This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 1/10/2008 Approved Conservation Advice (s266B of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) Approved Conservation Advice for Endiandra cooperana
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 Endiandra cooperana, Family Lauraceae, is a tree growing to 25 m tall. Stems are usually buttressed. The leaves are 8.5–15 cm long and 3–6 cm wide. Flowers are yellow and pleasantly perfumed. Fruits are orange or yellow, globular, and 4.4–5.3 cm in diameter. Seeds are 3–4 cm in diameter (Hyland, 1990). This species is distinguished in the field by the characteristic recurved leaf tip and distinctive blaze with a blood red outer layer and yellowish subsurface layer. The outer bark is fine and thin with slight vertical fissuring. It is distinguished from other yellow fruited Endiandra species in the area by the large globular fruit (Shapcott et al., 1995).
Conservation Status Endiandra cooperana is listed as endangered. This species is eligible for listing as endangered 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 endangered under Schedule 1 of the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992 (Cwlth). Endiandra cooperana is also listed as endangered under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Queensland).
Distribution and Habitat Endiandra cooperana is known from two multi-aged populations in well-developed lowland rainforest adjacent to Cooper Creek, north Queensland (Hyland, 1990; Shapcott et al., 1995). One population, with approximately 34 plants taller than 1 m and many seedlings, occurs within Daintree National Park. The other population is on private land with approximately 17 plants taller than 1 m and only a few smaller plants. The total estimated area of habitat is approximately 30 ha (Shapcott et al., 1995). Both populations occur in areas of remnant vegetation (Environmental Protection Agency, 2008) as defined under the Vegetation Management Act 1999 (Queensland) and are therefore currently protected from broad-scale clearing. This species occurs within the Cape York (Queensland) Natural Resource Management Region. The distribution of this species is not known to overlap with any EPBC Act-listed threatened ecological communities.
Threats
The main identified threats to Endiandra cooperana are clearing and development. One population centre occurs on private land and most of the creek flats in the area have been cleared in the past (Shapcott et al., 1995). Part of the population within Daintree National Park occurs along the Daintree–Cape Tribulation road. Widening of the road at this site would destroy a significant proportion of the population (Shapcott et al., 1995).
Endiandra cooperana Conservation Advice - Page 1 of 2 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister / Delegate of the Minister on: 1/10/2008 Research Priorities Research priorities that would inform future regional and local priority actions include: • Design and implement a monitoring program or, if appropriate, support and enhance existing programs. • 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. • Undertake seed germination and/or vegetative propagation trials to determine the requirements for successful establishment.
Regional and Local Priority Actions The following priority recovery and threat abatement actions can be done to support the recovery of Endiandra cooperana. Habitat Loss, Disturbance and Modification • Ensure road widening and maintenance activities (or other infrastructure or development activities) involving substrate or vegetation disturbance in areas where E. cooperana occurs do not adversely impact on known populations. • Monitor known populations to identify key threats. • Monitor the progress of recovery, including the effectiveness of management actions and the need to adapt them if necessary. • Suitably control and manage access on private land. • Minimise adverse impacts from land use at known sites. • Investigate further formal conservation arrangements, management agreements and covenants on private land, and for crown and private land investigate inclusion in reserve tenure if possible. Conservation Information • Raise awareness of E. cooperana within the local community, particularly private landholders. Enable Recovery of Additional Sites and/or Populations • Undertake appropriate seed collection and storage. • Investigate options for linking, enhancing or establishing additional populations. • Implement national translocation protocols (Vallee et al., 2004) if establishing additional populations is considered necessary and feasible. This list does not necessarily encompass all actions that may be of benefit to E. cooperana, but highlights those that are considered to be of highest priority at the time of preparing the conservation advice. Information Sources: Environmental Protection Agency 2008, Copy of the certified regional ecosystem map for the purpose of the Vegetation Management Act 1999, online RE Maps, Environmental Protection Agency, Brisbane, viewed 8 June 2008,
Endiandra cooperana Conservation Advice - Page 2 of 2