The disappearing mammal fauna of northern Australia: Context, cause, and response

Conservation Letters

Volumn 4, Issue 3, 2011, Pages 192-201

  Woinarski, John C Z ^a,b   Legge, Sarah ^b,c,d   Fitzsimons, James A ^e,f   Traill, Barry J ^g   Burbidge, Andrew A ^a,h   Fisher, Alaric ^a,b   Firth, Ron S C ^b,i   Gordon, Iain J ^j   Griffiths, Anthony D ^a   Johnson, Christopher N ^k   McKenzie, Norm L ^h   Palmer, Carol ^a   Radford, Ian ^h   Rankmore, Brooke ^b   Ritchie, Euan G ^f   Ward, Simon ^a   Ziembicki, Mark ^a,l  

^a The Arts and Sport ^*  (Australia)

^b CHARLES DARWIN UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

^c AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE CONSERVANCY   (Australia)

^d AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

^e THE NATURE CONSERVANCY   (United States)

^f DEAKIN UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

^g Pew Environment Group   (Australia)

^h DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION   (Australia)

ⁱ ENVIRON Australia Pty Ltd   (Australia)

^j SCOTTISH CROP RESEARCH INSTITUTE   (United Kingdom)

^k UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA   (Australia)

^l JAMES COOK UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

more..

Author keywords

Cats; Extinction processes; Fire; Grazing; Mammals; Protected areas

Indexed keywords

ANURA; BUFO MARINUS; MAMMALIA;

EID: 79960724950     PISSN: None     EISSN: 1755263X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-263X.2011.00164.x     Document Type: Article

References (93)

