Fauna Spotters logo

Southern Ningaui (Ningaui yvonneae)

The Southern Ningaui is a tiny, nocturnal carnivorous marsupial of semiarid mallee, heathland and spinifex habitats in southern Australia. It is listed as Vulnerable in New South Wales and is not listed under the EPBC Act. On development sites, clearing, loss of spinifex and ground cover, fragmentation, grazing, fire and feral predator access can remove shelter and reduce recolonisation after disturbance.

Conservation status

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Vulnerable.

Breeding season

The pattern below describes the typical annual cycle documented for the species. Timing can vary between sites, but spring breeding and late summer weaning are the main periods requiring attention during clearing and disturbance.

The supplied sources do not provide a separate month-by-month pattern for every state or habitat type.

  • Breeding: Mating begins in August and breeding concludes in October.
  • Young: Litters contain 5 to 7 young. Young are weaned around February, while females carry and protect young in dense shrubs and spiny grasses. Most adults disappear from the population by December.
  • Juvenile dispersal and movement: By the fall period beginning in February, dispersing juveniles comprise about 97 percent of the population. Most movements are localised, but males regularly move more than 200 m and movements up to 2 km have been recorded, particularly during breeding.
  • Sheltering and foraging: Animals are nocturnal year round. They shelter by day in burrows, spinifex clumps, dense vegetation, mallee stems and beneath logs, and forage at night in litter and ground cover.
  • Highest clearing risk: Clearing and disturbance are most likely to harm the species from August to February because this period includes mating, pouch young and dependent young through weaning, followed by juvenile dispersal. Retain shelter and avoid clearing occupied spinifex and mallee during this period where practicable.

Identification

The Southern Ningaui is a very small dasyurid with a pointed muzzle, close-set eyes and bristly fur. It is nocturnal and secretive, so animals are more often detected during targeted trapping or shelter inspection than by daytime observation.

Adults weigh about 5 to 14 g and have a head and body length of 48 to 81 mm. The tail is 53 to 71 mm long and is similar in length to the head and body.

The upper fur is tawny-olive to greyish-olive and grades to pale grey underparts. The chin is whitish, the head may show cinnamon tones behind the eye, and the fur has a bristly or dishevelled appearance.

The species has a narrow or pointed muzzle, small close-set eyes, short oval ears and a long, thin tail.

Weight: 5 to 14 g

Head and body: 48 to 81 mm

Tail: 53 to 71 mm

Identification: Similar species

External identification is difficult because Southern Ningauis cannot be reliably distinguished from other Ningaui species by external features alone.

In New South Wales, the bristly fur helps separate it from dunnarts, which have sleeker fur, larger eyes and ears, and pale feet. Planigales have a narrow, triangular head and occur in different habitats in New South Wales.

Where species-level identification matters, analytical methods may be needed, including genetic or biochemical methods described for separating Ningaui yvonneae from Ningaui ridei.

Identification: Behaviour and field signs

Southern Ningauis are fast-running, nocturnal, solitary and secretive. They rest during the day in burrows, mallee stems, spinifex clumps, beneath logs or in dense vegetation, and forage above ground at night.

Males and females produce mate-attracting calls during the breeding period. Males use soft clicks or hisses, and receptive females respond with calls.

The supplied sources do not provide diagnostic measurements for tracks or scats, or a reliable species-specific method based on eyeshine. Treat small dasyurid observations, tracks and scats as provisional unless supported by trapping, genetic identification or other verified evidence.

  • Record the exact shelter type, spinifex cover, logs, leaf litter and woody debris at any capture or observation point.
  • Use photographs and measurements of the animal where possible, but do not rely on external appearance alone for species confirmation.

Distribution: National range

The Southern Ningaui has a scattered distribution across semiarid southern Australia. It can be locally common in suitable habitat but is patchily distributed across its range.

The species is recorded in southern Western Australia, South Australia, north western Victoria and south western New South Wales.

