The Distribution and Abundance of Kangaroos in relation to Environment in Western Australia

1983 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 435 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Short ◽  
G Caughley ◽  
D Grice ◽  
B Brown

Red and western grey kangaroos were surveyed from the air in Western Australia during the winter of 1981. The area covered, 1 528 000 km2 or 61% of the State, excluded only the Kimberleys in the north and the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts of the interior. Hence almost all kangaroo range within the State was surveyed, to provide an estimate of 980 000 reds and 436 000 greys. Densities were much lower than those of the eastern States. Red kangaroos were most abundant in mulga shrubland, chenopod shrubland and tussock grassland, and least abundant in hummock grassland. Densities were associated strongly with land-use categories, being high in areas used for extensive sheep grazing and low in vacant Crown Land and arable land. In contrast to reds the western grey kangaroos were confined to the south and west of the state, their distribution being related more directly to climate than to vegetation or land use. They live in the winter rainfall zone. We suggest that their restricted breeding season results in peak nutritional demands associated with lactation, and hence energy requirements, being synchronized with the spring flush of pasture following winter rains. Approximately 14% of the red kangaroo and 8% of the western grey kangaroo populations in Western Australia were harvested legally in 1981.

2021 ◽  
pp. 168-190
Author(s):  
Brad Edmondson

This chapter tells the story of how the early Adirondack Park Agency (APA) struggled to meet the state's assignments. It details what the state legislature gave to the early APA: an extremely ambitious to-do list and a ridiculously small budget. Much of the work depended on the men who had also worked for the Temporary Study Commission (TSC). The chapter analyses the story of George Davis who turned the idea for his dissertation into a big map that transformed life in the North Country. Davis's passion was protecting land that he thought should remain free of human impact. His thesis would compile data to show which Adirondack lands were suitable for development and which should remain undisturbed. The chapter then shifts with the APA chairman, Richard Lawrence who overcame opposition on several fronts as he struggled to maintain a working majority of board members, and the tireless work of Peter Paine, a well-connected lawyer, who argued stridently for the two plans. Ultimately, the chapter explains the significance of the APA map project. It argues that map making was important because the legal requirements for the land use plan were unusual, as most land use laws use text to describe the boundary lines of the area being regulated.


Author(s):  
T. B. Nahirniak ◽  
R. S. Grabovsky ◽  
M. R. Hrytsyna

The current state of land use in Ukraine is characterized by high agricultural development and land cultivation. The predominant share in the total land stock of Ukraine is occupied by agricultural land (70.8% of the country's territory). Ukraine accounts for about 0.45% of the world land fund, while arable land occupies 2.4% of its world-wide area. According to resource-based indicators of land use Ukraine is also characterized by an extremely high level of development of living space and only about 8% of the territory can be attributed to anthropogenically unchanged. Ecological and economic aspects of land use include of rational land use, which characterizes the optimal involvement of all lands in economic circulation and their effective use for the main purpose, creation of favorable conditions for increasing productivity of agricultural land and obtaining from the unit of area the maximum amount of products at the lowest cost of labor and funds. The article substantiates that degradation of soils has its own characteristics, caused by various factors and processes. It is established that the practice of land use and the state of study of the above problems will require further study of the preconditions for the development of land degradation processes caused by the main factors: human economic activity and climatic and relief-ground conditions. The existing system of land protection in agriculture due to the influence of a number of natural and economic factors, as well as insufficient attention from the state does not ensure their rational use. Therefore, it is necessary to adhere to an integrated system of protection of agricultural land.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-166
Author(s):  
Loredana Copăcean ◽  
Ionut Zisu ◽  
Valentina Mazăre ◽  
Luminiţa Cojocariu

The soil, regarded as a natural resource, but also as a determinant element of the living standards of rural communities, manly agricultural, may be influenced, directly and indirectly, by the modality of land organizing and use. Starting from this consideration, through this study, the spatial and temporal evolution of land use is being pursued, particularly that of forest areas and wooded grasslands. The goal is to notice the changes that have occurred over a 30-year period and the manner how these changes are reflected on the soil features. The researches presented in this paper have been taking place in the north-eastern hilly area of Timiş County, that area having entirely a rural character. For realizing this study satellite images, topographical and cadastral maps, from different time periods, national and international databases, data from specialty literature were used. To all these we should add direct observations in the field, topographic surveys and information collected from local authorities. The processing of cartographic materials and data and scientific information has been realized with Geographical Information Systems specific applications. The obtained result has been expressed in the form of thematic maps, in graphic form or as statistical analysis. At the level of the analyzed area, the obvious changes in the land use, registered over time, are caused by a number of factors, such as: the organization form, from communist to capitalist policies, leaving agricultural land as fallow ground, reduction in livestock, changing land use etc. All these changes have caused the extension of the wooded grasslands, reduction of arable land, installing inferior forest vegetation in qualitative and quantitative terms etc. As a result, the soil, one of the most important natural resources, is degraded qualitatively, underexploited, and on the other hand, its role as a direct and indirect food producer for local communities is significantly reduced.


