MOrtality of captive-raised malleefowl, Leipoa ocellata, released into a mallee remnant within the wheat-belt of New South Wales

1994 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 543 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Priddel ◽  
R Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Introduced Predators ◽  
Local Abundance ◽  
Disjunct Populations ◽  
Marked Decline ◽  
Improvement In Survival

Loss, fragmentation and degradation of mallee habitat within the New South Wales wheat-belt have caused a marked decline in the range and local abundance of malleefowl, Leipoa ocellata. Small disjunct populations of malleefowl now occupy small isolated remnants of suitable habitat. and several of these populations have become locally extinct in recent times. Young captive-reared malleefowl(8-184 days old) were experimentally released in March and June 1988 into a 558-ha remnant of mallee vegetation. The remnant contained a small but declining population of rnalleefowl. From the first day after release, malleefowl were found dead, and mortality continued at a rapid rate until none remained alive. Of the 31 released, 16 (52%) were dead after 7 days, at least 22 (71%) were dead after 11 days, and none survived longer than 107 days. In all, 94% of malleefowl were killed by predators: 26-39% by raptors, and 55-68% by introduced predators, principally foxes, Vulpes vulpes. No improvement in survival was evident when malleefowl were given supplementary food. Relying principally on camouflage, young malleefowl have no effective defence or escape behaviour to evade ground-dwelling predators such as the fox. By imposing severe predation pressure on young malleefowl, foxes are likely to be curtailing recruitment into the breeding population. Such a situation must inevitably lead to the further localised extinction of small disjunct populations of malleefowl. Foxes are thus a major threat to the continuance of remnant populations of malleefowl within the wheat-belt of New South Wales.

Habitat preference, diet and demography of the smoky mouse, Pseudomys fumeus (Rodentia : Muridae), in south-eastern New South Wales

2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred Ford ◽  
Andrew Cockburn ◽  
Linda Broome
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Preference ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Habitat Choice ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Dietary Preference ◽  
Winter Diet ◽  
South Wales ◽  
High Level

The smoky mouse, Pseudomys fumeus, is an endangered rodent for which ecological information is lacking across much of its range. This paper provides the first detailed study of the local diet and habitat preference of P. fumeus since 1980, conducted on the recently discovered Nullica population in New South Wales. Diet and trap-revealed movements were examined in conjunction with 18 characteristics of habitat to determine the factors influencing habitat choice. Multiple logistic regression of habitat variables and capture locations revealed a floristically determined preference for heath habitat characterised by Epacris impressa, Monotoca scoparia, Leptospermum trinervium, Xanthorrhoea spp. and a variety of legumes. Hypogeal fungi and seeds were the most common food items in the diet of P. fumeus. Fungi were most abundant in winter diet, while seeds and fruit became dominant in late spring and summer. The spring and summer preference for ridge-top heath habitats observed in this study is probably the result of this dietary preference. Resident females constituted 71% of the population in early spring. However, there was a severe decline in numbers of female mice during early spring, and resident males also disappeared from the population. Causes of the decline were unclear. Five of eleven males captured during this study were transient, while no transient females were caught. The sudden decline in the study population, combined with the patchy distribution of suitable habitat and high level of male transience, suggests that P. fumeus form a metapopulation in the Nullica region.

scholarly journals Phylogenetic placement of a recently discovered population of the threatened alpine she-oak skink Cyclodomorphus praealtus (Squamata: Scincidae) in Victoria

2021 ◽  
pp. 153-157
Author(s):  
Joanna Sumner ◽  
Margaret L. Haines ◽  
Peter Lawrence ◽  
Jenny Lawrence ◽  
Nick Clemann
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
National Park ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Evolutionarily Significant Units ◽  
Phylogenetic Placement ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Disjunct Populations ◽  
The Last Glacial

The alpine she-oak skink Cyclodomorphus praealtus is a threatened alpine endemic lizard from the mainland of Australia. The species is previously known from disjunct populations in Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales and three isolated localities in the Victorian Alps. The New South Wales and Victorian populations represent separate evolutionarily significant units. In 2011, a fourth Victorian population was discovered. We conducted a phylogenetic analysis and determined that the newly discovered population is discrete and may have been separated from other populations since the end of the last glacial maxima. This population requires separate management.

