Protecting Our Lesser-Known Wildlife

This week, Capes Conversations looks at the plight of some lesser known, or less publicised, wildlife in our region, and the work being done to protect them. 

This episode could apply to so many of our native species where human impact, feral animals, habitat loss, light pollution, introduced species and climate change have all impacted our local wildlife and put them under threat.

Host Kellie Tannock talks to conservation researchers and advocates for our beach-nesting birds, the white-bellied frog and the snake-necked turtle to find out what is being done to protect these often elusive and vulnerable animals. 

Image supplied by Tegan Knowles.

Thanks for listening and if you've enjoyed this podcast, please share with your family and friends.

For more inspiration on visiting the Margaret River Region follow @margaretriver on Instagram or explore www.margaretriver.com.

This show was recorded at RMR 101.9FM, Margaret River Region.

Transcript

Kellie Tannock 0:01

Welcome to Capes Conversations, sharing the stories that make the Margaret River Region a truly special place to live and visit. Hello, I'm Kellie Tannock, and this week we're looking at the plight of some lesser-known or less publicised wildlife species in our region and the work that's being done to protect them. This episode could apply to so many of our native species, the Western Ring-tailed Possum, the South West's nine endemic bat species, the Chuditch, Numbat and Dibbler breeding and reintroduction programmes, our Baudin, Carnaby and Red Tailed Black Cockatoos, the Brush-tailed Bettong or Woily. I could go on and you get the point. But human impact, feral animals, habitat loss, light pollution, and climate change are just some of the many reasons that a lot of our local species are under threat. My first guest is Tegan Knowles, who focuses on beach nesting birds for BirdLife Australia and joins me to talk about these local shorebirds. Welcome, Tegan.

Tegan Knowles 0:56

Hiya Kellie and thank you for having me.

Kellie Tannock 0:58

That's an absolute pleasure. Teagan, tell us about our beach nesting birds for those who might not be familiar with them.

Tegan Knowles 1:03

Yeah, well, in the Southwest, we're lucky to share our beaches with four species of resident beach nesting shorebirds. The larger ones are the Pied and Sooty Oyster Catchers, and they're easily recognisable by their striking red bills and eyes. Many people may have seen the pair of Sooty Oyster Catchers that raise their chicks each summer near the White Elephant cafe in Gnarabup. We also have two much smaller species, the Red-capped Plover and the Hooded Plover, which can be trickier to spot because they camouflage so well in the beach environment. Over spring and summer, all four species lay their highly camouflaged eggs directly on the sand, anywhere above the high tide line, and spend about four weeks incubating them. During that time, the parents work incredibly hard to keep those eggs at the right temperature, and that's no small task on our busy beaches. If the eggs do hatch, the chicks remain flightless for about five weeks. During this time, they're tiny and very vulnerable. And from day one, Plover chicks have to find their own food. They're foraging for small insects and invertebrates along the water's edge. It's an incredible effort for such little birds, and they rely on undisturbed space on the beach to give them the best chance of making it through those early weeks.

Kellie Tannock 2:26

Undisturbed space, and we're talking about Gnarabup beach in the busy time. Look at what are the biggest threats to our Hooded Plovers and other beach nesting birds?

Tegan Knowles 2:34

Well, as you can imagine, living and nesting on our beaches, these birds are exposed to many threats and usually overlapping threats. But I want to focus on human disturbance because it's something we can easily help with. One of the biggest challenges for beach nesting birds is simply that they share the same beautiful beaches that we all love to use. But because these birds nest right on the beach, they're very sensitive to disturbance. So when people or off- lead dogs come too close, the parents will step away from their eggs or chicks. And they do this to try and lead potential danger away from their young, sometimes even performing traumatic distraction displays, like pretending to have a broken wing. It's an incredible strategy, but it does mean that the eggs or chicks are left without protection. During those moments, the eggs can heat up or cool down too much, and the young chicks may miss out on critical feeding time or become more visible to predators like gulls and ravens. Even short interruptions can make it harder for a breeding attempt to succeed. Chicks also instinctively crouch low in the sand to try and stay camouflage, which makes them extremely hard to see. Because of this, they can be accidentally crushed by people or dogs. Something that has unfortunately been recorded locally this season. Along our busy Cape's coastline, these small pressures quickly add up, and chick and egg survival is currently too low to sustain the local population.

