Systematic definition of threatened fauna communities is critical to their conservation

Abstract

Aim Most terrestrial ecological communities are defined primarily on their constituent flora. We aimed to develop a repeatable approach to defining a community, both intact and degraded, based on its fauna. We demonstrate how the approach can be used to guide conservation—for example, determining whether a multispecies community of animals is threatened. Location Temperate and subtropical woodlands of Australia. Methods We used expert opinion to develop a definition of the Australian Temperate and Subtropical Woodland Bird Community and metrics of its condition. Using continental‐scale vegetation change mapping, and national bird atlas data, we assessed this community against criteria for listing as a threatened ecological community under national biodiversity conservation law. Results We defined and described a recognizable and consistent Australian Temperate and Subtropical Woodland Bird Community. Although taxonomically and functionally very similar, we identified six community variants that show species‐ or genus‐level substitutions. The community was evaluated to be Endangered or Critically Endangered across its extent based on criteria from Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. We used a novel metric of condition using historical changes in woodland extent and bird species, to demonstrate the community has declined substantially in geographical extent and integrity and is subject to severe and ongoing threats. Conclusions The consequences of global change affect entire communities, not just single species; however, defining ecological communities based predominantly on plant species composition can fail to illuminate the complex associations of animals that are both sustained by, and sustain, the vegetation. In this study, we present a process for defining and evaluating the status of a fauna community against threat criteria. The explicit recognition and protection of fauna communities can be an important complement to the protection of plant‐based ecological communities.

Birds of Edgbaston Reserve, central-western Queensland, including notes on significant and threatened species

“…We reviewed published bird data for the Desert Uplands and Mitchell Grass Downs bioregions to identify which species are expected to occur at Edgbaston (DERM 2009;Fraser et al 2019;eBird 2020). The proposed Australian Temperate and Subtropical Woodland Bird Community for Queensland (Fraser et al 2019) has been nominated for listing as a Threatened Ecological Community (TEC) under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.…”

“…We reviewed published bird data for the Desert Uplands and Mitchell Grass Downs bioregions to identify which species are expected to occur at Edgbaston (DERM 2009;Fraser et al 2019;eBird 2020). The proposed Australian Temperate and Subtropical Woodland Bird Community for Queensland (Fraser et al 2019) has been nominated for listing as a Threatened Ecological Community (TEC) under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. We used this proposed TEC to assess the significance of the woodland bird species recorded at Edgbaston Reserve as a benchmark that includes the Desert Uplands and adjacent bioregions to the north and south and provides a peer-reviewed published source for identifying species considered representative of intact eastern Australian woodlands.…”

“…Significant bird species recorded at Edgbaston Reserve, Queensland, between 2018 and 2020. Subtropical (ST) and South-east (SE) = bird species included in the subtropical and south-eastern areas, respectively, of the proposed Australian Temperate and Subtropical Woodland Bird Threatened Ecological Community (TEC) (Fraser et al 2019). Expected (E) = TEC species expected to occur at Edgbaston Reserve.…”

“…because of the uncertainty identifying the three potential species (Torresian Crow Corvus orru, Little Crow C. bennetti and Australian Raven C. coronoides) within survey time constraints. We assessed the conservation significance of species via the following sources (Garnett et al 2015;Fraser et al 2019;IUCN 2020).…”

Where nothing stands still: quantifying nomadism in Australian arid-zone birds

“…4) could arise when some populations or individuals within a species display nomadic movements while others remain resident (Lack 1943; similar to ''partial migration''; S2) and species codes can be found in Table 1 Chan 2001; Shaw 2020). With the exception of spotted harrier, all the resident species that overlapped with nomadic species were woodland species (crested bellbird, pallid cuckoo, red-browed pardalote, and variegated fairy-wren; species list from Fraser et al 2019); however, woodland habitat made up a very small proportion of our study sites, so incomplete sampling effort in woodland could explain the large variation in inter-annual abundance and site persistence for these species. Thus, surveying a limited number of sites will not accurately capture movement strategies of species with geographically vast and environmentally varied ranges.…”