15 September 2011 | Alan Bouquet
Biodiversity, Australia

 

The flooding events and cyclone over the past year have caused havoc to marine biology along the east coast of Australia. Hundreds of highly endangered Dugongs and turtles have been found starving to death on the coast as their food source has been swept away by the unusual weather.

Both Dugongs and Turtles rely on sea grass as a food source, and much of this food source has been swept away by the massive weather events. It is an ecological disaster of huge proportions.

The dugong has deceased in numbers in the area by 95% over the past 50 years with only 5,500 left in the central barrier reef. These numbers are only going to decline if weather events like this continue to batter the area. Previously storms would not have been a problem, as they were usually more localized in their effects. But the increase in severity and frequency of severe weather events recently has meant the animals now have nowhere to turn for food and are washing up on the beaches in their hundreds.

The future for Dugongs in the reef is now uncertain. They were one of the reasons it became a world heritage area in 1981 and if they are to survive another 30 years, action may have to be taken to maintain the population.

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