Kellie Tannock 4:15

It's really frightening to hear that, Tegan, what are we doing to help them stay alive into the future?

Tegan Knowles 4:22

Yeah, well, Bird Life Australia works collaboratively with a fantastic network of volunteers, land managers, and other stakeholders all joining forces to help raise awareness, monitor nesting sites, and help protect these birds. A big part of the Beach Nesting Birds program is research, and much of this is carried out by trained citizen scientists and project participants. They monitor sites throughout the breeding season, record data on breeding success and threats, and then they upload it into our specialised database for end-of-season analysis. This information is really vital for filling in the many knowledge gaps that still exist for these species, in particular the Hooded Plover. We also run a small banding program, and over the past few years, 29 Hooded Plovers in the Capes region have been banded sort of sporting these blue ID flags, and re-sightings of these birds are already helping us learn more about where they go, and we're able to follow their individual stories over time, which has been really interesting. When nesting birds or chicks are spotted, land managers, including the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, the Shire of Augusta Margaret River, and the City of Busselton, along with our amazing volunteers, quickly step in to put up temporary protection. And many listeners may have seen the signs and rope fencing on our local beaches, which gives these birds a helpful buffer during the most critical stages of breeding.

Kellie Tannock 6:06

What happens when you do take that sort of action? I mean, we all love our beaches. It must be hard for people to or to ask people to change their behaviour at the beach. How do beach users respond to your message and what do you need them to do?

Tegan Knowles 6:19

Yeah, well, behaviour change can take time, but education really does help make a difference once people understand these birds and what they're facing. Most genuinely do want to help. And the great news is that we can coexist and share the beach with them. It's simply about being a bit more mindful during the breeding season. So simple choices can make a big impact, like following dog and vehicle regulations, using designated access paths, and spending time closer to the water's edge rather than higher up on the beach where these birds tend to nest. We encourage people to notice the signage and fencing and give those areas a bit of space. And the same goes when you do see the birds themselves. They may well have a nest. This helps parents safely incubate their eggs and gives chicks the room they need to feed and grow. These small actions help ensure beach nesting birds can successfully raise their young while we all continue to enjoy our beautiful coastline. And lastly, if anyone is listening who enjoys walking along the beach and is keen to get more involved, BirdLife Australia is always looking out for volunteer monitors. The volunteers play a huge role in tracking breeding attempts and threats, helping us guide how we care for and manage our coastline. Well, like I mentioned before, the the egg and chick survival rates are too low to sustain the local population, so we'll slowly lose them from our region.

Kellie Tannock 8:14

This is Capes Conversations. I'm Kellie Tannock. Tegan, thanks so much for chatting to me today.

Tegan Knowles 8:19

Thank you so much for having me and helping to spread the awareness of these incredible species. I'd just like to acknowledge that this project received funding as part of the Western Australian Government State Natural Resource Management Programme. And I can't finish without thanking our fantastic volunteers.

Kellie Tannock 8:37

Thanks, Tegan. Tegan Knowles is the beach nesting birds officer for BirdLife Australia. She's asking all beach users to be more aware of the Hooded Plovers during their nesting season around spring summer. We're going to have a music break now before my next guest joins me, and I thought it would be appropriate to play something from Perth Band Little Birdie. This is their 2004 single, Beautiful to Me. That was Little Birdie with Beautiful to Me. We're looking at some of the wildlife species in our region that don't normally get a shout-out on the work that's being done to protect them. While the next very tiny species won't be familiar to most people, it does have its own chocolate version, which is being used to raise funds for its conservation. Joining me is Linda Metz, Sustainability and Environment Lead for South West Natural Resource Management. Welcome, Linda.

Linda Metz 12:44

Hello, Kellie, how are you?

Kellie Tannock 12:46

I'm terrific. Thanks so much for joining us. The White-bellied Frog is a critically endangered frog found in a small pocket in the South West. Can you tell us a bit about it?

