The final year of this project was 2001–2002. During its
life (1996–2002) the project examined the state of
biodiversity, and its response to land management, across much of
the tropical savannas.
Major advances were made in delineating the pattern of changing
status of the biodiversity of the tropical savannas, the broad
adoption of systematic biodiversity sampling protocols, and an
information base built up which describes the relationship between
biodiversity and management practices.
The project produced a large number of reports and scientific
publications (see below), and its staff presented key findings at a
wide range of fora.
Major areas of advance concerned the responses of biodiversity
to pastoralism and other forms of land management, the distribution
and state of vertebrate biodiversity across the tropical savannas
generally, and the delivery of options for biodiversity
conservation.
Although the project was based primarily in the Northern
Territory, major research activities were also conducted in central
Queensland, including the Desert Uplands, Brigalow Belt North and
Einasleigh Uplands bioregions. A large number of postgraduate
students are supervised by, or collaborated with, staff in this
project.
Information and approaches used in this project were important
for a range of land-use decision-making exercises, notably
including the Daly Basin and Tiwi Islands, and are being considered
by pastoral stakeholders for the development of some pastoral
management options in the Victoria River District and Barkly
Tablelands of the Northern Territory.
More pervasively and generally, information from this project
relating to biodiversity values and conservation management has
informed management decisions across all land tenure types in
northern Australia.
Highlight included the willingness of stakeholders to consider
the approaches and results of our work. Many pastoral stakeholder
groups are now seeking out project staff for advice on
biodiversity, and are working cooperatively with us to research and
manage biodiversity and enterprise options.
The other major highlight of our work was its national
recognition, through the awarding of the prestigious Eureka Prize
to John Woinarski for work including that undertaken in this
project (2001).
This project supported collaboration between Parks &
Wildlife Commission of the NT and the Queensland Environmental
Protection Agency on the application of conservation planning
software for at least two bioregions in Queensland savannas.
A collaborative approach was also developed to assess the status
of biodiversity across northern Western Australia, the Top End of
the Northern Territory and the tropical savannas of Queensland.
The project also worked collaboratively with CSIRO Sustainable
Ecosystems (Townsville) and the Department of Defence to assess
biodiversity in a major military training area in central
Queensland.
The project contributed to the production of information on the
CRC’s website, and to a range of CRC publications (including
Healthy Country in the VRD, Northern Grassy Landscapes Conference,
and fire publication, Savanna Burning).
It also provided a range of presentations and lectures, to
diverse groups including Savanna Guides, teachers, guest lectures
at NTU courses, and pastoral stakeholder groups;
The project continued to supervise MSc and PhD projects on
fragmentation and biodiversity (in both the Darwin area and central
Queensland), and on the impacts upon biodiversity of feral pigs on
Aboriginal lands. continued to provide supervision and/or
collaboration to postgraduate students (including Alaric Fisher,
Chris Brock, Anthea Dee, Fiona Fraser, Dave Hannah, Alex Kutt, Anna
Maria van Doorn, Kerry Beggs, Michelle Watson, Ron Firth and Brooke
Rankmore).
The project has developed a very substantial database of
biodiversity distributional records and assessments of status,
which will continue to be analysed and published over the next few
years.
The project will also evolve into a series of more focused
avenues, including projects within the new TS–CRC on
2002
Whitehead, P.J., Woinarski, J.C.Z.,
Franklin, D. & Price, O. (in press), ‘Landscape ecology,
wildlife management and conservation in northern Australia: linking
policy, practice and capability in regional planning’, in
Landscape ecology and resource management: linking theory with
practice, eds I. Storch & J.A. Bissonette, Island Press.
*Woinarski, J.C.Z. & Dawson, F.
2002, ‘Limitless lands and limited knowledge: coping with
uncertainty and ignorance in northern Australia’, in Ecology,
Uncertainty and Policy: managing ecosystems for sustainability, eds
J.W. Handmer, T.W. Norton & S.R. Dovers, Prentice-Hall.
Woinarski, J.C.Z. & Ash, A.J.
2002, ‘Responses of vertebrates to pastoralism, military land
use and landscape position in an Australian tropical
savanna’, Austral Ecology, vol. 27, pp. 311-323.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Andersen, A.N.,
Churchill, T. & Ash, A.J. 2002, ‘Response of ant and
terrestrial spider assemblages to pastoral and military land use,
and to landscape position, in a tropical savanna woodland in
northern Australia’, Austral Ecology, vol. 27, pp.
