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Lesser Crested Tern

Lesser Crested Tern

The Lesser Crested Tern (Sterna bengalensis or sometimes Thalasseus bengalensis) is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It breeds in subtropical coastal parts of the world mainly from the Red Sea across the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific, and Australia, with a significant population on the southern coast of the Mediterranean on islands off the Libyan coast. The Australian birds are probably sedentary, but other populations are migratory, wintering south to South Africa. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in size and minor plumage details:
- S. b. emigrata: breeding in the Mediterranean on islands off the coast of Libya, wintering West Africa. Pale grey above (only marginally darker than Sandwich Tern); slightly larger.
- S. b. bengalensis: northern Indian Ocean, wintering to South Africa. Medium-dark grey above; slightly smaller.
- S. b. torresii: Indonesia south to Queensland, Australia, wintering in the same area (birds breeding in the Persian Gulf are also often given as this race). Dark grey above; slightly larger. The Mediterranean race is a rare vagrant to Europe, and has bred in pure or mixed pairs (with Sandwich Tern) in Italy, Spain and England. This species breeds in dense colonies on coasts and islands. It nests in a ground scrape and lays one to two (rarely three) eggs. Nesting behaviour is very similar to that of Sandwich Terns, with predator avoidance by nesting in very dense colonies, and also (in race emigrata at least) by nesting in the late summer when predatory Yellow-legged Gulls have finished breeding and departed from the nesting area. Like all Sterna terns, Lesser Crested Tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, usually from saline environments. It usually dives directly, and not from the "stepped-hover" favoured by Arctic Tern. The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display. This is a medium-large tern, very similar in size and general appearance to its three very close relatives Sandwich Tern, Elegant Tern and Chinese Crested Tern. The summer adult has a black cap, black legs and a long sharp orange bill. The upperwings, rump and central tail feathers are grey and the underparts white. The primary flight feathers darken during the summer. In winter, the forehead becomes white. The call is a loud grating noise like Sandwich Tern. The grey rump is a useful flight identification feature distinguishing it from the related species. The Elegant Tern also differs in a slightly longer, slenderer bill, while Chinese Crested Tern differs in a black tip to the bill and Sandwich Tern a black bill with a yellow tip. Juvenile Lesser Crested Terns resemble same-age Sandwich Terns, but with a yellow-orange bill, and paler overall, with only faint dark crescents on the mantle feathers. There are two other orange-billed terns within the range of this species, Royal Tern and Greater Crested Tern. Both are much larger and stouter-billed; Royal also has a white rump and tail, while Crested (which shares the grey rump) is darker overall above and has a yellower bill. See also Orange-billed tern. Category:Sterna

Seabird

Seabirds are birds that spend much of their lives, outside the breeding season at least, at sea. Whilst the seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptions. Some seabird species, such as the albatrosses and petrels are truly pelagic, breeding on sea cliffs and small islands, and wintering on the open ocean. They are totally dependent on the sea for food. Other species such as the auks and cormorants tend to be more coastal. Some seabird species are marine for only part of the year, nesting inland in marshes and on lakes. Seabirds live longer, breed later and have fewer young than other birds do, but they invest a great deal of time in those young that they do have. Most species nest in colonies, which can vary in size from a few dozen birds to many millions. They are famous for undertaking long annual migrations, crossing the equator or circumnavigating the earth in some cases. They feed both at the ocean's surface and below it, and even feed on each other. Seabirds and humans have a long history together, they have provided food to hunters, guided fishermen to fishing stocks and sailors to land. Many species are currently threatened by human activities, and conservation efforts are underway to preserve them. conservation

Classification of species as seabirds

There exists no one definition of which groups, families and species are seabirds, and most definitions are in some way arbitrary. In the words of two seabird scientists "The one common characteristic that all seabirds share is that they feed in saltwater; but, as seems to be true with any statement in biology, some do not" (Schreiber & Burger 2002). However by convention the penguins, tubenoses, all the Pelecaniformes except the darters, and some of the Charadriiformes (the skuas, gulls, terns, auks and skimmers) are all considered seabirds. The phalaropes are usually included as well, since although they are waders ("shorebirds" in North America), two of the three species are oceanic for nine months of the year, crossing the equator to feed pelagically. Loons and grebes, which nest on lakes but winter at sea, are included by some authors, although they are usually treated as waterbirds. Although there are a number of sea ducks in the family Anatidae which are truly marine, by convention they are usually excluded from the seabird grouping. Many waders (or shorebirds) and herons are also highly marine, living on the sea's edge, but are also not treated as seabirds.

Evolution and fossil record of seabirds

Seabirds, by virtue of living in a geologically depositional environment (that is, in the sea where sediments are readily laid down) are well represented in the fossil record. They are first known to occur in the Cretaceous era, the earliest being the Hesperornithiformes, like Hesperornis regalis, a flightless loon-like seabird that dove in a similar fashion to loons and cormorants (using its feet to move underwater) but had a beak filled with sharp teeth. loon While Hesperornis is not thought to have left descendants, the earliest extant seabirds also occurred in the Cretaceous, with a species called Tytthostonyx glauconiticus, which has been placed in the Procellariiformes. In the Paleogene the seas were dominated by early Procellariidae, giant penguins and two extinct families, the Pelagornithidae and the Plotopteridae (a group of large seabirds that looked like the penguins). Modern genera began their wide radiation in the Miocene although the genus Puffinus (which includes today's Manx Shearwater and Sooty Shearwater) dates back to the Oligocene.

Characteristics of seabirds

Adaptations to life at sea

Seabirds have made numerous adaptations to living on and feeding in the sea. Wing morphology has been shaped by the niche an individual species or family has evolved, so that looking at a wing's shape and loading can tell a scientist about its life feeding behaviour. Longer wings and low wing loading are typical of more pelagic species, whilst diving species have shorter wings. Species such as the Wandering Albatross, which forage over huge areas of sea, have almost lost the ability for powered flight and are dependent on a type of gliding called static soaring (where the wind deflected by waves provides lift). Seabirds also almost always have webbed feet, both to aid movement on the surface as well as used for diving in some species. The Procellariiformes are also unusual amongst birds in using a sense of smell (olfaction) in order to find widely distributed food in a vast ocean. Salt glands are used by seabirds to deal with the salt they ingest by drinking and feeding (particularly on crustaceans), and help them osmoregulate. The excretions from these glands (positioned in the head of the birds and emerging from the nasal cavity) are almost pure NaCl. NaCl With the exception of the cormorants, all seabirds have waterprooof plumage in common with most other birds, however unlike terrestrial birds they have far more feathers protecting their bodies. This dense plumage is better able to protect the bird from getting wet, and cold is kept out by a dense layer of down feathers. The cormorants allow water to soak their feathers as it allows them to swim without fighting the buoyancy that retaining air in the feathers causes, the cost of this is the need to dry out the feathers one they return to land. The plumage of most seabirds is less colourful than that of landbirds, mostly restricted to variations of black, white or grey. A few species sport colourful plumes (like the tropicbirds or some penguins), but the majority of colour in seabirds comes from the bills and legs. The plumage of seabirds is thought in many cases to be for camoflage, both defensive (the colour of US Navy battleships is the same as that of Antarctic Prions!), and aggressive (the white underside possessed by many seabirds helps hide them from prey below them).

