scholarly journals The Tankwa Karoo National Park feral goat population: A unique genetic resource

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Kotzé ◽  
JP Grobler ◽  
E Van Marle-Köster ◽  
T Jonker ◽  
DL Dalton
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Genetic Resource ◽  
Goat Population ◽  
Feral Goat

Encounters on the Frontier: Banteng in Australia’s Northern Territory

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa deKoninck
Keyword(s):  
Introduced Species ◽  
National Park ◽  
Genetic Resource ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Nonhuman Animal ◽  
The North ◽  
Bos Javanicus ◽  
Environmental Threat ◽  
Tropical Australia ◽  
Over Time

Abstract This paper considers the case of an introduced species that resides in what is now a jointly managed national park in the north of tropical Australia. Banteng (Bos javanicus) are a peculiar feral nonhuman animal in that they constitute a potential environmental threat within the domestic conservation goals of the park, but they also hold the prospect of being a major genetic resource in the international conservation of the species. Thus, perspectives on the use and management of these animals are varied between different actors in the park landscape, and are subject to fluctuations over time, especially in response to wider social and political circumstances. This paper argues that seemingly objective views of these animals are actually a series of subjectivities, which have less to do with any concrete aspects of the animals themselves and more to do with the way that particular people orient themselves toward, and within, the landscape.

An Evaluation of Feral Goat Control Methods on Currawinya National Park, South-Western Queensland.

1997 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 166 ◽  
Author(s):  
GP Edwards ◽  
TF Clancy ◽  
J Lee ◽  
J Mcdonnell
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Aerial Survey ◽  
Accurate Estimate ◽  
Control Methods ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Feral Animals ◽  
Initial Survey ◽  
Feral Goat

This study was designed to develop monitoring techniques based on aerial survey and to evaluate the effectiveness of control methods for large feral herbivores (especially goats) in the mulga woodlands. It was conducted on a study site in south-western Queensland encompassing Currawinya National Park. Two control programs were undertaken on the park: a ground-based shooting program and a two-stage live-muster and aerial culling program. Population estimates of feral goats based on 100 m strip counts from a fixed-wing aircraft were 4.6/km2 for the survey block for the initial survey with a decline to less than 2/km2 by the end of the project. It was concluded that fixed-wing aerial surveys provide an accurate estimate of the density of large feral herbivores, such as goats. The first control program, based on ground-based shooting, was of only limited success. The second control program, based on contract mustering with the aid of fixed-wing aircraft followed by aerial culling using a helicopter, was very successful in reducing the number of feral goats and other feral animals. This approach represents best practice management of feral goats in the mulga woodlands. The effect of the reduction in goat numbers on goat impact within the park is yet to be evaluated.

Elucidating dingo’s ecological roles: contributions from the Pelorus Island feral goat biocontrol project

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin L. Allen ◽  
Lee R. Allen ◽  
Michael Graham ◽  
Matt Buckman
Keyword(s):  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Apex Predators ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
Goat Population ◽  
Manipulative Experiments ◽  
Ecological Roles ◽  
Important Field ◽  
Small Livestock ◽  
Introduction Experiment ◽  
Feral Goat

ABSTRACT Understanding the ecological roles of apex predators remains an important field of study. The influence of apex predators on ecosystems can be either profound or negligible in different situations, and uncertainty still exists about the ecological roles of most top-predators, including Australian dingoes. This uncertainly is maintained by a dearth of experimental evidence investigating their roles. Such evidence is indispensable if dingo management is to be evidence-based. In this report, we discuss a recent experiment where dingoes were released on to an island as vertebrate biocontrol tools intended to eradicate feral goats and restore native vegetation being threatened by the goats. The experiment was successful, and the dingoes reduced the goat population to one or perhaps two male goats within ~2 years. This predator introduction experiment elucidated dingo’s effects on small livestock, their per capita predation rates, and their invasiveness or their ability to adapt and change their environment. The experiment confirmed that dingoes have the capacity to decimate populations of small livestock species and trigger a trophic cascade by reducing herbivory on vegetation. We encourage further manipulative experiments to explore the ubiquity of these results in different contexts.

Resource limitation in mountain goats: a test by experimental cropping

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 228-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. Houston ◽  
V. Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Density Dependence ◽  
National Park ◽  
Resource Limitation ◽  
Oreamnos Americanus ◽  
Olympic National Park ◽  
Fat Reserves ◽  
Goat Population ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Mountain Goat

Changes are reported in the population dynamics and physical condition of mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) following a reduction in their density at Olympic National Park, Washington, U.S.A. The goat population showed density-dependent responses in initial breeding ages and in litter size. Production and recruitment of kids were more variable at high densities, and these population attributes may show nonlinear density dependence. These shifts in dynamics were associated with increases in live weights and, possibly, in fat reserves. The density dependence shown was insufficient to compensate for removals that approximated the initial production of young, and goat numbers declined precipitously. The implications of these relationships to mountain goat ecology are examined.

