Sooty oystercatcher - vulnerable species listing
The sooty oystercatcher (Haematopus fuliginosus) is listed as VULNERABLE on the schedules of the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act. The species was listed because:
- Its distribution is limited
- Its population has been reduced to a critical but stable level
- It is an ecological specialist (it depends on particular types of diet or habitat)
- It has poor recovery potential
The above reasons are a summary of why the species was listed as vulnerable. The reasons are based on:
- Criteria set down in the Endangered Fauna (Interim Protection) Act, which has now been replaced by the Threatened Species Conservation Act.
- Data obtained from a questionnaire sent out to experts on this species. The questionnaire was used to evaluate the status of all threatened and non-threatened native vertebrates in NSW. The results were published in an NPWS monograph which you can buy online - see below for more details.
More information - Lunney, D., Curtin, A.L., Ayers, D., Cogger, H.G., Dickman, C.R., Maitz, W., Law, B. and Fisher, D. (2000) The threatened and non-threatened native vertebrate fauna of New South Wales: status and ecological attributes. NPWS, Sydney.Buy this publication from the NSW Government Online Bookshop.
Page last updated: 28 February 2011
