Nantawarrina IPA Vegetation Chapter
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Marqualpie Land System Biological Survey MAMMALS D. Armstrong1 Records Available Prior to the 2008 Survey Mammal data was available from four earlier traps (Elliots were not used during the first year), Department of Environment and Natural Resources compared to the two trap lines of six pitfalls and 15 (DENR) surveys which had some sampling effort Elliots, as is the standard for DENR surveys. within the Marqualpie Land System (MLS). These sources provided a total of 186 records of 16 mammal The three Stony Deserts Survey sites were located species (Table 18). These surveys were: peripheral to the MLS and in habitat that is unrepresentative of the dunefield, which dominates the • BS3 – Cooper Creek Environmental Association survey area. Therefore, only data collected at the 32 Survey (1983): 9 sites. Due to the extreme comparable effort survey sites sampled in 2008 is variability in sampling effort and difficulty in included in this section. All other data is treated as identifying site boundaries, this is simply the supplementary and discussed in later sections. number of locations for which mammal records were available. The 24 species recorded at sites consisted of five • BS41 – Della and Marqualpie Land Systems’ native rodents, five small dasyurids (carnivorous/ Fauna Monitoring Program (1989-92): 10 sites. insectivorous marsupials), five insectivorous bats, the • BS48 – Rare Rodents Project: one opportunistic Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), Red sighting record from 2000. Kangaroo (Macropus rufus) and Dingo (Canis lupus • BS69 – Stony Deserts Survey (1994-97): 3 sites. dingo), and six introduced or feral species. As is the case throughout much of Australia, particularly the An additional 20 records of seven mammal species arid zone, critical weight range (35g – 5.5kg) native were available from the SA Museum specimen mammal species, are now largely absent (Morton collection. Amongst these were three records of 1990). The one exception in the MLS is the single Rattus villosissimus (Long-haired Rat), which was not record of the Short-beaked Echidna. recorded during the above early biological surveys. Therefore, a total of 206 records of 17 mammal species were obtained from within the MLS prior to this survey (Table 18). The location of all sites sampled on these and the 2008 Marqualpie Land System Biological Survey are shown in Figure 75. 2008 Survey - Site Based Data This survey collected 330 records of 24 mammal species (Table 18) from 32 standard DENR format survey sites (Owens 2000). Despite much of the data from earlier surveys being collected at fixed trap sites, Figure 74. Sandy Inland Mouse (Pseudomys the sampling effort at these sites was variable and not hermannsburgensis) was the most frequently directly comparable to that of this survey. For recorded species on the 2008 survey (Photo: P. example, the 10 sites used from the Della and Canty). Marqualpie Land Systems’ Survey were sampled annually at various times during four consecutive years, with two trap lines of five pitfall and 10 Elliot Table 18. Summary of all Marqualpie Land System mammal records and their sources. Rare 2008 2008 Cooper Della and Stony SA Source Rodents Survey Survey Total Creek Marqualpie Deserts Museum (OP) (Sites) (OP) Records 27 85 1 73 20 330 48 584 Species 7 5 1 11 7 24 9 24 1 Science Resource Centre, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, GPO Box 1047, Adelaide SA 5001. 55 Marqualpie Land System Biological Survey Figure 75. Location of survey sites where mammals have been sampled in the Marqualpie Land System. The average number of mammal records per site was The average number of identified mammal records at 13.8. By far the most frequently encountered species sites was 10.3. The lowest was two at MON00501, was Pseudomys hermannsburgensis (Sandy Inland described above. The highest was 32 records at Mouse), which was recorded at 24 of the 32 (75%) KES00301 on a sandy dune crest vegetated with survey sites and accounted for 117, or over one third Triodia basedowii (Hard Spinifex) Open Hummock (35.5%), of identified mammal records at sites. The Grassland. However, these records were largely of the native P. hermannsburgensis and the similar looking two most abundant species, both small rodents, 18 introduced Mus musculus (House Mouse) accounted Pseudomys hermannsburgensis (Sandy Inland Mouse) for 52.4% of all mammal records at sites, with both and 10 Mus musculus (House Mouse). occurring at over half of the 32 survey sites. The only other species recorded at more than half of all sites In evaluating the mammal records collected at sites was the Dingo, at 17 sites. In most instances Dingo and the subsequent statistics calculated and shown presence was based on sightings of their tracks rather above, it should be taken into consideration that than of the animals themselves. More than half (15 of another 60 records were collected which were not 24) the species at sites were recorded at five or less identified