Linda Metz 12:55

It is small, yes. So most people would not have come across this species before. This species, the White-bellied Frog, is uh very small. It's about 20 to 25 millimetres in length. It has a very, very limited range, so it's not very widespread through the southwest region and is in fact highly restricted. So it only occupies about a two-kilometre uh square radius area within very much the heart of sort of the Margaret River Region. It's got a really, really specific sort of habitat type, which is around swampy creek lines. So it needs quite moist, lots of sedges around these little sort of creek lines in swampy depressions. But it also doesn't like moving around very much. As adults, the males tend to not move more than about five metres during their breeding season. So their ability to disperse widely through the habitat is uh very limited. And that's actually what really is unique about them and amazing and makes them very special, but it also is contributing to them having um some challenges in terms of sustaining their population.

Kellie Tannock 14:09

It's an incredibly niche and tiny frog we're talking about. Does it actually have its own call that we can hear?

Linda Metz 14:12

Yes, it does. It does have its own call, and in fact, that's actually how we uh tend to identify the species. So because they're so little, often they're sort of terrestrial bound, so they uh form these little burrows and they occupy these little sort of burrowing depressions, often under a lot of leaf litter or quite thick vegetation, so they're not easy to see. So actually, how we tend to find them is by listening. They do have a distinctive call and we use that technique.

Kellie Tannock 14:42

So I'm really tempted to ask you to try and imitate the call, but I wouldn't have to do that.

Linda Metz 14:45

No, no, please don't. I will not do it justice.

Kellie Tannock 14:48

Well, I read that between 2007 and 2018, 62 of the 102 known naturally occurring sub-populations of the White-bellied Frog were wiped out. What has happened in that time to impact this tiny frog?

Linda Metz 15:03

So, firstly, what's interesting about this species is only relatively new to science. So we've only really known about this species since the early 1980s. And since then it's been a bit a bit of a, I guess, a quite intensive um period of time. And I want to just acknowledge that there are groups who've been working really hard on this species. So um the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions, Dr. Emily Hoffman, and also now Perth Zoo. So Perth Zoo has actually established a cavity breeding program as well. So what's happened is that because it occupies such a very small sort of footprint that humans have. So we found this thing in around sort of the early 1980s. Um unsurprisingly, areas around the Margaret River Region have support a lot of horticultural activities, a lot of different land use types. And so over time, unfortunately, as humans continue to sort of move and occupy areas, we tend to clear habitat. But these guys are also because they're very much linked to these critical waterways, any impacts on those waterways will also have an adverse impact. So things like constructing dams, um, changing flows. And of course, the biggest issue by far, and probably the most challenging to address, is this uh climate change. So we've got very clear evidence now of decade or decline in rainfall patterns, um, and we're not expecting that to get better or change. Um, and so under this sort of drying uh climate regime, what we see is those areas of occupancy for that species are just diminishing and diminishing, getting smaller and smaller over time, where you end up with this very, very small number. And of course, the other challenge for these guys is they don't produce a lot of themselves. Right. So they're only producing very small um numbers of egg clutches. Um, those egg clutches are terrestrially bound. So, unlike you know, regular flogs that we we see in waterways swimming around, free swimming, the little little tadpoles, these guys don't do that. They actually stay within those depressions, which then, if you've got livestock and things like that coming down to a waterway to drink, those areas are going to get trampled.

Kellie Tannock 17:24

And they actually have to uh survive two or three years before they're even able to breed, is that right?

Linda Metz 17:29

That's exactly right. They they take a while to reach sexual maturity, yeah, about that two to three year mark, and then um beyond that uh the the numbers of animals are relatively low.

Kellie Tannock 17:41

Linda Metz, what happens if we take this frog or in fact any frog out of our ecos ecosystem?

Linda Metz 17:46

It's such a good question, and it's a really tricky one, isn't it? Because these things are so little you think, well, what could they do? But uh frogs are typically indicator species, they're typically telling us something about the health of the habitat and the ecosystem in which they persist. The fact that this one is struggling so much, I think, probably alludes to some of these threats and challenges that we've talked about, particularly around uh declining rainfall, but also things like just how much habitat we have generally. So overclearing, degradation in water, quality and quantity, and also things like soil and erosion, things like that.

