Journal
ORYX
Volume 49, Issue 1, Pages 175-185Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/S0030605313000677
Keywords
Declining population paradigm; population decline; predator; threatened species; wildlife disease
Categories
Funding
- Department of Parks and Wildlife
- Western Australian Government
- Australian Research Council
- Environment Division of the United Nations Association of Australia (WA) Incorporated
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The woylie Bettongia penicillata is categorized as Critically Endangered, having declined by c. 90% between 1999 and 2006. The decline continues and the cause is not fully understood. Within a decline diagnosis framework we characterized the nature of the decline and identified potential causes, with a focus on the species' largest populations, located in south-west Western Australia. We described the spatio-temporal pattern of the decline, and several attributes that are common across sites. We categorized the potential causes of the decline as resources, predators, disease and direct human interference. Based on the available evidence the leading hypothesis is that disease may be making woylies more vulnerable to predation but this remains to be tested. No substantial recoveries have been sustained to date, and one of the three remaining indigenous populations now appears to be extinct. Therefore, verifying the factors causing the decline and those limiting recovery is becoming increasingly urgent. Active adaptive management can be used to test putative agents, such as introduced predators. Insurance populations and ecological monitoring should also be included in an integrated conservation and management strategy for the species.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available