scholarly journals Fencing artificial waterpoints failed to influence density and distribution of red kangaroos (Macropus rufus)

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Fukuda ◽  
H. I. McCallum ◽  
G. C. Grigg ◽  
A. R. Pople
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
National Park ◽  
Water Sources ◽  
Spatial Context ◽  
Line Transect ◽  
Macropus Rufus ◽  
Pellet Counts ◽  
Transect Counts ◽  
Vegetation Regeneration

Provision of artificial waterpoints in Australian rangelands has resulted in an increase in the range and density of kangaroos. At high densities, kangaroos can inhibit vegetation regeneration, particularly in some protected areas where harvesting is prohibited. Fencing off waterpoints has been proposed to limit these impacts. Our aim was to determine whether fencing off waterpoints during a drought (when kangaroos would be especially water-limited) would influence the density and distribution of red kangaroos (Macropus rufus). Two waterpoints were fenced within the first 6 months of the 27-month study and a further two waterpoints were kept unfenced as controls in Idalia National Park, western Queensland. We estimated kangaroo densities around waterpoints from walked line-transect counts, and their grazing distribution from dung-pellet counts. Fencing off waterpoints failed to influence either the density or distribution up to 4 km from the waterpoints. Our results indicate that food availability, rather than the location of waterpoints, determines kangaroo distribution. Few areas in the rangelands are beyond kangaroos’ convenient reach from permanent waterpoints. Therefore, fencing off waterpoints without explicitly considering the spatial context in relation to other available water sources will fail to achieve vegetation regeneration.

Do kangaroos exhibit water-focused grazing patterns in arid New South Wales? A case study in Sturt National Park.

2004 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 87 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Montague-Drake ◽  
DB Croft
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Line Transect ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Infrared Sensors ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Transect Counts ◽  
Vegetation Surveys ◽  
Conservation Values ◽  
Artificial Watering

The density of kangaroos (Macropus spp.) within 5 km of current and former artificial watering points in Sturt National Park (NSW) was studied over a two-year period using the line transect method. Kangaroo densities were not significantly related to water proximity and did not significantly differ between open and closed watering points. Infrared sensors detected and counted kangaroo movements to and from artificial watering points and these were positively correlated with temperature. However, line transect counts did not reveal a shift in kangaroo distributions to water-proximate areas in warmer seasons. The results suggest that kangaroos travel to drink and then return to relatively stable home ranges that take advantage of sites offering the best grazing and resting opportunities. Vegetation surveys, using a wheel point device, revealed that the biomass of Atriplex spp. decreased significantly with increased proximity to artificial watering points, but the biomass of Poaceae spp. and numerous forbs did not. Vegetative diversity was unrelated to water proximity. Low vegetation biomass near artificial watering points in Sturt National Park may be more correctly attributed to the effects from past sheep-grazing pressure, than to any current grazing pressure. The implications of artificial watering point closure on conservation values and nature-based tourism are discussed.

scholarly journals An assessment of the accuracy of kangaroo surveys using fixed-wing aircraft

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 315 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Pople ◽  
S. C. Cairns ◽  
T. F. Clancy ◽  
G. C. Grigg ◽  
L. A. Beard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Standard Form ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Line Transect ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
Correction Factors ◽  
Density Estimates ◽  
Macropus Rufus ◽  
Transect Counts ◽  
Biased Estimates ◽  
Strip Transect

The use of line-transect methodology, on foot or from a helicopter, is likely to return the most repeatable, least biased estimates of kangaroo density. However, the associated costs make both methods impractical for broad-scale surveys. For these, a fixed-wing aircraft remains the most cost-effective platform. Limitations of the standard fixed-wing method (200-m strip transects) are well known, but it continues to be used because it provides an index of trends, because there are now long runs of data (almost 20 years in some cases) collected in this standard form and an alternative method is lacking. In this study, four variations of fixed-wing surveys of kangaroos were investigated: two line-transect methods (involving different scanning techniques), the standard 200-m strip transect and a 100-m strip transect. Surveys using these methods were compared with helicopter line-transect surveys along the same flight lines in three areas (5000–7500 km2) in western Queensland. Both fixed-wing line-transect methods failed to produce consistently accurate estimates of density for all three species surveyed: red kangaroos (Macropus rufus), eastern grey kangaroos (M. giganteus) and common wallaroos (M. robustus). While generally more accurate than the uncorrected strip-transect counts, they were no less variable. However, the strip-transect counts still need to be corrected for bias for which this study offers revised estimates of correction factors for eastern grey kangaroos (3.7–10.2) and common wallaroos (3.8–4.1), and estimates for red kangaroos (1.7–2.7) that support currently used values. An attractive alternative is to survey in 100-m strip transects, which offer improved visibility (correction factors of 1.0–1.8 for red kangaroos, 2.1–3.6 for eastern grey kangaroos and 1.7–2.1 for common wallaroos) and are therefore likely to be more accurate and repeatable. However, these advantages need to be assessed in relation to continuing long runs of data using the standard 200-m strip transect. Correction factors for wallaroos are conservative as helicopter-based density estimates are known to be underestimates. Further work is needed to assess the generality of correction factors, both spatially and temporally.