324-333.
Williams, J., Keith, D. &
Woinarski, J.C.Z. 2002, ‘Biodiversity conservation –
fire management from remnants to regions’, in Flammable
Australia: the fire regimes and biodiversity of a continent, eds R.
Bradstock, M. Gill & J. Williams, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, pp. 401-425.
Russell-Smith, J., Start, T. &
Woinarski, J. 2001, ‘Effects of fire in the landscape’,
in Savanna burning: understanding and using fire in northern
Australia, eds R. Dyer, P. Jacklyn, I. Partridge, J. Russell-Smith
& R. Williams, Tropical Savannas CRC, Darwin, pp. 29-49.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Milne, D.J. &
Wanganeen, G. 2001, ‘Changes in mammal populations in
relatively intact landscapes of Kakadu National Park, Northern
Territory, Australia’, Austral Ecology, vol. 26, pp.
360-370.
Vardon, M.J., Brocklehurst, P.S.,
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Cunningham, R.B., Donnelly, C.F. & Tidemann,
C.R. 2001, ‘Seasonal habitat use by flying-foxes Pteropus
alecto and P. scapulatus (Megachiroptera) in monsoonal
Australia’, Journal of Zoology, London, vol. 253, pp.
523-535.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Fisher, A.,
Brennan, K., Morris, I. & Chatto, R. 2001, ‘Patterns of
bird species richness on islands off Arnhem Land, Northern
Territory, Australia’, Australian Journal of Ecology, vol.
26, pp. 1-13.
Fisher, A. (2001). Biogeography and
conservation of Mitchell grasslands in northern Australia. PhD
thesis. Northern territory University: Darwin.
Woinarski, J. & Baker, B.
(2002). Tiwi-Cobourg bioregion, Northern Territory. Biodiversity
audit - bioregional case study. Report to National Land and Water
Resources Audit. . (Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern
Territory: Darwin.)
Whitehead, P., Woinarski, J.,
Fisher, A., Fensham, R. & Beggs, K. (2001). Developing an
analytical framework for monitoring biodiversity in
Australia’s rangelands. Project 3 - Theme 4 (Rangelands
monitoring). Report to National Land and Water Resources Audit. .
(Tropical Savannas CRC: Darwin.)
2001
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Andersen, A.N., Churchill,
T. & Ash, A.J. (in press), 'Response of ant and terrestrial
spider assemblages to pastoral and military land use, and to
landscape position, in a tropical savanna woodland in northern
Australia', Ecological Management & Restoration.
*Woinarski, J.C.Z. (in press), 'Fire, flood
and other stochastic disturbance events', in Cambridge
Encyclopaedia of Biodiversity and Conservation, ed. G. McKay,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
*Woinarski, J.C.Z. & Whitehead, P.J. (in
press), 'Introductory remarks: Conservation management at a
landscape scale in northern Australia—coping with uncertainty
and change', in Proceedings of the Australian Wildlife Management
Society conference, Darwin, 1999.
James, C. D., M. Stafford Smith, J. Landsberg,
A. Fisher, R. Tynan, J. Maconochie & J. Woinarski. 2000,
'Biograze - melding off-reserve conservation of native species with
animal production in Australian rangelands' in Nature Conservation
5: Conservation in Production Environments: Managing the Matrix,
ed. by J. L. Craig, N. Mitchell & D. A. Saunders, Surrey Beatty
and Sons, Chipping Norton, Sydney, pp 290-300.
*Woinarski, J.C.Z. & Dawson, F. (in
press), 'Limitless lands and limited knowledge: coping with
uncertainty and ignorance in northern Australia', in Ecology,
Uncertainty and Policy: managing ecosystems for sustainability, eds
T.W. Norton, J.W. Handmer & S.R. Dovers, Longmans, London.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Milne, D.J. &
Wanganeen, G. (in press), 'Changes in mammal populations in
relatively intact landscapes of Kakadu National Park, Northern
Territory, Australia', Austral Ecology.
*Williams, J., Keith, D. & Woinarski,
J.C.Z. (in press), 'Biodiversity conservation - fire management
from remnants to regions', in Flammable Australia: the fire regimes
and biodiversity of a continent, eds R. Bradstock, M. Gill & J.
