Suchergebnisse

The removal of toes in unique combinations ('toe-clipping') has historically been the most popular technique for individually marking amphibians. However, recent studies have questioned the utility and ethics of this technique, and provided impetus for research on the efficacy of alternative methods. In this study, the efficacy of Visible Implant Alphanumeric (VIA) tags for marking juvenile growling grass frogs (Litoria raniformis) was assessed with reference to the fundamental assumptions of the mark–recapture approach. Three questions were investigated: (1) What is the probability of tag loss? (2) What is the probability of tag misidentification, and does it vary between frogs or observers, or with observer experience? and (3) To what extent does tagging influence survival or growth? Laboratory and field trials demonstrated that the probability of tag loss for juvenile L. raniformis was ~0.07 (95% CI: 0.03–0.13) when tags where implanted on the dorsolateral region of the thorax, eight times lower than that estimated for tags implanted on the thigh (mean 0.59; 95% CI: 0.29–0.86). Tags were rarely misidentified by naïve observers (mean probability of tag misidentification <0.01), but tag read accuracy varied amongst observers. In the laboratory, tagging did not adversely influence survival or growth of L. raniformis during the 12-week study period. Given that modification of the techniques used here may eliminate tag loss, and that variation in tag read accuracy between observers may be easily avoided, it is concluded that VIA tags represent a promising alternative to toe-clipping for marking L. raniformis and other amphibians.

Assessment of the efficacy of survey techniques for determining species occurrence is crucial for the validation of wildlife survey data. We analysed repeated site-survey data for adults and larvae of the growling grass frog (Litoria raniformis) in order to estimate probabilities of detection for the species using alternative survey techniques. The estimated probability of detecting adults of L. raniformis at occupied sites using diurnal searches was much less than 1.0 (0.107; 95% credible interval: 0.045, 0.192). The estimated probability of detecting adults using nocturnal spotlight searches was considerably higher, but still less than 1.0 (0.696; 95% credible interval: 0.585, 0.796). These results indicate that nocturnal searches are a much more efficient and reliable means of detecting the presence of adult L. raniformis than diurnal searches, but detection using either technique is less than certain. The probability of detecting tadpoles of L. raniformis using either funnel-trapping or dip-netting techniques was estimated at 0.350 (95% credible interval: 0.151, 0.567). Together, these results indicate that reliance on single-site visits during surveys for this species is likely to result in severe under-estimation of the proportion of sites that are actually occupied. We urge other workers to use repeated site-survey data and appropriate methods of data analysis to assess and report probabilities of detection when documenting the results of wildlife surveys.

The principal method for estimating the abundance of bats in roosts is to count the number of bats exiting the roost at dusk ('flyout counts'). We hypothesised that the accuracy and precision of flyout counts decrease non-linearly as the number of bats moving per unit of time increases, and that accuracy increases with observer experience. To test these hypotheses, we filmed grey-headed flying-foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) exiting a roost in Melbourne on three consecutive evenings. The film was slowed and the number of flying-foxes flying-out in 30-s intervals was counted and assumed to be the true abundance. Thirteen other observers independently counted the number of flying-foxes flying-out in real time. We formulated our hypotheses into candidate models and compared support for these models using information-theoretic methods. Non-linear models had much greater support than linear models for all three flyouts. There was undercounting in two flyouts and overcounting in the third. There was good support for an effect of observer experience in one of the flyouts, but less support in the others. Precision declined as the true abundance increased in all three flyout counts. Our results indicate that accuracy, precision and observer effects vary with the dynamics of each flyout, and suggest that under some conditions flyout counts will often provide both inaccurate and imprecise estimates of abundance.

Context. Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are major pests in the semiarid grasslands of eastern South Island. As the benefits of a viral biological control agent (rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus) introduced in 1997 begin to wane, landowners are again faced with the costs of controlling rabbits.
Aim. The study aimed to measure the extent of vegetation growth as rabbit and sheep densities changed to enable land managers to better justify decisions on pest and stock management.
Methods. We investigated the relationship between seasonal growth of vegetation at two replicate sites within each of three rabbit-prone areas in Otago. At these sites, the ambient densities of lagomorphs varied naturally and in response to pest-control operations, whereas the density of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) varied according to the farmers' husbandry needs. The vegetation was highly degraded at one of the areas studied. Rabbits were present at all three sites and hares (Lepus europaeus) at two sites. At each site, we established exclosures that excluded either all herbivores or just sheep. The observed rates of vegetation growth were modelled as a function of prevailing herbivore densities, season and site. The fitted model was used to infer expected rates of change in vegetation biomass at the sites, under varying sheep and lagomorph density indices, and seasons.
Key results. In the absence of herbivores, vegetation was predicted to grow in all seasons apart from winter at the degraded sites. In the absence of sheep but in the presence of up to ~10 lagomorphs seen per kilometre of spotlight transect, accumulation of vegetation biomass follows the same seasonal pattern as in the absence of herbivores. As lagomorph counts reach 50 per kilometre, vegetation biomass accumulates only in spring and summer and only at the least degraded sites. The maximum stocking rates for sheep for which positive biomass accumulation could be maintained under varying lagomorph densities was predicted from the model.
Conclusions. At the least degraded sites some sheep could be grazed while maintaining positive pasture growth, even at high rabbit densities, except in winter if rabbit-density indices exceeded ~30 per kilometre. At the most degraded sites, a very low density of sheep could be maintained, but only in spring and only if lagomorph density indices were below ~10 per kilometre.

