New research a game changer for fox control
Wed, 03 Apr 2019Red foxes are one of the greatest threats to Australia’s native mammals and pose a major risk to livestock. To combat this, Australia spends more than
$16 million per year on red fox control, with much of that money directed to poison baiting.
But recent research by the University of Melbourne led by Dr Bronwyn Hradsky has found that when control programs aren’t strategic, fox numbers can
quickly recover.
“The point of controlling foxes for conservation is not to kill foxes but to protect our native wildlife, so fox control programs need to be as strategic, effective and efficient as possible.
“To achieve this, land managers need tools to help them understand how fox populations grow and behave and how they can best manage these populations.
CEC Ecologist Mark Le Pla handling a southern brown bandicoot. Image: Lauren Halstead
"Protecting native wildlife from foxes in places like the Great Otway National Park is a major priority for Parks Victoria,” said Dr John Wright, the Manager of Terrestrial Ecosystem Science at Parks Victoria.
Contact Jaana Dielenberg, Science Communication Manager, TSR Hub, 0413 585 709, j.dielenberg@uq.edu.au
Top image: Fox in the Otways. Image: Mark Le Pla
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Solutions to northern Australia’s mammal decline crisis
Wed, 29 Jul 2020Northern Australia’s mammals have suffered catastrophic declines over the last 30 years. A major new study has found that protecting and recovering habitat by improving fire management and reducing feral cattle, horses and buffaloes is the best approach to address the crisis.
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From the ashes: The 2019–20 wildfires and biodiversity loss and recovery
Tue, 28 Jul 2020Fire is a complex, important and pervasive ingredient in the ecology of Australia. It destroys life but brings renewal. Professor John Woinarski of Charles Darwin University discusses the catastrophic losses of the 2019–20 fires, and how we can move on from mourning to action that can limit such future devastation.
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Clare Crane: Where farming meets conservation
Tue, 30 Jun 2020Clare is a Biodiversity Field Officer with the Australian National University’s Sustainable Farms project. She tells us how she came to this role after an early life on farms in the UK, some bullet-dodging and globe-trotting.
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Ecosystem accounting in agricultural landscapes
Tue, 30 Jun 2020The box gum grassy woodlands once stretched across south-eastern Australia, but have been reduced to less than 5% of their former extent. Holly Vuong speaks with Ann Kristin Raymer and Heather Keith of The Australian National University (ANU) about their new research, part of ANU’s Sustainable Farms, on developing ecosystem accounts for the woodlands to understand why this threatened ecological community is so valuable.
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FoxNet: A game changer for fox control
Tue, 30 Jun 2020To help land managers get the best outcomes from their fox control investments, a collaborative project funded by the Threatened Species Recovery Hub and Victorian government agencies has developed a new fox population modelling tool. Dr Bronwyn Hradsky of The University of Melbourne led the project and is now working with agencies to apply the tool across Victoria. Here we discuss FoxNet and its applications.
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