The impact of feral camels (Camelus dromedarius) on remote waterholes in central Australia
Jayne Brim Box A E , Glenis McBurnie A , Karin Strehlow B , Tracey Guest C , Martin Campbell C , Andy Bubb D , Kathy McConnell A , Sandy Willy C , Reggie Uluru C , Rene Kulitja C , Bernard Bell C , Selwyn Burke C , Raymond James C , Rodney Kunoth C and Brett Stockman CA Flora and Fauna Division, Department of Land Resource Management, PO Box 1120, Alice Springs, NT 0870, Australia.
B Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia.
C Central Land Council, Alice Springs, NT 0870, Australia.
D Ninti One Limited, Alice Springs, NT 0870, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: Jayne.Brimbox@nt.gov.au
The Rangeland Journal 38(2) 191-200 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ15074
Submitted: 3 August 2015 Accepted: 4 March 2016 Published: 5 May 2016
Abstract
The Katiti and Petermann Aboriginal Land Trusts (KPALT) in central Australia contain significant biological and cultural assets, including the World Heritage-listed Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. Until relatively recently, waterbodies in this remote region were not well studied, even though most have deep cultural and ecological significance to local Aboriginal people. The region also contains some of the highest densities of feral dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) in the nation, and was a focus area for the recently completed Australian Feral Camel Management Project. Within the project, the specific impacts of feral camels on waterholes were assessed throughout the KPALT. We found that aquatic macroinvertebrate biodiversity was significantly lower at camel-accessible sites, and fewer aquatic taxa considered ‘sensitive’ to habitat degradation were found at sites when or after camels were present. Water quality at camel-accessible sites was also significantly poorer (e.g. more turbid) than at sites inaccessible to camels. These results, in combination with emerging research and anecdotal evidence, suggest that large feral herbivores, such as feral camels and feral horses, are the main immediate threat to many waterbodies in central Australia. Management of large feral herbivores will be a key component in efforts to maintain and improve the health of waterbodies in central Australia, especially those not afforded protection within the national park system.
Additional keywords: camel management, freshwater macroinvertebrates, water resources.
References
Bayly, I. A. E. (1999). Review of how indigenous people managed for water in desert regions of Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 82, 17–25.Blaustein, L., Blaustein, J., and Chase, J. (2005). Chemical detection of the predator Notonecta irrorata by ovipositing Culex mosquitoes. Journal of Vector Ecology 30, 299–301.
| 16599167PubMed |
Box, J. B., Duguid, A., Read, R. E., Kimber, R. G., Knapton, A., Davis, J., and Bowland, A. E. (2008). Central Australian waterbodies: the importance of permanence in a desert landscape. Journal of Arid Environments 72, 1395–1413.
| Central Australian waterbodies: the importance of permanence in a desert landscape.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Boyd, C. E. (1990). ‘Water Quality in Ponds for Aquaculture.’ (Birmingham Publishing Company: Birmingham, AL.)
Brim-Box, J., Guest, T., Barker, P., Jambrecina, M., Moran, S., and Kulitja, R. (2010a). Camel usage and impacts at a permanent spring in central Australia: a case study. The Rangeland Journal 32, 55–62.
| Camel usage and impacts at a permanent spring in central Australia: a case study.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Brim-Box, J., Barker, P., Hengstler, J., and Sada, D. (2010b). ‘Central Australian Wetlands Monitoring Framework: Water Quality and Aquatic Fauna Sampling.’ (Greening Australia (NT) Ltd: Darwin, NT.)
Brim-Box, J., Davis, J., McBurnie, G., Duguid, A., Brock, C., McConnell, K., Day, C., and Palmer, C. (2014). Persistence of central Australian aquatic invertebrate communities. Marine and Freshwater Research 65, 562–572.
| Persistence of central Australian aquatic invertebrate communities.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Central Land Council (2014). ‘Ngura Nganampa Kunpu Kanyinma: Keep on Looking After Our Country Strongly.’ (Central Land Council/Katiti-Petermann Indigenous Protected Area Plan of Management: Alice Springs, NT.)
Chessman, B. (2003). ‘SIGNAL 2 – A Scoring System for Macro-invertebrate (‘Water Bugs’) in Australian Rivers.’ Monitoring River Heath Initiative Technical Report No. 31. (Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra, ACT.)
Clarke, K. R., and Gorley, R. N. (2006). ‘Primer v6: User Manual/Tutorial.’ (PRIMER-E Ltd: Plymouth, UK.)
Clarke, K. R., and Warwick, R. M. (2001). ‘Change in Marine Communities: An Approach to Statistical Analysis and Interpretation.’ 2nd edn. (Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Natural Environment Research Council: Plymouth, UK.)
