Objectives for management of socio-ecological systems in the Great Barrier Reef region, Australia

A wide range of goals and objectives have to be taken into account in natural resources management. Defining these objectives in operational terms, including dimensions such as sustainability, productivity, and equity, is by no means easy, especially if they must capture the diversity of community and stakeholder values. This is especially true in the coastal zone where land activities affect regional marine ecosystems. In this study, the aim was firstly to identify and hierarchically organise the goals and objectives for coastal systems, as defined by local stakeholders. Two case study areas are used within the Great Barrier Reef region being Mackay and Bowen–Burdekin. Secondly, the aim was to identify similarities between the case study results and thus develop a generic set of goals to be used as a starting point in other coastal communities. Results show that overarching high-level goals have nested sub-goals that contain a set of more detailed regional objectives. The similarities in high-level environmental, governance, and socio-economic goals suggest that regionally specific objectives can be developed based on a generic set of goals. The prominence of governance objectives reflects local stakeholder perceptions that current coastal zone management is not achieving the outcomes they feel important and that there is a need for increased community engagement and co-management. More importantly, it raises the question of how to make issues relevant for the local community and entice participation in the local management of public resources to achieve sustainable environmental, social, and economic management outcomes. © 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

A participatory systems approach to understanding climate adaptation needs

Emerging literature on climate adaptation suggests the need for effective ways of engaging or activating communities and supporting community roles, coupled with whole-of-system approaches to understanding climate change and adaptation needs. We have developed and evaluated a participatory approach to elicit community and stakeholder understanding of climate change adaptation needs, and connect diverse community members and local office bearers towards potential action. The approach was trialed in a series of connected social-ecological systems along a transect from a rural area to the coast and islands of ecologically sensitive Moreton Bay in Queensland, Australia. We conducted ‘climate roundtables’ in each of three areas along the transect, then a fourth roundtable reviewed and extended the results to the region as a whole. Influence diagrams produced through the process show how each climate variable forecast to affect this region (heat, storm, flood, sea-level rise, fire, drought) affects the natural environment, infrastructure, economic and social behaviour patterns, and psychosocial responses, and how sets of people, species and ecosystems are affected, and act, differentially. The participatory process proved effective as a way of building local empathy, a local knowledge base and empowering participants to join towards future climate adaptation action. Key principles are highlighted to assist in adapting the process for use elsewhere.

Ecological dynamics of emerging bat virus spillover

Viruses that originate in bats may be the most notorious emerging zoonoses that spill over from wildlife into domestic animals and humans. Understanding how these infections filter through ecological systems to cause disease in humans is of profound importance to public health. Transmission of viruses from bats to humans requires a hierarchy of enabling conditions that connect the distribution of reservoir hosts, viral infection within these hosts, and exposure and susceptibility of recipient hosts. For many emerging bat viruses, spillover also requires viral shedding from bats, and survival of the virus in the environment. Focusing on Hendra virus, but also addressing Nipah virus, Ebola virus, Marburg virus and coronaviruses, we delineate this cross-species spillover dynamic from the within-host processes that drive virus excretion to land-use changes that increase interaction among species. We describe how land-use changes may affect co-occurrence and contact between bats and recipient hosts. Two hypotheses may explain temporal and spatial pulses of virus shedding in bat populations: episodic shedding from persistently infected bats or transient epidemics that occur as virus is transmitted among bat populations. Management of livestock also may affect the probability of exposure and disease. Interventions to decrease the probability of virus spillover can be implemented at multiple levels from targeting the reservoir host to managing recipient host exposure and susceptibility.

Ecological dynamics of emerging bat virus spillover

Viruses that originate in bats may be the most notorious emerging zoonoses that spill over from wildlife into domestic animals and humans. Understanding how these infections filter through ecological systems to cause disease in humans is of profound importance to public health. Transmission of viruses from bats to humans requires a hierarchy of enabling conditions that connect the distribution of reservoir hosts, viral infection within these hosts, and exposure and susceptibility of recipient hosts. For many emerging bat viruses, spillover also requires viral shedding from bats, and survival of the virus in the environment. Focusing on Hendra virus, but also addressing Nipah virus, Ebola virus, Marburg virus and coronaviruses, we delineate this cross-species spillover dynamic from the within-host processes that drive virus excretion to land-use changes that increase interaction among species. We describe how land-use changes may affect co-occurrence and contact between bats and recipient hosts. Two hypotheses may explain temporal and spatial pulses of virus shedding in bat populations: episodic shedding from persistently infected bats or transient epidemics that occur as virus is transmitted among bat populations. Management of livestock also may affect the probability of exposure and disease. Interventions to decrease the probability of virus spillover can be implemented at multiple levels from targeting the reservoir host to managing recipient host exposure and susceptibility.

