Analysis of avian diversity in a fragmented southern Mallee habitat

As an Honours Year project with the University of Ballarat, the avifaunal communities of the Wedderburn area will be surveyed. This work follows that of Gell (1985) who surveyed the area 27 years previously to determine the effect of reserve size and isolation on bird communities within Mallee habitat. In re-surveying these southern Mallee remnants, the proposed project will utilise the results of Gell as baseline data to determine the changes to community composition along both temporal and spatial scales.

It has been demonstrated that species decline as a result of habitat fragmentation may experience substantial lag times; with the loss of species continuing many decades following a disturbance event. This proposed project will examine the changes to have occurred with the bird communities in the Wedderburn area and assess whether the management practices of the past 30 years have succeeded in halting the loss of species.

Several of the survey locations are within Parks Victoria boundaries including the Wychitella Nature Conservation Reserve, Wedderburn State Forest, Barrakee Bush Reserve, Nardo Creek Bush Reserve and Wallaby Way Bush Reserve

Article -Tom Miller

Photograph - New Holland honeyeater