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Kangaroo (Hypsiprimnodon moschatus).The project was managed byQueensland Parks and Wildlife (QPW),and involved substantial communityparticipation through the partnergroup Trees for the Evelyn and AthertonTablelands (TREAT Inc.).Toohey Creek springs fromLake Barrine,a volcanicmaar contained within a498 ha section of the Crater LakesNational Park and flows across farmlandinto the Gadgarra section of the80 000 ha Wooroonooran NationalPark. The Lake Barrine section of CraterLakes National Park and the Gadgarrasection ofWooroonooranNational Parkare both contained within the Wet TropicsWorld Heritage Area. The Lake Barrinereserve had been isolated from theWooroonooran massif since the 1930swhen agricultural expansion resultedin the clearing of forest surroundingthe reserve (see Box 1, Fig. 2).Fragmentation and potentialfor linkageFragmentation and isolation haveresulted in a number of ecologicaleffects within the Barrine reserve.Campbell (1995) documented adecline in the genetic diversity of somesmall mammals at Lake Barrine whencompared with adjacent intact populationsat Gadgarra. Edge effects areprominent, including the mortality oflarge trees along the exposed marginsand dense clumps of rattan or LawyerCane (Calamus spp.), indicative ofedge related disturbance (Laurance1997). The Southern Cassowary isextinct within Barrine, so its criticalrole in seed dispersal no longer occursin the reserve. The Barrine reserve isinternally fragmented by roads andpowerlines and various weeds are typicalin these disturbed areas. Moreover,patches of rain forest isolated in a seaof pasture are a common feature of theAtherton Tablelands landscape andmanagement solutions are required,which can potentially reduce isolationeffects in a number of other reserves.The project managers commencedplanning the restoration of the linkagehabitat to alleviate these effects,encouraged by a review of the literatureon the requirements of linkages(Tucker 2000b) and the cooperativeattitudes of the landholders and otherstakeholders associated with the site.The majority (85%) of the land to bereplanted was privately owned bygraziers John and Therese Donaghyand the linkage became colloquiallyknown as Donaghy’s Corridor.Habitat linkagesRosenberg et al. (1997) highlight twokey aspects of wildlife corridor function:(i) species habitat; and (ii) conduitsfor movement. To reinforce this,we refer to corridors as ‘habitat linkages’,which we define here as naturallydiscrete areas that provide habitatfor a subset of local species and a linkagebetween habitat patches formobile species with larger homeranges. The size and habitat suitabilityof linkages will determine their usagebecause what constitutes habitat forone species may only ever provide amovement conduit for others. Thissuggests caution in assuming that linkageswill work for all species in alllocations and their value may in factbe site and species specific. Therefore
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