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0000-0002-8829-4925
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University of Queensland - Gatton Campus
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-09-2013
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-01-2022
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-08-2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2012
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2007
DOI: 10.1071/AM07019
Abstract: Monitoring populations is a key component of wildlife conservation and management. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of abundance indices used for estimating populations of the bush rat Rattus fuscipes. The study was conducted on Fraser Island, Queensland, Australia. A trapping grid consisting of 5 x 5 trap stations, 20 m apart, was used because this configuration was typical of those used for small mammal trapping in Australia. Capture-recapture data were collected from trapping 18 grids over four consecutive nights, immediately followed by two consecutive nights of conducting oil card and track indices. On 11 grids, model Mb was selected by the CAPTURE model selection procedure, indicating increased capture probability after first capture (trap-happy). The estimated trappable population size (�) on these grids was not precise with the standard error on average being 28% of �. On the other seven grids, the number of animals caught was too small ( ) to estimate model parameters.. The main problem of the grid trapping was that some grids caught too few animals to estimate �. Our data suggest that the minimum grid area for estimating useful � is one that would catch more than 8 in iduals. The minimum grid area varies depending on the density of rats and should be determined by a pilot trapping study. The number of trapping occasions can be increased until a specific precision of � is reached. The correlation between track index and � was near the 0.05 significance level indicating tracks are potentially a reliable index for monitoring bush rat populations. The oil card index was not significantly correlated with �.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1071/PC14927
Abstract: This paper identifies some important factors affecting the density of frogs in the Solomon Islands. Distance s ling was used to estimate frog density in all major frog habitats across 13 islands. A total of 109 transects, covering five forest types (coastal, freshwater marshes, lowland forest, hill or ridge, and montane forest) were used, with 16 species being s led. Estimated densities ranged from 2 ha–1 to 675 ha–1. Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) was used to select the most parsimonious model of frog density. Factors identified in the selected model to predict density of Batrachylodes elegans, Batrachylodes vertebralis, Ceratobatrachus guentheri, Discodeles bufoniformis, Discodeles guppyi, Discodeles malukuna, Litoria thesaurensis, Palmatorappia solomonis, Platymantis guppyi, Platymantis neckeri, Platymantis solomonis, Platymantis sp., Platymantis weberi, and Rana kreffti were island, landform, and forest type. Additional factors such as disturbance, leaf litter, shrub, and understorey were also described by the regression model as predictors of density for B. vertebralis, C. guentheri, D. guppyi, D. malukuna, Pal. solomonis, P. guppyi, and R. kreffti. These findings have important management implications for the conservation of frogs in the Solomon Islands. High densities of most species were strongly related with forest type and low disturbance. Preservation of rainforest, in especially high conservation value old-growth forests, is imperative to protecting these species.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-2008
DOI: 10.1111/J.1749-4877.2008.00087.X
Abstract: Introduced rodents have been eradicated from large numbers of offshore islands using toxic baits however, toxic baits have been linked with negative impacts on non-target species. The present study assessed the bait take of target (house mouse, Mus musculus) and non-target (buff banded rail, Rallus philippensis) animals on Northwest and Heron Islands in the Great Barrier Reef. Three non-toxic bait formulations (wax block, pellet and grain) were tested and each was applied at 1 kg ha(-1) in six treatment grids. The tracks of animals visiting the baits were identified using 30 tracking stations per treatment grid. A tracking station consisted of a track-board placed in the centre of a sand-pad. Mean bait take differed significantly between the formulations: birds took more grain bait than wax block bait mice took more wax block than grain bait. Both mice and birds were equally selective of pellet bait. Thus, the findings indicate that wax blocks are the most suitable formulation for future baiting programs to eradicate mice on these and other islands.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2017.08.051
Abstract: Climate (drought, rainfall), geology (habitat availability), land use change (provision of artificial waterpoints, introduction of livestock), invasive species (competition, predation), and direct human intervention (lethal control of top-predators) have each been identified as processes driving the sustainability of threatened fauna populations. We used a systematic combination of empirical observational studies and experimental manipulations to comprehensively evaluate the effects of these process on a model endangered rodent, dusky hopping-mice (Notomys fuscus). We established a large manipulative experiment in arid Australia, and collected information from relative abundance indices, camera traps, GPS-collared dingoes (Canis familiaris) and dingo scats, along with a range of related environmental data (e.g. rainfall, habitat type, distance to artificial water etc.). We show that hopping-mice populations were most strongly influenced by geological and climatic effects of resource availability and rainfall, and not land use, invasive species, or human effects of livestock grazing, waterpoint provision, or the lethal control of dingoes. Hopping-mice distribution declined along a geological gradient of more to less available hopping-mice habitat (sand dunes), and their abundance was driven by rainfall. Hopping-mice populations fluctuated independent of livestock presence, artificial waterpoint availability or repeated lethal dingo control. Hopping-mice populations appear to be limited first by habitat availability, then by food availability, then by predation. Contemporary top-predator control practices (for protection of livestock) have little influence on hopping-mice behaviour or population dynamics. Given our inability to constrain the effects of predation across broad scales, management actions focusing on increasing available food and habitat (e.g. alteration of fire and herbivory) may have a greater chance of improving the conservation status of hopping-mice and other small mammals in arid areas. Our study also reaffirms the importance of using systematic and experimental approaches to detect true drivers of population distribution and dynamics where multiple potential drivers operate simultaneously.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2008
