A Review of the Conservation Status of Australian Mammals
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Lindsay Masters
CHARACTERISATION OF EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED AND SPONTANEOUSLY OCCURRING DISEASE WITHIN CAPTIVE BRED DASYURIDS Scott Andrew Lindsay A thesis submitted in fulfillment of requirements for the postgraduate degree of Masters of Veterinary Science Faculty of Veterinary Science University of Sydney March 2014 STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY Apart from assistance acknowledged, this thesis represents the unaided work of the author. The text of this thesis contains no material previously published or written unless due reference to this material is made. This work has neither been presented nor is currently being presented for any other degree. Scott Lindsay 30 March 2014. i SUMMARY Neosporosis is a disease of worldwide distribution resulting from infection by the obligate intracellular apicomplexan protozoan parasite Neospora caninum, which is a major cause of infectious bovine abortion and a significant economic burden to the cattle industry. Definitive hosts are canid and an extensive range of identified susceptible intermediate hosts now includes native Australian species. Pilot experiments demonstrated the high disease susceptibility and the unexpected observation of rapid and prolific cyst formation in the fat-tailed dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata) following inoculation with N. caninum. These findings contrast those in the immunocompetent rodent models and have enormous implications for the role of the dunnart as an animal model to study the molecular host-parasite interactions contributing to cyst formation. An immunohistochemical investigation of the dunnart host cellular response to inoculation with N. caninum was undertaken to determine if a detectable alteration contributes to cyst formation, compared with the eutherian models. Selective cell labelling was observed using novel antibodies developed against Tasmanian devil proteins (CD4, CD8, IgG and IgM) as well as appropriate labelling with additional antibodies targeting T cells (CD3), B cells (CD79b, PAX5), granulocytes, and the monocyte-macrophage family (MAC387). -
Platypus Collins, L.R
AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS BIOLOGY AND CAPTIVE MANAGEMENT Stephen Jackson © CSIRO 2003 All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, duplicating or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Contact CSIRO PUBLISHING for all permission requests. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Jackson, Stephen M. Australian mammals: Biology and captive management Bibliography. ISBN 0 643 06635 7. 1. Mammals – Australia. 2. Captive mammals. I. Title. 599.0994 Available from CSIRO PUBLISHING 150 Oxford Street (PO Box 1139) Collingwood VIC 3066 Australia Telephone: +61 3 9662 7666 Local call: 1300 788 000 (Australia only) Fax: +61 3 9662 7555 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.publish.csiro.au Cover photos courtesy Stephen Jackson, Esther Beaton and Nick Alexander Set in Minion and Optima Cover and text design by James Kelly Typeset by Desktop Concepts Pty Ltd Printed in Australia by Ligare REFERENCES reserved. Chapter 1 – Platypus Collins, L.R. (1973) Monotremes and Marsupials: A Reference for Zoological Institutions. Smithsonian Institution Press, rights Austin, M.A. (1997) A Practical Guide to the Successful Washington. All Handrearing of Tasmanian Marsupials. Regal Publications, Collins, G.H., Whittington, R.J. & Canfield, P.J. (1986) Melbourne. Theileria ornithorhynchi Mackerras, 1959 in the platypus, 2003. Beaven, M. (1997) Hand rearing of a juvenile platypus. Ornithorhynchus anatinus (Shaw). Journal of Wildlife Proceedings of the ASZK/ARAZPA Conference. 16–20 March. -
Dusky Hopping Mouse
Threatened Species of the Northern Territory DUSKY HOPPING-MOUSE Notomys fuscus Conservation status Australia: Vulnerable Northern Territory: Endangered Photo: P. Canty Description as Ooldea in South Australia and east to the Victoria/New South Wales borders. The dusky hopping-mouse is characterized by its strong incisor teeth, long tail, large ears, The species has not been recorded in the dark eyes, and extremely lengthened and Northern Territory since 1939 when it was narrow hind feet, which have only four pads collected in sand dunes on Maryvale Station on the sole. The head-body length is 91-177 and on Andado Station. An earlier record is mm, tail length is 125-225 mm, and body from Charlotte Waters. weight is about 20-50 g. Coloration of the Conservation reserves where reported: upper parts varies from pale sandy brown to None. yellowish brown to ashy brown or greyish. The underparts of dusky hopping-mice are white. The fur is fine, close and soft. Long hairs near the tip of the tail give the effect of a brush. The dusky hopping-mouse has a well- developed glandular area on the underside of its neck or chest. Females have four nipples. Distribution The current distribution of the dusky hopping-mouse appears to be restricted to the eastern Lake Eyre Basin within the Known locations of the dusky hopping-mouse Simpson-Strzelecki Dunefields bioregion in (ο = pre 1970). South Australia and Queensland. An intensive survey in the 1990s located populations at Ecology eight locations in the Strzelecki Desert and adjacent Cobbler Sandhills (South Australia) The dusky hopping-mouse occupies a variety and in south-west Queensland (Moseby et al. -
