Mandora Marsh and Anna Plains (25151)
Australia, Australasia

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: B1, D1a

Year of last assessment: 2009

National site name: Mandora Marsh and Anna Plains

Central coordinates: Latitude: -19.6907, Longitude: 121.1515

System: marine, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 0 to 15

Area of KBA (km²): 3026.65073

Protected area coverage (%): 43.61

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The IBA is a periodically flooded marshland that extends approximately 60 km inland from the coastal sand dunes of Eighty Mile Beach in the southern Kimberley. The IBA is defined as the maximum extent of flooded land inland of Eighty Mile Beach (which extends for 220 km between Cape Missiessy and Cape Keraudren), extrapolated from maps in Halse et al. (2005). Only a few species of shorebird move regularly between this and the intertidal Eighty Mile Beach IBA, so these are kept as separate IBAs. Most of Mandora Marsh and Anna Plains consists of grazed samphire and grassland, and includes a permanent saline creek, permanent fresh to brackish springs and a large saline basin that is bare when dry. Low-lying sections of the western marshland support introduced Buffel Grass, with a mixture of shrubs and trees present in more elevated areas. The climate is tropical with hot summers, warm winters and mean annual rainfall of 341 mm. The west end is crossed by the Great Northern Highway. Part of the IBA is included within the Eighty-mile Beach Ramsar site.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.

Additional biodiversity: Notable sub-threshold counts from the IBA include 16,500 Grey Teal, 2650 Hoary-headed Grebe and 43,290 Eurasian Coot in August 1999, 7530 Australian Pelican in June 2000 and 19,190 Grey Teal and 160 Black-fronted Dotterel in August 2000 (Halse et al. 2005). Three near threatened species, Black-necked Stork, Letter-winged Kite and Grey Falcon, have been recorded in the IBA but not in significant numbers; the nationally threatened Australian Painted Snipe has been recorded breeding (Atlas of Australian Birds database; Hassell and Rogers 2002). The biome-restricted Black Honeyeater, Pied Honeyeater, Yellow-tinted Honeyeater, Long-tailed Finch and Grey-headed Honeyeater have rarely been recorded and are probably not present in sufficient numbers to justify inclusion as IBA trigger species (Atlas of Australian Birds database; C. Hassell in litt. 2008). Australian Yellow White-eye has rarely been recorded (Atlas of Australian Birds database) but is potentially relatively common in mangroves.

Other site values: Crown Land including Mandora, Anna Plains and Wallal pastoral leases. Access to the IBA must be granted by managers of the pastoral leases.

Habitats

Land use: energy production and mining | rangeland/pastureland

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Grassland	33
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	33
Marine Intertidal	33

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Minimise grazing pressure on wetland vegetation and, where possible, exclude livestock from areas critical to waterbirds. Eradicate or otherwise prevent further spread of Buffel Grass. Monitor incidence of predation on key species of birds by foxes and instigate a control program if deemed necessary.

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching	Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Ongoing
Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases	Named species	Ongoing

Additional information

References: Collins, P. (1995) The Birds of Broome – An Annotated List. Broome, Western Australia: Broome Bird Observatory. DEWHA (2008) A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia. Mandora Salt Marsh-WA042. Downloaded from http://www.environment.gov.au/water/publications/environmental/wetlands/database/ accessed November 2008. Halse, S.A., Pearson, G.B., Hassell, C., Collins, P., Scanlon, M.D. and Minton, C.D.T. (2005) Mandora Marsh, north-western Australia, an arid-zone wetland maintaining continental populations of waterbirds. Emu 105: 115-125. Hassell, C.J. and Rogers, D.I. (2002) Painted Snipe nesting at Taylor’s Lagoon near Broome, North-western Australia. Stilt 41: 14-21. Lane, B.A. (1987) Shorebirds in Australia. Melbourne: Nelson Publishers. Minton, C., Jessop, R., Collins, P. and Hassell, C. (2005) NWA 2005 wader and tern expedition, 12 February to 6 March 2005. Stilt 47: 58-64. Sitters, K., Minton, C., Collins, P., Etheridge, B., Hassell, C. and O’Connor, F. (2004) Extraordinary numbers of Oriental Pratincoles in NW Australia. Stilt 45: 43-49.