Terrestrial vertebrate richness of the inhabited Torres Strait Islands, Australia

Lavery, Tyrone H., Watson, Justin J. and Leung, Luke K. -P. (2012) Terrestrial vertebrate richness of the inhabited Torres Strait Islands, Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology, 60 3: 180-191.


Author Lavery, Tyrone H.
Watson, Justin J.
Leung, Luke K. -P.
Title Terrestrial vertebrate richness of the inhabited Torres Strait Islands, Australia
Journal name Australian Journal of Zoology  (ERA 2012 Listed)    (ERA 2010 Rank B)   Check publisher's open access policy
Publication date 2012-01
Sub-type Article
DOI 10.1071/ZO12043
Volume number 60
Issue number 3
ISSN 0004-959X; 1446-5698
Start page 180
End page 191
Total pages 12
Place of publication Collingwood, VIC, United States
Publisher C S I R O Publishing
Collection year 2013
Language eng
Abstract Located between New Guinea and Australia, Torres Strait and its islands provide an opportunity to examine the results of recent isolation on the Australo-Papuan fauna. However, records of the modern diversity of terrestrial vertebrates on the islands remained scattered and poorly documented. Analyses of terrestrial vertebrate inventories and physical island variables can provide insight into pre-existing conditions of the Sahul land bridge and useful strategies for conservation efforts. We collated all available records of terrestrial vertebrates from the 17 inhabited islands and supplemented these with our own systematic surveys. We used Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient and nested analysis to determine how species richness relates to physical island variables. We also used cluster analysis to group similar islands based on their vertebrate assemblages. Vertebrate richness is not correlated with Simpson’s habitat diversity but is correlated with total number of habitat types, indicating that rare habitats may contribute disproportionately to richness. The archipelago supports a depauperate Australo-Papuan fauna and the assemblages found on smaller islands are subsets of those on larger islands. Island size is the most effective predictor of species richness, and the analysis reveals that geographically related islands support similar suites of species. The frequency with which our surveys added new records to individual island inventories highlights the need for additional sampling in the region.
Keyword Species richness
Northern-Territory
Arnhem-Land
Biogeographical analysis
Q-Index Code C1
Q-Index Status Confirmed Code
Institutional Status UQ

Document type: Journal Article
Sub-type: Article
Collections: School of Agriculture and Food Sciences
Official 2013 Collection
 
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