Academic literature on the topic 'Wildlife conservation Victoria'

WITH the passing of John Seebeck on 8 September 2003, Victoria lost a true champion of nature conservation. Born on 28 September 1939, John grew up in Northcote, Melbourne, and attended local State schools. He joined the fledgling Wildlife Research Section of the Fisheries and Game Department in 1960 as a technical assistant. The following year, John received a Government studentship allowing him to study part-time for a B.Sc. at The University of Melbourne. On returning to full-time employment, John worked assiduously with Keith Dempster, Robert Warneke and others to build the Wildlife Research Section into a springboard for better conservation in Victoria.

Lake Victoria is the second-largest freshwater lake in the world, with an eco-system critical to 25-30 million inhabitants of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi who live in the lake basin. The lake provides several ecosystem services from inland waterway transport, fisheries to hydropower and supports many different industries such as tourism, trade, and wildlife. However, Lake Victorias ecosystem management has been highly extractive; hence its water resources are either inefficiently or overused. This is because the value of this resource is either unknown or underestimated. The main purpose of the research was to contribute to Lake Victorias conservation efforts by providing the best techniques that can be used to assess the value of this resource and develop appropriate policies for the sustainable management of the lake. The study reviewed relevant literature on the economic assessment methods of environmental resources in the context of water management. Search engines such as Google Scholar, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect were used for it. The study suggests methods for economic valuation of Lake Victoria water ecosystem for each service. The proposed techniques can be used for assessing the value and benefits of conservation and restoration of Lake Victoria ecosystem.

We review the distribution, habitat and conservation status of the eastern pygmy-possum (Cercartetus nanus) in Victoria. Data on the habitat occurrences and rates of detection were gleaned from 133 published and unpublished fauna surveys conducted from 1968 to 2003 in Gippsland; northern Victoria; the Melbourne area and south-western region. C. nanus was reported from a broad range of vegetation communities, which predominantly included a dense mid-storey of shrubs rich in nectar-producing species such as those from the families Proteaceae and Myrtaceae. Survey effort using a range of methods was immense across surveys: 305,676 Elliott/cage trap-nights, 49,582 pitfall trap-nights, 18,331 predator remains analysed, 4424 spotlight hours, and 7346 hair-sampling devices deployed, 1005 trees stagwatched, and 5878 checks of installed nest-boxes. The surveys produced 434 records of C. nanus, with Elliott/cage trapping, pitfall trapping and analysis of predator remains responsible for the vast majority of records (93%). These data and those from the Atlas of Victorian Wildlife indicate that although C. nanus has a widespread distribution in Victoria, it is rarely observed or trapped in fauna surveys. Only 11 (8%) of the surveys we reviewed detected >10 individuals. C. nanus is likely to be sensitive to several recognised threatening processes in Victoria (e.g., feral predators, high frequency fire, feral honeybees). There is also evidence of range declines in several regions, which suggests that the species is vulnerable to extinction. Therefore, we recommend that it be nominated as a threatened species in Victoria.

Studying the human dimensions of wildlife management issues is now considered to be an essential component of wildlife research. This study examined the Living with Possums policy in Victoria, Australia, in terms of the policy?s success in educating the community and ensuring community compliance. Postal surveys and telephone interviews were conducted across three samples from Greater Melbourne. These samples included people who had experiences with possums on their property (n = 340), veterinary clinics (n = 45) and the general public (n = 103). Significant levels of non-compliance were uncovered, highlighting the need for a renewed public education campaign to take place along with a continued interest in this issue from government agencies and councils. The study also revealed discrepancies between the policy and public preferences for possum management, suggesting that a shift in the recommended management technique may be warranted.

Modern zoos are increasingly taking a leading role in emergency management and wildlife recovery. In the face of climate change and the predicted increase in frequency and magnitude of catastrophic events, zoos provide specialised expertise to assist wildlife welfare and endangered species recovery. In the 2019–2020 Australian bushfire season, now called Australia’s Black Summer, a state government-directed response was developed, assembling specialised individuals and organisations from government, non-government organisations, research institutions, and others. Here, we detail the role of Zoos Victoria staff in wildlife triage and welfare, threatened species evacuation and recovery, media and communications, and fundraising during and after the fires. We share strategies for future resilience, readiness, and the ability to mobilise quickly in catastrophic events. The development of triage protocols, emergency response kits, emergency enclosures, and expanded and new captive breeding programs is underway, as are programs for care of staff mental health and nature-based community healing for people directly affected by the fires. We hope this account of our response to one of the greatest recent threats to Australia’s biodiversity, and steps to prepare for the future will assist other zoos and wildlife organisations around the world in preparations to help wildlife before, during, and after catastrophic events.

