Species and Communities Branch newsletter for Threatened Species and Ecological Communities conservation July 2006 Volume 12, Issue 2 Buying time for threatened flora and ecological communities. By Renée Hartley The flora of the South Coast is rich in diversity and endemism. The Albany district is home to five Threatened Ecological Communities (TECs) and more than 400 species of threatened and priority flora. Dieback disease caused by the plant pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi threatens many of our species with extinction. However, efforts are being concentrated to ‘buy us time’ with phosphite treatment. If phosphite can prolong the survival of rare flora populations, it will enable us to make comprehensive seed collections. By collecting seed from as many populations and individual plants as on a long and difficult walk to a peak in Above Volunteer collecting seed of the Critically possible, the species’ genetic diversity can the Stirling Range, to one of only three Endangered Lambertia fairallii on the edge of be preserved in long-term storage for the remaining populations of the species. Cages a dieback front in the Stirling Range. future.The seed can also be used for were needed to protect the seed from Photo – Sarah Barrett translocations and scientific research, such being eaten by birds and repeated trips released.This ‘mountain bell’ occurs at up as genetic studies and species resistance to were necessary to collect sufficient seed. to 900 m above sea level, and given that it dieback disease, salinity and waterlogging. Similarly, time and effort has been may take several visits to the population, However, seed collection is rarely easy. invested into seed collection for the the time required is substantial. In the case of the Critically Endangered Endangered Darwinia sp. Stirling Range. Seed and cuttings collected in the Lambertia fairallii, Department of The species requires close monitoring as district have been used to provide Conservation and Land Management timing must be precise to ensure that individuals for establishing new and (CALM) staff carried caging materials the seed is fully developed but not yet secure seed orchards through translocations in conjunction with CALM’s Science Division and the Inside this issue Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority. Three Critically Endangered taxa, Buying time for threatened flora and ecological communities. 1 limited to the mountain tops of the Catching up with Drakaea elastica 2 eastern Stirling Range and threatened by Alignment of State and Commonwealth Threatened Species List 2 factors such as dieback, grazing, fire and climate change, have been established in Recovering (Western) Australia’s rich endemics 3 a ‘seed orchard’. Seeds of these species Priority Ecological Communities Project 3 are particularly hard to collect due to Extra security for threatened species and communities in the 4 the low number of individuals, limited Northern Agricultural Region seed-set and difficult location. Pityrodia scabra – A disturbance opportunist in trouble? 4 Through perseverance and repeated efforts, the amount of stored seed collected Visit from Department of Environment and Heritage 5 from Critically Endangered species such Bankwest Landscope Conservation Visa Card – new projects 5 as Dryandra montana, Dryandra anatona and Wongan-Ballidu Threatened Flora Management Plan released Lambertia fairallii has increased significantly in February 2006 6 and has enabled a range of ex-situ Twenty more Interim Recovery Plans approved 6 conservation options to be considered. Threatened species and communities recovery teams’ For further information contact Renée on summaries of 2005 annual report 7 (08) 9842 4500 or email [email protected] Catching up with Drakaea elastica By Gillian Stack The glossy-leafed hammer orchid (Drakaea elastica) is an intriguing plant that has a close association with a single species of thynnid wasp. Each orchid plant has a single flower (up to four cm long) with a labellum (lip) that roughly resembles a flightless female wasp resting on a blade of grass.The labellum has glands that emit a sex attractant (pheromone) that attracts winged males of the wasp species.The wasp lands on the labellum and, as it attempts to carry it away, a hinge on the long arm between the labellum and the column brings the wasp into contact with the column of the flower.At this time the wasp either removes pollen from the anther or deposits previously acquired pollen onto the stigma, thus enabling cross pollination. The leaf of each plant is between one and two cm wide, round to heart-shaped and laid flat on the ground. It is a distinctive glossy light green when it emerges from an underground storage tuber Drakaea elastica or glossy-leaved hammer orchid. Photo – Andrew Brown in May. However, it starts to yellow and shrivel by the time the plant flowers in September. The assistance of all these people is gratefully acknowledged. Plants are found in sandy habitat near winter-wet areas that support These survey efforts, in combination with historical data, spearwood (Kunzea ericifolia) thicket