Gondwana Link

Ecological wonderland

South-western Australia is one of the world’s 25 ‘biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities’. Covering only five percent of the Australian land mass, this area has an estimated 8,000 plant species – more than one-third of Australia’s known flowering plants – including some of the most unusual plants on Earth. Of these, 75 percent are endemic to the south-west and around 30 percent are yet to be scientifically described. So much more is yet to be learned about this ecological wonderland.

Profile: The Western Pygmy-possum
(Cercartetus concinnus)

During the day these tiny possums curl up in a nest of gum leaves in a tree hollow or in the fringing leaves of a grass-tree. At night they emerge to chase insects and drink nectar. Western Pygmy-possums prefer habitats with a dense shrubby understorey that provide food and shelter. They are most abundant in the mallee, woodlands and forests of south-west Western Australia. While small remnants of bushland can provide suitable habitat, they may not be large enough to support viable populations of Pygmypossums and other ground mammals in the long term. Gondwana Link is linking together the remnants of bushland scattered across the wheatbelt of Western Australia. These connections will enable previously isolated populations to link together – making them less prone to local extinction.