scholarly journals Blue duiker Philantomba monticola densities in the Tsitsikamma National Park and probable factors limiting these populations

Koedoe ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Hanekom ◽  
V. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Faecal Pellet ◽  
Density Estimates ◽  
Pellet Counts ◽  
Transect Counts ◽  
Fallen Leaves ◽  
Blue Duiker ◽  
Winter Population

Numbers of blue duikers recorded on 157 and 28 variable width transect counts, done over a two year period in the Tsitsikamma Coastal National Park (TCNP) and Tsitsikamma Forest National Park (TFNP) respectively, did not differ significantly {P > 0,10) with seasons (summer v. winter). Population density estimates from transects were similar to those from game drives (0,18 v. 0,19 duikers/ha (TCNP) and 0,13 v. 0,17 duikers/ha (TFNP); P >0,10), higher than from faecal pellet counts (P < 0,10) and at least three times lower than estimates from the Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve and Umdoni Park in Natal. Factors contributing to the low population densities in the Tsitsikamma national parks were investigated. Twentyseven and seven percent of leopard (25) and caracal (12) scats respectively analyzed contained blue duiker remains, but predator numbers appear to be low. Forest characteristics were investigated, and results from this and other studies suggest that undergrowth cover does not markedly influence blue duiker densities in the southern Cape forests. Field and stomach analysis indicate that blue duikers feed primarily on freshly fallen leaves and fruit, and are selective foragers. In the Tsitsikamma national parks (TNPs) the frequency of occurrence of trees known to be palatable to duikers are low, while less than 45 percent of the dominant tree species fruit fully annually. This apparent scarcity of food, the low numbers of antelope species and individuals in these forests and results from duiker research in Zaire, suggest that habitat rather than predation is limiting duiker numbers in the Tsitsikamma national parks.

Methods for Small-Scale Surveys of Grey Kangaroo Populations

1985 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 119 ◽  
Author(s):  
GM Coulson ◽  
JA Raines
Keyword(s):  
Population Size ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Faecal Pellet ◽  
Critical Conditions ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Line Transect ◽  
Faecal Pellets ◽  
Grey Kangaroo ◽  
Pellet Counts ◽  
Transect Counts

Small-scale survey methods which have previously been applied to grey kangaroos were evaluated on a population of known size. The total population size of free-ranging eastern grey kangaroos, Macropus giganteus, on Rotamah Island in the Gippsland Lakes of Victoria was determined by a drive count. Two types of small-scale survey methods were evaluated against this total: line transect counts and faecal pellet counts. The line transect estimates were not significantly different from the known population size, and grey kangaroos appear to meet the critical conditions of the models. Counts of individual faecal pellets gave an acceptable estimate of population density, whereas counts based on pellet groups had significant positive bias.

scholarly journals No Limits of Acceptable Change: A Proposed Research Framework for Informing Visitor Use Management in the Context of Cultural Resources

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 377
Author(s):  
Zachary D. Miller ◽  
Wayne Freimund ◽  
Stefani A. Crabtree ◽  
Ethan P. Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
National Park ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
Cultural Resource ◽  
Limits Of Acceptable Change ◽  
The Us ◽  
Visitor Use ◽  
Material Evidence

Cultural resources are commonly defined as resources that provide material evidence of past human activities. These resources are unique, as they are both finite and non-renewable. This provides a challenge for traditional visitor use management since these resources have no limits of acceptable change. However, with nearly every national park in the US containing cultural resources, coupled with ever-growing visitation, it is essential that managers of parks and protected areas have the ability to make science-informed decisions about cultural resources in the context of visitor use management. We propose a framework that can help provide context and exploration for these challenges. Drawing on previous literature, this framework includes risk-based approaches to decision making about visitor use; visitor cognitions related to cultural resources; emotions, mood, and affect related to cultural resource experiences; creating and evaluating interpretive programs; deviant visitor behaviors related to cultural resources; and co-management.

scholarly journals Mammal conservation in Amazonia’s protected areas: A case study of Peru’s Ichigkat Muja - Cordillera del Cóndor National Park

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. e01451
Author(s):  
Jason J. Scullion ◽  
Jacqueline Fahrenholz ◽  
Victor Huaytalla ◽  
Edgardo M. Rengifo ◽  
Elisabeth Lang
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Park ◽  
Mammal Conservation

scholarly journals Protected area management in a post-natural world: negotiated governance at the Danish Wadden Sea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cormac Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Wadden Sea ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Protected Area Management ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
Large Protected Areas ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractNational parks and other large protected areas play an increasingly important role in the context of global social and environmental challenges. Nevertheless, they continue to be rooted in local places and cannot be separated out from their socio-cultural and historical context. Protected areas furthermore are increasingly understood to constitute critical sites of struggle whereby the very meanings of nature, landscape, and nature-society relations are up for debate. This paper examines governance arrangements and discursive practices pertaining to the management of the Danish Wadden Sea National Park and reflects on the relationship between pluralist institutional structures and pluralist, relational understandings of nature and landscape.

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