Habitat use and density of numbats (Myrmecobius fasciatus) reintroduced in an area of mallee vegetation, New South Wales

2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.M. Vieira ◽  
G.R. Finlayson ◽  
C.R. Dickman
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Survey Period ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Transect Sampling ◽  
Introduced Predators ◽  
Future Management

The distribution of the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) has been dramatically reduced since European settlement, with remnant populations now occurring naturally only in the south west of Western Australia. In recent years a number of reintroductions have led to the reestablishment of this species in parts of its former range. In this study we investigated the density and habitat use of the numbat within a 4,000 ha feral - free site on Scotia Sanctuary in western New South Wales. Numbats had been reintroduced to this site in 1999 and 2000. During transect sampling 500 km were driven and 10 numbats were observed. An additional 14 sightings were made incidentally during the survey period. We estimated the density of numbats at Scotia to be 1.24 individuals/100 ha (SE = 0.56). Numbats were located randomly throughout the four major vegetation communities within the reintroduction site. At a finer scale, numbats selected for areas with less spinifex and less bare ground, although visibility using this sampling technique in areas with less spinifex cover may be increased. This study provides information on the habitats used and selected for by numbats at a local scale, and suggests that the species is capable of re-inhabiting areas within its former range where essential resources such as food and shelter are still available at adequate levels, and introduced predators are absent. This, in turn, has implications for future management decisions about how and where to reintroduce this species to other parts of its former range.

Surveys of Arboreal and Terrestrial Mammals in The Montane Forests of Queanbeyan, New South Wales.

1998 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
R. Goldingay ◽  
G. Daly
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Pitfall Trapping ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Potential Habitat ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Moist Forest ◽  
Logged Forest

Surveys of arboreal and terrestrial mammals were conducted across four State Forests in south-east New South Wales encompassing 80 000 ha. Methods used included spotlighting, Elliott trapping, pitfall trapping, hair-tubing and predator scat analysis. The survey included a plot-based approach and the targeting of areas containing the potential habitat of endangered species. Seven species of arboreal marsupial were detected during spotlighting. The greater glider (Petauroides volans) was significantly more abundant in moist forest compared to dry forest. Its density in moist forest was twice as high in unlogged compared to logged forest and is equivalent to the highest recorded in any forest in NSW. Other arboreal species were less abundant. The yellow-bellied glider (Petaurus australis), which is Threatened in NSW, was detected at only two sites despite the occurrence of suitable habitat throughout the study area. Eight species of native terrestrial mammals were detected. The tiger quoll (Dasyurus maculatus), which is Threatened in NSW, appears to be more common in the southern part of the study area adjoining large areas of National Park, than in other State Forests of south-east NSW. Continued analysis of predator scats is required to determine whether several other species of Threatened terrestrial mammal occur in these forests.

The conservation and ecology of rainforest pigeons in northeastern New South Wales

1995 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 299 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. M. Date ◽  
H. F. Recher ◽  
H. A. Ford ◽  
D. A. Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Food Source ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Winter Food ◽  
Agricultural Areas ◽  
Trees And Shrubs ◽  
Conservation And Management

A survey of conservation reserves, rainforest remnants and agricultural districts in northeastern New South Wales was conducted to determine the abundance, movements and habitat requirements of rainforest pigeons, to evaluate the extent and use of suitable habitat in conservation reserves, and to provide guidelines for the conservation and management of rainforest pigeons. Eight species of rainforest pigeon occur in northeastern New South Wales. Commencing with the clearing of rainforest in the 1860s for agriculture, rainforest pigeons declined in abundance throughout New South Wales and by the 1970s five species were thought to be threatened in the state. Since then, rainforest pigeons have apparently increased in abundance and distribution, but the Wompoo, Rose-crowned and Superb Pigeons continue to be listed by the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service as vulnerable and rare. However, populations of all species of rainforest pigeons in New South Wales are relatively small and vulnerable to further loss of habitat. Most rainforest pigeons show a preference for subtropical rainforest habitat, but moist eucalypt forests, gardens and weedy exotic vegetation along roads and on abandoned farmland are also frequented to varying degrees by different species. To investigate recent trends in pigeon abundance we used data collected for up to 12 years from eight sites and during 1988, 1989 and 1990 from 17 rainforest remnants in northeastern New South Wales. The data suggest that rainforest pigeons now occur more frequently in lowland agricultural areas than in the recent past and tend to confirm an increase in abundance since the 1970s. Nesting and foraging habitats for rainforest pigeons are extensive in the conservation reserve system of northeastern New South Wales, but these habitats, which are largely at high elevations, lack winter food resources. Instead, pigeons congregate in remnant rainforest and exotic berry-bearing trees and shrubs in agricultural areas at lower elevations and near the coast. They rely on these habitats for food during winter and it is the restricted extent of this habitat that probably limits their abundance, not the area or quality of habitat at higher elevations. The conservation and management of rainforest pigeons requires the protection of low elevation and coastal rainforest remnants. As development of northeastern New South Wales proceeds, to avoid a decline in the abundances of rainforest pigeons it will be necessary to protect sclerophyll forest with native or exotic fruit bearing trees and shrubs and to extend the area of suitable habitat by the regeneration of rainforest and by the planting of native species used by pigeons as a food source. This will become increasingly important as the control and removal of exotic plants, such as Lantana Lantana camara and Camphor Laurel Cinnamonum camphora, on which some pigeons depend as a winter food source, becomes more successful.