Seabird feeding

Seabirds evolved to exploit different food resources on the world's seas and oceans, and to a great extent their physiology and behaviour have been shaped by their diet. These evolutionary forces have often caused species in different families and even orders to evolve similar strategies, and adaptations, to the same problems, leading to remarkable convergent evolution, such as that between auks and penguins. There are four basic feeding strategies, or ecological guilds, for at sea feeding, surface feeding, pursuit diving, plunge diving, and predation of higher vertebrates; within these guilds there are multiple variations on the theme.

Surface feeding

Many seabirds feed on the ocean's surface, as the action of marine currents often concentrates food such as krill, fish, squid or other prey items within reach of a dipped head. The distribution of prey on the sea's surface is often very patchy, some areas have large concentrations of food, while vast areas have none at all, so it is no coincidence that the species that exploit this resource are amongst the best fliers of any of the seabirds, including the greatest traveler of all, the albatrosses. albatross Surface feeding itself can be broken up into two different approaches, surface feeding while flying (for example as practiced by skimmers, frigate-birds and some storm-petrels) and surface feeding whilst swimming (examples of which are fulmars, gulls, many shearwaters and gadfly petrels. Surface feeders in flight include some of the most acrobatic of seabirds, either snatching morsels from the water (as do friagte-birds and some terns), or 'walking' on the water's surface, as do the storm-petrels. Another seabird family that does not land while feeding is the skimmer, which has a unique method; skimmers fly along the surface with the lower mandible in the water, this shuts automatically when the bill touches something in the water. The skimmer's bill relfects its unusual lifestlye, with the lower mandible uniquely being longer than the upper one. Surface feeders that swim often have unique bills, adapted for their specific prey. Prions have special bills with filters called lamellae to filter out plankton from mouthfulls of water, and many albatross and petrels have hooked bills to snatch fast moving. Gulls have more generalised bills that reflect their more opportunistic lifestyle.

Pursuit diving

plankton Pursuit diving exerts greater pressures (both evolutionary and physiological) on seabirds, but the reward is a greater area to feed in than is available to surface feeders. Propulsion underwater can be provided by wings (as used by penguins, auks, diving petrels, and some petrels), or feet (as used by cormorants (as well as grebes and divers and several types of fish-eating ducks). Wing-propelled divers generally are faster than feet-propelled divers. In both cases the use of wings or feet for diving has limited its utility in other situations, divers and grebes walk with extreme difficulty (if at all), penguins cannot fly, and auks have sacrificed flight to a great extent for underwater diving. For example, the razorbill (an Atlantic auk) requires 64% more energy to fly as an equivalent petrel. However no generalised rule exists in biology without being broken, and recent research using capilllary depth recorders has shown that many species of albatross, petrel and shearwater are actually reasonably good divers as well as excellent fliers. Some albatross species are capable of diving as far as 13m, and the Short-tailed Shearwater has been recorded below 70m! Of all the wing-propelled pursuit divers the best in the air are the albatrosses, and it is no coincidence that they are the poorest divers. This is the dominant guild in polar and subpolar environments, as it is energetically inefficient in warmer waters. The poor flying ability many pursuit divers are more confined in their foraging range than other guilds, especially during the breeding season when hungry chicks need regular feeding.

Plunge-diving

Gannets, boobies, tropicbirds, some terns and Brown Pelicans all engage in plunge-diving, taking fast moving prey by diving from flight into the water. This uses less energy than dedicated pursuit divers, and they are able to use more spread out food resources, for example impoverished tropical seas. In general this is the most specialised method of hunting employed by seabirds, other non-specialists (such as gulls and skuas) may use it but do so with less skill and from lower heights. In Brown Pelicans the skills of plunge diving take several years to develop fully, once mature they can dive from 20 m above the water's surface, shifting the body before impact to avoid injury. Plunge divers are restricted in their hunting grounds to clear waters that afford a view of their prey from the air, and are the dominant guild in the tropics. Some plunge divers (as well as surface feeders) are dependent on predatory fish like tuna and dolphins to push shoaling fish up towards the surface.

Kleptoparasitism, scavenging and other seabirds

dolphinThis catch-all category refers to other seabird strategies that involve the next trophic level up. Kleptoparasites are seabirds that make a living (or more often a part of their living) stealing food of other seabirds. Most famously frigate-birds and skuas engage in this behaviour, although gulls, terns and other species will steal food opportunistically. The nocturnal nesting behaviour of many seabirds has been interpreted as arising due to pressure from this arial piracy. Many species of gull will also feed on seabird and sea mammal carrion when the opportunity arises, as will giant petrels. Some species will also feed on other seabirds, for example gulls, skuas and giant petrels will often take eggs, chicks and even small seabirds on nesting colonies.

Life-history

Seabirds' life-histories are dramatically different from those of land birds. In general they are K-selected, live much longer (anywhere between 20 and 60 years), they delay breeding for longer (for up to 10 years), and invest more effort into fewer young. Most species will only have one clutch a year, unless they lose the first (with a few exceptions, like the Cassin's Auklet), and many species (like the tubenoses and sulids), only one egg a year. There is also a long period of care for the young, extending for as long as six months, among the longest for birds. For example, once Common Guillemot chicks fledge they remain with the male parent for several months at sea. This life-history strategy has probably evolved both in response to the challenges of living at sea and the relative lack of predation compared to that of land living birds. Because of the greater investment in raising the young and because foraging for food may occur far from the nest site, in most species both parents participate in caring for the young and pairs are typically at least seasonally monogamous.

