Consultation Document on Listing Eligibility and Conservation Actions
Probosciger aterrimus macgillivrayi(palm cockatoo (Australian))
You are invited to provide your views about:
1)the eligibility of Probosciger aterrimus macgillivrayi (palm cockatoo (Australian))for inclusion on the EPBC Act threatened species list; and
2)the necessary conservation actions for the above species.
Note: The information contained in this consultation document was primarily sourced from the ‘Action Plan for Australian Birds 2010’ (Garnett et al. 2011). As this document was compiled in 2010, newer information may be available. One of the purposes of this consultation is to update the existing information in order to make a more informed decision on whether this species is eligible for listing under the EPBC Act (1999).
The views of experts, stakeholders and the general public are welcome. Responses can be provided by any interested person.
Anyone may nominate a native species, ecological community or threatening process for listing under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) or for a transfer of an item already on the list to a new listing category. The Threatened Species Scientific Committee (the Committee) undertakes the assessment of species to determine eligibility for inclusion in the list of threatened species and provides its recommendation to the Australian Government Minister for the Environment.
Responses are to be provided in writing either by email to:
or by mail to:
The Director
Marine and Freshwater Species Conservation Section
Wildlife, Heritage and Marine Division
Department of the Environment
PO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601
Responses are required to be submitted by 9January 2015.
Contents of this information package / PageGeneral background information about listing threatened species / 2
Information about this consultation process / 2
Draft information about the palm cockatoo (Australian) and its eligibility for listing / 3
Conservation actions for the species / 6
References cited / 7
Consultation questions / 8
General background information about listing threatened species
The Australian Government helps protect species at risk of extinction by listing them as threatened under Part 13 of the EPBC Act. Once listed under the EPBC Act, the species becomes a Matter of National Environmental Significance (MNES) and must be protected from significant impacts through the assessment and approval provisions of the EPBC Act. More information about threatened species is available on the department’s website at:
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/index.html.
Public nominations to list threatened species under the EPBC Act are received annually by the department. In order to determine if a species is eligible for listing as threatened under the EPBC Act, the Threatened Species Scientific Committee (the Committee) undertakes a rigorous scientific assessment of its status to determine if the species is eligible for listing against a set of criteria. These criteria are available on the Department’s website at:http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/pubs/guidelines-species.pdf.
As part of the assessment process, the Committee consults with the public and stakeholders to obtain specific details about the species, as well as advice on what conservation actions might be appropriate. Information provided through the consultation process is considered by the Committee in its assessment. The Committee provides its advice on the assessment (together with comments received) to the Minister regarding the eligibility of the species for listing under a particular category and what conservation actions might be appropriate. The Minister decides to add, or not to add, the species to the list of threatened species under the EPBC Act.More detailed information about the listing process is at: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/nominations.html.
To promote the recovery of listed threatened species and ecological communities, conservation advices and where required, recovery plans are made or adopted in accordance with Part 13 of the EPBC Act. Conservation advices provide guidance at the time of listing on known threats and priority recovery actions that can be undertaken at a local and regional level. Recovery plans describe key threats and identify specific recovery actions that can be undertaken to enable recovery activities to occur within a planned and logical national framework. Information about recovery plans is available on the department’s website at: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/recovery.html.
Information about this consultation process
Responses to this consultation can be provided electronically or in hard copy to the contact addresses provided on Page 1. All responses received will be provided in full to the Committee and then to theAustralian Government Minister for the Environment.
In providing comments, please provide references to published data where possible. Should the Committee use the information you provide in formulating its advice, the information will be attributed to you and referenced as a ‘personal communication’ unless you provide references or otherwise attribute this information (please specify if your organisation requires that this information is attributed to your organisation instead of yourself).The final advice by the Committee will be published on the department’s website following the listing decision by the Minister.
Information provided through consultation may be subject to freedom of information legislation and court processes. It is also important to note that under the EPBC Act,the deliberations and recommendations of the Committee are confidential until the Minister has made a final decision on the nomination, unless otherwise determined by the Minister.
