DOCSLIB.ORG

2020 Conservation Outlook Assessment

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
2020 Conservation Outlook Assessment IUCN World Heritage Outlook: https://worldheritageoutlook.iucn.org/ Gondwana Rainforests of Australia - 2020 Conservation Outlook Assessment Gondwana Rainforests of Australia 2020 Conservation Outlook Assessment SITE INFORMATION Country: Australia Inscribed in: 1986 Criteria: (viii) (ix) (x) This site, comprising several protected areas, is situated predominantly along the Great Escarpment on Australia’s east coast. The outstanding geological features displayed around shield volcanic craters and the high number of rare and threatened rainforest species are of international significance for science and conservation. © UNESCO SUMMARY 2020 Conservation Outlook Finalised on 02 Dec 2020 SIGNIFICANT CONCERN The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia is a serial World Heritage site composed of 41 component national parks and reserves in New South Wales and Queensland, ranging in size from 10 hectares to 102,712 hectares. Each of the component areas conserves different attributes of the site's Outstanding Universal Value, and are faced with a diversity of threats. While management has so far been effective in addressing challenges, further management responses will be required to address some increasing threats, particularly those posed by wildfire, invasive species, pathogens, and climate change. A significant management challenge occurred in the Austral spring and summer of 2019-2020, when a prolonged drought that was exacerbated by record breaking temperatures and rainfall deficits culminated in extensive and severe wildfires. Management responses to this catastrophic event are considerable, and on- going, but given the severe nature and extent of the fires even the significant resources and even well- planned and completed hazard reduction burns conducted in the previous autumn and winter season were ineffective. There are several government inquires into the causes and responses to the fires. The fires dramatically changed the conservation outlook for the Gondwana Rainforest of Australia, and it remains to be seen whether the natural ecosystems and ecological functions are sufficiently resilient to recover from this previously unexperienced perturbation. Actions are in place to make rapid assessments of the levels of impacts, to undertake welfare for threatened species, to limit the impact of invasive predators and weeds, and for some plants for seeds to be collected for future propagation. There is wide recognition that considerable conservation actions will be required. However, there is the lingering prospect that the catastrophe is a clear sign of the impact of climate change on weather patterns, and that these changes will not be reversed easily. The Gondwana Rainforests exist as refuges where many deep phylogenetic lineages IUCN World Heritage Outlook: https://worldheritageoutlook.iucn.org/ Gondwana Rainforests of Australia - 2020 Conservation Outlook Assessment persisted during episodes of past climate fluctuations. The conservation management challenge is to support and maintain that resilience into the future. IUCN World Heritage Outlook: https://worldheritageoutlook.iucn.org/ Gondwana Rainforests of Australia - 2020 Conservation Outlook Assessment FULL ASSESSMENT Description of values Values World Heritage values ▶ Outstanding examples of significant ongoing geological Criterion:(viii) processes When Australia separated from Antarctica following the break-up of Gondwana, new continental margins developed and volcanoes erupted in sequence along the east coast resulting in the Main Range, Tweed, Focal Peak, Ebor and Barrington volcanic shields. This sequence of volcanos is significant as it enables the dating of the geomorphic evolution of eastern Australia through the study of the interaction of these volcanic remnants with the eastern highlands. The Tweed Shield erosion caldera is possibly the best preserved erosion caldera in the world, notable for its size and age, for the presence of a prominent central mountain mass (Wollumbin/Mt Warning), and for the erosion of the caldera floor to basement rock. All three stages relating to the erosion of shield volcanoes (the planeze, residual and skeletal stages) are readily distinguishable. Further south, the remnants of the Ebor Volcano also provide an outstanding example of the ongoing erosion of a shield volcano (World Heritage Committee, 2012). ▶ Outstanding examples of relict plant species Criterion:(ix) The Age of the Pteridophytes’ from the Carboniferous Period (with some of the oldest elements of the world’s ferns), and the ‘Age of Conifers’ in the Jurassic Period (with one of the most significant centres of survival for Araucarians, the most ancient and phylogenetically primitive of the world’s conifers) are represented in the site. The site also provides an outstanding record of the ‘Age of the Angiosperms’. This includes a centre of endemism for primitive flowering plants originating in the Early Cretaceous, the most diverse assemblage of relict angiosperm taxa representing the primary radiation of dicotyledons in the mid-Late Cretaceous, a unique record of the evolutionary history of Australian rainforests representing the ‘golden age’ of the Early Tertiary, and a unique record of Miocene vegetation that was the antecedent of modern temperate rainforests in Australia (World Heritage Committee, 2012). ▶ Outstanding examples of relict and other vertebrate and Criterion:(ix) invertebrate species The site contains an outstanding number of songbird species, including lyrebirds (Menuridae), scrub- birds (Atrichornithidae), treecreepers (Climacteridae) and bowerbirds and catbirds (Ptilonorhynchidae), belonging to some of the oldest lineages of passerines that evolved in the Late Cretaceous. Outstanding