The Condition of Lagoons in Cape York Over 2 Years
Quite often, people ask me what Cape York is like at certain times of the year: wet, dry, cold, hot? Before taking on Cockatours, I worked as an ecologist in central Cape York for 5 years and we monitored everything from feral pigs and sea turtles to the micro-biotic communities living in the water! This video shows two lagoons, side-by-side, and how season affects them and what an intervention method like fencing results in! It’s quite wild really!
In Cape York, Australia, exclusion fencing is used to protect significant wetlands from feral pig damage. Fencing also protects cultural sites and promotes the regeneration of the waterhole, including freshwater fish and turtle species. Often unfenced waterholes won’t last as long into the season. Pigs cause the isolation of small parcels of water through digging which increases water temperature and evaporation rates.
This video shows two lagoons fenced near Coen in Cape York. One is protected from pig access. The other allows pigs, but excludes cattle and horses. This method allows us to observe the impact of pigs on a waterhole and we can gauge if pig control in the area is successful. If it is, the lagoon that excludes pigs, should look the same as the lagoon that allows pigs (if there are any). See if you can guess which one excludes pigs!
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