Journal articles on the topic 'Nature conservation Australia'
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1
Richardson, Benjamin J., and Nina Hamaski. "Rights of Nature Versus Conventional Nature Conservation: International Lessons from Australia’s Tarkine Wilderness." Environmental Policy and Law 51, no. 3 (July 15, 2021): 159–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/epl-201066.
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The rights-of-nature model is gaining traction as an innovative legal approach for nature conservation. Although adopted in several countries, it remains in its infancy, including in Australia. An important research question is whether rights of nature will offer superior environmental outcomes compared to traditional nature conservation techniques including creation of protected areas. This article investigates that question through a case study of the Tarkine wilderness, in the Australia state of Tasmania. It first identifies key lessons from existing international experience with affirmation of rights of nature, such as in New Zealand and Ecuador. The article then explores how rights of nature could apply in Australia’s Tarkine region and their value compared to existing or potential protected areas and other nature conservation measures under Australian or Tasmanian law. Affirming rights of nature represents a major conceptual shift in how people via the law relate to the natural world, but whether the model offers practical benefits for nature conservation depends on a variety of conditions, in addition to the need to address broader societal drivers of environmentaldegradation.
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F. Recher, Harry, Richard J. Hobbs, and Denis A. Saunders. "Vision for a Sustainable Future." Pacific Conservation Biology 9, no. 1 (2003): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc030001.
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IN 1996, the Australian Federal, State and Territory governments ratified the National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity (Commonwealth of Australia 1996). This strategy states that production systems must be sustainable and not result in further loss of biological diversity. Although there is a considerable amount of work addressing the issues of landscape degradation and sustainability, it is largely conducted in the absence of any clear vision of where Australia, as an environment in which we live, should be at the end of the 21st Century and beyond. That is, Australia lacks an integrated, long-term strategic plan for the future. As a nation, Australia is not alone in lacking a vision for the future. At whatever scale we choose, from global to regional, effective environmental management and the conservation of natural systems are hampered by the lack of vision and planning on the ecological and evolutionary time scales appropriate for complex and continually changing ecosystems.
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F. Recher, H. "Conservation and management of Australasian birds." Pacific Conservation Biology 3, no. 3 (1997): 171. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc970171.
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This is a special issue of Pacific Conservation Biology on the conservation and management of Australasian birds. Originally, the papers were presented at the Southern Hemisphere Ornithological Congress (SHOC) held in October 1996 at Albany, Western Australia. The Congress was organized by the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union following discussions in 1990 at the International Ornithological Congress in Christchurch, New Zealand on the need for regular, scientific ornithological meetings in Australia. The intent of those discussions was for a meeting of Australian/New Zealand ornithologists every two years.
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F. Recher, H. "Conservation priorities: myths and realities." Pacific Conservation Biology 3, no. 2 (1997): 81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc970081.
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Jim Davie's essay on integrating nature conservation with the economic, social and political realities of Indonesia is as relevant to Australia as it is to developing nations. Although Davie makes this clear, it is a message that most Australians might overlook or choose to ignore. For too long Western nations have pursued the myth of nature conservation through reserves. We know that Australia's system of conservation reserves in neither representative nor viable in the long term. Conserving the continent's biodiversity requires a system of reserves and the environmentally sensitive management of the matrix within which the reserve system is embedded. Yet, Landcare and growing efforts by State forestry authorities aside, there is little evidence of environmentally sensitive management directed at conserving biodiversity on the vast expanse of urban, forestry, agricultural and pastoral lands throughout Australia. Moreover, it is by no means clear what the end result of establishing a comprehensive, adequate, and representative system of forest reserves throughout Australia will be. One concern is that the relevant authorities will adhere to the message of the myth and decide that with an "adequate" reserve system, management of forest biodiversity outside the reserves is less important or even unnecessary. If this eventuates, then the creation of a reserve system will actually have a negative impact on forest conservation.
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Stamation, K., M. Watson, P. Moloney, C. Charlton, and J. Bannister. "Population estimate and rate of increase of southern right whales Eubalaena australis in southeastern Australia." Endangered Species Research 41 (April 30, 2020): 373–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/esr01031.
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In Australian waters, southern right whales Eubalaena australis form 2 genetically distinct populations that have shown contrasting patterns of recovery since whaling ceased: a western population in South Australia and Western Australia and an eastern population in southeastern Australia (Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales). Here, we provide an abundance estimate derived from a breeding female superpopulation mark-recapture model for the southeastern southern right whale population. The population comprises 268 individuals (68 breeding females) and has increased at a rate of 4.7% per annum between 1996 and 2017. There has been no significant change in the annual abundance of mother-calf pairs sighted at the only calving ground (Logans Beach in Victoria) over the last 3 decades. The total number of southern right whales (i.e. all adults and calves) using the southeastern Australian coastline has increased by 7% since 1985. Unlike the population estimate (which was restricted to breeding females sighted prior to the post-breeding southward migration), this estimate is likely to include transiting whales from the southwestern population. The theoretical population model predicts 19 breeding females at Logans Beach in 2018 and 28 in 2028; the actual number of breeding females, as of 2018, is 14. This study provides the first complete estimate of population size and rate of increase of southern right whales along the southeastern Australian coastline. This knowledge is critical for assessing population status and recovery of southern right whales in Australia. It provides a basis for monitoring persistence and responses of the population to environmental stressors.
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Moro, Dorian, Derek Ball, and Sally L. Bryant. "Action planning for island conservation and management in Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 28, no. 4 (August 22, 2022): 301–2. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc22012.
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Australia needs a new shared vision that the current trajectory of loss of natural heritage on its offshore islands is not acceptable and needs to change. This Special Issue brings together seven papers from leaders and practitioners with experience in offshore islands across the Australian and New Zealand context. The fundamentals for each paper are to suggest potential solutions or scenarios to move forward with island policy, and management.
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G. Mackey, B., R. G. Lesslie, D. B. Lindenmayer, and H. A. Nix. "Wilderness and its place in nature conservation in Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 4, no. 3 (1998): 182. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc980185.
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Most of the concepts considered under the broad umbrella of nature conservation have changed considerably during the last century. This is the result of an evolving process driven primarily by the rapid and sustained transformation of natural systems due to agricultural and industrial development, growth in public awareness and appreciation of the value of natural systems, and developments and shifting priorities in conservation science. Prevailing views and accepted principles are necessarily challenged as a part of this process. At present, both in Australia and internationally, the concept of wilderness is under challenge. In particular, its relevance and role in nature conservation is being questioned in the light of present priorities such as the conservation of biodiversity and concerns over global environmental change. This is taking place against a background of changing understandings as to the relationship between indigenous societies and the environment.
