Why is bridled nailtail wallaby endangered

One theory is that it may aid their speed when the spur hits the ground and acts as a point on which the wallaby pivots during sharp turns. The bridled nailtail wallaby lives in dense acacia shrubland and open grassy woodland but prefers transitional vegetation between these areas. It was one of many species of kangaroos and wallabies hunted by many Aboriginal groups.

At the time of European settlement, the bridled nailtail wallaby was a common species with a distribution reaching from the west of the Great Dividing Range, north to Charters Towers in Queensland, south to north-western Victoria, and possibly extending west to eastern South Australia.

It now survives in a small percentage of the area it once inhabited. For over 30 years the species was believed to be extinct as there had been no confirmed sightings since This was confirmed by Queensland Government researchers and this property and an adjoining property were eventually purchased and became Taunton National Park Scientific. The current population estimate for Taunton National Park Scientific , including neighbouring properties, is approximately 1, wallabies.

Bridled nailtail wallabies are usually solitary animals, but sometimes form small aggregations animals when feeding or when females have young.

The main defence strategy of the bridled nailtail wallaby is to hide rather than flee, which is uncommon in macropods. They are inactive during the day with most of their movement related to maintaining their position in the shade of bushes. Adults often rest and shelter in hollow logs or under young brigalow trees.

Bridled nailtail wallabies can breed all year round and potentially have three young per year. The gestation period is around 24 days and young stay in the pouch for days.

Immediately after the young emerge from the pouch the females hide their young in low, dense vegetation during daytime resting periods. They mature at a young age females at days and males at days. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. Ponce Reyes, R. Firn, S. Nicol, I. Stratford, T. Martin, S. Carwardine The action plan for threatened Australian macropods Sydney: WWF. This database is designed to provide statutory, biological and ecological information on species and ecological communities, migratory species, marine species, and species and species products subject to international trade and commercial use protected under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act the EPBC Act.

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Citation: Department of the Environment Where available the sections below provide a biological profile for the species. Biological profiles vary in age and content across species, some are no longer being updated and are retained as archival content. These profiles are still displayed as they contain valuable information for many species.

The Profile Update section below indicates when the biological profile was last updated for some species. For information to assist regulatory considerations, please refer to Conservation Advice, the Recovery Plan, Policy Statements and Guidelines. Historically, the bridled nail-tail wallaby's distribution extended across inland eastern Australia from north-central Victoria to near Ravenswood in Queensland. This species is now restricted to just three locations including two re-introduced subpopulations and one natural subpopulation.

The bridled nail-tail wallaby is considered an edge specialist, its preferred habitat being the narrow band of transitional vegetation that separates dense Acacia scrub from open grassy eucalypt woodland. This species is solitary and nocturnal, requiring diurnal shelter in hollow logs, under young brigalow regrowth and in dense grass.

Predation by foxes, cats, wild dogs and dingoes are threats to the bridled nail-tail wallaby. For the most current information relating to this species and to assist with regulatory considerations, refer to its Conservation Advice , Recovery Plan and Survey Guidelines. Recent research has been undertaken Kingsley ; Kearney The Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby is a highly solitary, medium-sized macropod; up to 1 m tall and weighing up to 8 kg males.

The species has distinctive markings of a white 'bridle' line running from the centre of the neck, along the shoulder to behind the forearm on each side of the body. A black stripe runs the length of the body, and white cheek stripes are present on both sides of the head. A horny 'nail' occurs at the tip of the tail, is between mm and is partly concealed by hair Evans cited in Lundie-Jenkins The Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby is confined to Taunton National Park Scientific an area of 11 ha near the town of Dingo with some sightings within 10 km of the park Davidson ; Lundie-Jenkins Population genetics and radio-tracking studies have shown that the populations at different localities within Taunton National Park Scientific are not isolated, but connected through frequent juvenile dispersal Fisher a.

One reintroduced population is confined to a smaller section of Idalia National Park in Western Queensland Pople et al. Another population has been re-introduced at Scotia Sanctuary 64 ha , km south of Broken Hill Finlayson et al.

There was a captive population of the Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby at Pallarenda near Townsville between and The species' range declined dramatically around , and there were no confirmed sightings reported during the period Lundie-Jenkins The category 'National Park Scientific ' designates a conservation reserve containing a wild population and not open to the general public. The total population of Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies varies from year to year, depending on rainfall.

The population was considered to have declined markedly during a prolonged drought in the early s Fisher et al. All four free-living populations of the Bridled Nailtail Wallaby are considered to be important; in approximately half of the population occurred at Taunton National Park Scientific and half at Idalia National Park Fisher et al. In , Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies were reintroduced to Idalia National Park in western Queensland from captive bred and wild stock, and this population had quadrupled by and was increasing in range.

