September was National Biodiversity Month in Australia, promoting the importance of connecting with nature and caring for the natural environment and the diversity of life it contains.

Luke Price, Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu Regional Ecologist, says it is really important to be aware of maintaining biodiversity for all 12 months of the year.

“Conserving natural places, ecosystems and wildlife through planning and on-ground action for threatened species and ecological communities is a key focus for Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu.”

Luke says the Hills and Fleurieu region is rich in biodiversity and the Mount Lofty Ranges is part of one of the 15 biodiversity hotspots in Australia. 

“A biodiversity hotspot is an area rich in animal and plant species, particularly those which are endemic or restricted to a specific region or site. 

“Half of the state’s native plant species and three quarters of its native bird species live in our region. 

“In the Hills and Fleurieu, which includes the southern Mount Lofty Ranges, regional conservation assessments have identified 126 fauna species and 445 flora species that are considered threatened. 

“Just as startling, it is estimated that 37 fauna species and 38 flora species are regionally extinct.’

Luke says ‘threatened species’ are those species or subspecies which are threatened with extinction. Some are more threatened, or at greater risk of extinction than others. 

“Special criteria including population size, geographic range and rate of decline are used to assess each species’ conservation status and assign them to a category that reflects their risk of extinction.”

He says the threats that can increase extinction risk are many and varied. 

“Primary threats include the loss, fragmentation and degradation of habitat; disease; altered fire regimes; and competition or direct predation from invasive species. 

“Other threats include climate change; changes to water flows; unsustainable use of natural resources and many others.”

Species listed under the categories Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU) are all considered ‘threatened’ under Australian and state government legislation. 

These species are considered to be facing an extremely high to high risk of extinction in the wild.

Some examples of threatened species and subspecies that occur in the Hills and Fleurieu region include:

• Mount Lofty Ranges chestnut-rumped heathwren (EN)
• Eastern hooded plover (VU)
• Mount Compass oak-bush (EN)
• Western beautiful firetail (EN)
• Fleurieu leek orchid (CR)
• Yarra pygmy perch (VU)
• Varied sittella (VU)
• Cunningham’s skink (EN)
• Western pygmy-possum (CR)
• Black-chinned honeyeater (VU)
• Yellow-bellied water skink (VU)
• White beauty spider-orchid (EN)

Luke Price says we are fortunate to live and work in a region with productive soils, good rainfall and ‘usually’ hospitable temperatures. 

“Our region’s biodiversity helps support our wellbeing, health, and economy, and in turn, it needs us to help conserve and manage it.

“If you would like to learn more about what we’ve been doing to conserve our region’s biodiversity, visit our website to see the successes of our recently completed 5-year, Australian Government funded, Back from the Brink Project. 

“This project aimed to reduce the extinction risk of 37 nationally threatened flora and fauna species and two nationally threatened ecological communities within the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges and Fleurieu Peninsula.“