AF_Conservation

Amazing Facts about Australian

Wildlife

Conservation

Karin Cox & Steve Parish Endangered sp species • Global warming • Societies & more

The web of life

The web of life

The web of life — why we must conserve called heterotrophs. Unlike autotrophic plants, heterotrophs can only derive their energy from feeding on other organisms. Decomposers, such as bacteria and fungi, are also heterotrophic and break down dead plants and animals. The energy and nutrients are released back into the soil or water, where they are recycled within the ecosystem. These minerals nourish the plants and algae, thus completing the food chain cycle. Because plants are the primary producers for the animal kingdom, they are critical to the survival of all species, especially humans. From plants, we derive many of the medicines we need to cure illness and disease, plus all of our food sources. In such a connected ecosystem, if the plants die, the animals that eat them starve and the animals that eat those animals might also starve and so on.

Above: Ecosystems are connected by an intricate “web” of organisms.

the FACTS!

ABOUT 600,000 TO 700,000 plant and animal species contribute to Australia’s biodiversity, and many are endemic (exist nowhere else).

THE SCALE OF FUNDING needed to combat biodiversity loss means that governments and conservationists are challenged with allocating funds to species that most need it, while still protecting other vital species. Animals that have had little research conducted on them often do not meet the criteria for the “threatened” list, as they are “data deficient”. While researchers struggle to provide data that proves a species is in decline, then wait for a status reassessment, the species might be already well on its way to extinction.

Text: Karin Cox. Uncredited photography: Steve Parish

ECOSYSTEMS ARE COMPOSED of all of the living organisms in a habitat, such as bacteria, fungi, plants and animals, as well as non-living components — the soil, air, water, nutrients, sunlight and temperature. Organisms within an ecosystem connect and depend on each other to a greater or lesser degree. If any component — plants, animals, water, nutrients, sunlight and so on — is taken out of the food chain or becomes unbalanced, there can be massive consequences for the entire ecosystem.

CHAINED TO OUR HABITAT Organisms that share a habitat make up part of a food web, composed of many intersecting food chains. Plants and algae, the primary producers of the food chain, sustain themselves by converting sunlight to energy through photosynthesis. Organisms that are able to produce energy through chemical reactions are called autotrophs.

Plants are eaten by secondary producers (herbivorous and omnivorous animals), which are then eaten by even higher producers (top-of-the-food-chain animals such as humans and sharks). All animals, whether they eat meat or vegetation, are M & I MORCOMBE

THE UNITED NATIONS environment program (UNCED, 1992) defines biodiversity as “the variability among living organisms from all sources including … terrestrial, marine and other aquatic systems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems”.

Biodiversity is quite simply the interconnected web of life. It includes every living thing on Earth and the complex ecosystems in which plants and animals live and interact with each other. Biodiversity (and gene diversity) is necessary for evolutionary development.

For this reason, preserving biodiversity is crucial for allowing nature to adapt to ever-changing conditions.

M & I MORCOMBE

DIFFERENT PEOPLE DEFINE biodiversity differently. Biologists and geneticists argue that biodiversity includes not just species, but also genes (the hereditary components of our DNA, which create genetic variance in populations). When just a few representatives of a species remain, the gene pool (the available genetic information for evolution to occur) will be depleted and reduce the ability of that species to evolve effectively.

Left: A food web shows how plants and animals depend on each other. Wallabies are heterotrophs that eat the autotrophic grass and, in turn, are eaten by the higher heterotrophs, carnivorous Dingoes and Wedge-tailed Eagles. The Yellow-footed Antechinus eats fungi (a decomposer), and is also eaten by the eagle and Dingo. When heterotrophs such as the wallaby, Dingo, antechinus or eagle die, they are eaten by other scavenging heterotrophs or broken down by decomposers, such as fungi.

prey predator dead animal decomposer From Steve Parish Publishing’s Amazing Facts: Wildlife Conservation ~ www.steveparish.com.au

However, few animals are such specialist eaters that they are placed at risk of extinction with the loss of just one food source. In areas of great biodiversity there are usually enough plants and animals to weather any kind of disruption in habitat or the loss of some species in the food web. Having genetic and species diversity acts as a type of “insurance” against disasters, such as disease or natural catastrophe (like cyclones or fires). In regions with little biodiversity, the risk of extinction increases — that is why preserving biodiversity is so important for the planet’s wildlife.

MEASURING BIODIVERSITY Biodiversity in an area is measured by surveying the plants and animals that live there, then comparing the results with similar environments. Line transects and quadrats are two ways of measuring biodiversity. Line transects can be used on land or in the water and are straight lines, usually 10-m-long pieces of cord or rope, through a habitat. All plant and animal life found at 1-m intervals along the line is recorded. Quadrats are used only in terrestrial habitats and are 1 m2 wooden frames that are placed at random in a habitat. All species found within the frame are identified and counted. For larger, more obvious animals, such as birds and mammals, researchers or volunteers usually observe and record the animals or plants found in a certain area on a regular basis.

Trapping and then releasing wild animals is another way to monitor a population. Catch-and-release surveys involve trapping or netting fish, birds, reptiles and mammals to count and sometimes tag them. Satellite images and aerial photography may also be used to monitor and record habitats and detect threats such as bushfires, encroaching agriculture, mining or logging.

WILDLIFE WATCH — INDICATOR SPECIES The plant and animal species that are particularly vulnerable to environmental stress are known as “indicator species”. Delicate organisms such as lichen, butterflies, insect larvae, frogs, clams and some fish species are all sensitive indicator organisms. Scientists know that if they see these species in trouble, or if these species abandon a particular habitat, large-scale disruption to an ecosystem will most likely follow. Some conservationists also talk about “key species” in a habitat. These are usually species that play a key role in the food web of the ecosystem.

Above, left to right: Setting a trap at Scotia Sanctuary; Undertaking a survey; Learning about wildlife is the first step to helping conserve it.

the FACTS! THE GEOGRAPHICAL REMOTENESS of the Australian continent led to an enormous amount of endemic species. Up to 83% of Australia’s mammals exist nowhere else, as do 45% of Australia’s birds and 84% of our flora. Because these species are unique to Australia, it is vitally important that we stop them disappearing from the Earth.

SOME LARGE WILDERNESS areas have more species diversity than others, but most conservationists believe that all large tracts of uncultivated land should be protected, despite their species diversity or habitat makeup, because they could provide refuges for other species in future.

ABOUT 200 ECOREGIONS (or biodiversity hotspots) that represent the greatest number of life forms have been identified by the World Wildlife Fund. Seventeen countries in the world are regarded as megadiverse and Australia is one of them. Combined, these megadiverse countries contain 60–70% of the known species on Earth.

Below: You can conduct a survey of your own backyard by keeping your eyes and ears open for species, such as frogs at night, and recording what you find.

IAN MORRIS

Above: Ranger Kevin Buliwana holding a Green Turtle, Moreton Island, Qld.

the FACTS! ABORIGINES AMASSED tens of thousands of years worth of knowledge about many habitats and the plants and animals they contain. Some animals, such as the Pig-nosed Turtle and Lumholtz’s Tree-kangaroo, only came to scientific attention in the 1900s, but had been included in Aboriginal mythology or used as a food source for thousands of years. This knowledge could be very helpful for conservationists; however, unfortunately, Europeans have also impacted on Aboriginal culture, and knowledge about the uses or maintenance of plants and animals for medicinal use or as food sources may have been lost before it could be recorded.

THE TERM “WILDERNESS” comes from “wild deer-ness” in old English and meant a large tract of uncultivated land that was inhabited only by wild creatures, such as deer.

This is ironic in a place like Australia, where wild deer are considered feral animals.

ALL HUMANS can affect a food web, and it is possible that Aboriginal people contributed to the demise of the huge megafauna, such as Diprotodon (inset right), which existed in Australia when Aborigines arrived about 60,000 years ago.

MORE AUSTRALIAN ANIMALS and plants have become extinct in the past 100 years than in the previous 1000 years.

Humans are relative newcomers to the Earth on an evolutionary scale, but even in that short space of time we have wrought immense environmental change and manipulated habitats and ecosystems more than any other animal.

IAN MORRIS

GARY STEER

on wildlife

FIRED UP ABOUT WILDLIFE CONSERVATION Many Australian plants require fire to successfully germinate; however, the patterns of fire usage have changed a lot since European settlement and are thought to have played a part in decreasing populations of some plant and animal species. Aborigines traditionally burnt off small areas to encourage the growth of some plants and to flush out animals. This practice created patches (or mosaics) of differing vegetation and may have stopped large bushfires from occurring. Europeans also often used fire to clear land, burning patches of vegetation and then removing any remaining tree stumps. However, where Aborigines were semi-nomadic and moved to “greener pastures” while they waited for habitat to regenerate, most European farmers immediately planted tilled fields with crops and were on hand to make sure that native vegetation did not return. Now, conservationists recognise that each habitat has its own fire regime, which needs to be carefully managed. Fire regimes govern when burning occurs, how regularly it occurs, the intensity of the fire and how much of an area is burnt. Non-rainforest wet sclerophyll forest often needs fire, without which the understorey grows too abundantly and cuts off nutrient supply to the forest canopy. However, bushfires can pose a real threat to some dry eucalypt forests, such as the jarrah forests of Western Australia and their ringtail possum, Southern Brown Bandicoot and Numbat residents. In monsoonal habitats, like the Kimberley, a mosaic of burnt and non-burnt areas is considered a sound conservation strategy for fire management. Burning for Biodiversity is a cooperative effort between the CSIRO and Charles Darwin University (NT) and is part of a scientific study being undertaken at the Territory Wildlife Park. The study aims to research different fire regimes and patterns and the consequences they have for wildlife. Fire management and vegetation management are now recognised as two important aspects of conserving habitats for wildlife.

HUMANS ARE ONE of the biggest threats to wildlife because so few of us live amid natural habitats without changing them. Most humans around the world clear land to build houses, grow crops or farm cattle, horses and sheep.

Australia’s Aboriginal people evolved for many thousands of years side-by-side with the continent’s plants and animals. This gave Aborigines a long time to understand the relationships between species and to learn how to manage their environment to suit their needs with minimal impact on the species they utilised. Like all humans, they may not have always been successful at conserving species, but one thing is certain — a traditional Indigenous lifestyle was far more sustainable and less damaging to the environment than our urbanised lifestyles are today. When European settlers came to Australia in the late 1780s, the damage to native wildlife and habitats increased dramatically. Europeans were used to the habitats and natural history of their homelands. Rather than adapt their lifestyles to the native Australian environment, settlers endeavoured to tame and control the bush to make it more like Europe, all with devastating results.

WILDLIFE WATCH — LIVING TOGETHER

Above, top to bottom: Following European settlement, native grasses and food plants were replaced with crops such as wheat and vegetables; Large, polluting cities were built in areas where mineral wealth was found; Land was cleared to create pasture for agriculture, stripping it of important habitat for native animals.

Hardy native flora was cleared and burnt off to allow tracts of land to be used for agriculture. Settlers planted the seeds of imported species for crops and introduced grazing ruminants, such as sheep, cattle and horses. They also set about building towns and cities. Unfortunately, all of these activities led to increasingly salty or eroded soil, fragmentation of habitat and the decline of native plants and animals, which were forced to compete with introduced species or move to avoid human communities.

Australian animals have had little choice but to learn to share their habitat with humans, but we are not always as keen to live with them as they are to live with us.

Many people attract parrots to their gardens by installing feeders and birdbaths, but few are as enthusiastic about sharing with insects, reptiles, native rodents, flying-foxes or possums. Most people have been woken at night by the loud squabbling of Common Brushtail or Common Ringtail Possums, which raid bins or fruit trees and make their dreys in roofs and ceilings. Humans and possums do not always cohabit happily, which has led to the translocation of possums (capturing them and moving them out of urban areas). However, a study that recorded the fate of 64 Common Brushtail Possums in 1995 discovered that more than 70% of the animals died within a week of being moved.

The “urbanised” possums, when returned to forest habitat, selected den sites close to the forest floor where they were easily preyed on by Dingoes and foxes.

The results mirror a study on Common Ringtail Possum relocation, which found that 90% died within 2–12 weeks of being moved. Perhaps the answer is creating more possum-friendly places in our urban environments.

PAUL LENNON/QUEENSLAND MUSEUM

Text: Karin Cox. Uncredited photography: Steve Parish

From Steve Parish Publishing’s Amazing Facts: Wildlife Conservation ~ www.steveparish.com.au

the FACTS! MANY EUROPEANS believed that Australia was lacking in wildlife and deemed native species ungainly or inelegant. “Acclimatisation societies” were set up with the aim of introducing European species such as songbirds and game into Australia. At the time, these societies believed they were doing this in the interests of “diversity”, but in reality such introductions had an opposite, negative effect.

TO ENCOURAGE FARMING and commerce, bounties were paid on the heads of native animals, including the Thylacine and Dingo.

NOT ALL EUROPEANS overlooked the importance of native flora and fauna. Samuel Dixon, chair of the Royal Society of South Australia, was appalled by the effects of cultivation and introduced species, writing, “In few spots can the botanist now discover the specimens of the peculiar and lovely flora for which it was celebrated, when first settled; … the preservation of our indigenous flora, whilst looked upon as a fad by the ignorant and unthinking, is really in its cumulative effects one of great national importance”.

NATURE HAS BEEN an important element in human spirituality for thousands of years, and many cultures have adopted animal totems or ascribed cultural significance to natural phenomena. “Deep ecology” is the view that all humans share this sense of spirituality in nature and this, in itself, should provide us with enough reason to help conserve.

The human impact

The human impact

The human impact

Left to right: Aborigines used fire for cooking and sometimes deliberately lit bushfires to assist with regeneration; Fire management is important in conservation; Humans need to be aware of how their activities affect wildlife.

Dangerous invaders

Dangerous invaders

Dangerous invaders

the FACTS! ASIAN SWAMP BUFFALO (above) were introduced to Australia in 1825 from Kupang in Timor to be used in crop cultivation and to pull drays.

Once settlements in the country’s north were abandoned, freed Asian Swamp Buffalo became widespread pests across the Top End. By 1972, buffalo numbered between 300,000 and 400,000 individuals!

RICK SHINE at Sydney University has come up with a radical proposal to help Australian snakes and mammals avoid death from ingesting Cane Toads. Shine found that animals that eat small Cane Toads become sick but rarely die. In most cases, the animals learn not to repeat the mistake (however, some of Australia’s venomous snakes are less clever in this respect). Shine proposes releasing juvenile sterile male “teacher toads” into areas that Cane Toads have not yet colonised to try to teach the native animals a lesson they won’t forget and reduce the number poisoned if the toads do spread.

THE LESSER STICK-NEST RAT and the Crescent Nailtail Wallaby are just two animals thought to have become extinct due to introduced species. Other native animals, like the Bilby and the Quokka, have seen their natural distribution decrease to less than 10% of their former range.

RATS HAVE LED DIRECTLY to the extinction of five of Lord Howe Island’s bird species because they eat birds’ eggs.

FIRE ANTS were discovered around Brisbane, Queensland, in 2001. As they eat the young of many native species, fire ants could prove disastrous for native wildlife.

Text: Karin Cox. Uncredited photography: Steve Parish

More than 130 non-native vertebrate species have arrived in Australia since 1788.

Although some species have not established themselves here, others have done severe damage to our landscapes, native flora and fauna, and have even caused extinctions.

SOME SPECIES, such as cattle and chickens, were introduced for domestic or agricultural purposes. Other animals (rabbits and Red Deer) were brought to Australia to provide game for hunters.

Some species, such as the Cane Toad, were introduced as part of a biological pest-control campaign that failed. And some, for example rats, were even stowaways that arrived here on ships or, in the case of plant species, as seeds in the excrement of migratory birds.

HOPPING MAD

INTRODUCED KILLING MACHINES

One of the most destructive exotics, the Cane Toad, was introduced in 1935 to control the Greyback Cane Beetle pest in Queensland. It spread rapidly and ate a lot more than cane beetles! It is responsible for the deaths of many native animals, such as the endangered Northern Quoll.

It has also reduced frog populations because many native tadpoles cannot survive in the same pond as its toxic tadpoles. Cane Toads prey on the eggs and nestlings of some birds, such as the Rainbow Bee-eater, and as much as 30% of the continent’s land snakes, as well as goannas, may be at risk. Currently, the Cane Toad is moving across the continent at a rate of around 30–60 km a year. It has already reached Kakadu, where it could do extreme damage to Australia’s native wetland fish, frogs and birds.

Cats may have come to this continent even before 1788, as a result of shipwreck. Their spread was largely due to landholders trying to control the House Mouse and rabbit. Feral cats weigh up to 2 kg more than pet cats and eat around 20% of their body weight daily, consuming birds, mammals, reptiles and invertebrates. They have contributed to many failures in re-establishing populations of small mammals, such as the Rufous Hare-wallaby and Golden Bandicoot. Baiting is not a good way to restrict cat populations because, while it seems to have little effect on cats, it can kill quolls, Dingoes, and foxes. Although foxes are also pests, removing them often causes cat populations to boom. In WA, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) eliminated feral cats from Faure Island Sanctuary, home to four rare marsupial species, including the Burrowing Bettong. Scotia Sanctuary, on the NSW and SA border, aims to be the largest mainland feral-free zone, enabling the reintroduction of several endangered mammals.

