Ecological association of habitats and bird species during the breeding season in southeastern New South Wales

1991 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. F. RECHER ◽  
R. P. KAVANAGH ◽  
J. M. SHIELDS ◽  
P. LIND
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Ecological Association

Bird communities in remnant woodland on the New England Tablelands, New South Wales

2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 50 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. S. Debus ◽  
H. A. Ford ◽  
D. Page
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
New South ◽  
Full Range ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Active Management ◽  
Private Land ◽  
Bird Species Richness ◽  
South Wales

We provide a geographic and landscape context for ongoing studies on bird communities in eucalypt woodland remnants on the New England Tablelands, New South Wales. We draw together several surveys that have not been published in the scientific literature, and integrate them with previously published material. A total of 142 woodland bird species, including 12 threatened species, was recorded in remnant woodland in the area above 900 m elevation from 50 km SSE to 100 km NNW of Armidals. There was a positive relationship between remnant size and bird species richness. Woodland reserves >300 ha supported significantly more species than remnants <100 ha on private land. Intensively surveyed reserves also had more species than remnants surveyed more casually. Threatened and other declining species occurred mainly in medium-sized (100-300 ha) and large reserves; foraging guilds of small to medium-sized, ground and above-ground insectivores were impoverished in degraded medium-sized and small remnants on private land. Almost the full range of woodland bird species was found at one or more sites, indicating their conservation value. However, some species were found in few sites or were only vagrants at a site. Active management will be needed to retain the current diversity of bird species in such heavily cleared landscapes.

Bird Distributions on Small Rainforest Remnants in New South Wales.

1981 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 637 ◽  
Author(s):  
RW Howe ◽  
TD Howe ◽  
HA Ford
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Additional Species ◽  
South Wales ◽  
High Dispersal ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Bird Distributions ◽  
Open Country

We studied bird distributions on 15 small patches of subtropical rainforest, ranging from 0.08 to 2.5 ha, in north-eastern New South Wales. Three-quarters of the bird species found in an extensive area of nearby rainforest were recorded in one or more of these isolated patches. Species that were not recorded, generally were rare in the extensive forest or are characterized by large home ranges. Several species more typical of open country were also found in the isolated patches. The number of resident species per patch ranged from one to 19; these were added in a rather predictable order from small to larger areas. Additional species observed in the patches either were transient or had home ranges encompassing several discontinuous areas. Although area is the best single predictor of species richness, isolation, disturbance by livestock and distance from water all tend to reduce the number of resident bird species. We propose that high dispersal abilities of rainforest birds near Dorrigo reflect the geographical and palaeogeographical distribution of Australian rainforest. The small total area and discontinuity of original tracts of rainforest, perhaps accentuated during the Pleistocene, have generally prevented persistence or colonization of highly sedentary, specialized bird species.

The Influence of Proximity of Plantation Edge on Diversity and Abundance of bird species in an exotic pine plantation in north-eastern New South Wales

1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 299 ◽  
Author(s):  
GN Curry
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Feeding Guild ◽  
South Wales ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Plantation Life ◽  
Abundance And Diversity

Data were collected in summer and winter in a 15-year-old plantation of Pinus taeda, at Clouds Creek, north-eastern New South Wales. In summer, diversity and abundance of bird species declined over a distance of 900 m into the plantation. However, in winter this progressive decline in bird densities was limited to within the first 200 m of the plantation periphery. At greater distances into the plantation, the floristic and structural characteristics of the vegetation (including windrows) were of more importance than the proximity of the plantation edge in accounting for variations in the abundance and diversity of birds. Food for insectivorous birds (the dominant feeding guild) is probably restricted in the plantation because few local species of invertebrates are likely to be adapted to living on exotic pines; invertebrate mobility as well as abundance is probably less in winter, so that fewer invertebrates enter the plantation from adjacent native forest. Windrows are an important habitat feature contributing to the diversity and abundance of birds within plantations, probably serving as 'corridors' through the alien habitat of exotic pines, thus enabling birds to range further into plantations. For approximately 40 per cent of the plantation life cycle, the influence of proximity of plantation edge on diversity and abundance of bird species is probably of limited importance, particularly in winter. Reducing plantation size in order to increase the diversity and abundance of bird species is not realistic, because plantations would have to be very small. Instead, emphasis should be placed on increasing the structural and floristic diversity of plantations by creating a broad range of successional stages throughout the plantation complex, by enhancing the habitat value of windrows, and by retaining native vegetation within and near plantations.

Population Parameters of Two Congeneric Possums, Trichosurus spp., in Norh Eastern New South Wales

1981 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 205 ◽  
Author(s):  
RA How
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Population Parameters ◽  
Bond Population ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Adult Sex Ratio ◽  
Population Strategy

In adjacent areas in north-eastern New South Wales, T. vulpecula occurs in the open forest and woodland and T. caninus occurs in the closed and tall open forest; both species are found in the pine plantation. T. vulpecula has a single breeding season in autumn when all females 1 y old and older reproduce. The young become independent around 175 days old and disperse at up to 2 y old. Mortality is low (15%) among dependent young but considerably higher among independent dispersing individuals. T. caninus also has a single autumn breeding season. The young become independent around 240 days old but disperse after 18-26 months, females moving before males. Mortality is high (56%) among dependent young but less so among subadults. An adult sex ratio of parity is the result of a higher survival among subadult males than females offsetting the reverse in adults. Some 2-y-old and all 3-y-old females reproduce but a few older females fail to breed in certain years. There is evidence that the high mortality of dependent young and failure of older females to breed is associated with offspring of previous years remaining in the population. Adult males and females appear to form a pair-bond. Population parameters of T. vulpecula described from other areas show considerable variation; this flexibility in population strategy explains the species' success in occupying a diversity of habitats and rapidly colonizing new areas.

