Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement No. 75: 25-31 (2008).

The original non-volant land mammal fauna of Faure Island,Shark Bay, Western Australia

Alexander BaynesDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Western Australian Museum,

Locked Bag 49, Welshpool DC, WA 6986 Australia; E-mail: alex.baynes@museum.wa.gov.au

Abstract - Remains of four species of non-volant native mammals have beenfound on Faure Island: Perameles bougainvi1le (Western Barred Bandicoot),Bettongia penicillata (Woylie or Brush-tailed Bettong), Pseudomys fieldi(Shark Bay Mouse) and Rattus tunneyi (Pale Field-rat). Three of these species,Pe. bougainville, B. penicillata and Ps. fieldi, are abundant and their remainsare recorded from several or most dune 'blowout' sites and all are recordedfrom a substantial cave deposit. These three were members of the original (i.e.immediately pre-European) fauna of Faure Island. Rattus tunneyi, in contrast,is known from a single specimen from a dune blowout, but is not recordedfrom the cave deposit. It appears unlikely to have been a member of theoriginal fauna, but rather the specimen may be a relict from an earlier fauna,or may have been carried to the island from the mainland by a predator.Comparison with other islands in Shark Bay suggests that, at some 5800 ha inarea, Faure Island should have carried more than three mammal species.There is no evidence that the island has been significantly smaller at any timesince it was formed by rising sea level about 7000 years ago. A lack of habitatdiversity or extremes of temperature or drought may have reduced thenumber of mammal species over the millenia, or it is just possible that theoriginal fauna may have included other small species with restricted habitatrequirements whose remains have not been detected. It is, however, veryunlikely that any other medium-sized mammal originally occurred on theIsland.

Key words: relict, cave deposit, island, Shark Bay

INTRODUCTIONFaure Island is one of many continental shelf

islands along the Western Australian coast cut offfrom the mainland by glacio-eustatic sea level risein the most recent glacial-interglacial cycle (Main1961; Wilson 2008). Geomorphologically, it is partof the eastern prong of Peron Peninsula, which is aridge that lies above present sea level probablybecause it is underlain by an anticline (Hocking eta1. 1987; Playford 1990). The Peninsula and FaureIsland are composed mainly of Peron Sandstone,overlain by red aeolian Nilemah Sands (Hocking eta1. 1987; Playford 1990). Minor marine units and'white' Holocene aeolian dunes occur around thecoasts. The latter, are particularly prevalent in areasof coast where the southerly summer sea 'breezes'blow onshore.

Although there are no data bearing directly onthe question of the exact timing of the separationof Faure Island from Peron Peninsula, this is likelyto have occurred about 7000 calendar years ago,when present sea level was first reached (Thornand Chappell 1975: radiocarbon dates recal-ibrated). The water gap between Petit Point (onPeron Peninsula) and Faure Island is very shallow

- there is anecdotal evidence that under suitableconditions of water depth, which is mainlycontrolled by tidal and seasonal effects, emus canwade across it (R. E. Johnstone personalcommunication March 2000; J.N.S. Williamspersonal communication October 2006), and it isshown on some maps as all tidal flats. But therehas been uplift of the land of about 2 m comparedto mean sea level in Shark Bay during theHolocene (Thorn and Chappell 1975), presumablydecreasing the water depth since 7000 years ago.The Faure Sill, that runs from the east of FaureIsland to the mainland, formed about 4200 yearsago (Playford 1990), subsequent to islandformation and sea level stabilization, and is a newstructure rather than the remains of the last landconnection to the Island. Therefore the lastconnection was to Peron Peninsula, and themammal fauna on the diminishing land mass thatwould become Faure Island would have been asubset of that then occurring on Peron Peninsula,which would itself have been a subset of theregional fauna, due to the peninsula effect. Theoriginal (i.e., immediately pre-European) landmammal fauna of Peron Peninsula has been

26

investigated by Baynes (1990, 2000, 2007) usingremains from the surfaces of small cave deposits.

