Fish and frogs
This tour begins inside Tinamirakuna/the Macquarie River, where many native species reside.
Here we’ve detected environmental DNA (eDNA) from the semi-translucent common galaxias (Galaxias maculatus), as well as the burrowing southern banjo frog (Limnodynastes dumerilii) — although you might know it as the pobblebonk, nicknamed for the lyrical bonking sound it makes.
Short-finned eels (linguminya) (Anguilla australis) are also present. They’re mainly carnivorous, feeding on small fish, molluscs and water-borne larvae, and are important to the river ecosystem as predators. Their life cycle is remarkable too. They spawned thousands of kilometres away, in the Coral Sea, and made their way to Bass Strait, swimming up kanamaluka/Tamar River, to plipatumila/South Esk, then to this river.
Here, they’ll live for 10 to 35 years, before swimming back downstream to start the cycle again.
Invasive species
In addition to native species, we also collected eDNA from invasive species, including tench (Tinca tinca) and redfin (Perca fluviatilis). Both are European species introduced to Australia in the 1800s.
Redfin was introduced for angling and is still a popular sport fish. However, redfin is considered a serious pest. This is due to its ability to out-compete native fish — in some cases, eradicating entire native populations.
The water cycle
This root system is critical because The Quoin plays a small but important role in the local water cycle.
When rain falls on the plateau’s 546-metre peak, it runs down into the wet forest ecosystem, and into the lowland grasslands via chains of ponds and underground springs, before joining Tinamirakuna/the Macquarie River at the property’s bottom corner boundary.
Explore by ecosystem
The Quoin boasts numerous ecosystems — from grassy woodland to dolerite escarpment — each unique in appearance, species makeup and functional role in the broader web of life.
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