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The indicator consists of the number of coastal, estuarine and marine animal (faunal) species listed under the Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 (Tasmania), and under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth). It also includes some indication of international listings under treaties such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Chinese Australian Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA) or the Japanese Australian Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA). The number of species considered extinct, endangered or vulnerable is the best available surrogate for the loss of species. However, it is not an ideal measure and care must be taken with interpretation (see below). An 'ecological community' means an assemblage of native species that inhabits a particular area. The number of species listed as Presumed Extinct, Endangered or Vulnerable may increase either because more species are, in fact, at risk, or because more resources have been placed into researching species and nominating them for listing. Please note that some species become delisted as they either recover or more is learned about their distribution. Also some species may be 'lumped' or 'split', or experience name changes - further complicating the interpretation of the lists. Care needs to exercised when interpreting increased numbers of listings. The definition of coastal, estuarine and marine species is arbitrary in many cases - particularly for those on land and some of the birds - as many species are dependent on environments influenced by both the land and the sea in varying amounts. This indicator may be thought of as a subset of the Biodiversity Chapter Indicator: Threatened Species, provideing more information from the coastal, estuarine and marine perspective. There is an emerging trend to monitor threatened communities, but at this stage the practice is not well enough established. The methodology for monitoring threatened communities requires development and no communities are reported here.
The following information is summarised from data provided by the Threatened Species Unit, DPIWE (March 2003) and the Oil Spill Response Atlas (DPIWE 2003). Firstly, summaries derived from the information are given and then the full table of threatened coastal, estuarine and marine animals is given below. Coastal, estuarine and marine species listed under the Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 (Tasmania) since the last SoE Report in 1997 are detailed in the table. Number of coastal, estuarine and marine species currently listed under the Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 (Tasmania) Tasmanian Status Count Extinct 3 Endangered 26 Vulnerable 18 Rare 11 Species listed under the Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 (Tasmania) since the last SoE Report in 1997 Source: Data provided by the Threatened Species Unit, DPIWE (March 2003) and the Oil Spill Response Atlas (DPIWE 2003) Number of coastal, estuarine and marine species currently listed under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth) Tasmanian Status Count Extinct 3 Endangered 10 Vulnerable 19 Rare 3 Species listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth) since the last SoE Report in 1997 Source: Data provided by the Threatened Species Unit, DPIWE (March 2003) and the Oil Spill Response Atlas (DPIWE 2003) Author: Richard Mount Based on Core Biodiversity Indicator BD 6 (ANZECC 2000) |
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