THE Hastings River mouse Pseudomys oralis is one
of the rarest of the pseudomyines and is patchily
distributed across New South Wales (NSW) and
Queensland, although it is believed to have been
more common in the past (Watts and Aslin 1981). It
is currently listed as ‘endangered’ at both State
(NSW) and Commonwealth levels and there have
only been three ecological studies of the species
(Townley 2000; Keating 2000; Meek 2002a). One
interesting aspect of Pseudomys ecology is their
patchy distribution across the landscape (Watts and
Aslin 1981), even where habitat appears unaltered
and undisturbed. Historically, P. oralis was believed
to be widely dispersed, preferring creek and gully
habitats dominated by Cyperaceae and Juncaceae
species (Read 1993a; Pyke and Read 2002). New
evidence indicates that water courses are not as
important as previously believed with animals being
trapped across a range of topography and habitat
types (Townley 2000; Meek 2002a).
IN Meek et al. (2003), the authors would like to clarify there was no suggestion in the use of the words "observer bias" on page 104 that Read (1993) had spurious morphological data. Instead we were referring to the consistent minor variations that can occur when different researchers measure similar parameters.
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