BDBSA Project Metadata Detail

Survey/Project Number: 758          Total No. of Sites: 27
Survey/Project Name: Conservation & Management of an Endangered Marsupial -Sandhill Dunnart, Mclean
Abstract: The project began in October 2010 and is conducted in Ironstone Hill Conservation Park. This study aims to gather crucial baseline information on the ecology of the Sandhill Dunnart by focusing on three areas of the species ecology that are important for its management and conservation. 1. To develop a model to predict the likelihood of Sandhill Dunnart presence in un-surveyed areas based on broad and fine scale habitat characteristics in the Middleback Ranges on Eyre Peninsula. 2. To investigate the demography and in particular reproductive characteristics of the Sandhill Dunnart in the wild. 3. To determine important population genetic information on the Sandhill Dunnart, both locally and nationally.
 
Start Date: 12/10/2010      End Date: 31/12/2015
Survey Type: Fauna only
   
Study Area Description: Ironstone Hill Conservation Park
Objectives
         Vegetation: *** No vegetation survey objectives recorded
         Fauna: A range and number of species have become extinct since European settlement and many species that remain are now endangered due to human activities. As the human population grows there is a greater demand for mineral resources, which is leading to expansion and encroachment by mining activities on pristine Australian arid and semi-arid zones. In these areas a range of species persist that we know very little about. One such marsupial is the Sandhill Dunnart (Sminthopsis psammophila). Classified as endangered this species is threatened by potential and actual mining activities in its habitat. Due to the lack of information on the basic ecology of the species, detailed management plans have not been implemented. This study aims to gather crucial baseline information on the ecology of the Sandhill Dunnart by focusing on three areas of the species ecology that are important for its management and conservation. 1. To develop a model to predict the likelihood of Sandhill Dunnart presence in un-surveyed areas based on broad and fine scale habitat characteristics in the Middleback Ranges on Eyre Peninsula. 2. To investigate the demography and in particular reproductive characteristics of the Sandhill Dunnart in the wild. 3. To determine important population genetic information on the Sandhill Dunnart, both locally and nationally.
Methodology
         Vegetation: *** No vegetation methodology recorded
         Fauna: *** No vertebrate methodology recorded

Data Distribution Rules: Public Dataset
Project Basis: Fauna : Unclassified - pending reassessment.
Information Authority: University of Adelaide - School of Earth and Environmental Sciences