Jennifer Marohasy

a forum for the discussion of issues concerning the natural environment

The Burnett River Tortoise: A Note from Russell

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Hi Jennifer,

Any Australians looking for an example of an endangered or vulnerable freshwater species to focus a campaign on might look no further than the Burnett River tortoise.

This species is under threat due to changes in flow regimes on the Burnett, as it lives primarily in riffle habitats and these are disappearing as a consequence of damming the river.

The species was the subject of some controversy during the Paradise Dam proposal and construction. The dam proponents escaped the endangered species label for this tortoise by pointing out it also occurs in the Fitzroy and the Mary and so how could it be endangered if the Dam was built on the Burnett? Of course there was little discussion of the impact of existing and proposed modifications of habitat for this species on those two other river systems. But as one of the leading engineers for the consulting company that prepared the Enironmental Impact Assessment (and the director of their environmental group) said to me at the time:

…what is the fate of a tortoise, compared to the need to provide table grapes to Brisbane?

What indeed, I had to ask myself? After all, it is nothing more than a rather ugly looking reptile.

What possible moral or ethical dilemma could there be in making a decision not to proceed with a development simply because it might extinguish a species that had moved itself foolishly up an adaptive peak?

Clearly those who eventually made the decision to proceed were motivated by a much loftier sense of duty; the need to provide grapes to Brisbane.

I might also point out they were so motivated by that lofty moral position they had no qualms about changing what I had written in the Environmental Impact Assessment to tone down the quite legitimate concerns about the future of that species.

My point in raising this example, is that some here seem to imply that the fate of the Baiji might have been different if it had been Australians that were making the local decisions.

My personal experience suggests there would be no difference.

Russell.

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This is a slightly edited version of a comment first posted by Russell at the very long thread that began with a blog post entitled ‘The Loss of the Baiji’.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Luke says

    Raises an interesting point about democracy doesn’t it. If we took a poll I suspect most would say “who cares” – “ugly reptile” – so perhaps we’re addicted to charismatic mega-fauna like whales, elephants or gorillas – or cuddly thing like wombats and koalas. So do only the “enlightened few” care about the Tortoise – do the “enlightened few” get in the way of a big economic decision like a dam? What’s fair, logical, ethical and economic. I suspect we’re in a moral dilemma with obvious philosophical holes. So probably cost effective to give the boutique DNA the ecological boot for the dam’s economic benefits. Assuming you even spend a nano-second contemplating such things. The Baiji of course would have been charismatic mega-fauna and we’d have gone all out. You’d have nightly Baiji-cam on TV.

  2. Libby says

    Yay Russell! At least I mentioned this creature on the Baiji thread, and have been trying (with zip success so far) to again highlight the lungfish (and Mary River Cod).

    I was chatting to the leading lungfish researcher this afternoon, and we managed to thoroughly depress each other. In fact the lungfish in her circles is being compared to the Baiji. As someone who studies cetacea, I constantly feel ashamed that I am not highlighting the less “sexy” fauna this country has. However, I talk to school groups and show them lungfish adults and hatchlings along with invertebrates, amphibia and reptiles, so I hope in my heart of hearts something good can come from it.I tell the kids that in their lifetime they could see the 380 million year history of the QLD lungfish come to a halt (along with the timelines of the other species, which are by no means any less important).We have remarkable and beautiful plants and animals, most found nowhere else, but they suffer from bad PR and a profound lack of interest in this country. Once the turtle, cod and lungfish are gone, that is it. It will be as sad as it is to lose the Baiji, and we can’t point the finger at the Chinese or even Greenpeace et al.

    Species legislation in this country means nothing. The species listing for the lungfish was held up until AFTER the dam was given the greenlight, despite the proposal to list it as threatened sitting on former minister Kemp’s desk for ages beforehand. The Traveston Dam is up for EIS by the QLD Government (fox and hen house). The lungfish researcher wants a thorough study on the effects of the Paradise Dam first. This dam has been hailed by Beattie as a huge success, yet a WWF report ranks it amongst the world’s worst. A study to show how the lungfish have coped so far, along with the turtles and other aquatic life, is something that would take at least three years to do properly. Of course this wont be done, the government and engineers will point to the rusted up fish ladders a lungfish wouldn’t even think of using as being their attempt to accomodate the fish, and the Traveston will be built. Doesn’t matter that a dam needs water in order to actually be useful, the loss via evaporation will be huge, or that good farming country will be lost, lives uprooted, not to mention the effect further downstream, such as disruption to sea grass beds, dugongs and so on. And for the indigenous communities and their culture? Well, we know what Beattie thinks of justice and respect towards them – look at Palm Island.

