Effects of habitat fragmentation on the vertebrate fauna of tropical woodlands, Northern Territory

B. R. Rankmore and O. F. Price
in Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna, 2nd ed. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, 2004
Fauna surveys were conducted in cleared areas, remnants of eucalyptus woodlands of various size and degree of isolation, and undisturbed 'continuous' woodland at Litchfield NT and Tipperary NT to determine the effects of clearing and habitat fragmentation on vertebrate fauna populations and distributions. The surveys identified 75 species of birds, mammals, frogs and reptiles of sufficient frequency to analyse. Only 25% of the species used modified land, but most (69%) were recorded in corridors. No species could be confidently classified as an edge specialist. The area or size of remnant vegetation, the total amount of woodland within a four km radius of the fragment, and connectivity all had a strong positive influence on animals occurring within a fragment. Fire regimes and density of trees also had an important influence on animals in remnant woodlands.