examples of other relict vertebrate and invertebrate fauna from ancient lineages linked to the break-up of Gondwana also occur in the site (World Heritage Committee, 2012). Relict frogs include all frogs in Myobatrachidae (recently subdivided into Myobatrachidae and Limnodynastidae, with some authors recognising a third family Rheobatrachidae (Frost et. al., 2014)) and Pelodryadidae families. Relict species of reptiles include chelid turtles Emydura macquarii signata and Myuchelys latisternum, leaf- tailed gecko (Saltuarius spp.) and the southern angle-headed dragon Lophosaurus spinipes. Relict invertebrates include fresh-water crayfish; land snails; velvet worms; a number of beetle families including flightless carabid beetles; the second largest butterfly in Australia the Richmond birdwing (Ornithoptera richmondia) and glow-worms (State Party of Australia, 1994; Hunter, 2004). ▶ Outstanding examples of ongoing evolutionary processes Criterion:(ix) Ongoing evolutionary processes continue within the site’s rainforests which were described in the nomination dossier as ‘an archipelago of refugia, a series of distinctive habitats that characterise a temporary endpoint in climatic and geomorphological evolution’. The distances between these ‘islands’ IUCN World Heritage Outlook: https://worldheritageoutlook.iucn.org/ Gondwana Rainforests of Australia - 2020 Conservation Outlook Assessment of rainforest represent barriers to the flow of genetic material for those taxa which have low dispersal ability, and this pressure has created the potential for continued speciation (World Heritage Committee, 2012). Several important phylogeograhic papers have appeared that address the “archipelago” and the consequences for gene flow and speciation (eg. Bryant and Krosch, 2016). ▶ Endemic and threatened plants Criterion:(x) The Gondwana Rainforests protects the largest and best stands of rainforest habitat remaining in this region, containing many endemic and threatened plant species. Over 170 families, 695 genera and 1625 species of vascular plants have been recorded, with about 150 endemics (World Heritage Committee, 2012). Given new discoveries and more recent taxonomic changes, these figures are likely to be higher. ▶ Endemic and threatened mammals Criterion:(x) The Gondwana Rainforests protects endemic and threatened mammals such as the recently-discovered black-tailed antechinus Antechinus arktos. This species is known from three isolated subpopulations located at the summit of the Tweed Shield Volcano caldera near the border of south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales, at altitudes above 950 m above sea level (asl) (Threatened Species Scientific Committee, 2017). This area is part of the Springbrook National Park and Lamington National Park in Queensland, and the Border Ranges National Park in New South Wales. The region represents the major distribution of the Hastings River mouse Pseudomys oralis and parma wallaby Macropus parma). Thirty-one species of bats, half of all Australia’s bat species, occur in the site (IUCN, 1994; World Heritage Committee, 2012). ▶ Endemic and threatened birds Criterion:(x) More than 270 species of birds have been recorded (about 38% of all Australian birds) with two species of lyrebirds (Albert’s lyrebird Menura alberti and superb lyrebird M. novaehollandiae) and the nationally endangered rufous scrub-bird (Atrichornis rufescens) particularly significant. Other threatened bird species include the Coxen's fig-parrot (Cyclopsitta diophthalma coxeni) (probably extinct), black- breasted button-quail (Turnix melanogaster) and eastern bristlebird (Dasyornis brachypterus) (State Party of Australia, 1994). ▶ Endemic and threatened frogs Criterion:(x) Some 45 species of frogs, about 25% of Australia’s total frog fauna, including the significant species
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Final Impact Assessment and Land Use Transport Strategy
    Caboolture to Maroochydore Corridor Study Final Impact Assessment and Land Use Transport Strategy and to promote urban forms which minimise transport 5 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING requirements and improve the efficiency of land supply and infrastructure provision. Actions suggested of government to achieve these 5.1 Introduction objectives include: This Chapter describes the existing environment along q Those which involve the continuation of urban the alignment of the proposed scheme and in the public transport systems, integration and general area. It also includes a description of the coordination of different modes of transport and environmental planning policy framework before improving service quality; considering a review of the environmental q Continue to integrate landuse and transport characteristics of the areas in the vicinity of the planning with an emphasis on urban development proposed scheme. that minimises the need for fossil fuel based transport; 5.2 Relevant National Policy Framework q Provide for a range of densities in urban areas with higher densities particularly encouraged in 5.2.1 National Ecologically Sustainable areas near employment centres and public Development (ESD) Strategy 1992 transport services; and q Seek ways of reducing fringe development and In 1990 the Commonwealth Government suggested focus future development more within the existing the following definition for Ecologically Sustainable built up area of Australian cities. Development (ESD) in Australia: The strategy also addresses the issue of energy use ‘using, conserving and enhancing the community’s and transport with the objective of encouraging resources so that ecological processes on which life switching to alternative transport technologies or depends, are maintained, and the total quality of life, modes where this reduces greenhouse gas emissions now and in the future, can be increased’.