No specimens of living native non-volantmammals are known to have been obtained fromFaure Island, and nothing was known about itsoriginal mammal fauna until 1972, when the skullof a Woylie (or Brush-tailed Bettong, Bettongiapenicillata), picked up on the island by Dick Hoult,wp's donated to the Western Australian Museum.That specimen wap placed in the modern mammalcollection, wiLl,. the catalogue number M9544. GregHarold and Angela Sanders visited Faure Island inNovember 1989 in the course of a survey of theShark Bay region undertaken as a contract for thethen Department of Conservation and LandManagement (G.R. Harold personal communicationApril 2000). They set out several trap lines and ranthem for several nights, and caught House Mice(Mus musculus) but no native mammals. During avisit to the Island by Martin Copley and TimFlannery in December 1999 further skeletal materialwas obtained from dune blowouts on the westcoast, near where the original skull had been found.The bones included more jaw specimens of Woylie,three jaws of Shark Bay Mouse (Pseudomys fieldl)and three damaged limb bones consistent withWestern Barred Bandicoot (Peramelesbougainville). In April 2000 Martin Copley andBarry Wilson found more Woylie remains in a duneblowout at the southwestern corner of the Island.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

I joined the Faure Island biological surveyexpedition for one week, 23-29 May 2000, to searchfor further mammal skeletal remains, and try todiscover the full original non-volant mammalfauna. Reports from Martin Copley, and resultsobtained on earlier visits by others (above),suggested that such remains might be found in twotypes of situations: the dune blowouts and in smallcaves in the cliffs along some parts of the Islandcoast. I therefore concentrated on such areas,searching caves in cliffs along the southern eastcoast and northern west coast, and sand duneblowouts along the south and west coasts. I did notvisit the north coast, the northern east coast, or thespit on the southern side of the main mangrove. InJuly 2006 Jiri and Marie Lochman discovered anowl pellet deposit in a small cave in a cliff at thenorthern end of the east coast of the Island. I visitedthe Island again 20-22 October 2006, and locatedtwo caves in that area that contained nativemammal bones. I made a large collection from oneof them, which subsequent discussion with JiriLochman has confirmed was the cave that he found(J. Lochman personal communication July 2007).

The bone material obtained during both periodsof field work was identified, using, where

A. Baynes

necessary, comparative material from the vertebratepalaeontological collection of the WesternAustralian Museum.

RESULTS

SitesI failed to find a single bone of a native mammal

in any of the caves during the 2000 field work. Ifound that surprising, as such remains can usuallybe found in coastal caves around most of Shark Bayand its other islands (Baynes 1990, 2000). It is notclear why the only owl pellet deposit should occurin the cliff at the northern end of the east coast,when many of the caves in the other cliffed areasappear to be suitable as owl roosts. There may be asubtle difference in the geology of the rock in whichthe caves have developed, perhaps being slightlymore alkaline, contributing to the preservation ofbone; or the explanation may lie in the formerpresence on the Island of goats which had used thelarger caves as shelters, kicking the contents outonto the talus slopes below, where bones rapidlydeteriorate in the sun, as is still happening on DirkHartog Island (Baynes 2006). The Faure Island duneblowouts, on the other hand, were almost allproductive in 2000.

The sites (Figure 1) are described below and arenumbered around the island in a clockwisedirection beginning with the large blowout behindthe main mangrove at the southern end of the westcoast.Bl. Big blowout in 'white' dunes stretching for

about 1 km along the curved north-east coastof the main mangrove. Centre of site GPS(WGS 84): 25°52'24"S, 113°52'39"E.

B2. Blowout in 'white' dunes on the northern coastof the next bay to the north-west of B1; dunesnot so high or extending so far inland as Bl.No GPS co-ordinates recorded.

B3. Blowout in a high red dune at the western endof the main east-west fence. This is where theoriginal Woylie specimen was found (D. Houltpersonal communication May 2000). No GPSco-ordinates recorded.

B4. Blowout in a 'white' dune at the western endof the main east-west fence, just to the north ofB3. No GPS co-ordinates recorded.

