The effects of extreme weather events such as drought, bushfire and floods, and their impact on communities, have been well documented over the past several years.
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However, there is one group of inhabitants whose plight has remained largely unnoticed.
Until recently, the plight of platypuses and that of their habitat has been largely unknown, which is why the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has partnered with scientists from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) to carry out river surveys to get the most up to date information.
The survey is currently underway in the Manning River catchment - an area which has been devastated by severe drought, the Black Summer bushfires and flooding.
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"We've been tracking the population of platypuses... trying to understand how they're responding to extreme events, so after the drought and fires we've had two really wet years, massive flooding events that have happened here," UNSW Platypus Conservation Initiative scientist, Dr Gilad Bino said.
"So we're trying to understand how platypuses are coping with this sequence of extreme events."
So far, the survey has retrieved two male platypuses which is a promising sign. But the lead scientists remain seriously concerned about the health of this iconic - and rather peculiar - Australian species.
The biggest threats to platypus are extreme weather exacerbated by a changing climate, deforestation, polluted waterways and invasive species.
ACF and UNSW have worked on this project since 2020. ACF is supporting this research to gather the missing data the Threatened Species Scientific Committee has said is needed to prove the platypus is threatened nationally.
Climate change models show extreme weather will become more frequent and unpredictable in the future, so in order to protect platypus populations in the wild, we need to have a national conservation plan to protect river systems and improve habitat quality along riverbanks.
ACF has also launched the Platy-project, encouraging individuals and community groups across eastern Australia to survey for platypus in local creeks and waterways.
September will be a month of action to encourage citizen scientists to help collect the information needed to protect this precious species.
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