Land Manager Perspectives on Conflict Mitigation Strategies for Urban Flying-Fox Camps

Currey, Kaye; Kendal, Dave; Ree, Rodney van der; Lentini, Pia E.

doi:10.3390/d10020039

Cited by 25 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Flying fox’s ( P. giganteus ) foraging activities can damage a wide variety of fruit crops, often causing considerable economic losses, which exacerbates conflicts (Aziz et al 2017). The noise and smell from bat colonies, as well as concerns about disease transmission (e.g., Nipah virus), often result in conflicts with humans (Currey et al 2018). These human–wildlife conflicts may shape the distribution of flying fox populations in urban and rural areas (Aziz et al 2017, Currey et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An assessment of the niche centroid hypothesis: Pteropus lylei (Chiroptera)

et al. 2020

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Recent ecological theories propose that species reach their highest abundance and genetic diversity in the center of their ecological niche and decline toward the edges. We assessed whether Lyle's flying fox, Pteropus lylei, abundance and genetic diversity were correlated with niche centroid distance using an ecological niche model as a proxy for fundamental niche (N F ). Alternatively, we assessed whether P. lylei abundance and genetic diversity were correlated with fine-scale environmental factors as a proxy of the species' realized niche (N R ). We examined relationships between abundance and environmental factors at coarse and fine scales as proxies of N F and N R , respectively. For coarse scale, ecological niche of P. lylei was modeled using all available occurrence records in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, coupled with climatic data. We conducted field measurements of P. lylei abundance and used genetic structure data across a large portion of the species' range. We measured Euclidean distances between abundance and genetic data and the niche centroid in environmental dimensions. Spearman's correlation was estimated between abundance and genetic diversity vs. distance to the niche centroid. Complementarily, for the fine-scale test, we measured multiple regression models between abundance and genetic diversity versus the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), local temperature, percent area of waterbodies, human density, and number of Buddhist temples. We failed to detect relationships between abundance and genetic diversity with the distance to the niche centroid in the coarse-scale model. When using the fine-scale, landscape-level data, we found negative correlation between genetic diversity and number of temples. The data available were unable to support niche centroid hypothesis for the current distribution and abundances of P. lylei. We note that our failure to find an association does not support nor reject the niche centroid hypothesis. Instead, our capacity to test the niche centroid hypothesis may be limited by our ability to use empirical data to accurately reconstruct N F from field observations only. Future research may require physiology-based experimental approaches to explore relationships between species abundances and the niche structure.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The noise and smell from bat colonies, as well as concerns about disease transmission (e.g., Nipah virus), often result in conflicts with humans (Currey et al 2018). These human–wildlife conflicts may shape the distribution of flying fox populations in urban and rural areas (Aziz et al 2017, Currey et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An assessment of the niche centroid hypothesis: Pteropus lylei (Chiroptera)

et al. 2020

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“…Hall 2002;Roberts 2006;Kung et al 2015). The management of these issues requires councils to find a balance between legal obligations, conservation of a threatened species and the needs of the community (Thiriet 2010;Holmes and Walker 2011;Currey et al 2018). This task is made more difficult by the inherent complexities and uncertainties involved, which are influenced by a range of biological, social, political and financial factors.…”

Section: Reflections On the Management Of The Kareela Flying-fox Campmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Flying-foxes hold pest status among farmers and backyard fruit growers McClelland et al 2011), while the amenity values of urban communities are often incompatible with the presence of flying-fox camps (Roberts et al 2011). Residents and businesses may be negatively affected by the noise and smell generated by these camps, as well as the faeces and urine deposited by flying-foxes moving overhead (Currey et al 2018). These impacts are also compounded by fears of disease (Field 2018) and the emotions triggered by the sight of large congregations of flying-foxes based on complaints received by local councils (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From cleared buffers to camp dispersal: mitigating impacts of the Kareela flying-fox camp on adjacent residents and schools