Survival estimates for wild-born recruits suggest that the population will continue to increase under conditions of high rainfall and continued predator control Pople et al. However, it is likely to decline during droughts Fisher et al. Modelling suggests that even low predation rates could have a significant detrimental effect on translocated populations of the Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby when their numbers are low McCallum ; McCallum et al.

Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies were translocated to Avocet Nature Refuge which is adjacent to suitable habitat on Goonderoo, a property owned by the Australian Bush Heritage Trust between and The Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby occurs in woodland, particularly in Brigalow Acacia harpophylla scrub, preferring areas with the most fertile soil Lundie-Jenkins During the day when they are resting , Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies prefer habitat that consists of young Brigalow regrowth or contains fallen logs Evans They shelter beneath shrubs, in large grass tussocks, and inside hollow logs.

They generally choose shelter sites with the densest cover of foliage and stems at Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby height cm , and this type of shelter is concentrated at the edges of wooded areas such as Brigalow regrowth Fisher At night when they are feeding , they prefer the ecotone habitat containing both pasture and young Brigalow regrowth Evans When feeding in open pasture, they prefer to stay close to the edge of shelter habitat Evans On the north western section of Taunton National Park Scientific , the Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby is found in all four of the major vegetation types; open grassy eucalypt woodland dominated by Poplar Box Eucalyptus populnea , dense Acacia forest dominated by Brigalow, transitional vegetation intermediate between the woodland and forest, and in areas of very dense Brigalow regrowth Tierney After clearing, Brigalow grows back from root stock, forming dense thickets.

Older Brigalow regrowth has sparse foliage in the m height range, but has a closed canopy above this height. Younger regrowth forms patches of small dense bushes, obscuring visibility below 1 m. At Idalia National Park, reintroduced Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies use open woodland as well as Brigalow regrowth, and also use Wilga bushes Geijera parviflora as shelter habitat Veldman cited in Pople et al. Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies prefer vegetation edges: in the mid s, they were most likely to occur in a narrow band of vegetation at the interface between dense Acacia scrub and open grassy eucalypt woodland in the north west of the Park Tierney In the mid s when the Brigalow regrowth in the north east of the Park had reached m in height, they preferred the area where Brigalow regrowth abuts pasture there, and the area where rosewood Acacia rhodoxylon and Eucalypt woodland borders open alluvial flats in the centre of the Park.

In both areas, the feeding ranges of many wallabies are concentrated at former cattle yards, where food is plentiful due to the fertile soil Fisher In semi-arid regions of eastern Australia. Gould reported that "It inhabits all the low mountain ranges, the elevation of which varies from one to six hundred feet, and which are of a sterile character - hot, dry, stony and thickly covered with shrub like stunted trees".

In captivity, sexual maturity is reached at days in female Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies, and days in males Johnson Average life expectancy in the wild based on population projection data is around six years Fisher et al.

Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies breed all year round. The condition of juveniles after they leave the pouch is also correlated with maternal condition weight relative to body size , and young in worse condition are less likely to survive Fisher b.

Males that weigh more than g are much more likely to father offspring than smaller males, because males compete physically to gain access to sexually receptive females.

Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies require areas of low, dense ground cover that is close to pasture to breed successfully. After young leave the pouch permanently at around 17 weeks old, juvenile Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies do not follow their mothers as larger kangaroos do.

Rather, they spend the day concealed in dense cover, generally at the edge of a feeding area that is more than m away from their mothers' daytime shelter. Juveniles are alone in more than half of all observations at night, and are much more likely than adults to lie flat on the ground if approached. Mothers return to hiding juveniles periodically to suckle them, especially at dusk and dawn.

Mothers of juveniles of this age reduce their home ranges, stay closer to vegetation cover than other females do, are more likely to stay in the Brigalow regrowth, and are more wary.

Juveniles often lie in a small depression that they scrape in the dirt, so that their backs are flush with ground level and they are camouflaged. At Taunton National Park Scientific , Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies hide most often under low foliage of Yellowwood Terminalia oblongata , Brigalow, and particularly Currant Bush Carissa ovata , which is preferred in relation to its abundance in the habitat.

They also utilise hollow logs, and have been known to shelter under grass clumps, fallen timber or tree roots. Juveniles use smaller shelters than adults do mean width 1. A study at Taunton National Park Scientific found the diet of the Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby to be diverse, including herbaceous species forbs , grasses and shrubs.

Proportions of these different plant groups varied with season and availability. Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies prefer other foods to grass species in all seasons, particularly during the dry winter. At this time forbs mostly chenopods became the major dietary component, and feeding selectivity was high for the relatively rare food items such as sedges. There was strong selection for sedges during spring, when food resources were at their lowest abundance.