1994 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
R.D. Barker ◽  
G. Caughley

Historical records, and the names of animals within Aboriginal languages, were analysed to compare the distribution and density of kangaroos at European contact with those of today. We gave up this attempt for the Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Macropus giganteus, presently restricted to the extreme south-east of the state, because it was never differentiated historically from the Southern Grey Kangaroo, M. fuliginosus, which occurs right across the southern portion of the state. The historical distribution of the latter species, and of the Red Kangaroo, M. rufus, seems to have been similar to their distribution today. Past densities are difficult to extract from historical records and are not sufficiently reliable to justify comparison with present densities. We note however an apparent increase in density of 'kangaroos' in the mid-1800s.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 640
Author(s):  
Jiaqi Shao ◽  
Fei Li

Multi-functional trade-offs and synergy research on land systems are hotspots in geography and land science research, and are of great significance for achieving sustainable development of land use and the effective allocation of land resources. Recently, the development of the western region and The Belt and Road Initiative have become key topics, bringing opportunities and challenges to Xi’an. The rapid development of cities is accompanied by drastic changes in land use, and the ecological problems in the Qinling Mountains are becoming increasingly severe. This study took Xi’an as a case study and quantitatively evaluated the spatial-temporal patterns and trade-offs of land system functions such as economic development (ED), grain production (GP), ecological service (ES), etc. on the scale of 1 km × 1 km by fusing the data on land use, topography, soil, climate, and social economy. The results showed that the ED function of the land system continued to rise between 1980 and 2015, the GP function first declined and then increased; however, the ES function continued to decline. The ED, GP and ES functions respectively present a spatial pattern of high-value agglomeration, high in the north and low in the south, and high in the south and low in the north. In general, the three land system functions were trade-offs between each other. In terms of spatial pattern, ED and ES functions showed trade-offs in the south and a synergy distribution in the north; ESs and GP function trade-off zone significantly larger than the synergy zone, the trade-off between the two was significant; while the trade-off and the synergy zone for GP and ED was relatively small, the trade-off zone was the main one. The significant trade-off between GP and ES functions of the land system is a serious problem in land use in Xi’an. Under the premise of limited arable land, it is the current feasible strategy to promote the high-quality development of agriculture to increase the cultivation rate and efficiency, and to strengthen the ecological protection of arable land. In addition, the continued decline of ES functions is also worthy of attention. It is necessary to focus on increasing the greening rate of the city and strengthening the ecological management of the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 98
Author(s):  
Michael Hughes ◽  
Valériane Bérengier

This research note documents an observation of a wild western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus) feeding on a dead silver gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) at Lucky Bay in the Cape Le Grand National Park on the south coast of Western Australia. Published evidence suggests that this behaviour is not unique and could be widespread in Western Australia and further afield. We consider why the kangaroo may be feeding on the dead gull and possible implications for conservation programs relying on poison meat baits to control introduced species.


1978 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 789 ◽  
Author(s):  
HI Jones

Four new species of Abbreviata (Physalopteridae) are reported from Western Australian snakes, viz. Abbreviata barrowi, sp. nov., Abbreviata occidentalis, sp. nov., Abbreviata kumarinae, sp. nov., and Abbreviata aechmespiculum, sp, nov. Larval Abbreviata not identifiable to species were found in almost half the snakes examined. These were almost absent from the south-west part of Western Australia and were most prevalent in the north of the state. Infections could not be related to season, or to food residues in the hosts. It is suggested that these larvae were unable to mature in the snakes, which were acting as paratenic hosts, and that the most likely definitive hosts were Varanus lizards. A key to the Abbreviata species from Australian and Papua New Guinea reptiles is provided.


Author(s):  
Rob Manwaring

This chapter evaluates the case of Australian state (Labor) governments. It outlines four distinctive state Labor governments in Australia in the states of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. In all cases, Labor held office for a relatively sustained period of time, before eventually losing. These state Labor governments offered a distinctive approach to governance that reshaped and renewed the trajectory of social democracy, especially in the face of neoliberal economic settings. Yet, in almost all these cases, these Labor governments were ejected from office. However, in contrast to some of the other cases in this volume, Labor has regained power in many of the state jurisdictions. So, while the Labor model of ‘strategic government’ might have passed, there might be further lessons here about how Labor can regain power.


1992 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
R.D. Barker ◽  
G. Caughley

The dominant species of large macropods in Victoria are the Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) and the Southern (= Western) Grey Kangaroo (M. fuliginosus). On the limited historic data available there is no indication that their ranges have changed since European settlement. The Red Kangaroo (M. rufus) was restricted to the northwest corner of the state, then as now. Moderate densities of Grey Kangaroos at settlement increased under forest clearing, probably peaking about the mid-nineteenth century. With intensification of farming and associated heavy hunting they declined again to establish by about the turn of the century the distribution of modera te density that we see today.


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