Northern hairy-nosed wombat
Lasiorhinus krefftii
States and territories: Queensland.
Regions: Epping Forest National Park, north-west of Clermont.
Habitat: Grassland and eucalypt woodland on deep, sandy soil. Shelters in burrows in sandy soil.
Habit: Ground-dwelling (burrows).
Avg. body weight: Between 26–35 kg (Menkhorst & Knight, 2001).
Activity pattern: Nocturnal/partly diurnal.
Diet: Herbivore: perennial native grasses. Predominantly three native species (Aristida spp., Enneapogon spp. and Fimbristylis dichotoma) and the introduced buffel grass Cenchrus ciliaris (DEWHA 2009).
Breeding: Offspring are born in spring and summer and then spend between 10–11 months in the pouch. Females can breed once every two years provided there is sufficient rainfall (Van Dyck & Strahan 2008).
Description
The distribution of the northern hairy-nosed wombat formerly included the Riverina district of NSW and an area near St George in southern Queensland. However, its range is now restricted to only one location: a 300 hectare area of sandy grassy woodland in Epping Forest National Park in Queensland. The reasons for the species’ decline in distribution and abundance are attributed to land use changes, with numbers increasing at Epping Forest since the exclusion of cattle in 1982 (Johnson & Gordon 1995). Dingo predation in 2000 saw another decrease in the population; dingo fences have since been erected and now protect the entire population (Van Dyck & Strahan 2008).
Burrows are occupied by up to ten individuals and are distributed in loose clusters (up to 20 within a few hectares) with multiple entrances (Johnson & Gordon 1995). The entrances of active burrows are marked with piles of dung and splashes of urine, with dung piles located at intervals along connecting trails between burrows. Smaller, single-entrance burrows are often scattered around the major burrows. These are not occupied permanently and provide a short-term refuge for animals. Burrows are constructed under trees along the ‘shoulder’ of a shallow gully filled with deep sand (Van Dyck & Strahan 2008).
Survey methods
On the basis of previous surveys, the following survey techniques are recommended to detect the presence of the northern hairy-nosed wombat in areas up to 5 hectares in size:
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daytime searches for potentially suitable habitat resources, such as open woodland (description of the survey technique and recommended effort is outlined in Section 3.1)
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daytime searches for signs of activity, including community records, burrows, tracks and scats (description of the survey technique and recommended effort is outlined in Section 3.2)
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consultation with local people, particularly investigating potential Indigenous knowledge of this species’ presence in an area
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possibly spotlight surveys (description of the survey technique and recommended effort is outlined in Section 3.3.3), or observation surveys conducted at potentially active burrows to identify wombats emerging to forage (description of the survey technique and recommended effort is outlined in Section 3.3.4)
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hair trapping for animals by suspending double-sided adhesive tape between two star pickets at gates in trapping fences around burrows or between metal stakes set outside burrow entrances (Banks et al 2003).
Trapping surveys are not considered necessary to determine the presence of the northern hairy-nosed wombat on a subject site.
Similar species in range
There are no species similar in appearance to the northern hairy-nosed wombat within the species’ known range.
References
Banks, S.C., Hoyle, S.D., Horsup, A., Sunnucks, P. and Taylor, A.C. 2003. Demographic monitoring of an entire species (the Northern-hairy nosed wombat, Lasiorhinus krefftii) by genetic analysis of non-invasively collected material. Animal Conservation 3, 101-107
DEWHA 2009. Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat Lasiorhinus krefftii Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.
www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=66650 (last accessed 4/11/09)
Hoyle, S.D., Horsup, A.B, Johnson, C.N., Crossman, D.G. and McCallum, H. 1995. Live-trapping of the Northern hairy-nosed Wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii): population-size estimates and effects on individuals. Wildlife Research 22: 741-755.
Johnson, C.N. and Gordon, G. 1995. Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat Lasiorhinus kreftii (In) The Mammals of Australia (Ed. R. Strahan) pp. 200-201 (Reed Books: Sydney).