B5. Big blowout in a large red dune on thenorthern west coast of the island. Centre ofsite GPS (standard not recorded): 25°49'49"S.,113°51'14"E.

B6. Blowout in small pinkish 'white' dune, nearthe old pearlers' camp on the north-west pointof the Island. GPS (standard not recorded):25°49'01"S, 113°51'13"E.

Cl. Small cave in low cliff about 5 m above sealevel at the northern end of the east coast,found by A. Baynes, J.N.S. Williams and c.c.

----------

Non-volant mammal fauna 27

C3

87

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Figure 'I Location of mammal bones collected on Faure Island including Sites Cl to C3 and 131 to 139.

Stephens, 21 Oct 2006. Cl'S (WCS 84):I 13°54'34"E.

C2. Small cave at the southern end of the mostnortherly sweep of cliff on the east coast of theIsland. First discovered J. andM. Lochman.19 Jul who collected bones from it.Relocated A. 2] Oct 2006. Cl'S

25'49'51 ]]3'54'31 m a.s.l.Sediments dug out of the cave to a depth ofabout .5 cm and screened on 22 Oct 211116 A.".''''-''>0 and C.c. Stephens.

C3. Cliff on the mid east coast adjacent to a spit

with mangroves. No Cl'S co-ordinatesrecorded.

137. Blowout in 'white' dunes along the south coasteast of the homestead. No Cl'S co-ordinatesrecorded.

138. Blowout in 'white' dunes the south coastwest of the homestead. No Cl'S co-ordinatesrecorded.

139. Blowout in pinkish-coloured dune east ofthe land cove. No (;1'5 co-ordinatesrecorded."

28

Mammal speciesThe numbers of identified mammal remains

recorded from the various sites, including thosecollected by others, are given in Table 1. In mostcases the numbers are based upon tooth rows fromleft and right upper and lower jaws. But counts ofPerameles from site C2 are based upon calcanea(heel bones: one right, one left per animal), whichare much more abundant in that sample than jaws.Practically all the remains are dissociated, so in thevery few cases where left and right upper toothrows are associated these are counted as two jaws.However, the skull and two lower jaws from site B7are almost certainly from the same animal, so theseare counted as one individual, differentiated fromthe other counts by placing the number in brackets.

Tachyglossus aculeatus (Short-beaked Echidna)The echidna was almost certainly not a member

of the original fauna of the Island, because none ofits highly characteristic skeletal remains have beenfound in any of the blowout sites. The Hoult familyreported in 2000 that one echidna (or "porcupine")was seen on the Island in the 1930s and 1940s, andthat they had introduced another one within theprevious decade. No actual sightings of echidnawere made during the survey. But, in addition tothe signs found in the east coast cliffs by membersof the survey expedition, echidna tracks no morethan a week old were shown to me by Dick Houltin 'white' dunes near the well to the south-west ofthe homestead. It seems unlikely that both animalsstill survived on the island, and more probable thatone animal was moving between the two areas.Cliffs with caves are favourite shelters for echidnas,and the C3 area appeared to have been used arelatively short time before the survey as the scatwas fairly fresh (still smelly).

Perameles bougainville (Western Barred Bandicoot)Remains of this species from three different

A. Baynes

blowout sites in 'white' dunes and one cave depositin the cliffs at the northern end of the east coast,establish that this species was a member of theoriginal mammal fauna of the Island.

Bettongia penidllata (Woylie or Brush-tailed Bettong)Remains of the Woylie are abundant and recorded

from all of the Island sites that contained bone,probably because its jaws are large and resistant toweathering, and obvious on the ground to asearcher. The species was clearly a member of theoriginal fauna. It would be desirable to use all theFaure Island material, and that from the sites onPeron Peninsula, to check that these populationswere conspecific with true B. penicillata ofsouthwestern Australia, rather than the poorly-known arid zone brush-tailed bettong Bettongiaanhydra Finlayson, 1957, originally described as asubspecies of B. penicillata.