Cohen, A. S., Bills, R., Cocquyt, C. Z., and Caljon, A. G. (1993). The impact of sediment pollution on biodiversity in Lake Tanganyika. Conservation Biology 7, 667–677.
| The impact of sediment pollution on biodiversity in Lake Tanganyika.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Copeland, C. (2008). Animal waste and water quality: EPA regulation of concentrated animal feeding operations CAFO. In: ‘Water Pollution Issues and Developments’. (Ed. S. V. Thomas.) pp. 51–73. (Nova Science Publishers: New York.)
Croel, R. C., and Kneitel, J. M. (2011). Cattle waste reduces plant diversity in vernal pool mesocosms. Aquatic Botany 95, 140–145.
| Cattle waste reduces plant diversity in vernal pool mesocosms.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Davis, J. A. (1996). Aquatic ecosystems in central Australia: comparison of recent records of fishes and macroinvertebrates with those of the Horn expedition. In: ‘Exploring Central Australia: Society, the Environment and the 1894 Horn Expedition’. (Eds S. R. Morton and D. J. Mulvaney.) pp. 282–286. (Surrey Beatty and Sons: Chipping Norton, NSW.)
Davis, J., and Brock, M. (2008). Detecting unacceptable change in the ecological character of wetlands. Ecological Management & Restoration 9, 26–32.
| Detecting unacceptable change in the ecological character of wetlands.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Davis, J. A., Harrington, S. A., and Friend, J. A. (1993). Macroinvertebrate communities of relict streams in the arid zone: the George Gill Range, Central Australia. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 44, 483–505.
| Macroinvertebrate communities of relict streams in the arid zone: the George Gill Range, Central Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Davis, J., Pavlova, A., Thompson, R., and Sunnucks, P. (2013). Evolutionary refugia and ecological refuges: key concepts for conserving Australian arid zone freshwater biodiversity under climate change. Global Change Biology 19, 1970–1984.
| Evolutionary refugia and ecological refuges: key concepts for conserving Australian arid zone freshwater biodiversity under climate change.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 23526791PubMed |
Desert Research Institute (2005). ‘Precious jewels of the desert. Research notes from southern Nevada.’ Vol. 1, Issue 1. (Desert Research Institute: Reno, NV, USA.)
Edwards, G. P., Zeng, B., and Saalfeld, W. K. (2008). Evaluation of the impacts of feral camels. In: ‘Managing the Impacts of Feral Camels in Australia: A New Way of doing Business’. DKCRC Report 47. (Eds G. P. Edwards, B. Zeng W. K. Saalfeld, P. Vaarzon-Morel and M. McGregor.) pp. 133–182. (Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre: Alice Springs, NT.)
Gleick, P. H., Singh, A., and Shi, H. (2001). ‘Emerging Threats to the World’s Freshwater Resources. Report.’ (Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security: Oakland, CA.)
Gould, R. A. (1969). Subsistence behaviour among the Western Desert Aborigines of Australia. Oceania 39, 253–274.
| Subsistence behaviour among the Western Desert Aborigines of Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Jeffries, M. J. (2011). The temporal dynamics of temporary pond macroinvertebrate communities over a 10-year period. Hydrobiologia 661, 391–405.
| The temporal dynamics of temporary pond macroinvertebrate communities over a 10-year period.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Karr, J. R., and Chu, E. W. (1999). ‘Restoring Life in Running Waters – Better Biological Monitoring.’ (Island Press: Covelo, CA.)
Karr, J. R., and Dudley, D. R. (1981). Ecological perspective on water quality goals. Environmental Management 5, 55–68.
| Ecological perspective on water quality goals.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lindenmayer, D. B., Burbidge, A. A., Hughs, L., Kitching, R. L., Musgrave, W., Stafford Smith, M., and Werner, P. A. (2010). Conservation strategies in response to rapid climate change: Australia as a case study. Biological Conservation 143, 1587–1593.
| Conservation strategies in response to rapid climate change: Australia as a case study.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
McBurnie, G., Davis, J., Thompson, R. M., Nano, C., and Brim-Box, J. (2015). The impacts of an invasive herbivore (Camelus dromedaries) on arid zone freshwater pools: an experimental investigation of the effects of dung on macroinvertebrate colonisation. Journal of Arid Environments 113, 69–76.
| The impacts of an invasive herbivore (Camelus dromedaries) on arid zone freshwater pools: an experimental investigation of the effects of dung on macroinvertebrate colonisation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Niemiller, M. L., Graening, G. O., Fenolio, D. B., Godwin, J. C., Cooley, J. R., Pearson, W. R., Near, T. J., and Fitzpatrick, B. M. (2013). Doomed before they are described? The need for conservation assessments of cryptic species complexes using an amblyopsid cavefish (Amblyopsidae: Typhlichthys) as a case study. Biodiversity and Conservation 22, 1799–1820.