Above: Rabbits are probably the most damaging herbivores. Their burrows destabilise the soil, they eat herbaceous native species, consume seedlings, and compete for burrows and food with the native Bilby. They also provide a food source for feral cats and foxes, helping these introduced predators survive.

Below: Beef and dairy cattle were introduced to Australia with the First Fleet and have led to Australia’s lucrative beef and dairy export industries. However, their hard hooves break up fragile topsoil and over-grazing has damaged many habitats. Bacteria in the guts of ruminants, such as cows, horses and sheep, is necessary to break down their high-cellulose diet, but also results in a lot of methane — a gas that contributes to global warming.

FERAL CATS can be carriers of the disease toxoplasmosis, which has been known to kill animals such as the Eastern Barred Bandicoot.

FERAL PIGS (above right) damage waterholes by wallowing and rooting in the soil.

They also eat the eggs and young of native species.

ALONG WITH TRAPPING, feral-proof fences, hunting and baiting, scientists have also tried to introduce biological control, such as myxomatosis, to kill feral pests.

FOXES AND FERAL CATS have been successfully removed from Karakamia and Yookamurra sanctuaries run by the AWC, causing native mammal numbers to increase dramatically — so dramatically that some of these species have been used to restock populations in other areas.

HARD HOOVES — SOFT SOILS

Above: Goats and sheep crop vegetation off very close to the ground, which is extremely damaging to some native grasses and flora.

Like cows, horses and deer, they also have hard feet that damage the fragile, thin layer of Australia’s topsoil.

the FACTS!

Prior to European settlement, Australia had no hoofed mammals. Since then, the hard hooves of cows, pigs, horses, donkeys, sheep and goats have severely eroded our soft and ancient soils. In the Northern Territory alone, there are almost four times as many brumbies (wild horses) as there are in the United States of America. Hoofed herbivorous mammals can damage the banks of watercourses and crop off vegetation that may provide shelter for small mammals. They also often eat introduced plant species, the seeds of which are distributed in their manure, and thereby contribute to the spread of exotic plants.

WILDLIFE WATCH — BIRD KILLERS One animal having a devastating impact on Australia’s native birds is the Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis). Nicknamed the “flying cane toad” or “garbage bird”, it was introduced to control insect pests. In 2000, the IUCN named this species in its 100 of the World’s Worst Invasive Alien Species list. Next to habitat clearing, it has been declared the second-greatest threat to Australian native birds. It aggressively steals nesting hollows (even throwing other birds’ chicks out and filling up empty nests with rubbish), competes for food and has learnt how to evade traps. Unfortunately, many homeowners unwittingly feed this pest.

INTRODUCED PLANTS threaten habitats by out-competing native plants but not providing the food or shelter required by animals within those ecosystems. Many noxious weeds were introduced as garden species (such as English Ivy) but quickly invaded natural habitats.

“Feral” olive trees are now wreaking havoc in South Australia.

DESPITE PROBLEMS caused by introduced species, many scientists still support the use of exotics for biological control. In 1994, leading conservationist Tim Flannery suggested that the giant Komodo Dragon could be a substitute for extinct megafauna lizards, such as Megalania, and prey on rabbits and other feral herbivores. However, history has shown us that biological pest control is complicated and introduced animals might worsen the problem rather than fix it.

From Steve Parish Publishing’s Amazing Facts: Wildlife Conservation ~ www.steveparish.com.au

THE STATE OF THE WORLD Population 2001 report Footprints and Milestones: Population and Environmental Change estimated that by 2050 the world’s human population will have swollen to 9.3 billion people. Obviously, all countries, including Australia, need to create policies for population that take into account ecological sustainability and wildlife habitat.

AUSTRALIA EXPORTS FOOD overseas to feed a further 50 million people. Many would argue that if we produced only enough food to feed Australians, we would cut down on food production, land damage, freight and shipping as well as greenhouse gases — but this argument ignores the very real economic consequences for the Australian dollar, export industries and employment.

After the USA, Australia produces more waste per head of population than any other country in the world, and much of it finds its way into our wild habitats. More than 18 million tonnes of waste go into landfill annually — enough rubbish to cover the entire State of Victoria. Run-off from landfill leaches into nearby waterways, contributing to pollution.

PART OF THE ANSWER may be in changing the way we live, rather than changing our environment to suit our needs. This means eating locally produced native foods, rather than imported or introduced species, using sustainable building practices, reducing our overall consumption of goods, and recycling. Other strategies revolve around persuading people not to exploit environments but to act as stewards for them, or enticing tourists and using the tourism dollars to generate sustainable housing and food production. However, many of the world’s most poverty-stricken people live near fragile ecosystems, and exploiting natural resources is often the simplest way to generate food or income.

WASTE IN THE WATER KILLS WILDLIFE

TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY Established in 1988, Sustainable Population Australia (SPA, www.population.org.au) deals with the sometimes contentious issue of human population growth and its effects on our environment. The rapidly expanding human population is one of the root causes of environmental degradation. One of SPA’s main objectives is to keep Australian fertility rates at near replacement levels and to limit immigration rates while rejecting race-based selection. They also promote policies that will lead to the stabilisation of human population rates and then the reduction of the global population.

WILDLIFE WATCH — NATURAL CITIES? Is there a way for people and animals to coexist more harmoniously in cities? Possibly, but to do so we have to rethink the way we create towns and cities to make them appealing not only to humans, but also to native animals.

Wildlife corridors that link suburbs to parklands and nearby bushlands could help bring the bush back into our cities and entice wildlife into our urban areas. Some companies are able to manufacture freshwater pools that do not use chlorine, so frogs and turtles could live in your pool. Houses could also be constructed to attract wildlife, with “green spaces” in the planning — for instance, a glass floor-to-ceiling terrarium in the centre of the living area, from which possums could be observed playing and living.

Text: Karin Cox. Uncredited photography: Steve Parish

Sewage and household waste water are two of the biggest pollutants of waterways.

Fertilisers, human and animal waste, and decomposing organic matter all contain nitrates, which can contaminate water, killing fish and aquatic animals. Nitrates wash into creeks, rivers and lakes where algae that feed off them flourish to create “algal blooms”. The algae starve the water of oxygen and cut off sunlight, killing vegetation, as well as the fish that eat it, and turning creeks and streams stagnant. High nitrate levels do not just kill fish and invertebrates; they can even lead to miscarriage in women and to a potentially fatal condition called blue baby syndrome, in which the body’s ability to carry oxygen is reduced. In 1991, the Darling–Barwon river system was subject to the world’s largest outbreak of waterway-choking blue-green algae, caused by untreated sewage and fertilisers washing into waterways. The algal bloom spread for 1000 km.

WILDLIFE WATCH — WWF

Above: The human population uses up most of the world’s resources.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) wants tributylin (TBT) — an organo-metallic compound found in the paint used on many ships’ hulls — banned. It affects marine molluscs, crustaceans (right), snails and oysters and accumulates in the bodies of the birds and mammals that prey on them. It is also thought to cause deafness in marine mammals such as whales and dolphins. TBT has been banned for use on small boats in some Australian States, but it is still present on large boats and ships, especially those from other countries.

RADIOACTIVE WASTE

STOP THE POPS

Australia produces about 100 cubic metres of radioactive waste annually, mostly through medical research and industry, and now has 4000 cubic metres of radioactive waste — enough to fill many shipping containers. None of the present ways of storing radioactive waste are able to eliminate it from the environment completely. For this reason, many conservation groups call for radioactive minerals that are unable to be disposed of safely, such as uranium, to remain in the ground in the first place.

Chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants (or POPs) can build up in body fat and pass through the food chain. For example, polychlorinated biphenyls (or PCBs) are used to make plastics, but have been found in the body fat of predators such as Polar Bears. Contamination can cause health issues and sexual abnormalities. The Stockholm Convention in 2000 saw 122 countries sign an agreement to eliminate these pollutants, but governments still need to monitor industries and consumables to ensure that these chemicals are phased out.

From Steve Parish Publishing’s Amazing Facts: Wildlife Conservation ~ www.steveparish.com.au

the FACTS! AS FAR BACK as the 1950s, naturalists noticed that pesticides were thinning birds’ eggshells.

Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus, above) and other raptors were particularly affected. In 1994, the pesticide responsible, DDT, was also found contaminating human body fat and is now banned in Australia.

