Assessing Lamb Predation by Feral Pigs in Australia's Semi-Arid Rangelands

1997 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1445 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Choquenot ◽  
Brian Lukins ◽  
Greg Curran
Keyword(s):  
Feral Pigs ◽  
Arid Rangelands ◽  
Semi Arid

Assessing visibility bias associated with helicopter counts of feral pigs in Australia's semi-arid rangelands

1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 569 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Choquenot
Keyword(s):  
Black Soil ◽  
Aerial Survey ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
Survey Technique ◽  
Removal Experiments ◽  
Arid Rangelands ◽  
Riverine Habitats ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Abundance And Distribution ◽  
Semi Arid

Aerial survey is a rapid technique for obtaining information about the abundance and distribution of feral pigs. To obtain estimates of actual pig abundance from such surveys, visibility bias associated with counts of pig groups must be estimated and accounted for. A double-count survey technique was used to estimate habitat-specific visibility bias associated with counts of pigs obtained from standardised helicopter surveys conducted in the semi-arid rangelands. Visibility bias differed significantly between riverine black-soil floodplains and non-riverine habitats, suggesting that at least two visibility-bias correction factors (3.61 and 1.47,respectively) were needed to derive absolute estimates of abundance from observed counts. The density of pigs was reduced experimentally on six sites by helicopter shooting or trapping to (1) evaluate the effect of helicopter shooting on visibility bias during subsequent helicopter surveys, and (2) provide further information on visibility bias associated with black-soil floodplain habitat. The experiments indicated no effect of helicopter shooting on visibility bias. However, a significant positive relationship between percentage cover of black-soil floodplain and visibility bias on study sites used for removal experiments suggests that estimates of visibility bias for this habitat derived from double-count surveys may be underestimates.

Effect of Pasture Availability on Bait Uptake by Feral Pigs in Australia's Semi-Arid Rangelands.

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 421 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Choquenot ◽  
B Lukins
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Linear Regression ◽  
New South ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Arid Rangelands ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
North Western ◽  
Semi Arid

Factors that influence bait uptake by feral pigs will determine the efficacy of poisoning and trapping programmes for the control of pigs and have the potential to introduce bias to indices of pig abundance requiring bait consumption. In this study, the influence of pasture availability on uptake of bait trails consisting of soaked wheat by pigs in the semi-arid rangelands of north-western New South Wales was investigated. Percentage uptake of bait trails, pig density and pasture biomass were estimated for six sites along the Paroo River on six occasions: two each when pasture biomass was relatively high, moderate and low. The influence of pasture biomass on the relationship between percentage uptake of bait trails and pig density was examined by linear regression analysis. The analysis demonstrated that increasing pasture biomass significantly reduced the density of pigs corresponding to a given percentage uptake of bait trails, suggesting that, as pasture biomass increased, fewer pigs consumed bait trails andlor the number of bait trails each pig consumed declined. Assuming the former, the effect of increasing pasture biomass on the relationship between percentage uptake of bait trails and pig density indicated that, for every increase in pasture biomass of 100 kg ha-1, the percentage of pigs consuming bait declined by about 10%. The implications of these results for pig control and bias associated with indices of pig abundance requiring bait consumption are discussed.

Chemical composition and in vitro ruminal fermentation of common tree forages in the semi-arid rangelands of Swaziland

2008 ◽  
Vol 142 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 99-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solomon Tefera ◽  
V. Mlambo ◽  
B.J. Dlamini ◽  
A.M. Dlamini ◽  
K.D.N. Koralagama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Ruminal Fermentation ◽  
Arid Rangelands ◽  
Common Tree ◽  
Semi Arid

Adaptive management of stocking rates to reduce effects of drought on cow-calf production systems in semi-arid rangelands

2009 ◽  
Vol 100 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 43-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Díaz-Solís ◽  
W.E. Grant ◽  
M.M. Kothmann ◽  
W.R. Teague ◽  
J.A. Díaz-García
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Management ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Arid Rangelands ◽  
Cow Calf ◽  
Effects Of Drought ◽  
Stocking Rates ◽  
Semi Arid

Efficacy of manufactured PIGOUT® baits for localised control of feral pigs in the semi-arid Queensland rangelands

2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendan D. Cowled ◽  
Eddie Gifford ◽  
Michelle Smith ◽  
Linton Staples ◽  
Steven J. Lapidge
Keyword(s):  
Significant Risk ◽  
Population Census ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
Remote Cameras ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Bait Stations ◽  
Semi Arid ◽  
Feral Pig

Conservative population declines of 73% were recorded in three independent feral pig populations in Welford National Park, Queensland, when PIGOUT® baits containing 72 mg of sodium fluoroacetate were used in a baiting program following prefeeding. Declines were measured using a prebaiting population census with remote cameras, followed by carcass recovery. The knockdown of susceptible feral pigs may have been higher than this, since any carcasses not recovered reduced the recorded efficacy. In addition, feral pigs know to have left the baiting area after trapping and telemetry-tagging, and subsequently not exposed to toxic baits, were included in the analysis. The use of remote cameras and carcass recovery appears to be a relatively accurate means of recording localised declines in feral pig populations. This method is applicable only when carcass recovery is possible, such as in open areas in the semi-arid rangelands. A decline of 86% of radio-tagged feral pigs attending bait stations was also recorded. Camera observations revealed no non-target consumption of baits. Measurement of sodium fluoroacetate–contaminated tissues from feral pigs showed that residues were too low to present a significant risk to recorded scavenging animals in the area. Some feral pigs vomited before death, with vomitus containing sodium fluoroacetate poison at high concentrations. No vomitus was consumed by non-target species. Almost all feral pigs were killed relatively rapidly after ingestion of sodium fluoroacetate and the signs observed in a small number of poisoned feral pigs did not indicate a significant welfare concern.

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