Pseudomys fieldi (Shark Bay Mouse)Remains of this species from three different

blowout sites in 'white' dunes, Bl, B2 and B4, andabundant remains from cave C2, establish that thisspecies was also a member of the original mammalfauna of the Island.

Rattus hmneyi (Pale Field-rat)This species is only represented by a single jaw

from the Bl 'white' dune blowout. Where it occurson the mainland in the Shark Bay area R. tunneyiis typically abundant in both cave deposits and asa living animal in Holocene 'white' coastal dunes.It is possible that the single specimen dates from atime when Faure Island was part of PeronPeninsula (where the species was part of theoriginal fauna: Baynes 1990, 2000, 2007). However,the specimen is white in colour and thereforeprobably originates from within a 'white' dune,which, since the blowouts contain abundantmarine mollusc shells, probably post-dates sea

Table 1 Numbers of bone remains of non-volant terrestrial mammal species recorded from various sites on Faure Island.- = not recorded; (1) = one individual (4 jaws); X = record based on non-skeletal material (spine and scat).

B B B B B B C C C B B B1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 7 8 9

Tachyglossus aculeahlsX(Short-beaked Echidna)

l'erameles bougainville(Western Barred Bandicoot) 4 2 3 ]6

Bettongia penicillata(1) 6(Woylie) 128 14 3 4 2 2

Pseudomvs fieldi(Sha~k Bay Mouse) 2 5 3 ]97

Rattus tunneyi(Pale Field-rat)

Mus musculus(House Mouse)

I

l,..

Non-volant mammal fauna

level reaching its present height, and island 'formation, about 7,000 years ago.

Mus musculus (House Mouse)A small brown mouse, identified by G.R. Harold

in 1989 as Mus musculus, is common on FaureIsland, and was trapped during the biological surveyin 2000 (Schmitz and Richards 2008). Interestingly,no remains of M musculus were found in the cavedeposits, or picked up from any of the blowout sites,in spite of their abundance in the surroundingSpinifex vegetation, as indicated by the frequency ofsmall murid tracks on the dunes. This may indicatethat there were sufficient scavengers, in the form ofGould's Monitor (Varanus gouldiJ), birds of preyand/or feral Cats, on the Island to consume anyanimals that died. On other islands in the region withnative mammal faunas (such as Bernier), skeletalremains are quite common on the surface of theground (author's unpublished observations). Also,Shortridge (1936) picked up the skull of a Shark BayMouse (reported under the name IfMus gouldi") onBernier Island in 1906.

DISCUSSION

The age of the mammal remains from cave C2Although the owl pellet deposit in cave C2 was

not discovered until 2006, that is, after the re-introduction to Faure of Pseudomys fieldi in 2002and Perameles bougainville in 2005, it almostcertainly contains the original fauna of the Island,and not remains of the recently re-introducedpopulations. The most important evidence for this

29

'is the complete absence of 'Mus muscuius fro~ thesample. If the desposit had been accumulatedwithin the last decade, it is extremely improbablethat there would be so many remains of P. fieldiand not a single specimen of Mus. Also, no intactowl pellets remained in the C2 deposit, and themammal bones vary in colour from cream to lightbrown, consistent with having lain in the depositfor decades or even centuries. None of the mammalmaterial has the typical transluC':ent silver-wh~tec;olour of very recently accumulated bones.

The original non-volant native mammal fauna ofFaure Island

The original non-volant native mammal fauna ofFaure Island is compared with that recorded fromthe eastern side of Peron Peninsula in Table 2. Asexpected, the original fauna of Faure Island is asmall subset of that of Peron Peninsula.

The fact that remains of Rattus tunneyi are notrecorded in the large C2 sample indicates that itwas almost certainly not a member of the Islandfauna of two centuries ago. On Peron Peninsularemains of R. tunneyi are found in most deposits incoastal sites, adjacent to a large range of localhabitat types (Baynes 2000, 2007). If the species hadbeen on the Island its remains would have beenincluded in C2. The single specimen from the B1blowout may represent a population that persistedon the Island for some time after its formation butfinally died out centuries or even millenia ago, or itmay have been transported to the island from themainland in the stomach of a, presumably avian,predator. Absence of R. tunneyi from Faure Islandis consistent with its absence from all other Shark

Table 2 The original non-volant mammal faunas of eastern Peron Peninsula (PP) (data from Baynes 1990, 2007;McKenzie et al. 2000) and Faure Island (FI). X =recorded; - =not recorded.

