Communities for Communities Newsletter - Issue 19 (June 2015)

Communities for Communities Newsletter Issue 19 (June 2015)

In this issue  Ecological Communities  Technical workshops section brief update - Banksia Dominated - New fact sheets Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain Bioregion  New threatened - Poplar/Bimble Box ecological communities listed Grassy Woodland on under national environmental law Alluvial Plains  What happens to a nomination  Conferences and events in 2015

Ecological Communities section brief update In addition to the matters covered in detail inside this - What an ecological community is issue, you may be interested to know: - Why it is nationally protected  New fact sheets have been released for two listed communities: - What the listing aims to achieve

- Kangaroo Island Narrow-leaved Mallee - What the listing means for people in the region. ( Eucalyptus cneorifolia ) Woodland

- Western Sydney Dry Rainforest and Moist Woodland on Shale.  Two previously listed ecological communities have received updated conservation advices:

- Hunter Valley Weeping Myall (Acacia pendula) Woodland

These fact sheets help readers understand: - Shale Sandstone Transition Forest of the Sydney Basin Bioregion. Newly listed ecological communities Since the previous edition of this newsletter in May 2014, six new ecological communities have been listed under national environmental law. These new additions are:

 Coastal Upland Swamps in the Sydney Basin Bioregion  Natural Damp Grassland of the Victorian Coastal Plains

 Cooks River/Castlereagh Ironbark Forest of the Sydney Basin Bioregion

 Castlereagh Scribbly Gum and Agnes Banks Woodlands of the Sydney Basin Bioregion.

 Central Hunter Valley Forest and Woodland

 Posidonia australis seagrass meadows of the Manning-Hawkesbury ecoregion

Two ecological community listings have been updated following reviews:

 Hunter Valley Weeping Myall (Acacia pendula) Woodland (updated name and conservation advice)

 Shale Sandstone Transition Forest of the Sydney Basin Bioregion (up listed).

With these recent additions, the total number of nationally listed ecological communities has increased to 72. Further information regarding all nationally listed ecological communities, including full conservation advice, detailed descriptions, threat analyses, distribution maps, and priority research and conservation actions (within national conservation advices and/or recovery plans), can be found on the Department’s website at: www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publiclookupcommunities.pl Coastal Upland Swamps in the  changes to landscape hydrology

Sydney Basin Bioregion  climate change Date listed: July 2014  changes to fire regimes, including increased Category: Endangered frequency

Location: The ecological community occurs on the  inappropriate recreational use (off-track vehicles, eastern part of the Sydney Basin bioregion of NSW. It horses, etc). is found across the Woronora plateau to the south of Sydney and the Somersby-Hornsby plateaux to the Other features: With such diverse vegetation, the north. The north and south distributions are separated swamps provide vital habitat for a range of fauna. by variable geological features, with the Cumberland Found within these swamps are a range of threatened Plain and Sydney city at the centre. mammal, bird and frog species. Such examples include: Descriptive features: Found primarily on impermeable sandstone plateaux, the swamps occur in  eastern pygmy-possum – state vulnerable the headwaters of streams and on sandstone benches with abundant seepage moisture. They typically occur  eastern bristlebird – nationally and state at elevations of 200–450 m above sea level (ASL), but endangered can range from 20–600 m ASL.  turquoise parrot – state vulnerable These swamps are typically treeless, instead occurring as graminoid heaths, sedgelands, fernlands and tall  green and golden bell frog – nationally scrub. Vegetation is highly variable and diverse with vulnerable, state endangered upwards of 200 vascular plant species occurring across  giant burrowing frog – nationally and state its range. vulnerable.

With 80% of this ecological community occurring on the Woronora Plateau, protection will aid in ensuring the health of the catchment and water supply for Sydney and the surrounding regions.

