Dear ,
Welcome to issue 179 of Feral Flyer.
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Welcome to the Christmas Bumper Issue of Feral Flyer
Messages from our CEO and Chair
There is no better way to finish the year with Summer finally pushing through the cold snaps and torrential rain.
2011 will be a defining year for this CRC. It will see the much of our research distilled – through our PestSmart toolkits and roadshow – into nuggets of management wisdom that can be readily applied at the farm, region and even national scales.
Next year also offers us a fabulous opportunity to continue the great work of our researchers, commercialisers and adoption facilitators. We are working hard to build a new collaborative research and development program whose clear value to Australia will put us in a poll position for Round 14 of CRC Program funding. I encourage you to talk to our Program Leaders or me to share your ideas on research that leads to new outputs that can markedly reduce pest animal impacts.
But back to 2010 – enjoy the special time with family and friends. I wish you all a restful break and see you again in 2011.
Andreas Glanznig, Chief Executive Officer
On the eve of this Feral Flyer edition going out I received yet another fantastic email re our participants commitment. Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has signed off on $590,500 via the Adelaide office, on new IA CRC Projects encompassed in four overarching projects. With such a BIG year ahead this is a good omen to be finishing up on in 2010.
On behalf of the Board I wish you all a blessed & happy Christmas and in 2011 successful outcomes to your years of dedicated research during the IA CRC. Safe travels in the festive season.
Helen Cathles, Chair, IA CRC Board
IA CRC welcomes new Board members
Following the recent election, Dr Phil Cowan has been re-appointed to the Board, and Professor Arthur Georges and Mr Manfred Claasz are being welcomed as new Directors.
Mr Claasz (pictured right) brings expertise in business and commercial management and has experience in raising finance for industry relevant research and enabling scientists to grow their research base through industry interaction. He is familiar with the Cooperative Research Centre model having previously worked with the Desert Knowledge CRC and the CRC for Robust & Adaptive Systems.
Prof Georges (pictured left) is active in research across a broad spectrum of conservation biology, a member and former President of the Australian Wildlife Management Society, and has published work on ferals in the context of indigenous management. He is the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science at the University of Canberra and a Governor of WWF Australia.
Successful Round 13 Cooperative Research Centres announced
Four new world-class research centres are being established to help prevent mental illness in young Australians, transform our pork industry, improve our environment and treat Alzheimer’s disease. Two existing Cooperative Research Centres and two new Cooperative Research Centres have received funding totaling around $100 million, these being:
- CRC for High Integrity Australian Pork
- CRC for Young People, Technology and Wellbeing
- CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment
- CRC for Mental Health
The $27 million CRC for Young People, Technology and Wellbeing will help put a stop to this by studying how technology can help prevent and treat mental illness in our youth.
The $20 million CRC for High Integrity Australian Pork will support our pork producers and regional Australia to maintain local production of high quality food at affordable prices, while improving pig welfare.
The $29 million CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment will develop solutions to overcome and prevent contamination of soil, water and air to improve our environment.
Together, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Schizophrenia affect millions of Australians, and early diagnosis can help sufferers to live a more fulfilling life. The $23 million CRC for Mental Health will develop better diagnostic tools for these disorders and contribute to better treatment.
This funding round of the CRC Program was intensely competitive. From 30 applications, 13 were short listed and only four have received funding offers. The following applications were not able to be funded in the round: CAST; CRC in Pharmaceutical Analysis; CRC for Arts and Entertainment Futures; CRC for Healthy Brains; CRC for Low Carbon Buildings, Cities and Communities; CRC for Polymers; CRC for Social Inclusion; Future Biofuels CRC; Plant Biosecurity CRC.
Link: Minister’s media release
CRC Program Round 14 announced
On 4 November 2010, Innovation Minister, Senator Kim Carr announced the opening of the 14th CRC round, and particularly encouraged applications to establish centres in the areas of clean manufacturing, social innovation and sustainable regional communities.
Social innovation is about finding solutions to improve our everyday lives. This includes building a better health care system, helping make our online transactions more secure and stopping our youth abusing drugs and alcohol.
