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Population Processes in an Early Successional Heathland: a Case Study of the Eastern Chestnut Mouse (Pseudomys Gracilicaudatus)

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Population Processes in an Early Successional Heathland: a Case Study of the Eastern Chestnut Mouse (Pseudomys Gracilicaudatus) Population processes in an early successional heathland: a case study of the eastern chestnut mouse (Pseudomys gracilicaudatus) by Felicia Pereoglou A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University March 2016 Grarock K., Introduction, spread, impact and control of the common myna Grarock K., Introduction, spread, impact and control of the common myna Candidate's Declaration This thesis contains no material that has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. The research, analysis and writing in the thesis are substantially (>90%) my own work. To the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text. Felicia Pereoglou Date: 14 March 2016 Pereoglou, F., Population processes in an early successional heathland iii Acknowledgements I thank all the people who have dedicated their time, provided motivation, support and advice during the course of this work. I sincerely thank the members of my supervisory panel – Professor David B. Lindenmayer, Dr Sam Banks, Mr Christopher MacGregor, Dr Jeffrey Wood, and Dr Fred Ford – for their guidance and support. In particular, Sam and Chris who without your assistance through those particularly tough times, I would not have completed this work at all. I also extend thanks to; The volunteers who assisted with fieldwork surveys. A very special thanks to Wendy Hartman who made those many early mornings and nest assessments so much more enjoyable, and to Alfred Wellington who taught me a lot too. Staff at the Fenner School of Environment and Society for their assistance throughout the life of this project, especially Phil Greaves, Piers Bairstow, Mauro Davanzo, Amy Chen, Diane Jakobasch, and Claire Shepherd My family, friends and colleagues for their help, advice, motivation and patience Pereoglou, F., Population processes in an early successional heathland iv Abstract The eastern chestnut mouse (Pseudomys gracilicaudatus) has been described as a fire specialist inhabitant of early successional heathland. There is a global concern that changes to natural disturbance regimes will place early successional habitat specialists like the eastern chestnut mouse at an increased risk of extinction by altering landscape patterns of habitat suitability. Despite this concern, the fundamental population processes that occur in early successional heathlands are currently unknown for many species. This thesis comprises four research articles that investigate the underlying mechanisms used by a species to persist in this spatially and temporally variable habitat. To determine which features of burned heath were selected as refuge sites, 58 individuals of the eastern chestnut mouse were radio-tracked. Animals preferentially selected multiple aboveground shelter sites characterised by tall, dense vegetation with structural features present. The eastern chestnut mouse was ephemeral and non-gregarious in its refuge use. Refugia were highly flammable. These findings imply land management should ensure retention of vegetation structure on the ground layer and dense habitat patches in burned areas to assist with population viability. A long-term monitoring data set was analysed to evaluate the effects of landscape structure, fire history, and site-level habitat quality on site occupancy in an early successional heathland. Eastern chestnut mouse site occupancy was strongly related to patch area and landscape heterogeneity. There was no direct effect of recent or historical fire, but site occupancy was associated with dead shrubs in the understory and rock cover on ground layer. Small mammal species associations did not conform to that predicted by contemporary ecological theory. The findings suggest landscape configuration and continuity be used to guide survey work and fire regimes to promote eastern chestnut mouse population growth should retain critical habitat features rather than be based on temporal rates of successional stages. To examine population genetic structure, dispersal patterns and the effects of landscape variation on dispersal of an early successional specialist, microsatellite markers were used to genotype tissue obtained from 287 individuals. Differentiation between sites fitted an isolation- by-distance pattern. There was spatial autocorrelation of multilocus genotypes to a distance of 2–3 km with no evidence for sex-biased dispersal. Recently burned vegetation had greater conductance for gene flow than unburnt habitat, but variation in habitat quality between vegetation types and occupied patches had no effect on gene flow. These findings indicate a ‘generalist’ dispersal strategy is advantageous for post-fire specialists to access early successional vegetation. To quantify survival, recruitment and immigration rates in populations of the eastern chestnut mouse, demographic modelling and genetic assignment tests were applied to two years of mark–recapture data. Survival and recruitment rates varied across sites. Survival was Pereoglou, F., Population processes in an early successional heathland v influenced by fire history and elements of habitat structure affected by fire. Immigration contributed very little to recruitment compared to local reproduction, suggesting populations are demographically discrete at this post-fire stage. Demographic and genetic data were consistent; sites with high recruitment also had higher genetic diversity and lower temporal genetic structure, consistent with reduced genetic drift. This thesis provides an investigation of the strategies used by the eastern chestnut mouse to persist in an early successional heathland and adds significant new knowledge on the critical resources, predictors of occurrence, population genetics, and demographic rates of the species. The major implication of this research is that a predicted increase in fire occurrence will potentially influence the viability of populations of the eastern chestnut mouse by promoting gene flow but concomitantly decreasing critical habitat features that support site occupancy, increase survival rates, and provide nesting refugia. Furthermore, landscape continuity has a secondary influence population processes and this must be considered in conjunction with the disturbance regime to inform management actions. Pereoglou, F., Population processes in an early successional heathland vi Table of Contents Candidate's Declaration .................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv Abstract ............................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. vii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. xi List of Tables .................................................................................................................. xii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................... 13 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 14 1.1.1 Early successional ecosystems ........................................................................ 14 1.1.2 Eastern chestnut mouse ................................................................................... 15 1.1.2.1 Origin, taxonomy and conservation status ............................................... 15 1.1.2.2 Distribution ............................................................................................... 15 1.1.2.3 Response to fire ........................................................................................ 15 1.1.2.4 Habitat ...................................................................................................... 16 1.1.2.5 Appearance ............................................................................................... 16 1.1.2.6 Diet ........................................................................................................... 17 1.1.2.7 Breeding, growth and longevity ............................................................... 17 1.2 Context and structure ............................................................................................. 18 1.2.1 Chapter 2 – Refuge site selection in recently burned heath ............................ 18 1.2.2 Chapter 3 – Early successional heathland site occupancy ............................. 19 1.2.3 Chapter 4 – Landscape genetics in disturbance-prone environments ............ 19 1.2.4 Chapter 5 – Estimating survival and recruitment ........................................... 20 1.2.5 Chapter 6 – Conclusion .................................................................................. 20 1.3 Thesis summary ..................................................................................................... 20 1.4 Publication summary, candidate contribution and co-author acknowledgement ... 21 1.5 References .............................................................................................................. 23 Chapter 2: Refuge site selection .....................................................................................
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