DOCSLIB.ORG

Factsheet 22 – Why Is Life Getting Tough for Bilbies?

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Factsheet 22 – Why Is Life Getting Tough for Bilbies? Factsheet 22 – Why is life getting tough for bilbies? Quirky fact : The bilby eats seeds Australian Curriculum Links using its long, skinny Year Subject Curriculum Links tongue to lick them 5 Geography ACHGK030 from the ground. This Science ACSSU043 feeding style means 6 Science ACSSU094 the bilby eats a lot of 7 Geography ACHGK040 sand. In fact, 20–90 Science ACSSU112, ACSHE120 per cent of its waste 8 Geography ACHGK051, ACHGK052 can be sand! Science ACSHE135 Background Information The endangered greater bilby, Macrotis lagotis, is Australia’s ‘Easter Bunny’ and is the only surviving bandicoot in arid Queensland. As one of Queensland’s 12 endangered mammals, the bilby is the subject of intense research and conservation efforts. Its closest relative, the lesser bilby, is extinct. Rabbit-sized, the bilby has delicate features with a long-pointed nose, silky pale blue-grey fur with patches of tan, big ears and a crested black and white tail. It uses strong forelimbs and thick claws to dig for food and a sticky tongue to lick up seeds. The bilby carries its tail stiffly and its ears are almost transparent. Sharp hearing and a strong sense of smell are vital to their survival as they have poor vision. A nocturnal animal, the bilby feeds on seeds, insects such as grasshoppers, beetles, spiders and termites, fungi, and bulbs, while most of its water is extracted from its food rather than from drinking. Bilbies inhabit dry, hot areas and burrow among hummock and tussock grasslands and acacia shrub lands. Powerful diggers, they make burrows up to three metres long and almost two metres deep where they spend their daylight hours. The burrow contains no nesting material and the Bilby (supplied by EPA) entrance is often against a termite mound or small shrub. In the deserts, its home is usually temporary and can change quickly depending on where it can find food. The bilby lives alone or in a pair and breeds throughout the year. Female bilbies have a backward-opening pouch with eight teats. One or two young are usually carried in the pouch at a time, although four have been recorded in the wild. Young stay in the pouch for 80 days. Bilbies put their young into burrows for about two weeks and return regularly to feed them. Queensland’s largest remaining wild group of bilbies lives in one area west of the Diamantina River. Charleville is home to the captive breeding program “Save the Bilby Fund”. The program is operated by the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency and releases captive-bred bilbies into a fenced wild enclosure within the Currawinya National Park. Charleville Bilby Experience 94 Outback Queensland Education Handbook | Australian Curriculum Factsheets Inquiry Questions ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Subject Years Questions Australian Government Department Geography 5 How do fire and floods impact on creatures like of Sustainability, Environment, Water, bilbies? Population and Communities National Recovery Plan for the Greater Bilby 7/8 What are the consequences of human use and www.environment.gov.au/resource/national- management of landscape for creatures like recovery-plan-greater-bilby-macrotis-lagotis bilbies? Dreamworld Wild Life For Kids Education Program Science 5/6 How have bilbies adapted to live in this Email: [email protected] environment? www.dreamworld.com.au/Schools/ Teachers/Wildlife-for-Kids.aspx How are environmental changes affecting them? Outback Now 7/8 How do bilbies fit into a food web? www.outbacknow.com.au/index. php?module= How are science understandings helping people pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=37&pid=78 protect bilbies? Save the Bilby Fund www.savethebilbyfund.com Points of Interest REFERENCES Charleville Bilby Experience Queensland Department of Environment and Meeting this delightful marsupial is a highlight for many visitors who Heritage Protection come to Charleville. Captive bred in Charleville to ensure the survival www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/threatened- species/endangered/endangered-animals/ of the species, this is a great opportunity to learn more about the survival, bilby.html habits and habitat of the endangered Bilby. FURTHER INFORMATION