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King, Rachael A., and Remko Leys. "The Australian freshwater amphipods Austrochiltonia australis and Austrochiltonia subtenuis (Amphipoda:Talitroidea:Chiltoniidae) confirmed and two new cryptic Tasmanian species revealed using a combined molecular and morphological approach." Invertebrate Systematics 25, no. 3 (2011): 171. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/is10035.
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Given the complex nature of freshwater catchment divides and emerging evidence of high levels of genetic diversity, there is great potential for cryptic species to exist among Australian freshwater amphipod groups. Among the chiltoniid amphipods, two congeneric species, Austrochiltonia australis (Sayce, 1901) and A. subtenuis (Sayce, 1902), have been widely recorded across southern Australia yet are poorly known and contentiously defined. A large fragment of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene was examined and morphological diversity among populations assessed across the reported geographic range of the two putative species. The results confirmed A. australis and A. subtenuis as morphological and molecular species. In addition, two previously undetected and cryptic species from Tasmania are recognised – sister species to A. subtenuis and A. australis. Working conclusions provide evidence towards a more comprehensive systematic revision of the Chiltoniidae and present species information relevant to conservation and management efforts of Australian river systems. A key is presented to the chiltoniid amphipods of southern Australia.
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F. Recher, Harry. "Australian Elections, Wilderness and the Lost Billions." Pacific Conservation Biology 4, no. 3 (1998): 177. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc980177.
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As I write this editorial, Australia is in the final week of national elections. Apart from the appearance of a strongly nationalistic, and minority, party which the media has promoted as racist, it is unlikely that Australia's election has received much notice outside Australia. Yet there are aspects to this election which should disturb anyone interested in achieving global ecological sustainability and the conservation of global biodiversity. First, there has been a conspicuous silence from the major political parties concerning environmental issues. To be sure, the sitting conservative government has rolled out the pork barrel and grandly announced funding for local conservation initiatives ? especially in marginal seats ? but there has been no debate on issues nor have environmental policies been afforded even a small fraction of the attention given to the economy, unemployment, health or education. Moreover, the projects funded do nothing to resolve the underlying causes of Australia's declining environmental quality (e.g., land clearing, unsustainable logging practices, over grazing, and excessive demands on fresh water). This is despite the fact that respondents to polls continue to list the environment among the most important issues concerning Australians.
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Phillips, Julia. "Nature Conservation 4: The Role of Networks." Pacific Conservation Biology 3, no. 2 (1997): 162. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc970162.
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The fourth in a series of volumes concerning nature conservation, this most recent addition is the proceedings of an international conference held in Geraldton, Western Australia, November 1994. It adopts the same format as its predecessors with contributed papers presented as individual chapters grouped into a number of main themes. Given that 78 of the 95 oral papers presented are included, The Role of Networks provides a comprehensive summary of the conference.
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Hawkins, Gay, and Gillian Paxton. "Infrastructures of conservation: Provoking new natures with predator fencing." Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space 2, no. 4 (August 6, 2019): 1009–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2514848619866078.
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This paper examines the use of predator fences for conservation in Australia. It argues that these major infrastructures for enclosure act as a form of ‘provocative containment’ in which particular forms of nature are not simply protected but made to happen. The primary focus is Newhaven, a property in remote central Australia managed by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, a non-profit organization with the biggest estate of privately managed land for conservation in the nation. At Newhaven, the first stage of an ambitious and expensive predator fencing programme has recently been completed, with a second phase under construction that will see the property become the site of the largest feral cat-free enclosure on the planet. In analysing this significant material infrastructure, and the practices and discourses that the Australian Wildlife Conservancy deploys to both justify and attract funding for it, it is possible to see a new conceptualization of conservation emerging in which nature is not simply offered sanctuary but actively stimulated and simulated. The Newhaven fence is much more than a passive material boundary between desired and undesired life. It is a reality-generating device with complex and contradictory biopolitical effects. The concept of provocation highlights how the fence emerges as a deliberate intervention into the dynamics of life. We examine how this is done in four distinct ways: through the sociotechnical design and construction of the fence as ‘cat-proof’, by enrolling Indigenous labour and tracking skills to kill cats, through the use of ecological surveys and baselines to make some life calculable, and via the translocation of species in order to allow them to be both protected and flourish. Each of these practices is essential to making new natures at Newhaven through the complex dynamics of provocation and containment. The issue is: what sort of nature?
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POULIQUEN-YOUNG, ODILE. "Evolution of the system of protected areas in Western Australia." Environmental Conservation 24, no. 2 (June 1997): 168–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0376892997000234.
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The Western Australian system of protected areas (PAs) covers more than 15 million ha and is the second largest conservation estate of the Australian continent. An analysis of the history of the creation of PAs in Western Australia shows that the concept of nature conservation through reserves was slow to emerge. During the early decades of the century, reserves were mainly created for their recreation values. The lack of governmental interest in nature conservation led to a belated development of reserve coverage up to the 1950s, while vast areas of land were opened to farming and pastoralism. Following two scientifically-based reviews of the PA system, the number and coverage of PAs increased dramatically up to the late 1970s. The rationalization of the vesting and managerial responsibilities for PAs was only finalized in the 1980s. Since then, there has not been any large increase in PA area but a consolidation of the PA coverage. The development of the system of PAs has been impeded by the belated response of Western Australian governments to conservation concerns and a 'worthless' land approach to conservation as a land use. While large-scale land alienation for agriculture has now stopped, other types of land uses such as mining and other aspirations over land management and vesting, such as Aboriginal land claims and forestry are now constraining any large expansion of the PA system. Only an approach embracing the whole landscape can overcome the political and social limitations of the concept of PAs and the further degradation of developed land in Western Australia.
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Boon, Paul I., and Vishnu Prahalad. "Ecologists, economics and politics: problems and contradictions in applying neoliberal ideology to nature conservation in Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 23, no. 2 (2017): 115. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc16035.
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In a recent Forum Essay in Pacific Conservation Biology, the well known ecologist Harry Recher argued that over the past three decades Australia had experienced a ‘failure of science’ and a concomitant ‘death of nature’. In this essay we examine some of the propositions put forward by Recher (2015), with particular reference to the role played by neoliberal ideology in nature conservation in Australia. Since the early 1980s the neoliberal value system has effectively shaped a new paradigm for nature conservation in Australia with its own language, tools and institutions, and through such a process has redefined nature in its own terms. We focus on two of the most significant neoliberal, free-market mechanisms – (1) monetary valuation of biodiversity and of ecosystem services, and (2) the provision of complementary areas to offset losses of high-quality habitat – and show how they have come to dominate policy development and on-ground activities in wetland management and conservation in Australia. Despite the wide reach of neoliberal ideology, ecologists and conservation biologists seem largely unaware of its practical implications. In some cases, such as with offset programs and with carbon valuation, they have become complicit with the ruling ideology, without, it seems to us, being fully aware of their involvement, tacit or explicit, or of the likely connotations of that participation. Hedging the future of wetland conservation to ‘market-driven environmentalism’ is simply an expected overreach in the broader context of neoliberal economic and political ideology, and provides rich grounds for a critique in support of a more considered approach to nature conservation.
