THE WILDLIFE OF SOMEE,XISTING AND PROPOSEDNATURE RESERVESIN THE GIBSON,LITTLE SANDYANt) GREATVICTORIA DESERTS, WesternAustralia EDITEDBY N. L.McKenzie and A. A. Burbidse WESTERNAUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE RESEARCH CENTRE 1979 DEPARTMENTOF FISHERIESAND WILDLIFE PERTH,WESTERN AUSTRALIA Itildl. Res.Bull. Itest. Aust. 19,79,No. 8. l_36. CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT 5 PART I BACKGROUND N. L. McKenzre Background 5 References.... 5 PART II ENVIRONMENT A. A. Burbidgeand N. L. McKenzie Tntroduction 7 CarnarvonRange Area .... '1 Lake DisappointmentArea 8 Yeo Lake Area 10 Gibson DesertNature Rese e .... 1l Acknowledgements .... 13 References.... IJ PART.III MAMMALS N. L. McKenzie, W. K. Youngson,A. A. Burbidge, and A. ChaDman Introduction 16 SpeciesList 16 Discussion.... 18 Acknowledgements 20 References.... 20 PART MIRDS R. E. Johnstone,C. P. S. de Rebeiraand L. A. Smith Introduction 22 SpeciesList 22 Discussion.... 30 References.... 30 PART V AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES L. A. Smith and R. E. Johnstone Introduction 11 SpeciesList Discussion.... JJ References.... JJ PART YI CONCLUSIONS A. A. Burbidgeand.N. L. McKenzie Conclusions 34 References.... 34 TABLES PART II ENVIRONMENT Page 1. Rainfall (mm) from threelocalities relevant to surveyareas l3 2. CarnarvonRange Area, vegetation l4 3. Lake DisappointmentArea, vegetation t4 4. Yeo Lake Area, vegetation 14 5. GibsonDesert Nature Reserve,vegetation.... 15 PART III MAMMALS 1. Breedinginformation-rodents and bats .... 2l 2. Speciesknown from the proposednature reserves (197 5-1976) .... 21 PART IV CONCLUSIONS 1. Gibson Desertplant formations 35 2. Dasyuridsand rodentsin reserves J) 3. Amphibolurusa\d Ctenotusspecies in reserves 36 FIGURES PART I BACKGROUND 1. Existingand proposednature reserves in WesternAustralian deserts .... PART II ENVIRONMENT 1. Tall open-shrublandson top ofthe CarnarvonRange .... 2. Gully in the CarnarvonRange 3. Low woodlandsof Acaciaspp. south of the CarnarvonRange .... 4. Sandplainswith spinifexhummock grassland,Carnarvon Range Area 5. Low open-woodlandof mallee on sandplain,Carnarvon Range Area 6. Screeslopes, Durba Hills 7. Valley in the Durba Hills 8. Woodlandnear Durba Springs 9 9. Low open-shrublandson sandplains,Lake DisappointnentArea 9 10. Low open-woodlandsand low shrublands,Yeo Lake Area 10 11. Low shrublandsof Bluebushand Saltbush,Yeo Lake Area l0 12. Mulgaat StonyPoint . .... 10 13. Pan and gypsumdune vegetation,Yeo Lake Area n 14. Low open-woodlandon sandplainbetween pans of Yeo Lake .... ll 15. Low open-woodlandon sandplain,Yeo Lake Area 11 16. Gravellysandplain at EverardJunction 1l 17. Mulga low open-woodland,Young Range 12 18. Spinilexopen-hummock grassland near Young Range .... 12 19. Tall shrublandof Acaciqspp., Gibson Des€rtNature Reserve.... 12 20. Campsite,Gibson DesertNature Reserve.... 12 PART III MAMMALS 1. Taphozousflavirerlrrs, Durba Hills .... l8 COLOURPLATES_CENTRE PAGE 1. CarnarvonRange vegetation. 