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 04-12-2015
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 09-2018
DOI: 10.7882/AZ.2018.005
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1071/ZO17005
Abstract: Hybridisation between animals that breed once (e.g. dingoes) and twice (e.g. domestic dogs) annually may produce offspring that breed either way. This question was investigated by determining the breeding seasonality of female dingo–dog hybrids in south-east Queensland, Australia, through evaluating macroscopic and histological features of 71 female reproductive tracts. All animals were sourced from urban areas where levels of hybridisation are generally high. Most animals trapped in summer were pups less than 6 months of age. A peak of uterus diameter and weight coincided with a peak of corpus luteum in winter. The follicular phase was characterised by growing follicles, ~1–3 mm wide, in late summer and autumn. Only two of the animals (1.4%) showed out-of-season reproductive cycles: one was found with corpus luteum in summer and another in autumn. Our data clearly show that hybrids have a single annual breeding season in winter, exhibiting the same breeding seasonality as dingoes. Our findings are similar to those found in the New Guinea singing dog. Future studies should be conducted to understand and exploit the mechanism and drivers of the breeding seasonality of dingo–dog hybrids to develop more effective management of their populations.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-2010
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-04-2007
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-01-2013
DOI: 10.1111/JBI.12072
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 05-2012
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 2011
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2010
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2012
DOI: 10.1071/WR11153
Abstract: Context Rice-field rodent pests cause substantial economic losses in Asia. In Vietnam, the rice-field rat (Rattus argentiventer) causes 5–10% annual pre-harvest loss in rice yield. A sound ecological knowledge of this species would be useful for developing strategies for managing this pest. Aims We tested the hypotheses that there would be changes in the population abundance, breeding performance and habitat use of R. argentiventer in response to rice-crop growth stage. Methods Capture–mark–recapture and kill trapping and spool-and-line tracking were used to assess population abundance, breeding and habitat use in different rice-bank habitats, at 3–5-week intervals, through a 2-month flooding period and a rice cropping season. The study was conducted between October 2008 and April 2009 in An Giang Province in The Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Key results The population abundance of R. argentiventer was significantly related to rice-crop growth stage and rice-bank habitat. More rats were captured after harvest (P 0.001) and more were captured in the large and medium-sized banks (P 0.05). The breeding performance of adult females responded to rice-crop growth stage (P = 0.006). When rice cover was sparse, adult females were located in the burrows during the day, whereas when the cover became abundant, adult females remained in the fields during both the day and at night time. After harvest, rats returned to utilise burrows along rice-field banks. Conclusions and implications (1) Rat control activities should be conducted prior to the seedling stage of the rice crop, before the onset of breeding and when vegetative cover is sparse, allowing the animals to be targeted in their burrows and (2) vegetation on the rice-field banks should be cut to cm to limit the availability of suitable nesting habitat in large and medium-sized banks.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-06-2014
DOI: 10.1111/ZSC.12068
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2011
DOI: 10.1071/WR10180
Abstract: Context The ricefield rat, Rattus argentiventer, is the main rodent pest of rice in Vietnam, causing annual pre-harvest rice losses of around 10%. Although its diet is reported to consist of mainly rice, other components might also be important, and it is not known whether its breeding performance is affected by the quality and/or quantity of food. Furthermore, if its breeding is synchronised with the growth of rice crops, the rats will be able to make full use of the food supply to produce offspring. This knowledge is necessary for developing improved strategies for managing this pest. Aims This study aimed to determine whether the breeding performance of female R. argentiventer is responding to food quality (increased percentage of rice in stomach) and/or quantity (increased weight of stomach content) or whether its breeding is synchronised with the growth of rice crops. Methods The stomach contents and breeding condition of 296 adult female rats were s led by snap trapping once a month from October 2008 to December 2009 over three consecutive irrigated lowland rice crops fields to cover a range of rice growth stages in An Giang province, Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Key results Overall, rice formed 70.5% ± 2.0 s.e. in the diet, followed by green material (25.9% ± 1.9 s.e.), insects (3.1% ± 0.6 s.e.) and mung bean (0.5% ± 0.3 s.e.). The probability of breeding increased with increasing mean percentage of rice in the diet: Pr(Breed) = 1/(1 + exp(0.6395–0.0090 × Rice)). However, this relationship was not consistent because breeding performance was high at the heading stage when the percentage of rice in the stomach was low and because breeding intensity was low at sowing when the percentage of rice in stomach was high. The rice growth stage is a better predictor for the breeding performance than the percentage of rice in the diet. Conclusions Breeding was driven by a functional response of rats to the abundant supply of food quality (rice grain), modified by some unknown mechanisms that modifies this response of rats so that rats can anticipate food supply. Understanding the nature of this mechanism may provide insights into population processes that can be exploited in controlling rats in rice crops. Implications Farmers could slow the reproductive rate of female R. argentiventer by reducing the food quantity through minimising the amount of spilt grain left in the field and through more synchronous cropping.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-04-2011
DOI: 10.1002/JWMG.132
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers
Date: 17-02-2015
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 07-2010
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2008
DOI: 10.1071/WR07056
