Project start date: 01/07/2021
Project end date: 30/06/2026
NESP funding: $83,000 (GST-exclusive)
Habitat loss, agriculture, invasive species, and bushfires have contributed to a decline in many species of snakes and lizards.
This project will support conservation efforts to help reptiles struggling to adapt to human activities and changing environmental conditions. The project will conduct fieldwork that surveys sites with historic records, and new potential sites and surrounding habitats. The project will estimate population distribution and abundance and assess key threats for a select group of highly threatened Queensland reptile species.
The research builds on the findings of a comprehensive review of the conservation status of Australian lizards and snakes carried out in 2017, and a project to identify the reptile species most at risk of extinction over the next 20 years.
Project leader
This project is being led by Professor David Chapple from Monash University. The project team members include Dr Conrad Hoskin (James Cook University), Patrick Couper (Queensland Museum), Andrew Amey (Queensland Museum), Adrian Borsboom (QLD Department of Environment and Science) and A/Prof Jane Melville (Monash University, Museums Victoria).
Contact
For further information, contact david.chapple@monash.edu or nesplandscapes@uwa.edu.au.
Research users
People
