Sponges at Diggers Beach

Coral

Diggers Beach is part of the The Solitary Islands Marine Park Coastal Walk (pdf). A suburban beach where people come to surf, swim, jog, sun-bake and empty their dogs (illegally). Rarely does anyone look at the flora and fauna at the beach. The beach serves as a backdrop for their activities.

At high tide and during storms sponges are dislodged from their garden communities and end up amongst rocks, seaweed and shells at the beach. If one is observant, these ancient multi cellular organisms (Porifera) can be found in a multitude of colours and structures. They cling to the floor of the ocean and allow nutrient-containing water to circulate through their pores and channels. 

"Like all temperate life forms in the waters of southern Australia the habitat forming invertebrates in sponge gardens rely on clean water and sufficient nutrients and food particles to survive. Because many of the animals are permanently attached to the rock and unable to move around, they cannot go in search of food or flee from harm." (source)

They emerged 700 million years ago, when the oceans contained little oxygen. “The effects we predict suggest that the first animals, far from being a passive response to rising atmospheric oxygen, were the active agents that oxygenated the ocean around 600 million years ago....They created a world in which more complex animals could evolve, including our very distant ancestors.” (source)


http://www.marinespecies.org/porifera/
The WPD, the World Database of all Recent sponges ever described, is part of the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), a global initiative to arrive at a register of all marine organisms

http://www.nerpmarine.edu.au/
NERP Marine Biodiversity Hub

https://peerj.com/articles/901/
PeerJ: "Indirect effects of overfishing on Caribbean reefs: sponges overgrow reef-building corals"

Korora - The Solitary Islands Marine Park Coastal Walk

One stop along the Solitary Islands Marine Park coastal walk (map) is Korora. It is a small ocean-side suburb to the north of Coffs Harbour. Approaching from Charlesworth Bay the walk follows a steep littoral rainforest track. One knows when one is near dwellings as the weeds multiply and the sound of yapping dogs can be heard. All over NSW it seems a tradition to chuck the 'garden clippings' over the fence, into the 'bush'. They strain to distinguish themselves from this amorphous  'bush' of bio-diversity to grow a mono-culture of lawn and pretty weeds. The only welcomed animals are dogs, stuffed with native marsupial meat. The barking cacophony is not the only extension beyond their fence posts, but the diverse bush is also simply annexed as a tip. The chuck and grab formula applies all over coastal Australia - it is a frame of mind.


When the McMansions are 'just in your face' on the cliff top, there are only dead trees and stumps providing ocean 'views'. The bush reserve is simply disposed over by private interests. Coal- powered air conditioners hum along to the barking audio pollution. No solar ever in sight. The thick line of weeds emanating from these non-places get a regular dousing of pesticide. A sign reads 'These trees have been poisoned'.  Juvenile brush boxes hug the edge of the cliff site,  retaining the soil close to the walk way. This endemic coastal rain forest tree has a colourful bark and white flowers.

Leading down steep stairs to the lagoon more tree stumps grace the walk and indicate that it is a culture scape. Till in the 70s this water body has been described as 'a pristine water hole'. Now it stinks and appears to be a health hazard. "A decade on and the lagoon is choked with silt, weeds, pollution and rubbish." It is still fringed by a bit of native vegetation, if not annexed by the properties hugging the stream. A shy yellow-billed spoonbill (Platalea flavipes) is wading in the foul slime-covered waters searching for food. What option has it got but this human sewer?


More houses are directly ON the beach sprouting stumps and green lawn. Unusual white quartz, pumice accumulates here on the sand. Native Pandanus and Crinum pedunculatum scent the air in a positive way - but the stench wins.

At the beach packs of dogs are let loose. Wildlife like plovers and goannas flee to make way for these feces and urine depositing machines. Most of the poo remains. Even as a human being one does not feel that one's safety is guaranteed. The hyper abundance of canines without effective enforcement makes this a 'backgarden of pet enthusiasts' only. Australian wildlife and walkers/ visitors find themselves in a stinking, noisy and threatening place.