Australia’s regions generate two-thirds of our export earnings. Finding solutions to ensure the sustainability of our regional communities is vital so that we can protect the natural wealth that underpins our economy.
Link: Minister’s media release
Invasive Animals CRC Round 14 extension bid
The proposed extension of the Invasive Animals CRC from 2012 to 2017 will continue the close collaborative work between industry, research, and extension organisations to both fully deliver those key technologies that will be ready for adoption after 2012, as well as new technologies that overcome major outstanding problems.
The prospectus includes a possible set of outputs that leverage off the work of the current CRC, but it is important to note that we are also looking for input from industry participants/end-users and research providers on new needed technologies that can be delivered within five years.
We are seeking expressions of interest on being involved in our extension bid by 31 March 2011. To explore ideas and opportunities, please contact Andreas Glanznig, CEO Invasive Animals CRC, Ph. 02-6201 2302 or email: andreas.glanznig@invasiveanimals.com.
The extension bid prospectus is on-line at: http://www.invasiveanimals.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/ExtBid_prospectus_24Nov2010.pdf
Tassie fox evidence update
Results received on 8 December from the University of Canberra’s Institute for Applied Ecology report that one scat collected east of Forth, in the north of the State, has tested positive for fox DNA.
The scat was collected on 24 March 2010 during Phase 3 of the strategic carnivore Scat Collection Survey (also known as ‘The Great Poo Hunt’).
The Forth scat was collected approximately 2km south of Lillico Beach, the site of an identified fox carcass collected in 2006. Other fox positive scats collected from this region include 6 fox positive scats that have been collected in the Spreyton Region through investigations following sighting reports in 2007 and 2008.
Links:
Employment & Consultancy opportunities
View online at: http://www.invasiveanimals.com/about-us/corporate/employment/
Communications Manager
Location: Canberra. Applications close: 10 January 2011
The Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre is seeking an experienced Communications Manager that will have responsibility for our internal and external corporate communications. Reporting to the CEO, the successful candidate will manage the CRC’s communications, including PR and media, event management and publishing.
The successful applicant must be highly motivated, able to work under limited supervision, and have demonstrated understanding, skills and experience in managing a multi-faceted communications program. This includes extensive experience in media and PR, superior organisational and written communication skills, strong networking skills and ability to work with communications staff within our partner organisations.
For position description, selection criteria and application instructions, please see: http://www.canberra.edu.au/hr/jobs/archive/general/102181
For further information about this position please contact Susan Duson, on (02) 6201 2888.
Consultancy to analyse future institutional arrangements for national invasive animals R&D
Expressions of Interest by 24 December 2010. Budget: $20,000
The Invasive Species CRC will either exit the CRC Program in 2012 or 2017. To assist the Board and management strategically plan for this transition, the IA CRC is commissioning a consultancy to prepare a report that will:
- Identify and analyse the drivers and trends influencing invasive animal policy and management and concomitant applied R&D requirements
- Describe the probably policy, institutional and administrative landscape in with a national invasive animals R&D institution will operate
- Identify options for long term national invasive animals R&D institutional arrangements followed by an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses and recommendations for preferred model that can be presented to the IA CRC Governing Board and if appropriate subsequently to potential investors
- Outline pathways for the IACRC to evolved into the preferred model/s
For further information and copies of the job specifications, please contact Andreas Glanznig, CEO Invasive Animals CRC, Ph: 02-6201 2302, Email: andreas.glanznig@invasiveanimals.com
Consultancy to measure overall impact of the current Invasive Animals CRC
Expressions of Interest by 24 December 2010. Budget: in the order of $50,000.
The Invasive Animals CRC is focussed on producing a range of outputs that have economic, environmental and social benefits. In 2008, the Centre for International Economics quantified the economic benefit of a number of the CRCs key technology where their monetary value could be estimated. The analysis highlighted that most of the benefits were difficult to put in monetary terms. This was particularly the case for outputs produced to reduce the impact of carp and cats for example.
