Welcome to issue 201 of Feral Flyer.
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IA CRC extension bid: Announcement due December 2011
The Invasive Animals CRC extension bid interview team felt “positive” after their successful final presentation to the CRC Committee Panel on 8 November 2011.
Pictured (back row to front row left to right) are Dr Jim Thompson – Chief Biosecurity Officer, Biosecurity Qld; Robert Anderson – Deputy Chair, Meat and Livestock Australia Board; Paul Martin – University of New England; Professor Frances Shannon – Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research, University of Canberra; Lisa Thomas – Senior Ranger, Central West Livestock Health and Pest Authority; Glen Saunders – Terrestrial Program Leader; Professor Linton Staples – Managing Director, Animal Control Technologies Australia; Steve Lapidge – Uptake Program Leader; Helen Cathles – Chair, Invasive Animals CRC Board and Andreas Glanznig – CEO, Invasive Animals CRC.
A government decision on the extension bid is expected to be known by the end of December 2011. The extension bid sought to complete research on Australia’s first carp biocontrol agent; release other pest controls currently in the regulatory pipeline; enable better uptake of our work by institutions and communities through targeted research into effective community engagement and for the invasive Animals CRC to make the transition to a new and sustainable national organisation. And now we cross our fingers.
Link: IA CRC Extension proposal 2012-2017
Feral photos competition winners announced!
The Invasive Animals CRC’s first-ever ‘Feral Photos’ photography competition came to a close on 31 October and with more than 200 entries, judges Glen Saunders (NSW DPI) and Alf Manciagli (Gecko Photographics) had some tough decisions to make last Monday.
| The winners are! | ||
|---|---|---|
1st Prize
 Daniel Schembri fox and rabbit |
2nd Prize
 Jason Wishart feral pigs and cattle |
3rd Prize
 Crystal Kelehear cane toad eating snake |
Best remote camera photo
 Darryl Panther red deer fighting (in VIC) |
People’s choice  Rocco Pirrottina feral goat morning silhouette |
|
Our judges also selected a number of highly commended images:
Highly commended remote camera – Richard Ali, wild dogs
Highly commended – Robert Ashdown, feral horses (in QLD)
Highly commended – Jennie Stock, rainbow lorikeet (in WA)
Highly commended – Gary Tate, fox
Well done to all our winners and thanks to everyone who entered the competition this year. Keep an eye out for our special 2012 Feral Photos calendar which will feature some of our fantastic entries!
These photos can be viewed at http://www.invasiveanimals.com/feral-photos/
HogHopper™ finalist in Innovation Challenge
The HogHopper™ entry by the Invasive Animals CRC in The Australian Innovation Challenge has been selected by a panel of judges as one of five finalists in the category of Agriculture & Food.
Innovation Challenge editor, Cheryl Jones said that a story will be published in The Australian on 19 November announcing the other finalists, with the category winners being announced on
7 December. Good luck HogHopper™.
HogHopper™ is a low-maintenance, target-specific bait hopper for population level feral pig management using PIGOUT®, HOGGONE® or other pig bait substrates. It is anticipated that the HogHopper™ will contribute greatly to target-specificity and efficiency of feral pig management in Australia. This peace-of-mind approach to pig control (akin to the box of mouse bait in the shed) can also reduce labour and costs associated with chemical management of feral pigs.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/innovationchallenge
For your review – the Invasive Animals CRC 2010–11 annual report
Looking back on the last financial year, the Invasive Animals CRC has made excellent progress on outcomes expected under the Commonwealth agreement. The annual report lists major research achievements by the Terrestrial, Freshwater, Detection and Prevention, Education and Uptake Programs. The report discusses the end-user environment which is so important to the adoption of research results for practical impact on invasive animals. Other sections include research collaborations, structure and governance, commercialisation and utilisation, communications and financial performance. Milestones achieved and a list of publications produced also included. You can link to the annual report at: IA CRC Annual Report 2011-2011
New prototype baiting technique to power up wild dog control
A new prototype baiting technique to control wild dogs and foxes is being tested and refined to offer a more durable, longer lasting alternative to current options for predator control in Australia.
The prototype is a multi-dose ejector (MDE) system, designed, built and patented by Frank Gigliotti of General Dogs Body– R&D technical services, and has just received funding from MLA to ensure the mechanism is independently assessed to work accurately and efficiently.
Mr Gigliotti explained that the device aims to address the shortcomings of current baiting options through a multi-dose delivery system that is target specific and has a longer ‘life’ in the field.
“We are looking at a system that can deliver 20 or more lethal doses per bait rather than the current one bait/one animal option,” Mr Gigliotti said.
The new system builds on previous Australian and international research and technology and incorporates innovative new developments, including two mechanisms to prevent availability to non-target species.
“The multi-dose ejector is secured to the ground and requires an upward pull force of 3kg to trigger the device, preventing risk of exposure to the toxin by smaller marsupials,” Mr Gigliotti said. “The system can also be deployed with an exclusion collar which prevents non-target species such as working dogs, possums, spotted-tailed quolls and Tasmanian devils from accessing the bait.
“We are also developing polymer (plastic) bait that can be impregnated with a lure that remains active for longer than natural food baits and is able to withstand numerous animals pulling on it.
“Initial ‘fine-tuning’ will also include the toxin aerosol formulation, toxin dose size and lure formulation.”
