Pilbara Islands
Explore Oceans Institute

Pilbara Islands

This multi-part expedition to the Pilbara Islands focused on deciphering the resilience of low-lying coral cay islands to environmental change. These coral reef islands are critical ecological habitats for roosting seabirds and turtle rookeries, and are of high conservation management significance to the Exmouth/Ningaloo bioregion.

 

This collaborative project joined UWA, Curtin University and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.

 

Follow their voyage here.

Eva Island

Eva Island

Latitude: -21.92°SLongitude: 114.43°E

Use the + button on the map to zoom in closer!

 

Eva Island is a low-lying coral cay, situated in the Exmouth Gulf, 40 km east of Exmouth. The island sits in the Rivoli Island group, at the southern extent of the 94-island archipelago that stretches 300 km along the Pilbara. 

 

Eva has a maximum elevation of 9m above mean sea level, compared to most global reef islands that reach only 1 – 2m, making them incredibly unique. The island is a nesting habitat for Fairy, Caspian and Lesser crested terns, pied oyster catchers, ospreys, beach stone-curlew, and green and flatback turtles.

Conservatoin area of Pilbara Islands

Eva, Y and Locker Islands are designated nature reserves for the purpose of the conservation of flora and fauna.

Fairy Terns nesting on shoreline

Eva Island is of great conservation significance due to its unique bird diversity.

 

Resident Fairy Terns (Sterna nereis) populations are found nesting along the sandy shorelines and foredunes of Eva Island. Beach stone-curlews (Esacus magnirostris), which are seldom seen on the mainland due to their high susceptibility to human disturbance, are found on Eva Island, usually on sandy or shingle beaches or the tidal reef flats.

Watch the video here
drone footage off Eva Island

Principle researchers Josh Bonesso and Mick O’Leary undertook geological coring of Eva Island.

 

The team extracted four 5m cores to determine the island building sequence. This sequence or ‘chronostratigraphy,’ gives researchers insight into the paleo-environment that built Eva, including the historical ecology over the last 6000 years.

 

Watch the video above to see the scale of Eva Island.

Josh Bonesso cataloguing island sediments

Josh Bonesso catalogued island sediments collected from the top 10cm along 8 radial transects.

 

Microscopic analyses have uncovered molluscs and coral as the primary island building material (~60%). This is the first island study to find two dominant organisms making up island sediments.

Josh Bonesso collecitng reef sediments

Reef sediments on the shallow coral reef surrounding Eva Island were also collected. Reef sediment results match the island sediments, dominated by mollusc and coral (~60%).

 

The same percentage of both organisms across reef and island suggest that the reef is still nourishing the island. This evidence shows that Eva is currently a stable landform.

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