1. Abbott, I. (2002) Origin and spread of the cat, Felis catus, on mainland Australia, with a discussion of the magnitude of its early impact on native fauna. Wildl Res 29, 51-74.
2. Abbott, I. (2006) Mammalian faunal collapse in Western Australia, 1875-1925: the hypothesised role of epizootic disease and the conceptual model of its origin, introduction, transmission and spread. Aust Zool 33, 530-561.
3. Atchison, J. (2009) Human impacts on Persoonia falcata. Perspectives on post-contact vegetation change in the Keep River region, Australia, from contemporary vegetation surveys. Veget Hist Archaeobot 18, 147-157.
4. Atchison, J., Head L., Fullagar R. (2005) Archaeobotany of fruit seed processing in a monsoon savanna environment: evidence from the Keep River region, Northern Territory, Australia. J Archaeol Sci 32, 167-181.
5. Baillie, J. (1996) Analysis. Pages 24-41 in J. Baillie & B. Roombridge, editors. IUCN Red List of threatened animals. IUCN, Gland.
6. Banfai, D.S., Bowman D.M.J.S. (2006) Forty years of lowland monsoon rainforest expansion in Kakadu National Park, northern Australia. Biol Conserv 131, 553-565.
7. Bowman, D.M.J.S., Price O., Whitehead P.J., Walsh A. (2001) The 'wilderness effect' and the decline of Callitris intratropica on the Arnhem Land Plateau, Northern Australia. Aust J Bot 49, 665-672.
8. Bradshaw, C.J.A., Field I.C., Bowman D.M.J.S., Haynes C., Brook B.W. (2007) Current and future threats from non-indigenous animal species in northern Australia: a spotlight on World Heritage Area Kakadu National Park. Wildl Res 34, 419-436.
9. Braithwaite, R.W., Griffiths A. (1994) Demographic variation and range contraction in the northern quoll Dasyurus hallucatus (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae). Wildl Res 21, 203-217.
10. Brashares, J.S. (2010) Filtering wildlife. Science 329, 402-403.
11. Brook, B.W. (2008) Synergies between climate change, extinctions and invasive vertebrates. Wildl Res 35, 249-252.
12. Brook, B.W., Sodhi N.S., Bradshaw C.J.A. (2008) Synergies among extinction drivers under global change. Trends Ecol Evol 23, 453-460.
13. Burbidge, A.A., Johnson K.A., Fuller P.F., Southgate R.I. (1988) Aboriginal knowledge of mammals of the central deserts of Australia. Aust Wildl Res 15, 9-39.
14. Burbidge, A.A., McKenzie N.L. (1989) Patterns in the modern decline of Western Australia's vertebrate fauna: causes and conservation implications. Biol Conserv 50, 143-198.
15. Burbidge, A.A., McKenzie N.L., Brennan K.E.C. et al. (2008) Conservation status and biogeography of Australia's terrestrial mammals. Aust J Zool 56, 411-422.
16. Calaby, J.H. (1973) Mammals. In Alligator Rivers region environmental fact-finding study. CSIRO Division of Wildlife Research, Canberra.
17. Cardillo, M., Bromham L. (2001) Body size and risk of extinction in Australian mammals. Conserv Biol 15, 1435-1440.
18. Cardillo, M., Purvis A., Sechrest W., Gittleman J.L., Bielby J., Mace G.M. (2004) Human population density and extinction risk in the world's carnivores. PLoS Biol 2, 909-914.
19. Cardillo, M., Mace G.M., Gittleman J.L., Purvis A. (2006) Latent extinction risk and the future battlegrounds of mammal conservation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103, 4157-4161.
20. Chisholm, R., Taylor R. (2007) Null-hypothesis significance testing and the critical weight range for Australian mammals. Conserv Biol 21, 1641-1645.
21. Dahl, K. (1897) Biological notes on north-Australian mammalia. Zoologist, Series 4, 1, 189-216.
22. Davidson, A.D., Hamilton M.J., Boyer A.G., Brown J.H., Ceballos G. (2009) Multiple ecological pathways to extinction in mammals. Proc Natl Acad Sci 106, 10702-10705.
23. Dickman, C.R., Leung L.K.-P., Van Dyck S.M. (2000) Status, ecological attributes and conservation of native rodents in Queensland. Wildl Res 27, 333-346.
24. Doody, J.S., Green B., Rhind D., Castellano R., Simms R., Robinson T. (2009) Population-level declines in Australian predators caused by an invasive species. Anim Conserv 12, 46-53.
25. Edwards, A., Kennett R., Price O., Russell-Smith J., Spiers G., Woinarski J.C.Z. (2003) Monitoring the impacts of fire regimes on biodiversity in northern Australia: an example from Kakadu National Park. Int J Wildland Fire 12, 427-440.
26. Finlayson H.H. (1945) The Red Centre - Man and Beast in the Heart of Australia. Angus and Robertson, Sydney.