to species. These were 56 small rodents, sites, mostly by single records at each site, two small bats and two other small mammals that were representing a total of only 38 or 11.5% of all records either rodents or dasyurids. In the case of the bats this (Table 19). Seven species were recorded at only one situation was created by failure to collect specimens site each and by only one or two individual records. that could be later examined to confirm identity. The rodents were attributed to Pseudomys bolami (Bolam’s The average number of species recorded at survey sites Mouse), a species that was several hundred kilometres was 4.5. The lowest was two at MON00501 on a out of its known distribution, and none of the stony plain in Maireana astrotricha (Low Blue-bush) specimens collected and attributed to this species were Low Very Open Shrubland on sandy clay loam. The correctly identified in the field. The seven specimens highest was eight species (four feral and four native) at collected were in fact all later identified as Pseudomys BLO00701. This was in an interdune corridor of hermannsburgensis (Sandy Inland Mouse), but due to Corymbia terminalis (Bloodwood) Low Open other misidentifications in the field of P. Woodland with Aristida contorta (Curly Wire-grass) hermannsburgensis with Leggadina forresti (Forrest’s dominated understorey, on loamy sand. Mouse) and potentially Mus musculus (House Mouse), the remaining records of the anomalous species could 56 Marqualpie Land System Biological Survey Table 19. Summary of mammal records at sites in descending frequency order. Species Name Common Name Sites Records Pseudomys hermannsburgensis Sandy Inland Mouse 24 117 Mus musculus * House Mouse 18 56 Sminthopsis macroura Stripe-faced Dunnart 13 31 Canis lupus dingo Dingo 17 20 Nyctophilus geoffroyi Lesser Long-eared Bat 4 17 Oryctolagus cuniculus * Rabbit (European Rabbit) 12 15 Pseudomys desertor Desert Mouse (Brown Desert Mouse) 10 15 Sminthopsis crassicaudata Fat-tailed Dunnart 8 13 Leggadina forresti Forrest's Mouse 6 8 Vulpes vulpes * Fox (Red Fox) 5 6 Felis catus * Cat (Feral Cat) 5 5 Camelus dromedarius * One-humped Camel (Arabian Camel) 3 4 Ningaui ridei Wongai Ningaui 4 4 Planigale ingrami Long-tailed Planigale 3 3 Bos taurus * Cattle (European Cattle) 2 2 Macropus rufus Red Kangaroo 2 2 Rattus villosissimus Long-haired Rat (Plague Rat) 1 2 Scotorepens balstoni Inland Broad-nosed Bat 1 2 Scotorepens greyii Little Broad-nosed Bat 1 2 Tadarida australis White-striped Freetail-bat 2 2 Chalinolobus gouldii Gould's Wattled Bat 1 1 Notomys alexis Spinifex Hopping-mouse 1 1 Planigale gilesi Giles' Planigale (Paucident Planigale) 1 1 Tachyglossus aculeatus Short-beaked Echidna 1 1 Total 32 330 Note: * Indicates introduced or feral species. not be directly attributed to this most common species. They have therefore been excluded from any further evaluation of the available mammal data for the MLS. Opportunistic Data Although there were only 48 opportunistic records of nine mammal species collected during the 2008 survey (Table 18), they include a significant contribution to the information available on Macropus rufus (Red Kangaroo). Opportunistic records provided the majority (22 of 27) of all records for the species in the MLS, including sightings of four separate small groups. All nine species recorded opportunistically were also recorded at survey sites. Combined Site and Opportunistic Data The combined site and opportunistic data from this survey provided 378 of 584 (65%), or just under two thirds, of all available mammal records for the MLS. It also provided a disproportionately greater amount of records of several larger species, in particular Canis lupus dingo (Dingo), Macropus rufus (Red Kangaroo), Tachyglossus aculeatus (Short-beaked Echidna) and most feral species, including Camelus dromedarius (One-humped Camel), Felis catus (Feral Cat), Oryctolagus cuniculus (Rabbit) and Vulpes vulpes (Fox). The 2008 survey included the only record of Tachyglossus aculeatus (Short-beaked Echidna) and Figure 76. The majority of Red Kangaroo the first records of Camelus dromedarius (One- (Macropus rufus) records for the area were humped Camel) and Vulpes vulpes (Fox) for the MLS. collected opportunistically away from sites during the 2008 survey (Photo: DENR). 57 Marqualpie Land System Biological Survey It appears that more effort was made in recording tracks and traces of larger animals than in previous visits to the area, as the vast majority of records of these larger species were of scats, tracks or diggings. Unfortunately, the increased effort in this method of data collection was restricted to only one of the two field groups. Therefore, data relating to the species named immediately above, for which tracks and traces are likely to be a significant proportion of records, must be interpreted with this bias in mind, as they are likely to under-represent the situation. In total, seven mammal species, including two introduced or feral species, previously unrecorded within the MLS were recorded during the 2008 survey (Table 20).