Williams.
Vardon, M.J., Brocklehurst, P.S., Woinarski,
J.C.Z., Cunningham, R.B., Donnelly, C.F. & Tidemann, C.R. 2001,
'Seasonal habitat use by flying-foxes Pteropus alecto and P.
scapulatus (Megachiroptera) in monsoonal Australia', Journal of
Zoology, London, vol. 253, pp. 523-35.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Fisher, A., Brennan, K.,
Morris, I. & Chatto, R. 2001, 'Patterns of bird species
richness on islands off Arnhem Land, Northern Territory,
Australia', Australian Journal of Ecology vol. 26, pp. 1-13.
Woinarski, J. C. Z., Brock, C., Armstrong, M.,
Hempel, C., Cheal, D. & Brennan, K. 2000, 'Bird distribution in
riparian vegetation of an Australian tropical savanna: a
broad-scale survey and analysis of distributional data base',
Journal of Biogeography vol. 27, pp. 843-68.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Armstrong, M., Brennan, K.,
Connors, G., Milne, D., McKenzie, G. & Edwards, K. 2000, 'A
different fauna?: captures of vertebrates in a pipeline trench,
compared with conventional survey techniques; and a consideration
of mortality patterns in a pipeline trench' Australian Zoologist
vol. 31, pp. 421-31.
Franklin, D.C., Woinarski, J.C.Z. & Noske,
R.A. 2000, 'Geographic patterning of species richness among
granivorous birds in Australia', Journal of Biogeography vol. 27,
pp. 829-42.
Ludwig, J.A., Eager, R.W., Liedloff, A.C.,
McCosker, J.C., Hannah, D., Thurgate, N.Y., Woinarski, J.C.Z. &
Catterall, C.P. 2000, 'Clearing and grazing impacts on vegetation
patch structures and fauna counts in eucalypt woodland, central
Queensland', Pacific Conservation Biology vol. 6, pp. 254-72.
Fisher, A., Woinarski, J.C.Z., Churchill, S.,
Trainor, C., Griffiths, A.D., Palmer, C. & Cooper, N. 2000,
'Distribution of the rock-dwelling dasyurids Pseudantechinus
bilarni and Pseudantechinus ningbing in the Northern Territory', NT
Naturalist no. 16, pp. 1-13.
Woinarski, J.C.Z. 2000, 'Range extension of
the Inland Thornbill Acanthiza apicalis into the wet-dry tropics',
NT Naturalist no. 16, pp. 28-31.
Cowie, I.D., Armstrong, M.D., Woinarski,
J.C.Z., Brocklehurst, P.S., Short, P.S. & Dunlop, C.R. 2000,
'An overview of the floodplains', in Floodplain flora. A flora of
the coastal floodplains of the Northern Territory, Australia. Flora
of Australia Supplementary Series no. 10., eds. I.D. Cowie, P.S.
Short & M. Osterkamp Madsen, Australian Biological Resources
Study, Canberra, & Parks and Wildlife Commission of the
Northern Territory, Darwin, pp. 1-33.
*Woinarski, J.C.Z., Fisher, A. & Fensham,
R. 2000, 'Conservation of the garssy landscapes of northern
Australia', I n Northern grassy landscapes. Conference Proceedings.
Tropical Savannnas CRC, Darwin, pp. 5-15.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Brennan, K., Dee, A.,
Njudumul, J., Guthayguthay, P. & Horner, P. 2000, 'Further
records of the False Water-rat Xeromys myoides from coastal
Northern Territory', Australian Mammalogy vol. 21, pp. 245-47.
Woinarski, J.C.Z. 2000, 'The conservation
status of rodents in the monsoonal tropics of the Northern
Territory', Wildlife Research vol. 27, pp. 421-35.
Cole, J. & Woinarski, J.C.Z. 2000,
'Rodents of the arid Northern Territory: conservation status and
distribution', Wildlife Research vol. 27, pp. 437-49.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Franklin, D. & Connors,
G. 2000, 'Thinking honeyeater: nectar maps for the Northern
Territory, Australia, showing spatial and temporal variation in
nectar availability', Pacific Conservation Biology vol. 6, pp.
61-80.
