The Wet Tropics has a direct relationship with another World Heritage Area, the Great Barrier Reef. -- The river systems of the Wet Tropics are often overlooked because people think mainly about the rainforest and the ocean as separate entities. However, The Wet Tropics has a variety of aquatic ecosystems - fast moving streams flowing down the ranges, rapid rivers cascading through gorges and waterfalls (oh, the waterfalls🤤), meandering coastal rivers and associated wetlands, mangrove communities and estuaries. The majority of these are freshwater ecosystems, but coastal mangrove communities and estuarine systems support both freshwater and saltwater ecosystems. -- The Wet Tropics bioregion has 13 major river systems, most of which drain eastward into the Great Barrier Reef. There are also 30 wetlands of worldwide significance. The Wet Tropics freshwater systems are extremely rich in biodiversity. For instance, 80 of the 190 species of Australian freshwater fish can be found in the Wet Tropics. Freshwater systems are a preferred habitat for 30 frog species, 16 reptile species and 73 bird species. -- The linear nature of aquatic ecosystems means that they also have the capacity to move and accumulate threatening processes such as siltation and pollution across large distances. The largest threat to the rainforest and the reef being run-off from upland agriculture. -- The Wet Tropics is not without its conservation issues, but more about that later. -- #wettropicstakeover #wettropics #thewettropics #worldheritage #greatbarrierreef #biodiversity #reef #ocean #rainforest #australia #nature #reforest #reforestaustralia #rivers #waterfall (at Wet Tropics World Heritage Area) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsMzuUYnOom/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1geinf03u64fw