Abstract: The introgression of domestic dog genes into dingo populations threatens the genetic integrity of ‘pure’ dingoes. However, dingo conservation efforts are h ered by difficulties in distinguishing between dingoes and hybrids in the field. This study evaluates consistency in the status of hybridisation (i.e. dingo, hybrid or dog) assigned by genetic analyses, skull morphology and visual assessments. Of the 56 south-east Queensland animals s led, 39 (69.6%) were assigned the same status by all three methods, 10 (17.9%) by genetic and skull methods, four (7.1%) by genetic and visual methods and two (3.6%) by skull and visual methods. Pair-wise comparisons identified a significant relationship between genetic and skull methods, but not between either of these and visual methods. Results from surveying 13 experienced wild dog managers showed that hybrids were more easily identified by visual characters than were dingoes. A more reliable visual assessment can be developed through determining the relationship between (1) genetics and phenotype by s ling wild dog populations and (2) the expression of visual characteristics from different proportions and breeds of domestic dog genes by breeding trials. Culling obvious hybrids based on visual characteristics, such as sable and patchy coat colours, should slow the process of hybridisation.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1071/ZO18022
Abstract: Stranded marine fauna have been identified as a potentially significant food resource for terrestrial carnivores, but how such subsidisation influences terrestrial species ecology is not well understood. We describe the dietary and behavioural responses of dingoes (Canis familiaris) to the occurrence of large-animal marine strandings (e.g. dead cetaceans, marine turtles and pinnipeds) between 2006 and 2016 on K’gari (Fraser Island), Australia, to better understand the trophic links between marine and terrestrial systems. A total of 309 strandings were recorded during this period (~3.1 strandings per month), yielding an annual average of 30.3 tons of available carrion to the 100–200 dingoes present on the island. Carcass monitoring with camera traps showed that dingoes used carcasses almost daily after a short period of decomposition. Whole packs of up to seven dingoes of all age classes at a time were observed visiting carcasses for multiple successive days. These data demonstrate that large-animal marine subsidies can be a common, substantial and important food source for dingoes, and that the estimated daily dietary needs of roughly 5–10% of the island’s dingo population were supported by this food source. Our data suggest that marine subsidisation can influence terrestrial carnivore diet, behaviour and abundance, which may produce cascading indirect effects for terrestrial ecosystems in contexts where subsidised carnivores interact strongly with other species.
Publisher: Australian Museum
Date: 28-05-2014
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2000
DOI: 10.1071/WR97130
Abstract: In total, 41 species of native rodents have been recorded from Queensland, more than for any other State or Territory in Australia. Assessments of status for these species, using information on patterns of distribution and abundance, indicate that 21 species remain common, 3 are rare, 2 are vulnerable, 7 are endangered and 8 are presumed extinct. Comparisons of body weights, habits and habitats revealed no differences between common and threatened species, but species with broad diets have tended to remain common compared with dietary specialists. South-eastern Queensland has relatively more threatened and extinct species combined than the richer north-east, while species that occur or occurred in two or more regions are more likely to have remained common than those that occurred in one region only. All 12 extant rare and threatened species appear to be afflicted by one or more threatening processes, with only seven of these having ranges that coincide with reserved land. Although native rodents have fared better in Queensland than in other, principally southern States, their status leaves no room for complacency for future management. We propose several measures for survey, research, management and education to assist progress toward conservation goals.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 1999
DOI: 10.1071/WR96042
Abstract: This is the first detailed ecological study of the Cape York antechinus, Antechinus leo, a small marsupial endemic to rainforest on the Cape York Peninsula, North Queensland, Australia. A total of 181 animals was captured 725 times at Iron Range during a capture–mark–recapture study from 1989 to 1991. A. leo is crepuscular–nocturnal, insectivorous, semi-arboreal and nests in hollows. Its life-history strategy is typical of the genus, including the synchrony of reproductive events and the post-mating death of all males. The estimated annual mating season is from mid-September to mid-October. Young were born around 1 November ( 12 days), and were carried in the pouch until early to mid December. Juveniles became trappable around mid February. Daughters stayed in their mother’s home range, while sons dispersed soon after they left the nest. Lactation, weaning and dispersal of young were timed to coincide with the wet season when the abundance of invertebrates increased, suggesting that populations are limited by food supply.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-11-2011
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2005
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 27-04-2012
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2012
DOI: 10.1071/ZO12043
Abstract: Located between New Guinea and Australia, Torres Strait and its islands provide an opportunity to examine the results of recent isolation on the Australo-Papuan fauna. However, records of the modern ersity of terrestrial vertebrates on the islands remained scattered and poorly documented. Analyses of terrestrial vertebrate inventories and physical island variables can provide insight into pre-existing conditions of the Sahul land bridge and useful strategies for conservation efforts. We collated all available records of terrestrial vertebrates from the 17 inhabited islands and supplemented these with our own systematic surveys. We used Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient and nested analysis to determine how species richness relates to physical island variables. We also used cluster analysis to group similar islands based on their vertebrate assemblages. Vertebrate richness is not correlated with Simpson’s habitat ersity but is correlated with total number of habitat types, indicating that rare habitats may contribute disproportionately to richness. The archipelago supports a depauperate Australo-Papuan fauna and the assemblages found on smaller islands are subsets of those on larger islands. Island size is the most effective predictor of species richness, and the analysis reveals that geographically related islands support similar suites of species. The frequency with which our surveys added new records to in idual island inventories highlights the need for additional s ling in the region.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 1999
DOI: 10.1071/WR96043