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Lindenmayer, David. "From biodiversity to bioperversity: from good science to poor environmental policy." Pacific Conservation Biology 19, no. 4 (2013): 250. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc130250.
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While Australia is one of the world leaders in conservation biology, it is not in conservation policy. Proposed socalled policy “reforms” in environmental policy will undermine many of the important gains made in conservation management. Here I outline four retrogressive policy changes proposed or currently taking place in eastern Australian states. These range from branding climate research as “post-normal” science through to grazing of alpine environments to reduce “blazing” despite overwhelming evidence that it has no such effect. Conservation scientists will need to work extremely hard to communicate their science and underscore the need for scientific data to underpin truly evidencebased conservation policy and evidence-based conservation management. The consequences of failing to do so will be an ongoing decline in the quality of environmental policies and impaired environmental and conservation outcomes.
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Wescott, Geoffrey Charles. "Australia's Distinctive National Parks System." Environmental Conservation 18, no. 4 (1991): 331–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s037689290002258x.
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Australia possesses a distinctive national parks and conservation reserves system, in which it is the State Governments rather than the Federal Government which owns, plans, and manages, national parks and other conservation reserves.Most Australian States declared their first national parks in the latter quarter of last century, Australia's first national park being declared in New South Wales in March 1879. These critical declarations were followed by a slow accumulation of parks and reserves through to 1968. The pace of acquisition then quickened dramatically with an eight-fold expansion in the total area of national parks between 1968 and 1990, at an average rate of over 750,000 ha per annum. The present Australian system contains 530 national parks covering 20.18 million hectares or 2.6% of the land-mass. A further 28.3 million hectares is protected in other parks and conservation reserves. In terms of the percentage of their land-mass now in national parks, the leading States are Tasmania (12.8%) and Victoria (10.0%), with Western Australia (1.9%) and Queensland (2.1%) trailing far behind, and New South Wales (3.92%) and South Australia (3.1%) lying between.The Australian system is also compared with the Canadian and USA systems. All three are countries of widely comparable cultures that have national parks covering similar percentage areas, but Canada and the USA have far fewer national parks than Australia and they are in general of much greater size. In addition, Canada and the USA ‘resource’ these parks far better than the Australians do theirs. The paper concludes that Australia needs to rationalize its current system by introducing direct funding, by the Federal Government, of national park management, and duly examining the whole system of reserves from a national rather than States' viewpoint.
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Hayward, Matt W. "Time to agree on a conservation benchmark for Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 18, no. 2 (2012): 69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc120069.
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WELL defined goals are critical to successfully achieve outcomes and monitor the success of achieving them, yet conservation agencies rarely explicitly state the goals of their management activities with appropriate metrics. Here I use case studies on the conflicting conservation management focus of the Sydney Harbour National Park at North Head, the legislative impediments of bridled nailtail wallaby conservation management, the planning for broadscale habitat connectivity programmes such as Habitat 141, fire management for the conservation of the quokka and the broader Kimberley landscape, and mesopredator suppression using dingoes to highlight the problems with inappropriate conservation benchmarks. I compare these issues with activities from South Africa, India, New Zealand and Poland to illustrate the benchmarks other nations have. I conclude that Australia urgently needs an explicit conservation benchmark upon which to aim our conservation efforts and excuses of inadequate knowledge can no longer be accepted for maintaining the status quo.
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Cho, George. "Conservation and management in Jervis Bay, Australia." Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 8, no. 5 (September 1998): 701–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1099-0755(199809/10)8:5<701::aid-aqc305>3.0.co;2-z.
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Peterson, Ann, Clive A. Mcalpine, Doug Ward, and Suzanne Rayner. "New regionalism and nature conservation: Lessons from South East Queensland, Australia." Landscape and Urban Planning 82, no. 3 (September 2007): 132–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2007.02.003.
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Shaughnessy, Peter D., Simon D. Goldsworthy, Paul Burch, and Terry E. Dennis. "Pup numbers of the Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) at The Pages Islands, South Australia, over two decades." Australian Journal of Zoology 61, no. 2 (2013): 112. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo13015.
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The Australian sea lion is an Australian endemic, restricted to South Australia and Western Australia, with 86% of the population in South Australia. It was listed under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act as Vulnerable in February 2005, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has listed it as Endangered. Sea lions are taken as bycatch in the gill-net fishery for school shark and gummy shark, and the risk of extinction of breeding colonies is high even from low levels of bycatch. We assessed trends in pup population size at The Pages Islands, a large breeding colony in South Australia. Pup abundance was estimated by direct counting of live and dead pups; the maximum count in each breeding season was used for trend analysis. The average of direct counts of pups in 14 breeding seasons between 1989–90 and 2009–10 was 473 (s.d. = 58.4). There was no trend in pup numbers, contrasting with two other large colonies: Seal Bay, Kangaroo Island (decreasing), and Dangerous Reef (increasing since 2000). The Australian Sea Lion Management Strategy of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority aims to reduce sea lion bycatch in the shark fishery; a key item is a fishery closure around each breeding colony in South Australia. Implementation of the closure around The Pages should lower the risk of bycatch of its sea lions with foraging areas that previously overlapped with the fishery and should allow the colony’s population size to increase.
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Byrne, Margaret, Linda Broadhurst, Michelle Leishman, and Kathy Belov. "Women in conservation science making a difference." Pacific Conservation Biology 24, no. 3 (2018): 209. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc18061.
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Conservation science has a long history of providing the evidence-base that underpins management of diverse and unique biota and landscapes. This special issue brings together the stories of a range of women in conservation science to showcase the great work being done to develop and improve our knowledge and understanding of Australian plants, animals and ecosystems, across a range of disciplines and sectors. We focus on Australia in recognition of recent commitments by Australian institutions to achieve gender parity in Australian science, while acknowledging the achievements of women in conservation science globally. In this overview we highlight several exemplary women who have paved the way for those of us who have come after them, and present a brief snapshot of the careers of these women to acknowledge their contributions to the development of conservation science, and its associated disciplines. We also distil some common themes that have been identified by the women in the articles featured in this special issue, particularly passion and enthusiasm for the natural environment; multiple pathways that women have taken; satisfaction derived from working collaboratively across disciplines and with a variety of scientists, policy, managers and practitioners; and seeking to embrace diversity. A striking point from many of the stories, that we hope is changing now, is that many of the women had few female role models, yet the stories highlight their resilience and determination and their desire to inspire other young women to take up the challenge of a career in conservation science.
