Blogs
We travelled to the Port River Estuary where we were able to sight the Avicenna Marina (grey mangrove). The port river is home to the largest population of this plant in the whole of the southern hemisphere. These mangroves provide a habitat for many fish species, highlighting their importance for both man and animal. Uniquely, this estuary is also to home a large pod of Tursiops Truncatus or more commonly known as Bottlenose Dolphins. This is particularly unique due to the close proximity to a major city (Adelaide).
From the surface an average person would not be able to recognize the importance of this area, as there are a sea of warehouses, commercialized buildings, heavy machinery and human waste surrounding the region. More alarmingly, both the largest power station and largest landfill waste deposit in South Australia is also in this area.
As it was bound to happen, the surrounding wildlife has become affected with the dolphins becoming susceptible to viruses that thrive in there altered habitat. Furthermore, the rising sea level is forcing mangroves to migrate inland, clearly being detrimental to their growth and the well being of the animals that inhabit them.