Abstract. Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) is a global concern that requires geospatial data collection, analysis and geovisualization for decision support and mitigation. Bull African elephants, (Loxodonata africana), are often responsible for breaking fences, raiding crops and causing economic hardship in local communities in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Methods for monitoring and understanding elephant movements are needed to mitigate conflict, find ways for coexistence and secure the future of Africa’s elephant populations. Researchers from academia and conservation organizations are partnering with decision makers and scientists of the Zimbabwe Department of National Park and Wild Life Management (PWMA) to track the movement of 15 bull elephants in the general area of Victoria Falls to analyse spatio-temporal patterns of elephant behaviour related to climatic factors, habitat conditions and changing land uses. Spatial decision support for local famers, resource managers and planners will assist in avoiding agricultural expansion and urban development that coincides with elephant corridors and access to water resources.

An optimization model is developed to identify timing and placement strategies for the installation of nest boxes and the harvesting of timber to meet joint timber–wildlife objectives. Optimal management regimes are determined on the basis of their impacts on the local abundance of a threatened species and net present value (NPV) and are identified for a range of NPV levels to identify production possibility frontiers for abundance and NPV. We apply the model to a case study focusing on an area of commercially productive mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans F. Muell.) forest in the Central Highlands region of Victoria, Australia. The species to be conserved is Leadbeater's possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri McCoy), which is locally limited by a scarcity of nesting hollows. The modeling is exploratory but indicates that nest boxes may offer a promising population recovery tool if consideration is taken of their placement and areal extent through time.

Context Pathogenic infections are an important consideration for the conservation of native species, but obtaining such data from wild populations can be expensive and difficult. Two pathogens have been implicated in the decline of some koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations: urogenital infection with Chlamydia pecorum and koala retrovirus subgroup A (KoRV-A). Pathogen data for a wild koala population of conservation importance in South Gippsland, Victoria are essentially absent. Aims This study uses non-invasive sampling of koala scats to provide prevalence and genotype data for C. pecorum and KoRV-A in the South Gippsland koala population, and compares pathogen prevalence between wild koalas and koalas in rescue shelters. Methods C. pecorum and KoRV-A provirus were detected by PCR of DNA isolated from scats collected in the field. Pathogen genetic variation was investigated using DNA sequencing of the C. pecorum ompA and KoRV-A env genes. Key results C. pecorum and KoRV-A were detected in 61% and 27% of wild South Gippsland individuals tested, respectively. KoRV-A infection tended to be higher in shelter koalas compared with wild koalas. In contrast with other Victorian koala populations sampled, greater pathogen diversity was present in South Gippsland. Conclusions In the South Gippsland koala population, C. pecorum is widespread and common whereas KoRV appears less prevalent than previously thought. Further work exploring the dynamics of these pathogens in South Gippsland koalas is warranted and may help inform future conservation strategies for this important population. Implications Non-invasive genetic sampling from scats is a powerful method for obtaining data regarding pathogen prevalence and diversity in wildlife. The use of non-invasive methods for the study of pathogens may help fill research gaps in a way that would be difficult or expensive to achieve using traditional methods.

The spatial and temporal pattern of fire occurrence within landscapes is a principal factor influencing species distributions and a core driver of biodiversity. However, climate change, land use change, invasive species and detrimental land management practices are altering the distribution, frequency, scale and intensity of large wildfires globally. This poses a major challenge to biodiversity management as ecosystems adapt to novel patterns of fire occurrence. Within fire-affected landscapes, areas which experience unique disturbance regimes may act as refuges for biota, reducing the impacts of fire on species and increasing their likelihood of survival. However, very few studies have attempted to quantify the desirable spatial attributes of such areas within fire mosaics for faunal conservation. This thesis aimed to quantify the ecological role of fire refuges by examining the factors responsible for refuge establishment, how the spatial properties of refuges influence their use by fauna, and the mechanisms underpinning faunal responses. To investigate the factors responsible for the spatial distribution of fire refuges in montane forests I tested the operational validity of a pre-constructed fire simulation model with actual fire severity patterns produced following a large fire in the modelled landscapes. I found that for fires which occurred in extreme fire conditions, severity patterns were largely determined by stochastic factors, such as weather. When fire conditions were moderate, physical landscape properties appeared to mediate fire severity distribution. The study highlighted that fire refuges are a potentially ecologically important outcome of large wildfires. I recommend that detrimental land management practices are minimized to enable the ecological processes relevant to the establishment and subsequent use of fire refuges to be maintained. In recently burnt Mountain Ash forests in south-eastern Australia, I examined how fire severity, patch size and landscape context influenced the abundance of arboreal marsupials. We aimed to determine if fire refuges are an important mechanism for facilitating the survival within extensively burnt landscapes. I found the mountain brushtail possum had a positive response to a particular kind of topographic refuge (unburnt peninsulas connected to larger areas of unburnt forest), whereas the greater glider had a negative response to fire in the landscape. The study highlighted the need for a more developed understanding of how post-fire habitat patterns facilitate species survival within burnt landscapes. In a correlative landscape-scale study, I examined how bird use of potential refuges was influenced by 1) the size and connectivity of each refuge, 2) the extent of fire severities at different scales in the surrounding landscape, and 3) the interaction between severity patterns, vegetation structure and environmental gradients. I found that unburnt mesic gullies facilitated the retention of forest birds within extensively burnt montane forest landscapes. The study presented a key advance, in that the effects of fire-induced habitat patterns on the distribution of fauna varied between areas depending on their spatial relationships with key biotic and abiotic landscape patterns. I demonstrated that developing contingent theory by examining ecological interactions between fire induced habitat patterns and biotic and abiotic gradients is essential to understanding complex faunal responses to fire. Using GPS telemetry within a replicated landscape scale study design, I examined how the spatial patterns of fire severity created by a large wildfire influenced the spatio temporal movement patterns of an arboreal marsupial, the Mountain Brushtail Possum, Trichosurus cunninghammi. I found a difference in temporal movement dynamics, habitat selection and spatial movement patters between forested landscapes which were burnt to differing extents. Forest systems recently burnt at high severity may provide suitable habitat for some species, if protected from subsequent disturbance such as salvage logging. However, spatial and temporal patterns of habitat selection and use differed considerably between burnt and undisturbed landscapes. The spatial outcomes of ecological disturbances such as wildfires have the potential to alter the behaviour and functional roles of fauna across large areas. Employing a qualitative research approach, I identified the barriers and enablers to spatially managing fire for biodiversity. I then developed a conceptual framework and set of key steps to achieve the integration of spatial approaches to fire into management. I identified that spatial approaches to fire management must co-exist within a complex system of social and ecological feedbacks between landscapes, academic research, socio-political land management systems, and environmental pressures. I suggest that the integration of spatial approaches to fire can be achieved by developing community understanding of fire science, improving the relevance of fire research outputs to land management, amending existing government policy approaches and refining management tools, structures, scales and monitoring to meet biodiversity and fire risk objectives. The insights into fire refuge ecology provided by the papers in this thesis are highly relevant to faunal conservation. Collectively, this thesis constitutes an important contribution to global forest fire ecology and management and has implications for both understanding the impacts of ecosystem disturbances on faunal persistence and distributions, and for developing effective future research and conservation strategies.

