Monitoring population change in the cryptic and threatened Western Ground Parrot in relation to fire

Burbidge, Allan H.; Rolfe, Jim; McNee, Shapelle; Newbey, Brenda; Williams, Matt

doi:10.1071/mu06016

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…These results are consistent with the pattern found in a number of earlier studies, which cited two sites with 2 birds per 10 ha in habitat 28 years post-fire at Croajingalong National Park in Victoria, an area which is contiguous with Nadgee in NSW (Meredith and Isles 1980); six sites 11-13 years post-fire with 2 birds per 10 ha (McFarland 1989), five sites 15-20 years post-fire with 0.8-2.9 birds per 10 ha (Spearritt and Krieger 2007) and 3 sites 20-37 years post-fire with 0.5-1.8 birds per 10 ha (McFarland, unpubl. data) in Queensland; five sites >30 years post-fire with an average of 1.2 birds per 10 ha in Tasmania (Bryant 1991); and a very high frequency of calling from the Western Ground Parrot in habitat not burned for >40 years at Fitzgerald River National Park (Burbidge et al 2007). Also consistent with a pattern in some earlier studies, was that at some of our sites the highest Ground Parrot densities occurred at intermediate post-fire ages.…”

Section: The Ground Parrot In Long-unburnt Habitatsupporting

confidence: 75%

Managing the Ground Parrot in its fiery habitat in south-eastern Australia

Baker

Whelan

Evans³

et al. 2010

Emu - Austral Ornithology

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The Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus) is a rare and iconic endemic of heathlands in southern Australia. It is threatened by frequent and widespreadfire. The species has been an integral element in the development of our understanding of the impacts offire regimes in heathlands and is an integral part of conservation management of thesefire-prone ecosystems. This long-term study documents the densities of Ground Parrots in three areas of long-unburnt habitat in southernNewSouth Wales. Using area searches and aural surveys, we estimated densities of Ground Parrots at Barren Grounds Nature Reserve-Budderoo National Park (1983-2009), Beecroft Weapons Range (1997-2008 and Nadgee Nature Reserve (1995Reserve ( -2009. At each location, the species occurred in long-unburnt habitat (20 years post-fire), sometimes at high densities (2 birds per 10 ha). We recommend that, in south-eastern Australia, fire should not be used to manipulate the ecological functioning of habitat for the persistence of Ground Parrot populations and conclude that there should be areaspecific adaptive management plans that specify how the important elements of the biodiversity will be conserved and how this will be measured. AbstractThe Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus) is a rare endemic species of heathlands in southern Australia. It is threatened by frequent and/or widespread fire. It has been iconic in the development of understanding the impacts of fire regimes in heathlands and is an integral part of conservation management of these fire-prone ecosystems. This long-term study documents Ground Parrot densities in three areas of long-unburnt habitat in southern New South Wales. Using area searches and aural surveys, we estimated Ground Parrot densities at Barren Grounds Nature ReserveBudderoo National Park (1983-2009), Beecroft Weapons Range (1997-2008 and Nadgee Nature Reserve (1995Reserve ( -2009. At each location, the species occurred in long-unburnt habitat (≥20 years post-fire), sometimes at high densities (≥2 birds per 10 ha). We recommend that in south-eastern Australia, using fire to manipulate the ecological functioning of habitat is currently not needed for the persistence of Ground Parrot populations and conclude that there is a need for area-specific 2 adaptive management plans, which specify how they will strive for and measure the persistence of important elements of the biodiversity to be conserved.

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Section: The Ground Parrot In Long-unburnt Habitatsupporting

confidence: 75%

Managing the Ground Parrot in its fiery habitat in south-eastern Australia

Baker

Whelan

Evans³

et al. 2010

Emu - Austral Ornithology

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“…The relationship between the post‐fire age of vegetation and its occupancy by ground parrots is an ‘unknown’ in Western Australia due to a lack of long‐term studies specifically addressing this question (Burbidge et al ., 1997). The current study indicates that ground parrots prefer a mosaic of vegetation ages, consistent with the conclusions of Burbidge et al . (in press).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, this species has also been recorded in more recently burnt vegetation (< 6 years), albeit mostly adjacent to long unburnt habitat (Burbidge et al ., 1997). The role of fire in maintaining suitable habitat for the ground parrot is complex (Burbidge et al ., in press), but large‐scale wildfires are likely to be detrimental to a species that is believed to be relatively sedentary and usually only flies for short distances (Meredith et al ., 1984; McFarland, 1991a,b; Burbidge, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dealing with uncertain absences in habitat modelling: a case study of a rare ground‐dwelling parrot