They showed a preference for food items of relatively high nutritional value leaf and reproductive parts such as seedheads and selection against items of relatively high fibre content grass stem and sheath. In droughts, very little food grows in the Brigalow regrowth and woodlands, and Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies must feed in the open, leaving them potentially vulnerable to predators such as the Dingo Canis lupus dingo and the Cat Felis catus. However in times of higher rainfall, food grows in the sheltered habitats and they increasingly feed under cover, avoiding open areas Fisher Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies are generally faithful to their home ranges and particular shelter sites, and are not mobile, although the size of home ranges changes depending on environmental conditions Fisher At Taunton National Park Scientific , home ranges of males The home ranges of both sexes overlap extensively.

Home ranges have two core areas, a nocturnal feeding area which is located at the border of pasture and shelter vegetation, and a diurnal resting core area, located mainly within wooded habitat such as Brigalow scrub, other Acacia forest or poplar box woodland, depending on where it is within the Park Evans ; Fisher Daytime home range sizes were correlated with grass biomass and were larger at the site with a lower population density and less shelter Fisher At Idalia, home ranges were larger in open woodland than in Brigalow regrowth Veldman cited in Pople et al.

The following information is additional to the guidelines. Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies have a distinctive 'bridle' of white around the shoulder blades, which begins as a white stripe bordered by black at the back of the neck. This is often visible during spotlighting. The end of the tail is black and has a small crest of hair covering the claw-like nail.

The tail is held stiff in an inverted 'U' shape with the tip pointing up while hopping. The Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby hops with its head held low and its arms held outwards Evans cited in Lundie-Jenkins ; Fisher Black-striped Wallabies are also more likely to occur in groups, and are usually larger than Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies Fisher ; Fisher et al.

Before beginning a survey to detect the Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby, daytime searches can be used to find potentially suitable habitat, such as open eucalypt forest adjacent to woodland and Brigalow scrub. Searches of areas up to 5 ha should be along transects spaced at m intervals. The placement of transects should be planned in advance using aerial photographs and maps.

As a guide, for every 1 ha surveyed, at least two hours should be spent searching for potential habitat and signs of activity AMBS The Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby can then be surveyed using daytime searches for droppings and scrapes places where wallabies have scraped away leaf litter to expose the bare ground where they have been sheltering, usually under small trees or shrubs.

The shape and size of the droppings are characteristic, and can be used to confirm the presence of Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies, as can the hair, which is readily collected on double-sided sticky tape at the entrance of hollow logs likely to be used as daytime shelters Fisher Searching during the day often results in any Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies present being flushed from their shelters.

This may expose them to predators. Therefore, daytime searches should not be conducted at times when predators such as Wedge-tailed Eagles Aquila audax are in the immediate vicinity AMBS Daytime transect surveys can be used to detect Bridled Nail-tail Wallabies while they are resting. However, they are much easier to detect and identify when they are active Fisher et al.

Movement is very restricted during the day, but at night movement increases to between 10 and meters per hour. Very little information was available on communication in O. However, some generalizations can be made, based on what we know of mammals in general, and other macropods in particular. These animals are known to transmit information through scent cues, especially when females are in estrous. Males determine the readiness of females to mate based upon their smell. In addition, there is some visual and tactile communication during mating, based upon chasing behavior and the mating process itself.

Other macropods are known to vocalize, and it is likely that O. Nowak, Onychogalea fraenata feeds on a diverse selection of forbes, grasses, and woody browse. During observation in Taunton National Park, these foods were selected by the animals: The herbaceous forb Portulaca oleraceae , pigweeds such as Helipterum spp.

No information on anti-predator adaptations was available for O. Native dingoes may be predators of these animals. Exotic carnivores such as red foxes may prey on these animals.

Onychogalea fraenata feed on a variety of plants and may affect plant communities in then region. Because nail-tailed wallabies are only found in national parks, they may be important for ecotourism. Onychogalea fraenata is part of a large recovery plan.

The number of these wallabies has declined due to competition with domestic animals, habitat destruction, and the introduction of carnivores mainly foxes and dingos. Onychogalea fraenata has already been successfully reintroduced into the Idalia National Park and there are plans for other reintroductions from animals in captive breeding programs. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends.

Synapomorphy of the Bilateria. Ecotourism implies that there are existing programs that profit from the appreciation of natural areas or animals. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a now extinct synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds. Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons or periodic condition changes. A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy.

Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia. A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.

Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.

Hendrikz, J. Development of the bridled nailtail wallaby, Onychogalea fraenata , and age estimation of the pouch young. Wildlife-research , 26 2 : Lara, M. Effects of body size and home range on access to mates and paternity in male bridled nailtail wallabies. Animal Behaviour , Lundie-Jenkins, G. Environment Australia. Nowak, R.