Swainsona recta EN Taxonomic Authority: A.T.Lee Global Assessment Regional Assessment Region: Global Endemic to region Synonyms Common Names SMALL PURPLE-PEA English (Primary) MOUNTAIN SWAINSON-P English Upper Level Taxonomy Kingdom: PLANTAE Phylum: TRACHEOPHYTA Class: MAGNOLIOPSIDA Order: FABALES Family: LEGUMINOSAE Lower Level Taxonomy Rank: Infra- rank name: Plant Hybrid Subpopulation: Authority: General Information Distribution Swainsona recta is endemic to Australia distributed in the states of New South Wales and Victoria, and also in the Australian Capital Territory. Range Size Elevation Biogeographic Realm Area of Occupancy: 100 Upper limit: 850 Afrotropical Extent of Occurrence: 49217 Lower limit: 150 Antarctic Map Status: Depth Australasian Upper limit: Neotropical Lower limit: Oceanian Depth Zones Palearctic Shallow photic Bathyl Hadal Indomalayan Photic Abyssal Nearctic Population The total number of reported mature individuals ranges from ~2,700 to ~4,000. In Victoria, it had been presumed extinct until a single population of four plants was found in Beechworth 2001 (DSE 2006). Two reports cite the total number of individuals in New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) as 1,885 Buza et al. (2000) or fewer than 4,000 plants ACT Government (2004). According to Buza et al. (2000) in 1994, S. recta was known from 21 populations, in 1997 all populations were re-censured revealing that 17 populations continued to exist ranging in size from 1 to approximately 430 reproductive individuals, with the majority of the populations holding fewer than 100 plants with a total number of mature individuals of 1,885. However according to ACT Government (2004) fewer than 4,000 plants now survive, recording 3,400 individuals for the largest population along 22 km of the railway easement from Tralee to Williamsdale (compared to 1,328 individuals reported in Buza et al. (2000)). It remains unclear whether the difference in number of individuals reported is due to the difference between counting total number of plants versus flowering plants only. Total Population Size Minimum Population Size: 2700 Maximum Population Size: 4000 Habitat and Ecology This perennial herb is endemic to the grasslands and woodlands of southeastern Australia. It is associated with Callitris endichleri, C. glaucophylla, Eucalyptus blakelyi, E. bridgesiana, E. dives, E. melliodora, E. microcarpa, E. nortonii and E. polyanthemos. The grassy understorey is dominated by Themeda triandra, Poa sieberiana var. sieberiana or Austrostipa spp. Flowers are generally pollinated by native bees and produce oblong pods, each containing between 1 and 8 seeds, about 2 mm in diameter. Individuals may live for up to 50 years (ACT TAMS 1997; Buza et al. 2000) System Movement pattern Crop Wild Relative Terrestrial Freshwater Nomadic Congregatory/Dispersive Is the species a wild relative of a crop? Marine Migratory Altitudinally migrant Growth From Definition Forb or Herb Biennial or perennial herbacaeous plant, also termed a Hemicryptophyte Threats Over the past 60 years its known range has been drastically reduced due primarily to loss of native grasslands which have been reduced to 0.5% of their original two million hectare extent since the mid-1800s (Buza et al. 2000). Small Purple Pea is at risk from habitat loss and degradation due to urban development, agricultural development, domestic stock grazing, competition from exotic weeds, loss of grazing by native herbivores and reduced fire frequency, and the resulting increased competition from understorey species. Activities associated with the railway line and easement maintenance also pose a threat to the species, including actions such as herbicide use, constitute a major threat to the species, given that over 80% of known plants in ACT/NSW border are on a railway easement. The small and fragmented nature of ACT populations makes each susceptible to destruction from a single catastrophic event (ACT TAMS 1997; DSE 2006; NSW DECCW 2005). Buza et al. (2000) reported that small population size is accompanied with genetic erosion and increased inbreeding. Past Present Future 1 Habitat Loss/Degradation (human induced) 1.1 Agriculture 1.4 Infrastructure development 1.4.2 Human settlement 1.5 Invasive alien species (directly impacting habitat) 1.7 Fires 2 Invasive alien species (directly affecting the species) 2.1 Competitors 6 Pollution (affecting habitat and/or species) 6.2 Land pollution 6.2.3 Commercial/Industrial 7 Natural disasters 7.4 Wildfire 8 Changes in native species dynamics 8.3 Prey/food base 9 Intrinsic factors 9.4 Inbreeding 9.5 Low densities 9.9 Restricted range 10 Human disturbance 10.5 Fire Conservation Measures Only known to occur in the following