In New South Wales, records are concentrated in the far south west, including the Scotia mallee around Tarawi Nature Reserve, Scotia Sanctuary and surrounding properties, and areas east of the Darling River including Mungo and Mallee Cliffs national parks and surrounding properties.

States recorded: Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales

New South Wales bioregions: Cobar Peneplain and Murray Darling Depression

Distribution: Strongholds and subpopulations

The species is associated with the Middleback Ranges on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, where one population has been studied in detail.

In New South Wales, an apparently isolated central mallee population occurs mainly in Nombinnie, Round Hill and western Yathong nature reserves, with one record from remnant mallee near Taleeban, south west of West Wyalong.

The New South Wales profile identifies known records in the Lachlan Plains and Nymagee subregions of the Cobar Peneplain, and the Darling Depression and South Olary Plain subregions of the Murray Darling Depression.

Population size: No population estimate is provided in the supplied sources

Population trend: No range-wide trend is provided; local abundance can be high in suitable habitat

Habitat: Vegetation communities

Southern Ningauis occupy semiarid habitats with a strong association with spinifex and mallee vegetation. Habitat quality depends on the amount and continuity of dense ground cover, leaf litter and woody debris.

The species occurs in open heathland, low mallee scrub, sandy plains and mallee woodlands with a Triodia understorey.

In New South Wales it is closely tied to spinifex clumps, mainly in mallee woodlands, although it has occasionally been recorded in other habitats.

Mallee woodland understorey can include porcupine grass or spinifex, shrubs and herbs. The mix of understorey plants varies with soil, landform and fire history.

Habitat: Habitat structure

Important structural features include dense spinifex clumps, leaf litter, woody debris, fallen logs, mallee stems, shrub roots and patches of bare ground.

Spinifex provides both cover and a hunting environment. Ningaui numbers correlate with spinifex cover, and numbers are low during the first five years after fire while spinifex regenerates.

Mature spinifex more than 40 years old has the highest reported habitat value and the lowest fire risk. Spinifex aged 5 to 40 years supports increasing numbers but also has the greatest fire risk.

Young habitat: Up to 5 years since fire; supports very few animals

Regrowth habitat: 5 to 40 years since fire; supports increasing populations and has high fire risk

Mature habitat: More than 40 years since fire; highest habitat value and lowest fire risk

  • Retain connected areas of mature mallee and spinifex during site planning.
  • Avoid removing logs, leaf litter and woody debris from retained habitat.
  • Map recently burnt, regenerating and mature spinifex separately before clearing.

Habitat: Climate and elevation

The supplied sources describe the species as occupying semiarid southern Australian habitats and do not provide a species-specific elevation range.

Foraging habitat: Diet

Southern Ningauis are primarily insectivorous and forage at night in leaf litter, spinifex and mallee vegetation. They use their pointed snout to furrow through soil and litter and may briefly climb vegetation.

The diet includes spiders, beetles, moths, cockroaches and other arthropods, with a preference for smaller prey. Small lizards and other occasional vertebrate prey are also taken.

Ants are abundant in Triodia grasslands but are not preferred prey.

An individual can consume almost its own body weight in food in a single night.

Primary diet: Insects and other terrestrial arthropods

Other recorded prey: Small lizards and other occasional reptiles

Nightly intake: Almost the animal's own body weight in food

Foraging habitat: Foraging sites and method

Foraging occurs above ground at night among leaf litter and mallee stems, particularly where spinifex clumps provide cover and support insect prey.

Southern Ningauis furrow through soil or leaf litter with the snout and occasionally enter spider burrows to capture prey. They may climb vegetation for short periods.

The sources do not provide a fixed foraging range. Most movements are relatively localised, but males regularly move more than 200 m and movements of up to 2 km have been recorded, particularly during the breeding season.

