Lost from our landscape: Threatened species of the Northern Territory

Woinarski, John Casimir Zichy; Pavey, Chris R.; Kerrigan, Raelee; Cowie, I. D.; Ward, Simon; Winnard, Alan

doi:10.1071/pc080184

Cited by 26 publications

(28 citation statements)

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“…Several other conservation and recovery objectives for S. saccolaimus were listed by Schulz and Thomson (2007) and Woinarski et al (2007) and include the following: undertaking targeted and systematic surveys to define habitat, distribution, population size and status; developing effective detection techniques; determining roost and foraging requirements; establishing monitoring sites; and resolving the taxonomic status of NT and Queensland populations. As a result of the findings here, the first priority should be to review existing museum collections for misidentified specimens and thereby establish the exact number of records that currently exist.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shedding new light on old species identifications: morphological and genetic evidence suggest a need for conservation status review of the critically endangered bat, Saccolaimus saccolaimus

Milne¹,

Jackling

Sidhu

et al. 2009

Wildl. Res.

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Information based on the accurate identification of species is a vital component for achieving successful outcomes of biodiversity conservation and management. It is difficult to manage species that are poorly known or that are misidentified with other similar species. This is particularly problematic for rare and threatened species. Species that are listed under endangered species classification schemes need to be identified accurately and categorised correctly so that conservation efforts are appropriately allocated. In Australia, the emballonurid Saccolaimus saccolaimus is currently listed as 'Critically Endangered'. On the basis of new observations and existing museum specimens, we used a combination of genetic (mitochondrial DNA sequence) and morphological (pelage characteristics, dig III : phalanx I length ratio, interupper canine distance) analyses to identify six new geographic records for S. saccolaimus, comprising~100 individuals. Our analyses also suggested that there are likely to be more records in museum collections misidentified as S. flaviventris specimens. The external morphological similarities to S. flaviventris were addressed and genetic, morphological and echolocation analyses were used in an attempt to provide diagnostic characters that can be used to readily identify the two species in the field. We recommend genetic testing of all museum specimens of Australian Saccolaimus to clarify species' distributions and provide data for reassessing the conservation status for both S. saccolaimus and S. flaviventris. Museum curators, taxonomists and wildlife managers need to be aware of potential species misidentifications, both in the field and laboratory. Misidentifications that result in misclassification of both threatened and non-threatened species can have significant implications.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shedding new light on old species identifications: morphological and genetic evidence suggest a need for conservation status review of the critically endangered bat, Saccolaimus saccolaimus

Milne¹,

Jackling

Sidhu

et al. 2009

Wildl. Res.

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“…Diagnosing possible threatening processes associated with native species population declines, and understanding the underlying mechanisms and interactive effects driving these declines, is critical to the delivery of appropriate and effective conservation management (Hobbs 2001;Norris 2004;Didham et al 2007;Brook et al 2008). In Australia, predation by introduced mammalian predators and habitat loss and/or modification are widely considered to be the key threats contributing to this significant national loss of species (Gibbons et al 2000;Johnson 2006;Woinarski et al 2007Woinarski et al , 2014Wilson 2012;Frank et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeling the pressure at home: Predator activity at the burrow entrance of an endangered arid‐zone skink

Moore

Kearney

Paltridge³

et al. 2017

Austral Ecology

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Habitat modification and invasive species are among the most important contemporary drivers of biodiversity loss. These two threatening processes are often studied independently and few studies have focused on how they interact to influence species declines. Here we assess the predation pressure placed on the threatened great desert skink (Liopholis kintorei) and how this interacts with fire-induced habitat modifications. We collected daily track data of potential predators for 1 month at 30 great desert skink burrow-systems where vegetation cover varied significantly after experimental burns. We used these data to evaluate potential predation pressure at the burrow-system and assess whether fire influenced predator pressure. We supplemented this analysis by documenting predation via the inspection of large mammalian predator scats collected from great desert skink habitat. The level of feral cat activity at a burrow-system entrance was significantly higher than that of any other potential predator, however fire had no effect on the visitation rates of feral cats, dingoes or large snakes to great desert skink burrow-systems. The remains of great desert skink were found significantly more frequently in feral cat scats, compared to fox and dingo scats. We provide the first direct evidence that feral cats are a significant predator for great desert skink, thus supporting the hypothesis that feral cat predation is a key threatening process. Feral cat activity was not influenced by small-scale experimental burns, however, this does not preclude an effect of larger scale fires and we recommend further research exploring this possible interaction.

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“…Heavily modified or cleared areas were removed from the all species distribution data. We identified the bird species and threatened mammals that are sensitive to fire and/or grazing from the literature [21], [63]. In total, we considered 145 native vegetation types, 282 bird species, and 177 threatened mammal species.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Carbon Credits on Savanna Land Management and Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation

et al. 2011

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Carbon finance offers the potential to change land management and conservation planning priorities. We develop a novel approach to planning for improved land management to conserve biodiversity while utilizing potential revenue from carbon biosequestration. We apply our approach in northern Australia's tropical savanna, a region of global significance for biodiversity and carbon storage, both of which are threatened by current fire and grazing regimes. Our approach aims to identify priority locations for protecting species and vegetation communities by retaining existing vegetation and managing fire and grazing regimes at a minimum cost. We explore the impact of accounting for potential carbon revenue (using a carbon price of US$14 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent) on priority areas for conservation and the impact of explicitly protecting carbon stocks in addition to biodiversity. Our results show that improved management can potentially raise approximately US$5 per hectare per year in carbon revenue and prevent the release of 1–2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over approximately 90 years. This revenue could be used to reduce the costs of improved land management by three quarters or double the number of biodiversity targets achieved and meet carbon storage targets for the same cost. These results are based on generalised cost and carbon data; more comprehensive applications will rely on fine scale, site-specific data and a supportive policy environment. Our research illustrates that the duel objective of conserving biodiversity and reducing the release of greenhouse gases offers important opportunities for cost-effective land management investments.

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Lost from our landscape: Threatened species of the Northern Territory

Cited by 26 publications

References 0 publications

Shedding new light on old species identifications: morphological and genetic evidence suggest a need for conservation status review of the critically endangered bat, Saccolaimus saccolaimus

Shedding new light on old species identifications: morphological and genetic evidence suggest a need for conservation status review of the critically endangered bat, Saccolaimus saccolaimus

Feeling the pressure at home: Predator activity at the burrow entrance of an endangered arid‐zone skink

The Effect of Carbon Credits on Savanna Land Management and Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation

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