This consultancy seeks to complement this economic impact assessment by analysing the CRC’s environmental and social impact. The aim is to design an impact metric and then measure the long term national benefit of IA CRC intellectual property (including uptake of strategic knowledge, and products and strategies) and services (including education and training) and in doing so provide an indication of the potential scale of IA CRC research, education and capacity building on the broader community. It is a desk-top study.
For further information and copies of the job specifications, please contact Andreas Glanznig, CEO Invasive Animals CRC, Ph: 02-6201 2302, Email: andreas.glanznig@invasiveanimals.com
Congratulations to Dr. Andrew Bengsen
Andrew Bengsen, a former student in the IA CRC’s Balanced Scientist program, has recently had his PhD conferred.
Andrew’s PhD project was part of the IA CRC’s Daintree Demonstration Site and he is now working as a Project Officer with the Kangaroo Island Natural Resources Management (KI NRM) Board.
“The risk of non-target species being harmed by pest management activities can be a major impediment to the effective mitigation of pest animal impacts.
For my PhD project, I developed a methodological framework for developing target-specific vertebrate pest control tools, based on the identification of behavioural, morphological, and physiological differences between pest and non-target species.
I applied the framework to the problem of feral pig control in Queensland’s Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, to develop methods for poison baiting that do not threaten native species. These methods should allow effective feral pig control to be more widely implemented in the region.”
Captive fox body odour samples needed!
Alex Carthey is a PhD student at the Uni of NSW. She is studying naiveté in native mammals towards introduced predators such as foxes, cats and wild dogs.
Her PhD comprises field components testing for recognition of and response to predator odours by wild bush rats and bandicoots, and will also incorporate a chemical profiling of the predator odours in the lab.
To this end she is searching for odour donors and is having a lot of trouble finding captive foxes.
“I need fresh urine, faecal and body odour samples – which are collected by a simple method of placing a clean dry cotton bath towel in the animal’s sleeping area for two weeks, then storing it in the freezer until I can collect it & bring it back to uni. This collection method is very non-invasive but does mean that I need access to captive foxes rather than shot carcasses or similar.”
“I have samples for almost all of the predators I need to use, except for foxes,” said Alex.
If anyone has captive foxes and might be able to help Alex out, please contact her on (ph): (02) 9385 1153 or email: a.carthey@unsw.edu.au.
2011 Science & Innovation Awards for Young People
If you’re aged between 18 and 35 and have a great idea for a project on an innovative or emerging scientific issue, including biophysical and social sciences, then start working on your application now! Projects will help contribute to the ongoing success and sustainability of Australia’s agriculture, fisheries or forestry industries, including food and sustainable natural resource management.
There are eleven award categories open for applications: animal welfare, cotton, dairy, new and emerging rural industries, fisheries and aquaculture, forestry, grains, meat and livestock, pork, sugar, and viticulture and oenology. Each category includes a grant of up to $22,000, while one grantee will also be awarded an additional $33,000 as the winner of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s Award.
Applications close 5pm AEDT Friday 7 January 2011.
Links:
- Minister’s media release
- Application & further information
Biodiversity Convention 10th meeting decisions relevant to invasive species
The 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP10) is now over, and the meeting was a success. The Parties agreed – among other points – on all key elements of the strategic plan for the next decade, including new targets to reduce the current pressures on the planet’s biodiversity.
Several decisions taken in Nagoya address the problems caused by invasive species. Target 9 of the strategic plan requires that “By 2020, invasive alien species are identified, prioritized and controlled or eradicated and measures are in place to control pathways for the introduction and establishment of invasive alien species.”
The COP also adopted a specific decision on the creation of an Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group for providing guidance on preventing further impacts associated with the importation of invasive species as pets, aquarium and terrarium species, as well as live baits and food. It is also important to note that the terms of reference of the expert group explicitly refer to the development of international standards on these issues; this was the object of many discussions, as it touches on the delicate issue of international trade.
