Northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) are a well known game bird that has been extensively studied and managed throughout its range for many decades. Despite this, bobwhites have continued a steady annual decline across the United States, irrespective of many well established conservation practices in place to mitigate this. Supplemental feeding is one such technique that is a widely used tool in bobwhite management, but the methods and results of the studies to investigate the effectiveness of this method are highly variable. The effectiveness of supplemental feeding practices is further hindered by the limited knowledge regarding the nutritional requirements of wild bobwhite because many of the guidelines that researchers follow are based on species of Galliformes that are primarily used for production. Here, we review supplemental feeding studies, nutritional requirements of bobwhite, and discuss future directions.

Context. Carnaby’s (Calyptorhychus latirostris), Baudin’s (Calyptorhynchus baudinii) and forest red-tailed black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus banksii naso) are threatened parrot species endemic to south-western Australia. Behavioural monitoring has previously involved direct observation, which has proven challenging because of their cryptic nature, the type of habitat they move through and their speed of movement. The development of a model to accurately classify behaviour from tri-axial accelerometer data will provide greater insight into black cockatoo behaviour and ecology.

Aims. To develop an automated classifier model to classify accelerometer data from released black cockatoos to determine behaviour and activity budgets for three species of black cockatoo.

Methods. In the present study, we attached tri-axial accelerometers, housed in GPS tags, to four Carnaby’s cockatoos, three forest red-tailed black cockatoos and two Baudin’s cockatoos in captive care, undergoing rehabilitation for release back to the wild. Accelerometer data from these birds was coupled with 19 video files of the birds’ behaviour when flying, feeding and resting, to develop an automated behaviour classifier. The classifier was then used to annotate accelerometer data from 15 birds released after successful rehabilitation and to calculate activity budgets for these birds post-release.

Key results. We developed a classifier able to identify resting, flying and foraging behaviours from accelerometer data with 86% accuracy, as determined by the percentage of observed behaviours correctly identified by the classifier. The application of the classifier to accelerometer data from 15 released cockatoos enabled us to determine behaviours and activity budgets for all three species of black cockatoo. Black cockatoos spent most of their time at rest, followed by foraging with a short period of time flying.

Conclusions. Application of the classifier to data from released birds gives researchers the ability to remotely identify patterns of behaviour and calculate activity budgets.

Implications. Combining behaviour and activity budgets with location data provides useful insight into cockatoo movement, distribution, and habitat use. Such information is important for informing conservation efforts and addressing outstanding research objectives. Further studies including larger sample sizes of Baudin’s and forest red-tailed black cockatoos and comparing behaviour and activity between birds in breeding and non-breeding areas are warranted.

Context. Spatial and temporal variability in population density tends to increase with an increasing mean density, as widely documented by Taylor’s law (TL) of fluctuation scaling. A management program based on local hunters has been used to control invasive wild boar and axis deer in a protected area of north-eastern Argentina since 2006.

Aim. We determine the effects of species (boar or deer), hunting shift (diurnal, overnight), human disturbance (by comparing one section open for public use, one not) and time scale (one- versus three-month periods) on the values of the parameters of TL, and consider both its spatial and temporal forms.

Methods. Park management collected data on the hunting efforts and harvest of 6104 hunting parties shooting from elevated blinds from 2006 to 2015. The log-transformed sample means and variances of four indices of relative abundance were computed for each period and blind, and analysed through least-squars linear regression and ANCOVA.

Key results. Axis deer satisfied the spatial TL by all four indices, but wild boar had a significantly non-linear relationship for crude catch per unit effort (CP–UE) only. In the spatial TL, the slope b did not deviate significantly from 1 when using crude or standardised catch per hunting-party session or standardised CPUE, but b was substantially >1 for crude CPUE in both species (range, 1.307–1.434). Human disturbance, hunting shift, and time scale did not significantly modify the parameters of the spatial TL, except in two cases. All metrics at identified blinds over consecutive trimesters confirmed the temporal TL. Wild boar crude catch was 43% greater in the restricted zone of greater conservation value, whereas axis deer catch was 60% greater in the public-use zone.

Conclusions. With rare exceptions, TL describes well the mean and variance of four metrics of abundance of wild boar and axis deer under sustained hunting pressure. This paper may be the first to demonstrate the connection of TL with any aspect of vertebrate pest control.

Implications. TL identifies key zones with a high mean and high variance of ungulate density for targeted control, and can be used to attain fixed-precision estimates of abundance through sequential sampling.

Context. The use of baits for reducing the populations of harmful animal species, eradicating invasive species, vaccination, contraception or producing conditioned aversion, is widespread worldwide. However, baiting programs are often not successful enough and affect non-target species, requiring new approaches for baiting methods.

Aims. The aim of the present study was to evaluate two attractants used in carnivore studies to improve bait intake probability by red foxes and minimise bait intake by non-target species.