Calaby References
Abbott, I.J. (1974). Natural history of Curtis Island, Bass Strait. 5. Birds, with some notes on mammal trapping. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 107: 171–74. General; Rodents; Abbott, I. (1978). Seabird islands No. 56 Michaelmas Island, King George Sound, Western Australia. Corella 2: 26–27. (Records rabbit and Rattus fuscipes). General; Rodents; Lagomorphs; Abbott, I. (1981). Seabird Islands No. 106 Mondrain Island, Archipelago of the Recherche, Western Australia. Corella 5: 60–61. (Records bush-rat and rock-wallaby). General; Rodents; Abbott, I. and Watson, J.R. (1978). The soils, flora, vegetation and vertebrate fauna of Chatham Island, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 60: 65–70. (Only mammal is Rattus fuscipes). General; Rodents; Adams, D.B. (1980). Motivational systems of agonistic behaviour in muroid rodents: a comparative review and neural model. Aggressive Behavior 6: 295–346. Rodents; Ahern, L.D., Brown, P.R., Robertson, P. and Seebeck, J.H. (1985). Application of a taxon priority system to some Victorian vertebrate fauna. Fisheries and Wildlife Service, Victoria, Arthur Rylah Institute of Environmental Research Technical Report No. 32: 1–48. General; Marsupials; Bats; Rodents; Whales; Land Carnivores; Aitken, P. (1968). Observations on Notomys fuscus (Wood Jones) (Muridae-Pseudomyinae) with notes on a new synonym. South Australian Naturalist 43: 37–45. Rodents; Aitken, P.F. (1969). The mammals of the Flinders Ranges. Pp. 255–356 in Corbett, D.W.P. (ed.) The natural history of the Flinders Ranges. Libraries Board of South Australia : Adelaide. (Gives descriptions and notes on the echidna, marsupials, murids, and bats recorded for the Flinders Ranges; also deals with the introduced mammals, including the dingo). -
Quaternary Murid Rodents of Timor Part I: New Material of Coryphomys Buehleri Schaub, 1937, and Description of a Second Species of the Genus
QUATERNARY MURID RODENTS OF TIMOR PART I: NEW MATERIAL OF CORYPHOMYS BUEHLERI SCHAUB, 1937, AND DESCRIPTION OF A SECOND SPECIES OF THE GENUS K. P. APLIN Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO Division of Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra and Division of Vertebrate Zoology (Mammalogy) American Museum of Natural History ([email protected]) K. M. HELGEN Department of Vertebrate Zoology National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution, Washington and Division of Vertebrate Zoology (Mammalogy) American Museum of Natural History ([email protected]) BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Number 341, 80 pp., 21 figures, 4 tables Issued July 21, 2010 Copyright E American Museum of Natural History 2010 ISSN 0003-0090 CONTENTS Abstract.......................................................... 3 Introduction . ...................................................... 3 The environmental context ........................................... 5 Materialsandmethods.............................................. 7 Systematics....................................................... 11 Coryphomys Schaub, 1937 ........................................... 11 Coryphomys buehleri Schaub, 1937 . ................................... 12 Extended description of Coryphomys buehleri............................ 12 Coryphomys musseri, sp.nov.......................................... 25 Description.................................................... 26 Coryphomys, sp.indet.............................................. 34 Discussion . .................................................... -
Management of the Terrestrial Small Mammal and Lizard Communities in the Dune System Of
Management of the terrestrial small mammal and lizard communities in the dune system of Sturt National Park, Australia: Historic and contemporary effects of pastoralism and fox predation Ulrike Sabine Klöcker (Dipl. – Biol., Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität Bonn, Germany) Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia 2009 Abstract This thesis addressed three issues related to the management and conservation of small terrestrial vertebrates in the arid zone. The study site was an amalgamation of pastoral properties forming the now protected area of Sturt National Park in far-western New South Wales, Australia. Thus firstly, it assessed recovery from disturbance accrued through more than a century of Sheep grazing. Vegetation parameters, Fox, Cat and Rabbit abundance, and the small vertebrate communities were compared, with distance to watering points used as a surrogate for grazing intensity. Secondly, the impacts of small-scale but intensive combined Fox and Rabbit control on small vertebrates were investigated. Thirdly, the ecology of the rare Dusky Hopping Mouse (Notomys fuscus) was used as an exemplar to illustrate and discuss some of the complexities related to the conservation of small terrestrial vertebrates, with a particular focus on desert rodents. Thirty-five years after the removal of livestock and the closure of watering points, areas that were historically heavily disturbed are now nearly indistinguishable from nearby relatively undisturbed areas, despite uncontrolled native herbivore (kangaroo) abundance. Rainfall patterns, rather than grazing history, were responsible for the observed variation between individual sites and may overlay potential residual grazing effects. -