KESTRELS in China have been found to accumulate huge amounts of the flame retardant called PBDE (polybrominated diphenyl ether), used in plastics, textiles and electronic equipment.

A STARCH-BASED plastic is being developed to allow plastic bags to biodegrade in backyard compost bins.

Currently, biodegradable plastic is available, but it needs to be decomposed in industrial composts, so it is not much use for householders. The new plastic, named Mirel, is made from polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), which is produced by bacteria that have been genetically modified and fed glucose from corn starch. It can withstand temperatures of up to 140 ˚C (so it can tolerate boiling liquids) and biodegrades in soil, oceans and wetlands. Microbes in the soil and water that feed on PHA help decompose the Mirel.

PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES are one of the biggest contributors to pollution — 65% of them end up as landfill and many more wash up on the beach. Despite this, sales of bottled water are still increasing.

X

the FACTS!

From 1850 to today, the world’s human population has skyrocketed from 1 billion to more than 6.6 billion people! As populations increase, so does the need for more living space for humans. So how can we find a balance between having enough food, water and shelter to survive, but still leaving enough areas for wildlife to prosper?

CO

Above: These pictures, taken during the Franklin–Gordon Dam debate of the 1980s, show the difficulty of meeting human needs while protecting nature.

Different people have different opinions on the importance of habitat.

of polluting habitat

IN

wildlife

Pollution

The problem

KAR

Population explosion

Living with

WILDLIFE WATCH — DISASTER ON THE REEF

& wildlife

Inset right: Increased temperatures could affect the flowering of plants, changing the distribution and migration of nectarivorous honeyeaters.

the FACTS! THE ATMOSPHERE IS made up of the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere.

The closest layer to Earth is the troposphere, which is about 12.5 km thick and contains 75% of the atmospheric gases. Above it is the 40-km-thick stratosphere, where the hole in the ozone layer occurs.

IN 1958, Dr Keeling invented the manometer, which measures CO2 levels in the atmosphere. At the time, he measured 315 parts per million (ppm) in the air. Ice from Antarctica had 280 ppm in the 1700s, before industrialisation.

CO2 LEVELS are about 30% higher than they were 200 years ago.

Human activity releases 26 million tonnes of CO2 each year.

MOST CONSERVATION groups and scientists agree that to minimise catastrophic climate change, we have to keep global warming as far below 2 ˚C as possible. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that the average global surface temperature has already increased 0.3–0.6 ˚C since the late 19th century.

AUSTRALIA ACCOUNTS for just 1.4% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, but has the third-highest levels per capita because of the size of the country, our reliance on fossil fuels and our population.

Higher temperatures lead to coral bleaching, which could destroy one of the world’s true natural wonders — the Great Barrier Reef. Some people have argued that warmer temperatures and increased sea levels will allow the Great Barrier Reef to extend southwards into temperate waters, but this is unlikely because the rock substrate at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef is not suitable for growing reefs, and the speed of the warming is likely to make it impossible for intact ecosystems to migrate.

Energy production is a major cause of environmental degradation. Today, just 8% of Australia’s electricity comes from renewable energy sources, while 85% comes from burning coal, which increases global warming, damaging habitats, wildlife and humans.

AUSTRALIA ALSO EXPORTS COAL to more than 35 countries globally, adding to greenhouse gas emissions. Electricity is not, in truth, a requirement for human survival — for many centuries (and in many countries) people survived perfectly well without it. However, it is necessary for a modern lifestyle, as is transportation, which requires processing fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas. Fossil fuels enable us to enjoy electric light, refrigeration, airconditioning, computerisation, and aeroplane, train and automobile travel. But the problem is how the energy that provides these services affects the planet and impacts on fauna. Oil or coal need to be mined (often causing deforestation and erosion around the site). Electricity is generated from fossil fuels by burning them, which creates greenhouse gases. Transporting fossil fuels is also dangerous as oil spills can cause extreme environmental damage. Another important point is that fossil fuels are non-renewable resources — one day, all of the coal and crude oil will run out. In fact, many scientists predict that we will use up all of the Earth’s crude oil supplies within the next 50 years. So if we want to keep enjoying the lifestyle we have, we will need an alternative. The wind, the ocean tides and the sun’s radiation are all possible renewable sources of power supply, and many countries are starting to harness nature’s sustainable energy resources.

LET THERE BE LIGHT! Enough energy from the sun reaches Earth in one hour to fuel the world’s energy needs for a year, but how do we capture and convert this energy? Even the costliest, most advanced photovoltaic cells (used to generate solar power) convert only around 17% of the heat that falls on them into usable electricity. However, some deep-water algae’s chlorosomes can trap 97% of the sun’s photons. Plants use a type of tiny “antennae” stacked with pigment molecules to trap photons, and researchers at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, are attempting to create artificial antennae for photovoltaic cells.

Despite being unlikely to make them as effective as those of deep-water algae, this should improve the ability of existing solar power cells. At the University of Sydney, a team has also created an artificial antenna composed of synthetic porphyrins (pigment molecules) that absorb light over a range of frequencies. Researchers at Stanford University in California are working on similar photon-absorbing antennae with the aim of using them to produce hydrogen. In this way, electrons from the photons are used, along with a catalyst, to split water into hydrogen and oxygen molecules — a process similar to photosynthesis.

WHAT IS THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT? In 1824, French scientist Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier published a paper “General Remarks on the Temperature of the Terrestrial Globe and Planetary Spaces”. In it, he concluded that some of the sun’s rays were being trapped in the atmosphere, warming the planet. His research is the basis of the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is essential to life; without it, the Earth would be extremely cold. About 30–40% of the sun’s heat is absorbed by the air, ocean and land; the rest radiates out into space, but some remains in the atmosphere due to greenhouse gases, which form a “blanket” of gas that retains heat in the atmosphere. This blanket is made up of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide, halocarbons (which are being phased out of human use) and water vapour.

Methane is produced by the digestive processes of ruminants, such as sheep and cattle, as well as during rice cultivation and the decomposition of waste.

CO2 remains in the air for more than 100 years, as does nitrous oxide, which is produced from vegetation burning, industrial emissions and the effects of agriculture on soil processes. However, 1 kg of methane leads to almost twenty times more warming than 1 kg of CO2 over a century; therefore, taking molecular makeup into account, methane, halocarbons and nitrous oxide are more potent than CO2.

Australia’s annual emissions amount to about 570 million tonnes of CO2.

Text: Karin Cox. Uncredited photography: Steve Parish

CONSERVATION MINEFIELD

IAN MORRIS

Above: Damming water is used to generate hydro-electricity. More than half of the continent’s hydro-electric power comes from Tasmania.

Global warming

Global warming

Global warming

Burning coal and natural gas are not the only problem; mining them can also cause extensive damage to habitats.

Large areas are cleared to make way for refining and smelting mineral ores. Before mining, companies carry out environmental impact studies and must ensure that toxic waste is contained; however, the land usually suffers degradation, and it can take many years of rehabilitation before previously mined land is suitable as plant and animal habitat. Australia is among the top coal-producing countries in the world, and digs up 264 tonnes of gold each year. Uranium, nickel, copper, iron ore and bauxite are also mined extensively.

the FACTS! AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST SOLAR power farm covers 2.75 ha at Singleton in New South Wales and generates 400 kw of electricity, enough to provide 6000 homes with electricity for a year.

WINDMILLS use wind power to turn their blades, which moves turbines inside the mill to produce electricity. The largest wind farm in Australia is the Portland Wind Project, which comprises 120 wind turbines operating in four places around Portland, Victoria. This wind power will generate enough electricity to supply 100,000 homes (a reduction of 700,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases annually).

HYDROGEN IS A POTENTIAL green fuel, but the problem is finding a cheap way to make it without releasing more gases. Steam reforming is how most hydrogen is made, but this gives off carbon monoxide and the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. However, biology may provide a safer method.

The green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii produces hydrogen as a by-product of photosynthesis.

Scientists at the University of California are researching how they can farm this species. Although the alga is only 1% efficient at converting light into hydrogen, with genetic engineering scientists may be able to increase its efficiency to 7% within seven years.

A ROCKING SOLUTION Geothermal hot rocks deep below the surface of arid Australia could be a solution to Australia’s energy needs and provide inexpensive, completely carbon-free energy for up to a century. Water blasted through radioactive hot rocks 500 km below ground can create steam that is then used to power turbines. This technology is currently running an operational power station that will supply energy to the town of Innamincka, SA. The hot rocks have the potential to supply green energy, but getting the steam to the power grid could cost as much as AU$300 million. Many companies have received government grants to develop “hot rock energy”.

