Plibersek's pledge for no new extinctions under threat as researchers issue dire warning on Tasmanian maugean skate
Environment minister Tanya Plibersek's target of preventing any new extinctions of plants and animals is headed for failure without swift intervention, scientists warn.
Researchers from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) said a single extreme weather event could be enough to push the species some call the "Tasmanian tiger of the sea" to the brink of extinction.
Key points:
The endangered skate's population almost halved between 2014 and 2021, and there's no sign the drivers of the decline have eased, according to
a report published today by researchers at the University of Tasmania's IMAS.
While the skate monitoring project will continue as planned until the end of the year, the team decided to fast-track today's interim report.
"This is really unusual. Usually you hold off until you have the full study and you analyse it," said report co-author David Moreno.
"We think that the urgency of the numbers warranted having something out there that we can use for informing managers."
The researchers are recommending a raft of measures including a captive breeding program be implemented in order to avoid extinction.
"The situation is dire enough that, first of all, we need to start considering ex-situ conservation options," Dr Moreno said.
https://amp-abc-net-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/102318426
Environment minister Tanya Plibersek's target of preventing any new extinctions of plants and animals is headed for failure without swift intervention, scientists warn.
Researchers from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) said a single extreme weather event could be enough to push the species some call the "Tasmanian tiger of the sea" to the brink of extinction.
Key points:
- The maugean skate, an ancient species of ray, suffered a population crash in 2019, with nearly half of tagged individuals dying
- New evidence shows very few young being born or surviving to replenish the population
- Conservation groups are calling for Tanya Plibersek to urgently intervene to restore water quality and inflows to Macquarie Harbour
The endangered skate's population almost halved between 2014 and 2021, and there's no sign the drivers of the decline have eased, according to
a report published today by researchers at the University of Tasmania's IMAS.
While the skate monitoring project will continue as planned until the end of the year, the team decided to fast-track today's interim report.
"This is really unusual. Usually you hold off until you have the full study and you analyse it," said report co-author David Moreno.
"We think that the urgency of the numbers warranted having something out there that we can use for informing managers."
The researchers are recommending a raft of measures including a captive breeding program be implemented in order to avoid extinction.
"The situation is dire enough that, first of all, we need to start considering ex-situ conservation options," Dr Moreno said.
https://amp-abc-net-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/102318426