Use of heterogeneous habitat by the western grey kangaroo, Macropus fuliginosus

1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 137 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Coulson
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Line Transect ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Grey Kangaroo ◽  
Heterogeneous Habitat ◽  
Western Grey Kangaroo ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
North Western ◽  
Temporal Overlap

The western grey kangaroo, Macropus fuliginosus, typically occurs at highest population densities in areas of greatest habitat heterogeneity. Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, in semiarid north-western Victoria, supports a relatively high density of this species, and has a mosaic of four major vegetation associations: mallee, woodland, lake bed and grassland. The patterns of habitat use by western grey kangaroos at Hattah-Kulkyne were examined from March 1983 until May 1985 using line-transect surveys to estimate population density in each habitat, and radio-tracking to estimate home range. The population was not dispersed randomly, but generally exhibited either positive or negative preferences for each of the four habitats in early morning and at midday, and on different bimonthly surveys. These preferences often reversed between times of day and between surveys. Home ranges of individuals ranged from 221 to 459 ha (asymptotic MAP[O.95] estimates), each encompassing three or four habitat types, and there was extensive spatial and temporal overlap between individuals. Kangaroos at Hattah-Kulkyne thus alternated between adjacent habitats that offered a range of forage conditions and shelter.

The Influence of population density and habitat on grouping in the western grey kangaroo, Macropus fuliginosus

1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 151 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Coulson
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
National Park ◽  
Habitat Structure ◽  
Group Formation ◽  
Lower Range ◽  
Grey Kangaroo ◽  
The Social ◽  
Western Grey Kangaroo ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
North Western

Population density and habitat structure have been identified as influencing grouping patterns in kangaroos, but the separate contributions of each factor have rarely been distinguished. Grouping was examined in the western grey kangaroo, Macropus fuliginosus, at Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, north-western Victoria, where the population exhibits marked changes in density throughout habitats that provide a range of cover. Group size and population density in each habitat were surveyed at two times of day and at roughly 2-monthly intervals from March 1983 until December 1985. Of the four major habitats, mallee and woodland offered moderate cover, whereas grassland and lake bed gave sparse cover. Visibility of kangaroo groups was highest in the sparse habitats, and was positively related to the size of the group, at least in the lower range of group sizes. At densities up to 40km-2, groups that formed in the sparse habitats were larger than the groups in the two habitats that offered moderate cover. Three habitats (lake bed, grassland and woodland) had more smaller and more larger groups than expected if group formation was a random process. Large males were seen alone more often than expected by chance in lake bed, and less often in moderate cover; females with young-atfoot were over-represented as singletons in all four habitats. The size and composition of groups recorded in this study suggest that the basic components of the social organisation of kangaroos are best discerned in habitats that carry a low population density, but that also provide the most cover.

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.

Home-range studies in a reintroduced brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) population in the Grampians National Park, Victoria

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Molyneux ◽  
David A. Taggart ◽  
Anthony Corrigan ◽  
Sean Frey
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
National Park ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Local Extinction ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Radio Tracking ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
Species Ecology

In 2008, after 9 years of presumed local extinction, brush-tailed rock-wallabies (Petrogale penicillata) were reintroduced at Moora Moora Creek in the Grampians National Park, western Victoria. Since little is known about this species in Victoria, the reintroduction presented an important opportunity to gain information on the species’ ecology. Radio-tracking was undertaken and home range determined for three individuals released 11 months before this study and a further five individuals that were released at the commencement of the study in October 2009. Home-range size showed little variation amongst individuals, with a mean overall home range of 26 ha (±1.69, s.e.) and a mean core home range of 2.5 ha (±0.24, s.e.). Newly reintroduced individuals showed higher levels of association with wallabies from the same release and greater site fidelity when known conspecifics were close. Within 5 months of release, newly reintroduced animals showed home ranges similar in both size and distribution to those of animals released 11 months prior.

Are there conservation implications for kangaroos feeding on sea birds?

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 98
Author(s):  
Michael Hughes ◽  
Valériane Bérengier
Keyword(s):  
Introduced Species ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
National Park ◽  
Research Note ◽  
South Coast ◽  
Conservation Implications ◽  
Sea Birds ◽  
Published Evidence ◽  
Grey Kangaroo ◽  
Western Grey Kangaroo

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.

