The reptile, bird and small mammal fauna of Dune Mallee Woodlands in south-western New South Wales

Abstract

Baseline surveys of reptiles, birds and small mammals that occur in Dune Mallee woodlands in the Lower Murray Darling catchment of southwestern New South Wales were conducted at 60 sites between October 2007 and March 2008. These surveys comprise the first round of a catchmentwide monitoring programme to obtain a measure of the distribution and abundance of 21 priority threatened fauna species that inhabit Dune Mallee Woodlands. A total of 127 fauna species were recorded, which included 19 of the possible 21 threatened fauna species. The 127 species comprised 37 reptile species, 15 bat species, three small mammal species and 72 bird species. The mean species richness recorded at each three hectare survey site for birds was 14.7, reptiles 7.1, small ground dwelling mammals 0.5 and bats 3.0. Mean abundance for birds was 42.7, reptiles 13.1, small ground dwelling mammals 1.0 and microbats 3.7. These surveys represent the most comprehensive inventory of fauna of the Dune Mallee Woodlands of the Lower Murray Darling catchment. Furthermore, these surveys are a platform upon which to detect changes in abundance and persistence of priority threatened fauna species, as a way of measuring outcomes of property management agreements and offset reserves where land management has been enhanced by actions such as exotic herbivore removal and predator control.

Spatial prioritisation of survey and management efforts for a threatened pygopodid in south-western New South Wales

“…), so it appears to be present, but in low numbers; although we note that some pygopodid species can occur at high densities in localised areas (Wong et al 2011). Similar results have been obtained in two broader regional surveys: the first, conducted at 280 mallee sites between 2006 and 2008, yielded 17 individuals (Watson et al 2012, unpublished data), and the second, conducted at 60 mallee sites between October 2007 and March 2008, coincidently also yielded 17 individuals (Val et al 2012). Dry conditions experienced from 2018 to 2020 may also have contributed to detection difficulties since reptile capture rates may decline following rainfall deficits (Schlesinger et al 2011).…”

“…Similar results have been obtained in two broader regional surveys: the first, conducted at 280 mallee sites between 2006 and 2008, yielded 17 individuals (Watson et al . 2012, unpublished data), and the second, conducted at 60 mallee sites between October 2007 and March 2008, coincidently also yielded 17 individuals (Val et al . 2012).…”

“…The mallee worm-lizard has been most commonly observed from dunes comprising red sands in semiarid mallee shrublands (Driscoll 2004;Val et al 2012;Roshier et al 2020), but also pale coastal sands at the western edge of its range, in Western Australia (Wilson and Swan 2021). Its fossorial habit (Cogger 2000) may explain why it occurs mainly on loose sandy soils where it has been found in and around ant and termite tunnels (Greer 1989).…”

“…Diverse methods are used to sample reptiles (Garden et al 2007;Thompson and Thompson 2007;Welbourne et al 2015), but relatively little is known about optimal sampling techniques for most species, including pygopodids. Pitfall traps have been the most commonly used method for detecting the mallee worm-lizard (Mather 1979;Menkhorst 1982;Woinarski 1989;Driscoll and Henderson 2008;Val et al 2012). Generally, common detection methods for reptiles (Bower et al 2022) include pitfall traps consisting of pipes or buckets (Shine and Blomberg 2006;Waudby et al 2019), funnel traps (Thompson and Thompson 2007), cage or aluminium-box style traps (e.g.…”

“…2015), but relatively little is known about optimal sampling techniques for most species, including pygopodids. Pitfall traps have been the most commonly used method for detecting the mallee worm-lizard (Mather 1979; Menkhorst 1982; Woinarski 1989; Driscoll and Henderson 2008; Val et al . 2012).…”