Feral goat control in Egmont National Park, New Zealand, and the implications for eradication

2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 437 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Forsyth ◽  
Jim Hone ◽  
John P. Parkes ◽  
Gary H. Reid ◽  
Dean Stronge
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
National Park ◽  
Logistic Growth ◽  
Empirical Estimate ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Eradication Programme ◽  
Hunting Success ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Feral Goat

Feral goats in the 34 169 ha Egmont National Park (North Island, New Zealand) have been subject to sustained ground-based hunting with dogs since 1925. We analysed trends in hunting success from 1961 to 1999. During 1961–86 the catch per unit effort (CPUE) declined from 7 kills hunter–1 day–1 to <1 kill hunter–1 day–1. Since 1987 the CPUE has been maintained at low levels. The key impediment to switching from a strategy of sustained control to eradication is whether or not all goats can be put at risk. We suggest that managers test this experimentally in part of the park before embarking on an eradication programme. On the basis of an empirical estimate of rm and an assumption of logistic growth, we estimated the current population to be ~1047 animals. Removing 50% or 90% of the population annually would eradicate the population in >50 years or 12 years, respectively. Annual immigration of goats would prevent eradication under all scenarios.

Distribution and Relative Abundance of Feral Goats in the Rangelands of Eastern Australia.

1993 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 331 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Southwell ◽  
K Weaver ◽  
N Sheppard ◽  
P Morris
Keyword(s):  
Relative Abundance ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Aerial Survey ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Goat Population ◽  
Arid Rangelands ◽  
Feral Goat ◽  
Semi Arid

An aerial survey of 966,000 km2 of the arid/semi-arid rangelands of Queensland and New South Wales in the winter of 1992 indicated a minimum feral goat population of almost 1 million animals (density 0.97�0.12/km2). Observed density (f standard error) was higher in New South Wales (1.51�0.23/km2) than in Queensland (0.47�0.09/km2).

Comparative dietary analysis of the black-flanked rock-wallaby (Petrogale lateralis lateralis), the euro (Macropus robustus erubescens) and the feral goat (Capra hircus) from Cape Range National Park, Western Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
Sonja Creese ◽  
Stephen J. J. F. Davies ◽  
Barbara J. Bowen
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
National Park ◽  
Capra Hircus ◽  
Dietary Analysis ◽  
Faecal Pellets ◽  
Introduced Herbivores ◽  
Disjunct Populations ◽  
Microhistological Analysis ◽  
Feral Goat ◽  
Competition For Resources

The black-flanked rock-wallaby (Petrogale lateralis lateralis) is a threatened species, once widespread throughout Western Australia but now restricted to disjunct populations including those of Cape Range National Park. It is a herbivore with a foraging range restricted to rocky outcrops and, as such, may be impacted by competition for resources from other native or introduced herbivores. This study compared the diet of the black-flanked rock-wallaby with those of co-occurring species, the euro (Macropus robustus erubescens) and the feral goat (Capra hircus), from two gorges at Cape Range National Park, to determine whether there is overlap in dietary niches. Diet composition was determined using microhistological analysis of faecal pellets in comparison with reference plant material. The black-flanked rock-wallaby diet consisted predominately of browse/forbs with some variation across seasons (63% in summer months; 74% in winter months); this overlapped significantly with the diet of goats (Schoener Index: 0.79–0.88), but not euros (SI: 0.41–0.57), whose diet consisted predominantly of grasses (72–78%). There was, however, a significant overlap in the consumption of plants with stellate hairs for all three herbivores (SI: 0.89–0.98). Dietary overlap between rock-wallabies and goats may indicate a mechanism for competition, supporting continuing measures for reduction of goat numbers in Cape Range National Park.

Managing feral goat impacts by manipulating their access to water in the rangelands

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin G. Russell ◽  
Mike Letnic ◽  
Peter J. S. Fleming
Keyword(s):  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Bare Ground ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Feral Goat

Feral goats are a significant threat to biodiversity in Australia. However, goats are also harvested by some landholders for commercial benefit and this can lead to disagreements regarding control techniques. In the rangelands of New South Wales, feral goat distribution is closely linked to artificial watering points (AWP) such as tanks and bores. Previous surveys indicated that goat activity was rare more than 4 km from water. We hypothesised that constructing sections of goat-proof fencing in areas where goats were feeding on National Parks but watering on neighbouring properties, such that they had to travel more than 4 km from the AWP to access the park, would result in a significant decrease in goat abundance in these areas. We tested this hypothesis in Paroo-Darling National Park, Gundabooka State Conservation Area and Gundabooka National Park using changes in index (fresh goat dung groups per 100-m transect). We also measured kangaroo dung and ground cover index changes. Twelve months after the fences were constructed, goat dung significantly declined compared with non-treatment areas and the relationship between distance to water and goat dung broke down at the treatment sites. Kangaroo indices were not affected by the fences. The results for bare ground were the same as for goat dung, with significantly less bare ground and a breakdown in the relationship with distance to water at the treatment sites after the fences were constructed, but this was due to a corresponding increase in litter rather than live vegetation. This technique can be a significant tool for protecting biodiversity from feral goats, without removing the potential for neighbouring landholders to harvest the goats. If strategically used to create zones free of resident goats around the boundaries of conservation reserves, it should increase the effectiveness of other techniques such as trapping, mustering and shooting, by reducing post-control reinvasion. Recognition of access to water as an important management tool should substantially improve our management of feral goats in the rangelands.

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