Swift Parrot Lathamus Discolour
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Threatened Species Strategy – Year 3 Priority Species Scorecard (2018) Swift Parrot Lathamus discolour Key Findings Swift Parrots breed in Tasmania and migrate to woodlands across south- east mainland states for the rest of the year. Population declines are due to clearing of high quality breeding and foraging habitat, as well as nest predation by Sugar Gliders and habitat degradation from altered fire regimes, timber harvesting and changing climate. Recovery efforts have focused on habitat improvement and attempts to reduce the impacts of Sugar Gliders, these are beneficial but will need to be amplified to reverse negative population trends. Photo: Dejan Stojanovic Significant trajectory change from 2005-15 to 2015-18? No, ongoing marked decline. Priority future actions • Nest boxes effectively protected against glider predation before breeding begins • Strict control on timber harvesting in both breeding and non-breeding habitats • Strict control on habitat clearance across a diversity of habitats and regions • Extensive plantings of future parrot habitat aross many parts of the species’ former range Full assessment information Background information 2018 population trajectory assessment 1. Conservation status and taxonomy 8. Expert elicitation for population 2. Conservation history and prospects trends 3. Past and current trends 9. Immediate priorities from 2019 4. Key threats 10. Contributors 5. Past and current management 11. Legislative documents 6. Support from the Australian Government 12. References 7. Measuring progress towards conservation 13. Citation The primary purpose of this scorecard is to assess progress against the year three targets outlined in the Australian Government’s Threatened Species Strategy, including estimating the change in population trajectory of 20 bird species. It has been prepared by experts from the National Environmental Science Program’s Threatened Species Recovery Hub, with input from a number of taxon experts, a range of stakeholders and staff from the Office of the Threatened Species Commissioner, for the information of the Australian Government and is non-statutory. It has been informed by statutory planning documents that guide recovery of the species, such as Recovery Plans and/or Conservation Advices (see Section 11). The descriptive information in this scorecard is drawn from Threatened Species Scientific Committee (2016) unless otherwise noted by additional citations. The background information aims to provide context for estimation of progress in research and management (Section 7) and estimation of population size and trajectories (Section 8). 1 Information current to December 2018 Threatened Species Strategy – Year 3 Priority Species Scorecard (2018) 1. Conservation status and taxonomy Conservation status 2018 Taxonomy: IUCN Critically Endangered Monotypic: no infraspecific taxa recognised. EPBC Critically Endangered ACT Vulnerable NSW Endangered QLD Endangered SA Endangered TAS Endangered VIC Threatened 2. Conservation history and prospects Swift Parrots are one of the few migratory bird species that are nomadic during both the breeding and non-breeding seasons. They nest only in Tasmania with the entire population travelling to the woodlands of mainland Australia during the non-breeding season. The relative availability of feeding and nesting habitats varies each year depending on flowering conditions within both their breeding area across eastern Tasmania (Webb et al. 2018) and their wintering area across south-eastern mainland Australia (Saunders and Heinsohn 2008). If nesting is on the Tasmanian mainland, predation by introduced sugar gliders is a major source of mortality with habitat loss increasing glider predation rates. If they nest on predator free Bruny and Maria Islands, reproductive success is very high but intermittent island nesting is insufficient to prevent extinction. Natural tree-hollows suitable for nesting, occurring largely in large trees more than 150 years old, are rare. Both timber harvesting and wildfires contribute to the loss of breeding habitat (Webb et al. 2018), with fire frequency likely to increase with climate change (Grose et al. 2014). On the mainland although the birds occur across a broad winter range, they depend on different combinations of feeding habitat each year in response to their highly variable winter-flowering habitats (Saunders and Heinsohn 2008). These habitats have been subject to such extensive clearing historically that many of their habitats are also listed as Endangered Ecological Communities. Despite a recovery program being in place for 23 years, habitats throughout the species’ range continue to be cleared on a regular basis as a result of forestry practices, approvals for mining, suburban and industrial developments, as well as for agricultural purposes (Saunders and Russell 2016). Active intervention to improve nesting success by predicting where birds will nest and providing predator proof nest boxes is currently being trialled (Stojanovic et al. in press). While there are efforts under way to restore habitat, the rate at which habitat is cleared far exceeds the gains through habitat restoration efforts, resulting in a net loss of area as well as quality of habitat. 