The impact of noise and vibration from road traffic on the community composition and acoustic communication of birds and frogs. Roads cover a significant and increasing proportion of the Australian landscape, but their ecological impact is poorly understood. Traffic noise from busy roads can disturb animals over long distances, and may interfere with acoustic communication. In addition, ground vibration caused by passing traffic may disturb sensitive terrestrial animals. This project aims to ass ....The impact of noise and vibration from road traffic on the community composition and acoustic communication of birds and frogs. Roads cover a significant and increasing proportion of the Australian landscape, but their ecological impact is poorly understood. Traffic noise from busy roads can disturb animals over long distances, and may interfere with acoustic communication. In addition, ground vibration caused by passing traffic may disturb sensitive terrestrial animals. This project aims to assess the impact of traffic noise and vibration on communities of birds and frogs. Results of this research will provide vital information on the effects of roads on vulnerable wildlife, and the potential benefits to conservation of noise mitigation measures such as construction of tunnels and sound barriers.Read moreRead less
Urban Possum: Defining and developing an effective, humane strategy for management of urban wildlife populations. This project will provide fundamental information on the factors, which influence possum movements and behaviour in urban environments and the effectiveness of current possum relocation strategies. The project is of significance to Zoological Parks as possums at present cause extensive damage to vegetation and pose a threat to animals in the collection through possible transmission ....Urban Possum: Defining and developing an effective, humane strategy for management of urban wildlife populations. This project will provide fundamental information on the factors, which influence possum movements and behaviour in urban environments and the effectiveness of current possum relocation strategies. The project is of significance to Zoological Parks as possums at present cause extensive damage to vegetation and pose a threat to animals in the collection through possible transmission of disease. This project will lead to the development and trial of new methods for management of these populations.Read moreRead less
Saving Wildlife: Saving People On Our Roads. Wildlife roadkill accrues high economic and social costs to all Australians. Motor vehicle damage, human fatalities and passenger distress, high insurance premiums and loss of biodiversity all result from wildlife-vehicle collisions. We have formed a coalition between government agencies, animal welfare organisations and our research institution to strategically research roadkill. We will gather, collate and analyse statistics on collisions to identif ....Saving Wildlife: Saving People On Our Roads. Wildlife roadkill accrues high economic and social costs to all Australians. Motor vehicle damage, human fatalities and passenger distress, high insurance premiums and loss of biodiversity all result from wildlife-vehicle collisions. We have formed a coalition between government agencies, animal welfare organisations and our research institution to strategically research roadkill. We will gather, collate and analyse statistics on collisions to identify causal factors and develop predictive models of roadkill to target blackspots for mitigation. We will develop and apply effective abatement technologies to significantly reduce the incidence of roadkill. The result will be safer roads for us and our wildlife.Read moreRead less
Evolutionary and conservation implications of extreme predation on female endangered swift parrots. Introduced predators have wrought havoc on native species worldwide. The impacts on prey species may be exacerbated when they are subject to sex-selective predation, leading to biased adult sex ratios. In Tasmania, introduced sugar gliders are killing up to 100 per cent of nesting female endangered swift parrots at many of their breeding sites. This project integrates evolutionary theory, state-of ....Evolutionary and conservation implications of extreme predation on female endangered swift parrots. Introduced predators have wrought havoc on native species worldwide. The impacts on prey species may be exacerbated when they are subject to sex-selective predation, leading to biased adult sex ratios. In Tasmania, introduced sugar gliders are killing up to 100 per cent of nesting female endangered swift parrots at many of their breeding sites. This project integrates evolutionary theory, state-of-the-art population meta-models and field experiments to: achieve practical conservation outcomes; assess the evolutionary and ecological consequences of sex-selective predation on population dynamics; and determine whether swift parrots are modifying their behaviour adaptively through learned or genetic change. Read moreRead less
The effects of habitat fragmentation on the dispersal behaviour of a rainforest restricted bird, the logrunner. Dispersal is thought to be critical for the persistence of small avian populations in fragmented landscapes. However, our knowledge of avian dispersal behaviour is limited. I will combine behavioural observations on radiotagged birds and powerful genetic markers to examine the effects of habitat fragmentation on the dispersal behaviour of a rainforest restricted bird, the logrunner. ....The effects of habitat fragmentation on the dispersal behaviour of a rainforest restricted bird, the logrunner. Dispersal is thought to be critical for the persistence of small avian populations in fragmented landscapes. However, our knowledge of avian dispersal behaviour is limited. I will combine behavioural observations on radiotagged birds and powerful genetic markers to examine the effects of habitat fragmentation on the dispersal behaviour of a rainforest restricted bird, the logrunner. This study will determine how landscape structure influences the movement of juvenile logrunners, investigate the causes and consequences of variation in dispersal behaviour, and use genetic data to test predictions about connectivity between populations made using behavioural observations on dispersal.Read moreRead less
