Herbivore management for biodiversity conservation: A case study of kangaroos in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

Abstract

Populations of macropods are higher than estimated pre‐European densities in many parts of Australia. To achieve appropriate densities of macropods in the Australian Capital Territory's nature reserves, multi‐tenure kangaroo management units are used to tailor management of kangaroos and total grazing pressure to achieve conservation objectives. An adaptive management framework is recommended that monitors the state of the ground‐layer vegetation and alters the cull accordingly. This case study may provide insights for kangaroo management in other temperate areas of Australia.

Drastic changes in ground-dwelling beetle communities following high-intensity deer culling: insights from an island ecosystem

“…The overabundance of large herbivore species is a global problem ( Côté et al 2004 , Gordon et al 2004 ), which can cause detrimental effects on ecosystems ( Barton et al 2011 , Gerhardt et al 2013 , Iida et al 2016 ). For example, in Japan, deer overabundance has resulted in the loss of understorey vegetation and associated wildlife, soil erosion, and hindrance to forest regeneration ( Côté et al 2004 ), while in Australia the overabundance of kangaroos has had detrimental effects on plant communities ( Gordon et al 2021 ). Overabundant species can alter landscapes by consuming vegetation and degrading plant communities by limiting regrowth and dispersal processes ( Côté et al 2004 , Velamazán et al 2017 ).…”

“…Culling and associated permitted hunting also provides economic benefits when culled species are removed from the environment and used for human or pet food for commercial gain ( Nugent and Choquenot 2004 ). Despite the often-negative perception of culling by the public ( Sharp et al 2011 ), research on the management practice has been shown to be ecologically effective and has been implemented globally, targeting a wide range of species such as deer ( Wäber et al 2013 ), boars ( Croft et al 2020 ), and kangaroos ( Gordon et al 2021 ).…”

Spatial ecology of invasive Bennett’s wallaby in South Island, New Zealand

“…Introduced and native wild mammalian herbivores can have significant unwanted impacts on native vegetation (Jaksic 1998;Côté et al 2004;Dolman and Wäber 2008) and primary production (Putman and Moore 1998;Hone 2007;Latham et al 2020a). Some species of macropods (wallabies and kangaroos) are included in this suite of pest herbivores, especially where they are overabundant, which includes parts of their native range in Australia (Arnold et al 1989;le Mar and McArthur 2001;Wiggins and Bowman 2011;Gordon et al 2021) and countries to which they have been introduced (Long 2003; . This has resulted in the need to manage pest macropods using lethal or non-lethal methods to mitigate the damage they cause (Warburton 1986;le Mar and McArthur 2001;Wiggins and Bowman 2011).…”

“…Some species of macropods (wallabies and kangaroos) are included in this suite of pest herbivores, especially where they are overabundant, which includes parts of their native range in Australia (Arnold et al . 1989; le Mar and McArthur 2001; Wiggins and Bowman 2011; Gordon et al . 2021) and countries to which they have been introduced (Long 2003; Latham and Warburton 2021).…”

Rapid increase in sensitive indicator plants concurrent with deer management in an oak forest landscape

“…clonal reproduction, culling, forage, herbivory, hunting, population reduction In many locations globally, increasing populations of mammalian herbivores pose challenges for contemporary wildlife management to balance herbivore abundance with conserving sensitive plants and other ecosystem values (Côté et al 2004, Laurent et al 2017, Nagy et al 2022. For example, increasing grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) populations in Australia corresponded with loss of conservation-priority native plants and altered population distribution of several species of birds, reptiles, and invertebrates (Gordon et al 2021). After forest disturbances in Japan, areas with abundant sika deer (Cervus nippon) developed depauperate understories containing poor-quality forage (Suzuki et al 2021).…”