Key threats: Further information: www.environment.gov.au/cgi- bin/sprat/public/publicshowcommunity.pl?  land clearing id=140&status=Endangered Natural Damp Grassland of the  land clearing and fragmentation

Victorian Coastal Plains  changes to landscape hydrology Date listed: February 2015  weed invasion, including encroachment of native Category: Critically Endangered shrubs

Location: Located within the Victorian coastal plains,  inappropriate management regimes which are too the Natural Damp Grassland community is found much or insufficient (slashing, mowing, grazing primarily in the Gippsland Plain subregion. Some and fire) remnants are also present in the Otway Plain subregion. Due to land clearing and significant fragmentation,  inappropriate road and infrastructure maintenance occurrences are often rare, small in size and are relatively scattered across a significant range. The  fertiliser residues. grasslands are often found on fertile clay soils in areas Other features: The ecological community provides of high rainfall occurrence with infrequent drought. potential habitat for at least nine plant and 11 animal The community is typically found up to 100 m ASL. species which are listed as nationally threatened. Descriptive features: Patches of the natural damp Examples include: grassland are associated with boggy soils and has a unique assemblage of dryland and moisture-loving  Caladenia fragrantissima subsp. orientalis (cream native species. Therefore, any long-term disruption to spider-orchid) – nationally endangered natural water flows may have impacts upon its  Dianella amoena (matted flax-lily) – nationally assemblage. endangered The community is typically characterised by the  Prasophyllum frenchii (maroon leek-orchid) – abundance of grassy ground cover commonly nationally endangered composing of tussock and non-tussock grasses, other graminoids and forbs; with the absence or sparse  southern brown bandicoot – nationally and state occurrences of trees and large shrubs. Most commonly endangered. the ground vegetation is dominated by kangaroo grasses in drier and non-saline areas, through to Further information: www.environment.gov.au/cgi- common tussock grasses in wetter or brackish areas. bin/sprat/public/publicshowcommunity.pl? Shrubs may occasionally be present in drainage lines id=133&status=Critically+Endangered and depressions in the landscape.

Key threats: Cooks River/Castlereagh Ironbark Forest of the Sydney Basin Bioregion Date listed: March 2015

Category: Critically Endangered

Location: The Cooks River/Castlereagh Ironbark Forest of the Sydney Basin Bioregion is endemic to the Cumberland subregion of NSW. The community is  changes in faunal composition and generally found between Penrith and Richmond. ecological function Additional patches occupy areas near Kemps Creek and Holsworthy, as well as small urban remnants near  plant diseases such as Phytophthora the Cooks River. cinnamomi and myrtle rust (Puccinia psidii s.l.). Descriptive features: The community is an open- forest to low woodland. It is dominated by an Other features: The community provides habitat overstorey of Eucalyptus fibrosa (red ironbark) and for many nationally threatened flora and fauna. Melaleuca decora (white feather honeymyrtle), with E. This includes at least 15 nationally listed longifolia (woollybutt) often present. While the ground threatened fauna species which may occur or are layer is relatively sparse, there is a variable and often known to occur in the area occupied by the dense shrub layer dominated by Melaleuca nodosa ecological community. Examples include: (prickly-leaved paperbark) and Lissanthe strigosa (peach heath).  Persoonia nutans (Nodding Geebung) – nationally and state endangered Key threats:  Allocasuarina glareicola – nationally and state  land clearing and fragmentation endangered

 changes to fire regimes, particularly an increased  Pultenaea parviflora – nationally vulnerable frequency andstate endangered

 invasion by weed species from garden escapes  Australasian bittern – nationally and state and farms endangered

 predation of native fauna by domestic pets, feral  regent honeyeater – nationally endangered and species (such as noisy minors) and aggressive state critically endangered urban adapted natives  spotted tail quoll – nationally endangered and  loss of hollow-bearing trees state vulnerable.

 removal of dead wood and trees Further information: www.environment.gov.au/cgi- bin/sprat/public/publicshowcommunity.pl?  inappropriate rural-residential mowing id=129&status=Critically+Endangered

 rubbish dumping Castlereagh Scribbly Gum and  changes to fire regimes, particularly an increased frequency (often due to arson) Agnes Banks Woodlands of the Sydney Basin Bioregion  invasion by weed species from garden escapes Date listed: March 2015 and farms

