Paisley Islet (also known as West Bay Islet) is an

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...

located in the

Great Australian Bight The Great Australian Bight is a large oceanic bight, or open bay, off the central and western portions of the southern coastline of mainland Australia. Extent Two definitions of the extent are in use – one used by the International Hydrog ...

immediately off the west coast of

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

approximately west south-west of Kingscote. It is currently part of the

Flinders Chase National Park Flinders Chase National Park (formerly Flinders Chase) is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located at the west end of Kangaroo Island about west-south west of the state capital of Adelaide and west of the municipal ...

Description

Paisley Islet is approximately west south-west of Kingscote. It is an extension of the southern headland of West Bay and is only separated from the mainland by tide or wind driven waves. It can be reached by walking along the rock isthmus at low tide.

Formation, geology and oceanography

Paisley Islet was formed about 7500 years ago after sea levels rose at the start of the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

. The islet consists of basement rock of Kanmantoo group metasandstone which extends to the mainland. The central portion of the islet is topped with a layer of Bridgewater Formation calcarenite which is in turn capped with a layer of calcrete. Layers of soil lie in depressions within the calcrete layer. The islet is located in waters of a depth of about that partially conceal wave-cut platforms and that are subject to rolling seas.

Flora and fauna

As of 1996, the rim of the calcarenite cap has been colonised by roundleaved pigface, and sea celery. Species found on the central portion of the islet included dwarfed

marsh saltbush ''Atriplex paludosa'', commonly known as marsh saltbush, is a species of saltbush endemic to Australia. Description It grows as an erect shrub up to a metre high. Leaves are oval in shape, one to four centimetres long, and 2 to 15 millimetres wi ...

, nitre-bush,

southern sea-heath ''Frankenia pauciflora'', the common sea-heath or southern sea-heath, is an evergreen shrub native to southern Australia. It is part of the Frankenia genus of the Frankeniaceae family. It can be prostrate or may grow up to 0.5 m in height. Pi ...

and

ruby saltbush ''Enchylaena tomentosa'', commonly known as barrier saltbush or ruby saltbush, is a small native shrub of Australia. Description ''Enchylaena tomentosa'' grows as a small perennial shrub, up to a meter in diameter. Leaves are slender and cylindr ...

. Species such as feather spear-grass and variable groundsel appear after seasonal rain.

Vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...

animals were represented by birds, mammals and reptiles. A survey conducted in 1996 found that the islet is used as a breeding site, possibly during milder weather, for crested terns and as a site for roosting and feeding by red-capped dotterels,

sooty oystercatcher The sooty oystercatcher (''Haematopus fuliginosus'') is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird endemic to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. It prefers rocky coastlines, but will occasionally live in estuaries. All of its fea ...

rock parrot The rock parrot (''Neophema petrophila'') is a species of grass parrot native to Australia. Described by John Gould in 1841, it is a small parrot long and weighing with predominantly olive-brown upperparts and more yellowish underparts. Its h ...

welcome swallow The welcome swallow (''Hirundo neoxena'') is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It is a species native to Australia and nearby islands, and self-introduced into New Zealand in the middle of the twentieth century. It is very similar ...

s and Australian pipit. It was also observed that the islet was being used as a haul out by bull Australian sea lions. The four-toed earless skink was the only reptile found in 1996.

Protected area status

The islet is part of the Flinders Chase National Park and has been specifically proclaimed as a prohibited area in order to protect breeding seabirds such as crested terns. Since December 2012, the waters around the islet has been part of a habitat protection zone located within the boundaries of the

Western Kangaroo Island Marine Park __NOTOC__ Western Kangaroo Island Marine Park (formerly Western Kangaroo Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve) is a marine protected area located south of South Australia in waters within the Australian Exclusive economic zone to the south-west ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paisley Islet Uninhabited islands of Australia Kangaroo Island Islands of South Australia