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• Biodiversity

Environment

• What You Can Do
• What Council Is Doing
• Schools
• Water
• Energy and Climate Change
• What's On
• Biodiversity
  • The Land Environment of Waverley
  • Marine Environment
  • Native Plants
  • Native Animals
  • Pest Animals
• Gardening With Native Plants
• Trees, Plants & Bushcare
• Parks and Open Spaces
• State of the Environment Reports
• Waste & Recycling
• Transport
• Compost and wormfarming

Biodiversity

Biological diversity (biodiversity) is the variety of life in our environment, including us. It is the different plants, animals and microorganisms; the genes they contain; and the ecosystems they form. Biodiversity is usually considered at three levels: genetic diversity, species diversity and ecosystem diversity.

A greater number of different types of species in a natural system indicates a healthy, functioning ecosystem. Biodiversity provides us with benefits such as improved air quality, climate (eg. Co2 sequestration), water purification, waste decomposition, pollination and prevention of erosion, known as ecosystem services. There are also important ethical, moral and economic reasons for conserving biodiversity.

In 2010, Waverley Council engaged consultants to survey Waverley’s Biodiversity. This information provides a snapshot of the plants and animals present in our terrestrial environment at this time. Surprisingly we found a good variety of plants and animals given the high level of development in our area, and the small size of our bushland remnants.

• See the Full Flora Survey conducted by Sydney Bush Regeneration Company which documents our plants and plant communities.
• See the Full Fauna and Habitat Corridor Survey conducted by Australian Museum Business Services which studied our animals and their habitat.

Even though much of Waverley’s biodiversity has been lost to intensive development, thousands of people continue to enjoy our magnificent coastlines and beaches. The interaction we have with our natural environment is important to our health and well being. Maintaining existing biodiversity and enhancing our coastal vegetation corridor are key goals of the Biodiversity Project.

Land Environment		Marine Environment
Our biodiversity is a result of many factors.   > More on our land environment		Waverley's marine habitats are rich with diversity and wonder. > More on our marine environment
Native Plants		Native Animals
Waverley has a variety of tough, coastal native plants.    > More on our native plants		Our local native animals include the triangle butterfly, pale lipped shade-skink and Superb Fairy Wrens. > More on our native animals
Weeds		Pest animals
Weeds pose a major threat to native biodiversity beacuse they affect important areas of habitat. > More on weeds in our area		Pest animals cause a great deal of damage to our environment. Indian Mynas are a major problem. > More on pest animals

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