2 Information current to December 2018 Threatened Species Strategy – Year 3 Priority Species Scorecard (2018) 3. Past and current trends The Swift Parrot occurs as a single, migratory population. Significant declines were observed in the late 1980s to mid-1990s (from an estimated 1320 pairs in 1988, to 940 pairs in 1995). Garnett et al. (2011) derived an estimate of approximately 2000 mature individuals as part of the Action Plan for Australian Birds and considered the population to be declining; however there are no recent estimates of the number of Swift Parrots in the wild. Population Viability Analysis (Heinsohn et al. 2015) projected that Swift Parrots would undergo substantial declines within three generations (based on modelled scenarios that considered impacts of sugar glider predation). Monitoring (existing programs): A population monitoring program was established in grassy Blue Gum forests of eastern Tasmania in 1995, in response to declines in population. This program was implemented for several years to monitor density of Swift Parrots. Throughout the species’ winter range, volunteer surveys have been conducted twice a year (in May and August) since 1995, involving hundreds of volunteers and community groups. As a result of this survey effort, volunteer experience and knowledge of habitat requirements have increased substantially (Saunders et al. 2007; BirdLife Australia) and there are now thousands of records of the species, as well as nil records, from across their winter range. These surveys also form part of the NSW Environmental Trust Saving Our Species Swift Parrot project together with habitat restoration and protection monitoring. Nesting habitat has been surveyed repeatedly by researchers from the Australian National University and as part of forestry operations (Webb et al. 2018). Population trends: Tables 1 and 2 summarise the overall trend and status of the Swift Parrot. The information provided in these tables is derived from the Conservation Advice (Threatened Species Scientific Committee 2016), with some amendments made by contributing experts based on new information. Table 1. Summary of the available information on Swift Parrot distribution and population size, and (where possible) trend estimates between 2015 and 2018 for each parameter. Population parameters Published baseline 2015 Estimate 2018 Estimate Confidence in estimates WILD Extent of Occurrence 57,000 km2 57,000 km2 57,000 km2 Low Area of Occupancy 1400 km2 High Dates of records and methods used As per Bird Action Plan No. mature individuals 2000 Medium No. of subpopulations 1 1 1 High No. of locations >10 >10 >10 High Based on global modelling Generation time 3.4 n/a n/a by BirdLife International CAPTIVE BREEDING No. mature individuals 258* 258 258 Low No. locations 36 36 36 Low *From Saunders (2010). None of these captive birds are in a formal captive breeding program. 3 Information current to December 2018 Threatened Species Strategy – Year 3 Priority Species Scorecard (2018) Table 2. Estimated recent (2005-2015) and current (2015-2018) population trend for the Swift Parrot. Sub- Estimated % 2005-2015 Confidence in 2015-2018 Confidence in Details population of population trend 2005-2015 trend trend 2015-2018 trend Monitoring of breeding Whole 100 Medium Medium suggest no population recent improvements KEY: Improving Stable Deteriorating Unknown Confidence Description High Trend documented Medium Trend considered likely based on documentation ? Low Trend suspected but evidence indirect or equivocal 4. Key threats The threats listed here are derived from Threatened Species Scientific Committee (2016), with some adjustments from consulted experts based on new information. Note that this is not a list of all plausible threats, but a subset of the threats that are likely to have the largest impact on populations. Habitat loss Throughout the species’ range high quality feeding habitat has been cleared for agriculture and urban development, with the threat of critical habitat loss continuing despite some gains (Saunders et al. 2007, Webb et al. 2018). The most extensive loss happened during colonial times but continues due to various land management policies and practices, including forestry practices, approvals for mining, suburban and industrial developments,