Abstract: This is the first detailed ecological study of the Cape York melomys, Melomys capensis, a small rodent endemic to the Cape York Peninsula, North Queensland, Australia. A total of 343 animals was captured 781 times in rainforest at Iron Range during a capture–mark–recapture study from 1989 to 1991. Compared with other species of Melomys in more variable habitats, populations of M. capensis were relatively stable: adjusted mean number on the traplines exhibited a maximum 1.3–2.0-fold difference. The stable demography may be related to the apparently more constant food supply in tropical rainforest. Both population abundance and male reproductive condition peaked in December when the availability of fruit was high, indicating that populations are limited by food supply. M. capensis was herbivorous, nocturnal, semi-arboreal, and it nested in hollows. Breeding occurred throughout the study. Most litters comprised two young. Young became trappable at about 14 days of age, and reached reproductive maturity at about 43 days of age. Females gave birth to the first litter when they were at least 80 days old and continued to breed into their second year.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2010
DOI: 10.1111/J.1749-4877.2010.00188.X
Abstract: A large-scale outbreak of the house mouse populations occurs in grain growing in Australia on average once every four years. High densities of mice cause major yield losses to cereal crops, and low to moderate densities of mice also cause some losses. Several predictive models based on rainfall patterns have been developed to forecast mouse density. These models carry some uncertainty and the economic value of basing management actions on these models is not clear. Baiting is the most commonly used method and zinc phosphide and other rodenticide bait are effective in reducing up to 90% of mouse populations. Ecologically-based best farming practice for controlling mice has recently been developed on the basis of long-term field studies of mouse populations. No effective biological control method has been developed for mice. However, grain growers still cannot make economically rational decisions to implement control because they do not know the pest threshold density (D(T)) above which the economic benefits of control exceed the economic costs of control. Applied predator-prey theory suggests that understanding the relationship between mouse density and damage is the basis for determining D(T). Understanding this relationship is the first research priority for managing mouse damage. The other research priority is to develop a reliable method to estimate unbiased mouse density.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 1999
DOI: 10.1071/WR96044
Abstract: This is the first detailed ecological study of the Cape York rat, Rattus leucopus, a small rodent found on the Cape York Peninsula, North Queensland, Australia. A total of 296 animals was captured 1135 times in rainforest at Iron Range during a capture–mark–recapture study from 1989 to 1991. Compared with other native species of Rattus in more variable habitats, populations of R. leucopus were relatively stable: adjusted mean numbers on the traplines exhibited a 2.3–2.6-fold change. This stability may be related to the apparently more stable food supply in tropical rainforest. Evidence from this study indicates that populations are limited by food availability: male reproductive condition peaked in December when fruit availability was high and mean population abundance significantly increased in moist areas where food supply was apparently higher. R. leucopus was nocturnal, terrestrial, omnivorous, and nested communally in burrows. Breeding occurred throughout the study. Young became trappable at the age of 22 days. Reproductive maturity was reached at the age of three months. Females gave birth to their first litters when they were at least four months old, and continued to breed into their second or third year.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2013
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-09-2014
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1071/PC17011
Abstract: Studies across large oceanic archipelagos often provide an opportunity for testing different processes driving patterns of species richness. Frogs are among the most abundant vertebrates in the Solomon Islands but little is known of the factors influencing their richness patterns. This study used modelling to determine important ecological and biogeographic factors affecting the species richness of frogs at multiple locations on major islands across the archipelago. Between March 2009 and August 2012, 16 frog species were recorded along 109 transects placed in coastal, lowland, ridge and montane forests across 13 islands. Mean species richness was higher in the North Solomon Islands arc (6.2 species) and decreased eastwards towards the New Georgia islands (4.7 species), and Malaita (3.2 species). A plausible explanation is that the North Solomon Islands arc is closest to New Guinea, a major centre of dispersal in the south-west Pacific. Coastal (4.6 species) and freshwater (4.8 species) forests had lower predicted species richness than lowland, ridge, and montane forest types (all with 6.2 species). In addition, more frogs were predicted in areas with thin leaf litter (6.2 species), dense shrub cover (7.7 species), and moist soils (7.7 species), which are characteristic of undisturbed forests. These results suggest that frog conservation activities in the Solomon Islands should target islands in the west with intact lowland, ridge, and montane forests. Specific knowledge of this nature is vital for hibian conservation on tropical islands experiencing extensive habitat loss, habitat modification and widespread predicted climate change impacts.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2006
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1071/AM14028
Abstract: The correct identification of animal signs is imperative when signs are used as evidence of a species’ abundance or distribution. On Groote Eylandt, burrow spoil heaps have been used in surveys for the threatened northern hopping-mouse (Notomys aquilo) as this indicator of presence was assumed to be unique to this species in this area. Using camera traps, positive identification from footage, and burrow excavation and mapping, we determined that spoil heaps made by the common delicate mouse (Pseudomys delicatulus) could not be differentiated from those of N. aquilo. The results demonstrate that more-reliable survey techniques for N. aquilo are required to aid management decisions for this species.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2011
DOI: 10.1071/WR11023
