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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 32(2)

Prevalence of threatened native species in canid scats from coastal and near-coastal landscapes in south-eastern Australia

Andrew W. Claridge A B D , Douglas J. Mills A and Simon C. Barry C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, Parks and Wildlife Group, Planning and Assessment Team, Southern Ranges Branch, PO Box 733, Queanbeyan, NSW 2620, Australia.

B School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Australian Defence Force Academy, Northcott Drive, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia.

C CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences, Computer Science and Information Technology Building, North Road, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: andrew.claridge@environment.nsw.gov.au

Australian Mammalogy 32(2) 117-126 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM09038
Submitted: 17 December 2009  Accepted: 17 March 2010   Published: 5 August 2010

Abstract

Predator scat analysis was used to infer the potential impact of wild dogs (Canis lupus dingo, C. l. familiaris and hybrids of the two) on threatened native terrestrial mammals in coastal and near-coastal southern New South Wales, Australia. Prey items recorded in wild dog scats were compared with those occurring in scats of the red fox collected at the same study sites. Six threatened mammal species were recorded in either wild dog or fox scats: eastern pygmy possum, grey-headed flying fox, long-nosed potoroo, southern brown bandicoot, white-footed dunnart and yellow-bellied glider. The prevalence of these threatened species in fox scats was significantly higher than in wild dog scats. Otherwise, wild dogs mostly consumed larger prey items such as swamp wallabies and wombats whereas foxes more heavily preyed on small mammals such as antechinus and rats. Our results suggest that foxes are the major threat to threatened mammal species in the study region. Land management agencies in south-eastern mainland Australia should therefore focus on controlling foxes for biodiversity gain.

Additional keywords: diet, foxes, forests, wild dogs.


Acknowledgements

This is the third paper stemming from the Dogs in Space project (© New South Wales Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water), an initiative to better understand the ecology of wild dogs in south-eastern Australia to inform land-management decisions. The Parks and Wildlife Group Southern Branch Senior Management Team provided most of the funding for dietary analyses and their support is gratefully acknowledged. This research was also partly funded through a grant from the Australian Alps Liaison Committee, comprising park management agencies from the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Victoria. For assistance in the field we give special thanks to Rod Avery, Max Beukers, Scott Channing, James Dawson, Craig Dickman, Lyn Evans, Russell Graham, George Malolakis and Dr David Paull. Barbara Triggs analysed scat samples. Mary Knolls facilitated access to Sydney Water Authority Lands while Rob Humphries provided logistical support at Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Assoc. Prof. Jóse Cuervo provided earlier constructive comments on this paper. Finally, our research was conducted under the auspices of a NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Section 120 Scientific Investigation Licence (A10018) and DECCW Animal Ethics Committee Approval No. 980315/01.


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