| Doomed before they are described? The need for conservation assessments of cryptic species complexes using an amblyopsid cavefish (Amblyopsidae: Typhlichthys) as a case study.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Poff, N. L., Olden, J. D., Vieira, N. K. M., Finn, D. S., Simmons, M. P., and Kondratieff, B. C. (2006). Functional trait niches of North American lotic insects: traits-based ecological applications in light of phylogenetic relationships. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 25, 730–755.
| Functional trait niches of North American lotic insects: traits-based ecological applications in light of phylogenetic relationships.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Progar, R. A., and Moldenke, A. R. (2002). Insect production from temporary and perennially flowing headwater streams in western Oregon. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 17, 391–407.
| Insect production from temporary and perennially flowing headwater streams in western Oregon.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Rosenberg, D. M., and Resh, V. H. (1993). ‘Freshwater Biomonitoring and Benthic Macroinvertebrates.’ (Chapman and Hall: New York.)
Ruiz, F., Abad, M., Bodergat, A. M., Carbonel, P., Rodrı’guez-La’zaro, J., Gonza’lez-Regalado, M. L., Toscano, A., Garcı’a, E. X., and Prenda, J. (2013). Freshwater ostracods as environmental tracers. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 10, 1115–1128.
| Freshwater ostracods as environmental tracers.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC3sXht1Sltr7M&md5=40330e0a633fba271b76c870bdd5d441CAS |
Saalfeld, W. K., and Edwards, G. P. (2010). Distribution and abundance of the feral camel (Camelus dromedarius) in Australia. The Rangeland Journal 32, 1–9.
| Distribution and abundance of the feral camel (Camelus dromedarius) in Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Sada, D. W., and Vinyard, G. L. (2002). Anthropogenic changes in historical biogeography of Great Basin aquatic biota. In: ‘Great Basin Aquatic Systems History’. Smithsonian Contributions to the Earth Sciences No. 33. (Eds R. Hershler, D. B. Madsen and D. Currey.) pp. 277–293. (Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington, DC.)
Sada, D. W., Fleischman, E., and Murphy, D. D. (2005). Associations among spring-dependent aquatic assemblages and environmental and land use gradients in a Mojave Desert mountain range. Diversity & Distributions 11, 91–99.
| Associations among spring-dependent aquatic assemblages and environmental and land use gradients in a Mojave Desert mountain range.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Smith, A. (2013). Aquatic insects in a sea of desert: speciation and dispersal in Australian arid zone freshwater insects. Honours Thesis, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
Smith, V. H., Tilman, G. D., and Nekola, J. C. (1999). Eutrophication: impacts of excess nutrient inputs on freshwater, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems. Environmental Pollution 100, 179–196.
| Eutrophication: impacts of excess nutrient inputs on freshwater, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DyaK1MXlslShtb8%3D&md5=138cd3166af549289bf6124744b562bcCAS | 15093117PubMed |
Stav, G., Blaustein, L., and Margalit, Y. (2000). Influence of nymphal Anax imperator (Odonata: Aeshnidae) on oviposition by the mosquito Culiseta longiareolata (Diptera: Culicidae) and community structure in temporary pools. Journal of Vector Ecology 25, 190–202.
| 1:STN:280:DC%2BD3M3osFSlsw%3D%3D&md5=bf8fdb143b6a48d17d64d88d3ff77a4dCAS | 11217217PubMed |
Thomas, S. V. (2008). ‘Water Pollution Issues and Developments.’ (Nova Science Publishers: New York.)
Urban, M. C. (2004). Disturbance heterogeneity determines freshwater metacommunity structure. Ecology 85, 2971–2978.
| Disturbance heterogeneity determines freshwater metacommunity structure.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
US EPA (2000). National management measures to control nonpoint source pollution from agriculture. Contract No. 68-C99-249. Report produced by the Office of Water, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.
US EPA (2002a). ‘Methods for Evaluating Wetland Condition: Developing an Invertebrate Index of Biological Integrity for Wetlands.’ EPA-822-R-02-019. (Office of Water, US Environmental Protection Agency: Washington, DC.)
US EPA (2002b). ‘Methods for Evaluating Wetland Condition: Introduction to Wetland Biological Assessment.’ EPA-822-R-02-014. (Office of Water, US Environmental Protection Agency: Washington, DC.)
Van Sickle, J., Huff, D. D., and Hawkins, C. P. (2006). Selecting discriminant function models for predicting the expected richness of aquatic invertebrates. Freshwater Biology 51, 359–372.
| Selecting discriminant function models for predicting the expected richness of aquatic invertebrates.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Williams, W. D. (1999). Conservation of wetlands in drylands: a key global issue. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 9, 517–522.
| Conservation of wetlands in drylands: a key global issue.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Yuan, L. L., and Norton, S. B. (2003). Comparing responses of macroinvertebrate metrics to increasing stress. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 22, 308–322.
| Comparing responses of macroinvertebrate metrics to increasing stress.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |