VERTEBRATE FAUNA N.L. McKenzie and lK. Rolfe

Background The philosophies underlying our approach to this vertebrate survey, the sampling strategy adopted, and the actual methods we employed are described in Biological Surveys Committee ofWestern Australia (1984). Specimens representing the array of reptile and mammal species encountered in the Boorabbin-Southern Cross Study Area during our survey have been lodged in the Western Australian Museum within the following series of register numbers: R70768, 71747-71784, 71787-71793, 71815-71821, 71823-71866, 71872, 73200, 78708-78753, 78755-78819, 78994-78996 for reptiles; M20398-20399, 20464-20465, 20476-20479, 20569-20579, 20585-20616, 20621-20635, 20638-20676, 20684-20686, 20896, 20899-20903, 20911­ 20912 for mammals. Species nomenclature in this report follows that of the Western Australian Museum. The vertebrate quadrats were positioned to sample lithological units mantling the granitic

Table 3 Conservation reserves of the Boorabbin-Southern Cross Study Area.

Reserve Reserve' Area Location No. (ha)

24049 *JilbadgiNR 208,866 see Figure 2 10829 Woolgangie 44,110 31°10' 120°30' 18966 Karalee 38,443 31°15' 119°45' 35004 *Boorabbin NP 26,000 see Figure 2 19621 Scahill 6,916 31 °08' 121°15' 198/25 Kangaroo Hills 6,600 31°05' 121°05' 19212 Yallari 6,102 31°05' 121°20' 19211 Calooli 3,121 31°01' 121°02' 20262124944 *Jilbadjie Rocks NR 1,435 31°29' 119°14' 3531 Karalee Rock 1,380 31 °15' 119°50' 2179 *Duladgin Rock NR 1,360 31 °10' 119°40' 29920 Biljahnie Rocks 1,360 31°19' 119°52' 2863 Nurdungarra Rock NR 810 31 °18' 119°07' 7038 Burra Rocks NR 809 31°23' 121°11' 8 Karramindie 781 31°00' 121°24' 25801 Lake Koorkoordine 740 31°10' 119°18' 18773 Nargalyerin Rock NR 450 31°28' 119°11' 3113 Weowanie Rock 259 31°08' 119°45' 29823 Condarnin Rock 259 31°19' 119°40' 8480 *Victoria Rock NR 259 31°18' 120°56' 29537 Wockallary 205 31°28' 119°17' 17804 Cave Hill NR 202 31°40' 121°14'

, Conservation reserves include Nature Reserves (NR), National Parks (NP), Timber and Firewood Reserves (Goldfields Water Supply), Sandalwood Reserves, State Forests and Water Reserves. * Vested in the NPNCA (National Parks and Nature Conservation Authority)

31 sequences. Most of the quadrats within the Woolgangie survey area allowed units low in the landscape to be sampled (Figure 2, Table 2), whereas the quadrats in the Jilbadgi survey area were positioned to sample lithological units that are high in the landscape. An additional survey area in the Boorabbin National Park comprised quadrats at both levels in the landscape. Table 1 lists the surface lithology and associated "vegetation types" known from the Study Area, while Appendix 1 indicates those that were sampled for vertebrates, cross-references the vertebrate and vegetation sample site codes, and describes the location, vegetation, floristics and substrate of each vertebrate site sampled. Only the main vegetation types of the most extensive landform units were surveyed for vertebrates (Broad Valleys, Salt Lake Features, Sandplains and Granite Exposures). This meant that less extensive landforms such as Greenstone Hills were not surveyed at all, even though they are prominent in the Study Area. We surveyed the vertebrate assemblage from at least one site in four of the six landform units, eight of more than 30 surface lithologies, and in 18 of over 58 vegetation types known in the Study Area (Tables 1 & 2). Much of the floristic diversity of these surface-types was remote from our quadrats. Considering how poorly the vertebrate sampling addressed the environmental heterogeneity of the Study Area, and how geographically localised our quadrats were (Figure 2), we encountered a surprisingly high proportion of its vertebrates (Table 4). This coverage was achieved for passerine birds (67%), lizards (71 %, excluding monitors) and small ground-dwelling mammals (100%) because most species occurred on a variety of lithologies. For instance, the "average" passerine bird occurred in a mean of 3.3 (S.E. =0.2, n

Table 4 Proportion of the Boorabbin-Southern Cross Study Area's known vertebrate species recorded on quadrats.

Number of species Total On quadrats (%)

Birds passerines 69 46 (67) non-passerines 66 22 (33) raptors 14 3 (21) Reptiles snakes 17 6 (36) monitors 2 1 (50) legless lizards 5 4 (80) skinks 25 20 (80) agarnids 11 8 (73) geckos 14 10 (71) Amphibians 8 3 (38) Native Mammals 34" 21 (62) small ground-mammalsh 12 12 (100) bats 8 7 (88)

" includes many extinct species h Includes Mus musculus as well as indigenous species with an average adult body weight of less than 35 g (Burbidge and McKenzie 1989).

32 4 :~ 3 I i •I I•

5 7 kO' 2 ~!~. ~ :1__.__Eo-+--o-',• -...... , 0 , . 1 •

5 4 7E03 51 2

~ ~ i.-".-.....-.,c../~: --+---....-'..... 0 i 1 ° ::::....I:.-.--.... C-t-......

5 • ~ 3 :I ,.~., 3 0 •I i I I• L S 3 I'W05 l7B05 1

I• i I 0 / I• i I o . s WO 3 / ' ]L-,L:::~-t6 :I~( :V ...-_....._...... -+I-..i--.-i-+-1...... ~. ~ •I P HO P H 0 P H 0 PHOPHO P HOP HOP H 0 po H 0 po H 0 1 1 1 222 333 444 555 1 1 1 2 2 233 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 Figure 4 Species accumulation curves for small ground mammals recordcd at quadrats in the Jilbadgi (7WOl 7W(6) and Woolgangie (7EOI-7E06) survey areas. The x-axis indicates 'days of effort'. The days arc ordered from the first day (l) to the fifth day (5) of each sampling session: the summer (F), autumn (M) and spring (0) visits.

33 15 13 7W01 10

5

o

15 12 7W02 10

5 1°17EO~ o ,~

:-12, 1 • , 1 :O'I~'I'" k~,...0_4_+-I-_-""-~-""~-'I--""~~~~'=_"':: ,,:, :' -.-+...,--.: L...

15 7W05 12 10 ,10~:,...5___ 6 5 -'-+-I~..-+-===~~ o o ......

10 I 7W06 : k:'~~~+I-_-""~~~~I~:.~3 PMOPMOPMOPMOPMO P MOP MOP MOP MOP M 0 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 1 112 2 2 3 3 344 4 555 Figure 5 Species accumulation curves for lizards (excluding monitors and legless lizards) recorded at quadrats in the Jilbadgi (7WOI-7W06) and Woolgangie (7EOI-7E06) survey areas. The x-axis indicates 'days of effort'. The days are ordered from the first day (1) to the fifth day (5) of each sampling session: the summer (F), autumn (M) and spring (0) visits.

34 30 28 7WOl 20 :: 1OE01 _---.------9

10 o ,L,t,,' I, 31 o 30 7E02 30 20 26 7W02 20 10

10 o

o 30 7E03 25 20 20~7W03 14 10 10

O· o

30 7E04 22 20

10

30 27 o

20

10

o F M 0 F M 0 F M 0 F M 0 F M 0 FMOFMOFMOFMOFMO 111222333444 555 11122 2 3 3 3 444 5 5 5 Figure 6 Species accumulation curves for birds (excluding owls, raptors, cuckoos, marlins and Emu) recorded at quadrats in the Jilbadgi (7WOl,7W05) and Woolgangie (7EOl,7E05) survey areas. The x,axis indicates 'days of effort'. The days are ordered from the first day (I) to the fifth day (5) of each sampling session: the summer (F), autumn (M) and spring (0) visits.