Probosciger aterrimus macgillivrayi
palm cockatoo (Australian)
Taxonomy
Conventionally accepted asProbosciger aterrimus macgillivrayi(Mathews, 1912).
Description
The palm cockatoo (Australian) is a large cockatoo with a massive, curved dark grey bill and a long erectile crest (Pizzey Knight, 1997; Higgins, 1999). Adults areentirely slate-black in colour except for a bright-red facial patch which flushes a deep scarlet when alarmed or excited (Pizzey Knight, 1997; Higgins, 1999). Juveniles are similar to adults in colouration, however they have pale yellow scallop-like markings on the under-body and underwing coverts, a paler grey bill and paler pink facial patch (Pizzey Knight, 1997; Higgins, 1999).
Palm cockatoos (Australian) are similar to the red-tailed black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii), which can be distinguished by the red or orange panels in their tail (Pizzey Knight, 1997). The species can be seen singly, in pairs or in parties and are often found perching in emergent trees calling and displaying, sometimes upside down with wings and crest spread (Pizzey Knight, 1997). Palm cockatoos (Australian) have a distinctive whistle comprising of two syllabi, the first a deep and mellow note and the second a drawn-out, shrill and high-pitched note (Higgins, 1999).
Distribution
Palm cockatoos (Australian) are distributed across the north of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, from north of Pormpuraaw on the west coast to Saltwater Creek, Princess Charlotte Bay on the east (Storch, 1996; Higgins, 1999). The palm cockatoo (Australian) is the only subspecies of the palm cockatoo found on mainland Australian. Other palm cockatoo subspecies are found in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
Cultural Significance
The palm cockatoo (Australian) occurs on the homeland (Ngaachi) of the Kuuku I'yu (northern Kaanju) indigenous peoples. The Kuuku I'yu people have important social, cultural, spiritual, historical and ecological connections to their homeland and they recognise the rich biodiversity it supports, including habitat for rare and threatened species such as this palm cockatoo (Kila)(Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation, 2010).
Relevant Biology/Ecology
The palm cockatoo (Australian) inhabits closed forest and riparian systems, however the subspecies attains the highest densities in open woodlands adjacent to closed forest dominated by Corymbia spp. and Eucalytpus spp. and has significantly lower densities in the closed forests themselves (Murphy, 2006).
Pairs are thought to occupy permanent breeding territories all year that are visited most mornings and afternoons, especially by males who defend nest trees aggressively (Murphy etal.,2003). Individuals and small flocks feed in closed forests and littoral systems during the middle of the day, mostly on the hard seeds of fibrous and woody fruits of woodland, littoral and closed forest species taken from the canopy and the ground (Wood, 1988; Storch, 1996). Nests are in large hollow trees, primarily large eucalypts in woodland, with an average distance of 320m to the rainforest (Murphy et al.,2003). Pairs also claim numerous other hollow trees as display sites (Wood, 1988; Murphy et al.,2003). Palm cockatoos (Australian) have low breeding success resulting from laying a single egg, high nesting failure and breeding on average every 2.2 years (Murphy et al., 2003; Heinsohn et al.,2009). A generation time of 17.7 years (BirdLife International, 2011) is derived from an age at first breeding of 4.0 years (extrapolated from mean values for other genera in Psittacidae) and longevity of 31.4 years, extrapolated from the maximum longevity recorded in captivity.
Threats
Some woodland, in which most nest-trees occur, is being invaded by rainforest (Russell-Smith et al.,2004) that has lower densities of nest and display hollows. Fire is used to maintain the stability of the rainforest/woodland ecotone and is needed to maintain recruitment of large trees, but can also destroy nest-trees, which are probably a limiting resource at Iron Range (Murphy etal.,2003; Murphy Legge, 2007). Cyclones both destroy old hollows and make available hollows by breaking newly hollowed trees (Murphy Legge, 2007; Heinsohn et al.,2009). Land clearing near Weipa for bauxite mining has also reduced hollow density, and some small patches of rainforest feeding habitat (Gould, cited in Garnett et al., 2011). Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita)compete for nest-trees (Heinsohn et al.,2003) and have increased over the last 2 decades around Weipa (Gould, cited in Garnett et al., 2011). While loss of nest contents to predators is high, this is thought to be a natural process (Murphy et al.,2003).
