The role of mining companies in mammal conservation a western australian case study

摘要

The Western Pebble Mound Mouse (Pseudomys chapmani) is found throughout the Pilbara region of Western Australia. When first described in 1980, very little was known of the biology of this species. This situation, together with an apparent contraction of its range, prompted its declaration on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Conservation Act (1950) as a species that is rare and endangered and likely to become extinct. The frequent presence of P. chapmani on iron ore deposits represented a major conservation issue for mining companies. Early attempts to develop management plans for this species were hampered by a lack of basic biological and life history data. On this basis Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd. and other Pilbara iron ore producers undertook research program to help better understand the biology of P. chapmani. Research on P. chapmani was broken into 3 separate components. The first involved a long-term regional survey of the Pilbara to fully document the distribution of P. chapmani mounds. The secondprogram documented the social structure and patterns of movement of P. chapmani. The final program developed and undertook an experimental translocation of P. chapmani away from high disturbance mining areas to areas that will not be disturbed. Data fromindustry based studies were extensively used in a recent review of the conservation status of P. chapmani. This review concluded that P. chapmani populations in the Pilbara are far more stable than originally thought. The review recommended that P. chapmani should be deleted from Schedule 1 and allocated to the IUCN (1994) Red List category of "Least Concern".