Warrego Highway, Charleville QLD 4470 Charleville Visitor Information Centre Cost: Fees apply and bookings are essential Phone: (07) 4654 7771 Hours: Nightly tours April to October 7.00pm. www.murweh.qld.gov.au Phone: (07) 4654 4717 (ask for the Save the Bilby Fund) Charleville Bilby Experience PO Box 155, Charleville QLD 4470 For tour bookings contact Charleville Visitor Phone: (07) 4654 4717 (ask for the Save the Information Centre (07) 4654 7771 Bilby Fund) Cosmos Centre and Observatory, Charleville Email: [email protected] Tregole National Park, west of Charleville Thurlby Station tours, Charleville 112 BLACKALL 204 99 STONEHENGE 102 47 r 12 SALVATOR ROLLESTON e 114 ROSA KA KA 67 v 52 42 i 101 NATIONAL MUNDI R IDALIA CARNARVON EMMET PARK NATIONAL JUNDAH o o NATIONAL GORGE c YARAKA PARK 92 r 120 a PARK TAMBO NATIONAL 50 B PARK 94 r MT MOFFATT e r 192 v 209 e NATIONAL PARK i 109 WELFORD v R i 119 52 NATIONAL R d o WINDORAH PARK r e g 106 a r 51 r r W 09 a e W k v e i AUGATHELLA 40 e R ADAVALE 40 r 158 C o 187 Haddon r o INJUNE e l 109 p l o 84 91 Corner o u C 85 B 85 87 MORVEN 91 QUEENSLAND CHARLEVILLE 44 MITCHELL 22 QUILPIE 74 CHEEPIE 88 TREGOLE 69 NATIONAL MUNGALLALA 45 AMBY 37 PARK 65 ROMATownsville EROMANGA 48 COOLADDI 99 Mt Isa 74 Rockhampton Longreach 167 161 209 e r v 210 i WYANDRA Charleville R TOOMPINE 210 BRISBANE195 SURAT n 36 180 o s l 5 i 55 Outback Queensland Education Handbook | Australian Curriculum Factsheets 95.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Greater Bilby Macrotis Lagotis
    Threatened Species Strategy – Year 3 Priority Species Scorecard (2018) Greater Bilby Macrotis lagotis Key Findings Greater Bilbies once ranged over three‑ quarters of Australia, but declined coincident with the spread of European foxes, along with habitat changes from introduced herbivores (especially rabbits), changed fire regimes and predation by feral cats. Recovery actions have focused on maintaining or restoring traditional Indigenous patchwork fire regimes and controlling introduced predators. Translocations into predator-free exclosures and a predator-free island have allowed for further increases in population and re- establishment into the species’ former range. Photo: Queensland Department of Environment and Science Significant trajectory change from 2005-15 to 2015-18? No, generally stable overall. Priority future actions • Effective landscape-scale fire management is implemented across all of distribution. • Targeted cat and rabbit control at key bilby sites. • Minimise loss of bilby habitat, and maintain connectivity between bilby populations. Full assessment information Background information 2018 population trajectory assessment 1. Conservation status and taxonomy 8. Expert elicitation for population trends 2. Conservation history and prospects 9. Immediate priorities from 2019 3. Past and current trends 10. Contributors 4. Key threats 11. Legislative documents 5. Past and current management 12. References 6. Support from the Australian Government 13. Citation 7. Measuring progress towards conservation The primary purpose
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of the Reintroduction of Greater Bilbies (Macrotis Lagotis)
    The Role of the Reintroduction of Greater Bilbies (Macrotis lagotis) and Burrowing Bettongs (Bettongia lesueur) in the Ecological Restoration of an Arid Ecosystem: Foraging Diggings, Diet, and Soil Seed Banks Janet Newell School of Earth and Environmental Sciences University of Adelaide May 2008 A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Table of Contents ABSTRACT...............................................................................................................................................I DECLARATION.......................................................................................................................................III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................................... V CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................1 1.1 MAMMALIAN EXTINCTIONS IN ARID AUSTRALIA ...............................................................................1 1.2 ROLE OF REINTRODUCTIONS .......................................................................................................2 1.3 ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS.............................................................................................................3 1.4 ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS OF BILBIES AND BETTONGS .....................................................................4 1.4.1 Consumers..........................................................................................................................4
