National recovery plan for the spectacled flying fox

Pteropus conspicillatus

2

National recovery plan for the spectacled flying fox Pteropus conspicillatus Cover photograph: Spectacled flying fox by Martin Schulz. The State of Queensland, Department of Environment and Resource Management 2010. Copyright protects this publication. Except for purposes permitted by the Copyright Act, reproduction by whatever means is prohibited without the prior written knowledge of the Department of Environment and Resource Management. Inquiries should be addressed to GPO Box 2454, BRISBANE, QLD 4001. Copies may be obtained from: Assistant Director General Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Department of Environment and Resource Management GPO Box 2454 Brisbane Qld 4001 Disclaimer: The Australian Government in partnership with the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management facilitates the publication of recovery plans to detail the actions needed for the conservation of threatened native wildlife. The attainment of objectives and the provision of funds may be subject to budgetary and other constraints affecting the parties involved, and may also be constrained by the need to address other conservation priorities. Approved recovery actions may be subject to modification due to changes in knowledge and changes in conservation status. Publication reference: Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management 2010. National recovery plan for the spectacled flying fox Pteropus conspicillatus. Report to the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Canberra.

3

Abbreviations ABLV Australian Bat Lyssavirus ABS Australasian Bat Society ALGA Australian Lychee Growers Association CTTRS Cape Tribulation Tropical Research Station CYPDA Cape York Peninsula Development Association Inc DEC Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (New

South Wales) DIP Department of Infrastructure and Planning (Queensland) DAFF Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and

Forestry DEEDI Department of Employment, Economic Development and

Innovation (Queensland) DERM Department of Environment and Resource Management

(Queensland) DSEWPaC Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment,

Water, Population and Communities EPBC Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity

Conservation Act 1999 JCU James Cook University NCA Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992 NGRMG Northern Gulf Resource Management Group NRM Natural Resource Management regional groups NQDT North Queensland Dry Tropics QH Department of Health (Queensland) QRAA Queensland Rural Adjustment Authority RTEGA Rambutan and Tropical Exotic Growers Association TBH Tolga Bat Hospital TNRM Terrain Natural Resource Management TSSC Threatened Species Scientific Committee UQ University of Queensland WTMA Wet Tropics Management Authority WTWHA Wet Tropics World Heritage Area

4

Table of Contents

1. Executive summary ...............................................................................................5 Current species status ....................................................................................... 5 Habitat and distribution summary ....................................................................... 5 Threats to species survival ................................................................................ 5 Recovery objectives ........................................................................................... 5

2. General information ...............................................................................................6 Conservation status ........................................................................................... 6 International Obligations .................................................................................... 6 Affected interests ............................................................................................... 6 Consultation with Indigenous people.................................................................. 8 Benefits to other species and communities ........................................................ 8 Social and economic impacts ............................................................................. 9

3. Biological information .............................................................................................9 Taxonomy .......................................................................................................... 9 Alternative common names ................................................................................ 9 Description ......................................................................................................... 9 Life history and ecology - diet and foraging...................................................... 10 Life history and ecology roosting .................................................................... 11 Life history and ecology breeding.................................................................. 12 Current known national distribution .................................................................. 13 Extent and geographic location(s) of populations ............................................ 14 Habitat critical to the survival of the species .................................................... 17 Population size ................................................................................................. 17

4. Threats to species survival .................................................................................17 Vulnerability to threats ...................................................................................... 17 Identification of threats ..................................................................................... 18 Known threats: ................................................................................................. 18 Significant threats ............................................................................................. 18 Moderate threats .............................................................................................. 18 Minor threats .................................................................................................... 18 Likely threats .................................................................................................... 25

5. Recovery objectives, performance criteria and actions ......................................26 6. Management practices ........................................................................................36 7. Evaluation of recovery plan .................................................................................36 8. Costs and timelines of recovery .........................................................................36 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................40 References ..............................................................................................................41

5

1. Executive summary Current species status The spectacled flying fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) is listed as Vulnerable under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) includes general restrictions regarding moving of roosts that are relevant to genus Pteropus. However Pteropus conspicillatus is not listed under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. Habitat and distribution summary The spectacled flying fox feeds on fruits and blossom, primarily in the canopy vegetation of a wide range of vegetation communities, including closed forest, gallery forest, eucalypt open forest and woodland, Melaleuca thickets, coastal swamps, mangroves, vegetation in urban settings, and commercial fruit crops. These foraging activities result in dispersal of pollen and seeds, thereby contributing to the reproductive and evolutionary processes of species and ecological communities. The species roosts in large aggregations, called camps or colonies, in the exposed branches of canopy trees. Throughout the year an unknown proportion of animals roost away from camps, either solitarily or in small groups. Within Australia, the spectacled flying fox occurs in north-eastern Queensland, with the largest population known from the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area between Townsville and Cooktown (DEWHA 2009a). The location of camps on Cape York Peninsula is poorly known and no camps have been located on the islands of the Torres Strait. The spectacled flying fox also occurs on New Guinea and nearby islands (including Woodlark, Alcester, Kiriwana and Halmahera Islands), parts of Indonesia, and also the Solomon Islands (Duncan et al. 1999; Garnett et al. 1999 in DEWHA 2009a). The foraging range of the species is less well understood and further research will provide a better understanding of the foraging distribution of this bat. Telemetry and resource use results from the Wet Tropics indicate that foraging individuals range widely across the Wet Tropics bioregion and extensively into drier forests, including those to the west of the Wet Tropics Region. Threats to species survival Known threats to the spectacled flying fox include loss of habitat, conflict with humans and/or man-made obstacles, entanglement in nets, illegal shooting, electrocution on powerlines, entanglement in barbed wire fencing and backyard drape netting, tick paralysis, genetic disorders (e.g. cleft palate syndrome), agricultural pesticide residue poisoning and vehicle-related mortality. Recovery objectives The overall objectives of recovery are to se