Ecological-epidemiological Models of Feral Swamp Buffalo Control in Northern AustraliaProject Team: Dr Clive McMahon, Asssoc Prof Corey Bradshaw, Prof David Bowman (University of Tasmania), Prof Barry Brook (University of Adelaide) We are developing predictive models to determine the most-effective culling strategy for feral buffalo to control exotic diseases (e.g. tuberculosis and foot-and-mouth) to minimise negative impacts. Models are based on rigorous sampling of wild populations adjacent to Kakadu National Park to provide precise estimates of survival and fecundity. This is combined with generational movement data derived from DNA analysis and GPS collar data. We involve Aboriginal land owners and rangers using an ‘action research’ paradigm such that we can evaluate the contribution of traditional people controlling a disease outbreak in these remote areas. We are also exploring stakeholders' perceptions and concerns about the costs of feral buffalo control. Buffalo newsletters in .pdf:
Modelling and Control of Mosquito-borne Diseases in Darwin Using Long-term MonitoringProject Team: Prof David Bowman (University of Tasmania), Prof Barry Brook (University of Adelaide), Assoc Prof Corey Bradshaw, Dr Lubomir Bisevac A 20-year long dataset of weekly variation in mosquito species population numbers collected in Darwin will be analysed to understand changes in mosquito density and species composition in response to rainfall patterns, tides and landscape change (incl. engineering works designed to destroy mosquito habitats). The link between mosquito numbers and mosquito-borne diseases will be investigated using advanced statistics to evaluate the effectiveness of past control programs (spraying/engineering works) and predict the threat of mosquito populations and diseases in the future. At two currently unmanaged swamps we will test our findings experimentally to improve the protection of the population of northern Australia from mosquito borne diseases. Management of mosquito populations is a high public health priority because these insects can spread diseases such as malaria, dengue, Ross River virus, Barmah Forest virus, Murray Valley encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis and Kunjin/West Nile virus. Our research into the effectiveness of mosquito control programs in Darwin is of immediate national relevance and priority given the need to Safeguard Australia from invasive diseases. There is an urgency to undertake our research because global environmental change and increasing movements of people (particularly military personnel) from overseas regions where these diseases are endemic is increasing the vulnerability of northern Australia to the (re)establishment of mosquito borne diseases. Mosquito newsletters in .pdf:
Modelling Feral Animal Control in Kakadu National ParkProject Team: Prof David Bowman (University of Tasmania), Prof Barry Brook (University of Adelaide), Assoc Prof Corey Bradshaw We have designed spatially explicit population models as a tool for strategic management of feral animals within Kakadu National Park. The goals of this model are to help managers and interested parties understand the landscape and population dynamics that influence the number and distribution of feral animals in time and space. The model provides a forecast of the effects and financial costs of proposed management plans. Feral animal management in KNP is complex because animal populations cover a large area comprised of diverse habitats that provide a range of suitable environments and refugia for feral animals. In addition to the populations within KNP there are also large reservoir populations in the regions surrounding the park, and these can provide immigrants to the park even after control operations have occurred. To provide the optimal outcomes for the reduction of feral animals within KNP, the model is spatially explicit for animal populations in relation to habitat, elevation and regions of culling using density-dependent models to determine the optimal benefit-cost ratio of proposed control options. A series of spatial and non-spatial optimisation routines yielding the best benefit-cost approaches to culling are also provided.
Population Biology of ExtinctionProject Team: Prof Barry Brook (University of Adelaide), Assoc Prof Corey Bradshaw What makes particular species more or less vulnerable to current anthropogenic threats? This work is using advanced ecological and statistical modelling on a diversity of taxa (including snakes, frogs, butterflies, birds and mammals) to understand and predict why particular species are most threatened with extinction. Recent work, funded by an ARC Discovery grant, has resulted in the compilation and modelling of a large database of long-term population time series (1198 species in total) including details on their biological and environmental characteristics, and has been used to evaluate the pervasiveness of density dependence and predictors of minimum viable population sizes. Research currently underway is tackling a variety of outstanding problems in ecology and conservation biology by confronting theory with large empirical databases.