35 =45), an "average lizard in 2.5 (0.2, 42) and an "average" small ground-mammal in 2.6 (0.5, 12), of the seven distinct Iithological surface-types sampled (Tg, Ts, Qrs, Qqz. Qqs, Qpv and Qrm). Species accumulation curves, in relation to days of effort, were used to investigate whether further sampling effort in the quadrats would have been cost-effective. Previous studies have shown that our broad-scale sampling techniques are unsuitable for certain sorts of species, so they were excluded from the data used to generate these curves and from subsequent numerical analyses (McKenzie 1984, McKenzie et al. 1991 a): frogs, snakes, monitors, legless lizards, raptors, owls, water birds, cuckoos, emu, kangaroos, echidna, bats and introduced species (except Mus). Separate curves were compiled for birds, reptiles and small ground mammals at the Jilbadgi and Woolgangie survey areas. Although the curves for many quadrats are clearly beyond a final deflection point (Figures 4, 5 & 6), the small ground mammals at 7W06 and 7E04, the reptiles at 7WO I, 7W02, 7W05 and 7E02, and the birds at 7WO I, 7E02, 7E03 and 7E05 appear to be under-sampled. In September 1993 the quadrats were re-sampled to supplement the reptile data for the numerical analysis. The analysis package PATN (Belbin 1989) was used to seek patterns of species composition in the data matrices. The clustering techniques selected were described in McKenzie et al. (1991b). The species assemblages from the quadrats were used as the input data. The presence and absence of species on the quadrats, rather than their relative abundance, was used because limitations in sampling techniques, aggravated by staff and time limitations, precluded reliable estimates of relative abundance (Austin 1984, McKenzie et al. 1991 a).

Mammals Twenty species of native mammal were recorded in the Study Area during the survey (Tables 5, 6 & 7). They comprised one species of kangaroo, 11 small ground-dwelling mammal species (6 dasyurids, I pygmy possum and 4 rodents), the Echidna, and eight species of insectivorous bat. Four species of introduced mammal were also encountered (including Mus musculus). Feral or domestic stock such as goats, sheep and cattle are not listed. Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufa), Euro (M. robustus) and fox (Vulpes vulpes) have been recorded in the Study Area (Butler, unpubl.). Two other species might be expected on the basis of their known distributions: Nyctophilus gouldi is known from Bungalbin Hill in the adjacent Study Area to the north, and a second form of Mormopterus planiceps (that has a small penis) is known from localities in adjacent areas to the east and west. Although superficial sub-fossil deposits have not been found in the Study Area, specimen records in the Western Australian Museum and reports in journals of early European explorers indicate that 10 additional species of native mammals occurred in the Study Area at the time of first settlement by Europeans (Table 8). All are known to have become extinct or very much rarer throughout mainland Australia since European settlement (Burbidge & McKenzie 1989). Except for the Dasycercus, there is no evidence that they persist in the district. The presence of Ningaui yvonneae, Notomys mitchellii and, Eptesicus regulus rather than their arid zone counterparts (Ningaui ridei, Notomys alexis & Eptesicus finlaysoni respectively), is consistent with the phytogeographic position of the Study Area in the south­ western part of the Coolgardie Botanical District (Figure I), as discussed in Newbey et al. (this publication). In fact, the Study Area's extant native mammal fauna comprises mainly

36 Bassian species (Maeropus fu/ixinosus, Cerearlerus eoneinnus, Ninxaui yvonneae, Sminlhopsis xranulipes, Nolomys milehe/lii, Mormoplerus p/anieeps (SW form), Pseudollln a/boeinereus, Eplesieus rexu/us). Four of the five Eyrean species we recorded were found only in the eastern-most survey area (Anleehinomys /alliger, Sminlhopsis hirlipes, Pseudomys bo/ami and Seolorepells ba/slolli: Tables 5, 6 & 7). The fifth Eyrean species was Pseudollln hermallllsburxellsis. During our summer and spring surveys, bats were so abundant in the woodland and malice vegetations that species' assemblages and foraging microhabitats could be recorded at sites remote from pools. The bats were sampled using mist nets, a bat trap and spotlight shooting. The observed assemblages are listed in Table 9. Seolorepens ba/slOlli is at its southern limit, and may not occur in the Study Area's western half. All the other bats occur throughout the Study Area. Nyelophi/us major and N. xeoffroyi were sometimes caught in the pit traps. Bat foraging microhabitat data are summarised in Table 10. Two species mainly used "open" foraging zones: Tadarida auslralis seldom foraged less than 10 metres above the ground, and always well clear of the vegetation canopy. As we noted in other Goldfields Study Areas, it was often recorded in pairs. MormopleruS p/allieeps usually foraged at canopy height in woodlands and malice vegetations, especially through large gaps and corridors in the canopy (e.g. along roads). Four of the species are "edge" bats (Fenton 1990) that mostly forage in partial clutter (Fullard el al. 1991): Chalinolobus gou/dii foraged between or just under canopy height in woodlands and malice, but above the shrubs, flying more slowly than M. p/aniceps. Eptesicus rexu/us foraged the same air space as C gouldii, but flew more slowly, changed direction more frequently and approached closer to the foliage. The single Scotorepens balstoni encountered during our surveys was foraging at canopy height in mallee. Chalinolobus morio flew just above the shrub stratum in mallee, and between bushes and close to the canopy in shrublands. The remaining two species mostly forage in airspaces that correspond to Fenton's "closed" flight zone. Nyctophi/us geotfroyi foraging behaviour was observed for 30 minutes by attaching a bio-Iuminescent bead (see Buchler 1976) to an individual that had been captured in a mist net on quadrat 7W05. It flew slowly between shrubs and close above the shrub stratum, one to two metres above the ground, On several occasions it landed in a shrub. Similar foraging behaviour has been reported for this species elsewhere in the Goldfields (MeKenzie et at. 1993a, 1993b). The Nyctophilus major captured in a pit trap at quadrat 7W02 provides further evidence that these species glean surfaces, such as the ground; McKenzie et at. (1993a) captured four N. major and five N. geoffroyi in pit traps set in the adjacent Norseman-Balladonia Study Area (Figure 1). Differences in bat foraging micro-habitats are consistent with wing-shape differences described for these species by McKenzie & Start (1989) and Fullard et at. (1991). Data on small ground mammals collected during the trapping program are summarised in Tables 5, 6 & 7. The trap-effort values at the top of this table provide a relative measure of sampling effort because virtually all small ground mammals recorded on quadrats were trapped. The only exception was a Smillthopsis hirtipes that was caught by hand on site 7E06A in February 1980. Quadrats sampled during less than three seasons were not used in the numerical analyses.

37 Table 5 Species of mammals recorded in the Woolgangie (7E) survey area of the Boorabbin-Southem Cross Study Area indicating number of records at each vertebrate quadrat during each survey period. The three survey periods - February 1980 (Summer), May 1981 (Autumn) and October 1981 (Spring) - are indicated in columns I, 2 and 3 respectively for each quadrati site'. Stratigraphy Qrm Qrm-Qrs Qqz Ts-Qrs Vegetation Site2 BSlla BS47 BSI3a Vertebrate Quadrat 7EOl 7EOlA 7E02 7E03 Drift Fence Nights 555 - 5 5 555 555

TACHYGLOSSIDAE Tachyglossus aculeatus o 0 X 5 DASYURIDAE Ningaui yvonneae 010 12.0 Sminthopsis crassicaudata 332 S. dolichura o 1 (1) S. hirtipes BURRAMYIDAE Cercartetus concinnus o 0 MACROPODIDAE Macropus fuliginosus 040 o 0 110 MOLOSSIDAE Mormopterus planiceps Tadarida australis 2 2 VESPERTILIONIDAE Chalinolobus gouldii (2)7 1 C. morio 200 Eptesicus regulus 2. 1 1 Nyctophilus major 010 Scotorepens balstoni MURIDAE Mus musculus 50.5. Notomys mitchelli 100 Pseudomys albocinereus P. bolami 002 020 020 CANIDAE Canis familiaris o 0 X 5 FELIDAE Felis catus X 5 0 0 o X 0 LEPORIDAE Oryctolagus cuniculus X'X X o 0 X o 0 X XXX

Sampling methods and dates for quadrats (7EOI-05) and fauna sites (7EOIA, 7E03A, 7E06) are outlined in Table 2 See Appendix I Opportunistic records (not on quadrats) Total observations during F80 (February 1980), M81 (May 1981) and 081 (October 1981). Sightings (Oryctolagus). Faeces (Tachyglossus). Tracks (Canis & Felis). 2. Sample includes sub-adults () Sample includes post-partum, lactating or pregnant individuals

38 Qrs~1's Qqs~Qrs Qpv 1's Qrs B541 B540 B523 7E03A 7E04 7E05 7E06 7E06A TOTALOBS' 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 4 3 5 5 FSO MSl OSI

0 X 0

0 1 (1) 1 0 0 2 4 3 3 2 0 1 I 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 0 2 6 2 0 1 0 (1) 1 0 2 0

0 0 2 0 0

0 3 5

0 0 2 0 0 2 0 (l) 1 0 3 3

0 0 I .:2 0 0 5 7 2 2 0 () ,2 0 0 7 II 0 1 0 0 () 1 0 0 I

0 0 0 I 0 5 2 5 0 0 I 1 0 1 () () 0 1 0 0 () I 0 4 3

o x x o x ()