Natural History of the Eutheria
FAUNA of AUSTRALIA 35. NATURAL HISTORY OF THE EUTHERIA P. J. JARMAN, A. K. LEE & L. S. HALL (with thanks for help to J.H. Calaby, G.M. McKay & M.M. Bryden) 1 35. NATURAL HISTORY OF THE EUTHERIA 2 35. NATURAL HISTORY OF THE EUTHERIA INTRODUCTION Unlike the Australian metatherian species which are all indigenous, terrestrial and non-flying, the eutherians now found in the continent are a mixture of indigenous and exotic species. Among the latter are some intentionally and some accidentally introduced species, and marine as well as terrestrial and flying as well as non-flying species are abundantly represented. All the habitats occupied by metatherians also are occupied by eutherians. Eutherians more than cover the metatherian weight range of 5 g–100 kg, but the largest terrestrial eutherians (which are introduced species) are an order of magnitude heavier than the largest extant metatherians. Before the arrival of dingoes 4000 years ago, however, none of the indigenous fully terrestrial eutherians weighed more than a kilogram, while most of the exotic species weigh more than that. The eutherians now represented in Australia are very diverse. They fall into major suites of species: Muridae; Chiroptera; marine mammals (whales, seals and dugong); introduced carnivores (Canidae and Felidae); introduced Leporidae (hares and rabbits); and introduced ungulates (Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla). In this chapter an attempt is made to compare and contrast the main features of the natural histories of these suites of species and, where appropriate, to comment on their resemblance to or difference from the metatherians. NATURAL HISTORY Ecology Diet. The native rodents are predominantly omnivorous. -
LESSER STICK-NEST RAT Leporillus Apicalis
Threatened Species of the Northern Territory LESSER STICK-NEST RAT Leporillus apicalis Conservation status Australia: Extinct Northern Territory: Extinct (J Gould © Museum Victoria) Description The lesser stick-nest rat was a moderately sized native rodent (body mass 60 g) that differed from its larger relative, the greater stick-nest rat, by the narrow brush of white hairs near the tip of its tail. Distribution The last specimen of the lesser stick- nest rat was captured near Mt Crombie, south west of Known locations of the lesser stick-nest rat the present Amata settlement, South Australia ο = pre 1970 in 1933. However in the nineteenth century it occupied a broad swath of desert and semi- Ecology desert land stretching from the Riverina in New South Wales through most of inland The biology of the lesser sticknest rat is South Australia and into the Gibson Desert, poorly known. Its most notable feature was reaching the West Australian coast in the its construction of nests of sticks, sometimes Gascoyne region. Examination of middens of in the open, but often in caves and rock this species is providing significant new overhangs. information on environmental and climatic Conservation assessment change in central Australia over a 2500-year time frame. The lesser stick-nest rat is presumed to have Conservation reserves where reported: become extinct in the NT by the 1940s, None (however it formerly occurred in areas following a broad-scale decline extending that are now included within Uluru Kata-Tjuta over at least the previous 30 years (Finlayson National Park, Arltunga Historical Reserve, 1961; Burbidge et al. -
Factsheet: a Threatened Mammal Index for Australia
Science for Saving Species Research findings factsheet Project 3.1 Factsheet: A Threatened Mammal Index for Australia Research in brief How can the index be used? This project is developing a For the first time in Australia, an for threatened plants are currently Threatened Species Index (TSX) for index has been developed that being assembled. Australia which can assist policy- can provide reliable and rigorous These indices will allow Australian makers, conservation managers measures of trends across Australia’s governments, non-government and the public to understand how threatened species, or at least organisations, stakeholders and the some of the population trends a subset of them. In addition to community to better understand across Australia’s threatened communicating overall trends, the and report on which groups of species are changing over time. It indices can be interrogated and the threatened species are in decline by will inform policy and investment data downloaded via a web-app to bringing together monitoring data. decisions, and enable coherent allow trends for different taxonomic It will potentially enable us to better and transparent reporting on groups or regions to be explored relative changes in threatened understand the performance of and compared. So far, the index has species numbers at national, state high-level strategies and the return been populated with data for some and regional levels. Australia’s on investment in threatened species TSX is based on the Living Planet threatened and near-threatened birds recovery, and inform our priorities Index (www.livingplanetindex.org), and mammals, and monitoring data for investment. a method developed by World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological A Threatened Species Index for mammals in Australia Society of London. -
