Southport Island

For other places with the same name, see Southport (disambiguation).

Southport Island, with the adjacent Southport Reef, is a 7 ha island in south-eastern Australia. It is part of the Actaeon Island Group, lying close to the south-eastern coast of Tasmania, at the southern entrance to the D'Entrecasteaux Channel between Bruny Island and the mainland.[1][2]

Flora and fauna

The principal vegetation community is coastal heath, dominated by Acacia, Banksia, Leptospermum, Melaleuca and Westringia species. Blackberry is a problem weed. The island is being used as a translocation site for the endangered heath Epacris stuartii, which is threatened in its nearby natural habitat by cinnamon fungus.[1]

Recorded breeding seabird species are the little penguin, short-tailed shearwater, silver gull and crested tern. The metallic skink is present.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). Tasmania’s Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart. ISBN 0-7246-4816-X
  2. Small Southern Islands Conservation Management Statement 2002, Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, 2002, archived from the original on 2006-08-22, retrieved 2006-07-20

Coordinates: 43°28′S 147°00′E / 43.467°S 147.000°E