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Lakes Argyle And Kununurra Ramsar Site
The Lakes Argyle and Kununurra Ramsar Site comprises an extensive system of artificial freshwater reservoirs, with their associated permanent wetlands, formed by damming the Ord River in the eastern part of the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. The reservoirs include Lake Argyle and Lake Kununurra. There are numerous endemic plants and a rich fauna. The site was designated a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on 7 June 1990, making it Ramsar Site 478. Description The diversion dam on the Ord River was completed in 1963 as the first stage of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme. It flooded the Ord valley upstream towards the site of the Argyle Dam, creating Lake Kununurra and subsidiary wetlands such as Lily Creek Lagoon and the Packsaddle Swamps. The Argyle Dam was completed in 1972 as the second stage of the scheme, creating Lake Argyle. The town of Kununurra was built at the site of the diversion dam, adjoining Lake Kununurr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Argyle
Lake Argyle is Western Australia's largest and Australia's second largest freshwater man-made reservoir by volume. The reservoir is part of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme and is located near the East Kimberley town of Kununurra. The lake flooded large parts of the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley on the Kimberley Plateau about inland from the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, close to the border with the Northern Territory. The primary inflow is the Ord River, while the Bow River and many other smaller creeks also flow into the dam. The lake is a DIWA-listed wetland. Lake Argyle and Lake Kununurra were listed in 1990 as Ramsar Convention protected wetlands. History and construction The construction of the Ord River Dam was completed in 1971 by Dravo Corporation. The dam was officially opened the following year. The dam wall is long, and high. The earth-fill only dam wall at Lake Argyle is the most efficient dam in Australia in terms of the ratio of the size of the dam wall to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica and are found in most ecoregions of the Earth. Furthermore, grasslands are one of the largest biomes on earth and dominate the landscape worldwide. There are different types of grasslands: natural grasslands, semi-natural grasslands, and agricultural grasslands. They cover 31–69% of the Earth's land area. Definitions Included among the variety of definitions for grasslands are: * "...any plant community, including harvested forages, in which grasses and/or legumes make up the dominant vegetation." * "...terrestrial ecosystems dominated by herbaceous and shrub vegetation, and maintained by fire, grazing, drought and/or freezing temperatures." (Pilot Assessment of Global Ecosystems, 2000) * "A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wandering Whistling Duck
The wandering whistling duck (''Dendrocygna arcuata'') is a species of whistling duck. They inhabit tropical and subtropical Australia, the Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. Taxonomy There are three subspecies associated with this bird, ''D. a. arcuata'' (Indonesian wandering whistling duck), ''D. a. australis'' (Australian wandering whistling duck), and ''D. a. pygmaea'' (New Britain wandering whistling duck). Description Formerly named tree ducks, the wandering whistling duck has its new name because of their loud whistling calls and the whistling noise their wings make during flight. They have long necks and legs and look like a cross between a goose and a duck. They have a strong head and neck with a darker crown and hindneck. The breast contains black spotting and the feathers are mostly dark brown. They range in size from 54–60 cm in height and weigh on average 750 grams. They mainly feed on grasses, waterlilies, water plants a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magpie Goose
The magpie goose (''Anseranas semipalmata'') is the sole living representative species of the family Anseranatidae. This common waterbird is found in northern Australia and southern New Guinea. As the species is prone to wandering, especially when not breeding, it is sometimes recorded outside its core range. The species was once also widespread in southern Australia but disappeared from there largely due to the drainage of the wetlands where the birds once bred. Due to their importance to Aboriginal people as a seasonal food source, as subjects of recreational hunting, and as a tourist attraction, their expansive and stable presence in northern Australia has been "ensured yprotective management". Description Magpie geese are unmistakable birds with their black and white plumage and yellowish legs. The feet are only partially webbed, and the magpie goose feeds on vegetable matter in the water, as well as on land. Males are larger than females. Unlike true geese, their molt is gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glossy Ibis
The glossy ibis (''Plegadis falcinellus'') is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek ''plegados'' and Latin, ''falcis'', both meaning "sickle" and referring to the distinctive shape of the bill. Distribution This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean regions of the Americas. It is thought to have originated in the Old World and spread naturally from Africa to northern South America in the 19th century, from where it spread to North America. The glossy ibis was first found in the New World in 1817 (New Jersey). Audubon saw the species just once in Florida in 1832. It expanded its range substantially northwards in the 1940s and to the west in the 1980s. This species is migratory; most European birds winter in Africa, and in North America birds from north of the Carolinas w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waterbird