Conservation genetics and socio-ecology of marsupials in fragmented populations of south-eastern South Australia: towards a regional biodiversity management plan. Habitat destruction and fragmentation is causing the decline of many species in native forests of eastern and southern Australia. Our project will investigate the interplay between the human activities of agriculture and forestry and their effects on native forest ecosystems. It will provide new data on the consequences of fragmentati ....Conservation genetics and socio-ecology of marsupials in fragmented populations of south-eastern South Australia: towards a regional biodiversity management plan. Habitat destruction and fragmentation is causing the decline of many species in native forests of eastern and southern Australia. Our project will investigate the interplay between the human activities of agriculture and forestry and their effects on native forest ecosystems. It will provide new data on the consequences of fragmentation to native mammal species in the rural and regional communities of south-east South Australia and western Victoria. It will establish a strong collaborative partnership between two forestry companies, conservation agencies and university conservation biologists to develop strategies to sustainably manage biodiversity in native forests and conserve populations of rare and threatened native mammals species. Read moreRead less
BEYOND ABUNDANCE: HOW TOP PREDATORS AFFECT MESOPREDATOR BEHAVIOUR AND LIFE HISTORY. Top predators strongly influence biodiversity. Areas with high biodiversity attract tourism income and provide valuable ecosystem services. In Australia, high biodiversity, and the opportunity to view top predators, increase the experience quality of tourists, and increase the probability that they will visit an area, but Australia has many highly fragmented ecosystems, which lose top predators. Disappearance of ....BEYOND ABUNDANCE: HOW TOP PREDATORS AFFECT MESOPREDATOR BEHAVIOUR AND LIFE HISTORY. Top predators strongly influence biodiversity. Areas with high biodiversity attract tourism income and provide valuable ecosystem services. In Australia, high biodiversity, and the opportunity to view top predators, increase the experience quality of tourists, and increase the probability that they will visit an area, but Australia has many highly fragmented ecosystems, which lose top predators. Disappearance of top predators can lead to expanding populations of mid-level predators, and concomitant losses of biodiversity. In Australia, where lizards are major top- and mid-level predators in terrestrial systems, our study will directly address the consequences of predator disappearance, and provide management strategies to deal with it.Read moreRead less
Beyond Abundance: An experimental study of the effects of predators on prey behaviour and reproduction. Understanding the influence of top predators on community composition and population dynamics at lower trophic levels is a central problem in ecology, with important implications for ecological theory and conservation biology. Our study will be among the first to examine effects of presence and absence of top-level predators on the behaviour, reproduction, and microhabitat use of mid-level p ....Beyond Abundance: An experimental study of the effects of predators on prey behaviour and reproduction. Understanding the influence of top predators on community composition and population dynamics at lower trophic levels is a central problem in ecology, with important implications for ecological theory and conservation biology. Our study will be among the first to examine effects of presence and absence of top-level predators on the behaviour, reproduction, and microhabitat use of mid-level predators. Understanding how the behaviour and ecology of lower-level species change in response to changes in abundance of top-level predators will increase the ability of managers to mitigate the impacts of changes in predator abundance on managed ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101316
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$368,174.00
Summary
Protecting prey from predators using sensory tactics. This project aims to develop new approaches to prevent the extinction of threatened native species from invasive predators, such as rats, pigs, cats and foxes. Many native species are hard to see but vulnerable to being found by predators with powerful senses of smell and hearing. By harnessing the sensory cues of prey that predators use when hunting, this project expects to discover olfactory and auditory techniques that prevent predators fi ....Protecting prey from predators using sensory tactics. This project aims to develop new approaches to prevent the extinction of threatened native species from invasive predators, such as rats, pigs, cats and foxes. Many native species are hard to see but vulnerable to being found by predators with powerful senses of smell and hearing. By harnessing the sensory cues of prey that predators use when hunting, this project expects to discover olfactory and auditory techniques that prevent predators finding threatened species. In doing so, the project intends to provide new perspectives on how animals find food using multiple senses, and lead the recovery of threatened species in areas where predators remain within Australia and globally. Read moreRead less
Improving the anti-predator responses of native mammals . Predation by introduced cats and foxes causes extinction and decline in Australian mammals. Protecting threatened mammals inside fenced sanctuaries is effective but they can become overpopulated, inbred and more naive to predators over time. This leads to a dwindling hope of ever restoring them to their natural habitat. Previous research has shown that exposing threatened mammals to low levels of cat predation in large fenced paddocks i ....Improving the anti-predator responses of native mammals . Predation by introduced cats and foxes causes extinction and decline in Australian mammals. Protecting threatened mammals inside fenced sanctuaries is effective but they can become overpopulated, inbred and more naive to predators over time. This leads to a dwindling hope of ever restoring them to their natural habitat. Previous research has shown that exposing threatened mammals to low levels of cat predation in large fenced paddocks improves their anti-predator behaviour, changes their physical appearance and improves survival. This grant seeks to understand the mechanisms (genetic/learning) behind these changes in order to harness and upscale our results and facilitate co-existence between native mammals and introduced predators. Read moreRead less