Recovery and Discovery: Where We Have Been and Where We Might Go With Species Recovery.

1999 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
K.A. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Arid Regions ◽  
Species Conservation ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
General System ◽  
Careful Monitoring ◽  
Current Management ◽  
Species Recovery ◽  
Feral Cats ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Threatening Processes

History and pre-history tells us that Australian mammals have fared poorly through their association with humans. First there were the Pleistocene megafauna extinctions as Aborigines colonised the continent followed later by extinction of the large marsupial carnivores after introduction of the Dingo. European colonisation first appeared to favour many native mammals but later led to declines and extinctions at an unprecedented rate. The shock waves of these massive changes are most probably still reverberating across the landscape and need consideration in our approach to species conservation. Species recovery is a new and important science. Current management efforts focus on broad scale baiting of Foxes, translocation of endangered species to offshore predator-free islands, and their protection in predator enclosures. A national and more corporate approach to species conservation has arisen from national species recovery teams. Sharing of resources, particularly technical information on threat management, is critical to effective species recovery. This is especially important in forging the desperately needed break-through in control of Feral Cats. History tells us that disturbance of one component of the ecosystem will often provoke changes in other areas. The current intensive focus on Foxes demands careful monitoring of the general system as an early warning of developing problems. Study of the interactions between Foxes, Dingoes, Feral Cats and Rabbits are needed to discover the likely outcomes of control programs, particularly in the more arid regions where all four species coexist. Experimental reintroduction of yet untried species occupying niches yet to be examined by this technique may expose additional but more subtle threatening processes.

Applying home-range and landscape-use data to design effective feral-cat control programs

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Bengsen ◽  
John A. Butler ◽  
Pip Masters
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Gps Tracking ◽  
Feral Cat ◽  
Feral Cats ◽  
Small Areas ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Spatial Coverage ◽  
Landscape Use

Context Effective feral-cat (Felis silvestris catus) management requires a sound understanding of the ways cats use their environment. Key characteristics of landscape use by cats vary widely among different regions and different conditions. Aims The present study aimed to describe the most important characteristics of landscape use by feral cats on a large, human-populated island, and to use this information to guide the development of feral-cat management programs. Methods We used GPS tracking collars to record the movements of 13 feral cats at two sites on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, for between 20 and 106 days. We described home-range extents by using local convex hulls, and derived management suggestions from examination of home-range and movement data. Key results Median feral-cat home range was 5.11 km2, and this did not differ between sexes or sites. Cats at a fragmented pastoral site tended to favour woody vegetation over open paddocks, but habitat preferences were less clear at a bushland site. Cats that preferentially used treelines at the pastoral site were almost twice as likely to be recorded close to a tree-line junction as expected. Conclusions Control programs for feral cats on Kangaroo Island should deploy control devices at a density no less than 1.7 devices km–2. Spatial coverage should be as large as practicable or repeated frequently. Infrequent programs covering small areas can be expected only to provide short-term reductions in cat abundance. Implications The information gained from the present study will contribute to the development of strategic sustained management plans for feral cats on Kangaroo Island. The principles from which we inferred management guidelines are applicable to other regions and species.

scholarly journals Does aerial baiting for controlling feral cats in a heterogeneous landscape confer benefits to a threatened native meso-predator?

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. e0251304
Author(s):  
Russell Palmer ◽  
Hannah Anderson ◽  
Brooke Richards ◽  
Michael D. Craig ◽  
Lesley Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Feral Cat ◽  
Feral Cats ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Treatment Site ◽  
National Priority ◽  
Positive Effect