27. Finlayson, H.H. (1961) On central Australian mammals, Part IV. The distribution and status of central Australian species. Rec South Aust Mus 41, 141-191.
28. Firth, R.S.C., Woinarski J.C.Z., Brennan K.G., Hempel C. (2006a) Environmental relationships of the brush-tailed rabbit-rat Conilurus penicillatus and other small mammals on the Tiwi Islands, northern Australia. J Biogeog 33, 1820-1837.
29. Firth, R.S.C., Woinarski J.C.Z., Noske R.A. (2006b) Home range and den characteristics of the brush-tailed rabbit-rat (Conilurus penicillatus) in the monsoonal tropics of the Northern Territory, Australia. Wildl Res 33, 397-407.
30. Firth, R.S.C., Brook B.W., Woinarski J.C.Z., Fordham D.A. (2010) Decline and likely extinction of a northern Australian native rodent, the Brush-tailed Rabbit-rat Conilurus penicillatus. Biol Conserv 143, 1193-1201.
31. Fitzsimons, J., Legge S., Traill B., Woinarski J. (2010) Into Oblivion? The disappearing native mammals of Northern Australia. The Nature Conservancy, Melbourne.
32. Franklin, D.C. (1999) Evidence of disarray amongst granivorous bird assemblages in the savannas of northern Australia, a region of sparse human settlement. Biol Conserv 90, 53-68.
33. Franklin, D.C., Whitehead P.J., Pardon G., Matthews J., McMahon P., McIntyre D. (2005) Geographic patterns and correlates of the decline of granivorous birds in northern Australia. Wildl Res 32, 399-408.
34. Friend, G.R. (1987) Population ecology of Mesembriomys gouldii (Rodentia: Muridae) in the wet-dry tropics of the Northern Territory. Aust Wildl Res 12, 151-162.
35. Friend, G.R., Taylor J.A. (1985) Habitat preferences of small mammals in tropical open-forest of the Northern Territory. Aust J Ecol 10, 173-185.
36. Garnett, S.T., Woinarski J.C.Z., Crowley G.M., Kutt A.S. (2010) Biodiversity conservation in Australian tropical rangelands. Pages 189-234 in J. du Toit, R. Kock, J. Deutsch, editors.Wild Rangelands: conserving wildlife while maintaining livestock in semi-arid ecosystems. Blackwell, London.
37. Gilligan, B. (2006) The Indigenous protected area programme-2006 evaluation. Department of the Environment and Heritage, Canberra.
38. Gurevitch, J., Padilla D. K. (2004) Are invasive species a major cause of extinctions? Trends Ecol Evol 19, 470-474.
39. Johnson, C. (2006) Australia's Mammal Extinctions: a 50,000 year history. Cambridge University Press, Melbourne.
40. Johnson, C.N., Isaac J.L. (2009) Body mass and extinction risk in Australian marsupials: the 'critical weight range' revisited. Aust Ecol 34, 35-40.
41. Johnson C.N., Isaac J.L., Fisher D.O. (2007) Rarity of a top predator triggers continent-wide collapse of mammal prey: dingoes and marsupials in Australia. Proc Roy Soc B 274, 341-346.
42. Johnson, K.A., Southgate R.I. (1990) Present and former status of bandicoots in the Northern Territory. Pages 85-92 in J.H. Seebeck, P.R. Brown, R.I. Wallis, C.M. Kemper, editors. Bandicoots and Bilbies. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Sydney.
43. Jones, J.M., Bardbarriya D., Raymond E. et al. (2010) Jaminjung, Ngaliwurru and Nungali Plants and Animals: Aboriginal knowledge of flora and fauna from the Bradshaw, Gregory National Park and Timber Creek Area, North Australia. Northern Territory Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport, Darwin.
44. Karanth, K.K., Nichols J.D., Karanth K.U., Hines J.E., Christensen Jr N.L. (2010) The shrinking ark: patterns of large mammal extinctions in India. Proc Roy Soc B 277, 1971-1979.
45. Kerle, J.A. (1985) Habitat preference and diet of the northern brushtail possum Trichosurus vulpecula in the Alligator Rivers region, N.T. Proc Ecol Soc Aust 13, 161-176.
46. Kinnear, J.E., Sumner N.R., Onus M.L. (2002) The red fox in Australia: an exotic predator turned biocontrol agent. Biol Conserv 108, 335-359.
47. Kitchener, D.J. (1978) Mammals of the Ord River area, Kimberley, Western Australia. Rec Western Aust Mus 6, 189-217.
48. Kutt, A.S., Bolitho E.E., Retallick R.W.R., Kemp J.E. (2005) Pattern and change in the terrestrial vertebrate fauna of the Pennefather River, Gulf of Carpentaria, Cape York Peninsula. Pages 261-300 in Gulf of Carpentaria Scientific Study Report. Geography Monograph Series No. 10, Royal Geographical Society of Queensland Inc., Brisbane.
