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Threatened Species Nomination Form Invitation to comment on EPBC Act nomination to list in the Critically Endangered category: Emoia nativitatis (Forest skink) Anyone may nominate a native species, ecological community or threatening process for listing under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). You are invited to provide comment on the attached nomination to assist the Threatened Species Scientific Committee (the Committee) with its assessment of whether Emoia nativitatis (Forest skink) is eligible for inclusion in the EPBC Act list of threatened species in the critically endangered category. The Committee welcomes the views of experts, stakeholders and the general public on nominations to further inform its nomination assessment process. In order to determine if a species, ecological community or threatening process is eligible for listing under the EPBC Act, a rigorous scientific assessment of its status is undertaken. These assessments are undertaken by the Committee to determine if an item is eligible for listing against a set of criteria as set out in the guidelines for nominating and assessing threatened species and ecological communities, and threatening processes. These are available at: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/nominations.html To assist in this matter, the Committee has identified a series of specific questions on which it seeks particular guidance (Part A). The nomination for this item is provided in Part B. Individual nominations may vary considerably in quality. Therefore in addition to the information presented in the nomination, the Committee also takes into account published data and considers other information received when it prepares its advice for the Minister. Responses to this consultation will be provided in full to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. In providing comments, please provide references to published data where possible. Should the Committee use the information you provide in formulating its advice, the information will be attributed to you and referenced as ‘personal communication’ unless you provide references or otherwise attribute this information. The Committee’s advice may be published on the department’s website at completion of the assessment and decision by the Minister. Information provided through consultation may be subject to freedom of information legislation and court processes. It is also important to note that under the EPBC Act, the deliberations and recommendations of the Committee are confidential until the Minister has made a final decision on the nomination, unless otherwise determined by the Minister. The views expressed within the attached nomination (Part B) do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Australian Government. The Australian Government and the Committee do not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents of the nomination. Included here for your consideration of the nomination are: Part A – specific questions identified by the Committee Part B – nomination information Part A The following questions are suggested, having regard to the Committee’s agreed list of standard questions and the nomination. 1. Can you comment on whether or not there is sufficient evidence that this entity is a distinct species? 2. Do you consider the way the population size has been estimated to be appropriate and do you accept the estimate of the total population size of the species? If not, can you provide an estimate of the range of population size? 3. Are you aware of any additional evidence which shows the population is increasing or declining? If evidence is available, could you provide a range for the rate of change for the species? 4. Do you consider the current distribution of the species, as described in the nomination, to be valid? If not, why? 5. Do you consider that the way the past and current extent of occurrence/area of occupancy has been estimated is appropriate? If not, why? 6. Do you know of any past, current or potential threats that may adversely affect this species at any stage of its life cycle? 7. Can you provide additional data or information relevant to this assessment? 8. Have you been involved in developing this nomination? If so, in what capacity? 9. Do you agree with the proposal to list this species? Please summarise your reasoning. Part B Section 1 - Legal Status, Distribution, Biological, Ecological Conservation Theme 1. Not applicable - there is no N/A conservation theme for the 2011 assessment period. Taxonomy 2. What are the currently forest skink Emoia nativitatis (Boulenger, 1887) accepted scientific and common name/s for the species (please include Indigenous names, where Order: Squamata. Family: Scincidae known)? Note any other scientific names that have been used recently. Note the species authority and the Order and Family to which the species belongs (Family name alone is sufficient for plants, however, both Order and Family name are required for insects). 3. Is this species conventionally The species is conventionally recognised. accepted? If not, explain why. Is there any controversy about the Two Emoia species occur on Christmas Island (this species and taxonomy? E. atrocostata). There has been some historic confusion on species’ bounds. Boulenger (1887, 1900) reported two species, Lygosoma nativitatis and L. atrocostata. However, Smith (1929) synonymised nativitatis with atrocostata, and described another species from Christmas Island, L. sinus. XXXX XXXX reviewed the taxonomy, and their conclusion that there are two distinct species (the endemic E. nativitatis (occurring in forested areas) and the non-endemic E. atrocostata (occurring in coastal situations) – i.e. return to the situation described by Boulenger) - has since been accepted conventionally (Cogger et al. 1983a; Brown 1991). 4. If the species is NOT n/a conventionally accepted, please provide: (i) a taxonomic description of the species in a form suitable for publication in conventional scientific literature; OR (ii) evidence that a scientific institution has a specimen of the species and a written statement signed by a person who has relevant taxonomic expertise (has worked, or is a published author, on the class of species nominated), that the person thinks the species is a new species. 5. Is this species taxonomically No particular taxonomic distinctiveness – the genus Emoia is distinct (Taxonomic distinctiveness speciose. – a measure of how unique a species is relative to other species)? Legal Status 6. What is the species’ current This species occurs only on the Australian external territory of conservation status under Christmas Island. It is not listed as threatened in any Australian Australian and State/Territory jurisdiction. Government legislation? 7. Does the species have specific The distribution of the species is restricted to Christmas Island, protection (e.g. listed on an annex mostly (63%) included within a national park, where it is or appendix) under other legislation protected. Under EPBC Act regulations, it is also afforded some or intergovernmental protection in those parts of Christmas Island outside the park Part B arrangements, e.g. Convention on area. International Trade in Endangered It is not listed as threatened under CITES, CMS or by the IUCN. Fauna and Flora (CITES), Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). Description 8. Give a brief description of the The forest skink is a moderately robust (80 mm snout-vent species’ appearance, including size length, 10 g) skink, rich metallic-brown in colour, paler on flanks, and/or weight, and sex and age with numerous irregularly-scattered paler and darker scales. It variation if appropriate; social differs from E. atrocostata in scalation and colour (with the latter structure and dispersion (e.g. having silvery-grey ground colour and a diffuse dark lateral solitary/clumped/flocks). stripe). The forest skink occurs solitarily, but historic records suggest that in suitable habitat (forest clearings and forest areas where sunlight penetrates the canopy), it may occur locally in “large numbers” XXXX XXXX. Furthermore, at a single site in June 1998 XXXX XXXX counted more than 80 individuals of this species actively basking and foraging on the trunk of a large, recently-fallen rainforest tree across the access track south of Aldrich Hill. 9. Give a brief description of the The forest skink is a generalist predator of small invertebrates; species’ ecological role (for and is unlikely to play a major ecological role. example, is it a ‘keystone’ or ‘foundation’ species, does it play a role in processes such as seed dispersal or pollination). Australian Distribution 10. Describe the species’ current The forest skink is endemic to the 135 km2 Christmas Island. and past distribution in the Cogger and Sadlier (1981) reported it to be widespread across Australian distribution and, if Christmas Island in 1979 (“the most abundant and wide-ranging available, attach a maps noting the of the diurnal lizards”). They re-sampled the Island in 1998, and source and the datasets used to “found no evidence that Emoia nativitatus had declined in either create these. geographic range or numbers … although our small sample sizes in 1998 made our estimates of relative abundance very unreliable.” XXXX XXXX. It has subsequently become far less common, and contracted severely in range. A biodiversity monitoring program undertaken between 2003 and 2005 sampled 320 sites across the Island for reptiles, and reported that the
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