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Terrestrial Fauna of the South Goast

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...{i.+. f .:r1.(r.-i,' ti;.i}i:'ft, ftf-:'a,-Oi :-3ift TerrestrialFauna of the South iiii LlSljriiY - - -' - "'-'i :lii-i ;{"'- Goast- a review : |, :i' i:l r i.;i:i'l-l 'l'iir"li". \l.i:-::; ;: i; ;,i lsr NaturalHeritage Trust @rourr"oosrMANAGEMENTGRou,@6 4 itt.t.o')..ht.".ttha r. *. n. " a2o riELiiiRARY 64 6 **gff$ffi'* 0EPAI:r.,;:i.j-r 0FccrislFxA'fitr{ '1i'.'j;i aFiiii'iT tr :-,At.i'r '#Egi " r.i'il iiiii-iA TerrestrialFauna of the South Goast- a review a supporting documentto Souttem St ores - a strategy to guide coastaland marine planningand management in the south coast region of WesternAustralia Preparedby SandraGillfillan BiologisUConsultant PO Box 446 Albany WA 6331 May 2000 SUMMARY This reportrevie\4's the existingknowledge ofthe terrestrial{faunaof the southcoast of WestemAustralia, from Nomalupto Eucla,with theaimbf providinga synthesis of this knowledge.Sources of informationare summarised in termsof type of information,taxa, land category and geographical area. Gaps in the existing knowledgeare identified and recommendations for futureresearch and investigation areput forvl'ard.Broad faunal assemblages and threatened species are also discussed. The southcoast is an importantarea for faunalbiodiversity owing to its varied biogeographyand its role asa strongholdfor relictpopulations ofa numberof threatenedspecies. The majorgaps identified in the knowledgeofsouth coast fauna are: basic regional distributiondata on two groups,the batsand invertebrates; basic ecological informationon mostnon-threatened species; the effectsoffire andPhytophthora cinnamomion singlespecies and communities; information relating to community structureand function and faunal biodiversity of off-reserve(non-CALM managed) land(particularly corridors of nativevegatation). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Fundinghas been provided through the Natural Heritage Trust Coast and Clean Seas program. Many thanksto Nic Middleton of the SouthCoast Regional Information Centrefor producingmaps and to JudeAllen, SarahBarrett andAlan Danksfor commentingon a draft of this report. Thanksalso to PeterCollins, Sarah Comer, Alan Danks,Tony Friendand Sylvia Leightonfor their help andadvice in obtaininginformation. CONTENTS SUMMARY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1, INTRODUCTION I 1.1Overryiew 1 1.2Review area I 1,1.1Boundaries I 1.1.2Climate 1 1.1.3Biogeographical zones within the reviewarea I 1,1.4Faunal habitats 5 1.3Scope and intent of report 3 2. OVERVIEW OF THE TERRESTRIAL FAT]NAOF'THE SOUTH COAST 6 2.1 Faunal biodiversity- general 6 2.2 Important areasfor faunal biodiversityon the southcoast 2.l.lDepartment of Conservationand Land Management(CALM) Managed Lands (ResemeSystem) 2.1.2Areas outsidethe reservesJ,stem Corridors 9 Rernnant nativ e ve ge tat i on 10 Wetlands 11 Communityinvolvement in fauna conservation 11 2,3 Terrestrial faunal assemblageson the southcoast t2 2.3.1Mammals 13 2,3.2Birds 15 2.3.3 Reptiles l7 2.3.4 Frogs l8 2.3.5 Invertebrates t9 2.3.6Summary 20 2.4 Threatenedspecies 20 2.5 Threateningprocesses )) 2.5.1Fire )) 2,5.2 Feral Predators 23 WesternShield Monitoring 24 WesternShield Monitoring - preliminary results 24 2.5.3Phytophthora cinnamomi t( 2.5.4 Ha bilat fragmentation 26 2.5. 5 I n troduced he rbivores 26 3. SOURCESOF INI'ORMATION ON TERRESTRIAL FAUNA ON THE SOUTH COAST 26 3.1 Historical and fossil records 26 3.1. I Historical records ,,1 3.1.2 Fossil records 71 3.2 Museum records 28 3.3 Documentsproviding detailedinformation on singlespecies ecolory 29 3.4 Documentsproviding information on communityecolory 29 3.5 Documentsproviding information on fauna surveys 29 3.6 Specieslists 30 3.7 Documentsoutlining generaldistributions of speciesin WA )'f 4. GAPS IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF SOUTH COAST FAUNA 31 4.1 Study type 31 4.2Taxa 31 4.3 Land category 31 4.4 Geographicalarea 31 5. EXTRAPOLATION OF INFORMATION TO OTHER AREAS 33 6. SPECIF'ICACTIONS AI\D R-ECOMMENDATIONS 34 BIBLIOGRAPITY 35 PLATES 50 APPENDICES 54 lll 1, INTRODUCTION 1.1Overview This reviewwas undertaken to provideinformation on theexisting knowledge of terrestrialfauna of the southcoast of WesternAustralia. The information contained in the reportis to be usedby the SouthCoast Managemenr Group (SCMG) for the preparationof a SouthCoast Regional Coastal Strategy. The SCMGis a regional body consistingof membersfrom StateGovemment, Local Govemmentand communityrepresentatives. The SCMG'sprimary aim is to promotebest practice coastalplanning and management throughout the southcoast region of Westem Australia,from Denmarkin the westto Euclain the east.The South Coast Regional CoastalStrategy's aim is to producea regionallyintegrated approach to coastal planningand management, involving all interestedand effected bodies. It is hopedthat the reviewwill alsobe of interestand benefit to anyoneinvolved in faunaconservation on the southcoast and surroundins areas 1.1Review area 1.1.1Boundaries The reviewarea encompasses the mainland south coast of WestemAustralia, fiom the eastemshore of NornalupInlet in thewest, to Eucla(on the WA / SA border)in the east.It extendsinland to themajor coastal highways, and thus forms a nanow strip of no morethan 70 km inlandfrom the coastfrom it's eastemboundary to Esperance, andthen a largerinland area, bounded by Esperance,Norsemen and Eucla (Figure l). 