Reflections on the ongoing loss of our nature, of life Growing Connections Biodiversity Forum, Western Port Biosphere, May 2016 John Woinarski, Charles Darwin University
Why engage with nature? To solve the great detective story; Eternal human quest to decipher the world, and our place in it
Why engage with nature? To accept a duty of care; Because we are an indissoluble part of it
A biodiversity wonderland: Kakadu Nos. trapped species 1985-87, 1989-93 trap-nights 94120 Fawn Antechinus 2778 Northern Brown Bandicoot 2420 Pale Field-rat 2213 Northern Quoll 848 Common Brushtail Possum 471 Dusky Rat 355 Black-footed Tree-rat 163 Northern Brush-tailed Phascogale 15 Brush-tailed Rabbit-rat 13 Total trap success rate 11.0
Collapse of a wonderland species 1985-87, 1989-93 1999 2013-14 trap-nights 94120 6752 13221 Fawn Antechinus 2778 0 0 Northern Brown Bandicoot 2420 2 23 Pale Field-rat 2213 0 0 Northern Quoll 848 12 13 Common Brushtail Possum 471 1 0 Dusky Rat 355 6 16 Black-footed Tree-rat 163 0 0 Northern Brush-tailed Phascogale 15 0 0 Brush-tailed Rabbit-rat 13 0 0 Total trap success rate 11.0 2.3 0.59 Woinarski et al. (2001). Austral Ecology 26, 360-370; (2010). Wildlife Research 37, 116-126.
Collapse of a refuge: Pellew islands mammals Woinarski et al. (2011). Wildlife Research 38, 307-322.
Largely unrecognised, the mammal fauna in remote Australia is disappearing Counter-intuitive; Contrasts with the general world trend for decline and extinction to be most evident in regions with: high human population density, Clearing, and environmental modification; Largely unappreciated by most Australians, whose view of remote Australia is limited; The big rock is still there, so all is well Most Australian mammal species are small, shy, nocturnal
the complex equilibrium which governs long established floras and faunas is drastically disturbed or even demolished altogether much evidence of the past history of life of the country slips suddenly into obscurity The old Australia is passing. The environment which moulded the most remarkable fauna in the world is beset on all sides by influences which are reducing it to a medley of semi-artificial environments, in which the original plan is lost and the final outcome of which no man may predict. Hedley Finlayson (1935) The Red Centre
A venerable knowledge system about the ecology and management of this country that is complementary to science
All places are deeply interconnected Songlines; Dreaming paths
A different relationship with the natural world A more intimate association with animals; A more profound sense of responsibility The ache of loss Nellie Camfoo
Opportunity and need for working together Opportunity for a more insightful and practical environmental understanding; we cannot understand the ecology and management of this continent without recognition of the role of Indigenous management and the value of Indigenous knowledge Opportunity for societal rapprochement, to more fully realise what it is to be Australian
The connection matters also because much of conservation effort and gain in Australia will be on Indigenous lands IPAs are now >650,000 km 2 These are delivering marked improvements in health, education & local economies More scope for conservation than in Australia s margins
Review of the fate of Australian mammals
Since European settlement, Australia has lost far more mammal species than any other country 30 extinct mammal species (of 315 terrestrial spp.) Thylacine, Pig-footed Bandicoot, Desert Bandicoot, Lesser Bilby, Desert Bettong, Nullarbor Dwarf Bettong, Desert Rat-kangaroo, Broad-faced Potoroo, Central Hare-wallaby, Eastern Hare-wallaby, Toolache Wallaby, Crescent Nailtail Wallaby, Dusky Flying-fox, Lord Howe Long-eared Bat, Christmas Island Pipistrelle, White-footed Rabbit-rat, Capricorn Rabbit-rat, Lesser Stick-nest Rat, Short-tailed Hopping-mouse, Long-tailed Hoppingmouse, Large-eared Hopping-mouse, Darling Downs Hopping-mouse, Broad-cheeked Hopping-mouse, Long-eared Mouse, Blue-grey Mouse, Gould s Mouse, Maclear s Rat, Bulldog Rat, Bramble Cay Melomys, (Western Long-beaked Echidna) And probably 1 more: Christmas Island Shrew (last recorded in 1985)
A further 56 terrestrial mammal species qualify as threatened (ca. 20% of the endemic spp.) And a further 52 terrestrial mammal species are Near Threatened.
