Factors Affecting Flora Conservation - Victorian Environmental ...

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mineshafts. In Victoria, its former
distribufion probably did not extend west of
East Gippsland. No namral caves suitable
for it have been found in the study area, and
there are no historical records. It was first
recorded in central Victoria in 1977 and is
now known to occur in a number of
mineshafts around Mount Disappointment-
Kinglake—EUdon.
Many species of mammal and bird were
introduced into Victoria last century, to
'enhance' the Australian bush and to provide
the new settlers with famUiar sights and
sounds. Numerous reserves established here
for the propagation and release of introduced
animals included Phillip Island, Gembrook,
and Quail Island. The 13 introduced
mammal species that now occur in the study
area form a significant component of the
fauna and have varying effects upon the
nafive fauna.
One natural phenomenon has had a major
effect on the fauna of the Central Highlands -
the devastating 1939 bushfires. Prior to this,
the forests were of various age classes, with
large aieas of old-growth forests. As a result
of the 1939 fires, extensive areas of ash
forests became predominanfly single-age
stands, and this has modified the distribution
and abundance of many forest-dependent
species.
Birds
Both distribution and abundance of many
native species of bird have changed greafly
since European settlement. Six species have
become extinct in the region, and many more
have undergone major reductions in their
distribufion. A few species have become
more common since settlement, and 12
species of introduced birds have established
substantial feral populations within the study
area. The declines in native species have
been caused primarily by the clearance of
native vegetation, drainage of swamps,
alteration to fire regimes, timber-harvesting,
and, in a few cases, hunting and eggcollecting.
Wheelwright's 1862 documentation of the
birds of the upper Momington Peninsula
makes the extinction of the six species
apparent. The pied goose is one that no
longer occurs naturally in south-eastern
Australia, due to the drainage of breeding
swamps, poisoning, and shooting by settlers.
However, Wheelwright commented that it
was 'the common wild goose' there, while
Australian bustards, although uncommon
breeding residents, '... generally came into
our disfrict as stragglers, but an odd couple
or so bred in the heather'. WTieelwright
further noted that brolgas '... generally
frequent the open swamps and wet plains in
small companies ... I once found a nest in a
swamp near us.' He cited reports of glossy
black cockatoos as being 'not uncommon'
near Point Nepean where they fed on the
seeds of drtwping she-oak. Ground parrots
were '... common in the long grass in the
plains, on the heather and often in low teatree
scmb ... We used to find them during
the whole year frequenting different localities
at different times.'. The reef heron was
observed last century in Western Port, but
has not been reportexl since. The turquoise
parrot was a regular summer migrant in small
flocks, but is now only recorded as a vagrant.
Hunting has also had a significant impact on
the abundance of some species, such as
ducks. Wheelwright commented, *I do not
believe that any country in the world is better
adapted as a home for the waterfowl than
Australia ... When I first came into this
country the balmy days of the duck shooter
were in their zenith; the fowls and buyers
plentiful the shooters scarce ... But this did
not last long. The duck shooters of that day
... never heeded the morrow and not one laid
up for a rainy day. As the bfrds became
scarcer the shooters increase ...'. By the turn
of the century ducks were considered scarce
on the Mornington Peninsula (Shepherd
1903). J
Black duck