The Fauna of King Island A guide to identification and conservation management Edited by Richard Donaghey 2003 The Fauna of King Island A guide to identification and conservation management Edited by Richard Donaghey 2003 Published by: King Island Natural Resource Management Group Inc KIRDO Building, George Street, Currie, King Island PO Box 293, King Island 7256 Ph. (03) 6462 1709 or 6462 1825 Fax (03) 6462 1726 © KINRMG Inc July 2003 ISBN XXXXX XXXXX Written by: Dr Richard W. Barnes, Nature Conservation Branch, Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, GPO Box 44, Hobart, Tasmania 7001. Katie Brown, 6 Dangali Court, Golden Grove SA 5125. Former Waterwatch Coordinator of King Island Natural Resource Management Group Inc. Laurie Cook, Freshwater Systems, 82 Waimea Avenue, Sandy Bay, Tasmania 7005 Dr Peter E. Davies, Freshwater Systems, 82 Waimea Avenue, Sandy Bay, Tasmania 7005 and Research Fellow, School of Zoology, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 5, Hobart, Tasmania 7001. Dr Richard Donaghey, 80 Sawards Road, Myalla, Tasmania 7325. Wyn Jones, PO Box 60, Blackheath, New South Wales 2785. Sarah Lloyd, 999 Denmans Road, Birralee, Tasmania 7303. Dr Peter McQuillan, Centre for Environmental Studies, School of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 78, Hobart, Tasmania 7001. Jim Nelson, 68 Dynans Bridge Road, Weegena, Tasmania 7304. Rodney Walker, Native Fish Conservation, Inland Fisheries Service, PO Box 288, Moonah, Tasmania 7009. Photos: Trevor Waite, Bill Wakefield, Peter Brown, Dave Watts, Rob Blakers, Sally Bryant, Richard Barnes, Peter McQuillan, Nick Mooney and Richard Donaghey. Cover illustrations: Eastern pygmy possum (Dave Watts), green and golden frog (Peter Brown), orange-bellied parrot (Dave Watts) Design and desktop production: Fine Print, GPO Box 1676, Hobart, Tasmania 7001. Printing: Funded by: The Federal Government’s Natural Heritage Trust Program and the King Island community. ii Contents Preface vii Acknowledgments ix Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Location 1 Climate 1 Landforms 1 Geology 2 Pre-European vegetation 2 Early history and exploration 3 Settlement and development 3 Extinctions of birds on King Island 4 Extinctions of mammals on King Island 4 References 4 Chapter 2 Vegetation on King Island 5 King Island wet eucalypt forest 5 King Island dry eucalypt forest and woodland 7 Swamp forests 8 Coastal grasslands 9 King Island sedge-heath-scrub 10 Coastal heath and scrub 11 Muttonbird rookeries 11 Dry scrub 12 Wet scrub 12 Saltmarsh 13 Wetlands 13 Coastal shores 14 Improved pasture 14 Regenerating cleared land 14 Plantations and shelterbelts 15 References 15 iii Chapter 3 The aquatic fauna of King Island’s streams and wetlands 17 Introduction 17 The fauna 19 Identification of freshwater fish 28 Identification of macroinvertebrates 28 References 28 Chapter 4 Invertebrates on King Island 29 Introduction 29 Historical aspects 29 Immigrant insects 30 Invertebrates in pastures 30 Invertebrates in forests 31 Invertebrates in heathland 32 Invertebrates in sand dunes 32 Invertebrates on sandy coastline 33 Carcasses 33 Conservation status of the invertebrate fauna 34 Habitat requirements for key invertebrates 34 Management and restoration of forests for invertebrates and forest function 34 References 35 Recommended reading 35 Chapter 5 Biogeography and ecology of the vertebrate fauna of King Island 37 Freshwater fish of King Island 37 Amphibians: frogs 37 Reptiles: snakes and lizards 38 Birds 39 Mammals 40 References 42 Appendix 1 Vertebrate fauna of King Island 43 Chapter 6 Fauna of old growth eucalypt forests of King Island 47 Introduction 47 Features of old growth forests 47 The forest canopy 48 Bark 48 Limbs and branches 48 Understorey layers of trees, shrubs and tree ferns 49 Hollows and crevices 51 Logs and fallen branches 52 Ground layer litter and vegetation 53 References 5 iv Chapter 7 Ecology, conservation and management of birds and recovery of threatened species 55 Introduction 55 Birds as indicators 55 The bird indicator project on King Island 56 Numbers, status, population trends and habitat of King Island forest birds 56 Uncommon, rare and threatened birds on the surveys 57 Birds nesting in tree hollows and bank tunnels 63 Birds nesting in large trees 63 Understorey-nesting birds 63 Monitoring waterbirds and forest birds 64 General action to recover uncommon, rare and threatened birds on King Island 64 Recovery of locally extinct birds 65 Management of habitat for fauna with special emphasis on birds 65 General principles of reserve design 66 Ten sustainability guidelines for birds on farms 67 Guidelines for protecting and restoring landscape linkages 67 Revegetation and habitat restoration 67 Conclusion 68 References 69 Appendix 1 List of rare and threatened species and species of high conservation significance on King Island 70 Appendix 2 Action to recover rare and threatened species and