4. Low open-woodland,Yeo Lake Area 2. Sanddune near CarnarvonRange 5. Durba Springs 3. Durba Hills 6, Ride'sNingaui Wildl. Res.Bull. West.Aust. 1979,.tvo.8,l-36 THE WILDLIFE OF SOME EXISTING AND PROPOSED NATURE RESERVES IN THE GIBSON, LITTLE SANDY AND GREAT VICTORIA DESERTS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA N. L. McKenzie and A. A. Burbidge,Editors (W.A. Wildlife ResearchCentre, P.O. Box 51, Wanneroo.W.A. 606t. Containspapers by_A A. Bur]-tidge,N. L. McKenzie,W. K. Youngson(W.A. Wildlife ResearchCentre, P.O. Box 51, Wanneroo,W'A. 6065),A. Chapman,R. E. Johnstone,L. A. Smith (W.A. Museum,Francis Street,perth. W.A. 6000)and C. P. S. de Rebeira(C.S.l.R.O. Division of WildlifeResearch. Fyfe Slreer, Helena Valley, W.A. 6056.). ABSTRACT The Cibson Desert Naturc Reserve and three pro-p_o_sedlqtgre _re!e_r]9s(Lake Disappointment, Carnatvon Range and Yeo Lake Areas) w€re examinedduring November and December1975 and Malch 1976. Mammals and reptiles were collecteda;d observationsmade oi birds. The environment ol each area is descdbed. Sixteen,speciesof native and four speciesof introduced mammals were recorded. The known range of Nrigad /Zel was greatly extended, A number of medium sized mammals which were presentin these desertsin the past have apparently disappeared. One hunfued and one speciesof birds have been rccorded from the foua areas 46 at Lake Disappointment, 58 at the Gibson Desert Nature Reserye, 66 at Carnarvon Range and 75 at Yeo Lake. Many speciesare highly nomadic and iuither trip! would add to the lists. Two specjesof frog and_58species of reptile are known from the four areas. The number ftom eacharea is: 22 ftom Lake Disappointment Area, 18 ftom Gibson Desert Nature Reserve,30 -fro_mCamarvon Range Area and 40 from Yeo Lake Area. A futther 7 sfacies have beelr collected just outside the Yeo Lake Area. The last area has been morc intensively collected than the other sites. The system of desert conseryationreserves proposed by the ConservationThrough ReseryesCommittee in 1974appears to include the major plant formationsof^lhe region and habitatsol nearlyall \ertebrateanimals-allhough more work is neededto clarify rhesituaLion wrtn respeclto a nur-noerol mammal specres. PART I BACKGROUND by N. L. McKENZIET BACKGROT]ND Board of WesternAustralia. The third survey again involved two four-wheel drive vehicles. Personnel During 1975and 1976the WesternAustralian Wildlife were: N. L. McKenzie and W. K. Younsson-A. from the ResearchCentre organizedthree wildlife suryeysinto Departmentof Fisheriesand Wildlife, Chuprun, the desertregions of W.A. Their aim was to collect R. E. Johnstoneand L. A. Smith from the Western additional information on the vertebratefauna of a Australian Museum and C. P. S. de Rebeiralrom the seriesof desertconservation reserves proposed by the C.S.I.R.O.Division of Wildlife Research. Conservation Through ReservesCommittee (1974). The desertreserves proposed by the Committeewere Four areaswere visited (Fig. 1): delineatedfrom vegetational,geological and soils data. l. Carnarvon Range Area-20 Knowledge of the fauna of each nature reserveand to 24 November 1975.28to 31 March 1976. proposed reservewithin the proposed serieswas in- adequate,being derivedfrom a few isolatedcollections 2. Lake DisappointmentArea-26 November to 1 or from an extraoolationof distributional data based December1975. on a knowledgeol the habitat preferencesof individual 3. Yeo Lake Area 18 to 21 ll4arch 7976. specres. 