Gabriel Crowley

The Costs and Effectiveness of Funding the Conservation of Australian Threatened Birds

Abstract A review of funding for conservation of threatened birds in Australia over the period 1993–2000 shows that most of the funds were spent on the taxa closest to extinction. Government conservation agencies provided the majority of funds, with 25 percent coming from the voluntary conservation sector and about 14 percent from the business sector and government agencies whose primary mission is not conservation. Taxa that are taxonomically distinct received more funds than would be expected by an even distribution, but nevertheless substantial funds were allocated even to Australian populations of taxa that are not threatened globally. The status of most taxa did not change during the study period, but those that did improve generally received more funds than those taxa that declined. Overall, funds provided to support Australian threatened birds have been used effectively, but more is required to secure all taxa, and investment in threatened species will have to continue well into the future.

Modern pollen deposition in the tropical lowlands of northeast Queensland, Australia

Abstract Surface sediments of mangrove, freshwater wetland and rainforest sites in northeast Queensland were sampled to obtain pollen signatures from a range of climatic and vegetational settings as a basis for interpretation of fossil pollen diagrams. Maximum terrestrial pollen diversity was predicted by curve fitting using the Putter No. 1 growth curve. Taxonomic diversity was found to be a better indicator of rainfall zone than the presence of absence of any one taxon. However, the presence of Chenopodiaceae pollen and a general lack of rainforest pollen types are characteristic of low-rainfall environments. High values for pteridophytes indicate fluvial conditions, while high-altitude taxa were found in lowland sites fed by streams draining upland vegetation. Local habitat indicators provide good evidence for the type of depositional environment, in keeping with other published studies.

Holocene evolution of coastal wetlands in wet-tropical northeastern Australia

Pollen in sediments drilled from the Innisfail coastal plain, northeast Queensland, Australia, was examined to reconstruct the evolution of Holocene wetlands in a wet-tropical environment. In contrast to monsoonal Australia, stable environmental conditions created by year-round rainfall and low tidal range caused abrupt, unidirectional transitions in wetland zonation as marine influence changed. This has enabled a detailed reconstruction of the marine transgression and subsequent progradation. Mangroves colonized in response to marine transgression at c. 7400 BP, as riverine mangroves of low salt tolerance migrated up the Mulgrave River. These were replaced around 7000 BP by extensive Rhizophora-dominated mangroves, coinciding with the development of a Rhizophora-dominated community in Wyvuri embayment. Mangroves reached their greatest extent as sea-level rise slowed towards 6000 BP, with a stillstand indicated by a brief return to terrestrial conditions at one site. High freshwater input depressed salt intrusion in the upper reaches of the Mulgrave estuary and prevented the development of hypersalinity in the upper tidal zone. Drainage conditions then controlled whether mangroves were succeeded by freshwater swamp or swamp-forest.

Rates of movement of threatened bird species between IUCN red list categories and toward extinction.

In recent centuries bird species have been deteriorating in status and becoming extinct at a rate that may be 2-3 orders of magnitude higher than in prehuman times. We examined extinction rates of bird species designated critically endangered in 1994 and the rate at which species have moved through the IUCN (World Conservation Union) Red List categories of extinction risk globally for the period 1988-2004 and regionally in Australia from 1750 to 2000. For Australia we drew on historical accounts of the extent and condition of species habitats, spread of invasive species, and changes in sighting frequencies. These data sets permitted comparison of observed rates of movement through the IUCN Red List categories with novel predictions based on the IUCN Red List criterion E, which relates to explicit extinction probabilities determined, for example, by population viability analysis. The comparison also tested whether species listed on the basis of other criteria face a similar probability of moving to a higher threat category as those listed under criterion E. For the rate at which species moved from vulnerable to endangered, there was a good match between observations and predictions, both worldwide and in Australia. Nevertheless, species have become extinct at a rate that, although historically high, is 2 (Australia) to 10 (globally) times lower than predicted. Although the extinction probability associated with the critically endangered category may be too high, the shortfall in realized extinctions can also be attributed to the beneficial impact of conservation intervention. These efforts may have reduced the number of global extinctions from 19 to 3 and substantially slowed the extinction trajectory of 33 additional critically endangered species. Our results suggest that current conservation action benefits species on the brink of extinction, but is less targeted at or has less effect on moderately threatened species.