39 Table 6 Species of mammals recorded in the Jilbdagi (7W) survey area of the Boorabbin-Southern Cross Study Area indicating number of records at each vertebrate quadrat during each survey period. The three survey periods February 1980 (Summer), May 1981 (Autumn) and 1 October 1981 (Spring) are indicated in columns I, 2 and 3 respectively for each quadrat/site •

Stratigraphy Qpv Qpv/Agg Ts Tg Qqz/Agg Ts

Vegetation Site' BS39 BS43a BSI8 BSI8a BS46 BSI8b Vertebrate Quadrat 7WJ 7W01 7W02 7W03 7W04 7W05 7W06 TOTALOBS4 Drift Fence Nights 5 5 5 51010 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 1010 5 10 10 F80 M81081

TACHYGLOSSIDAE Tachyglossus aculemus X5 0 0 X 0 0 X X 0 DASYURIDAE Antechinomys laniger 0 2 (I) 0 o (I) 0 2 2 Ningaui yvonneae 0 2 0 0 2 0 Sminthopsis dolichura 0 2 0 0 I 0 1 o 0 0 2 0 I I (I) (2) 0 0 4 6 I S. granulipes 0 2 0 1(3)(2) I 5 2 BURRAMYIDAE Cercartetus concinnus I o 0 I 0 0 MACROPODIDAE Macropus fuliginosus II 0 0 I 0 I 2 0 MOLOSSIDAE ~ 0 Mormopterus planiceps 5. 0 0 5 0 0 Tadarida australis I 0 I (2) 0 0 I o 0 I I 0 (5.) I 0 0 I 0 10 3 I VESPERTILIONIDAE Chalinolobus gouldii 0 3 2 0 0 3 (8) 2 0 0 I 0 8 6 5 C. morio 0 I 0 0 I 0 Eptesicus regulus (3) 0 4 o 0 I o 0 I :1 I 0 7 I 6 Nyctophilus geojfroyi 0 I 0 1 o 0 0 I 0 I 2 0 Nyctophilus major o 0 I 0 0 I MURIDAE Mus musculus 0 I 0 0 I 0 Notomys mitchelli 0 I 0 0 I 0 0 2 0 0 4 0 Pseudomys bolami 2 o 0 2 0 0 P. hermannsburgensis o 0 I 0 0 I LEPORIDAE Oryctolagus cuniculus X' X 0 X X 0 X 0 0 X 0 0

Sampling methods and dates for quadrats (7WOI-05) and fauna site (7W06) are outlined in Table 2 See Appendix I Opportunistic records (not on quadrats) Total observations during F80 (February 1980), M81 (May 1981) and 081 (October 1981). Sightings (Oryctolagus). Faeces (Tachyglossus). 2 Sample includes sub-adults () Sample includes post-partum, lactating or pregnant individuals Table 7 Records of small ground mammals and bats from quadrats In the Boorabbln survey area (BN) of the BoorabbrnSouthern Cross Study Arca. The two survey penods July 1980 (Wrnter) and March 1981 (Summer) are indicated in columns I and 2 respectively for each quadrati

Stratigraphy Ts Ts Qqs Qpv/Agu Vegetation Site' BS26 BSI4 BS.35a BS43h Vertebrate Quadrat BN' BNI BN2 BN4 BN6 Drift Fence Nights 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

DASYURIDAE Ningaui yvonneae 2 0 Sminlhopsis crassicaudala I 0 S. do/ichura I 0

MOLOSSIDAE Tadarida auslralis o 3 0 I VESPERTILlONIDAE Cha/inolo!Jus gouldii o 5 Eplesicus regulus o .3 MURIDAE Mus musculus I 5 2 4 II I 2 Pseudomys al!Jocinereus .3 2 4 5

Sampling methods and dates for quadrats are outlined in Table 2 See Appendix I Opportunistic records (not on quadrats)

Table 8 Additional species known or predicted in the Borabbin-Southern Cross Study Area on the basis of available records or early reports from adjacent areas of the Goldfields.

Species Source

Onychogalea lunala Clarkson el al. (1864 p.336 as "Worrong"), Hunt (1864 p.377), Forrest (1875 p.55). Lagorchesles hirsulus Hunt (1864 p.377 as "WOflUp"). Bellongia lesueur Strahan (1983). Trichosurus vulpecula Clarkson el a/. (1864 as "oppossum"). Perameles !Jougainville (eremiana) Clarkson el al. (1864 as "marla"). Mvrmeco!Jius fascia Ius WAM ' M414, Yellowdine Dasyurus geo{fi'oyi road kill at Ghooli in 1989'; W AM M2719.3, 1969; M 19566, 1977 Phascogale calura Interpolated from museum records. P. lapoala{a BIOCLlM prediction (Busby 1986) based on post-European specimen localities. Macroris lagolis WAM M536, Marvel Loch

near Yellowdine (K.D. Morris, pcrs. comm.) I W AM =Western Australian Museum specimen register number

41 12

6 8

2 3 1

Figure 7 Two-dimensional ordination (Belbin 1991) of the small, ground-dwelling mammal data from sites at Southern Cross (7WOI-7W06) and Woolgangie (7EOI-7E06). A Minimum Spanning Tree has been superimposed. Sites ordinated according to similarities in their species composition. Stress 0.16 (2­ Dimensions) and 0.10 (3-D). See text for details of analyses. KEY: Tertiary and Quaternary sands. 1 (7E03): Sandplain, mixed Quaternary and Tertiary sand, low in the landscape (Ts-Qrs) 2,3 (7W06 and 7W03 respectively): Tertiary sandplains, high in the landscape (Ts). 4 (7W04): undulating Tertiary sandy gravel-plain, high in the landscape (Tg). 5 (7E06): Tertiary sandplain, high in the landscape (Ts). 6 (7E04): Patch ofQuaternary sand mantling heavy calcareous soils of flat valley floor (Qqs-Qrs). Fine-textured Quaternary alluvials. 7,8,9 (7W05, 7W02 and 7E02 respectively): Quaternary alluvium and colluvium of valley slopes peripheral to, or near, exposed granite sheets (QqzlAgg, Qpv/Agg, Qqz). 10, 11 (7WOI and 7E05 respectively): Quaternary alluvium and colluvium of valley floors remote from granite sheets (Qpv). 12 (7EOI): Occluded drainage of saline alluvium (Qrm) at the bottom of the landscape.

42 Table 9 Bat specIes recorded from the Boorabbin, Woolganglc and Jllbadgl survey areas A s!le is defIned as a circle of up to 400m radius, consIstent in its stratlgraphlc umt and vegetatIon.

SITE' 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10

Tadarida aus!ralis * * MormOplerl/S pla/liceps Chali/lolo!>us gouldii * * * C. morio *" * ScolOrepe/ls !>aISlo/li Eplesicus regulus * * * * NYCIOphilus major * N. geoffroyi * a I = 3 I () 15' 30"S 1200 01'O()"E (Koorarawalyee Dam, Agu-Ts) 2=31°35'45"S 119()49' l7"E (7W05, Qq71Agg) , 31°23'14"S 120°33' 14"E (7E04, Qqs-Qrs) 4 31°22'26"S 1200 32'50''E (7E03A, QrsTs) 5 31°21'00"S 120()32' 39"E (pools in granite fringing Ts) 6 31°26'26"S 1200 32'35''E (6.5 km south of interseetion 7E, Ts) 7 31 ()35' 59"S 119°50'32"E (19 km W of 7W03, Ts) 8 31°34'25"S 119()51 '39"E (7W03, Ts) 9 31°35'16"S 119°49'59"E (29 km W of 7W03, Tg) 10 = 31°35'41"S 119()49' 30"E (4.0 km W of7W03, TI) The C. morio was 0.5 km N of7E03A.

Table 10 Number of bat observations in each of the foraging habitats distinguished. For each vegetation-type, columns are arranged in order of increasing obstruction (clutter) to straight ahead flight. -~--~-_._------VEGETATION-TYPE Woodlands MalIees Shrublands OT' BT BS OM BM BS OS BS

Tadarida auslralis 8 5 8

Mormoplerl/S pla/liceps 6 I Chali/lolo!>us gouldii 13 5 3 Eplesicus regulus 10 2 4 SCOlOrepe/lS !>aISIO/li I C. morio I 2 NvclOphilus major N. geo/l"oyi 2

, Over (0) or between/under (B) canopy of tree en, malIee (M) or shrub (S) strata. Tracked using Cyaluue (sce text)

43 Table 11 Small non-volant mammal data matrix re-ordered as a 2-way table according to Czekanowski (quadrat) and Twostep (species) association measures (Czekanowski 1932, Austin & Belbin 1982 respectively), and the UPGMA sorting strategy (Belbin 1989). Quadrat codes are printed vertically.