Seabird colonies

:See also Seabird colony Seabird colony 95% of seabirds (not including the grebes and loons) are colonial, and seabird colonies are amongst the largest in the world, and provide one of Earth's great wildlife spectacles. Colonies of over a million birds have been recorded, both in the tropics (such as Kiritimati in the Pacific) and in the polar latitudes (as found in Antarctica). Seabird colonies occur exclusively for the purpose of breeding, non-breeding birds will only collect together outside the breeding season in areas where prey species are densely aggregated. Seabird colonies are highly variable. Individual nesting sites can be widely spaced, as in an albatross colony, or densely packed like a murre colony. In most seabird colonies several different species will nest on the same colony, often exhibiting some niche separation. Seabirds can nest in trees (if any are available), on the ground (with or without nests), on cliffs, in burrows under the ground and in rocky crevices. Many seabirds show remarkable site fidelity, returning to the same burrow, nest or site for many years, and they will defend that site from rivals with great vigour. This increases breeding success, provides an place for returning mates to reunite, and reduces the costs of prospecting for a new site. Young adults breeding for the first time usually return to their natal colony, and often nest very close to where they hatched. Colonies are thought to provide protection to seabirds, which are often very clumsy on land, and are usually situated on islands where land mammals have difficulty getting to. Coloniality often arises in other types of bird which do not defend feeding territories (such as swifts, which have a very variable prey source), this may be a reason why it arises more frequently in seabirds. There are disadvantages to colonial life, particularly the spread of disease. There are other possible advantages, colonies may act as information centres, where seabirds returning to the sea to forage can find out where prey is by studying returning individuals of the same species.
Seabird migration
diseaseLike many birds, seabirds often migrate after the breeding season. Of these, the trip taken by the Arctic Tern is the farthest of any bird, crossing the equator in order to spend the spend the Austral summer of Antarctica. Other species also undertake trans-equatorial trips, both from the north to the south, like Elegant Terns, which nest off Baja California and feed off Peru in the Humboldt Current, or the two species of marine phalaropes, the Grey Phalarope and the Red-necked Phalarope; to those that undertake south to north, like the Sooty Shearwaters that nest in New Zealand and Chile and spend the northern summer feeding in the North Pacific. Other species also migrate shorter distances away from the breeding sites, their distribution at sea determined by the avaliablity of food. After fledging, juvenile birds often disperse further than adults to, and to different areas, and are commonly sighted far from a species' normal range. Some species, such as the auks, do not have a concerted migration effort, but drift southwards as the winter approaches. Other species, such as some of the storm-petrels, diving petrels and cormorants, never disperse at all, staying near the breeding colonies year round.
Away from the sea
Whilst the definition of seabirds suggests that the birds in question spend their lives on the ocean, many seabird families have many species that spend some or even most of their lives inland away from the sea. Most strikingly, many species breed many tens, hundreds or even thousands of miles inland. Some of these species still return to the ocean to feed, for example the Snow Petrel, the nests of which have been found 300 miles inland on the Antarctic mainland, are unlikely to find anything to eat around their breeding sites. The Marbled Murrelet nests inland in old-growth forest, seeking ancient conifers with large branches to nest on. Other species, such as the California Gull nest and feed inland on lakes, and then move to the coasts in the winter. Some cormorants, pelican, gull and tern species have individuals that never visit the sea at all, spending their lives on lakes, rivers, swamps and, in the case of some gulls, cities and argicultural land. Some seabirds, principally those that nest in tundra like skuas and phalaropes, will migrate across land as well. The more marine species, such as petrels, auks, and gannets, are more restricted in their habits, but are occasionally seen inland as vagrants. This most commonly happens to young inexperienced birds, but can happen in large numbers to exhausted adults after a large storm, an event known as a wreck, where they are prized sightings for birders.
Seabirds and humans

Seabirds and fisheries
Seabirds have had a long association with both fisheries and sailors. Both fisheries and seabirds have drawn benefits and disadvantages from the long relationship. Fishermen have long used seabirds as indicators of both fish shoals, underwater banks that might indicate fish stocks, and of potential land. In fact the known association of seabirds with land was instrumental in allowing the Polynesians to locate tiny landmasses in the Pacific. Seabirds also provided food for fishermen away from home, as well as bait. Famously tethered cormorants have been used to catch fish directly. Indirectly fisheries have also benefited from guano from colonies of seabirds acting as fertilizer for the surrounding seas. Negative effects on fisheries are mostly restricted to raiding by birds on aquaculture, although longlining fisheries also have to deal with bait-stealing. There have been claims of prey-depletion by seabirds of fishery stocks, and while there is some small evidence of this, the effects of seabirds are considered smaller than that of marine mammals and predatory fish (like tuna). tunaSome species and families of seabirds have benefited from fisheries, particularly from discarded fish and offal. These discards comprise 30% of the food of seabirds in the North Sea, for example, and comprise up to 70% of the total food of some species. This can have other impacts, for example the spread of the Northern Fulmar through the British Isles is attributed in part to the availability of discards. Discards generally benefit surface feeders, such as gannets and petrels to the detriment of pursuit divers like penguins. Fisheries also have negative effects on seabirds, and these effects, particularly on the long lived and slow breeding albatross are a source of increasing concern to conservationists. The by-catch of seabirds entangled in nets or hooked on fishing lines has had a big impact on seabird numbers, for example an estimated 44,000 albatross are hooked each year on tuna lines set out by Japanese fleets. Overall many hundreds of thousands or possibly millions of birds are trapped and killed each year, a source of concern for some of the rarest species (for example, only 1,000 Short-tailed Albatross are known to still exist). Seabirds also suffer when stocks of fish are overfished.
Exploitation of seabirds
The hunting of seabirds, and the collecting of seabird eggs, have contributed to the declines of many species of seabirds, as well as the extinction of one species, the Great Auk. Seabirds have been hunted for food by many coastal people over time, and have become locally extinct in many places. In particular at least 20 species out of 29 no longer breed on Easter Island. In the 19th century the hunting of seabirds for fat deposits and feathers for the millinery trade reached industrial levels. In the Falkland Islands hundreds of thousands of penguins were harvested for their oil each year. Seabird eggs have also long been an important source of food for sailors undertaking long sea voyages, as well as being taken when cities grow in areas near a colony. Eggers from San Francisco took almost half a millions eggs a year from the Farallon Islands in the mid 19th century, a period in the island's history from which the seabird species are still recovering. Both hunting and egging continue today, although not at the level that occurred in the past, and generally in a more controlled level. For example, the Maori of Stewart Island/Rakiura continue to harvest the chicks of the Sooty Shearwater as they have done so for centuries, using traditional methods (called kaitiakitanga) to manage the harvest, but now also work with the University of Otago in studying the populations.
Other threats
Other human factors have led to declines and even extinctions in seabird populations, colonies and species. Of these, perhaps the most serious are introduced species. Seabirds, breeding overall on small isolated islands, have lost many predator defense behaviour. Feral cats are capable of taking out seabirds as large as albatross, and many introduced rodents, such as the Pacific rat can take eggs hidden in burrows. Introduced goats, cattle, rabbits and other herbivores can also lead to problems, particularly when species need vegetation to protect or shade their young. Disturbance of breeding colonies by people is often a problem as well, visitors, even well meaning tourists, can flush a colony leaving chicks and eggs vulnerable to predators. tourist The build up of toxins and pollutants in seabirds is also a concern. Seabirds, being apex predators, suffered from the ravages of DDT until they were banned, and concern continues with other pollutants, for example Forster's Terns in San Francisco were found to have high levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), used as fire retardants. Oil spills are also a major threat to seabird species, as both a toxin and because the feathers of the birds become saturated by the oil, causing them to lose their waterproofing.
Seabird conservation
The threats faced by seabirds have not gone unnoticed by scientists or the conservation movement. As early as 1903 Theodore Roosevelt was convinced of the need to declare Pelican Island in Florida a National Wildlife Refuge to protect the bird colonies (including the nesting Brown Pelicans), a few years later in 1909 he protected the Farallon Islands. Today many important seabird colonies are given some measure of protection, from Heron Island in Australia to Triangle Island in British Columbia. The field of island restoration, developed initially by New Zealand, is removing exotic invaders from increasingly large islands. Feral cats have been removed from Wake Island, rabbits from Laysan, and rats from Campbell Island. The removal of these introduced species has lead to increases in surviving species and even the return of expirated ones. The plight of albatross and other large seabirds, as well as other marine creatures, being taken as by-catch by longline fisheries, has been taken up by a large number of NGOs (including BirdLife International and the RSPB). This lead to Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels signed as part of the Convention on Migratory Species, a legally binding treaty designed to protect these threatened species (it has currently been ratified by eight countries, Argentina, Australia, Ecuador, New Zealand, Spain, France, Peru and South Africa.
Seabirds in culture
South AfricaMany seabirds, living far out to sea and breeding in isolated colonies, have been and still are very obscure and unknown, even to scientists. Some seabirds have made the break into popular consciousness, most particularly the albatross and gulls. Pelicans have long been associated with mercy and altruism because of an early Western Christian myth that they split open their breast to feed their starving chicks. The albatross have been described as the most legendary of birds, and have a variety of myths and legends associated with them, and even today it is widely considered unlucky to harm them (though unfortunately not on long-lining boats). These tales are also associated with Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous poem, the Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In a similar fashion, it was also considered unlucky to touch a storm-petrels, especially one that has landed on the ship. Gulls are one of the most commonly seen seabirds, given their use of human made habitats (such as cities and dumps), and their often fearless nature. They therefore also have made it into the popular consciousness, if only as the 'flying rats' berated in Finding Nemo. They have been used metaphorically, as in Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach, or to denote a closeness to the sea, such as their use in the Lord of the Rings, both in the insignia of Gondor, and therefore Númenor (used in the design of the film), and to call Legolas to, and across, the sea.
Seabird families
The following are the groups of birds normally classed as seabirds. Sphenisciformes (Antarctic and southern waters; 16 species)
- Spheniscidae penguins Procellariiformes (Tubenoses: pan-oceanic and pelagic; 93 species)
- Diomedeidae albatross
- Procellariidae fulmars, prions, shearwaters, gadfly and other petrels
- Pelacanoididae diving petrels
- Hydrobatidae storm-petrels (see also petrel) Pelecaniformes (Worldwide; 57 species)
- Pelecanidae pelicans
- Sulidae gannets and boobies
- Phalacrocoracidae cormorants
- Fregatidae frigatebirds
- Phaethontidae tropicbirds Charadriiformes (Worldwide; 305 species, but only the families listed are classed as seabirds.)
- Stercorariidae skuas
- Laridae gulls
- Sternidae terns
- Rhynchopidae skimmers
- Alcidae auks For an alternative taxonomy of these groups, see also Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy. See also list of birds.
References

