Using endemism to assess representation of protected areas - the family Myrtaceae in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 570-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn W. Laffan ◽  
Daniel Ramp ◽  
Erin Roger
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Blue Mountains ◽  
The Family ◽  
World Heritage Area ◽  
Heritage Area

Potential lantana invasion of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area under climate change.

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Gold ◽  
Daniel Ramp ◽  
Shawn W Laffan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
High Capacity ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Invasive Weeds ◽  
Ecosystem Integrity ◽  
Blue Mountains ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
World Heritage Area ◽  
Heritage Area

Invasive weeds represent one of the greatest threats to ecosystem integrity worldwide, with climate change predicted to allow expansion of weed ranges in coming decades. One of Australia’s worst weeds is lantana (Lantana camara) which, given the potential for climatic change, is of increasing concern to those managing the mountainous regions in the country’s southeast. In order to identify potential additional threats lantana may pose for Australia’s valued biodiversity, this research develops a habitat suitability model for lantana in a portion of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area under current and simulated warmer conditions. Minimum temperature was found to be the most important predictor correlated with potential lantana establishment, explaining over 88% of the variation in lantana presence predicted by the model. Currently, 8% of the study area was found to be suitable for lantana, with this figure reaching 94% after a simulated 2°C rise in temperature anticipated by 2050. The sharp increase in suitable habitat highlights the importance of keeping the weed’s range restricted in the study area. The strong link between temperature and predicted lantana establishment confirms prior research and further stresses the threat this weed poses to the area’s biodiversity values as the climate warms. In addition, the model identified low-lying riparian areas as potential incursion pathways for the weed to travel further inland. Given the weed’s invasiveness, potential for adverse impacts, and high capacity for dispersal, these pathways should not be overlooked when monitoring potential invasion of mountainous regions by lantana and other tropical weeds.

scholarly journals Sheath-tailed bats (Chiroptera: Emballonuridae) from the early Pleistocene Rackham’s Roost Site, Riversleigh World Heritage Area, and the distribution of northern Australian emballonurid species

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e10857
Author(s):  
Tyler R. King ◽  
Troy J. Myers ◽  
Kyle N. Armstrong ◽  
Michael Archer ◽  
Suzanne J. Hand
Keyword(s):  
World Heritage ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Modern Species ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
The Family ◽  
World Heritage Area ◽  
Area North ◽  
Heritage Area ◽  
North Western ◽  
Cave Deposit

Sheath-tailed bats (Family Emballonuridae) from the early Pleistocene Rackham’s Roost Site cave deposit in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, north-western Queensland are the oldest recorded occurrence for the family in Australia. The fossil remains consist of maxillary and dentary fragments, as well as isolated teeth, but until now their precise identity has not been assessed. Our study indicates that at least three taxa are represented, and these are distinguished from other Australian emballonurids based on morphometric analysis of craniodental features. Most of the Rackham’s Roost Site emballonurid remains are referrable to the modern species Taphozous georgianus Thomas, 1915, but the extant species T. troughtoni Tate, 1952 also appears to be present, as well as a very large, as-yet undetermined species of Saccolaimus Temminck, 1838. We identify craniodental features that clearly distinguish T. georgianus from the externally very similar T. troughtoni. Results suggest that the distributions of T. georgianus and T. troughtoni may have overlapped in north-western Queensland since at least the early Pleistocene.

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