Characteristics of Australia's rangelands and key design issues for monitoring biodiversity

Smyth, Anita K.; James, Craig D.

doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.2004.01360.x

Cited by 34 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Rangelands occupy 70% or 6 million km 2 of the Australian continent (Smyth and James 2004). The study area extended over 0.5 million km 2 of the Australian rangelands (8%) in eastern Australia, covering portions of southwestern Queensland and north western New South Wales (Fig.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Feral pig population structuring in the rangelands of eastern Australia: applications for designing adaptive management units

et al. 2007

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Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are an invasive species in Australia. Their negative impact on conservation values has been demonstrated, and they are controlled in many areas in the rangelands of Australia. However, they are usually controlled over small, often ad hoc management units (MUs), and previous research has revealed that these MUs can be inadequate. Understanding feral pig population structuring can aid in the design of appropriate MUs. This study documents an approach to improving MUs for feral pig control in the rangelands of Australia. Feral pigs from a 500,000 km 2 region were genotyped with 13 polymorphic markers. Genetic analyses were used to identify population structure. Identified sub-populations were then related to geographical and environmental gradients with geographical information systems, regression analysis and with canonical correspondence analysis. Five sub-populations were identified. These were moderately differentiated, with relatively high-migration rates. Two sub-populations in drier, lower elevation areas overlapped, due to extensive migration, probably along the large, inland rivers and flood plains. Sub-populations in higher rainfall environments appeared less likely to migrate. Sub-population differentiation was also dependant on distance, indicating isolation by distance was present. A case study applying an adaptive MU to a previously controlled area is presented. Generally, however, MUs for feral pig control for natural resource protection and endemic disease eradication in the rangelands should take into account geographical size, but also geographic features, especially major rivers in low-rainfall areas.

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Feral pig population structuring in the rangelands of eastern Australia: applications for designing adaptive management units

et al. 2007

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“…Scoping a monitoring task should define which clients/ users require the monitoring program, what their purpose/needs for monitoring are, at what resolution of measurement and reporting scales the monitoring is required and over what time-frame the information is needed (Smyth and James 2004). If an inadequate balance is struck among the agreed purposes, sampling scheme, data collection and analytical steps, there is a high probability that little or no helpful data analysis or interpretation will be undertaken, despite the investment of substantial resources in data collection by the clients/ users (Wallace et al 2004;Watson and Novelly 2004).…”

Section: Scoping the Needs Of A Monitoring Programmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Importance of Stakeholder Engagement in Invasive Species Management: A Cross-jurisdictional Perspective in Ireland

et al. 2006

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The management of invasive non-native species is a frequent cause of conflict in the field of biodiversity conservation because perceptions of their costs and benefits differ among stakeholder groups. A lack of cohesion between scientific researchers, the commercial sector and policy makers lies at the root of a widespread failure to develop and implement sustainable management practices for invasive species. The crisis of this situation is intensified by drivers stemming from international conventions and directives to address invasive species issues. There are further direct conflicts between legislative instruments promoting biodiversity conservation on the one hand while liberalizing trade at the national, European and global level on the other. The island of Ireland provides graphic illustration of the importance of cross-jurisdictional approaches to biological invasions. Using primarily Irish examples in this review, we emphasize the importance of approaching risk assessment, risk reduction and control or eradication policies from a cost-efficient, highly flexible perspective, incorporating linkages between environmental, economic and social objectives. The need for consolidated policies between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is particularly acute, though few model cross-border mechanisms for such consolidation are available. The importance of engaging affected stakeholders through positive interactions is discussed with regard to reducing the currently fragmented nature of invasive species management between the two jurisdictions.

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“…The extensive semi-arid and arid landscapes of inland Australia are dominated by rangeland pastoralism (Smyth and James 2004), which has a negative impact on riparian and woodland habitats (Jansen and Robertson 2001;Martin and Possingham 2005;Martin and McIntyre 2007). Grazing modiWes the structure of the vegetation by reducing and sometimes eliminating the shrub layer and understory vegetation (Robertson and Rowling 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence and value of different water regimes on avian species richness in arid inland Australia

Schneider

Griesser

2008

Biodivers Conserv

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Riparian habitats in arid landscapes are recognised for their structurally diverse vegetation and diverse bird species assemblages. In the extensive semi-arid and arid centre of Australia, riparian woodland habitats are impacted by pastoral land-use which may negatively inXuence vegetation structure and avian species composition. However, pastoralism has promoted the establishment of artiWcial water bodies, so that additional riparian vegetation may occur in the landscape. In this study, we surveyed the importance of diVerent water regimes (i.e. artiWcial lakes, natural waterholes, desert sites) together with their associated vegetation on avian species richness in north-western New South Wales, Australia. Our results show that bird species richness was highest at water locations, in particular at artiWcial lakes. Avian species richness was negatively associated with distance to water bodies, both in desert vegetation types and in the riparian vegetation type along dry creeks. Moreover, riparian habitats supported larger avian assemblages and especially those of sedentary bird species compared to the surrounding shrub-steppe landscape. This indicates that artiWcial water bodies may be of signiWcance for arid zone bird species and might gain in importance with changing water availabilities due to climatic changes.

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Characteristics of Australia's rangelands and key design issues for monitoring biodiversity

Cited by 34 publications

References 33 publications

Feral pig population structuring in the rangelands of eastern Australia: applications for designing adaptive management units

Feral pig population structuring in the rangelands of eastern Australia: applications for designing adaptive management units

The Importance of Stakeholder Engagement in Invasive Species Management: A Cross-jurisdictional Perspective in Ireland

Influence and value of different water regimes on avian species richness in arid inland Australia

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