Den selection and movement patterns in a tropical savanna population of the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus)

Gavin J. Trewella; Teigan Cremona; Brett P. Murphy

doi:10.1071/WR24013

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Previous Next Contents Vol 51(12)

Den selection and movement patterns in a tropical savanna population of the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus)

Gavin J. Trewella

^A ^* , Teigan Cremona ^A and Brett P. Murphy

^A

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: trewellaecology@gmail.com

Handling Editor: Thomas Newsome

Wildlife Research 51, WR24013 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR24013

Submitted: 20 January 2024 Accepted: 5 November 2024 Published: 28 November 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

Small mammals are undergoing significant declines across the tropical savannas of northern Australia despite a lack of widespread land clearing. The causes of these declines remain unresolved, but a growing body of evidence suggests that the structural simplification of savannas, namely the degradation of under- and overstorey vegetation by frequent fires and high densities of exotic megaherbivores, is likely to be a significant contributing factor.

Aim

We sought to investigate how declining mammals use critical denning resources in high-biomass mesic savannas to help explain drivers of mammal decline in more open and less mesic areas and inform management priorities.

Methods

We fitted VHF/GPS collars to nine northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus), an Endangered scansorial predatory mammal, from a remnant population located on bauxite plateaus on Cape York Peninsula, Australia, to monitor their nocturnal movement patterns and den use over 1 month.

Key results

During this period, northern quolls exclusively denned in trees (either standing hollow trees or fallen logs). The most frequently used den trees tended to be larger, with pronounced trunk leans and multiple hollow entrances from 5 to 20 cm in diameter, whereas the most frequently used den logs tended to be longer and had more hollow entrances from 10 to 20 cm in diameter. All home ranges were confined to the high-biomass savanna habitat found on the bauxite plateaus, with males having a mean home range almost double the size of the mean female home range.

Conclusions

The reliance of this population of northern quolls on large hollow-bearing trees for shelter may explain the regional contraction of the northern quoll to high-biomass mesic savannas with an abundance of large trees.

Implications

These high-biomass savanna habitats, such as the bauxite plateaus found on the Cape York Peninsula, are likely to be critical for the persistence of the northern quoll, and should be appropriately protected, through management of fire and avoidance of clearing and logging.

Keywords: bauxite, Dasyuridae, fire management, mammal decline, nocturnal, telemetry, threatened species, tree hollows.

References

Andersen AN, Woinarski JCZ, Parr CL (2012) Savanna burning for biodiversity: fire management for faunal conservation in Australian tropical savannas. Austral Ecology 37, 658-667.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Australian Bureau of Meteorology (2024) Average annual, seasonal and monthly rainfall. Available at http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/index.shtml [Accessed 20 January 2024]

Barton RA, Whiten A, Strum SC, Byrne RW, Simpson AJ (1992) Habitat use and resource availability in baboons. Animal Behaviour 43, 831-844.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Berry LE, L’ Hotellier FA, Carter A, Kemp L, Kavanagh RP, Roshier DA (2019) Patterns of habitat use by three threatened mammals 10 years after reintroduction into a fenced reserve free of introduced predators. Biological Conservation 230, 1-9.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Bradshaw CJA (2012) Little left to lose: deforestation and forest degradation in Australia since European colonization. Journal of Plant Ecology 5, 109-120.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Braithwaite RW, Griffiths AD (1994) Demographic variation and range contraction in the northern quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus (MArsupialia: Dasyuridae). Wildlife Research 21, 203-217.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Burnham KP, Anderson DR (Eds) (2002) ‘Model selection and multimodel inference: a practical information-theoretic approach.’ (Springer: New York, NY, USA)