    [Show full text]
  • Environment and Communications Legislation Committee Answers to Questions on Notice Environment Portfolio
    Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications Legislation Committee Answers to questions on notice Environment portfolio Question No: 3 Hearing: Additional Estimates Outcome: Outcome 1 Programme: Biodiversity Conservation Division (BCD) Topic: Threatened Species Commissioner Hansard Page: N/A Question Date: 24 February 2016 Question Type: Written Senator Waters asked: The department has noted that more than $131 million has been committed to projects in support of threatened species – identifying 273 Green Army Projects, 88 20 Million Trees projects, 92 Landcare Grants (http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/3be28db4-0b66-4aef-9991- 2a2f83d4ab22/files/tsc-report-dec2015.pdf) 1. Can the department provide an itemised list of these projects, including title, location, description and amount funded? Answer: Please refer to below table for itemised lists of projects addressing threatened species outcomes, including title, location, description and amount funded. INFORMATION ON PROJECTS WITH THREATENED SPECIES OUTCOMES The following projects were identified by the funding applicant as having threatened species outcomes and were assessed against the criteria for the respective programme round. Funding is for a broad range of activities, not only threatened species conservation activities. Figures provided for the Green Army are approximate and are calculated on the 2015-16 indexed figure of $176,732. Some of the funding is provided in partnership with State & Territory Governments. Additional projects may be approved under the Natinoal Environmental Science programme and the Nest to Ocean turtle Protection Programme up to the value of the programme allocation These project lists reflect projects and funding originally approved. Not all projects will proceed to completion.
    [Show full text]
  • Gardner, Michael George. Breakdown of Phylogenetic Signal: a Survey of Microsatellite Densities in 454 Shotgun Sequences from 154 Non Model Eukaryote Species
    PUBLISHED VERSION Meglécz, Emese; Nève, Gabriel; Biffin, Edward Sturt; Gardner, Michael George. Breakdown of phylogenetic signal: a survey of microsatellite densities in 454 shotgun sequences from 154 non model Eukaryote species. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7(7):e40861 Copyright: © 2012 Meglécz et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. PERMISSIONS http://www.plosone.org/static/policies.action#copyright 3. Copyright and License Policies Open access agreement. Upon submission of an article, its authors are asked to indicate their agreement to abide by an open access Creative Commons license (CC-BY). Under the terms of this license, authors retain ownership of the copyright of their articles. However, the license permits any user to download, print out, extract, reuse, archive, and distribute the article, so long as appropriate credit is given to the authors and source of the work. The license ensures that the authors' article will be available as widely as possible and that the article can be included in any scientific archive. Open access agreement: US government authors. Papers authored by one or more US government employees are not copyrighted, but are licensed under a Creative Commons public domain license (CC0), which allows unlimited distribution and reuse of the article for any lawful purpose. Authors should read about CC-BY or CC0 before submitting papers. Archiving in PubMed Central. Upon publication, PLoS also deposits all articles in PubMed Central. This complies with the policies of funding agencies, such as the NIH in the USA, the Wellcome Trust, and the Research Councils in the UK, and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft in Germany, which request or require deposition of the published articles that they fund into publicly available databases.
