Status of warru (Petrogale lateralis MacDonnell Ranges race) in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands of South Australia. 1. Distribution and decline
Matthew J. Ward A D , Roman Urban A , John L. Read B , Anika Dent C , Thalie Partridge C , Amber Clarke A and Jason van Weenen A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Environment and Natural Resources, GPO Box 1047, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
B School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.
C Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Management, PMB 227, Umuwa via Alice Springs, NT 0872, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: matthew.ward@sa.gov.au
Australian Mammalogy 33(2) 135-141 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM10047
Submitted: 26 November 2010 Accepted: 19 February 2011 Published: 12 September 2011
Abstract
Surveys for warru (Petrogale lateralis MacDonnell Ranges race) were conducted in targeted areas of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in order to clarify the distribution and status of the taxon in South Australia. Presence was determined by animal sightings or fresh scats. The study identified extant warru sites adjacent to known colonies in the Musgrave and Tomkinson Ranges, indicating that, in both locations, warru probably occur as larger metapopulations. The study highlighted that warru has disappeared from 93% of its former range across South Australia, and from 88% of its stronghold in the APY Lands. Accounting for recent information on population dynamics, this study has confirmed that warru are ‘Endangered’ in South Australia, and a more thorough assessment of the race’s current national distribution and status is required.
Additional keywords: area of occupancy, black-footed rock-wallaby, extent of occurrence.
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