Kellie Tannock 18:22

So, what's some of the work that these agencies that you're talking about are doing on the ground to help rescue the White-bellied Frog?

Linda Metz 18:31

So DBCA conduct a regular monitoring programme, and so at the moment the department's doing that work, they're also being supported to do that work through funding through the National Heritage Trust, which is part of the work that Southwest NRM is helping to deliver. We've also got some really interesting projects at the moment around rehydrating an area to see if we can actually bring back the frog into some critical habitat. So, because these guys hardly move, we've got areas where they are persisting and then several areas where they had persisted previously and are now lost. And so, what we're trying to do is seeing if we can put more water back into the system to see if we can get those uh critical soil moisture parameters right so that the frogs come back in and recolonize the area. There's also um through uh programs like with Perth Zoo Captive Breeding, we're actually re-introducing frogs into areas, whether that's a full translocation, so frogs being introduced into an area that's now extinct, or bringing frogs into existing populations to try and bolster those populations.

Kellie Tannock 19:47

This is Capes Conversations. I'm speaking with Linda Metz from Southwest Natural Resource Management. The Western Swamp Tortoise is also included in your project looking at climate risk for amphibian species. They were once thought to be extinct. Are they making a comeback with your human intervention?

Linda Metz 20:03

Yeah, for a long time, Western Swamp Tortoises they were recorded sort of back in the late 1800s and then um they just disappeared and no one had seen one for ages. And then in about 1953, uh apparently a schoolboy um found a specimen and there was great excitement and a realization that it hadn't um completely gone extinct, which is very thankful. They occupy again very small locality. They're actually traditionally found in Perth around the Swan Valley, and because they've been um diminishing over time, they've looked to um establish other insurance populations outside of the Swan Valley. And again, the reasons why it's the same story I hate to say, and it's a bit like what um some other guests have been saying about that the human impact. So where you've got uh human activity over time just makes um it really difficult for these species to persist long term. So, yeah, the Western Swamp is an interesting one. Again, acknowledging uh great work done by the Western Swamp Recovery Team and also uh the friends of the Western Swamp Tortoise and DBCA over many years in Perth Zoo. Got a good breeding programme happening now at Perth Zoo, and now we're looking to pick up some of those adults and move them or juveniles and move them out into uh new areas so that they can hopefully re-establish populations.

Kellie Tannock 21:27

Well, let's hope that you have some success there. I'm Kellie Tannock, this is Capes Conversations. Linda Metz, thank you so much for joining me today. After this music break, we're moving from a tortoise to a turtle with another local animal in need of help. Margaret River band Brightsider took out last year's Outstanding Regional Gong at the WA Music Awards. This is their hit, The Best Things in Life Come Easy, right? That was Brightsider with the Best Things in Life Come Easy, Right? I'm Kellie Tannock, this is Capes Conversations, and my third guest today is Lauren Scanlon from Nature Conservation Margaret River. Lauren, Nature Conservation does great work across the region's landscapes but today let's talk about the Snake- necked Turtle. Can you tell me a little bit about it?

Lauren Scanlon 25:20

Sure. So the Snake- necked Turtle is a local turtle. So we have two species in the southwest of WA, and it has an apex predator, so it's really important in the food chain. It lives in our wetlands and waterways, and um just a fascinating creature.

Kellie Tannock 25:34

Now, Lauren, I it may seem obvious, but why is it called the Snake-necked Turtle?

Lauren Scanlon 25:39

Well, a lot of locals also call it the Long-necked Turtle, so obviously it has a very long neck that it can retract back into it as a shell. So if you just saw the first half of it, you could be forgiven for thinking it's a snake, if you didn't see the shell.

Kellie Tannock 25:51

Okay, very important to know. Okay. So what what is what does it actually look like?

Lauren Scanlon 25:56

So it's got a very long neck. So the neck is not quite as long as the rest of the body, but uh pretty long. Um and then it it looks like you would expect you know when you see kids drawing turtles, it's got that nice turtle shell, rounded shell. It's got really sharp claws, so you've got to be very careful because they can scratch. And uh you generally don't you don't see them much here unless it's nesting season when it's raining, they generally start to leave our waterways and cross over to lay their eggs. So that's the time of year that we do we do start to think about in the in the southwest.

