• Change text size
• Skip to content

Australia's biodiversity

Search:

• About us
• Contact us

• Home
  • Atmosphere
  • Biodiversity
  • Marine
  • Heritage
  • Human settlements
  • Land
  • Living sustainably
  • Parks Australia
  • Water
  • EPBC Act

• Biodiversity
  • Biodiversity conservation
    • Biodiversity Conservation Strategy
    • Conservation covenants
    • Wildlife corridors
  • International activities
  • Legislation
  • Threatened species and ecological communities
    • Nominations
    • Listing assessments
    • Threatened species
    • Threatened ecological communities
    • Key threatening processes
    • Recovery plans
    • Conservation advices
    • Threat abatement plans
    • Threatened Species Scientific Committee
  • Invasive species
    • Diseases, fungi and parasites
    • Feral animals
    • Insects and other invertebrates
    • Weeds
    • Links
    • Funded projects
  • Migratory species
    • Migratory birds
  • Science and research
    • Biodiversity hotspots
    • Bird and bat banding
    • National Environmental Research Program
  • Wildlife trade
    • Internationally endangered plants and animals (CITES)
    • Invitations to comment
    • Permits, fees and contacts
    • Travellers and online shoppers
    • Live plants and animals
    • Australian native plants and animals
    • Exotic (non-native) animals
    • Trade and the law
    • Trading into and out of Australia
    • Report illegal wildlife trade
    • Publications
  • Australia's Biological Resources
    • Access to Biological Resources in Commonwealth areas
    • Access to Biological Resources in States and Territories
    • More about accessing Biological Resources
    • Permits - Accessing Biological Resources in Commonwealth Areas
    • Model Access and Benefit-Sharing Agreement
    • Nagoya Protocol
    • Biodiscovery Forum 2011
    • Biodiscovery Forum 2012
    • Publications
    • Related websites
  • Australian Biological Resources Study
    • Bush Blitz
    • Databases and online resources
    • Eureka awards
    • Forms
    • Funding and Research
    • Other links
    • Publications
    • Site index
    • What’s new
    • Workshops and forums
  • Publications

• Contents
• Previous

8. Recommendations

1. The proposed experiments evaluating the benefits of feral goat, feral pig, feral rabbit, and fox control should be undertaken as funding permits. The experimental design should not be compromised in order to reduce the costs of the experiments: it would be preferable for just one experiment to be adequately funded rather than several experiments inadequately funded.
2. Research to develop methods for estimating the relative and absolute abundance of feral cats and foxes should be funded.

9. Acknowledgments

We thank Steve McLeod, Glen Saunders, Tony Arthur, Greg Mutze, Alan Robley, Peter Caley, Jim Hone, Andrew Woolnough, Peter Fleming, Eve McDonald-Madden, and Michael Scroggie for providing useful comments on parts of this report.