Combining abundance data collected in designed field surveys with biophysical data derived from geographic information systems is a powerful way to investigate predictors of spatial variation in the abundance of wildlife. We used such an approach to evaluate hypotheses about factors influencing the abundance of sambar deer (Cervus unicolour Kerr, 1792), a large non-native herbivore, in south-eastern Australia. We developed a spatial model for the abundance of sambar deer faecal pellets in a 3650-ha area in the Upper Yarra Ranges, Victoria. We counted the number of sambar deer faecal pellets along 100 randomly located transects and used a geographic information system to estimate biophysical variables around each transect. We formulated our hypotheses about how those variables might affect the abundance of sambar deer pellets into 22 candidate models and used the deviance information criterion to identify the 'best' model(s). Because five models had strong support we used model averaging to generate a predictive model. The three variables included in the predictive model were aspect (abundance of pellets declined with increasing 'northerliness' and increased with increasing 'easterliness'), distance to water and elevation; the latter two variables were positively correlated and had a negative effect on the abundance of pellets. In contrast to previous models of sambar deer abundance in south-eastern Australia, our spatial predictions of the abundance of faecal pellets can be easily tested and updated. Our approach would be useful for modelling the abundances of other wildlife species at a range of spatial scales.

Context
Because they are dependent on water, drought can have a deleterious impact on aquatic-breeding amphibians. One such species, the threatened growling grass frog (Litoria raniformis) occurs in south-eastern Australia, a region that has recently emerged from a decade-long, severe drought.

Aims
We aimed to identify features of drought refugia that facilitate persistence of L. raniformis, so as to provide guidance to natural-resource managers attempting to conserve populations of this species during drought.

Methods
We conducted repeat surveys for L. raniformis at 90 water bodies at the end of the 'millennium drought'. We recorded the following six environmental variables for each water body: origin (natural or not), type (lotic or lentic), proportion of aquatic vegetation cover, conductivity of water, riparian tree-canopy cover and distance to the nearest woodland. We used occupancy models to relate the presence of L. raniformis to these variables, while accounting for uncertain detection.

Key results
Water-body type (natural or artificial, lentic or lotic) had minimal influence on the probability of occupancy by L. raniformis. We found a strong negative relationship between occupancy and conductivity of water (a surrogate for salinity), and a positive relationship between occupancy and the proportion of aquatic vegetation. We found a negative relationship between detection and the extent of aquatic vegetation, and a mildly negative effect of canopy cover on occupancy.

Conclusions
Habitat characteristics are more important indicators of the quality of drought refugia for L. raniformis than is the type of water body per se. Consequently, we identified aquatic vegetation and salinity as important targets for management when planning the retention, creation or restoration of habitat to facilitate persistence of L. raniformis during drought.

Implications
Our results highlighted aquatic vegetation and water-quality parameters that are likely to facilitate the persistence of L. raniformis during drought. Assessing the effectiveness of our recommendations in an experimental framework would ensure that conservation management of this frog can be refined over time.

Abstract Context Determining population size or density is often fundamental for wildlife conservation. For nocturnal species, indices are commonly used in place of abundance estimates, with spotlighting indices (e.g. sighting rate per km) being prevalent. Distance sampling is a collection of techniques that provide estimates of wildlife abundance from line-transect data, by correcting raw counts for imperfect detection. These methods have rarely been used to assess the abundance of nocturnal arboreal mammals. Aims To develop and evaluate a method for estimating the abundance and density of nocturnal arboreal mammals using double-observer distance sampling, and to apply the approach to a survey of the southern greater glider (Petauroides volans) in the Strathbogie Ranges, Victoria, Australia. Methods Two observers, 15–20 min apart, surveyed 25 randomly located 500 m transects, and recorded greater gliders using spotlights and binoculars. Densities and abundances were derived from the line-transect data by using mark–recapture distance sampling (MRDS) models and were compared with conventional distance sampling analysis (CDS). Key results Using the double-observer approach, we estimated an overall density of 0.96 gliders ha−1 (95% CI 0.60–1.50), giving a population estimate of 24 575 greater gliders across the Strathbogie Ranges (25 865 ha, 95% CI 15 620–38 661). The corresponding estimates for the study area derived using CDS applied to either both observers' observations or to the first observer's observations only, were 87% and 53% respectively, of the MRDS estimate. The analysis confirmed that the probability of detection of gliders along the transect line was less than one, justifying the use of the double-observer method to obtain accurate estimates of abundance. Conclusions The low detectability of greater gliders means that uncorrected spotlight counts will underestimate abundance, as will CDS. The double-observer method corrects for the negative bias associated with raw counts, enabling more accurate estimation of abundance for survey, monitoring and management purposes. Implications We recommend that double-observer distance sampling is adopted as a standard technique for estimating the abundance of greater gliders. The double-observer method potentially has wider relevance for assessing population size of other arboreal mammals, providing the assumptions of the approach can be met.