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DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE The theme of my foreword this year is "connectivity". Just as maintaining the opportunity for connectedness is important for the conservation of biodiversity, it remains crucial for the relevance and application of scientific research in the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC). This year has been particularly pleasing, as the Science Division and DEC are beginning to see the benefits from recent years of heightened activity in investing time and effort in both internal and external consultation, co-operation, co-ordination and collaboration. In 2007/08, the Division was involved in around 150 research-related projects in DEC, over 100 projects with external partners and 77 projects with tertiary students. Working with DEC Divisions Within DEC, close working relationships were maintained across a number of DEC Divisions. Examples include: • Working closely with field officers in the Division of Regional Services on active adaptive management projects such as the Walpole Fire Mosaic Project, the Woylie Conservation Project (Warren Region) and the Operation Rangelands Restoration project at Lorna Glen (Goldfields Region). • The Regional “science ambassador” program is working well with science ambassadors providing a conduit for information flow between Science Division and Regional Services Division. Science Ambassadors have attended and given presentations at the annual regional meetings for Midwest, Wheatbelt and South Coast Regions. These presentations have highlighted collaborative studies such as research associated with the design and assessment of success for flora translocations in the South Coast, Wheatbelt and Midwest Regions. The Division has also provided technical advice to important initiatives, such as the Gnangara Sustainability Strategy. • Working closely with Nature Conservation Division and Sustainable Forest Management Division in provision of advice and in conservation planning. Examples include participation in the development of DEC’s nine Nature Conservation Service Region Plans; State of the Forests Report 2008 to which Science Division staff contributed significantly; establishment of a network of Fire Exclusion Reference Areas (FERA) in south-west forests in collaboration with Fire Management Services Branch; technical advice and review to the three Resource Condition Monitoring (Significant Native Species and Ecological Communities, Vegetation Condition, Wetland Condition) projects; assisting Area Management Planners with provision of accurate and relevant information relating to the Walpole Wilderness Area and adjacent parks and reserves; draft management plans for Leeuwin Ridge, Scott National Park and Gingilup Swamp Nature Reserve. • Working closely with Environmental Management Branch, Environmental Protection Authority Services Unit and Environmental Analysis and Review Branch in the provision of advice on biodiversity surveys and conservation issues associated with resource development throughout the State. Key interactions include the strategic review of banded iron formation (BIF) ranges of the Midwest and Goldfields; input into the quarantine and hazard procedures for the Gorgon development on Barrow Island; input into the Northern Taskforce review of development hubs in the Kimberly; development of draft guidelines for biological survey and input into numerous Environmental Impact Assessment and Vegetation Clearing submissions. Linking more effectively with universities In addition to formal meetings between Divisional senior scientists and academic staff to share information and to identify areas of potential collaboration in the future, DEC Science Division continues to collaborate through ARC Linkage Grants, student scholarships and co-supervision of students (see summaries on page 232 of this report). In addition, over the last 12 months, three joint appointments have been made with Western Australian Universities, two with the School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia and one with the School of Biological Sciences, Murdoch University. Investing in national and international collaborations This year has seen a continuation of partnerships with the Bushfire CRC; Future Farm Industries CRC; CSIRO Project Vesta; CSIRO Clean Air Research Programs; Australian Long Term Ecological Research site network, and the Western Australian Marine Science Institution. The Millennium Seed Bank-Western Australia partnership, now in its 8th year, has helped achieve a more secure future for many of the State's conservation-listed flora. Currently one half of all species held in storage at the Threatened Flora Seed Centre are duplicated at the Millennium Seed Bank, while the collections have provided the basis for more than 35 translocations. The importance of the Millennium Seed Bank and similar seed stores is increasing as the scale of potential climate change impacts on species and ecosystems becomes more evident. Our understanding of potential climate change impacts has become sounder as a result of greater Divisional focus on science relating to climate change biodiversity interactions, a growing collaboration on this matter with Western Australian scientists based at tertiary institutions and our collaboration with the Climate Change Science team at the South African National Biodiversity Institute. The great similarities and key differences between Western Australia's south west region and South Africa cape region have supported the development of comparative studies and assessments which are revealing greater knowledge about the potential vulnerabilites of both regions. Collaborating with the corporate sector The Division has continued to develop partnerships and sponsorship arrangements with industry and corporate institutions. Examples include the Understanding Mulga project – the largest externally funded taxonomic project undertaken in Australia; the Pilbara Wattle project; and the mutually beneficial ‘embedding’ of identification botanists in the WA Herbarium by BHP Billiton Iron Ore and Rio Tinto Iron Ore. Generating Science to support conservation I am also mindful of the converse of connectivity. In evolution most new species form as a result of allopatry or vicariance, essentially a form of temporary isolation from other populations. In science, the great leaps forward are likely to come from individual scientists and not from committees of scientists. These acts of creative insight arise from a hard-to-characterize connection between awareness and mastery of knowledge as it is published in the professional journals and intense individual thinking about the problems to be solved. Science Division continues to invest in maintaining a quality Departmental library of science journals, relevant grey literature including reports by ecological consultants to industry, and official documents. Library services are provided across DEC and external to the Department. A recent general usage survey found that these services are highly valued by staff across the Department. Within DEC, the Science Division usage of DEC library services is 53%, and the next highest users are Nature Conservation Division (16%), Regional Services Division (13%) and Parks and Visitor Services Division (10%). The Library Catalogue has 155 201 records: • 28 478 book/report titles • 1 671 journal/newsletter titles (564 current) 2 • 10 765 monographic journals • 26 528 reprints • 65 968 indexed journal articles and book chapters • 2 774 pamphlets • 762 links to online resources • 4 500 PDFs linked to catalogue records The Science Division publishes two journals, Conservaiton Science WA and Nuytsia. Three issues of Conservation Science WA were published this year with 770 pages including two special issues – a complete translation of Dr L Diels 1906 Plant Life of Western Australian, a seminal work on Western Australian biogeography; and Ian Abbott's historical perspectives on the ecology of south western Australian vertebrates. Three issues of Nuytsia were published with 706 pages of taxonomica support including a special issue on species of the Banded Ironstone Formation ranges of the Yilgarn Craton and the Ravensthorpe Range and Bandalup Hill to facilitate greater understanding of the biodiversity of these regions. Science Division operates nine Research Centres with associated administration support. We cannot function without the valuable role that our administration staff play. It is the long term intention of DEC to collocate the three science metropolitan centres to a new building at Kensington. This year saw site works commence for Stage 1 which includes the Western Australian Herbarium and most sections of the Flora Conservation and Herbarium Program, the Science Directorate and the Science Division library. The total cost is estimated at over $30 million. Science Division also operates molecular genetic laboratories and plant pathology laboratories, including the Vegetation Health Service which is the State's primary source of data for Phytophthora dieback identification. The Western Australian Herbarium houses the State's collections of vascular, non vascular (algae, mosses, etc.) plants and fungi totalling 683 339 specimens. Science Division’s bioregional spread of activity is summarized below: DEC Region No. IBRA Bioregion No. IBRA No. IMCRA Region No. * Projects ** Projects Bioregion Projects Projects Warren 69 Avon Wheatbelt 54 Jarrah forest 75 Central West 4 Coast Swan 64 Carnarvon 24 Little Sandy 23 Ningaloo 3 Desert South West 63 Central Kimberley 26 Mallee