Abstract: |
Malleefowl monitoring: Gawler Ranges & vicinity (Gawler Ranges Region, particularly Scrubby Peak), Grid 71. Note this is not an actual 'grid' - it is opportune records for malleefowl mounds in the Gawler Ranges National Park and surrounds. Monitoring began in 2004. Monitored using standard malleefowl monitoring data sheets in June 2006. Data is managed within the Department not in the National Malleefowl Database.
Nationally, the Malleefowl Leipoa ocellata is listed as Vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999.Population numbers have declined substantially throughout Australia since European settlement
due to a number of factors including habitat clearance, salinity, stock grazing and introduction of the feral animals. Within the
past century the range of Malleefowl has contracted, particularly in arid areas and at the periphery of its former range.
Population declines have occurred, particularly in agricultural areas due to the clearing of remnant mallee vegetation. The
fate of Malleefowl within the remaining habitat is uncertain and declines have been described in most areas in which trends in
Malleefowl numbers have been documented. Malleefowl are known to occur in the Gawler Ranges with sightings and mounds
recorded from the Blue Sturts and Scrubby Peak areas of the Gawler Ranges NP. They are also present in Pinkawillanie CP to
the south and Lake Gilles CP to the east and adjacent landholdings. Mound densities in these areas are low compared with
other parts of its range in SA. Broad scale thread abatement programs including ground-based and aerial fox baiting and goat
control programs have been conducted on Gawler Ranges NP since 2000 under the Bounceback Program. Gawler Ranges
Malleefowl Monitoring Program was established to provide fundamental information on the distribution and the status of
Malleefowl abundance within this area as an indicator of the benefits of thread abatement programs to native fauna. The
project builds on established grid based monitoring in Pinkawillanie CP that commenced in 1998 and has been monitored
periodically as part of the Eyre Peninsula NRM Malleefowl programs. Opportunistic ground-based surveys have been conducted
by contract staff and volunteers since 2004 in selected parts of the Gawler Ranges NP and surrounding areas. Aim and
Objectives The primary aims and objectives of the Malleefowl Monitoring Program are to:
Provide fundamental information about existing the distribution of Malleefowl population in Gawler Ranges Record and monitor mound activity within the Gawler Ranges.
Recover and maintain a viable population of Malleefowl in suitable habitats in the Gawler Ranges NP and
Pinkawillinie CP Encourage and promote landholder partnerships in relation to threat abatement and biodiversity
conservation. Encourage and promote volunteer participation in conservation delivery
Identify and manage threats to Malleefowl
Project update: Monitoring of malleefowl within the SA Arid Lands NRM region. Initial project called "Bounceback and Beyond" funding through Regional Land Partnerships of National Landcare Program Phase 2. LiDAR transects flown on fox-baited Gawler Range National Park and Pinkawillinie Conservation Park and unbaited Yeltana, Bungeroo and Mullindilla stations. Data collected to contribute to NESP project investigating the impact of predator control on malleefowl. Camera traps established at each site to monitor malleefowl, predators, herbivores. Annual monitoring of known mounds. Data also provided to National Malleefowl Monitoring Database.
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