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WILSON, CLEVO, and CLEM TISDELL. "Knowledge of birds and willingness to support their conservation: an Australian case study." Bird Conservation International 15, no. 3 (September 2005): 225–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270905000419.
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This case study concentrates on the extent of knowledge among the Australian public of Australia's tropical bird species, and their willingness to support their conservation. In order to place this issue in context, we provide background information on the status of Australian bird species, focusing attention on species that occur in tropical Australia. Then, using questionnaire survey results, we consider the hypothesis that the public's support for the conservation of different bird species depends on their understanding of the species' existence and status. Based on results from a sample of residents in Brisbane, Queensland, we found that knowledge of bird species that occur exclusively in the Australian tropics (including tropical Queensland) was very poor compared with that of those occurring in the Brisbane area that are relatively common. Experimental results indicated that when respondents in the sample had an option to allocate A$1,000 between 10 bird species listed in the survey, they allocated more funds to the better-known and more common species, unless they were provided with balanced information about all the selected species. With balanced information, the average allocation to bird species confined mostly to the Australian tropics, particularly those threatened, increased. This demonstrates the conservation implications of information provision about bird species. The results showed that public education can play a crucial role in attempts to conserve bird species that are poorly known and threatened.
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Adams, Michael. "Negotiating Nature: Collaboration and Conflict Between Aboriginal and Conservation Interests in New South Wales, Australia." Australian Journal of Environmental Education 20, no. 1 (2004): 3–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0814062600002251.
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AbstractFaced with the paradox of a large global increase in conservation reserves and a simultaneous global decrease in actual effective protection for biodiversity, conservation scientists and policymakers are questioning established conservation theory and practice. I argue that the fundamental premises, the foundational myths, for Western-style conservation also need to be questioned. The statistics on Indigenous land claims, and conservation reserves, in Australia and more specifically the state of New South Wales (NSW), reveal a landscape of policy failure in both arenas. Focusing on Australia, I use spatial analysis and policy histories to demonstrate converging trajectories of land use priorities for conservation needs and Indigenous peoples' needs. This intersection, while generating much potential for conflict, also creates new political landscapes. A combination of spatial and cultural analyses can create a clear picture of new “operational landscapes”, and an understanding of the (sometimes) complementary values of different cultural groups negotiating about these landscapes. From the basis that environmental problems are fundamentally social problems, this paper contributes to explorations of new paradigms supporting new social-ecological relationships, and new relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
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Nevard, Timothy D., Donald C. Franklin, Ian Leiper, George Archibald, and Stephen T. Garnett. "Agriculture, brolgas and Australian sarus cranes on the Atherton Tablelands, Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 25, no. 4 (2019): 377. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc18081.
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Flocks of brolgas (Antigone rubicunda) and Australian sarus cranes (A. antigone gillae) congregate in cropping areas of the Atherton Tablelands in north Queensland, Australia, during the non-breeding months of May to December each year and sometimes come into conflict with farmers. The central part of the region has been declared a Key Biodiversity Area, largely because it is the only well known non-breeding area for the Australian sarus crane. We investigated spatial and temporal patterns of use of this landscape for foraging by the two species to determine how they might be affected by changes in cropping. Abundances of the species were positively correlated with each other over both time and space. Sarus cranes were nevertheless markedly more abundant on the fertile volcanic soils of the central Tablelands, whilst brolgas were more abundant on a variety of soils in outlying cropping areas close to roost sites, especially in the south-west of the region. Both species used a wide variety of crops and pastures but occurred at highest densities on ploughed land and areas from which crops (especially maize) had been harvested. In addition, brolgas were also strongly associated with early-stage winter cereals with volunteer peanuts from the previous crop. We conclude that maize and peanut crops are important as foraging sites for both species during the non-breeding season, a situation that requires management in the interest of both cranes and farmers, especially as cropping patterns intensify and agricultural technology changes. However, we also note that flocking on the Atherton Tablelands indicates that brolgas and sarus cranes are likely to be adaptable to change and able to take advantage of newly created cropping areas.
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Bennett, Andrew F. "Eucalypts, wildlife and nature conservation: from individual trees to landscape patterns." Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 128, no. 1 (2016): 71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/rs16007.
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Eucalypts — gums, stringybarks, box, ironbarks and mallees — are key elements of ecosystems occupied by much of Australia’s distinctive and unique wildlife. Individual eucalypts provide an array of food resources (e.g. foliage, seeds, nectar, sap) for animals, while shelter, refuge and breeding sites for many species are associated with the physical structures of eucalypts (e.g. dense foliage, bark crevices, hollows) and fallen material (logs, leaf litter). Stands of eucalypts make up patches of habitat that sustain populations and communities of animals. The size and shape of a patch, its tree-species composition and age structure, and the context of the patch (isolation, topographic position) influence the species that occur and the structure of animal communities. At a landscape scale, the extent and spatial pattern of eucalypt forests and woodlands and the types of land uses and disturbance regimes they experience (e.g. logging, grazing, fire) shape the distribution and conservation status of animal species across extensive areas. Eucalypts form a distinctive part of the natural and cultural heritage of Australia, yet too often they are taken for granted. The value that Australians place on the protection, management and restoration of eucalypts, from individual trees to ecosystems, will have a critical role in determining the future of Australian wildlife.
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Garnett, Stephen T., Mark Kleinschmidt, Micha V. Jackson, Kerstin K. Zander, and Stephen A. Murphy. "Social landscape of the night parrot in western Queensland, Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 22, no. 4 (2016): 360. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc16014.
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The attitudes of the owners or managers of properties potentially supporting populations of night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) in western Queensland, Australia, were explored using interviews to understand whether they would be sympathetic to the species’ conservation. Eighteen interviews were carried out by a former member of the local grazing community and found a high level of support for conservation, especially if it did not unduly disrupt existing grazing management practices and there was compensation in the event property management needed to change. This included trying to limit burning and not overgrazing habitat in which the parrot might occur. It also included the cessation of wild dog baiting, which is conducted to reduce calf losses, although concern about wild dogs was deeply entrenched. While some graziers were indifferent, none were openly antagonistic to parrot conservation that might involve their property. The results suggest that collaborative management with local graziers can contribute substantially to conservation of the night parrot in the region and any fears that graziers might be antagonistic to night parrot conservation are ill-founded.
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Bryan, Brett A. "Reserve Selection for Nature Conservation in South Australia: Past, Present and Future." Australian Geographical Studies 40, no. 2 (July 2002): 196–209. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8470.00174.
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WEIGEL, JOHN. "The conservation role of private zoos in Australia: the Australian Reptile Park experience." International Zoo Yearbook 31, no. 1 (January 1992): 24–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-1090.1991.tb02356.x.
