Conondale National Park

The landscape has a rugged topography with gorges, valleys and a number of mountains above 700 m with the highest peak being Mount Langley at 868m. Throughout the park there are scenic waterfalls such as Booloumba Creek Falls, cascades and numerous boulder strewn creeks. The Conondale range forms a catchment divide between the Brisbane River and Mary River with the southernmost tributaries of the Mary river forming in Booloumba and Yabba creek. The park also contains wetlands of national significance. These tributaries are important for the threatened Mary river cod which has declined in these creeks. The region has a sub-tropical climate with a mean annual rainfall of 1,500 mm, the majority of rainfall occurs seasonally in summer (December–March) usually with heavy downpours and winters generally cold and dry with occasional frosts. Major vegetation types include a mix of complex notophyll vine forest, sub-tropical rainforest, woodlands, bangalow palm forests, wet sclerophyll and dry sclerophyll forest with rainforest occurring mainly at higher altitudes and along watercourses. == History ==

The Conondale region served as an important area for both the Jinibara and Kabi Kabi traditional owners, it was an important pathway and resource gathering area for food such as the bunya pine Araucaria bidwillii which occurs in the park and remains culturally significant to Indigenous people today. timber trees logged included red cedar Toona ciliata, blackbutt Eucalyptus pilularis and tallowood Eucalyptus microcorys. By the early 1900s state forests were declared and logging of remnant forests was gradually replaced with the establishment of hoop pine plantations. the park now encompasses over 35,000 ha providing opportunities for recreation such as bushwalking, camping, four wheel driving, horse riding and bird watching Many parts of the region have been re-vegetated by private landowners and Landcare groups. == Ecological significance of Conondale National Park ==

Flora Two thirds of the original vegetation in the Conondale region has been cleared including large areas of rainforest leaving a mosaic of cattle pastures, cropland, remnant forests and hoop pine plantations. Extensive areas of remnant forests remain in gullies and steeper parts of the Conondale ranges including large areas of un-managed regrowth. thirteen are listed as ‘of concern’ including gallery rainforests (notophyll vine forests) and semi-evergreen vine thickets which are listed as endangered. A total of 796 plant species are recorded in the park, twelve species are listed as endangered, vulnerable or near threatened. The brush sophora Sophora fraseri and Bosistoa transversa are listed nationally as Vulnerable and occurs in semi-evergreen vine thickets, it is threatened by changing fire regimes and competition from weeds. Richmond birdwing butterfly recovery program Conondale National Park is considered a critical site for the survival of the richmond birdwing butterfly Ornithoptera richmondia which is listed as vulnerable in Queensland, the park also has significant stands of the richmond birdwing vine Aristolochia praevenosa a species of critical priority for the butterfly. The vine is crucial in the lifecycle of the butterfly which occurs predominantly in rainforests along waterways, it is a food source for the larval stage of the butterfly's lifecycle and is the only plant the female butterfly will lay its eggs on. with 174 bird species recorded in the park, fourteen species are considered endangered or vulnerable. Notable species include the pale-yellow robin Tregellasia capito, paradise riflebird Ptiloris paradiseus, green catbird Ailuroedus crassirostris, regent bowerbird Sericulus chrysocephalus and grey goshawk Accipiter novaehollandiae Australian logrunner Orthonyx temminckii. The bird was once common from Victoria to the Queensland but has declined, the species is now listed as Endangered under the IUCN red list of threatened species and listed nationally and in Queensland as endangered. Park managers are currently identifying and protecting suitable habitat within the national park and implementing the recovery plan for the northern population eastern bristlebirds. The black-breasted button-quail Turnix melanogaster is a small ground dwelling bird which inhabits notophyll vine forest or ‘dry rainforests’ with up to 90% of its habitat has been cleared with less than 2,500 individuals estimated remaining in the wild. The Conondale populations is considered an important population due to the size and location being within a national park. occurring in wet and dry sclerophyll forests. The long-nosed potoroo Potorous tridactylus tridactylus is recorded in the park and is the smallest member of the kangaroo superfamily, it is listed nationally and in Queensland as vulnerable. Current threats include predation by European foxes and land clearing. The spotted-tail quoll has undergone drastic losses in Queensland with a 50–90% reduction in range since European settlement. This is attributed to habitat loss, fragmentation, logging, poison baiting, predators and cane toads, habitat critical to the spotted-tail quoll includes large tracts of undisturbed mature forest. The endangered fleay's barred frog Mixophyes fleayi and the vulnerable tusked frog Adelotus brevis and cascade treefrog Litoria pearsoniana have also been recorded in the park, the threatened stream frog recovery plan is currently being implemented along with monitoring of these threatened species in the park. There have been similar declines and disappearances of frogs in north Queensland and Central America under similar circumstances, the causes of these declines in still unknown but several hypotheses have been developed including the possible impact of chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis which has been reported in the region. Reptiles There are 54 species of reptiles recorded in the park which include the rough-scaled snake Tropidechis carinatus, lace monitor Varanus varius, land mullet Bellatorias major, carpet python Morelia spilota and the near threatened challenger skink Saproscincus rosei which occurs in rainforest but has also been found to occur in high densities in exotic Lantana camara thickets. Invertebrates The Conondale crayfish Euastacus urospinosus only occurs in upland rainforest streams in the Conondale and Blackall Range ranges, one of its strongholds is Conondale National Park. The crayfish burrows in rainforest streams at elevations between 450 and 550m, the Bundaroo creek system where the crayfish occurs has an absence of historical mining and logging which may account for its continued survival. Other threats are feral pigs Sus scrofa wallowing and destroying creek bank vegetation and crayfish burrows. == Environmental threats and conservation management ==

