Threatened species

Question 1

What are the 3 levels of listing for threatened species?

Answer 1

1. International: International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

2.National – Australia: Environment Protection and

3. Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
   State – Queensland: Nature Conservation Act

communicate with people, consistency
legal
working in consulting

Question 2

What are the redlist categories

Answer 2

Critically endangered (CR)
Endangered (SN)/ threatened in US
Vulnerable (VU)

Question 3

What’s the difference between extinct and extinct in the wild?

Answer 3

There are no populations in the wild but may be populations in captivity

Question 4

What is the environment protection and biodiversity concervsation act 1999?

Answer 4

Australian Government’s central piece
of environmental legislation.

Provides a legal framework to protect
and manage nationally and
internationally important flora, fauna,
ecological communities and heritage
places — defined in the Act as matters
of national environmental significance (anything migrates)

Subspecies are given equal weight to
species under the EPBC Act.

Question 5

What is the nature conservation act?

Answer 5

Queensland’s state legislation
governing threatened species

Protected areas
National parks (yes, state managed!)
State forests & timber reserves
Indigenous joint management areas
Special wildlife reserves
Nature reserves

Question 6

What is the criteria for

Answer 6

1. Change in number - rate of change, if rapid, can be devastating - reduction in population size
2. geographic range - how much do they have, if small range, and one specific area at higher risk.
3. population size at a threshold and declining
4. population size at a lower threshold
5. Quantitative analysis showing probability of extinction in the wild meets certain criteria

Question 7

Could you think of a reason it could be useful to have a different species with a different listing status in a different area?

Answer 7

the species may be common in one state and not in the other

Question 8

How many species in Australia are extinct?

Answer 8

One of the worst records for
extinctions globally  90 spp
– 39 mammals
– 22 birds
– 4 frogs
– 1 reptile
– 1 invertebrate (probably more)

3 vertebrates since 2009

Question 9

What are the frog that have gone extinct?

Answer 9

Southern gastric-brooding frog (Rheobatrachus silus), last seen in 1981

Northern gastric-brooding frog (Rheobatrachus vitellinus) 1985

Sharp-snouted day frog (Taudactylus acutirostris) 1997

Southern day frog (Taudactylus diurnus) 1979

Question 10

What was the causes for extinction in Gastric brooding Frog?

Answer 10

Logging of the catchment, pigs, weeds, altered flow & water quality could have all impacted the species

Two of the first extinctions in Australia caused by the chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis)[Bd] —> the main cause
of extinction and decline in Australian frogs

rainforest creeks

• Both species lived in rainforest creeks 350-1,400 m ASL
• Females swallow embryos, which develop in her stomach
• Young fully developed when regurgitated; could be up to 25!

Question 11

What is an example of birds that is extinct? and what are the causes of extinction?

Answer 11

Extinct: Paradise parrot (Psephotus pulcherrimus)

Aus only mainland bird extinction

Formerly occurred in central and southern QLD
Already concerned for its decline, surveys in 1918-1927 found few.
Last recorded in 1927

Required termite mounds for breeding – were destroyed for flooring & tennis courts

Habitat cleared for agriculture, fire regimes interrupted, habitat grazed, drought

Question 12

What reptile is extinct?

Answer 12

Christmas Island Forest Skink (Emoia nativitatis)

Question 13

What are the primary causes of decline of australias terrestrial mammals?

Answer 13

introduced predators

Question 14

What are two examples of extinct mammals in australian

Answer 14

Christmas island Pipistrelle and Bramble cay melomys

Question 15

Why are Christmas island pipistrelles extinct?

Answer 15

• Endemic to Christmas Island (Australian territory)
• Surveys from 1994 – 2005 showed steep decline, disappearing from parts of the island
  Actual threats unknown, but
  believed to be invasive species:
• Yellow crazy ants
• Common wolf snake
• Black rats
• Feral cats
• Giant centipedes

Habitat loss
The last individual was recorded on 26th August 2009

Despite numerous warnings, Aust Govt did not take sufficient action until too late

Question 16

Why is the Bramble cay melomys extinct?

