Below is the abstract to our recently published paper. Click here for the full article.
Stilt 66 (2014): 20–29
THE USE OF RICE FIELDS BY THE ENDANGERED AUSTRALIAN PAINTED SNIPE (ROSTRATULA AUSTRALIS): A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO COMBINE FOOD PRODUCTION AND CONSERVATION?
MATTHEW HERRING1, ANDREW SILCOCKS2
1 Murray Wildlife, PO Box 48 Katoomba 2780, Australia.
E-mail: mherring@murraywildlife.com.au
2 Birdlife Australia, National Office, Suite 2-05, 60 Leicester Street Carlton VIC 3053, Australia. E-mail: andrew.silcocks@birdlife.org.au
We document widespread use of rice fields by the globally endangered Australian Painted Snipe (Rostratula australis), highlighting the potential for ‘wildlife-friendly’ food production in Australia. A total of 44 Australian Painted Snipe from five of 93 surveyed rice field study sites, and an additional 43 Australian Painted Snipe from three other rice fields, were recorded during the 2012-2013 rice-growing season in the Riverina region of New South Wales. The overall total of 87 birds at these eight widely distributed sites was likely to be indicative of at least several hundred Australian Painted Snipe using the 113 500 ha of rice fields during that period, particularly given the limited survey effort. This is remarkable given the most recent estimate of total population size for the species ranges only from 1 000 to 2 500 birds. The birds were primarily recorded using the shallow edges of rice fields, along banks and channels. Future research should focus on (1) determining if significant numbers of Australian Painted Snipe use rice fields regularly, (2) whether or not rice fields provide suboptimal habitat, (3) the extent to which Australian Painted Snipe breed in these habitats, and (4) optimal rice-growing practices that benefit Australian Painted Snipe without hindering conservation management of the Endangered Australasian Bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus), which also occurs in these habitats. There are clear environmental costs of extracting water from rivers for irrigation and rice fields are no substitute for natural wetlands. However, given the recognised need for food production and the large area where rice is still grown, targeted management of rice fields to benefit Australian Painted Snipe and other species may be important in complementing traditional conservation measures like protected areas and ecological restoration.