Assessment of available information in relation to the EPBC Act Criteria and Regulations
Criterion 1: Reduction in numbers (based on any of A1 – A4)
A1.An observed, estimated, inferred or suspected population very severe 90%, severe 70% substantial 50% size reduction over the last 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer, where the causes of the reduction are clearly reversible AND understood AND ceased, based on (and specifying) any of the following:
(a)direct observation
(b)an index of abundance appropriate to the taxon
(c)a decline in area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat
(d)actual or potential levels of exploitation
(e) the effects of introduced taxa, hybridization, pathogens, pollutants, competitors or parasites.
A2.An observed, estimated, inferred or suspected population very severe 80%, severe 50% substantial 30%size reduction over the last 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer, where the reduction or its causes may not have ceased OR may not be understood OR may not be reversible, based on (and specifying) any of (a) to (e) under A1.
A3.A population size reduction very severe 80%, severe 50% substantial 30%, projected or suspected to be met within the next 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer (up to a maximum of 100 years), based on (and specifying) any of (b) to (e) under A1.
A4.An observed, estimated, inferred, projected or suspected population size reduction very severe 80%, severe 50% substantial 30%over any 10 year or three generation period, whichever is longer (up to a maximum of 100 years in the future), where the time period must include both the past and the future, and where the reduction or its causes may not have ceased OR may not be understood OR may not be reversible, based on (and specifying) any of (a) to (e) under A1.
EvidenceThe number of mature individuals of palm cockatoo (Australian) is inferred to be declining, however past, current or future population declines are thought unlikely to exceed 30% in any three generation period (Garnett et al., 2011).
Based on the information available there is insufficient evidence to list this subspecies under this criterion. However, the purpose of this consultation document is to elicit additional information to better understand the species status.
Criterion 2:
Geographic distribution (based on either of B1 or B2)
B1.Extent of occurrence estimated to be very restricted <100 km2, restricted5000 km2 or limited< 20 000 km2
B2.Area of occupancy estimated to be very restricted <10 km2, restricted <500 km2 or limited<2000km2
AND
Geographic distribution is precarious for the survival of the species,
(based on at least two of a–c)
a. Severely fragmented or known to exist at a limited location.
b.Continuing decline, observed, inferred or projected, in any of the following:
(i)extent of occurrence
(ii)area of occupancy
(iii)area, extent and/or quality of habitat
(iv)number of locations or subpopulations
(v)number of mature individuals.
c.Extreme fluctuations in any of the following:
(i)extent of occurrence
(ii)area of occupancy
(iii)number of locations or subpopulations
(iv)number of mature individuals
EvidenceThis subspecies extent of occurrence is estimated to be57 000 km2 and its area of occupancy is estimated to be 27 000 km2(Garnett et al., 2011).
The information presented above appears to demonstrate that the subspecies is not eligible for listing under this criterion. However, the purpose of this consultation document is to elicit additional information to better understand the subspecies status. This conclusion should therefore be considered to be tentative at this stage, as it may be changed as a result of responses to this consultation process.
