Climate change and Australia's wildlife: Is time running out? - 2019 REPORT - Earth Hour
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
A JOINT REPORT
PRODUCED BY
WWF-AUSTRALIA &
CLIMATE COUNCIL
REPORT
2019
Climate change and
Australia’s wildlife:
Is time running out?
CLIMATE CHANGE AND
AUSTRALIA’S WILDLIFE: IS
TIME RUNNING OUT?
CLIMATE CHANGE For so long the major threats to Australia’s wildlife were known and well understood
IS HERE AND IT’S
- habitat loss and fragmentation, feral predators such as foxes and cats, or
inappropriate fire regimes, especially in northern Australia. We’ve always known that
HAVING GRAVE the impacts of climate change were looming, but it was a problem to be addressed in
IMPACTS ON OUR
10, 20 or even 50 years.
PRECIOUS WILDLIFE However, this latest Australian summer has shown us that climate change is here
and it’s having grave impacts on our precious wildlife now. We can no longer think of
NOW climate change as an issue for the future, for the next generation to deal with.
We know that climate change is making our weather hotter and, in many areas, drier.
Severe heatwaves are the new normal and droughts are longer and harsher. When it
does rain, the downpours are becoming more intense, causing flooding such as we
have recently witnessed in Townsville. A hotter, drier climate primes the bush for
wildfires of increasing intensity and extent, with ecosystems such as Queensland’s
rainforests and ancient Tasmanian forests suddenly now vulnerable. Marine
heatwaves along Australia’s coasts are now regular events that result in extensive
coral bleaching, such as we have witnessed in the summers in 2016 and 2017 on the
Great Barrier Reef.
Australians know it’s getting hotter and drier, they understand that sea levels are
rising, and wildfires are now more widespread. They’ve suffered through flooding
rains and the intense winds of Category 5 cyclones. But not all Australians know how
our wildlife is suffering as climate change takes hold.
Authorised by Paul Toni, Level 1, 1 Smail Street, Ultimo, NSW 2007
Authors: Darren Grover, Lesley Hughes
Cover image: © Doug Gimesy / WWF-Aus
© WWF-Australia & Climate Council
Climate change and Australia’s wildlife: Is time running out? 2
© GRAEME MCCRABB / AAP
Murray Darling Basin:
Millions of native fish killed
In the summer of 2018/2019, our TV
screens were filled with the images of up
© CSIRO
to a million dead fish along the banks
of the Darling River in western NSW.
Prolonged drought, exacerbated by
mismanagement of the river system, led
to low flows and deoxygenated water that
meant even the hardiest of native fish,
including the iconic Murray cod, died
en masse. Extended drought and low
rainfall, unprecedented in many areas,
is emblematic of climate change and is
becoming a regular feature of large parts
of inland Australia.
Cairns: Heatwave kills one third of Australian
spectacled flying foxes in just two days
Heatwaves across Australia are smashing temperature records by
up to 5 °C - temperatures once thought impossible in some locations
are now becoming common place. Cairns recorded maximum
temperatures in excess of 42 °C on two consecutive days in November
2018, the previous record being 37 °C. These conditions devastated
populations of the endangered spectacled flying fox, killing over
23,000 animals which equates to almost one-third of the entire
species. Simply put, these temperatures were beyond the physiology of
these animals to tolerate – they literally dropped dead from the trees.
Climate change and Australia’s wildlife: Is time running out? 3
North Queensland: Lemuroid ringtail possum
literally cooked to death
Increasing temperatures across the World Heritage Wet Tropics region
of north Queensland are putting unique rainforest species at risk of
extinction. One of the most vulnerable species is the beautiful lemuroid
ringtail possum that lives in the cool, wet cloud forests of the Wet Tropics
above 600 m elevation. The possum is particularly vulnerable to heat,
© QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT
having not evolved effective body cooling mechanisms. In the seven
years following a severe heatwave in 2005, intensive field surveys in the
region failed to find any possums at all. The population eventually started
to recover and has been low but stable for the past decade. But another
extreme heatwave hit the region in November 2018, with temperatures
in the cloud forests peaking at 39 °C, well in excess of the range that the
possums can tolerate. As Professor Stephen Williams of James Cook
University noted, “They don’t sweat, they don’t pant, and they don’t have
a way to keep cool. And they’ve never had to. After five hours exposed to
these types of temperature, they die.” Surveys have not yet been done after
the recent heatwave, but given what occurred after 2005, we fear the worst.
© CSIRO
Australian Alps: The bogong
moths are disappearing
Each spring, millions of bogong moths
traditionally migrate from their breeding
grounds in southern Queensland and
north and western New South Wales, to the
Australian Alps. Here they form a vital part
of the food chain for many alpine species,
including the endangered mountain pygmy
possum and other insectivorous mammals
and birds. Prolonged drought through parts
of southern Queensland and northern NSW
has affected the availability of grass on which
the larvae of the moths feed, in turn severely
reducing moth populations in the Alps.