The ocean/surf also smells off-putting which makes one wonder about the sewage arrangements of concrete coastal sprawl. Looking back to the cliff one has spectacular views of the human-made erosion from eradicating the cliff vegetation. Landslides are just there where trees have been poisoned and killed. The beach also seems to erode rapidly in this coal-fuelled climate.

Bellingen - No Spray, No Way or Land Use Conflict

Bellingen is a small logging town in Gumbaynggirr Country. In the 1840s the Bellinger Valley was so "rich in cedar that it was estimated that over 2 million feet of cedar were being extracted each year." (source) By the early 1900s, the red cedars were depleted and cattle hit the cleared areas. By 1975, there were only sclerophylls left to log. After the degradation of frontier colonisation, other extractive industries besides logging such as mining came on the scene. Pebbles from the Bellinger river and gold further 'opened' up the land. The ethos of 'dig it up, cut it down' permeates into the 21st Century where the whole country is truly 'open for business'.

Today Bellingen is surrounded by an array of state forests and national parks. The state forests are intensively worked with heavy machinery, agri-chemicals and fire. They are industrial forests. Clear felling is widely practised. The national parks are seen as a storehouse for the remaining biodiversity and a cash cow for 4W Drive Tours for tourists. Even car races are staged through some of the state forests. Unregistered, uninsured and unlicensed dirt bike riders harass bushwalkers and wildlife. Horse enthusiasts feel free to go anywhere. Other 'recreational activities' consist of shooting and fishing.

Chasing the fairy-tale dream
Amongst the remaining forest mosaic, more and more settlers try to live the 'Aussie dream' or are 'getting away from it all'. Retirees want a tree change with a lot of lawn. City dwellers are fatigued from house flipping and a cut-throat work culture and seek the stay-at-home lifestyle of the sleepy town.  Old hippies, retired surfers, hipsters without contraceptives, underachievers, young heirs, drop outs and oddballs all seek some acres where the packs of kids, dogs, horses or livestock can roam. 5 to 100 acre kingdoms promise a rootedness in land ownership for fringe dwellers.
Peri-urbanisation or the quest for a cheap dwelling might also be a driving force for the ever-growing community. Degraded land is converted into a real estate Eldorado.

The conquered bush: fossil fuels, pesticides and fire
Many bring their sub-urban mental landscape with them. Everything is done in the same way but only on a bigger scale. Sprawl and automotive dependency require active denial about climate disruption. 'Land management', private or by authorities or corporations, consists of two 'magic wands': fossil fuels and pesticide. If it can't be done with heavy machinery, 2-stroke 'gardening' equipment (pdf), slashers, mowers, blowers and chainsaws and 'spray' - it won't be done. Beside petrol, herbicide and 1080, fire is another tool to 'clean up the land' to make it fit for human habitation. Private piles burn regularly and smouldering forest fires burn over months, they are part of 'normal' culture. Seasonal incineration of Australian flora and fauna, known as 'backburning' turns the air into a deadly smog.



Out here in 'the middle of nowhere' one can 'break free', free themselves from all restraint. Monster houses, monster SUVs, why have one dog, when one can have 3 and a few cats. The dogs gang up and go for the remaining wildlife. Bored fun-seeking teens organise 'out-of-control' parties in the forests. 'Freedom' to be the one exempt form the law - to be wild. Yes, there is no police station within an hour's drive.

The scenic 'little town' with an 'old world ambiance' has endless long quarry and logging trucks with multiple trailers shooting through the 'sleepy little town', down the Dorrigo mountains, along Waterfall Way to 'upgrade' an XXL Pacific Highway which pushes all endemic bio-diversity out of the way. Tabula rasa  for more of the same. Even when these 'trains' don't push through the village road the daily vehicle exhaust is breath-taking. So much for fresh country air.

