Download Eastern Ground Parrot (mainland)

Subspecies Conservation Summary
Eastern Ground Parrot
(mainland)
Pezoporus wallicus wallicus (Kerr, 1792)
Psittacidae
Conservation status
Near Threatened C2a(i)
Reasons for listing
Population <10 000 mature individuals, declining with
largest subpopulation approaching 1000 mature
individuals
Status 2000
Near Threatened C2a(i)
Status 1990
Near Threatened C2a(i)
Taxonomy
P. w. leachi (Tasmania) is Least Concern, as is the species
Taxonomic uniqueness: medium (76 genera/family, 3
species/genus, 2 subspecies/species)
Range
This subspecies has a patchy distribution within 25 km of
coastal eastern Australia from Wide Bay and Fraser I.,
Queensland, to Portland eastern Victoria (Higgins 1999).
Current major population centres are, in Qld, Fraser
Island and the adjacent coastline south to Noosa, in New
South Wales on the north coast (Broadwater, Bundjalung,
Yuraygir National Parks), central coast (Myall Lakes) and
south coast (Barren Grounds Nature Reserve, Budderoo
National Park, the Jervis Bay area, Nadgee Nature Reserve,
Morton and Ben Boyd National Parks (Department of
Environment and Conservation (NSW) 2005). In Vic this
subspecies occurs in Croajingolong National Park, Bemm
River-Marlo region and Wilsons Promontory National
Park in the east and at Long Swamp, Discovery Bay in the
far west of the state (Meredith and Isles 1980). The presence of vagrant birds at least 200 km from the nearest
known subpopulation suggests that there is probably some
movement between subpopulations. However, there are
major breaks in distribution in central Vic, central NSW
and south-east Qld and the subpopulations may have been
small and isolated for some time given the low rate of
genetic variability in Queensland (Chan et al. 2008). Once
occurred on the Adelaide Plains in South Australia and
there are also no recent records from the Carlisle River
area in the Otway Ranges (Department of Sustainability,
Environment, Water, Population and Communities 2011).
The AOO is calculated on the basis of a density of about 15
birds/km2 (based on Baker et al. 2010).
Abundance
The total population of 5500 is based on very little recent
information. In Queensland the population was estimated at 2900–4900 birds (McFarland 1991c) but could
be as low as 1600 if much of the habitat has been recently
burnt (based on D. McFarland in litt.). In NSW, the population has been estimated at about 2000 birds, including
1000 birds at Barren Ground Nature Reserve and Budderoo National Park, less than 550 at Jervis Bay, 300 at
Nadgee Nature Reserve and 100 at Ben Boyd National
Park, with smaller numbers at other locations (Baker
1997). In Vic the population was estimated at 600–700
birds in 1979–80, including about 400 in Croajingolong
National Park, <100 in the Bemm River-Marlo region,
<100 in Wilsons Promontory National Park and about 60
at Long Swamp (Meredith and Isles 1980). At Cooloola,
south-east Qld, a theoretical maximum population of
2400 can be as low as 800 if, as in 2010, the heath is either
<1 year or >14 years post-fire (D. McFarland in litt.).
However, Baker et al. (2010) concluded that densities up
to 20 birds/km2 can occur in habitat of any age post-fire.
There is little evidence of decline given their capacity to
cope with fire (Baker et al. 2010) but the loss from the
Otways has probably occurred within the last 3 generations (29 years) and monitoring is at best patchy and has
not been compiled and analysed across all sites.
Ecology
Lives in low heathland and sedgeland (Meredith 1984;
Higgins 1999), eating seeds from a wide range of herbs,
graminoids and heath plants (McFarland 1991a). Heathland becomes unsuitable immediately after fire (Meredith
et al. 1984), in some cases, for a further 4 years (Jordan
1987; Baker and Whelan 1994). In Queensland habitat
suitability may decline if left unburnt for more than 15
years (McFarland, 1991a) but the subspecies may not
require fire over most of its range (Meredith et al. 1984;
Baker and Whelan 1994; Baker et al. 2010). Nests are made
on the ground, beneath dense vegetation, the clutch size
averaging 3–4. Hatching failure is high relative to other
parrots (McFarland 1991b), though whether this is related
to the low genetic variability (Chan et al. 2008) is
unknown, as are its demographic effects. A generation
time of 9.7 years (BirdLife International 2011) is derived
© Birds Australia 2011
Published by CSIRO Publishing, http://www.publish.csiro.au/
Citation: Garnett ST, Szabo JK, Dutson G (2011) The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2010. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
Current eligibility against IUCN Red List Criteria
IUCN
category
A
Criteria eligibility
Not applicable: past, current or future population
declines are thought unlikely to exceed 20% in any
3-generation period
IUCN Red List assessment data
Estimate
Reliability
Extent of occurrence
trend
66 000 km2
stable
high
medium
Area of occupancy
trend
370 km2
decreasing
low
low
No. of mature individuals
trend
5500
decreasing
low
low
B
Not applicable: >10 locations, not severely fragmented,
population fluctuations not extreme
C
Near Threatened: population 2500–10 000 mature
individuals, possible continuing decline, largest
subpopulation near 1000 mature individuals
No. subpopulations
Not applicable: population >1000 mature individuals,
>5 locations
Largest subpopulation
D
E
Not applicable: no population viability analysis
undertaken
No. locations
Generation time
Global population share
6
medium
>10
high
1600
low
9.7 years
low
100%
high
from an age at first breeding of 2.0 years and a maximum
longevity in the wild of 17.4 years, both extrapolated from
other Psittacidae.