Category: Endangered  hydrological changes and increases in water nutrient loads Location: The Castlereagh Scribbly Gum and Agnes Banks Woodlands of the Sydney Basin Bioregion are  predation of native fauna by domestic pets, feral typically found on the north-west of the Cumberland species and aggressive urban adapted natives Plain. Other known occurrences include Kemps Creek,  inappropriate rural-residential mowing Longneck Lagoon and near Holsworthy. The community is found on areas of flat or gently  rubbish dumping undulating terrain where rainfall is 700–900 mm per year. These are typically areas of low altitude and  changes in faunal composition and ecological hinterland positioning to avoid the warmer and drier function surrounding landscapes.  plant diseases such as Phytophthora cinnamomi Descriptive features: Typically characterised as low and myrtle rust (Puccinia psidii s.l.). woodland, the canopy species typically reach 15 m in height, sometimes emerging to 20 m. Species which Other features: The community provides habitat for at dominate the canopy can include Angophora bakeri least nine nationally threatened fauna including: (narrow leaved apple), Eucalyptus racemosa (narrow- leaved scribbly gum) and E. parramattensis subsp.  regent honeyeater – nationally endangered and parramattensis (Parramatta red gum). With a state critically endangered prominent and diverse understorey, it is typically occupied by a sclerophyllous shrub mid-layer and  swift parrot – nationally and state endangered patchy ground cover of sedges and grasses. Species  spotted tail quoll – nationally endangered and diversity decreases and shifts to a sedge and grass state vulnerable dominated understorey in areas of poor soil drainage. Isolation of various geological and soil characteristics  large-eared pied bat – nationally and state has seen the development of differences in species vulnerable. composition and abundance across the range of the community. The ecological community also represents a nationally significant important bird area. Key threats: Further information: www.environment.gov.au/cgi-  land clearing and fragmentation bin/sprat/public/publicshowcommunity.pl? id=119&status=Critically+Endangered Hunter Valley Weeping Myall This ecological community was originally listed under the name Weeping Myall – Coobah – Scrub Wilga (Acacia pendula) Woodland Shrubland of the Hunter Valley in 2005. After a recent Date listed: December 2014 (originally August 2005) listing review where new information regarding its

Category: Critically Endangered occurrence was considered, the name was updated and Other features: There are four nationally listed a new conservation advice issued. threatened fauna species which may occur or are known to occur in the area occupied by the ecological Location: Found in the Hunter Region of NSW, the community: weeping myall woodland is found between Warkworth and Wybong. An additional patch is found in Jerrys  regent honeyeater – nationally endangered and Plains cemetery and is considered the most intact patch state critically endangered of the known community. All known weeping myall woodlands occur within landscapes which have been  swift parrot – nationally and state endangered heavily cleared and grazed. Found at elevations of 60– 150 m ASL, the community favours heavy clay soils  large-eared pied bat – nationally and state located on flood washouts. vulnerable

These near coastal stands of weeping myall are  grey-headed flying-fox – nationally and state probably a relic from the last period of glaciation. This vulnerable. explains their segregation from the species’ primary Further information: www.environment.gov.au/cgi- occurrence 100 km to the northwest on the Liverpool bin/sprat/public/publicshowcommunity.pl? Plains and elsewhere on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range. id=44&status=Critically+Endangered

Descriptive features: Typically appearing as a low forest to woodland, the overstorey is characteristically 5–15 m in height. There is a sparse shrub layer 1-3 m tall over a generally grassy ground layer. The floristic composition of this woodland typically includes more western species. Such examples include Acacia melvillei-homalophylla complex, oak-leaved goosefoot and Mulla Mulla, but it is the presence of weeping myall which characterises this woodland.

Key threats:

 historic land clearing and fragmentation, as well as current and future development activities

 invasion by exotic plant species

 inappropriate grazing regimes

 changes to fire regimes

 climate change

 competition and land degradation by rabbits.

Shale Sandstone Transition Forest of Descriptive features: Occurring as a forest or woodland, the community is dominated by an the Sydney Basin Bioregion overstorey of various eucalypt tree species such as grey Date uplisted: December 2014 (originally 2000) gum, narrow-leaved ironbark, red ironbark, forest red gum, red mahogany, and thin-leaved stringybark with Category: Critically Endangered an understorey of sclerophyllous shrubs, grasses and This ecological community was originally listed as herbs. As a result of variations in the underlying endangered in 2000. After a recent listing review, it substrate and environmental variables such as rainfall has now been listed as critically endangered. and slope the community is highly diverse. An increase in sandstone influence generally results in a shrubbier Location: Confined to the Sydney Basin bioregion of understorey, whereas a reduction sees increased NSW, the Shale Sandstone Transition Forest is found prevalence of herbs and grasses.Key threats: to the west of Sydney on the edges of the Cumberland Plain and on the sandstone-dominated Hornsby,  land clearing and fragmentation Woronora, and Lower Blue Mountains plateaux. It is  invasion by exotic plant species and feral animals found primarily where soils are derived from shale substrates which are characterised by their clay texture,  inappropriate grazing regimes and mowing with a weathered sandstone substrate transition. This ecological community is generally found in areas  changes to fire regimes, particularly an increased receiving 800–1100 mm mean annual rainfall, and frequency most commonly occurs at elevations below 200 m ASL —although can be found up to 600 m ASL in specific  inappropriate recreational use locations.  rubbish dumping (source of weeds and pollutants)

 wood removal

 salinity.