10. References

• Auld, T.D. 1990. Regeneration in populations of the arid zone plants Acacia carnie and A. oswaldii. Proceedings, Ecological Society of Australia 16: 267-272.
• Banks, P.B. 2000. Can foxes regulate rabbit populations? Journal of Wildlife Management 64: 401-406.
• Braysher, M. 1993. Managing Vertebrate Pests: Principles and Strategies. Bureau of Resource Sciences. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
• Caley, P. 1993. Population dynamics of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in a tropical riverine habitat complex. Wildlife Research 20: 625-636.
• Caley, P.A.; Morley, C.G. 2002. Assessing growth rates of European rabbit populations using spotlight transect counts. Journal of Wildlife Management 66: 131-137.
• Caughley, G.; Gunn, A. 1996. Conservation Biology in Theory and Practice. Blackwell Science, Cambridge.
• Choquenot, D. 1998. Testing the relative influence of intrinsic and extrinsic variation in food availability on feral pig populations in Australia's rangelands. Journal of Animal Ecology 67: 887-907.
• Choquenot, D.; Parkes, J. 2001. Setting thresholds for pest control: how does pest density affect resource viability? Biological Conservation 99: 29-46.
• Choquenot, D.; McIlroy, J.; Korn, T. 1996. Managing Vertebrate Pests: Feral Pigs. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
• Choquenot, D.; Lukins, B.; Curran, G. 1997. Assessing lamb predation by feral pigs in Australia's semi-arid rangelands. Journal of Applied Ecology 34: 1445-1454.
• Choquenot, D.; Hone, J.; Saunders, G. 1999. Using aspects of predator-prey theory to evaluate helicopter shooting for feral pig control. Wildlife Research 26: 251-261.
• Clancy, T.F.; Pople, A.R.; Gibson, L.A. 1997. Comparison of helicopter line transects with walked line transects for estimating densities of kangaroos. Wildlife Research 24: 397-409.
• Cochrane, G.R.; McDonald, N.H.E. 1966. A regeneration study in the Victorian mallee. Victorian Naturalist 83: 220-226.
• Cooke, B.D. 1987. The effects of rabbit grazing on regeneration of sheoaks Allocasuarina verticillate and saltwater tr-trees Melaleuca halmaturorum in Coorong National Park South Australia. Australian Journal of Ecology 13: 11-20.
• Coomes, D.A.; Allen, R.; Forsyth, D.M.; Lee, W.G. 2003. How reversible are the impacts of introduced deer in New Zealand forests? Conservation Biology 17: 450-459.
• Croft, J.D.; Fleming, P.J.S.; van de Ven, R. 2002. The impact of rabbits on a grazing system in eastern New South Wales. 1. Ground cover and pastures. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 49: 909-916.
• Cunningham, G.M. 1975. Modified step-pointing - a rapid method of assessing vegetative cover. Journal of the Soil Conservation Service of New South Wales 31: 256-265.
• Department of the Environment and Heritage. 2003. Draft threat abatement plan for predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs. Department of the Environment and Heritage, Canberra.
• Dickman, C.R. 1996. Overview of the impacts of feral cats on Australian native fauna. Unpublished Report to the Australian Nature Conservation Agency.
• Environment Australia. 1999a. Threat abatement plan for competition and land degradation by feral goats. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia, Canberra.
• Environment Australia. 1999b. Threat abatement plan for competition and land degradation by feral rabbits. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia, Canberra.
• Environment Australia. 1999c. Threat abatement plan for predation by the European red fox. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia, Canberra.
• Environment Australia. 1999d. Threat abatement plan for predation by feral cats. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia, Canberra.
• Fleming, P.; Corbett, L.; Harden, R.; Thomson, P. 2001. Managing the Impacts of Dingoes and Other Wild Dogs. Bureau of Rural Sciences, Canberra.
• Foran, D.D.; Low, W.A.; Strong, B.W. 1985. The response of rabbit populations and vegetation to rabbit control on a calcareous shrubby grassland in central Australia. Australian Wildlife Research 12: 237-247.
