Coastal Emu numbers continue to dwindle in the Clarence Valley due vehicle strike and human population pressures

 

Coastal Emu attempting to cross Brooms Head roads in the Lower Clarence Valley, NSW. IMAGES: The Daily Telegraph, archival photographs

Clarence Valley Independent, 19 July 2023:

Residents of the Clarence Valley and visitors to the region are being asked to keep an eye out for critically endangered Coastal Emu’s on local roads following the recent death of an animal on Brooms Head Road.

Coastal Emus live between Evans Head and Corindi along the Northern NSW coast, with the population, believed to be less than 40 locally, stretching inland to the Bungawalbin wetlands.

Yuraygir National Park and Bungawalbin National Park remain the strongholds for the remaining Coastal Emu population in the region.

Due to this incident in late June, the Saving our Species program is reminding people travelling on Clarence Valley roads to remain vigilant and report any emu sightings, after 60 emus were killed by vehicles in the last 10 years.

“The latest casualty…followed a suspected chick vehicle strike death in May.”

Despite this tragic incident, efforts have been made to prevent it happening again through the implementation of signage and reduced speed limits.

Ms Giese said Clarence Valley Council, Transport for NSW, Department of Planning and Environment and local community groups have worked together to reduce speed limits on Brooms Head Road, and clear signage is in place.

“The speed reduction zone is located at an emu crossing corridor and road strike hotspot and is the same location where the emu was killed last week,” Ms Giese said.

“I would also like to acknowledge the huge community effort that went into finding the injured emu and getting it to veterinary attention.”

Locals can help save the Coastal Emu population by reporting sightings of emus in the Clarence Valley to council’s online sightings register https://www.clarenceconversations.com.au/coastalemus

If you own land where emus roam, installing emu friendly fencing can help save the species, and motorists are reminded to be on high alert for emus on local roads.

Coastal Emu family, Palmers Island Channel, Lower Clarence River, NSW. IMAGES: The Daily Telegraph & Daily Examiner, 2015, archival footage

Southern Right Whale and her small 'white' calf spotted in NSW coastal waters on their way to Antarctica

 

Southern Right Whale & her white calf
IMAGE: Right Whale ID program volunteer drone operator Maree Jackson

NSW Dept. of Planning and Environment, media release, 12 August 2022:

LEAVE THE LITTLE ‘WHITE’ WHALE ALONE

Four pairs of mother-and-calf southern right whales have been seen in NSW waters so far this winter – but one pair is slapping up a frenzy on social media.

The calf in this pair is mostly white, as seen in vision taken from high above, reminding people of the famous humpback Migaloo.

However, National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Marine Wildlife Team Project Officer Andrew Marshall said while the sighting was exciting, whale fans needed to stay well clear of the family.

It is illegal to approach any closer than 300 metres when a calf is present, if you are on a vessel, including surfboards, paddleboards and kayaks. Drones must legally stay at least 100 metres above the animals.

“The calf appears to be white but is actually brindle,” Mr Marshall said.

“Its ‘white’ areas will darken to grey as it ages – it’s one of around 1-in-30 southern right whale calves born with brindle colouring.

“This is a rare event to see a virtually white brindle calf, as southern right whales are mostly very dark, although some have splashes of white called a blaze.

“If you look closely at the video you can also see pale grey areas on the mother, who also carries the recessive brindle gene,” he said.

The vision was captured off the south coast recently by accredited drone volunteer, Maree Jackson, from the NSW Government’s Right Whale ID research program to monitor the whales.

Maree used her camera’s zoom function from above the legal height of 100 metres to capture the ‘white’ calf surfacing for a breath while swimming alongside its mother.

Her drone approached at 100 metres then used a 7x optical zoom to capture the stunning close-ups.

“Curious onlookers are reminded to keep back and give the nursing mother and calf space to rest undisturbed,” Mr Marshall said.

“A calf needs up to 300 litres of milk a day to gain the weight needed for the 5000-kilometre swim back down to Antarctic waters in the coming month, so both the mother and calf need to be left alone so they can rest and feel safe.”

Now in its second year, the Right Whale ID Program uses highly trained volunteer drone operators to photograph the unique white head-markings on each southern right whale.