Assessing and reducing vulnerability to climate change: Moving from theory to practical decision-support

As climate change continues to impact socio-ecological systems, tools that assist conservation managers to understand vulnerability and target adaptations are essential. Quantitative assessments of vulnerability are rare because available frameworks are complex and lack guidance for dealing with data limitations and integrating across scales and disciplines. This paper describes a semi-quantitative method for assessing vulnerability to climate change that integrates socio-ecological factors to address management objectives and support decision-making. The method applies a framework first adopted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and uses a structured 10-step process. The scores for each framework element are normalized and multiplied to produce a vulnerability score and then the assessed components are ranked from high to low vulnerability. Sensitivity analyses determine which indicators most influence the analysis and the resultant decision-making process so data quality for these indicators can be reviewed to increase robustness. Prioritisation of components for conservation considers other economic, social and cultural values with vulnerability rankings to target actions that reduce vulnerability to climate change by decreasing exposure or sensitivity and/or increasing adaptive capacity. This framework provides practical decision-support and has been applied to marine ecosystems and fisheries, with two case applications provided as examples: (1) food security in Pacific Island nations under climate-driven fish declines, and (2) fisheries in the Gulf of Carpentaria, northern Australia. The step-wise process outlined here is broadly applicable and can be undertaken with minimal resources using existing data, thereby having great potential to inform adaptive natural resource management in diverse locations.

Interactions between two naturalised invasive predators in Australia: are feral cats suppressed by dingoes?

Top-predators can play important roles in terrestrial food webs, fuelling speculation that top-predators might be used as biocontrol tools against invasive mesopredators. Feral cats are believed to be largely responsible for the current declines of native fauna across tropical northern Australia, where substantial beef cattle production occurs. Dingoes are known to impact cattle production there and are predicted to impact native fauna also. However, dingoes are forecasted to curtail the impacts of cats and reverse native fauna declines. We review (1) empirical studies investigating the relationships between dingoes and cats, and dingo control and cats, (2) records of cat remains in dingo diets, and (3) historical records of lethal dingo control using 1080-poisoned baits across Australia between 1999 and 2008 to show how two naturalised invasive species can interact in dynamic agro-ecological landscapes. From the 35 studies assessed, most reported no detectable relationship between dingoes and cats; negative or positive relationships were seldom detected. Dingoes do not appear to exclude cats beyond fine scales, but may alter cat activity periods under certain conditions. Cat remains were found in only 0.63 % of over 31,000 dingo diet records. Lethal dingo control occurs (in varying degrees) across about two-thirds of Australia and does not appear to substantially influence dingo-cat relationships. We conclude that the presently available data provides little evidence that bolstering dingo populations will reduce the impacts of cats. Much more work is needed to identify situations where top-predators might be used as effective biocontrol tools against invasive mesopredators in agro-ecological systems.

Ecological significance of rice (Oryza sativa) planting density and nitrogen rates in managing the growth and competitive ability of itchgrass (Rottboellia cochinchinensis) in direct-seeded rice systems

