Department of Parks and Wildlife Science and Conservation Division annual research report 2016–17 Acknowledgements This report was prepared by Science and Conservation, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (formerly the Department of Parks and Wildlife). Photo credits listed as ‘DBCA’ throughout this report refer to the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. For more information contact: Executive Director, Science and Conservation Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions 17 Dick Perry Avenue Kensington Western Australia 6151 Locked Bag 104 Bentley Delivery Centre Western Australia 6983 Telephone (08) 9219 9943 dbca.wa.gov.au The recommended reference for this publication is: Department of Parks and Wildlife, 2017, Science and Conservation Division Annual Research Report 2016–2017, Department of Parks and Wildlife, Perth. Images Front cover: Pilbara landscape. Photo – Steven Dillon/DBCA Inset: Burning tree. Photo - Stefan Doerr/Swansea University; Plant collecting. Photo – Juliet Wege/DBCA; Dibbler Photo – Mark Cowan/DBCA Back cover: Flatback turtle Photo – Liz Grant/DBCA Department of Parks and Wildlife Science and Conservation Division Annual Research Report 2016–2017 Director’s Message Through 2016-17 we continued to provide an effective science service to support the Department of Parks and Wildlife’s corporate goals of wildlife management, parks management, forest management and managed use of natural assets. In supporting these core functions, we delivered best practice science to inform conservation and management of our plants, animals and ecosystems, and to support effective management of our parks and reserves, delivery of our fire program and managed use of our natural resources, as well as generating science stories that inspire and engage people with our natural heritage. Our activities are aligned with management priorities and we deliver science expertise in our core areas of conserving threatened plants, animals and communities, landscape scale conservation, wildlife assets and inventory, WA Herbarium, bushfire research, marine monitoring and research, forest monitoring and research, wetland monitoring, hydrological monitoring, and biodiversity data management and distribution.Some highlights of activities this year have been lack of detection of cats on Dirk Hartog Island, translocation of rock wallabies to Kalbarri National Park and dibblers to Gunton Island, establishment of a flatback turtle monitoring program on Thevenard Island and aerial surveys of turtle nesting on beaches in the Pilbara, surveys for bilbies and rare plants in the La Grange development area of the Kimberley, vertebrate survey in the northern part of the Matuwa Kurrara Kurrara Indigenous Protected Area with traditional owners, determining meteorological drivers of extreme fire behaviour during the Waroona bushfire, and monitoring on FORESTCHECK sites burnt in the Lower Hotham bushfire. In addition, the excellence of our science and its application in management was recognised by Western Shield winning the Premier’s Award for Excellence in Public Sector Management in the managing the environment category. I am very pleased that we continue to be key partners in the Western Australian Marine Science Institution and the Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute. Although these joint ventures are at different stages in their funding cycles, we continue to make significant contributions to their programs, and gain substantial benefit from our engagement in these initiatives. I am also very pleased to have continued engagement with the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) hubs, as our staff provide a key perspective on the application of excellent science to address conserva- tion and management needs. In particular, programs of the Threatened Species Recovery hub and the Northern Australia Environmental Resources hub are strongly aligned with those of our department in delivering applied science and research outcomes to support on-ground management. Engagement with all our partners, both within the Department and externally, is an important component of how we deliver best practice science, and we continue to maintain excellent partnerships with universities, CSIRO, industry, not-for-profit organisations and other government agencies with many new projects and a large number of students that we co-supervise. We continue to build our relationship and engagement with traditional owners through research activities in the Pilbara, Western Desert and Kimberley This report will be our last report as the Department of Parks and Wildlife. From 1 July 2017 Parks and Wildlife was amalgamated with Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority, Zoological Parks Authority and Rottnest Island Authority to become the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. A key function of the new department is to consolidate conservation science into one department to build and share knowledge of WA’s biodiversity. I am confident we will continue to deliver excellence in applied science to support the core functions of the new department as we embrace the challenges and take advantage of the new opportunities provided by the amalgamation of these agencies. Dr Margaret Byrne Director Science and Conservation July 2017 Contents Service Delivery Structure . 