to Japan, south to India, east to Indochina and the Philippines. In the New World they extend from southern Canada through much of the United States, they are adapted to either woodland habitats montane, or sometimes to grassland habitats. A few can survive in marshland and epiphytes are known in tropical southeast Asia. In general they prefer moderately lime-free soils. Lilies are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the Dun-bar. Many species are grown in the garden in temperate and sub-tropical regions, they may be grown as potted plants. Numerous ornamental hybrids have been developed, they can be used in herbaceous borders and shrub plantings, as patio plants. Some lilies Lilium longiflorum, form important cut flower crops; these may be forced for particular markets. Lilies are planted as bulbs in the dormant season, they are best planted in a south-facing sloping aspect, in sun or part shade, at a depth 2½ times the height of the bulb.
Most prefer a porous, loamy soil