MediaBBC News feature:
18 January 2006: Who lives, who dies in the jungle
Sustainable Management of Tropical WildlifeProject Team: Prof David Bowman (University of Tasmania), Assoc Prof Corey Bradshaw, Prof Barry Brook (University of Adelaide) Key to the conservation of wildlife in the remote and largely undeveloped region of northern Australia is the striking of a balance between European and Aboriginal use of natural resources and landscape and the long term sustainability of these activities. We are using demographic and spatial modelling, including environmental and economic components, to quantify the levels and modes of sustainable harvest in magpie geese and banteng, and investigating the role of landscape fire and vegetation change in mediating the dynamics of various small mammal and reptiles species under landscape change.
Habitat and Population Management of Small Mammals in the Wet-dry Tropics of Northern AustraliaProject Team: Tony Griffiths, Stephen Garnett, Prof Barry Brook (University of Adelaide) The conservation and management of native wildlife presents many challenges under the combined influence of human actions and the natural variability of the environment. The decline of small mammal fauna in the savannas of northern Australia is seen as an emerging conservation issue. Existing data sets are used to explore population dynamics of a suite of mammal species to understand factors that regulate or limit populations. This will assist future management of this unique faunal group.
Using Molecular Ecology to Understand the Evolution & Biogeography of Key North Australian TaxaProject Team: Prof David Bowman (University of Tasmania), Dr Don Franklin, Prof Yuji Isagi, Dr Shingo Kaneko The collaborative project with Professor Yuji Isagi from Hiroshima University using DNA analyses to understand the phylogeography and evolution of key taxa including feral banteng (Bos javanicus), Top End Bamboo (Bambusa arnhemicus), the Australian Livistona palms and the magnetic mound building Amitermes termites.
Deciduousness in EucalyptsProject Team: Dr Don Franklin, Dr Lynda Prior, Ron Ninnis Eucalypts are widely regarded as quintessentially evergreen trees, notwithstanding that a few north Australian species are known to be deciduous. We aim to review and synthesize existing knowledge about the deciduous species to provide context for the place of deciduousness among eucalypts. A major first step is to identify records and to standardise and update their nomenclature. We aim then to identify how many times deciduousness has arisen in the evolutionary history of the group, how geographically widespread the phenomenon is, and under what climatic circumstances deciduousness is favoured.
Ecology and sustainable use of tropical, clumping bamboosProject Team: Dr Don Franklin, Nicholas Hogarth, Dr Lynda Prior, Dr Clive McMahon Clumping bamboos dominate vast areas of vegetation in tropical regions of Asia and the Americas. These wild stands, along with plantation bamboos, are a key resource in the livelihoods of over a billion people. However, many fundamental ecological and sustainability issues remain to be addressed. Bambusa arnhemica, a clumping bamboo endemic to northern Australia, provides an ideal model to consider these issues. A variety of topics have so far been addressed (see publication list below) including the peculiar flowering behaviour - synchronised flowering and subsequent death after decades of clonal growth - characteristic of many bamboos. On-going areas of research include ramet demography as a driver of productivity, biogeography and clump genetics.
Evolution of Fire Resistance in the Myrtaceae of Northern AustraliaProject Team: Prof David Bowman (UTas), Dr Lynda Prior Most tree species have dormant, fully-formed buds in their outer bark (epicormic buds) – a position where they can be killed by fire. It has been recently found that eucalypts and some closely related species in southern Australia possess a remarkably modified epicormic structure consisting of bud-forming tissues deep in the inner bark - a location that gives maximum protection from fire damage. It has hypothesised that in Australia, fire-resistant vegetation originated in the northern savannas. This project demonstrated that epicormic strands are also found in northern Australian Eucalyptus and Corymbia species, but not in other Myrtaceaeous species, a pattern similar to that observed in southern Australian Myrtaceae. Furthermore, northern eucalypts have multiple, deeply buried buds in the leaf axils, which presumably allow better regeneration of canopies after insect attack or fire.
