BDBSA Project Metadata Detail

Survey/Project Number: 1153          Total No. of Sites: 137
Survey/Project Name: Cunningham's Skinks on Rocky Outcrops across the AMLR and Fleurieu Peninsula
Abstract: This project aims to use abundance-detection modelling (also known as N-mixture modelling) to predict the abundance of Cunningham's Skink (Egernia cunninghami) population across sites in the Mount Lofty Ranges and Fleurieu Peninsula, near Adelaide, South Australia. BACKGROUND: E. cunninghami is a large-bodied saxicolous (rock-dwelling) skink that has a threatened population. This population is currently under multiple-intense disturbances, including climate change as well as degradation and fragmentation of key outcrop habitat. Before these threats can be mitigated, an improved understanding of the range and abundance of this population is needed in order for natural resource management to make informed decisions. A hindrance to acquiring this information is the fragmented distribution and crevice-dwelling nature of the population, which reduces detection probability and introduces bias.
 
Start Date: 10/03/2017      End Date: 19/10/2017
Survey Type: Fauna only
   
Study Area Description: Adelaide Mount Lofty Ranges and Fleurieu Peninsula
Objectives
         Vegetation: *** No vegetation survey objectives recorded
         Fauna: see Abstract
Methodology
         Vegetation: *** No vegetation methodology recorded
         Fauna: My project gathered Cunningham's Skink count data from 87 rocky outcrops in South Australia and used climatic and habitat scale variables to model both the detection probability and latent abundance of the population at surveyed sites. Count data did not involve marking or trapping of individuals but rather visual observations from a minimum vantage point 10 m from the observed outcrop. A hierarchical modelling approach was implemented in order to account for imperfect detection and sites were identified that were highly likely to contain true absences. These true (or probable) absences were used alongside historic Cunningham's Skink presence records form Atlas of Living Australia in order to model the distribution of the population across South Australia with the use of the 'biomod2' package in R Statistical Software.

Data Distribution Rules: Public Dataset
Project Basis: Fauna : Threatened community targeted survey.
Fauna : Presence and absence method
Information Authority: University of Adelaide