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Raxworthy, Julian. "Making Landscape Architecture in Australia." Landscape Journal 35, no. 1 (January 2016): 127–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.3368/lj.35.1.127.
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Cosby, Amy, Andrew Lawson, Jane Gudde, and Eloise S. Fogarty. "Connecting Nature: The Potential of Australian Dairy Initiatives in Collaborative Biodiversity Governance." Agronomy 12, no. 2 (January 31, 2022): 366. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12020366.
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The dairy industry can be considered a contributor to biodiversity loss in Australia. To address this, many forms of governance can be enlisted, including traditional legislation and regulations, persuasive techniques such as publicly funded subsidy programs or education, and participation in voluntary stewardship programs. This paper explores the benefits of collaborative governance programs, which have international applications to reduce the impact of the dairy industry on biodiversity loss. However, as the Australian sector is unique, the specific opportunities and present challenges are discussed. This paper reports three important objectives that could underpin industry-led initiatives by supporting improved biodiversity conservation on dairy farms: (1) Increase the personal and financial capacities of individual farmers to operate profitable, biodiverse farms; (2) Facilitate market rewards to incentivise pro-conservation behaviours; and (3) Improve the effectiveness of the implementation of biodiversity protection laws and regulatory objectives via collaborative governance arrangements. Existing environmental programs that have been developed by the dairy industry could be suitable for incorporation into more formal co-governance structures sympathetic to biodiversity conservation. However, to be successful in addressing sustainability issues, including biodiversity loss, strengthening the integrity mechanisms around farmers’ self-reporting of performance is required to ensure that the industry can credibly refute claims of greenwashing and defend their environmental credentials in the global marketplace.
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A Burbige, Andrew. "Obituary." Pacific Conservation Biology 16, no. 2 (2010): 83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc100083.
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Albert Russell Main, Emeritus Professor of Zoology and Senior Honorary Research Fellow at The University of Western Australia, had a most distinguished career as a scientist and public figure and greatly influenced the course of science and nature conservation, particularly in Western Australia.
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W. Norton, Tony, and Neil D. Mitchell. "Towards the sustainable management of southern temperate forest ecosystems: lessons from Australia and New Zealand." Pacific Conservation Biology 1, no. 4 (1994): 293. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc940293.
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The temperate forest ecosystems of Australia and New Zealand have had a similar history of exploitation and destruction since European settlement. This differed markedly from the previous use of these forests by indigenous peoples. Australian Aborigines are considered to have used the forests on a sustainable basis. Fire was the primary management tool and probably had its greatest effect on floristic composition and structure. The Maori of New Zealand initially cleared substantial areas of forest, but by the time of European settlement they appear to have been approaching sustainable management of the remainder. In both countries, the arrival of Europeans disrupted sustainability and significantly changed the evolutionary history of the forests and their biota. The exploitation and destruction of temperate forests by Europeans in both countries has been driven largely by agricultural and forestry activities, based around settlement and export industries. The Australian continent never had substantial forest cover but this has been reduced by more than half in just 200 years. New Zealand has suffered a similar overall level of further loss; although in the lowlands this can reach 95 per cent. In recent times, forest production and management policies in the two countries have diverged. In both countries the majority of remaining indigenous forests are on publicly-owned land. Australia still maintains indigenous forest production as an industry exploiting old growth forests, the management being split between an emphasis on production forestry and nature conservation. New Zealand has largely abandoned indigenous forestry on public lands, the management being vested in a single conservation department. In New Zealand the production emphasis has mostly moved to sustainable plantation forestry, whereas in Australia, despite recommendations to halt or markedly reduce old growth forest logging, the transition to primary dependence on plantation production has yet to occur.
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Waples, Kelly, and Holly Raudino. "Setting a course for marine mammal research in Western Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 24, no. 3 (2018): 289. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc18014.
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Given limited funding and increasing pressures on our natural resources it is becoming ever more critical that science be directed at improving our understanding and management of priority issues. This relies on dialogue and alignment between researchers and managers to ensure that appropriate questions are asked and the answers incorporated in robust and transparent decision-making processes which should include relevant evidence-based science. We used a prioritisation framework as a tool to bring managers and scientists together to discuss and agree on current priorities for research on marine mammals in Western Australia, including posing relevant questions. Eight species were identified as high priorities for fundamental research, including three dolphin species (Australian humpback, snubfin and common dolphin), three baleen whale species (Antarctic and pygmy blue and dwarf minke whale), the Australian sea lion and the dugong. The pressures we evaluated resulted in a priority need for research to better understand and mitigate impacts across a range of species, including noise pollution from shipping and vessel activity, climate change and fishing by-catch. Scientists and managers agreed on a set of topics and associated research questions for the high-priority species that would best inform ongoing conservation and management of marine mammals in Western Australia and that would have broad applicability nationally and globally. We provide an example of how these priorities can be used to develop a research program with targeted funding. Overall, this process has demonstrated the value of bringing scientists and managers together with a tool that allows them to jointly determine priorities and research questions.
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Zander, Kerstin K., Guillaume Peterson St-Laurent, Carolyn J. Hogg, Paul Sunnucks, John Woinarski, Sarah Legge, Michael Burton, Ram Pandit, Shannon Hagerman, and Stephen T. Garnett. "Measuring social preferences for conservation management in Australia." Biological Conservation 262 (October 2021): 109323. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109323.
Full text
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Recher, Harry F. "Failure of science, death of nature." Pacific Conservation Biology 21, no. 1 (2015): 2. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc14907.
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As a people, Australians have lost contact with the world of nature, risking the collapse of civilisation. One factor in the alienation of nature in Australia is the failure of the scientific community to take responsibility for the technology created by the knowledge generated from scientific research. Science has failed to protect Australia’s flora and fauna. Scientists must communicate more widely with society, but need to be educated on how to communicate and on their ethical responsibilities to others and other species. Government needs to show leadership in environmental management and nature conservation, while conservationists need to ‘invert the paradigm’, taking a new, less anthropocentric approach to conservation. None of this is possible in a market-place economy and Australians must move to an economic system that is ecocentric. This will not be easy as it requires a reduction in the consumption of resources and a smaller population.
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Saunders, Denis A. "Agriculture and conservation: an oxymoron or a necessity?" Pacific Conservation Biology 25, no. 4 (2019): 355. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc19005.
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This essay discusses two waves of settlement by Homo sapiens of continental Australia; the first over 60000 years ago, and the second less than 250 years ago. The failure of the second wave of Homo sapiens to understand the way the first wave had changed the biotic composition has led to major environmental problems.
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Old, Julie M., and Hayley J. Stannard. "Corrigendum to: Conservation of quolls (Dasyurus spp.) in captivity – a review." Australian Mammalogy 43, no. 3 (2021): 378. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/am20033_co.