Changes in the avifauna of Cape York Peninsula over a period of 9 years: the relative effects of fire, vegetation type and climate

Abstract An essential component of conservation science is repeated surveys over time to monitor species that might be responding to local factors, such as land management, or more broadly to global change. A systematic survey of the avifauna of Cape York Peninsula was conducted in the late 1990s and early 2000s providing an ideal basal dataset for measuring change in the avifauna. A subset (n > 600) of these sites, primarily within savanna landscapes, was selected for re-survey in 2008 to investigate changes in bird communities on Cape York Peninsula. Changes in mean species richness varied across the study area (decreases in 59 grid cells and increases in 43) with no apparent pattern. Significant change in reporting rates was recorded in 30 species. Four sedentary and highly detectable species declined (Bar-shouldered Dove, Brown Treecreeper, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and Pale-headed Rosella) and five increased (Peaceful Dove, Pheasant Coucal, Weebill, White-throated Honeyeater and Yellow Oriole). Habitat preference for the species that showed change remained relatively stable between the two survey periods. Some species that were recorded in very low numbers in the original survey and are considered to be threatened (Brown Treecreeper, Black-faced Woodswallow) remained in very low numbers or decreased in our survey suggesting that there has been no regional recovery of these species. Long-term monitoring can describe important patterns of species change over time, though in the case of large, highly seasonal environments like the tropical savannas, signals of change may manifest over decades rather than annually.

Biological, ecological, conservation and legal information for all species and subspecies of Australian bird

We introduce a dataset of biological, ecological, conservation and legal information for every species and subspecies of Australian bird, 2056 taxa or populations in total. Version 1 contains 230 fields grouped under the following headings: Taxonomy & nomenclature, Phylogeny, Australian population status, Conservation status, Legal status, Distribution, Morphology, Habitat, Food, Behaviour, Breeding, Mobility and Climate metrics. It is envisaged that the dataset will be updated periodically with new data for existing fields and the addition of new fields. The dataset has already had, and will continue to have applications in Australian and international ornithology, especially those that require standard information for a large number of taxa.

Manager-based valuations of alternative fire management regimes on Cape York Peninsula, Australia

Decisions about fire management on pastoral properties are often made with little empirical knowledge. Proper accounting of the interactions between land, pasture, trees and livestock within the context of climatic variability and market conditions is required in order to assess financial implications of alternative fire management regimes. The present paper aims to facilitate such accounting through the development of a manager-driven decision-support tool. This approach is needed to account for variable property conditions and to provide direction towards considering optimal practices among a vast array of potential activities. The tool is an interactive model, developed for a hypothetical property, which analyses the costs and benefits of a baseline (no fires) against a historically based probability of wildfire overlaid by four alternative fire management regimes, representing cumulatively increasing levels of fire management intensity. These are: Regime 1, no action taken to prevent or stop wildfires; Regime 2, fire suppression (reactive fighting of wildfire); Regime 3, Regime 2 plus prevention (early dry-season burning); and Regime 4, Regime 3 combined with storm-burning (burning soon after the first wet-season storm). The model, which shows that fire and fire management have significant influences on the gross margin of Cape York Peninsula cattle properties, can be used as a decision-support tool in developing fire management strategies for individual properties. Specific fire management recommendations follow, together with the identification of potential areas of future work needed to facilitate use of the tool by clients.

The Decline of the Black Treecreeper Climacteris picumnus melanota on Cape York Peninsula

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Germination characteristics in tropical provenances of Allocasuarina littoralis and A. torulosa.

Abstract Germination of tropical provenances of Allocasuarina littoralis (Salisb.) L. Johnson and A. torulosa (Ait.) L. Johnson as affected by time of seed collection, light, temperature and storage conditions were examined. Changes in viability with seed development, as indicated by colour, were described. As seed colour darkened, viability increased, then levelled off or declined. The germination level of each provenance was found to be constant between 15 and 35°C, but germination rate reached an optimum between 25 and 35°C. Greater variation in germination rate was found in provenances of A. littoralis and of A. torulosa , with germination being delayed by up to 11.8 days in A. littoralis in the absence of light. Seed of both species was stored for 6 months at a range of temperatures and humidities without significant effect on germination level. Median germination time is recommended as a statistically testable measure of germination rate. Guidelines are given for handling seed for germination with respect to tropical agroforestry programmes.