• Forsyth, D.M.; Parkes, J.P. 2004. Maximising the conservation benefits of the commercial goat industry in Australia. Unpublished final report for the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage. 79 p.
• Friedel, M.H. 1985. The population structure and density of Central Australian trees and shrubs, and relationships to range condition, rabbit abundance and soil. Australian Rangeland Research 7: 130-139.
• Friend, J.A.; Scanlon, M.D. 1996. Assessment of the effect of fox control on populations of the red-tailed phascogale. Phase 4: final report. ANCA Feral Pests Program Project 18. Department of Conservation and Land Management, Western Australia.
• Friend, J.A.; Thomas, N.D. 2003. Conservation of the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus). Pp. 452-463 in: M. Jones, C. Dickman and M. Archer (Eds.), Predators with Pouches: The Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood.
• Gooding, C.D. 1955. Rabbit damage to pasture. Journal Agriculture of Western Australia 4: 753-755.
• Grice, A.C.; Barchia, I. 1992. Does grazing reduce survival of indigenous perennial grasses of semiarid woodlands of western New South Wales? Australian Journal of Ecology 17: 195-205.
• Henzell, R.P. 1991. Rabbits, feral goats, mulga, and rangeland stability. Australian Vertebrate Pest Control Conference 9: 18-21.
• Hone, J. 1988. Feral pig rooting in a mountain forest and woodland: distribution, abundance and relationships with environmental variables. Australian Journal of Ecology 13: 393-400.
• Hone, J. 1994. Analysis of vertebrate pest control. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• Hone, J. 1999. Fox control and rock-wallaby population dynamics - assumptions and hypotheses. Wildlife Research 26: 671-673.
• Hone, J. 2002. Feral pigs in Namadgi National Park, Australia: dynamics, impacts and management. Biological Conservation 105: 231-242.
• Ireland, C.; Andrew, M.H. 1992. A model of recruitment in the Western myall (Acacia papyrocarpa Bent): the importance of co-occurring episodic events In: Working papers of the 7th biennial conference of the Australian Rangeland Society, Cobar. October 1992. Pp. 241-242.
• Johnson, E.R.L.; Baird, A.W. 1970. Notes on the flora and vegetation of the Nullarbor Plain at Forrest, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 53: 46-61.
• Kinnear, J.E., Onus, M.L., Sumner, N.R. 1998. Fox control and rock-wallaby population dynamics - II. An update. Wildlife Research 25: 81-88.
• Lange, R.T.; Graham, C.R. 1983. Rabbits and the failure of regeneration in Australian arid zone Acacia. Australian Journal of Ecology 8: 377-381.
• Leigh, J.H.; Wimbush, D.J.; Wood, D.H.; Holgate, M.D., Slee, A.V.; Stanger, M.G.; Forrester, R.I. 1987. Effects of rabbit grazing and fire in a subalpine environment. I. Herbaceous and shrubby vegetation. Australian Journal of Botany 35: 433-464.
• Leigh, J.H.; Wood, D.H.; Holgate, M.D.; Slee, A.; Stanger M.G. 1989. Effects of rabbit and kangaroo grazing on two semi-arid grassland communities in central-western New South Wales. Australian Journal of Botany 37: 375-396.
• Long, K.; Robley, A. 2004. Cost effective feral animal exclusion fencing for areas of high conservation value in Australia. Report for The Department of the Environment and Heritage, Canberra, Australia. Pp. 54.
• Mannetje, L.; Haydock, K.P. 1963. The dry-weight-rank method for the botanical analysis of pastures. Journal of British Grassland Society 18: 268-275.
• Mead, R. 1988. The design of experiments. Statistical principles for practical application. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• Mitchell, J. 1997. Diggings by feral pigs within the wet tropics WHA of north Queensland. Wildlife Research 24: 591-601.
• Molsher, R. 1999. The ecology of feral cats, Felis catus, in open forest in New South Wales: Interactions with food resources and foxes. Ph.D. Thesis, university of Sydney, New South Wales.
• Morris, A.; Johnson, B.; Orell, P.; Gaikhorst, G.; Wayne, A.; Moro, D. 2003. Recovery of the threatened chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii). Pp. 435-451 In: M. Jones, C. Dickman and M. Archer (Eds.), Predators with Pouches: The Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood.