From Steve Parish Publishing’s Amazing Facts: Wildlife Conservation ~ www.steveparish.com.au

Barriers to

techniques & strategies Right: A worker at Scotia Sanctuary with an endangered Burrowing Bettong.

the FACTS! ENVIRONMENTAL PROTESTERS (above, in the Franklin Dam protests of the ‘80s) and groups such as Greenpeace discovered that using the media and engaging in often-controversial activities could increase their exposure and number of supporters. However, not all conservationists agree with these methods of bringing conservation issues to the world’s attention.

EACH STATE AND TERRITORY determines the conservation status of species independently.

A Queensland program called Back on Track assesses a species’ status by scoring species based on their likelihood of extinction (using criteria from the IUCN); consequences of extinction (how a species adds to the ecosystem and its social value); and how likely it is to survive (including the financial effort needed to protect and manage it). Each species is then classified as critical, high, medium or low risk, or “poorly known”. The team then aims to find strategies that remove key threats which affect several species within each ranking, creating habitat-driven relief.

MON REPOS, near Bundaberg, Qld, is home to one of the world’s longest-term studies in animal tagging. In the early 1970s, researchers began tagging Loggerhead Turtle hatchlings and found they are migratory and return to the beach of their birth to lay eggs. More recently, tiny computers have been inserted into tuna, sharks and swordfish to record the fish’s movements, diet and travels.

Text: Karin Cox. Uncredited photography: Steve Parish

Because of the interrelated complexity of ecosystems, some strategies and the predicted effects of how wildlife might respond to them remain little more than guesswork. Other widespread techniques, such as captive breeding programs, tagand-release studies and cross-fostering, also have their limitations, but allow researchers to manage and monitor endangered animals with the aim of rehabilitating wild populations.

EX SITU WILDLIFE CONSERVATION Captive breeding programs and other strategies that remove the animal from its natural habitat are known as “ex situ” (off site) strategies. While they play an important part in conservation, captive-bred or contained animals need to be carefully managed to ensure they are bred to increase gene diversity and avoid inbreeding. To protect gene diversity, it is also important that conservation biologists and governments allocate funding to studying the links between species and subspecies, and to taxonomic and DNA research.

Captive breeding programs are not always successful — in fact, far more have failed than were successful. The reason for this is that the root cause of the species’ decline needs to be determined and removed before animals are reintroduced to the wild. For instance, the failure rate for programs is especially high when feral predators and competitors such as cats, foxes or rabbits are not removed from the original habitat before captive-bred animals are released. Professor Hugh Possingham of the University of Queensland questions the efficiency of captive breeding in terms of success versus money spent. Although captive breeding programs for some species, such as Przewalski’s Horse, have been successful “if the same money had been spent on protecting rainforests in Brazil or Indonesia”, he argues, “it would have saved many more species”.

MODELLING THE IMPACT ON WILDLIFE Most of the predictions made about future climate change come from computer models, coupled with what conservationists already know about a species’ distribution and lifestyle.

Computers run highly sophisticated programs, and while it doesn’t mean they are 100% accurate, the models, combined with existing data, do provide a basis for making assumptions. When it comes to global warming, the truth is that atmospheric circulation patterns make it nearly

impossible for climatologists to know the effects that will be produced in any given region or on any given animal.

For instance, they are unable to predict for certain whether regimes such as El Niño will intensify or disappear entirely. No-one can predict the future, but what we can do is attempt to assess the likely risks and abide by the “precautionary principle” — acting on the available information now, rather than acquiring more evidence or waiting for the worst-case scenario.

Barriers to biodiversity

Conservation strategies

Conservation

biodiversity In Australia, most people have a comfortable lifestyle, but much of the wealth we enjoy is based on using up our natural resources.

Lightening our load on the environment may mean making some sacrifices. For some, the task of reducing their ecological footprint may be daunting or the problem may appear too big, resulting in a “What difference can I make?” mentality.

Above: Getting in touch with wildlife and “making it personal” can change attitudes to conservation.

the FACTS! Above: Learning more about all animals, even ferocious ones, helps kids better understand conservation.

IN TRUTH, even small changes in attitude or in the way we live can help us conserve

nature. Sometimes, challenging our perceptions of nature, and of human nature, can help us hurdle the barriers that prevent us from assisting. One example is recognising that we are part of ecosystems, which makes us just as vulnerable to extinction as the other organisms within them. Nature also plays an important part in our happiness because it fulfils our spiritual or recreational needs. Where would we camp or holiday if not for beautiful natural places? In other cases, we may need to reassess the “big picture” — a new big-screen television will be little use without a form of sustainable electricity.

We all need to think about how we consume resources and whether our consumption is necessary and sustainable.

WILDLIFE WATCH — THE ONLY GOOD SNAKE Sometimes prejudice influences how we respond to conservation issues, especially when it comes to insects and reptiles. Many people have heard the saying “The only good snake is a dead snake”, and this attitude has led to the death of many entirely innocent native snakes, lizards and legless lizards — even though all of these animals are protected and it is illegal to kill them. Australia has many snakes that are considered harmless and, of those that are venomous, very few live in densely populated areas, making snakebite unlikely for most Australians.

In fact, most snakebites occur when someone is trying to kill a snake. In reality, the best snake is one that is left alone and is not being bothered by humans because, as another saying goes, “They’re more scared of us than we are of them!”

ALL GREENIES NOW In the past, conservationists and naturalists were often labelled “hippies”, “tree-huggers” or “greenies” and some people perceived them as a nuisance, as the photo on the right illustrates. During the 1996 federal election, then PM John Howard insisted, “We’re all ‘greenies’ now”, and it is true that these days conservationists come from all walks of life because everyone needs to conserve biodiversity.

Right: A sad sign of the times during protests in Tasmania in the 1980s.

From Steve Parish Publishing’s Amazing Facts: Wildlife Conservation ~ www.steveparish.com.au

IN 1980, WWF launched its World Conservation Strategy, which made the point that conservation had to also include human needs.

Conservation would never be achieved unless it also aimed to alleviate, not increase, the problems of human poverty, as well as protect flora and fauna.

HUMANS ARE BIASED when it comes to conservation because we are anthropocentric, meaning we are more concerned with things that affect humans than those that do not. For this reason, people are more likely to support conservation projects for mammals (because humans are mammals) than they are for reptiles (which many humans fear). It is therefore no surprise that the WWF has a panda for its logo. Likewise, very few recovery plans approved by the federal government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 are for invertebrate animals or non-vascular plants, even though plants and invertebrates are very important for maintaining biodiversity.

WHAT DIFFERENCE? The use of compact fluorescent lights is a good example of how a small action can have a big result. Yearly sales of these energy-saving bulbs worldwide rose to 432 million in 1999, from just 45 million in 1988.

Sanctuaries & saviours

Sanctuaries & saviours

Sanctuaries & saviours

Above: A Greater Bilby and keeper at David Fleay Wildlife Park.

the FACTS! JUST A FEW scattered populations of the once widespread Long-nosed Bandicoot (Perameles nasuta) remain in New South Wales.

Taronga Zoo, combined with other organisations involved in this mammal’s recovery program, are working to increase community awareness and protect the bandicoot’s habitats on public and private land. The program focuses on both urban and wild habitats.

THE SYDNEY AQUARIUM Conservation Foundation, in partnership with AWC, hopes to help save threatened or vulnerable marine species such as the Grey Nurse Shark, the Weedy Seadragon and marine turtles.

SYDNEY WILDLIFE WORLD and the Australian Conservation Foundation have together formed the Sydney Wildlife World Conservation Foundation, which is involved with captive breeding and release programs for animals in AWC sanctuaries.

Below: An operating theatre in the Australian Wildlife Health Centre at Healesville Sanctuary, Victoria.

WILDLIFE PARKS, SANCTUARIES & AQUARIUMS

Zoos, wildlife sanctuaries, animal hospitals and university researchers all contribute much to wildlife research and conservation. The more conservationists understand about an animal’s distribution, diet, habitat, breeding and lifestyle, the more easily they can devise strategies that take into account all of those factors.

Opposite: Meeting a wombat at Melbourne Zoo. Above, left to right: A school group at Cleland Wildlife Park, SA; A Dingo and keeper at Bargo Dingo Sanctuary; Feeding the seals at the Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA).

THE WORLD ZOO CONSERVATION STRATEGY in 1995 was compiled as a cooperative strategy for zoos around the world. It encourages zoos to focus on conservation, both within the zoo and in natural environments. Zoos around the world agree that while there is still hope of an endangered animal recovering in its natural habitat, “in situ” (in place) conservation is needed. Zoos play a pivotal role in protecting animals within the zoo until they can be released into the wild. Animals being cared for in zoos are also able to be more easily studied, leading to a greater knowledge of an animal’s needs in the wild. Education and raising awareness of the plight of endangered animals is one of the most important functions of zoos. Captive breeding programs are another way that zoos provide temporary care for animals. During captive breeding programs, the zoos carefully assess the gene pool of the species and the ability of the wild environment to maintain the population before animals are released into the wild.