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Quolls are carnivorous marsupials in the family Dasyuridae with characteristic white spots. They are distributed throughout Australia and New Guinea, but uncommonly seen due to their mostly nocturnal solitary nature, and large home ranges. All Australian quolls are listed as ‘near threatened' or ‘endangered' at state, national and international levels, largely due to human-induced threats. Threats include introduced predators, habitat loss through clearing and modifications including changed fire regimes, disease, human persecution, vehicle collisions and accidental or targeted poisoning by humans and cane toads (Rhinella marina). Conservation efforts that have focussed on reducing introduced predators, and minimising the impact of cane toads, have aided some translocations, hence species recovery in some local areas of Australia has occurred. Where species conservation has required captive breeding for translocation, successful captive management has been crucial. We summarise research conducted in captivity on aspects of birth and development, health and disease, and blood and nutrition parameters of quolls, and suggest future directions for research. Further research on captive and wild quoll populations will benefit future translocations, reintroductions and conservation through increased knowledge, improved maintenance and husbandry of captive colonies, and monitoring of wild populations.
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Burbidge, A. A. "Conservation Values and Management of Australian Islands for Non-Volant Mammal Conservation." Australian Mammalogy 21, no. 1 (1999): 67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/am99067.
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At least 16 species of Australian mammals have become extinct over the past 200 years. Without islands, however, this figure would be even worse as nine species that were formerly widespread on mainland Australia were or are restricted to land-bridge islands. In addition, 13 species and subspecies of endangered and vulnerable mainland mammals that still occur on the mainland have island populations, reducing their chance of extinction. In all, 43 islands protect 29 taxa of Australian threatened mammals. Since European settlement some island mammal populations have become extinct, while many new populations, of both Australian and exotic mammals, have been established. The extinction of island native mammal populations is significantly correlated with the introduction of exotic mammals. Management of islands needs to concentrate on four areas: quarantine, monitoring (of both native mammals and possible introduction of exotics), eradication of exotics and translocations of native species. Prevention of introduction and establishment of further exotics to important islands through quarantine procedures is vital, especially for islands with permanent or temporary human habitation. Eradication or control of existing exotics is required for many islands and eradication of further introductions, as soon after detection as possible, should be a high priority action for nature conservation agencies. Past exotic mammal eradications and needs for the future are discussed. Translocations of island mammal populations to the mainland should take place only where the species is extinct on the mainland. Translocation to islands, where translocation to or on the mainland is not feasible, is an important conservation technique. Islands with exotics can be of value for re-introduction of locally extinct mammals or introductions (marooning) of threatened species that are at risk from feral predators on the mainland once the exotics have been eliminated.
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Halliday, Lucy G., J. Guy Castley, James A. Fitzsimons, Cuong Tran, and Jan Warnken. "Fire management on private conservation lands: knowledge, perceptions and actions of landholders in eastern Australia." International Journal of Wildland Fire 21, no. 3 (2012): 197. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wf10148.
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Fire is an important natural disturbance process within the Australian landscape, but the complex and hazardous nature of fire creates a conservation management dilemma. For landholders of private conservation lands, management for conservation of biodiversity and risk reduction is complicated. Private conservation landholders in eastern Australia directed far less effort towards fire management than other conservation management actions, despite clearly acknowledging the risk and associated responsibilities of fire management on their lands. Nonetheless, landholders did undertake actions to reduce fuel hazards and prepare for wildfire events on their land. Despite the established role and benefits of fire to many ecosystems in the region, landholder understanding of the ecological role of fire was generally poor. Few landholders were aware of ecologically appropriate fire regimes for the vegetation types on their property, and few undertook fire management actions to achieve ecological outcomes. Site-specific obstacles, lack of fire management knowledge and experience, and legal and containment concerns contributed to the low level of fire management observed. There is a need for property-specific fire management planning across all private conservation lands, to further integrate ecological fire requirements into biodiversity management, and prioritise actions that aim to improve conservation outcomes while safeguarding life and property.
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Read, J. L., G. R. Johnston, and T. P. Morley. "Predation by snakes thwarts trial reintroduction of the Endangered woma pythonAspidites ramsayi." Oryx 45, no. 4 (August 31, 2011): 505–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605310001110.
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AbstractCase studies of well-documented snake reintroductions are limited, despite their potential value for conservation and ecosystem recovery. The Endangered womaAspidites ramsayiis a large boid snake that has declined considerably and is now threatened throughout much of central Australia. We describe a trial release of captive-bred womas into the feral predator-free Arid Recovery Reserve in northern South Australia. All of the reintroduced womas were killed within 4 months, with predation by the mulga snakePseudechis australisconfirmed or implied in all cases. Lessons learned for the conditioning of captive-bred snakes for wild release and the role of the mulga snake in structuring Australian arid-zone snake assemblages are discussed.
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Calver, M. C., J. B. Fontaine, and T. E. Linke. "Publication models in a changing environment: bibliometric analysis of books and book chapters using publications by Surrey Beatty & Sons." Pacific Conservation Biology 19, no. 4 (2013): 394. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc130394.
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Expectations and patterns of publication have changed markedly with evolving online availability and associated development of new citation gathering databases. Perhaps the most vulnerable components of the scientific literature to ongoing change are books and book chapters, given their elongated publication timelines and generally more limited online availability. To test this, we applied citation analyses and assessments of library holdings to determine the use of the natural history books published by Surrey Beatty & Sons between 1987 and 2010. We (i) evaluated the relative use of book chapters and journal papers by comparing citations to chapters in the five books of the Nature Conservation series by Surrey Beatty & Sons to citations of journal chapters in four Australian journals published in the same years, (ii) determined the efficacy of four different databases in retrieving citations to book chapters by comparing their recovery of citations to the five books of the Nature Conservation series, and (iii) quantified noncitation measures related to library holdings to evaluate the use of the books on the entire Surrey Beatty & Sons list. Mean citations/chapter to the first three books in the Nature Conservation series were similar to the mean citations/ paper in four Australian journals published in the same years. However, the mean citations/chapter of the last two books declined relative to citations/paper for the journals, suggesting a fall in book use evident by early this century. Citation retrieval varied across databases; Google Scholar retrieved most citations, followed by Scopus, Web of Science (Cited Reference Search) and Web of Knowledge. Contrary to published concerns, no citations retrieved by Google Scholar were in questionable sources such as contents pages - many were from highly ranked journals. Each book in the full Surrey Beatty & Sons list was held by an average of 45.3 libraries in Australia and 36.1 in the USA, and less than five in each of the UK, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Canada, Germany and South Africa. This was a similar coverage to another Australian publisher, the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, and indicated strong markets in Australia and the USA. It was less, though, than the number of libraries with current or past subscriptions to five Australian journals publishing nature conservation content. We conclude that citation data for books and book chapters are available and that library holdings provide another measure of use. The online ‘visibility’ of books may be a problem, but can be improved through better marketing and improved author search techniques.
