What makes this old scientist grumpy

This scientist is grumpy with his scientific colleagues and the conservation agenda driven by green groups. Scientists are too conservative and lack the skills to communicate effectively with the community. Scientists need to assume moral responsibility for the application of their science and not allow multinationals and politicians dictate science policy or interfere with the communication of science. This requires fundamental changes in science education in Australia. The conservation agenda is anthropocentric with too much emphasis on conservation reserves for human recreation, and on wilderness, threatened species, and alien (exotic) species. The result is a fragmented reserve system that cannot conserve continental biodiversity in the long-term, and inadequate funding for less charismatic species or preventing common species from becoming threatened. A whole-of-landscape approach, such as WildCountry and Wild Lands, is needed; the conservation paradigm should be inverted with the entire continent seen as a nature reserve and human activities managed with nature conservation as a priority. However, nothing will be achieved without policies to limit and then reduce the human population and its consumption of resources. Humanity needs to share Earth with all other species regardless of those species economic benefits or costs

The winter foraging behaviour of birds in a mixed eucalypt forest and woodland on the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales

In this paper, I present data on the foraging behaviour of eucalypt forest and woodland birds at two sites on the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales during the non-breeding season (winter). The winter community was a subset of the summer community, with six guilds among 23 species identified by cluster analysis compared with seven guilds among 41 species in summer. Despite this difference, birds were abundant during winter, with more than 200 individuals of 29 species recorded during July censuses on the two 10 ha plots. Although a few birds fed on nectar, nectar was not abundant in winter and the nectar-foraging guild present in summer was absent in winter. Most birds that relied on large arthropods and aerial foragers left the area after summer and an aerial foraging guild was restricted to one species, the Grey Fantail. As in summer, species differed in foraging manoeuvres and substrates, as well as foraging heights and the plant species frequented to find food. The continued abundance and diversity of species/guilds through the winter is best explained by the variety of food resources available for birds; the complexity of foliage, bark, and ground substrates provided a wide range of foraging substrates over the entire vertical profile of the vegetation. Maintenance of this structural complexity is essential for the survival of eucalypt forest and woodland birds

Failure of science, death of nature

As a people, Australians have lost contact with the world of nature, Risking the collapse of civilization. One factor in the alienation of nature in Australia is the failure of the scientific community to take responsibility for the technology created by the knowledge generated from scientific research. Science has failed to protect Australia\u27s flora and fauna. Scientists must communicate more widely with society, but need to be educated on how to communicate and on their ethical responsibilities to others and other species. Government needs to show leadership in environmental management and nature conservation, while conservationists need to \u27invert the paradigm\u27, taking a new, less anthropocentric approach to conservation. None of this is possible in a market-place economy and Australians must move to an economic system that is ecocentric. This will not be easy as it requires a reduction in the consumption of resources and a smaller population

The past, future and present of biodiversity conservation in Australia

Australia has a poor record for biodiversity conservation. Government and community priorities promote growth and resource exploitation over conservation and ecologically sustainable land and water use. Programmes to protect biodiversity are inadequate, poorly funded, and inappropriate. Consequently, Australia has a large extinction debt and the 21st Century will see massive losses of continental biodiversity. Because birds are well known, these trends are already evident among Australia's avifauna and illustrate the magnitude of the problems facing biodiversity conservation in 21st Century Australia. Only by ending land clearing, limiting population growth, and adopting scientifically based land and water management and conservation practices can these trends be reversed. This is unlikely, as Australia's largely urban population is ill-informed, while the scientific community is marginalized and the agenda of green groups perpetuates the status quo

The state of Australia's avifauna: A personal opinion and prediction for the new millennium

