Environmental Challenges

The arrival of the Europeans has had a significant impact on Australia’s flora and fauna. There are at least 18 introduced mammals with established feral populations in Australia. Cats and foxes are responsible for the decline and extinction of several native animals. The feral rabbit population has degraded some areas of Australian farmland, and their rapid spread led to the construction of three rabbit-proof fences spanning some 3256 kilometres in Western Australia between 1901 and 1907. Introduced plants have also caused substantial damage to native vegetation and habitats.

Australia is also the driest inhabited continent on the Earth. While Australia is rich in biodiversity, Australian soils are highly dependent on vegetation cover to generate nutrients and provide stability. Land clearing, water extraction and poor soil conservation have had an adverse impact on the country’s flora and fauna.

Although Australia is very active in marine biology education and conservation, the pressure caused by human activity continues to take its toll on marine environments. Climate change also presents a major challenge to Australia’s fragile environment, with likely impacts on its biodiversity. Climate change poses a particular threat to specific areas, such as Australia’s Alpine regions, the Great Barrier Reef, tropical rainforests, some species of Eucalyptus, and coastal mangrove and wetland systems like Kakadu in the Northern Territory.

Key facts

- Australia has around 10 per cent of the world’s biodiversity.

- Of the estimated 20 000 species of vascular plants found in Australia, 16 000 are found nowhere else in the world.

- Of the 378 species of mammals in Australia, more than 80 per cent are unique to Australia.

- Of the 869 types of Australian reptile, 773 are found nowhere else.

TASKS

I. Read the text. Find the words that match the definitions below:

1) a type of animal that lives both on land and in water;

2) a large Australian bird with a long neck and grey or brown feathers. They cannot fly but have long legs and can run quickly;

3) a large, usually white bird with a long neck that lives on rivers and lakes;

4) a tropical bird with a curved beak and brightly coloured feathers that can be taught to copy human speech;

5) a hard substance formed in the sea from masses of shells of very small sea animals, usually orange or red in colour;

6) a line of sharp rocks, often made of coral, or a raised area of sand near the surface of the sea;

7) all the animals living in a particular area or period in history;

8) all the plants that grow in a particular place or country;

9) a small animal with long ears and soft fur, that lives in a hole in the ground;

10) plants in general, or the plants that are found in a particular area;

11) the top layer of the earth in which plants grow;

12) the protection of natural things such as animals, plants, forests etc, to prevent them being spoiled or destroyed;

13) the natural features of a place, for example its weather, the type of land it has, and the type of plants that grow in it;

14) a type of animal that drinks milk from its mother's body when it is young. Humans, dogs, and whales are mammals;

15) a type of animal, such as a snake or lizard, whose body temperature changes according to the temperature around it, and that usually lays eggs to have babies.

Date: 2016-03-03; view: 916