Cameron GN, Spencer SR (1985) Assessment of space-use patterns in the hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus). Oecologia 68, 133-139.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Charters JE, Heiniger J, Clemente CJ, Cameron SF, Amir Abdul Nasir AF, Niehaus AC, Wilson RS (2018) Multidimensional analyses of physical performance reveal a size-dependent trade-off between suites of traits. Functional Ecology 32, 1541-1553.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Clemente CJ, Dick TJM, Wheatley R, Gaschk J, Nasir AFAA, Cameron SF, Wilson RS (2019) Moving in complex environments: a biomechanical analysis of locomotion on inclined and narrow substrates. Journal of Experimental Biology 222, jeb189654.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Connor SE, Schneider L, Trezise J, Rule S, Barrett RL, Zawadzki A, Haberle SG (2018) Forgotten impacts of European land-use on riparian and savanna vegetation in northwest Australia. Journal of Vegetation Science 29, 427-437.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Cook A (2010) Habitat use and home-range of the northern quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus: effects of fire. Masters thesis, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.

Cowan M, Moro D, Anderson H, Angus J, Garretson S, Morris K (2020a) Aerial baiting for feral cats is unlikely to affect survivorship of northern quolls in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Wildlife Research 47, 589-598.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Cowan MA, Dunlop JA, Turner JM, Moore HA, Nimmo DG (2020b) Artificial refuges to combat habitat loss for an endangered marsupial predator: how do they measure up? Conservation Science and Practice 2(6), e204.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Cremona T (2015) Conservation ecology and trophic interactions of the northern quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus. PhD Thesis, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Cremona T, Crowther MS, Webb JK (2017) High mortality and small population size prevent population recovery of a reintroduced mesopredator. Animal Conservation 20, 555-563.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Davies HF, McCarthy MA, Firth RSC, Woinarski JCZ, Gillespie GR, Andersen AN, Rioli W, Puruntatameri J, Roberts W, Kerinaiua C, Kerinauia V, Womatakimi KB, Murphy BP (2018) Declining populations in one of the last refuges for threatened mammal species in northern Australia. Austral Ecology 43, 602-612.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Doherty TS, Dickman CR, Johnson CN, Legge SM, Ritchie EG, Woinarski JCZ (2017) Impacts and management of feral cats Felis catus in Australia. Mammal Review 47, 83-97.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Doody JS, McHenry C, Rhind D, Gray C, Clulow S (2021) Impacts of invasive cane toads on an endangered marsupial predator and its prey. Endangered Species Research 46, 269-277.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Fisher DO, Dickman CR, Jones ME, Blomberg SP (2013) Sperm competition drives the evolution of suicidal reproduction in mammals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110, 17910-17914.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Fisher R, Lewis B, Price O, Pickford A (2022) Barriers to fire spread in northern Australian tropical savannas, deriving fire edge metrics from long term high-frequency fire histories. Journal of Environmental Management 301, 113864.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Frank ASK, Johnson CN, Potts JM, Fisher A, Lawes MJ, Woinarski JCZ, Tuft K, Radford IJ, Gordon IJ, Collis M-A, Legge S, Frid C (2014) Experimental evidence that feral cats cause local extirpation of small mammals in Australia’s tropical savannas. Journal of Applied Ecology 51, 1486-1493.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Franklin JF, Van Pelt R (2004) Spatial aspects of structural complexity in old-growth forests. Journal of Forestry 102, 22-28.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Freeland WJ (1990) Large herbivorous mammals: Exotic species in northern Australia. Journal of Biogeography 17, 445-449.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Gaschk JL, Del Simone K, Wilson RS, Clemente CJ (2023) Resting disparity in quoll semelparity: examining the sex-linked behaviours of wild roaming northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus) during breeding season. Royal Society Open Science 10, 221180.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Gelman A (2008) Scaling regression inputs by dividing by two standard deviations. Statistics in Medicine 27, 2865-2873.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Geyle HM, Woolley L-A, Davies HF, Woinarski JCZ, Murphy BP (2020) Targeted sampling successfully detects the cryptic and declining arboreal marsupial (Phascogale pirata) in northern Australia. Pacific Conservation Biology 26, 395-403.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Gibbons P, Lindenmayer DB (Eds) (2002) ‘Tree hollows and wildlife conservation in Australia.’ (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne, Vic, Australia)

