NESP and threatened species
Sun, 22 Oct 2017The TSR Hub is a serious investment by the Australian Government in the science of saving threatened species, but it’s not where the NESP investment ends.
The TSR Hub is one of six National Environmental Science Programme hubs and each is making its own important contribution to the national effort to
recover our threatened species. The TSR Hub is always keen to acknowledge our many collaborators across our broad suite of projects, however, with
this editorial I’d like to look beyond our own hub and highlight the good work being done on threatened species by our sister hubs.
The Clean Air and Urban Landscapes (CAUL) Hub is focusing on the sustainability
and liveability of urban environments. Biodiversity conservation (including threatened species management) lies at the centre of many of its projects
and TSR and CAUL are collaborating on several projects including studies of urban populations of frogs and flying foxes. Other research of the CAUL
Hub includes understanding urban residents’ interactions with nature and developing protocols for reintroducing species into cities.
The Tropical Water Quality Hub works to build Great Barrier Reef resilience through research projects that improve water quality and reducing other pressures on these ecosystems. Many projects focus on improving prospects for the coastal, seagrass and reef habitats that sustain threatened species such as turtles and dugongs.
Which raises a key insight we all should keep in mind; the key to the successful recovery of Australia’s threatened species does not lie in only one research centre or network. Rather, it depends upon multiple approaches engaging a variety of different skills and insights.
Australia has an enormous challenge ahead in recovering its many threatened species. NESP science in all its forms and places give us a much better chance of meeting that challenge.
Professor Brendan Wintle
Top image: Sawfish, Photo: Peter Kyne, Marine Biodiversity Hub
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A million species at risk of extinction
Wed, 05 Jun 2019One million species threatened with extinction worldwide. That was the attention-grabbing headline that recently (and, sadly, briefly) captured the world’s attention, when the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services (IPBES) released its first global assessment of how the planet’s biodiversity is faring – and what that means for people.
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Kakadu collaboration for the yellow chat
Wed, 05 Jun 2019The Alligator Rivers yellow chat is a small, bright yellow insectivorous bird of the Kakadu floodplains. This Endangered species is imperilled by habitat changes caused by altered fire regimes, buffalo and feral pigs, rising sea levels and the spread of weeds like prickly mimosa and introduced grasses. What has been happening to degrade these floodplains has been equally of concern to Traditional Owners as to yellow chat researchers.
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Making research partnerships work
Wed, 05 Jun 2019The central purpose of the Threatened Species Recovery Hub is delivering research that is relevant for and useable by decision-makers, land managers and others responsible for recovering threatened species. Working with partners is vital if we’re to achieve this.
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Norfolk Island’s threatened flora
Wed, 05 Jun 2019The native forest on Norfolk Island provides vital habitat for the island’s threatened plant and bird species, many of which are found nowhere else on the planet (also called endemic). When the British colonised Norfolk Island in 1788, they cleared much of the original vegetation. Remaining forest is now protected in the national park and reserves, but plant recruitment is poor and invasive non-native plant species would likely overtake the forest without the on-going efforts of park managers. To preserve remaining forest, it is important to determine the main causes of declines and the most effective actions that managers can take to address these threats and restore native vegetation.
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Reasons to be cheerful - Conservation success stories from Booderee National Park
Wed, 05 Jun 2019The Threatened Species Recovery Hub is celebrating great conservation outcomes from projects taking place in Booderee National Park for two Endangered species: the eastern bristlebird and the southern brown bandicoot (eastern subspecies). The Australian National University’s David Lindenmayer and Chris MacGregor give us the scoop on the bristlebird and Natasha Robinson shares the good news about the southern brown bandicoot.
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