19 – Parks Australia monitoring for threatened species^263Box 19.1. Great desert skink (tjakura) Liopholis kintorei
monitoring at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (UKTNP) is situated in the Northern Territory,
320 km south-west of Alice Springs. The Park covers 1325 km^2 and is managed
jointly between Parks Australia and Anangu Traditional Owners. The great desert
skink, or tjakura, Liopholis kintorei is extremely important within UKTNP, both as a
listed vulnerable species under the EPBC Act, and to Anangu as a former significant
resource and as part of traditional Aboriginal law (Tjukurpa). The monitoring
program began in 2000 and was conducted each year from 2000 to 2011 by an
external consultant on behalf of Parks Australia. From 2012 to 2017, Parks Australia
staff completed annual surveys, with the exception of 2016 when surveys were
conducted by researchers from Kansas USA. The monitoring objectives are:
- to determine the distribution, abundance, status and habitat requirements of
tjakura - to determine any significant changes in population dynamics and breeding
success - to determine existing and potential threats to the tjakura population within the Park
- to develop appropriate strategies for conserving tjakura.
Methods
In this case study we focus on the monitoring of known burrows and recording of
their occupancy status. Burrows are classified as: (i) active, if obvious signs are
found (e.g. tracks, latrines); (ii) inactive, if there is no sign of lizard activity; (iii) gone,
if there is no longer any sign of a burrow; or (iv) new, if the burrow has not be
detected before.
Continuity, turnover and recruitment of burrows (defined as inactive burrows
becoming active) are determined by comparing the individual burrow status over
time. The rates (calculated using the formulas below) of turnover, recruitment and
continuity are compared between consecutive survey periods (e.g. rates from
2015–2017 were compared with those found in 2014–2015).
- Turnover = n (active to inactive or active to gone)/n (active in the previous year)
- Recruitment = n (inactive to active)/n (inactive in the previous year)
- Continuity = n (active to active)/n (active in the previous year)
The effects of rainfall and fire history on species abundance and distribution
were explored. In 2015 and 2016, habitat characteristics at burrows were also
measured. This included counting the number of termite calics within a 2.5 m and
10 m radius of the burrow communal latrine, and the total percent vegetation cover
and the percentage cover occupied by different plant species along a series of
transects, plus the number of woody plants >1 m high within 2.5 m of the latrine.
Results and discussion
Turnover rates across all sites from 2001 to 2017 ranged from 18 to 82%, with a
mean of 44%. Recruitment levels were generally low throughout the survey period