Moreon Bay Land Destruction

Once common, this species has started to decline across much of its range from Queensland to northern NSW; it is most commonly found in Southern Queensland, in places such as Hervey Bay, Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay. Its preferred habitats are tidal rivers and the intertidal flats of estuaries and bays, which are lined with mangroves and have sandy to muddy bottoms. The population decrease has been caused from a combination of habitat degradation, mortality from commercial and recreational fishing, and persecution by shellfish farmers. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as Vulnerable. Its range includes some of the most developed areas in Australia, where there is extensive land reclamation, water pollution, and construction of flood mitigation barriers on rivers. The focus of this report will be on the coastal construction and the land reclamation and the effects it has on estuary stingray.
Land reclamation is one of the most damaging issues …show more content…
The main chemicals causing poisoning of wildlife are herbicides and pesticides from garden and park run off. Sewage out fall can cause excessively high nutrient levels and pathogens that can be harmful to all marine life. An excess of nutrients may cause, toxic algal blooms or extreme plant growth that will affect the amount of dissolved oxygen when they die. With the increase of the urban areas near the coast the more likely it is that rubbish will be dumped or blown into the estuaries which may cause organisms to suffocate. Many construction sites will cause sediment build up in the habitat, the sediment can decrease water quality, reduce light penetration in the water and restrict bottom dwelling plants and