Goldingay RL (2011) Characteristics of tree hollows used by Australian arboreal and scansorial mammals. Australian Journal of Zoology 59, 277-294.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Gorini L, Linnell JDC, May R, Panzacchi M, Boitani L, Odden M, Nilsen EB (2012) Habitat heterogeneity and mammalian predator–prey interactions. Mammal Review 42, 55-77.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Heiniger J, Cameron SF, Madsen T, Niehaus AC, Wilson RS (2020a) Demography and spatial requirements of the endangered northern quoll on Groote Eylandt. Wildlife Research 47, 224-238.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Heiniger J, Davies HF, Gillespie GR (2020b) Status of mammals on Groote Eylandt: safe haven or slow burn? Austral Ecology 45, 759-772.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Henderson K, Pantinople J, McCabe K, Richards HL, Milne N (2017) Forelimb bone curvature in terrestrial and arboreal mammals. PeerJ 5, e3229.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Hernandez-Santin L, Goldizen AW, Fisher DO (2016) Introduced predators and habitat structure influence range contraction of an endangered native predator, the northern quoll. Biological Conservation 203, 160-167.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Hernandez-Santin L, Dunlop JA, Goldizen AW, Fisher DO (2019) Demography of the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) in the most arid part of its range. Journal of Mammalogy 100, 1191-1198.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Hernandez-Santin L, Henderson M, Molloy SW, Dunlop JA, Davis RA (2020) Spatial ecology of an endangered carnivore, the Pilbara northern quoll. Australian Mammalogy 43, 235-242.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Hernandez-Santin L, Goldizen AW, Fisher DO (2022) Northern quolls in the Pilbara persist in high-quality habitat, despite a decline trajectory consistent with range eclipse by feral cats. Conservation Science and Practice 4, e12733.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Hohnen R, Tuft K, McGregor HW, Legge S, Radford IJ, Johnson CN (2016) Occupancy of the invasive feral cat varies with habitat complexity. PLoS ONE 11, e0152520.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Horne JS, Garton EO, Rachlow JL (2008) A synoptic model of animal space use: simultaneous estimation of home range, habitat selection, and inter/intra-specific relationships. Ecological Modelling 214, 338-348.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Incoll RD, Loyn RH, Ward SJ, Cunningham RB, Donnelly CF (2001) The occurrence of gliding possums in old-growth forest patches of mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) in the central highlands of victoria. Biological Conservation 98, 77-88.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Isaac JL, De Gabriel JL, Goodman BA (2008) Microclimate of daytime den sites in a tropical possum: implications for the conservation of tropical arboreal marsupials. Animal Conservation 11, 281-287.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

King DR (1989) An assessment of the hazard posed to northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus) by aerial baiting with 1080 to control dingoes. Wildlife Research 16, 569-574.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Kutt AS, Woinarski JCZ (2007) The effects of grazing and fire on vegetation and the vertebrate assemblage in a tropical savanna woodland in north-eastern Australia. Journal of Tropical Ecology 23, 95-106.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Kutt AS, Vanderduys EP, Ferguson D, Mathieson M (2012) Effect of small-scale woodland clearing and thinning on vertebrate fauna in a largely intact tropical savanna mosaic. Wildlife Research 39, 366-373.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Kyle G, Duncan DH (2012) Arresting the rate of land clearing: change in woody native vegetation cover in a changing agricultural landscape. Landscape and Urban Planning 106, 165-173.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Langley RB (1999) Dilution of precision. GPS World 10, 52-59.
| Google Scholar |