Recorded male movements: Regularly more than 200 m; up to 2 km recorded

  • Retain leaf litter, spinifex, fallen timber and woody debris in and around proposed work areas.
  • Inspect dense ground cover and litter before disturbance, with particular attention to connected mature spinifex patches.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding is seasonal and occurs in spring. Females use dense shrubs and spiny grasses for protection while carrying and raising young.

Mating season: August to October

Litter size: 5 to 7 young

Weaning: Young are weaned in late summer, around February

Gestation: Not provided in the supplied sources

Age at maturity: 6 to 11 months

Lifespan: Approximately 12 to 14 months in the wild

Litters per year: Females may be able to produce two litters, although additional oestrous cycles appear to replace lost litters rather than produce more than one normal litter

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat features

Females carrying young seek shrubs and spiny grasses because dense cover reduces exposure to predators and allows less mobile females to escape less rapidly.

Breeding habitat therefore includes connected dense spinifex, shrubs, leaf litter, woody debris and nearby shelter sites such as logs, mallee stems and burrows.

Large areas of young, recently burnt spinifex can fragment mature habitat and reduce access to suitable breeding cover.

  • Avoid clearing dense spinifex and shrub cover during August to February where practicable.
  • Retain unburnt refuge patches and connections between mature mallee and spinifex areas.

Sheltering habitat: Shelter types

The species shelters close to the ground during the day and relies on dense vegetation and ground structures for concealment. No specific den dimensions are provided.

Recorded shelter sites include spinifex clumps, underground burrows, spaces beneath logs, dense vegetation, mallee stems and shrub roots.

Burrows are used during winter, when predator risk is lower and retaining body heat is a greater priority. During the warm season, animals seek shrubs and spiny grasses where open ground increases predation risk.

Leaf litter, woody debris and fallen logs provide shelter as well as access to arthropod prey.

  • Treat dense spinifex clumps, logs, litter beds, woody debris and possible burrow entrances as potential shelter before clearing.
  • Keep retained shelter features connected to intact mallee and spinifex rather than leaving isolated small patches.

Sheltering habitat: Shelter dimensions and inspection

The supplied sources do not provide dimensions for burrows, nests, shelter clumps or home ranges.

Because the animals are nocturnal and secretive, daytime shelter inspection should be undertaken carefully and should not remove logs, disturb burrows or dismantle spinifex clumps unless authorised procedures require it.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The main documented risks are loss and fragmentation of mallee and spinifex habitat, inappropriate fire, predation and grazing. These risks can interact because fire and clearing reduce cover and may increase predator access.

Clearing mallee, shrubs and spinifex removes feeding and shelter sites. Removing leaf litter, fallen timber and woody debris also reduces ground-level refuge and prey habitat.

Large areas of young, recently burnt spinifex can fragment mature habitat. The species appears to require closely located or connected areas of long-unburnt habitat for supplementation movements.

Fragmentation can isolate local populations, reduce movement between them and leave small patches more exposed to fire, grazing and predation.

  • Avoid clearing mature mallee and spinifex patches where practicable.
  • Retain vegetated links between habitat patches and avoid creating broad strips of recently disturbed ground.
  • Keep logs, litter and woody debris in retained habitat.

Threats: Fire

Repeated or large fires reduce spinifex cover and can cause local extinction if refuge areas for recolonisation are not retained.

Numbers are low for up to five years after fire, increase as spinifex cover returns, and are highest in older mature habitat. An increase in the frequency of large fires is therefore a specific risk to this species.

Prescribed burning and wildfire should be assessed against the need for a mosaic of age classes, including connected long-unburnt refuge areas.

Suggested New South Wales fire interval: No more frequently than every 30 years

Suggested annual patch burn limit: Up to 5 percent of habitat in any year and no more than 15 percent in five years

  • Protect mature spinifex and unburnt refuge patches from large-scale or frequent fire.
  • Where ecological burning is proposed, use a patch mosaic and retain recolonisation sources.
  • After wildfire, monitor before implementing additional ecological burns.

Threats: Predators and grazing

Feral cats and foxes are documented threats, although their specific population-level impact on Southern Ningauis is not known.

