Decline of the greater glider (Petauroides volans) in the lower Blue Mountains, New South Wales

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Smith ◽  
Judy Smith

The range of the greater glider (Petauroides volans) is predicted to contract with climate change. Following indications of a decline in the Blue Mountains, we collated records and undertook surveys in 2015–16 to assess whether a decline has occurred and whether the decline is associated with climate change or other factors. We were unable to relocate greater gliders at 35% of our study sites, even though all were in known former locations. The species is now rare at lower elevations but remains relatively common at higher elevations: about seven times more abundant above 500 m than below. Historical data suggest that in 1986–96 it occurred in similar abundance across all elevations, 80–1060 m. Nine habitat variables accounted for 84% of the variation in greater glider density between our study sites, with significant independent contributions from elevation (37%) and time since fire (23%). We found no evidence that greater gliders have been impacted by increasing numbers of owls or cockatoos or that either the fire regime or rainfall has changed in the last 20 years. The most likely cause of the decline is the direct and indirect effects of a marked increase in temperature in the Blue Mountains. Similar declines are likely throughout the distribution of the species with increasing climate change.

Author(s):  
Jade Herriman ◽  
Emma Partridge

This paper describes in brief the findings of a research project undertaken by the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. The research was commissioned by and undertaken on behalf of the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW). The aim of the project was to investigate current practices of environmental and sustainability education and engagement within local government in NSW. The research was commissioned by DECCW as the preliminary phase of a larger project that the department is planning to undertake, commencing in 2010.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Rodríguez ◽  
Iago Peaguda ◽  
Sergio Moreno-Borges ◽  
Alberto Brito

2012 ◽  
Vol 143 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Waitt ◽  
Carol Farbotko ◽  
Barbara Criddle

The print media have facilitated multiple types of claim-making and an oppositional climate change politics. Drawing on arguments about the social construction of geographical scale as a category for understanding media practice, this article examines such politics. We focus on the Illawarra Mercury, the only daily newspaper in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, to showcase exactly how this tabloid newspaper engages readers in a scalar politics of climate change. We argue that a regional scalar politics shapes the framing of emissions in the Illawarra Mercury. A key question organising this article concerns the way in which geographical scale is invoked, and reproduced, in this newspaper to structure a certain rationale in reporting on emissions from one of Australia's largest greenhouse gas emitters, the Port Kembla Steelworks. The argument is that the regional scale is evoked as a pre-given, natural and contained entity to justify why the steelworks need not shoulder greenhouse gas emissions reductions. We argue that a better understanding of scalar politics is integral to explain how responsibility for emissions is shifted elsewhere.


2001 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 513 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Cherry ◽  
P. A. Gadek ◽  
E. A. Brown ◽  
M. M. Heslewood ◽  
C. J. Quinn

A new species of Styphelieae collected from the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales is described. Cladistic analyses of morphological and molecular data show that the species has a strong affinity with the genus Pentachondra. The genus is redefined to accommodate the following features of the new species: a drupaceous fruit with 6–11 locules in which the mesocarp splits to release the separate pyrenes at maturity and a more complex inflorescence.


1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (25) ◽  
pp. 3755-3758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald A. Meehl ◽  
Warren M. Washington ◽  
David J. Erickson ◽  
Bruce P. Briegleb ◽  
Peter J. Jaumann

1976 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 551 ◽  
Author(s):  
RDJ Tilzey

The fish fauna of all major streams within the Lake Eucumbene catchment in south-eastern New South Wales was sampled by electrofishing or poisoning with rotenone. Galaxias coxii was found in only four, and G. olidus in only one other of the 27 streams sampled whereas the introduced salmonids (Salmo trutta or S. gairdneri, or both) occurred in all but the stream containing G. olidus. Values for galaxiid biomass were low in comparison with those for trout where both occurred together. Sampling in 1971 and 1974 in the one stream observed in 1971 to contain only G. olidus spanned an invasion by S. gairdneri and by 1974 the galaxiid species had completely disappeared below a natural barrier to trout, but above this barrier the biomass and population structure of G. olidus had not changed greatly compared to the 1971 values. This indicated that the presence of S. gairdneri was the sole environmental factor causing galaxiid disappearance below the barrier. Historical data for the catchment area suggested that the introduction and subsequent success of trout are primarily responsible for the present, much fragmented galaxiid distribution.


2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanya C. Strevens ◽  
Marji L. Puotinen ◽  
Robert J. Whelan

The ecological effects of roads on plant and animal populations are well recognized. However, very little is known about the magnitude of the effects created by powerline easements. Like roads, powerline easements are ubiquitous in many landscapes, including reserves such as National Parks, which have restricted human activities. Regular mowing of the easements to manage vegetation regrowth creates a stark discontinuity with adjacent natural vegetation. Abrupt transitions such as these contribute to habitat fragmentation and are associated with movement and dispersal inhibition of fauna. We used GIS to estimate the area of direct and indirect effects of powerline easements in a 5735 km2 area of coastal New South Wales, focusing on the potential reduction of habitat area both within and outside reserves. While the area directly replaced by these features is a small percentage of the total landscape (<1%), the upper estimates of direct and indirect effects combined amounted to a substantial portion of habitat (10 103 ha). Further, roads and powerlines combined may affect up to 33 780 ha (8%) of habitat in the study area. Although the overall ecological impact of powerline easements could be reduced by concentrating them in regions of pre-existing fragmentation, in our study area powerlines rarely occurred adjacent to paved roads. For example, in National Parks, only 3% of the habitat area affected by powerlines overlapped with that affected by roads. This study highlights the potential for powerline easements to make a significant contribution to habitat fragmentation, even in the presence of dense road networks, thus calling for greater attention to their ecological impacts and to improved management strategies.


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