- del Hoyo, Josep, Elliott, Andrew & Sargatal, Jordi (1992). Handbook of Birds of the World Vol 1. Barcelona:Lynx Edicions, ISBN 84-87334-10-5
- Gaston, Anthony J. & Jones, Ian L. (1998). The Auks Oxford:Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-854032-9
- Gaston, Anthony J. (2004). Seabirds: A Natural History New Haven:Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-10406-5
- Löfgren, Lars (1984). Ocean Birds, Gothenburg:Nordbok, ISBN 0-394-53101-9
- Schreiber, Elizabeth A. & Burger, Joanne.(2001.) Biology of Marine Birds, Boca Raton:CRC Press, ISBN 0-8493-9882-7
External links

- [http://www.otago.ac.nz/titi/default.html Project Titi; a collaboration between the Maori of Stewart Island and the University of Otago to manage Sooty Shearwater harvests]
- [http://www.birdlife.org/action/campaigns/save_the_albatross/index.html BirdLife International; Save the Albatross Campaign]
- [http://www.marineornithology.org/ Marine Ornithology, the Journal of Seabird Science and Conservation]
- ja:海鳥

Red Sea

:(Red Sea is also the name of a state in Sudan) Sudan The Red Sea (Arabic البحر الأحمر Baḥr al-Aḥmar, al-Baḥru l-’Aḥmar; Hebrew ים סוף Yam Suf; Tigrigna ቀይሕ ባሕሪ QeyH baHri) is a gulf or basin of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb sound and the Gulf of Aden. In the north is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez (leading to the Suez Canal). The sea is roughly 1900 km long and at its widest is over 300 km. The sea floor has a maximum depth of 2,500 m in the central median trench and an average depth of 500 m, but it also has extensive shallow shelves, noted for their marine life and corals. The sea has a surface area of roughly 438,000 or 450,000 km². The sea is the habitat of over 1000 invertebrate species and 200 soft and hard corals. The sea occupies a part of the Great Rift Valley. The Red Sea is the world's most northern tropical sea.

Name

The sea was called the "Arabian Gulf" in most European sources up to the 20th century. This was derived from older Greek sources. Herodotus, Straban and Ptolemy all call the waterway "Arabicus Sinus", while reserving the term "Sea of Erythrias" (Red Sea) for the waters around the southern Arabian Peninsula, now known as Indian Ocean. The name of the sea does not indicate the colour of the water. It may signify the seasonal blooms of the red-coloured cyanobacteria Trichodesmium erythraeum near the water surface. Some suggest that it refers to the mineral-rich red mountains nearby which are called "הרי אדום" (harei edom). Edom, meaning "ruddy complexion", is also an alternative Hebrew name for the red-faced biblical character Esau (brother of Jacob), and the nation descended from him, the Edomites, which in turn provides yet another possible origin for Red Sea. There is also speculation that the name Red Sea came from a mistranslation of what should have been the Reed Sea in the Biblical story of the Exodus. The Sea of Reeds (in Hebrew Yâm-Sûph) is often mistranslated as the "Red Sea". One hypothesis is the name comes from the Himarites, a local group whose own name means "red." Another theory favored by some modern scholars is the name "red" is referring to the direction "south," the same way the Black Sea's name may refer to "north." The basis of this theory is that some Asiatic languages used color words to refer to points on the compass.

Physical properties

Black Sea Surface water temperatures remain relatively constant at 21-25°C and temperature and visibility remain good to around 200 m, but the sea is known for its strong winds and tricky local currents. The sea was created by the division of Africa from the Arabian peninsula, a movement which began around 30 million years ago. The sea is still widening and there are small volcanic features in the deeper parts, it is considered that the sea will become an ocean in time (as proposed in the model of Tuzo Wilson). Sometimes during the Tertiary period the Bab el Mandeb was closed and the Red Sea was an empty hot dry salt-floored sink.

