Survey guidelines for Australia’s threatened non-flying mammals

Tammar wallaby

Macropus eugenii eugenii

States and territories: South Australia

Regions: Formerly occurred in parts of southern mainland South Australia, including the Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas, Mid North and Adelaide Plains, the Mt Lofty Ranges and the Fleurieu Peninsula east to the Murray River (Poole et al. 1991). However, the former range of this species is poorly understood due to the uncertain relationship between recognised subspecies and their actual former distributions (Wood Jones 1923 – 1925). Individuals have been re-introduced from New Zealand to Innes National Park on the southern tip of Yorke Peninsula, South Australia (DEH 2004).

Habitat: Coastal scrubs, heathland, dry sclerophyll forest and mallee with dense patches of understorey for shelter and grassy areas for foraging.

Habit: Ground-dwelling.

Avg. body weight: 7 kg (Warburton 1990).

Activity pattern: Nocturnal.

Diet: Herbivorous, principally feeding on grasses but will also forage on other herbs, shrubs and the foliage of small trees (DEH 2004).

Breeding: The tammar Wallaby is unusual in macropods in that it has a seasonal pattern of breeding, with most young born in late January to early February and none between July and December (Hinds 2008).

Description

The mainland tammar wallaby was extinct on mainland South Australia by the 1930s due to a combination of factors, including extensive clearing of habitat, predation by foxes and hunting (DEH 2004). Individuals were introduced from South Australia to Kawau Island, New Zealand, by the former Governor of the South Australian colony. Later individuals were introduced to the Rotorua district in New Zealand in 1912 and again in 1940 where they spread into the Waikato region and are now recognised as a pest (Warburton 1995). Morphometric studies raised the possibility that the skull morphology of the New Zealand animals matched those of the extinct mainland tammar wallaby (Poole et al. 1991). Investigation of the origin of these populations using microsatellite markers confirmed the New Zealand populations did not originate from Kangaroo Island but rather from the previously considered extinct mainland South Australian population (Taylor & Cooper 1999). Rediscovery of this wallaby occurring as an exotic species in New Zealand resulted in a repatriation program, with 85 individuals repatriated in 2003–2004 (DEH 2004). A successful captive breeding program resulted in a number of releases into Innes National Park on the lower Yorke Peninsula, coupled with a fox control program.

Survey methods

On the basis of previous surveys, the following survey techniques are recommended to detect the presence of the mainland tammar wallabies in areas up to 5 hectares in size:

• 
  daytime searches for signs of activity, including scats and pads (description of the survey technique and recommended effort is outlined in Section 3.2). However, caution is required, as scats and pads can readily be confused with sympatric macropod species
  
• 
  cage trapping surveys as described for the translocation program (DEH 2004). Particular care must be taken to avoid injury to animals captured
  
• 
  where cage trapping proves difficult deploy aids, such as fenceline traps and nets laid across pads, to aid in capture
  
• 
  car-based or on-foot spotlight surveys, particularly to locate tagged individuals, where capture is not required
  
• 
  community liaison to provide information on individuals that occur outside Innes National Park (description of the survey technique and recommended effort is provided in Section 3.2.1)
  
• 
  camera traps on pads or along fencelines where there are unconfirmed sightings, for example private land adjacent to Innes National Park (see Section 3.3.6).
  

Similar species in range

The mainland and Kangaroo Island (M. e. decres) subspecies are difficult to separate with any certainty (Wood Jones 1923 – 1925). There are no other similar-sized macropod species extant in the mainland tammar wallaby’s former distribution.

References

Alacs, E., Alpers, D., de Tores, D.J., Dillon, M. and Spencer, P.B.S. 2003. Identifying the presence of Quokkas (Setonix brachyurus) and other macropods using cytochrome b analyses from faeces. Wildlife Research 30: 41-47.

Andrewartha, H.G. and Barker, S. 1969. Introduction to a study of the ecology of the Kangaroo Island Wallaby, Protemnodon eugenii (Desmarest) within Flinders Chase, Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 93: 127-141.
Brooker, M.G., Smith, G.T., Leone, J. And Ingram, J.A. 1995. A biological survey of Garden Island, Western Australia: 2. Terrestrial mammals. The Western Australian Naturalist 20: 211-220.
DEH 2004. Re-introduction of mainland South Australian Tammar Wallaby to Innes National Park. Department of Environment and Heritage, Adelaide.
Hinds, L.A. 2008. Tammar Wallaby Macropus eugenii pp. 330-332. In Van Dyck, S. and Strahan, R. (Eds.) The Mammals of Australia. Third Edition. Reed New Holland, Sydney.
Lentle, R.G., Potter, M.A., Springel, C.B.P. and Stafford, J. 1997. A trapping and immobilisation technique for small macropods. Wildlife Research 24: 373-377.
Poole, W.E., Wood, J.T. and Simms, N.G. 1991. Distribution of the Tammar, Macropus eugenii, and the relationships of populations as determined by cranial morphometrics. Wildlife Research 18: 625-639.
Robinson, A.C. 1980. Notes on the mammals and reptiles of Pearson, Dorothee and Greenly Islands, South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 104: 93-100.
Taylor, A.C. and Cooper, D.W. 1999. Microsatellites identify introduced New Zealand Tammar Wallabies (Macropus eugenii) as an ‘extinct’ taxon. Animal Conservation 2: 41-49.
Warburton, B. 1990. Control of Bennett’s and Tammar Wallabies in New Zealand using compound 1080 gel on foliage baits. Australian Wildlife Research 17: 541-546.
Warburton, B. 1995. Dama wallaby. In: King, C.M. (ed.). The handbook of New Zealand mammals. Oxford University Press, Auckland.
Wood Jones, F. 1923-1925. The mammals of South Australia. A. B. James, Government Printer, South Australia.