Menkhorst, P. and Knight, F. 2001. A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia. (Oxford University Press: Melbourne)
Horsup, A. and Johnson, C.N. 2008. Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat. In Dyck, S.V. and Strahan, R. (eds) The Mammals of Australia. Third Edition published by Reed New Holland, Sydney.
Woolnough, A.P. and Johnson, C.N. 2000. Assessment of the potential for competition between two sympatric herbivores – the northern hairy-nosed wombat, Lasiorhinus krefftii, and the eastern grey kangaroo, Macropus giganteus. Wildlife Research 27: 301–308.
Northern hopping mouse
Notomys aquilo
States and territories: Northern Territory (and possibly Queensland).
Regions: Poorly understood.
Northern Territory: Western shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria, and Groote Eylandt and adjacent parts of Arnhem Land.
Queensland: Cape York Peninsula.
Habitat: Sand dunes, coastal habitats and inland areas (30—60 km from coast) associated with sandstone ranges all with sandy substrates (Note: may be an artefact of detection method) (Woinarski et al. 1999). Also recorded from the margins of coastal rainforest patches and eucalypt open forest (Woinarski & Flannery 2008). Most common in coastal grasslands, wet heaths and Acacia or Hakea dominated shrublands, particularly in habitats associated with hummock grass (Woinarski et al. 1999). Key microhabitat requirements are the diversity of bush-peas (Fabaceae) present and/or a 10 to 50 per cent cover of hummock grasses (Woinarski et al. 1999).
Habit: Ground-dwelling (burrows).
Avg. body weight: 38.5 g (Woinarski & Flannery 2008).
Activity pattern: Nocturnal.
Diet: Herbivore: grains, seeds and some green vegetation.
Breeding: Poorly known. Captive animals gave birth predominantly between mid-March and Mid-may and pregnant females have been collected in June (Woinarski & Flannery 2008).
Description
The northern hopping mouse is unique in that it is the only Notomys to occur in monsoonal environments, rather than arid or semi-arid parts of Australia. It is a small sandy-coloured mouse with a relatively long tail that has a tuft of darker hairs at the tip (Woinarski & Flannery 2008). It is similar in appearance to the spinifex hopping mouse Notomys alexis, although the two species’ distributions do not overlap (Woinarski et al. 1999).
The species was first recorded from the Cape York Peninsula (Thomas 1921), but has not been recorded at that location again until recently when tracks were observed in a sand dune during a survey (Woinarski et al. 1999). Support that the tracks were made by the species came from the local Aboriginal community, who described a hopping mammal occurring in the dunes and coastal habitat. The northern hopping mouse has also been found at a number of localities in the Northern Territory, including Groote Eylandt (Johnson 1959, 1964; Dixon and Huxley 1985; Woinarski et al. 1999) and adjacent areas of mainland Arnhem Land (Woinarski et al. 1999).
The northern hopping mice construct complex burrow systems (Woinarski & Flannery 2008). The burrows are distinctive, with a 5 centimetre diameter entrance located approximately 2 metres away from a spoil mound. A vertical shaft leading from the entrance is dug from below, with excavated soil used to create the mound. Pop-holes occur between the entrance and the mound, and active burrows are distinguished by tracks leading from the pop-holes (Woinarski & Flannery 2008).