Tourism

The sea is known for its spectacular dive sites such as Ras Mohammed, Elphinstone, The Brothers and Rocky Island in Egypt, and less known sites in Sudan such as Sanganeb, Abington, Angarosh and Shaab Rumi (see photo above). The Red Sea was "discovered" as a diving destination by Hans Hass in the 1950s, and by Jacques-Yves Cousteau later.

Bordering countries

Bordering countries are:
- Northern shore:
- Egypt
- Israel
- Jordan
- Western shore:
- Sudan
- Egypt
- Eastern shore:
- Saudi Arabia
- Yemen
- Southern shore:
- Djibouti
- Eritrea
- Somalia

Towns and cities

Towns and cities on the Red Sea coast include: Assab, Massawa, Hala'ib, Port Sudan, Port Safaga, Hurghada, El Suweis, Sharm el Sheikh, Eilat, Aqaba, Dahab, Jeddah, Al Hudaydah, Marsa Alam.

Indian Ocean

:This article is about the water body. For the Indian fusion music band, see Indian Ocean (band). The Indian Ocean is the third-largest body of water in the world, covering about 20% of the Earth's water surface. It is bounded on the north by southern Asia (the Indian subcontinent); on the west by the Arabian Peninsula and Africa; on the east by the Malay Peninsula, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the 20°east meridian south of Africa, and from the Pacific by the 147°east meridian. The northernmost extent of the Indian Ocean is approximately 30°north latitude in the Persian Gulf. This ocean is nearly 10,000 km (6,200 mi) wide at the southern tips of Africa and Australia; its area is 73,556,000 km² (28,400,000 mi²), including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The ocean's volume is estimated to be 292,131,000 km³ (70,086,000 mi³). Small islands dot the continental rims. Island nations within the ocean are Madagascar (formerly Malagasy Republic), the world's fourth largest island; Comoros; Seychelles; Maldives; Mauritius; and Sri Lanka. Indonesia borders it. The ocean's importance as a transit route between Asia and Africa has made it a scene of conflict. Because of its size, however, no one nation had successfully dominated until the early 1800s when Britain controlled much of the surrounding land. right

Environment

The African, Indian, and Antarctic crustal plates converge in the Indian Ocean. Their junctures are marked by branches of the Mid-Oceanic Ridge forming an inverted Y, with the stem running south from the edge of the continental shelf near Mumbai, India. The eastern, western, and southern basins thus formed are subdivided into smaller basins by ridges. The ocean's continental shelves are narrow, averaging 200 km (125 mi) in width. An exception is found off Australia's western coast, where the shelf width exceeds 1,000 km (600 mi). The average depth of the ocean is 3,890 m (12,760 ft). Its deepest point, in the Java Trench, is estimated to be 7,450 m (24,442 ft). North of 50° south latitude, 86% of the main basin is covered by pelagic sediments, of which more than one-half is globigerina ooze. The remaining 14% is layered with terrigenous sediments. Glacial outwash dominates the extreme southern latitudes.

Climate

The climate north of the equator is affected by a Monsoon wind system. Strong northeast winds blow from October until April; from May until October south and west winds prevail. In the Arabian Sea the violent monsoon brings rain to the Indian subcontinent. In the southern hemisphere the winds generally are milder, but summer storms near Mauritius can be severe. When the monsoon winds change, cyclones sometimes strike the shores of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

Hydrology

Bay of Bengal Among the few large rivers flowing into the Indian Ocean are the Zambezi, Arvandrud/Shatt-al-Arab, Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Irrawaddy. Currents are largely controlled by the monsoon. Two large circular currents, one in the northern hemisphere flowing clockwise and one south of the equator moving counterclockwise, constitute the dominant flow pattern. During the winter monsoon, however, currents in the north are reversed. Deepwater circulation is controlled primarily by inflows from the Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea, and Antarctic currents. North of 20°south latitude the minimum surface temperature is 22°C (72°F), exceeding 28°C (82°F) to the east. Southward of 40°south latitude, temperatures drop quickly. Surface water salinity ranges from 32 to 37 parts per 1,000, the highest occurring in the Arabian Sea and in a belt between southern Africa and southwestern Australia. Pack ice and icebergs are found throughout the year south of about 65°south latitude. The average northern limit of icebergs is 45°south latitude.

Economy

The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The warmth of the Indian Ocean keeps phytoplankton production low, except along the northern fringes and in a few scattered spots elsewhere; life in the ocean is thus limited. Fishing is confined to subsistence levels. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna.

History

The earliest known civilizations, in the valleys of the Nile, Euphrates, Tigris, and Indus rivers and in Southeast Asia, have developed near the Indian Ocean. During Egypt's 1st dynasty (c. 3000 BCE), sailors were sent out onto its waters, journeying to Punt, thought to be part of present-day Somalia. Returning ships brought gold and Myrrh. Phoenicians of the 3rd millennium BCE may have entered the area, but no settlements resulted. The Indian Ocean is far calmer and thus open to trade earlier than the Atlantic or Pacific. The powerful monsoons also meant ships could easily sail them west early in the season, then wait a few months and return eastwards. This allowed Indonesian peoples to cross the Indian Ocean to settle in Madagascar. In the second or first century BCE Eudoxus of Cyzicus was the first Greek to cross the Indian Ocean. Hippalus is said to have discovered the direct route from Arabia to India around this time. During the first and second century CE intensive trade relations developed between Roman Egypt and the Tamil kingdoms of the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas in Southern India. Like the Indonesian people above, the western sailors used the monsoon to cross the Ocean. The unknown author of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes this route and the ports and trade goods along the coasts of Africa and India around 70 CE. In 1497 Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope and sailed to India, the first European to do so. The European ships, armed with heavy cannon, quickly came to dominate the trade. Portugal at first attempted to achieve pre-eminence setting up forts an the important straits and ports. But the small nation was unable to support such a vast project and they were replaced in the mid-1600s by other European powers. The Dutch East India Company (1602-1798) sought control of trade with the East across the Indian Ocean. France and Britain established trade companies for the area. Eventually Britain became the principal power and by 1815 dominated the area. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 revived European interest in the East, but no nation was successful in establishing trade dominance. Since World War II the United Kingdom has withdrawn from the area, to be only partially replaced by India, the USSR, and the United States. The last two have tried to establish hegemony by negotiating for naval base sites. Developing countries bordering the ocean, however, seek to have it made a "zone of peace" so that they may use its shipping lanes freely. Though the United States did manage to salvage a naval base for itself at Deigo Garcia in the middle of the Indian Ocean. On December 26 2004 the countries surrounding the Indian Ocean were hit by tsunamis caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The waves resulted in more than 226,000 deaths and over 1 million homeless.

