conservation case study Flashcards
Spiny Daisy
Critically endangered • Low-spreading shrub • South Australia • First collected on the Burke and Wills expedition - 1860 • Thought extinct in the 1990s • Rediscovered in 1999 • Only in 6 roadsides
What’s the problem Spiny Daisy
- Lives in roadsides ( low protection and vulnerable)
- Clonal reproduction, low genetic diversity
- Unknown prior distribution hard to restore
Conservation actions Spiny Daisy
1) Protect species at existing sites (in situ)
Weed and snail control
Roadside markers
Local community supporting! BUT
Existing populations are small and in precarious situations
2) Establishing new populations through ex situ measures also important
Banrock Station
Partnership with Banrock Station, a large vineyard, winery cellar door, and internationally recognized wetland
Also happens to be an area where the daisy was recorded 100 years ago
Plants established in 2014
Watered and cared for
Walking distance to cellar door for educational value
translocation
Trial plantings in different soils and environments
Comparing clone plants from different sites
Yearly monitoring of translocation sites
Survival
Size
Flowers and fruits
Is it working spiny daisy
Translocated plants are surviving well
Size of remnant pop is being maintained or increasing
BUT
Still can’t get cross-pollination to work
So genetic diversity remains low for now
Lessons from spiny daisy
A mix of in situ and ex situ strategies to protect species in tough spots and also expand their range
Using science to learn more about species through a conservation action
Partnerships can be found in unusual places for big conservation gains
Engage people in the story of a species to help build a sense of pride and responsibility for conservation
Wollemi pine
Critically endangered Large conifer Part of 200 myo Araucariaceae family Only known to science since 1994 Approx 100 individuals within a single catchment in the Blue Mountains
What are the
threats Wollemi pine
Became rare through natural factors
Low number of individuals
Catastrophic fire
Pathogens
A team, a plan, and some science Wollemi pine
Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, NSW Parks and Wildlife Service Recovery Teams, Recovery Plans, World Heritage Listing Extensive research into the species Including University of Melbourne Protecting the existing sites Secret locations Restricted access Huge ex-situ efforts …
Establishing a new
wild population
Secret mission in 2012 Experimental approach Trees planted at sites with varying light conditions 85% plants survived after 2 years Trees grow faster in more light
Grow your own!
The plant is now available for commercial sale
Aimed to increase awareness and prevent illegal collection
Online guides for growing at home
In gardens worlwide
Lessons from wollemi pine
- Sometimes a species location needs to be kept secret to protect it
- But you can engage people by letting them have a little piece at home
- Species that only occur in a single, small population are at higher risk
- Story of hope – we can go to extraordinary lengths to protect species
Lord Howe Island Phasmid
• Dryococelus australis
• Critically endangered
• The world’s most
endangered insect
Problem with the phasimid
A shipwreck introduced black rats to the island – the phasmid was quickly sent extinct…
• Rediscovered in the 1960s and then more individuals
found over the following decades
• Estimated <40 animals left in 2002
• Main focus of conservation efforts has been captive
breeding
Captive breeding
• It all started with two adult pairs
• Rocky start
• One female died and the other deterioated
• Luckily, eggs laid
• Now many captive populations worldwide
• Still not yet released into the ‘wild’ because of existing
threats
Taking care of phasmid habitat
Weed control
- Invasive plants risk choking out food source and habitat
- Extensive weeding program
- Reduced weeds by 95%
Food sources
- Originally thought to only eat one plant
- Diet studies
- Suitable plants are widely distributed on island
Rodent control
- Very controversial
- Widescale eradication program initiated
- Tentative success
Lessons of the phasmid
Fast action to start a captive breeding program prevented the ‘second extinction’
BUT captive breeding is only part of the equation – must control threats in situ before we can have a thriving wild population
Big effort into communication and public outreach was a key driver of success of an ‘ugly’ species
Trout cod
Endangered
Endemic to the Murray-Darling river system
Locally extinct from all rivers except the Murray by 1990
Common threats to
our rivers
Fishing River regulation Carp Removing woody snags Big impact on death rates Reduced birth rates and reproductive success Made their habitat generally unsuitable = population decline
Drastic action for conservation cod
Make the rivers better for trout cod
Fishing on the Murray banned for 5 years from Yarrawonga to Cobram
Trout cod still off limits
Environmental flows
Re-snagging programs Make more trout cod!
Began captive breeding and translocation program in 1985
Pygmy bluetongue lizard
Endangered Described in 1863 ”Oddly small”, rarely seen and little known about its biology or distribution Thought extinct in the 1950s Rediscovered in 1992 in the belly of a roadkilled snake!
learn and conserve Pygmy bluetongue lizard
Team at Flinders University SA took on this mission
Only nests in the abandoned burrows of trapdoor spiders
Key limiting factor
Much habitat damaged by past ploughing regimes
Evaluation of conservation effort skink
Added artificial burrows to half of their sites (Souter et al, 2004)
Results
More lizards detected at treatment sites after artificial burrows added
Good news!
BUT
o Took a closer look at lizard behaviour (Ebrahimi et al 2012)
o Natural burrows – enter head first, exit head first
o Artificial burrows – enter head first, exit tail first
Not enough room to turn around Higher predation risk Suggested revised design
Lessons skink
Sometimes a species unique biological needs are the key to its recovery
Artificial structures can be used for species that rely on specific shelter sites
An experimental approach to evaluation is critical when using novel approaches
Paying attention to species behaviour can reveal when design changes are required!
Forty-spotted pardalote
Endangered
Long-term decline from previously wide range
Destruction and conversion forests and woodlands
Very specific preference for white gum = limited habitat = small and isolated populations
Research identified another threat!
Fly parasites
Larvae killed 81% of all nestlings That’s an impact on birth rate that an already small population can’t afford!
Researchers hatched a plan
“Pardalotes love to make a soft, warm nest lined with stray feathers of
other birds they find on the forest floor. But finding feathers is hard,
time-consuming work.
Self-fumigation station
Laced chicken features with bird-safe insecticide
Set up stations throughout the forest
Birds built their own parasite-proof nests
Evaluating success
Feather dispensers installed in a natural experiment
Treatment: Insecticide Control: No InsecticideRESULTS
Treatment: Survival rate
= 95%
Control: Survival rate
= 8%
Lessons Forty-spotted pardalote
When a population has been driven to decline, we often need to intervene to prevent otherwise ‘natural’ mortality
Creative approaches that build on knowledge of a species’ ecology can lead to huge conservation wins
Evaluation is always important, particularly when we’re trying a novel solution
Bridging gaps for high-flying
mammals
Roads can create significant gaps for arboreal mammals
Road gaps for wildlife can be bridged to allow movement and gene flow
Measuring before and after conservation actions helps us evaluate their effectiveness
A combination of monitoring method tells us the full story
