Journal article
Northern brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus) and common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) density on the Tiwi Islands: insights and implications
HF Davies, TL Rangers, E Nicholson, BP Murphy
Pacific Conservation Biology | Published : 2022
DOI: 10.1071/PC21020
Abstract
Despite the ongoing collapse of native mammal populations across northern Australia, the paucity of robust estimates of population density limits our capacity to identify and understand population change. Here we aimed to provide the first estimates of native mammal density on the Tiwi Islands – one of Australia’s largest remaining refuge areas for native mammals. We conducted intensive live-trapping at four sites that represent varying combinations of fire frequency, feral cat density and feral herbivore presence. We used spatially-explicit capture-recapture models to investigate the density of common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) and northern brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus)...
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Awarded by Australian Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank the traditional owners of the Tiwi Islands for their ongoing support of scientific research on their land. This study was supported by funding from the Australian Government's National Environmental Science Program via the Threatened Species Recovery Hub, the Australian Research Council (LP170100305) and the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation. Data were collected with ethics approval from Charles Darwin University (A19006) and a permit from the Northern Territory Government (permit no. 64876). We thank Murray Efford for his helpful advice regarding the analyses, Graeme Gillespie for his input on field methods and study design, as well as the amazing field assistance of expert mammalogists Brien Roberts, Jaime Heiniger and Cara Penton.