23 July 2024
The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), a unique and cherished native species of Queensland, is under serious threat. The irregular and inadequate monitoring of platypus populations across the state has put this species in a precarious position. Their decline is slipping past us, and we cannot wait until it is too late to take action.
The Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland (Wildlife Queensland) urges the Queensland Government to take immediate action to prevent further mismanagement and potential local extinctions.
Alarming survey results
Recent environmental DNA (eDNA) and observational surveys in South East Queensland have uncovered disturbing declines in local platypus populations. However, the state’s lack of comprehensive monitoring efforts is a major concern. While some isolated hotspots have received attention, this fragmented approach is not enough to ensure the species’ survival statewide. Comprehensive monitoring is crucial.
The last extensive statewide observational survey, The Great Queensland PlatySearch, conducted by Nattrass in 2002, recorded over 430 sightings across 102 rivers, creeks and water impounds. Since 2016, however, eDNA surveys have focused on monitoring in the south-east, leaving vast areas of the state unmonitored and at risk.
Localised declines and the call for action
In the past 20 years, several waterways in South East Queensland have experienced localised declines uncovered by the longitudinal eDNA surveys. The conservation of this unique species in Queensland needs to be prioritised. Wildlife Queensland PlatypusWatch Project Officer Dr Tamielle Brunt emphasises the urgency:
“It is a huge concern that within the last 20 years, we have seen platypuses disappear from local Brisbane waterways. I’d hate to think what is happening to other populations where we aren’t looking. We wouldn’t know until it’s too late!”
Wildlife Queensland is calling for urgent measures to safeguard Queensland’s platypus populations. Comprehensive, statewide monitoring using eDNA technology is essential. This will ensure accurate data collection and informed decisions to protect and preserve Queensland’s platypus populations in the future.
“The lack of reliable data on the distribution of the elusive platypus must be addressed now before this iconic species joins its predecessors in the fossil fields. There is no time to waste,” says Wildlife Queensland’s Policies and Campaigns Manager Des Boyland.
Classification discrepancies hinder conservation
Despite the platypus being classified as “Near Threatened” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, this status does not translate to the national Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). This classification discrepancy, compounded by Queensland’s “Special Least Concern” designation, seriously undermines conservation efforts.
Given that the platypus is in danger of becoming locally extinct in some areas, its conservation status needs to be reviewed.
Wildlife Queensland urges the Queensland Government to support the necessary statewide data collection to analyse and upgrade the platypus’s conservation status to an appropriate threatened category. It is a matter of great priority.
What you can do
- Contact the Queensland Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef and Minister for Science and Innovation, Hon Leanne Linard MP, and the Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities, Hon Mark Furner MP.
- Sign our NEW petition today calling for the ban of enclosed yabby traps, like opera house nets.
- Report a platypus sighting
- Learn more about PlatypusWatch
- Subscribe to our eBulletin Talking Wildlife to learn more about your local wildlife, plus Wildlife Queensland’s latest news and offers.
Sources
- Nattrass, R. (2002). The Great Queensland PlatySearch, Internal report (NatureSearch).
- Hawke, T., Bino, G., & Kingsford, R. T. (2020). A national assessment of the conservation status of the platypus. Australian Conservation Foundation. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3163334619/view
- Bino, G., Kingsford, R. T., & Wintle, B. A. (2020). A stitch in time – Synergistic impacts to platypus metapopulation extinction risk. Biological Conservation, 242, 108399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108399
- Brunt, T., Cecil, M., Griffiths, J., Adams-Hosking, C., & Murray, P. (2021). Where are the platypuses (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) now? A snapshot in time of their distribution in the Greater Brisbane region. Australian Mammalogy, 43(3), 368-372. https://doi.org/10.1071/AM20052
- Brunt, T. (2023). Platypus populations in a subtropical, urban landscape: an analysis of distribution, habitat, and connectivity. PhD Thesis, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland. https://doi.org/10.14264/0282e3e