Populations of threatened species held in zoos also operate as insurance policies against any catastrophic activity that may make an animal extinct in the wild.

WHAT ZOOS ARE DOING There are far too many initiatives at zoos and wildlife sanctuaries around Australia to list them all here, and many zoos work cooperatively to conserve one or more species. Taronga and Western Plains zoos (NSW) are involved with recovery plans that hope to reclaim biodiversity (often by researching and removing direct threats to a given species) and renew habitat for captive-bred animals. The zoos also care for injured wildlife, most of which can be rehabilitated and released back into the wild; however, some animals that would not survive in the wild may be kept in the zoo for breeding or educational purposes.

Approximately 1500 injured native animals receive care and attention at the Taronga and Western Plains zoos’ wildlife hospitals annually. Western Plains Zoo is also part of

Text: Karin Cox. Uncredited photography: Steve Parish

the Australian national recovery team for Bilbies. To ensure genetic diversity and provide two breeding populations, Bilbies exist in two distinct groups — the Northern Territory Bilbies and the Queensland Bilbies. Northern Territory Bilbies are held in a number of nationwide zoos and bred to produce offspring that will be reintroduced into South Australia and Western Australia. The Queensland Bilbies held at Western Plains Zoo are being bred to produce offspring that will later be released into Currawinya National Park in Queensland.

Perth Zoo is involved with breeding or conservation programs for the White-bellied Frog, Orange-bellied Frog, Sunset Frog, Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo,

Malleefowl, Western Quoll, Numbat, Southern Dibbler, Quokka, Gilbert’s Porotoo, Woma, Lancelin Island Skink and Western Swamp Turtle.

Adelaide Zoo and the South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage have successfully completed programs that reintroduced animals such as the Greater Stick-nest Rat, Western Barred Bandicoot and Rufous Hare-wallaby back into the wild. In 2008, Zoos South Australia, which comprises Adelaide Zoo and Monarto Zoological Park, was awarded the ARAZPA In Situ Conservation Award for its Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby reintroduction project. Australia Zoo, based at Beerwah in Queensland, is involved in breeding programs for Red-tailed BlackCockatoos, Bush Stone-curlews, Canopy Goannas, Rusty Monitors, death adders, echidnas, Black-necked Storks, Estuarine Crocodiles, Tasmanian Devils, wombats and Yakka Skinks. The zoo also owns a number of wildlife reserves that protect significant threatened habitat, such as Brigalow.

You can adopt an animal at the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra, ACT, which educates the public about endangered species and runs international breeding programs. Zoos Victoria, which includes Werribee Open Range Zoo, Melbourne Zoo and Healesville Sanctuary, is also involved with conservation programs for the Eastern Barred Bandicoot, Orange-bellied Parrot, Helmeted Honeyeater and Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby.

Zoos are not the only refuges for injured or threatened Australian wildlife. Sanctuaries, aquariums and wildlife parks also provide help, as do individual registered wildlife carers. Cleland Conservation Park in South Australia has conserved an area of natural bushland in the Adelaide Hills for flora and fauna since 1963. The park allows visitors to view the endangered Woma python as well as explore a full range of habitats from South Australia’s ocean to its outback. Lone Pine, Fleays and Currumbin sanctuaries in Queensland help visitors learn more about Koalas, bird life and other fauna. In Victoria, Healesville Sanctuary is involved in Platypus conservation, as well as recovery programs for numerous other mammals. A recovery program named Project Ark has been established to try to save the Tasmanian Devil through captive breeding programs, and the Australian Reptile Park in New South Wales is a participant.

Offspring from ten Tasmanian Devils that arrived in the park in December 2006 may be used to repopulate wild numbers in Tasmania. Devils are also a conservation priority at Trowunna Wildlife Park in Tasmania.

the FACTS! SOME THEME PARKS, such as Sea World, Dreamworld and Sydney Wildlife World, also make important contributions to conservation programs and help teach people more about our wildlife and sealife.

ALICE SPRINGS DESERT PARK is involved in faunal recovery projects for the Rufous Hare-wallaby, Bilby, Central Rock-rat, Slater’s Skink and other arid-zone animals.

UNIVERSITIES & MUSEUMS Research in universities around the nation is fundamental to helping conserve Australia’s wildlife. Universities provide study grants to students and researchers working in diverse fields, from marine biology to insect physiology or studying native flora. Many studies are conducted in the field, giving researchers an idea of how plants and animals survive in an ecosystem or environment. Museums are largely involved with biological and taxonomic research and preserve specimens that can help add to the knowledge of a species’ physiology and reproductive biology.

THE RARE TASMANIAN Masked Owl is at risk due to the lack of breeding hollows, and there are only around 110 breeding pairs left in the wild. The University of Tasmania is undertaking a study to record the owl’s breeding requirements and use of hollows in its habitat.

THE EASTERN BARRED BANDICOOT recovery team, working in partnership with Zoos Victoria, are concentrating on restoring the bandicoot’s habitat and eradicating feral pests in preparation for returning captive-bred individuals, kept at Monarto Zoological Park in South Australia, to the wild.

From Steve Parish Publishing’s Amazing Facts: Wildlife Conservation ~ www.steveparish.com.au

Kakadu (left) is a hotbed of floral and faunal abundance that is home to one-quarter of Australia’s bird species, along with 132 reptile species, more than 60 mammals, 25 frogs, 55 freshwater fish and more than 10,000 insect species! In the Stone Country, where arid Australia meets the monsoonal north, more than 30 plants are considered rare or endemic. Torrents of wet-season water cascade off the 500-km-long Arnhem Land Plateau to fill the wetlands and water the gullies and ravines, which are verdant with Allosyncarpia trees found nowhere else on Earth.

The rare Hooded Parrot and White-throated Grasswren occupy the spinifex scrub and eucalypt woodlands on the sandstone escarpment, as do the Black Wallaroo (inset left), Nabarlek, and endemic Oenpelli Python, as well as bats and the Giant Cave Gecko in rocky overhangs. In the RAMSAR-listed wetlands, 35 wading bird species feast on fish, invertebrates and insects, many having made an international migration to Australian waters. Where the swollen wet-season rivers reach the Van Diemen Gulf, silt has formed enormous mudflats on which grow 22 mangrove species that create vital “nurseries” for fish and marine life. So rich is Kakadu’s natural bounty that the area has sustained Indigenous Australians for at least 25,000 years and possibly even 60,000.

— World Heritage Areas World Heritage Areas (WHA) preserve important environmental and cultural sites for all the people of the world, regardless of country.

The World Cultural and Natural Heritage Convention protects more than 690 sites and has been signed by 161 countries. Australia’s World Heritage habitats provide refuges for many thousands of plant and animal species.

WET TROPICS Queensland’s Wet Tropics were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1988 as an example of important habitats for biodiversy, significant ongoing biological processes, and representative of major stages in the evolutionary history of the Earth. The lush, dense rainforests of the Wet Tropics cover approximately 894,000 ha of wilderness between Cooktown and Townsville in the State’s north, and include spectacular cascades, the undisturbed wilderness of the Daintree River region, and the only areas in the world where rainforest coastline meets offshore fringing reefs. In terms of flora and structure of habitats and communities, they are the most diverse rainforest habitats on the continent.

Numerous rare plant and animal species are endemic to the Wet Tropics WHA, including 390 floral species, of which 74 are threatened. The high level of plant diversity is attributable to the fact that the Wet Tropics region provides a near complete record of plant evolution, and many species have Gondwanan origins. Of the fauna, at least 25 animals found there are very rare, including the Spotted-tailed Quoll, the Brush-tailed Bettong and the Yellow-bellied Glider.

Numerous butterfly species, such as the Ulysses Butterfly, exist there.

Text: Karin Cox. Uncredited photography: Steve Parish

ULUR –U–KATA TJUT–A NATIONAL PARK Inscribed in two stages for its natural and cultural values, Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park covers 132,566 ha and includes Australia’s most awe-inspiring natural phenomenon. It is also the cultural hub of the Pitjantjatjara Aboriginal people (the Anangu) and contains evidence of Indigenous practices, beliefs and tradition dating back thousands of years. Uluru itself is a huge sandstone monolith rising more than 340 m above the arid plains of the interior. West of this massif are the 36 rounded domes of Kata Tjuta. Surrounding spinifex and arid shrublands provide habitat for many rare and unique plant species, more than 150 bird species, and a plethora of reptiles (including the Perentie, Australia’s largest lizard), frogs and insects.

