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Naue - ---Ienilr---Lsreultlsli4rle .,.,.-,....,....,, t'\ I MAMMAL CONSERVATION COURSE 1995 ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT OF TEE WOYLIE, TAMMARQUOKKA AND GILBERT'S POTOROO. 1. BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION. Woylies,tammar wallabies,quokkas and Gilbert's potorooare all marsupialsthat are indigenousto the southwest of WA. Quokkaare endemic (only occur) in this regionbut the othersare represented by differentsub-species in otherStates. A11four are"Critical Weight Range" (CWR) mammals. That is to saythey weigh bett-een 50 gramsand 5.5 kilograms.In ananalysis ofthe pattemsof{ecline andextinction of Australianmammals, Andrew Burbidge and Norm McKenzie'showed that our appallin recordis moreor lessconfined to mammalsin this range;larger and smaller species have faredbetter. Table1. Scientificnames, Families and weights of Gilbert'spotoroo, woylie, quokka tammarwallaby with fox, rabbitand two othermacropods for comparison ,Q-qu!p!-Naue - ---Ienilr---lsreultlslI4rle .,.,.-,....,....,, -,.. Jl-e'eh! {ed- , Gilbert's Potoroo Potoroidae Polorous tridactylus gilbertii 1,000 Woylie Potoroidae Bettongidpenicillataogilbyi 1,300 Quokka Macropodidae Setonixbrachyarus 3,2s0 Tammarwallaby MacropodidaeMocropus eugcnii 4,200 Brushwallaby Macropodidae Macropusirma 8,000 Westn Grey Kangaroo Macropodidae Macropus fttligtnosus 38,500 Rabbit Leporidae Oryctolctguscuniculus 1,580 Fox Canidae Vulpesvulpes --_5-Jqq.--- Many CWR speciesthat havedisappeared from mostof theirformer mainland range have survivedon islands.Those that havesurvived on the mainlandhave often persisted in their mostmesic habitats. Even there most have only survivedin specialcircumstances. AmongstCWR mammals,species that fly (bats),or live in treesor in rock pileshave been moreresilient. We couldperhaps add extremely dense vegetation to the list ofhabitatsthat haveoffered some shelter because that hasprobably been critical to Gilbert'spotoroo and mainlandquokka. Habitatscontaining an abundance ofplants that naturallycontain 1080 also seem to have providedprotection. For instanceit is easybut wrongto think ofwoyliesas typically forestanimals. In our grandfathers'time they occurred from thelarling Rangeto the GreatDividing Range including many of the deserts.Wood-Jones" recorded that earlythis centurythey had been corrmon over most of SouthAustralia and sold in Adelaide"by the dozenat aboutninepence a headfor coursing(greyhounds) on Sundayafternoons". They havesurvived in thewild onlyin WA wheredwindling populations hung on at Perup, Drvandraand Tutannine. These three areas are notable for the abundanceof ' BurbidgeA.A & McKerzieN.L. Biobgicol Con:;ervation.Vol. 50 Pagcs143-198 'rneanweights taken frorn Burbidge A.A & McKenzieN.L (seeabove) except Gilb€rt's potoroo. from animalsat Two PeoplesBay. ' WobdJones, F. 1924.The Mummqls of SoulhAuslralia. Part IL GovermrentPrinter. Adelaide Gastrolobiumin theunderstory . Gastrolobium contains 1080 and it seemsprobable that secondarypoisoning offoxes kept predation to a lowerlevel. 2. DESCRIPTIONS I haveattached copies ofthe accountsofeach species from the AustralianMuseum,s CompleteRook of Australian Mammals.You will find descriptions,basic ecological andbiological information and distribution maps. A newand ex[ensively revised ed]ition will be in the shopsvery soon.In particularthe woyliedistribution map'will look very different.I havealso attached a statussheet for woylieswhich has a mapsimilar to the one that will be in the newedition ofthe book.Gilberr's potoroo had not bein rediscovered whenthe bookwas published. I haveattached a copyofthe recentLandscope article aboutit. Woylie (alsocalled Brush{ailed Bettong, especially in the easternStates where it maybe anappropriate name for thenow-extinct sub-specieslhat once lived there) Woyliesare rat-kangaroos, a rather inappropriate name given to membersof the family Potoroidae.This is a smallfamily related to thetrue wallabiesand kangaroos. Most of theminclude the fruitingbodies ofhypogeal (underground) fungi, as major components of their diet,and so dig characteristicconical holes to obtainfood. Thesefungi (technically mycorrhizalfungi) are related to trufilesand live in a syrnbioticrelationship with vascular plants,helping their hoststo acquireminerals from the soilin retumfor photosynthetic products.Thus woylies probably play an important ecological role in dispersingthe spores.Many of our plantspecies seem to germinatemore readily when the ground is disturbedso perhapswoylies are important to themas well. Like kangaroos,woylies hop but theyhold their bodies horizontally; in fact theyoften appearhunched over. This contrasts with themuch more upright posture ofkangaroos. Theyhave short faces, small ears and long tails that aretufted You will seethese features if you catchone in a