One animal, the quite recent extermination of which we must greatly regret, is the small unknown creature which used to live in great numbers on St. Francis Island. These little animals were always spoken of by the late Mr. Lloyd he described them as very small wallabies, creatures which used to hop into the homestead and eat scraps thrown to them from the table. No description precise enough to be of real use can now be obtained, and it serves little useful purpose to speculate upon its identity*. Cats were liberated in order to destroy it, and they have done their work with thoroughness. Wood Jones (1923). Trans. R. Soc. S.A. 47, 94. * subsequently described (from but one skull fragment) as the island-endemic Bettongia penicillata francisca
Bramble Cay melomys Last seen in 2009; no longer extant in 2014. Lived on a single cay about size of 2 x MCGs (and very common there in 1980s). Approved Recovery Plan did not include any consideration of captive breeding. No accountability
Extinction of Australian mammals has been largely continuous since ca. 1840s (1-2 species lost per decade) not a shock of the new, not a phenomenon restricted to less enlightened times, notwithstanding considerable conservation efforts over recent decades
Continental context European colonisation of north America from the 16 th century Loss of traditional Indigenous management; Much clearing, and introduction of new plants and animals; Intensive hunting of very many species; Human population increase to >350 million (USA+Canada) Extinction (across continental USA+Canada) of only one land mammal species (the highly localised Sea Mink)
Predation (by feral cats and foxes) has been and is the major cause of decline for Australia s terrestrial mammals Feral cat with killed Bridled Nailtail Wallaby (photo courtesy John Augusteyn)
But many causes: Anna Karenina concept ( All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way ); and interactions and compounding impacts mean threat impacts scored for all Extinct, threatened and Near Threatened terrestrial mammal species (137 spp.) 8=extreme risk and constellation of threats and impacts will be different for plants, and other animal groups Threat factor Impact score (no. spp affected) predation by feral cats 3.3 (97) predation by red fox 1.9 (58) inappropriate fire regimes 1.8 (63) habitat loss and fragmentation 1.2 (45) livestock and feral herbivores 0.8 (30) climate change; severe weather 0.7 (26) disease 0.6 (22) predation by dingoes and dogs 0.3 (15) hunting 0.2 (6) predation by black rats 0.2 (6) timber-harvesting 0.1 (8) poisoning by cane toads 0.1 (5) other 0.8 (28)
What must be done?
looking forward 1. It is all about what we value. For conservation to work effectively, our community needs a greater affinity for, connection with, and understanding of our nature. Australia s nature makes us unique; it helps define our character. Affinity starts with the familiar and local. The Greek word Oikos (ecology) means family, property and home. Our nature is our life. The mammals of the area are so obscure in their ways of life and, except for a few species, so strictly nocturnal, as to be almost spectral (Finlayson 1935)
looking forward 2. Our society, our culture - yes, even our souls - need to draw inspiration and enrichment from the intimate connections to land and nature held by Indigenous Australians, and lessons from Indigenous knowledge.
looking forward 3. Ongoing decline and extinction of Australian plant and animal species demonstrates that we are not living sustainability. This will come back to bite us. Our society is not fitting well into this land (and seas). We need to consider and reassess what it means to live in this country, and to accept more responsibility for custodianship. We take too much; we give too little.
looking forward 4. We need a socio-economic approach that rewards private land-holders who safeguard and enrich biodiversity, and penalises those who degrade and destroy it.
looking forward 5. We should have a clear commitment to trying to prevent any further extinctions. We are an affluent nation and should have the capability to achieve this. In 2014, the Australian Minister for the Environment gave such a commitment and pledged to recover at least 20 mammal and 20 bird species by 2020.
looking forward 6. We need enduring long-term (inter-generational) planning, that is not subject to the whims of shortterm political expediency. e.g. canning of national wildlife corridors program Australia has a momentum of environmental decline ( extinction debt ) that will take decades to overcome. Many threats are now deeply-entrenched. Climate change will render the challenge far more difficult.
looking forward 7. For long-term effectiveness, conservation goals need to be set on a robust ecological basis, not on a minimum tithe that governments or business may be willing to pay. For example, national and international goals for reserve systems to comprise ca. 15-20% of land area will be way insufficient for long-term security of nature, for which ca. 50% protection is now recognised to be required. Locke H (2013) Nature needs half: a necessary and hopeful new agenda for protected areas. Parks 19.2, 13-22.
looking forward 8. Business as usual is not working. We need to recognise that the effort that we are currently making, and the resources that we are currently investing (e.g. ca. 0.8% of Cwlth budget), are insufficient to manage effectively the many now deeply-entrenched threats.
looking forward 9. We need to recognise and draw inspiration and confidence from cases of conservation successes and recovery. Australian biodiversity is not an effete bunch of losers and most have been here for hundreds of thousands to millions of years
looking forward 10. We need to know more. Although current information provides a reasonable basis for management of many species, ecology is a complex system and there is a pressing need for more knowledge.
looking forward 11. Monitoring: we must improve the effectiveness of, integration of and responsiveness to, monitoring of the status of our nature and its key threats, and of our management. and we should as much take note of trends in our environment as we do other socio-economic trends.
looking forward 12. Although there needs to be more explicit accountability for care for our environment, conservation must be a shared responsibility. Just as ecology is a complex mix of inter-connections, so conservation effort must also be about building resilient social and other networks
looking forward 13. We must target the management of threats pre-emptively and effectively. Ultimately, unchecked human population growth and climate change will cascade biodiversity loss, and stymie most conservation effort.
looking forward 14. Conservation reserves are the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation, but they will fail unless they are appropriately resourced and managed, and complemented by sympathetic management outside them
looking forward 15. Grow the Indigenous Protected Area and Indigenous ranger programs and ensure that they have long-term resource security.
looking forward 16. Where possible repair and rebuild what has been lost
Changing environmental baselines
Changes in my lifetime Human population Victoria: 2.5 million to 6.0 million Australia: 9.2 million to 23.9 million Forest & woodland extent 1.77 million km 2 to 1.47 million km 2 (i.e. from 25% to 38% cleared) Extent of conservation reserves <2% to ca. 18%
Changes in my lifetime
Changes in my lifetime Extinction of at least 9 Australian-endemic species: Christmas Island pipistrelle (26 August 2009),Bramble Cay melomys (ca. 2009), lesser bilby, desert bandicoot, desert bettong, pig-footed bandicoot, central hare-wallaby, crescent nailtail wallaby,?toolache wallaby Christmas island forest skink (31 May 2014)
No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were as well as if a mannor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. John Donne (1624) Meditations XVII