Factors Affecting Bait Uptake and Trapping Success for Feral Pigs (Sus Scrofa) in Kosciusko National Park.

1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 653 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Saunders ◽  
B Kay ◽  
H Nicol

An evaluation of the rate and extent of population reduction that can be achieved by trapping feral pigs was conducted in a subalpine area of Kosciusko National Park in south-eastern New South Wales. Movements of pigs during the programme were monitored by radio-telemetry. In total, 142 pigs, including 12-17 (71%) previously fitted with transmitters and known to be still on the study site, were captured over 330 trap-nights at a cost of $A104 per pig. A model fitted to the change in percentage of bait stations eaten per day relative to the cumulative number of pigs caught estimated a population reduction of 62% of animals exposed to traps and only 28% of the entire population. Determinants of trap success are discussed. During the trapping evaluation and in 2 preceding seasons, factors that influenced the rate at which bait stations were found and eaten were also examined. Both the locality characteristics of bait stations and the time of year were found to have significant effects on this rate.

1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 559 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Saunders

The demography of a sub-alpine population of feral pigs was examined at Kosciusko National Park in south-eastern New South Wales. Reproductive data and age structures indicated a seasonal pattern of breeding, most births occurring in summer and autumn. It is proposed that a decreasing availability of high protein food in the autumn and winter months caused reduced rates of conception. Sows produced 0.84 litters per year with postnatal mortality as high as 85%. The population appeared relatively stable at a density of 1.6 pigs kg-2. Hunting, although illegal in a national park, removed 4.4-15.4% of pigs each year. The overall health and body condition of pigs was good, with no evidence of heavy parasitic burdens or disease. Age-specific body weight and body length in this study were greater than those reported for pigs in semi-arid wester New South Wales.


1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 711 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Saunders ◽  
B Kay

The movements of a subalpine population of feral pigs were examined at Kosciusko National Park in southeastern New South Wales. Sufficient data were collected to estimate the home-range area of 20 pigs on the basis of 782 telemetry and trap locations. Mean (+/- s.d.) home-range size (minimum convex polygon method) for males (35.0 t 22.2 km*2) was significantly greater than that for females (1 1.1 +/- 5.2 km*2). Use of capture-recapture distances to estimate home-range size was considered inappropriate. A test for nomadism suggests that, although home ranges of pigs in this environment were larger than those reported for other pigs in Australia, the pigs were essentially sedentary. Management implications for this population are discussed.


1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania Bubela ◽  
Robert Bartell ◽  
Warren Müller

The factors that affect the trappability of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes L.) in alpine and subalpine New South Wales were examined by means of treadle snares. Trapping (1) on animal tracks without the use of a bait or lure, and (2) by setting snares around a bait, led to the capture of individuals of both sexes and all age-classes. A greater number of foxes was captured per number of snares set in winter than in other seasons because of the commensal foraging patterns of foxes at this time. Foxes were more likely to be caught within 100 m of their home-range boundaries during snow-free months and outside their home ranges while foraging at ski resorts in winter. Snares were found to be difficult to set, and foxes were captured in only 50% of sprung snares. Treadle snares caused no apparent long-term injuries to 40 red foxes that were radio- tracked and observed for 1–24 months after capture.


1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 771 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Saunders

The use of helicopters for the shooting of feral pigs in western New South Wales has become increasingly popular and widespread. Studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of this practice in terms of population reduction, rate of population recovery and cost. The study site was an area of 120 km*2 on the southern edge of the Macquarie Marshes. Estimated population reductions, calculated by the index-removal method, over two consecutive years were 80 and 65%. The associated rate of increase (r) in the 12 months following the first population reduction was 1.34, which is equivalent to a recovery of 77% in numbers. Results and levels of control inputs were collated for an additional consecutive year and compared with other studies. Management implications from this study are also considered.


2000 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 59 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Cohn ◽  
R. A. Bradstock

Factors affecting the survival of post-fire germinants in mallee communities, in central western New South Wales, were examined. Experiments compared the relative effects of native and introduced herbivores (kangaroos, goats, rabbits), after small- and large-scale fires (20–50 and > 10 000 ha, respectively), with particular emphasis on edge effects, seedling clustering, topography and eucalypt canopy presence. The experiments (1985–1997) focused on common understorey species Acacia rigens Cunn. ex Don, A. wilhelmiana F.Muell. and Triodia scariosa N.T.Burb. subsp. scariosa, in mallee dominated by Eucalyptus species. Following a large fire (1985), high spring rainfall and rabbit grazing on A. rigens only, survival of Acacia species and T. scariosa remained relatively high 4 years later (60–70%). After small burns (1987, 1988), low spring rainfall and grazing by rabbits and kangaroos, survival of Acacia species declined to between 0 and 30% of the germinants by the second summer. In most cases, local extinction had occurred within 8 years. After small burns (1988, 1989) and low spring rainfall, the survival of T. scariosa declined to between 0 and 35% of germinants by the second summer (effect of grazing unknown). No consistent effect of edge, topography and eucalypt canopy was found. Survival of clustered Acacia seedlings was between 10 and 20% lower than unclustered seedlings. Given the high frequency of low rainfall and its interaction with grazing, prescribed burning of mallee for wildfire control and nature conservation may require the local elimination of rabbits and a reduction in kangaroo numbers, especially in the first spring and summer following seedling germination.