Reduced cover after fire can increase predation risk for small mammals. Snakes, particularly elapid snakes, are also recorded predators.

Domestic stock, feral goats and rabbits can graze and trample spinifex, shrubs and food resources. Grazing and trampling can remove cover, damage soil and increase exposure to predators.

  • Control feral cats, foxes and rabbits where part of the approved project or property management programme.
  • Reduce stock intensity or exclude grazing from regenerating and retained habitat.
  • Prevent construction access and stock movement through dense spinifex and litter refuges.

Threats: Other project risks

The supplied species accounts identify clearing, fragmentation, fire, predators and grazing, but do not provide species-specific evidence for disease, road mortality or hydrology change.

For projects involving roads or altered drainage, retain connected ground cover and inspect suitable mallee and spinifex habitat before disturbance. Record any mortality or sightings so that local risks can be assessed.

Survey methodology: 1. Nocturnal searches and spotlighting

Southern Ningaui are small, nocturnal marsupials that shelter in spinifex, dense vegetation, leaf litter, woody debris and burrows. Survey design should target retained mallee and spinifex habitat, particularly where clearing could remove mature vegetation or isolate nearby refuge areas.

Search at night when Southern Ningaui are active and foraging in leaf litter, mallee stems and ground cover.

Prioritise areas with dense spinifex, old-growth mallee, leaf litter, logs and woody debris, and search along the edge of proposed clearing and retained habitat.

Record weather, wind, temperature, recent rain, fire history, vegetation age and the length and area of each search.

Use quiet, slow searches with hand torches or headlamps, because the species is small, secretive and difficult to observe.

Activity: Nocturnal

Typical body mass: 5 to 14 grams in the NSW profile, and about 10 to 12 grams in the Animal Diversity Web account

Recorded movement: Males regularly move more than 200 metres, and movements of up to 2 kilometres have been recorded

  • Repeat searches on separate suitable nights where the risk assessment indicates that one night could miss animals.
  • Avoid treating a negative spotlighting result as evidence that the species is absent, particularly in recently burnt or structurally open habitat.
  • Record all sightings, signs, habitat features and the direction of movement, including movements between retained patches.

Survey methodology: 2. Live trapping and habitat searches

Where trapping is justified and authorised, use a state-approved live-trapping method for small terrestrial mammals and place traps in dense spinifex, beside logs, at burrow entrances and along cover between mallee clumps.

Keep traps shaded, protected from weather and checked at the frequency required by the relevant animal ethics, permit and survey guidance.

Search shelters beneath logs, in spinifex clumps, in dense vegetation and in suitable burrows without damaging retained habitat.

Handle captured animals only under the authority and conditions of the relevant permit, and release them promptly at the capture location unless an approved relocation plan applies.

Shelter sites: Spinifex clumps, logs, dense vegetation and burrows

Dietary evidence: Arthropods and small lizards captured amongst leaf litter

  • Do not set a trap-night target unless it is specified by the applicable state survey guideline, project approval or fauna management plan.
  • Record trap locations, trap nights, weather, habitat structure, captures, non-target species and trap failures.
  • Use identification methods appropriate to the project because Southern Ningaui can be difficult to distinguish from other small dasyurids by external features alone.

Survey methodology: 3. Survey timing and interpretation

Plan targeted surveys during the species' active period and include the breeding season, which runs from August to October, where project timing allows.

Consider surveys before clearing that will remove spinifex, old-growth mallee, leaf litter or woody debris, even if recent fire has reduced the apparent habitat value.

Interpret results in relation to fire age: numbers are low in habitat up to five years after fire and generally increase as spinifex cover returns.

Treat large areas of young burnt vegetation as a potential connectivity and predation risk where they separate retained mature spinifex habitat.

