Termitaria are an important refuge for reptiles in the Pilbara of Western Australia
Graham G. Thompson and Scott A. Thompson
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
Terrestrial Ecosystems, 10 Houston Place, Mt Claremont, WA 6010, Australia. Email: graham@terrestrialecosystems.com; scott@terrestrialecosystems.com
Pacific Conservation Biology 21(3) 226-233 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC14921
Submitted: 28 December 2014 Accepted: 30 June 2015 Published: 24 July 2015
Abstract
In all, 154 of 158 above-ground termitaria deconstructed in the Pilbara of Western Australia contained at least one vertebrate, and there was a mean of 30.4 (s.e. = 2.03) vertebrates and 4.5 (s.e. = 0.17) species in each mound. There was a significant difference in the relative abundance of species found in the termitaria and the 64 species found in the adjacent area. Termitaria were mostly occupied by eight species: Gehyra pilbara (66.3% of captures), Heteronotia binoei (13.7% of captures), Furina ornata (6.9%), Antaresia stimsoni (3.3%), Cyclorana maini (3.0%), Gehyra variegata (1.5%), Suta punctata (1.3%) and Planigale sp. (0.9%). It is likely that F. ornata, A. stimsoni and S. punctata used termitaria as a diurnal refuge and also prey upon reptiles living in the mound. If other termitaria in the Pilbara support a similarly high number of vertebrates, then these mounds provide an environmentally significant microhabitat and vertebrate fauna inhabiting the mounds should be captured and relocated before the termitaria are cleared or isolated as a result of development.
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