Nomination no.
837
Date of consideration: 2 February, 18 May, 16 August, 29 October 2012; 11 February, 9 May, 16 August 2013;
29 January, 30 April, 24 July 2014. File No.: FF/54/3432
Validity : The nomination is for a valid item.
Prescribed Information: The prescribed information was provided.
Name of the Nominator is adequately provided.
Name of the item is adequately provided.
The nominated taxon is recognised as a distinct and new species and has been accepted as a valid taxon by Museum Victoria.
Type specimens for the taxon have been lodged in the fish collection of the Museum Victoria (NMV), the Australian Museum,
Sydney (AMS) and Te Papa, National Museum of New Zealand, Auckland (NMNZ).
East Gippsland Galaxias ( Galaxias sp. 4 as described by Raadik in press) is a recently identified new species as a result of a taxonomic revision of the Galaxias olidus species complex (Raadik 2011, Adams et al. 2014), which is being formerly described (Raadik in press). The nominated item has been accepted by the SAC as a valid taxon because a description, accepted for publication by a refereed scientific journal, has been viewed by the SAC and voucher specimens have been lodged in the Museum of Victoria. The taxon can be distinguished from all other members in the complex by a distinctive combination of multiple allozymic (genetic) and morphological (morphometric and meristic) differences (Raadik 2011, Adams et al. 2014). It belongs to the Southern Hemisphere family Galaxiidae which are elongate, generally cylindrical to laterally compressed, scale-less freshwater fish. East Gippsland Galaxias occurs in East Gippsland, is usually 70-80mm in length and is distinguished by a long head with distinctive blunt snout, eight pelvic fin rays and no pyloric caecae.
Eligibility for listing as a taxon under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee
The nominated item satisfies at least one criterion of the set of criteria prepared and maintained under Section 11 of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 , and stated in Schedule 1 of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Regulations 2011.
Evidence that criteria are satisfied:
Criterion 1.2 the taxon is significantly prone to future threats which are likely to result in extinction
Evidence:
Brown Trout ( Salmo trutta ), a major predator of East Gippsland Galaxias, are currently present immediately below the downstream extent of the populations of East Gippsland Galaxias. They are currently unable to migrate upstream due to instream barriers such as a waterfalls. The effectiveness of a waterfall as a trout barrier can reduce permanently or temporarily under certain conditions (e.g. erosion, landslip, timber debris, increased flows, etc.), allowing trout to move further upstream, and even a small number of trout can breed and quickly establish a large population upstream (Raadik,
T.A., unpublished data). Therefore, the risk that trout invade and cause the extinction of East Gippsland Galaxias is ever present. Further, East Gippsland Galaxias is restricted to two short, adjacent sections in the headwaters of the Arte River system (Raadik 2011, Raadik in press) and is therefore at risk of extinction due to localised stochastic events: the species is unable to recolonise from another part of the catchment or from nearby catchments.
Sub-criterion 1.2.1
the taxon is very rare in terms of abundance or distribution
Evidence:
East Gippsland Galaxias is restricted to approximately 20 km of stream length in two small, adjacent streams (Arte and
Little Arte Rivers) in a headwater catchment of 46 km 2 in the upper Arte River in East Gippsland (Raadik 2011, Raadik in press). Widespread but unsuccessful sampling has been conducted for this species at other sites.

N OMINATION NO .
837
Sub-criterion 1.2.2 the threat is currently operating and is expected to operate at a level in the future which is likely to result in the extinction of the taxon.
Evidence:
The populations of East Gippsland Galaxias are under constant threat from colonisation by introduced trout which, if it occurs, will likely lead to the rapid extinction of the species due to predation. Further, as the species is small and restricted to a short headwater reach in two small streams, the increased frequency of drought and bushfire under a
Climate Change scenario, including processes which increase instream sedimentation, are highly likely to result in the future extinction of the taxon.
The data presented on distribution and abundance are the result of reasonable surveys and provide clear evidence that the taxon is rare in terms of abundance and distribution.
Additional Information
East Gippsland Galaxias has been classified as ‘Critically Endangered’ in the most recent review of the DSE advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria (DSE 2013).
East Gippsland Galaxias has been classified as ‘Critically Endangered’ by the Australian Society of Fish Biology’s threatened fishes committee
As with many other headwater resident, non-migratory galaxiids East Gippsland Galaxias is thought to be highly susceptible to, and to have been previously severely impacted by, predation from introduced salmonids, particularly
Brown Trout.
Documentation
The information provided to the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) has been assessed. Based on the available evidence, the SAC believes that the data presented are not the subject of scientific dispute and the inferences drawn are reasonable and well supported.
SAC's Preliminary Recommendation
The SAC concludes that on the evidence available the nominated item is eligible for listing in accordance with Section 11(1) of the Act because criterion 1.2 of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Regulations 2011 has been satisfied. The Scientific Advisory
Committee also concludes that sub-criteria 1.2.1 and 1.2.2 have been satisfied.
The Scientific Advisory Committee therefore makes a preliminary recommendation that the nominated item be supported for listing under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 .
References:
Adams, M., Raadik, T.A., Burridge, C. and Georges, A. (2014) Global biodiversity assessment and hyper-cryptic species complexes: more than one species of elephant in the room? Systematic Biology 63(4) , 518-533.
DSE (2013) Advisory List of Threatened Vertebrate Fauna in Victoria - 2013 . Department of Sustainability and Environment,
East Melbourne, Victoria. URL: http://www.depi.vic.gov.au
Raadik, T.A. (2011) Systematic revision of the Mountain Galaxias, Galaxias olidus Günther, 1866 species complex (Teleostei:
Galaxiidae) in eastern Australia. PhD Thesis, University of Canberra.
--------------- (in press) Fifteen from one: a revision of the Galaxias olidus Günther, 1866 complex (Teleostei, Galaxiidae) in south-eastern Australia recognises three previously described taxa and describes 12 new species. Zootaxa
Relevant internet information:
Galaxiids (Australian Museum) - http://australianmuseum.net.au/Galaxiids
Galaxiids (Fishes of Australia – online) http://www.fishesofaustralia.net.au/search?q=galaxiidae
The galaxiid fishes of Australia (1981 paper)(Australian Museum) http://australianmuseum.net.au/Uploads/Journals/17560/195_complete.pdf
Galaxiids (Department of Primary Industries, Victoria) http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/fisheries/recreational-fishing/catch-limits-and-closed-seasons/freshwater-scale-fish/galaxiids
Trout impacts on galaxiids (2006 paper)(Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries) http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11160-006-9017-7
Endorsement by the Convenor of the Scientific Advisory Committee
SIGNED BY
____________________________
Assoc. Prof David Morgan
Convenor
Date
30 July 2014
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