The modern fairy tale is of endless growth on a finite planet. Fossil-fuel reliance puts the world on track for 4-degree rise in temperature. Most dwellings in the area have coal-powered air-conditioning but not solar. The refrigerated humans are OK so far, but the cattle in the 'great outdoors' are semi cooked, goats are hammered by hail and even roos and the eucalyptus suffer. Bats drop out of the trees stone dead. Turtles go blind and are starving. The disappearing endemic biodiversity is invisible. This is a pet-loving country. But Australia appears free of climate angst and goes: Great day for the beach! and drives the meat gobbling dogs to the beach to chase a few little terns or oyster catchers.

Back to the bush settlements - The land-use conflict
Various rural residential acres or hobby farms are scattered through the area. Many borders are in proximity to a patchwork of industrial forests. The presence of intense agro-chemical forestry, large scale fires and residential areas can only generate conflict due to their potential incompatibility. Both parties seek expansion, forestry and roads and increasing subdivisions of unplanned developments and residential agglomerations. The conflict laden interface erupts when for example State Forests wants to do aerial spraying via helicopters of a cocktail of pesticides near dwellings. The majority of residents are already affected by the air and noise pollution of clear felling that lasts for months. Giant machinery is ploughing up the ground from the early mornings. The subsequent spraying of toxins and fires, as well as increased traffic take the charm out of 'country living'. The heavy logging machinery leaves behind puddles of stagnant water that become mosquito-infested (pdf).  Living in a spray and logging zone with hovering helicopters and braking trucks is more reminiscent of the much publicised Amazon basin, rather than a developed country.

Most people seem to be teflon-coated and tolerate it all, many sell up and some protest about the doings in their backyard.



Like the original owners, residents feel disenfranchised about the invasion of their properties. Koalas and the rest of biodiversity do not get a 3 day notice about the toxic shower and the elimination of their habitat. They are chased by packs of dogs and cars in a tree-less and fragmented environment.

But a booming population is hungry for building materials and infrastructure. The State Forest is already eyeing the steep slopes of the native forests for cable logging. Private loggers might get the idea too. But a few more landslides, erosion or flooding - who cares.

The dispersal of bio-cides on the land, water and from the air is ubiquitous in Australia (map). National parks, councils, private individuals and agri-forestry almost all do it. The 'precautionary principle' is foreign lingo for humans or wildlife.

The latest case of land-use conflict came to a head between residents near the Gladstone State Forest between Bowraville and Bellingen. Forests NSW was going to aerial sprays herbicide over 175ha of logged eucalyptus plantation. They argued that

"There is nothing unusual about what we are proposing – farmers all over Australia control weeds using helicopters" (source)

The spray would be a "combination of glyphosphate (RoundUp), Metsulfuron Methyl, Fluoroxypr Methy lheptyl, Simazine and other chemicals from a helicopter" (source)

The Bellingen Green Action Group is concerned about the pesticide drift and the impact on the many waterways. Although aerial spray is so 'cost effective' SF will do ground spraying now.

The land use conflict between human demands will continue. The interests and culture of big quarry Australia will follow its logic till all is sold, unless the paradigm is changed.


Images:
Bellingen mural of settlers with axe
Bellingen downtown with logging truck
Bellingen logging images
Aerial sightseeing of some of the (random) forests bordering Bellingen town, all Google maps


Update:
Now for the steep slopes west of Urunga and Nambucca Heads. Cable logging... coffs coast advocate 15.03.2015

Stop Cable Logging on Steep Slopes in NSW Public Forests 

Roundup weedkiller 'probably' causes cancer, says WHO study."The weedkiller has been detected in food, water and in the air after it has been sprayed, according to the report from WHO. However, glyphosate use is generally low in and near homes where the general public would face the greatest risk of exposure, the report said." The Guardian 22.03.2015


http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/MonographVolume112.pdf
WHO, IARC Monographs Volume 112: Evaluation of five organophosphate insecticides and herbicides 20.03.2015

http://www.stoptheaerialspray.org/

Improved protection from pesticides for NSW landowners, with new legislation passing Parliament PDF via @MarkSpeakman 14.05.2015
 

Culturing Ross River  and Barmah Forest viruses?