Breeding season: August to October

Litter size: 5 to 7 young

Weaning in NSW profile: Late summer, around February

Habitat age categories described in the fire advice: Young, up to 5 years; regrowth, 5 to 40 years; mature, more than 40 years

  • Map the age and continuity of spinifex habitat around the project area rather than recording only the point location of each animal.
  • Use the most recent state survey guidance for effort, seasonal windows, weather conditions and trapping requirements because the supplied documents do not specify a numeric survey effort for this species.
  • Survey all retained habitat that could receive animals displaced by clearing, including nearby patches within the likely movement area.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Prepare a written survey design that states the search area, dates, start and finish times, personnel, methods, weather, fire history and limitations.
  • Use the relevant state survey guideline to set the minimum number of nights, trap nights, transect length or search area because no species-specific numeric effort is provided in the supplied documents.
  • Submit verified records and negative survey information, where requested, to the relevant state wildlife database, such as the NSW BioNet Atlas for NSW projects.
  • Provide records to the project approval authority and include coordinates, habitat description, photographs where suitable, detection method and observer details.
  • Report any record that changes the impact assessment before clearing proceeds.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Avoiding the loss of mature spinifex and connected mallee habitat is the primary project control. Southern Ningaui depend on ground cover for shelter and foraging, and repeated fire or broad clearing can remove local refuge areas.

Retain old-growth mallee with dense spinifex, leaf litter, fallen logs, woody debris and other ground cover.

Retain connected areas of mature vegetation close to proposed works because large areas of young burnt or cleared habitat can fragment suitable refuge.

Keep clearing footprints, access tracks, laydown areas and temporary works out of spinifex clumps and mature mallee wherever practicable.

Do not remove logs, litter or dense ground cover from retained habitat unless required for an approved safety or access reason.

  • Map and mark no-go areas around retained spinifex, mature mallee, burrows, logs and dense ground cover before machinery arrives.
  • Establish site-specific exclusion buffers around retained habitat and movement links, based on the construction risk assessment and approval conditions.
  • Maintain links between habitat patches that could support local movement, noting that males regularly move more than 200 metres and movements of up to 2 kilometres have been recorded.
  • Avoid creating a broad strip of young or bare habitat between retained patches.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and project planning

Check the current Commonwealth and state conservation status before works because the supplied NSW profile records the species as not listed under the EPBC Act and Vulnerable in NSW.

Obtain any state wildlife, animal ethics, scientific, trapping, handling or relocation approvals required for the survey and works.

Refer the project under the EPBC Act if a current assessment identifies the species as nationally listed or if another protected matter may be affected.

Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies habitat to retain, survey effort, clearing limits, fauna handling, stop-work triggers, relocation sites, incident response and reporting.

  • Confirm the status and approval requirements in every state or territory where the project occurs rather than relying on the NSW listing.
  • Use a staged clearing plan that allows pre-clearance searches and inspection of each work area before machinery enters.
  • Schedule clearing to avoid the breeding period from August to October where practicable, and obtain specialist advice if this cannot be achieved.
  • Coordinate fire, grazing, pest control and construction planning so that retained refuge habitat is not removed or degraded at the same time.

Before habitat disturbance: Pre-clearance preparation

Complete the approved pre-clearance survey shortly before disturbance, with emphasis on spinifex clumps, dense vegetation, leaf litter, logs, burrows and the edge of retained habitat.

Mark the approved clearing boundary and all habitat to be retained with visible, durable signage and flagging.

Fence or otherwise exclude machinery from retained habitat where fencing can be installed without damaging ground cover or creating a wildlife hazard.

Brief operators and spotter catchers on the species' small size, nocturnal habits, shelter sites and the approved response to a detection.

  • Inspect proposed access routes, stockpile areas and temporary work areas for spinifex and ground shelters before approval for use.
  • Remove artificial hazards, such as open trenches or uncovered pits, or provide escape ramps and daily inspections where they cannot be avoided.
  • Confirm that a suitably authorised fauna spotter catcher, handling equipment, transport arrangements and wildlife carer or veterinary contacts are available before clearing starts.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and spotter catcher duties

Clearing should proceed slowly from a defined edge towards retained habitat, with the spotter catcher able to see the work area and stop machinery immediately. Controls must protect both the animal and the retained spinifex and mallee refuges.

