parks victoria technical series marine natural values study vol 2 ...

Parks Victoria Technical Series No. 79
Flinders and Twofold Shelf Bioregions Marine Natural Values Study
Marine mammals and reptiles
The southern right whale Eubalaena australis and humpback whale Megaptera
novaeangliae have been recorded in or near the Point Hicks MNP (Table 18). The southern
right whale E. australis is listed as critically endangered in Victorian waters and endangered
nationally. The humpback whale M. novaeangliae is listed as vulnerable at the state and
national level. The killer whale Orcinus orca, leopard seal Hydrurga leptonyx and Australian
fur seal Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus have been observed in the waters in and around the
park. Marine mammals such as dolphins, whales, Australian fur seal A. pusillus doriferus
and threatened New Zealand fur seal Arctophoca forsteri are transient through the MNP
(Parks Victoria 2006f). The yellow-bellied sea snake Pelamis platurus has been recorded in
or near the MNP. Four other listed marine reptiles occur as vagrants along the eastern
Victorian coast: loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta, green turtle Chelonia mydas, Pacific ridley
Lepidochelys olivacea and leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea and probably transit
through the MNP (Plummer et al. 2003). Many other animals probably use the MNP waters
but its remoteness means there are few observations.
Table 18. Conservation listed marine mammal and reptile records from Point Hicks Marine National
Park and surrounds.
Victorian listing National
listing
International
convention
Common name Scientific name FFG VROTS EPBC Bonn
southern right whale Eubalaena australis L CR EN L
humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae L VU VU L
New Zealand fur seal Arctophoca forsteri VU L
Australian fur seal Arctocephalus pusillus
L
doriferus
killer whale Orcinus orca L L
Loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta L
Leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea L
L = FFG listed, M = listed Migratory, VU = vulnerable, EN = endangered, CR = critically endangered
Species distribution information
An assessment of distribution, endemism and rarity of biota across the state found that Point
Hicks MNP had one mollusc the welk Fax molleri presumed to be endemic to the park
(O'Hara and Barmby 2000; O’Hara and Poore 2000).
Fourteen biota (Table 19) have been recorded or presumed to be at their distributional limit
in Point Hicks MNP (O'Hara and Barmby 2000; Plummer et al. 2003). Four red algae have
been recorded as being at the easterly limit of their distribution in Point Hicks MNP. Eight
biota have been recorded as being at their western limit of distribution in Point Hicks MNP,
including five gastropods, one feather star, one sea urchin and the whale shark. One crab
and one gastropod are presumed to be at their western limit of distribution (O'Hara and
Barmby 2000; O’Hara and Poore 2000). The distributional limits of the biota listed in Table
19 may reflect collection effort in this area rather than actual Victorian distributions. Many
areas of the Victorian coast have never been sampled and therefore biota ranges may be
much greater than those suggested.
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