Monkey Mia, Western Australia Photograph by M. Brauwer   Western coast of Australia Deserts and Xeric Shrublands   34,900 square miles (90,500 square kilometers) -- about the size of South Carolina and New Hampshire combined Critical/Endangered

· From the Desert to the Sea
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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From the Desert to the Sea

The Carnarvon Xeric Shrublands line the shores of the Indian Ocean in Australia from the Peron Peninsula up to the Cape Peninsula. Rainfall in the region averages less than 10 inches (250 mm) per year. Hardy acacia trees are abundant, as are thick stands of branching, curving gidgee trees. The limestone wattle tree also grows in stands with an understory of dead finish trees.

Special Features

At first glance, you might miss some of the most interesting life forms in this ecoregion--cyanobacteria. Found in shallow coastal waters, these minute, primitive organisms trap sediments in layers along with carbonates and, over time, create rock-like domes called stromatolites. Cyanobacteria can photosynthesize and orient themselves toward the sun. Some stromatolites are 1,000 years old and are still growing--albeit at a rate of only 0.016 inches (0.4 mm) per year.

	Scientists use the old nests or middens of stick-nest rats to find out about the climate and types of plants that have grown in the region over the past 10,000 years.

Wild Side

The Carnarvon Xeric Shrublands are home to a wide array of interesting animals. Small thick-billed grasswrens flit about while red-tailed black cockatoos soar overhead. Black-footed rock wallabies emerge to feed only in the evenings. Dingos hunt rabbits and red kangaroos. Stick-nest rats build nests of sticks, leaves, and grasses. And spiny-tailed geckos live in the trees while slow-moving thorny devils search for black ants on the ground.

Cause for Concern

Development is a key concern in this ecoregion, with most of the human population already concentrated on the coast, and tourism becoming increasingly popular. In the interior, land is mostly used for livestock grazing, and both introduced and feral animals pose a serious threat to native wildlife and plants.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.