The Right Whale ID program operates as part of the Marine Estate Management Strategy, working with volunteer drone operators to collect important information about southern right whales to assist in their management, protection and conservation.

Southern Right Whale & her 'white' calf
Vision: Created by Right Whale ID program volunteer drone operator Maree Jackson

BACKGROUND

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNiA9qdF9ZA

The ePetition 'Critical Koala Habitat in Port Macquarie' was formally debated in the NSW Legislative Assembly on 17 February 2022.

NSW Parliament, YouTube: "On Thursday 17 February 2022, the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales debated an ePetition presented to the Parliament by Tamara Smith, Member for Ballina, on critical koala habitat in Port Macquarie. The petition called on the Legislative Assembly to direct the Government to purchase critical koala habitat in Port Macquarie. If an ePetition gains 20,000 signatures, it is debated in the Chamber. Debates feature members who speak to the petition including the relevant Minister." 

The e-petition Purchase Critical Koala Habitat in Port Macquarie closed on 23 November 2021. It was only open to signatures of New South Wales residents and 24,970 people responded.

As a result the NSW Government purchased 194 hectares of prime koala habitat located adjacent to the Lake Innes Nature Reserve, south-west of Port Macquarie.

However, the state government's record on protecting New South Wales koala populations is a poor one, heavily influenced by the demands of property developers as well as those of forestry & mining industries and agricultural land clearing.  The Koala remains in danger of extinction by 2050.

Another reason why Australia's remaining native forests should be saved from the loggers - rare bees

 

An Australian native bee believed extinct is found after a 97 year absence from the records.

Pharohylaeus lactiferus 
IMAGE: James Dorey Photography

The Journal of Hymenoptera Research 81:165-180, 25 February 2021:

Missing for almost 100 years: the rare and potentially threatened bee, Pharohylaeus lactiferus (Hymenoptera, Colletidae)

James B. Dorey

Abstract

The Australian endemic bee, Pharohylaeus lactiferus (Colletidae: Hylaeinae) is a rare species that requires conservation assessment. Prior to this study, the last published record of this bee species was from 1923 in Queensland, and nothing was known of its biology. Hence, I aimed to locate extant populations, provide biological information and undertake exploratory analyses relevant to its assessment. Pharohylaeus lactiferus was recently rediscovered as a result of extensive sampling of 225 general and 20 targeted sampling sites across New South Wales and Queensland. Collections indicate possible floral and habitat specialisation with specimens only found near Tropical or Sub-Tropical Rainforest and only visiting Stenocarpus sinuatus (Proteaceae) and Brachychiton acerifolius (Malvaceae), to the exclusion of other available floral resources. Three populations were found by sampling bees visiting these plant species along much of the Australian east coast, suggesting population isolation. GIS analyses used to explore habitat destruction in the Wet Tropics and Central Mackay Coast bioregions indicate susceptibility of Queensland rainforests and P. lactiferus populations to bushfires, particularly in the context of a fragmented landscape. Highly fragmented habitat and potential host specialisation might explain the rarity of P. lactiferus. Targeted sampling and demographic analyses are likely required to thoroughly assess the status of this species and others like it.

Keywords

Conservation, extinction risk, fragmentation, Hylaeinae, invertebrate conservation, Queensland, wildfire, rainforest

Introduction

The greatest threats to ecosystems and species worldwide are habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation (Vie et al. 2009). Australia has already cleared over 40% of its forests and woodlands since European colonisation, leaving much of the remainder fragmented and degraded (Bradshaw 2012). The vast majority of clearing has occurred on freehold and leasehold land and for animal agriculture (Evans 2016). In particular, Queensland is a contemporary land-clearing hotspot and is responsible for more than half of all land-clearing in Australia over the past four decades (Evans 2016). It is a failing of state and federal government policy and regulation that land clearing in Queensland continues at rates that should be of concern both nationally and internationally (Reside et al. 2017).

Despite the ecological importance of Australian native bees, we know very little about their biology (Batley and Hogendoorn 2009) or conservation status. North Queensland hosts high species richness and endemism (Crisp et al. 2001; Orme et al. 2005; Hurlbert and Jetz 2007) and several bee genera that are found nowhere else in Australia (Houston 2018; Smith 2018). These restricted bee genera include: Ctenoplectra Kirby (Apidae: Apinae), Nomada Scopoli (Apidae: Nomadinae), Mellitidia Guérin-Méneville (Halictidae: Nomiinae), Reepenia Friese (Halictidae: Nomiinae), Patellapis Friese (Halictidae: Halictinae) and Pharohylaeus Michener (Colletidae: Hylaeinae).