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E. Soulé, M., B. G. Mackey, H. F. Recher, J. E. Williams, J. C. Z. Woinarski, Don Driscoll, W. C. Dennison, and M. E. Jones. "The role of connectivity in Australian conservation." Pacific Conservation Biology 10, no. 4 (2004): 266. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc040266.
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The existing system of nature reserves in Australia is inadequate for the long-term conservation and restoration of native biological diversity because it fails to accommodate, among other elements, large scale and long-term ecological processes and change, including physical and biotic transport in the landscape. This paper is an overview of the connectivity elements that inform a scientific framework for significantly improving the prospects for the long-term conservation of Australia's biodiversity. The framework forms the basis for the WildCountry programme. This programme has identified connectivity at landscape, regional and continental scales as a critical component of an effective conservation system. Seven categories of ecological phenomena are reviewed that require landscape permeability and that must be considered when planning for the maintenance of biological diversity and ecological resilience in Australia: (1) trophic relations at regional scales; (2) animal migration, dispersal, and other large scale movements of individuals and propagules; (3) fire and other forms of disturbance at regional scales; (4) climate variability in space and time and human forced rapid climate change; (5) hydroecological relations and flows at all scales; (6) coastal zone fluxes of organisms, matter, and energy; and, (7) spatially-dependent evolutionary processes at all scales. Finally, we mention eight cross-cutting themes that further illuminate the interactions and implications of the seven connectivity-related phenomena for conservation assessment, planning, research, and management, and we suggest how the results might be applied by analysts, planners, scientists, and community conservationists.
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Bino, G., R. T. Kingsford, and K. Brandis. "Australia's wetlands – learning from the past to manage for the future." Pacific Conservation Biology 22, no. 2 (2016): 116. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc15047.
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Australia has diverse wetlands with multiple threats. We reviewed knowledge about the extent of wetlands, representativeness, impacts and threats to integrity and options for effective conservation. Natural Australian wetlands cover an estimated 33 266 245 ha (4.4%), with 55% palustrine (floodplains and swamps), followed by 31% lakes, 10% estuarine systems, and 5% rivers and creeks. The Lake Eyre (1.1%), Murray–Darling (0.73%), Tanami–Timor Sea Coast (0.71%) and the Carpentaria Coast (0.55%) drainage divisions have more wetlands, also reflected in the distributions among states and territories. Ramsar sites and wetlands in protected areas were generally biased towards the southern continent. Overall representation of mapped wetlands was good for lacustrine (40.6%) and estuarine (34.4%), fair for riverine (16.8%), but inadequate for palustrine (10.8%) wetlands. Within drainage divisions, representation varied considerably, with shortfalls from the Aichi target of 17%. Agriculture, urbanisation, pollution and invasive species have degraded or destroyed wetlands, particularly in the developed south-east, south-west and north-east of the continent. Water resource developments, primarily the building of dams, diversion of water and development of floodplains, seriously threaten Australian wetlands, with all threats exacerbated by climate change impacts of rising sea levels and high temperatures. Management and policy for wetlands is dependent on data on distribution, type and extent of wetlands, a key national constraint. Some States are well advanced (e.g. Queensland) and others lack any comprehensive data on the distribution of wetlands. Mitigation of increasing development (e.g. northern Australia) will be critical for conservation, along with increased representativeness in protected areas and restoration, particularly with environmental flows.
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Kearney, Stephen G., Josie Carwardine, April E. Reside, Diana O. Fisher, Martine Maron, Tim S. Doherty, Sarah Legge, et al. "Corrigendum to: The threats to Australia’s imperilled species and implications for a national conservation response." Pacific Conservation Biology 25, no. 3 (2019): 328. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc18024_co.
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Since European occupation of Australia, human activities have caused the dramatic decline and sometimes extinction of many of the continent's unique species. Here we provide a comprehensive review of threats to species listed as threatened under Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Following accepted global categories of threat, we find that invasive species affect the largest number of listed species (1257 species, or 82% of all threatened species); ecosystem modifications (e.g. fire) (74% of listed species) and agricultural activity (57%) are also important. The ranking of threats was largely consistent across taxonomic groups and the degree of species' endangerment. These results were significantly different (P
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Recher, Harry F. "Sharks and Rays of Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 17, no. 1 (2011): 21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc110021.
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THE first edition of Sharks and Rays of Australia was published in 1994. This second edition is fully revised, with descriptions of 322 species of sharks, skates, rays, and chimaerids. Since 1994, the Class Chondrichthyes has been extensively revised and the second edition of Sharks and Rays of Australia includes 26 species that have been formally described since the first edition, with formal classification of 97 species that were previously given temporary names. Names of other species have also been revised in light of new knowledge of the systematics within this important group of fish.
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Prahalad, Vishnu, Jamie B. Kirkpatrick, John Aalders, Scott Carver, Joanna Ellison, Violet Harrison-Day, Peter McQuillan, Brigid Morrison, Alastair Richardson, and Eric Woehler. "Conservation ecology of Tasmanian coastal saltmarshes, south-east Australia – a review." Pacific Conservation Biology 26, no. 2 (2020): 105. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc19016.
Full textAbstract:
Temperate Australian saltmarshes, including those in the southern island state of Tasmania, are considered to be a threatened ecological community under Australian federal legislation. There is a need to improve our understanding of the ecological components, functional relationships and threatening processes of Tasmanian coastal saltmarshes and distil research priorities that could assist recovery actions. A semisystematic review of the literature on Tasmanian coastal saltmarshes supported by expert local knowledge identified 75 studies from 1947 to 2019. Existing understanding pertains to saltmarsh plants, soils, invertebrates and human impacts with ongoing studies currently adding to this knowledge base. Several knowledge gaps remain, and the present review recommends six key priority areas for research: (1) citizen science–organised inventory of (initially) saltmarsh birds, plants and human impacts with the potential for expansion of datasets; (2) use of saltmarsh by marine transient species including fish and decapods; (3) use of saltmarsh by, and interactions with, native and introduced mammals; (4) invertebrates and their interactions with predators (e.g. birds, fish) and prey (e.g. insects, plants, detritus); (5) historic saltmarsh loss and priority areas for conservation; (6) monitoring changes to saltmarsh due to both localised human impacts (e.g. grazing, eutrophication, destruction) and global change factors (e.g. climate change, sea-level rise). Addressing these research priorities will help in developing a better understanding of the ecological character of Tasmanian coastal saltmarshes and improve their conservation management.