Abstract: Context The mitigation of feral pig (Sus scrofa) impacts in north Queensland’s World Heritage tropical rainforests is constrained by the lack of an effective and target-specific poison baiting method. Aims This study aimed to determine whether easily implemented bait presentation methods or seasonal variation in bait acceptability could be used to selectively reduce the consumption of feral pig baits by non-target species. Methods We exposed manufactured feral pig baits to pigs and non-target species in the field, and compared bait encounter, s ling and consumption rates for different functional groups of species among three different types of bait presentation and composition. We then exposed baits under different seasonal conditions and related bait encounter and consumption by different functional groups to seasonally variable phenomena. Key results Shallow burial greatly reduced bait consumption by most non-target species, but not dingoes (Canis lupus dingo). Nocturnal bait distribution and seasonal baiting were less useful. Pigs showed substantial seasonal variation in physiological condition, suggesting that pigs should be more susceptible to consuming novel foods, such as baits, after periods of low rainfall. However, few pigs consumed the manufactured baits used in this study. Conclusions Manufactured baits are not currently suitable for widespread use in the region. However, shallow burial should provide an effective method of reducing non-target bait-take if baits can be made more attractive and acceptable to pigs and less acceptable to dingoes. Implications Future efforts to enable effective feral pig control in the region should focus on developing baiting materials that are more attractive to pigs and unappealing to dingoes.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-03-2016
DOI: 10.1038/SREP23469
Abstract: Top-predators play stabilising roles in island food webs, including Fraser Island, Australia. Subsidising generalist predators with human-sourced food could disrupt this balance, but has been proposed to improve the overall health of the island’s dingo ( Canis lupus dingo ) population, which is allegedly ‘starving’ or in ‘poor condition’. We assess this hypothesis by describing the diet and health of dingoes on Fraser Island from datasets collected between 2001 and 2015. Medium-sized mammals (such as bandicoots) and fish were the most common food items detected in dingo scat records. Stomach contents records revealed additional information on diet, such as the occurrence of human-sourced foods. Trail camera records highlighted dingo utilisation of stranded marine fauna, particularly turtles and whales. Mean adult body weights were higher than the national average, body condition scores and abundant-excessive fat reserves indicated a generally ideal-heavy physical condition, and parasite loads were low and comparable to other dingo populations. These data do not support hypotheses that Fraser Island dingoes have restricted diets or are in poor physical condition. Rather, they indicate that dingoes on Fraser Island are capable of exploiting a erse array of food sources which contributes to the vast majority of dingoes being of good-excellent physical condition.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 04-10-2013
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2013
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2006
DOI: 10.1071/WR05020
Abstract: Sodium cyanide poison is potentially a more humane method to control wild dogs than sodium fluoroacetate (1080) poison. This study quantified the clinical signs and duration of cyanide toxicosis delivered by the M-44 ejector. The device delivered a nominal 0.88 g of sodium cyanide, which caused the animal to loose the menace reflex in a mean of 43 s, and the animal was assumed to have undergone cerebral hypoxia after the last visible breath. The mean time to cerebral hypoxia was 156 s for a vertical pull and 434 s for a side pull. The difference was possibly because some cyanide may be lost in a side pull. There were three distinct phases of cyanide toxicosis: the initial phase was characterised by head shaking, panting and salivation the immobilisation phase by incontinence, ataxia and loss of the righting reflex and the cerebral hypoxia phase by a tetanic seizure. Clinical signs that were exhibited in more than one phase of cyanide toxicosis included retching, agonal breathing, vocalisation, vomiting, altered levels of ocular reflex, leg paddling, tonic muscular spasms, respiratory distress and muscle fasciculations of the muzzle.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 22-09-2014
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2011
DOI: 10.1071/WR08138
Abstract: Context Feral pigs are thought to damage tropical rainforests, but long-term impact has not yet been quantified. Aims This study aimed to determine the impact of feral pigs on soil, soil biota and vegetation in a lowland tropical rainforest in Daintree, north-eastern Australia, and the recovery following exclusion of feral pigs for 12 years. Methods Three types of plots were established in 1994: damaged plots were fenced in areas where severe damage had already occurred (‘fenced damaged’) undamaged plots were fenced in areas showing no evidence of damage (‘fenced undamaged’) and unfenced plots were randomly placed and remained at risk of damage (‘unfenced’). Key results In 2006, feral pigs had caused significant declines in seedling density, soil macroinvertebrate density and leaf litter cover, but not in soil pH, soil conductivity, invertebrate ersity, vegetation ersity, tree density, canopy cover or fallen log cover. Mean seedling density was lower in the fenced damaged plots than the fenced undamaged plots in 1994 but not in 2006. Other response variables also did not differ significantly between these two plot types, indicating that any damage caused by feral pigs to soil, soil biota or vegetation before 1994 was fully recovered within 12 years. Conclusions Our findings suggest that reductions in soil invertebrate density, seedling density, and leaf litter cover should be monitored regularly to inform feral pig management programs, and that these variables should be measured for objective assessment of the outcome of any feral pig control program. These declines may continue and be translated into the decline of trees and other keystone species or processes into the future. Implications The efficacy of feral pig control programs can be assessed using the quantitative analysis of the aforementioned variables. The results of such monitoring programs, in conjunction with baseline data, can provide an indication of ecosystem recovery and therefore the level of success achieved by the applied control measures.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 10-02-2017
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2012
DOI: 10.1071/ZO12051
Abstract: The koomal (Trichosurus vulpecula hypoleucus) is a declining subspecies (‘near-threatened’), residing largely within the Western Australian jarrah forest, a forest managed for both conservation and for forestry (roughly half is available for logging). Information on the spatial dynamics of koomal is essential to evaluating whether logging prescriptions provide adequate protection for this threatened species. Here we describe the home range and territoriality of koomal, as well as the characteristics and use of their den trees, at multiple sites within the jarrah forest. We also compare the characteristics of den trees used by koomal against logging prescriptions and previous models that estimate availability of den trees. Results suggested that koomal home ranges varied between sites and sexes, with males having the larger home ranges. Koomal also maintained exclusive core territories, probably to protect their den trees from same-sex in iduals. Den trees used by koomal had similar characteristics to those outlined in logging prescriptions, but also included two additional characteristics that may improve the retention of trees suitable for koomal: den trees were preferentially of marri (Corymbia calophylla) and wandoo (Eucalyptus wandoo) species, and had some level of canopy connectivity. Overall, findings from this study should help future evaluations of the effectiveness of logging prescriptions in providing adequate den availability for koomal.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-2008