    [Show full text]
  • Post-Fire Impact Assessment for Priority Frogs: Northern Philoria
    Post-fire impact assessment for priority frogs: northern Philoria Geoffrey Heard, Liam Bolitho, David Newell, Harry Hines, Hunter McCall, Jill Smith and Ben Scheele July 2021 Cite this publication as: Heard, G., Bolitho, L., Newell, D., Hines, H., McCall, H., Smith, J., and Scheele, B., 2021. Post-fire impact assessment for priority frogs: northern Philoria. NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub Project 8.1.3 report, Brisbane. Main cover image: Philoria habitat. Image: Liam Bolitho. Insert images (from top to bottom): Philoria kundagungan. Image: Harry Hines; Philoria richmondensis. Image: David Newell; Philoria loveridgei. Image: Harry Hines. 2 Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................................................................4 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................6 Background .................................................................................................................................................................................................................6 Study species .............................................................................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • (Pyxicephalidae: Nothophryne) for Northern Mozambique Inselbergs
    African Journal of Herpetology ISSN: 2156-4574 (Print) 2153-3660 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ther20 New species of Mongrel Frogs (Pyxicephalidae: Nothophryne) for northern Mozambique inselbergs Werner Conradie, Gabriela B. Bittencourt-Silva, Harith M. Farooq, Simon P. Loader, Michele Menegon & Krystal A. Tolley To cite this article: Werner Conradie, Gabriela B. Bittencourt-Silva, Harith M. Farooq, Simon P. Loader, Michele Menegon & Krystal A. Tolley (2018): New species of Mongrel Frogs (Pyxicephalidae: Nothophryne) for northern Mozambique inselbergs, African Journal of Herpetology, DOI: 10.1080/21564574.2017.1376714 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/21564574.2017.1376714 View supplementary material Published online: 22 Feb 2018. Submit your article to this journal View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=ther20 AFRICAN JOURNAL OF HERPETOLOGY, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1080/21564574.2017.1376714 New species of Mongrel Frogs (Pyxicephalidae: Nothophryne) for northern Mozambique inselbergs Werner Conradie a,b, Gabriela B. Bittencourt-Silva c, Harith M. Farooq d,e,f, Simon P. Loader g, Michele Menegon h and Krystal A. Tolley i,j aPort Elizabeth Museum (Bayworld), Marine Drive, Humewood 6013, South Africa; bSchool of Natural Resource Management, George Campus, Nelson Mandela University, George 6530, South Africa; cDepartment of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel
    [Show full text]
  • 6. Terrestrial Fauna
    Moura Link - Aldoga Rail Project Queensland Rail Environmental Impact Statement Terrestrial fauna 6. Terrestrial fauna This section describes the existing environment, potential impacts and mitigation measures for the Project in terms of the terrestrial fauna values. The assessment has been based on a review of existing information and the outcomes of supporting field investigations. It should be noted that the information regarding legislation is current at the time of writing this section but may be subject to change in the future. Legislation requirements covered in the EIS have been cited from: • Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) • Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NC Act) • Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 2006 (NC Regulation) • Vegetation Management Act 1999 (VM Act) • Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002 • Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Regulation 2003 The currency of such information will be checked during the detailed design phase of the Project and prior to commencement of construction activities within the project area. Currently the designation of threatened species under the NC Act and NC Regulation is being reviewed to conform with international classification and as such species listed as rare will be reassessed and classified as either least concern, vulnerable, near threatened, endangered or critically endangered. 6.1 Existing environment 6.1.1 Methodology In March 2007, Connell Hatch prepared a desktop ecological assessment to support the development of an Initial Advice Statement, EPBC Referral for determination of the Project’s controlled action status under the EPBC Act and ultimately assist in the EIS process. The Project was deemed a not controlled action under Section 75 of the EPBC Act.
    [Show full text]
  • Interactions Between Amphibian Skin Sloughing and a Cutaneous Fungal Disease
    Interactions between amphibian skin sloughing and a cutaneous fungal disease: infection progression, immune defence, and phylogenetic patterns Michel E. B. Ohmer BSc (Hons), MSc Zoology A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2016 School of Biological Sciences Abstract Worldwide, there has been an unprecedented rise in emerging infectious diseases of wildlife, and this has contributed to a widespread biodiversity crisis. Amphibian populations, in particular, are threatened by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which in post-metamorphic animals only infects the skin, and causes the potentially lethal disease chytridiomycosis. Amphibians regularly slough their skin, and in doing so remove many skin- associated microbes. Thus, skin sloughing may play an important role in the pathogenesis of chytridiomycosis. To investigate this association, the influence of Bd infection on amphibian skin sloughing, and the role of sloughing in regulating infection, was examined. Furthermore, to better understand the variation in skin sloughing rates across species and ecological groups, and make inferences about the role of this process in susceptibility to this fungal disease, amphibian skin structure and function was investigated within a phylogenetic context. To determine the relationship between skin sloughing and disease progression (chapter 2), adult green tree frogs (Litoria caerulea) were exposed to an Australian Bd strain, and sloughing rates and infection load were monitored on a naturalistic cycling temperature regime (15 - 23˚C). Sloughing rates were determined by filming frogs and infection intensity was monitored before and after sloughing with conventional swabbing and quantitative PCR. Sloughing rate was found to increase with Bd infection load in infected frogs, but sloughing itself did not affect Bd load on the ventral skin surface.
