Vegetation of the Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve and its relationship to the distribution of the helmeted honeyeater, bell miner and white-eared honeyeater

Abstract

The structural characteristics of the habitat of the helmeted honeyeater, Lichenostomus melanops cassidix, the bell miner, Manorina melanophrys, and the white-eared honeyeater, Lichenostomus leucotis, within the Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve have been described elsewhere. The present study aimed to describe the floristic characteristics of the reserve, and explore the relationship between the floristic composition of the vegetation and the presence of each of the three honeyeater species. Six vegetation groups were described and mapped for the reserve. The bell miner and white-eared honeyeater were found to occupy all vegetation groups in proportion to their availability. The helmeted honeyeater was strongly associated with only one of the vegetation groups: E. camphora open forest. The helmeted honeyeater therefore appears to be the most floristically restricted of the three honeyeater species, and this dependence may lead to greater levels of competition for habitat with the more generalist bell miner and white-eared honeyeater.