Millions of moths lining cave walls in the Alps
can usually be found over summer but for
the past two years there have been no moths
seen at all in many of these caves. If this trend
continues, the absence of moths will have a
catastrophic impact on alpine species. Reports
of starving mountain pygmy possums with
dead young in their pouches suggest that some
of these impacts may have already occurred.
Climate change and Australia’s wildlife: Is time running out? 4
© REBECCA DIETE AND LUKE LEUNG
Government recognises Bramble
Cay melomys as first mammal
to go extinct because of climate
change
The native rodent known as the Bramble Cay
melomys was once found in the hundreds
on a tiny sandy island in the Torres Strait,
© WWF-AUS / CHRISTINE HOF
between Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Despite being listed as threatened, and
restricted to a habitat barely above sea level,
no active efforts were taken to protect the
species. The last individual on the island was
observed in 2009 and the species now has the
dubious distinction of being the world’s first
documented extinction as a result of climate
change. Scientists visiting the Bramble Cay
have found evidence that the island has been
repeatedly inundated by storms over the past
few years, these events being exacerbated by
rising sea levels. The last of the Bramble Cay
melomys simply drowned.
Great Barrier Reef: 99% of green turtle hatchlings found to be
female
Marine turtles are the ancient mariners. For millions of years these graceful citizens of the
seas have cruised the oceans but climate change is now presenting a formidable challenge.
The gender of young turtles is determined by the temperature of the sand in which the eggs
develop – at hotter temperatures, hatchlings become females. Research is now showing that
more than 99% of green turtles being born in the northern Great Barrier Reef are female due
to nest temperatures above 29 °C. In addition to the skewing of sex ratios, hotter nests can
also decimate whole populations, with sand temperatures above 34 °C being fatal.
Climate change and Australia’s wildlife: Is time running out? 5
© SHUTTERSTOCK / CHAMELEONSEYE / WWF
Queensland and New South
Wales: Koalas decimated by
habitat loss, dehydration and
starvation
Australia’s iconic koala is suffering from
large-scale loss of habitat throughout
Queensland and NSW; in fact the current
trajectory of population decline, if unabated,
would result in the koala becoming extinct
in NSW by 2050. But while the march of the
bulldozers is plain to see, another killer –
silent and insidious – is also at play. As the
climate across large parts of Queensland
and NSW gets hotter and drier, the leaves
of Eucalypt trees – the preferred food of
koalas – store less moisture and become
less nutritious. As koalas starve and get
increasingly thirsty, they are forced to move
trees or seek water from alternative sources.
Spending more time on the ground moving
from tree to tree or trying to find water
makes koalas vulnerable to attacks from
dogs or vehicle strike – in most cases, fatally.
Climate change and Australia’s wildlife: Is time running out? 6
CLIMATE CHANGE AND
AUSTRALIA’S WILDLIFE: IS
TIME RUNNING OUT?
While these examples of the impact of climate change on Australia’s wildlife are
alarming, there is much we don’t know about how our animals are coping with
a changing climate. Australian wildlife has evolved to cope with a harsh and
unforgiving environment but the relentless march of climate change will push many
species beyond their physiological capacity to cope. As the days get hotter, the seasons
get drier, the oceans warm up, and extreme weather events become more common
and severe, Australia’s wildlife will continue to suffer. This is why it is such a critical
time to take meaningful action to ensure a safe climate for all. Australia’s unique and
extraordinary wildlife is counting on it!
REFERENCES
Darling River fish kills
What an effective Murray-Darling water policy should look like – UNSW Newsroom,
14 March 2019: https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/what-effective-
murray-darling-water-policy-should-look
Menindee fish kill is Australia’s mainland ‘coral bleaching event’, scientists warn
Labor – ABC News, 18 February 2019: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-18/
academy-of-science-menindee-fish-kill-report-released/10820248
Drought, water overuse caused Murray-Darling fish deaths, report finds – SBS
News, 18 February 2019: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/drought-water-overuse-
caused-murray-darling-fish-deaths-report-finds
Mass fish kill due to ‘exceptional climate conditions’, Government’s interim
report finds – ABC News, 22 February 2019: https://www.abc.net.au/news/
rural/2019-02-21/mass-fish-kill-due-to-exceptional-climate-conditions-govt-
says/10835158
Flying fox heatwave deaths
Extreme heat wipes out almost one third of Australia’s spectacled flying fox
population – ABC News, 19 December 2018: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-
19/heat-wipes-out-one-third-of-flying-fox-species/10632940
Queensland flying fox species decimated by record heatwave – Guardian Australia,
30 November 2018: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/30/
queensland-flying-fox-species-decimated-by-record-heatwave
Wildlife struggle to cope with extreme weather – UQ News, 21 December 2018:
https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2018/12/wildlife-struggle-cope-extreme-
weather
Maxwell S.L., Butt N., Maron M., McAlpine C.A., Chapman S., Ullmann A., Segan
D.B., and Watson J.E.M (2018) Conservation implications of ecological responses
