Dear ,
Welcome to issue 181 of Feral Flyer.
In this edition: |
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VPC abstracts – 25 Days left to submit!
Call for abstracts for the 15th Australasian Vertebrate Pest Conference closes on 28th February. Have you submitted yours yet? Earlybird registration and accommodation booking are also now open.
The Australasian Vertebrate Pest Conference is a not-for-profit event held every three years to bring together researchers, managers, students and policy makers dealing with pest animals.
The 2011 meeting will be held at the spectacular Dockside Convention Centre, Cockle Bay Wharf, Sydney, June 20-23. The meeting is convened by the multi-government Vertebrate Pests Committee and will be hosted by the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre and the New South Wales Department of Industry and Investment.
Anyone working in the area or interested in animal control should plan on attending. New tools and methodologies will be discussed as well as the vital community aspects of pest animal control. Animal welfare and community attitudes to human-wildlife conflicts will be explored. Your participation is welcomed.
Please see http://www.avpc.net.au/ for more information, to register and to lodge abstracts
RabbitScan Citizen Science website re-launched
On Australia Day, the Invasive Animals CRC in partnership with Industry & Investment NSW, the Australian Pest Animal Research Program, Woolworths, Toshiba, Western CMA (NSW), Landcare, and the ABC, released a new and improved RabbitScan website and mapping tool (under the FeralScan program) for farmers, community groups and anyone with a rabbit problem anywhere in Australia.
Building on the RabbitScan Citizen Science Challenge in 2009 and the ABC Feral Month program (January 2011), the updated RabbitScan website provides a resource for landholders, community groups, and pest officers to map sightings of rabbits, record the damage rabbits cause, and record the control techniques being used to manage rabbits in their local area. The website also provides links to possible funding support, online resources and rabbit control manuals.
Anybody will be able to use RabbitScan to create a Rabbit Management Map for their property or local area, to assist with on-ground rabbit control and to track changes in rabbits in response to management actions. Importantly, any sighting data reported in RabbitScan will help to provide a national overview of the rabbit problem.
Image right: Brian Lukins inspects a tree for ring-barking damage as part of RabbitScan
More information:
- RabbitScan website: www.feralscan.org.au/rabbitscan
- Contact Peter West, Industry & Investment NSW, Orange (email: peter.west@industry.nsw.gov.au)
- Interview with Peter West and Brian Cooke on ABC Bush Telegraph, 27 Jan 2011 (listen to mp3 audio file or view web link)
Employment Opportunities
View online at: http://www.invasiveanimals.com/about-us/corporate/employment/
Scientific writer
Location: Invasive Animals CRC, Adelaide office
A short term (12 months) part -time (negotiable) position is available for an experienced scientific writer to prepare the IACRC feral pig and feral cat PestSmart toolkits. Each toolkit will distil end-user centred and validated past and present pest animal information into comprehensive yet accessible guidelines for managing each of the IACRC’s key species.
Applicants should be proficient with the Microsoft Office suite of programs, with prior desktop publishing experience an advantage.
For further information please contact Steve Lapidge on (08) 8357 1222 or steven.lapidge@invasiveanimals.com.
Research officer
Location: Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, Orange, NSW I&I
A short term contract (12 months) is available to undertake MLA funded research on the feasibility of using PAPP for aerial baiting of foxes as compared to 1080. This will involve a literature review and desktop risk analysis followed by field evaluations.
The applicant would need relevant skills in invasive species management and some experience in GIS mapping.
For further information please contact Glen Saunders on (02) 6391 3890 or glen.saunders@industry.nsw.gov.au.
Executive Assistant
Location: Invasive Animals CRC, Canberra office. Applications close: 13 February 2011
The IA CRC is seeking an enthusiastic individual to provide high level Executive support to the CEO and senior management. Tasks include managing the diary and correspondence of the CEO, preparation of various statistical reports, assisting with the organisation of key events and functions, and providing secretariat support to the Company Secretary in arranging Board and Committee meetings. The successful applicant will be practical, flexible and able to work with limited direction.