Leahy L, Legge SM, Tuft K, McGregor HW, Barmuta LA, Jones ME, Johnson CN (2015) Amplified predation after fire suppresses rodent populations in Australia’s tropical savannas. Wildlife Research 42, 705-716.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Legge S, Smith JG, James A, Tuft KD, Webb T, Woinarski JCZ (2019) Interactions among threats affect conservation management outcomes: livestock grazing removes the benefits of fire management for small mammals in Australian tropical savannas. Conservation Science and Practice 1, e52.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Liedloff AC, Cook GD (2007) Modelling the effects of rainfall variability and fire on tree populations in an Australian tropical savanna with the flames simulation model. Ecological Modelling 201, 269-282.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Lindenmayer DB, Incoll RD, Cunningham RB, Donnelly CF (1999) Attributes of logs on the floor of Australian mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) forests of different ages. Forest Ecology and Management 123, 195-203.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Lindenmayer DB, Cunningham RB, Donnelly CF, Franklin JF (2000) Structural features of old-growth Australian montane ash forests. Forest Ecology and Management 134, 189-204.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Lindenmayer DB, Blanchard W, Blair D, McBurney L, Banks SC (2017) Relationships between tree size and occupancy by cavity-dependent arboreal marsupials. Forest Ecology and Management 391, 221-229.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Macdonald DW, Rushton S (2003) Modelling space use and dispersal of mammals in real landscapes: a tool for conservation. Journal of Biogeography 30, 607-620.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

McElhinny C, Gibbons P, Brack C, Bauhus J (2006) Fauna-habitat relationships: a basis for identifying key stand structural attributes in temperate Australian eucalypt forests and woodlands. Pacific Conservation Biology 12, 89-110.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

McGregor HW, Legge S, Jones ME, Johnson CN (2014) Landscape management of fire and grazing regimes alters the fine-scale habitat utilisation by feral cats. PLoS ONE 9, e109097.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

McGregor H, Legge S, Jones ME, Johnson CN (2015) Feral cats are better killers in open habitats, revealed by animal-borne video. PLoS ONE 10, e0133915.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

McGregor HW, Cliff HB, Kanowski J (2016a) Habitat preference for fire scars by feral cats in Cape York Peninsula, Australia. Wildlife Research 43, 623-633.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

McGregor HW, Legge S, Jones ME, Johnson CN (2016b) Extraterritorial hunting expeditions to intense fire scars by feral cats. Scientific Reports 6, 22559.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

McKenzie NL, Burbidge AA, Baynes A, Brereton RN, Dickman CR, Gordon G, Gibson LA, Menkhorst PW, Robinson AC, Williams MR, Woinarski JCZ (2007) Analysis of factors implicated in the recent decline of Australia’s mammal fauna. Journal of Biogeography 34, 597-611.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Miritis V, Rendall AR, Doherty TS, Coetsee AL, Ritchie EG (2020) Living with the enemy: a threatened prey species coexisting with feral cats on a fox-free island. Wildlife Research 47, 633-642.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Moore HA, Dunlop JA, Valentine LE, Woinarski JCZ, Ritchie EG, Watson DM, Nimmo DG (2019) Topographic ruggedness and rainfall mediate geographic range contraction of a threatened marsupial predator. Diversity and Distributions 25, 1818-1831.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Moore HA, Dunlop JA, Jolly CJ, Kelly E, Woinarski JCZ, Ritchie EG, Burnett S, van Leeuwen S, Valentine LE, Cowan MA, Nimmo DG (2021a) A brief history of the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus): a systematic review. Australian Mammalogy 44, 185-207.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Moore HA, Michael DR, Ritchie EG, Dunlop JA, Valentine LE, Hobbs RJ, Nimmo DG (2021b) A rocky heart in a spinifex sea: occurrence of an endangered marsupial predator is multiscale dependent in naturally fragmented landscapes. Landscape Ecology 36, 1359-1376.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Moro D, Dunlop J, Williams MR (2019) Northern quoll persistence is most sensitive to survivorship of juveniles. Wildlife Research 46, 165-175.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Murphy BP, Russell-Smith J (2010) Fire severity in a northern Australian savanna landscape: the importance of time since previous fire. International Journal of Wildland Fire 19, 46-51.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

North Australian Fire Information (2023) North Australian 250m fire frequency mapping 2000 to 2022. Available at https://firenorth.org.au/nafi3/ [Accessed 20 January 2024]

Oakwood M (1997) The ecology of the northern quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus. PhD thesis, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.

