Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01389:body:0:p70
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01389
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 198758–201539

May 2011 did not detect the presence of Pulvinaria urbicola scale insects on pisonia, however a mealybug was found on a coconut palm.  This mealybug was also found on coconut palms on all islands surveyed on the southern atoll.  The mealybug identified as Dysmicoccus finitimus, Asian coconut mealybug, is tended by yellow crazy ants and can support high densities of yellow crazy ants. The presence of yellow crazy ants in pisona stands on North Keeling Island may be explained by the inclusion of coconut palms within the pisonia stands (Neuman 2015 pers. comm.).
The survey indentified yellow crazy ants on terminal foliage of Cordia subcordata where a small, possibly lepidopteran larva was found tunnelling into the shoot tips. Ants were found to be feeding on freshly broken plant surfaces where larvae were feeding on the plant. Given the high infestation of cordia by the caterpillar, this may be a primary food source for yellow crazy ants on the island (Neumann et al. 2011).
Cyclones and sea level changes
Cyclones have the potential to have serious effects on the vegetation and wildlife of the island. A cyclone database maintained by the Bureau of Meteorology shows that a number of cyclones have affected the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. On average, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are impacted by about one cyclone, causing damaging winds, every two years and one causing destructive winds every 14 years. One of the most damaging cyclones in recent times was Doreen, which passed directly over the southern atoll in 1968. More recently, in April 2001, Cyclone Walter destroyed 61 per cent of the canopy and 14 per cent of the trees in the park. The fledged chicks from the previous year also disappeared as a result of Cyclone Walter (Murray pers. comm. 2001). Historically by far the most significant cyclone to affect the islands occurred in 1909 when a wind gust of 225 kilometres per hour was estimated and a pressure of 945 hectopascals was recorded.
Sea level rise predicted through climate change modeling will also present significant challenges for all of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands that have maximum elevations of 1–5 metres above sea level.
Coral bleaching, white syndrome and crown-of-thorns starfish
Coral reefs worldwide are under threat from a range of impacts, with remote reefs in the Indian Ocean being among the worst affected. In 1998, a mass coral bleaching event resulted in 90–99 per cent mortality of corals on many Indian Ocean reefs, and remote locations proved particularly vulnerable to these disturbances because isolation has limited their recovery (Hobbs 2006). Coral bleaching, crown-of-thorns starfish and coral disease have also affected reefs in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands / Christmas Island region.
More recently, an outbreak of white