Invasive species on Coochiemudlo Island

An invasive species is an organism that is not indigenous or native to a particular area. To be called invasive, a species must adapt to the new area easily, and it reproduces quickly, harms property, the economy, and/or the native plants and animals of the region. (Ref: National Geographic Education.)

Info on this page:

Australia’s feral species and how to protect our biodiversity

For a national perspective on invasive species, listen to the excellent episode of Big Ideas (ABC Radio National), 16 May 2024, with speakers:

  • Costa Georgiadis (Host of ABC TVs Gardening Australia and landscape architect)

  • Andrew Cox (CEO of the Invasive Species Council)

Invasive animals

Red fire ants were first reported on Coochiemudlo Island in April 2024. Links to information about the appearance of the ants and how to report them are listed below.

The cane toad is listed on the Redlands City Council website as a non-invasive pest. However, many Coochiemudlo Island residents consider Cane Toads as invasive because:

  • conditions on Coochiemudlo Island are perfect for cane toads to breed rampantly. When it’s raining they get out and about and significant numbers are evident in parts of the island

  • cane toads are poisonous at all stages of its life cycle, and they eat larger animals including native frogs, smaller toads, small mammals and snakes

  • anecdotally, they kill baby curlews.

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Fire ants
Fire ants

A nest of fire ants was reported on Coochiemudlo Island in April 2024. North Stradbroke (Minjerribah) residents have reported more than 100 nests since in 2023, and a nest was found on Macleay Island (Janguwajah) in February 2024.

Be very attentive if you are getting landscape supplies delivered from the mainland, including potted plants, and report any sightings.

Fire ants are one of the worst invasive species to reach Australia’s shores. They can ruin our lifestyle and significantly impact our environment and many industries including agriculture. Fire ants inflict painful stings and could restrict everyday activities such as barbeques, picnics and sporting events.

With everyone being aware and vigilant, we have the best chance of eradicating them. Check your yard and report any fire ants by using the online reporting form or by calling the eradication program on 13 25 23.

Further information:

Appearance: National Fire Ant Eradication Program

Reporting form: National Fire Ant Eradication Program

Queensland government information about fire ants

Cane toad
Cane toad

The introduction of cane toads (Bufo marinus) to Australia in the 1930s is one of the foremost examples of an exotic animal release gone wrong. Originally imported from Hawaii and released in Queensland as a biological control for beetle pests of sugar cane, the cane toad is now a well-established pest itself. (Refer to pestSMART Centre for Invasive Species Solutions.)

Correct identification is important:

Is it a cane toad or a native frog? Toad Scan offers helpful information including photos of toads and eggs that help you identify cane toads for eradication.

Further information: Queensland Government fact sheet on cane toads

Fun Fact (from way back)

‘The island of Coochiemudlo, in Moreton Bay, has been proclaimed a reserve for the protection of native birds.’

From a short article in the Brisbane Telegraph, ‘Birds and Animals: Reserves Proclaimed’, Friday 21 November 1919.

Article sourced from Trove.

Invasive weeds

As stated on the Redlands City Council website, environmental weeds impact our community by:

  • Outcompeting native plant species

  • Damaging and changing native landscapes

  • Negatively impacting the habitat for native wildlife

  • Increasing the risk of wildfire

  • Toxicity to people, livestock and pets

  • Choking waterways and causing erosion

  • Reducing our enjoyment of local reserves, parklands, waterways and beaches.

The island’s two volunteer environmental groups, Coochiemudlo Coastcare Inc. and Bushcare, both organise monthly weed-pulling sessions on the north-eastern, eastern, and south eastern shorelines of the island.

Invasive weeds on Coochiemudlo Island

Most, if not all of the listed invasive weeds below were originally introduced onto Coochiemudlo Island by unsuspecting residents planting them as ornamental exotics into their gardens.

They are considered invasive because they have escaped the borders of gardens and are now found taking over significant areas of the island’s Emerald Fringe.

See more about invasive weeds on the Native Nursery website.

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Mother-of-Millions
Mother-of-Millions

Bryophyllum delagoense (syn. B. tubiflorum, Kalanchoe delagoensis) and Bryophyllum × houghtonii

Mother-of-millions (Bryophyllum delagoense) is a category 3 restricted invasive plant under the Biosecurity Act 2014 because it spreads rampantly. It must not be given away, sold, or released into the environment. It has become a weed that infests grasslands, woodlands and open dunes, and is poisonous to stock.

Mother-of-millions has infested the Coochiemudlo Island Emerald Fringe particularly on the north-eastern, eastern, and south eastern shorelines of the island.

See the Queensland Government’s Mother-of-millions fact sheet (PDF).

Singapore Daisy
Singapore Daisy

Singapore daisy is a garden escapee and native of tropical America. It prefers moist areas on a range of soil types. If can be found in gardens, parks, bushland, disturbed areas, along roadsides, lawns and footpaths. It is becoming a problem by invading wetlands, irrigated areas and around drains. Found in South East Queensland and coastal areas of northern and Central Queensland.

See Queensland Government fact sheet about Singapore Daisy.

Asparagus Fern
Asparagus Fern

Asparagus fern is a shrub originally introduced as a domestic ornamental plant, in a pot or as a ground cover. Now, in a wide range of coastal and sub-coastal habitats around Australia, it is an environmental weed. On Coochiemudlo Island it’s particularly invasive on the western side of the island where it has infested the Emerald Fringe.

Asparagus fern competes with native ground cover and under-storey plants by smothering other species and prevent their germination and establishment.

Asparagus fern is a native of eastern and southern Africa.