protected areas: Burrendong State Recreation Area, Mount Arthur Reserve and Mount Taylor Nature Park. This species is eligible for listing as Endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). Also listed as 3ECi (Briggs and Leigh 1996), an endangered species with a geographic range more than 100 km2 with less than 1,000 plants known to occur within a protected area. The seeds for this species have been collected as part of the Millennium Seed Bank project. Seeds are located at: Wakehurst Place, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK) and Mount Annan Botanic Garden, New South Wales (Australia). From a conservation perspective, management of S. recta should concentrate on preservation of populations that are currently larger than 50 sexually reproductive individuals, as these appear capable of maintaining high genetic diversity and exhibit no immediate evidence of inbreeding depression. However, future value of small populations should not be completely discounted since this species may maintain a significant long-lived seedbank (Buza et al. 2000). Actions to protect this species include: monitor and elimination of grazing pressure, undertake weed control, regular monitoring of population sizes, raise awareness of the presence of this species, undertake suitable burning regimes, search and establishment of new populations (NSW DECCW 2005; ACT Government 2004). For instance, a project in Victoria aims to expand the distribution of the species by establishing additional secure populations in the north east and by 2011 achieve 500 or more Victorian plants in the wild (DSE 2006). In Place Needed 1 Policy-based actions 1.1 Management plans 1.1.1 Development 1.1.2 Implementation 1.2 Legislation 1.2.1 Development 1.2.1.2 National level 1.2.1.3 Sub-national level 1.2.2 Implementation 1.2.2.2 National level 1.2.2.3 Sub-national level 2 Communication and Education 2.2 Awareness 3 Research actions 3.2 Population numbers and range 4 Habitat and site-based actions 4.4 Protected areas 5 Species-based actions 5.1 Re-introductions 5.4 Recovery management 5.7 Ex situ conservation actions 5.7.2 Genome resource bank Countries of Occurrence PRESENCE ORIGIN Year Breeding Non- Passage Possibly ExtinctPresence Native Introduced Re- Vagrant Origin Round Season breeding migrant extinct uncertain Introduced uncertain only season only Australia Australian Capital Territory New South Wales Victoria General Habitats Score Description Major Importance 2 Savanna 1UnsetSuitable 2.1 Savanna - Dry1Unset Suitable 3 Shrubland 1UnsetSuitable 3.8 Shrubland - Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation1Unset Suitable 4 Grassland 1UnsetSuitable 4.5 Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical Dry1Unset Suitable 14 Artificial/Terrestrial2 Marginal Not applicable Species Utilisation Species is not utilised at all Trend in the level of wild offtake/harvest in relation to total wild population numbers over the last five years: Trend in the amount of offtake/harvest produced through domestication/cultivation over the last five years: CITES status: Not listed IUCN Red Listing Red List Assessment:(using 2001 IUCN system) Endangered (EN) Red List Criteria: B2ab(iii) Date Last Seen (only for EX, EW or Possibly EX species): Is the species Possibly Extinct? Possibly Extinct Candidate? Rationale for the Red List Assessment S. recta is a perennial herb which was once widespread in grasslands and open woodlands of New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. Over the past 60 years its known range has been drastically reduced and fragmented due primarily to loss of native grasslands, it is currently reduced to 0.5% of its original two million hectare extent in the mid-1800s (area of occupancy 100 km2). Small Purple Pea is at risk from habitat loss and degradation due to urban development, agricultural development, domestic stock grazing, competition from exotic weeds, loss of grazing by native herbivores and reduced fire frequency, and the resulting increased competition from understorey species. Most known populations hold fewer than 100 mature plants and this small population size is accompanied with genetic erosion and increased inbreeding threatening the future survival of small populations. The species is therefore listed as Endangered. Further research is needed to monitor the population sizes and to determine the total number of individuals and management actions need to be implemented to restrict grazing, manage fire regimes and control weeds. Reason(s) for Change in Red List Category from the Previous Assessment: Genuine Change Nongenuine Change No Change Genuine (recent) New information Taxonomy Same category Genuine (since first assessment) Knowledge of Criteria