Use of bioclimatic analysis to direct survey effort for the long-footed potoroo (Potorous longipes), a rare forest-dwelling rat-kangaroo

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 193 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. W. Claridge
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Variables ◽  
New Records ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
The Past ◽  
South Wales ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Survey Effort

The long-footed potoroo (Potorous longipes) is one of the rarest and most elusive forest-dwelling mammals in Australia. Survey effort for the species over the past decade or so in south-eastern New South Wales has been driven, primarily, by predictions derived from climatic analyses using BIOCLIM. These predictions were based on known locality records of the long-footed potoroo from adjacent East Gippsland, Victoria. While they have proven useful in confirming the occurrence of the species in New South Wales, recent fortuitous records of the species from north-eastern Victoria fall well outside of the range predicted earlier by BIOCLIM. Using these new records a revised predicted range is calculated, enlarging considerably the potential geographic extent of climatically suitable habitat for the species. The results presented here highlight the limitations of BIOCLIM when given locality records of a species from only a portion of its true geographic range. I argue that less emphasis might be based on this approach to direct survey effort for the species in the future. Instead, a range of other environmental variables might be used in combination with BIOCLIM-derived outputs when selecting survey sites. In this way a more representative picture of the distribution of the species may be obtained.

The status of Gould's petrel, Pterodroma leucoptera leucoptera, on Cabbage Tree Island, New South Wales

1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 601 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Priddel ◽  
N Carlile ◽  
C Davey ◽  
P Fullagar
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Output ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Tree Island ◽  
South Wales ◽  
The Status ◽  
Marginal Improvement ◽  
Main Population ◽  
Cabbage Tree

Gould's petrel, Pterodroma leucoptera leucoptera, breeds only on Cabbage Tree Island, New South Wales. Annual surveys to estimate the size of the breeding population and the reproductive output were conducted between 1989 and 1992. Annual estimates of the total number of pairs breeding in the two gullies containing the main population were between 122 +/- 20 (s.e.) and 202 +/- 26. Breeding success was less than 20% between 1989 and 1991, but rose to 24.7% in 1992. This marginal improvement may be the result of management action undertaken to reduce mortality of breeding adults and fledglings. The total population is estimated to have declined from 2004 (95% confidence limits: 1464,3185) in 1970 to 1479 (1250,1815) in 1992, a decline of 26% in 22 years. The reasons for this decline are unclear.

Disjunct populations of spinifex-obligate reptiles revealed in a newly described vegetation community near Broken Hill, far-western New South Wales

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 781-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Sass ◽  
Gerry Swan ◽  
Brooke Marshall ◽  
Tim Browne ◽  
Nick Graham-Higgs
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Vegetation Community ◽  
Broken Hill ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Disjunct Populations

The role of intense nest predation in the decline of Scarlet Robins and Eastern Yellow Robins in remnant woodland near Armidale, New South Wales

2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 279 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. S. Debus
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Nest Predation ◽  
New South ◽  
Nest Success ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Woodland Birds ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Predator Exclusion

A study of open-nesting Eastern Yellow Robins Eopsaltria australis and Scarlet Robins Petroica multicolor, on the New England Tablelands of New South Wales in 2000?02, found low breeding success typical of eucalypt woodland birds. The role of intense nest predation in the loss of birds from woodland fragments was investigated by means of predator-exclusion cages at robin nests, culling of Pied Currawongs Strepera graculina, and monitoring of fledging and recruitment in the robins. Nest-cages significantly improved nest success (86% vs 20%) and fledging rate (1.6 vs 0.3 fledglings per attempt) for both robin species combined (n = 7 caged, 20 uncaged). For both robin species combined, culling of currawongs produced a twofold difference in nest success (33% vs 14%), a higher fledging rate (0.5 vs 0.3 per attempt), and a five-day difference in mean nest survival (18 vs 13 days) (n = 62 nests), although sample sizes for nests in the cull treatment (n = 18) were small and nest predation continued. Although the robin breeding population had not increased one year after the cull, the pool of Yellow Robin recruits in 2001?03, after enhanced fledging success, produced two emigrants to a patch where Yellow Robins had become extinct. Management to assist the conservation of open-nesting woodland birds should address control of currawongs.

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