Criterion 3: The estimated total number of mature individuals is very low <250, low <2500 or limited<10 000;andeither of (A) or (B) is true
(A)evidence suggests that the number will continue to decline at a very high (25% in 3 years or 1 generation (up to 100 years), whichever is longer), high (20% in 5 years or 2 generations(up to 100 years), whichever is longer) or substantial (10% in 10 years or 3 generations years), whichever is longer(up to 100) rate; or
(B)the number is likely to continue to decline and its geographic distribution is precarious for its survival (based on at least two of a – c):
a.Severely fragmented or known to exist at a limited location.
b.Continuing decline, observed, inferred or projected, in any of the following:
(i)extent of occurrence
(ii)area of occupancy
(iii)area, extent and/or quality of habitat
(iv)number of locations or subpopulations
(v)number of mature individuals.
c.Extreme fluctuations in any of the following:
(i)extent of occurrence
(ii)area of occupancy
(iii)number of locations or subpopulations
(iv)number of mature individuals
EvidenceGarnett et al (2011) estimated the total number of mature individuals to be 3000 (limited) and decreasing. However, the subspecies distribution is not fragmented, they do not exist at a limited location and the extent of occurrence and area of occupancy are stable.
The information presented above appears to demonstrate that the species is noteligible for listing under this criterion. However, the purpose of this consultation document is to elicit additional information to better understand the subspecies status. This conclusion should therefore be considered to be tentative at this stage, as it may be changed as a result of responses to this consultation process.
Criterion 4:Estimatedtotal number of mature individuals:
(a)Extremely low< 50
(b)Very low< 250
(c)Low < 1000
EvidenceGarnett et al (2011) estimated the total number of mature individuals to be 3000, thus not considered low, very low or extremely low.
The information presented above appears to demonstrate that the species is noteligible for listing under this criterion. However, the purpose of this consultation document is to elicit additional information to better understand the subspecies status. This conclusion should therefore be considered to be tentative at this stage, as it may be changed as a result of responses to this consultation process.
Criterion 5: Probability of extinction in the wild based on quantitative analysis is at least:
(a)50% in the immediate future, 10 years or three generations (whichever is longer); or
(b)20% in the near future, 20 year or five generations (whichever is longer); or
(c)10% in the medium-term future, within 100 years.
EvidencePopulation viability analysis based on data from Iron Range suggests that population stability of the palm cockatoo (Australian) over 100 years would need extremely low mortality rates of juveniles (<8.8%) and adults (3.3–4.9%)(Heinsohn et al.,2009).Garnett et al (2011) thus determined that population viability analysis indicated that the subspecies faces >10% probability of extinction within 100 years.
The data presented above appears to demonstrate that the subspecies is eligible for listing as Vulnerable under this criterion. However, the purpose of this consultation document is to elicit additional information to better understand the subspecies status. This conclusion should therefore be considered to be tentative at this stage, as it may be changed as a result of responses to this consultation process.
Recovery Plan
There should not be a recovery plan for Probosciger aterrimus macgillivrayi (palm cockatoo (Australian)) as the approved conservation advice for the subspecies provides sufficient direction to implement priority actions and mitigate against key threats.
Recovery and Impact avoidance guidance
Primary Conservation Objectives1.A stable of population with stable demographic parameters
2.Subspecies persistence at key, monitored sites.
Important populations
All populations are of high conservation value.
Important habitat for the survival of the species
Closed forest and riparian systems and open woodlands, adjacent to closed forest, dominated by Corymbia spp. and Eucalytpus spp.
Information required, research and monitoring priorities
1.Techniques to understand age structure of subspecies populations
2.Longevity, survival and other demographic parameters of the palm cockatoo (Australian)
3. Genetic studies to understand population connectivity across the Cape
4.Age and population status of suitable nest-trees away from Iron Range
5.Monitor residence at key sites at Iron Range and along westward flowing rivers
Management actions required
1.Active fire management around rainforest blocks
References cited in the advice
BirdLife International (2011). ‘Species factsheet: Probosciger aterrimus’.
Available on the internet at: birdlife.org/
Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation(2010). Kaanju Ngaachi, Wenlock and Pascoe Rivers: AboutUs - Kuuku I’yu Northern Kaanju.
Available on the Internet at:
Garnett ST, Szabo JK and Dutson G (2011). The action plan for Australian Birds 2010. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria.
Heinsohn R, Murphy S, Legge S (2003). Overlap and competition for nest holes among eclectus parrots, palm cockatoos and sulphur-crested cockatoos. Australian Journal of Zoology 51, 81–94.