Introduced mammalian predators can have devastating impacts on recipient ecosystems and disrupt native predator–prey relationships. Feral cats (Felis catus) have been implicated in the decline and extinction of many Australian native species and developing effective and affordable methods to control them is a national priority. While there has been considerable progress in the lethal control of feral cats, effective management at landscape scales has proved challenging. Justification of the allocation of resources to feral cat control programs requires demonstration of the conservation benefit baiting provides to native species susceptible to cat predation. Here, we examined the effectiveness of a landscape-scale Eradicat® baiting program to protect threatened northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus) from feral cat predation in a heterogeneous rocky landscape in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. We used camera traps and GPS collars fitted to feral cats to monitor changes in activity patterns of feral cats and northern quolls at a baited treatment site and unbaited reference site over four years. Feral cat populations appeared to be naturally sparse in our study area, and camera trap monitoring showed no significant effect of baiting on cat detections. However, mortality rates of collared feral cats ranged from 18–33% after baiting, indicating that the program was reducing cat numbers. Our study demonstrated that feral cat baiting had a positive effect on northern quoll populations, with evidence of range expansion at the treatment site. We suggest that the rugged rocky habitat preferred by northern quolls in the Pilbara buffered them to some extent from feral cat predation, and baiting was sufficient to demonstrate a positive effect in this relatively short-term project. A more strategic approach to feral cat management is likely to be required in the longer-term to maximise the efficacy of control programs and thereby improve the conservation outlook for susceptible threatened fauna.

scholarly journals Total grazing pressure - a defining concept for extensive pastoral systems in the southern rangelands of Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 457 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. B. Hacker ◽  
K. Sinclair ◽  
C. M. Waters
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Species Conservation ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Pastoral Systems ◽  
Domestic Species ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Domestic Livestock

In Australia, particularly in the southern rangelands, large populations of native and feral herbivores (including kangaroos, goats, rabbits, pigs, donkeys and camels, depending on the location) co-exist with domestic livestock. In recent decades the concept of ‘total grazing pressure’ has been developed, and widely accepted, to denote the total forage demand of all vertebrate herbivores relative to the forage supply. This concept provides a framework within which both domestic and non-domestic species can be managed to allow commercially viable livestock production, landscape maintenance or restoration and species conservation. The concept should have relevance wherever pest animal control programs, biodiversity conservation, or commercialisation of wildlife are conducted in conjunction with extensive livestock production. The rationale for the compilation of the Special Issue is outlined.

How many reptiles are killed by cats in Australia?

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 247 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Z. Woinarski ◽  
B. P. Murphy ◽  
R. Palmer ◽  
S. M. Legge ◽  
C. R. Dickman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Size ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Predation Rate ◽  
Population Viability ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Feral Cat ◽  
Feral Cats ◽  
Reptile Species ◽  
Conservation Concern ◽  
The Impact

Context Feral cats (Felis catus) are a threat to biodiversity globally, but their impacts upon continental reptile faunas have been poorly resolved. Aims To estimate the number of reptiles killed annually in Australia by cats and to list Australian reptile species known to be killed by cats. Methods We used (1) data from >80 Australian studies of cat diet (collectively >10 000 samples), and (2) estimates of the feral cat population size, to model and map the number of reptiles killed by feral cats. Key results Feral cats in Australia’s natural environments kill 466 million reptiles yr–1 (95% CI; 271–1006 million). The tally varies substantially among years, depending on changes in the cat population driven by rainfall in inland Australia. The number of reptiles killed by cats is highest in arid regions. On average, feral cats kill 61 reptiles km–2 year–1, and an individual feral cat kills 225 reptiles year–1. The take of reptiles per cat is higher than reported for other continents. Reptiles occur at a higher incidence in cat diet than in the diet of Australia’s other main introduced predator, the European red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Based on a smaller sample size, we estimate 130 million reptiles year–1 are killed by feral cats in highly modified landscapes, and 53 million reptiles year–1 by pet cats, summing to 649 million reptiles year–1 killed by all cats. Predation by cats is reported for 258 Australian reptile species (about one-quarter of described species), including 11 threatened species. Conclusions Cat predation exerts a considerable ongoing toll on Australian reptiles. However, it remains challenging to interpret the impact of this predation in terms of population viability or conservation concern for Australian reptiles, because population size is unknown for most Australian reptile species, mortality rates due to cats will vary across reptile species and because there is likely to be marked variation among reptile species in their capability to sustain any particular predation rate. Implications This study provides a well grounded estimate of the numbers of reptiles killed by cats, but intensive studies of individual reptile species are required to contextualise the conservation consequences of such predation.

