Michaelmas and Upolu Cays is a national park in
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
,
Australia, northwest of
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
and east of
Cairns. It comprises two small
cay
A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...
s on Michaelmas Reef, which forms the north-eastern section of the Arlington reef complex, within the
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
.
Flora and fauna
Plants
The vegetation on Michaelmas Cay is characteristic of cays found on the outer barrier reef. Low-growing, it consists of
beach spinifex,
stalky grass,
goatsfoot,
bulls-head vine,
sea purslane and
tar vine. Nutrients fertilising the vegetation come from
seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...
droppings and carcasses. The smaller Upolu Cay is un-vegetated.
Animals
Michaelmas Cay is important as a breeding site for several species of
tern
Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of e ...
s. It has been identified by
BirdLife International as an
Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports over 1% of the world populations of
greater and
lesser crested tern
The lesser crested tern (''Thalasseus bengalensis'')Bridge, E. S.; Jones, A. W. & Baker, A. J. (2005)A phylogenetic framework for the terns (Sternini) inferred from mtDNA sequences: implications for taxonomy and plumage evolution. ''Molecular Ph ...
s.
Sooty terns and
common noddies also breed there. Other terns that have nested on the cay in the past include
roseate and
black-naped tern
The black-naped tern (''Sterna sumatrana'') is an oceanic tern mostly found in tropical and subtropical areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is rarely found inland.
Description
The tern is about 30 cm long with a wing length of 21†...
s.
[BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Michaelmas Cay. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 15 August 2011.]
Green turtle
The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...
s sometimes nest on the cays. The surrounding reefs have a rich marine fauna, including
giant clam
The giant clams are the members of the clam genus '' Tridacna'' that are the largest living bivalve mollusks. There are actually several species of "giant clams" in the genus '' Tridacna'', which are often misidentified for ''Tridacna gigas'', ...
s.
[
]
See also
* Protected areas of Queensland
Queensland is the second largest state in Australia. It contains around 500 separate protected areas. In 2020, it was estimated a total of 14.2 million hectares or 8.25% of Queensland's landmass was protected.
List of terrestrial protected ar ...
References
National parks of Far North Queensland
Protected areas established in 1975
Important Bird Areas of Queensland
Islands on the Great Barrier Reef
1975 establishments in Australia
Uninhabited islands of Australia
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