A survey of the birds of the Darwin Stringybark Eucalyptus tetrodonta forest: When is a survey ‘complete’?

Abstract

The 2-ha 20-minute bird survey method was used to survey bird assemblages in the Darwin Stringybark Eucalyptus tetrodonta forest of the Weipa bauxite plateau, Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. A standardised method was preferred so that bird data could be compared with bird data collected in post-mining rehabilitation sites. Thirty-six native forest survey sites were selected using stratification (8 vegetation types) and replication. Over 16 months, eight surveys were conducted at each site, amounting to a total of 160 minutes of survey effort per site. No single site had the full complement of native-forest bird species. A minimum of 14 sites, including seven of the eight site types, was required for all 79 species to be recorded at least once. Sufficient bird data were obtained to conduct statistical analyses, but the species list remained incomplete compared with an estimate of asymptotic species richness.