Approved Conservation Advice for Egernia Rugosa (Yakka Skink)
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This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister on 29 Apr 2014 Approved Conservation Advice for Egernia rugosa (Yakka Skink) (s266B of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) This Conservation Advice has been developed based on the best available information at the time this Conservation Advice was approved; this includes existing plans, records or management prescriptions for this species. Description Egernia rugosa, Family Scincidae, commonly known as the Yakka Skink is a robust bodied skink that grows up to 40 cm long. It has a broad dark brown to black stripe from nape to tail bordered on either side by a narrow, pale fawn back/side stripe. Dark brown to pale brown to reddish-brown scales on the flanks form a faintly variegated orange-brown pattern. The throat is cream-yellow, with blackish flecks/spots, and the chest and abdomen are yellow-orange (Cogger, 2000). This skink is often described as robust and is about the same size as a Blue Tongue Lizard (Tiliqua scincoides), making it one of the largest skinks in the region where it is found (TSN, 2008). Conservation Status The Yakka Skink is listed as vulnerable. This species is eligible for listing as vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) (EPBC Act) as, prior to the commencement of the EPBC Act, it was listed as vulnerable under Schedule 1 of the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992 (Cwlth). The Yakka Skink is also listed as vulnerable under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Queensland). Distribution and Habitat The Yakka Skink is endemic to Queensland where its distribution is patchy. Isolated populations occur throughout subhumid areas in the interior of Queensland from St George in the south, to Coen and Cape York in the north. In the southern half of the Brigalow Belt it occurs near Rockhampton, south to St George and west to Chesterton Range National Park. The core habitat of this species is within the Mulga Lands and Brigalow Belt South Bioregions (TSN, 2008). Other populations have been recorded throughout the Brigalow Belt North and Einsaleigh Uplands Bioregions (TSN, 2008). Populations have been recorded across a range on land tenures including Thurshton National Park, Culgoa Floodplain National Park. Some populations (size not known) have been detected along the Queensland/NSW border (TSN, 2008). The Yakka Skink is found in open dry sclerophyll forest or woodland (Wilson and Knowles, 1988; Cogger, 2000). This species will often take refuge among dense ground vegetation, large hollow logs, cavities in soil-bound root systems of fallen trees and beneath rocks (Wilson and Knowles, 1988; Cogger, 2000). They may also excavate burrow systems among low vegetation or below logs (Ehmann, 1992). In cleared habitat, Yakka Skinks may persist where shelter sites such as tunnel erosion, rabbit warrens and log piles exist (TSN, 2008). They are extremely secretive and seldom venture far from shelter sites, where they retreat to at the first sign of disturbance. Their presence is often indicated by a shared site where they deposit their droppings (Wilson, 2003). This species occurs within the Border Rivers Maranoa-Balonne, Burdekin, Burnett Mary, Cape York, Condamine, Desert Channels, Fitzroy, Mackay Whitsunday and South West Natural Resource Management Regions. Egernia rugosa Approved Conservation Advice — Page 1 of 3 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister on 29 Apr 2014 The distribution of this species is associated with the “Brigalow (Acacia harpophylla dominant and co-dominant)” EPBC Act-listed threatened ecological community. Threats The main identified threat to the Yakka Skink is a continued legacy of past braodscale land clearing and habitat degradation. The Brigalow Belt Bioregion is an area of high human impact (Covacevich et al., 1998) with much of the region modified through agricultural and urban development (McDonald et al., 1991; Cogger et al., 1993). Other threats to the Yakka Skink include inappropriate roadside management, removal of wood debris and rock microhabitat features, ripping of rabbit warrens and predation by feral animals (TSN, 2008). Research Priorities Research priorities that would inform future regional and local priority actions include: • More precisely assess population size, distribution, ecological requirements and the relative impacts of threatening processes. • Undertake survey work in suitable habitat and potential habitat to locate any additional populations/occurrences/remnants. • Monitor the progress of recovery, including the effectiveness of management actions and the need to adapt them if necessary. Regional and local Priority Actions The following priority recovery and threat abatement actions can be done to support the recovery of the Yakka Skink. Habitat Loss, Disturbance and Modification • Monitor known populations to identify key threats. • Identify populations of high conservation priority. • Actively discourage the removal of fallen logs, leaf litter and rocks from known and potential habitat sites. • Ensure that road widening and maintenance activities and ripping of rabbit warrens in areas where the Yakka Skink occurs do not adversely impact on known populations. • Investigate formal conservation arrangements, management agreements and covenants on private land, and for crown and private land investigate inclusion in reserve tenure if possible. Animal Predation or Competition • Develop and implement a management plan for the control of foxes and feral cats in the region. Fire • Develop and implement a suitable fire management strategy for the habitat of the Yakka Skink. Conservation Information • Raise awareness of the Yakka Skink, and other reptiles, within the local community. • Engage with private landholders and land managers responsible for the land on which populations occur and encourage these key stakeholders to contribute to the implementation of conservation management actions. This list does not necessarily encompass all actions that may be of benefit to the Yakka Skink, but highlights those that are considered to be of highest priority at the time of preparing the Conservation Advice. Egernia rugosa Approved Conservation Advice — Page 2 of 3 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister on 29 Apr 2014 Information Sources: Cogger HG (2000). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia – 6th edition. Sydney: Reed New Holland. Cogger HG, Cameron EE, Sadlier RA and Eggler P (1993). The Action Plan for Australian Reptiles. Canberra, ACT: Australian Nature Conservation Agency. Available from: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/action/reptiles/index.html Covacevich JA, Coupler PJ and McDonald KR (1998). Reptile diversity at risk in the Brigalow Belt, Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 42 (2):475-486. Ehmann H (1992). Reptiles. In: Strahan, R., ed. Encyclopedia of Australian Animals. Sydney: Angus and Robertson. McDonald KR, Covacevich JA, Ingram GJ and Couper PJ (1991). The status of frogs and reptiles. In: Ingram, G.J. & R.J. Raven, eds. An Atlas of Queensland's Frogs, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals. Page(s) 338-345. Brisbane: Queensland Museum. Richardson R. DRAFT-Brigalow Belt Reptile Recovery Plan. Report to the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Canberra. WWF-Australia, Brisbane. Threatened Species Network (TSN) (2008). Yakka Skink: Egernia rugosa: National Threatened Species Day Information Sheet: Threatened Species Network; Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Available on the Internet at: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/tsday08-skink.html Wilson SK and Knowles DG (1988). Australia’s Reptiles: A Photographic Reference to the Terrestrial Reptiles of Australia: Collins Publishers. Wilson S (2003). Reptiles of the Southern Brigalow Belt. WWF-Australia. Egernia rugosa Approved Conservation Advice — Page 3 of 3 .