Species

Tachyglossus aculeatus (Short-beaked Echidna)Dasycercus sp. (Mulgara or possibly Ampurta)Dasyurus geoffroii (Chuditch / Western Quoll)Phascogale calura (Red-tailed Phascogale)Sminthopsis crassicaudata (Fat-tailed Dunnart)Sminthopsis dolichura (Little long-tailed Dunnart)Sminthopsis hirtipes (Hairy-footed Dunnart)Isoodon obesulus (Quenda / Southern Brown Bandicoot)Perameles bougainville (Western Barred Bandicoot)Bettongia penicillata (Woylie / Brush-tailed Bettong)Lagorchestes hirsutus (Rufous Hare-wallaby)Lagostrophus fasciatus (Banded Hare-wallaby)Macropus robustus (Euro)Onychogalea lunata (Crescent Nailtail Wallaby)Leporillus apicalis (Lesser Stick-nest Rat)Leporillus conditor (Greater Stick-nest Rat)Notomys alexis (Spinifex Hopping-mouse)Pseudomys fieldi (Shark Bay Mouse)Pseudomys hermannsburgensis (Sandy Inland Mouse)Rattus tunneyi (Pale Field-rat)

PP

xXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

FI

XX

X

30

Bay islands (Baynes 1990), even though it waswidespread on the peninsulas and adjacentmainland. Although R. tunneyi is recorded fromislands in northern Australia, including two in theBonaparte Archipelago off northwest Kimberley(McKenzie et a1. 1978), and six islands in theDampier Archipelago, it does not seem to have beenable to survive in the long term on more southerlyand westerly islands, being also absent from BarrowIsland.

Species-area considerationsThe theory of island biogeography, and the

species-area relationship are well established (e.g.,MacArthur and Wilson 1967; May 1975; Lawlor1986), although still undergoing some fine-tuning(e.g. Williamson et a1. 2001). The species-arearelationships of native mammals on the continentalshelf islands along the western and southern coastsof Australia were investigated by Kitchener et a1.(1980), though they did hot include Faure Island intheir analysis, presumably because only the Woyliewas known from the island at that time. Table 3shows the areas and numbers of non-volant nativemammal species recorded from the four largeislands in Shark Bay. The mammal data are drawnfrom Baynes (1990, 2000, 2006), and this study,rather than Kitchener et a1. (1980), because theyomitted one species from Bernier Island(Pseudomys desertor), for a total of six rather thanseven species, and the original fauna of Faure wasunknown in 1980. The table shows that Faure Islandis slightly larger than Bernier or Dorre, but hasfewer native mammals recorded from it than either.Kitchener et a1. (1980: figure 10) plotted estimatednumbers of mammal species in the "pristine" (i.e.original in my terminology) faunas against area(both variables transformed as logarithms to thebase 10). Using their regression line to estimate thelikely number of species for an island of 5800 haindicates that Faure would be expected to carry atleast seven species rather than three. There appear

Table 3 Areas in hectares (Ha) and original numbersof non-volant native mammal species (Mam.spp.) recorded from the four large islands inShark Bay. Area data from Kitchener et al.(1980) and this study; mammal data fromBaynes (1990, 2000, 2006) and results of thisstudy.

Island Ha Mam.spp.

Dirk Hartog 59600 13Faure 5800 3Bernier 4640 7Dorre 4420 5

A. Baynes

to be four possible explanations for thisdiscrepancy:1) The area of the island was at some stage

substantially smaller than at present, and hasincreased significantly to its current area as aresult of the Holocene uplift noted by Thorn andChappell (1975).

2) The original mammal fauna of the Islandincluded more than three species, but noremains of the others have been discovered.