BirdLife International (2011) ‘Species factsheet: Pezoporus wallicus’. Retrieved 17 January, 2011 from <http://www.birdlife.org/>.
Threats
The most important current threat is extensive and intense
fires that temporarily remove habitat and can extirpate
isolated subpopulations. As a ground nester, the eastern
Ground Parrot may be susceptible to predation by feral
cats Felis catus and foxes Vulpes vulpes (Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities 2011), particularly immediately after a fire.
Historically much habitat has been lost through clearing
for agriculture and residential development but this is no
longer a direct threat and almost all remaining birds are on
protected areas. The relatively high rate of hatching failure
in the subpopulation in south-east Qld (McFarland 1991b)
may be related to a particularly low rate of genetic variability (Chan et al. 2008).
Chan K, Glover DR, Ramamge CM, Harrison DK (2008) Low
genetic diversity in the Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus)
revealed by randomly amplified DNA fingerprinting.
Annales Zoologici Fennici 45, 211–216.
Conservation objectives
1. All 6 major subpopulations known to be at least
stable
Information required
1. Trends in all subpopulations: there is no trend data
available for Vic or Myall Lakes, NSW and data from
Qld is sporadic
2. Impact of feral predators on parrot population trends
Management actions required
1. Initiate or continue monitoring at key sites
2. Protect habitat from intense and extensive fire events
3. Undertake fox and feral cat control programs,
particularly after fire events
Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW) (2005)
‘Eastern Ground Parrot – profile.’ Retrieved 11 May, 2011
from
<http://www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.
gov.au/tsprofile/profile.aspx?id=10608>.
Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population
and Communities (2011) Pezoporus wallicus wallicus. In
‘Species Profile and Threats Database’. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Canberra. Retrieved 24 February, 2011 from <http://
www.environment.gov.au/sprat>.
Higgins PJ (Ed.) (1999) Handbook of Australian, New Zealand
and Antarctic Birds. Volume 4: Parrots to Dollarbird. Oxford
University Press, Melbourne.
Jordan R (1987) The Ground Parrot in Barren Grounds Nature
Reserve. RAOU Report 27, 19–23.
McFarland DC (1991a) The biology of the Ground Parrot, Pezoporus wallicus, in Queensland. I. Microhabitat use, activity,
cycle and diet. Wildlife Research 18, 169–184.
McFarland DC (1991b) The biology of the Ground Parrot, Pezoporus wallicus, in Queensland. II. Spacing, calling and
breeding behaviour. Wildlife Research 18, 185–197.
McFarland DC (1991c) The biology of the Ground Parrot, Pezoporus wallicus, in Queensland. III. Distribution and abundance. Wildlife Research 18, 199–213.
Bibliography
Meredith CW (1984) ‘The Ground Parrot Pezoporus wallicus
Kerr’. RAOU Conservation Statement No. 1. RAOU,
Melbourne.
Baker J (1997) The decline, response to fire, status and management of the Eastern Bristlebird. Pacific Conservation Biology
3, 235–243.
Meredith CW, Gilmore AM, Isles AC (1984) The Ground Parrot
in south-eastern Australia: a fire adapted species? Australian Journal of Ecology 9, 367–380.
Baker J, Whelan R (1994) Ground Parrots and fire at Barren
Grounds, New South Wales: a long term study and an
assessment of management implications. Emu 94, 300–304.
Meredith CW, Isles AC (1980) ‘A study of the Ground Parrot
(Pezoporus wallicus) in Victoria’. Ministry of Conservation
Environmental Studies Division, Victoria.
Baker JR, Whelan RJ, Evans L, Moore S, Norton M (2010) Managing the Ground Parrot in its fiery habitat in south-eastern
Australia. Emu 110, 279–284.
Comments received from
Jack Baker, David McFarland
© Birds Australia 2011
Published by CSIRO Publishing, http://www.publish.csiro.au/
Citation: Garnett ST, Szabo JK, Dutson G (2011) The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2010. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.