Methods. Non-toxic baits were distributed across 1000 ha, with bait intake monitored by camera traps during 3-week trials. Baits were assigned to two treatments with lures (lynx urine and Fatty Acid Scent – FAS) and one control. Bait intake by red foxes and non-target species was analysed using Generalised Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) and Kaplan–Meier survival analyses.

Key results. Lynx urine significantly increased the bait intake by red foxes (58.8%) compared with control (5.7%) and FAS (16.7%) treatment. However, FAS did not significantly increase the bait intake by red foxes compared with control. Bait intake by non-target species differed significantly between treatments, with lower intake in lynx urine (23.5%) treatment than control (54.7%), but not regarding FAS (36.7%), and neither between FAS and control. The probability of bait persistence after the 3-week trial period differed significantly among treatments, being lower in lynx urine treatment (0.18) than FAS (0.50) and control (0.43). All baits taken by foxes with lynx urine treatment (58.8%) occurred within the first 10 days, whereas intake by non-target species (23.5%) stopped after Day 7.

Conclusions. The use of lynx urine lure increased the proportion of baits consumed by red fox and reduced bait intake by non-target species.

Implications. Lures can serve to optimise bait delivery methods for red foxes in their different applications, such as conditioned aversion studies, vaccination, live trapping or predator control, while minimising risks to non-target species and reducing the costs and application time.

Context. Feral cats, Felis catus, have caused the decline and extinction of many species worldwide, particularly on islands and in Australia where native species are generally naïve to the threat of this introduced predator. Effectively reducing cat populations to protect wildlife is challenging because cats have a cryptic nature, high reproductive rate and strong reinvasion ability.

Aims. We experimentally tested the response of feral cats and their native prey to an Eradicat^® poison baiting program at a conservation reserve.

Methods. Baits were distributed by hand along roads and tracks every 50 m (∼10 baits km⁻²). We used camera traps to monitor the response of cats to baiting using a repeated before–after, control–impact design over 6 years. We also measured introduced rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus, activity by using sand pads and small mammal and reptile captures by using pitfall trapping.

Key results. Dynamic occupancy modelling showed only modest effects of baiting on cats in 2 of 6 years, with occupancy in the baited area decreasing from 54% to 19% in 2014 (–35%) and from 89% to 63% in 2017 (–26%). Baiting effectiveness was not related to antecedent rainfall or prey availability. Bait availability was reduced by non-target interference; 73% of 41 monitored baits were removed by non-target species. We found no evidence for persistent changes in small mammal or reptile capture rates in the baited area relative to the unbaited area over the life of the project.

Conclusions. Relatively low baiting density and non-target interference with baits are likely to have reduced baiting efficacy. Further testing and refinement of ground baiting is needed, including trialling higher baiting densities and/or frequencies.

Implications. We highlight key areas for future research that should benefit feral cat management not only in Australia, but also on the many islands worldwide where cats threaten native wildlife.

Context. Invasive species are major drivers of biodiversity loss, requiring management to reduce their ecological impacts. Population genetics can be applied to delineate management units, providing information that can help plan and improve control strategies.

Aim. The present study aims to use a genetic approach to test the existence of three previously proposed sambar deer populations in south-eastern Australia. In doing so, the study aims to delineate management units of sambar deer in south-eastern Australia.

Methods. Sambar deer DNA was sourced opportunistically from tissue samples and targeted scat collection. Samples were collected from three areas in Victoria, south-eastern Australia: Mt Cole (MC), French Island (FI) and eastern Victoria (EV). Contemporary population structure was assessed using a suite of 11 polymorphic microsatellite markers. The number of maternal sambar deer lineages in south-eastern Australia was investigated through sequencing of the mitochondrial (mt)DNA control region.

Key results. Three distinct genetic clusters were identified. Differentiation among inferred clusters was found to be high, with F_ST ranging from 0.24 between EV and FI clusters and 0.48 between MC and FI clusters. Two mtDNA haplotypes were identified; R.u1 was found throughout EV and FI, and R.u2 was unique to MC. DNA isolated from scats provided reliable data and proved critical for sampling areas where hunting and culling of deer are not generally undertaken.

Conclusions. Three genetically distinct sambar deer management units in south-eastern Australia are defined – MC, FI and EV. Sambar deer control strategies should be applied to each management unit independently. This may be difficult or infeasible for the EV management unit, which is large and geographically complex. Further research may help identify additional fine-scale genetic structure in EV, allowing smaller, more practicable management units to be identified.

Implications. Genetic data can be used to identify management units for invasive species, which will be critical for the development of future management strategies and improving control operations. The approach outlined here could also be applied to improve the management of other introduced deer species in south-eastern Australia.

Context. Home-range size and population density characteristics are crucial information in the design of effective wildlife management, whether for conservation or control, but can vary widely among populations of the same species.

Aims. We investigate the influence of site productivity on home-range size and population density for Australian populations of the native, threatened spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) and the alien and highly successful feral cat (Felis catus).

