Moreton Bay Research Station is surrounded by valued marine and terrestrial environments.
Moreton Bay and the Coral Sea’s offshore and coastal waters feature dugong, six of the world’s seven species of marine turtles, Australian humpback and bottlenose dolphins, and huge numbers of migratory humpback whales. The area is also home to an incredible diversity of invertebrate and fish species.
Habitats on North Stradbroke Island include rocky shores, mangrove forests, salt marshes, mud and sand flats, wallum scrub, freshwater lakes and extensive wetlands, sclerophyll forests, large sand dune systems, coral reefs, sandy surf beaches and seagrass beds.
Coral reefs
The island sits at the meeting point between temperate and tropical waters, and between lagoonal and pelagic ecosystems. This results in high biodiversity, with more than 120 species of coral recorded offshore and inshore. These provide habitats for sponges, crustaceans, molluscs, echinoderms and fishes.
Seagrasses, mudflats and mangroves
Highly productive ecosystems are found along Moreton Bay’s shorelines. Seagrasses form meadows on muddy or sandy bottoms, and are a food source for dugongs. Mudflats, exposed at low tide, and mangrove forests host large and small crustaceans, molluscs and fishes.
Moreton Bay and open ocean
The island is surrounded by calm Moreton Bay to the west and the Coral Sea to the east. These waters host the largest population of dugongs living close to an urban area, as well as marine turtles, manta rays, dolphins and sharks. In winter they’re visited by thousands of humpback whales.
Sand dunes and rocky shores
The island’s specialised coastal dune ecosystem traps sand carried by ocean currents. Its parabolic dunes enable a succession of other habitats. Windswept rocky outcrops host more ecosystems supporting coastal vegetation, kangaroos, seaweeds, molluscs and crustaceans.
Freshwater ecosystems
The island’s acidic, low-nutrient freshwater lakes, swamps and springs are a crucial habitat for rare and endemic species. These include fish, acid frogs, the spike rush, orchids and the swamp daisy. Lakes such as Brown Lake are perched above the groundwater by impermeable sand layers unique to the region.
Terrestrial ecosystems
Half the island is mixed eucalypt forest with an understorey of mostly wallum heathland, a species-rich ecosystem unique to the region and characterised by low-nutrient acidic sandy soils and spectacular wildflowers. Pockets of rainforest are present. Home for koalas, kangaroos and the endangered glossy black cockatoos.