Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/8836
Title: | Estimating brush-tailed rock-wallaby population size using individual animal recognition | Contributor(s): | Vernes, Karl A (author)![]() |
Publication Date: | 2011 | DOI: | 10.1071/AM11005 | Handle Link: | https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/8836 | Abstract: | We undertook surveys of brush-tailed rock-wallabies ('Petrogale penicillata') at four colonies in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, north-eastern New South Wales, with the aim of developing a technique based upon individual animal recognition that could be used to obtain robust population estimates for rock-wallaby colonies. We identified individuals on the basis of distinct morphological characters in each colony using visual observations, and used the data within a 'mark-recapture' (or sight-resight) framework to estimate population size. More than 37 h of observations were made over 10 sampling days between 18 May and 9 June 2010. We could identify 91.7% of all rock-wallabies that were independently sighted (143 of 156 sightings of 35 animals). A small percentage of animals could not be identified during a visit because they were seen only fleetingly, were in dense cover, or were partly obscured by rock. The number of new animals sighted and photographed declined sharply at the midpoint of the survey, and there was a corresponding increase in resighting of known individuals. Population estimates using the mark-recapture methodology were nearly identical to estimates of total animals seen, suggesting that this method was successful in obtaining a complete census of rock-wallabies in each colony. | Publication Type: | Journal Article | Source of Publication: | Australian Mammalogy, 33(2), p. 228-234 | Publisher: | CSIRO Publishing | Place of Publication: | Australia | ISSN: | 1836-7402 0310-0049 |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: | 050206 Environmental Monitoring 050211 Wildlife and Habitat Management 050202 Conservation and Biodiversity |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: | 960810 Mountain and High Country Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity 960806 Forest and Woodlands Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity |
Peer Reviewed: | Yes | HERDC Category Description: | C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal |
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Appears in Collections: | Journal Article School of Environmental and Rural Science |
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