The position is a part-time appointment of 17.5 hours per week negotiable, and is for a fixed-term expiring 30 June 2012.
For position description, selection criteria and application instructions, please see: http://www.canberra.edu.au/hr/jobs/archive/general/112012. For further information about this position please contact Susan Duson, on (02) 6201 2888.
Invitation to attend the inaugural Krebs Lecture
Professor Charles Krebs will give the inaugural Krebs Lecture: What can ecologists tell us about sustainability?
Charles Krebs is Thinker in Residence at the Institute for Applied Ecology. His stellar career as an ecologist in USA, Canada and Australia include international renown for his text, Ecology: The Experimental Analysis of Distribution and Abundance, a textbook used worldwide to teach ecology, and for his pioneering experimental approach to ecology including fundamental work on predator prey interactions and the Fence Effect (also known as the Krebs Effect).
Abstract: Sustainability is an issue that is constantly in the news and is a concept that applies to human society yet impinges on all the environmental sciences. In this talk I will discuss what sustainability means, and how applied ecologists can contribute to defining the paths that lead to sustainability. The context will be three global problems – agriculture, biodiversity, and population, and I will discuss the ecological framework that informs decisions about sustainability in these areas. Finally I will discuss the politics of ignorance, and the problems that arise from ignoring well-established ecological principles. Although scientists do not make policy, we need to demand evidence-based decision making in all areas of resource management.
Venue: Ann Harding Conference Centre. Building 24, University of Canberra. Refreshments will be provided.
Date & Time: Monday 21st February 2011. 5.30pm – 7.00pm.
RSVP: 18th February 2011. Phone: (02) 6201 2795, Email: IAEAdmin@canberra.edu.au.
Parking: http://www.canberra.edu.au/university/maps
Media round-up
Bunny business as rabbit numbers explode
IT truly is the Year of the Rabbit. Wild rabbit numbers have increased dramatically over the past 18 months, with the recent weather providing the perfect conditions for rabbit breeding. [ More ]
Landholders play part in pig control
The landholders are the key to a successful feral pig program. [ More ]
Hoghopper has sights set on feral pests
Removing pests not pets is the aim for the latest invention to battle feral pigs. The HogHopper, set to reach the market in early this year, is a bait delivery device that targets feral pigs but removes the risk of accidental bait of other animals. [ More ]
Feral animal numbers to boom
Scientists fear that a decade of hard work controlling feral animals and weeds will be ruined by floods across eastern Australia. [ More ]
Fence the ultimate solution to wild dogs
Farmers in the Goldfields-Esperance region are hoping a planned extension to the state barrier fence will stop wild dogs and make running sheep safe and profitable. [ More ]
Rabbit plague hurts farmers
Rabbit numbers in Central Otago are exploding after perfect conditions led to a record breeding season. [ More ]
Grazier angry about NT wild dogs
A cattle grazier in the Northern Territory says the Territory Government is not allocating enough 10-80 baits to control wild dogs. [ More ]
Fox shoots and injures hunter with own gun before escaping in Belarus
A FOX has turned the table on a hunter in Belarus, shooting him with his own gun before making his escape. [ 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.
2011
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14th Wildlife Damage Management Conference. Nebraska City, USA, 17-22 April. |
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CRCA 2011: Keeping Ahead of the Curve. Brisbane, QLD, 17-19 May. |
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International Urban Wildlife Management and Planning Conference, Austin, Texas, USA. 22-25 May. |
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15th Australasian Vertebrate Pest Conference. Sydney, Australia, 20-23 June. |
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4th Biennial Australian Animal Studies Group Conference. Brisbane, QLD. 10-13 July. |
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8th European Vertebrate Pest Management Conference. Berlin, Germany 26-30 September. |
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Ecological Society of Australia annual conference. Hobart, Tasmania. 21-25 November. |
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Biolief: Biological Invasions and Ecosystem Functioning. Mar del Plata, Argentina, 21-24 November. |
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International Congress for Conservation Biology. Christchurch, New Zealand 29 November-2 December. |
