130 J. L. Silcock et al.


FIG. 3 Comparison at the site level (left) and regional scale (right) of mean effective distance to water for (a) sites with possible local extinctions or persistent absences of Petrogale xanthopus celeris, (b) sites where populations were absent and have later recovered, and (c) sites where populations have persisted through time.


(Fisher’s exact test, P = 0.622) and proximity to an exclusion fence.


Discussion


Over the past 50 years, most P. xanthopus celeris subpopula- tions have remained stable, have increased or represent re- colonizations of areas where the taxon was once considered locally extinct. This is despite the presence of foxes and cats, habitatmodification and high numbers of feral goats in some locations. Our results are in contrast with the situation of some other rock-wallaby taxa elsewhere in Australia (Dovey et al., 1997; Kinnear et al., 2017) and the general trends of threatened mammals in Australia (Woinarski et al., 2014). The persistence, recolonization and localized recovery of P. xanthopus celeris have largely occurred in the absence of concerted conservation management, except for predator control in three national parks, the translocation of 24 indivi- duals to Lambert Station in 1998 (Lapidge&Munn, 2011)and smaller translocations toMariala National Park and Lisburne and Ravensbourne stations during 2010–2020. The reduction in goat numbers has been a significant factor in the recovery


of P. xanthopus celeris; however, this has mostly been driven by market forces, as discussed below. The rugged nature of the yellow-footed rock-wallaby’s


core habitat and its agility within this habitat provide some protection from predators (McKenzie et al., 2007; Tuft et al., 2011). Although dingoes are relatively common in the study area and were noted at many sites, they lack suf- ficient agility to take yellow-footed rock-wallabies in their rocky refuges (Copley, 1983). They could, however, take some juveniles and dispersing adults. The mean weight of adult P. xanthopus celeris is at the upper weight range of mammals considered to be threatened by cat predation (Moseby et al., 2015), and although juveniles might occa- sionally be taken, there is no evidence of cat predation on rock-wallabies in the study area (Lapidge & Henshall, 2001). Foxes are associated with declines of the southern (nominate) subspecies (Copley, 1983; Sharp et al., 2014), and they have predated on translocated P. xanthopus celeris in the east of the current study area (Lapidge & Henshall, 2001), but they do not seem to be causing dramatic de- clines in the Queensland subspecies. This could be because subpopulation sizes remain above thresholds at which


Oryx, 2025, 59(1), 123–135 © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605324000760


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