Conondale’s disappearing frogs - chytrid fungus The southern gastric brooding was discovered in 1973 in the Conondale ranges, it displayed a unique reproductive mode in which the female would ingest the eggs which then complete their development in the mothers stomach. To survive the tadpoles secreted hormones to inhibit the digestive secretions of the stomach until they are given birth to via the mother's mouth. This coincided with the rapid disappearance of the southern dayfrog which occurred at the same location as the southern gastric brooding frog, there have also been no sightings of the southern dayfrog since 1979 and both species are presumed extinct. Epidemics of the chytrid fungus have also occurred in Eungella National Park in North Queensland around 1985–1986 causing the decline of the Eungella gastric brooding frog Rheobatrachus vitellinus. Forestry plantations The national park borders areas of state forest and hoop pine plantations which are subject to on-going harvesting activities, these pose potential environmental threats to black-breasted button-quail which inhabits areas adjacent to the hoop pine plantations. The plumed frogmouth is sensitive to disturbance and has specialised habitat requirements of pristine forests, there are potential impacts from forest harvesting of native timber in the Conondale region. Species like the black-breasted button-quail and glossy black-cockatoos are also fire sensitive, the Eucalyptus montivaga community is reliant on fire for maintenance of a healthy understorey. A fire management strategy has been prepared for Conondale National Park with the Eucalyptus montivaga vegetation community currently being studied for its response to fire. Management of pest plants and animals A pest management strategy is currently being implemented for plant weed species such as lantana Lantana camara, dutchmans pipe, cat's claw creeper Macfadyena unguis-cati and crofton weed Ageratina adenophora which threaten species such as the richmond birdwing butterfly, eastern bristlebird and notophyll vine forests. A number of feral animals are impacting native species and degrading habitat, feral animals in the park include cats Felis catus, foxes Vulpes vulpes and wild dogs Canis familiaris and pose specific threats to native animal species such as ground dwelling small mammals and birds such as the eastern bristlebird. Feral pigs Sus scrofa are being managed through on-going trapping, baiting and photo monitoring to reduce threats to species such as eastern bristlebirds, long-nosed potoroos and black-breasted button-quails. Red deer Cervus elaphus are also impacting on the habitat of frogs and eastern bristlebirds. ==See also==