DOI: 10.1111/J.1749-4877.2008.00088.X
Abstract: Congenital erythropoietic porphyria (CEP) is a rare autosomal recessive condition that has been reported in humans and in some animals, in which uroporphyrin 1 is deposited in the bones, teeth and urine, resulting in pink coloration and fluorescence of the tissues and urine under long-wave ultraviolet (UV) light. We observed red teeth in nine of 450 canefield rats (Rattus sordidus) captured in a small, isolated patch of sugarcane in Tully, north Queensland, Australia. The skeletons of these animals were excised and were found to be bright red under normal day light. Under UV light, the skeleton had a bright red fluorescence. It is plausible that the canefield rat population in this isolated patch of sugarcane is small and inbreeding might have occurred, resulting in incidences of the autosomal recessive genes that cause CEP. The canefield rat can be used as an animal model for research into porphyria.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-09-2013
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12086
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1071/ZO15082
Abstract: The northern hopping-mouse (Notomys aquilo) is a cryptic and enigmatic rodent endemic to Australia’s monsoonal tropics. Focusing on the insular population on Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, we present the first study to successfully use live traps, camera traps and radio-tracking to document the ecology of N. aquilo. Searches for signs of the species, camera trapping, pitfall trapping and spotlighting were conducted across the island during 2012–15. These methods detected the species in three of the 32 locations surveyed. Pitfall traps captured 39 in iduals over 7917 trap-nights. Females were significantly longer and heavier, and had better body condition, than males. Breeding occurred throughout the year however, the greatest influx of juveniles into the population occurred early in the dry season in June and July. Nine in iduals radio-tracked in woodland habitat utilised discrete home ranges of 0.39–23.95 ha. All in iduals used open microhabitat proportionally more than was available, and there was a strong preference for eucalypt woodland on sandy substrate rather than for adjacent sandstone woodland or acacia shrubland. Camera trapping was more effective than live trapping at estimating abundance and, with the lower effort required to employ this technique, it is recommended for future s ling of the species. Groote Eylandt possibly contains the last populations of N. aquilo, but even there its abundance and distribution have decreased dramatically in surveys over the last several decades. Therefore, we recommend that the species’ conservation status under the Environment Protection and Bio ersity Conservation Act 1999 be changed from ‘vulnerable’ to ‘endangered’.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 2003
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2011
DOI: 10.1017/S0030605310001316
Abstract: The pygmy slow loris Nycticebus pygmaeus is a little-studied primate endemic to Vietnam, Laos, southern China and eastern Cambodia. Our study aimed to gain local knowledge on the distribution and ecology of, and threats to, the species by interviewing hunters, traders and wildlife protection staff, and to verify this information using a spotlighting survey in three major reserves in Mondulkiri Province, Cambodia. Encounter rates of pygmy loris were assessed along 29 transects (129.5 km), yielding observations of 26 in iduals. Mean encounter rates were 0.40 km -1 in Seima Protection Forest, 0.10 km -1 in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary and 0.00 km -1 in Mondulkiri Protected Forest. Informants had knowledge of where populations occurred, their diet, sociality and habitat preferences. Widespread large population declines were reported and informants linked this to high hunting pressure, particularly in 2001 and 2002. In late 2008 and 2009 we resurveyed three transects that had high encounter rates in early 2008 and failed to detect any lorises. Local informants reported high hunting pressure during the previous wet season in two of these sites, and a gold mine development was underway in the third site. Urgent actions are required to address these population declines and to assess the conservation status of pygmy lorises throughout eastern Cambodia.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 20-01-2016
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers
Date: 17-02-2015
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2006
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 31-05-2013
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1071/WR16157
Abstract: Aims Sea-level rise is one of the most certain consequences of global warming and is predicted to exert significant adverse effects on wildlife in coastal habitats worldwide. Terrestrial fauna inhabiting low-lying islands are likely to suffer the greatest loss to habitat from sea-level rise and other oceanographic impacts stemming from anthropogenic climate change. Bramble Cay (Maizab Kaur), an ~4ha, low elevation sand cay located in Torres Strait, Australia, supports the only known population of the endangered Bramble Cay melomys Melomys rubicola Thomas, 1924. As a result of a decline in this population noted during previous monitoring to 2004, habitat loss due to erosion of the cay and direct mortality from storm surges were implicated as major threats to this species. This study aimed to confirm the current conservation status of the species, to seek information about the key factor or factors responsible for the population decline and to recover any remaining in iduals for a captive insurance population. Methods During three survey periods (December 2011, March 2014 and August–September 2014), a total of 1170 small mammal trap-nights, 60 camera trap-nights, 5h of nocturnal searches and 5h of diurnal searches were undertaken on Bramble Cay. Key results All three survey periods failed to detect any Bramble Cay melomys. The island had experienced a recent, severe reduction in vegetation, which is the primary food resource for the Bramble Cay melomys. Herbaceous cover on the cay decreased from 2.16ha in 2004 to 0.065ha in March 2014 before recovering somewhat to 0.19ha in August–September 2014. Conclusions These results demonstrate that this rodent species has now been extirpated on Bramble Cay. The vegetation decline was probably due to ocean inundation resulting from an increased frequency and intensity of weather events producing extreme high water levels and storm surges, in turn caused by anthropogenic climate change. Implications The loss of the Bramble Cay melomys from Bramble Cay probably represents the first documented mammalian extinction due to human-induced climate change. This event highlights the immediate need to mitigate predicted impacts of sea-level rise and ocean inundation on other vulnerable species occurring on low lying islands and in susceptible coastal zones through captive breeding and reintroduction or other targeted measures.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-03-2016