    [Show full text]
  • Eastern Australia Mulga Shrublands
    Conservation Management Zones of Australia Eastern Australia Mulga Shrublands Prepared by the Department of the Environment Acknowledgements This project and its associated products are the result of collaboration between the Department of the Environment’s Biodiversity Conservation Division and the Environmental Resources Information Network (ERIN). Invaluable input, advice and support were provided by staff and leading researchers from across the Department of Environment (DotE), Department of Agriculture (DoA), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the academic community. We would particularly like to thank staff within the Wildlife, Heritage and Marine Division, Parks Australia and the Environment Assessment and Compliance Division of DotE; Nyree Stenekes and Robert Kancans (DoA), Sue McIntyre (CSIRO), Richard Hobbs (University of Western Australia), Michael Hutchinson (ANU); David Lindenmayer and Emma Burns (ANU); and Gilly Llewellyn, Martin Taylor and other staff from the World Wildlife Fund for their generosity and advice. Special thanks to CSIRO researchers Kristen Williams and Simon Ferrier whose modelling of biodiversity patterns underpinned identification of the Conservation Management Zones of Australia. Image Credits Front Cover: Paroo-Darling National Park – Peter Taylor, Parks Australia Page 4: Mulga on John Egan Pioneer Track – Dragi Markovic Page 10: Mulga Parrot (Psephotus varius) – Brian Furby Page 14: Paper daisies, Paroo-Darling National Park – J. Doyle/OEH Page 15: Lake Wyara – Adam Creed, © The State of Queensland (Department of Environment and Heritage Protection) Page 18: Cassia flowers, Paroo-Darling National Park – J. Doyle/OEH Page 19: Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata) – Dave Watts Page 21: Australian Painted Snipes (Rostratula australis) – Graeme Chapman Page 22: Wild hop, Paroo-Darling National Park – J.
    [Show full text]
  • The Collapse of Northern Mammal Populations 2 Australian
    australian wildlife matters wildlife conservancy Winter 2010 The collapse of northern mammal populations 2 australian saving australia’s threatened wildlife wildlife Pictograph conservancy Welcome to our Winter 2010 edition of Wildlife Matters. I am writing this editorial from our bushcamp at Pungalina-Seven Emu, in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Our biological survey has just commenced and already some exciting discoveries have been made. the awc mission Overnight our fi eld ecologists captured a Carpentarian Pseudantechinus, one of Australia’s rarest mammals. This is only the 21st time that this species has ever been The mission of Australian Wildlife Conservancy recorded (the 20th record was also on Pungalina – see the Spring 2009 edition of (AWC) is the effective conservation of all Wildlife Matters). We have watched rare Ghost Bats, Australia’s only carnivorous bats, Australian animal species and the habitats in emerging from a maternity cave; a mother Dugong, with her calf, resting in the lower which they live. To achieve this mission, our reaches of the Calvert River; Bandicoots digging around Pungalina’s network of lush, actions are focused on: permanent springs; and graceful Antilopine Wallaroos bounding across Pungalina’s • Establishing a network of sanctuaries tropical savannas. which protect threatened wildlife and Pungalina-Seven Emu is a property of immense conservation signifi cance. Yet it ecosystems: AWC now manages lies at the centre – geographically – of an unfolding ecological drama which surely 21 sanctuaries covering over 2.5 million demands our attention: from Cape York to the Kimberley, Australia’s small mammals hectares (6.2 million acres). are disappearing. Species such as the Golden Bandicoot, the Brush-tailed Rabbit-rat • Implementing practical, on-ground and the Northern Quoll have suffered catastrophic declines, disappearing from large conservation programs to protect areas including places as famous and well resourced as Kakadu National Park.