Survey methods
On the basis of previous surveys, the following survey techniques are recommended to detect the presence of the northern hopping mouse in areas up to 5 hectares in size:
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daytime searches for potentially suitable habitat resources, including but not limited to sand dune habitats (description of the survey technique and recommended effort is provided in Section 3.1)
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daytime searches for signs, particularly the distinctive associated spoil mounds and tracks following the protocol outlined by Ward (2009), where these searches are carried out over 200 metre long transects (description of the survey technique and recommended effort is provided in Section 3.2). Note that any suspected tracks or burrows in new localities (for example, Cape York Peninsula) should be photographed to aid in identification by a field person experienced in identifying Notomys indirect sign
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collection of predator scats, owl casts or remains in predatory bird/mammal nests/dens (description of the survey technique and recommended effort is provided in Section 3.2)
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spotlight surveys on foot or from a moving vehicle (description of technique and recommended survey effort provided in Section 3.3.3)
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pitfall trap surveys (as for other Notomys capture rates can be improved by using narrow PVC pipe rather than wider buckets, with a diameter of 16 centimetres and trap depth recommended to be at least 60 centimetres) conducted according to the technique description and recommended effort provided in Section 3.3.8
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use sand pads on non-sand substrate where this species is suspected to occur, conducted according to the description of the technique and recommended survey effort provided in Section 3.3.2
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consultation with local people, particularly investigating potential Indigenous knowledge of this species’ presence in an area
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consider the placement of baited camera traps (same as for predator pads) in suitable habitat, concentrating on well-used runway areas (as told from the number of tracks), particularly as this species can be relatively easily separated from other sympatric species.
Elliott tapping is not recommended as this species is particularly trap-shy (Ward 2009). Hair sampling devices are not recommended for the northern hopping mouse, as this species is not included among those known to be distinguishable from hair samples (see Table 2, Section 3.3.7). Should this situation change then hair sampling may provide an appropriate alternative detection technique. The survey method recommended is comparable with those recommended by NT DIPE (2005) (see Appendix).
Similar species in range
No similar species occur in the northern hopping mouse's range. Tracks may be confused with those of bird species and confirmation from an experienced mammalogist may be required in the field, or from plaster casts and photographs. As there are very few specimens of the northern hopping mouse from Cape York Peninsula, the collection of hair or tissue samples should be considered for future identification and/or molecular analysis, provided that the appropriate permission and licensing has been granted by the relevant Queensland and Northern Territory government organisations.
References
Department of the Environment and Water Resources (DEW) 2007. Information Sheet: Northern hopping-mouse, Notomys aquilo Threatened Species Day Fact Sheet. [Online]. Available from: www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/tsd07-n-hopping-mouse.html.
Dixon, J.M. and Huxley, L. 1985. Donald Thomson’s Mammals and Fishes of Northern Australia. (Nelson: Melbourne).
Johnson, D.H. 1959. Four new mammals from the Northern Territory in Australia. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 72: 183-187.
Johnson, D.H. 1964. Mammals of the Arnhem Land expedition. In Records of the American-Australian scientific expedition to Arnhem Land. Volume 4. Zoology. (Ed. R.L. Specht) pp. 427-515. (Melbourne University Press: Melbourne).
NT DIPE. 2005. Guidelines for the Biodiversity Component of Environmental Impact Assessment. Prepared by the Biodiversity Conservation Division, for the NT Department of Infrastructure Planning & Environment (DIPE), NT
Thomas, O. 1921. Notes on the species of Notomys, the Australian Jerboa-rats. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 8, 536-541.
Ward, S. 2009. Survey protocol for the Northern Hopping-mouse Notomys aquilo. Unpublished report. Biodiversity North, Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport, Darwin.
Woinarski J.C.Z and Flannery, T.F. 2008. Northern Hopping-mouse Notomys aquilo. In ‘The Mammals of Australia’ (Eds. S. Van Dyck and R. Strahan) pp.646-648. (Reed New Holland: Sydney).
Woinarski J.C.Z., Gambold, N., Wurst, D., Flannery, T.F., Smith, A.P., Chatto, R. and Fisher, A. 1999. Distribution and habitat of the northern hopping-mouse, Notomys aquilo. Wildlife Research 26: 495-511.
Woinarski, J.C.Z. and T.F. Flannery 2008. Northern Hopping-mouse Notomys aquilo. In ‘The Mammals of Australia’ (Eds. S. Van Dyck and R. Strahan) pp. 599-600 (Reed New Holland: Sydney).
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