QUADRAT CODES 7 777 7 7 777 7 7 7 E EWEWW EEW EWW 0 00000 000 000 I 2 I 5 25 464 3 3 6 ------Antechinomys laniger ** Sminthopsis granulipes * * Ningaui yvonneae *** Notomys mitchellii **** ------Sminthopsis crassicaudata * Cercartetus concinnus *** Pseudomys bolami ***

Sminthopsis dolichura * *** * ***** Mus musculus * ** *

Sminthopsis hirtipes * Pseudomys hermannsburgensis * Pseudomys albocinereus *

GROUP 1 2 3 4

The results of the numerical classifications are presented as a re-ordered data matrix in Table 11. To confirm the robustness of the clusters, quadrats were ordinated in 2-dimensional space using Semi-strong Hybrid (Belbin 1991), then a Minimum Spanning Tree was superimposed (Figure 7). These analyses revealed a gradient in the composition of the small ground mammal assemblages in the survey areas that could be explained in terms of surface lithology. Sandy surfaces (Ts, Tg) derived from Tertiary strata mantle the upper levels in the landscape. Lower in the landscape, sands are confined to the periphery of salt pans and granite outcrops (Qrs & Ag-Ts respectively). These sandy surfaces were characterised by Ningaui yvonneae and Notomys mitchellii, with Antechinomys laniger and Sminthopsis granulipes at such sites in the western (Jilbadji) survey area or with Sminthopsis hirtipes in the eastern (Woolgangie) survey area (Tables 5, 6 & 11). The lower levels in the landscape are Quaternary surfaces, expressed as plains (Qqs) and valley floors (Qqz, Qpv, Qrm) of heavy soils. Cercartetus concinnus, Pseudomys holami and Sminthopsis crassicaudata were recorded in quadrats on these Quaternary surfaces. Pseudomys

44 COEFFICIENT OF DIS-SIMILARITY

0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.3 I I I I I 7E02 7E04 7E05 BN4 7W01 7W02 7W05 heavy Quaternary soils BN6 1 7E03 7W03 7W04 f_ 2 7E06 BN1 BN2 ] sandy soils 7W06 r 3 1 GROUP Figure 8 Quadrats in the Boorabbin-Southern Cross Study Area classified according to similarities in their lizard species composition using the similarity coefficient of Czekanowski (1932) and "unweighted pair-group mcan averaging" (UPGMA, Sneath & Sobl 1973). Snakes, monitors, legless lizards and singletons (species that occurrcd at only a single quadrat) are cxcluded. bolami also occurred on the Quaternary sand deposits (Qrs) peripheral to the salt pans (see Tables 5, 6, 7 & 11). Sminthopsis dolichura, Pseudomys albocinereus and Mus musculus were recorded on both Tertiary and Quaternary lithologies.

Reptiles and Amphibians Three frogs and 54 reptile species were recorded in the Boorabbin-Southern Cross Study Area during our survey. The reptile species comprised 10 geckos, 4 legless lizards, I() dragons, 20 skinks, I monitor and 9 snakes. These are listed in Tables 12 and 13. A search of the W.A. Museum collection revealed records of another 5 amphibian and 20 reptilian species from the Study Area during the period of European settlement (Table 14). Thus, a minimum of 8 indigenous amphibian and 74 reptile species were extant in the Study Area at the time of European settlement. The proportion of the known reptile species richness that we recorded from quadrats is listed in Table 4. Clearly, our survey methods were less effective for monitors and snakes. Similar biases in reptile sampling have been discussed by McKenzie et al. (1987). However, one of the amphibians and 8 of the lizards listed in Table 14 are only known from

4S Table 12 Species of amphibians and reptiles recorded in the Woolgangie (E) and Jilbadgi (W) survey areas of the Boorabbin-Southern Cross Study Area indicating number of sightings at each vertebrate sample­ site during each survey period. The three survey periods February 1980 (Summer), May 1981 (Autumn) and October 1981 (Spring) - are indicated in colunms 1, 2 and 3 respectively for each quadrat\siteI. Stratigraphy Qrm Qqz Ts-Qrs Qqs-Qrs Qpv Ts Vegetation Site2 BSlla BS47 BSI3a BS41 BS40 BS23 Vertebrate Quadrat 7EOl 7E02 7E03 7E04 7E05 7E06 Drift Fence Nights 555 555 5 5 5 555 555 343

Neobatrachus kunapalari X Pseudophryne occidentalis X

Crenadactylus ocellatus X Diplodactylus assimilis X * D. granariensis - 1 D. maini X 2 - - 1 D. pulcher Gehyra variegata X * Heteronotia binoei X Nephrurus .Hellatus Oedura reticulata X * Underwoodisaurus milii

Delma australis X * D. butleri X Lialis burtonis X Pygopus lepidopodus

Ctenophorus cristatus X 3 2 - 8 6 2 - 6 C. isolepis citrinus 2 C. maculatus X C. reticulatus X C. salinarum X 4 - 9 -I C. scutulatus X Moloch horridus X - 1 - 1 Pogona minor X - 1 I-

Varanus gouldii X - - 1 - 1

Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus X - 1 * Ctenotus atlas X 4 C. pantherinus X C. schomburgkii X 2 C. uber C xenopleura Cyclodomorphus branchialis X Egernia bos E·formosa * E. inornata X E. richardi X Hemiergis initialis * * - 1

46 Qpv Qpv/Agg Ts Tg QqzJAgg Ts BS39 BS43a BS18 BS18a BS46 BS18b TOTALOBS4 7W3 7W01 7W02 7W03 7W04 7WOS 7W06 FSO MS10S1 5 5 5 5 10 10 555 5 5 5 5 10 10 5 10 10

- 1 - 1 - 7 - 7

* - 1 - 2 - 2 1 X 2 7 1 1 2 - 2 1 - - 1 - 3 2 4 X 1 1 2 2 3 - 4 1 - 1 * Table 12 (cont.) Stratigraphy Qrm Qqz Ts-Qrs Qqs-Qrs Qpv T~ Vegetation Site2 BSlla BS47 BS13a BS41 BS40 B Vertebrate Quadrat 7E3 7EOl 7E02 7E03 7E04 7E05 7E06 Drift Fence Nights 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 4 3

Lerista gerrardii L. muelleri X 2 6 * - 2 * L. picturata - I * 2 Menetia greyii X * I - * * Morethia butleri X * I - * * M. obscura X * Tiliqua occipitalis T. rugosa X

Ramphotyphlops australis Denisonia fasciata X Pseudonaja affinis X P. modesta X Vermicella bertholdi 2 V. semifasciata

TOTAL SPECIES/SEASON 1 - 1 5 211 4 2 8 4 211 2 3 9 1 1 3 TOTAL SPECIES/QUADRAT 1 14 10 12 10 5

I Sampling methods and dates for quadrats (7EOI-05 & 7WOI-05) and fauna sites (7E06 & 7W06) are outlined in Table 2 * Specimens captured during September 1993.

the periphery of our Study Area; their geographic ranges are centred elsewhere (Limnodynastes dorsalis, Diplodactylus spinigerus, Gehyra purpurascens, Rhynchoedura ornata, Delma fraseri fraseri Shea (1991), Lerista macropisthopus, Rhinoplocephalus monachus, R. nigriceps and Ramphotyphlops waitii). The rich reptile list from the Study Area compares with the 62 species known from the Kurnalpi-Kalgoorlie Study Area to the north-east (McKenzie et al. 1992), 57 from the Jackson-Kalgoorlie Study Area to the north (Dell and How 1985), and 64 from the Lake Johnston-Hyden Study Area to the south (How et al. 1988). Although they have not actually been recorded within the Study Area, at least another 4 lizard and 2 snake species might be expected on the basis of their known distributil in Western Australia: Pygopus nigriceps, Egernia depressa, Hemiergis peronii, Nephrurus laevissimus, Vermicella bimaculatus and Acanthophis pyrrhus. Using the species distribution maps and ecological notes from Ehmann (1992) and from the records of the Western Australian Museum, there are at least five components in the reptile fauna: (1) Species with distributions centred on the heavier soils of the arid pastoral lands to the north and/or east, in some cases extending across central Australia (e.g. Diplodactylus maini, D. pulcher, Gehyra purpurascens, Ctenophorus cristatus, C. reticulatus, C. salinarum, C. scutulatus, Ctenotus schomburgkii, C. uber, Egernia formosa,

48 Qpv Qpv/Agg Ts Tg Qqz/Agg Ts BS39 BS43a BSI8 BSI8a BS46 BSI8b TOTAL C l 7W3 7WOl 7W02 7W03 7W04 7WOS 7W06 F80 M81081'. 5 5 5 5 10 10 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 10 10 5 10 10

- I I 2 X - I * 2 9 I 2 ** II * * 2 X * 2 3 I

2 X

9 410 10 612 734 4 1 5 966 220 14 19 11 12 13 3

2 See Appendix 1 3 Opportunistic records (not on quadrats) 4 Total observations during F80 (February 1980), M81 (May 1981) and 081 (October 1981).

