Scientists urged to keep rare species habitat secret

Researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) are calling for location data to be withheld from research publications to help protect some rare and endangered species. Lead researcher Professor David Lindenmayer from the ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society said more than 20 newly-described species have been targeted by poachers. "Wildlife poachers are able to access online reports and publications at a click of a button. In the past it could only be accessed through hard copies and library basements," said Professor David Lindenmayer. "In some cases, as soon as some animals are described, they can be poached to extinction in the wild." Professor Lindenmayer said in Australia people were trespassing on private property days after research was published online on the pink tail worm lizard. "It didn't take long before we started getting phone calls from land owners saying they had people digging up the rocky areas where they live," said Professor Lindenmayer. Dr Benjamin Scheele, also from the Fenner School of Environment and Society, said for hundreds of years the best practice for ecologists was to publish as much detail as possible, but this school of thought needed to change.