    [Show full text]
  • State of the Park 2016
    Magazine of National Parks Association of Queensland state of the park 2016 why advocacy matters bunya mountains national park warrie circuit walk lamington spiny crayfish the national park experience Issue 7 February-March 2016 1 Welcome to Contents the February/ Welcome to Protected 2 March edition of State of the park 2016 3 Protected Why advocacy matters 6 Bunya Mountains National Park 8 Michelle Prior, NPAQ President Warrie Circuit walk, Springbrook 10 As this edition of Protected goes to Lamington spiny crayfish 12 press, NPAQ is eagerly awaiting the outcome of the Nature Conservation The National Park Experience 13 and Other Legislation Amendment Bill What’s On 14 2015, which if passed, will reinstate Letters to the Editor 15 the nature as the sole goal of the NC Act (which governs the creation and management of national parks Council President Michelle Prior in Queensland), and undo some Vice Presidents Tony O’Brien retrograde amendments made during Athol Lester the Newman term of government. Hon Secretary Debra Marwedel Asst Hon Secret Yvonne Parsons Another important issue currently Hon Treasurer Graham Riddell in the pipeline is the opportunity to Councillors Julie Hainsworth phase out sand mining on North Peter Ogilvie Stradbroke Island by 2019, supported Richard Proudfoot by an economic transition package. Des Whybird The Bill which proposes this end Mike Wilke date also serves to respect the rights Staff of the native title holders of North Conservation Principal: Stradbroke Island. The government Kirsty Leckie has a responsibility to protect and Business Development Officer: preserve what remains of the island’s Anna Tran remarkable natural environment and Project & Office Administrator: stem the tide of irreversible damage.
    [Show full text]
  • CITES Cop16 Prop. 9 IUCN-TRAFFIC Analysis (PDF, 77KB)
    Ref. CoP16 Prop. 9 Deletion of Lesser Bilby Macrotis leucura from Appendix I Proponent: Australia Summary: The Lesser Bilby Macrotis leucura was one of two species of bilby (genus Macrotis) in the bandicoot family (the Peramelidae). It was endemic to Australia where it occurred in arid regions in the interior. The last verified specimen was collected in 1931, although oral accounts by Aboriginals suggest that it may have survived into the 1960s. It has been classified as Extinct by IUCN since 1982. The reasons for its demise are unclear, although predation by introduced Red Foxes Vulpes vulpes and feral cats and habitat alteration have been implicated. Macrotis leucura, along with its sister-species the Greater Bilby Macrotis lagotis, was included in CITES Appendix I in 1975, when the Convention came into force, by which time it was almost certainly extinct. No trade in any specimens has ever been recorded under CITES. In the highly unlikely event of the species being rediscovered, it would be covered by Australian legislation that prohibits the export of native mammal species for commercial purposes and requires a permit for export for non-commercial purposes. Macrotis lagotis, which is easily distinguishable from M. leucura by its greater size and different colouration, is extant and classified as Vulnerable by IUCN. A very small amount of non-commercial trade in specimens of this species is recorded in the CITES trade database. Analysis: Resolution Conf. 9.24 (Rev. CoP15) notes in Annex 4 (Precautionary measures) that no species listed in Appendix I shall be removed from the Appendices unless it has been first transferred to Appendix II, with monitoring of any impact of trade on the species for at least two intervals between meetings of the Conference of the Parties (para.
    [Show full text]
  • Australian Ramsar Sites - Site 43 Currawinya Lakes South-Western Queensland
    Australian Ramsar Sites - Site 43 Currawinya Lakes South-Western Queensland ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Country Australia 2. Date of Compilation 25 September 1995 3. Reference 5AU043 4. Contact Estelle Margaret Ross Conservation Strategy Branch Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage P 0 Box 155 BRISBANE ALBERT STREET QLD 4002 Telephone: +61 07 3227 6522 Fax: + 61 07 3227 6386 5. Name Currawinya Lakes (Currawinya National Park) 6. Date of Ramsar Designation 11 March 1996 7. Coordinates 28°45’ South, 144°19’ East (major lakes) 8. Location Queensland. Wetlands within the area approximately bounded by latitude 28 40' and 29 and longitude 144 and 145 , the southern most boundary being the Queensland/New South Wales border. Nearest town is Hungerford, 36 kilometres to the south east. 9. Area About 151 300 hectares 10. Wetland Type Inland Wetlands: 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 (as listed in T.J. Davis (ed.) (1994), Ramsar Convention Manual, p. 159). Dominant types: 2,5,7 11. Elevation Major lakes: 119-132 m. 12. Overview The Currawinya National Park consists of a mosaic of low dunefields, lakes, claypans and saltpans. These occupy a central strip between rugged hills and scarps to the north and west which rise 50 m or more above the surrounding sand plains. Although the numerous lakes and swamps are scattered across alluvial areas of uniform relief and similar geological age, some are freshwater and others, often quite close and divided by only low levees, are salt or strongly brackish. 13. Physical Features The rugged hills and scarps on the north of the Park represent the southern extension of the Hoods Range.
