Australia Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Biodiversity=== {{See also|Fauna of Australia|Flora of Australia|Fungi of Australia}} [[File:Koala climbing tree.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|left|alt=A koala holding onto a eucalyptus tree with its head turned so both eyes are visible|The [[koala]] and the ''[[eucalyptus]]'' form an iconic Australian pair.]] Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, the continent includes a diverse range of habitats from [[alpine climate|alpine]] heaths to [[tropical rainforest]]s. Fungi typify that diversity—an estimated 250,000 species—of which only 5% have been described—occur in Australia.<ref>Pascoe, I. G.; (1991) History of systematic mycology in Australia ''History of Systematic Botany in Australasia'' Ed. by: P. Short Australian Systematic Botany Society Inc. pp. 259–264</ref> Because of the continent's great age, extremely variable weather patterns, and long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's [[biota (ecology)|biota]] is unique. About 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals, more than 45% of [[List of birds of Australia|birds]], and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are [[endemism|endemic]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/about-biodiversity.html |title=About Biodiversity |access-date=18 September 2007|publisher=Department of the Environment and Heritage |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205015628/http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/about-biodiversity.html |archive-date=5 February 2007}}</ref> Australia has at least 755 species of reptile, more than any other country in the world.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lambertini|first=Marco|title=A Naturalist's Guide to the Tropics|year=2000|isbn=978-0-2264-6828-0|publisher=University of Chicago Press|url=http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/468283.html|format=excerpt|access-date=30 March 2010|archive-date=5 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205010300/http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/468283.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Besides Antarctica, Australia is the only continent that developed without feline species. Feral cats may have been introduced in the 17th century by Dutch shipwrecks, and later in the 18th century by European settlers. They are now considered a major factor in the decline and extinction of many vulnerable and endangered native species.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-13/greg-hunt-feral-cat-native-animals-fact-check/5858282|title=Fact check: Are feral cats killing over 20 billion native animals a year?|date=20 November 2014|work=ABC News|access-date=22 January 2017|archive-date=8 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108001903/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-13/greg-hunt-feral-cat-native-animals-fact-check/5858282|url-status=live}}</ref> Seafaring immigrants from Asia are believed to have brought the [[dingo]] to Australia sometime after the end of the last ice age{{Mdash}}perhaps 4000 years ago{{Mdash}}and Aboriginal people helped disperse them across the continent as pets, contributing to the demise of [[thylacines]] on the mainland.<ref name="ReferenceB">The Story of Australia's People, Volume 1: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia, Penguin Books Australia Ltd., Vic., 2015 {{ISBN|978-0-6700-7871-4}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=February 2024}} Australia is also one of 17 megadiverse countries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Evans |first1=Megan C. |last2=Watson |first2=James E. M. |last3=Fuller |first3=Richard A. |last4=Venter |first4=Oscar |last5=Bennett |first5=Simon C. |last6=Marsack |first6=Peter R. |last7=Possingham |first7=Hugh P. |title=The Spatial Distribution of Threats to Species in Australia |journal=BioScience |date=April 2011 |volume=61 |issue=4 |page=282 |doi=10.1525/bio.2011.61.4.8 |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[Forests of Australia|Australian forests]] are mostly made up of evergreen species, particularly [[eucalyptus]] trees in the less arid regions; [[Acacia|wattles]] replace them as the dominant species in drier regions and deserts.<ref name=dfat>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/flora_and_fauna.html |title=About Australia: Flora and fauna |access-date=15 May 2010|date=May 2008|publisher=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211203954/http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/flora_and_fauna.html |archive-date=11 February 2014}}</ref> Among well-known [[fauna of Australia|Australian animals]] are the [[monotreme]]s (the [[platypus]] and [[echidna]]); a host of [[marsupial]]s, including the [[kangaroo]], koala, and wombat, and birds such as the emu and the kookaburra.<ref name=dfat/> Australia is home to [[Animal attacks in Australia|many dangerous animals]] including some of the most venomous snakes in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 January 2015 |title=Snake bite – The Australian Venom Compendium Concept |url=http://www.avru.org/compendium/biogs/A000084b.htm |access-date=15 January 2022 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150115112947/http://www.avru.org/compendium/biogs/A000084b.htm |archive-date=15 January 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[dingo]] was introduced by Austronesian people who traded with Indigenous Australians around 3000 [[Common Era|BCE]].<ref name="savolainen2004">{{Cite journal|last1=Savolainen|first1=P.|last2=Leitner|first2=T.|last3=Wilton|first3=A.N.|last4=Matisoo-Smith|first4=E. |last5=Lundeberg|first5=J.|title=A detailed picture of the origin of the Australian dingo, obtained from the study of mitochondrial DNA|doi=10.1073/pnas.0401814101|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=101|issue=33|pages=12387–12390|year=2004|pmid=15299143|pmc=514485|bibcode=2004PNAS..10112387S|doi-access=free}}</ref> Many animal and plant species became extinct soon after first human settlement,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://uninews.unimelb.edu.au/view.php?articleID=170 |title=Humans to blame for extinction of Australia's megafauna|publisher=University of Melbourne|date=8 June 2001 |access-date=30 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402065113/http://uninews.unimelb.edu.au/view.php?articleID=170 |archive-date=2 April 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> including the [[Australian megafauna]]; others have disappeared since European settlement, among them the thylacine.