Eremiascincus richardsonii, Lerista muelleri, Morethia butleri and Denisoniajasciata). (2) Species favouring the arid sandplains and dunefields that occur as a mosaic through the eastern Goldfields and, except Diplodactylus assimilis, also occur through the sandy deserts to the east and/or north (e.g. Delma butleri, Ctenophorus isolepis, Moloch horridus, Ctenotus atlas, C. pantherinus, Egernia inornata, Aspidites ramsayi, Pseudonaja modesta and Vermicella bertholdi). (3) Some of the arid zone species occur on a range of heavy and sandy surfaces (e.g. Crenadactylus ocellatus, Gehyra variegata, Rynchoedura ornata, Tiliqua occipitalis, Pseudonaja nuchalis, Rhinoplocephalus monachus and Vermicella semifasciata). (4) Species with distributions centred on the arid South-western Interzone (Beard 1980) and adjacent semi-arid wheatbelt to the west and/or south (Diplodactylus spinigerus, D. granariensis, Nephrurus stellatus*, Oedura reticulata, Delma jraseri*, Ctenophorus maculatus*, C. ornatus, Tympanocryptus chapmani, Ctenotus xenopleura*, C. impar*, Egernia bos, E. richardi, Hemiergis initialis and Lerista picturata. All except Diplodactylus spinigerus, Oedura reticulata, Ctenophorus ornatus, Ctenotus xenopleura and C. impar also occur on the semi-arid Roe Plains (along the Nullarbor coast) and usually further eastward to the Eyre Peninsula (South Australia). Species that favour sandy soils are marked with an asterisk.

49 Table 13 Species of amphibians and reptiles recorded in the Boorabbin survey area (BN) of the Boorabbin- Southern Cross Study Area indicating number of sightings at each vertebrate quadrat during each survey period. The two survey periods - July 1980 (Winter) and March 1981 (Summer) - are indicated in columns 1 and 2 respectively for each quadratI.

Stratigraphy Ts Ts Qq s Qpv/Agu Vegetation Site2 BS26 BS14 BS35a BS43b Vertebrate Quadrat BN3 BNIBN2 BN4BN6 Drift Fence Nights 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Neobatrachus kunapalari x x x N. pelobatoidet! x Pseudophryne occidentalis x

Crenadactylus ocellatus x x Diplodactylus assimilis x x D. granariensis x x D.maini x D. pulcher x x x Gehyra variegata - x x x x * Heteronotia binoei x x Oedura reticulata x

Delma australis x x x x D. butleri x x Lialis burtonis x Pygopus lepidopodus x

Ctenophorus cristatus x x .c~isolepis citrinus x x C. maculatus x C. ornatus X C. reticulatus . x C. salinarum x x C. scutulatus x x Moloch horridus x Pogona minor x x Tympanocryptis chapmani X

(5) Essentially Bassian species of mesic and semi-arid districts (Pseudophryne occidentalis, Heleioporus albopunctatus, Myobatrachus gouldii, Neobatrachus pelobatoides, Underwoodisaurus milii, Delma australis, Morethia obscura and Rhinoplocephalus gouldii) some of which extend into the wettest areas of mesic South-western Australia (Limnodynastes dorsalis, Pseudophryne guentheri, Ranidella pseudinsignijera, Phyllodactylus marmoratus, Egernia napoleonis, Pygopus lepidopodus, Ramphotyphlops australis, Pseudonaja affinis, Notechis curtis and Morelia spilota imbricata). The biogeographic complexity of the reptile fauna is consistent with phytogeographic patterns; the Study Area is in the South-western Interzone, between the Eremaean and South­ western Phytogeographic Provinces (Beard 1980).

50 Table 13 (cont.)

Stratigraphy Ts Ts Qq s Qpv/Agu Vegetation Site2 BS26 BSl4 BS35a BS43b Vertebrate Quadrat BN3 BNlBN2 BN4BN6 Drift Fence Nights 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Varanus gouldii X

Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus * Ctenotus atlas x x C. pantherinus x x C. schomburgkii X C. uber ...: x C. xenopleura * x Cyclodomorphus branchialis x x Egernia inornata X E. richardi X Lerista muelleri x x Menetia greyii x x Morethia butleri x M. obscura x Tiliqua rugosa x x Notechis curtus X Pseudechis australis x Pseudonaja affinis x Rhinoplocephalus gouldii x Vermicella bertholdi x

TOTAL SPECIES/SEASON 7 12 4 8 9 11 5 10 TOTAL SPECIES/QUADRAT 17 12 17 13

1 Sampling methods and dates for quadrats (BNI-BN6) are outlined in Table 2. * Captured in September 1993. 2 See Appendix 1 3 Opportunistic records (not on quadrats) 4 May include Neobatrachus albipes

Up to 18 reptile species were recorded on the richest quadrats (7W02 and BNI: Tables 12 & 13). However, the quadrat lists should not be treated as exhaustive because two-hour sessions of sampling on 15 of the quadrats in the spring of 1993 yielded additional species (an average of 1.3 species per quadrat: Tables 12 & 13). Even so, quadrats on equivalent surfaces in adjacent Study Areas were usually similar in terms of reptile richness (Table 15). The numerical analyses reveal a strong relationship between the composition of lizard assemblages and surface lithology. Figure 8 was derived by classifying the quadrats according to similarities in their species composition. Quadrats on sands and gravelly sands had few species in common with those on the heavy Quaternary alluvial and colluvial soils. The sands supported mallee and/or shrublands over heath or hummock grasslands; the heavier soils

51 Table 14 Amphibians and reptiles from the Boorabbin-Southern Cross Study Area not recorded during the survey.

Species Specimen* Source Location

Heleioporus albopunctatus WAM R 32664 Yellowdine Limnodynastes dorsalis WAMR6836 Boddalin Myobatrachus gouldii WAM R 36292 E of Southern Cross Pseudophryne guentheri WAM R 38458 Yellowdine Ranidella pseudinsignijera WAMR39111 MtHampton Diplodactylus spinigerus WAM R 39094 MtHampton Gehyra purpurascens WAMR 105958 Kangaroo Hills Phyllodactylus marmoratus WAM R 29684 S of Yellowdine Rhynchoedura ornata WAMR 103640 Kangaroo Hills Delma fraseri WAM R 37832 Split Rocks Tympanocryptus cephala WAMR 37917 S of Yellowdine Ctenotus impar WAMR 97071 Duladgin Rock C. mimetes WAMR 103908 Karalee Egernia napoleonis WAM R 33960 S of Karalee Eremiascincus richardsonii WAMR 12742 Woolgangie Lerista macropisthopus WAMR68281 East Muntadgin Varanus tristis WAM R 27230 S of Yellowdine Aspidites ramsayi WAMR 10704 Southern Cross Morelia spilota imbricata WAMR6550 Yellowdine Demansia reticulata WAMR81999 Kambalda Pseudonaja nuchalis WAMR 15035 Southern Cross Rhinoplocephalus monachus WAMR39800 Westonia R. nigriceps WAMR68274 East Muntagin Ramphotyphlops bituberculatus WAM R 21575 Woolgangie R. waitti WAM R 22885 Bodallin

* WAM Western Australian Museum, Perth

Table 15 Comparison ofreptile richness recorded on quadrats sampled in adjacent Study Areas (see Figure 1).

STUDY AREAS STRATIGRAPHY Boorabbin Lake lohnston lackson -Southern Cross -Hyden' -Kalgoorlieb

Qqz,Qpv, Qqs, Qa, Qc 13.2 (1.3) se 13.3 (1.5) 7 17.1 (0.6) 7 Ag/Qpv, Py, Pm 14.0 (3.0) 2 12.5 (1.9) 4 Qrs, Qd, Qas 10 7.8 (1.4) 4 Ts,Czs, Aiw 10.3 (2.9) 4 8.3 (2.3) 3 11.2 (0.9) 5 Tg, Czg 12 11.5 (3.5) 2

• How et at. (1988) b Dell & How (1985) e mean (standard error), number of quadrats

52 Table 16 Lizard data matrix re-ordered as a 2-way table according to Czekanowski (quadrat) and Twostep (species) association measures (Czekanowski 1932, Austin & Belbin 1982 respectively), and the UPGMA sorting strategy (Belbin 1987). Quadrat codes are printed vertically. Snakes, monitors, legless lizards and singletons are 'excluded.