    [Show full text]
  • Species Status Assessment Report for the Columbia Spotted Frog (Rana Luteiventris), Great Basin Distinct Population Segment
    Species Status Assessment Report for the Columbia Spotted Frog (Rana luteiventris) Great Basin Distinct Population Segment Photo by Jim Harvey Photo: Jim Harvey U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 8 Reno Fish and Wildlife Office Reno, Nevada Suggested reference: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2015. Species status assessment report for the Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris), Great Basin Distinct Population Segment. Reno Fish and Wildlife Office, Reno, Nevada. vii + 86 pp. ii Executive Summary In this Species Status Assessment (SSA), we evaluate the biological status of Columbia spotted frogs (Rana luteiventris) in the Great Basin both currently and into the future through the lens of the species’ resiliency, redundancy, and representation. This SSA Report provides a comprehensive assessment of biology and natural history of Columbia spotted frogs and assesses demographic risks, stressors, and limiting factors. Herein, we compile biological data and a description of past, present, and likely future stressors (causes and effects) facing Columbia spotted frogs in the Great Basin. Columbia spotted frogs are highly aquatic frogs endemic to the Great Basin, northern Rocky Mountains, British Columbia, and southeast Alaska. Columbia spotted frogs in southeastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho, and northeastern and central Nevada make up the Great Basin Distinct Population Segment (DPS; Service 2015, pp. 1–10). Columbia spotted frogs are closely associated with clear, slow-moving streams or ponded surface waters with permanent hydroperiods and relatively cool constant water temperatures (Arkle and Pilliod 2015, pp. 9–11). In addition to permanently wet habitat, streams with beaver ponds, deep maximum depth, abundant shoreline vegetation, and non-salmonid fish species have the greatest probability of being occupied by Columbia spotted frogs within the Great Basin (Arkle and Pilliod 2015, pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Abandoned Australia’S Forest Wildlife in Crisis
    Abandoned Australia’s forest wildlife in crisis Photo: Endangered Spotted-tailed Quoll by award-winning nature photographer David Gallan. Used with permission. ​ ​ ​ March 2019 (Updated July 2019) Contents Part 1: A sample of threatened forest-dwelling fauna species at risk from logging 3 ​ Comparison between ‘RFA forests’ and habitat for critically endangered species 5 Regent Honeyeater (NSW) 6 Western Ringtail Possum (WA) 7 Swift Parrot (NSW/Tas/Vic) 8 Leadbeater’s Possum (Vic) 9 Barred Galaxias (Vic) 10 ​ ​ Giant Freshwater Crayfish (Tas) 11 ​ ​ Koala (NSW/Vic) 12 ​ ​ Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (WA) 13 ​ ​ Giant Barred Frog (NSW) 14 ​ ​ Numbat (WA) 15 ​ ​ Spotted-tailed Quoll (NSW/Vic) 16 Greater Glider (NSW/Vic) 17 ​ ​ Large Forest Owls: Masked Owl, Sooty Owl, Powerful Owl (NSW/Tas/Vic) 18 Further threatened forest-dwelling, logging-impacted species 20 ​ Part 2: Summary of new laws and proposals for new protected areas 25 ​ Part 3: Case studies: Threatened species under new RFAs and accredited logging plans 29 ​ 3.1 NSW ‘Integrated Forestry Operations Approvals’ (IFOAs) 30 ​ 3.2 Victoria: State of the Forests Report documents species decline 31 3.3 Tasmania 31 Part 4: Relevant court cases and rulings and their implications 32 ​ 4.1 Enforcement of EPBC Act in relation to threatened species 33 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Appendix 1: The total number of EPBC-listed, forest-dwelling species in Australia 34 ​ ​ ​ Appendix 2: Key threatening processes 35 ​ ​ Appendix 3: FSC HCV categories 37 ​ Acknowledgements and selected references 38 The Wilderness Society acknowledges the First Nations peoples of the lands and seas on which we work across Australia, and recognises their continuing connection to land, water and community.
