Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01389:body:0:p68
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01389
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 193428–196368

requires the development of a more comprehensive marine species list specific to the marine waters around North Keeling Island (Hobbs 2009).
Corals
Reef-building corals of the southern atoll have received considerable attention, partly because the southern atoll was the only one ever visited by Darwin (in 1836), and partly because of the intrinsic interest in the atoll's geographic isolation. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are located approximately 1,000 kilometres and 1,830 kilometres from the reefs of Java and Western Australia respectively, with Christmas Island being the only 'stepping stone' for westerly movement of propagules (Berry 1989). Many common and widespread Indo-Pacific taxa have not been recorded from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and are almost certainly absent. Ninety-nine species of reef corals are recorded from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Veron 1990). Of these, all but 12 are also known from Western Australia. Nine species are not recorded elsewhere in the eastern Indian Ocean and two (one being taxonomically doubtful) may be endemic (Veron 1990).
Molluscs
Six hundred and ten species of molluscs are known from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. There are 496 gastropods, 109 bivalves, one chiton and four cephalopods. The fauna is diverse and compares favourably with the total number of species known from nearby areas that have been studied, such as Christmas Island with 490 species (Berry 1989).
Crustaceans
A total of 198 species of decapod crustaceans have been recorded at the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, with the most diverse taxa being xanthoid and paguroid crabs (Morgan 1994) (see Appendix G). Three species of rock lobsters, Panulirus penicillatus, P. ornatus and P. versicolor are widespread in the Indo-Pacific area and have also been recorded at the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Berry 1989). A total of 13 species of barnacles in 11 genera have also been recorded from the area (Jones 1994).
Echinoderms (starfish, sea Urchins, sea cucumbers)
Eighty-nine species of echinoderms have been recorded at the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Most are widespread Indo-West Pacific species but there are several species with westward extensions of their range from Indonesia or Christmas Island, and one with a south-eastward extension from Sri Lanka (Marsh 1994). The Cocos (Keeling) Islands have a fairly rich fauna of holothurians, including most of the species also known as trepang or beche-de-mer.
Invasive species and other threats
Human impacts
Human impacts on North Keeling Island have been relatively minimal, with the exception of the hunting of seabirds prior to the establishment of the park, with natural processes generally determining the status of native species. Unrestricted visitor access would place additional stress on the park and interfere with its protection and preservation. The introduction of new invasive species by visitors to the park and the increase in the distribution and abundance