Data

Southern Ocean: A spring 2000 decision by the International Hydrographic Organization delimited a fifth world ocean, stripping the southern portions of the Indian Ocean. The new ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60°south latitude which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit. The Indian Ocean remains the third-largest of the world's five oceans. Area:
- total: 68.556 million km²
- seas: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Laccadive Sea, Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Strait of Malacca, and other tributary water bodies Coastline: 66,526 km Climate: northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean Terrain: surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge Graphics of the seabed terrain produced by the Royal Navy & British Geological Survey in 2005 can be found here. Elevation extremes:
- lowest point: Java Trench -7,258 m
- highest point: sea level 0 m Natural resources: oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules Environment - current issues: endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea Geography - note: major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait Ports and harbors: Calcutta (India), Chennai (Madras; India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Karachi (Pakistan), Fremantle (Australia), Mumbai (Bombay; India), Richards Bay (South Africa), Visakhapatnam (India),Kochi(India)

References

- Braun, D., The Indian Ocean (1983)
- Chandra, S., ed., The Indian Ocean (1987);
- Chaudhuri, K. N., Trade and Civilization in the Indian Ocean (1985);
- Cousteau, Jacques-Yves, and Diole, Philippe, Life and Death in a Coral Sea (1971);
- Cubitt, Gerald, Islands of the Indian Ocean (1975);
- Das Gupta, A., and Pearson, M.N., India and the Indian Ocean (1987);
- Dowdy, W. L., and Trood, R., eds., The Indian Ocean (1985);
- Kerr, A., ed., Resources and Development in the Indian Ocean Region (1981);
- Nairn, A. E., and Stehli, F. G., eds., The Ocean Basins and Margins, Vol. 6: The Indian Ocean (1982);
- Ostheimer, John M., ed., The Politics of the Western Indian Ocean Islands (1975);
- Toussaint, Auguste, The History of the Indian Ocean, trans. by June Guicharnaud (1966). Much of this text is based on public domain text by US Naval Oceanographer at: http://oceanographer.navy.mil/indian.html

External links

- [http://dapper.pmel.noaa.gov/dchart/ NOAA In-situ Ocean Data Viewer] Plot and download ocean observations Category:Oceans Category:Indian Ocean zh-min-nan:Ìn-tō·-iûⁿ ko:인도양 ja:インド洋 simple:Indian Ocean th:มหาสมุทรอินเดีย

Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the world's smallest continent and a number of islands in the Southern, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Australia's neighbouring countries are Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the northeast, and New Zealand to the southeast. The continent of Australia has been inhabited for over 40,000 years by Indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and by European explorers and merchants starting in the 17th century, the eastern half of the continent was claimed by the British in 1770 and officially settled as the penal colony of New South Wales on 26 January 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were successively established over the course of the 19th century. On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and remains a Commonwealth Realm. The current population of around 20.4 million is concentrated mainly in the large coastal cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

Origin and history of the name

The name Australia is derived from the Latin australis, meaning southern. Legends of an "unknown southern land" (terra australis incognita) date back to the Roman times and were commonplace in mediæval geography, but they were not based on any actual knowledge of the continent. The Dutch adjectival form Australische ("Australian," in the sense of "southern") was used by Dutch officials in Batavia to refer to the newly discovered land to the south as early as 1638. The first English language writer to use the word "Australia" was Alexander Dalrymple in An Historical Collection of Voyages and Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean, published in 1771. He used the term to refer to the entire South Pacific region, not specifically to the Australian continent. In 1793, George Shaw and Sir James Smith published Zoology and Botany of New Holland, in which they wrote of "the vast island, or rather continent, of Australia, Australasia or New Holland." New Holland was established on this site.]] The name "Australia" was popularised by the 1814 work A Voyage to Terra Australis by the navigator Matthew Flinders. Despite its title, which reflected the view of the Admiralty, Flinders used the word "Australia" in the book, which was widely read and gave the term general currency. Governor Lachlan Macquarie of New South Wales subsequently used the word in his dispatches to England. In 1817 he recommended that it be officially adopted. In 1824, the British Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia.

History

England, claiming the land for Britain in 1770. This replica was built in Fremantle in 1988 for Australia's bicentenary.]] The first human habitation of Australia is estimated to have occurred between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago. The first Australians were the ancestors of the current Indigenous Australians; they arrived via land bridges and short sea-crossings from present-day India or Southeast Asia. Most of these people were hunter-gatherers, with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, inhabited the Torres Strait Islands and parts of far-north Queensland; they possess distinct cultural practices and practised subsistence agriculture. The first undisputed recorded European sighting of the Australian continent was made by the Dutch navigator Willem Jansz, who sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in 1606. During the 17th century, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines of what they called New Holland, but made no attempt at settlement. In 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Britain. The expedition's discoveries provided impetus for the establishment of a penal colony there following the loss of the American colonies that had previously filled that role. penal colony was Australia's largest penal colony.]] The British Crown Colony of New South Wales started with the establishment of a settlement at Port Jackson by Captain Arthur Phillip on 26 January 1788. This date was later to become Australia's national day, Australia Day. Van Diemen's Land, now known as Tasmania, was settled in 1803 and became a separate colony in 1825. Britain formally claimed the western part of Australia in 1829. Separate colonies were created from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. The Northern Territory (NT) was founded in 1863 as part of the Province of South Australia. Victoria and South Australia were founded as "free colonies"—that is, they were never penal colonies, although the former did receive some convicts from Tasmania. Western Australia was also founded "free", but later accepted transported convicts due to an acute labour shortage. The transportation of convicts to Australia was phased out between 1840 and 1868. The Indigenous Australian population, estimated at about 350,000 at the time of European settlement, declined steeply for 150 years following settlement, mainly because of infectious disease, and forced migration, the removal of children and other colonial government policies, that some historians and Indigenous Australians have argued could be considered to constitute genocide by today's understanding. Such interpretations of Aboriginal history are disputed by some as being exaggerated or fabricated for political or ideological reasons. Following the 1967 referendum, the Federal government gained the power to implement policies and make laws with respect to Aborigines. Traditional ownership of land—native title—was not recognised until the High Court case Mabo v Queensland (No 2) overturned the notion of Australia as terra nullius at the time of European occupation. terra nullius ceremony in Port Melbourne, Victoria, 25 April 2005. Ceremonies such as this are held in virtually every suburb and town in Australia.]] A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s, and the Eureka Stockade rebellion in 1854 was an early expression of nationalist sentiment. Between 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gained responsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire. The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs, defence and international shipping. On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation and voting, and the Commonwealth of Australia was born, as a Dominion of the British Empire. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was formed from New South Wales in 1911 to provide a location for the proposed new federal capital of Canberra (Melbourne was the capital from 1901 to 1927). The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the Commonwealth in 1911. Australia willingly participated in World War I; many Australians regard the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) at Gallipoli as the birth of the nation—its first major military action. Much like Gallipoli the Kokoda Track Campaign is regarded by many as a nation defining battle from World War II. The Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended most of the constitutional links between Australia and Britain, but Australia did not adopt the Statute until 1942. The shock of Britain's defeat in Asia in 1942 and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia to turn to the United States as a new ally and protector. Since 1951, Australia has been a formal military ally of the US under the auspices of the ANZUS treaty. After World War II, Australia encouraged mass immigration from Europe; since the 1970s and the abolition of the White Australia policy, immigration from Asia and other parts of the world was also encouraged. As a result, Australia's demography, culture and image of itself were radically transformed. The final constitutional ties between Australia and Britain ended in 1986 with the passing of the Australia Act 1986, ending any British role in the Australian States, and ending judicial appeals to the UK Privy Council. Although Australian voters rejected a move to become a republic in 1999 by a 55% majority, Australia's links to its British past are increasingly tenuous. Since the election of the Whitlam Government in 1972, there has been an increasing focus on the nation's future as a part of the Asia-Pacific region.

