Download - RSPCA Victoria

Restoring the Balance
- managing wildlife in modified
ecosystems
Wild about Welfare
RSPCA seminar 22 March 2016
Managing parks and reserves
Parks and reserves
• Parks Victoria manages 2988 parks across 4.1 million hectares (18% of
Victoria)
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139 areas managed under the National Parks Act covering 3.45 million
hectares (84% of total area)
• Of the 1405 native species of fauna that have been recorded in
Victoria, 1,102 (78%) are recorded in Victoria’s parks network
• Of the 306 listed rare and threatened fauna species that have been
recorded in Victoria, 277 (91%) are recorded in Victoria's parks
network
• Of the 1857 listed rare and threatened flora species recorded in
Victoria, 646 (90%) are recorded in Victoria’s parks network
Conservation planning
Structured process for planning using international standard:
• identifying the key ecological assets in a landscape
• determining their current and desired condition
• assessing threats
• developing and prioritising actions to address the threats.
• Monitoring and evaluation are incorporated to enable
effectiveness of management actions to be measured and
to adapt management based on learnings.
Managing threats
• Effort is directed to minimise threatening processes that
are having the greatest impact on the most significant
conservation values
• These threats include:
‒ weeds (competition, displacement)
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pest animals (predation, competition, overgrazing/browsing)
non-compliance from illegal activities
inappropriate fire frequency and intensity
inappropriate watering regimes
visitor impacts
over-grazing or browsing from overabundant native fauna
Native animals – Overabundance problems
• Populations may increase until there
are insufficient food resources
• Leads to mortality
‒ from starvation, often associated
with extremes of climate (winter
cold or summer vegetation die-off )
‒ disease spread through
congregation and faecal matter
• Degradation of habitats through:
‒ overgrazing/browsing , trampling
‒ competition or displacement,
• Impacts on agricultural or cultural
assets, or human health and safety
Overabundant native animals - causes
• Native wildlife populations become overabundant due to
environmental factors
‒ legacy of previous land uses (eg vegetation clearance)
‒ fragmentation of habitat (may limit ranging behaviour)
‒ increased food and water availability (eg from agricultural
improvements)
‒ absence of natural regulation of populations by predators
(human, dingo)
• Compounding factors
‒ park ecosystems are in long term recovery from previous land
uses
‒ climate change is increasing the impact of other threats
Parks Victoria intervenes only
when wildlife populations are:
• suffering as a result of confinement or habitat loss
• threatening the survival of rare or threatened species or
communities;
• a major contributor to serious environmental damage or
long-term degradation of habitat;
• a major factor preventing habitat recovery
• impacting on agricultural values, and support is required for
the management of wildlife populations occurring across
land tenure
Interventions
• Management options include:
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deterrents
exclusion
translocation
fertility control
lethal control
• Options are assessed according to effects on:
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welfare of treated animals
welfare of untreated animals
habitat degradation
other significant flora or fauna values
human health
feasibility
Interventions
• Intervention undertaken using standards:
‒ formal code of practice (ie for humane shooting of kangaroos)
‒ methods developed during research trials
‒ methods developed with guidance from welfare and species
experts
‒ for performance
• Species subject to management include:
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koala
macropods
birds (galah, miner)
long spined sea urchin
Planning and implementation
Problem identification
Monitoring, evaluation and
review
Technical assessment (survey) of
population size & habitat impacts
Implementation (to specified
standards)
Assessment of management
alternatives
Stakeholder engagement
Oversight of, and advice on
assessments by Kangaroo
Technical Advisory Committee
Submission of plan to DELWP
Overabundant native species
across parks network
Case Study – Mount Eccles koalas
Annual program for the in-situ contraception of koalas:
• To improve ecosystem health of the 6000 hectares of Coastal Manna
Gum Woodland in the Mount Eccles National Park
• To maintain a sustainable and healthy koala population
Project history:
• Commenced 1998 (following crashes at Framlingham Forest, Snake Island
and Westernport)
• Population surveys and tree condition assessment
• Commenced large scale translocation program (with surgical sterilisation)
to sites assessed as suitable habitat
• Advice on management and monitoring design from koala experts (Koala
Technical Advisory Committee)
• Program overseen by vets
Mount Eccles koalas - outcomes
• Monitoring showed unacceptable rates of mortality for surgically
sterilised and translocated animals, and that health and survival
outcomes were dependent on habitat quality
• Translocation program was ceased
• Contraceptive implant program developed and trialled
• Since 2004, 4613 female koalas have been implanted
• Captured koalas health assessed by vets
• Monitor any injuries sustained as part of capture and data used to help
train staff and respond appropriately to koala behaviour
• Tree condition stabilised: tree mortality and canopy decline stabilised
• Population stabilised, but have not reached density targets, that would
ensure sustainable and ongoing koala health.
• Program reviewed annually by expert committee
Koala population trend 1997 - 2015
Tree health
• 2014 assessment shows Manna Gum condition continues to be
generally poor.
• 30% of trees assessed (n.959) were dead or dying.
• Defoliation levels of greater than 50% occurred in 62% of trees
assessed.
• Despite this, overall tree condition has improved since the 2012
study.
• Mean foliage cover has increased from 20.4% in 2012 to 23.6% in
2014
• canopy area has increased from 25.9 m² to 47.9 m²
• leaf area / ha has increased from 1,079 to 1,979 m²/ha
Case Study – Mallee parks
Western Grey and Red Kangaroo population management:
• To improve ecosystem health of the 170,000 hectares of threatened and
grazing sensitive communities (semi-arid woodland and floodplain
vegetation communities)
• To maintain healthy and ecologically sustainable kangaroo population levels
that are not subject to boom-bust cycles
(kangaroo management is a component of a total grazing management plan,
also dealing with rabbits and goats)
Project history:
• History of boom-bust kangaroo population cycles monitored since the
1970’s.
• Impacts of high kangaroo population densities occur even when rabbits
densities are held low
• Target population density set to allow sufficient grassy biomass to persist,
and so that tree seedlings are not browsed
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Density Estime (kangaroos/km²)
Western grey kangaroo population density –
Wyperfeld NP 1972-2014
50
45
40
Kangaroo
management
commences
35
30
25
20
15
10
Central Wyperfeld
Pine Plains
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Mallee parks - outcomes
• Ground shooting assessed to be only feasible and humane method
• Commenced 1990 in Hattah-Kulkyne, 1998 in Wyperfeld, and 2001 in
Murray-Sunset
• Employ shooters that are tested to comply with accuracy standards
• PV authorised officers accompany shooters and control shooting
• Protocols to minimise the risk of orphaning joeys
• Data collected on accuracy, age class and sex
• Program reviewed annually by expert committee
• Open houses held with public to discuss restoration goals and actions
Results
• Surface erosion has been stabilised, cover of perennial grasses has improved
and there are some signs of natural recovery are now being seen in the
recruitment of the key woody species
Conclusion
• In some ecosystems, subject to a number of stresses that
cannot be directly addressed, the direct and ongoing
management of wildlife populations is unavoidable
• In these situations management involves difficult trade-offs
between the different values we are entrusted to protect
• We engage with experts to help make decisions about what
to do, and how best to do it
• We collect data that will help us evaluate our approach and
are willing to improve our methods based on evidence