Lacepede Islands

The Lacepedeinseln are a four small islands archipelago off the northwest coast of Australia (150 km north of Broome in Western Australia ). Today the islands form a nature reserve.

History

The existing sand and coral rubble on a coral reef islands were in 1801 discovered by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin and after the French naturalist Bernard Germain Etienne Médard de La Ville- sur- Illon, comte de La Cepede named his son, accompanied the expedition as a naturalist.

Wildlife

In the Western and Middle Islands is one of the largest breeding colonies of brown boobies (Sula leucogaster ) and Arielfregattvögeln ( Fregata ariel ) of the Indian Ocean. On the west island there is a bay, Lagoon Creek, with an extensive mud which attracts migratory waders and terns.

Here bird species are:

• Zügelseeschwalbe (Sterna anaethetus )
• Noddiseeschwalbe ( Anous stolidus )
• Rüppellseeschwalbe (Sterna bengalensis )
• Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii )
• Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia )
• Little Tern (Sterna albifrons )
• Pelicans
• Elsterscharbe (Phalacrocorax varius)

In October, the mating season of the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) begins in the waters around the West Island. With the beginning of the wet season, the females lay their eggs. On the islands survived the largest Western Australian colony of green turtles. In smaller numbers, there are also nest the Barrier Reef Turtle ( Natator depressus ) on the islands.

The many seabirds have left large quantities of guano, which have been exploited in the period 1850-1870 by Americans. From the United States also claims were raised (probably after the Guano Islands Act ) on the islands themselves, but they were dropped on a complaint by the Western Australian Government's attention.

• Uninhabited islands
• Archipelago (Western Australia)
• Island Group ( Australia and Oceania)
• Archipelago ( Timor Sea )