Contents:
Background
Project Objectives
Management Outcomes

Background:

Once considered to be common, the endangered bridled nailtail wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata) currently occupies less than 5% of its former range. The only known significant wild population occurs on and around Taunton National Park (Scientific) in central Queensland. Recent monitoring suggests a population size of <1,000. In the mid 1990s, in accordance with the species’ Recovery Plan, the Queensland Government translocated a population of free-ranging bridled nailtail wallabies to Idalia National Park – a location on the extreme western limit of the species historical distribution. In addition to these wild populations, a semi free-ranging captive population of bridled nailtail wallabies has been established in a predator-proof enclosure at BMA’s Gregory Coal Mine near Emerald in central Queensland.

Habitat creation and management of landscapes for wildlife conservation requires some understanding of both the ecological requirements of the species concerned, and the ecosystem processes responsible for maintaining those features in the environment. The objectives of this project are two-fold: to better characterise the habitat requirements of the bridled nailtail wallaby, and to develop techniques which restore patches of unsuitable habitat.

Project Objectives:

Objective 1: Investigate temporal and spatial variability in the forage available to, and selected by, the bridled nailtail wallaby across its current geographical range. 

Objective 2: Determine the water requirements of the bridled nailtail wallaby by measuring their water turnover rate.

Objective 3: Develop restoration techniques that are able to enhance the suitability of a degraded habitat (older Brigalow regrowth) by encouraging the establishment and persistence of botanical species essential to the survival of the bridled nailtail wallaby.

Management Outcomes:

The overriding purpose of this research is to provide additional information which will aid management and support the recovery of the bridled nailtail wallaby. Project outputs will relate to:
· Improved understanding of the feeding ecology of the bridled nailtail wallaby, including a list of those plant species which form a fundamental part of their diet across a wider geographical range than has been studied previously.
· Knowledge of the feeding behaviour of a recently translocated population at a location on the extreme western edge of their historical distribution.
· Greater understanding of the nutritional characteristics of forage utilised by bridled nailtail wallabies.
· Information relating to the bridled nailtail wallabies ability to conserve water, and thus, greater understanding of adaptations which may enable them to persist in semi-arid environments.
· Increased understanding of the ecosystem processes associated with, and responsible for, the development of Brigalow regrowth communities as suitable habitat for bridled nailtail wallabies.