The Australian zoologist (1934) (20323954256)

Middleton Reef is a

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. C ...

in the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fren ...

. It is separated by a deep

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

ic pass some 47 km wide from nearby

Elizabeth Reef Elizabeth Reef, located at is a coral reef in the Coral Sea. The reef is separated by a deep oceanic pass, some 47 km wide, from nearby Middleton Reef, both of which are part of the underwater plateau known as the Lord Howe Rise. I ...

, forming part of the Lord Howe Rise underwater plateau. It is around 230 km from

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland ...

and 555 km from the coast of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. In 1997 th
Environment, Sport and Territories Legislation Amendment Bill 1996
included the reef in Australia's

Coral Sea Islands The Coral Sea Islands Territory is an external territory of Australia which comprises a group of small and mostly uninhabited tropical islands and reefs in the Coral Sea, northeast of Queensland, Australia. The only inhabited island is Wi ...

Territory. It is among the southernmost platform reefs in the world. Despite its relatively high latitude, there is a wide variety of

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''biota''. Zoo ...

on the reef and in the surrounding waters, due to converging tropical and temperate

ocean current An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of sea water generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contou ...

s. It is about 8.9 km long by 6.3 km wide. At low tide most of the reef flat is exposed, at high tide only one cay is visible, The Sound, 100 m by 70 m and one metre above sea level. The reefs form th
Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Park Reserve
managed by the Government of Australia under the Natural Heritage Trust. ]

Flora and fauna

Surveys by the Australian Institute of Marine Science have highlighted healthy numbers of black cod '' Epinephelus daemelii'', a threatened species in NSW waters. The survey in 2003 highlighted 111 species of coral and identified 181 species of fish. The number of recorded fish species is 311 across several surveys. High numbers of

Galapagos shark The Galapagos shark (''Carcharhinus galapagensis'') is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, found worldwide. It favors clear reef environments around oceanic islands, where it is often the most abundant shark species. A lar ...

s ''Carcharhinus galapagensis'' were observed at Elizabeth Reef, and may indicate that the reef is a nursery.

Sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothu ...

(black teatfish), ''Holothuria whitmaei'', were also found in high numbers at Elizabeth Reef. While the 2003 survey found only small numbers of

crown-of-thorns starfish The crown-of-thorns starfish (frequently abbreviated to COTS), ''Acanthaster planci'', is a large starfish that preys upon hard, or stony, coral polyps (Scleractinia). The crown-of-thorns starfish receives its name from venomous thorn-like spine ...

, a survey in 2005 indicated that that species is now active.AIMS Reef Monitoring Elizabeth Reef
/ref>

Shipwrecks

Along with

, the reef has been the site of numerous

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

s. According to th
National Shipwrecks Database
the ships stranded include: Middleton Reef: ''Agnes Napier'', ''Annasona'', ''Blue Jacket'', ''Britannia'', ''Defender'', ''Maelgwyn'', ''Mallsgate'', ''Mary Lawson'', ''Queen of the East'', ''Stuart Russel'', ''Runic'', ''Fuku Maru no 7''. ''Britannia'' is listed for both Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs. The yacht ''Sospan Fach'' was wrecked on Middleton Reef in 1974, and its crew of four was rescued after being stranded for six weeks, during which they lived on the wreck of the ''Fuku Maru''. ''Middleton Reef:'
''Agnes Napier''''Annasona''''Blue Jacket''''Britannia''''Defender''''Maelgwyn''''Mallsgate''''Mary Lawson''''Queen of the East''''Stuart Russel''''Britannia''
is listed for both Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs.

References

{{coord, -29.455142, 159.118539, display=title

External links

The Uncertainties of Middleton and Elizabeth Reefs (Geopolitical Study)
Coral Sea Islands Ramsar sites in Australia

Flora and fauna

Shipwrecks

See also

References

External links