If you have asparagus fern in your garden, please dig it up, bag up the roots and rhizomes into a strong bag, and dispose of the bag at the tip — not into the green waste bins.

See Queensland Government fact sheet about Asparagus Fern.

Ochna
Ochna

Since it was introduced to Australia in the early 1900s, Ochna has been widely planted as a garden ornamental. Birds are attracted to the seeds that are then spread into bushland. On the island, Ochna has become invasive, particularly on the south-west of Coochiemudlo Island. It forms dense thickets that are hard to remove because of the very tough root system.

Larger plants may need to be grubbed out with mattock.

Other names for this weed are Mickey Mouse plant, Micky Mouse bush, bird's eye bush, carnival bush, small-leaved plane.

Ochna is native of southern Africa.

Herbicides are effective. See the Ochna fact sheet (PDF) for application rates.

See the Queensland Government information about preventing weed spread.

Why be concerned about invasive species?

Our world is dealing with environmental challenges. Since the industrial revolution, western socieities have driven economic growth and development around the world. We have a consumer mentality that saps up resources and contributes to land fill. Other factors include include land clearing, roadkills, and impacts from developing and building infrastructure and neighbourhoods. (State of the Environment Report, Australia, 2021)

Consequently ecosystems are under stress. What can we do about it? Locally, we can help protect all species that are native to our unique locality because they all contribute to the island’s ecosystem.

Healthy and balanced ecosystems are important

Ecosystems are the basis for life – they provide habitat, promote food chains, and control ecological cycles and processes.The degradation and collapse of an ecosystes can lead to the destruction of living organisms that are required for a healthy existence of what is sometimes called the web of life. (State of the Environment Report, Australia, 2021)

Extinctions

Populations of species on Australia’s islands tend to be small so they are vulnerable to extinction. (Threatened Species Recovery Hub, PDF)

Since colonisation, Australia has experienced a dramatic decline in ecosystem biodiversity. When the population of an indigenous species declines or becomes extinct in the environment, the ecosystem becomes unbalanced. This can trigger a chain reaction of decline of other species within the environment and therefore the ecosystem is compromised.

High rates of animal extinctions are due to a range of factors including bushfires, over-extraction of water, dryland salinity, land clearing, over-fishing, road kills, and invasive species. (‘The loss of an indigenous constructed landscape following British invasion of Australia: An insight into the deep human imprint on the Australian landscape’)

‘Australia is a world leader in species extinction and declines, largely due to invasive species.’ (Invasive Species Council Australia)

How can we help manage our local environments?

We can all do our bit!

  • If you’re a gardener on the island, it’s likely that you have wondered what is going to grow best in your garden. The volunteers at the Coochiemdudlo Island Native Nursery are weed and native plant experts, with many years of combined experience and learning propagating native plants that are indigenous to the island. Tube stock of indigenous natives and other natives are available to buy.

  • Help make sure we have fish for the future and be a responsible fisher by:

    • thinking about which fish you target

    • use the best fishing and handling techniques

    • only take home what you need.

    See the Queensland Government’s rules about responsible fishing.

  • Be responsible on your watercraft

    You must have a marine licence to operate a boat that has an engine power greater than 4.5kW.

    Keep to the speed limit, and consider the marine life in Moreton Bay including turtles and dugongs. The following speed restrictions apply throughout Queensland whether speed limit signs for the area are present or not. A speed limit of 6 knots applies around Coochiemudlo Island, and within 30 metres of a:

    • person in the water

    • boat at anchor, moored, made fast to the shore or aground

    • jetty, wharf, boat ramp or pontoon in or on the waters.

    See the Queensland Government’s speed rules on waterways.

  • On Coochiemudlo, we have two groups that work to keep the island’s environment and ecosystems.

  • Like other regions in Australia, pet owners are required by law to be responsible by preventing their pets roam the neighbourhood and bush.

    • Dogs that are off-leash in the neighbourhood can maim or cause stress to wildlife on the island, particularly our bush stone-curlews.

    • Cats are natural-born hunters and should be kept indoors at night and not roam beyond their fence during the day. They should be watched and prevented from killing birds and lizards if they are outside the home.

    Read the Invasive Species Council fact sheet about the impact of cats in Australia (PDF).

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Native Nursery

Native Nursery

Location: William Street, behind the Curlew Cafe, next to the Life Savers shed.

Open times: Tuesday mornings from 9.00am — 10.30am when the friendly experts are on site to sell you tube-stock native plants suitable for the island. The Native Nursery is run by volunteers — experts in our local native flora.

Visit the Native Nursery website.

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Featured
Eradicating Fire Ants — Updated Procedure
Eradicating Fire Ants — Updated Procedure

From 1 October 2024, the NFAEP is introducing a new approach to fire ant treatment on Coochiemudlo Island.

When you report suspected fire ants or nests on your property, you will receive a fire ant treatment kit by mail. It includes an instructional brochure that shows you how to treat nests.

The Melaleuca Wetlands Fauna Survey
The Melaleuca Wetlands Fauna Survey

History and research — we can learn from both. Melaleuca wetlands have been valued by Quandamooka people for thousands of years. A survey of our Wetlands’ fauna was completed in 2016 … this article revisits the survey and offers a bite-sized version of this important research — about the wildlife on the island and the animals no longer here.

Light and dark
Light and dark

Rae Wear has written an excellent article about how the ‘behaviour of birds, plants and animals has been shaped by natural light — sunrise, sunsets, the moon, the stars and periods of darkness’. Over recent years, there’s been a lot of research into the importance of conserving ‘Dark Sky Places’ around the world. Rae’s article is a great introduction. It includes a couple of links to drill down to deeper info.