ISLAND WILDERNESS About 1.3 million ha of Tasmania’s wilderness is protected in one of the continent’s largest reserves, which was inscribed in 1982. The Tasmanian Wilderness area comprises 20% of the island and includes some of the deepest cave structures in Australia, as well as a mosaic of moorland, alpine eucalypt forests and temperate forest. Flora also includes the ancient Huon Pine and species reminiscent of the Gondwanan rainforests. So rich is its plant life that the IUCN recognises it as an International Centre for Plant Diversity. Such abundant flora allows fauna to also flourish and the area has a high number of endemic species that are relics from Gondwanan times. The Green Rosella, critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot, Moss Froglet and Burrowing Crayfish are all found only in this region. The area is also an important cultural site, preserving Aboriginal rock art that dates to around 18,000 years ago.

Below: The serene waters of Wineglass Bay in the Tasmanian Wilderness WHA.

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF The Great Barrier Reef (above, left and right) protects the most extensive coral reef ecosystem on the planet, including seagrass beds, soft-bottom communities, islands and coral cays, as well as 2800 reefs, more than 1500 fish species, 4000 mollusc species and over 300 hard, reef-building corals — making it an area of astonishing marine biodiversity. Because of its global importance, the reef was one of Australia’s first World Heritage Areas, being inscribed in 1981. It attracts a wealth of marine plant and animal life that includes anemones, marine invertebrates and crustaceans, Dugong, fish and turtles. Humpback Whales breed in the warm waters near the reef annually, and islands and coastal regions along its expanse support nesting colonies of many hundreds of bird species, as well as nest sites for the endangered Loggerhead and Green Turtles.

GONDWANA RAINFORESTS In 1994, a region first inscribed in 1986 was extended to include 366,507 ha that takes in the former Australian East Coast Subtropical and Temperate Rainforest Parks, along with scattered patches of rainforest in South-East Queensland. Today, this World Heritage Area stretches from Newcastle in NSW to Brisbane, Qld, and protects the largest area of subtropical rainforest on Earth! It comprises sections of cool Antarctic Beech forest and warm temperate rainforest. More than 100 million years ago, flowering plants (angiosperms) developed and spread, and Australia’s rainforest flora shows a direct link to that phase of floral evolution. Many modern flowering plants have a direct lineage to ancient ancestors. Some of the world’s oldest conifer and fern species can also be found in our rainforests. More than 200 faunal and floral species are found in the Gondwana Rainforests World Heritage Area.

Right: About 2 million people per year visit the Gondwana Rainforests to see the splendid wilderness for themselves.

From Steve Parish Publishing’s Amazing Facts: Wildlife Conservation ~ www.steveparish.com.au

the FACTS! WORLD HERITAGE LISTING does not always interfere with other activities that can be carried out in the location. For example, commercial fishing is allowed in some areas of the Great Barrier Reef, and some grazing is permitted in the Willandra Lakes Region.

KAKADU was added to the World Heritage List in three stages from 1981 to 1992. Fluctuations in sea level are evident in the wetland’s floodplains, but the area also demonstrates ecosystems that have interacted and evolved over aeons with minimum human interference.

World Heritage Areas

BEAUTIFUL, BOUNTIFUL KAKADU

RON & VALERIE TAYLOR

World Heritage Areas

Successfully saved

How you can help

How you can help

Help save the Earth — small steps to big change Above: Get “in touch” with nature and realise what a wonderful world we inhabit.

The three areas in which you can make the biggest reductions to your ecological footprint are by being careful about what you eat, how you travel and how you run your home.

REMEMBER THE THREE Rs. Reduce the amount of rubbish you create (and the possessions you need). Reuse whatever you can (you can use takeaway containers as lunchboxes and take your outgrown clothes to a secondhand store rather than throwing them away). Recycle glass and plastic bottles, newspaper and paper in your household recycle bin. You can also recycle printer toners and other household, school or office consumables.

the FACTS! AROUND 75% of your ecological footprint is created by the food you eat, the way you travel and how efficient your home and garden is.

USE YOUR LEGS

A HUGE $5.3 BILLION worth of food is thrown out by Australian households each year, and about half of all household rubbish is food or garden waste that could be turned into compost.

Annually, cars in Australia produce 20% of our greenhouse gas emissions and create as much as 90% of our urban air pollution. Since the 1970s, the number of cars has increased at more than three times the population increase. More than 4 tonnes of CO2 are released by each average Australian car per year, which means taking public transport, walking or cycling can reduce your ecological footprint substantially.

Kids could try taking the “walking bus” to get to school, if there is one in your area.

Walking buses are where two parents walk a group of children to school, with one parent at the front of the line and one at the back. The “bus” makes a number of stops on the way to pick up more students. It is a healthy and safe way to get to school. If you must drive, try to car pool or buy the most environmentally sound car you can find. The greenest cars available at present are electric hybrid vehicles. They run on fuel but use less of it and produce 90% less air pollution.

BE A RESPONSIBLE PET OWNER. Make sure you have your pet desexed and keep it contained in your backyard or inside your house at night. If you can no longer care for your pet, take it to the RSPCA rather than releasing it into the wild. This also applies to pets such as goldfish — don’t flush them down the drain where they may find their way into our rivers or creeks.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT The further food travels from the paddock to your dinner plate, the more fuel is required to transport it and the more greenhouse gases emitted. “Food miles” are a measure of how environmentally friendly your meal is, and the closer to home the better. You can reduce food miles by growing fruit and vegetables in your backyard or orchard, keeping chickens or even a milking cow if you have the space. Also, if you use organic pest control methods on your garden, your home-grown produce will not only taste delicious, but be better for you. If you have no space for a garden, try to buy locally at farmers’ markets or from nearby companies to reduce the distance your food has travelled. You should also try to buy fruit and vegetables that are in season, rather than those flown in from overseas. Amazingly, sometimes the energy involved in importing food is greater than the energy in the actual food itself! For instance, exporting a 170 kJ punnet of strawberries from Chile to the USA uses 1000 kJ of energy. Also, try to avoid cuts of meat that use up vast amounts of energy to create (such as grain-fed or feedlot beef) or that threaten marine biodiversity (at-risk fish like the Orange Roughy). Australia’s Sustainable Seafood Guide, which is produced by the Australian Marine Conservation Society, can help you ensure you choose only sustainable fish or seafood products.

DON’T PUT ANYTHING other than water down the drains. Chemicals and oils can eventually end up polluting our waterways and oceans.

SOPHIE SHARMAN

BE WATERWISE. Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth or soaping your hands and take shorter showers. Leaving a tap running while you brush your teeth could waste as much as 5 litres a minute!

Above, left to right: Creating a native plant garden using banksias or bottlebrushes provides food for native animals, such as flying-foxes and honeyeaters, and also conserves water.

the FACTS!

GO NATIVE Growing native plants in your garden uses less water than introduced species and can help attract native bats, birds, insects and mammals to your backyard by providing a welcome, natural food source. Some of the species you can try to grow include grevilleas (which are favoured by honeyeaters), banksias, wattles (Acacia spp.), kangaroo paws, eucalypts and grass-trees. Australia also has many beautiful orchids and floral species, such as Cooktown Orchids, Patersonia species and Dampiera species.

SEE THE LIGHT One of the biggest energy savings you can make is to replace incandescent light bulbs in your home with compact fluorescent light bulbs. CFCs use 66–75% less electricity to make the same amount of light. They also last a lot longer — from 8000–15,000 hours compared to just 1000 hours for incandescent light. LEDs (light emitting diodes) are also now available and are even more efficient than compact fluorescent lightbulbs, lasting up to 100,000 hours.

GREG HARM/SPP

Above: Recycle plastics, glass, paper, cardboard, and computer and printer products to help save the planet.

TO SAVE ENERGY and reduce the risk of household fire, don’t leave your appliances on standby — turn them off at the wall. At least 12% of the energy used to power your appliances is used while they are on standby. If you don’t remember to turn them off at the wall, try attaching them to a single-switch powerboard so you just have to flick one switch.

BOIL ONLY the amount of water you need in the kettle, rather than filling it up.

SAVE YOUR ENERGY Better and more stringent energy efficiency labelling for appliances, vehicles and industrial equipment can help Australians minimise energy usage by making informed decisions on energy saving. Environmental groups are calling for mandatory solar hot water in all houses built after 2008 and the banning of energy-wasting household appliances.

