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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 46(2)

Not so fussy after all: Shark Bay mouse (Pseudomys gouldii) recorded using a range of habitat types on Faure Island

Bryony Joan Palmer https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8826-9121 A * , Saul Jesse Cowen https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1045-5637 B C and Amanda Ruth Bourne https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6078-0676 A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Chidlow, WA 6556, Australia.

B Department of Biodiversity, Conservations and Attractions, Woodvale, WA 6026, Australia.

C School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.

* Correspondence to: bryony.palmer@australianwildlife.org

Handling Editor: Ross Goldingay

Australian Mammalogy 46, AM23038 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM23038
Submitted: 1 August 2023  Accepted: 10 December 2023  Published: 9 January 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Australian Mammal Society.

Abstract

The Shark Bay mouse (SBM; Pseudomys gouldii) was once widespread across south and central Australia. Following European colonisation, SBM declined catastrophically and the only surviving natural population is found on Bernier Island. Several reintroductions of SBM have been attempted but, to date, populations have successfully established on just two Western Australian islands, Faure Island in Shark Bay and North West Island in the Montebello Archipelago. A lack of suitable habitat, particularly dense stands of coastal spinifex (Spinifex longifolius), is thought to have contributed to the failure of the species to establish at some sites. We analysed records of SBM on Faure Island from 2005 to 2023 to assess patterns of detection in different habitat types, including coastal spinifex. SBM were detected in all studied habitat types on Faure Island, suggesting that coastal spinifex may not be essential for the successful reintroduction of the species. Understanding habitat use by SBM on Faure Island may help to inform the selection of future reintroduction sites and the development of future release strategies. This is particularly important in the context of reintroductions to locations within the species’ historical range where coastal spinifex does not occur.

Keywords: conservation planning, Faure Island, habitat use, Pseudomys fieldi, Pseudomys gouldii, reintroduction, Shark Bay mouse, translocation.

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