A nine year survey of the vertebrate fauna of the Bruxner-Ulidarra conservation area in the New South Wales north coast bioregion

Abstract

Bruxner Park Flora Reserve and the adjoining Ulidarra National Park, on the NSW north coast, comprise a dual-tenure conservation area of 1090 ha dominated by rainforest and old-growth moist eucalypt forest. A field survey of the area's vertebrate fauna over the period 1996-2005 detected 224 native species and nine introduced species. Incorporating records from secondary sources, the Bruxner-Ulidarra conservation area is known to support 230 native vertebrate species (39 mammals, 124 birds, 36 reptiles, 21 frogs and 10 fishes), including 20 species that are currently listed as threatened under NSW legislation. One hundred and ninety vertebrate species (79% of the total) were recorded during a systematic survey, with the remainder of records from opportunistic survey (18%) or secondary sources (3%). The effectiveness of the systematic survey effort in detecting the full inventory of species known from the study area ranged from 100% for freshwater fishes to only 61% for reptiles. Many reptile species were c...