Oakwood M (2000) Reproduction and demography of the northern quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus, in the lowland savanna of northern Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology 48, 519-539.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Oakwood M (2002) Spatial and social organization of a carnivorous marsupial Dasyurus hallucatus Marsupialia: Dasyuridae). Journal of Zoology 257, 237-248.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Oakwood M, Bradley AJ, Cockburn A (2001) Semelparity in a large marsupial. Proceedings: Biological Science 268, 407-411.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Oakwood M, Woinarski JCZ, Burnett S (2016) Dasyurus hallucatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016 [Online]. Available at https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T6295A21947321.en

Pavey CR, Addison J, Brandle R, Dickman CR, McDonald PJ, Moseby KE, Young LI (2017) The role of refuges in the persistence of Australian dryland mammals. Biological Reviews 92, 647-664.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Penton CE, Woolley L-A, Radford IJ, Murphy BP (2020a) Blocked-off: Termitaria cause the overestimation of tree hollow availability by ground-based surveys in northern Australia. Forest Ecology and Management 458, 117707.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Penton CE, Woolley L-A, Radford IJ, Murphy BP (2020b) Overlapping den tree selection by three declining arboreal mammal species in an Australian tropical savanna. Journal of Mammalogy 101, 1165-1176.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Penton CE, Davies HF, Radford IJ, Woolley L-A, Rangers TL, Murphy BP (2021a) A hollow argument: understory vegetation and disturbance determine abundance of hollow-dependent mammals in an Australian tropical savanna. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 9, 739550.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Penton CE, Radford IJ, Woolley L-A, von Takach B, Murphy BP (2021b) Unexpected overlapping use of tree hollows by birds, reptiles and declining mammals in an Australian tropical savanna. Biodiversity and Conservation 30, 2977-3001.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Powell RA, Mitchell MS (2012) What is a home range? Journal of Mammalogy 93, 948-958.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

R Core Team (2023) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. (R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna, Austria) Available at https://www.R-project.org/ [Accessed 20 January 2024]

Radford IJ, Dickman CR, Start AN, Palmer C, Carnes K, Everitt C, Fairman R, Graham G, Partridge T, Thomson A (2014) Mammals of Australia’s tropical savannas: a conceptual model of assemblage structure and regulatory factors in the kimberley region. PLoS ONE 9, e92341.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Radford IJ, Gibson LA, Corey B, Carnes K, Fairman R (2015) Influence of fire mosaics, habitat characteristics and cattle disturbance on mammals in fire-prone savanna landscapes of the northern Kimberley. PLoS ONE 10, e0130721.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Radford IJ, Woolley L-A, Corey B, Vigilante T, Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation, Hatherley E, Fairman R, Carnes K, Start AN (2020) Prescribed burning benefits threatened mammals in northern Australia. Biodiversity and Conservation 29, 2985-3007.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Radford IJ, Corey B, Carnes K, Shedley E, McCaw L, Woolley L-A (2021) Landscape-scale effects of fire, cats, and feral livestock on threatened savanna mammals: unburnt habitat matters more than pyrodiversity. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 9, 739817.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Remm J, Lõhmus A (2011) Tree cavities in forests – the broad distribution pattern of a keystone structure for biodiversity. Forest Ecology and Management 262, 579-585.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Ritchie EG, Johnson CN (2009) Predator interactions, mesopredator release and biodiversity conservation. Ecology Letters 12, 982-998.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Russell-Smith J (2001) Pre-contact aboriginal, and contemporary fire regimes of the savanna landscapes of northern Australia: patterns, changes and ecological responses. Ngoonjook 20, 6-32.
| Google Scholar |

