New study finds endangered mountain pygmy possum threatened by ski resort development
Media Release, Friday 26 October 2007
The endangered mountain pygmy possum has been found to be threatened by ski resort development at Mt Buller and not necessarily bushfires or climate change as previously suggested.
“Pygmy possums (or Burramys) at Mt Buller have been in rapid decline in the last few years. Their genetic diversity has plummeted by more than two thirds over the last 10 years and this has been caused by habitat loss due to ski resort development at Mt Buller. The habitat loss and fragmentation has led to a highly female biased sex ratio and small population size, resulting in inbreeding and the subsequent loss of genetic diversity”, said Andrew Weeks, a geneticist from CESAR at the University of Melbourne.
The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University, presents the most rapid loss of genetic diversity ever documented in a mammal, and is a rare example of being able to link this loss with a specific cause.
The mountain pygmy-possum is the only Australian marsupial that hibernates under a cover of snow and this endangered species is restricted to alpine habitats of mainland Australia at Mt Buller and the Bogong High Plains in Victoria and Mt Kosciusko in NSW. In 2003 a large portion of the pygmy-possum’s habitat was burnt by a rare fire and habitat loss and disturbance have also occurred because of ski resort development.
Boulderfields are the primary habitat of the possum but are also the ideal location for ski field development. The reduced habitat, predators and other factors mean there are less than 1,800 adults and numbers are declining.
“We have shown that levels of genetic variation in possum populations were unaffected by the 2003 fires’ but there was a rapid loss of genetic variation following resort expansion at Mt Buller. The most immediate threats to the mountain pygmy-possums existence is human developments, not natural catastrophes or climate change” said Dr. Weeks.
The study focussed on a range of populations in the Bogong High Plains that were affected by the 2003 fires and also two populations at Mt Buller, one where resort activities have disturbed or eliminated 80% of the possum’s habitat and another which has not been developed, but consists of poor quality habitat.
The researchers took hair samples from numerous possums’ in each population and used DNA methods to assess their genetic variation – the higher the variation, the better chance they have at surviving in the longer term.
They found that the ski resort developed site had a reduced population size and greatly reduced genetic variability. However, the fire-affected populations and those in poor habitat areas showed no loss of genetic variation and population numbers had not declined since previous studies.
“Our results suggest that resort developments need to proceed in a sensitive manner that preserves Burramys habitats intact. Individuals from other populations will need to be introduced to prevent inbreeding and increase their genetic variation” said Dr. Paul Mitrovski.
The study was recently published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters (LINK www.pubs.royalsoc.ac.uk/index.cfm?page=1005)
For interviews please contact:
Dr Andrew Weeks
CESAR, Department of Genetics,
The University of Melbourne
Ph: 613 83442521
Mob: 0401289165
Email: aweeks@unimelb.edu.au
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