A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabirds that inhabit marine environments. Some water birds (e.g. wading birds) are more terrestrial while others (e.g. waterfowls) are more aquatic, and their adaptations will vary depending on their environment. These adaptations include webbed feet, beaks, and legs adapted to feed in the water, and the ability to dive from the surface or the air to catch prey in water. The term ''aquatic bird'' is sometimes also used in this context. A related term that has a narrower meaning is waterfowl. Some piscivorous birds of prey, such as ospreys and sea eagles, hunt aquatic prey but do not stay in water for long and lives predominantly over dry land, and are not considered water birds. The term waterbird is also used in the context of conservation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dry Season
The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The temperate counterpart to the tropical dry season is summer or winter. Rain belt The tropical rain belt lies in the southern hemisphere roughly from October to March; during that time the northern tropics have a dry season with sparser precipitation, and days are typically sunny throughout. From April to September, the rain belt lies in the northern hemisphere, and the southern tropics have their dry season. Under the Köppen climate classification, for tropical climates, a dry season month is defined as a month when average precipitation is below . The rain belt reaches roughly as far north as the Tropic of Cancer and as far south as the Tropic of Capricorn. Near these latitudes, there is one wet season and one dry season annually. At the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lophostemon Grandiflorus
''Lophostemon grandiflorus'' is a member of the family Myrtaceae endemic to Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. The tree typically grows to a height of . It blooms between January to December producing cream-white flowers. The bark is persistent and pale brown in colour and almost fibrous. Epiphytic and parasitic plants are often found growing on the bark. The thick, ovate and dark green leaf blades are about in length and wide. The underblade of the leaf is much paler, almost white, in colour. It usually grows as a rheophyte along creeks through open forest, but is also found on the margins of rainforests. It is found in damp areas such as riverbanks and sandstone gorges in the Kimberley region of Western Australia across the top end of the Northern Territory and then down the east coast as far as Central Queensland Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sesbania Formosa
''Sesbania formosa'' (common names - White dragon tree, Vegetable humming bird, Swamp corkwood; Dragon tree; Dragon flower tree) is a leguminous tree native to northern Australia, first described in 1860 by Ferdinand von Mueller as ''Agati formosum'', from specimens collected the banks of the Victoria and Fitzmaurice Rivers. It was transferred to the genus, ''Sesbania,'' by Nancy Burbidge in 1965. It is native to Western Australia and the Northern Territory, and grows in tropical wetlands, to heights of 20 to 30 feet, in closed forests or swampy sites, from sea level to 100 m. Gallery Sesbania formosa.jpg, MNHN: P03076731 collected at Sesbania formosa 42453083.jpg References External links ''Sesbania formosa'' occurrence datafrom GBIF The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nauclea Orientalis
''Nauclea orientalis'' is a species of tree in the family Rubiaceae, native to Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Australia. It has many common names, including bur tree, canary wood, Leichhardt pine and yellow cheesewood. It grows to a maximum of around in height and has large glossy leaves. It bears spherical clusters of fragrant flowers that develop into golf ball-sized edible but bitter fruits. The yellowish to orange soft wood is also used for timber and in woodcarving and folk medicine. Much recently in Australia, it has been called the coronavirus tree because its flowerhead resembles the virus. Taxonomy and nomenclature ''Nauclea orientalis '' is known by the common names Leichhardt tree, cheesewood, yellow cheesewood, and canary cheesewood. It is also sometimes known as the Leichhardt pine due to the overall shape of the tree, though it is not a conifer. "Leichhardt pine", however, is more commonly used for the kadam or burrflower tree (''Neolamarckia cadamba''), a closel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eucalyptus Camaldulensis
''Eucalyptus camaldulensis'', commonly known as the river red gum, is a tree that is endemic to Australia. It has smooth white or cream-coloured bark, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers and hemispherical fruit with the valves extending beyond the rim. A familiar and iconic tree, it is seen along many watercourses across inland Australia, providing shade in the extreme temperatures of central Australia. Description ''Eucalyptus camaldulensis'' is a tree that typically grows to a height of but sometimes to and often does not develop a lignotuber. The bark is smooth white or cream-coloured with patches of yellow, pink or brown. There are often loose, rough slabs of bark near the base. The juvenile leaves are lance-shaped, long and wide. Adult leaves are lance-shaped to curved, the same dull green or greyish green colour on both sides, long and wide on a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in groups of seven, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eucalyptus Microtheca
''Eucalyptus microtheca'', commonly known as the coolibah, is a species of tree that is endemic to northern Australia. It has rough, flaky or fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and spherical to conical fruit. It is widely distributed from the Kimberley region of Western Australia to Cape York in Queensland. Description ''Eucalyptus microtheca'' is a tree, sometimes a mallee, that typically grows to a height of and forms a lignotuber. It has a whitish grey to dark grey, box-type bark that is often deeply fissured, coarsely flaky or tessellated as it ages. Young plants and coppice regrowth have narrow lance-shaped leaves that are long, wide and petiolate. Adult plants have leaves that are the same shade of dull green to bluish on both sides, lance-shaped to curved, long and wide, tapering to a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged on a thin, branched peduncle in groups of seven, the pedunc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
