Book Chapter
A brief review of the life history of, and threats to, Burramys parvus with a prehistory-based proposal for ensuring that it has a future
By
Linda Broome
;
Linda Broome
Office of Environment and Heritage, P.O. Box 733, Queanbeyan, NSW, 2620
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Michael Archer
;
Michael Archer
Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, 2052
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Hayley Bates
;
Hayley Bates
Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, 2052
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Haijing Shi
;
Haijing Shi
School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences, University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, ACT, 2610
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Fritz Geiser
;
Fritz Geiser
Centre for Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Zoology, The University of New England, Armidale NSW 2351
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Bronwyn McAllan
;
Bronwyn McAllan
Physiology and Bosch Institute, The University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006
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Heinze Dean
;
Heinze Dean
Department of Primary Industries, Parks Water and Environment, 134 Macquarie Street, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001
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Suzanne Hand
;
Suzanne Hand
Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, 2052
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Trevor Evans
;
Trevor Evans
Australian Ecosystems Foundation Inc., 35 Crane Rd Lithgow, NSW 2790
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Stephen Jackson
Stephen Jackson
PO Box 2313, Orange NSW, 2800
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Published:2012
Citation
Linda Broome, Michael Archer, Hayley Bates, Haijing Shi, Fritz Geiser, Bronwyn McAllan, Heinze Dean, Suzanne Hand, Trevor Evans, Stephen Jackson, 2012. "A brief review of the life history of, and threats to, Burramys parvus with a prehistory-based proposal for ensuring that it has a future", Wildlife and Climate Change: Towards robust conservation strategies for Australian fauna, Daniel Lunney, Hutchings Pat
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The endangered Mountain Pygmy-possum Burramys parvus is an alpine-subalpine specialist and the only Australian mammal entirely restricted to areas above the winter snowline. There are three geographically isolated populations of B. parvus: Kosciuszko National Park (South Ramshead - Cabramurra) in New South Wales, and Mt Bogong - Mt Higginbotham and Mt Buller in Victoria. Populations have shown signs of rapid decline over the last 15 years. The duration of snow cover and time of snow melt appear to be linked to the survival rate of the Mountain Pygmy-possum which is under severe threat from climate change. Here we discuss its life history, extinction threats and the potential value of the fossil record in identifying conservation options for the Mountain Pygmy-possum. Also presented is a proposal to establish a breeding facility for the rapidly declining Kosciuszko population in New South Wales. This breeding facility would firstly provide a safety net for unanticipated disasters in the alpine and subalpine zone that might occur in the short term. Secondly, the facility would provide an opportunity to address concerns that climate change will eventually transform the subalpine-alpine zone, making it unsuitable for further survival of B. parvus populations. To address this concern, we propose breeding surplus individuals that could be experimentally acclimatised for release into alternate environments.
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