Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 87(3), September 2004 
of areas subject to intensive sampling on the study area 
showed a reduction in both the number of species and 
individuals in burnt areas. Those species best able to 
survive the short term effects of fire were burrowing or 
fossorial species. It is not known what the longer term 
response to fire might be as the study was concluded 10 
months after the fire and during one of the driest periods 
for 20 years when post fire regeneration of vegetation 
was minimal. Teale (personal observation) has recorded 
similar initial responses to fire in the Pilbara with 
burrowing species showing a marked increase in 
numbers trapped immediately post-fire. These data are 
in close agreement with the findings of Caughley (1985) 
who recorded four burrowing species that forage over 
open ground as the most abundant species in most 
recently burnt areas of mallee in western New South 
Wales. The data of Caughley (1985) also indicate that 
there is a continuous replacement of species as the 
vegetation passes through successional stages after fire, 
such that the number of species remains relatively 
constant. 
This study has indicated that there is significant 
spatial and temporal variation in the lizard community 
of the Abydos Plain that responds to periodic 
fluctuations in environmental parameters, habitat 
differences and fire history. This variation can account 
for the high diversity of lizards, and by analogy all 
reptiles, documented for this dominant landscape in the 
Chichester subregion of the Pilbara bioregion. 
Acknowledgements: This project was funded by a National Estate 
Program grant through the Western Australian Heritage Committee and 
by the Western Australian Museum. 
For assistance with field data collection we are grateful to Norah Cooper, 
Ken Aplin, Brian Hanich, Jan Henry, Bill Humphreys, Paddy Berry, 
Helen Miller, Shane Pavlinovich, Graham Hall, jean Thipthorp, Mark 
Harvey and Julianne Waldock. Jenny Demasi and Brett Scourse provided 
laboratory assistance. 
To the Woodstock rangers Kevin and Rita Young, Archie and Pam Bryce 
and John Patterson we are grateful for providing logistical support. Max 
Richardson and Syd Baker provided information on local natural history 
and Andrew Chapman provided valuable local knowledge. 
Ken, Lynne and Janine Tinley spent three months at Abydos/Woodstock 
and gave great biological and logistical support. We are grateful to 
Graham Thompson, Norah Cooper, Peter Kendrick and Roy Teale for 
valuable comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. 
The project was conducted under a CALM Licence to collect fauna 
granted to the Western Australian Museum. 
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