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9.5 Option – Introduced Species and the Australian Environment: 6 Quarantine in Australia
| Syllabus reference (October 2002 version) | ||
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6. Modern quarantine methods continue
to restrict the introduction of new species to AustraliaStudents learn to: |
Students learn to:
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Students: |
Extract from Earth and Environmental Science Stage
6 Syllabus (Amended October 2002), © Board of Studies, NSW.
[Edit: 7Aug 08]
Prior learning: Science Stages 4–5 syllabus: Outcome 5.10 (content 5.10 c,d). Background Information: Many animals and plants have been introduced to Australia that have been disastrous to our environment. Today Australia has some of the best legislation in the world to keep out foreign materials that may cause harm.
gather, process and present information to summarise the methods used by quarantine in Australia to control the introduction of new species and analyse the effectiveness of these procedures
- To gather information go to the Information for high school students
section of the Australian Quarantine Service
(AQIS) for a general overview. For information on a pest species such as the varroa mite
click
here. varroa mite, AQIS.
You can summarise the methods used to control the introduction of new species into Australia.
- Choose an appropriate method to present the information.
outline the quarantine procedures in place in Australia to prevent introduction of new species
- Legislation
is long and detailed, outlining what is and isn’t allowed to be brought
into the country. Choose one aspect of the legislation to read about such
as ballast water. You can go to 'search' to find this information or click
here. Then click on the word document and scroll down to page 38. Read Part 2, Division 3, Regulation 22A about the regulations that apply to Ballast Water.
- Legislation lists prohibited
seeds, and outlines the details for requiring an import
permit.
- Inspection of goods at
borders, seaports, international airports, and mail
exchanges.
- Dog teams used to sniff out
plants are used.
- X-Ray inspection of luggage
also occurs.
- All machinery must be free of soil, plant debris and seeds.
identify the introduction of new species through off-loading of ballast water as an example of accidental introduction
- When ships carry our exports
north to Japan, they return with ballast water to compensate for the mass of
cargo left in Japan.
- Inadvertently the ballast
water can carry marine species from one port to
another.
- More than one hundred marine
species have been found in the ballast water of these
ships.
- In Tasmania
an introduced brown
seaweed, Undaria pinnatifida poses a threat to the Abalone
industry.
- a toxic alga, Gymnodinium
catenatum was eaten by shellfish, causing the shellfish to become poisonous
to humans in the 1980’s.
- The northern Pacific sea
star, Asterias amurensis was discovered in the Derwent River in 1992.
The sea star feeds on oysters, mussels, scallops and abalone. By 1993 three tonnes
were collected from the bottom of the Derwent
River.
- The AQIS now requires exchange of ballast water in the open ocean, sterilisation of the ballast water or certification of the water as being taken from an area free from pest organisms.
assess the effectiveness of procedures in place to prevent the spread of new species
- The amount of collected
material is evidence of the effectiveness of the
procedures.
- The recent rate of introduction of new species is much lower than it used to be, showing the effectiveness of the system.
Visit the AQIS web site
to find more information.
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