Pharohylaeus has only two described species: P. papuaensis Hirashima & Roberts in Papua New Guinea and P. lactiferus (Cockerell) in Australia (Houston 1975; Hirashima and Roberts 1986). Both species are relatively large (9–11 mm), robust, mostly black with distinctive white facial and body markings, and have the first three tergal segments enlarged and enclosing the others. The former is known only from two females which were collected on Syzygium aqueum (Burm.f.) Alston (Myrtaceae) in 1982 (Hirashima and Roberts 1986). No published records of P. lactiferus have been made since the third of January 1923, when three males were collected in the Atherton Tablelands; in May of 1900 a male and a female were collected in Mackay while another female was collected in Kuranda prior to 1910 (Cockerell 1910; Houston 1975). However, the collection localities of these specimens are imprecise and no biological data were recorded.

Due to the dearth of biological information on P. lactiferus prior to this study, I aimed to locate extant populations and contribute biological information as part of a broader bee survey. Because of this, much of what follows are exploratory analyses of the potential risks for P. lactiferus and suggestions for future research. Hence, I undertook a series of post-hoc analyses in order to provide insights into the biology, ecology and potential extinction risks associated with P. lactiferus. I provide insights into the circumstances of the rediscovery of P. lactiferus and what is now known of its floral and habitat associations. I also explore spatial data relating to P. lactiferus (vegetation association, potential fire risks and occurrences) and my sampling methods (for potential biases). The possible floral and habitat specialisation along with the rarity of P. lactiferus raises concerns about its conservation status. I further highlight the need for preservation of remnant vegetation and better arthropod-diversity monitoring, particularly for at-risk and phylogenetically important species.

Methodology can be found here.

Australian governments receive yet another warning that mass extinction events are getting closer

All three tiers of Australian governments - federal, state and local - need to turn and face this reality.

Nature, Ecology & Evolution magazine, 20 July 2020:

Impact of 2019–2020 mega-fires on Australian fauna habitat 

Michelle Ward, Ayesha I. T. Tulloch, James Q. Radford, Brooke A. Williams, April E. Reside, Stewart L. Macdonald, Helen J. Mayfield, Martine Maron, Hugh P. Possingham, Samantha J. Vine, James L. O’Connor, Emily J. Massingham, Aaron C. Greenville, John C. Z. Woinarski, Stephen T. Garnett, Mark Lintermans, Ben C. Scheele, Josie Carwardine, Dale G. Nimmo, David B. Lindenmayer, Robert M. Kooyman, Jeremy S. Simmonds, Laura J. Sonter & James E. M. Watson 

Abstract 

Australia’s 2019–2020 mega-fires were exacerbated by drought, anthropogenic climate change and existing land-use management. 
Here, using a combination of remotely sensed data and species distribution models, we found these fires burnt ~97,000 km2 of vegetation across southern and eastern Australia, which is considered habitat for 832 species of native vertebrate fauna. 
Seventy taxa had a substantial proportion (>30%) of habitat impacted; 21 of these were already listed as threatened with extinction. 
To avoid further species declines, Australia must urgently reassess the extinction vulnerability of fire-impacted species and assist the recovery of populations in both burnt and unburnt areas. 
Population recovery requires multipronged strategies aimed at ameliorating current and fire-induced threats, including proactively protecting unburnt habitats. [my yellow highlighting]

The Guardian, 21 July 2020: 

The publication of the peer-reviewed study in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution followed the Morrison government on Monday releasing an independent review of the laws, known as the Environment Protection and Conservation Biodiversity (EPBC) Act. 

The interim review led by Graeme Samuel, a former competition watchdog head, found Australia’s environment was in an unsustainable state of decline and the laws were not fit to address current and future environmental challenges. 

Samuel recommended the introduction of national environmental standards that set clear rules for conservation protection while allowing sustainable development, and the establishment of an independent environmental regulator to monitor and enforce compliance. 