or mixed banksia woodland, established that almost half of the previously known populations in patches which also support other orchid species, sometimes are now presumed to be extinct due to clearing, or have including other hammer orchids (eg D. glyptodon, D. livida). contained no plants for many years.Two relatively large and robust Drakaea elastica has been recorded from 34 populations over a populations are still known, and a third is small but stable (12 range of approximately 350 km, from Cataby in the north to plants). Others are in decline, and a few require further survey to Busselton in the south, with a cluster of populations around clarify their current status. Capel. However, habitat is highly fragmented and subject to a Several new populations were found during 2005, but these tend range of threats including clearing for development, weed invasion to be small and isolated. Some may be vestigial populations (for and competition, grazing and soil disturbance by rabbits, example, plants found on small areas of land subject to a kangaroos and stock, hydrological change including salinisation, development application near Capel), while others may represent disease including Phytophthora cinnamomi, inappropriate fire germination of wind-blown seed in marginally suitable habitat, regimes, absence of pollinators or seed germination stimuli, and rather than robust and viable populations (for example, plants depletion of mycorrhizal fungi. found in a large area of remnant vegetation near Gingin, widely In 2005, a major survey effort was undertaken across the range of separated from other known populations). Drakaea elastica to reassess its conservation status. This monitoring The species is now being considered for ranking at a higher level was undertaken in collaboration with a number of CALM staff, of threat. and with volunteers and landowners. In addition, consultants contributed information about several new populations discovered For further information contact Gillian Stack on (08) 9405 5157 or during flora surveys of land subject to development applications. email [email protected] Alignment of State and Commonwealth Threatened Species List By Melanie Harding There are currently a significant number of discrepancies CALM’s Species and Communities Branch employed one between the threatened species that are listed under the Western project coordinator and three project officers to prepare the Australian Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 and the datasheets under a six month contract.There were 347 Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity discrepancies for species, with 233 differences for threatened Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). flora and 114 for threatened fauna listed at that time.Another For example, some species are listed under the State legislation 140 species were listed under the Wildlife Conservation Act but but not under the Commonwealth’s, while others are listed not the EBPC Act, 31 were listed under the EPBC act but not under both but in a different threat category. the Wildlife Conservation Act, and 171 were included on both lists but under a different rank.An additional five WA fauna These discrepancies can lead to inconsistencies in the advice species were nominated by the public for listing under the provided by the State and Commonwealth Departments and is EPBC Act, and also required SPRAT sheets. confusing to members of industry and the public. In an attempt to address this problem, CALM and the Commonwealth Ninety two SPRAT sheets were submitted to the DEH during Department of Environment and Heritage (DEH) agreed to 2005. To date, the Commonwealth’s Threatened Species undertake a project to align the two lists, with funding assistance Scientific Committee has made recommendations on provided by the Commonwealth. nominations for amendments to the EPBC Act for about 40 WA species that were part of the SAP. However these To enable the DEH to assess the species for listing (or delisting) recommendations have not yet resulted in formal changes to the under the EPBC Act, CALM is providing advice on each species EPBC list of threatened species. It is anticipated that changes to in the form of a Species Profiles and Threats (SPRAT) datasheet. the list will start to occur in the near future. Information contained in the SPRAT sheet includes the species’ biology, distribution, threats and recovery actions. For further information contact Melanie Harding on (08) 9334 0472 or email [email protected] In January 2005 the Species Alignment Project (SAP) began. 2 watsnu Recovering (Western) Australia’s rich endemics By Craig Douglas Interim Recovery Plans (IRPs) are being prepared for a number of Declared Rare Flora (DRF) found in the wheatbelt using funding from the Natural Heritage Trust. These include the Critically Endangered Daviesia cunderdin, Cyphanthera odgersii subsp. occidentalis and Gastrolobium glaucum in CALM’s Merredin District, the Endangered Banksia cuneata in CALM’s Narrogin District and the Vulnerable Acacia lanuginophylla with populations in the Merredin and Katanning Districts.