The flora and fauna of Legendre Island
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The flora and fauna of Legendre Island
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2007 Conservation Science Western Australia
Summary
ABSTRACTThis paper presents the current knowledge of the vertebrate fauna and vascular flora of Legendre Island off the Pilbara coast of Western Australia. It reports on a biological survey performed by the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC; formerly the Department of Conservation and Land Management, CALM) in July 2000 and collates historical biological data from the island. The survey added 21 new species of vascular flora to the island’s species list. One-hundred and seventy plant species, including six weed species, are now known from the island. None of the native taxa are declared rare flora or priority species. The survey added one new species of vertebrate (the python, Liasis stimsoni) to the island’s records. The confirmed terrestrial vertebrate fauna of Legendre Island consists of one species of mammal (Rattus tunneyi), 20 species of reptiles and 50 species of birds.
We suggest that differences between the species identified in 2000 and in previous surveys are the result of seasonality and patchiness of distribution. We believe that more plant and animal species remain unrecorded from the island and recommend a survey program that allows for sampling seasonal variation and variation between wet and dry summers. Such a strategy may also detect those fauna not recently recorded. We argue that because Legendre Island is the only large limestone island in the Dampier Archipelago and is an important breeding location for three species of marine turtle, it should be included in the conservation estate as part of the proposed Dampier Archipelago National Park.
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Jean-François Olivier |