An increasing number of Australians want to be assured that the food and fibre being produced on this continent have been grown and harvested in an ecologically sustainable way. Ecologically sustainable farming conserves the array of species that are integral to key ecological processes such as pollination, seed dispersal, natural pest control and the decomposition of waste. Wildlife Conservation in Farm Landscapes communicates new scientific information about best practice ways to integrate conservation and agriculture in the temperate eucalypt woodland belt of eastern Australia. It is based on the large body of scientific literature in this field, as well as long-term studies at 790 permanent sites on over 290 farms extending throughout Victoria, New South Wales and south-east Queensland. Richly illustrated, with chapters on birds, mammals, reptiles, invertebrates and plants, this book illustrates how management interventions can promote nature conservation and what practices have the greatest benefit for biodiversity. Together the new insights in this book inform whole-of-farm planning. Wildlife Conservation in Farm Landscapes is an ideal resource for land managers and farmers interested in integrating farming and environmental values and anyone interested in biodiversity in woodlands and agricultural zones. Recipient of a 2017 Whitley Awards Certificate of Commendation for Conservation in Action

The Otways and Shipwreck Coast is known for its natural beauty and attracts millions of visitors each year, particularly along the Great Ocean Road. The value of the region's rich biodiversity is recognised at the national and global level and its wildlife is markedly different to other regions, including eastern Victoria which supports similar vegetation types. Wildlife of the Otways and Shipwreck Coast is a photographic field guide to the vertebrate wildlife of Victoria’s south-west. It covers all the mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs that occur in the region, including on land and in coastal waters. Each of the 288 species profiles includes a description and information on identification, range, conservation status, habitat use and ecology and is complemented by an exquisite colour photograph and a detailed distribution map. The book also includes chapters on habitat types, conservation and management, and on 14 key places in the region to view wildlife. This book will allow those interested in wildlife, including residents and visitors, to identify vertebrate animals found in the region. Readers will also become more familiar with the distinct role the Otways has in conserving Australia’s biodiversity.

The conservation of Earth's forest ecosystems is one of the great environmental challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. All of Earth's ecosystems now face the spectre of the accelerated greenhouse effect and rates of change in climatic regimes that have hitherto been unknown. In addition, multiple use forestry – where forests are managed to provide for both a supply of wood and the conservation of biodiversity – can change the floristic composition and vegetation structure of forests with significant implications for wildlife habitat. Wildlife, fire and future climate: a forest ecosystem analysis explores these themes through a landscape-wide study of refugia and future climate in the tall, wet forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria. It represents a model case study for the kind of integrated investigation needed throughout the world in order to deal with the potential response of terrestrial ecological systems to global change. The analyses presented in this book represent one of the few ecosystem studies ever undertaken that has attempted such a complex synthesis of fire, wildlife, vegetation, and climate. Wildlife, fire and future climate: a forest ecosystem analysis is written by an experienced team of leading world experts in fire ecology, modelling, terrain and climate analysis, vegetation and wildlife habitat. Their collaboration on this book represents a unique and exemplary, multi-disciplinary venture.