Releasing of pheasants for shooting in the UK alters woodland invertebrate communities

The management of pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in pens and their subsequent release within woodland for game shoots is widely practised in Britain. With the exception of ground flora and songbirds, the impacts on other taxa have not been well documented. We investigated the effects of pheasants on invertebrate abundance and community composition, using pitfall trapping. We compared release pens with control plots located in the same woods and in woods where no pheasant releasing had occurred for at least 25 years. Conditions for invertebrates within release pens were altered, with more annual plants and disturbance-tolerant perennials and a reduced leaf litter layer. No major differences in invertebrate abundance, or Carabidae or Staphylinidae richness, were found in spring at either the pen scale or the wood scale. However, pheasant release pens resulted in significant changes in the species composition of Carabidae, with shifts towards species typical of arable fields and grassland. Carabid species active in spring and those that are very large (N17.0 mm) declined at pheasant release densities higher than 1000 birds/ha. Both effects are likely to be due to predation by pheasants at the peak of release in July–August, operating separately on larvae and adults respectively. There was an overall increase in the abundance of detritivores, including Diplopoda, Oniscoidea, Gastropoda (snails), at higher release densities. Mean release density in our study was 1489 ± 126 birds/ha (range 174–3409, n = 37 pens) and we suggest that detrimental effects on specialist woodland invertebrates would be minimized if releasing was conducted at the recommended density of 700 birds/ha.

Shooting Mabel: warrior masculinity and Asian invasion

This article examines stories published around the beginning of the twentieth century depicting Asian invasions of Australia, and discovers consistent patterns of gendered and racialised assumptions setting Australian men, the bush and the future of the white race against Australian women, the city, and the asianisation of the nation. It argues that warrior Japan created a powerful case for an answering tradition of defiant, bush-based masculinity in Australia.

Movements of a nomadic waterfowl, Grey Teal Anas gracilis, across inland Australia – results from satellite telemetry spanning fifteen months

We used lightweight satellite transmitters to follow the movements of 17 Grey Teal Anas gracilis between September 2003 and November 2004 in two contrasting landscapes, the agricultural districts of southern Australia and the desert landscapes of the interior. Tagged birds moved large distances (up to 343 km) between occupied sites in a short period (hours), remained in the vicinity of those sites for extended periods (months), ventured up to 453 km from their point of release and travelled more than 2000 km in one year. We describe patterns of movement in a nomadic waterfowl for 15 months from September 2003, a period of severe drought. Based on the current analysis there appears to be no remarkable difference in the observed patterns of movement of those released in the agricultural landscapes and those released in the desert. As in waterfowl elsewhere, movements appear to occur in response to changes in local food abundance that threaten survival or the imperative to move in order to breed successfully. In Grey Teal, the proximate cues for movement transcend the local landscape and some birds are responding to temporary cues hundreds of kilometres distant. This is in contrast to the universal seasonal cues associated with migration systems elsewhere.

Use of satellite telemetry on small-bodied waterfowl in Australia

The nomadic or dispersive movements of many Australian waterfowl in response to irregular environmental cues make satellite telemetry studies the only means by which these long-distance movements can be tracked in real time. Unlike some large-bodied soaring species, attaching satellite transmitters to small-bodied waterfowl (<1 kg) is not straightforward because ducks have high wing loadings and need to maintain active flapping to stay aloft. In the present paper, we detail one harness design and attachment method that enabled us to track grey teal (Anas gracilis) for up to 879 days. In addition, we detail rates of data loss, changes in data quality over time and variation in data quality from solar-powered satellite-tags deployed on ducks in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Up to 68% of all locational fixes have a nominal accuracy of less than 1 km, and satellite-tags deployed on wild birds can provide up to 22 location fixes per day and store enough energy during the day to run continuously throughout the night.

How to find natural reservoir hosts from endemic prevalence in a multi-host population : a case study of influenza in waterfowl

The transmission dynamics of infectious diseases critically depend on reservoir hosts, which can sustain the pathogen (or maintain the transmission) in the population even in the absence of other hosts. Although a theoretical foundation of the transmission dynamics in a multi-host population has been established, no quantitative methods exist for the identification of natural reservoir hosts. For a host to maintain the transmission alone, the host-specific reproduction number (U), interpreted as the average number of secondary transmissions caused by a single primary case in the host(s) of interest in the absence of all other hosts, must be greater than unity. If the host-excluded reproduction number (Q), representing the average number of secondary transmissions per single primary case in other hosts in the absence of the host(s) of interest, is below unity, transmission cannot be maintained in the multi-host population in the absence of the focal host(s).

