Waterbirds and aquatic invertebrates of swamps on the Victoria Bonaparte mudflat, northern Western Australia

La Trobe University Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre

MDFRC item.

The aquatic invertebrate and waterbird faunas of the western part of the Victoria-Bonaparte mudflat, located in the Victoria-Bonaparte biogeographic region of the Kimberley, Western Australia, were surveyed in early 1993. Sixty-two species of waterbird and at least 131 species of aquatic invertebrate were recorded. The mudflat has national significance for some shorebird species, especially Redshanks, and has a significant Asian element in the invertebrate fauna. The survey contributes to growing evidence that the micro-invertebrate fauna of Western Australia is distinctive, but the conservation significance of the area for invertebrates cannot be assessed properly without more information concerning other areas of northern Australia.