Quality not quantity: conserving species of low mobility and dispersal capacity in south-western Australian urban remnants

Abstract

Urban remnant vegetation is subject to varying degrees of disturbance that may or may not be proportional to the size of the patch. The impact of disturbance within patches on species with low mobility and dispersal capabilities was investigated in a survey targeting nemesiid species of the mygalomorph spider clade in the Perth metropolitan area, south-western Australia. Nemesiid presence was not influenced by patch size, but presence did negatively correlate with higher degrees of invasive grass and rabbit disturbance. Further, patch size was significantly positively correlated with degree of disturbance caused by rabbits. Compared with quadrats, patches were not as effective as sample units in determining the impact of disturbance on nemesiid presence.

DNA metabarcoding—a new approach to fauna monitoring in mine site restoration

“…However, many animals such as short‐range endemics have narrow distributions and poor colonization capacity (Harvey ). Relatively high proportions of such taxa occur in some environments (Rix et al ; Mason et al ), particularly in old stable landscapes (Mucina & Wardell‐Johnson ; Wardell‐Johnson et al ). This limits the generality of findings from studies on highly mobile organisms, or those from more recent landscapes.…”

“…Fauna of recognized conservation significance tends to be specifically monitored throughout all stages of mineral extraction, including restoration. However, many conservation critical invertebrate taxa are understudied, difficult to detect, and have poorly understood drivers of population decline or responses to management (Mason et al ).…”

Ashes to ashes: Intense fires extinguish populations of urban short‐range endemics

“…Despite the substantial conservation significance of mygalomorph spiders (Main ; Mason et al . ), little is known about their current distribution, habitat requirements and threats to persistence within the patches of remnant vegetation.…”

Peer Review #2 of "The pitfalls of short-range endemism: high vulnerability to ecological and landscape traps (v0.1)"

“…79 Poor dispersal capabilities suggest that SREs are able to survive in small patches of 80 high-quality remnant vegetation (Mason, Wardell-Johnson & Main, 2016). Mygalomorph 81 spiders are excellent candidate taxa as bioindicators for SRE taxa.…”

“…95 Mason et al, (2016) suggested that invasive veldt grass (Erharta spp.) may be 96 detrimental to local mygalomorph species, either through preventing establishment of 97 burrows, or through microhabitat or prey availability variables.…”