South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Research Articles

Nyctimene robinsoni (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae)

Nyctimene robinsoni (Thomas 1904) is currently the only species of tube-nosed bat in Australia. This medium-sized bat in the group commonly referred to as megachiropterans, is distinguishable by tube-shaped nostrils that protrude 5–6 mm from the end of its rostrum. It is currently considered to be endemic to the eastern coastal regions of Australia, although recent taxonomic revisions and continued field studies may soon expand the known range to include some islands north of the Australian mainland. The conservation status of N. robinsoni is considered “Vulnerable” by the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act due to accidental death by impalement on barbed wire fences, habitat loss, and predation; however, it is considered as a species of “Least Concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act.

The natural diet of the endangered camaenid land snailThersites mitchellae(Cox, 1864) in northern New South Wales, Australia

The natural diet of the camaenid land snail Thersites mitchellae (Cox, 1864) was investigated by examination of the faecal contents of specimens collected from a range of substrates. The composition of faecal pellets from 22 snails obtained from three different substrates was determined. The results demonstrate that T. mitchellae has a generalist feeding strategy that varies with substrate. Fungal material contributed a high proportion of the diet, suggesting that coarse woody debris (a common fungal substrate) may be an important requirement for populations of T. mitchellae in rainforestassociated habitats. Thersites mitchellae was the first species for which a critical habitat determination was made under the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. This study adds to our knowledge of the biology of this poorly known land snail. Future studies would benefit from obtaining data pertaining to the timing and frequency of fungal dispersal and substrate preferences to gain further understanding about the availability of fungi as a food source.

Population decline of the White-fronted Chat (Epthianura albifrons) in New South Wales, Australia

Habitat modification through urbanisation and the alteration of the natural flows of rivers is a major contributor to the global decline of birds occupying specialist habitats. We measured the extent and pattern of change in range and relative abundance over 25 years of the White-fronted Chat, a small passerine that is predominantly found in saltmarsh. A particular focus of the study was the population in the Sydney region, which is now restricted to two locations in which we measured the response of birds to human disturbance. A significant decline of 65% in the reporting rate of White-fronted Chats was observed over the 25 years, with a decline of 44% over the last 10 years in New South Wales. Historical analysis of the White-fronted Chat in the Sydney region revealed a change in geographical distribution, with the current population now confined to only two of 56 former locations. Surveys of these locations concluded that in 2008, nine White-fronted Chats remained at Newington Nature Reserve and ∼20 at Towra Point Nature Reserve. Measurements of the distance at which foraging birds flushed from an approaching observer suggest that this species is more sensitive to human disturbance than other co-occurring species. This study documents the decline of a species listed in 2010 as vulnerable under the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, and confirms the need for recovery planning to prevent the further loss of populations, particularly those in the highly urbanised coastal zone.

Biodiversity offsets: Lessons from the American experience

The New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Amendment (Biodiversity Banking) Bill 2006 was implemented to formalise the concept of biodiversity offsets. Its underpinning focus is to allow development in rapidly urbanising areas of the Sydney region and the coastal ribbon of New South Wales. Under defined circumstances biodiversity impacts due to urban development may be offset elsewhere, often in rural areas, where equivalent biodiversity values are identified. This legislation was modelled on the United States of America (US) wetland mitigation banking approach. I investigated some of the pitfalls of the US experience that should have been considered in the implementation of the New South Wales legislation and conclude that most issues appear to be associated with the narrowness of concepts around biodiversity, deficiencies in compliance, and long term monitoring and management of the offset ecosystems.

Weeds and biodiversity conservation: A review of managing weeds under the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995

Summary In New South Wales, alien plants pose the second greatest threat to biodiversity behind land clearing and habitat loss, yet current weed management does not always address the biodiversity at risk or put in place mechanisms to ensure their recovery. The problem arises in part from an assumption that control programmes which focus only on the weed will result in a biodiversity benefit, rather than acknowledging the need for an assessment of the biodiversity at risk and subsequent incorporation of such information into management strategies. The New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act) has been used as a tool to integrate weed control and biodiversity management through the listing of weeds as key threatening processes and the development and implementation of Threat Abatement Plans (TAPs). Through this process, weed management is forced to focus on actual biodiversity conservation outcomes by directing control to areas where the likelihood of a positive biodiversity response is maximized. Bitou Bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. rotundata) was the first weed species listed under the TSC Act as a key threatening process and to have a TAP prepared. Implementation of the Bitou Bush TAP is now potentially assisting the recovery of over 150 native plant species and 24 ecological communities at more than 160 sites. The TAP process is now being used for Lantana (Lantana camara) nationally and for all widespread weed species that threaten biodiversity within each of the 13 Catchment Management Authorities across New South Wales. By focusing the objectives of weed control on biodiversity protection and recovery, and ensuring that sites throughout the distribution of the weed are prioritized, threat reduction and conservation outcomes are more likely to occur at a landscape scale.