    [Show full text]
  • Thylacomyidae
    FAUNA of AUSTRALIA 25. THYLACOMYIDAE KEN A. JOHNSON 1 Bilby–Macrotis lagotis [F. Knight/ANPWS] 25. THYLACOMYIDAE DEFINITION AND GENERAL DESCRIPTION The family Thylacomyidae is a distinctive member of the bandicoot superfamily Perameloidea and is represented by two species, the Greater Bilby, Macrotis lagotis, and the Lesser Bilby, M. leucura. The Greater Bilby is separated from the Lesser Bilby by its greater size: head and body length 290–550 mm versus 200–270 mm; tail 200–290 mm versus 120–170 mm; and weight 600–2500 g versus 311–435 g respectively (see Table 25.1). The dorsal pelage of the Greater Bilby is blue-grey with two variably developed fawn hip stripes. The tail is black around the full circumference of the proximal third, contrasting conspicuously with the pure white distal portion, which has an increasingly long dorsal crest. The Lesser Bilby displays a delicate greyish tan above, described by Spencer (1896c) as fawn-grey and lacks the pure black proximal portion in the tail. Rather, as its specific name implies, the tail is white throughout, although a narrow band of slate to black hairs is present on the proximal third of the length. Finlayson (1935a) noted that the Greater Bilby lacks the strong smell of the Lesser Bilby. The skull of the Lesser Bilby is distinguished from the Greater Bilby by its smaller size (basal length 60-66 mm versus 73–104 mm; [Troughton 1932; Finlayson 1935a]), the more inflated and smoother tympanic bullae (Spencer 1896c), the absence of a fused sagittal crest in old males and the distinctly more cuspidate character in the crowns in the unworn molars (Finlayson 1935a).
    [Show full text]
  • Wildlife Matters Wildlife Conservancy
    australian wildlife matters wildlife conservancy Spring 2009 Pungalina reveals one of Australia’s rarest mammals Carpentarian Pseudantechinus 2 australian saving australia’s threatened wildlife wildlife Pictograph conservancy Welcome to the Spring 2009 edition of Wildlife Matters. As this edition goes to print, we are in the process of fi nalising the acquisition of Bowra (see pages 4-5), a 14,000 the awc mission hectare property located in the heart of the Mulga Lands in Queensland. Bowra will The mission of Australian Wildlife Conservancy be our 21st sanctuary, bringing the AWC network to more than 2.56 million hectares (AWC) is the effective conservation of all (6.3 million acres). Australian animal species and the habitats in While the overall scale of the portfolio is impressive, it is not the number of properties or which they live. To achieve this mission, our hectares that really count. A more accurate measure of the value of the portfolio is the actions are focused on: number of species and ecosystems that occur within the AWC estate. In this respect, • Establishing a network of sanctuaries the statistics are even more impressive – for example, around 80% of all Australian which protect threatened wildlife and terrestrial bird species and over 60% of all terrestrial mammal species occur on one or ecosystems: AWC now manages 20 more of our sanctuaries. sanctuaries covering over 2.56 million The fact that our portfolio captures such a high percentage of Australia’s wildlife species hectares (6.3 million acres). refl ects a deliberate, science-based strategy to ensure that AWC invests in properties • Implementing practical, on-ground of the highest environmental value.
    [Show full text]
  • Channel Country Planned Burn Guideline
    Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing Planned Burn Guidelines Channel Country Bioregion of Queensland DEPNP10068_bp2016_CHANNEL COUNTRY PBG D4.indd 1 30/04/13 4:22 PM Prepared by: Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) Enhanced Fire Management Team, Queensland Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing (NPRSR). © The State of Queensland Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing 2012. Copyright enquiries should be addressed to <[email protected]> or the Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing, 41 George Street, Brisbane Qld 4000. First published May 2013 Published by the Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Planned Burn Guidelines – Channel Country Bioregion of Queensland First edition Bibliography ISBN 978-1-7423-0932 1. Planned Burn – Guideline 2. Fire Management 3. Bioregion – Queensland Disclaimer This document has been prepared with all due diligence and care based on the best available information at the time of publication. The department holds no responsibility for any errors or omissions within this document. Any decisions made by other parties based on this document are solely the responsibility of those parties. Information contained in this document is from a number of sources and as such, does not necessarily represent government or departmental policy. All Queensland Government planned burning should be done in accordance with government policies, procedures and protocols. Acknowledgements The following people made substantial contributions to the intellectual content of these planned burn guidelines based on experience and/or expert knowledge with regard to fire management in the Channel Country bioregion.
