Quantifying the habitat requirements of an endangered marsupial predator, the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) Harry Amos Moore BSc (Hons) Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Institute of Land, Water, and Society School of Environmental Sciences Faculty of Science Charles Sturt University March 2021 0 Cover and interlude art by Nellie Pease 1 Certificate of authorship a. I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at Charles Sturt University or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgment is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by colleagues with whom I have worked at Charles Sturt University or elsewhere during my candidature is fully acknowledged.” b. I agree that this thesis be accessible for the purpose of study and research in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Executive Director, Division of Library Services or nominee, for the care, loan and reproduction of theses. Harry Moore 23/02/2021 2 Table of Contents Certificate of authorship ......................................................................................................................... 2 Preface .................................................................................................................................................... 5 Approvals and funding ............................................................................................................................ 5 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................... 6 Publications resulting from the research ............................................................................................... 10 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. 13 Chapter 1 – Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 16 Australian mammal declines ............................................................................................................. 16 Northern Australian mammal declines ............................................................................................. 18 The northern quoll ............................................................................................................................. 19 The Pilbara northern quoll ................................................................................................................ 21 Thesis objectives and structure ......................................................................................................... 22 Chapter 2 – Topographic ruggedness and rainfall mediate geographic range contraction of a threatened marsupial predator ............................................................................................................... 25 Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. 26 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 27 Materials and methods ...................................................................................................................... 30 Results ............................................................................................................................................... 35 Discussion ......................................................................................................................................... 43 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................. 49 Chapter 3 – The effect of camera orientation on the detectability of wildlife: a case study from north- western Australia .................................................................................................................................. 51 Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. 52 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 53 Materials and methods ...................................................................................................................... 55 Results ............................................................................................................................................... 59 Discussion ......................................................................................................................................... 64 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................. 68 Chapter 4 – Habitat configuration is more important than habitat amount for a threatened marsupial predator in a naturally fragmented landscape ....................................................................................... 69 Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. 71 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 72 Materials and methods ...................................................................................................................... 74 Results ............................................................................................................................................... 81 Discussion ......................................................................................................................................... 84 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................... 86 3 Chapter 5 – A rocky heart in a spinifex sea: occurrence of an endangered marsupial predator is multiscale dependent in naturally fragmented landscapes .................................................................... 89 Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. 90 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 91 Materials and methods ...................................................................................................................... 93 Results ............................................................................................................................................. 100 Discussion ....................................................................................................................................... 107 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... 111 Chapter 6 – Summary ......................................................................................................................... 113 Broader implications ....................................................................................................................... 118 Moving forward .............................................................................................................................. 119 Appendix A – A brief history of the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus): a systematic review ..... 123 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 124 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 125 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................................... 127 Results & Discussion ...................................................................................................................... 131 Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................... 166 Appendix B – Spot on: Using camera traps to individually monitor one of the world’s largest lizards ............................................................................................................................................................ 167 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 168 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 169 Materials and methods .................................................................................................................... 170 Results ............................................................................................................................................