Inspect exclusion fencing, signs, escape ramps, trenches, pits and the clearing boundary before work starts each day.

Use a fauna spotter catcher who is authorised for the required handling and who can communicate directly with each machine operator.

Clear in small, staged sections and pause machinery while the spotter catcher inspects dense spinifex, logs, litter, burrows and disturbed edges.

Keep machinery out of retained habitat and prevent spoil, vehicles, lights and materials from covering spinifex or ground shelters.

  • Use a slow, controlled clearing sequence that gives animals an opportunity to move into retained habitat.
  • Stop the machine when the spotter catcher loses sight of the clearing face, detects an animal, identifies an unsafe shelter feature or finds an injured or trapped animal.
  • Inspect each completed section before moving to the next section and record the inspection and any fauna response.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat features and fauna handling

Treat spinifex clumps, logs, leaf litter, dense vegetation and burrows as potential Southern Ningaui shelter and foraging habitat.

Retain these features in place wherever they are within the approved retained area.

If an approved impact cannot avoid a feature, inspect it under the fauna management plan before removal and move suitable material to nearby retained habitat where this will not harm an animal or create a fire or safety hazard.

Do not move or handle an animal unless the person is authorised under the relevant approval and trained in small dasyurid handling.

Known shelter: Spinifex clumps, beneath logs, dense vegetation and burrows

Preferred habitat features: Spinifex, leaf litter, woody debris and mature mallee

  • Do not use hollow-bearing tree, wetland or nest-box procedures as a substitute for inspection of the ground-layer habitat used by this species.
  • Use clean, secure containers with appropriate ventilation and temperature protection for any authorised temporary containment.
  • Relocate a healthy animal only to nearby retained habitat identified in the approved plan, with suitable spinifex, cover, litter and connectivity.
  • Take an injured, heat-stressed or otherwise compromised animal to an authorised wildlife carer or veterinarian as soon as practicable.

During habitat disturbance: Stop-work triggers and records

  • Stop work immediately if a Southern Ningaui is found within the clearing area, trapped in an excavation, injured, exposed to machinery or unable to move safely to retained habitat.
  • Stop work if clearing removes unapproved habitat, crosses the marked boundary, damages a retained refuge or compromises a movement link.
  • Stop work if fire, smoke, heat, flooding, machinery failure or another event makes the approved fauna controls ineffective.
  • Record the date, time, location, habitat, condition, action taken, handler, relocation site, photographs and outcome for every detection or incident.
  • Notify the environmental manager and approval authority of any mortality, injury, unauthorised clearing or failure of the fauna management plan.
  • Recommence only after the authorised fauna spotter catcher and environmental manager confirm that the trigger has been resolved.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Post-clearance work should confirm that no animals remain in the disturbed area and that retained habitat, movement links and ground cover have not been damaged. Monitoring should focus on whether suitable spinifex and cover remain available.

Complete a final inspection of the cleared area, retained edges, trenches, pits, stockpiles and temporary access routes after each clearing stage.

Search disturbed ground and remaining shelters for animals before closing the work area or removing fauna controls.

Check that retained spinifex, mature mallee, leaf litter, logs and woody debris have not been crushed, buried, removed or isolated.

Repair damaged exclusion fencing and maintain escape measures around excavations until the risk has ended.

  • Remove temporary materials and rehabilitate unnecessary tracks, pads and stockpile areas so they do not become barriers between habitat patches.
  • Keep retained habitat free from construction waste, spoil, weed invasion and avoidable night lighting.
  • Report any post-clearance detection or mortality through the project incident and wildlife reporting systems.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and compliance reporting

Monitor retained habitat and any approved relocation area using repeat nocturnal searches or other methods specified in the fauna management plan.