Politics

Whitlam Government was opened in 1988 replacing the provisional Parliament House building opened in 1927.]] The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy and has a parliamentary system of government. Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The Queen is nominally represented by the Governor-General; although the Constitution gives extensive executive powers to the Governor-General, these are normally exercised only on the advice of the Prime Minister. The most notable exercise of the Governor-General's reserve powers outside the Prime Minister's direction was the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in the constitutional crisis of 1975. There are three branches of government.
- The legislature: the Commonwealth Parliament, comprising the Queen, the Senate (the Red house), and the House of Representatives (the Green house); the Queen is represented by the Governor-General, who in practice exercises little or no power over the Parliament.
- The executive: the Federal Executive Council (the Governor-General as advised by the executive councillors); in practice, the councillors are the prime minister and ministers of state, whose advice the Governor-General accepts, with rare exceptions.
- The judiciary: the High Court of Australia and other federal courts. The State courts became formally independent from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council when the Australia Act was passed in 1986. The bicameral Commonwealth Parliament consists of the Queen, the Senate (the upper house) of 76 senators, and a House of Representatives (the lower house) of 150 members. Members of the lower house are elected from single-member constituencies, commonly known as 'electorates' or 'seats'. Seats in the House of Representatives are allocated to states on the basis of population. In the Senate, each state, regardless of population, is represented by 12 senators, with the ACT and the NT each electing two. Elections for both chambers are held every three years; typically only half of the Senate seats are put to each election, because senators have overlapping six-year terms. The party with majority support in the House of Representatives forms Government, with its leader becoming Prime Minister. There are three major political parties: the Labor Party, the Liberal Party and the National Party. Independent members and several minor parties—including the Greens, Family First and the Australian Democrats—have achieved representation in Australian parliaments, mostly in upper houses, although their influence has been marginal. Since the 1996 election, the Liberal/National Coalition led by the Prime Minister, John Howard, has been in power in Canberra. In the 2004 election, the Coalition won control of the Senate, the first time that a party (or coalition of governing parties) has done so while in government in more than 20 years. The Labor Party is in power in every state and territory. Voting is compulsory in each state and territory and at the federal level.

States and territories

Voting is compulsory Australia consists of six states, two major mainland territories, and other minor territories. The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. The two major mainland territories are the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. In most respects, the territories function similarly to the states, but the Commonwealth Parliament can override any legislation of their parliaments. By contrast, federal legislation overrides state legislation only with respect to certain areas as set out in Section 51 of the Constitution; all residual legislative powers are retained by the state parliaments, including powers over hospitals, education, police, the judiciary, roads, public transport and local government. Each state and territory has its own legislature (unicameral in the case of the Northern Territory, the ACT and Queensland, and bicameral in the remaining states). The lower house is known as the Legislative Assembly (House of Assembly in South Australia and Tasmania) and the upper house the Legislative Council. The heads of the governments in each state and territory are called premiers and chief ministers, respectively. The Queen is represented in each state by a governor; an administrator in the Northern Territory, and the Governor-General in the ACT, have analogous roles. Australia also has several minor territories; the federal government administers a separate area within New South Wales, the Jervis Bay Territory, as a naval base and sea port for the national capital. In addition Australia has the following, inhabited, external territories: Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and several largely uninhabited external territories: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Foreign relations and military

Over recent decades, Australia's foreign relations have been driven by a close association with the United States, through the ANZUS pact and by a desire to develop relationships with Asia and the Pacific, particularly through ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum. In 2005 Australia secured an inaugural seat at the East Asia Summit following its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. Australia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, in which the Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings provide the main forum for co-operation. Much of Australia's diplomatic energy is focused on international trade liberalisation. Australia led the formation of the Cairns Group and APEC, and is a member of the OECD and the WTO. Australia has pursued several major bilateral free trade agreements, most recently the US–Australia Free Trade Agreement. Australia is a founding member of the United Nations, and maintains an international aid program under which some 60 countries receive assistance. The 2005–06 budget provides A$2.5bn for development assistance; as a percentage of GDP, this contribution is less than that of the UN Millennium Development Goals. Australia's armed forces—the Australian Defence Force (ADF)—comprise the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Australian Army, and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). All branches of the ADF have been involved in UN and regional peacekeeping (most recently in East Timor, the Solomon Islands and Sudan), disaster relief, and armed conflict, including the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. The government appoints the chief of the Defence Force from one of the armed services; the current chief is Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston. In 2005–06, the defence budget is A$17.5bn.

Geography and climate

Angus Houston Australia's 7,686,850 km² (2,967,909 mi²) landmass is on the Indo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the Indian, Southern and Pacific oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas. Australia has a total 25,760 km (16,007 mi) of coastline and claims an extensive Exclusive Economic Zone of 8,148,250 km² or 3,146,057 mi² (excluding the Australian Antarctic Territory). Climate is highly influenced by ocean currents, including the El Niño southern oscillation, which is correlated with periodic drought, and the seasonal tropical low pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia. By far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid. Australia is the driest inhabited continent, the flattest, and has the oldest and least fertile soils. Only the south-east and south-west corners of the continent have a temperate climate. The northern part of the country, with a tropical climate, has a vegetation consisting of rainforest, woodland, grassland and desert. The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extends for over 2,000 km (1,250 mi). The world's two largest monoliths are located in Australia, Mount Augustus in Western Australia is the largest and Uluru in central Australia is the second largest. At 2,228 m (7,310 ft), Mount Kosciuszko on the Great Dividing Range is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland, although Mawson Peak on the remote Australian territory of Heard Island is taller at 2,745 m (9,006 ft).

