November, 1940 
The Queensland Naturalist 
95 
153° 24 # E. During the first expedition to Moreton Bay 
organised by the Science Students’ Association of the 
University of Queensland in January, 1938, the writer 
studied the vegetation of these small islands, the account 
of which follows. Thanks are due to the Association for 
the opportunity of visiting these islands, and to Miss V. 
May, M.Sc., Department of Botany, University of Sydney, 
for the identification of the marine Algae collected. 
Unfortunately, however, owing to difficulties arising from 
the confusion in the literature, Miss May has found it 
impossible as yet to determine most of the Rhodophyceae. 
These two islands, which are distinct from each other 
only at high water, are surrounded to the east, south, and 
west, by a very gently sloping platform which is covered 
at high tide and partly submerged at low water. This 
platform is about 1,250 yards long and about 600 yards 
wide, the elongation being north and south. Its edge is 
about 6 feet below Mean Low Water, whence it descends 
abruptly to 15 feet or more, except along the south-eastern 
margin, which is not so well defined. The highest point 
at the northern end of Goat Island is about 5 feet above 
Mean Low Water. This platform consists of a dead coral 
fringing reef, with living coral on those parts below Mean 
Low Water. The reef has been built around a focus of 
sandstone of Mesozoic age which outcrops in the south- 
east. There is a sand-flat in the north-eastern and central 
parts and a small mud flat on the western side, a little to 
the north of the middle. Goat Island consists of a mass 
of sand on an accumulation of sandstone boulders, about 
200 yards long, up to nearly 40 yards wide, and up to 
12 feet above Mean Low Water. It also has its elonga- 
tion in a north-south direction. Bird Island is merely a 
tiny sand-bank near the north-western edge of the reef. 
VEGETATION. 
The Marine vegetation of Queensland is so poorly 
known that no conclusions can be drawn from the present 
study, which must be accepted simply as a presentation 
of facts so far as yet observed. On the other hand, the 
terrestrial vegetation was studied in detail, and a map of 
Goat Island was prepared to show the area occupied by 
each community and the area of the canopies of the larger 
woody plants.* Bird Island carries no vegetation what- 
r , * r The outline of< the Island shown on the map is 8 feet above 
and represents Spring: Tide level. It is taken from the 
Plane Table Survey of Messrs. J. L. Clayton, W. Bryan, and A. M. 