Adaptive management in practice: Conservation of a threatened plant population

Summary We applied an adaptive management approach to reduce extinction risks faced by a disjunct and ecologically significant population of Black Cypress Pine (Callitris endlicheri), listed as an endangered population on the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. In summer 2001–2002, an unplanned fire burnt the population, resulting in mortality of most standing plants. Concerns were raised about the potential impact of herbivores, particularly feral Rusa Deer (Cervus timorensis), on the recruitment of post‐fire seedlings that might replace the loss of fire‐killed standing plants. We applied an adaptive management approach to detect trends in the population following the fire, and to evaluate and trial in situ management options for mitigating threats to the remaining plants. Post‐fire monitoring detected continuing declines in both the remaining adult population and the post‐fire cohort of seedlings, and identified browsing by Deer as a serious and ongoing threat to the population. We designed a controlled experiment, with the aid of natural and artificial ‘nurse plants’ to assess the effects of herbivore exclusion on seedling growth and survival, and to test for differences in those effects under alternative management strategies. The experiment was designed and implemented with little cost other than field time and with logistic constraints on replication. By protecting exposed seedlings from browsing using woody debris, we were able to significantly increase seedling growth and survival, and to quickly arrest the population decline. Our results suggest that excluding Deer from the population by more permanent means will have a significant positive effect on its long‐term persistence. Our case study demonstrates the utility of adaptive management approaches in threatened species conservation, their feasibility even under severe budgetary and logistical constraints, and how ongoing monitoring and experimentation are crucial for successful management of biodiversity.

Re‐establishing a saltmarsh vegetation structure in a changing climate

Summary A major management decision in an ecological restoration or rehabilitation project is whether supplementary planting or natural vegetation regeneration is the better alternative or if a combination can be applied. Management decisions are further complicated when the project involves saltmarsh as tidal cycles, the effects of salinity and sea level rise add to the complexity of decisions. The ecological values of the saltmarsh community in Australia were only recognized relatively recently but the endangered ecological community listing in 1994 (under the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995) highlighted the need to protect, rehabilitate and restore saltmarsh.This project measured vegetation change after soil profile reconstruction in saltmarsh surrounding Sponsors Lagoon, Fingal Peninsula in north coastal New South Wales, Australia. Restored sites (planted and non‐planted) were compared with nearby disturbed (control) and reference sites. The dominant species in the community to be restored were Saltwater Couch (Sporobolus virginicus), Suaeda (Suaeda australis), Sarcocornia (Sarcocornia quinqueflora ssp. quinqueflora and Sea Rush (Juncus kraussii ssp. australiensis). Changes in percentage cover of the species in the first three years after soil reconstruction work showed that the dominant Saltwater Couch established only from vegetative growth arising from remnant vegetation but there was strong seedling regeneration of several other species. It was concluded that planting is important for species that are less vagile, in larger, denuded parts of this site where their resilience is lower and natural regeneration potential is limited. An understanding of the biology of the individual species is therefore likely to be essential in saltmarsh restoration projects. A combination of techniques, incorporating planting of slower establishing species and encouragement of seed‐germinated colonizers is useful for initial site stabilization and progressive ecological recovery at this site. The inclusion of migration zones in the planning phase will allow for the long‐term viability of this restoration project.

Threatened species legislation: is it just an Act?

This volume contains the proceedings of a forum held by the Royal Zoological Society of NSW in October 2003 on the topic of threatened species legislation, with particular reference to the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. The papers are divided into the three general areas of ?The wider context?, ?NSW legislation?, and ?Implementation issues: consequences, difficulties, opportunities?, and there is also an edited transcript of the plenary session held at the forum.

