Terrestrial mammals of the Gnangara Groundwater System, Western Australia: history, status, and the possible impacts of a drying climate

Over the last 30 years declining rainfall and increased aquifer abstraction have heavily impacted water availability and ecosystems on the Gnangara Groundwater System (GGS). The mammal fauna of the area is considered to have been rich, with up to 28 terrestrial and 5 volant native species recorded since European settlement. This study investigated previous and current distribution of mammals on the GGS, and assessed potential impacts of predicted rainfall and groundwater declines on mammals. A general survey was conducted at 40 sites, and targeted trapping was undertaken for Hydromys chrysogaster and Isoodon obesulus fusciventer at wetlands. Nine native and seven introduced terrestrial mammal species were recorded during the general survey and capture rates were very low (1.05%). The most commonly captured native species was Tarsipes rostratus. There is evidence that only 11 (9 recorded and 2 considered to be extant) of the 28 historically recorded terrestrial native mammals still persist in the area. The species predicted to be most susceptible to rainfall and groundwater level declines include H. chrysogaster, I. obesulus fusciventer, and T. rostratus. Management and recovery actions required to protect mammals under predicted climatic changes include identification and maintenance of refugia and ecological linkages, supplementation of lakes, development of ecologically appropriate fire regimes, and control of predators.

Download Full-text

Fossils reveal late Holocene diversity and post-European decline of the terrestrial mammals of the Murray–Darling Depression

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr16134 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 44 (1) ◽

pp. 60 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Diana A. Fusco ◽

Matthew C. McDowell ◽

Graham Medlin ◽

Gavin J. Prideaux

Keyword(s):

Native Species ◽

Late Holocene ◽

South Australia ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Historical Records ◽

Terrestrial Mammals ◽

European Settlement ◽

Mammal Fauna ◽

Vertebrate Assemblage ◽

Management Changes

Context Establishing appropriate faunal baselines is critical for understanding and abating biodiversity declines. However, baselines can be highly reliant on historical records that come from already disturbed ecosystems. This is exemplified in the Murray–Darling Depression bioregion of Australia, where European settlement (and accompanying marked land-management changes and the introduction of many species) triggered rapid declines and losses of native species, often before their documentation. Aims We aim to establish the mammal fauna present when Europeans settled the Murray Mallee and Murray–Darling Depression bioregion and determine the extent of mammal loss since European settlement. Methods We describe a dated vertebrate assemblage from Light’s Roost in the lower Murray Mallee region of South Australia. We compare our data with those of modern fauna surveys and historical records to document the extent of change in the mammal fauna since European settlement. Key results Radiocarbon ages showed that the assemblage was accumulating, at a minimum, within an interval from 1900 to 1300 years ago. Since this time, the Murray–Darling Depression has lost half of its flightless terrestrial mammals. Species lost include the mulgara (Dasycercus blythi/cristicauda), which places this taxon within only 40km of Lake Alexandrina, the hitherto-disputed type locality for D. cristicauda. Fossils provided the principal evidence for nearly half of the Murray Mallee fauna and over three-quarters of the fauna are represented in the fossil record. Conclusions Late Holocene assemblages provide important archives of species biogeography and diversity. Our revised faunal baseline indicated that the pre-European fauna of the Murray–Darling Depression was more diverse than hitherto understood and its reduction appears largely caused by the impacts of European settlement. Implications Baselines for species distributions derived from historical records and modern faunal surveys are likely to be incomplete and warrant revision, particularly for smaller and more cryptic species. Deficiencies in regional records mask the extent of mammal declines caused by European colonisation and associated agricultural practices, and thus vulnerability to anthropogenic disturbance.

Download Full-text

Ongoing unraveling of a continental fauna: Decline and extinction of Australian mammals since European settlement

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1417301112 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 112 (15) ◽

pp. 4531-4540 ◽

Cited By ~ 375

Author(s):

John C. Z. Woinarski ◽

Andrew A. Burbidge ◽

Peter L. Harrison

Keyword(s):