• Mutze, G.; Linton, V.; Greenfield, B. 1998. The impact of rabbit calicivirus disease on the flora and fauna of the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. Proceedings 11th Australian Vertebrate Pest Control Conference, Bunbury, Agriculture Western Australia, Western Australia. Pp 153-157.
• Myers, K.; Poole, W.E. 1963. A study of the biology of the wild rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.) in confined populations. IV. The effects of rabbit grazing on sown pastures. Journal of Ecology 51: 435-451.
• Myers, K.; Parer, I.; Wood, D.; Cooke, B.D. 1994. The rabbit in Australia In: (Thompson, H.V. and King, C.M. eds) The European rabbit: the history and biology of a successful colonizer. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Pp. 108-157.
• Newsome, A.E.; Parer, I.; Catling, P.C. 1989. Prolonged prey suppression by carnivores-predator removal experiments. Oecologia 78: 458-467.
• NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service 2001. Threat abatement plan for predation by the red fox (Vulpes vulpes). NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Hurstville.
• Osenberg, C.W.; Sarnelle, O.; Cooper, S.D.; Holt, R.D. 1999. Resolving ecological questions through meta-analysis: goals, metrics, and models. Ecology 80: 1105-1117.
• Pople, A.R.; Clancy, T.F.; Thompson, J.A.; Boyd-Law, S. 1998. Aerial survey methodology and the cost of control for feral goats in Western Queensland. Wildlife Research 25: 393-407.
• Parkes, J.; Henzell, R.; Pickles, G. 1996. Managing Vertebrate Pests: Feral Goats. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
• Reddiex, B., Forsyth, D.M., McDonald-Madden, E., Einoder, L.D., Griffioen, P. A., Chick, R.R., and Robley, A.J. 2004. Review of existing red fox, wild dog, feral cat, rabbit, feral pig and feral goat control in Australia. I. Audit. Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne. Pp. 86.
• Robley, A.; Reddiex, B.; Arthur, T.; Pech, R.; Forsyth, D. 2004. Interactions between feral cats, foxes, native carnivores, and feral rabbits in Australia. Unpublished final report for the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage. Pp. 75.
• Robley, A.; Short, J.; Bradley, S. 2002. Do European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) influence the population ecology of the burrowing bettong (Bettongia lesueur)? Wildlife Research 29: 423-429.
• Roughton, R.; Sweeny, M. 1982. Refinements in scent station methodology for assessing trends in carnivore populations. Journal of Wildlife Management 46: 217-229.
• Sandell, P.R. 2002. Implications of rabbit haemorrhagic disease for the short-term recovery of semi-arid woodland communities in north-west Victoria. Wildlife Research 29: 591-598.
• Sandell, P.R.; Start, A.N. 1999. Rabbit calicivirus disease program report 4: Implications for biodiversity in Australia. A report of research conducted by participants of the Rabbit Calicivirus Disease Monitoring and Surveillance Program and Epidemiology Research Program. Prepared for the RCD Management Group. Bureau of Rural Sciences, Canberra.
• Saunders, G.; Coman, B.; Kinnear, J.; Braysher, M. 1995. Managing Vertebrate Pests: Foxes. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
• Twigg, L.E.; Lowe, T.J.; Martin, G.R.; Wheeler, A.G.; Gray, G.S.; Griffin, S.L.; O'Reilly, C.M.; Robinson, D.J.; Hubach, P.H. 2000. Effects of surgically imposed sterility on free-ranging rabbit populations. Journal of Applied Ecology 37: 16-39.
• West, P.; Saunders, G. 2003. Pest animal survey 2002: an analysis of pest animal distribution and abundance across NSW and the ACT. Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, New South Wales Agriculture, Orange.
• White, G. C.; Anderson, D. R.; Burnham, K. P.; Otis. D. L. 1982. Capture-recapture and removal methods for sampling closed populations. Los Alamos National Laboratory Report LA-8787-NERP, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA. Pp. 235.
• Williams, K.; Parer, I.; Coman, B.; Burley, J.; Braysher, M. 1995. Managing Vertebrate Pests: Rabbits. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
• Wood, D.H.; Leigh, J.H.; Foran, B.D. 1987.The ecological and production costs of rabbit grazing. Working papers of the 8th Australian Vertebrate Pest Conference, Coolangatta, May 1987. Pp. 18-27.

• Contents
• Previous