Update on the Conservation Status of Swift Parrots, May 2015

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Update on the conservation status of Swift Parrots, May 2015 A recent study (Heinsohn et al. 2015) identified severe threat to Swift Parrots (Lathamus discolor) in Tasmania as a consequence of predation by Sugar Gliders (Petaurus brevipes). The study was undertaken by researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) and was recently published in an international, peer- reviewed journal. Based on the Population Viability Analysis (PVA) of available and contemporary data, the Swift Parrot population is predicted to decrease by between 84% and 95% over the next three generations (16 years). Critically, the decrease was predicted in a best-case scenario that did not include other factors that add to the mortality of swift parrots (eg habitat loss from logging, collision with man made structures and disease). Logging has been the single greatest loss of habitat for the species in the last decade, and earlier work by ANU had drawn a link between deforestation and the increased predation of swift parrots by sugar gliders. Based on the PVA, the ANU team nominated the Swift Parrot to be up-listed to Critically Endangered under the Federal Government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The species is presently listed as Endangered under various jurisdictions and by the IUCN (http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi- bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=744); this Federal assessment is expected to be complete in the second half of 2015. In addition to the Federal process, the ANU team approached the BirdLife Australia Threatened Species Committee to assess whether the species met the criteria for up- listing as Critically Endangered under IUCN Red List criteria (see http://www.iucnredlist.org/static/categories_criteria_3_1). The Threatened Species Committee’s recommendation for up-listing was accepted by the BirdLife Australia Research and Conservation Committee on Friday 24 April 2015. In recognition of the conservation status of the species, BirdLife Australia and BirdLife Tasmania have adopted the position that there must be an immediate moratorium on all logging of Swift Parrot breeding habitat (ie nesting and foraging habitats) in order to reduce the risk of extinction of the Swift Parrot. Reference cited: Heinsohn R, Webb M, Lacy R, Terauds A, Alderman R, Stojanovic D 2015. A severe predator-induced population decline predicted for endangered, migratory swift parrots (Lathamus discolor). Biological Conservation 186, 75-82. .

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