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Dirk Hartog Island National Park Ecological Restoration Project: Stage Two – Year One Translocation and Monitoring Report

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Dirk Hartog Island National Park Ecological Restoration Project: Stage Two – Year One Translocation and Monitoring Report Dirk Hartog Island National Park Ecological Restoration Project: Stage Two – Year One Translocation and Monitoring Report Saul Cowen, Kelly Rayner, Lucie Scheelen, Colleen Sims and Lesley Gibson June 2019 Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions Locked Bag 104 Bentley Delivery Centre WA 6983 Phone: (08) 9219 9000 Fax: (08) 9334 0498 www.dbca.wa.gov.au © Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions on behalf of the State of Western Australia 2018 June 2018 This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form (retaining this notice) for your personal, non-commercial use or use within your organisation. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. This report was prepared by Saul Cowen, Kelly Rayner, Lucie Scheelen, Colleen Sims and Lesley Gibson. Questions regarding the use of this material should be directed to: Research Scientist – DHINPERP Fauna Reconstruction Biodiversity and Conservation Science Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions Locked Bag 104 Bentley Delivery Centre WA 6983 Phone: 08 9405 5119 Email: [email protected] The recommended reference for this publication is: Cowen S, Rayner K, Scheelen L, Sims C and Gibson L (2019), Dirk Hartog Island National Park Ecological Restoration Project: Stage Two – Year One Translocation and Monitoring Report Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Perth WA. Cover photo: Rufous hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus) at point of release on Dirk Hartog Island. (© A. Gibson Vega/DBCA). ii Title Contents Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................... vii 1 Background ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Site description .............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Species descriptions ..................................................................................... 2 1.2.1 Banded hare-wallaby .............................................................................. 3 1.2.2 Rufous hare-wallaby ............................................................................... 4 1.3 Climate and weather ..................................................................................... 5 2 Methods ................................................................................................................. 6 2.1 Translocation Proposals ................................................................................ 6 2.2 Timeline ........................................................................................................ 6 2.3 Translocation site selection ........................................................................... 7 2.4 Capture, transport and release.................................................................... 10 2.4.1 Capture of hare-wallabies on Bernier and Dorre Islands ...................... 10 2.4.2 Transfer and holding procedure ............................................................ 11 2.4.3 Release procedure ............................................................................... 12 2.5 Post-release monitoring .............................................................................. 12 2.5.1 Ground radio-tracking ........................................................................... 12 2.5.2 Aerial radio-tracking .............................................................................. 14 2.5.3 Remote cameras .................................................................................. 15 2.5.4 Hair-funnel lure trials ............................................................................ 18 2.5.5 Faecal DNA degradation trial ................................................................ 20 2.5.6 Scat and pellet collection for diet analysis ............................................ 22 2.5.7 Monitoring of large raptors .................................................................... 22 2.5.8 Recapture for radio-collar checking and/or removal ............................. 23 2.5.9 Post-mortem of deceased hare-wallabies............................................. 24 3 Results ................................................................................................................. 25 3.1 Capture and translocation of hare-wallabies ............................................... 25 3.2 Survivorship, health and recruitment ........................................................... 26 3.2.1 Survivorship .......................................................................................... 26 3.2.2 Health ................................................................................................... 29 3.2.3 Recruitment .......................................................................................... 31 3.3 Monitoring ................................................................................................... 32 ` iii 3.3.1 Radio-tracking ...................................................................................... 32 3.3.2 Remote cameras .................................................................................. 38 3.3.3 Hair-funnels and camera lure trials ....................................................... 42 3.3.4 Faecal DNA degradation trial ................................................................ 42 3.3.5 Scat and pellet collection for diet analysis ............................................ 42 3.3.6 Monitoring of large raptors .................................................................... 44 4 Discussion ............................................................................................................ 46 4.1 Translocation outcomes .............................................................................. 46 4.2 Monitoring outcomes ................................................................................... 47 4.3 Recommendations ...................................................................................... 48 References ............................................................................................................... 51 Figures Figure 1. Map of Dirk Hartog Island, indicating important areas and 4WD and ATV track network. ......................................................................................................... 2 Figure 3. Total monthly rainfall (bar graph) and mean monthly temperatures (line graphs) for Dirk Hartog Island from January 2018 to December 2018. .................. 5 Figure 2. Gantt chart showing timeline of outcomes from translocation between April 2018 and June 2019. ............................................................................................. 7 Figure 4. Map of southern end of Dirk Hartog Island indicating release sites of banded and rufous hare-wallabies and numbers release at each location............. 8 Figure 5. Example of Triodia-dominated community nominated as release location for rufous hare-wallabies (© S. Cowen/DBCA). ..................................................... 9 Figure 6. Example of Acacia-dominated community nominated as release location for banded hare-wallabies (© S. Cowen/DBCA) .................................................... 9 Figure 7. Symbology for unique identification marking of hare-wallaby collars (after Ealey and Dunnet (1956)). ................................................................................... 13 Figure 8. Phantom 4 Pro remotely piloted aircraft (RPA or ‘drone’) showing attachment of Telemetry Solutions remote-download base-station using cable ties (© S. Cowen/DBCA). ........................................................................................... 15 Figure 9. Study area with locations of track camera-traps, marked in red if working and blue if excluded from analysis. ...................................................................... 17 Figure 10. Image showing placement of hair-funnel under a tall Acacia ligulata shrub (© L.Scheelen/DBCA). ......................................................................................... 19 Figure 11. Open hair-funnel showing base with peg-holes for attachment to ground (left), metal chamber for lures (centre) and funnel itself with fresh adhesive wafer (right) (© L. Scheelen/DBCA). .............................................................................. 20 iv Title Figure 12. Example of faecal DNA degradation ‘in-situ’ trial set-up, showing Plexiglas ‘A-frame’ and cage-trap with ceramic dishes containing clean, dry sand (© S. Cowen/DBCA). ..................................................................................................... 21 Figure 13. ‘Drift-fence’ set up, showing cat netting and metal droppers semi- encircling a hare-wallaby refuge (© D. Saunders/DBCA). .................................... 24 Figure 14. Left - release of a banded hare-wallaby (© S. Cowen/DBCA); right - the release of a rufous hare-wallaby (© A. Gibson Vega/DBCA). .............................. 26 Figure 15. Road-kill rufous hare-wallaby on main track north of management fence (15/05/2019) (© D. Fitzgerald/DBCA). ................................................................. 28 Figure 16. Image of hole in management fence,
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