Roache

Williams

et al. 2020

Australian Zoologist

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The management of the Kareela flying-fox camp in southern Sydney, New South Wales, is a case study of the challenges faced by local councils trying to mitigate negative impacts from flying-foxes on their communities. When flying-foxes were discovered roosting in Kareela in February 2008, local residents and schools complained to the public land manager, Sutherland Shire Council. Concerns were mainly about the impacts of flying-fox faeces, noise and odour, and fear of disease. Initially, branches overhanging affected properties were removed to mitigate the issue. Ongoing impacts prompted council to clear vegetation from the fringes of the camp, creating a buffer area. These buffers provided physical separation but reportedly caused noise impacts to intensify during peak influxes of flying-foxes when animals appeared to be unsettled from being concentrated into a smaller area of roosting habitat. Camp dispersal was advocated by some stakeholders seeking swift resolution. Others rejected the idea, considering the high cost and poor success rate of camp dispersal attempts elsewhere. Subsequently, several key stakeholders including direct neighbours of the camp renounced their support for camp dispersal. Council proceeded with camp dispersal, which only achieved a temporary absence of flying-foxes from Kareela. During this time, a new flying-fox camp formed 3.5 km away. Flying-foxes subsequently returned to the Kareela camp 15 months after the initial dispersal. This case study demonstrates the many interacting factors involved in managing flying-fox camps that have impacts on human settlements. Moreover, the Kareela case study adds to the list of flying-fox dispersal attempts in eastern Australia that have been ineffective in permanently removing flying-foxes from a camp. The case study also highlights the importance of understanding the social and political context of flying-fox camp management, in addition to flying-fox ecology.

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“…Community-driven and unregulated culling and roost dispersal were the primary modes for managing conflict with flying-fox populations [36]. Despite the introduction and enforcement of protective legislation, current land management strategies for flying-foxes still focus on removing resources to deter the establishment of roosts near human settlements [37]. Experience has shown that relocating flying-fox camps is expensive and almost always fails in the longer term [11, 38].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing the risk of Hendra virus spillover in Australia using ecological approaches: A report on three community juries

et al. 2018

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BackgroundHendra virus (HeV) infection is endemic in Australian flying-fox populations. Habitat loss has increased the peri-urban presence of flying-foxes, increasing the risk of contact and therefore viral ‘spillovers’ into horse and human populations. An equine vaccine is available and horse-husbandry practices that minimize HeV exposure are encouraged, but their adoption is suboptimal. Ecological approaches–such as habitat creation and conservation–could complement vaccination and behavioural strategies by reducing spillover risks, but these are controversial.MethodsWe convened three community juries (two regional; one metropolitan) to elicit the views of well-informed citizens on the acceptability of adding ecological approaches to current interventions for HeV risk. Thirty-one participants of diverse backgrounds, mixed genders and ages were recruited using random-digit-dialling. Each jury was presented with balanced factual evidence, given time to ask questions of expert presenters and, after deliberation, come to well-reasoned conclusions.ResultsAll juries voted unanimously that ecological strategies should be included in HeV risk management strategies but concluded that current interventions–including vaccination and changing horse-husbandry practices–must remain the priority. The key reasons given for adopting ecological approaches were: (i) they address underlying drivers of disease emergence, (ii) the potential to prevent spillover of other bat-borne pathogens, and (iii) there would be broader community benefits. Juries differed regarding the best mechanism to create/conserve flying-fox habitat: participants in regional centres favoured direct government action, whereas the metropolitan jury preferred to place the burden on landholders.ConclusionsInformed citizens acknowledge the value of addressing the drivers of bat-borne infectious risks but differ substantially as to the best implementation strategies. Ecological approaches to securing bat habitat could find broad social support in Australia, but disagreement about how best to achieve them indicates the need for negotiation with affected communities to co-develop fair, effective and locally appropriate policies.

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Land Manager Perspectives on Conflict Mitigation Strategies for Urban Flying-Fox Camps

Cited by 25 publications

References 38 publications

An assessment of the niche centroid hypothesis: Pteropus lylei (Chiroptera)

An assessment of the niche centroid hypothesis: Pteropus lylei (Chiroptera)

From cleared buffers to camp dispersal: mitigating impacts of the Kareela flying-fox camp on adjacent residents and schools

Managing the risk of Hendra virus spillover in Australia using ecological approaches: A report on three community juries

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