Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01389:body:0:p14
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01389
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 40176–43129

the Buff-banded Rail (Commonwealth of Australia. (2006)) are the establishment of a suitable habitat for a second viable population in the southern atoll and the reduction of threats to the species across the island group. In 2013 the reintroduction of the buff-banded rail to the southern atoll was initiated (see page 58 for details).
North Keeling Island supports several species of land crabs, including the robber crab (Birgus latro). Like the seabird colonies, this species requires careful management consideration.
The whole of Pulu Keeling National Park was listed as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 1996. As a consequence, the content of this management plan also provides for the management of the Ramsar site, monitoring, protecting and conserving the ecological character of the site. The prescriptions within this management plan are consistent with Australian Ramsar management principles and other relevant obligations under the EPBC Act for maintaining the values and ecological character for which the park has been listed.
Threats
North Keeling Island is one of the few seabird colonies in the Indian Ocean as yet unaffected by vertebrate pests, such as cats and rats. The vulnerability of seabird colonies to introduced animals is well documented (Director of National Parks 2014). The protection of the island against the accidental introduction of exotic animals or diseases is paramount.
Six exotic or naturalised plant species are known to occur on North Keeling Island: Indian copperleaf (Acalypha lanceolata), limeberry (Triphasia trifolia), wild gooseberry (Physalis minima), pigweed (Portulaca oleracea), pawpaw (Carica papaya), and coral berry (Rivina humilis). None of these plants are considered to be a severe environmental problem, or to have the potential to become one in the foreseeable future (Claussen and Slip 2002). However, the distribution and abundance of some introduced plants, particularly coral berry, appeared to increase during the life of the last management plan.
Surveys show that numbers of the yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) were high in some patches of pisonia forest on North Keeling Island, reaching abundances seen in supercolonies on Christmas Island. This is an important conservation concern, since on other oceanic islands yellow crazy ants are associated with large populations of scale insects, particularly Pulvinaria urbicola, that are also implicated in canopy dieback of pisonia (Hill et al. 2003, Smith et al. 2004; Kay et al. 2003; Handler et al. 2007). Surveys to examine the occurrence of scale insects on the island undertaken in May 2011 did not detect the presence of Pulvinaria urbicola scale insects on pisonia, however a mealybug was found on coconut palm.
Winds from cyclones have destroyed substantial amounts of vegetation in the past and have had a detrimental effect on the breeding seabird populations. In January 1989 Cyclone John devastated