Compare monitoring sites with the pre-clearance habitat map, including spinifex cover, litter, woody debris, fire age and connectivity.

Use monitoring results to identify whether construction has reduced shelter, increased exposure to predators or isolated a retained patch.

  • Set monitoring duration, locations and success criteria in the approval or fauna management plan rather than assuming that one post-clearance visit is sufficient.
  • Report survey effort, detections, injuries, deaths, relocations, habitat damage, corrective actions and unresolved risks to the project regulator where required.
  • Submit verified records to the relevant state wildlife database and update the project environmental register.
  • Review the need for additional controls if Southern Ningaui are detected in work areas after clearance.

After habitat disturbance: Offsets and residual impacts

Assess residual impacts under the applicable Commonwealth, state or territory policy after avoidance, minimisation and rehabilitation measures have been documented.

Consider an offset only where it is required by an approval or policy and where it protects or improves suitable Southern Ningaui habitat.

Do not treat an offset as a substitute for retaining mature spinifex, mallee, ground cover and connected refuge areas within or near the project.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore habitat structure

Rehabilitation should rebuild the ground-layer structure used by Southern Ningaui for shelter and hunting. Success depends on restoring spinifex and connected mallee habitat, not only on planting trees.

Reinstate or protect spinifex, particularly Triodia species suited to the local mallee system and approved seed provenance.

Retain or replace suitable fallen logs, woody debris and leaf litter in rehabilitation areas where this is safe and consistent with fire management.

Restore native mallee and shrub understorey where clearing has removed cover, using locally appropriate species and methods approved for the site.

Avoid compacting rehabilitated soil and maintain ground structure that allows shelter, burrowing and movement through cover.

Primary habitat association: Mallee with spinifex clumps, especially mature spinifex

Important ground features: Leaf litter, logs, woody debris and dense vegetation

  • Do not leave rehabilitation areas as bare ground or dense uniform plantings that lack spinifex and ground-level refuge.
  • Create links between rehabilitated and retained habitat rather than isolated planting blocks.
  • Protect regenerating spinifex and shrubs from stock, goats, rabbits and other grazing or trampling pressures.

Rehabilitation actions: Fire and predator management

Develop a fire regime that retains a mosaic of spinifex ages and protects nearby mature refuge areas from large or repeated fires.

Avoid frequent burning of the same habitat because repeated fire can remove spinifex and cause local extinction if recolonisation refuges are not retained.

Coordinate fire planning with pest control because reduced cover after fire may increase predation by feral cats and foxes.

Young habitat: Up to 5 years since fire, with few animals and low fire risk

Regrowth habitat: 5 to 40 years old, with increasing populations and maximum fire risk

Mature habitat: More than 40 years old, with high habitat value and lower fire risk

  • Use the NSW profile recommendation as a project reference where applicable: patch burn up to 5 percent of habitat in a year, no more than 15 percent in five years, and no more frequently than every 30 years.
  • Protect mature habitat older than 40 years where practicable because it has high habitat value and lower fire risk in the fire advice.
  • Control feral cats and foxes in accordance with approved pest management programs, and monitor grazing by stock, goats and rabbits.
  • Do not burn rehabilitation areas until vegetation has established and the fire regime has been assessed against Southern Ningaui habitat needs.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

  • Inspect rehabilitation after establishment and after major fire, flood, grazing or construction events.
  • Measure spinifex establishment, cover and continuity, along with the persistence of leaf litter, logs, woody debris and dense mallee understorey.
  • Record weed cover, grazing, rabbit activity, feral cat and fox activity, soil compaction, erosion and damage to movement links.
  • Use nocturnal searches or other approved methods to check for Southern Ningaui use once habitat has developed sufficiently to provide cover.
  • Define success as stable native ground cover, retained or restored links to mature habitat, low damaging grazing pressure, managed predator pressure and no avoidable loss of refuge features.
  • Continue corrective actions until the approved rehabilitation criteria are met and report results to the relevant approval authority.

Sources