MLA’s Program Manager – Biosecurity, Animal Health and Welfare, Jim Rothwell, said stock losses to predation were on the increase, with recent reports estimating that predators cost $67 million per year in Queensland and $21 million in Victoria in lost production.
“This project is a low risk investment with good potential for significant gains to be made in wild dog control,” Dr Rothwell said. “The project will see further development of the multi-dose ejector and toxin delivery system to the point where field trials can commence, ultimately supporting the system’s application for registration with the APVMA.” MLA is investing around $245,000 for the first year of this project in addition to the $1.4 million invested in invasive animal control research conducted through the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre.
An additional $2.5 million has been pledged by MLA to research invasive animals from 2012 either via the Invasive Animals CRC re-bid process or individual projects.
Another IA CRC PhD
Dr Tom Newsome’s doctorate on the Ecology of the Dingo (Canis lupus dingo) in the Tanami Desert, central Australia, in relation to Human-Resource Subsidies was conferred at the University of Sydney graduation ceremony on 4 November 2011.
The establishment of mining and pastoral operations in the Tanami Desert has resulted in supplementary food (at waste facilities) and water resources being available to dingoes. Tom investigated dingo diet, dietary selectivity, home-range, activity and resource selection to explore the effects of resource dispersion and abundance on dingo social organisation. He also determined the genetic status of dingoes and free-roaming domestic dogs in the remote Tanami region. The key findings of the thesis provide compelling evidence that human-resource subsidies alter dingo behaviour and sociality. This highlights the flexibility of dingo populations to adapt to changes in the availability of food and water supplies. When attempting to understand the functional role of dingoes and other opportunistic predators, it is therefore imperative that resource abundance and dispersion be considered more explicitly, especially in areas where human-provided resources are available and abundant.
Since completing the PhD project, a management plan has been implemented, including the use of predator proof fencing around waste facilities. Over time, it is expected that the dingo population will return to more natural levels which will assist in maintaining more of a balanced relationship between predators and prey. However, whilst there is artificial water available, more dingoes will survive in the Tanami in comparison to periods when there were very few watering points. Tom says a monitoring program is in place to look at the impacts on excluding the waste facilities, but there is still much to learn, and hopefully we can continue longer term studies that look even closer at the interactions between dingoes, co-occurring predators and prey.
In related but separate dingo news, the Invasive Animals CRC is cooperating with a film company making a documentary on the dingo, for delivery to ABC Television by June 2012 (filming in February).
Read more about Dr Tom Newsome
New Publications
Wendy Henderson, Mary Bomford and Phillip Cassey (2011). Managing the risk of exotic vertebrate incursions in Australia. Wildlife Research38(6): 501-508. (http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/WR11089.htm)
P Donkers, J G Patil, C Wisniewski and JE Diggle (2011). Validation of mark-recapture population estimates for invasive common carp, Cyprinus carpio, in Lake Crescent, Tasmania. Journal of Applied Ichthyology http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1439-0426.2011.01887.x/abstract
PestSmart Publications:
Rabbit control in the Flinders Ranges http://www.feral.org.au/bounceback-rabbit-control-in-the-flinders-ranges/ Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, Canberra.
Fox control in the Flinders Ranges http://www.feral.org.au/bounceback-fox-control-in-the-flinders-ranges/ Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, Canberra.
Norris A (2011). Guidelines for planning carp fishing competitions. PestSmart Toolkit publication. http://www.feral.org.au/?p=49624 Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre,Canberra.
Media round-up
Call to use coconut-based feral pig baits
Queensland researchers say coconuts should be used as baits to control feral pigs in the state’s north.. ABC News [Read more]
Victorian farmers want same aerial wild dog baiting rate as NSW
Victorian farmers want their State Government to provide the same number of aerial baits for wild dogs as NSW…ABC Rural [Read more]
Feral animal control to improve biodiversity
FERAL pests have a significant impact on primary production and biodiversity, as well as potentially spreading disease, on the Darling Downs…Queensland Country Life [Read more]
Wild dog attacks get closer
THE BATTLE against wild dogs has reached the outskirts of Lismore, with a family pet in Woodlawn being savaged…Northern Star [Read more]
Fox bounty attracts scalps
The scalps of 38 foxes were submitted for bounty at the opening of the Tatura collection centre on Monday, November 7…Shepparton News [Read more]
Upcoming conferences
For more information on these and other events, please see details on our website.
2011
- Ecological Society of Australia annual conference. Hobart, Tasmania. 21-25 November.
- Biolief: Biological Invasions and Ecosystem Functioning. Mar del Plata, Argentina, 21-24 November.
- AMWS Conference. Bathurst NSW, November 29-December 1.
- International Congress for Conservation Biology. Auckland, New Zealand 5-9 December.
2012
- 12th National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment. Washington, DC. 18-20 January
- 25th Vertebrate Pest Conference (USA). Monterey, California. 5-8 March
- 4th International Wildlife Management Congress. Durban, South Africa. 9-12 July
- Invertebrates associated with invasive alien organisms. Riga (Latvia) 16–18 August
- Invasive organisms and globalisation. Riga (Latvia) 20-23 August
- 3rd European Congress of Conservation Biology. Glasgow, Scotland. 28 Aug-1 Sept
- Fertility Control Conference. Jackson Wyoming, USA. 29 Aug-1 Sept
