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Factors affecting patch occupancy by the white-browed treecreeper Climacteris Affinis in an agricultural landscape in north-west Victoria, Australia

Radford, Jim and Bennett, Andrew 2006, Factors affecting patch occupancy by the white-browed treecreeper Climacteris Affinis in an agricultural landscape in north-west Victoria, Australia, Pacific conservation biology, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 195-206.

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Title Factors affecting patch occupancy by the white-browed treecreeper Climacteris Affinis in an agricultural landscape in north-west Victoria, Australia
Author(s) Radford, Jim
Bennett, Andrew
Journal name Pacific conservation biology
Volume number 12
Issue number 3
Start page 195
End page 206
Publisher Surrey Beatty & Sons
Place of publication Chipping Norton, N.S.W.
Publication date 2006
ISSN 1038-2097
Keyword(s) agricultural landscapes
climacteris affinis
functional connectivity
minimum area requirements
threshold
Summary The survival of habitat-dependent fauna within agricultural mosaics depends on their ability to occupy remnant habitat patches and move through the modified landscape. In north-west Victoria, Australia, less than 10% of the pre-European extent of Selah Casuarina pauper woodland remains intact due to agricultural development. The White-browed Treecreeper Climacteris affinis, is a small, insectivorous passerine that, in this region, preferentially inhabits Selah woodland. To assess the ability of C. affinis to persist in an agricultural landscape, 30 woodland sites in the Millewa landscape (34°30'S, 141°30'E) were surveyed, and patterns of patch occupancy used to examine the influence of spatial characteristics, landscape context and grazing by stock on the suitability of remnants as C. affinis habitat. Sites occupied by C. affinis were larger and less likely to be grazed by stock than vacant patches. The area-dependency of patch occupancy represents a step-threshold: C. affinis were not detected in remnants with less than 18.5 ha of Selah woodland but above this threshold, density was not correlated with patch area. Measures of patch isolation, the existence of linking linear "corridors" and tree density were not reliable indicators of patch occupancy. The presence of the species in remnants entirely surrounded by agricultural land suggests they are capable of crossing up to 450 m of cultivated land to prospect for habitat. The extensive network of linear vegetation and the numerous small remnants and scattered trees appear to facilitate movements of C. affinis in this landscape. Increasing the size of existing remnants, creating new habitat to expand the area of occupancy and maintaining landscape connectivity are priorities for the long-term management of this threatened species.
Language eng
Field of Research 050104 Landscape Ecology
Socio Economic Objective 970105 Expanding Knowledge in the Environmental Sciences
HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal
Copyright notice ©2006, Surrey Beatty & Sons
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30003909

Document type: Journal Article
Collections: Faculty of Arts and Education
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment
School of Life and Environmental Sciences
Higher Education Research Group
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