Other features: The community provides habitat for at least eight nationally listed threatened plant species and five nationally listed threatened animal species (21 state threatened). Examples include:

 Persoonia hirsute (hairy geebung) – nationally endangered

 Pterostylis saxicola (Sydney plains greenhood) – nationally and state endangered

 Grevillea parviflora subsp. parviflora (small- flowered Grevillea) – nationally endangered

 regent honeyeater – nationally endangered and state critically endangered

 swift parrot – nationally and state endangered  spotted tail quoll – nationally endangered and Further information: www.environment.gov.au/cgi- state vulnerable bin/sprat/public/publicshowcommunity.pl? id=146&status=Critically+Endangered  koala – nationally and state vulnerable. Central Hunter Valley Forest and  invasive flora species

Woodland  rural, residential and industrial development Date listed: May 2015  removal of fallen timber and trees (e.g. collection Category: Critically Endangered of firewood and ‘tidying up’)

Location: The Central Hunter Valley Forest and  detrimental grazing, mowing and slashing Woodland ecological community occurs in the Hunter regimes Valley region (including the Goulburn Valley) within the Hunter River catchment of north east NSW. It is  altered fire regimes (fire intensity, frequency, primarily found in the Muswellbrook, Singleton and seasonality and patchiness all influence vegetation Cessnock Local Government Areas. composition and structure)

The community is found on soils with a high clay  predation of native fauna by feral species and content and of medium fertility relative to the fertile competition from aggressive native species. deep alluvial loam soils nearby and the low fertility sandy soils of the bordering escarpment landscape. Other features: The community provides potential habitat for at least 61 nationally and/or state listed Descriptive features: Occurring as an open forest or threatened species including: woodland, the community is typically dominated by  brush-tailed rock-wallaby eucalypt species. It often has an open to sparse mid- layer of shrubs and a ground layer of grasses, forbs and  bush stone-curlew small shrubs. Species composition is influenced by factors such as position in the landscape and size of the  Corben's long-eared bat site, recent rainfall occurrences (including droughts)  green and golden bell frog and disturbance history (including clearing, grazing and fire).  grey-headed flying fox The community is usually dominated by one or more of  koala the following eucalypt species: narrow-leaved ironbark (Eucalyptus crebra), spotted gum (Corymbia maculata  large-eared pied bat syn. Eucalyptus maculata), slaty gum (Eucalyptus dawsonii) and grey box (Eucalyptus moluccana).  New Holland mouse However, in some instances bulloak (Allocasuarina luehmannii) may co-dominate. The sparse mid-layer  painted honeyeater often compromises shrubs such as wattles and blackthorn. Groundcover can be highly variable,  regent honeyeater ranging from a sparse to thick coverage of native  spotted tail quoll grasses and other native herbs and/or native shrubs.

