Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Summary The Wooroonooran IBA supports a population of the vulnerable Southern Cassowary, along with populations of 14 of the 15 species endemic to the Queensland Wet Tropics (all except White-streaked Honeyeater).

Ornithological information The near threatened Bush Stone-curlew and the biome-restricted White-gaped Honeyeater, Yellow Honeyeater, White-browed Robin and Masked Finch are occasionally encountered in the IBA (Atlas of Australian Birds database).

Site description The Wooroonooran IBA encompasses the biggest block of tropical rainforest in Australia, covering 514,491 ha and stretching from south of Port Douglas past Cairns to Lucinda in north Queensland. The boundary of the IBA coincides with the Wet Tropics World Heritage area. The IBA could be extended to include additional rainforest outside this area but currently defined IBA area is judged to be sufficient to maintain populations of the key bird species. The two granite massifs that dominate the area, Mount Bartle Frere and Bellenden Ker, are the highest points in northern Australia. Historically, much of the area has been selectively logged, however the impact of this logging has been relatively minor with the ecological integrity of the area largely intact.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Protected areas

Protected area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
Alcock	Forest Reserve	5	protected area contained by site	5
Bare Hill	Conservation Park	1,150	protected area overlaps with site	378
Barron Gorge	National Park	2,820	protected area contained by site	2,820
Cardwell	Forest Reserve	45	protected area overlaps with site	5
Danbulla	Forest Reserve	17	protected area overlaps with site	8
Danbulla	National Park	7,503	protected area contained by site	7,503
Dinden	National Park	19,706	protected area contained by site	19,706
Dinden	National Park (Recovery)	950	protected area overlaps with site	769
Gadgarra	Forest Reserve	7,900	protected area contained by site	7,900
Gillies Highway	Forest Reserve	432	protected area contained by site	432
Girringun	National Park	202,600	protected area overlaps with site	109,461
Hinchinbrook	Fish Habitat Area A	12,340	protected area overlaps with site	4,659
Hinchinbrook Island area	Dugong Protection Area (A)	59,690	protected area overlaps with site	911
Japoon	Forest Reserve	4	protected area contained by site	4
Japoon	National Park	24,745	protected area overlaps with site	24,467
Kirrama	National Park	17,290	protected area contained by site	17,290
Kirrama	National Park (Recovery)	340	protected area contained by site	340
Koombooloomba	Forest Reserve	29,281	protected area contained by site	29,281
Kuranda	Forest Reserve	56	protected area contained by site	56
Kuranda	National Park	24,362	protected area overlaps with site	22,823
Kuranda	National Park (Recovery)	95	protected area contained by site	95
Little Mulgrave	Forest Reserve	10,942	protected area contained by site	10,942
Malaan	National Park	2,473	protected area overlaps with site	2,100
Meingan Creek	Conservation Park	83	protected area contained by site	83
Meunga	Forest Reserve	22	protected area overlaps with site	4
Mount Fisher	Forest Reserve	5	protected area contained by site	5
Mowbray	National Park	8,670	protected area overlaps with site	4,942
Murray Upper	National Park	21,550	protected area overlaps with site	20,745
Range View Nature Refuge	Other Conservation Area	4,577	protected area overlaps with site	2,384
Townsville / Whitsunday	Marine Park	767,027	protected area overlaps with site	4,138
Tully Falls	National Park	16,822	protected area contains site	16,822
Tully Gorge	National Park	60,235	protected area contained by site	60,235
Wooroonooran	National Park	114,817	protected area contained by site	80,000

Habitats

Land ownership State or local government.

Land use

Other biodiversity As with the birds, the area encompassed by the IBA is also very important for a range of Wet Tropics endemic mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates. This includes what is almost certainly the rarest frog in Australia, Taudactylus rheophilus, one of only two species of tree kangaroos, Dendrolagus lumholtz, that occur in Australia, and three species of endemic possums, Pseudochirops archeri, Pseudochirulus herbertensis and Hmibelideus lemuroides. One frog, Cophixalus neglectus, and two skink species, Techmarscincus jigurru and Eulamprus frerei, only occur on the summits of the highest peaks in the IBA, Mount Bartle Frere and Bellenden Ker.

Management considerations Assessment of impacts, monitoring and management of weeds and ferals should be a high priority for land managers. Maintenance of the ecological integrity of high altitude forests through appropriate management of public access, weeds and feral animals is particularly important.

Protection status Numerous - see separate section.

Conservation response Numerous research projects are or have been conducted in this area. The area has also been an important locality for research on rainforest ecology and management, including work on the impact of climate change on endemic vertebrates, frugivory and seed dispersal, the impact of chytrid fungus on endangered frogs, and the biogeography of frogs and reptiles, amongst many others. The comprehensive mapping of regional ecosystems in the area is completed and is available for researchers and managers.

Acknowledgements The nomination was prepared by Alastair Freeman.

References Barrett, G., Silcocks, A., Barry, S., Cunningham, R. and Poulter, R. (2003) The new atlas of Australian birds'. Birds Australia: Melbourne.

Crome, F.H.J. and Moore, L.A. (1990) Cassowaries in north-eastern Queensland: report of a survey and a review and assessment of their status and conservation and management needs. Australian Wildlife Research 17: 369-385.

Hilbert,D.W., Bradford, M., Parker, T. and Westcott, D.A. (2004) Golden bowerbird (Prionodura newtoniana) habitat in past, present and future climate: predicted extinction of a vertebrate in tropical highlands due to global warming. Biological Conservation 16, 367-377.

Garnett, S. and Crowley, G. (2000) The action plan for Australian birds. Environment Australia: Canberra.

Nix, N.A. and Switzer, M.A. (1991) Rainforest animals. Atlas of vertebrates endemic to Australia's Wet Tropics. Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service: Canberra.

Williams, S.E., Bolitho, E.E. and Fox, S. (2003) Climate change in Australian tropical rainforests: An impending environmental catastrophe. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 270: 1887-1892.

Stanton, P. and Stanton, D. (2005) Vegetation mapping of the Wet tropics. Wet Tropics Management Authority: Cairns.

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Wooroonooran. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 20/06/2013

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