    If anyone wants to comment on the EIS for the Traveston, I think it is on the Brisbane water site. Sorry for my vagueness here. Apologies for my rant here, but to me this is a tragedy waiting ot happen. This is our Three Gorges Dam and baiji, and this is something we can actually try and change right now. Thanks Russell for mentioning the little guys. Ugly they are not.

  3. david@tokyo says

    Although it seems that this particular population has had a rough deal, tortoises / sea turtles in other parts of the world “get a lot of love”, so to speak.
    http://www.seaturtle.org/
    CITES has seen battles over trade in related products in the past (again involving Japan) similar to those that we’ve seen regarding ivory.

    Even in New Zealand recently an endangered population of snails and a development project caused quite a kufuffle, although the Minister of Conservation decided to permit a relocation plan, as I recall.

    I think if these issues can get in to the media (this is where we need the assistance of NGOs with their media networks) people in developed nations would usually at least take an interest. What actually happens beyond that is another story though… My gut feeling is that it depends on how much public relations damage is judged to be likely to occur. In terms of New Zealand’s endangered snail population, I think the fact that we were talking about snails and not other more aethetically pleasing species was probably a factor in the Minister’s decision (which may have been made on good advice anyway, I don’t know the details). But politicians will listen to the public if they get rowdy enough. Public opinion is what counts in politics, after all.

  4. Libby says

    “I think if these issues can get in to the media (this is where we need the assistance of NGOs with their media networks) people in developed nations would usually at least take an interest.”

    Piffle, I’m afraid David. There have been letters from some of the world’s top evolutionary development researchers, letters in Nature, letters in the New York Times, opinion pieces in local, national and international papers and so on. I even wrote to Campbell and got some waffly reply about doing what they could and what was best, whatever that means.

    Beattie doesn’t respond to those with the concerns, and keeps changing his people dealing with the issue in the hope that the researchers, farmers, environmentalists et al will get tired of repeating the same old thing and give up. He is not going to be told what to do I’m afraid, no matter whether it means he is wearing new clothes or naked.

  5. david@tokyo says

    Despite all that coverage, public opinion still couldn’t be mobilised?

    Lots of people were very angry about the snails in New Zealand (I was surprised), even if the Minister went ahead with the relocation (and as I said, perhaps on good advice anyway).

    I guess I’d like to remain optimistic…

  6. Jennifer says

    I think tortoises are the most beautiful of creatures. I’ve just dug out a photo of a pet tortoise that I had in 1974 … when I was eleven. I shall scan it, for a future blog post. Now Libby, what do lung fish really look like? Send me a photo (that you have copyright for/can give me copyright to) and a bit of information so readers of this blog can perhaps better relate to the fish?

  7. George McC says

    Luke,

    Wonder of wonders, I actually agree with almost all of your post – looks like you are shaking off the touch of dark side 😉

  8. Russell says

    I should point out that I find all expressions of life on earth to be beautiful creatures (although, I admit to some doubts about Schiller, Louis, and Ian Mott). For me the idea that animals should be in some way appealing to humans is merely another reflection of the view that in order to justify existence, animals have to have some value. Here we are seeking an aesthetic tag, instead of an economic one, and if a species does not stack up, well, what point are they?
    I find this level of arrogance frustrating at times, and amusing at others, particularly from a species whose majority of members are content to apply most of their intellectual capacity to the cosmically important pursuit of working out all the gadgets on their latest 4WD swimming pool with hand-held camcorder (acknowledgement to Leunig).
    Libby, keep up the good work with those kids – I did the same kind of thing introducing school kids to mangroves and inverts in Darwin for many years.

