Biodiversity isn’t just a buzzword—it’s the backbone of thriving ecosystems. This month, our teams headed out to a 500-hectare coastal site to get a clearer picture of its ecological diversity. Despite its modest size, the area included an impressive mix of landscapes, from salt lakes and tall open shrublands to hummock grasslands and sweeping vegetated dunes.
The teams were lucky with the Spring weather too. Warm, sunny days made a welcome change from winter’s usual chill, soaking rain, or the region’s notorious heatwaves.
Our botanists were rather excited about their findings: around 200 plant species, 10 distinct vegetation types, one range extension, and a Priority Ecological Community. Meanwhile, the zoology team detected several highly specialised, and some range-restricted species not commonly found further inland—an exciting find for any field ecologist.
A favourite spot for everyone was the Spinifex vegetated dunes, offering ocean views that made even the longest survey days worthwhile. The salt lakes—fringed with Atriplex and Tecticornia low shrublands—presented their own unique set of challenges and rewards.
And of course, no coastal survey is complete without a refresher in the practical side of fieldwork: navigating deep, loose sand, recognising tell-tale signs of boggy mud, and catching the unmistakable scent of the ocean while walking transects, collecting samples, and checking quadrats and trapping sites.
All in all, the survey was a vivid reminder of why we do this work—because every landscape has a story, and every species plays its part.