Russell-Smith J, Edwards AC, Price OF (2012) Simplifying the savanna: the trajectory of fire-sensitive vegetation mosaics in northern Australia. Journal of Biogeography 39, 1303-1317.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Scotts DJ (1991) Old-growth forests: their ecological characteristics and value to forest-dependent vertebrate fauna of south-east Australia. In ‘Conservation of Australia’s forest fauna’. (Ed. D Lunney) pp. 147–160. (Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales: Sydney, NSW, Australia)

Sharp BR, Whittaker RJ (2003) The irreversible cattle-driven transformation of a seasonally flooded Australian savanna. Journal of Biogeography 30, 783-802.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Signer J, Balkenhol N (2015) Reproducible home ranges (rhr): a new, user-friendly r package for analyses of wildlife telemetry data. Wildlife Society Bulletin 39, 358-363.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Sih A (1984) The behavioral response race between predator and prey. The American Naturalist 123, 143-150.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Sikes RS, Animal Care and Use Committee of the American Society of Mammalogists (2016) Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the use of wild mammals in research and education. Journal of Mammalogy 97, 663-688.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Simberloff D, Cox J (1987) Consequences and costs of conservation corridors. Conservation Biology 1, 63-71.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

South A (1999) Extrapolating from individual movement behaviour to population spacing patterns in a ranging mammal. Ecological Modelling 117, 343-360.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Start AN, Burbidge AA, McDowell MC, McKenzie NL (2012) The status of non-volant mammals along a rainfall gradient in the south-west Kimberley, Western Australia. Australian Mammalogy 34, 36-48.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Stobo-Wilson AM, Murphy BP, Cremona T, Carthew SM (2019) Contrasting patterns of decline in two arboreal marsupials from northern Australia. Biodiversity and Conservation 28, 2951-2965.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Stobo-Wilson AM, Stokeld D, Einoder LD, Davies HF, Fisher A, Hill BM, Mahney T, Murphy BP, Scroggie MP, Stevens A, Woinarski JCZ, Bawinanga Rangers, Warddeken Rangers, Gillespie GR (2020a) Bottom-up and top-down processes influence contemporary patterns of mammal species richness in Australia’s monsoonal tropics. Biological Conservation 247, 108638.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Stobo-Wilson AM, Stokeld D, Einoder LD, Davies HF, Fisher A, Hill BM, Mahney T, Murphy BP, Stevens A, Woinarski JCZ, Bawinanga Rangers, Warddeken Rangers, Gillespie GR (2020b) Habitat structural complexity explains patterns of feral cat and dingo occurrence in monsoonal Australia. Diversity and Distributions 26, 832-842.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Stobo-Wilson AM, Murphy BP, Cremona T, Carthew SM, Levick SR, Pettorelli N, Carter A (2021) Illuminating den-tree selection by an arboreal mammal using terrestrial laser scanning in northern Australia. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation 7, 154-168.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Thomas H, Cameron SF, Campbell HA, Micheli-Campbell MA, Kirke EC, Wheatley R, Wilson RS (2021) Rocky escarpment versus savanna woodlands: comparing diet and body condition as indicators of habitat quality for the endangered northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus). Wildlife Research 48, 434-443.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Thornton DH, Branch LC, Sunquist ME (2011) The relative influence of habitat loss and fragmentation: do tropical mammals meet the temperate paradigm? Ecological Applications 21, 2324-2333.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Trewella GJ, Cremona T, Nevard H, Murphy BP (2023) Habitat structure facilitates coexistence of native and invasive mesopredators in an Australian tropical savanna. Wildlife Research 50, 1058-1070.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Tuft K, Legge S, Frank ASK, James AI, May T, Page E, Radford IJ, Woinarski JCZ, Fisher A, Lawes MJ, Gordon IJ, Johnson CN (2021) Cats are a key threatening factor to the survival of local populations of native small mammals in Australia’s tropical savannas: evidence from translocation trials with Rattus tunneyi. Wildlife Research 48, 654-662.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Van Dyck S, Strahan R (Eds) (2008) ‘The mammals of Australia.’ (New Holland Publishers: Sydney, NSW, Australia)

