Gone forever – and nobody would know

– A third of Australia’s threatened species are not being tracked, scientists said yesterday, warning they could easily slide into extinction without anyone noticing.

The first national assessment on the monitoring of threatened birds, mammals, frogs, freshwater fish, reptiles and ecological communities found 217 species were not being watched.

Plants and insects were not included.

The government-funded Threatened Species Recovery Hub said the results were poor for most groups, although keeping

Sydney

tabs on birds was better due to a large and enthusiastic volunteer base.

In contrast, half of all threatened fish receive no monitoring and tracking reptiles was little better.

“Overall, more than a third of Australia’s threatened animals received no monitoring at all and where monitoring does exist, it is often inadequate,” said project leader Sarah Legge.

“This puts these species at risk. By the time we realise we have a problem, it may be too late. Many people do not appreciate how vital monitoring is.”

She said without adequate monitoring, researchers had no idea if populations were going up or down, what was driving changes, or whether conservation efforts needed to be adapted.

The warning came on the heels of another study by the same group last month that said Australia’s extinction rate for mammals, already the highest in the world, could worsen unless more efforts are made to protect them.

It found the potential extinction of 10 Australian birds and seven mammals could be prevented if communities were made aware of the risks they faced. –

Picture: Reuters Campaign posters of Lebanese prime minister and candidate for parliamentary election Saad al-Hariri and his father, assassinated prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, hang on Ferris Wheel in Beirut, Lebanon this week.