4. Gibson Desert Nature Reserve-23 to 27 March The results of the fust of these survevshave alreadv 1976. beenpublished (Burbidge et al. 1976)-;lheresults oi the two subsequent surveys are reported here. The secondsurvey lasted from 18 Novemberto 4 December 1975and involved five peopleand two four-wheeldrive REFERENCES vehicles. Personnel were: A. A. Burbidge, N. L. Burbidge, A. A., McKenzie, N. "The L., Chapman, A. and I-ambert, McKenzie,W. K. Youngsonand R. F. Dear from the P. M. (1976). Wildlife of some Existing and Proposed Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, C. P. S. de Reseruesin the Creat Victoria and Gibson Deserts.Western Rebeirafrom the C.S.I.R.O. Division of Wildlife Re- Australia". Wildl. Res. Bull. West. Aust. No.5, 1-t6 (Dept. search and P. J. Roberts from the National Parks Fish. wildl.. Perth). Consenation Through ReseryesCommittee (1974). "Conserv- ation Reservesin Western Austmlia. ReDort of the Conserv- l Westem Australian Wildlife Research C€ntre. P.O. Box 51. Wan- ation Through Reserve5Commi(ee to rhe tnvironmental nerco. W.A. 6065. ProtectionAuthority". Cyclostyled. BOTANICAL PROV]NCE FN OCO IAN INO Rudqtl Notl Loke Di [omolvon Ronge G]LE5 CARNE6IE WAREURTON SALI RE6ION Bqkef wza t-i1e"'-- GREAT_/ V',C]0R',A ..' DESERT vathrttaJL-;6o)_\:_2'-zvzzr ^.t/ -.r LoKeNaW coi' :fo llE*il," ,un,,on a. .---. l:i{'i:i:t'ld}uren"'","e f"'"'" I I : )''--''--' Plumridge Ndture tr:\. cfeoi jViciofio !,dqture nene: oueenVJctoflq Spn --J,dotre NOIUTCHesel1/e e7 Nurlreon LE6END Exisilng Resefves Nuyislond ffi "rtAN Nqtufe m PfoposedResefves FiSure l-Existing and proposedconservation reserves in Vy'esternAustralian deserts. Adapted from the ReDortby theConservationThroughReservesCommittee(1974)NomenclatureofdesertsafterBeard(1969). PARTII ENVIRONMENT by A. A. BURBIDGETand N. L. McKENZIEI INTRODUCTION The Carnarvon Range (Colour Plate 2) consists of cross beddedsandstones, thought The of WesternAustralia to be of Middle to deserts have been described Upper Proterozoic age. The sandstones and delineatedby Beard (1969). Their geology has form low, gently undulating hills with occasionalsteep cliffs and been describedby the GeologicalSurvey of Western gulliescontaining a few semi-permanentpools. Australia (1975). The CarnarvonRange and the Lake DisappointmentAreas lie within the BangemallBasin, Beard (1974a, 1974b) mapped the vegetation of the a Precambriansedimentary basin of the WesternShield. proposedNature Reseryeinto six categories(Table 2). The €asternportion of this basin approximaielycorres- "Little Our campsitewas at the mouth ofa gully on the southern ponds to Beard's (1969) Sandy Desert". The side of the Carnarvon Range, ca 2 km at 110" from Yeo Lake Area and the Gibson DesertNature Reserve Trig M6 (25'17'5, 120"41'E). lie within the Offcer Basin,a Phanerozoicsedimentary basin (of Permianor Mesozoicmarine and continental Habitats we collectedin are as follows: "Great "Gib- rocks) includedin Beard's Victoria" and 1.1 The vegetationof the range is a tall open-shrub- son" deserts. land to tall shrublandof Acaciaaneura F. M:uell. Soils have been mapped at l:2 000000 by Northcote ex Benth. vat. latifolia J. M. Black to +5 m with et al. (1968). Beard (1974a,1974b,