Trainor, C., Fisher, A., Woinarski, J. &
Churchill, S. 2000, 'Multiscale patterns of habitat use by the
Carpentarian rock-rat (Zyzomys palatalis) and the common rock-rat
(Z. argurus)', Wildlife Research vol. 27, pp. 319-32.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Brennan, K., Cowie, I.,
Fisher, A., Latz, P.K. & Russell-Smith, J. 2000, 'Vegetation of
the Wessel and English Company islands, north-eastern Arnhem Land,
Northern Territory, Australia', Australian Journal of Botany vol.
48, pp. 115-41.
Price, O., Milne, D., Connors, G., Harwood,
B., Woinarski, J., and Butler, M. (in press). A conservation plan
for the Daly Basin bioregion. Report to Natural Heritage Trust,
Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory,
Darwin.
Ash, A.J., Bastin, G., Burrows, D., Roth, C.
and Woinarski, J. 2000, 'Determining how livestock grazing and
military training activities affect long-term sustainability of
tropical savanna ecosystems', LWRRDC Final Technical Report, CSIRO
Tropical Agriculture, Townsville.
2000
*Woinarski, J.C.Z., and Whitehead, P.J. (in
press), 'Introductory remarks: Conservation management at a
landscape scale in northern Australia - coping with uncertainty and
change'. In (AWMS symposium)
* Fisher, A. (in press), ' Wildlife
conservation within a pastoral landscape: the Mitchell grasslands
of northern Australia'. In (AWMS symposium).
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Fisher, A., Brennan, K.,
Morris, I., & Chatto, R. (in press), 'Patterns of bird species
richness on islands off Arnhem Land, Northern Territory,
Australia'. Australian Journal of Ecology.
Woinarski, J. C. Z., Brock, C., Armstrong, M.,
Hempel, C., Cheal, D. & Brennan, K. (in press), 'Bird
distribution in riparian vegetation of an Australian tropical
savanna: a broad-scale survey and analysis of distributional data
base'. Journal of Biogeography.
James, C. D., Stafford Smith, M., Landsberg,
J., Fisher, A., Tynan, R., Maconochie, J. & Woinarski, J. (in
press), 'Biograze - melding off-reserve conservation of native
species with animal production in Australian rangelands'. Nature
Conservation 5: Conservation in Production Environments: Managing
the Matrix' ed. J. L. Craig, N. Mitchell, and D. A. Saunders.
Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, Sydney, pp. 290-300.
Fisher, A., Woinarski, J.C.Z., Churchill, S.,
Trainor, C., Griffiths, A.D., Palmer, C. & Cooper, N. (in
press). 'Distribution of the rock-dwelling dasyurids
Pseudantechinus bilarni and Pseudantechinus ningbing in the
Northern Territory'. NT Naturalist.
Woinarski, J.C.Z. (in press). 'Range extension
of the Inland Thornbill Acanthiza apicalis into the wet-dry
tropics'. NT Naturalist.
Woinarski, J.C.Z. (in press). 'The
conservation status of rodents in the Top End of the Northern
Territory'. Wildlife Research.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Brennan, K., Cowie, I.,
Fisher, A., Latz, P.K. & Russell-Smith, J. (in press).
'Vegetation of the Wessel and English Company islands,
north-eastern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia'.
Australian Journal of Botany.
*Woinarski, J.C.Z., and Dawson, F. (in press).
'Limitless lands and limited knowledge: coping with uncertainty and
ignorance in northern Australia'. In Ecology, Uncertainty and
Policy: managing ecosystems for sustainability. eds T.W. Norton,
J.W. Handmer and S.R. Dovers, Longmans: London.
Cole, J. & Woinarski, J.C.Z. (in press).
'Rodents of the arid Northern Territory: conservation status and
distribution'. Wildlife Research.
*Williams, J., Keith, D. & Woinarski,
J.C.Z. (in press). 'Biodiversity conservation - fire management
from remnants to regions'. In Flammable Australia: the fire regimes
and biodiversity of a continent eds R. Bradstock, M. Gill and J.
Williams.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Franklin, D. & Connors,
G. (in press). 'Thinking honeyeater: nectar maps for the Northern
Territory, Australia, showing spatial and temporal variation in
nectar availability'. Pacific Conservation Biology.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Brennan, K., Dee, A.,
Njudumul, J., Guthayguthay, P. & Horner, P. (in press).
