Congregations of a threatened species: mitigating impacts from Grey-headed Flying-fox Pteropus poliocephalus camps on the Batemans Bay community

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-138
Author(s):  
Matthew Mo ◽  
Mike Roache ◽  
Deb Lenson ◽  
Heidi Thomson ◽  
Mitchell Jarvis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Threatened Species ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Buffer Zones ◽  
Flying Foxes ◽  
Vegetation Removal ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Pteropus Poliocephalus ◽  
Building Community ◽  
Commonwealth Government ◽  
Flying Fox

Flying-fox camps in urban areas are a contentious wildlife management issue. Since 2012, Grey-headed Flying-foxes Pteropus poliocephalus have regularly occupied two camps in Batemans Bay, New South Wales (NSW). At one site, the Water Gardens, impacts on adjacent residents and businesses occur when animals roost near the reserve boundaries. During March–July 2016, a large influx of flying-foxes arrived, causing the camps to spread into neighbouring residential, recreational and industrial areas. Prior to this, impacts had been mitigated through vegetation clearing to create buffer zones and residential subsidies for mitigation equipment and services. The influx warranted additional measures such as a dispersal program and further vegetation removal, which were expedited by the Commonwealth Government granting a National Interest Exemption under section 158 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and the NSW Government committing $2.5 million in funding towards the new measures. These measures moved flying-foxes from key conflict areas but also coincided with flying-fox numbers reducing as local blossom diminished. Ongoing community engagement played an important role in building community resilience to live with this threatened species, which is vital considering that Batemans Bay will likely continue to be an important area for flying-foxes.

Managing the Grey-Headed Flying-Fox as a Threatened Species in NSW. P. Eby and D. Lunney (Eds) A Review by Eleanor Wills.

2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 215
Author(s):  
E Wills
Keyword(s):  
Threatened Species ◽  
New South ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Zoological Society ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Pteropus Poliocephalus ◽  
Legislative Changes ◽  
Flying Fox

THE grey-headed flying fox Pteropus poliocephalus is managed simultaneously under two contrasting paradigms in New South Wales (NSW), as a threatened species and as a pest in orchards and at camps in some urban centres. Many authors have called attention to the lack of understanding of the species and the obstacle this may pose for conservation efforts. Managing the grey-headed flying-fox as a threatened species in NSW was produced as a result of a forum held on the 28th of July 2001 by the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. It provides a comprehensive and up-todate review of management strategies for the species, in the context of recent legislative changes.

scholarly journals Dietary partitioning in newly sympatric urban flying-foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus and Pteropus alecto)

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 361
Author(s):  
Phoebe Griffith ◽  
Kerryn Parry-Jones ◽  
Andrew A. Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
Resource Partitioning ◽  
New South ◽  
Microscopic Analysis ◽  
Food Competition ◽  
Flying Foxes ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Faecal Samples ◽  
Pteropus Poliocephalus ◽  
Competition For Food ◽  
Flying Fox

The black flying-fox (Pteropus alecto) is extending its range southward and is now sympatric with the grey-headed flying-fox (P. poliocephalus) in New South Wales. Competition for food between the two species has been suggested to be a contributor to declines of the vulnerable grey-headed flying-fox. During winter 2016 the diet of both species was investigated over one night at four sites of sympatry, by microscopic analysis of faecal samples. Resource partitioning between the two species was found, with the black flying-fox either preferentially choosing to eat more fruit than the grey-headed flying-fox or being an inferior competitor for pollen and nectar. These results, though limited, do not support the hypothesis that the black flying-fox threatens the grey-headed flying-fox through food competition.

scholarly journals Managing the Grey-headed Flying Fox as a threatened species in NSW

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 237
Author(s):  
Dorian Moro
Keyword(s):  
Wildlife Management ◽  
Threatened Species ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Migratory Species ◽  
Zoological Society ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Pteropus Poliocephalus ◽  
Flying Fox

ONCE again the Royal Zoological Society of NSW has collated a set of informative papers on a controversial wildlife management topic: how to manage the Grey-headed Flying-fox Pteropus poliocephalus as a threatened species in New South Wales. The management of this migratory species poses a complex set of problems to government, conservation agencies, and the horticultural industry given a recent decision to upgrade this species from "protected" to "threatened".

Food Selection by Grey-headed Flying Foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) Occupying a Summer Colony Site near Gosford, New South Wales

1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 111 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Parry-Jones ◽  
ML Augee
Keyword(s):  
Food Selection ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Flying Foxes ◽  
Food Items ◽  
South Wales ◽  
The Family ◽  
Pteropus Poliocephalus ◽  
Marked Preference ◽  
Colony Site

A colony site occupied by grey-headed flying-foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) from October to May on the central coast of N.S.W. was monitored over a 48 month period (1986-1990). Faecal and spat-out material was collected for microscopic determination of contents. Comparison of food items in the droppings with the array of possible food sources present in the vicinity of the colony at the same time showed a marked preference for certain foods, in particular blossoms of the family Myrtaceae and of the genus Banksia. Cultivated orchard fruits were not a preferred food and were only taken at times when preferred food items were scarce.

Daytime behaviour of the grey-headed flying fox Pteropus poliocephalus Temminck (Pteropodidae: Megachiroptera) at an autumn/winter roost.

2006 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Connell ◽  
U. Munro ◽  
F. R. Torpy
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
Reproductive Period ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Flying Foxes ◽  
Fruit Bat ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Pteropus Poliocephalus ◽  
Baseline Information ◽  
Daytime Behaviour ◽  
Flying Fox

The grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus Temminck) is a threatened large fruit bat endemic to Australia. It roosts in large colonies in rainforest patches, mangroves, open forest, riparian woodland and, as native habitat is reduced, increasingly in vegetation within urban environments. The general biology, ecology and behaviour of this bat remain largely unknown, which makes it difficult to effectively monitor, protect and manage this species. The current study provides baseline information on the daytime behaviour of P. poliocephalus in an autumn/winter roost in urban Sydney, Australia, between April and August 2003. The most common daytime behaviours expressed by the flying foxes were sleeping (most common), grooming, mating/courtship, and wing spreading (least common). Behaviours differed significantly between times of day and seasons (autumn and winter). Active behaviours (i.e., grooming, mating/courtship, wing spreading) occurred mainly in the morning, while sleeping predominated in the afternoon. Mating/courtship and wing spreading were significantly higher in April (reproductive period) than in winter (non-reproductive period). Grooming was the only behaviour that showed no significant variation between sample periods. These results provide important baseline data for future comparative studies on the behaviours of flying foxes from urban and ?natural? camps, and the development of management strategies for this species.

Recommendations for the recovery of the Grey-headed Flying-fox Pteropus poliocephalus in New South Wales

2002 ◽  
pp. 268-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gemma M. O'Brien ◽  
Mary-Clare G. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Pteropus Poliocephalus ◽  
Flying Fox
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