to extreme weather and climate events. Diversity and Distributions https://
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ddi.12878
Climate change and Australia’s wildlife: Is time running out? 7
REFERENCES
Lemuroid ringtail possum and heatwaves
As the cloud forests get hotter, the white lemuroid possum gets closer to extinction
– ABC News, 4 February 2019: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-03/white-
lemuroid-possum-under-threat-from-climate-change/10774516
Out of sight, out of luck: the hidden victims of Australia’s deadly heatwaves –
Guardian Australia, 4 March 2019: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/
mar/04/out-of-sight-out-of-luck-the-hidden-victims-of-australias-deadly-heatwaves
This Rare White Possum Could Soon Be a Ghostly Memory – Scientific American, 16
September 2014: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/this-
rare-white-possum-could-soon-be-a-ghostly-memory/
Pers. comm. (2019) - Professor Stephen Williams, Centre for Tropical Environmental
and Sustainability Science, James Cook University
Bogong moth disappearance
Decline in bogong moth numbers could have catastrophic effects in the
Australian Alps – ABC News, 27 February 2019: https://www.abc.net.au/news/
science/2019-02-27/bogong-moth-decline-in-australian-alps/10850036
Decline in bogong moth numbers leaves mountain pygmy possums starving
– Guardian Australia, 25 February 2019: https://www.theguardian.com/
environment/2019/feb/25/decline-in-bogong-moth-numbers-leaves-pygmy-
mountain-possums-starving
How Canberrans watering their lawns could help pygmy possums – Canberra
Times, 2 March 2019: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/how-
canberrans-watering-their-lawns-could-help-pygmy-possums-20190227-p510jc.html
Bramble Cay melomys extinction
An Australian rodent has become the first climate change mammal extinction – ABC
Triple J Hack, 20 February 2019: https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/
bramble-cay-melomys-first-climate-change-mammal-extinction/10830080
Bramble Cay melomys: Climate change-ravaged rodent listed as extinct – BBC News,
20 February 2019: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-47300992
‘Our little brown rat’: first climate change-caused mammal extinction – Sydney
Morning Herald, 19 February 2019: https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-
change/our-little-brown-rat-first-climate-change-caused-mammal-extinction-
20190219-p50yry.html
Gynther, I., Waller, N. & Leung, L.K.-P. (2016) Confirmation of the extinction of the
Bramble Cay melomys Melomys rubicola on Bramble Cay, Torres Strait: results and
conclusions from a comprehensive survey in August–September 2014. Unpublished
report to the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Queensland
Government, Brisbane.
Koalas and climate change
Climate change is turning koalas to drink, scientists find – SBS News, 3 March 2017:
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/climate-change-is-turning-koalas-to-drink-scientists-
find
Climate change and Australia’s wildlife: Is time running out? 8
REFERENCES
Koalas and climate change (continued)
‘They don’t drop dead’: Thirsty koalas flock to Blinky drinkers – Sydney Morning
Herald, 14 September 2018: https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/they-don-t-drop-
dead-thirsty-koalas-flock-to-blinky-drinkers-20180913-p503ke.html
Gunnedah’s koalas vital in University of Sydney study – Namoi Valley Independent,
28 January 2019: https://www.nvi.com.au/story/5870583/koala-water-use-focus-of-
gunnedah-field-trip-project-koala/
GBR turtles and feminisation
How can we halt the feminisation of sea turtles in the northern Great Barrier Reef?
– The Conversation, 16 January 2018: https://theconversation.com/how-can-we-halt-
the-feminisation-of-sea-turtles-in-the-northern-great-barrier-reef-90102
Has climate change caused Barrier Reef’s Green Turtles to turn female? – SBS News,
9 January 2018: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/has-climate-change-caused-barrier-
reef-s-green-turtles-to-turn-female
Totally cool turtles may help save species – UQ News, 11 February 2019: https://www.
uq.edu.au/news/article/2019/02/totally-cool-turtles-may-help-save-species
Climate change and Australia’s wildlife: Is time running out? 9CLIMATE CHANGE AND AUSTRALIA’S WILDLIFE: IS TIME RUNNING OUT?
WWF advancing environmental
protection in Australia since 1978
TREE-CLEARING FOOD
WWF-Australia campaigns alongside farmers,
industry and local and state governments to help WWF works towards having sustainable food
see excessive tree-clearing in Queensland and more widely available than ever before, while
New South Wales significantly reduced. striving for deeper reductions in food waste.
SPECIES
WWF focusses on bringing some of
our most-loved Aussie wildlife species,
including the black-flanked rock-wallaby,
green turtle, quokka, and koala, back
from the brink of extinction.
LOW CARBON PROTECT OUR
FUTURE MARINE LIFE
© NASA
We promote innovative, low carbon and zero We work with partners, governments, Indigenous
carbon solutions to achieve a more climate- communities and corporate partners to protect the
resilient future before 2050. marine migratory pathways of our turtles, whales,
penguins and other marine species.
WWF.ORG.AU
WWF-Australia National Office
Why we are here
Level 1/1 Smail Street, Tel:+1800 032 551
To stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and
to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. Ultimo NSW 2007 enquiries@wwf.org.au
wwf.org.au GPO Box 528 @WWF_Australia
Sydney NSW 2001 wwf.org.au
©1986 Panda symbol WWF ® WWF is a registered trademarkYou can also read