  9. Libby says

    “(although, I admit to some doubts about Schiller, Louis, and Ian Mott).”

    Russell, something else we can agree on!! Did you have big Darwin shrimp up there to show the kids? Mangroves are both yuk for kids as they are muddy and a bit whiffy, and fun for kids as they are muddy and a bit whiffy.

    Jennifer, I will try and get you a photo of a QLD lungfish.

    Whilst in Jakarta recently at their aquarium markets I found a number of box tortoises for sale, as well as marine turtles in plastic bags. Very upsetting, but are these my Western values impinging on their personal tastes? The survival of the turtles however would have been short-lived unfortunately.

  11. Ann Novek says

    Libby,
    I know an Indonesian guy in Jakarta, he is very upset about the animal markets as well, so guess it is not only about Western values.

  13. Pinxi says

    “marine turtles in plastic bags”
    better than plastic bags in marine turtles.
    Sorry, just trying to cheer you up.
    you can get nearly any animal for sale at markets in some places in europe too where I reckon they must have high mortality rates, incl a huge variety of tortoises & turtles – very popular despite the huge price tags on the rare ones – & hatchling emus too. I don’t know where those western values are. Local turtles in Singapore have been displaced by released pet exotics. Most people are just happy to see turtles in the lakes regardless.

    Libby at a conference not so long ago a prominent political type in the UK talked to us in terms of his lifetime & a particular large mammal – how many there were when he was born, how many that day & how many when he’d probably die given his likely life expectancy.. then of course, the implications for his kids. Not sure how it encouraged action or a sense of urgency but certainly moving – such a powerful message that there was silence & then he was asked to repeat it.

    What kid doesn’t love to slosh around mangroves to high heaven? Now kids are the latest accessory perhaps they’re being too protected & gentrified by over cautious parents – I’d hope they’d get into the ugly, muddy, weird, wacky & wonderful creatures.

    IMHO most people would surely agree that all species should be prevented from going extinct where possible, but it’s outside their area of daily concern & action. Most people just assume or hope they can trust that govt & business are doing the right thing.

  14. Jennifer says

    Great links from Luke. Including http://www.ceratodus.com/lungfish.html and comment that:

    “You can have a living fossil in your aquarium fish tank. Australian Lungfish make ideal aquarium fish. They are very hardy, almost indestructible (they have existed for 350 million years) and can have a lifespan of 100 years. (You may like to make some provision for them in your will). These fish are easy to care for and undemanding regarding tank conditions and feeding.

    As the fish grow, they will need a large tank, approx 5ft-6ft or a heated outdoor pond. With good care they should reach approx 18in to 2 feet at approx. 3 to 5 years of age. Their growth rate will then slow to reach 3ft at 10 to 15 years of age.

    …They can be stroked and patted in the water and can be handled out of the water as long as you have wet hands. With time, you can train them to feed from your hands.”

    With these characteristics are they really threatened with extinction?

  15. Pinxi says

    With these characteristics are they really threatened with extinction? They are characteristics for aquarium pets not for survival in their habitat. You didn’t need to click far to find this:

    “a marked decline in the quality and extent of breeding habitat of the Australian Lungfish because of impoundments. While impoundments provide feeding habitat for the species, conditions suitable for successful spawning rarely occur within them, as the species has highly specific requirements for spawning. Generally, spawning habitat is characterised by relatively shallow water and dense macrophyte (aquatic plants) coverage. Impoundments tend to be steep-sided with deep water and fluctuating water-levels, conditions that are not suitable for the dense growth of macrophytes. In addition, impoundments do not provide suitable nursery habitat for the species as the young also require a cover of macrophytes.

    There are also claims that the Australian Lungfish is potentially threatened by exotic and translocated native fishes (in particular the exotic Tilapia Oreochromis mossambica) that have been introduced to the river systems, and that are likely to be predating on eggs and young and competing with adults for breeding habitat. These introduced fishes may also contribute to future declines in the number of breeding adults.