DOI: 10.1038/SREP23028
Abstract: Knowledge of the resource requirements of urban predators can improve our understanding of their ecology and assist town planners and wildlife management agencies in developing management approaches that alleviate human-wildlife conflicts. Here we examine food and dietary items identified in scats of dingoes in peri-urban areas of north-eastern Australia to better understand their resource requirements and the potential for dingoes to threaten locally fragmented populations of native fauna. Our primary aim was to determine what peri-urban dingoes eat and whether or not this differs between regions. We identified over 40 different food items in dingo scats, almost all of which were mammals. In idual species commonly observed in dingo scats included agile wallabies, northern brown bandicoots and sw wallabies. Birds were relatively common in some areas but not others, as were invertebrates. Dingoes were identified as a significant potential threat to fragmented populations of koalas. Dietary overlap was typically very high or near-identical between regions, indicating that peri-urban dingoes ate the same types or sizes of prey in different areas. Future studies should seek to quantify actual and perceived impacts of and human attitudes towards, peri-urban dingoes and to develop management strategies with a greater chance of reducing human-wildlife conflicts.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2008
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-02-2012
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-12-2016
DOI: 10.1111/MAM.12057
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 2013
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-1987
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1071/PC14915
Abstract: Fresh meat baits containing sodium fluoroacetate (1080) are widely used for controlling feral pigs in Queensland, but there is a potential poisoning risk to non-target species. This study investigated the non-target species interactions with meat bait by comparing the time until first approach, investigation, s le and consumption, and whether dying bait green would reduce interactions. A trial assessing species interactions with undyed bait was completed at Culgoa Floodplain National Park, Queensland. Meat baits were monitored for 79 consecutive days with camera traps. Of 40 baits, 100% were approached, 35% investigated (moved) and 25% s led, and 25% consumed. Monitors approached (P 0.05) and investigated (P 0.05) the bait more rapidly than pigs or birds, but the median time until first s ling was not significantly different (P 0.05), and did not consume any entire bait. A trial was conducted at Whetstone State Forest, southern Queensland, with green-dyed and undyed baits monitored for eight consecutive days with cameras. Of 60 baits, 92% were approached and also investigated by one or more non-target species. Most (85%) were s led and 57% were consumed, with monitors having slightly more interaction with undyed baits than with green-dyed baits. Mean time until first approach and s le differed significantly between species groups (P = 0.038 and 0.007 respectively) with birds approaching sooner (P 0.05) and monitors s ling later (P 0.05) than other (unknown) species (P 0.05). Undyed bait was s led earlier (mean 2.19 days) than green-dyed bait (2.7 days) (P = 0.003). Data from the two trials demonstrate that many non-target species regularly visit and s le baits. The use of green-dyed baits may help reduce non-target uptake, but testing is required to determine the effect on attractiveness to feral pigs. Further research is recommended to quantify the benefits of potential strategies to reduce the non-target uptake of meat baits to help improve the availability of bait to feral pigs.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2013
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1071/ZO15050
Abstract: Critical evaluations of bait attractiveness for camera trapping wildlife are scant even though use of the most attractive bait should improve detection of cryptic, threatened species. We aimed to determine the most attractive bait for camera trapping the northern hopping-mouse (Notomys aquilo) and sympatric mammals. We also tested the effectiveness of overhead camera trap orientation in identifying in idual northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus) as this could be used to define a camera trap event for analysis purposes. Using white-flash camera traps, the attractiveness of four baits (peanut butter with oats, corn, sesame oil and sunflower kernels) and a control were compared for N. aquilo, D. hallucatus, the northern brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus) and the agile wallaby (Notamacropus agilis). Spot patterns of D. hallucatus were compared to determine the visitation rate of in iduals. Peanut butter– and sesame oil–based baits were significantly more attractive to D. hallucatus, while I. macrourus strongly preferred the peanut butter bait. Bait type did not affect the mean number of events for N. aquilo or N. agilis. The consistently identifiable images of in idual D. hallucatus were used to determine the optimal event delineator of 15 min. The improved techniques for camera trapping D. hallucatus should be valuable for future capture–recapture studies of this species. Camera trapping is a viable replacement for the ineffective method of indexing the abundance of N. aquilo using indirect signs.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1071/PC14918
Abstract: Cane toads (Rhinella marina) were introduced to the Solomon Islands in the 1940s, and quickly spread across the archipelago. Between May 2009 and August 2012, cane toads were recorded on 11 of 13 islands surveyed, and the densities of toads were estimated by distance s ling on seven of these islands. Modified Akaike’s Information Criterion (AICc) tests were used to find the most parsimonious model for cane toad density in the Solomon Islands. The results showed that mean toad density was higher on Gatokae and Guadalcanal than on Bougainville, Choiseul, Kolombangara and Rendova. A plausible explanation for this is that Guadalcanal had an abundance of breeding sites, and that Gatokae may have been recently colonised with a typical sharp rise in toad densities. The model also showed that mean toad density was higher in coastal forests than in other forest types (e.g lowland, hill and montane forests). Coastal forests have higher disturbance levels as a result of villages and towns. Disturbance was associated with increased toad densities in the model. These findings suggest that cane toad management efforts should target coastal forests and disturbed areas along roads and tracks leading to important bio ersity reserves.