2021 ◽  
pp. 153-157
Author(s):  
Joanna Sumner ◽  
Margaret L. Haines ◽  
Peter Lawrence ◽  
Jenny Lawrence ◽  
Nick Clemann

The alpine she-oak skink Cyclodomorphus praealtus is a threatened alpine endemic lizard from the mainland of Australia. The species is previously known from disjunct populations in Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales and three isolated localities in the Victorian Alps. The New South Wales and Victorian populations represent separate evolutionarily significant units. In 2011, a fourth Victorian population was discovered. We conducted a phylogenetic analysis and determined that the newly discovered population is discrete and may have been separated from other populations since the end of the last glacial maxima. This population requires separate management.


2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alistair S. Glen ◽  
Chris R. Dickman

The removal of non-toxic baits was monitored during a simulated trail-baiting programme for foxes and wild dogs in the central tablelands of New South Wales. Ninety-one buried baits were removed by a number of species including spotted-tailed quolls, Australian brush-turkeys, superb lyrebirds, small mammals, wild dogs and a red fox. Spotted-tailed quolls were significantly less likely to remove baits buried under the ground surface than baits buried in raised mounds of soil. By means of remote photography, individual quolls were identified removing 3–4 baits in one night from bait stations 400 m apart. The results of this study show that spotted-tailed quolls and other non-target species may face substantial risk of consuming baits intended for wild dogs and foxes. However, the risk of poisoning spotted-tailed quolls may be significantly reduced by appropriate planning. Recommendations are made to increase the target-specificity of baiting programmes in areas with populations of spotted-tailed quolls.


Author(s):  
Wojciech Niedbała ◽  
Agnieszka Napierała ◽  
Szymon Konwerski ◽  
Michał Zacharyasiewicz ◽  
Jerzy Błoszyk

The authors of the study present an analysis of the structure and changes in the examined community of ptyctimous mites (Acari: Acariformes: Oribatida) found in Dorrigo National Park in Australia. The research was conducted during two periods: between 1990 and 1993 and later in 2007. The analysed mite community comprises 35 species, though, the dominance and frequency of particular species were different for each period. In the first research period (1990–1993) in the area of Dorrigo National Park, 28 species were recorded, whereas in 2007 – 23 species were found. There were 16 species that occurred in both research periods, and 12 species only in the samples collected in the 90’s, and 7 species only in those collected in 2007. The analysis also embraces the geographical distribution of the species in the area of Australia. Three species were designated as endemic, occurring only in the area of the examined national park (Austrophthiracarus dissonus Niedbała et Collof, 1997, Austrophthiracarus parapulchellus Niedbała, 2006 and Notophthiracarus distinctus Niedbała, 1989). The analysed samples contained only few specimens of these species. Due to the low abundance, great rarity of the local populations and high endemism, these species should be regarded as potentially endangered (EN according to the IUCN scale). A comparative analysis of the community from Dorrigo National Park (New South Wales) with those found in other larger areas of Australia in Victoria (Otway Ranges Area, Yarra Ranges Area, Strzelecki Ranges Area and Errinundra Plateau Area) examined by Niedbała and Szywilewska-Szczykutowicz (2017) has revealed that the communities found in Dorrigo National Park contained far more species, which constituted 30% of the whole fauna of Australia. In contrast to the communities of ptyctimous mites from Dorrigo, the individual communities in the area of Victoria contained only between 5% and 14% of all known species in Australia from this group.


2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. S. Fleming ◽  
John P. Tracey

Aerial surveys of wildlife involve a noisy platform carrying one or more observers moving over animals in order to quantify their abundance. This simple-sounding system encapsulates limits to human visual acuity and human concentration, visual attention, salience of target objects within the viewed scene, characteristics of survey platforms and facets of animal behaviours that affect the detection of animals by the airborne observers. These facets are too often ignored in aerial surveys, yet are inherent sources of counting error. Here we briefly review factors limiting the ability of observers to detect animals from aerial platforms in a range of sites, including characteristics of the aircraft, observers and target animals. Some of the previously uninvestigated limitations identified in the review were studied in central and western New South Wales, showing that inaccuracies of human memory and enumeration processes are sources of bias in aerial survey estimates. Standard protocols that minimise or account for the reviewed factors in aerial surveys of wildlife are recommended.


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