A consequence of the European colonization of Australia has been a significant loss of biodiversity: one in four mammal species is either extinct or threatened. In contrast, only one species of bird has been lost from the Australian continent and there is less concern for the survival of the Australian avifauna than for mammals. This is despite the fact that nearly one in five bird species is listed as threatened or of "special concern". Moreover, a review of the status of Australian birds at local, regional, state and continental scales shows that the impact of Europeans on the avifauna is much greater than acknowledged. Over most of southern Australia entire avifaunas are threatened with extinction. When allowance is made for habitat loss and degradation, 30 to 90% of bird species across the continent have declined in abundance. The extent of this decline is that the survival of many bird species in the 21st Century is threatened. While a majority of birds in southern Australia has declined in abundance and/or distribution, others have increased. Parallel changes are proceeding in northern Australia. In terms of evaluating impact on the avifauna, an increase in numbers and a change in the composition of avian communities are as significant as the loss of populations and species. Both adversely affect patterns of continental biodiversity and are ecologically dysfunctional. Assuming that current trends continue, over the next century, significant components of the avifauna will be lost as populations proceed to extinction and the composition of avifaunas change at scales ranging from the local to the continental. The pattern of change in avian abundances, and the failure to anticipate or acknowledge the major losses of birds on the Australian continent, shows that conservation emphasis needs to shift from a species by species approach to the conservation of communities and entire avifaunas. Taken together, the scale of the changes in the distribution and abundance of Australian birds is an affirmation that present and projected patterns of human use of the Australian continent are not sustainable. Much needs to be done to reverse the decline of the terrestrial avifauna and achieve ecological sustainability in land use. The most urgent actions are to end the clearing of native vegetation, reduce grazing pressure, remove inappropriate fire regimes, control feral and native animals whose abundance threatens native species, and restore functional ecosystems, with an emphasis on native vegetation, to a minimum of 30% of the landscape. These need to be accompanied by an aggressive programme to improve water quality in fresh water habitats and restore environmental water flows, and the creation of a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system across the continent irrespective of land tenure. In the absence of such action, I predict that Australia will lose half of its terrestrial bird species in the next century

Frugivorous pigeons, stepping stones, and weeds in northern New South Wales

Lack of continuous vegetation (corridors) does not appear to prevent rainforest frugivores, such as pigeons, from using remnants or moving long distances from high to low elevations or along the coast. Historically, rainforests in New South Wales were fragmented by eucalypt forests. As a patchwork of geographically close "habitat islands', the smaller fragments formed stepping stones between rainforest at high and low elevations. Frugivorous pigeons cross open country and use a variety of vegetation, including exotic weeds, as stepping stones to move between remnants. While it may not be necessary to ensure habitat continuity for these species, a patchwork of vegetation may be required to facilitate movements and provide alternative feeding areas. In the short term, introduced species that provide winter food for frugivores and stepping stones between remnant rainforests should be retained to conserve rainforest frugivores. In the long term, they should be replaced by a network of native species

Search tactics of insectivorous birds foraging in an Australian eucalypt forest

Five major searching modes were identified among 23 common, mostly insectivorous bird species, distinguished largely by rates, distances and angles moved by birds while foraging and by their prey-capture behaviour. Some bird species typically moved slowly, visually examining substrates at relatively long distances, and then took flight to capture prey (eg whistlers, flycatchers, muscicapid robins, cuckoos). Others moved at more rapid rates and either gleaned small prey from nearby substrates (eg thornbills, treecreepers) or flushed insects that were then pursued (eg fantails). Eastern shrike-tit Falcunculus frontatus and white-eared honeyeater Meliphaga leucotis were specialized substrate-restricted searchers, seeking invertebrate and carbohydrate foods among the exfoliating bark of Eucalpytus

Foraging profile of a Salmon Gum woodland avifauna in Western Australia

During studies of the foraging ecology of birds in the western Goldfields of Western Australia in Spring 1997, 63 species were recorded. The majority were resident and insectivorous, but we estimate that about 25% were migratory or nomadic. Our interpretation of the data is that migrants and nomads had aggregated in the area in response to an abundance of nectar and insects, following good rains in autumn and winter. In addition, there were seven species of raptors, possibly attracted by the numerous nectar-feeders. Ground-foragers dominated the avifauna, but many species foraged in the shrub and canopy layers by gleaning and snatching insects from the foliage. Feeding on flying insects was also prominent and accentuated by the availability of flying termites (Isoptera) at dusk. In contrast, bark was a poorly used foraging substrate compared with other woodlands that have been studied. Differences in community-wide foraging profiles can be explained by temporal and spatial variation in the kinds and abundance of prey (including nectar), but have important implications for the conservation of woodland bird communities. Conserving woodland birds requires large and multiple reserves on a supra-landscape scale, and the restoration of ground substrates and vegetation: both are necessary if all parts of the avifauna, nomads, migrants and residents, are to be conserved