von Takach B, Scheele BC, Moore H, Murphy BP, Banks SC (2020) Patterns of niche contraction identify vital refuge areas for declining mammals. Diversity and Distributions 26, 1467-1482.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

von Takach B, Jolly CJ, Dixon KM, Penton CE, Doherty TS, Banks SC (2022) Long-unburnt habitat is critical for the conservation of threatened vertebrates across australia. Landscape Ecology 37, 1469-1482.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Ward MS, Simmonds JS, Reside AE, Watson JEM, Rhodes JR, Possingham HP, Trezise J, Fletcher R, File L, Taylor M (2019) Lots of loss with little scrutiny: the attrition of habitat critical for threatened species in Australia. Conservation Science and Practice 1, e117.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Warfe DM, Barmuta LA (2004) Habitat structural complexity mediates the foraging success of multiple predator species. Oecologia 141, 171-178.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Watson M, Woinarski JCZ (2004) ‘Vertebrate monitoring and resampling in Kakadu National Park.’ (NT Department of Infrastructure Planning and Environment: Darwin, NT, Australia)

Wickham H (2016) ‘ggplot2: elegant graphics for data analysis.’ (Springer-Verlag: New York, NY, USA)

Williams RJ, Cook GD, Gill AM, Moore PHR (1999) Fire regime, fire intensity and tree survival in a tropical savanna in northern Australia. Australian Journal of Ecology 24, 50-59.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Woinarski JCZ, Armstrong M, Brennan K, Fisher A, Griffiths AD, Hill B, Milne DJ, Palmer C, Ward S, Watson M, Winderlich S, Young S (2010) Monitoring indicates rapid and severe decline of native small mammals in Kakadu National Park, northern Australia. Wildlife Research 37, 116-126.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Woinarski JCZ, Legge S, Fitzsimons JA, Traill BJ, Burbidge AA, Fisher A, Firth RSC, Gordon IJ, Griffiths AD, Johnson CN, McKenzie NL, Palmer C, Radford I, Rankmore B, Ritchie EG, Ward S, Ziembicki M (2011) The disappearing mammal fauna of northern Australia: context, cause, and response. Conservation Letters 4, 192-201.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Woinarski JCZ, Burbidge AA, Harrison PL (2014) ‘The action plan for Australian mammals 2012.’ (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne, Vic, Australia)

Woinarski JCZ, Braby MF, Burbidge AA, Coates D, Garnett ST, Fensham RJ, Legge SM, McKenzie NL, Silcock JL, Murphy BP (2019) Reading the black book: the number, timing, distribution and causes of listed extinctions in Australia. Biological Conservation 239, 108261.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Woinarski JCZ, Andersen AN, Murphy BP (2020) The tropical savannas of northern Australia. In ‘Encyclopedia of the world’s biomes’. (Ed. MI Goldstein, DA DellaSala) pp. 827–834. (Elsevier: Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Woolley L-A, Murphy BP, Radford IJ, Westaway J, Woinarski JCZ (2018) Cyclones, fire, and termites: The drivers of tree hollow abundance in northern Australia’s mesic tropical savanna. Forest Ecology and Management 419–420, 146-159.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Ziembicki MR, Woinarski JCZ, Webb JK, Vanderduys E, Tuft K, Smith J, Ritchie EG, Reardon TB, Radford IJ, Preece N, Perry J, Murphy BP, McGregor H, Legge S, Leahy L, Lawes MJ, Kanowski J, Johnson CN, James A, Griffiths AD, Gillespie G, Frank ASK, Fisher A, Burbidge AA (2015) Stemming the tide: progress towards resolving the causes of decline and implementing management responses for the disappearing mammal fauna of northern Australia. Therya 6, 169-226.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Zuur AF, Ieno EN, Elphick CS (2010) A protocol for data exploration to avoid common statistical problems. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 1, 3-14.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |