Terrestrial arthropods in a fragmented landscape: a review of ecological research in the Western Australian central wheatbelt

Abstract

In 1985, CSIRO's Wildlife and Ecology established ''The Kelierberrin Project on Fragmented Landscapes", a study to investigate the role of remnant vegetation in sustaining the native biota in Western Australia's central wheatbelt. This paper reviews findings, and other relevant research within the wheatbelt region, with regard to the terrestrial arthropod fauna. We examine critical issues for faunal persistence with regard to disturbance effects on the biota (habitat fragmentation effects of remnant size and spatial isolation (connectivity), livestock and associated exotic weed invasion, altered fire regimes, changes in hydrology, and recolonization of restored habitat), indicators of arthropod species richness at the individual remnant scale, and endemism and taxonomic richness. We provide management recommendations for the conservation of terrestrial arthropods in the Western Australian central wheatbelt and suggest priority research.