Ecological Character Description for the Great Sandy Strait Ramsar Site - Final, July 2008 For more information contact: Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland PO Box 15155 CITY EAST QLD 4002 Phone: (02) 688 35330 Fax: (02) 688 48675 Citation for this document: Lee Long, W.J. and O’Reilly, W.K. (2009). Ecological Character Description for the Great Sandy Strait Ramsar Site, July 2008, Report for the Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland. The project was funded through the Queensland Wetlands Program, a joint initiative of the Australian and Queensland Governments to protect wetlands in the Great Barrier Reef catchment and throughout Queensland. All definitions used in this report were correct at the time of final production in September 2009. Photos and drawings used in this report are courtesy of : Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, including Queensland Parks and Wildlife Luke Barrowcliffe Daniele Cagnazzi Harry Hines Len McKenzie and Seagrass-Watch HQ Brad Pusey Kirsten Wortel Front cover image: courtesy of Google Earth Disclaimer While every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that this document is correct at the time of printing, the State of Queensland, its agents and employees, do not assume any responsibility and shall have no liability, consequential or otherwise, of any kind, arising from the use of or reliance on any of the information contained in this document. Acknowledgements This report was prepared by Wetlands International - Oceania under contract to the Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland. The authors thank the following people for assistance in the preparation of this report: Doug Watkins – supervision, technical guidance, review, GIS and maps Roger Jaensch - technical guidance and review Alison Russell-French – editing and review Chris Auricht - GIS and maps Kate Moore – conceptual diagram graphics Information contributing to this document was dependant on the expertise and advice of a wide range of contributors: Project Manager : Gay Deacon, (Environmental Protection Agency) Project Steering Committee: Mike Ronan (EPA), Gayle Stewart (DEW), Phil Rowland (EPA), Glenn McGregor (NRW), Katherine Kelly (QDPI&F) and Kurt Derbyshire (QDPI&F). Project Knowledge Committee (including expert panellists): Norm Duke Principal Research Fellow Centre for Marine Studies, University of Queensland Len McKenzie Principal Scientist Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries Kirsten Wortel Senior Conservation Officer, QPW, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Great Sandy Marine Park Sue Sargent Coastal and Marine Coordinator Burnett Mary Resource Management Group Maria Zann Senior Conservation Officer EPA EPA - Planning Planning, Maryborough Cathrine Bennett Conservation Officer EPA Planning, EPA - Planning Maryborough Andrew McDougal Project Leader (Aquatic Ecology) Department of Natural Resources and Water Peter Davie Senior Curator Queensland Museum Peter Humphrey Representative Sunfish branch, Fraser Region Additional information contacts and expert input: General: Margot Drewe Indigenous use: Nai Nai Bird, Luke Barrowcliffe (Kalulah Bird), Selina Hill Estuarine & marine wetlands and associated fauna: James Shepherd, Ivan Lawler, Colin Limpus, David Milton, Don Sands, Mark Burnham, Daniele Cagnazzi, Freshwater wetlands & associated fauna: Ed Meyer, Harry Hines, Rod Hobson, Ivan Thrash, Kelvin Neilson Fisheries stocks & habitats: Ian Brown, Samantha Miller, Julie Robins, Ian Halliday, Katherine Kelly, Kurt Derbyshire, Carl Shurey, Lew Williams, Zafar Sarac, Andrew Berghuis Hydrology, Water Quality: Andrew Moss, David Scheltinga, Andrew McDougal Geomorphology, coastal processes: Paul O'Keeffe, Ray Martin, Cliff Cockburn, Joachim Ribbe Table of Contents Abbreviations.........................................................................................................................................................iii PART A Executive Summary..........................................................................................................................1 PART B: The Ecological Character Description................................................................................................28 1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................28 1.1 Task ................................................................................................................................................................ 28 1.2 Background on Ecological Character Descriptions for Ramsar Listed Wetlands............................................................................................................................................................... 29 1.3 Purpose of the Ecological Character Description................................................................................. 29 1.4 Relevant Legislation, Treaties or Regulations ....................................................................................... 31 2. General Description of the Ramsar site .........................................................................................................33 2.1 Site Details .................................................................................................................................................... 33 2.2 Relevant Ramsar criteria for the site ...................................................................................................... 36 2.3 Wetland types............................................................................................................................................... 37 3. Methods .............................................................................................................................................................39 3.1 Approach Taken for Ecological Character Description....................................................................... 39 3.2 Choosing Ecosystem Services for the Ecological Character Description ........................................ 39 3.3 Selecting the Critical Ecosystem Components and Processes........................................................... 43 3.4 Describing levels of natural variability and proposing Limits of Acceptable Change............................................................................................................................................. 43 3.5 Other requirements of the Ecological Character Description ........................................................... 44 4. Critical Components, Processes and Services .............................................................................................46 4.1 A description of the Ecosystem Services and Limits of Acceptable Change, plus their Components and Processes, and Knowledge Gaps.................................................. 47 4.2 Overview of Critical Components and Processes which support the Ecosystem Services ............................................................................................................................................ 85 4.3 Detailed Description of Critical Components and Processes........................................................... 88 5. Key Threats to the Great Sandy Strait Ramsar site ....................................................................................106 6. Knowledge Gaps.............................................................................................................................................119 7. Changes in Ecological Character .................................................................................................................121 8. Key Monitoring Needs....................................................................................................................................122 9. Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) messages....................................................131 References ..........................................................................................................................................................132 Glossary ..............................................................................................................................................................139 Appendices .........................................................................................................................................................141 Appendix 1. Ecosystem services derived from the Ramsar Criteria met by the Great Sandy Strait Ramsar site...............................................................................................................141 Appendix 2. Listing status of threatened species under Queensland, Australian and international listings, and occurring in the Great Sandy Strait Ramsar site.............................................................................................................................................143 Appendix 3. An incomplete list of species recorded in the Great Sandy Strait Ramsar Site.............................................................................................................................................145 Appendix 4. Curriculum Vitae for authors.................................................................................................171 i List of Tables Table 1. Ecosystem Services that form the basis of the ecological character description for the Great Sandy Strait Ramsar site.........................................