bilby monitoring from horsebacklibrary.dbca.wa.gov.au/static/fulltextfiles/c19898.pdf · photo:...
TRANSCRIPT
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Neil Burrows Science Division
Bilby monitoring from horseback
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2007-2010
128 bilbies re-introduced to Lorna Glen
Success criteria:
• Survival (>60%)
• Condition (weight)
• Breeding
• Dispersal
• Population growth (>200 by August 2010)
Photo: Judy Dunlop
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Trends in feral cat track activity index (TAI) at Lorna Glen 2003-2013
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
PreAut0
3
PosW
03Spr0
4
PreW05
Spr05
Win0
6
Sum07
Spr07
Aut08
Spr08
Win0
9Spr1
0
PosSp
r11
PreW12
PreW13
Time(season/year)
TA
I
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Post-release monitoring
Radio tracking Trapping Scats, digs, burrows
Photos: L.Pertuisel
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Bilby monitoring challenges Wide dispersal
over a large area Low densities,
often solitary Limited RT life Limited resources Limited access Tried ATVs,
walking - issues
Photo: Judy Dunlop
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March 2011 trial Outcomes:
Endurance Cover ground Ultimate ‘ATV’ Safe Don’t have to be
‘driven’ Good observation
platform ‘Soft’ on country Volunteers
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3 teams of 2 riders Training, safety, weeds 4 x 9,000 ha sample
‘cells’ 6 line transects ~10
km long X ~1.4 km apart
Visual observation width 60 m per team
Photographs GPSd observations 1 cell per day (~6.5
hrs) ~384 ha visually
inspected per day
May 2012: large-scale survey
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Bilby burrows (‘old’-before rain, ‘fresh’ –after rain)
Bilby digs, scats, tracks Cat, dog, echidna tracks
Key observations
0
5
10
15
20
C/Creek Spinifex Desert Bucktin
Survey cell
No
. bilb
y ac
tivi
ty
BBRU BBNRU BD BT
BBRU = burrow recently used (since rain) BBNRU = burrow not recently used (since rain) BD = bilby digging recent BT = bilby tracks recent.
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Some results 74 bilby burrows 38% fresh, 62% ‘old’ One bilby burrow per
~21.3 ha, or 1,690 burrows in 36,000 ha
Patchy distribution Diverse landsystems
had higher number of burrows
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Estimates of bilby population
Assume 5 burrows per bilby: All burrows = 338 bilbies ‘Fresh’ burrows = 128
bilbies
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
C/Creek Spinifex Desert Bucktin TOTAL
Survey cell
Estd
. n
o.
bil
bie
s
Recent All
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Key issues Key issues: Reliability and
consistency of observers
‘Fresh’ vs ‘old’? Relationship
between burrows and bilbies?
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Next survey May 2014
Cheers!