1.1.2Climate The majority of the areahas a Mediterraneanclimate, characterisedby mild wet winters and hot dry summers.The eastemportion of the areaexperiences a semi-arid climate, however,in the coastalbelt, extremesof aridity andtemperature are modified by oceanicinfluences. The rainfallvaries considerably, decreasing eastwards from 939 mm annualaverage in Albanyto 263 mm at Eucla.Rainfall occurs predominantly in the wintermonths (> 50%),with occasionalheavy summer falls (Departmentof Conservationand Land Management 1992). (Figure 1). 1.1.3Biogeographical zones within the reviewarea The revie*' areais biogeographicallydiverse. Two broadzoogeographical zones occur.There is a centralarid zonewith irregularand variable rainfall and a South Westtemperate zone with reliablewinter rainfall and dry summers.Some species can be categorisedas being broadly adapted to conditionsin oneor the otherofthese zones.Thus, the Eyreanfaunal element consists ofspecies adapted to arid conditions, andthe Bassianfaunal element consists of speciesadapted to winterrainfall conditions.The distributionof somespecies enables them to be categorisedinto one of theseelements, however some species with wide distributionscannot be catesorisedinto eitherelement. Oo) o^r l +rw-C O= = -O tt- :il Lt- a! :3!9 I55; E .:ase I -;!-EE :E:' g^I AE€i!'. E; E !3:9i 3; o e !aF;i 99.E =iE:E ;'e-E-' { ; E!Eii a €i;:.i silr:| =,!3.9: e ;E ,i35 P .39 : i3lei qEis; .!dE5e 9=-9i!: ;.iE;1R Ly'; Eis Y E; p :e tlxo:!;: 'q;Fr:i Threebroad phl.togoegraphic provinces and five districtsas defined by Beard(1980) arealso represented within the reviewarea as follows; South West Province(Nomalup to ToolinaCove (Nuytsland Nature Reserve)). This provinceoccupies the wetter south-west comer of WA andis characterisedby heath, thicket.mallee. woodland and forest. Three Botanical Districts within the SouthWest Provinceare represented in the reviewarea (Darling, Eyre and Roe). The Eyre District coversa majorportion of thereview area. South West Interzone(Toolina Cove to Eyre)This provinceis a transitionalzone betweenthe SouthWest Province and the EremeaeanProvince (below). This province consistsof openEucalyptus woodland with a saltbush-bluebushunderstorey on the morecalcareous soils and scrub-heath and I llocasuarinathickets on the sandplains. The CoolgardieBotanical District is representedin the reviewarea. EremaeanProvince (Eyre to Eucla).This provincecomprises hummock grassland, scruband low woodland.The EuclaBotanical District is reoresentedin the review atea. The reviewarea comprises all, or partof, sevenof the 80 Bioregionsin Australiaas definedby the InterimBiogeographical Regionalisation for Australia(IBRA) (Thackwayand Cresswell 1995). The regions, or partsthereof, represented in the reviewarea are shown in Figure2 alitdare as follows; ll/arren Region. Mainly Marri-Wandoowoodlands, paperbark (Melaleuca spp.) /sedgeswamps, peppermint (lgo nisflexuosa) woodlandsand scrubheath on coastal dunes Jarrah Forrest Region. Janah-Kaniand Janah-Marriforest, Janah-Casuarina low forest, mixed heathand scrub-heathon coastaldunes, Peppermint (4. Jlexuosa)low woodland and mallee-heathto the east. EsperancePlains Region. Proteaceousscrub and mallee-heaths(Eucalyptus tetragona)on sandplainoverlying Eocene sediments. Mallee Region.The part of this regionrepresented in thereview area consists mainly ofa mosaicof mixedeucalypt woodlands, with spinifexground layer or sclerophyll shrubunderstorey, and mallee with a myrtaceous-proteaceousunderstorey. CoolgardieRegion. Diversewoodlands rich in endemiceucalypts with a mainly acaciashrub layer in thereview area. HamptonRegior. Mallee,eucalypt woodlands and Myall (Acaciapapyrocarpa) open low woodlands. Nullarbor. Theperipheral areas consist of low openwoodlands of Myall over bluebush(rValre ana sedifulia) steppe. 9-, e, F ,aE'oE E {-, i p*d a .,9o :&g€5HE"Ff.e€*E g- E z FP:gfiE$EE;$g,El el illl o oL tFro E o I z Y o o o o EI c, t t o o z E ul a t, = UI t! tt UJ (g E, o t (g €D o o o a0 E o o q) IL The relationshipbetween the abovethree systems ofecological classification is shownin Table 1. Table l: Relationshipbetween three ecologicalclassifications within the review area. A detaileddescription of thevegetation within thereview area can be foundin Craig (2000) 1.1.4Faunal
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