Recovery focus for new board project
Endangered fauna and flora species in the SA Arid Lands region will be targeted in a new five-year program funded by the Natural Heritage Trust.
The Western quoll, Purple-spotted Gudgeon, Arckaringa Daisy and Desert Greenhood are the four target species of the Discovery for Recovery project, which will continue some of the work undertaken in previous SA Arid Lands Landscape Board projects.
Annual trapping activities focussing on the Idnya (Western quoll) at Arkaba Station, adjoining the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park will help assess how far the population may exist away from the initial reintroduction sites.
Camera monitoring will determine any new records of Idnya and will monitor activity by cats, foxes and other pest animals. A program of aerial fox baiting will address the key predation threat.
Surveys will be undertaken to monitor populations of Purple-spotted Gudgeon, a threatened small elusive, spotted fish that is endemic to the Flinders Ranges.
Known as Wirta Udla Yarri to Adnyamathanha, the gudgeon were translocated from two springs in the Gammon Ranges in 2021, doubling the known number of population sites for the species.
The two flora species are each nationally listed for their conservation values and have very limited distribution areas.
The Arckaringa Daisy exists only in a small area of the Breakaways, north of Coober Pedy, where it grows in the soft soils and gravels of the gullies. It is known to be under threat from grazing and trampling by rabbits, livestock and large feral herbivores.
Surveys will be undertaken to better understand the species distribution and other potential threats.
The Desert Greenhood is a native orchid with just eight known populations and a total of 150 plants nationally, all in locations that are considered remote.
In South Australia, small populations exist on rocky outcrops in the Gawler Ranges National Park and on private land near Nepabunna in the northern Flinders Ranges.
Well-adapted to dry conditions, the Desert Greenhood is under threat from grazing, especially by rabbits and feral goats, weeds, fire and a changing climate which is likely to mean less opportunities for flowering, pollination and seed production. Surveys to be undertaken will help to better understand distribution and threats.
Work on all species will involve collaboration with traditional owners, landholders, non-government organisations and other State Government agencies and will aim to increase the capacity and knowledge of all stakeholders.
Discovery 4 Recovery is funded by the Australian Government Natural Heritage Trust and delivered by the SA Arid Lands Landscape Board, a member of the Commonwealth Regional Delivery Partners panel.