Aspects of the Demography of the Western Grey-Kangaroo, Macropus-Fuliginosus-Melanops, in Semiarid Northwest Victoria

1988 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 257 ◽  
Author(s):  
GL Norbury ◽  
GM Coulson ◽  
BL Walters
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
National Park ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Energy Costs ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
North West ◽  
Adult Age ◽  
Grey Kangaroo ◽  
Western Grey Kangaroo

The study was carried out at Hattah-Kulkyne National Park in semiarid north-west Victoria, during 3 years immediately following a severe drought. A sample of animals which died as a result of the drought (n= 196) and a shot sample (n=546) were examined to determine patterns of breeding, mortality and age structure. Births were concentrated in spring and summer, with a peak in November. Only 46% of mature females bred during the drought, whereas 100% bred two seasons later. The sex ratio of pouch young was not significantly different from parity, but showed a slight male-bias, however, the sex ratio of the adult population was markedly female-biased (1:3). Projected population growth was not realised in the years following the drought because of high mortality. There was evidence of male-biased mortality which was apparently accentuated during the drought. This biased mortality appeared similar in all adult age classes, and may have been a consequence of the disparate energy costs imposed by sex differences in body size and in mobility.

Canopy Ant Communities in the Semiarid Mallee Region of North-Western Victoria

1992 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 205 ◽  
Author(s):  
AN Andersen ◽  
AY Yen
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ant Communities ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Abundance And Diversity ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
North Western ◽  
Very High ◽  
Ground Nesting ◽  
Canopy Species

Ants were collected from the canopies of mallee eucalypts at Wyperfeld National Park in north-western Victoria by beating foliage on ten occasions from September 1979 to December 1980. The study was conducted at two adjacent sites: one that had been burnt by a wildfire during early 1977, and the other long unburnt. Both sites contained a mixture of three mallee eucalypt species: Eucalyptus dumosa, E. foecunda and E. incrassata. In contrast to the canopies of other eucalypt formations elsewhere in southern Australia, abundance and diversity of ants were very high. Ants represented 43-69% of all invertebrates, and a total of 44 ant species from 19 genera was collected. Iridomyrmex and Camponotus respectively contributed 10 and 11 species, and the most abundant ants were species of Iridomyrmex, Monomorium and Crematogaster. Ant composition was broadily similar at the two sites, and on different canopy species, although significant differences in abundance were apparent for some individual ant species. Except for tree-nesting Podomyrma adelaidae and Myrmecorhynchus sp. nr emeryi, the fauna was dominated by ground-nesting species, most of which appeared to forage on vegetation opportunistically. The unusually high abundance and diversity of the canopy ant fauna are attributed to the close proximity of the mallee canopy to the ground, coupled with an exceptionally rich ground ant fauna.

Leaf spot and dry rot of lettuce caused by Xanthomonas vitians (Brown) Dowson

1963 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 778 ◽  
Author(s):  
DE Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Spot ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
Dry Rot ◽  
Complete Destruction ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
Valley Area ◽  
North Western

During the late winter and early spring of 1960, and again to a lesser extent in 1961 and 1962, many lettuce crops in the Murray Valley area of north-western Victoria were seriously affected by a disease characterized by blackening, dry rotting, and collapse of the affected leaves. The incidence of disease varied from about 10% up to practically complete destruction of some plantings. A yellow bacterium was consistently isolated from affected plants and proved to be pathogenic to lettuce. Laboratory studies have shown that the organism agrees closely with the recorded description of Xanthomonas vitians (Brown) Dowson, which has not, apparently, been previously studied in Australia.

scholarly journals Weather forecast in north-western Greece: RISKMED warnings and verification of MM5 model

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bartzokas ◽  
V. Kotroni ◽  
K. Lagouvardos ◽  
C. J. Lolis ◽  
A. Gkikas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Temperature ◽  
Weather Forecasting ◽  
Precipitation Amount ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Weather Forecast ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Meteorological Model ◽  
Adverse Weather ◽  
North Western ◽  
Western Greece

Abstract. The meteorological model MM5 is applied operationally for the area of north-western Greece for one-year period (1 June 2007–31 May 2008). The model output is used for daily weather forecasting over the area. An early warning system is developed, by dividing the study area in 16 sub-regions and defining specific thresholds for issuing alerts for adverse weather phenomena. The verification of the model is carried out by comparing the model results with observations from three automatic meteorological stations. For air temperature and wind speed, correlation coefficients and biases are calculated, revealing that there is a significant overestimation of the early morning air temperature. For precipitation amount, yes/no contingency tables are constructed for 4 specific thresholds and some categorical statistics are applied, showing that the prediction of precipitation in the area under study is generally satisfactory. Finally, the thunderstorm warnings issued by the system are verified against the observed lightning activity.

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