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.