QUADRAT CODES EEEBWWWB EWW EBBW 245N125N 3 34 6NN6 4 6 I 2

Crenadactylus ocellatus *** Ctenotus uber ** ** Egernia richardi *** Egernia bos ** Lerista gerrardii ** Diplodactylus pulcher * * * * Heteronotia binoei ** * Ctenophorus scutulatus * ** * Diplodactylus granariensis ** ** Oedura reticulata ** ** Cryptoblepharus plagiocephalus *** ** Lerista muelleri *** * Morethia butleri **** Tiliqua rugosa * * * Lerista picturata ** Diplodactylus maini ** *** * Gehyra variegata ** ***** * Ctenophorus cristatus ***** **** Menetia greyii ****** * * Hemiergis initialis *** ***

Diplodactylus assimilis * ** Ctetenotus pantherinus * ** Cyclodomorphus branchialis * ** Ctenophorus isolepis citrinus *** Ctenotus xenopleura *** Ctenotus atlas * ** Ctenophorus maculatus *** * Ctenophorus salinarum ** **** Morethia obscura * **

Moloch horridus *** *** * Pogona minor * ** *** *** Ctenotus schomburgkii * *** Tiliqua occipitalis **

GROUP 1 2 3

53 supported eucalypt woodlands. Tertiary sandplains clustered separately from Quaternary sands and Tertiary gravelly-sands. The data matrix was then re-ordered according to the classification analyses (Table 16). Most of the species that characterise Quadrat group-l favour heavier soils throughout their geographic ranges; species such as Hemiergis initialis, Morethia butleri and Lerista muelleri are specialists of the leaf litter that occurs as discrete patches beneath the eucalypt trees of the woodlands that characterise these surfaces. Sand specialists characterise Quadrat Group-2 and-3. The levels of sampling were sufficient to show that gradients in composition reflected the geomorphic sequences in surface stratigraphy across the landscape. Analysis of data from another Eastern Goldfields Study Area yielded a similar conclusion (McKenzie 1984, McKenzie et at. 1993b). In contrast, rainfall and temperature attributes are usually found to be significant as scalars of lizard composition in study areas with significant climatic gradients, such as areas with greater relief or those that cover entire districts (e.g. McKenzie et al. 1987, How et at. 1987, Gambold & Woinarski in press).

Birds _ Ninety-two species of bird were recorded in the Boorabbin-Southern Cross Study Area during our survey (36 non-passerines & 56 passerines). Sixty-eight of these were recorded on quadrats (22 non-passerines & 46 passerines; Tables 17 & 18). The Study Area lies in the South-western Phytogeographic Interzone, so Eyrean and Bassian components are both well represented. A total of 135 bird species have been recorded since European settlement in the Boorabbin­ Southern Cross Study Area (66 non-passerines and 69 passerines). Sixty-seven of these species were not recorded on quadrats during our surveys (44 non-passerines & 23 passerines: Table 19). Seventeen of the 45 non-passerines listed in Table 19 are swamp or lake birds; no quadrats were sampled in these habitats during our field work. Five of the other non-passerines in this table are species near the edge of their geographic range (e.g. Brush Bronzewing, Carnaby's Cockatoo, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Fan-tailed Cuckoo and Shining Bronze-Cuckoo); another has declined since settlement (Malleefowl). The Laughing Kookaburra is a recent introduction to Western Australia. Of the 23 passerine species that we failed to record on quadrats, the Crested Shrike-Tit, Restless Flycatcher*, Spotted Pardalote*, Purple-gaped Honeyeater and White-cheeked Honeyeater are species at the inland limits of their range, and the Grey-breasted White-Eye* is now scarce through the arid periphery of its former range. Species marked with an asterisk, and others such as the Pied Honeyeater and White-browed Woodswallow, are vagrants or seasonal migrants or nomads. The more mobile birds (non-passerines) were poorly represented in our samples; overall, 88% of known species were recorded, but only 33% were recorded on quadrats (Table 4). The quadrat-based strategy of survey was expected to be more effective for sampling relatively sedentary species with smaller home ranges and therefore greater densities in suitable habitat. Overall, 81 % of the passerine species previously known from the Study Area were recorded during our field work, and 67% of these were recorded on quadrats (Table 4). In comparison,

54 COEFFICIENT OF DIS-SIMILARITY

0.3 0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.3 I I I I I I 7EOl 1 ____samphire ---. 7E02 7W02 7E03 BN6 7W05 7E04 ~=r~ 7E05 woodlands on Quaternary soils 7WOl BN4 ___=t__ 2 7WQ3 7W04 T_Tertiary_sand 31 , BNl BN2 ------1-__4 Tertiary_Sand_f __

GROUP Figure 9 Quadrats in the Boorabbin-Southern Cross Study Area classified according to similarities in their passerine bird species composition using the similarity coefficient of Czekanowski (1932) and "unweighted pair-group mean averaging" (UPGMA, Sneath & Sokal 1973). Corvids, singletons, and species that were only recorded flying overhead, were excluded. Four clusters of quadrats could be distinguished: 1 (samphire), 2 (woodlands on quaternary soils), 3 (Tertiary sands at the Jilbadgi survey area), and 4 (Tertiary sands at the Boorabbin survey area). sampling was restricted to just 14 quadrats representing only eight of the 30 surface-types recognised from the geological maps (see Tables 1 & 2). Each quadrat was sampled daily over five days during each of two (Boorabbin Survey Area) to three (Jilbadgi and Woolgangie Survey Areas) survey periods (Table 2). The birds recorded on the quadrats are listed in Tables 17 & 18. Combined, the species richness of the ten quadrats that were sampled in three seasons did not change much from season to season; a total of 37 (28 passerine) species were recorded in summer 1980,42 (35) in autumn 1981, and 47 (35) in spring 1981. In summer, 544 individual birds (401 passerines) were recorded on the quadrats; autumn and spring sampling yielded 667 (637) and 734 (648) bird sightings respectively; the seasonal differences were small for most species. Notable exceptions were Purple-crowned Lorikeet, Rainbow Bee-eater (a total seasonal migrant), Varied Sittella, White-fronted Honeyeater and Masked Woodswallows, all of which were scarce or absent in winter (Table 17). Weebills and Yellow-plumed Honeyeaters accounted for 30% of these observations, and reflected the importance of eucalypt woodlands on the quadrats and in the Study Area as a whole. Both species usually forage in eucalypt canopies. Quadrats were classified according to the species composition oftheir passerine assemblages (Figure 9). The data were sufficient to show a relationship between the quadrats' surface stratigraphy and their passerine composition - a separation of saline, sandy, and alluvial

55 Table 17 Species ofbirds recorded in the Woolgangie (E) andJilbadgi (W) survey areas ofthe Boorabbin-5outhern Cross Study Area indicating number of sightings at each vertebrate quadrat during each survey period. The three survey periods - February 1980 (Summer), May 1981 (Autumn) and October 1981 (Spring) - are indicated in columns 1, 2 and 3 respectively for each quadratI.

Stratigraphy Qrm Qqz Ts-Qrs Qqs-Qrs Qpv Vegetation Site2 BSlla BS47 BS13a BS41 BS40 Vertebrate Quadrat 7EOl 7E02 7E03 7E04 7EOS

NON-PASSERINES Emu 2 --T Square-tailed Kite Black-breasted Kite Collared Sparrowhawk Little Eagle 1 Peregrine Falcon Grey Falcon Brown Falcon x Australian Kestrel X Malleefowl Common Bronzewing 2 1 Purple-crowned Lorikeet 1 .6. Regent Parrot 1 - 212 Port Lincoln Ringneck - 6 - - 12 2 23­ - 1 - Western Rosella - 1 - Elegant Parrot Cockatie1 X Pallid Cuckoo - 2 - Black-eared Cuckoo Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo X BoobookOwl X Tawny Frogmouth Australian Owlet-nightjar - 1 - Spotted Nightjar Red-backed Kingfisher 1 2 Rainbow Bee-eater - - 5 10 - 3 10 - 9 22 - 8

PASSERINES Tree Martin Richard's Pipit Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike White-winged Triller Jacky Winter Red-capped Robin Hooded Robin Western Yellow Robin Golden Whistler Rufous Whistler X Gilbert's Whistler - 2 6 - 4 3 Grey Shrike-thrush 2 21­ 2 6 3 - 1 Crested Bellbird 3 1 - - 1 - - 6 3 Grey Fantail Willie Wagtail 1 - 228 35­ Chestnut Quail-thrush - 1 - Southern Scrub-robin - 2 -

56

Table 17 (cont.) Stratigraphy Qrm Qqz Ts-Qrs Qqs-Qrs Qpv Vegetation Site2 BSlla BS47 BS13a BS41 BS40 Vertebrate Quadrat 7EOl 7E02 7E03 7E04 7E05 7E3

