Recovering Australian Threatened Species A Book of Hope

About this book

Australia's nature is exceptional, wonderful and important. But much has been lost, and the ongoing existence of many species now hangs by a thread. Against a relentless tide of threats to our biodiversity, many Australians, and government and non-government agencies, have devoted themselves to the challenge of conserving and recovering plant and animal species that now need our help to survive. This dedication has been rewarded with some outstanding and inspiring successes: of extinctions averted, of populations increasing, of communities actively involved in recovery efforts.

Recovering Australian Threatened Species showcases successful conservation stories and identifies approaches and implementation methods that have been most effective in recovering threatened species. These diverse accounts – dealing with threatened plants, invertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals – show that the conservation of threatened species is achievable: that it can be done and should be done. They collectively serve to inform, guide and inspire other conservation efforts. This is a book of hope and inspiration. It shows that with dedication, knowledge and support, we can retain and restore our marvellous natural heritage, and gift to our descendants a world that is as diverse, healthy and beautiful as that which we have inherited.

Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgements
List of contributors
1: Turning threatened species around – celebrating what we have done well
      Stephen T. Garnett, Peter Latch, David B. Lindenmayer and John C.Z. Woinarski
2: Recovery of Australian subpopulations of humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae
      Peter L. Harrison and John C. Z. Woinarski
3: Eradication of invasive species on Macquarie Island to restore the natural ecosystem
      Keith Springer
4: Management of seabird bycatch leads to sustainable fisheries and seabird populations
      Barry Baker and Graham Robertson
5: Mary’s Famous Five: a story of connection, commitment and community in the recovery of threatened aquatic species in the Mary River catchment, Queensland
      Tanzi Smith and Marilyn Connell
6: Spiny rice-flower – small, unassuming but with many friends
      Vanessa Craigie, Debbie Reynolds, Neville Walsh, Steve Mueck, Liz James, Dale Tonkinson and Pauline Rudolph
7: Saving the Pygmy Bluetongue Lizard
      Michael C. Bull and Mark N. Hutchinson
8: Malleefowl: answering the big questions that guide all malleefowl management
      Sharon Gillam, Tim Burnard and Joe Benshemesh
9: From the brink of extinction: successful recovery of the glossy black-cockatoo on Kangaroo Island
      Karleah Berris, Michael Barth, Trish Mooney, Lynn Pedler, David Paton, Martine Kinloch, Peter Copley, Anthony Maguire, Gabriel Crowley and Stephen T. Garnett
10: Science, community and commitment underpin the road to recovery for the red-tailed black-cockatoo
      Vicki-Jo Russell, Richard Hill, Tim Burnard, Bronwyn Perryman, Peter Copley, Kerry Gilkes, Martine Maron, David Baker-Gabb, Rachel Pritchard and Paul Koch
11: Collaborative commitment to a shared vision: recovery efforts for noisy scrub-birds and western ground parrots
      Allan Burbidge, Sarah Comer and Alan Danks
12: Back from the brink – again: The decline and recovery of the Norfolk Island green parrot (Cyanoramphus cookii)
      Luis Ortiz-Catedral, Raymond Nias, James Fitzsimons, Samantha Vine and Margaret Christian
13: Progress in the conservation of populations of the eastern bristlebird from central coastal New South Wales and Jervis Bay Territory
      David B. Lindenmayer, Chris MacGregor and Nick Dexter
14: Tasmania’s forty-spotted pardalote: a woodland survivor
      Sally Bryant
15: Broadscale feral predator and herbivore control for yellow-footed rock-wallabies Petrogale xanthopus ssp. xanthopus: improved resilience for plants and animals = Bounceback
      Robert Brandle, Trish Mooney and Nicki de Preu
16: Recovering the mountain pygmy-possum at Mt Blue Cow and Mt Buller
      L.S. Broome, D. Heinze and M. Schroder
17: Wild orchids: saving three endangered orchid species in southern New South Wales
      Helen P. Waudby, Matt Cameron, Geoff Robertson, Rhiannon Caynes and Noushka Reiter
18: Population enhancement plantings help save the Tumut grevillea (Grevillea wilkinsonii)
      John Briggs and Dave Hunter
19: The spiny daisy: the disappearance and re-emergence of a unique Australian shrub
      Doug Bickerton, Erica Rees, Tim Field, Amelia Hurren and Christophe Tourenq
20: The path to recovery for the ‘extinct’ Lord Howe Island phasmid Dryococelus australis
      Hank Bower, Nicholas Carlile, Rohan Cleave, C. Haselden, Dean Hiscox and L. O’Neill
21: Against the flow: The remarkable recovery of the trout cod in the Murray-Darling Basin
      Jarod P. Lyon, Mark Lintermans and John D. Koehn
22: Underbelly – the tale of the threatened white-bellied frog (Geocrinia alba)
      Manda Page, Kay Bradfield and Kim Williams
23: Western Swamp Tortoise Pseudemydura umbrina: slow and steady wins the race
      Gerald Kuchling, Andrew Burbidge, Manda Page and Craig Olejnik
24: Twenty-five years of helmeted honeyeater conservation: a government-community partnership poised for recovery success
      Dan Harley, Peter Menkhorst, Bruce Quin, Robert Anderson, Sue Tardif, Karina Cartwright, Neil Murray and Merryn Kelly
25: Bringing back Warru: return of the black-footed rock-wallaby to the APY Lands
      John Read, Peter Copley, Matt Ward, Ethan Dagg, Liberty Olds, David Taggart and Rebecca West
26: Recovery of the mainland subspecies of eastern barred bandicoot
      Richard Hill, Amy Coetsee (nee Winnard) and Duncan Sutherland
27: Arid Recovery; a successful conservation partnership
      Katherine E. Moseby, Peter Copley, David C. Paton and John L. Read
28: Effective conservation of critical weight range mammals: reintroduction projects of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy
      John Kanowski, David Roshier, Michael Smith and Atticus Fleming
29: The contribution of captive-breeding in zoos to the conservation of Australia's threatened fauna
      Dan Harley, Peter R. Mawson, Liberty Olds, Michael McFadden and Carolyn Hogg
30: Mobilising resources for the recovery of Threatened Species
      Samantha Vine, Linda Bell and Allan Williams
31: Reporting on success in threatened species conservation: the national policy context
      Peter Latch
32: More than hope alone: factors influencing the successful recovery of threatened species in Australia
      Stephen T. Garnett, Peter Latch, David B. Lindenmayer, David J. Pannell and John C.Z Woinarski
Index

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Biography

Professor Stephen Garnett (Charles Darwin University) is an authority on the conservation of threatened birds.

Peter Latch (Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy) has many years of experience within government protected area management, biodiversity planning and threatened species conservation agencies, and currently facilitates national recovery planning efforts for many Australian threatened species.

Professor David Lindenmayer (The Australian National University) has undertaken extensive research and monitoring, and helped shaped management, to conserve many components of Australian biodiversity, including for some of Australia's most threatened animal species.

Professor John Woinarski (Charles Darwin University), has had long involvement in research, management and policy development for Australian biodiversity, with particular interest in the conservation of threatened species.