Gibson¹,

Barrett²,

Burbidge³

2007

Diversity and Distributions

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In the development of a species distribution model based on regression techniques such as generalized linear or additive modelling (GLM/GAM), a basic assumption is that records of species presence and absence are real. However, a common concern in many studies examining species distributions is that absences cannot be inferred with certainty. This is particularly the case where the species is rare, difficult to detect and/or does not occupy all available habitat considered suitable. The western ground parrot (Pezoporus wallicus flaviventris) of southern Western Australia, Australia, is a case in point, as not only is it rare and difficult to detect, but it is also unlikely to occupy all available suitable habitat. A recent survey of ground parrots provided the opportunity to develop a predictive distribution model. As the data were susceptible to false absences, these were replaced with randomly selected ‘pseudo’ absences and modelled using GLM. As a comparison, presence‐only information was modelled using a relatively new approach, MAXENT, a machine‐learning technique that has been shown to perform comparatively well. The predictive performance of both models, as assessed by the receiver operating characteristic plot (ROC) was high (AUC > 0.8), with MAXENT performing only marginally better than the GLM. These approaches both indicated that the ground parrot prefers areas relatively high in altitude, distant from rivers, gently sloping to level habitat, with an intermediate cover of vegetation and where there is a mosaic of vegetation ages. In this case, the use of presence‐only information resulted in the identification of important environmental attributes defining the occurrence of the ground parrot, but additional factors that account for the inability of the bird to occupy all suitable habitat should be a component of model refinement.

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“…In light of our findings we can hypothesize that climate change may be a significant causal factor in the decline of the western ground parrot but is not the primary cause of decline. It is likely that climate change, when compounded with known impacts such as inappropriate fire regimes, habitat loss and predation by cats and foxes (Burbidge et al, 2007), may have contributed to the loss of populations and may continue to do so unless these impacts are mitigated. To undertake a future test of this hypothesis and to minimize the risk to western ground parrots, we recommend the use of surrogate species to test the effectiveness of our management actions before reintroducing this species to selected sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using climate change models to inform the recovery of the western ground parrotPezoporus flaviventris

Molloy

Burbidge

Comer

et al. 2019

Oryx

Self Cite

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Translocation of species to areas of former habitat after threats have been mitigated is a common conservation action. However, the long-term success of reintroduction relies on identification of currently available habitat and areas that will remain, or become, habitat in the future. Commonly, a short-term view is taken, focusing on obvious and assumed threats such as predators and habitat degradation. However, in areas subject to significant climate change, challenges include correctly identifying variables that define habitat, and considering probable changes over time. This poses challenges with species such as the western ground parrot Pezoporus flaviventris, which was once relatively common in near-coastal south-western Australia, an area subject to major climate change. This species has declined to one small population, estimated to comprise < 150 individuals. Reasons for the decline include altered fire regimes, introduced predators and habitat clearing. The establishment of new populations is a high priority, but the extent to which a rapidly changing climate has affected, and will continue to affect, this species remains largely conjecture, and understanding probable climate change impacts is essential to the prioritization of potential reintroduction sites. We developed high-resolution species distribution models and used these to investigate climate change impacts on current and historical distributions, and identify locations that will remain, or become, bioclimatically suitable habitat in the future. This information has been given to an expert panel to identify and prioritize areas suitable for site-specific management and/or translocation.

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Monitoring population change in the cryptic and threatened Western Ground Parrot in relation to fire

Cited by 14 publications

References 19 publications

Managing the Ground Parrot in its fiery habitat in south-eastern Australia

Managing the Ground Parrot in its fiery habitat in south-eastern Australia

Dealing with uncertain absences in habitat modelling: a case study of a rare ground‐dwelling parrot

Using climate change models to inform the recovery of the western ground parrotPezoporus flaviventris

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