Ba3444 MAMMAL BOOKLET FINAL.Indd
Intot Obliv i The disappearing native mammals of northern Australia Compiled by James Fitzsimons Sarah Legge Barry Traill John Woinarski Into Oblivion? The disappearing native mammals of northern Australia 1 SUMMARY Since European settlement, the deepest loss of Australian biodiversity has been the spate of extinctions of endemic mammals. Historically, these losses occurred mostly in inland and in temperate parts of the country, and largely between 1890 and 1950. A new wave of extinctions is now threatening Australian mammals, this time in northern Australia. Many mammal species are in sharp decline across the north, even in extensive natural areas managed primarily for conservation. The main evidence of this decline comes consistently from two contrasting sources: robust scientifi c monitoring programs and more broad-scale Indigenous knowledge. The main drivers of the mammal decline in northern Australia include inappropriate fi re regimes (too much fi re) and predation by feral cats. Cane Toads are also implicated, particularly to the recent catastrophic decline of the Northern Quoll. Furthermore, some impacts are due to vegetation changes associated with the pastoral industry. Disease could also be a factor, but to date there is little evidence for or against it. Based on current trends, many native mammals will become extinct in northern Australia in the next 10-20 years, and even the largest and most iconic national parks in northern Australia will lose native mammal species. This problem needs to be solved. The fi rst step towards a solution is to recognise the problem, and this publication seeks to alert the Australian community and decision makers to this urgent issue. -
ANSWER KEY for the MAMMAL SEARCH and FIND
ANSWER KEY: MAMMAL SEARCH AND FIND A) An animal you already know about B) An animal you have never heard of C) An animal whose name starts with the same letter as your name. (You may use the full species name, the general name, or the scientific name for example: Sloth Bear [Ursus ursinus] is okay for the letters S, B and U.) There are multiple answers for many letters, but here is one for each. A anteater B bongo C coati D dibatag E echidna F fanaloka G giraffe H hedgehog I Indian pangolin J jumping mouse K kultarr L llama M mongoose N numbat O okapi P panda Q quoll katytanis.com #AMisclassificationOfMammals © Katy Tanis 2018 ANSWER KEY: MAMMAL SEARCH AND FIND R raccoon S sloth T tamandua U Ursus ursinus (sloth bear) V vicuna W wildebeest X Xenarthran* Y yellow footed rock wallaby Z zorilla *this is a bit of a cheat Xenarthra is the superorder that include anteaters, tree sloths and armadillo. There were 6 in the show. D) 7 spotted animals African civet fanaloka quoll king cheetah common genet giraffe spotted cuscus E) 2 flying animals Chapin's free-tailed bat Bismarck masked flying fox F) 2 swimming animals Southern Right Whale Commerson's Dolphin katytanis.com #AMisclassificationOfMammals © Katy Tanis 2018 ANSWER KEY: MAMMAL SEARCH AND FIND katytanis.com #AMisclassificationOfMammals © Katy Tanis 2018 ANSWER KEY: MAMMAL SEARCH AND FIND G) 2 mammals that lay eggs short beaked echidna western long beaked echidna H) 2 animals that look similar to skunks and are also stinky long fingered trick Zorilla I) 1 animal that smells like buttered -
Vertebrate Monitoring and Re-Sampling in Kakadu National Park
Vertebrate monitoring and re-sampling in Kakadu National Park Final report to Parks Australia: February 2002. John Woinarski, Michelle Watson and Nic Gambold Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory PO Box 496 Palmerston Northern Territory, 0831. SUMMARY This report describes the results for the period January to December 2001 in the project Vertebrate Monitoring and Re-Sampling at Kakadu National Park (KNP), a collaborative project involving Parks Australia (North), Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory, and the Tropical Savannas Cooperative Research Centre. The explicit objectives of this consultancy were to: • assess change in the vertebrate (and particularly mammal) fauna of KNP by re- sampling sites previously sampled; • assess the response of the mammal fauna to fire regimes, through sampling a set of sites selected to represent contrasting fire regimes; • establish a set of terrestrial vertebrate fauna samples which will contribute to the assessment of cane toad impacts; • sample terrestrial vertebrate fauna at a selection of existing KNP fire monitoring plots; • train Parks Australia staff in vertebrate sampling; and • collate all available data on terrestrial vertebrate fauna sampling, and deliver this to Parks Australia as GIS and other curated data bases. Note that this project will continue for a further year (2002). Hence, for some aspects of this project, the information presented here describes progress results rather than completed actions. monitoring and the Kakadu mammal fauna Prior to this work, there was no integrated monitoring program for terrestrial biodiversity across Kakadu NP. The development of such a program is important to assess the extent to which the Park’s values are being maintained and to help assess and guide management actions.