Ecosystems of Australia and New Zealand
The ecosystems of Australia and New Zealand are renowned for their incredible biodiversity and unique evolutionary histories. Both regions feature a wide range of habitats, from subtropical environments to the frigid landscapes of the Antarctic. The isolation of New Zealand has led to the evolution of a diverse array of land birds and a rich assortment of native flora and fauna, with estimates suggesting around eighty thousand endemic species. In contrast, Australia's landscapes are marked by iconic species such as the koala, kangaroo, and platypus, alongside distinctive ecosystems like the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef system.
Colonial influences have significantly shaped these ecosystems, as British settlers introduced numerous non-native species and altered the landscape in pursuit of agricultural development. This transformation had profound effects on indigenous species and ecosystems, leading to challenges such as habitat loss and the near extinction of some species due to hunting and competition from introduced species.
In recent decades, both countries have increasingly recognized the importance of environmental preservation. This shift is exemplified by initiatives to protect the Great Barrier Reef and other critical habitats from climate change and pollution. Additionally, there is a growing respect for the knowledge and cultural practices of Indigenous peoples, which continue to inform conservation efforts. Overall, the ecosystems of Australia and New Zealand represent a complex interplay of natural wonders and human impact, with ongoing efforts aimed at preserving their ecological integrity for future generations.
Ecosystems of Australia and New Zealand
The continent of Australia and the North and South Islands of New Zealand are ancient South Pacific lands of variable climate and extraordinary species extending from the subtropics to the frigid Antarctic. Australia and New Zealand are among the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the world.
The British Commonwealth of Nations is a worldwide association of fifty-six states with an estimated combined of more than 2.7 billion as of 2024. Australia and New Zealand, both early nineteenth century colonies of the British Commonwealth, have a common Victorian heritage of cultural diffusion, which has had a profound effect on their temperate ecologies and native environments. Of particular significance are the rapid expansion of the nautical, astronomical, geographical, and biological sciences during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, advanced by the British Admiralty; capital investment in international trading companies such as the British East India Company; and the rise of professional organizations such as the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
Nineteenth Century British Colonialism
The famous Pacific voyages of James Cook during the late eighteenth century transformed European understanding of the ocean and its lands. Cook’s meticulous observations of the transit of Venus set the stage for subsequent international efforts during the late 1870’s. The proliferation of British colonial observatories, numerous expeditionary studies of geomagnetic variation, the international exploration of the Arctic and the Antarctic, and a popular culture that relished global travel to exotic lands gave a distinct intellectual energy to the settling of Australia and New Zealand.
During Anglo-European settlement both countries went through a remarkable series of transformations as British settlers sought to remake their new landscapes in the image of the English countryside, a fitting tribute to the Victorian ideals of progress and civilization. Popular interest in natural history and taxonomy were juxtaposed with early colonial attempts to improve the land with imports of sheep, cattle, pigs, horses, honeybees, flowers and grasses, exotic game animals for sport hunting, tropical species for in botanical gardens, and familiar birds and mammals—notably the rabbit, the red deer, and the English skylark. These and other unintended invasive transplantations (infectious diseases, cats, dogs, weeds, and rodents included) were made at the expense of native communities and species that were often subject to bounty hunting as a means of control and extermination. Seals and whales are among the species that were hunted to near extinction.
Parkland towns dotted the fringes of both Australia and New Zealand. As successive generations lived and toiled on arable lands, the uniqueness of the terrain and its place in time acquired new significance. Public fondness grew for species unique to the region, such as the kiwi, the platypus, the koala, the kangaroo, and the eucalyptus, and for the novelty of area bushlands. A growing respect for local echoed the sentiments of settlers in North America, who saw in the last vestiges of wilderness something sublime that should be preserved as a public good. Amateur studies of natural history were amplified by questions asked by ecologists, creating new systems of knowledge that integrated cultural folkways with empirical science. These insights invited new exchanges with the cultures of the native peoples—the Australian Aborigines and the Maori of New Zealand—creating a foundation for an international statutory framework that protects native land rights.
Foundations of Environmental Awareness
Australia’s and New Zealand’s contributions to the British war efforts during the early twentieth century helped these nations rise to independent prominence in the global economy. During this transformation both countries experienced remarkable upsurges in population and industry; the resulting environmental burdens in turn stimulated intense public appeals for reform. The world took note of the publication of Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring in 1962. In Australia the validity of Carson’s warnings was clear in thepollution emitting from coastline commercial and industrial development and in the unprecedented number of predatory crown-of-thorns starfish clustering on the continent’s Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef system. Concerted efforts to understand and to protect the integrity of this coastal marked a turning point in Australia’s self-awareness as the protector of a profound ecological legacy. In 1981 the Great Barrier Reef was registered as a World Heritage Site.
Pollution and climate change continue to endanger thousands of species of whales, dolphins, fish, sea turtles, algae, and shorebirds endemic to this marine environment. In 1975 the government of Australia created the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and in 2004 it initiated a massive marine rezoning program—the second-largest marine protection program in the world—to protect nearly 35 percent of the reef ecosystem. The reef has continued to be impacted by climate change in the twenty-first century, with coral bleaching as a result of elevated water temperatures, ocean acidification, and severe weather among the most serious threats. In response, the government created the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program in 2018. Scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science have been attempted to develop numerous projects to save the reef, including genetic alterations to make the coral more heat tolerant, and methods of coral propagation.
New Zealand’s island ecosystem is nearly eighty million years old. Because of its complete isolation, its evolution was unique to land birds; no mammals are recorded until human habitation approximately one thousand years ago. It is estimated that New Zealand may be home to eighty thousand species of native plants, animals, and fungi.
Bibliography
Cosgrove, Denis. Geography and Vision: Seeing, Imagining, and Representing the World. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
Crosby, Alfred W. Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900, 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Dunlap, Thomas R. Nature and the English Diaspora: Environment and History in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
"Environment Aotearoa 2022." Ministry for the Environment, 14 Apr. 2022, environment.govt.nz/publications/environment-aotearoa-2022/. Accessed 12 July 2024.
Finnis, Bill. Captain James Cook: Seaman and Scientist. London: Chaucer Press, 2003.
"Helping the Great Barrier Reef Adapt to a Changing Climate." Australian Government, 3 June 2024, www.dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/great-barrier-reef/protecting/case-studies/helping-the-gbr-adapt-changing-climate. Accessed 12 July 2024.
Hindmarsh, Richard. Edging Towards BioUtopia: A New Politics of Reordering Life and the Democratic Challenge. Crawley: University of Western Australia Press. 2008.
Meredith, David, and Barrie Dyster. Australia in the Global Economy: Continuity and Change, 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
Powell, J. M., ed. The Making of Rural Australia: Environment, Society, and Economy—Geographical Readings. Melbourne: Sorrett, 1974.
"State of the Environment Report." Australian Government, 1 May 2024, www.dcceew.gov.au/science-research/soe. Accessed 12 July 2024.