    In summary, there have been losses or reduction in quality of the breeding and nursery habitat of the Australian Lungfish of 26% within its core habitat, the main channels of the Burnett and Mary Rivers. At a result of this, it has been suggested that the adult breeding population may undergo a substantial decline over the next three generations. In addition to this, the breeding and nursery habitat will continue to be threatened by further water infrastructure development in these highly populated areas. The impact of introduced fishes into the river systems is not known, but it is suspected that it will result in a further population reduction. On the basis of the losses and threats, there is sufficient evidence to suspect that the adult breeding population will undergo a substantial decline over the next three generations.”

    see also
    http://www.deh.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=67620

  16. Pinxi says

    Also because populations of longer lived species tend to be slower to recover, so more vulnerable in fragmented & small populations.

    “the Australian Lungfish first breeds at around 15 years of age in males and 20 years in females”

  21. Russell says

    Yep, they are neat pics. Pretty interesting that there are 6 species of turtle/tortoise in the Mary River system – that’s quite a high diversity I would think for these animals in an Australian River of that size.

  22. Libby says

    Hi Jennifer,

    “With these characteristics are they really threatened with extinction?”

    Unfortunately yes. The ‘breeder’ mentioned above has been trying to sell his business for years and is not widely regarded within the aquarium industry. He does no conservation or research on the speceis. He is the only one given a licence in Australia to sell the species. As far as I know (although I could be wrong), Macquarie University is currently the only breeding facility. Because the QLD guy has the license, any excess stock we have has to be euthanased, unless a zoo or aquarium within Australia can take them. We did donate some to Japan, with a lot of jumping through hoops involved. They are very popular in Japan.

    They grow huge, and as Pinxi wrote, they are not sexually mature until about 20 years of age. You can’t just throw a group together and hope they spawn either. It can take years. If the conditions aren’t right, they simply resorb their eggs and sperm and wait until next year. They live for about 100 years, so waiting isn’t a problem for them.

    They can grow to huge proportions, so the claim of keeping them in tanks for years to come is hugely misleading, and the sort if thing I hate in the ‘exotic’ animal industry. They are, however, one of the vey few fish you can pat, and are pretty neat critters.

    Lovely pix and good info in the last link Luke.

  23. Luke says

    One thing you should know about aquarium fish Jen from anyone who keeps them – keeping specimens alive and even having them grow is one thing, but many species are notoriously difficult to spawn. Spawning fish being regarded as the peak of the aquarists art. Great lengths can be gone to e.g. South American catfish – big changes in fresh water, flashing lights in the middle of the night and creating booming noises to mimic thunderstorms. Other are so finicky with water chemistry and tank conditions. Whereas others breed like flies.

    Libby – any comments on viability of populations in the Brisbane, North Pine, Coomera and Logan Rivers? And the colony in the Enoggera reservoir.

  24. Libby says

    Hi Luke,

    I shall ask the researcher for you, but from memory, she seemed to think these introduced populations weren’t doing very well.

  25. Luke says

    It’s important issue – coz Enoggera is often used as the argument that a dam would actually “do them good!”. I guess it may come down to spawning – obviously lungfish can survive in farm dams too but does this mean they’re a breeding population?

  26. Libby says

    The Enogerra had the water hyacinth removed as it is a noxious weed. Prior to this, the lungfish were spawning, but according to Dr Anne Kemp there has not been any significant spawning for the past 20 years.

    The Brisbane River is the only area the fish have been introduced in to where there may be low-level recruitment, however the riffle habitats with aquatic vegetation are being reduced and the spawning is not seen as significant. According to Professor Jean Joss, if there were just this population left, the fish would be classed as critically endangered.

    They should breed in dams, provided the right conditions are provided such as mats of vegetation for them to spawn in and provide a safe habitat and food source (ie inverts amongst the vegetation) for the hatchlings. However, as mentioned it seems to take some time before successful spawning in these conditions occurs. They can survive in farm dams, but whether they breed is another thing altogether.

    Having just heard some more about the business that sells them in QLD, I am quite disgusted with the attitude that these animals are there for making big bucks and nothing else, including the owner saying that dams are good for lungfish. I guess they will be good for his business if there are no fish in the wild anymore.