The environment minister, Sussan Ley, agreed to develop environmental standards, but rejected the call for an independent regulator and said she would immediately start work on an accreditation process to devolve responsibility for most environmental approvals to the states and territories. 

One of the Nature Ecology study’s authors, Prof James Watson, said the laws could be effective but only if protections were enforced. 

The act, which has been widely criticised for failing to stem a developing extinction crisis, largely leaves decisions to the discretion of the environment minister of the day.....

In the Kalang River forests of New South Wales......

According to the NSW Office of Environment & Heritage the Milky Silkpod is found only within NSW, with scattered populations in the north coast region between Kendall and Woolgoolga.

This plant is currently listed as Vulnerable in NSW and has a Commonwealth conservation status of Endangered. Little is known of its reproductive biology.

However, this means little to the Forestry Corporation of NSW, its board of directors and workers or the Berejiklian Coalition Government.

The Belligen Shire Courier, 16 July 2019:

 OEH-Milky Silkpod profile. Photo Shane Ruming

A volunteer survey team that trekked through the Upper Kalang forests on the weekend found dozens of endangered plants damaged by Forestry Corporation's logging preparations.

The Milky Silkpod (Parsonia dorrigoensis) is listed as 'vulnerable' in NSW and is a nationally endangered plant.

As the name suggests, the forests of the Mid North Coast are a stronghold for it, with most records found between Kendall and Woolgoolga.

In 1999 it was estimated that there were less than 2000 individual plants and the main threat to the survival of this species is low numbers.

Official government advice on how to manage the plant says that "searches for the species should be conducted prior to any logging operations" and known habitat should be "protect[ed] from clearing, high levels of disturbance and development".

"Yet once again Forestry Corporation has shown its disregard for the the environment," survey team member Jonas Bellchambers said.

"Of the 110 confirmed new records identified on the weekend, 39 specimens were found that had already been damaged and are unlikely to recover.

"With more logging and roading imminent it is highly likely to wipe out a good part of this population.

"Like for most species, it's a death of 1000 cuts, and before we know it another plant has blinked out and has gone from our planet completely. We are in the midst of a major extinction event. Here we have a clear example of why. Because government and industry just don't care....

Cartoon of the Week

@cathywilcox1

Be a hero - save an endangered Swift Parrot family today

Swift Parrot

Lathamus discolor
Psittacidae

Critically endangered (Australian federal listing)

IUCN Red List

Image: Geoffrey Dabb/ Canberra Birds

Swift Parrots breed only in Tasmania and then fly across Bass Strait to forage on the flowering eucalypts in open box–ironbark forests of the Australian mainland. While on the mainland, they are nomadic, spending weeks or months at some sites and only a few hours at others, determined by the supply of nectar. [Birdlife Australia]

                                     

https://youtu.be/s0vQKseZfgs

Go to https://pozible.com/project/operation-pko to donate

ABC News, 18 October 2017:

The parrots are nomadic and eat nectar, travelling in flocks to nest near flowering eucalypts.

"This year, all their food is on the east coast of Tasmania, and that area is full of sugar gliders," Dr Stojanovic said.

"We're very concerned that all the birds we bred on predator-free islands last year, will end up nesting on the mainland in sugar glider habitat and be eaten."

With the help of an electrician, Dr Stojanovic has designed "a possum-keeper-outer" nest boxes, with a door to close behind the parrot once darkness fell.

"Effectively, it's just a little motor and a light sensor," he said.

"As soon as it's daytime the sensor automatically detects that there's ambient light and it will open to release the parrot to go about their business….

Dr Stojanovic said previous research had shown the possums could eat parrots "within a couple of days" of the bird laying its eggs.

"About half of the female swift parrots that nest on the mainland of Tasmania each year end up being eaten by sugar gliders," he said.

"It can be a really severe rate of predation."

Dr Stojanovic said the crowd-funding protection measures were needed due to ongoing deforestation of the swift parrot habitat, by logging.

"If someone asks you, what's so bad about shark nets? Remember this picture"

If someone asks you, what's so bad about #shark nets?

Remember this picture.

Adult female Loggerhead #turtle drowned at #Lennox today. pic.twitter.com/uChgAPEnE1

— Captain Turtle (@Captainturtle) March 29, 2017

Note:

In Australia the Loggerhead Turtle is officially listed as a nationally endangered species.

