Calochilus pulchellus

The main threats to the Pretty Beard-orchid are listed, including threats known to be currently operating, recent historical threats, and projected future threats. The main current threats to the Pretty Beard-orchid include fire regimes that cause declines in biodiversity (inferred), trampling and illegal collection (observed/suspected), grazing by deer (suspected) and climate change (projected). Urban development has been observed to impact the species in 2008, although most known subpopulations are now within national parks or reserves, with the exception of Vincentia (south) where plants occur on private property that is in the process of transferral to national park, one plant (Naval College Rd) on private property that is threatened by development, and 19 plants on private property near Hyam’s Beach. Timber harvesting (suspected) is a potential threat to the species, as the Victorian subpopulation occurs in close proximity to state forest, and potentially suitable habitat exists in areas subject to timber harvesting pressures in eastern Vic and southeast NSW. Climate change (projected) is projected to lead to increased temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns and an increased risk of fire danger weather and extreme events, which in turn may negatively impact flowering and recruitment, growing period and habitat quality. In addition, there are several minor or potential threats to the Pretty Beard-orchid that are not included. Grazing by stock has been observed to impact the only known plant at Naval College Rd (Stephenson 2015). Grazing is likely to have degraded habitat at this site, although the species may still persist underground. However, grazing by stock is unlikely to be a threat to plants at other sites, and is therefore not included. Phytophthora cinnamomi is confirmed to be present at Vincentia (south), but it is unknown what impact (direct or indirect) this pathogen is having on the species (Coutts-McClelland pers. comm. 24 June 2021). Grazing by invertebrates and suspected macropods has been noted at the Vincentia subpopulation (Coutts-McClelland pers. comm. 21 February 2022), and is likely to occur at other sites. However, it is unclear whether rates of herbivory are high, and further research is needed to determine whether herbivory from invertebrates and macropods is likely to pose a threat to the species. Lack of pollination is a threat for many orchids with specialised pollinator interactions, including species that sexually attract male insects (Reiter et al. 2017, Phillips et al. 2020). However, most Calochilus species self-pollinate if they aren’t pollinated by insects within the first few days, and the Pretty Beard-orchid has been observed to have a high rate of natural fruit set (Coutts-McClelland pers. comm. 21 February 2022), suggesting that the Pretty Beard-orchid is likely to be able to set seed in the absence of pollinators.