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Why Conserve Marine Invertebrates?  |  What will the Document Cover?

What Else will the Document Cover?

Threatened species
There is insufficient information about the majority of Australian marine invertebrates to be able to evaluate whether or not, or to what degree, they are threatened. Few marine invertebrates are listed under Australian threatened species legislation, one of the exceptions being the Tasmanian seastar Patiriella vivipara (restricted to a small number of locations in SE Tasmania and threatened by deteriorating water quality and the invasion of exotic seastars). This is due at least partly to a perception that marine invertebrates are at less risk, because of their ability to disperse (many produce larvae which are transported by ocean currents) and also the enormous size of the oceans; but it is also due to a lack of knowledge. If we had better data, or more time to evaluate the data which does exist, there would undoubtedly emerge other species which are threatened or extinct, but whose decline has simply not been noted. Good data exists for only a few species, mainly those that are commercially valuable.

The species approach to conservation, while useful for certain key species, is therefore likely to be of limited value for the vast majority of marine invertebrates, both because of the difficulty of obtaining enough information to make accurate assessments of conservation status, and because of the costs associated with species listing and recovery plans.

Communities and habitats
Because of the impossibility of dealing with all marine invertebrates on a species basis, we also need to focus on protecting assemblages of organisms, or valuable habitats, as a de-facto approach which will hopefully conserve as many of their constituent species as possible. Particular sites may be conserved through the declaration of Marine Protected Areas, while habitat types may be protected if they are listed under relevant legislation, with approval required for any proposal to damage or clear that habitat in any location.

Threatening processes
Management of threatening processes is necessary for two main reasons - to maximise the conservation of invertebrates not covered by the reserve system (which can only ever protect a fraction of the total area of seabed or ocean), and because many threatening processes continue to operate even within reserves.

Major actual or potential threatening processes we have identified include over-exploitation (by commercial or recreational fishers, for bait, by collectors, for the aquarium trade, etc); physical damage to organisms or habitats through activities such as trawling, dredging, anchoring, ship groundings, and construction of underwater infrastructure; habitat loss or degradation; pollution; introduction of exotic species; and global climate change.

Information, research, legislation and policy
We will also review the existing information base and discuss the need for more scientific information; review relevant legislation and policy from all States and Territories; outline current management approaches; and suggest priorities for future research and management action.

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