Current understanding is that high planting density has the potential to suppress weeds and crop-weed interactions can be exploited by adjusting fertilizer rates. We hypothesized that (a) high planting density can be used to suppress Rottboellia cochinchinensis growth and (b) rice competitiveness against this weed can be enhanced by increasing nitrogen (N) rates. We tested these hypotheses by growing R. cochinchinensis alone and in competition with four rice planting densities (0, 100, 200, and 400 plants m-2) at four N rates (0, 50, 100, and 150 kg ha-1). At 56 days after sowing (DAS), R. cochinchinensis plant height decreased by 27-50 %, tiller number by 55-76 %, leaf number by 68-84 %, leaf area by 70-83 %, leaf biomass by 26-90 %, and inflorescence biomass by 60-84 %, with rice densities ranging from 100 to 400 plants m-2. All these parameters increased with an increase in N rate. Without the addition of N, R. cochinchinensis plants were 174 % taller than rice; whereas, with added N, they were 233 % taller. Added N favored more weed biomass production relative to rice. R. cochinchinensis grew taller than rice (at all N rates) to avoid shade, which suggests that it is a "shade-avoiding" plant. R. cochinchinensis showed this ability to reduce the effect of rice interference through increased leaf weight ratio, specific stem length, and decreased root-shoot weight ratio. This weed is more responsive to N fertilizer than rice. Therefore, farmers should give special consideration to the application timing of N fertilizer when more N-responsive weeds are present in their field. Results suggest that the growth and seed production of R. cochinchinensis can be decreased considerably by increasing rice density to 400 plants m-2. There is a need to integrate different weed control measures to achieve complete control of this noxious weed.

Assessment of prey overlap between a native (Polistes humilis) and an introduced (Vespula germanica) social wasp using morphology and phylogenetic analyses of 16S rDNA

In newly invaded communities, interspecific competition is thought to play an important role in determining the success of the invader and its impact on the native community. In southern Australia, the native Polistes humilis was the predominant social wasp prior to the arrival of the exotic Vespula germanica (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Both species forage for similar resources (water, pulp, carbohydrate and protein prey), and concerns have arisen about potential competition between them. The aim of this study was to identify the protein foods that these wasps feed on. As many prey items are masticated by these wasps to the degree that they cannot be identified using conventional means, morphological identification was complemented by sequencing fragments of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. GenBank searches using blast and phylogenetic analyses were used to identify prey items to at least order level. The results were used to construct complete prey inventories for the two species. These indicate that while P. humilis is restricted to feeding on lepidopteran larvae, V. germanica collects a variety of prey of invertebrate and vertebrate origin. Calculated values of prey overlap between the two species are used to discuss the implications of V. germanica impacting on P. humilis. Results obtained are compared to those gained by solely 'conventional' methods, and the advantages of using DNA-based taxonomy in ecological studies are emphasized.

Predicting risk and benefit a priori in biological control of invasive plant species: a systems modelling approach

While the method using specialist herbivores in managing invasive plants (classical biological control) is regarded as relatively safe and cost-effective in comparison to other methods of management, the rarity of strict monophagy among insect herbivores illustrates that, like any management option, biological control is not risk-free. The challenge for classical biological control is therefore to predict risks and benefits a priori. In this study we develop a simulation model that may aid in this process. We use this model to predict the risks and benefits of introducing the chrysomelid beetle Charidotis auroguttata to manage the invasive liana Macfadyena unguis-cati in Australia. Preliminary host-specificity testing of this herbivore indicated that there was limited feeding on a non-target plant, although the non-target was only able to sustain some transitions of the life cycle of the herbivore. The model includes herbivore, target and non-target life history and incorporates spillover dynamics of populations of this herbivore from the target to the non-target under a variety of scenarios. Data from studies of this herbivore in the native range and under quarantine were used to parameterize the model and predict the relative risks and benefits of this herbivore when the target and non-target plants co-occur. Key model outputs include population dynamics on target (apparent benefit) and non-target (apparent risk) and fitness consequences to the target (actual benefit) and non-target plant (actual risk) of herbivore damage. The model predicted that risk to the non-target became unacceptable (i.e. significant negative effects on fitness) when the ratio of target to non-target in a given patch ranged from 1:1 to 3:2. By comparing the current known distribution of the non-target and the predicted distribution of the target we were able to identify regions in Australia where the agent may be pose an unacceptable risk. By considering risk and benefit simultaneously, we highlight how such a simulation modelling approach can assist scientists and regulators in making more objective decisions a priori, on the value of releasing specialist herbivores as biological control agents.