Conservation Management of Seed Eating Birds in the Tropical SavannasProject Team: Stephen Garnett, Lee Astheimer; Gabriel Crowley, Sarah Legge, Steve Murphy, Carol Palmer, John Woinarski Biodiversity loss in the savannas indicates unsustainable management. This research will enhance our abilities to effectively manage Australia's tropical savannas, as well as contributing to several State and Territory, Commonwealth and international obligations to maintain biodiversity. Understanding the processes underlying current declines will also make the effects of future management or environment changes easier to predict. Retaining threatened species can benefit remote and regional communities through tourism, and also through the extra employment required to implement the management prescriptions that will be developed from this research.
Seed eating birds newsletters in .pdf:
Systematics and biogeography of the Australian crow butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), with particular reference to the Euploea alcathoe complex and the endangered Gove crow butterfly.
Global and Australian Bird Extinction RatesProject Team: Stuart Butchart, Mike Brooks, Stephen Garnett, Gabriel Crowley, Ali Stattersfield, Barry Brook (University of Adelaide) A series of related studies building on the Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000 looking at rates of decline and extinction of bird species in Australia and globally, the history of threatened birds in Australia, the relationship between IUCN threatened species listing and those controlled by government agencies and models of bird decline and conservation in tropical Australia. As part of this work Stephen Garnett is chair of the Birds Australia Threatened Birds Committee which advises the IUCN on the status of Australian bird species.
Important Bird Areas in AustraliaProject Team: Guy Dutson, Stephen Garnett The Important Bird Area (IBA) Programme of BirdLife International aims to identify, monitor and protect a global network of IBAs for the conservation of the world's birds and other biodiversity. IBAs are key sites for conservation that do one of three things. They either have significant numbers of one or more globally threatened species, or are one of a set of sites that together hold a suite of restricted-range species or biome-restricted species, or they have exceptionally large numbers of migratory or congregatory species. Because IBAs are recognised world-wide, they attract interest from birdwatchers, conservationists and planners. They become travel destinations and targets for eco-tourism projects and scientific study. Governments and donor agencies recognise the value of IBAs, so these sites attract financial incentives or direct funding for sympathetic development and management. This project aims to identify IBAs in Australia. As part of this work Stephen Garnett is chair of the Birds Australia Important Bird Area Committee.
Recently completed researchManaging Endangered Banteng in a Jointly-managed National Park: Contested Values, Indigenous Aspirations and Resource UseProject Team: Prof David Bowman (University of Tasmania), Assoc Prof Corey Bradshaw, Prof Barry Brook (University of Adelaide) Should north Australia’s huge populations of feral animals be eradicated for conservation, or exploited as a rare opportunity for Aboriginal enterprise in remote regions? We examine options for a herd of Banteng, a cattle species endangered in its native Asian range but abundant in Garig Gunak Barlu National Park, Aboriginal land managed jointly by traditional owners and a conservation agency. In this unique cross-disciplinary study Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal stakeholders will identify Park values that may be threatened by Banteng. Those values will be incorporated in decision-support tools (bio-economic models) identifying tradeoffs between protecting values and providing incomes for Indigenous landowners.
