Habitat use and management for the Noisy Scrub-bird Atrichornis clamosus

Summary After European settlement, the range of the Noisy Scrub-bird Atrichornis clamosus contracted and only the population at Two Peoples Bay survived. Management policy at Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve has been one of wildfire prevention, which has created increased areas of suitable habitat for the species. Territories rose from 45 in 1970 to 189 in 1994. Habitat use was assessed by grouping the dominant vegetation associations in each territory in five categories, in descending order of suitability (assessed on breeding and feeding resources): low eucalypt forest, Agonis forest, tall thicket, low thicket and heath. Turnover rates in territory use gave the same habitat rankings. A range of values of Ne (effective population size) was calculated using assumptions about breeding potential of each habitat category. There may be insufficient habitat at Two Peoples Bay for the population to reach an Ne of 500. Successful translocation to Mt Manypeaks, and the establishment of three small populations by birds dispersing from Two Peoples Bay, suggest that an integrated regional population can develop with an Ne well in excess of 500. The management of areas with populations and the corridors linking them must include minimizing the incidence and extent of wildfires.