Sminthopsis douglasi

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	DASYUROMORPHIA	DASYURIDAE

Scientific Name:

Sminthopsis douglasi

Species Authority:

Archer, 1979

Common Name/s:

English	–	Julia Creek Dunnart
French	–	Souris Marsupiale De Julia Creek

Synonym/s:

Antechinomys douglasi (Archer, 1979)

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Near Threatened ver 3.1

Year Published:

2008

Assessor/s:

Burnett, S. & Winter, J.

Reviewer/s:

Lamoreux, J. & Hilton-Taylor, C. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)

Justification:
Listed as Near Threatened because, although the species is now known from a relatively large extent of occurrence, it is very sparsely distributed within its range and little is known about its population trend. It is unlikely to be declining at the rate required to qualify for listing in a threatened category, but it might be nearly there. Almost qualifies as threatened under criterion A or B2.

History:

1996	–	Endangered
1994	–	Endangered (Groombridge 1994)
1990	–	Indeterminate (IUCN 1990)
1988	–	Indeterminate (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988)
1986	–	Indeterminate (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986)
1982	–	Indeterminate (Thornback and Jenkins 1982)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is endemic to north-west Queensland, Australia.
Countries:	Native: Australia (Queensland)
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	The Julia Creek Dunnart is rare and scattered through what appears to be large amounts of suitable habitat (Woolley 2008).
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This species is known from the Mitchell Grass downs, which are covered with cracking clay soils. It uses the cracks and dense vegetation (particularly Flinders grass) as cover (Lundie-Jenkins and Payne 2000). Females can raise two litters annually of up to eight young (Woolley 2008).
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Exotic predators (especially cats and foxes), grazing by sheep and cattle, as well as the presence of the prickly acacia (Acacia nilotica) have all been implicated as major threats to the species. Cats have been shown to prey heavily on Julia Creek Dunnarts (Lundie-Jenkins and Payne 2000). Introduced prickly acacia excludes an ample understorey for the species (Lundie-Jenkins and Payne 2000). Experiments eliminating grazing by sheep have shown to have little effect on the species, but there is some question about the methods used and the effects of cattle grazing are unknown (Lundie-Jenkins and Payne 2000). A recent study of habitat suitability, however, found that increased ground cover (in the absence of prickly acacia) and low levels of grazing were highly correlated with habitat suitability (Smith et al. 2007).

Major Threat(s):

Exotic predators (especially cats and foxes), grazing by sheep and cattle, as well as the presence of the prickly acacia (Acacia nilotica) have all been implicated as major threats to the species. Cats have been shown to prey heavily on Julia Creek Dunnarts (Lundie-Jenkins and Payne 2000). Introduced prickly acacia excludes an ample understorey for the species (Lundie-Jenkins and Payne 2000). Experiments eliminating grazing by sheep have shown to have little effect on the species, but there is some question about the methods used and the effects of cattle grazing are unknown (Lundie-Jenkins and Payne 2000). A recent study of habitat suitability, however, found that increased ground cover (in the absence of prickly acacia) and low levels of grazing were highly correlated with habitat suitability (Smith et al. 2007).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	The Julia Creek Dunnart is listed as a threatened species under Australian law. It is present in several protected areas. A recovery plan has been developed for the 2000-2004 period (Lundie-Jenkins and Payne 2000), and an updated recovery plan is being drafted. Recommendations from the current recovery plan (Lundie-Jenkins and Payne 2000), include: surveying to improve knowledge of the current distribution and critical habitat; studying the ecology and habitat requirements of the species; managing threats at key sites; developing management agreements with private landowners for the benefit of the species; maintaining the current captive breeding programs at La Trobe University and David Fleay Wildlife Park; and promoting community awareness, support, and participation in the recovery of the species.

Conservation Actions:

The Julia Creek Dunnart is listed as a threatened species under Australian law. It is present in several protected areas. A recovery plan has been developed for the 2000-2004 period (Lundie-Jenkins and Payne 2000), and an updated recovery plan is being drafted.

Recommendations from the current recovery plan (Lundie-Jenkins and Payne 2000), include: surveying to improve knowledge of the current distribution and critical habitat; studying the ecology and habitat requirements of the species; managing threats at key sites; developing management agreements with private landowners for the benefit of the species; maintaining the current captive breeding programs at La Trobe University and David Fleay Wildlife Park; and promoting community awareness, support, and participation in the recovery of the species.

Citation:	Burnett, S. & Winter, J. 2008. Sminthopsis douglasi. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 25 May 2012.
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