Wildlife in dry lake and associated habitats in western New South Wales.

2000 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 256 ◽  
Author(s):  
SV Briggs ◽  
JA Seddon ◽  
SA Thornton
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Black Box ◽  
Study Region ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Reptile Species ◽  
Dry Lake

Intermittently and occasionally flooded lakes are common in arid and semi-arid Australia. The wetldry nature of these lakes means that they provide habitat for terrestrial fauna when dry and aquatic fauna when flooded. The fauna of dry lakes in western New South Wales is largely unknown. This study reports on species of small mammals and reptiles trapped in a dry lake in south-western New South Wales, and contrasts them with species trapped in surrounding woodland and shrubland habitats. Information on bird species in these habitats was also drawn on. Small mammals, reptiles and birds showed considerable partitioning between the habitats in the study area. The dry lake provided the main habitat for the two small mammals Smznthopsis crassicaudata and Planlgale gdesi. Reptiles were most speciose and most abundant in the blue bush (Maireana spp.) shrubland, but some reptile species were mainly or entirely confined to the dry lake habitats, or to black box (Eucalyptus largzjlorens) woodland. Birds in the study region were most abundant and most speciose in the black box woodland, with some species confined to blue bush shrubland. The study showed that conservation of all the habitats investigated is necessary to retain the suite of vertebrate species that occupy these landscapes. Key words: small mammals, reptiles, birds, arid zone, dry lake, shrubland, woodland, biodiversity: Australia

Nematode parasites of free-living rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.) in eastern Australia

1966 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 185 ◽  
Author(s):  
JD Dunsmore
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Nematode Parasites ◽  
South Central ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Regular Sampling ◽  
A Site ◽  
North Western

(1) Trichostrongylus retortaeformis (Zeder, 1800) in wild rabbits in Australia has been studied by more or less regular sampling of rabbit populations in four climatically different areas of eastern Australia. (2) In a semi-arid locality in north-western New South Wales, T. retortaeformis is rarely found; in a subtropical area of south-central Queensland it was found only in small numbers and many rabbits were apparently free of infection. In an area of the Riverina district of New South Wales most rabbits were infected but parasite numbers were rarely high. The highest levels of infection were recorded at a site in a subalpine area of New South Wales. (3) It was possible to build up a detailed picture of the dynamics of T. retortaeformis in rabbits throughout their lives at Snowy Plains, the subalpine site, in which breeding of rabbits is limited to a relatively few months each year. During their first 6-8 months of life (prior to their first breeding season) male and female rabbits carry moderate numbers of T. retortaeformis with the males carrying somewhat more parasites than the females. During the breeding season T. retortaeformis numbers in female rabbits increase very markedly (about tenfold) while numbers in male rabbits are decreasing to a low level (their lowest during the year). Following breeding, worm numbers in female rabbits drop quite rapidly while those in males increase to a similarly moderate level. Apparently a similar cycle of events occurs during each 12 months of a rabbit's life. (4) At Urana, in the Riverina plain region the cycle of events described above for Snowy Plains could not be seen, although T. retortaeformis was found in moderate numbers. This may have been due to infrequent sampling, lack of a defined rabbit breeding season, or some other factor.

scholarly journals Comparison of atlas data to determine the conservation status of bird species in New South Wales, with an emphasis on woodland-dependent species

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Barrett ◽  
A. Silcocks ◽  
R. Cunningham ◽  
D. Oliver ◽  
M. Weston ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Atlas Data ◽  
South Wales

Avian use of farm habitats, including windbreaks, on the New South Wales Tablelands

2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 180 ◽  
Author(s):  
DR. Cilla Kinross
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Native Species ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Canonical Variate ◽  
Bird Conservation ◽  
Avian Diversity ◽  
South Wales

Many windbreaks are being planted on the Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia to provide shelter for stock and crops, but little is known of the effect of these linear plantations on the regional bird community. This paper compares the avian diversity, density and species composition in a range of habitats in agricultural landscapes, including farm windbreaks, and draws conclusions as to the benefits of windbreaks to bird conservation. The data were collected between 1993 and 1997 with 12 visits to each of 84 sites, placed a priori into seven habitat types on six grazing properties in the Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and analysed using ANOVA and canonical variate analysis to identify bird-habitat relationships and patterns. Species diversity and density were found to be highest in remnant woodland and lowest in grassland, but differences between other habitats were less robust. Windbreaks >19 m wide were closer in diversity and species composition to remnant woodland than windbreaks =15 m wide. Of the 105 bird species observed, 17 were confined to remnant woodland and 67 native species were observed using planted sites. These species were not, as had been predicted, entirely composed of generalist-opportunistic species, but, particularly in the wider planted sites, included several woodland species identified as declining in this region. Although clearly not as important as remnant woodland, farm windbreaks, shelterbelts and woodlots of suitable size and composition appear to contribute significantly to avian diversity in agricultural areas and their planting should be encouraged and supported by the rural community and government.

scholarly journals Myxomatosis: the introduction of the European rabbit flea Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) into wild rabbit populations in Australia

1971 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. R. Sobey ◽  
Dorothy Conolly
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Release Site ◽  
Myxoma Virus ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
Wild Rabbit ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Breeding Seasons

SUMMARY1. The European rabbit flea Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) bred successfully in wild rabbits on three properties in New South Wales and, within two breeding seasons, almost every rabbit shot within a quarter of a mile of a release site was infested.2. It was demonstrated that the flea transmitted myxoma virus in the field.3. In areas where more than 75 % of the rabbits shot at the beginning of the breeding season were flea-infested and myxoma virus was present, populations failed to show the expected summer build-up.

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