Flora and fauna

Heard Island of the wallaby is currently being sequenced; when the sequencing is completed, it will be a major contribution to marsupial biology.]] Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, it covers a diverse range of habitats, from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests. Because of the great age and consequent low levels of fertility of the continent, its extremely variable weather patterns, and its long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota is unique and diverse. About 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals, more than 45% of birds, and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are endemic. Many of Australia's ecoregions, and the species within those regions, are threatened by human activities and introduced plant and animal species. The federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is a legal framework used for the protection of threatened species. Numerous protected areas have been created to protect and preserve Australia's unique ecosystems, 64 wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention, and 16 World Heritage Sites have been established. Australia was ranked 13th in the World on the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index. Environmental Sustainability Index.]] Most Australian plant species are evergreen and many are adapted to fire and drought, including the eucalypts and acacias. Australia has a rich variety of endemic legume species that thrive in nutrient-poor soils because of their symbiosis with Rhizobia bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi. Well-known Australian fauna include monotremes (the platypus and echidna), and a host of marsupials, including the koala, kangaroo, wombat, and birds such as the emu, cockatoo, and kookaburra. The dingo was introduced by Austronesian people that traded with Indigenous Australians around 4000 BCE. Many plant and animal species became extinct soon after human settlement, including the Australian megafauna; many more have become extinct since European settlement, among them the Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger).

Economy

Thylacine Australia has a prosperous, Western-style mixed economy, with a per capita GDP slightly higher than those of the UK, Germany and France. The country was ranked third in the United Nations' 2005 Human Development Index and sixth in The Economist worldwide quality-of-life index 2005. In recent years, the Australian economy has been resilient in the face of global economic downturn. Rising output in the domestic economy has been offsetting the global slump, and business and consumer confidence remains robust. Australia's emphasis on reform is another key factor behind the economy's strength. In the 1980s, the Labor Party, led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Treasurer Paul Keating, started the process of modernising the Australian economy by floating the Australian dollar in 1983, and deregulating the financial system. Since 1996, the Howard government has continued the process of micro-economic reform, including the partial deregulation of the labour market and the privatisation of state-owned businesses, most notably in the telecommunications industry. Substantial reform of the indirect tax system was achieved in July 2000 with the introduction of a 10% Goods and Services Tax, which has slightly reduced the heavy reliance on personal and company income tax that still characterises Australia's tax system. The Australian economy has not suffered a recession since the early 1990s. As of July 2005, unemployment was 5.0% with 10,030,300 persons employed. The service sector of the economy, including tourism, education, and financial services, comprises 69% of GDP. Agriculture and natural-resources represent only 3% and 5% of GDP, respectively, but contribute substantially to Australia's export performance. Australia's largest export markets include Japan, China, the United States, South Korea and New Zealand. Areas of concern to some economists include the chronically high current account deficit and also high levels of net foreign debt.

Demographics

current account deficit Most of the estimated 20.4 million Australians are descended from 19th- and 20th-century immigrants, the majority from Britain and Ireland. Australia's population has quadrupled since the end of World War I , spurred by an ambitious immigration program. In 2001, the five largest groups of the 27.4% of Australians who were born overseas were from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, Vietnam and China. Following the abolition of the White Australia policy, numerous government initiatives have been established to encourage and promote racial harmony based on a policy of multiculturalism. Australia’s population has increased by about 60 times since European settlement. The self-declared indigenous population—including Torres Strait Islanders, who are of Melanesian descent—was 410,003 (2.2% of the total population) in 2001, a significant increase from the 1977 census, which showed an indigenous population of 115,953. Indigenous Australians have higher rates of imprisonment and unemployment, lower levels of education and life expectancies for males and females that are 17 years lower than those of other Australians. Perceived racial inequality is an ongoing political and human rights issue for Australians. human rights.]] In common with many other developed countries, Australia is experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. A large number of Australians (759,849 for the period 2002–03) live outside their home country. Australia has maintained one of the most active immigration programs in the world to boost population growth. Most immigrants are skilled; the quota includes categories for family members and refugees. English is the official language, and is spoken and written in a distinct variety known as Australian English. According to the 2001 census, English is the only language spoken in the home for around 80% of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home are Chinese (2.1%), Italian (1.9%) and Greek (1.4%). A considerable proportion of first- and second-generation migrants are bilingual. It is believed that there were between 200 and 300 Australian Aboriginal languages at the time of first European contact. Only about 70 of these languages have survived, and all but 20 of these are now endangered. An indigenous language remains the main language for about 50,000 (0.02%) people. Australia has a sign language known as Auslan, which is the main language of about 6,500 deaf people. The Australian Constitution guarantees the separation of church and state; there is no state religion. The 2001 census identified that 68% of Australians call themselves Christian: 27% identifying themselves as Roman Catholic and 21% as Anglican. Five per cent of Australians identify themselves as followers of non-Christian religions, and 26% as non-religious. Like many Western countries, the level of active participation in church worship is much lower than this; weekly attendance at church services is about 1.5 million, about 7.5% of the population. School attendance is compulsory throughout Australia between the ages of 6–15 years (16 years in South Australia and Tasmania), contributing to an adult literacy rate that is assumed to be 99%. Government grants have supported the establishment of Australia's 38 universities, and although several private universities have been established, the majority receive government funding. There is a state-based system of vocational training colleges, known as TAFE Institutes, and many trades conduct apprenticeships for training new tradespeople. Approximately 58% of Australians between the ages of 25 and 64 have vocational or tertiary qualifications.

Culture

apprenticeship.]] The primary basis of Australian culture up until the mid-20th century was Anglo-Celtic, although distinctive Australian features had been evolving from the environment and indigenous culture. Over the past 50 years, Australian culture has been strongly influenced by American popular culture (particularly television and cinema), large-scale immigration from non-English-speaking countries, and Australia's Asian neighbours. Australia has a long history of visual arts, starting with the cave and bark paintings of its indigenous peoples. From the time of European settlement, a common theme in Australian art has been the Australian landscape, seen in the works of Arthur Streeton, Arthur Boyd and Albert Namatjira, among others. The traditions of indigenous Australians are largely transmitted orally and are closely tied to ceremony and the telling of the stories of the Dreamtime. Australian Aboriginal music, dance and art have a palpable influence on contemporary Australian visual and performing arts. Australia has an active tradition of music, ballet and theatre; many of its performing arts companies receive public funding through the federal government's Australia Council. There is a symphony orchestra in each capital city, and a national opera company, Opera Australia, first made prominent by the renowned diva Dame Joan Sutherland; Australian music includes classical, jazz, and many popular music genres. Australian literature has also been influenced by the landscape; the works of writers such as Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson captured the experience of the Australian bush. The character of colonial Australia, as embodied in early literature, resonates with modern Australia and its perceived emphasis on egalitarianism, mateship, and anti-authoritarianism. In 1973, Patrick White was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the only Australian to have achieved this; he is recognised as one of the great English-language writers of the 20th century. Australian English is a major variety of the language; its grammar and spelling are largely based on those of British English, overlaid with a rich vernacular of unique lexical items and phrases, some of which have found their way into standard English. Australia has two public