Key threats:  swift parrot. Further information: www.environment.gov.au/cgi-  vegetation clearing and landscape fragmentation bin/sprat/public/publicshowcommunity.pl?id=130  changes in faunal composition and ecological &status=Critically+Endangered function Posidonia australis seagrass meadows weedy seadragon; and commercially and recreationally important fish species such as yellow bream, black of the Manning-Hawkesbury bream, sea mullet, luderick, fanbelly leather jacket, six- ecoregion spine leatherjacket and yellowfin leatherjacket. Date listed: May 2015 Key threats: The ecological community has suffered Category: Endangered substantial damage in the past, largely associated with the direct loss and degradation of Posidonia australis Location: The ecological community is found in a meadows. limited number of estuaries and around islands along the New South Wales coastline between Wallis Lake A range of threats is ongoing and interacting in and Port Hacking within the Manning Shelf and complex ways to reduce the integrity and function Hawkesbury Shelf bioregions. The ecological of the Posidonia seagrass meadows including: community is known to occur at Wallis Lake, coastal development, dredging, boat mooring and Broughton Island, Port Stephens, Lake Macquarie, other boating related activities, catchment Brisbane Water, Hawkesbury River, Pittwater, Port disturbance and pollution and climate change. Jackson (Sydney Harbour), Botany Bay and Port Other features: The ecological community protects Hacking. water quality by filtering the water, removing and recycling nutrients; and stabilises sediment on the Descriptive features: The ecological community is the seabed, preventing large scale sand movement. The collection of plants, animals and micro-organisms ecological community is an important carbon sink, associated with seagrass meadows dominated by capturing and storing carbon through photosynthesis Posidonia australis. and by trapping particles in the water. Seagrass debris The ecological community is an important driver of may be transported well beyond the range of the fisheries productivity and estuarine biodiversity. The meadow and subsequently provides food and shelter to Posidonia seagrass provides a surface for other plants animals and microorganisms in other environments as (as epiphytes) and animals (as epifauna) to grow on well as contributing to the stability of beach sediments. and which become a source of food for larger animals. It provides refuge, nursery habitat and feeding grounds Further information: www.environment.gov.au/cgi- for some important animals including Manly’s bin/sprat/public/publicshowcommunity.pl? endangered population of little penguins; the protected id=127&status=Critically+Endangered Technical workshops Technical workshops are often an important step in the Australian Government’s assessment of nominations to list nationally threatened ecological communities. Workshops bring together key scientific experts, land managers and other community experts to provide advice on a nominated ecological community. This allows for robust discussion of complex definitional issues and testing at field sites. They enhance the outcomes of nomination assessments and help ensure community engagement. Banksia Dominated Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain Bioregion A public nomination for the Banksia Dominated landscape. From the outcomes of this engagement and Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain Bioregion was additional information gathering, the Committee placed on the Finalised Priority Assessment List continues to consider appropriate scales for this (FPAL) in 2012. It is currently being assessed by the assessment. Threatened Species Scientific Committee (the Committee) for listing on the national list of threatened The community is principally defined as an upper ecological communities. The community has sclerophyllous layer of large shrubs and small trees. undergone significant decline due to the impact of These are commonly dominated or co-dominated by ongoing threats. These threats include clearing and Banksia attenuata (candlestick banksia) and/or B. fragmentation, weed invasion, hydrological changes, menziesii (firewood banksia), but other Banksia species climate change and changes in fire regimes. may dominate. It is estimated that the extent of the woodlands has declined by at least 70% since This assessment investigates banksia woodlands across European settlement. Such declines have been the entire Swan Coastal Plain, spanning from Jurien observed in the nearby Eucalypt Woodlands of the Bay north of Perth down to the Busselton region south Western Australian Wheatbelt. These examples of Perth. As part of the assessment, a workshop was highlight the need for protection of threatened held in Perth during June 2014. The workshop included ecological communities in this region. site visits to a range of example woodlands. Site visits explored common characteristics of the ecological The Threatened Species Scientific Committee will community, variation between sites and the different finalise its assessment and provide its recommendation levels of condition—from degraded to pristine. on listing to the Minister during 2015. The Minister’s listing decision will follow shortly after. To keep up to Participants at the workshop agreed that, while banksia date with the assessment, or to provide any relevant woodlands across the Swan Coastal Plain shared information, please contact us at common characteristics, they also featured variation [email protected] (e.g. floristic composition) due to the complexity of the

Poplar/Bimble Box Grassy substrates. With decreasing soil fertility and increasing topographic relief, the poplar box grassy woodlands are Woodland on Alluvial Plains replaced by shrubbier types of box woodland and The Poplar/Bimble Box Grassy Woodland on Alluvial ironbark/cypress pine communities. Such communities Plains was nominated and accepted on the 2013 characterise much of the less fertile parts of the Finalised Priority Assessment List. In February 2015, a landscape. two day technical workshop was held in Toowoomba. The workshop brought together woodland and grassland experts whose expertise ranged across the national extent of the ecological community.

Poplar box grassy woodlands are very wide-ranging, but heavily cleared, through Queensland and NSW. The woodlands occur from south of Charters Towers and west of Ipswich in Queensland to north of Leeton and east of Cobar in NSW. They occur on alluvial soils particularly clay, clay-loam, loam and sandy loams, but are absent on sandy, sodic soils and siliceous The ecological community is an assemblage of fauna such as the square-tailed kite, lesser long-eared organisms associated with the dominant canopy species bat, bridled nail-tail wallaby and koalas. poplar/bimble box (Eucalyptus populnea). The ground layer can vary in composition depending on hydrology, Owing to the productive nature of the soils they grow landscape position and season. It is typically open, low on, much of the grassy box woodlands have been and dominated by a variety of grasses and herbs. In historically impacted by clearance for agriculture and some locations during dry periods, grass and pasture improvements. In addition to remaining patches herbaceous species may decrease, allowing other of grassy woodlands being heavily fragmented, the understorey species such as chenopods to dominate. In woodlands are being impacted by many other threats. more moist sites and seasons, sedges, rushes and ferns, These include weed invasion (particularly buffel grass such as Marsilea drummondii (nardoo) may become in Queensland), inappropriate fire regimes, along with more prominent. increasing salinity and hydrological changes.