Australian Swift Parrots Update

https://youtu.be/YctKVI7Yr7E

Six foot tall heavyweight Barnaby Joyce versus thirteen inches of Australian possum magic

A red-faced political brawler has decided to beat up on a shy, small nocturnal possum.

THE POSSUM

Leadbeater's Possum

Gymnobelideus leadbeateri

Native to Australia

Originally known as the Bass River Possum

Estimated average length: 33 cm (13 inches) from head to tail

Critically Endangered (2015)

On International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species

Estimated wild population: 1,200 - 4,000 possums

Leadbeater's possum occurs in Australia’s tallest forests in central Victoria. Considered extinct until 1961, the species is now found in two subpopulations: a core location in the Central Highlands and an outlier in lowland floodplain forest. During the day, possums den in communal nests in the hollow centre of a large dead or living tree. A monogamous breeding pair and one or more generations of offspring den together. Feeding occurs at night with the diet comprising of trunk and branch exudates (80%) and insects (20%). [Australian Department of Environment and Energy, Species Profile and Threats Database, 2017]

Old-growth ash forest is prime habitat for Leadbeater’s possum. It is estimated that old-growth or multi-aged mountain ash forest comprised 30–60 per cent of the current ash forest estate in the Central Highlands of Victoria prior to European settlement. Old growth ash forest now comprises 1.15 per cent of this mountain ash forest estate (Lindenmayer et al., 2013a). [Threatened Species Scientific Committee, Conservation Advice to the Minister, 22 April 2015]

Bushfires, post-fire salvage logging and commercial timber harvesting, particularly clear-felling, are the principal cause of continuing loss of ideal habitat.

The Leadbeater’s Possum is the gazetted mammal emblem of Victoria [1971].

THE BRAWLER

Barnaby Joyce is pushing for the conservation status of the critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum to be downgraded to open up areas of protected forests in Victoria for logging, in an effort to save 250 jobs at the Heyfield sawmill.

* Image of Joyce letter via Twitter

* Leadbeater's Possum photograph from auscape.com.au

* Photograph of Barnaby Joyce from Google Images

A remnant Coastal Cypress Pine Forest in Iluka, New South Wales

Images supplied by Iluka resident

Coastal Cypress Pine, Callitris columellaris distribution on Lot 99 Hickey Street, Iluka, which is currently the subject of a development application for subdivision into 162 residential lots:

Image supplied by Dr. Miles Holmes, PhD (Anthropology) University of Queensland,

Honorary Research Fellow University of Queensland

This forest appears to meet the requirements for being classified as an Endangered Ecological Community (EEC), in that even small patches that have been disturbed in the past by clearing, or fire are still considered to be important remnants of Coastal Cypress Pine Forest and meet the criteria of being an EEC [NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change, Coastal Cypress Pine Forest in the NSW North Coast Bioregion, 2009].

However, the developer of record Stevens Holdings Pty Ltd (trading as Stevens Group) is thought to be resistant to the possibility that this mapping represents a viable remnant forest which would meet the requirements for such a classification.

Environmentally conscious village residents are concerned about the fate of this small forest on Lot 99 as it is to be clear felled to make way for residential land parcels.

These are excerpts from advice given to the NSW Government in 2008 concerning Coastal Cypress Pine forests on the NSW North Coast:

Coastal Cypress Pine Forest in the NSW North Coast Bioregion is the name given to the ecological community dominated by Coastal Cypress Pine, Callitris columellaris, found typically on coastal sand plains, north from the Angourie area on the far north coast of NSW. The community typically has a closed to open canopy of C. columellaris, which may be mixed with eucalypts, wattles, banksias and/or rainforest trees, and an open to sparse understorey of shrubs, sedges and herbs. Structural forms of the community include woodland, open forest and closed forest, although the tree stratum may be very sparse, absent, or comprised only of dead trees in stands affected by partial clearing, tree senescence or fire…..