49. Legge, S., Kennedy M., Lloyd R., Murphy S., Fisher A. (in press) Rapid recovery of mammal fauna in the central Kimberley, northern Australia, following the removal of introduced herbivores. Austral Ecol.
50. Legge, S., Murphy S., Heathcote J., Flaxman E., Augusteyn J., Crossman M. (2008) The short-term effects of an extensive and high-intensity fire on vertebrates in the tropical savannas of the central Kimberley, northern Australia. Wildl Res 35, 33-43.
51. Liu, J., Linderman M., Ouyang Z., An L., Yang J., Zhang H. (2001) Ecological degradation in protected areas: the case of Wolong Nature Reserve for giant pandas. Science 292, 98-101.
52. McKenzie, N.L. (1981) Mammals of the Phanerozoic south-west Kimberley, Western Australia: biogeography and recent changes. J Biogeog 8, 263-280.
53. McKenzie, N.L., Burbidge A.A., Baynes A. et al. (2007) Analysis of factors implicated in the recent decline of Australia's mammal fauna. J Biogeog 34, 597-611.
54. McKibben, B. (2006) The End of Nature. Random House, New York.
55. Morton, S.R. (1990) The impact of European settlement on the vertebrate animals of arid Australia: a conceptual model. Proc Ecol Soc Aust 16, 210-213.
56. Oakwood M. (2000) Reproduction and demography of the northern quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus, in the lowland savanna of northern Australia. Aust J Zool 48, 519-539.
57. O'Donnell, S., Webb J.K., Shine R. (2010) Conditioned taste aversion enhances the survival of an endangered predator imperiled by a toxic invader. J Appl Ecol 47, 558-565.
58. Pardon, L.G., Brook B.W., Griffiths A.D., Braithwaite R.W. (2003) Determinants of survival for the northern brown bandicoot under a landscape-scale fire experiment. J Anim Ecol 72, 106-115.
59. Parr, C.L., Woinarski J.C.Z., Pienaar D.J. (2009) Cornerstones of biodiversity conservation? Comparing the management effectiveness of Kruger and Kakadu National Parks, two key savanna reserves. Biod Conserv 18, 3643-3662.
60. Phillips, B.L., Chipperfiled J.D., Kearney M.R. (2008) The toad ahead: challenges of modeling the range and spread of an invasive species. Wildl Res 35, 222-234.
61. Preece, N., Harvey K., Hempel C., Woinarski J.C.Z. (2010) Uneven distribution of weeds along extensive transects in Australia's Northern Territory points to management solutions. Ecol Man Rest 11, 127-134.
62. Price, O., Edwards A., Connors G. et al. (2005) Fire heterogeneity in Kakadu National Park, 1980-2000. Wildlife Research 32, 425-433.
63. Redford, K.H. (1992) The empty forest. BioScience 42, 412-422.
64. Ricciardi, A. (2004) Assessing species invasions as a cause of extinction. Trends Ecol Evol 19, 619.
65. Ritchie, E.G., Johnson C.N. (2009) Predator interactions, mesopredator release and biodiversity conservation. Ecol Letters 12, 982-998.
66. Rodrigues, A.S.L. (2006) Are global conservation efforts successful? Science 313, 1051-1052.
67. Rossiter, N.A., Setterfield S.A., Douglas M.M., Hutley L.B. (2003) Testing the grass-fire cycle: alien grass invasion in the tropical savannas of northern Australia. Diversity Distrib 9, 169-176.
68. Russell-Smith, J., Whitehead P.J., Cooke P. editors. (2009) Culture, ecology and economy of fire management in Northern Australia: rekindling the Wurrk Tradition. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
69. Short, J., Smith A. (1994) Mammal decline and recovery in Australia. J Mammal 75, 288-297.
70. Smith, A.P., Quin D.G. (1996) Patterns and causes of extinction and decline in Australian conilurine rodents. Biol Conserv 77, 243-267.
71. Smith, A., Clark P., Averis S. et al. (2008) Trypanosomes in a declining species of threatened Australian marsupial, the brush-tailed bettong Bettongia penicillata (Marsupialia: Potoridae). Parasitology 135, 1329-1335.
72. Sodhi, N.S., Koh L.P., Brook B.W., Ng P.K.L. (2004) Southeast Asian biodiversity: the impending disaster. Trends Ecol Evol 19, 654-660.
73. Southgate, R., Palmer C., Adams M., Masters P., Triggs B., Woinarski J. (1996) Population and habitat characteristics of the Golden Bandicoot (Isoodon auratus) on Marchinbar Island, Northern Territory. Wildl Res 23, 647-664.
74. Start, A.N., Burbidge A.A., McKenzie N.L., Palmer C. (2007) The status of mammals in the North Kimberley, Western Australia. Aust Mammal 2, 1-16.