Human Population ◽

Marine Mammals ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

Global Scale ◽

Mammal Species ◽

European Settlement ◽

Mammal Fauna ◽

Lack Of Information ◽

Status Assessment ◽

Land Mammal

The highly distinctive and mostly endemic Australian land mammal fauna has suffered an extraordinary rate of extinction (>10% of the 273 endemic terrestrial species) over the last ∼200 y: in comparison, only one native land mammal from continental North America became extinct since European settlement. A further 21% of Australian endemic land mammal species are now assessed to be threatened, indicating that the rate of loss (of one to two extinctions per decade) is likely to continue. Australia’s marine mammals have fared better overall, but status assessment for them is seriously impeded by lack of information. Much of the loss of Australian land mammal fauna (particularly in the vast deserts and tropical savannas) has been in areas that are remote from human population centers and recognized as relatively unmodified at global scale. In contrast to general patterns of extinction on other continents where the main cause is habitat loss, hunting, and impacts of human development, particularly in areas of high and increasing human population pressures, the loss of Australian land mammals is most likely due primarily to predation by introduced species, particularly the feral cat, Felis catus, and European red fox, Vulpes vulpes, and changed fire regimes.

Download Full-text

The occurrence and relative abundance of small terrestrial mammals on Theda Station in the Northern Kimberley, Western Australia

Australian Mammalogy ◽

10.1071/am15055 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 39 (1) ◽

pp. 78

Author(s):

Liberty G. M. Olds ◽

Cecilia Myers ◽

Henry Cook ◽

Brendan Schembri ◽

Christopher Jackson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Small Mammals ◽

Small Mammal ◽

Detailed Knowledge ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Terrestrial Mammals ◽

Mammal Fauna ◽

Pastoral Lease ◽

Hydromys Chrysogaster ◽

Petaurus Breviceps ◽

Small Mammal Species

Significant gaps in knowledge currently exist regarding the small mammal fauna of the Northern Kimberley (NOK) bioregion. Theda Station is a previously unsurveyed pastoral lease in the NOK. The aim of the current study was to determine the presence of small mammals (non-volant, <2 kg) on Theda Station and to compare these findings with those recently obtained on the adjacent Doongan Station. Between 2006 and 2014, 226 site surveys were conducted across 69 sites, with over 26 000 trap-nights encompassing a range of habitats. Thirteen of the 27 small mammal species known to occur in the NOK were detected. Four species (Pseudomys nanus, Rattus tunneyi, Zyzomys argurus and Sminthopsis virginiae) were common, five (Pseudomys delicatulus, Pseudantechinus ningbing, Dasyurus hallucatus, Isoodon macrourus and Petropseudes dahli) were detected less frequently, and four (Leggadina lakedownensis, Hydromys chrysogaster, Planigale maculata and Petaurus breviceps) were occasionally recorded. Our study provides important baseline data for small mammals in this region. It highlights the lack of detailed knowledge of both the presence of, and temporal fluctuations in, the region’s small mammal fauna. This study supports a non-uniform distribution of the small mammal fauna across the NOK, with Theda Station lying within a transition zone between the high rainfall rugged coastal and near-coastal areas and the lower rainfall areas of the east.

Download Full-text

Powerline Easements: Do They Promote Edge Effects in Eucalypt Forest for Small Mammals?

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr96116 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 24 (6) ◽

pp. 737 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Ross L. Goldingay ◽

Robert J. Whelan

Keyword(s):

Small Mammals ◽

Edge Effects ◽

Native Species ◽

Vegetative Cover ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Terrestrial Mammals ◽

Eucalypt Forest ◽

Hair Sampling ◽

South Wales ◽

Antechinus Stuartii

The distribution and abundance of small terrestrial mammals were assessed in forest adjacent to powerline easements at three different sites in New South Wales. At each site, four transects of 300 m length extended into the forest from the edge of the easement. The abundances of two native species (Antechinus stuartii, Rattus fuscipes) did not differ significantly with distance from the easement but abundances differed markedly among sites. Mammals were captured in only one easement where dense vegetation was present. Feral carnivores, which may mediate edge effects on small mammals, were surveyed by using hair-sampling tubes. Cats and dogs were detected only 50–200 m inside the forest. Foxes were not detected by hair-tubes but were observed on two easements. These results suggest that powerline easements may not create edge effects in eucalypt forest for some native mammal species, although further studies are needed to determine the generality of this conclusion. We recommend that easement management should be more benign to native mammals, given the ubiquity of this form of habitat fragmentation. Promotion of dense vegetative cover and habitat linkages within easements could achieve this.

Download Full-text

Conservation status of mammals and birds in southwestern Australian forests. I. Is there evidence of direct links between forestry practices and species decline and extinction?