For existing households, low-cost, easy measures — such as installing solar or gas hot water systems (rather than electric systems) and turning off your appliances at the wall — can reduce your home’s energy use by 50%. After the hot water system, the refrigerator is the biggest consumer of energy in your home, and obviously you cannot turn it off when you go out; however, an energy-efficient fridge uses half the energy of a non-efficient one, so when choosing a fridge, the energy rating matters. Keeping your refrigerator at a medium temperature, rather than turning it down to the coldest setting, will save you energy and money and help save the planet. Clothes dryers also use a lot of energy, so hanging your clothes out on the line by hand will reduce your ecological footprint.

Text: Karin Cox. Uncredited photography: Steve Parish

SOME PEOPLE think bigger is better, but when it comes to your ecological footprint that is certainly not the case. Don’t buy cars or appliances that are bigger than what you need because it usually means that they consume more energy. Think about what you buy and whether you need it. Every year we throw out $10.5 billion worth of goods — more than is spent on universities or roads by our government annually.

FOOD COOKS FASTER in glass or ceramic containers in the oven than in metal containers, saving energy.

STICK TOGETHER. Single person households contribute to wasting resources because each household must have a fridge, washing machine, a TV and so on, and uses a similar amount of energy to run as a shared house does.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT is making grants of up to $50,000 available to turn every school into a solar school.

From Steve Parish Publishing’s Amazing Facts: Wildlife Conservation ~ www.steveparish.com.au

PUBLICATIONS Aplin, G., Beggs, P., Brierley, G., Cleugh, H., Curson, P., Mitchell, P., Pittman, A. & Rich, D. Global Environmental Crises: An Australian Perspective 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Vic, 2001 Archer, M. & Beale, B. Going Native, Hodder Headline, Sydney, NSW, 2005 Bowden, R., Sustainable World: Environments, Kidhaven Press, Missouri, US, 2004 Bowden, R. Water Supply (What if we do Nothing?), Franklin Watts, London, UK, 2006 Chinery, M. Secrets of the Rainforest: Resources and Conservation, Cherrytree Books, Berkshire, UK, 2001 Healy, J. Issues in Society: Global Warming, Vol 132, The Spinney Press, Balmain, NSW, 2000 Hodge, R. Australia Focus: Natural Resources, Echidna Books, Melbourne Vic, 2006 Hutton, D. & Conners, L. A History of the Australian Environment Movement, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, Vic, 1999

Sachidhanandam, U. Green Alert: Threatened Habitats, Raintree Books, Oxford, UK, 2004 Saunders, D.A.& Hobbs, R.J. Nature Conservation 2: the Role of Corridors, Surrey Beatty & Sons Pty Ltd, Chipping Norton, NSW, 1991 Suzuki, D. & Dressel, H. Good News for a Change: Hope for a Troubled Planet, Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, NSW, 2002

www.epa.qld.gov.au/nature_conservation www.trowunna.com.au www.cpbr.gov.au www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity www.savemoretonbay.org.au

www.theaustralian.news.com.au

www.weeds.gov.au

www.greenhouse.gov.au

www.australianwildlife.org

www.nt.gov.au

www.acfonline.org.au

www.tams.act.gov.au

http://environment.newscientist.com

www.bbc.co.uk/sn

www.bobbrown.org.au

http://savethebilby.icemedia.com.au

www.amcs.org.au www.savethekoala.com/conservation.html www.wilderness.org.au www.cana.net.au www.greenpeace.org/australia www.landcareonline.com www.oceania.org.au

www.ozgreen.org.au

www.greeningaustralia.org.au www.mccn.org.au www.population.org.au www.cleanup.org.au/au

BIOCENTRIST Conservationists who believe that saving individual plants or animals is just as important as safeguarding a species itself.

BIODIVERSITY The variety of organisms living within a region.

CARNIVORE An animal that feeds on flesh.

CONSERVATION The management of the natural environment so that it is maintained for future generations.

CONTINENT A major, continuous landmass.

DEGRADATION To reduce to a lower condition, quality or level.

ECOCENTRIST Conservationists more concerned with protecting biota (species or ecosystems) than individual animals.

GENUS (PLURAL: GENERA) A group of one or more closely related species of organism. The first Latin name of an animal’s/plant’s scientific name is the genus. Different species can share the same genus.

GERMINATE To sprout from a seed or develop new shoots.

GLOBAL WARMING Changes in temperature, resulting in hotter yearly average temperatures, that are anticipated due to the greenhouse effect.

HABITAT Where an animal lives.

HERBIVORE An animal that feeds only on plants.

INVERTEBRATE An animal that does not have a backbone.

KARST A limestone landscape.

LARVA (PLURAL: LARVAE) The juvenile stage of some animals, especially insects.

MAMMALS A class of vertebrates whose young feed upon milk from the mother’s breast.

ECOSYSTEM A community of plants, animals and micro-organisms interacting with one another and with the environment they inhabit.

MARSUPIALS Animals that carry their young in a pouch.

ENDEMIC Found in a particular location and nowhere else.

MICRO-ORGANISM An organism so small it can only be seen under a microscope.

EVOLVE To change through descending generations.

MEGAFAUNA A group of largebodied animals that are now extinct.

www.zoo.org.au/HealesvilleSanctuary

EXTINCT Having no living examples of the same kind, or species.

MONOTREME An unusual, egg-laying mammal that has only one hole for reproductive and waste purposes.

www.adelaidezoo.com.au/conservation&-research

FERAL Living in a wild or untamed state.

NOCTURNAL Animals that are active at night and sleep during the day.

www.koalahospital.org.au

FOSSIL Remains or traces of a once-living organism.

NOMADIC Migratory; moving from place to place.

FOSSIL FUEL The remains of organisms found in the Earth, such as coal or oil, which are used for fuel.

OMNIVORE An animal that feeds on both plants and other animals.

Parks, P.J. Global Warming, Lucent Books, Missouri, US, 2004

www.wpsa.org.au

Pyers, G. Australian Wildlife at Risk, Cardigan Street Publishers, Carlton, Vic, 1996

Text: Karin Cox. Uncredited photography: Steve Parish

BACTERIA Microscopic, single-celled organisms. Some are helpful and break down organic matter, but others can cause diseases.

www.csiro.au

Low, T. Feral Future, Penguin Books, Camberwell, Vic, 2001

Pyers, G. & Henderson, K. Turning the Tide: Marine Conservation in Australia, Cardigan Street Publishers, Port Melbourne, Vic, 1997

AVIFAUNA Bird life.

www.currumbin-sanctuary.org.au

www.nrm.gov.au

www.rainforest.org.au

Pyers, G., Dahlenburg, J. & Gott, R. Keeping the Animals: Wildlife Conservation in Australia, Cardigan, Street Publishers, Carlton, Vic, 1995

www.australiazoo.com.au/conservation

WEBSITES

Kendall, P. World Watch: WWF, Hodder Wayland, East Sussex, UK, 2003

Mez, M. & Hine, V. Australian Focus on Issues: Environmental Degradation, Watts Publishing, Alexandria, NSW, 2002

ARBOREAL Living in trees.

www.abc.net.au/science

www.aims.gov.au

Glossary

www.zooquarium.com.au

www.koala.net

Glossary

Web links & further reading

Web links & further reading

www.zootopia.com.au

www.perthzoo.wa.gov.au/Conservation-Research www.marapana.com www.territorywildlifepark.com.au www.desertknowledgecrc.com.au www.alicespringsdesertpark.com.au

GENOME The complete genetic information for any cell of an organism.

PREDATOR An animal that hunts and eats other animals.

PRESERVATION The complete protection of a natural resource from human use.

RELICT An organism or species surviving in an environment that has changed from what is typical.

REPTILES Cold-blooded, scaly vertebrates, including lizards, snakes, turtles, crocodiles and alligators.

RUMINANT An animal that chews its cud (the food that is returned from its first stomach, back to its mouth, so it may be chewed a second time), such as cattle and sheep.

SPECIES A group of animals that can breed together and produce fertile offspring.

STROMATOLITE A layered structure that looks like a rock, but is actually a living community of extremely slowgrowing bacteria and algae.

SUSTAINABLE Practices and products designed to meet current needs without compromising those of future generations, usually by avoiding damage to or using up of natural resources.

TOXIC Poisonous.

TROGLOBITIC Describes an animal that lives its entire life in a cave and has adapted to living in complete darkness.

URBAN Relating to a city.

VERTEBRATE An animal with a backbone surrounding the spinal cord, and a skull protecting the brain.

WETLANDS Land areas that are frequently or permanently saturated with water.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS The process a plant uses to convert the sun’s light to energy.

From Steve Parish Publishing’s Amazing Facts: Wildlife Conservation ~ www.steveparish.com.au