Methods. We use live trapping and fine-scale GPS tracking to determine the home-range size and population density for both species across five sites in Tasmania. Using these data, as well as published estimates for both species from across Australia, we model how these parameters change in response to productivity gradients. We also use the telemetry data to examine the energetic costs of increasing home-range size for both species.

Key results. For both species, decreasing site productivity correlates with lower population density, and in spotted-tailed quolls and female feral cats, it also correlates with larger home-range sizes. However, the relative magnitude of these changes is different. Feral cats show smaller increases in home-range size but larger decreases in population density relative to spotted-tailed quolls. Our results suggest that these differences may be because increases in home-range size are more costly for feral cats, demonstrated by larger increases in nightly movement for the same increase in home-range area.

Conclusions. We suggest that knowledge of both home-range size and population density is needed to accurately determine how species respond to habitat productivity, and inform effective management across their geographic range.

Implications. These results have clear management implications; for example, in our low-rainfall sites, an adult female spotted-tailed quoll requires up to five times the amount of habitat expected on the basis of previous studies, thus dramatically increasing the costs of conservation programs for this threatened native species. Conversely, productivity-driven differences of up to four-fold in feral cat population density would influence the resources required for successful control programs of this invasive species.

Context. Species Distribution Models (SDM) can be used to investigate and understand relationships between species occurrence and environmental variables, so as to predict potential distribution. These predictions can facilitate conservation actions and management decisions. Oxley Wild Rivers National Park (OWRNP) is regarded as an important stronghold for the threatened brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata), on the basis of the presence of the largest known metapopulation of the species. Adequate knowledge of the species’ ecology and distribution in OWRNP is a key objective in the national recovery plan for the species occurring in the Park.

Aims. To model distribution using key GIS-derived environmental factors for the brush-tailed rock-wallaby in OWRNP and to ground-truth its presence through field surveys in areas of high habitat suitability.

Methods. We used Maxent to model the distribution of the brush-tailed rock-wallaby within OWRNP on the basis of 282 occurrence records collected from an online database, elicitation of informal records from experts, helicopter surveys and historic records. Environmental variables used in the analysis were aspect, distance to water, elevation, geology type, slope and vegetation type.

Key results. Vegetation type (37.9%) was the highest contributing predictor of suitable habitat, whereas aspect (4.8%) contributed the least. The model produced an area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) of 0.780. The model was able to discriminate between suitable and non-suitable habitat for brush-tailed rock-wallabies. Areas identified in our model as being highly suitable yielded eight new occurrence records during subsequent ground-truthing field surveys.

Conclusions. Brush-tailed rock-wallaby distribution in OWRNP is primarily associated with vegetation type, followed by distance to water, elevation, geology, slope and aspect. Field surveys indicated that the model was able to identify areas of high habitat suitability.

Implications. This model represents the first predicted distribution of brush-tailed rock-wallaby in OWRNP. By identifying areas of high habitat suitability, it can be used to survey and monitor the species in OWRNP, and, thus, contribute to its management and conservation within the Park.

Context. Lethal control of predators is often undertaken to protect species of conservation concern. Traps are frequently baited to increase capture efficacy, but baited traps can potentially increase predation risk by attracting predators to protected areas. This is especially important if targeted predators can escape capture due to low trap success. Snake traps using live mouse lures may be beneficial if traps effectively remove snakes in the presence of birds and do not attract additional snakes to the area.

Aims. The present study evaluated whether mouse-lure traps in areas occupied by birds (simulated by deploying bird-lure traps) could influence predation risk from an invasive snake on Guam.

Methods. Snake traps were used, with Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) as a proxy for predation risk, to assess if an adjacent trap with a mouse (Mus musculus) would attract brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) to a focal area and increase contact between an invasive snake and avian prey. Catch per unit effort (CPUE) at stations containing either a bird-lure trap, mouse-lure trap or pair of traps (i.e. one bird-lure and one mouse-lure trap) was evaluated.

Key results. Bird-lure traps paired with mouse-lure traps did not differ in CPUE from isolated bird-lure traps. At paired stations, CPUE of snakes in mouse-lure traps was 2.3× higher than bird-lure traps, suggesting mouse lures were capable of drawing snakes away from avian prey. Bird-lure traps at paired stations experienced a decay in captures over time, whereas CPUE for isolated bird-lure traps increased after 9 weeks and exceeded mouse-lure traps after 7 weeks.

Conclusions. Mouse lures did not increase the risk of snakes being captured in bird-lure traps. Instead, mouse-lure traps may have locally suppressed snakes, whereas stations without mouse-lure traps still had snakes in the focal area, putting avian prey at greater risk. However, snakes caught with bird lures tended to be larger and in better body condition, suggesting preference for avian prey over mammalian prey in larger snakes.

Implications. Strategic placement of olfactory traps within areas of conservation concern may be beneficial for protecting birds of conservation concern from an invasive snake predator.