North Kimberley Mammals – on the fringe of the high-rainfall zone
Jeff Turpin
+ Author Affiliations
Australian Mammalogy 37(2) 132-145 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM14008
Submitted: 21 April 2014 Accepted: 10 February 2015 Published: 5 June 2015
Abstract
Six areas were surveyed for terrestrial fauna during remote hiking expeditions in the Kimberley during 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014. A total of 19 mammal species were recorded, comprising one introduced and 18 native taxa. Significant populations of the northern quoll, monjon, golden-backed tree-rat and scaly-tailed possum were recorded, including from areas where the species were previously unknown. Fractured, rocky terrain in association with rainforest appears to provide important habitat for these species. The use of motion-sensitive cameras, particularly in areas where foraging signs are evident (tracks, diggings, feeding middens, scats) is shown to be a successful and complementary survey technique in detecting critical-weight-range species in the north Kimberley. Such taxa appear to persist in the far north Kimberley in the absence of several threatening processes attributable to large-scale mammal decline across northern Australia.
Additional keywords: conservation, habitat preference, population distribution, threatened species.
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