The reptiles and amphibians of Mutawintji National Park, Western New South Wales

The herpetofauna of Mutawintji (previously Mootwingee) National Park (31°17′ S, 142°15′ E) was surveyed on five occasions from 1994 to 1996. From these surveys and other sources, a total of 49 reptile species and 5 amphibian species were recorded, or probably occur in the region. Five species, now listed under the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, were recorded during the surveys. Two of these species, Egernia margaretae (endangered) and Ramphotyphlops endoterus (endangered), were confirmed in NSW for the first time. Egernia margaretae and Antaresia stimsoni (vulnerable) were recorded only from the rocky gorges, which are a feature of the Bynguano Range in the Park, and the agamid species Ctenophorus decresii (endangered) and varanid Varanus tristis tristis were also restricted to this habitat type. Five species (Diplodactylus steindachneri, Nephrurus levis, Lerista labialis, Ramphotyphlops endoterus and Brachyurophis fasciolatus (vulnerable)) were recorded only from the adjacent r...

Does the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act Provide Some Lessons for Biodiversity Conservation and Planning Integration in New Zealand?

New Zealand's Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) has been seen as a significant advance in the implementation of sustainable development and integration of conservation issues into the development planning process. The development of New Zealand's Biodiversity' Strategy has shown that the RMA has had minimal effect on slowing the loss of biodiversity, the loss of critical habitats or threatened species. This article contrasts integrated threatened species and resource management planning in New South Wales with New Zealand. Councils, planners and the planning process have failed to integrate threatened species in formation and recovery plans into resource management planning, or apply consistent criteria to Assessments of Environmental Effects for planning consent applications. Consequently the RMA is vague on what conservation bottom-lines are required for biodiversity protection and this is being developed in an ad hoc manner through case law at the Environment Court. The Government's proposed National Biodiversity Policy Statement provides an opportunity to ensure biodiversity conservation and resource management integration in policy statements and plans under the RMA, including national biodiversity assessment criteria, similar to the “Seven-part Test” from the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. The Department of Conservation also needs to prepare statutory threatened species recovery plans and identify threatened species habitat in regional conservation management strategies.

Mollusc conservation and the New South WalesThreatened Species Conservation Act 1995:the Recovery Program for Mitchell's Rainforest SnailThersites mitchellae

The New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act), administered by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, has a primary objective of conserving the state's biological diversity. The listing of threatened fauna under the TSC Act, however, is heavily weighted towards vertebrates, with invertebrates (constituting 99% of the state's fauna diversity) comprising only 4% of the listed threatened fauna species and populations (as at 30 November 2001). Of an estimated 700 land snail species in coastal and near-coastal eastern Australia, only three species have been listed under the TSC Act.This paper discusses the capacity of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and the TSC Act to assist with the conservation of molluscan diversity in New South Wales in general terms and with specific reference to the endangered land snail Thersites mitchellae (Mitchell's Rainforest Snail). While difficulties in applying the TSC Act to the conservation of molluscs and other invertebrates do exist,...

Management of freshwater wetlands for the endangered green and golden bell frog (Litoria aurea): roles of habitat determinants and space

The range of the green and golden bell frog (Litoria aurea) has undergone a widespread yet unexplained contraction in south-eastern Australia since the mid 1970s, and the species is now listed as endangered in the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 and as vulnerable in the federal Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 2000. Although the cause of the range contraction is unknown, remedial action is necessary to ensure the long-term viability of remaining populations. This can include habitat creation around existing populations and reintroduction projects. However, the habitat requirements of this species are poorly understood. We examined the habitat at 43 waterbodies on Kooragang Island, Australia, with the aim of producing a set of variables which could differentiate between those occupied by L. aurea and those where the species was absent. L. aurea was found in 21 waterbodies and breeding was confirmed in four. Aspects of waterbody physiognomy and water chemistry could not explain L. aurea distribution. The plant species Juncus kraussii, Schoenoplectus litoralis and Sporobolus virginicus were significant predictors of the presence of L. aurea, as was the diversity of vegetation on the banks of waterbodies. The presence of the eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) did not influence waterbody occupancy and tadpoles were found co-existing with this introduced fish. The distribution of waterbodies occupied by L. aurea was aggregated. A waterbody was more likely to be occupied if neighbouring waterbodies within 50 m were also occupied. Habitat creation projects for this species are most likely to succeed if wetland habitat is created in proximity to an existing population.

The 10 Lords of the Universe respond to Lim

Lim (1997) has recently presented a critique of aspects of the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act (TSCA), and in particular of the role of the Scientific Committee established by the Act.