More information at: More information at: http://www.cbd.int/invasive/
New VIC State Govt: relevant policy statements
The recent state election in Victoria has resulted in a change of government. The following links are some relevant invasive species policy statements from during the election campaign:
Links:
- Coalition funds practical green community action
- Coalition to use aerial baiting to protect livestock, fauna from wild dog attacks
- Liberals and Nationals to establish fox and wild dog bounty
NHMRC 2011 Grants round now open
NHMRC would like to announce that it has opened the 2011 rounds of its Project Grants, Research Fellowships, Practitioner Fellowships, Howard Florey Emeritus Fellowships and Centres of Research Excellence schemes.
The funding policies, Advice and Instructions for Applicants at the following URL’s:
- Project Grants Scheme
- Research Fellowships
- Centres of Research Excellence
- Practitioner Fellowships
- Howard Florey Emeritus Fellowships
- Word templates of application forms
New Publications, newsletters & reports
Reports
Birds Australia has just launched their State of Australia’s Birds 2010 report on Islands and Birds. The pdf of the report is available at http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/soab/state-of-australias-birds.html
Scientific papers
Glen, A.S., Wayne, A., Maxwell, M. and Cruz, J. (2010). Comparative diets of the chuditch, a threatened marsupial carnivore, in the northern and southern jarrah forests, Western Australia. Journal of Zoology, 282(4):276-283.
Newsletters
NRM Notes – Issue 4 (December 2010) of the newsletter from Jessica Marsh, the IA CRC NRM Liaison Officer, is now available. This newsletter can be downloaded from the CRC website [ click here ].
Beyond the Bale – Australian Wool Innovation, December 2010. A story on the IA CRC’s Guardian Dog Manual is on page 20. [ More ]
Aliens – The Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG), Issue 30, 2010. A story on the IA CRC’s DNA fingerprinting of Tasmanian foxes project is on page 6. [ More ]
Media round-up
Rabbits a pest for pilots too
A rabbit plague in rural Australia is not only causing environmental damage but the pests are now high on the list of animals causing grief to pilots and passengers. [ More ]
Hire car crashes into wild boar on highway
A 23-year-old man has survived after his car crashed into a wild boar on the Stuart Highway near Adelaide River, south of Darwin. [ More ]
Science to support Australia’s biodiversity
The Gillard Government has invested in five research hubs that will provide first-class science that is essential for sustainably managing Australia’s biodiversity. [ More ]
Rabbit plague warning
AUSTRALIA’S worst environmental menace, the rabbit, is back. [ More ]
Rogue crow ruffles feathers at Innisfail
Feathers will literally fly when Biosecurity Queensland finally get Claude the Indian House Crow in their sights. [ More ]
Lakes adrift: Invasions demand leadership, action
IA CRC carp eradication projects in Tasmanian lakes an example for pest fish problems in Lake Michigan, USA. [ More ]
Texas calls in the Law in its beef with feral porkers
Feral pig problems in the USA hit the Wall Street Journal. [ More ]
IA CRC in the news
A selection of current media articles directly related to the IA CRC is available here. You can subscribe to receive updates directly to your email inbox or mobile phone, or save as a favourite page in your web browser and view at your convenience. This feed can also be provided to third parties without the risk of copyright breach.
Upcoming conferences
For more information on these and other events, please see details on our website.
2010
- International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies. Honolulu, Hawaii, 15-20 December.
2011
- 2nd International Invasive Birds Conference. Cape Town, South Africa, 7-9 March 2011.
- 14th Wildlife Damage Management Conference. Nebraska City, USA, 17-22 April 2011.
- International Urban Wildlife Management and Planning Conference. Austin, Texas, USA. 22-25 May 2011.
- 15th Australasian Vertebrate Pest Conference. Sydney, Australia, 20-23 June 2011.
- 4th Biennial Australian Animal Studies Group Conference. Brisbane, 10-13 July 2011.
- 8th European Vertebrate Pest Management Conference. Berlin, Germany. 26-30 September 2011.
- Biolief: Biological Invasions and Ecosystem Functioning. Mar del Plata, Argentina, 21-24 November 2011.
- International Congress for Conservation Biology. Christchurch, New Zealand 29 November-2 December.