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Keith, Ryan J., Lisa M. Given, John M. Martin, and Dieter F. Hochuli. "Urban children’s connections to nature and environmental behaviors differ with age and gender." PLOS ONE 16, no. 7 (July 29, 2021): e0255421. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255421.
Full textAbstract:
Global conservation is increasingly reliant on young people forming meaningful connections with urban nature. However, interactions with nearby nature do not inspire all children and adolescents living in cities to act pro-environmentally. Our survey of over 1,000 school students from Sydney, Australia, revealed that 28% of respondents maintained strong nature connections. Younger students (aged 8–11) were more strongly connected with nature than their older peers (aged 12–14), and environmental behaviors were negatively associated with increasing age. Differences between boys and girls were less consistent, resulting in part from differential functioning of questionnaire items. Regardless, girls were more willing than boys to volunteer for conservation. Our findings suggest that policies designed to strengthen urban children’s nature connections will be most effective if they explicitly address the “adolescent dip” and other emerging demographic patterns, thereby ensuring all young people reap the health, wellbeing, and conservation benefits of connecting with nature.
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Whitehouse, John F. "East Australian Rain-forests: A Case-study in Resource Harvesting and Conservation." Environmental Conservation 18, no. 1 (1991): 33–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0376892900021263.
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Human interactions with rain-forest on the Australian continent have played, and will continue to play, a vital role in their distribution and survival. The presence and significance of rain-forest in Australia lies in the evolutionary history of the Australian plate since the break-up of the Gondwanan supercontinent. Its continued survival and distribution illustrates and encapsulates the history of plant evolution and biogeography in Australia.Since human arrival in Australia at least 40,000 years ago, human interactions with rain-forest have been marked by a number of phases — ranging from Aboriginal use of rain-forest resources to the impetus given by the hunt for the prized Red Cedar, and from the early European settlement on the east coast of Australia in the midto late-19th century to the wholesale clearing of rain forests for agricultural settlement and dairying in the late 19th century. In more modern times, human interactions with rain-forest have focused on adapting forest management techniques to rain-forest logging, restructuring the native forest timber industry in the face of mechanization, changing markets and resource constraints, convulsions as a result of conservationist challenges in Terania Creek and Daintree, and finally the implications of conserving rain-forests in the context of natural processes including fire, climate change, and the impact of human visitors and their recreation.The course of the controversies over rain-forest conservation in Australia has meant that rain-forest logging either has been dramatically curtailed or is in the process of generally ceasing. The protection of rainforests from logging and forestry operations in the future seems secure, given the widespread community support for rain-forest conservation. Threats to rain-forest conservation in the future are likely to be found in more subtle processes: the impact of fire regimes on the spread and contractions of rain-forests, the impacts of exotic species such as Lantana (Lantana camara) and Camphor Laurel (Cinnamomum camphora), the impacts of human uses through tourism and recreation, the diminution of the viability of isolated pockets by ‘edge effects’, and the damage to the remaining stands on freehold property by conflicting land-uses.Overlying all of these potential threats is the impact of global climate change. Climate change since the Tertiary has reduced the once widespread rain-forest communities of Australia practically to the status of relicts in refugia. Will the remaining rain-forests be able to withstand the projected human-induced climate changes of the future?
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Nevard, Timothy D., Ian Leiper, George Archibald, and Stephen T. Garnett. "Farming and cranes on the Atherton Tablelands, Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 25, no. 2 (2019): 184. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc18055.
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Australia’s two cranes, the brolga (Antigone rubicunda) and Australian sarus crane (Antigone antigone gillae), form dry-season flocks on the Atherton Tablelands in north Queensland, Australia, where they forage almost exclusively amongst planted crops. The long-term relationship between cranes and farmers is therefore critical to their conservation, especially as the cranes can sometimes cause significant economic damage to crops. We interviewed farmers to explore their current attitudes to cranes and their intentions for land use that might affect the birds. We found that most farmers tolerated the cranes, particularly when they feed among stubble. Most, however, are increasing the efficiency of their agronomic practices, harvesting combinable crops such as maize and peanuts in ways that are beginning to reduce post-harvest crop residues. There is also a rapid trend away from field crops to perennial and tree crops that have a higher return per unit area. Both trends may reduce foraging opportunities for the cranes and, unless managed effectively, are likely to increase the potential for damage and conflict with farmers in the field crops that remain.
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Goldsworthy, SD, PD Shaughnessy, AI Mackay, F. Bailleul, D. Holman, AD Lowther, B. Page, et al. "Assessment of the status and trends in abundance of a coastal pinniped, the Australian sea lion Neophoca cinerea." Endangered Species Research 44 (April 22, 2021): 421–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/esr01118.
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Australian sea lions Neophoca cinerea are endemic to Australia, with their contemporary distribution restricted to South Australia (SA) and Western Australia (WA). Monitoring of the species has proved challenging due to prolonged breeding events that occur non-annually and asynchronously across their range. The most recent available data from 80 extant breeding sites (48 in SA, 32 in WA) enabled us to estimate the species-wide pup abundance to be 2739, with 82% (2246) in SA and 18% (493) in WA, mostly based on surveys conducted between 2014 and 2019. We evaluated 1776 individual site-surveys undertaken between 1970 and 2019 and identified admissible time-series data from 30 breeding sites, which revealed that pup abundance declined on average by 2.0% yr-1 (range 9.9% decline to 1.7% growth yr-1). The overall reduction in pup abundance over 3 generations (42.3 yr) was estimated to be 64%, with over 98% of Monte Carlo simulations producing a decline >50% over a 3-generation period, providing strong evidence that the species meets IUCN ‘Endangered’ criteria (decline ≥50% and ≤80%). The population is much smaller than previously estimated and is declining. There is a strong cline in regional abundances (increasing from west to east), with marked within-region heterogeneity in breeding site pup abundances and trends. Results from this study should improve consistency in the assessment of the species and create greater certainty among stakeholders about its conservation status. To facilitate species management and recovery, we prioritise key data gaps and identify factors to improve population monitoring.
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Watson, James, Richard A. Fuller, and Lissa Barr. "Why are we still using a ?one size fits all? philosophy for systematic reserve planning in Australia?" Pacific Conservation Biology 14, no. 4 (2008): 233. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc080233.
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Funds available for investment in biodiversity conservation are small in comparison with the resources available to those interested in using the land for other purposes. In response to this disparity, the discipline of systematic conservation planning has developed tools to optimize decision making for investing limited conservation funds in the most effective and transparent manner possible (Possingham et al. 2006). Since its origins in the mid-1980s, systematic conservation planning has grown rapidly, spawning hundreds of peer-reviewed papers (Pressey et al. 2007). Importantly, it now shapes policy legislation in many terrestrial and marine regions across the globe.