Recent news items copied below record the discovery of a 140 million year old trapdoor spider species in the SW of Western Australia. If is fascinating to read carefully the words from the Department of Environment and Conservation and ponder how they reveal exactly how Dark Green policy is formed that will impinge irrationally on the States population.
Here is a species that has survived since before the dinosaurs and in just the last million years has coped with four global ice ages, involving repeated climate changes through times that were most certainly, hotter than now, colder than now, wetter than now and dryer than now. Not to mention tens of thousands of years subjected to indigenous forest burning customs, followed by over a century of european logging.
Yet the Dept. in a knee jerk reaction says the existence of this spider will make prescribed burning less likely (as if enough is done already), so the upshot is we will now have a greater risk of catastrophic fires due to less fuel reduction burns being carried out.
The reference to “..other disturbance operations..” means, a greater chance of being blocked by these anti-people “species-o-crats” if you want to enlarge your farmshed or Motel, realign a road, that might mean clearing a little native bush, or, perish the thought, actually log some timber.
Heaven help any timber plantation owner if the little critter jumps the fence and takes up residence.
The actual news items.
Last Update: Friday, March 9, 2007. 12:00pm (AEDT) ABC online
Spider find may spark forest management rethink
The chance discovery of a rare and ancient trapdoor spider in the Walpole Wilderness Area of southern Western Australia is likely to change the way the southern karri and tingle forests are managed.
The moggridgea tingle spider dates back more than 140 million years to the time when Australia formed part of the Gondwana super-continent.
The elusive species is only found in pockets of WA’s southern forests, although close relatives exist in Africa and South America.
Karlene Bain from Department of Environment and Conservation says the spider will be an important consideration in planning for activities like prescribed burns.
“The discovery is important for us in terms of knowing where there are sites that are occupied by the species, so we can manage them more effectively, particularly in terms of the drying climatic conditions and the interaction with that and some of our fire management practices or other disturbance operations that might be occurring in the area,” she said.
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News.com.au
Rare spider found in South WestAAP
March 07, 2007 01:00pm
A NEW population of a rare and ancient trapdoor spider species has been found in Western Australia.
The new cluster of endangered Moggridgea tingle was found west of Walpole, in southern WA, Department of Environment and Conservation officer Karlene Bain says.
Ms Bain says the discovery of the tiny spider on a piece of bark raises hopes that there are more populations of the vulnerable arachnid in existence.
“I identified the spider as a species common to the area and was about to throw the bark into the bin when a small trapdoor fell open, hiding a healthy Moggridgea tingle,” Ms Bain said.
“The burrow had a seven millimetre diameter and a door constructed of silk, bark and moss – it was completely camouflaged with the surrounding bark.
“Even after I knew it was there, it still took some finding again – there is no way we would have ever found it if we’d been looking for it.”
Moggridgea tingle are long-lived spiders and females could live up to 30 years, she said.
They live only in specific habitats in the southern forest of WA and cannot move far from where they hatch due to their high need for moisture.
They attempt time and time again to turn nature into a museum – one with static displays that never change. Ironically, cessation of controlled burns may doom that spider species to extinction.
The obvious point that has been overlooked here is that left to its own devices the Tingle forests around Walpole have a very different incidence of fire, both in terms of frequency and intensity, than when subject to a prescription which prioritises human settlement protection over biodiversity maintenance.
But then from what the submitter goes on to say it is clear that the future of the spider is hardly his concern.
I wonder what it will take to make some people realise that the health of the environment and the health of the human population (and our economy) are inextricably linked.
And your probably believe that endless tangled deadfall and “old growth” trees are more diverse than some of the alternatives?
Steve
main reason why they are called conservatives – can’t abide change. (conservation, conservative,….)