New Holland mice go missing from the Otways

A SEVERELY endangered native mouse species has disappeared from its home range in Victoria’s eastern Otways, according to a Deakin University study.

Populations of the New Holland mouse were monitored around the Great Otway National Park and Anglesea Heath until 2003.

However, ecologist Associate Professor Barbara Wilson, who has been working on the ecology and reproduction of the native animal since 1981, said recent surveys to monitor New Holland mice in the area had failed to find any.

Between 2013 and this year, Associate Professor Wilson and her colleagues in Deakin’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences have been monitoring 42 sites across the eastern Otways.

While their traps and cameras captured many other native species, they did not capture any New Holland mice.

“This leads us to believe that the New Holland mouse is most probably extinct from this habitat, something we did not expect to find,” Associate Professor Wilson said.

“It’s now likely that the only way we will see a return of this species to the Otways is through a reintroduction program, but that must be supported by habitat protection, predator control and appropriate fire management if it is going to be effective.”

She said small Victorian populations have recently been recorded at Wilson’s Promontory, Dutson Downs and Providence Ponds, but many others have gone extinct, including in Tasmania.

“In the Otways we had eight populations we studied; they were small and localised but some were high density populations, especially after high rainfall.

“Unfortunately when rainfall declined, the species declined.”

She said the effects of climate change and resulting reductions in rainfall were a big threat to native species, and it was critical that the New Holland mouse was protected.

“Our recent survey also showed potential threats to the New Holland mouse were from historic clearing of land and habitat fragmentation, inappropriate fire regimes, introduced predators and human impacts (such as horse riding and off-leash dogs).

“Of Australia’s 49 conilurine rodent species – the group to which the New Holland mouse belongs – eight are extinct and 35 are in decline.”