Abstract
Loss, fragmentation and degradation of mallee habitat within the New South Wales wheat-belt have caused
a marked decline in the range and local abundance of malleefowl, Leipoa ocellata. Small disjunct populations
of malleefowl now occupy small isolated remnants of suitable habitat. and several of these populations have
become locally extinct in recent times.
Young captive-reared malleefowl(8-184 days old) were experimentally released in March and June 1988
into a 558-ha remnant of mallee vegetation. The remnant contained a small but declining population of
rnalleefowl. From the first day after release, malleefowl were found dead, and mortality continued at a rapid
rate until none remained alive. Of the 31 released, 16 (52%) were dead after 7 days, at least 22 (71%) were
dead after 11 days, and none survived longer than 107 days. In all, 94% of malleefowl were killed by
predators: 26-39% by raptors, and 55-68% by introduced predators, principally foxes, Vulpes vulpes. No
improvement in survival was evident when malleefowl were given supplementary food.
Relying principally on camouflage, young malleefowl have no effective defence or escape behaviour to
evade ground-dwelling predators such as the fox. By imposing severe predation pressure on young malleefowl,
foxes are likely to be curtailing recruitment into the breeding population. Such a situation must inevitably lead
to the further localised extinction of small disjunct populations of malleefowl. Foxes are thus a major threat
to the continuance of remnant populations of malleefowl within the wheat-belt of New South Wales.
Subject
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Cited by
35 articles.
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