Hooded plover, western beautiful firetail bird, southern bell frog, Murray hardyhead in South Australia rescue

The western beautiful firetail bird (at left) reduced to ony about 50 adult birds on Kangaroo Island would be the focus of a Back from the Brink project in South Australia along with priority threatened species (at right, from top) southern bell frog, hooded plover and Murray hardyhead fish.
Images courtesy Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board

The southern bell frog, Murray hardyhead fish, hooded plover and western beautiful firetail bird in South Australia were the target of $2 million in Australian government funds in 2024 for Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board’s Back from the Brink project.

The southern bell frog, Murray hardyhead fish, hooded plover were on the Australian government’s priority list of threatened species to be protected.

(Adelaide)nHills and Fleurieu (Peninsula) landscape board regional ecologist Luke Price said the four-year Back from the Brink project would focus on the four species due to their importance to the wider ecosystems, their expected ability to respond to recovery actions, and their intrinsic value.

The southern bell frog, found throughout the River Murray and South East region, had been lost to the Mount Lofty Ranges since the 1980s. The species population declined significantly in the lower Murray River area from 50 known groups to one.

The southern bell frog was one of Australia’s largest species. Females coudl grow up to 104 millimetres and were known to eat other frogs. Threats to the frog included degrated habitat, disease and herbicides. Under Back from the Brink, the species would be bred in captivity and reintroduced into managed sites as wild populations established again..

The Murray hardyhead, a small fish native to the River Murray system across South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, dramatically reduced in numbers due to habitat loss, drought, invasive fish species and genetic issues arising from being in isolated subpopulations.

The funding would expand an existing breeding, taking it to various waterbodies in an attempt to supplement populations over time. While found in Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales, only 500 to 800 beach-dwelling hooded plovers remained in South Australia.The birds laid their eggs on beaches, preferring to nest within one kilometre of the shoreline, leaving them vulnerable to human, dog and vehicle threats. Habitat loss and climate change impacts have also contributed to the population loss. Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board would fund volunteers and organisations already working to protect the species’ breeding sites, as well as raising awareness and monitoring the population.

The western beautiful firetail, with only about 50 adults in the Hills and Fleurieu region, had 57%in the 10 years to 2022, with a dramatic cut in the 2019 Kangaroo Island bushfires. Funding will go towards previous projects focussed on creating revegetated bird habitats.