福尔岛

圣所

位于澳大利亚最富饶的海洋地区之一, 福雷岛是鲨鱼湾世界遗产区的一部分 – one of only 16 natural sites in Australia listed as being of outstanding universal value. 它被鲨鱼湾海洋公园环绕, 坐落在庇隆半岛和西澳大利亚大陆之间的蔚蓝大海中.  

福尔岛 is critically important for the conservation of Australia’s threatened mammals because it is entirely free of feral predators (foxes and cats) and feral herbivores. 在1999年被AWC收购之前, 福雷岛作为一个牧区站经营了100多年, 带着绵羊和山羊. 与西澳政府合作开展工作, AWC在购买该岛后不久就消灭了所有的野生动物. 当时, 福尔岛 became the third largest island in the world from which cats had been eradicated. 自从宣布该岛无野生动物以来, AWC has successfully established populations of four nationally threatened mammals: Boodies (Burrowing Bettongs), 带状Hare-wallabies, 西部横纹土拨鼠和鲨鱼湾鼠.  

福雷岛的海岸线以赤褐色的悬崖为特色, mangrove-lined lagoons and mudflats while the undulating interior is a mosaic of heaths and shrubs which provide ideal habitat for mammals. 沿海湿地吸引了国际上重要的滨鸟种群, while the adjacent waters host three species of threatened sea turtle and the iconic dugong.  

福尔岛是“福尔岩”的一个新兴部分。, a sandbar overlaying sandstone that crosses the eastern gulf of Shark Bay from Peron Peninsula to the mainland. 有趣的是, it is this sandbar that has created the vast areas of sandy hyper生理盐水 shallows that support the famous Stromatolites of Shark Bay. The island consists of three major landforms, each characterised by distinctive vegetation: 

• 沿海地带，由红树林、海滩和海岸沙丘组成 
• 泥地和海苔和盐灌木的盐碱地 
• 起伏的沙原支撑着一系列的荒原和灌木地 

Some stretches of the shore are bordered by steep cliffs while others have red or white dunes, 通常被沙滩刺草(带刺 longifolius). A series of sand spits enclose shallow lagoons that support regionally significant mangrove communities (矮小 玛丽娜).  

The island’s vegetation reflects its semi-arid climate: rainfall varies greatly from year to year, 但平均约220毫米. 福尔岛 consists of undulating sandy plains and dunes with open acacia shrublands and interdunal ‘birridas’ (seasonally flooded, 生理盐水, 粘土锅). birridas的边缘是海参和盐灌木. 2009年进行的详细测绘确定了福雷岛上的30个栖息地.  

The flora of the 福尔岛 Sanctuary is a subset of that found on the nearby mainland on Peron Peninsula, 以干旱区种为主，与温带种混种. Over 140 species of native vascular plants have been found and many more species are expected to be recorded on the island.  

福尔岛的野生动物

进入福雷岛的野生环境, AWC has successfully reintroduced four threatened mammals: the Burrowing Bettong (Boodie), 带状Hare-wallaby, 西部横斑鼬和鲨鱼湾鼠.  

福雷岛也是36种爬行动物和至少127种鸟类的家园. 该保护区为许多海鸟提供了一个重要的繁殖地, 并支持着该地区最大的花斑鸬鹚栖息地之一. 远东杓鹬, 被列为全国极度濒危物种, 在每年的滨鸟调查中是否可以可靠地看到. Populations of three species of migratory shorebirds on Faure are now regularly recorded at numbers that indicate Faure is a significant staging area on their migration route – the Bar-tailed Godwit, 灰尾搬弄是非者和红脖子吝啬鬼. 此外，2016年, 近6,在福尔岛记录了000个红颈鸟, 占全球物种总数的1%以上. These important population records meet two criteria of the international RAMSAR Convention and suggest 福尔岛 should be considered an ‘Internationally Important Wetland’.

该地区对包括格林在内的濒危海洋动物也至关重要, 玳瑁和红海龟, 所有这些都可以在福雷岛清澈的海水中看到. 标志性的儒艮也经常被发现，大群的虎鲨也是如此.  

AWC在福雷岛的现场项目

The field programs at 福尔岛 include an integrated weed control and fire management program, 监测野生动物入侵, 野生动物迁移和定期的生态调查项目.  

One of the legacies of the pastoral era on 福尔岛 was the introduction of a suite of weeds. 最重要的杂草种类是水草, 它占据了整个岛屿35%的面积, 羽扇豆, 枸杞, 和其他牧草. 它们通过有针对性的除草剂喷洒来控制. The encroachment of Buffel Grass has the potential to increase the fire risk on 福尔岛 by creating a more continuous ground cover of flammable material. Fire management also involves the regular maintenance of mechanical breaks on the island.  

福尔岛上没有野猫、狐狸或任何野生食草动物. 当时 of acquisition by AWC, there were more than 2,000 feral goats on 福尔岛. 这些山羊是通过诱捕和射击来转移的. Feral cats and foxes are widespread across the adjacent mainland and are a major threat to wildlife populations. This highlights the importance of 福尔岛 and other feral free islands in Shark Bay as secure habitat for highly threatened mammals.  

自2002年以来, five species of threatened mammals have been reintroduced to 福尔岛 in 16 different translocation events. 福雷岛上现在有四种健康的野生种群. 据估计，穴居贝童(Boodie)的数量约为20只,000只动物(至少占全球人口的一半). 有稳定的, 剩下的三个物种(带状野兔小袋鼠)的自我维持种群, 西部横斑鼬和鲨鱼湾鼠) and 福尔岛 was used as a source population for translocations of these species to 太吉布森 in 2017.  

重新引入福雷岛的第五个物种是大棒巢鼠. 不幸的是, they have not been recorded in several years – numbers are either too low to detect or the reintroduction has failed. 

原生哺乳动物在福尔岛的成功繁衍意义重大，因为, 作为牧区经营了100多年，饲养了绵羊和山羊, there were no native mammals left on the Island (other than the Northern Freetail Bat) when AWC acquired the property in 1999. AWC进行了动物群调查, 包括对亚化石残骸的分析, 发现了威利先前居住过的证据, 西部横纹土拨鼠和鲨鱼湾鼠. 虽然没有发现Boodies或带状野兔小袋鼠的证据, these animals were found in other parts of the Shark Bay region and are likely to have previously existed on Faure.  

福雷岛定期进行调查, 衡量生态健康, 追踪高度濒危哺乳动物的数量. 在总, AWC的生态学家每年都要进行400多个活陷阱之夜, 500个晚上的调查和追踪, 在17个地点进行50只鸟类调查, 41公里的聚光灯样带和15个植被调查. 除此之外, this survey effort measures the diversity and abundance of key faunal groups including terrestrial and shore birds, 顶级掠食者(巨蜥)和其他爬行动物. 

与澳大利亚鸟类联盟经验丰富的成员合作, 每年都对滨鸟进行调查. The results are used to monitor trends in abundance and species richness of shorebirds visiting 福尔岛. 

Native vegetation and weeds are monitored at sites set up in four of the dominant vegetation types on the island. 在每个站点, the impacts of mammal grazing on the vegetation structure is measured using exclusion fences. 

在所有易位事件发生后进行详细的监测. 例如, 2013年，30只带状野兔小袋鼠被转移到岛上, 25只带无线电项圈，其中4只带GPS项圈. 获得的数据有助于衡量易位的成功, 并为未来重新引入的策略制定提供信息.