1 Biogeography . 3 South-Western Australia Transitional Transect (SWATT) . 3 Biological survey and conservation planning for the Swan Coastal Plain bioregion and adjacent scarps (Dandaragan, Darling and Whicher) . 4 Western Australian flora surveys . 5 Western Australian terrestrial fauna surveys . 6 Plant species richness and endemism within the south-western Australian Floristic Region . 7 Kimberley islands biological survey . 8 Animal Science . 9 Improved fauna recovery in the Pilbara – Assessing the uptake of feral cat baits by northern quolls, and their associated survivorship . 9 Cat Eradication on Dirk Hartog Island . 10 Improving the use of remote cameras as a survey and monitoring tool . 11 Decision support system for prioritising and implementing biosecurity on Western Australia’s islands . 12 Conservation and management of the bilby (Macrotis lagotis) in the Pilbara . 14 Genetic assessment for conservation of rare and threatened fauna . 15 Genetic approaches for evaluating the contribution of the reserve system to fauna conservation 17 Rangelands restoration: reintroduction of native mammals to Lorna Glen (Matuwa) . 18 Feral cat control and numbat recovery in Dryandra woodland and other sites . 19 Conservation of south coast threatened birds . 20 Ecology and management of the northern quoll in the Pilbara . 21 Conservation of the graceful sun-moth . 22 Impact of cane toads on biodiversity in the Kimberley . 23 Development of effective broad-scale aerial baiting strategies for the control of feral cats . 24 Gilbert’s potoroo (Potorous gilbertii) recovery plan . 25 Plant Science and Herbarium . 27 Is restoration working? An ecological genetic assessment . 27 Interactive key and taxonomic studies of Myrtaceae tribe Chamelaucieae . 28 Climate change risks for biodiversity and ecosystem function in species-rich shrublands . 29 Strategic taxonomic studies in families including Amaranthaceae and Fabaceae (Ptilotus, Gom- phrena, Swainsona) and other plant groups . 30 The Western Australian Plant Census and Australian Plant Census . 31 The Western Australian Herbarium’s specimen database . 32 Herbarium collections management . 32 Biodiversity informatics at the Western Australian Herbarium . 34 Taxonomy of undescribed taxa in the Ericaceae subfamily Styphelioideae, with an emphasis on those of conservation concern . 35 Taxonomic studies on native and naturalised plants of Western Australia arising from biological survey ............................................. 36 Resolving the systematics and taxonomy of Tephrosia in Western Australia . 37 Taxonomy of selected families including legumes, grasses and lilies . 38 Temperature thresholds for recruitment in south-west Western Australian flora . 39 Systematics of the triggerplant genus Stylidium ........................... 40 iii Taxonomic review and floristic studies of the benthic marine algae of north-western Australian and floristic surveys of Western Australian marine benthic algae . 41 The Western Australian marine benthic algae online and an interactive key to the genera of Australian marine benthic algae . 42 Taxonomic resolution and description of new plant species, particularly Priority Flora from those areas subject to mining in Western Australia . 43 Genetic and ecological viability of plant populations in remnant vegetation . 44 Translocation of critically endangered plants . 45 Mating system variation, genetic diversity and viability of small fragmented populations of threat- ened flora, and other key plants of conservation importance . 46 The population ecology of critically endangered flora . 47 Seed biology, seedbank dynamics and collection and storage of seed of rare and threatened Western Australian taxa . 48 Genetics and biosystematics for the conservation, circumscription and management of the West- ern Australian flora . 49 Ecosystem Science . 51 Do hotter and drier regions harbour adaptive variation for climate change? . 51 Development of an environmental risk strategy for sustainable agricultural planning in the Kimber- ley ............................................... 53 Understanding the changing fire environment of south-west Western Australia . 53 Restoring natural riparian