Implications of Climate Change for Australia's World Heritage ...

IMPLICATIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGE FOR AUSTRALIA’S WORLD HERITAGE PROPERTIES: A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT
World Heritage
property
Heard and
McDonald Islands
Potential climate threats Potential impacts Management/contingency
plans/knowledge gaps
• Rise in sea surface
temperature
• Deglaciation
• Sea level rise
• Changed ocean water
chemistry
• Successful establishment of
introduced species
• Continued warming
is expected to lead to
further glacial retreat and
consequent exposure
of new ice-free ground
or waterbodies
• Population growth of
some species may
be at the expense of
vulnerable species
• With pronounced warming,
there is an increased
likelihood that non-native
species arriving at the
islands will survive and may
become invasive if they are
well-enough established
A continued warming trend
is likely to further impact
on species distribution and
abundance in a way that is
difficult to predict.
As identified in the
management plan for the
property, ongoing monitoring
will allow for continued
evaluation of the impact of
climate warming on the World
Heritage values.
As identified in the
management plan, the relative
absence of human disturbance
means there is a unique
opportunity to conduct studies
on the response of species
to climate change in the
absence of other anthropogenic
influences (e.g. land clearing,
occupation by alien species,
urban development).
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