scholarly journals Corporate support for threatened species recovery efforts: three case studies from the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Mo ◽  
Mike Roache ◽  
Tania Reid ◽  
Damon L. Oliver ◽  
Linda Broome ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Threatened Species ◽  
Species Conservation ◽  
Food Storage ◽  
Eastern Coast ◽  
Flying Foxes ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Species Recovery ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Corporate Support

ABSTRACT A diverse range of corporations, businesses and organisations play an important role in threatened species conservation. During the unprecedented bushfire season in Australia in the 2019–20 summer, corporations, businesses and organisations contributed significant financial and in-kind support for the Saving our Species Program’s threatened species recovery efforts. On the eastern coast, a combination of food shortages and heat stress events resulted in large numbers of Grey-headed Flying-foxes Pteropus poliocephalus requiring rescue and rehabilitation. Prolonged drought and intense bushfires reduced available foraging resources for the Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby Petrogale penicillata and Mountain Pygmy-possum Burramys parvus. Corporations donated produce to feed flying-foxes in care and provide supplementary feeding for wild populations of rock-wallabies and pygmy-possums. Local businesses and organisations also supplied resources, funding and food storage capacity to support these conservation actions. The contributions from corporations, businesses and organisations in these case studies totalled more than $70,000.

Predation by feral cats key to the failure of a long-term reintroduction of the western barred bandicoot (Perameles bougainville)

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Short
Keyword(s):  
Prey Species ◽  
Local Extinction ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Feral Cats ◽  
European Rabbits ◽  
Threatening Processes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Methods Of Control

Context Reintroduction of endangered species potentially places them back in contact with putative factors of historical decline, inadvertently providing the opportunity to evaluate their impact. Aims To monitor the long-term progress of a population of western barred bandicoot reintroduced to mainland Australia and to assess factors involved in its eventual local extinction. Methods Bandicoots were reintroduced from offshore Dorre Island to the nearby mainland peninsula of Heirisson Prong in 1995. The narrow neck of the peninsula was fenced to exclude foxes and feral cats from a 1200 ha area, but the area was subject to periodic incursions. There was parallel management of a confined but unsupported population in an in situ 17-ha predator refuge. Bandicoots were assessed for abundance, body condition and reproduction two to four times annually between 1995 and 2010. In addition, perceived threatening processes (drought, disease and the abundance of cats, foxes and rabbits) were monitored. Key results Bandicoots became well established at the site, spreading to all available habitat. Numbers fluctuated strongly, peaking at ~250 in 1999 and then declining to apparent local extinction (with subsequent re-establishment from the refuge), and at ~470 animals in 2006, followed again by extinction. Conclusions Predation by feral cats was implicated as the primary cause of both free-range extinctions and the eventual elimination of all bandicoots from the predator refuge. Other contributing factors in one or more of the declines were a reduction in reproduction and recruitment in bandicoots during a one-in-100-year drought, the impact of overabundant European rabbits on vegetation used by bandicoots for nesting shelter and brief fox incursions at key times. Implications Existing methods of control of feral cats are rendered ineffective in the presence of abundant and diverse native fauna and abundant exotic species (particularly European rabbits). In addition, episodic drought in arid Australia intensifies the impact of predation by restricting reproduction of prey species. These factors hamper the attempts of conservation managers to re-establish vulnerable species at sites other than those with the infrastructure and/or management intensity to largely exclude exotic predators (and preferably European rabbits) over the long-term.

scholarly journals Constructing a model for the dynamic evaluation of vulnerability in software based on public sources

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2 (114)) ◽  
pp. 19-29
Author(s):  
Yuliia Tatarinova ◽  
Olga Sinelnikova
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Information Security ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
General System ◽  
Security Risks ◽  
Dynamic Evaluation ◽  
System A ◽  
Neuro Fuzzy ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