Pacific Conservation Biology ◽

10.1071/pc980296 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 296 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

M. C. Calver ◽

J. Dell

Keyword(s):

Negative Impact ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Bird Species ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

Personal Identification ◽

Base Line ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Current Conservation ◽

Forestry Practices ◽

European Settlement

Sixteen mammal species and 22 bird species whose distributions extended into southwestern Australian forests before European settlement have been listed as threatened at some time in Commonwealth legislation, State legislation, or action plans of Environment Australia or its predecessors. Confident assessment of the causes of conservation status is hampered by poor base-line data, few studies of putative impacts and a preponderance of circumstantial or anecdotal rather than experimental evidence. However, introduced foxes were Implicated In the current conservation status of 62% of the mammal species recognized, while 44% of them were negatively impacted by feral cats, 44% by agricultural clearing and 44% by changed fire regimes. Forestry practices were impllcated in the conservation status of only one mammal species. For the bird species recognized, changed fire regimes had the greatest negative impact (45% affected), agricultural clearing affected 41%, draining of wetlands affected 32% and grazing by livestock affected 22%. Forestry practices were not directly implicated in the conservation status of any bird species. While these results suggest that forestry has had minimal direct impact on the mammals and birds of the forests, the conclusion should be treated cautiously because of the poor data. While awaiting a rigorous evaluation, we argue for a strong precautionary approach to forestry in the region. With proper forest management and sound sylvicultural [sic] treatment there is no reason why there should not be built up on the wreckage of the once splendid forests of Western Australia tended forests which will yield for all time 100 cubic feet of timber per acre per year. Lane-Poole (1920). There are many reasons why Australian environmentalists would like to end logging in native forests. The preservation of wilderness, aesthetics, an almost religious identification with old growth forests and the conservation of forest wildlife figure importantly in environmental efforts to restrict logging. Wilderness and a personal identification with trees and undisturbed forests are fundamentally incompatible with logging. Recher (1996).

Download Full-text

The loss of native terrestrial small mammals in large urban reserves in the Australian Capital Territory

Pacific Conservation Biology ◽

10.1071/pc100036 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 36 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

A. J. Buckmaster ◽

W. S. Osborne ◽

N. Webb

Keyword(s):

Species Composition ◽

Exotic Species ◽

Native Species ◽

Indirect Detection ◽

Urban Landscapes ◽

Australian Capital Territory ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Detection Techniques ◽

Australian Capital ◽

Terrestrial Mammals

Urban development can alter species composition and diversity within an area through biotic homogenization, the introduction of exotic species, and localized extinctions of native species. In this study we examined the composition and diversity of small terrestrial mammals within nature reserves surrounded by urban landscapes and compared this with previous surveys of these reserves and nearby non-urban reserves with similar vegetative and geomorphological characteristics. A combination of live trapping and indirect detection techniques was employed in eight reserves in the Australian Capital Territory and surrounding New South Wales to determine current species composition. Compared with previous studies and the non-urban reserves, the urban reserves appear to have lost two-thirds of their native terrestrial small mammal species in the past 26 years. Exotic species were present in all urban reserves, but were only associated with areas characterized by human-induced disturbance in non-urban reserves. Possible causes of this disparity in native species diversity between urban and non-urban reserves are discussed.

Download Full-text

The status of mammals in the North Kimberley, Western Australia

Australian Mammalogy ◽

10.1071/am07001 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

A.N. Start ◽

A.A.. Burbidge ◽

N.L. McKenzie ◽

C. Palmer

Keyword(s):

Exotic Species ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

Mammalian Fauna ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Critical Weight ◽

Terrestrial Mammal ◽

The North ◽

European Settlement ◽

The Status ◽

Rocky Habitats

The mammalian fauna of the North Kimberley bioregion has been cited as ?intact? because 1970s and 1980s surveys showed that all terrestrial mammal species known at European settlement were extant. This assumption was tested in 2003/4 by re-surveying 16 of the most diverse sites sampled in earlier surveys of three mainland areas and four islands. Most Critical Weight Range species were re-located at many sites and some were found at sites where they were previously unknown. Most differences between early surveys and this survey are probably artifacts of limited survey intensity. However, the region is not exempt from processes associated with decline elsewhere, particularly effects of changed fire regimes and invasion by exotic species, and species of non-rocky habitats may be more vulnerable. Small granivorous rodents were notably scarce.

Download Full-text

Responses of Australian Mammals to Disturbance: A Review.

