The occurrence of terrestrial, non-volant mammal species on Australian islands: update based on three decades of additional knowledge

In 1995 we published a database of mammal species recorded on the islands of Australia comprising 1716 records of 128 terrestrial, non-volant species (105 indigenous, 23 exotic). This paper provides a revised update: 2755 records (~60% increase) of 176 species (147 indigenous, 29 exotic), on 682 islands. Of the 253 species of Australia’s indigenous, non-volant mammal species, 56.7% have or had at least one insular occurrence. There have been 70 extinctions of island populations of 38 indigenous species on 34 islands. Thirteen indigenous species with threatened status have been translocated from islands to other islands and six to mainland exclosures. Of the 29 exotic species recorded on islands, we found 1344 occurrences, of which ~320 are now absent. We reviewed the analysis of Abbott (1980) on the occurrence of macropods on islands in relation to their accessibility to Aboriginal people and confirmed the impact of humans and dingoes taken by Aboriginal people to islands on mammals: macropods can persist for millennia on smaller islands not occupied or visited by Aboriginal people (median area 1060 ha) compared with islands that are or were occupied or visited (median area 4437 ha).