Download `The Smallest Elephant in the Room`

‘The Smallest Elephant in the Room’
should stygofauna be listed as threatened in parts of Queensland?
Presenter: Dr Ben Cook
[email protected]
Groundwater Ecosystems
•  97% of the world’s unfrozen freshwater resides in subterranean aquifers
•  groundwater historically viewed as ‘sterile’ water storages •  ecological roles of groundwater are increasingly becoming recognised:
•  sustain wetlands, springs and base-flow stream ecosystems
•  intercept root zone of many dependent vegetation types
•  recognised as an ecosystem in their own right •  diverse types of groundwater ecosystem (karst, alluvium, fractured
rock)
•  unique and highly specalised fauna (stygofauna)
Introducing Stygofauna
•  Aquatic animals that live in aquifers (groundwater)
•  Dominated by invertebrates, especially crustaceans
•  Adaptations to subterranean life
•  Limited research to date, but key findings are:
•  high species diversity
•  narrow distributions
•  high endemism
•  when we look we tend to find them
•  Thought to provide ‘ecosystem services’ and maintain quality of
groundwater
Research Case Study:
Burdekin River Alluvial Aquifer
•  26 bores surveyed over a one
week period
•  6 bores contained stygofauna
(23%)
•  Five species across two families
were identified:
•  four of which were found in
only a single bore
•  all of which likely belonged to
a new genera
Source: Cook et al. (2012) Australian Journal of Zoology 60: 152-­‐158. National Water Quality Management
Strategy
‘Little is known of the lifecycles and environmental requirements of
these quite recently-discovered [stygofaunal] communities, and given
their high conservation value, the groundwater upon which they
depend should be given the highest level of protection’ (ANZECC &
ARMCANZ 2000. Box 1.2, page 1-2).
What determines if a species is
‘threatened’?
•  Threatened – ‘at risk of extinction’
•  Risk factors:
•  threatening processes
•  trends in population size
•  narrow distribution
•  dependent on limited or specialised habitat
What determines if a species is
‘threatened’?
•  Threatened – ‘at risk of extinction’
•  Risk factors:
•  threatening processes
•  trends in population size
•  narrow distribution
•  dependent on limited or specialised habitat •  Other key factors relevant for conservation biology :
•  capacity for demographic recovery (generation time, fecundity)
•  population structure (social, spatial)
Does stygofauna qualify as ‘threatened’?
•  Threatened – ‘at risk of extinction’ •  Risk factors:
•  Threatening processes – aquifer drawdown
•  Trends in population size – unknown
•  Narrow distribution – narrow range endemic
•  Dependent on limited or specialised habitat – localised sections of
groundwater ecosystems
•  Other key factors relevant for conservation biology :
•  Capacity for demographic recovery – unknown, thought to be low
•  Population structure – high degree of spatial population subdivision
Does stygofauna qualify as ‘threatened’?
•  Threatened – ‘at risk of extinction’ – possibly, in some regions
•  Risk factors:
•  Threatening processes – aquifer drawdown
•  Trends in population size – unknown
•  Narrow distribution – narrow range endemic
•  Dependent on limited or specialised habitat – localised sections of
groundwater ecosystems
•  Other key factors relevant for conservation biology :
•  Capacity for demographic recovery – unknown, thought to be low
•  Population structure – high degree of spatial population subdivision
Cape Range Remipede
Lasionectes exleyi
•  Listed as ‘Vulnerable’ under the EPBC 1999
•  Listed as ‘rare and likely to become extinct’ in WA’s Wildlife
Conservation (Specially Protected Fauna) Notice 1998
•  Reason for listing:
•  Endemic to Bundera Sinkhole, a specalised subterranean
groundwater ecosystem
•  Identified threats:
•  Lack of formal protection of habitat
•  Impacts to water quality form visitors to the sinkhole
•  These reasons don’t appear unique to this species
Compare Conservation of Springs
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999:
•  ‘community of native species dependent on natural discharge of groundwater from GAB’ •  ‘Endangered Ecological Community’
•  several species that live in springs are listed as threatened (some also listed under NC Act)
•  salt pipewort
Underground Water Impact Report (UWIR) for Surat Cumulative Management Area –
statutory instrument under the Water Act 2000:
•  Spring Impact Management Strategy (SIMS), including comprehensive survey of
hydrological and ecological attributes of springs
•  Water Management Strategy, requires monitoring of groundwater pressure and quality
across network of bores.
•  Ecological assessment of groundwater ecosystems not required
KU N
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Datum: GDA 1994
Vertical Datum: NA
Date: 4/4/2013
Job Number: pg13040302
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LOCALITY MAP
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Scale 1:2,000,000
TAS
Disclaimer: Whilst every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of this product, the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection
makes no representations or warranties about its accuracy, reliability, completeness, or suitability, for any particular purpose and disclaims all
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Sheet 1 of 1
Original A3
•  Multiple adjacent existing and
proposed ‘users’ of
groundwater
•  Underground Water Impact
Report
•  ecological assessment
of springs
•  no requirement for
ecological assessment
of groundwater
Challenges for Stygofauna Conservation
•  The taxonomic impediment and the listing of a multitude of undescribed species
•  Survey effort required to detected stygofauna
•  high false-negative detection rate; adequate assessment requires multiple surveys
•  Adequacy of impact assessment requirements for stygofauna within ToRs for major
resource development projects
•  often only desktop study is required; ‘difficult’ without a primary literature
•  assessments (when required) ask for presence of ‘significant’ stygofauna, which is
undefined
•  commonly meant that detected stygofauna can be dismissed as ‘not significant’
•  Focus of ecological assessment of groundwater on surface expression of
groundwater (ie springs)
•  Recent move towards streamlining environmental approvals processes, rather than
additional requirements for environmental assessment
Opportunities for Stygofauna Conservation
•  Stygofauna and their habitat are recognised as having high
conservation value in national policy •  National Water Quality Guidelines (ANZECC & ARMCANZ 2000)
•  The listing of stygofauna as ‘threatened ecological communities’
•  overcome ‘taxonomic challenges’ of listing undescribed species
•  compare ‘ecological communities dependent on discharge of groundwater’
•  needed so that groundwater is managed as an ecosystem rather than as a ‘sterile’ water
supply
•  Widen existing groundwater monitoring initiatives to include
assessment of stygofauna
•  assess adequacy of hydrogeological triggers for maintaining stygofauna
Potential Consequences for those
Impacting Groundwater
•  Opportunity for those that already undertake monitoring of physical
properties of groundwater to also monitor groundwater ecology
•  low additional cost
•  leading edge understanding of threatened ecological communities
•  Given Government’s current interest in GDEs, and if policy
becomes mandated in legislation, it may become expected that
•  impact assessment of threatened communities is based on
primary data
•  ongoing management of threatened communities is supported by
baseline monitoring
Conclusions
Stygofauna:
•  a frontier for biological diversity discovery
•  likely threatened in areas where groundwater use is high, such as
cumulative management areas
•  potential for listing as a threatened ecological community
•  empirical assessment within existing monitoring programs
•  protection can be achieved:
•  ecological trigger levels for groundwater
•  offsets (sensu WA guidelines for stygofauna assessment)
•  small investment in baseline assessment •  let’s look after the ‘horse’ before it bolts