3) Three was the original number of mammalspecies because the relative homogeneity ofhabitats on Faure allowed the survival of nomore than that number.

4) Lying in the eastern side of Shark Bay, FaureIsland has a less maritime and equable climatethan the other three, in particular experiencinghigher summer maximum temperatureextremes and less rainfall, especially reliablewinter rainfall. Extremes of drought and/ortemperature may have led to the extinction ofmammal species that persisted for a time afterisland formation.

The first possibility, substantially smaller islandarea since 7000 years ago, can probably be ruledout. Although there are minor areas of progradationin the mangrove developments at the southwestcorner of the Island, on the northern coast and alongmuch of the east coast, most of the Island forms aplateau that is at least 5 m above present sea level,and would have remained above sea level since theLast Interglacial. Because the remains of Woyliewere so abundant, it seems extremely unlikely thatthe original fauna of Faure Island included anyother medium-sized mammal whose remains werenot found. The fact that the very large C2 samplecontains the same three species whose remains arefound throughout the Island, and no others,suggests that there were no other small or medium-sized mammal species on the Island either.However, the single specimen of Rattus tunneyishows that that possibility cannot be completelyruled out. Beard (1976) mapped the vegetation onFaure Island as Acacia scrub, Acacia thicket andsamphire, less diverse than the habitats on Bernierand Dorre Islands. The 'white' dune habitats withgrasses and Acanthocarpus thickets would not havebeen present when Faure Island first formed, buthave been built by aeolian movement of sand andshell fragments from the beaches over the millenia.The possibility of the elimination of species fromFaure Island by extreme climatic events is alsodifficult to assess, particularly in the absence of anymeteorological data. The Woylie, however,assuming that it is correctly identified, is an above-ground nesting (as opposed to burrowing)southwestern species, close to its northerndistributional range limit. These characteristicswould seem to make it vulnerable to climatic

Non-volant mammal fauna

extremes of heat or drought, but it apparentlysurvived on the Island until the time of Europeancolonization.

Overall, it seems most likely that the original non-volant mammal fauna of Faure Island consisted ofthe three species detected during recentinvestigations, but one or two additional smallspecies occurring in restricted habitats cannot becompletely ruled out.

ACKNO~EDGEMENTS

I am grateful to Martin Copley for inviting me totake part in the May 2000 biological surveyexpedition to Faure Island, and providing me witha contract to carry out the work. It was a privilegeto join such a large and interesting group of people,and the inclusion of an excellent cook in the crewmade it a rare treat. Australian Wildlife Con-servancy flew me to Faure Island in October 2006,and To Williams looked after me when I got there. Ithank her, Craig Stephens and Steffi Hilmer forassistance with field work. TeH Short madeconstructive comments on a draft of the paper.

REFERENCESBaynes, A (1990). The mammals of Shark Bay, Western

Australia (pp. 313-325). In: Berry, P.F., Bradshaw,S.D. and Wilson, B.R (eds), Research in Shark Bay.Report of the France-Australe Bicentenary ExpeditionCommittee. Western Australian Museum Press, Perth,WA

Baynes, A (2000). Original mammal faunas of theCarnarvon Basin, based on fossil material from thesurfaces of small caves. Appendix 2 In: McKenzie,N.L., Hall, N.J. and Muir, W.P. Non-volant mammalsof the southern Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia.Records of the Western Australian MuseumSupplement 61: 479-510.

Baynes, A (2006). The original mammal fauna of DirkHartog Island: results from field work in 2006.Unpublished report to the Department ofEnvironment and Conservation. 6 pp.

Baynes, A (2007). Final report on an investigation of theoriginal non-volant mammal fauna of Nanga Station,Shark Bay. Unpublished report to the Department ofEnvironment and Conservation. 9 pp.

Beard, J.S. (1976). Vegetation survey of WesternAustralia: The Vegetation of the Shark Bay and EdelArea, Western Australia. Map and ExplanatoryNotes. 1:250,000 series. Vegmap Publications, Perth,WA

Finlayson, H.H. (1957). Preliminary description of twonew forms of Bettongia (Marsupialia). The Annalsand Magazine ofNatural History (12) 10: 552-554.