The biota of the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment: reconstruction and restoration

Despite 200 years of European settlement, the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment sustains a rich and diverse fauna. This is a consequence of extensive sandstone environments largely unsuited for development that escaped the extensive habitat modifications affecting the fauna of the grassy woodlands on the Cumberland Plain and Southern Tablelands. The most significant impacts followed the clearing and fragmentation of the vegetation for agriculture. Changed fire regimes, the naturalization of exotic plants and animals, and disease were also factors in the decline of native birds and mammals. Data on frogs and reptiles are limited, but some reptiles have declined in abundance in association with the loss of habitats. Not all native species have been adversely affected by European settlement and a number of birds have increased in abundance and extended their range within the catchment. Agricultural clearing and urban development have also affected aquatic ecosystems. The pre-European environment was apparently characterized by creek and river systems subjected to periodic floods, but with clear water, low nutrient levels, and clean sandly or rocky substrates. Increased nutrient levels, turbidity and siltation associated with urban and rural effluents, land clearing, foreshore erosion and river bed mining has reduced the extent of seagrass communities in the lower Hawkesbury and changed the substrate of rivers and the estuary. Mangrove communities have expanded. Other impacts on aquatic environments include the removal of riparian vegetation and the draining of wetlands, changes of flow regimes, dredging of channels, pollution of water from domestic, industrial and agricultural sources, changes in salinity, eutrophication of wetlands and the over-exploitation of the aquatic fauna. In freshwater creeks and rivers the native fauna has declined in abundance, while introduced species have spread throughout the catchment. In estuarine and marine environments, the fauna associated with clear water, low siltation rates, and seagrass beds has declined and species that were formerly abundant are now scarce. The native terrestrial and aquatic fauna in the catchment will continue to decline with urban expansion and better management of human activities within the catchment is urgently required. Further clearing within the catchment is unwise and existing vegetation remnants (including freshwater wetlands) should be protected from development. This is particularly important on the Cumberland Plain and Southern Tablelands where as distinctive fauna is associated with vegetation remnants and the reserve system is inadequate. Similarly provision needs to be made for minimum freshwater flows into the Hawkesbury-Nepean estuary. Nutrient removal from sewage, control of stormwater runoff, and better management of agricultural chemicals, fertilizers and mining within the catchment is necessary to restore water quality. Foreshoes should be revegetated. Most importantly, urban expansion and population growth within the catchment should be restricted

The critical importance of an ecological conscience

In the plenary sessions of the Royal Zoological of NSW forum Science under siege: zoology under threat, Charles Krebs and Gordon Grigg expressed the view that scientists should speak up about the crisis in biodiversity. Indeed, they asserted that scientists should act as the ecological conscience of a nation. Their opinion became the organising theme of this book. The importance of this idea emerges clearly from the writings of Aldo Leopold: “If we grant the premise that an ecological conscience is possible and needed, then its first tenet must be this: economic provocation is no longer a satisfactory excuse for unsocial land-use (or, to use somewhat stronger words, for ecological atrocities).” Since Leopold’s initial publications in the late 1940s, his powerful ideas have affected thinkers in a variety of fields, including theology, agriculture, journalism, philosophy, and psychology. This paper examines how thinkers in these fields have engaged with the idea of an ecological conscience. It also examines media coverage of environmental issues in early 2013, and shows that although media stories are valuable in publicising issues which may otherwise receive little attention, these stories rarely convey the idea of an ecological conscience. Although the grumpy scientists in this book belong to a variety of disciplines, they share a belief in the critical importance of an ecological conscience. They contend that we need a shift in values away from human exceptionalism – the belief that humans are superior and in control of a passive world – and towards the acceptance of human responsibility for environmental degradation. The collective voice of the grumpy scientists adds valuable weight to the already compelling case for the urgency of developing an ecological conscience