Publisher: Wildlife Disease Association
Date: 10-2005
DOI: 10.7589/0090-3558-41.4.753
Abstract: Recent serologic studies have identified flying foxes (Pteropus spp.) as carriers of leptospirosis however, little is known about the role of flying foxes as carriers of pathogenic Leptospira spp. To determine if Australian Pteropus spp. are carriers of pathogenic Leptospira spp., TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect leptospiral DNA in kidney and urine specimens from four species of flying fox, including the spectacled flying fox (Pteropus conspicillatus), black flying fox (Pteropus alecto), grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), and little red flying fox (Pteropus scapulatus). Of the 173 kidney s les tested, 19 (11%) were positive for leptospiral DNA. Positive in iduals were detected in all four species significant differences in prevalence were not detected between species, between species within the same geographic area, or between geographically separated s les from the same species. Of the 46 urine s les tested, 18 (39%) tested positive by PCR, confirming that flying foxes shed leptospires into the environment. The detection of leptospiral DNA in the kidneys and urine of flying foxes suggests that flying foxes are carriers of pathogenic Leptospira spp. No evidence collected in the present study, however, suggests that flying foxes pose a significant risk of leptospirosis to the wider community or that humans who are in regular, close contact with flying foxes are at risk for leptospirosis.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2010
DOI: 10.1111/J.1749-4877.2010.00189.X
Abstract: House mice (Mus musculus domesticus Schwarz & Schwarz, 1943) are monitored in Australia and China to track changes in mouse population densities and forecast their potential damage to cereal crops. The present study compared population indices based on the number of different mice caught and overall trap success from live-trapping with an oil card index (OC) and a tracking index (T) for monitoring mice in sorghum crops immediately before crop maturation. T was measured as the percentage of track board covered with mouse footprints night(-1), and OC as the percentage of card removed by mice night(-1). The reliability of these abundance indices was quantified by Pearson correlation coefficient with the trappable population size (Ñ), which was estimated by capture-recapture over eight consecutive nights on 175 × 5 trapping grids, in sorghum crops on two properties on the Darling Downs, Queensland. Because of differences among in idual mice in capture probability, Model M(h) of program MARK was used to account for such heterogeneity and to estimate the size of each mouse population. The number of in idual animals caught was more strongly correlated with Ñ than trap success and, therefore, might be a more reliable index the data suggest that three trapping occasions provide optimal precision for this index. T correlated significantly with Ñ only at sites where the canopy of sorghum plants was closed, and its use should, therefore, be restricted to this habitat. OC did not correlate with Ñ because none or very little of the cards was eaten at low to moderate mouse densities. T and the number of animals caught over three trapping nights are recommended for monitoring mice in sorghum crops immediately prior to crop maturation.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-08-2008
DOI: 10.1111/J.1365-2656.2008.01423.X
Abstract: 1. One of the central questions in population ecology and management is: what regulates population growth? House mouse Mus domesticus L. populations erupt occasionally in grain-growing regions in Australia. This study aimed to determine whether mouse populations are self-regulated in maturing sorghum and wheat crops. This was assessed by examining food supply to mice (i.e. yield) and the relationship between initial mouse density (D(I)) and density at harvest (D(H)). Eight levels of D(I) ranging from 89 to 5555 mice ha(-1) were introduced to sorghum at the hard dough stage and to wheat crops at the milky stage in mouse-proofed pens. D(H) was measured by trapping out mice 49 days after the introduction. 2. There were at least 3.11 tonnes ha(-1) of wheat and 1.85 tonnes ha(-1) of sorghum grain available for mice at harvest. The estimated relationship between D(I) and D(H) was asymptotic exponential, with D(H) initially increasing almost linearly with D(I). When D(I) was above c. 500 mice ha(-1), D(H) increased asymptotically with D(I) and then saturated at c. 3100 mice ha(-1). The asymptotic increases in and saturation of D(H) was due partly to more young mice being born and recruited in pens treated with lower levels of D(I). 3. Our findings indicated that mouse densities in maturing cereal crops were driven by a numerical response of mice to the abundant supply of grain, modified by some unknown self-regulation mechanism that reduced this numerical response of mice at higher mouse densities. The mechanism was possibly spacing behaviours. Although the nature of this self-regulation mechanism is not known our model is, nevertheless, useful for predicting increases and eruptions in mouse population density in sorghum and wheat crops. Understanding the nature of this mechanism may provide insights into population processes that can be exploited in controlling mice in cereal crops.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 1988
Abstract: The spermatozoon of Lepidogalaxias salamandroides possesses an acrosome (putative), one or two perforatoria (putative) but no nine-triplet centrioles. Two elongated mitochondria (12 micron long) are situated in parallel between the nucleus (20 micron long) and the axoneme (53 micron long). The above features are unique among other teleosts with internal fertilization. The presence of an "acrosome" in this primitive teleost supports the hypothesis that this structure has been secondarily lost in teleosts during evolution. The uncertainty of phylogenetic placement of this fish is reflected by its unique sperm ultrastructure.
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 04-06-2010
DOI: 10.3354/ESR00285
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2007
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-08-2014
DOI: 10.1111/EMR.12118
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 16-08-2016
DOI: 10.3390/ANI6080048
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2010
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2014
DOI: 10.1071/AM13039
Abstract: We describe burrowing behaviour of the elusive northern hopping-mouse (Notomys aquilo) recorded by camera traps. New burrows were observed at the beginning and end of the wet season on Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory. Initial burrow entrances were open for approximately five days before being back-filled, leaving only a spoil heap with pop holes (burrow entrances) up to 5.3 m away. These results will improve survey techniques for this cryptic, threatened species.
No related grants have been discovered for Luke Leung.