Australian Mammalogy ◽

10.1071/am99087 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 87

Author(s):

B.A. Wilson ◽

G.R. Friend

Keyword(s):

Climatic Factors ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

Timber Harvesting ◽

Response Patterns ◽

Population Declines ◽

Critical Elements ◽

European Settlement ◽

Mammal Fauna ◽

Introduced Predators ◽

Adaptive Challenges

The Australian native mammal fauna has evolved in an environment where 'natural' or endogenous disturbance is ongoing and widespread, be it fire, flood, drought or cyclones. Since European settlement, however, the type, scale, frequency and intensity of disturbance has changed and added a new suite of exogenous impacts including introduced predators and herbivores, vegetation clearance, habitat fragmentation, altered fire regimes, grazing and timber harvesting. This has presented novel and significant adaptive challenges to native mammals over a compressed time-scale, resulting in major extinctions, population declines and disruption to community structure. In this paper we examine the ecology of Australian mammals in the context of these new disturbances, and compare the response patterns observed, and assess the processes operating. In general, Australian mammalian successional patterns are closely tied to vegetation regeneration, which is related to the degree of disruption. Disturbances such as predation do not fall within this pattern. Mammalian successional states vary between different disturbance types within an ecosystem, depending on the critical elements of vegetation structure and composition. Landscape and climatic factors also affect successional patterns and need to be further investigated.

Download Full-text

Distribution of mammals in monsoon rainforests of the Northern Territory

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr9920295 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 295 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

KA Menkhorst ◽

JCZ Woinarski

Keyword(s):

Native Species ◽

Environmental Gradient ◽

Northern Territory ◽

Species Variation ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Moisture Condition ◽

Mammal Fauna ◽

Open Forest ◽

Historical Processes ◽

Monsoon Rainforest

The mammal fauna of 50 patches of monsoon rainforest in the Northern Territory, Australia, was surveyed. No mammal species is restricted to this habitat, and most of the region's marnmal fauna uses it at least occasionally. Mammal species composition within monsoon rainforests undergoes substantial variation along an extensive environmental gradient reflecting moisture condition and rockiness. For most mammal species, variation in abundance among patches was related more to the position of the patch on this environmental gradient than to patch size or extent of disturbance. Disturbance was positively correlated with the richness and abundance in quadrats of three taxonomic groupingsrodents, 'other' native species, and all native species (other than bats)-and negatively correlated with richness and abundance of macropods. Compared with surrounding (open forest and savanna woodland) vegetation, monsoon rainforests have few grazing herbivores and small granivorous rodents, but more species that eat fleshy fruits and seeds from woody plants. The mammal fauna of monsoon rainforests in the Northern Territory is similar to that of monsoon rainforests of the Kimberley (to the west) but unlike that of wet tropical rainforests in Cape York (to the east). These differences, and the current impoverishment of the mammal fauna of the Northern Territory monsoon rainforest, are attributable to historical processes and the current small area of this highly fragmented monsoon rainforest estate. Three bat species may be important for pollination and dispersal of monsoon rainforest plants.

Download Full-text

Terrestrial mammals of the south-western Little Sandy Desert, Western Australia

Australian Mammalogy ◽

10.1071/am12010 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 35 (1) ◽

pp. 54 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

A. N. Start ◽

A. A. Burbidge ◽

P. G. Kendrick ◽

N. L. McKenzie

Keyword(s):

Exotic Species ◽

Native Species ◽

Important Determinant ◽

Sandy Desert ◽

The South ◽

Surface Type ◽

Critical Weight ◽

Terrestrial Mammals ◽

Mammal Fauna ◽

Extant Species

The mammal fauna of the south-western Little Sandy Desert was systematically surveyed during three visits to each of five sites at three locations representing the array of surfaces in the biogeomorphic landscape of the study area. A fourth, less systematic, expedition revisited one location and sampled two new ones. Nineteen extant, native species and seven exotic species were recorded. Fourteen extant species were below the Critical Weight Range (CWR), two (both large macropods) were above it and three (a monotreme, a rodent and a dasyurid) were within it. Another five CWR species may persist but were not recorded. An additional 19 species, all within the CWR, are thought to have occurred in the area but are now presumed extinct or locally extinct; we recorded evidence for the former presence of four of them. Surface type was an important determinant of habitat and spatially minor surfaces were disproportionately diverse but differed in their relevance to indigenous and exotic species respectively. Sandstone ranges had the richest indigenous faunas and six extant species were restricted to that habitat. Loam and clay surfaces had the richest exotic faunas.

Download Full-text