The species composition of a site will be influenced by the size of the site, recent rainfall or drought condition and by its disturbance (including fire) history. The number of species, and the above ground relative abundance of species will change with time since fire, and may also change in response to changes in fire regime (including changes in fire frequency). At any one time, above ground individuals of some species may be absent, but the species may be represented below ground in the soil seed banks or as dormant structures such as bulbs, corms, rhizomes, rootstocks or lignotubers. The list of species given above is of vascular plant species; the community also includes micro-organisms, fungi, cryptogamic plants and a diverse fauna, both vertebrate and invertebrate…..

Based on detailed field inspections, the total distribution of Coastal Cypress Pine Forest covers approximately 150 ha (A. Benwell, unpubl. data), and is certainly less than 200 ha. Coastal Cypress Pine Forest is currently known from 15-20 localities, most of which are patches no larger than 10 ha. Stands of the community have been mapped in Bundjalung, Yuraygir and Broadwater National Parks (Griffith 1983, 1984, 1985) and Billinudgel Nature Reserve (Benwell 1998), accounting for about half of the total known occurrence. The remaining stands occur primarily on private land or road easements. All known occurrences of the community are within a total extent of occurrence of 2500 –3000 km2. These estimates indicate that the community has a highly restricted distribution……

Coastal Cypress Pine Forest in the NSW North Coast Bioregion is eligible to be listed as an Endangered Ecological Community as, in the opinion of the Scientific Committee, it is facing a very high risk of extinction in New South Wales in the near future…. [Coastal Cypress Pine Forest in the NSW North Coast Bioregion - endangered ecological community listing NSW Scientific Committee - final determination, October 2008]

Coastal Cypress Pine Forest in the NSW North Coast Bioregion - endangered ecological community listing NSW...

This flora species list is compiled from notes supplied by John Edwards (Clarence Environment Centre) & M.L. de Lepervanche and shows that the lot contains at least 28 of the 50 indicative species found in a Coastal Pine Forest Endangered Ecological Community (EEC):

Coastal Pine EEC indicative species	* = species identified
Abildgaardia vaginata
Acacia aulacocarpa
Acacia disparrima subsp. disparrima	*
Acacia ulicifolia
Acianthus caudatus
Acianthus exsertus	*
Acronychia imperforata	*
Acrotriche aggregata
Allocasuarina littoralis	*
Alyxia ruscifolia
Araucaria cunninghamii
Aristida spp.
Astroloma humifusum
Austromyrtus dulcis	*
Baloskion tetraphyllum subsp. meiostachyum
Banksia integrifolia subsp. Integrifolia	*
Banksia serrata	*
Bulboschoenus barbata
Callitris columellaris	*
Chiloglottis sp.
Commelina cyanea	*
Corymbia intermedia	*
Cyclophyllum longipetalum
Cymbopogon refractus var. refractus
Cyperus stradbrokensis	*
Dianella caerulea	*
Eragrostis brownii	*
Eucalyptus pilularis
Eucalyptus resinifera subsp. hemilampra
Eucalyptus signata
Euroschinus falcata	*
Halfordia kendack
Hoya australis subsp. australis	*
Imperata cylindrica var. major	*
Leptospermum polygalifolium	*
Leucopogon ericoides
Leucopogon leptospermoides	*
Leucopogon margarodes
Lomandra longifolia	*
Monotoca elliptica	*
Notelaea longifolia	*
Oxylobium robustum
Paspalidium distans	*
Persoonia stradbrokensis	*
Platycerium bifurcatum	*
Pomax umbellata	*
Pteridium esculentum	*
Pterostylis nutans	*
Pterostylis pedunculata	*
Zieria smithii

Examples of 24 of the 28 Coastal Pine EEC indicative species which are known to grow on Lot 99:

 Acacia disparrima 

 Acronychia imperforata

 Allocasuarina littoralis

 Austromyrtus dulcis

 Banksia integrifolia

 Banksia serrata

 Commelina cyanea

 Corymbia intermedia

Dianella caerulea

Eragrostis brownii 

Euroschinus falcata

Hoya australis

Imperata cylindric

Leptospermum polygalifolium

Leucopogon leptospermoides

Lomandra longifolia

Monotoca elliptica

Notelaea longifolia

Pteridium esculentum

Pterostylis nutans

 Pomax umbellata

 Platycerium bifurcatum

 Persoonia stradbrokensis

Paspalidium distans

Photographs courtesy of John Edwards