THE GROUND VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF COASTAL AREAS BETWEEN BUSSELTON AND ALBANY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

WA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 1 decade ago

Abstract
Coastal areas between Busselton and Albany have been altered substantially since European settlement in the 1830s. Previous studies show that the mammalian fauna in parts of the region changed significantly prior to European settlement; subsequently several additional species have disappeared.

This study, using Museum records and local area sampling, indicates most mammalian populations are small and often isolated. The Ringtail Possum Pseudocheirus occidentalis and Quokka Setonix brachyurus persist but are rapidly diminishing. The herpetofauna has not previously been documented and it appears that assemblages in the Busselton-Margaret River areas differ from those further south and east. A positive correlation between the percentage of viviparous reptiles in subregional assemblages and the annual number of rainy days, suggests that viviparity probably confers a reproductive advantage in these cool moist climates.

Environmental factors such as predation, competition, disease and particularly habitat fragmentation and fire will continue to threaten many species of birds and mammals with local extinction.