Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L01713:body:0:p29
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L01713
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 150356–153387

a few hours (Kaluza 2021 pers. comm.), and 2.9 km overnight when foraging (Van Dyck 1994), and only small amounts of migration are required to maintain the genetic resilience of water mouse populations across its distribution (Benfer et al. 2014). This suggests that irregular dispersal events across large distances of seemingly inhospitable terrain may be sufficient to ensure connectivity and may explain the lack of significant genetic variation across the broad water mouse range. The contribution of flood events, currents, tides and cyclones to water mouse dispersal and genetic connectivity are unknown, as are the impacts of fragmentation caused by extensive coastal development in southeast Queensland.

3.9                  Population size
The water mouse is one nationally important population with no significant genetic divergences across its broad distribution (Benfer et al. 2014). The most recent national population estimate is 10 000 mature individuals, although this figure has low reliability (Woinarski et al. 2014). Nationally, the water mouse is elusive, rare, and scattered (Gynther & Janetzki 2008) making it challenging to determine a confident estimate of the national and global population.
Locations with a high recorded water mouse abundance or density include:
    * The west coast of Minjerribah/North Stradbroke Island in southeast Queensland where historical trap rates were relatively high at 8–24 % (Van Dyck 1996).
    * The Pumicestone Passage-Bribie Island region in southeast Queensland, where there is a relatively high density of active shelters across a large area (Gynther 2011; Kaluza 2013; 2016b).
    * The Maroochy River in southeast Queensland, where approximately 340–500 individuals are estimated to occur in a relatively small area (Kaluza et al. 2016).
    * The Great Sandy Strait and K'Gari/Fraser Island region along the southern Queensland coast, where there is a relatively high abundance of active shelters across a broad area (Burnham 2000; Kaluza 2018). Within this region, Kauri Creek and Tin Can Inlet have particularly high abundances (Burnham 2000).
    * Freshwater Point East on the central Queensland coast near Mackay, where ten individuals were trapped over 40 trap-nights for a very high relative trap rate of 25 % (Ball 2004).
Water Mouse abundance or density estimates are unavailable for north Queensland, the Northern Territory, and southern New Guinea.

3.10            Population trend
There is no national population monitoring program for the water mouse and there are few ongoing standardised trend monitoring programs for this species across its distribution. Inference, rather than empirical assessment, has been used to assess the global water mouse population as declining (Woinarski & Burbidge 2016; CITES 2019).
The abundance of active water mouse shelters has been monitored annually since 2019 in the Maroochy Wetlands Sanctuary on the Sunshine Coast, and also at McCoys Creek on the Gold Coast. Population trend estimates are anticipated for