Dear ,
Welcome to issue 182 of Feral Flyer.
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AVPC abstracts – 10 Days left to submit!
Call for abstracts for the 15th Australasian Vertebrate Pest Conference (AVPC) 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
Animal Control Technologies Award for Practical Pest Management
At the last five Australasian Vertebrate Pest Conferences, Animal Control Technologies Australia (ACTA) has honoured field operators for Practical Pest Management Excellence. The winner receives sponsorship to attend the AVP Conference and is acknowledged for outstanding achievements at the grass roots level of pest management, with an award certificate presented at the conference dinner. It is also provides an excellent opportunity for field practitioners to learn about the latest research and at the same time, demonstrate to researchers the operational problems of dealing with vertebrate pest problems in the field.
Each State and Territory is asked to nominate entrants for the award with each regional winner becoming a finalist in the national competition. The overall winner will receive $1,500 cash towards travel and accommodation and free registration including dinner at the Conference. The winner is also provided with time to present a paper at the Conference. People or teams who have applied before and have been short listed can re-nominate.
All State and Territory nominees for the award will receive a certificate sent via their relevant Minister so they also get some recognition for their achievements. The ACTA award is focused towards the “hands on” workers in the field.
Nominees must submit a one page description of their work, their own contact details and contact details for a referee to Prof Linton Staples, Animal Control Technologies, PO Box 379, Somerton Vic 3062 or email to lstaples@animalcontrol.com.au.
The winner is selected from State/Territory finalists by a panel of the VPC Chairman, Conference Chairman and ACTA MD and will have to submit an abstract for the conference proceedings as soon as possible. Due date for applications is March 30th 2011.
More information: Prof Linton Staples, email: lstaples@animalcontrol.com.au or phone: (03) 9308-9688.
We need your rabbits!
Have you noticed increasing rabbit numbers across the country lately? Now you can help our research team by sending us rabbit samples.
Dr. Tarnya Cox works on the CRC’s RHD Boost project which is seeking more effective strains of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV, also known as calici virus). She is collecting specimens from dead rabbits to help identify variants of the virus strain already present in Australia.
“We’re hoping that people who are aware of the fact they may have rabbits on their property will keep their eye open for rabbit carcases,” she said. “Ideally, we’d like the liver, but if they’re not prepared to go and carve up a dead rabbit, then we’re happy for them just to collect the entire rabbit, put it in a bag and freeze it and we’ll arrange getting the rabbit to us.” Virus can also be collected from the heart, kidney and marrow of the back legs if the liver has been scavenged.
“We want rabbits that have died from a natural outbreak of RHD, not from a release or myxomatosis.” RHD rabbit carcasses show no outward sign of disease and look relatively healthy, whereas myxomatosis rabbit carcasses look diseased – the rabbit looks emaciated and has lesions on the face and legs.
For more information or to find out how you can contribute, please contact Tarnya [ph: (02) 6391-3952 or email: tarnya.cox@industry.nsw.gov.au], or Ron Sinclair at Biosecurity SA [ph: (08) 8303-9620, email: ron.sinclair@sa.gov.au].
Links:
Employment Opportunities
View online at: http://www.invasiveanimals.com/about-us/corporate/employment/
Scientific writer, Invasive Animals CRC
Location: Negotiable
Approximately 4 months’ work is available for an experienced scientific writer to prepare carp factsheets for the IA CRC PestSmart Carp toolkit. The carp toolkit will distill end-user centred and validated past and present pest fish information into comprehensive yet accessible guidelines for managing carp.
Applicants should be proficient with the Microsoft Office suite of programs, with prior desktop publishing experience an advantage. For further information please contact on 03 or wayne.fulton@invasiveanimals.com.
For further information please contact Wayne Fulton, IA CRC Freshwater Program Leader on (03) 5772 2043 or wayne.fulton@invasiveanimals.com.
Assistant Professor in Environmental Policy, Institute for Applied Ecology
Location: University of Canberra, ACT. Applications close: 14 March, 2011
The University of Canberra’s Institute for Applied Ecology Seeks an Assistant Professor (contingent continuing) or Associate Professor (5 year contract) in Environmental Policy. $80,217 to $124,627 pa, plus Super.
For more information on this position and how to apply, please visit http://www.canberra.edu.au/hr/jobs/positions-vacant/academic/112021 or call 02 6201 2607.
Chief Executive Officer, CRC Future Farm Industries
Applications close: 20 February, 2011
The CRC Future Farm Industries is looking for a new CEO, with the impending retirement of Kevin Goss. This is a great opportunity for a research leader keen to make a difference in the development of more resilient and profitable farming systems adapted to the climates of southern Australia.
The job description can be found at: http://www.futurefarmonline.com.au/_literature_82676/CEO_Job_description.
An information sheet describing more about the CRC, its governance and management, is at: http://www.futurefarmonline.com.au/_literature_82677/CEO_information_sheet.
Regional and Rural Research and Development Grants
The 2010-11 Regional and Rural Research and Development Grants (RRRDG) Program guidelines have been released. Funding for the program in 2010-11 is limited to $203,000. Grants are limited to $25,000 per application.
Applications for funding under the RRRDG Program will be accepted until Friday 4 March 2010. There may be future rounds in 2010-11 depending on available funding.
The flood recovery effort is a current priority for the Australia Government. Applicants are therefore encouraged to consider this priority when framing their applications.
Further information: please see http://www.regionalpartnerships.gov.au/grantsprogram.aspx
or contact Steven Hall on phone: 02 6274 6197, or email: steven.hall@regional.gov.au.
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
New publications
Book Chapter
West, Brown, Auricht & Hart. Mapping actual and predicted distribution of pest animals and weeds in Australia in GIS Applications in Agriculture: Volume 3 (Invasive Species) (2011). Editor: Sharon A. Clay, South Dakota State University, Brookings, United States
Media round-up
The emotional cost of wild dogs in rural Queensland
The economic cost of wild dogs and dingoes to the grazing industry is often quoted but what about the mental anguish of landholders? [ More ]
Pastoralists wage a wild dog war
Neville Millard has seen the price of sheep plummet and rise, he’s seen sheep and wool bails shrink and he has seen the insurmountable destruction wild dogs have done to an iconic Australian industry. [ More ]
DEC monitors feral animals
As foxes are brought more under control, cats are filling the void, particularly in the more arid areas. [ More ]
Floods spark feral pig warning
Big rain and flooding across parts of eastern Australia is expected to mean an increase in the numbers of feral pigs, rabbits, wild dogs and cane toads. [ More ]
Floods in eastern Australia to increase numbers of feral animals
Scientists on Tuesday said recent big rain and flooding across parts of eastern Australia is expected lead to an increase in the numbers of feral pigs, rabbits, wild dogs and cane toads. [ 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
- 14th Wildlife Damage Management Conference. Nebraska City, USA, 17-22 April.
- CRCA 2011: Keeping Ahead of the Curve. Brisbane, QLD, 17-19 May.
- International Urban Wildlife Management and Planning Conference, Austin, Texas, USA. 22-25 May.
- 15th Australasian Vertebrate Pest Conference. Sydney, Australia, 20-23 June.
- 4th Biennial Australian Animal Studies Group Conference. Brisbane, QLD. 10-13 July.
- 8th European Vertebrate Pest Management Conference. Berlin, Germany 26-30 September.
- Ecological Society of Australia annual conference. Hobart, Tasmania. 21-25 November.
- Biolief: Biological Invasions and Ecosystem Functioning. Mar del Plata, Argentina, 21-24 November.
- International Congress for Conservation Biology. Christchurch, New Zealand 29 November-2 December.
