Meeting papers

Changing ecosystems and plant and animal distributions
Climate change can affect or change the ecosystems, ecosystem characteristics and the location
and distribution of plants and animals. Observed and likely regional ecosystem and other shifts due
to climate change should be acknowledged and incorporated when setting ecological restoration
targets, developing planting lists and conducting other ecological management activities 11, 12.




Sea turtles
Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) (E ICUN, E EPBCA, E NCA)
Chelonia mydas – green turtle (E ICUN, V EPBCA, V NCA)

Loggerhead and green turtles nest and hatch on the Queensland coast at Noosa. They are found
around the globe, travelling extensive distances between their inshore seagrass and seaweed
feeding sites and sandy beach breeding grounds each year. Hatchlings and young turtles drift in
the open ocean for years, eating small animals in and near patches of floating seaweed. They start
breeding between 10 and 30 years of age and can live up to 70-90 years. While they mostly live in
the ocean, some land-based threats can affect them, particularly during nesting and hatching
(November-February).

Threatened Fauna Road Map
With Noosa Council’s Threatened Fauna Road Map recently endorsed by Council, sea turtles
(Loggerhead and Green) have been identified as management priorities for the 2023/24 financial
year.

Existing sea turtle research and management actions include ongoing nest monitoring and
management, community awareness campaigns and marine debris clean-up initiatives. A Sea
Turtle Recovery Action Plan for the Noosa Shire will be developed for the commencement of the
2023 breeding season.

The Sea Turtle Action Recovery Plan will aim to maximum the outcomes of the various
conservation efforts currently being implemented by Community Conservation Groups and Council,
while also contributing to external local, state and commonwealth government sea turtle recovery
programs. This initiative aims to provide clear management approaches across the Eastern
Beaches and Noosa North Shore, to address the threating process impacting the survival of these
threatened and iconic species.


Coolum and North Shore Coast Care (CaNSCC) - Turtle Monitoring Group
Volunteers from Coolum and North Shore Coast Care’s Turtle Monitoring and Council officers
respond to reports of turtle nests on Noosa beaches, often reported by regular local beach walkers
who volunteer with CaNSCC as spotters for tracks on the beach in the early morning before they
are obscured by foot traffic or the tide.

Accredited and experienced volunteers map and record each nest, including species (from track
characteristics), date and weather and sand conditions. Each nest is assessed by the volunteers
for the likelihood of impacts such as flooding, crushing from traffic, exposure from erosion and
similar. If these impacts are considered likely, the nest will be moved by the volunteers to a safer
place, usually in the dunes nearby. The turtle nest is meshed with plastic mesh to protect them
from dogs and foxes – the mesh must be plastic as metal will interfere with the hatchlings natural
magnetic field navigation for later trans-ocean migration and return to their hatching region.

11 Harrison, P.A. (2021), Climate change and the suitability of local and non-local species for ecosystem
restoration. Ecol Manag Restor, 22: 75-91. https://doi.org/10.1111/emr.12520
12 McDonald T., Jonson J. and Dixon K. W. (2016). National standards for the practice of ecological
restoration in Australia. Restoration Ecology 24, S4–S32

Eastern Beaches Foreshore Reserves Management Plan 2023                                              Page 33

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