BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH Newsletter of the NSW Biodiversity Research Network Issue No. 24 January 2008 Contents EDITORIAL ................................................................................................................................... 2 NSW Scientific Committee final determinations...................................................................... 3 Features........................................................................................................................................ 3 Don't forget the Invertebrates! Logistical problems in investigating Australia's Biological Diversity ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Hundreds of Legs, Dozens of Species ...................................................................................... 4 CULTURAL HERITAGE NEWS ................................................................................................... 5 No More Catfish......................................................................................................................... 5 Garby Elders Pass on Traditional Knowledge for Cultural Heritage Exchange. ....................... 5 The People of the Reeds – Textiles and Painting Exhibition..................................................... 5 Noongar People Begin Cultural Values Assessment at Peniup Creek Reserve....................... 5 Caring for Country ..................................................................................................................... 5 Climate Change Seminar for the Torres Strait Islands.............................................................. 6 Kuku Thaypan Fire Management Research Project.................................................................. 6 FAUNA NEWS .............................................................................................................................. 6 INVERTEBRATES ................................................................................................................. 6 Web2Spider- a New Tool for Monitoring Biodiversity................................................................ 6 Insects Affiliated with Threatened Acacias may be at Risk of Coextinction .............................. 6 Trialling Sampling Methods for Measuring Biodiversity in Arthropods ...................................... 7 New Species of Isopod - Discoveries at Kakadu....................................................................... 7 BIRDS .................................................................................................................................... 7 How Much Habitat and What Configuration Maintain Natural Levels of Connectivity in Southeast Australian Native Birds? ........................................................................................... 7 Little Terns Breeding at Hearnes Lake ...................................................................................... 7 Climate Toll on Birds.................................................................................................................. 8 REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS ................................................................................................... 8 Rocks and Rosenbergs : Increasing Ecological Knowledge and Raising Community Awareness of the Threatened Rosenbergs Goanna ................................................................. 8 Plan to Save the Southern Bell Frog ......................................................................................... 8 The Giant Water Holding Frog Awakens in Narrabri ................................................................. 8 Mapping Cane Toad Dispersal in Inland Australia .................................................................... 8 MAMMALS ............................................................................................................................. 9 Combating Pest Animals in the Goulburn-Broken Catchment: Identifying Areas for Resource Allocation ................................................................................................................................... 9 Rock Wallaby Numbers Bouncing Back in Wollemi .................................................................. 9 Platypus Workshop in Bemboka................................................................................................ 9 GENERAL FAUNA NEWS................................................................................................... 10 Terrestrial Vertebrate Fauna of the Greater Southern Sydney Region................................... 10 FORESTS & FLORA .................................................................................................................. 10 The Importance of Vegetation Remnants on Private Land. .................................................... 10 Wildlife Corridors Reconstructed Using Crown Roads in Southern NSW............................... 10 Weed Warriors Hit the North Coast ......................................................................................... 11 Are Pines our Next Sleeper Weed?......................................................................................... 11 Fire Frequency Effects Composition and Diversity of Temperate Grassy Woodlands ........... 11 Private Property Vegetation Plans for River Red Gum Forest- Deadline Approaching .......... 11 Illegal Land Clearing Caught Out on Satellite.......................................................................... 12 Fishers Plant Trees at Wisemans Ferry .................................................................................. 12 Tree planting in Seaham Swamp Nature Reserve .................................................................. 12 1 Temperate Overstorey Eucalypt Decline in the Absence of Fire............................................. 12 Specific Fire Regimes may Enhance Diversity in Banksia Woodlands................................... 12 Predicting Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity in the South African Fynbos .............. 13 FRESHWATER RIVERS & WETLANDS NEWS........................................................................ 13 Restoration of Lake Talbot Wetland ........................................................................................ 13 Carp Muster Attracts Fishers ................................................................................................... 13 Carp Numbers Dropping because Wetlands are Drying ......................................................... 13 Call for Comments on Clarence Estuary Reserve Plan........................................................... 13 Increasing the Flow to the Wakool River and Merran Creek System...................................... 14 Captive Galaxias Returned to Improved Habitat ..................................................................... 14 Eastern Seaboard’s Wetlands in Crisis ................................................................................... 14 OCEANS & MARINE NEWS ...................................................................................................... 14 The Torn Blue Fringe – Marine Biodiversity at Threat in NSW ............................................... 14 Can the Law Save the Grey Nurse Shark? ............................................................................. 14 Great Barrier Reef in Threat if CO2 Concentration Continues to Rise .................................... 15 NT Assists in Establishing First Marine Park for East Timor ................................................... 15 Humpbacks May be given a Stay of Execution ....................................................................... 15 OTHER BIODIVERSITY NEWS.................................................................................................. 15 Sustainable Farms: Tree Regeneration and the Future of Farmland Biodiversity. ................. 15 New Bush Heritage Reserve in Eastern NSW......................................................................... 15 BioBanking Public Exhibition and Information Sessions ......................................................... 16 Students Raise Awareness of Dangar Island’s Endangered Seagrass Bed........................... 16 Science Supporting Threatened Species Conservation.......................................................... 16 Seagrass Diversity Important for Faunal Habitat..................................................................... 16 Climate Stability Begets Diversity............................................................................................ 16 Charles Darwin Reserve – Bouncing Back after Goat Control................................................ 16 Changes to Tasmania’s Threatened Species Act ................................................................... 17 Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary – the Reserve of the Decade.................................................. 17 Biodiversity on the Farm - Beyond Remnant Vegetation......................................................... 17 The Dumbing Down of Science ............................................................................................... 17 CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS ............................................................................................ 18 Australia & New Zealand Biocontrol Program Conference ..................................................... 18 Old Forests, New Management – Sir Mark Oliphant Conferences ........................................