Banteng research newsletters in .pdf:
Sustaining the Rock-dwelling Macropods of the Wet-dry Tropics: Ecology, Conservation and ManagementProject Leader: Tony Griffiths The rock-dwelling macropods of the Top End represents an unusually high diversity of sympatric species compared to the rest of Australia. However, virtually nothing is currently recorded about the ecology of the species, and the conservation status of the group remains unclear. The rock-dwelling macropods of the wet - dry tropics are some of the least studied fauna in Australia. Virtually nothing is known of their ecology and their taxonomy and conservation status remain unclear. Considering the high level of endemism and therefore conservation significance, and the importance to Aboriginal people as source of food and spiritual connections, this situation is quite astounding. One reason for this is the group are notoriously difficult to study; they live in inaccessible rocky areas, they are shy, either nocturnal or crepuscular and move rapidly through their rocky terrain. We are investigating the ecology of the species using field observation and a range of innovative techniques, such as examination of isotope ratios in faeces to understand changes in diet and genetic analysis to investigate population dynamics. Recording of traditional knowledge and harvesting rates is also an important part of the project and will require strong collaboration between the researchers and indigenous communities. Thus the project is multi-disciplinary in nature, encompassing the fields of biogeography, ecology, genetics and anthropology. The project aims to determine the ecology of the rock-dwelling macropod species of the wet / dry tropics of the Northern Territory including their habitat requirements, diet, and aspects of their population dynamics. It also is examining the Aboriginal knowledge and current harvesting rates of the species and examine future management options of this unique faunal group. Final Report to the Slade Foundation (.pdf, 785KB)
Plant-herbivore Interactions: A Model Two-species System from Northern AustraliaProject Team: Prof Barry Brook (University of Adelaide), Lochran Traill This study employs a relatively simple two-species plant-herbivore interaction to explore fundamental issues in consumer-resource theory. The floodplains of Kakadu National Park support huge aggregations of magpie geese (Anseranas semipalmata) that feed almost exclusively on tubers of a wetland sedge (Eleocharis dulcis), and depend critically on this resource to build reserves to endure late dry season food shortages. The dynamics of this interaction is poorly understood, but it is known that sedge density fluctuates markedly. We are determining whether the system is driven by feedbacks between sedge and geese or mostly by environmental variation that determines the seasonal duration of the interaction and "resets" the system annually. The research addresses a critical aspect of magpie goose ecology. Understanding the interaction between the birds and the bulbs is critical to respond effectively to past and threatened losses of important sedge habitats to sea level rise. This knowledge will inform management of the Kakadu World Heritage Site and an iconic waterfowl of great cultural and economic significance. In addition to their importance as a Gondwanan relic and sole member of the Family Anseranatidae, the species is an important food-source for Aboriginal people, and tourists travel to the Kakadu wetlands to witness huge dry season congregations.
A Landscape-scale Experimental Test of Factors Driving Mammal Declines in Northern AustraliaProject Team: Prof Barry Brook (University of Adelaide), Tony Griffiths Australia has the dubious distinction of suffering the highest rate of modern mammal extinctions in the world over the past 200 years. The rate of extinction in northern Australia is much lower than in southern and central Australia. However there are warning signs that all is not well as a general decline in many species is evident. In order to prevent another wave of extinction in northern Australia we need to understand the factors driving the decline so they can be managed. This project takes an experimental approach to examining the role of fire and predation by feral cats in the decline using brush-tailed tree rats, a species that has suffered a major decline in distribution.
Impact of Cane Toads on Reptile PopulationsProject Leader: Tony Griffiths The NT possesses a unique and diverse reptile fauna, largely intact compared with most other parts of Australia. The arrival of the toxic cane toad presents the single greatest threat to a substantial number of these species. This research is documenting the population dynamics of a small number of reptile species that are likely to suffer dramatic perturbation following the arrival of the cane toad. This will permit a quantitative assessment of the impact and enable longer-term management options to be formulated.
Biodiversity Crisis in Southeast AsiaProject Team: Prof Barry Brook (University of Adelaide), Assoc Prof Corey Bradshaw Research undertaken with a team from the National University of Singapore is providing a major critical review of the current state of conservation biology research in the biological hotspots of Southeast Asia, the most robust and broad-based empirical data on extinctions yet assembled for tropical regions, and evaluations of the relative vulnerability of different taxa and ecosystems to major threatening processes such as deforestation and overexploitation.
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