AAP General News (Australia)
02-19-2009
NT: Australia facing an extinction crisis for mammals
By Tara Ravens
DARWIN, Feb 19 AAP - Northern Australia is facing a fresh wave of potentially catastrophic
mammal extinctions, experts warn.
Over 40 scientists and land managers met in Darwin last week for a two-day meeting
to discuss their research into "critical" regional extinctions across the country's north.
Australia has the worst mammal extinction record in the world, with 22 mammals becoming
extinct in the last 200 years.
Scientists now say the evidence suggests Australia is on the cusp of another wave.
"What we are seeing is a reduction both in the abundance of mammals but also for some
species really catastrophic declines across their range," said Dr Sarah Legge, from the
Australian Wildlife Conservancy.
"They've shrunk down to 10 per cent of their former distribution (and) the frightening
thing about it is the rate at which it's happening...
"Some species have already disappeared from more than 90 per cent of their past range
across the north."
Dr Legge said about 1,500 animals and plants were currently threatened with extinction
in Australia, and "critical declines" had been noted on pastoral and indigenous lands,
as well as national parks.
Among the species at risk are the Northern Quoll, Golden Bandicoot and Bilby.
"(They) are all declining, and doing so very rapidly," said Dr Legge.
"This is undoubtedly one of the major biodiversity conservation issues affecting Australia...
"It would be heart-breaking and internationally embarrassing if we were to stand aside
and witness another wave of extinctions."
NT government scientists Dr John Woinarski has been setting traps in the world heritage
listed Kakadu National Park for the last 20-years.
"It's clear that in Kakadu, as in Litchfield, as in Arnhem Land generally that populations
of many of these mammals are declining catastrophically," he said.
The comparatively pristine environments of the NT - home to the largest remaining tropical
savanna on Earth - had given governments "cause for complacency", said Dr Woinarksi, who
warned that lessons needed to be learnt from the history of mammals in Central Australia.
"A hundreds years ago there were 20 species of native mammals that aren't there now.
Twenty species have become extinct in similarly remote and wild habitats," he said.
"We've presumed these environments are intact and healthy ... but that is not the case."
Dr Woinarski said scientists believed a cocktail of feral cat predation, inappropriate
fire regimes and over-grazing was responsible for declines.
"It's quite likely (Australia will lose a large number of species) and we've got to
act soon, in the next year or so," he said.
Dr Legge called for "decisive and immediate action".
"This includes developing and implementing land management work plans as well as research
plans to fill in knowledge gaps.
"We need to better understand the detail of what each native mammal needs to survive."
AAP tr/ss
KEYWORD: MAMMALS
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