75. Vigilante, T., Bowman D.M.J.S. (2004a) Effects of fire history on the structure and floristic composition of woody vegetation around Kalumburu, North Kimberley, Australia: a landscape-scale natural experiment. Aust J Bot 52, 381-404.
76. Vigilante, T., Bowman D.M.J.S. (2004b) Effects of individual fire events on the flower production of fruit-bearing tree species, with reference to aboriginal people's management and use, at Kalumburu, North Kimberley, Australia. Aust J Bot 52, 405-415.
77. Vigilante, T., Bowman D.M.J.S., Fisher R., Russell-Smith J., Yates C. (2004) Contemporary landscape burning patterns in the far north Kimberley region of north-west Australia: human influences and environmental determinants. J Biogeogr 31, 1317-1333.
78. Widijburru, B., Harrington D., Balwanjer R. et al. (2010) Ngarinyman plants and animals. Aboriginal knowledge of flora and fauna from Judburra/Gregory National Park and the Victoria River District area, northern Australia. Northern Territory Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport, Darwin.
79. Wilcove, D.S., Rothstein D., Dubow J., Phillips A., Losos E. (1998) Quantifying threats to imperiled species in the United States: assessing the relative importance of habitat destruction, pollution, overexploitation, and disease. BioScience 48, 607-615.
80. Williams, R.J., Muller W.J., Wahren C-H., Setterfield S.A., Cusack J. (2003) Vegetation Pages 79-106 in A.N. Andersen, G.D. Cook, RJ Williams, editors. Fire in tropical savannas. The Kapalga experiment. Springer-Verlag, New York.
81. Winter, J.W, Allison F.R. (1980) The native mammals of Cape York Peninsula: changes in status since the 1948 Archbold Expedition. Pages 31-47 in N.C. Stevens, A. Bailey, editors. Contemporary Cape York. Royal Society of Queensland, Brisbane.
82. Woinarski, J.C.Z. (2000) The conservation status of rodents in the monsoonal tropics of the Northern Territory. Wildl Res 27, 421-435.
83. Woinarski, J.C.Z. (2004) In a land with few possums, even the common are rare: ecology, conservation and management of possums in the Northern Territory. Pages 51-62 in R. Goldingay, S. Jackson, editors. The biology of Australian possums and gliding possums. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Sydney.
84. Woinarski, J.C.Z. (2005) A difficult and destructive metamorphosis: conservation and land management in the Northern Territory in the 1950s. Pages 33-55 in J.T. Wells, M. Dewar, S. Parry, editors. Modern Frontier: aspects of the 1950s in Australia's Northern Territory. Charles Darwin University Press, Darwin.
85. Woinarski, J.C.Z., Ash A.J. (2002) Responses of vertebrates to pastoralism, military land use and landscape position in an Australian tropical savanna. Aust Ecol 27, 311-323.
86. Woinarski, J.C.Z., Palmer C., Fisher A., Southgate R., Masters P., Brennan K. (1999a) Distributional patterning of mammals on the Wessel and English Company islands, Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. Aust J Zool 47, 87-111.
87. Woinarski, J.C.Z., Brock C., Fisher A., Milne D., Oliver B. (1999b) Response of birds and reptiles to fire regimes on pastoral land in the Victoria River District, Northern Territory. Rangel J 21, 24-38.
88. Woinarski, J.C.Z., Milne D.J., Wanganeen G. (2001) Changes in mammal populations in relatively intact landscapes of Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia. Austral Ecol 26, 360-370.
89. Woinarski, J.C.Z., Armstrong M., Price O., McCartney J., Griffiths, T., Fisher A. (2004a) The terrestrial vertebrate fauna of Litchfield National Park, Northern Territory: monitoring over a 6-year period, and response to fire history. Wildl Res 31, 1-10.
90. Woinarski, J.C.Z., Risler J., Kean L. (2004b) The response of vegetation and vertebrate fauna to 23 years of fire exclusion in a tropical Eucalyptus open forest, Northern Territory, Australia. Aust Ecol 29, 156-176.
91. Woinarski, J.C.Z., Mackey B., Nix H., Traill B. (2007) The Nature of Northern Australia: natural values, ecological processes and future prospects. ANU e-press, Canberra.
92. Woinarski, J.C.Z., Armstrong M., Brennan K. et al. (2010) Monitoring indicates rapid and severe decline of native small mammals in Kakadu National Park, northern Australia. Wildl Res 37, 116-126.
93. Wyatt, K.B., Campos P.F., Gilbert M.T.P. et al. (2008) Historic mammal extinction on Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) correlates with introduced infectious disease. PLoS ONE 3(11), e3602.