What 15 years of monitoring is telling us about mammals in Booderee National Park

A major monitoring program began in Booderee National Park in 2003, which encompassed a range of vertebrate groups including mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs, as well as native vegetation. Fifteen years of monitoring has now revealed a major ecological surprise: localised collapses of populations of some of the park’s mammal species and the dramatic rise in abundance of others. The number of different native mammal species in the park almost halved between 2003 and 2016 and there have been major declines in the populations of many mammal species that remain. While areas outside Booderee National Park continue to support populations of species lost or declining in the park.