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The Role of Refuges in the Persistence of Australian Dryland Mammals

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The Role of Refuges in the Persistence of Australian Dryland Mammals Biol. Rev. (2017), 92, pp. 647–664. 647 doi: 10.1111/brv.12247 The role of refuges in the persistence of Australian dryland mammals Chris R. Pavey1,∗, Jane Addison2, Rob Brandle3, Chris R. Dickman4, Peter J. McDonald4,5, Katherine E. Moseby6 and Lauren I. Young1,4 1CSIRO Land and Water, PO Box 2111, Alice Springs, NT 0871, Australia 2CSIRO Land and Water, PMB Aitkenvale, QLD 4814, Australia 3Natural Resources, Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, PO Box 78, Port Augusta, SA 5001, Australia 4Desert Ecology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia 5Flora and Fauna Division, Department of Land Resource Management, PO Box 1120, Alice Springs, NT 0871, Australia 6School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia ABSTRACT Irruptive population dynamics are characteristic of a wide range of fauna in the world’s arid (dryland) regions. Recent evidence indicates that regional persistence of irruptive species, particularly small mammals, during the extensive dry periods of unpredictable length that occur between resource pulses in drylands occurs as a result of the presence of refuge habitats or refuge patches into which populations contract during dry (bust) periods. These small dry-period populations act as a source of animals when recolonisation of the surrounding habitat occurs during and after subsequent resource pulses (booms). The refuges used by irruptive dryland fauna differ in temporal and spatial scale from the refugia to which species contract in response to changing climate. Refuges of dryland fauna operate over timescales of months and years, whereas refugia operate on timescales of millennia over which evolutionary divergence may occur. Protection and management of refuge patches and refuge habitats should be a priority for the conservation of dryland-dwelling fauna. This urgency is driven by recognition that disturbance to refuges can lead to the extinction of local populations and, if disturbance is widespread, entire species. Despite the apparent significance of dryland refuges for conservation management, these sites remain poorly understood ecologically. Here, we synthesise available information on the refuges of dryland-dwelling fauna, using Australian mammals as a case study to provide focus, and document a research agenda for increasing this knowledge base. We develop a typology of refuges that recognises two main types of refuge: fixed and shifting. We outline a suite of models of fixed refuges on the basis of stability in occupancy between and within successive bust phases of population cycles. To illustrate the breadth of refuge types we provide case studies of refuge use in three species of dryland mammal: plains mouse (Pseudomys australis), central rock-rat (Zyzomys pedunculatus), and spinifex hopping-mouse (Notomys alexis). We suggest that future research should focus on understanding the species-specific nature of refuge use and the spatial ecology of refuges with a focus on connectivity and potential metapopulation dynamics. Assessing refuge quality and understanding the threats to high-quality refuge patches and habitat should also be a priority. To facilitate this understanding we develop a three-step methodology for determining species-specific refuge location and habitat attributes. This review is necessarily focussed on dryland mammals in continental Australia where most refuge-based research has been undertaken. The applicability of the refuge concept and the importance of refuges for dryland fauna conservation elsewhere in the world should be investigated. We predict that refuge-using mammals will be widespread particularly among dryland areas with unpredictable rainfall patterns. Key words: refugia, mammal, rodent, dasyurid marsupial, irruptive dynamics, arid, dryland. CONTENTS I. Introduction .............................................................................................. 648 II. Use of the term ‘refuge’ in the literature .................................................................. 649 (1) Concepts of refuge .................................................................................... 649 *Address for correspondence (Tel.: +61 8 89507173; E-mail: [email protected]). Biological Reviews 92 (2017) 647–664 © 2015 Cambridge Philosophical Society 648 Chris R. Pavey and others (2) Refuge versus refugium ................................................................................ 650 III. Definitions and typology of refuges ....................................................................... 650 (1) Previous definitions ................................................................................... 650 (2) Definition of refuge used by irruptive mammals ...................................................... 650 (3) Refuge typology ...................................................................................... 651 (a) Shifting refuge .................................................................................... 651 (b) Fixed refuge ...................................................................................... 651 IV. Case studies of refuge use ................................................................................ 651 (1) Plains mouse, Pseudomys australis .................................................................... 651 (a) Species characteristics ............................................................................ 651 (b) Habitat preferences ............................................................................... 653 (c) Refuge use and type .............................................................................. 653 (d) Drivers of population and occupancy dynamics .................................................. 653 (e) Persistence in refuges ............................................................................. 654 (2) Central rock-rat, Zyzomys pedunculatus ............................................................. 654 (a) Species characteristics ............................................................................ 654 (b) Habitat preferences ............................................................................... 654 (c) Refuge use and type .............................................................................. 654 (d) Drivers of population and occupancy dynamics .................................................. 654 (e) Persistence in refuges ............................................................................. 655 (3) Spinifex hopping-mouse, Notomys alexis ............................................................. 655 (a) Species characteristics ............................................................................ 655 (b) Habitat preferences ............................................................................... 656 (c) Refuge use and type .............................................................................. 656 (d) Drivers of population and occupancy dynamics .................................................. 656 (e) Persistence in refuges ............................................................................. 657 (4) Other refuge-using species ............................................................................ 657 V. Methodology for refuge location ......................................................................... 658 VI. Potential threats .......................................................................................... 659 VII. Future research agenda .................................................................................. 660 VIII. Conclusions .............................................................................................. 661 IX. Acknowledgements ....................................................................................... 661 X. References ................................................................................................ 661 I. INTRODUCTION Atkinson et al., 2014) and may arise in several ways. For example, periods of prolonged precipitation may break dor- Arid or dryland environments comprise just over 37% of mancy in animals with resting stages in their life history the world’s land mass (Warner, 2004) with much of this (e.g. many invertebrates; Crawford, 1981) or elevate the area characterised by unpredictable precipitation patterns. metabolic rates of animals that are aestivating (e.g. burrow- This unpredictable precipitation produces unpredictability ing frogs; Hillman et al., 2009), in turn providing opportunities in cycles of resource availability which in turn have profound for population growth via in situ reproduction. By contrast, impacts on dryland biota (Ostfeld & Keesing, 2000; Yang more-mobile fauna such as birds may move into dryland et al., 2008, 2010). As a consequence, a significant compo- areas following heavy precipitation events, achieving irrup- nent of dryland-dwelling fauna is characterised by irruptive tions over local or regional areas initially by immigration and population dynamics, with population abundance tracking then by reproduction (Dean, 2004). Other animals may irrupt changes in the availability of key resources (Jaksic et al., 1997; if widespread precipitation events improve conditions over Letnic & Dickman, 2010; Meserve et al., 2011). Irruptive pop- large regional areas, allowing them to move from discrete ulation dynamics are driven by periods of high precipitation refuge sites into the broader dryland
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