'Further records of the False Water-rat Xeromys myoides from
coastal Northern Territory'. Australian Mammalogy.
Franklin, D.C., Woinarski, J.C.Z. & Noske,
R.A. (in press). 'Geographic patterning of species richness among
granivorous birds in Australia'. Journal of Biogeography.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Horner, P., Fisher, A.,
Brennan, K., Lindner, D., Gambold, N., Chatto, R. & Morris, I.
1999. 'Distributional patterning of terrestrial herpetofauna on the
Wessel and English Company Island groups, north-eastern Arnhem
Land, Northern Territory, Australia'. Australian Journal of Ecology
24, 60-79.
Woinarski, J.C.Z. 1999. 'Fire and Australian
birds: a review', in Australia's Biodiversity - responses to fire
ed. Anon. Biodiversity Technical Paper no. 1., Environment
Australia: Canberra. pp. 55-111.
Woinarski, J.C.Z. 1999. 'Fire and Australian
birds: an annotated bibliography', In Australia's Biodiversity -
responses to fire ed. Anon. Biodiversity Technical Paper no. 1.
Environment Australia: Canberra. pp. 113-180.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Palmer, C., Fisher, A.,
Southgate, R., Masters, P. & Brennan, K. 1999. 'Distributional
patterning of mammals on the Wessel and English Company islands,
Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia'. Australian Journal of
Zoology 47, 87-111.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Brock, C., Fisher, A.,
Milne, D. & Oliver, B. 1999. 'Response of birds and reptiles to
fire regimes on pastoral land in the Victoria River District,
Northern Territory'. The Rangeland Journal 21, 24-38.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Gambold, N., Wurst, D.,
Flannery, T.F., Smith, A.P., Chatto, R. & Fisher, A. 1999.
'Distribution and habitat of the Northern Hopping Mouse Notomys
aquilo.' Wildlife Research 26, 495-511.
*Woinarski, J.C.Z. 1999. 'Prognosis and
framework for the conservation of biodiversity in rangelands:
building on the north Australian experience'. In People and
Rangelands: building the future. Proceedings of the VIth
International Rangelands Congress. eds D. Eldridge and D.
Freudenberger VI International Rangelands Congress, Inc:
Aitkenvale, Qld., pp. 639-645.
Cook, G.D., Andersen, A.N., Churchill, T.B.,
Ludwig, J.A., Tongway, D., Williams, R.J. & Woinarski, J.C.Z.
1999. 'Indicators of ecosystem change in north Australian
savannas'. In People and Rangelands: building the future.
Proceedings of the VIth International Rangelands Congress. eds D.
Eldridge and D. Freudenberger VI International Rangelands Congress,
Inc: Aitkenvale, Qld., pp. 124-125.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Franklin, D. & Connors,
G. 1999. 'Landscape mapping of nectar resources as a base for
conservation management'. Australian Biologist 12, 97-105.
Woinarski, J.C.Z., Fisher, A. & Milne, D.
1999. 'Distribution patterns of vertebrates in relation to an
extensive rainfall gradient and soil variation in the tropical
savannas of the Northern Territory, Australia'. Journal of Tropical
Ecology 15, 381-398.
Price, O.F., Woinarski, J.C.Z. & Robinson,
D. 1999. 'Very large area requirements for frugivorous birds in
monsoon rainforests of the Northern Territory, Australia'.
Biological Conservation 91, 169-180.
Palmer, C. & Woinarski, J.C.Z. 1999.
'Seasonal roosts and foraging movements of the black flying fox
Pteropus alecto in the Northern Territory: resource tracking in a
landscape mosaic'. Wildlife Research 26, 823-838.
*Woinarski, J.C.Z. & Fisher, A. 1999. 'The
Australian Endangered Species Protection Act 1992.' Conservation
Biology 13, 959-962. Fisher, A. (1999) 'Conservation assessment of
the Mitchell Grasslands in northern Australia.' Report to
Environment Australia, Parks and Wildlife Commission of the
Northern Territory, Darwin.
Eldridge, S., Fisher, A. & Brock, C.
(1999), 'Monitoring impacts of military use and destocking on clay
grasslands and woodlands in the Bradshaw Field Training Area.'
Report to the Department of Defence, Parks & Wildlife
Commission NT, Alice Springs.