White-browed Babbler 3 9 - Southern Whiteface Weebill - 4 - 524 6 617 6 - 8 3 215 4 Broad-tailed Thornbill 1 4 1 - 4 - - 1 4 -- 4 Chestnut-rumped Thornbill 7 15 2 - 4 - Yellow-rumped Thorubill -10 - Redthroat - 6 - - 1 - Shy Hylacola - 1 - Blue-breasted Fairy-wren White-winged Fairy-wren X Varied Sittella X Rufous Treecreeper 13 10 6 231 6 Mistletoebird Striated Pardalote 4 7 6 - 2 5 2 5 9 Brown Honeyeater - 8 - Pied Honeyeater Singing Honeyeater - 2 - - 2 - Yellow-plumed Honeyeater 129 59 439 19 1223 White-eared Honeyeater 1 5 4 - Brown-headed Honeyeater 4 White-fronted Honeyeater 1 - 5 - -12 3 3 Tawny-crowned Honeyeater - 2 - Yellow-throated Miner -12 - - 1 - - 1 - Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater 1 - 1 1 Red Wattlebird 2 - 1 2 1 White-fronted Chat X Crimson Chat Masked Woodswallow X Black-faced Woodswallow 1 Dusky Woodswallow 1 - 2 2 910 3 Grey Butcherbird - 1 - Pied Butcherbird 6 Australian Magpie X Grey Currawong Corvus sp. X

TOTAL OBSJSEASON TOTALSPECmS~EASON 1 3 3 142220 141513 111019 91113 TOTAL SPECmS/QUADRAT 5 35 28 23 20

1 Each quadrat was sampled for five days in each of three seasons. 2 See Appendix 1. 3 Opportunistic sightings (not on quadrats). 4 Total observations during F80 (February 1980), M81 (May 1981) and 081 (October 1981), excludes opportunistic records. T Tracks M Old mound (not counted in totals). X No season assigned for opportunistic sightings. .a All were sightings ofbirds in flight.

58 59 Table 18 Species of birds recorded in the Boorabbin survey area (BN) of the Boorabbin-Southern Cross Study Area indicating number of sightings at each vertebrate quadrat during each survey period. The two survey periods - July 1980 (Winter) and March 1981 (Summer) - are indicated in columns 1 and 2 respectively for each quadratI.

Stratigraphy Ts Ts Qqs Qpv/Agu Vegetation Site2 BS26 BS14 BS35a BS43b TOTALOBS4 Vertebrate Quadrat BNl BN2 BN4 BN6 BN3 J80 M81

NON-PASSERINES Black-throated Grebe X Hoary-headed Grebe X Mountain Duck X Grey Teal X Wood Duck X Wedge-tailed Eagle X Brown Falcon X Australian Kestrel X Painted Button-Quail 1 Eurasian Coot - X Banded Plover X Common Bronzewing 2 2 Crested Pigeon X Purple-crowned Lorikeet X Regent Parrot 2 2 Port Lincoln Ringneck 1 2 Mulga Parrot 20 20 Cockateil X Pallid Cuckoo X ·Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo X BoobookOwl X Tawny Frogmouth X Australian Owlet-nightjar X Red-backed Kingfisher 4 4

PASSERINES Tree Martin 48 48 Richard's Pipit 3 3 Ground Cuckoo-shrike X Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike 1 Jacky Winter 2 3 1 Red-capped Robin 4 5 Hooded Robin X Rufous Whistler X Gilbert's Whistler 3 4 3 4 Grey Shrike-thrush 1 6 1 7 Crested Bellbird 1 2 2 2 Willie Wagtail 2 2 White-browed Babbler 5 5 Southern Whiteface X

60 Table 18 (cont.)

Stratigraphy Ts Ts Qqs Qpv/Agu Vegetation Site2 BS26 BS14 BS35a BS43b TOTALOBS4 Vertebrate Quadrat BNl BN2 BN4 BN6 BN3 J80 M81

Weebill 7 2 45 53 52 55 Broad-tailed Thornbill 5 4 9 11 3 4 17 19 Chestnut-rumped Thornbill 6 13 19 Yellow-rumped Thornbill X Redthroat 4 2 4 2 Shy Hylacola 3 3 Calamanthus X Rufous Treecreeper 12 8 12 8 Mistletoebird 1 1 Striated Pardalote 28 2 15 2 43 Brown Honeyeater 2 1 1 3 1 Singing Honeyeater X Yellow-plumed Honeyeater 48 77 4 2 52 79 White-eared Honeyeater 3 2 3 2 Brown-headed Honeyeater X White-fronted Honeyeater 1 Tawny-crowned Honeyeater 5 2 7 Yellow-throated Miner 4 1 4 Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater 22 10 2 34 Red Wattlebird 1 White-fronted Chat X Magpie-lark X Black-faced Woodswallow X Dusky Woodswallow 35 35 Grey Butcherbird 1 2 Pied Butcherbird X Australian Magpie X Grey Currawong X Little Crow X Australian Raven 2 2

TOTAL SPECmS/SEASON 3 8 2 3 9 23 11 12 TOTAL SPECmS/QUADRAT 10 4 24 17

1 Each quadrat was sampled for five days over two seasons. 2 See Appendix 1. 3 Opportunistic sightings (not on quadrats). 4 Total observations during J80 (July 1980) and M81 (March 1981), excludes opportunistic records. X No season assigned for opportunistic sightings.

61 Table 19 Bird species known from the Boorabbin-Southern Cross Study Area that we did not encounter on quadrats at Woolgangie (E), Jilbadgi (W) and Boorabbin (BN). Sources include opportunistic records from Tables 17 and 18 (this publication) (0), the RAOU Atlas of Australian Birds (Blakers et al. 1984) (A), Storr (1985) (S) and data from K.R. & B.J. Newbey (unpublished) (N).

NON-PASSERINES Black-throated Grebe o Crested Pigeon o Hoary-Headed Grebe o Cockateil o Great Crested Grebe N Carnaby's Cockatoo S Pacific Heron A Red-tailed Black Cockatoo A White-faced Heron A Galah N Black Swan A Fan-tailed Cuckoo N Mountain Duck o Shining Bronze Cuckoo N Black Duck N Barn Owl A Pink-eared Duck N BoobookOwl o Grey Teal o Laughing Kookaburra A Wood Duck o Musk Duck N Black-shouldered Kite A PASSERINES Square-tailed Kite o White-backed Swallow S Black-breasted Kite o Welcome Swallow N Whistling Kite A Ground Cuckoo-shrike o Brown Goshawk N Crested Shrike-tit S Wedge-tailed Eagle o Restless Flycatcher S Spotted Harrier N Southern Whiteface o Peregrine Falcon o Western Flyeater N Australian Hobby A White-winged Fairy-wren o Brown Falcon o Calamanthus o Australian Kestrel o Brown Songlark N Ma1leefowl o Spotted Pardalote N Black-tailed Native-hen N Grey-breasted White-eye N Eurasian Coot o Pied Honeyeater o Australian Bustard N Grey-fronted Honeyeater A Banded Plover o Purple-gaped Honeyeater N Red-capped Plover N White-cheeked Honeyeater A Australian Dotterel A Crimson Chat o Black-winged Stilt N Zebra Finch A Banded Stilt A Magpie-lark o Bush Stone-Curlew N White-browed Woodswallow A Silver Gull N Australian Magpie o Brush Bronzewing A Little Crow o surfaces that is similar to the relationships noted for the other vertebrate groups. These surfaces support samphire, shrublands (often with mallee and/or hummock grass) and eucalypt woodlands, respectively. Examination of the data matrix, re-sorted according to the classification analyses, reveals that the clusters are not well-defined (Table 20). This is likely to be a consequence of the fine-scale patchiness of the survey areas in relation to the mobility of the birds, and exacerbated by the nature of the data matrix. In compiling the data for the analysis, we pooled the seasonal samples from the quadrats. In the adjacent Kurnalpi-

62 Table 20 Passerine bird data matrix re-ordered as a 2-way table using the same analysis pathway as described in Table 16. Quadrat codes are printed vertically. Corvids, singletons, and birds that were only seen flying overhead, were excluded. QUADRAT CODES 7 777B7777B 7 7 BB E EWENWEEWN WW NN 0 o 0 0 6 0 000 4 o 0 1 2 1 223 5 451 3 4

Tree Martin * * Shy Hylacola * * Mistletoebird * * White-winged Triller ** Singing Honeyeater ** Southern Scrub-robin ** ** Brown-headed Honeyeater **** White-browed Babbler * * * * Tawny-crowned Honeyeater ** ** Brown Honeyeater * * ** Grey Butcherbird ****

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike * ******* * Striated Pardalote ***** ** ** Red-capped Robin ********* Broad-tailed Thornbill *** **** * ** ** Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater *** *** **** Grey Shrike-thrush *********** Weebill *********** Crested Bellbird ********** White-fronted Honeyeater ********** Chestnut-rumped Thornbill ******** White-eared Honeyeater ****** ** Redtroat ******* Red Wattlebird ** **** * Pied Butcherbird * *** * lacky Winter **** *** Yellow-plumed Honeyeater ** ***** Gilbert's Whistler ***** Dusky Woodswallow * ** ** Willie Wagtail ****** Rufous Treecreeper **** Black-faced Woodswallow ** Yellow-throated Miner *****

Richard's Pipit ** *

Golden Whistler * * Blue-breasted Fairy-wren * *** Yellow-rumped Thornbill ** Varied Sittella *** Grey Currawong ***

GROUP 1 2 3 4

63 Kalgoorlie Study Area, McKenzie et al. (1992) found that patterns of habitat-use by passerines in summer were quite different from their winter and spring patterns.