<ref name="NW">{{Cite web |url=http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/index.htm |title=The Thylacine Museum – A Natural History of the Tasmanian Tiger |publisher=The Thylacine Museum |access-date=14 October 2013 |archive-date=15 March 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060315214219/http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/ts-day/index.html |title=National Threatened Species Day |publisher=Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Government|year=2006 |access-date=21 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209084616/http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/ts-day/index.html |archive-date=9 December 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref> Many of Australia's ecoregions, and the species within those regions, are threatened by human activities and [[Invasive species in Australia|introduced]] animal, [[chromista]]n, fungal and plant species.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/index.html |title=Invasive species|publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts|date=17 March 2010 |access-date=14 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100629001302/http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/index.html |archive-date=29 June 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> All these factors have led to Australia's having the highest mammal extinction rate of any country in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2012/10/australias-most-endangered-species|title=Australia's most endangered species|publisher=Australian Geographic|access-date=16 June 2014|date=2 October 2012|archive-date=7 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707222631/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2012/10/australias-most-endangered-species|url-status=live}}</ref> The federal ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' is the legal framework for the protection of threatened species.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/about/index.html |title=About the EPBC Act|publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts |access-date=14 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531084042/http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/about/index.html |archive-date=31 May 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> Numerous [[Protected areas of Australia|protected areas]] have been created under the [[Biodiversity action plan|National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity]] to protect and preserve unique ecosystems;<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/strategy/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312021249/http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/strategy/index.html |archive-date=12 March 2011 |title=National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity|publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts|date=21 January 2010 |access-date=14 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/strategy/chap1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313222100/http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/strategy/chap1.html |archive-date=13 March 2011 |title=Conservation of biological diversity across Australia |publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts|date=19 January 2009 |access-date=14 June 2010}}</ref> 65 [[wetland]]s are [[List of Ramsar sites in Australia|listed]] under the [[Ramsar Convention]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ramsar.org/document/the-list-of-wetlands-of-international-importance-the-ramsar-list|title=The List of Wetlands of International Importance|publisher=Ramsar Convention|pages=6–7|date=22 May 2010|access-date=14 June 2010|archive-date=15 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015201559/http://www.ramsar.org/document/the-list-of-wetlands-of-international-importance-the-ramsar-list|url-status=live}}</ref> and 16 natural [[World Heritage Site]]s have been established.<ref name="WHC">{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/au|title=Australia|work=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=5 September 2009|archive-date=2 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091002202106/http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/au|url-status=live}}</ref> Australia was ranked 21st out of 178 countries in the world on the 2018 [[Environmental Performance Index]].<ref>{{Citation |title=2018 EPI Results|url=https://epi.envirocenter.yale.edu/epi-topline|work=Environmental Performance Index|publisher=Yale Center for International Earth Science Information Network |access-date=24 September 2018 |archive-date=23 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723205354/https://epi.envirocenter.yale.edu/epi-topline |url-status=dead}}</ref> There are more than 1,800 animals and plants on Australia's threatened species list, including more than 500 animals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-24/australias-long-list-of-threatened-species/11234090|title='Haunting': What it's like watching the last of a species die|last=March|first=Stephanie|date=24 June 2019|work=ABC News|access-date=16 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713234527/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-24/australias-long-list-of-threatened-species/11234090|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Paleontologists]] discovered a [[fossil]] site of a [[prehistoric]] [[rainforest]] in [[McGraths Flat]], in South Australia, that presents evidence that this now arid [[desert]] and dry [[shrubland]]/[[grassland]] was once home to an abundance of life.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mind-Blowing New Fossil Site Found in The 'Dead' Heart of Australia |author=Michelle Starr |date=7 January 2022 |website=Science Alert |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/incredible-new-fossil-site-found-in-the-dead-heart-of-australia |access-date=7 January 2022 |archive-date=7 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107221514/https://www.sciencealert.com/incredible-new-fossil-site-found-in-the-dead-heart-of-australia |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=See the spectacular fossils from a newly discovered prehistoric rainforest |date=7 January 2022 |author=Michael Greshko |website=National Geographic |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/see-the-spectacular-fossils-from-a-newly-discovered-prehistoric-rainforest|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107192025/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/see-the-spectacular-fossils-from-a-newly-discovered-prehistoric-rainforest|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 January 2022}}</ref> Summary: Please 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