Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (National Recovery Plan for the Pookila (New Holland mouse) Pseudomys novaehollandiae) Instrument 2026
Habitat modification due to PhytophthoraHabitat modification due to Phytophthora cinnamomi infestation
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Habitat modification due to Phytophthora cinnamomi infestation
Phytophthora dieback – caused by the root-rot pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi – is listed as a Key Threatening Process under the EPBC Act (DOEE 2018) and has been observed across the national range of the Pookila (Liu et al. 2013; Wilson et al. 2015; Burns et al. 2020; DCCEEW 2024b). The pathogen is spread through the movement of soil – including on footwear, tools, vehicles and machinery – and in water (DOEE 2018). While the impacts of P. cinnamomi on Pookila populations and habitat have not been investigated directly, the species is likely to be at significant risk. A range of plant species within Pookila habitat have been identified as susceptible to infection by P. cinnamomi (see McDougall 2005).
Phytophthora dieback causes the loss of plant species richness (including keystone species), reduction of structural complexity (Wilson et al. 1994; Garkaklis et al. 2004; Laidlaw & Wilson 2006; Annett 2008; Armistead 2008; Dundas et al. 2013, 2016; Davis et al. 2014; Wilson et al. 2020), loss of food resources (for example, seeds, leaves, nectar, pollen) and suitable refuges from weather and predation (Laidlaw & Wilson 2006). The impacts of Phytophthora dieback can also extend to invertebrate communities and thus impact insectivorous fauna (Cahill et al. 2008), reducing availability of this food resource.
Significant negative impacts from Phytophthora dieback on small mammals and their habitat has been previously documented (Newell & Wilson 1993; Lilith 2002; Laidlaw & Wilson 2006; Swinburn et al. 2007; Annett 2008; Armistead 2008; Dundas et al. 2013; 2016), and long-term studies have identified localised extinctions of species and mammal community declines (Zhuang-Griffin 2015; Wilson et al. 2017; 2020).
Priority Protection Areas for Phytophthora dieback management have been identified for the Otway Ranges, which was informed by habitats occupied by EPBC Act listed species, including the Pookila (Walshe et al. 2021; 2022; Wilson & Garkaklis 2023a; 2023b).