spotlightbecause they move slowly when dazzled by the tight. "explode" Ifyou flushone during the dayit will probably from a bushright underyour feet.You maysee a smallbrown body hurtle through the bush, zig-zagging now andthen beforeit disappears.You mayalso see the long,tufted tail, longerthan the headand body (bandicootshave much shorter ratJike tails) but you will belucky to seemore detail. Gilbert's potoroo,is alsoa rat-kangaroo.Like woyliesit digsextensively for hlpogeal fungiand perhaps other morsels and probably performs similar ecological functions. while thewoylie is essentiallyan arid adapted animal that reaches the drierforests, most potorooslive in densevegetation ofthe highrainfall areas. Gilbert's potoroo is knownto havelived from coastalareas between the Leeuwin-Naturatiste Ridge (where its bonesare frequentin cavedeposits) to somewherejust eastofAlbany. Before its rediscoveryin 1994only three Europeans are known too havecollected specimens, all from nearAlbany, andall before 1880. The oniy ecologicalinformation available before its re-discoverywas in noteswritten by JohnGilbert to the artistJohn Gould. Gould included a paintingofone of Gilbert's specimens,and Gilbert's notes, in hisbook on Australianmammals. Gilbert noted that theywere the constantcompanions ofquokkas and that theylived in swampyplaces. The populationat Two PeoplesBay indeedlive in the samehabitat as quokkas, but in this instancein heath,high on the slopesoflvlt. Gardner. So far we havecaught 14 Gilbert's potoroos, all on Mt Gardnerand we haveevidence of at leasttwo more from hair caughta hair tube. They aretimid, trap-shyand denizensof densevegetation under which they move in well-troddentunnels. You areunlikely to see one but it is importantthat ifnear the southcoast you find areasofdense vegetation throughwhich there are well-defined tunnels, you find out whatlives there. Quokkas shouldbe familiarto most WesternAustralians who havevisited Rottnest.On the mainlandyou areunlikely to seeone because, like potoroos,they live in extremely densevegetation, often in swampyplaces. However, get on your handsand knees in a well usedquokka swamp and you will find theirtunnels are clear open "roadways" under a mat of rushesetc. The tunnelsare almostbig enoughfor you to force your way along,those of bandicootsand potoroos are much smaller (but the latterwill usethe quokkaruns if they are available|) . If in doubtyou shouldbe ableto find the characteristicallysquare droppings. Tammar wallabiesare typical small wallabies. They have distinctive face patterns that shouldmake it easyto distinguishthem from youngkangaroos and brush wallabies. They oftenfavow thicketsbut canbe seenin fairly opencountry, even the edgesofpaddocks, at night. 3. STATUS and DISTRIBUTION Woylies are guelted"rare andlikely to becomeextinct" underthe Wildlife Conservation Act. A RecoveryPlan, funded by ANCA whichincorporates actions for WA andSd is in the lastyear ofa five yearlife. Like mostrecovery plans the first editionwas written for ten yearsbut encouragingnews about the rateofincrease of smallpopulations when protectedfrom foxes at Batalling and evidencethat they are muchmore widespreadin the SouthernForest Region than previously known were important factors in the revisionof the Plan.At the endofthis yearthe RecoveryTeam will reviewits statusby the criteria set in the Pan andinternational standards and, if appropriate,recommend a changein its status.(A recentassessment by WATSCUindicated that it shoulddrop from the "threatened"group of categoriesto '"ConservationDependent". Todaywoylies occur in WA at. Dryandra naturalpopulation Tutanning naturalpopulation Perup (includeKingston to L. Muir) iraturalpopulation Boyagin Re-introducedald well established Batalling Re-introducedand well established Julimar recentRe-introductjon, establishing NorthernJarrah Forest about12 new sites under cover of OoerationFoxqlove In SA thereare populations on threeoflshore islandsat VenusBay PeninsulaNR on the mainlandand in YookamurraSanctuary. They are all derivedfrom WA stock. Gilbert's Potoroowas presumed extinct as it hadnot beenrecorded since the 1870swhen it wasre-discovered on Mt. Gardnerat Two PeoplesBay in December1994. It is consideredcritically endangered as it is still knownonly from species-richand dieback-free heathon Mt Gardner.14 animals have been caught, Half arebeing kept in captivityto '"putsome eggs in anotherbasket". It mayoccur on Mt. Manypeaks. "rare Quokkas arenot gazettedas andlikely to becomeextinct" as there are sound populationson Rottnestand Bald Islands. Twenty years ago they were known from swampygully sitesalong the Scarpand more extensively in the SouthernForest Region, andreaching east to Mt. MarypeaksAVaychinicupand in the Stirling Range.Because of thevery thick vegetationin whichthey live on the mainlandthey are
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