Kellie Tannock 26:26

But what sort of locations are we talking about and and what sort of habitat are we?

Lauren Scanlon 26:29

So swamps, wetlands, rivers, creeks, um they need to be underwater to eat, but they can they can come out onto land as well. So anywhere where there's a permanent water, you'll find turtles. And that's right through the southwest. Right through the southwest, yeah.

Kellie Tannock 26:44

But how is how is Nature Conservation and and the community helping with the Snake-necked Turtle?

Lauren Scanlon 26:49

So we've partnered with the Shire of Augusta Margaret River, um, who's a local shire who's got on board with the Save Our Snake-necked Turtle Program, which is a citizen science program whereby local people get out in nesting season and they're looking at where the turtles are, where they're moving, and really importantly protecting their nests from predators because we know that they're vulnerable to cats sadly and foxes that you got the eggs and what are some of the other threats and what what is its actual status in terms of threat? Yeah, it's it's a bit hard to say at the moment it's near threatened, but that's based on data that's about 25 years old. So research out of Murdoch University is suggesting that uh recruitment's low, um, but the impacts of drought, and so we suspect that the numbers are less than what we currently know, um, but that's going to involve more research.

Kellie Tannock 27:38

But what is the Snake- necked Turtle turtles and tortoises roles in the ecology in the system in general?

Lauren Scanlon 27:46

So, as I said, there are apex predators, so they're at the top of the food chain. So if you can imagine the role of a shark or a wolf, um they sort of regulate uh all of the ecosystem. So in their absence, uh there's nothing to control the herbivores. So then what happens is then you know, you think of an example of um when wolves were no longer in America, then you get ideas running the show um and and dominating the landscape. Same underwater. So without those apex predators to control the number of animals, it has a huge knock-on effect in the ecology of the wetland.

Kellie Tannock 28:21

So the people who are in those environments, what sort of message would you send to them in terms of looking out for these creatures and making sure that we're not adding to the threat?

Lauren Scanlon 28:30

Yeah, that's a really important question because um they're threatened for a number of reasons. So climate change, obviously they live in waterways, our uh waterways are shrinking and less water. So they're very vulnerable because there's just less habitat, but also because uh during nesting season when the water's lower, the foxes have better access to the nest. But for local people, the other major threats are road strike, particularly in nesting season, domestic cats and dogs. And so for local people, probably the best things that they could do is drive really slowly in nesting season, which is in springtime when they're on the move, generally when it's raining. And really importantly to keep um dogs and cats inside and on later.

Kellie Tannock 29:12

Lauren, obviously, people can take some precautions in the environment, but is there anything more active that they can do to help the species?

Lauren Scanlon 29:19

Yeah, so every season in springtime, as I mentioned, the females leave the water and they lay their eggs, and during that time they're particularly vulnerable. So we've partnered with Murdoch University to save our snake-necked turtle program, and uh we invite local people to become turtle trackers, which means they get a bunch of training and they get out and they do surveys on where are the females nesting and then they get specific training on how to protect the nests from predation. So it's super important work that they're doing, uh, and we encourage locals to get on board so you can look out for that in the springtime. How do they actually access the program so they can get in touch with Nature Conservation uh and we can provide the details. Fantastic.

Kellie Tannock 29:59

Okay, thanks so much, Lauren. I'm Kellie Tannock. It's been great to highlight these critically endangered species and near-threatened species in our backyard that are so often under the radar. A huge thanks must go to the organisations that are doing the hard work to understand how we can help species to thrive, even if we don't get to see them in the world very often. Um, if you're passing the Margaret River Chocolate Factory, why don't you pop in and buy some chocolate white-bellied frogs for a good cause too? My thanks today to our guests Tegan Knowles from Bird Life Australia, Linda Metz from the Southwest Natural Resource Management, and Lauren Scanlon from Nature Conservation Margaret River, and to our show sponsor, the Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association. Thanks for listening to Capes Conversations. I'm finishing this week's episode with singer-songwriter Olive May, who hails Cowaramup up here in the Margaret River region. This is her single, Wait and See.