species with high conservation significance 71 Chapter 8 Species accounts of King Island vertebrate fauna 75 Freshwater fish 75 Amphibians 83 Reptiles – snakes 86 – lizards 89 Birds 92 Mammals 120 References 123 v List of colour plates Plate numbers End of chapter Page King Island vegetation 2.1 – 2.12 2 P1 Fish 3.1 – 3.8 3 P3 Invertebrates 4.1 – 4.16 4 P5 Frogs 5.1 – 5.7 5 P7 Reptiles 5.8 – 5.12 5 P8 Mammals 5.11 – 5.23 5 P9 Hole-nesting birds 6.1 – 6.8 6 P11 Nationally threatened bird species and endemic subspecies 7.1 – 7.7 7 P13 Tasmanian endemic common to uncommon forest birds 7.8 – 7.13 5 P14 Rare King Island land birds 8.1 – 8.8 8 P15 Uncommon King Island land birds 8.9 – 8.14 8 P16 Common King Island land birds 8.15 – 8.34 8 P17 Shorebirds, gulls and terns 8.35 –8.50 8 P20 Waterbirds of King Island 8.51 – 8.58 8 P23 vi Preface he idea of a book for land managers on invertebrate and vertebrate fauna of Tasmania Twas conceived more than five years ago but languished through lack of a publisher. The King Island Natural Resource Management Group provided the opportunity and funding to turn a dream into reality at least for the fauna of King Island. This book provides information on the ecology and conservation management of invertebrate and vertebrate fauna of terrestrial and freshwater habitats of King Island. The book is a companion volume to The native vegetation of King Island, Bass Strait, the King Island Flora – a field guide and the Field guide to Tasmanian birds. We intended to write a book that served as a guide to fauna identi- fication and management and distribute it to all land owners and managers of King Island and land management agencies so it had to be written in a readable style. Most of the chapters are written by scientists so it soon became apparent that with limited time and budget it was difficult to write both a field guide and a technical book to suit everyone. The main aims of the book are to synthesise published information and recent survey data on the fauna of King Island, to provide guidelines for conservation management of fauna, and to encourage land managers to identify vertebrate fauna and fill in the gaps on the distribution and abundance of fauna. Chapter 1, the Introduction, provides a brief summary of the island’s location, climate, geology, soils and land use history. Chapter 2 describes the main native vegetation communities and Chapter 3 describes streams and wetlands of King Island and their macroin- vertebrates based on recent surveys of the freshwater systems. Chapter 4 describes the ecology of terrestrial invertebrates of pastures and various types of native vegetation, and highlights their habitat requirements and management. Chapter 5 summarises the ecology and biogeography of the vertebrate fauna: freshwater fish, frogs, reptiles, birds and mammals. Chapter 6 highlights the role and habitat needs of the fauna of old growth eucalypt forests with a focus on birds and insects. Chapter 7 presents and interprets recent survey data on forest birds, identifies threatened and declining birds and their habitats, provides guidelines on habitat management for fauna and specifies action to recover threatened and declining species. Chapter 8 serves as a field guide to the vertebrates of King Island and gives accounts of all the species of freshwater fish, frogs, reptiles, mammals and most of the resident and regular visiting birds with cross-references to the plates. Plants have co-evolved with animals and together they form an interconnected web of life. The health of native vegetation depends on many different fauna. This book will be useful to vii any land managers and advisors with a desire to discover King Island’s fauna and their habitat needs and manage native vegetation for fauna. The book doesn’t pretend to be a complete fauna guide but it does provide a foundation for present and future action to protect the biodiversity of King Island. There is an urgent need on King Island to continue fauna surveys and monitoring and to recover threatened and declining species, especially birds. Little is known of the invertebrates of King Island, so we hope that this book, especially the inverte- brate chapter, references and websites, will stimulate King Islanders and others to collect, identify and document the invertebrates of King Island. Richard Donaghey July 2003 viii Acknowledgments he observations and publications of naturalists such as Dr Bob Green, Max McGarvie and Tothers provided the foundation for this fauna guide. We are indebted to the landholders of King Island for their interest, hospitality and access to their remnant vegetation for conducting biodiversity surveys. The future of King Island’s fauna is in their hands. Richard Donaghey enjoyed the company of Graeme Batey and Nigel Burgess in rediscovering scrubtits. The Bushcare program enabled Richard Donaghey and Richard Barnes to visit King Island many times for conservation extension.