    There is a petition you can sign, although I don’t know how appropriate it is for this forum. Sorry if I have stepped over the line here Jennifer:

    http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/610807318?ltl=1158022495
    Whilst it may be about lungfish, it would of course benefit Russell’s turtles and a whole heap of other critters, including some of us primates.

  27. Luke says

    So Jen – no offence intended here – straight issue – so how does the IPA, AEF and the rest of us for that matter balance the needs of the lung fish versus economic development and Brisbane hosing its drive ways?

    Ethical, political and logical advice needed pls ! DO it come down to how much we’re prepared to pay. Unfortunately it’s a zero/one decision. One either has a dam or not. You can’t have 0.2 of a dam.

  28. Garry says

    Speaking to Steve Brooks Qld DPI&F researcher. He said that the is evidence that Lungfish are utilising hyacinth for spawning medium.

    Introduced to Brisbane River in 1908 I believe. No further introductions into Enoggera, Manchester or Somerset dams since their construction yet the species is still in (appears to me from regular visits & observations) good numbers.

    Not advocating dams are good, howver they may well constitute the last line of defence for this & other endangered species eg Mary River cod.

  29. Russell says

    Hi Garry,
    There is no doubt that the construction of dams actually provides new opportunities for those species that have habitat requirements that match those created by the Dam. So for any species that require or prefer deeper pools with slow moving water, with temperature stratification, the creation of a dam can be very nice indeed. Is the lungfish one of those species – I think the evidence is equivocal at best. As Libby and others point out the animal is very long lived. It is often the case that annual recruitment is naturally low in long lived species. Has the recruitment of lungfish been affected in all the impounded waterways?
    for the turtle I mentioned the issue appears much more clear cut. The species habitat is shallow fast flowing water -riffles or rapids. Dams obviously completely cover such habitats upstream of the dam as far back as the impounded water reaches. Downstream of the dam, the interruption of natural flows can mean that riffles dry out periodically, or repeatedly. Both impacts can obviously be severe for a species that requires that specific type of habitat. Is the turtle one of those species? Well it appears to be restricted to that habitat type, but how much do we really know about a species that only just managed to get a name this year?
    In a more general sense, there are also the impacts further downstream at ecosystem level. You often hear politicians (usually national/country party) lamenting about the volume of perfectly good water that simply flows wastefully away to the sea. This is a common failure to recognise that estuaries require significant inputs of freshwater, it’s what makes them estuaries and also what increases the primary productivity in estuaries. Many Asutralian estuaries are seasonal ,switching between marine inlets with salinities approaching that of seawater during the dry months and brackish water estuaries during the wet months when strong inflows of freshwater take place. Some estuaries in tropical Australia are known as “reverse estuaries” as there during the dry season months the salinity my increase up the tidal section of the river and be higher than the salinity of seawater.
    The salinity regime in an estuary has a strong impact on its productivity, and dams can significantly alter that salinity regime, by reducing the total volume of water reaching the estuary, and also by shortening the time period during the year when the estuary is actually brackish.
    Many organisms, including more than a few of commercial importance, time their reproductive effort to co-incide with the onset of freshwater flows. Some of the most commercially important prawns grow best in brackish water salinities.
    Mangroves tolerate seawater, but actually do best in brackish water with growth rates negatively correlated with salinity – here there do appear to be logical cause and effect mechanisms.

  30. Libby says

    Hi Garry,

    The good numbers you are seeing show that adults are coping OK, but it isn’t evidence of successful recruitment. Thorough long-term surveys are required in order to get a handle on how the animals are doing in their native and introduced habitats. These surveys need to take into account each species present, and also be thoroughly independent with no ulterior political motive entering the picture.

  32. Hasbeen says

    Libby, that should give the idiots a face saving way out of building, what even they must now know, is a very badly chosen dam project.

    We now have a useless bridge over the Brisbane river, due to the pigheaded stupidity of this government. Lets hope, this time, that they grab this out, before more of our taxes are wasted.

  34. Tim says

    I am about to build a pond in my back yard, and I want to design it specificly for lungfish. Does anyone want to share their experiences or designs. Or does anyone have surplus lungfish looking for a good home. As well as my personal appreciation for the species, there is a public awareness agenda here.