Animal Info - Australia

Contents

Threatened Species, Environmental and Social Data (Mammals, Biodiversity/Ecosystems, Population, Area/Land Use, Protected Lands, Economy, Education), References and Links


Threatened Species

Threatened Species: The following list includes all mammals which occur in Australia and are rated as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU) in the 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals


Environmental and Social Data

Mammals

Total number of species: 252 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of endemic species: 198 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of threatened species: 1996: 58 (23 % of total species) (IUCN 1996); 2000: 65 (26 % of total species) (IUCN 2000)

Biodiversity/Ecosystems

Australia contains the Queensland Tropical Forests, Lord Howe & Norfolk Island Forests, Eastern Australia Temperate Forests, Tasmanian Temperate Rainforests, Sandy Australian Deserts & Central Ranges, Southwest Australian Shrublands & Woodlands, Eastern Australian Rivers & Streams, Western Australian Marine Ecosystems, Great Barrier Reef, Lord Howe Island & Norfolk Island Marine Ecosystems, and South Temperate Australian Marine Ecosystems Global 200 Ecoregions as well as portions of the Northern Australia & Trans-Fly Savannas Global 200 Ecoregion (Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999)
Australia contains both the Southwestern Australia as well as the Southeastern Australia and Tasmania Global Biodiversity Hotspots (Cons. Intl. 1999a)
Australia is a Megadiversity Country (Cons. Intl. 1999b)

Population

Population in 1995: 18,031,000 (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population density in 1995: 2.3 people/sq km (6.1 people/sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population in 1998: 18,613,087 (World Almanac 1999)
Average population growth rate, 1980 - 1990: 1.5 % (World Bank 1992)

Area/Land Use

Area: 7,682,302 sq km (2,966,153 sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Percentages of primary world ecosystem types:

  • Other Coastal Aquatic: 2 %
  • Desert and Semi-desert: 20 %
  • Grass and Shrub: 19 %
  • Crop and Settlements: 5 %
  • Interrupted Woods: 40 %
  • Major Forests: 13 %

(Groombridge 1992)

Percent of land area classified as the following degree of human disturbance: Low: 62 %; Medium: 28 %; High: 10 % (WRI 1994)

Protected Lands

Area: 813,090 sq km (313,853 sq mi) (Groombridge 1992)
Percent of land protected: 3.99 % totally protected; 2.09 % partially protected; 6.08 % totally or partially protected (Groombridge 1992)

Economy

Per capita GNP ($ U.S.) (1991): $17,068 (WRI 1994)
Per capita GDP ($ U.S.) (1996): $23,600 (World Almanac 1999)

Education

Percent of females in secondary education (1989): 83 % (World Bank 1992)


References and Links

References: Cons. Intl. 1999a, Cons. Intl. 1999b, Groombridge 1992, Groombridge & Jenkins 1994, IUCN 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2003, Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995, Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999, World Almanac 1999, World Bank 1992, WRI 1994

General Links (After you get to one of these sites, click on the link for Australia): CIA World Factbook, Foreign Embassies of Washington, D.C., Library of Congress - Country Studies, University of Texas - Country Maps, Washington Post - Countries, World Resources Institute - Country Profiles 

Links for AustraliaAction Plan for Australian Marsupials and Monotremes, Action Plan for Australian Rodents, australianfauna.com, Australian Koala Foundation, Australian Museum Online, Australian Tourist Commission, Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Chakoro Nature Reserve, Earth Sanctuaries Online, Environment Australia, Leadbeater's Possum Page, Milamba's Australia, Museum Victoria, Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales, Plants and Animals of Western Australia, Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, The Nature Conservancy - Australia, Threatened Species and Threatened Ecological Communities of Australia, United Nations Environmental Program - Australia, Wombat Survival Foundation, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) - Australia


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Last modified: December 4, 2005;

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