    [Show full text]
  • Strategic Framework MAP: QSC
    ad D t Ro rut me e to Em v n all i S lack R t B re on e E s t d a m oa g ot a R le he ak rTe ar D t Y S et r m i n v o m r E e ls e e r G N v Developmental Ro e i ina ad reet y v ant a St i R Q iam Brolg r D i u c R n il a p C o d n i s e S a h o A i t m d o p s r t av e a R u o l m e e Road e h e r h S o t t T a h S t a S r d T d e A n o i m e t m m Inset 3 - Adavale o g e Jundah r rf oad a ield R ! d Strategic Framework h s a Roa in r t Ro T d k ve rea r Ri et e a i R L rcoo a p a k l B i ra u Ya Legend Q er ! iv Urban centres R Inset 1 - Quilpie n ! o ad Local centres s Ro m s o n ! h ow T D Localities nd ment Road mo velop am Diamantina De H Waterbody/waterway Mitche ll Street Windorah Railway t ! d e oa e R r t le Petroleum pipeline licences S Q a v u a n i lp d o ie A Arterial roads c W l a l i a e n do c k D ra Bla Connecting roads Berella St h reet Ro ad Road casement Cooper Developemntal Road Quilpie Shire boundary Quilpie Planning Scheme Zones Inset 2 - Eromanga iver Thomson R Scheme Thylungra Bulgroo Road Bulgro Recreation and Open Space o Ad ava d le a Ro Rural o ad Adavale R ! d a Rural Residential id n Refer ri T Ada Inset 3 vale Road Township While every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of this Lake Dartmouth product Quilpie Shire Council makes no representations or warranties about the accuracy, reliability, completeness or d suitability for any particular purpose and disclaims all a o R responsibility and all liability(including without limitation, d le a a liability in negligence) for all expenses, losses, damages o r v R a e (including indirect or consequential damages) and costs a d br v a i Ky D A you may incur as a result of the product being inaccurate ia R e m i o a p l or incomplete in any way or for any reason.
    [Show full text]
  • Verifying Bilby Presence and the Systematic
    CSIRO PUBLISHING Australian Mammalogy Review https://doi.org/10.1071/AM17028 Verifying bilby presence and the systematic sampling of wild populations using sign-based protocols – with notes on aerial and ground survey techniques and asserting absence Richard Southgate A, Martin A. Dziminski B,E, Rachel Paltridge C, Andrew Schubert C and Glen Gaikhorst D AEnvisage Environmental Services, PO Box 305, Kingscote, SA 5223, Australia. BDepartment of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Western Australia, Woodvale Wildlife Research Centre, Locked Bag 104, Bentley Delivery Centre, WA 6983, Australia. CDesert Wildlife Services, PO Box 4002, Alice Springs, NT 0871, Australia. DGHD Pty Ltd, 999 Hay Street, Perth, WA 6004, Australia. ECorresponding author. Email: [email protected] Abstract. The recognition of sign such as tracks, scats, diggings or burrows is widely used to detect rare or elusive species. We describe the type of sign that can be used to confirm the presence of the greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis)in comparison with sign that should be used only to flag potential presence. Clear track imprints of the front and hind feet, diggings at the base of plants to extract root-dwelling larvae, and scats commonly found at diggings can be used individually, or in combination, to verify presence, whereas track gait pattern, diggings in the open, and burrows should be used to flag potential bilby activity but not to verify presence. A protocol to assess potential activity and verify bilby presence is provided. We provide advice on the application of a plot-based technique to systematically search for sign and produce data for the estimation of regional occupancy.
    [Show full text]