Survey guidelines for Australia’s threatened non-flying mammals

Rufous hare wallaby (Bernier Island)

Lagorchestes hirsutus bernieri

States and territories: Western Australia

Regions: Bernier Island.

Habitat: Sand plains with low shrubs and spinifex hummock grassland (Johnson & Burbidge 2008).

Habit: Ground-dwelling.

Avg. body weight: 1620 g (Richards et al. 2001).

Activity pattern: Nocturnal.

Diet: Herbivore: spinifex, forbs and grasses.

Breeding: Breeding on Bernier Island occurs between March and September (this was the only period sampled), but the timing of breeding events may be mediated by rainfall (Richards et al. 2001).
Description

There are three rufous hare wallaby subspecies: two from Western Australia, L. h. bernieri from Bernier Island, L. h. dorreae from Dorre Island, and an unnamed subspecies restricted to the central Northern Territory. The rufous hare wallaby once ranged across central Western Australia and into the Northern Territory, but impacts from introduced predators and changes in land use and burning frequency have severely fragmented its former distribution. The last known remaining mainland population of the rufous hare wallaby occurred in the Tanami Desert, but was destroyed by wildfire (Lundie-Jenkins 1993) and since then reintroduction programs have struggled because of cat and fox predation (Lundie-Jenkins 1993; Gibson et al. 1994). Reintroduced animals have been recorded sheltering in habitats not utilised by natural populations (under shrubs rather than under spinifex) and this species may be more plastic in its microhabitat selection than previously thought (Hardman & Moro 2006).

Spinifex makes up a large proportion of the species’ diet, but it also feeds on forbs and grasses when they are available after rainfall (Johnson & Burbidge 2008). Likewise, female reproductive cycles are also probably related to rainfall, with breeding deferred during drought conditions (Richards et al. 2001). Rufous hare wallabies shelter in depressions or burrows (sometimes over 70 centimetres deep) scraped out from under low lying vegetation (Johnson & Burbidge 2008). Aboriginal people hunted rufous hare wallabies and their use of fire while hunting this culturally significant species contributed to a mosaic of fire histories across the landscape (Johnson & Burbidge 2008).

Survey methods

On the basis of previous surveys, the following survey techniques are recommended to detect the presence of the rufous hare wallaby in areas up to 5 hectares in size:

• 
  daytime searches for potentially suitable habitat resources, which includes spinifex grasslands (description of the survey technique and recommended effort is outlined in Section 3.1)
  
• 
  daytime searches for signs of activity, including shelter sites, tracks and scats (description of the survey technique and recommended effort is outlined in Section 3.2). Tracks may be indistinguishable from other wallaby species present on Bernier Island, however, rufous hare wallaby scats have a distinctive flattened tubular shape that should be distinguished from other macropod scats
  
• 
  collection of predator scats, owl casts or remains, targeting predatory bird/mammal nests/dens (description of the survey technique and recommended effort is outlined in Section 3.2).
  

If confirmation of the species is required from the presence of signs, then one or more of the following survey techniques should be employed:

• 
  observations conducted at dusk/early night at potential resource sites such as watering points according to the description of the technique and the recommended effort provided in Section 3.3.4
  
• 
  spotlight surveys conducted according to the description of the technique and the recommended effort provided in Section 3.3.3
  
• 
  cage trapping surveys conducted according to the description of the technique and the recommended effort outlined in Section 3.3.10, using universal bait and possibly lucerne hay. However, given the conservation status of this species and its susceptibility to capture myopathy (Cole et al. 1994), every effort should be made to minimise stress and disturbance to animals during a trapping program (for example, Langford & Burbidge 2001) or to use non-invasive techniques wherever possible.
  

The survey method recommended has been designed for surveys on Dorre and Bernier Islands where the rufous hare wallaby is known to exist. Should surveys be required on the mainland, then further expert advice should be sought from the relevant government authorities in Western Australia. Any signs of this species on the mainland should be reported immediately to appropriate government authorities.

Similar species in range

On Bernier Island there are a number of other macropodoidea species, including the banded hare wallaby Lagostrophus fasciatus and the burrowing bettong Bettongia lesueur lesueur, as well as the western barred bandicoots Perameles bougainville which may possibly be misidentified during spotlight surveys.

References

Cole, J.R., Langford, D.G. and Gibson, D.F. 1994. Capture myopathy in Lagorchestes hirsutus (Marsupialia: Macropodidae). Australian Mammalogy 17: 137.

Gibson, D.F., Lundie-Jenkins, G.W., Langford, D.G., Cole, J.R., Clarke, D.E. and Johnson, K.A. 1994. Predation by feral cats Felis catus, to the rufous hare wallaby, Lagorchestes hirsutus, in the Tanami Desert. Australian Mammalogy 17: 103-107.
Hardman, B. and Moro, D. 2006. Importance of diurnal refugia to a hare wallaby reintroduction in Western Australia. Wildlife Research 33: 355-359
Johnson, K.A. and Burbidge, A.A. 2008. Rufous Hare wallaby Lagorchestes hirsutus In Mammals of Australia (Eds. S. Van Dyck and R. Strahan) pp. 317-319 Reed New Holland: Sydney).
Langford, D.G. and Burbidge, A.A. 2001. Translocation of mala (Lagorchestes hirsutus) from the Tanami Desert, Northern Territory, to Trimouille Island, Western Australia. Australian Mammalogy 23: 37-46
Lundie- Jenkins, G.W. 1993. Ecology of the rufous hare wallaby, Lagorchestes hirsutus Gould (Marsupialia: Macropodidiae) in the Tanami Desert, Northern Territory I. Patterns of habitat use. Wildlife Research 20: 457-476.
Richards, J.D., Short, J., Prince, R.I.T. and Courtenay, J.M. 2001. The biology of banded (Lagostrophus fasciatus) and rufous (Lagorchestes hirsutus) hare-wallabies (Diprotondontia: Macropodidae) on Dorre and Bernier Islands, Western Australia. Wildlife Research 28: 311-322.
Short, J. and Turner, B. 1999. Ecology of burrowing bettongs, Bettongia lesueur (Marsupialia: Potoroidae), on Dorre and Bernier Islands, Western Australia. Wildlife Research 26: 651-669.
Short, J., Richards J.D. and Turner, B. 1998. Ecology of the western barred bandicoot (Perameles bougainville) (Marsupialia: Peramelidae) on Dorre and Bernier Islands, Western Australia. Wildlife Research 25:567-586.