Improving management of summer weeds in dryland cropping systems with Cotton

In 2001 a scoping study (phase I) was commissioned to determine and prioritise the weed issues of cropping systems with dryland cotton. The main findings were that the weed flora was diverse, cropping systems complex, and weeds had a major financial and economical impact. Phase II 'Best weed management strategies for dryland cropping systems with cotton' focused on improved management of the key weeds, bladder ketmia, sowthistle, fleabane, barnyard grass and liverseed grass.In Phase III 'Improving management of summer weeds in dryland cropping systems with cotton', more information on the seed-bank dynamics of key weeds was gained in six pot and field studies. The studies found that these characteristics differed between species, and even climate in the case of bladder ketmia. Species such as sowthistle, fleabane and barnyard grass emerged predominately from the surface soil. Sweet summer grass was also in this category but also had a significant proportion emerging from 5 cm depth. Bladder ketmia in central Queensland emerged mainly from the top 2 cm, whereas in southern Queensland it emerged mainly from 5 cm. Liverseed grass had its highest emergence from 5 cm below the surface. In all cases the persistence of seed increased with increasing soil depth. Fleabane was also found to be sensitive to soil type with no seedlings emerging in the self-mulching black vertisol soil. A strategic tillage trial showed that burial of fleabane seed, using a disc or chisel plough, to a depth of greater than 2 cm can significantly reduce subsequent fleabane emergence. In contrast, tillage increased barnyard grass emergence and tended to decrease persistence. This research showed that weed management plans can not be blanketed across all weed species, rather they need to be targeted for each main weed species.This project has also resulted in an increased knowledge of how to manage fleabane from the eight experiments; one in wheat, two in sorghum, one in cotton and three in fallow on double knock. For summer crops, the best option is to apply a highly effective fallow treatment prior to sowing the crops. For winter crops, the strategy is the integration of competitive crops, residual herbicide followed by a knockdown to control survivors. This project explored further the usefulness of the double knock tactic for weed control and preventing seed set. Two field and one pot experiments have shown that this tactic was highly effective for fleabane control. Paraquat products provided good control when followed by glyphosate. When 2, 4-D was added in a tank mix with glyphosate and followed by paraquat products, 99-100% control was achieved in all cases. The ideal follow-up times for paraquat products after glyphosate were 5-7 days. The preferred follow-up times for 2, 4-D after glyphosate were on the same day and one day later. The pot trial, which compared a population from a cropping field with previous glyphosate exposure and a population from a non-cropping area with no previous glyphosate herbicide exposure, showed that the pervious herbicide exposure affected the response of fleabane to herbicidal control measures. The web-based brochure on managing fleabane has been updated.Knowledge on management of summer grasses and safe use of residual herbicides was derived from eight field and pot experiments. Residual grass and broadleaf weed control was excellent with atrazine pre-plant and at-planting treatments, provided rain was received within a short interval after application. Highly effective fallow treatments (cultivation and double knock), not only gave excellent grass control in the fallow, also gave very good control in the following cotton. In the five re-cropping experiments, there were no adverse impacts on cotton from atrazine, metolachlor, metsulfuron and chlorsulfuron residues following use in previous sorghum, wheat and fallows. However, imazapic residues did reduce cotton growth.The development of strategies to reduce the heavy reliance on glyphosate in our cropping systems, and therefore minimise the risk of glyphosate resistance development, was a key factor in the research undertaken. This work included identifying suitable tactics for summer grass control, such as double knock with glyphosate followed by paraquat and tillage. Research on fleabane also concentrated on minimising emergence through tillage, and applying the double knock tactic. Our studies have shown that these strategies can be used to prevent seed set with the goal of driving down the seed bank. Utilisation of the strategies will also reduce the reliance on glyphosate, and therefore reduce the risk of glyphosate resistance developing in our cropping systems.Information from this research, including ecological and management data were collected from an additional eight paddock monitoring sites, was also incorporated into the Weeds CRC seed bank model "Weed Seed Wizard", which will be able to predict the impact of different management options on weed populations in cotton and grain farming systems. Extensive communication activities were undertaken throughout this project to ensure adoption of the new strategies for improved weed management and reduced risk for glyphosate resistance.

DAQ00116 Central Queensland Sustainable Farming Systems Phase 3

Improved economic and social performance of grain and mixed farming businesses in Central Queensland.