The present study proposes a simple method for the identification of reservoir host(s) from observed endemic prevalence data across a range of host species. As an example, we analyze an aggregated surveillance dataset of influenza A virus in wild birds among which dabbling ducks exhibit higher prevalence compared to other bird species. Since the heterogeneous contact patterns between different host species are not directly observable, we test four different contact structures to account for the uncertainty. Meeting the requirements of U > 1 and Q < 1 for all four different contact structures, mallards and other dabbling ducks most likely constitute the reservoir community which plays a predominant role in maintaining the transmission of influenza A virus in the water bird population. We further discuss epidemiological issues which are concerned with the interpretation of influenza prevalence data, identifying key features to be fully clarified in the future.

Biogeographic models of gene flow in two waterfowl of the Australo-Papuan tropics

There are many large, easy-to-observe anseriform birds (ducks, geese, and swans) in northern Australia and New Guinea and they often gather in large numbers. Yet, the structure of their populations and their regional movements are poorly understood. Lack of understanding of population structure limits our capacity to understand source-sink dynamics relevant to their conservation or assess risks associated with avian-borne pathogens, in particular, avian influenza for which waterfowl are the main reservoir species. We set out to assess present-day genetic connectivity between populations of two widely distributed waterfowl in the Australo-Papuan tropics, magpie goose Anseranas semipalmata (Latham, 1798) and wandering whistling-duck Dendrocygna arcuata (Horsfield, 1824). Microsatellite data were obtained from 237 magpie geese and 64 wandering whistling-duck. Samples were collected across northern Australia, and at one site each in New Guinea and Timor Leste. In the wandering whistling-duck, genetic diversity was significantly apportioned by region and sampling location. For this species, the best model of population structure was New Guinea as the source population for all other populations. One remarkable result for this species was genetic separation of two flocks sampled contemporaneously on Cape York Peninsula only a few kilometers apart. In contrast, evidence for population structure was much weaker in the magpie goose, and Cape York as the source population provided the best fit to the observed structure. The fine scale genetic structure observed in wandering whistling-duck and magpie goose is consistent with earlier suggestions that the west-coast of Cape York Peninsula is a flyway for Australo-Papuan anseriforms between Australia and New Guinea across Torres Strait.

Gut travellers : internal dispersal of aquatic organisms by waterfowl

Aim: Patterns of high biodiversity among less mobile organisms throughout isolated locations suggest that passive dispersal importantly contributes to biodiversity. We examined the contribution of waterbirds to the dispersal of plant seeds and macroinvert

Movement ecology of nomadic arid zone waterfowl

This thesis provides insights into the spatial and temporal patterns of movement in nomadic waterfowl, the response of birds to rapid environmental change, behavioural flexibility of avian movements and the ability of birds to locate seemingly unpredictable water bodies in vast arid landscapes.

Avian influenza infection dynamics under variable climatic conditions, viral prevalence is rainfall driven in waterfowl from temperate, south-east Australia

Understanding Avian Influenza Virus (AIV) infection dynamics in wildlife is crucial because of possible virus spill over to livestock and humans. Studies from the northern hemisphere have suggested several ecological and environmental drivers of AIV prevalence in wild birds. To determine if the same drivers apply in the southern hemisphere, where more irregular environmental conditions prevail, we investigated AIV prevalence in ducks in relation to biotic and abiotic factors in south-eastern Australia. We sampled duck faeces for AIV and tested for an effect of bird numbers, rainfall anomaly, temperature anomaly and long-term ENSO (El-Niño Southern Oscillation) patterns on AIV prevalence. We demonstrate a positive long term effect of ENSO-related rainfall on AIV prevalence. We also found a more immediate response to rainfall where AIV prevalence was positively related to rainfall in the preceding 3-7 months. Additionally, for one duck species we found a positive relationship between their numbers and AIV prevalence, while prevalence was negatively or not affected by duck numbers in the remaining four species studied. In Australia largely non-seasonal rainfall patterns determine breeding opportunities and thereby influence bird numbers. Based on our findings we suggest that rainfall influences age structures within populations, producing an influx of immunologically naïve juveniles within the population, which may subsequently affect AIV infection dynamics. Our study suggests that drivers of AIV dynamics in the northern hemisphere do not have the same influence at our south-east Australian field site in the southern hemisphere due to more erratic climatological conditions.

Evaluation of hearing protection used by police officers in the shooting range

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

BADGERS (Taxidea taxus) AS OCCASIONAL PESTS IN AGRICULTURE

The badger (Taxidea taxus). because of its strong propensity for digging, is considered North America's fossorial carnivore, feeding mostly on ground squirrels, pocket gophers, and mice throughout much of the western and midwestern continent. Badger excavations, primarily in search of food, produce mounds and deep holes which can damage alfalfa and other crops and damage farm equipment and water systems. Depredations include poultry, waterfowl, and eggs. Overall, the badger is considered a relatively minor vertebrate pest. As a furbearer it is considered a renewable natural resource. Most local pest problems are currently reduced through leghold trapping and shooting. Habitat modification through continuous rodent control is effective and a long-lasting badger control method.