Saving our Species monitoring update
Staff from NSW Saving our Species and the Australian Museum were on the Island in early September to complete further threatened species monitoring. The trip was focused on collecting additional genetic samples of two snail species and completing population estimates of two critically endangered beetles from Blackburn Island.
The team used swabs to collect tissue cells from Placostylus bivaricosus at five sites in the Settlement and North Bay. Pseudocharopa ledgbirdi were also sampled from five additional sites on the upper slopes of Mt Lidgbird filling in gaps from the August 2023 survey.
This technique doesn’t hurt the snails and will provide valuable information on the genetic health of these two species and will inform future management actions.
Isabel Hyman from the Australian Museum swabbing a Mt Lidgbird Charopid snail (Photo: Craig Stehn, NSW DCCEEW)
Three Placostylus waiting to be swabbed (Photo: Craig Stehn, NSW DCCEEW)
Another round of mark/recapture surveys were completed for the two critically endangered beetles on Blackburn Island, and initial results included:
- Some recaptures from the February surveys were recorded (meaning they live at least 7 months, quite a long time for beetles).
- First ever record of a live larva of Promethis sterrha.
- Both P. sterrha and Cormodes darwini recorded in increased numbers since February.
Increasing and improving available habitat will be a focus over the next 12 months.
Incidental surveys across Stevens Reserve, Clear Place, Mt Gower Summit, Old Settlement and Far Flats turned up some interesting finds of many LHI endemic weevils and stag beetles such as Lamprima insularis.
Lamprima insularis male (Photo: Craig Stehn, NSW DCCEEW)
Marked Promethis sterrha, Blackburn Island (Photo: Craig Stehn, NSW DCCEEW)