One of the key processes in software development and information security management is the evaluation of vulnerability risks. Analysis and evaluation of vulnerabilities are considered a resource-intensive process that requires high qualifications and a lot of technical information. The main opportunities and drawbacks of existing systems for evaluation of vulnerability risks in software, which include the lack of consideration of the impact of trends and the degree of popularity of vulnerability on the final evaluation, were analyzed. During the study, the following information was analyzed in the structured form: the vector of the general system of vulnerability evaluation, the threat type, the attack vector, the existence of the original code with patches, exploitation programs, and trends. The obtained result made it possible to determine the main independent characteristics, the existence of a correlation between the parameters, the order, and schemes of the relationships between the basic magnitudes that affect the final value of evaluation of vulnerability impact on a system. A dataset with formalized characteristics, as well as expert evaluation for further construction of a mathematical model, was generated. Analysis of various approaches and methods for machine learning for construction of a target model of dynamic risk evaluation was carried out: neuro-fuzzy logic, regression analysis algorithms, neuro-network modeling. A mathematical model of dynamic evaluation of vulnerability risk in software, based on the dynamics of spreading information about a vulnerability in open sources and a multidimensional model with an accuracy of 88.9 %, was developed. Using the obtained model makes it possible to reduce the analysis time from several hours to several minutes and to make a more effective decision regarding the establishment of the order of patch prioritization, to unify the actions of experts, to reduce the cost of managing information security risks

scholarly journals Long-Distance Movements of Feral Cats in Semi-Arid South Australia and Implications for Conservation Management

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3125
Author(s):  
Jeroen Jansen ◽  
Hugh McGregor ◽  
Geoff Axford ◽  
Abbey T. Dean ◽  
Sebastien Comte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Arid Areas ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Feral Cats ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Movement Data ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Semi Arid

Movements that extend beyond the usual space use of an animal have been documented in a range of species and are particularly prevalent in arid areas. We present long-distance movement data on five feral cats (Felis catus) GPS/VHF-collared during two different research projects in arid and semi-arid Australia. We compare these movements with data from other feral cat studies. Over a study period of three months in the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park, 4 out of 19 collared cats moved to sites that were 31, 41, 53 and 86 km away. Three of the cats were males, one female; their weight was between 2.1 and 4.1 kg. Two of the cats returned to the area of capture after three and six weeks. During the other study at Arid Recovery, one collared male cat (2.5 kg) was relocated after two years at a distance of 369 km from the area of collar deployment to the relocation area. The movements occurred following three years of record low rainfall. Our results build on the knowledge base of long-distance movements of feral cats reported at arid study sites and support the assertion that landscape-scale cat control programs in arid and semi-arid areas need to be of a sufficiently large scale to avoid rapid reinvasion and to effectively reduce cat density. Locally, cat control strategies need to be adjusted to improve coverage of areas highly used by cats to increase the efficiency of control operations.

scholarly journals Prevention and Management of Diseases on Vegetable Transplants

2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-57
Author(s):  
Arthur S. Greathead
Keyword(s):  
Production Systems ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Good Communication ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
The People ◽  
Arid West ◽  
Disease Free

The use of disease-free greenhouse-grown plug transplants for the establishment of field plantings of many vegetable crops in the arid west and southwestern regions of the United States has become a very important part of the agricultural system in these areas. The development of effective disease-control programs for use in the greenhouse involves a broad knowledge of production systems, water management, growing media, cultural techniques, etc., as well as knowledge of the discipline of plant pathology. The consultant in this field also must know the people and organizations with whom he is working. His goal is not simply the passing on of technical information, but also assisting in the incorporation of that information into the total growing program. Good communication skills and the development of an atmosphere of trust between all parties concerned are a vital part of the consultant's work.

Red Flags: Barriers to Listening and Spoken Language in Children with Hearing Loss

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-18
Author(s):  
Andrea Bell ◽  
K. Todd Houston
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Early Diagnosis ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Dynamic Process ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Red Flags ◽  
Careful Monitoring ◽  
Auditory Development ◽  
Children With Hearing Loss ◽  
Family Centered

To ensure optimal auditory development for the acquisition of spoken language, children with hearing loss require early diagnosis, effective ongoing audiological management, well fit and maintained hearing technology, and appropriate family-centered early intervention. When these elements are in place, children with hearing loss can achieve developmental and communicative outcomes that are comparable to their hearing peers. However, for these outcomes to occur, clinicians—early interventionists, speech-language pathologists, and pediatric audiologists—must participate in a dynamic process that requires careful monitoring of countless variables that could impact the child's skill acquisition. This paper addresses some of these variables or “red flags,” which often are indicators of both minor and major issues that clinicians may encounter when delivering services to young children with hearing loss and their families.

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