REFERENCES Austin, M.P. (1984). Problems of vegetation analysis for nature conservation. In: Survey Methods for Nature Conservation. (Eds: K. Myers, C.R Margules and 1. Musto) Vo!. 1, pp 101-130. CSIRO Division of Water and Land Resources, Canberra. Austin, M.P. & Belbin, L. (1982). A new approach to the species classification problems in floristic analysis. Aust. J. Ecol. 7, 75-89. Beard, J.S. (1980). Aeolian landforrns, Western Australia. (Map at scale of 1:3,000,000 as part of Vegetation Survey ofWestern Australia). Vegmap Publications, Perth. Belbin, L. (1989). PATN user's guide. CSIRO Division ofWildlife and Ecology, Canberra. Belbin, L. (1991). Semi-strong Hybrid Scaling: a new ordination algorithm. J. Veg. Sci. 2(4),491-496. Biological Surveys Committee ofWestern Australia (1984). The Biological Survey of the Eastern Goldfields. Part I: Introduction and Methods. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. Supplement No. 18, 1-19. Blakers, M., Davies, SJ.J.F. and Reilly, P.N. (1984). The Atlas of Australian Birds. Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union. Melbourne University Press, Carlton. Buchler, E.R (1976). A chemiluminescent tag for tracking bats and other small nocturnal animals. J. Mammal 57, 173-176. Burbidge, A.A. and McKenzie, N.L. (1989). Patterns in the modern decline of Western Australia's vertebrate fauna: causes and conservation considerations. Bio!. Conserv. 50, 143-198. Busby, J.R (1986). A bioclimatic analysis ofNothofagus cunninghamii (hook.) Oerst. in south eastern Australia. Aust. J. Eco!. 11, 1-7. Clarkson, RD., Harper, C. & Lukin, E.B. (1864). Journal of an expedition to the north and east of Toodyay for the purposes of discovering pastoral land. In: "Exploration Diaries" 5, 1858-1865 (Battye Library, Perth). Czekanowski, J. (1932). Coefficient of racial likeness, und durschschnittliche differenz. Anthrop. ANZ. 9, 227­ 249. Dell, J. and How, RA. (1985). Vertebrate Fauna. In: The Biological Survey of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Part 3: Jackson-Kalgoorlie Study Area. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. Supplement No. 23, 39-66. Ehmann, H. (1992). Encyclopedia of Australian Animals: Reptiles. Angus and Robertson, Australia. Fenton, M.B. (1990). The foraging ecology and behavior of animal-eating bats. Canad. J. Zoo!. 68,411-422. Fullard, J., Koehler, K., Surlykke, A. and McKenzie, N.L. (1991). Echolocation and flight morphology of insectivorous bats in south-western Australia. Aust. J. Zoo!. 39, 427-438. Gambold, N. and Woinarski, J.C.Z. (in press). Distribution patterns of herpetofauna in monsoon rainforests of the Northern Territory, Australia. Aust. J. Ecol. How, R.A., Dell, J. and Humphries, W.F. (1987). The ground vertebrate fauna of coastal areas between Busselton and Albany, Western Australia. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 13(4),553-574. How, RA., Dell, J. and Muir, B.G. (1988). Vertebrate Fauna. In: The Biological Survey of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Part 4: Lake Johnston-Hyden Study Area. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. Suppl. No. 30, 44-83. Hunt, c.c. (1864). Exploration eastwards from York. In: "Exploration Diaries" 5, 1858-1865, pp. 352-390. (Battye Library: Perth). McKenzie, N.L. (1984). Biological surveys for nature conservation by the Western Australian Department of Fisheries and Wildlife: A current view. In: Survey Methods for Nature Conservation. (Eds: K. Myers, C.R Margules and 1. Musto) Vo!. 2, pp 88-117. CSIRO Division of Water and Land Resources, Canberra. McKenzie, N.L., Rolfe, J.K. and Carter, D. (1987). Reptiles and Amphibians. In: A Biological Survey of the Nullarbor Region, Australia. (Eds: N.L. McKenzie and A.C. Robinson) pp 179-210. South Australian Department ofEnvironment and Planning, Adelaide.

64 McKenzie, N.L. and Start, A.N. (1989). Structure of bat guilds in mangroves: environmental disturbance and determinism. In: Patterns in the Structure ofMammalian Communities. (Eds: D.W. Morris, Z. Abramski, B.J. Fox & M.R. Willig), pp 167-178. Spec. Pub!. Mus.. Texas Tech. Univ. No. 28. Lubbock, Texas. . . McKenzie, N.L., Robinson, A.C. and Belbin, D.L. (1991a). "Biogeographic survey of the Nullarbor district, Australia". Pp 109-126. In: Nature Conservation: Cost Effective Biological Surveys and Data Analysis. (Eds: Margules, C.R. & Austin, M.P). CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology, Canberra. McKenzie, N.L., Belbin, L., Keighery, G.J. and Kenneally, KF. (199Ib). Kimberley rainforest communities: patterns of species composition and Holocene biogeography. In: Kimberley Rainforests. (Eds: N.L. McKenzie, R.B. Iohnston & P.G. Kendrick). Surrey Beatty & Sons, New South Wales. McKenzie, N.L., Rolfe, I.K and Youngson, W.K. (1992). Vertebrate fauna. In: The Biological Survey of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Part 8. The Kurnalpi-Kalgoorlie Study Area. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. Suppl. No. 41, 37-64. McKenzie, N.L., Rolfe, I.K., Hall, N.J. and Youngson, W.K (1993a). Vertebrate fauna. In: The Biological Survey of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Part 9. The Norseman-Balladonia Study Area. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. Suppl. No. 42, 33-55. McKenzie, N.L., Rolfe, I.K. and Youngson, W.K (1993b).'Vertebrate fauna. In: The Biological Survey of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Part 10. The Sandstone-Sir Samuel and Leonora-Laverton Study Areas. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. Suppl. No. 47, 51-84. Shea, G.M. (1991). Revisionary notes on the genus Delma (Squamata: Pygopodidae) in South Australia and Northern Territory. Rec. S. Aust. Mus. 25(1), 71-90. Sneath, P.H.A. & Sokal, R.R. (1973). Numerical taxonomy: the principles and practice of numerical classification. W.H Freeman, San Francisco. Strahan, R. (Ed.) (1983). Complete Book of Australian Mammals. Angus and Robertson, Sydney. Storr, G.M. (1985). Birds of the Mid-eastern Interior of Western Australia. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. Suppl. No. 22.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are grateful to the Curator of the Western Australian Herbarium for making available facilities generally, and to KF. Kenneally and members of the technical staff for aiding the processing of the specimens. We record our appreciation to the Director and staff of the W.A. Museum for their assistance with identification and curation of the vertebrate specimens. In particular, K Aplin, N.K Cooper, J. Henry, D.J. Kitchener and L.A. Smith. Assistance with the identification of the plants was provided by T.E.H. Aplin, M.I.H. Brooker, R Carolin, RJ. Chinnock, B.J. Conn, D.A. Cooke, H.J. Eichler, J.W. Green, RJ. Hewson, S.D. Hopper, K.F. Kenneally, N.S. Lander, D.l McGillivray, T.D. Mcfarlane, N.G. Marchant, B.R Maslin, G. Perry, B.L. Rye, P.S. Short, H.R. Toelken, M. Trudgen, J.G. West, P. Weston and P.G. Wilson. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Perth, provided the climatic data. We thank John Dell, Ric How and Barry Muir for sampling the quadrats at the Boorabbin survey area, and Ken Cashin, Tom Smith and Ken Youngson for assistance with the field sampling program at the Southern Cross and Woolgangie survey areas. Nich Hall and Bill Muir assisted with data compilation.

65