Elected representatives in government are in charge of the policy and funding that can make or break saving threatened species. Their decisions and actions matter.
Melbourne has or used to have 18 threatened animals within its boundaries. One of them is me, the Australian Fairy Tern.
We took care to attach appropriate images that are as close to representative of each species as our resources and the availability of images allowed. However, we could not ensure perfect accuracy in every case. Some images show species that share the same genus but not at the species or subspecies level.
Australian Fairy Tern
Sternula nereis nereis
Status: Vulnerable
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) lists threatened species under six categories:
Extinct, Extinct in the wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Conservation dependent. Read more about these categories
Sternula nereis nereis is found across 69 electorates.
A small piscivorous bird, the Fairy Tern is approximately 22–27 cm in length, 70 g in weight and has a wingspan of 44–53 cm. The Fairy Tern is bulky and round bodied.¹
Explore more about this species on the Atlas of Living Australia
Changed surface and groundwater regimes
Climate change and severe weather
Disrupted ecosystem and population processes
Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation
Invasive species and diseases
Overexploitation and other direct harm from human activities
Explore more about the threats facing species on our Resources page.
- River Swamp Wallaby-grass (Amphibromus fluitans)
- Matted Flax-lily (Dianella amoena)
- Clover Glycine (Glycine latrobeana)
- Plains Rice-flower (Pimelea spinescens subsp. spinescens)
- Green-striped Greenhood (Pterostylis chlorogramma)
- Large-fruit Fireweed (Senecio macrocarpus)
- Swamp Fireweed (Senecio psilocarpus)
- Swamp Everlasting (Xerochrysum palustre)
You are in federal electorate Melbourne.