Answer 16

Occurred on 1 small (4 ha) coral cay in torres strait: Bramble Cay/ Maizab Kaur

Max elevation 3 m - small patch of island for the animal

Last detected in 2004
Searches 2011 & 2014 = 0
Phosphatic rock eroded 1.3 m/yr
Vegetation 1.1 ha  0.065 ha
Evidence of inundation events

vegetation decrease, not sufficient action was taken, climate change

Question 17

what taxonomic group most represented on this list?

Answer 17

red-finned blue eye

Question 18

What are the most imperilled birds?

Answer 18

1. King island brown thornbill

lost 67% of habitat is cleared
they presumed extinct - surveyed in 2019

2. orange bellied parrot - the most threats including agriculture, wind turbines, genetic introgression, human intrusion

Question 19

Why are sugar gliders a problems for orange-bellied parrots?

Answer 19

Eating the eggs, babies and adult parrots
breed in old trees - sugar gliders may have been introduced to tasmania.

females incubate the eggs and SG eats the females - more males now than females. competitive breeding

Question 20

How many species have declined from north and eastern australia?

Answer 20

1 extinct - paradise parrot
4 endangered finches and parrots
Night parrot
golden shouldered parrot
gouldian finish
crimson finch
star finch

3 vulnerable pigeons - squatter partridge
southern black throated finch

Question 21

What is the status of the southern black throated finch? and what is impacting their population?

Answer 21

southern black throated finch - endangered

habitat overlapped with thermal coal mines and affected by solar farms - habitats are clearing and no funding for implementation.

would have occured NSW, declared extinct but still in north queensland.

habitat degradation and fragmentation - habitat loss continuum. Fire, farming, weeds, water points - less grains for the finch to consume.

Question 22

What is one of Australias most imperilled frogs?

Answer 22

1. Armoured mist frog (Litoria lorica)
   Believed to have gone extinct during chytridiomycosis outbreaks 1980s &1990s.

2008 surveys of high-elevation dry sclerophyll forest discovered a previously unknown population of L. lorica & Waterfall frog (Litoria nannotis).

Critically endangered frogs are all high elevation chytridsusceptible

2. Kroombit Tops in central QLD has 2 CR frogs:

Kroombit Tinker Frog (Taudactylus pleione)
<150 individuals remain & declining
Associated with Piccabeen Palm rainforest & boulder screes
Very little is known about their breeding

Kroombit Treefrog (Litoria kroombitensis)
Rainforest & wet sclerophyll, stream-breeding
Both have tiny distributions – vulnerable to wildfire, pigs, disease

Question 23

Why does QLD have the most threatened frogs

Answer 23

we have a higher diversity/ species of frog (greater population)

Question 24

What is two examples of the most imperilled reptile in QLD?

Answer 24

1. Nangur Spiny Skink (Nangura spinosa)
   Only occurs in 2 locations – west of Gympie
   Population estimated to be 183, most at one site
   Occurs in pine plantations & semi-evergreen vine thicket 
   Endangered Ecological Community (EPBC Act)

Condamine earless dragon (Tympanocryptis condaminensis)

Endangered
Very restricted distribution
Almost entirely on cropping land
Threatened by agricultural
intensification

grasslands - lowest barrier for development or for crops (completely cleared)

Question 25

How are threats categorised?

Answer 25

1. Timing (past, ongoing, future)
2. Scope (proportion of the total population affected)
3. severity

timing option
- only in the past unlikely to return
- in the past but now suspended and likely to return
- ongoing
- only in the future
- unknown

Scope
- affects the whole population
- affect majority of the population
- affect the minority of the population
- unknown

Severity
- rapid declines, how badly is it occurs

Question 26

Why do you want to know relative impact of different threats

Answer 26

we know which ones to concentrate on -
address things sooner.

Question 27

What are causes for the habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and degradation?

Answer 27

urban developments
agriculture - habitat clearing (mostly this)

Question 28

What are the threats for animals in australia?

Answer 28

1. habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation
2. invasive species and diseases
3. fire
4. climate change