scholarly journals An assessment of feral horse impacts on treeless drainage lines in the Australian Alps

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoff Robertson ◽  
John Wright ◽  
Daniel Brown ◽  
Kally Yuen ◽  
David Tongway
Keyword(s):  
Feral Horse ◽  
Australian Alps

Feral-horse impacts on corroboree frog habitat in the Australian Alps

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 184 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. N. Foster ◽  
B. C. Scheele
Keyword(s):  
National Parks ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Feral Horses ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Introduced Herbivores ◽  
Litter Depth ◽  
Feral Horse ◽  
Australian Alps ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Seasonally Flooded

Context Introduced herbivores can have a substantial impact on native plants and animals, particularly in ecosystems that do not share a recent evolutionary history with similar herbivore species. The feral horse, Equus caballus, has a widespread but patchy distribution in Australia, with large populations present in national parks in the Australian Alps. There are few peer-reviewed studies of the impacts of feral horses on ecosystems in this region. However, impacts could be substantial, particularly in wetland and riparian environments that are focal points for horse activity and sensitive to trampling and physical disturbance. Aims In the present study, we used replicated horse exclosures to investigate the effects of feral horses on breeding habitat of the critically endangered northern corroboree frog, Pseudophryne pengilleyi, in the Australian Alps. Methods Pseudophryne pengilleyi constructs nests and lays eggs in dense litter surrounding small, seasonally flooded wetland pools. In 2010, we sampled the litter depth adjacent to pools at eight long-term P. pengilleyi monitoring sites. In 2011, horse exclosures were established at each of the eight sites, such that less than half of the wetland area was inside the exclosure. In 2015, we measured litter depth surrounding pools inside and outside the exclosures, as well as at three additional sites where feral horses were absent. Key results We found that the pool-edge litter was 1.9 times deeper in areas without horses (inside horse-exclosure plots and horse-free sites) than in areas accessible to horses (unfenced areas in horse-occupied sites). Conclusions Our study has presented experimental evidence that horse grazing and trampling reduce breeding-habitat quality for P. pengilleyi, which could result in reduced reproduction success. Implications Ensuring the persistence of high-quality habitat is crucial for the conservation of P. pengilleyi, particularly given the severity of the decline of this species associated with chytrid fungus. Our results have provided direct evidence of a negative feral-horse impact on the habitat of a threatened animal species in the Australian Alps.

Thinking with a landscape: the Australian Alps, horses and pedagogical considerations

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Scott Jukes
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Education ◽  
Educational Research ◽  
Specific Problem ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Outdoor Environmental Education ◽  
Australian Alps ◽  
Environmental Educators ◽  
Multiple Species ◽  
Constructing Knowledge

Abstract This paper proposes some possibilities for thinking with a landscape as a pedagogical concept, inspired by posthuman theory. The idea of thinking with a landscape is enacted in the Australian Alps (AA), concentrating on the contentious environmental dilemma involving introduced horses and their management in this bio-geographical location. The topic of horses is of pedagogical relevance for place-responsive outdoor environmental educators as both a location-specific problem and an example of a troubling issue. The paper has two objectives for employing posthuman thinking. Firstly, it experiments with the alternative methodological possibilities that posthuman theory affords for outdoor environmental education, including new ways of conducting educational research. Secondly, it explores how thinking with a landscape as a pedagogical concept may help open ways of considering the dilemma that horses pose. The pedagogical concept is enacted through some empirical events which sketch human–horse encounters from the AA. These sketches depict some of the pedagogical conversations and discursive pathways that encounters can provoke. Such encounters and conversations are ways of constructing knowledge of the landscape, covering multiple species, perspectives and discursive opportunities. For these reasons, this paper may be of relevance for outdoor environmental educators, those interested in the AA or posthuman theorists.

scholarly journals Feral horse seasonal habitat use on a coastal barrier spit

2004 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-258
Author(s):  
RICHARD D. RHEINHARDT ◽  
MARTHA CRAIG RHEINHARDT
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Coastal Barrier ◽  
Feral Horse ◽  
Seasonal Habitat Use

scholarly journals Feral Horse Seasonal Habitat Use on a Coastal Barrier Spit

2004 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard D. Rheinhardt ◽  
Martha Craig Rheinhardt
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Coastal Barrier ◽  
Feral Horse ◽  
Seasonal Habitat Use
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