Shark Bay Bandicoot Management (Preliminary report subject to further sensitivity testing)

Date: 25, Nov, 2019
Author(s):   Daniel White, Carolyn Hogg
Publisher: TSR Hub

The range of the Shark Bay bandicoot (SBB; Perameles bougainville) has been drastically reduced due to a range of threatening processes including feral predators, land development, habitat fragmentation, fire and drought. There are currently only two remaining wild populations of SBB on Dorre and Bernier islands in Shark Bay, Western Australia. Translocation is an important conservation strategy for this species’ recovery. To date, SBBs have been translocated three times including Heirisson Prong, WA (1995, 1996), Arid Recovery, SA (2000, 2009) and Faure Island, WA (2005) with only the Arid Recovery and Faure Island populations still persisting. To prevent any further loss of SBBs, this species has been targeted for translocation to several locations, including to Mt. Gibson (131,710 hectare AWC sanctuary located north-east of Perth) and to Dirk Hartog Island, Shark Bay, WA (part of the Return to 1616 project) between 2017 and 2019. Future translocation locations also include Sturt Desert, Pilliga, and Mallee Cliffs. The extinction probability of harvesting Dorre and Bernier Islands has been quantified using population viability analysis (PVA) modelling. The modelling has been undertaken using parameters collected from the published literature and collected from unpublished WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) reports.