Poplar box trees are a significant hollow forming tree, The depth of knowledge and experience offered by the and are important for providing habitat for a diverse workshop participants provided an immensely valuable range of native fauna. The grass layers of the poplar underpinning to the scientific assessment of this box woodlands provide protection for fauna such as ecological community under the EPBC Act. The narrow-nosed planigale and fat-tailed dunnart. The assessment of the Poplar/Bimble Box Grassy woodlands are essential habitat for rare and threatened Woodlands on Alluvial Plains for potential listing, as a threatened ecological community under the EPBC Act, is due for completion by 31 October 2015. What happens to a nomination?

Background The Each year the Department will open a public nomination period to allow for the submission of ecological communities, species and key threatening processes for listing or delisting consideration under the EPBC Act (or the transfer from one threatened category to another). The Minister may determine a conservation theme and invite nominations which reflect this theme.

The Threatened Species Scientific Committee (TSSC) may also submit its own nominations against the assessment criteria. Such examples include those which have been identified in strategic work or contribute to state alignment.

The nomination period is open for no less than 40 business days (typically opening in December), as per the requirements of the EPBC Act. The most recent nomination period closed on Thursday 26 March 2015.

Next steps for a nomination Once the nomination period has closed, the TSSC will consider all nominations. All nominations must first contain a minimum amount of information, as specified in the EPBC Act regulations, to be considered. These nominations are then evaluated against criteria that conservation advice including a recommendation on ensure a fairly weighted process to successfully accept listing category is supplied to the Minister to determine and prioritise nominations. These consider factors such a final listing decision. as threat, existing protection and available information. Once each of the nominations has been evaluated, a Importantly, items on the FPAL are not guaranteed proposed priority assessment list (PPAL) is prepared final listing under the EPBC Act. It is the subsequent for the Minister to consider. conservation advice and the Minister’s decision which determines the final listing category, if any. During this time the Minister has a statutory timeframe of 20 business days in which to consider the PPAL. For further information regarding nominating a species, This process sees the Minister make a determination ecological community or key threatening process under for the nominations to be included on the Final Priority the EPBC Act, please see: Assessment List (FPAL) for the upcoming assessment http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened period. For items which make the FPAL, assessments /nominations will commence from October 1 and are bound by their assessment completion timeframes listed on the FPAL. Items on the 2015 FPAL will be announced prior to 1 Items on the FPAL are subject to robust assessment by October 2015. To see other items currently under the TSSC against a clear set of criteria. assessment please see: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened /assessments/fpal Conferences and events in 2015 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 29 November – 3 December 2015Who’s who in The 8th Making Cities Liveable Conference the Ecological Communities Section Melbourne, Victoria 6-7 July 2015 Director: www.healthycities.com.au Matt White Australian Mammal Society Scientific Meeting Hobart, Tasmania Assistant Directors: 6–10 July 2015 Justin Billing www.australianmammals.org.au/events/5_ams_confere Ann Holden nce_2015 John Vranjic The 18th International River Symposium Brisbane, Queensland Project Officers: 21–24 September 2015 Paul Barraclough www.riversymposium.com Mark Bourne Andrew Chalklen 2015 NSW Environmental Education Conference Anthony Hoffman Hunter Valley, New South Wales Trudy O’Connor 29– 30 October 2015 www.nsweeconference.org.au Jesse Mahoney

2015 EIANZ Annual Conference Perth, Western Australia Media Enquiries 29-30 October 2015 Please direct all media enquiries to www.eianz.org [email protected] Ecological Society of Australia 2015 Annual Conference Adelaide, South Australia 29 November – 3 December 2015 www.ecolsoc.org.au

Australasian Systematic Botany Society Inc. Conference www.asbs.org.au/cbr2015

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The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Australian Government or the Minister for the Environment.