    [Show full text]
  • National Recovery Plan for the Stuttering Frog Mixophyes Balbus
    National Recovery Plan for the Stuttering Frog Mixophyes balbus David Hunter and Graeme Gillespie Prepared by David Hunter and Graeme Gillespie (Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria). Published by the Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) Melbourne, October 2011. © State of Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment 2010 This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Authorised by the Victorian Government, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne. ISBN 978-1-74242-369-2 (online) This is a Recovery Plan prepared under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, with the assistance of funding provided by the Australian Government. This Recovery Plan has been developed with the involvement and cooperation of a range of stakeholders, but individual stakeholders have not necessarily committed to undertaking specific actions. The attainment of objectives and the provision of funds may be subject to budgetary and other constraints affecting the parties involved. Proposed actions may be subject to modification over the life of the plan due to changes in knowledge. Disclaimer: This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence that may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. An electronic version of this document is available on the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts website www.environment.gov.au For more information contact the DSE Customer Service Centre 136 186 Citation: Hunter, D.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impacts of Grazing Prepared By: Dailan Pugh, 2015
    The Impacts of Grazing NEFA BACKGROUND PAPER: The Impacts of Grazing Prepared by: Dailan Pugh, 2015 This literature review of the impacts of grazing on native species and ecosystems has been prepared in response to increasing demands to open up conservation reserves for livestock grazing. It is apparent that grazing has had, and continues to have, widespread and significant impacts on native biota and waterways. It is apparent that to maintain biodiversity, natural ecosystems and processes it is essential that grazing is excluded from substantial areas of our remnant native vegetation. The argument used to justify grazing of conservation reserves is that it reduces fuel loads and thus the risk of wildfires, though there is little evidence to justify this claim and there is evidence that the vegetation changes caused by grazing can increase wildfire risk and intensity in some ecosystems. It is preferable to maintain natural fire regimes wherever possible and the option of using fuel reduction burning may be preferable where strategically required. The grazing industry has a variety of obvious affects on native ecosystems through clearing of vegetation, competition with native herbivores for the best feed, construction of fences which impede native species, control of native predators (including through indiscriminate baiting programs), use of herbicides, use of fertilisers, construction of artificial watering points, and the introduction of exotic plant species for feed. This review focuses on the direct impacts of livestock on native ecosystems
    [Show full text]
  • Literature Cited in Lizards Natural History Database
    Literature Cited in Lizards Natural History database Abdala, C. S., A. S. Quinteros, and R. E. Espinoza. 2008. Two new species of Liolaemus (Iguania: Liolaemidae) from the puna of northwestern Argentina. Herpetologica 64:458-471. Abdala, C. S., D. Baldo, R. A. Juárez, and R. E. Espinoza. 2016. The first parthenogenetic pleurodont Iguanian: a new all-female Liolaemus (Squamata: Liolaemidae) from western Argentina. Copeia 104:487-497. Abdala, C. S., J. C. Acosta, M. R. Cabrera, H. J. Villaviciencio, and J. Marinero. 2009. A new Andean Liolaemus of the L. montanus series (Squamata: Iguania: Liolaemidae) from western Argentina. South American Journal of Herpetology 4:91-102. Abdala, C. S., J. L. Acosta, J. C. Acosta, B. B. Alvarez, F. Arias, L. J. Avila, . S. M. Zalba. 2012. Categorización del estado de conservación de las lagartijas y anfisbenas de la República Argentina. Cuadernos de Herpetologia 26 (Suppl. 1):215-248. Abell, A. J. 1999. Male-female spacing patterns in the lizard, Sceloporus virgatus. Amphibia-Reptilia 20:185-194. Abts, M. L. 1987. Environment and variation in life history traits of the Chuckwalla, Sauromalus obesus. Ecological Monographs 57:215-232. Achaval, F., and A. Olmos. 2003. Anfibios y reptiles del Uruguay. Montevideo, Uruguay: Facultad de Ciencias. Achaval, F., and A. Olmos. 2007. Anfibio y reptiles del Uruguay, 3rd edn. Montevideo, Uruguay: Serie Fauna 1. Ackermann, T. 2006. Schreibers Glatkopfleguan Leiocephalus schreibersii. Munich, Germany: Natur und Tier. Ackley, J. W., P. J. Muelleman, R. E. Carter, R. W. Henderson, and R. Powell. 2009. A rapid assessment of herpetofaunal diversity in variously altered habitats on Dominica.
    [Show full text]