Description of the pig production systems, biosecurity practices and herd health providers in two provinces with high swine density in the Philippines

A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2011 and March 2012 in two major pig producing provinces in the Philippines. Four hundred and seventy one pig farms slaughtering finisher pigs at government operated abattoirs participated in this study. The objectives of this study were to group: (a) smallholder (S) and commercial (C) production systems into patterns according to their herd health providers (HHPs), and obtain descriptive information about the grouped S and C production systems; and (b) identify key HHPs within each production system using social network analysis. On-farm veterinarians, private consultants, pharmaceutical company representatives, government veterinarians, livestock and agricultural technicians, and agricultural supply stores were found to be actively interacting with pig farmers. Four clusters were identified based on production system and their choice of HHPs. Differences in management and biosecurity practices were found between S and C clusters. Private HHPs provided a service to larger C and some larger S farms, and have little or no interaction with the other HHPs. Government HHPs provided herd health service mainly to S farms and small C farms. Agricultural supply stores were identified as a dominant solitary HHP and provided herd health services to the majority of farmers. Increased knowledge of the routine management and biosecurity practices of S and C farmers and the key HHPs that are likely to be associated with those practices would be of value as this information could be used to inform a risk-based approach to disease surveillance and control. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

The short-term effects of a routine poisoning campaign on the movements and detectability of a social top-predator

Top-predators can be important components of resilient ecosystems, but they are still controlled in many places to mitigate a variety of economic, environmental and/or social impacts. Lethal control is often achieved through the broad-scale application of poisoned baits. Understanding the direct and indirect effects of such lethal control on subsequent movements and behaviour of survivors is an important pre-requisite for interpreting the efficacy and ecological outcomes of top-predator control. In this study, we use GPS tracking collars to investigate the fine-scale and short-term movements of dingoes (Canis lupus dingo and other wild dogs) in response to a routine poison-baiting program as an example of how a common, social top-predator can respond (behaviourally) to moderate levels of population reduction. We found no consistent control-induced differences in home range size or location, daily distance travelled, speed of travel, temporal activity patterns or road/trail usage for the seven surviving dingoes we monitored immediately before and after a typical lethal control event. These data suggest that the spatial behaviour of surviving dingoes was not altered in ways likely to affect their detectability, and if control-induced changes in dingoes' ecological function did occur, these may not be related to altered spatial behaviour or movement patterns.

APSIM – Evolution towards a new generation of agricultural systems simulation

Agricultural systems models worldwide are increasingly being used to explore options and solutions for the food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation and carbon trading problem domains. APSIM (Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator) is one such model that continues to be applied and adapted to this challenging research agenda. From its inception twenty years ago, APSIM has evolved into a framework containing many of the key models required to explore changes in agricultural landscapes with capability ranging from simulation of gene expression through to multi-field farms and beyond. Keating et al. (2003) described many of the fundamental attributes of APSIM in detail. Much has changed in the last decade, and the APSIM community has been exploring novel scientific domains and utilising software developments in social media, web and mobile applications to provide simulation tools adapted to new demands. This paper updates the earlier work by Keating et al. (2003) and chronicles the changing external challenges and opportunities being placed on APSIM during the last decade. It also explores and discusses how APSIM has been evolving to a “next generation” framework with improved features and capabilities that allow its use in many diverse topics.

Selecting and assessing social objectives for Australian fisheries management

This paper details Australian research that developed tools to assist fisheries managers and government agencies in engaging with the social dimension of industry and community welfare in fisheries management. These tools are in the form of objectives and indicators. These highlight the social dimensions and the effects of management plans and policy implementation on fishing industries and associated communities, while also taking into account the primacy of ecological imperatives. The deployment of these objectives and indicators initially provides a benchmark and, over the life of a management plan, can subsequently be used to identify trends in effects on a variety of social and economic elements that may be objectives in the management of a fishery. It is acknowledged that the degree to which factors can be monitored will be dependent upon resources of management agencies, however these frameworks provide a method for effectively monitoring and measuring change in the social dimension of fisheries management.Essentially, the work discussed in this paper provides fisheries management with the means to both track and begin to understand the effects of government policy and management plans on the social dimension of the fishing industry and its associated communities. Such tools allow the consideration of these elements, within an evidence base, into policy arrangements, and consequently provide an invaluable contribution to the ability to address resilience and sustainability of fishing industries and associated communities.