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Hocking, RM., Moors, H.T. and van de Graaff, W.J.E.(1987). Geology of the Carnarvon Basin, WesternAustralia. Geological Survey of Western AustraliaBulletin No. 133: i-xiv, 1-289.

Kitchener, D.J., Chapman, A, Muir, B.G. and Palmer M.(1980). The conservation value for mammals ofreserves in the Western Australian wheatbelt.Biological Conservation 18: 179-207.

Lawlor, T.E. (1986). Comparative biogeography ofmammals on islands. Biological Journal of theLinnean Society 28: 99-125.. . .

Ma~Arthur, R.H: and Wilson, E.O. (1967). The theory ofisland biogeography. Princeton, Princeton UniversityPress, i-xi, 1-203.

Main, AR (1961). The occurrence of Macropodidae onislands and its climatic and ecological significance.Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 44:84--89.

May, RM. (1975). Patterns of species abundance anddiversity (pp. 81-120). In: Cody, M.L. and Diamond,J.M. (eds), Ecology and evolution of communities.Belknap Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A

McKenzie, N.L., Burbidge, A.A., Chapman, A andYoungson, W.K. (1978). Part IlL Mammals (pp. 22-28). In: Burbidge, AA and McKenzie, N.L. (eds), Theislands of the north-west Kimberley, WesternAustralia. Wildlife Research Bulletin, WesternAustralia No. 7.

McKenzie, N.L., Hall, N.J. and Muir, W.P. (2000). Non-volant mammals of the southern Carnarvon Basin,Western Australia. Records of the Western AustralianMuseum Supplement 61: 479-510.

Playford, P.E. (1990). Geology of the Shark Bay area,Western Australia (pp. 13-31). In: Berry, P.F.,Bradshaw, S.D. and Wilson, B.R (eds), Research inShark Bay. Report of the France-Australe BicentenaryExpedition Committee. Western Australian MuseumPress, Perth, WA

Schmitz, A and Richards, J.D. (2008). A survey of theterrestrial vertebrates of Faure Island, Shark Bay,Western Australia. Records of the Western AustralianMuseum Supplement 75: 33-37.

Shortridge, G.c. (1936). Field notes (hithertounpublished) on Western Australian mammals southof the tropic of Capricorn (exclusive of Marsupialiaand Monotremata), and records of specimenscollected during the Balston Expeditions (November1904 to June 1907). Proceedings of the ZoologicalSociety of London 1936: 743-749.

Thorn, B.G. and Chappell, J.M.A (1975). Holocene sealevels relative to Australia. Search 6: 90-93.

Williamson, M., Gaston, KJ. and Lonsdale, W.M. (2001).The species-area relationship does not have anasymptote! Journal of Biogeography 28: 827-830.

Wilson, B. (2008). Background information on FaureIsland, Shark Bay, Western Australia. Records of theWestern Australian Museum Supplement 75: 1-9.

Supplement75.pdfCOVER.pdfFOREWORDBACKGROUND INFORMATIION ON FAURE ISLAND, SHARK BAY, WESTERN AUSTRALIAVEGETATION AND VASCULAR FLORA OF FAURE ISLAND, SHARK BAY, WESTERN AUSTRALIATERRESTRIAL GASTROPODS OF FAURE ISLAND, SHARK BAY, WESTERN AUSTRALIATHE ORIGINAL NON-VOLANT LAND MAMMAL FAUNA OF FAURE ISLAND, SHARK BAY, WESTERN AUSTRALIAA SURVEY OF THE TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES OF FAURE ISLAND, SHARK BAY, WESTERN AUSTRALIATHE HERPETOFAUNA OF FAURE ISLAND, SHARK BAY, WESTERN AUSTRALIATHE BIRDS OF FAURE ISLAND, SHARK BAY, WESTERN AUSTRALIAFEASIBILITY STUDY FOR THE ERADICATION OF FERAL CATS FROM FAURE ISLAND, SHARK BAY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA