Increasing the target specificity of the canid-pest ejector for red fox (Vulpes vulpes) control by using a collar to exclude larger canids
Lauren I. Young
A * , Kirsten Skinner A , John Tyne A and Glenn Edwards A
A
Abstract
Canid-pest ejectors (CPEs) offer a compromise between broadscale free-baiting programs that can have non-target impacts and more target-specific methods such as trapping and shooting, which are inefficient across larger scales. CPEs target wild canids, such as red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and wild dogs (Canis spp.). However, there are situations where red fox control is required, but the risk to non-target canids, such as dingoes and other dogs, prevents the use of broadscale baiting.
We field-trialled and refined a collar for the CPE that was designed to allow red foxes to trigger CPEs, but prevent dingoes and medium–large-sized dogs from doing so.
We deployed uncollared and collared CPEs paired with camera-traps across two study areas in central Australia, and assessed which taxa triggered CPEs and whether the activity rates, behaviour and CPE triggering rates of five taxa (red foxes, wild dogs, feral cats (Felis catus), corvids (Corvus spp.), and varanids (Varanus spp.)) differed between CPEs with and those without collars.
With a simple modification to our original collar design, a red fox was able to trigger collared CPEs. Collared CPEs were triggered by wild dogs when they were set with the bait head 1 cm below the rim of the collar, but not when they were set with the bait head at 2 cm below the rim. Uncollared CPEs were triggered by wild dogs (97.03% of triggers), red foxes (1.98%) and corvids (0.99%). Activity rates of the study taxa towards CPEs did not differ between collared and uncollared CPEs. However, behavioural analyses suggested that red foxes and wild dogs showed more caution around collared CPEs.
We present proof-of-concept that deploying CPEs inside a collar increases the target specificity of this device by excluding wild dogs, while allowing red foxes to access the bait head. However, our data suggest that the addition of a collar may reduce interaction rates of red foxes and wild dogs with CPEs.
The collared CPE provides a control method for red foxes that reduces the risk to dingoes and other medium–large-sized dogs and may allow for greater landholder participation in red fox management.
Keywords: baiting, camera-trap, canid-pest ejector, canids, introduced species, pest management, predator control, red fox.
References
Algar D, Angus GJ, Williams MR, Mellican AE (2007) Influence of bait type, weather and prey abundance on bait uptake by feral cats (Felis catus) on Peron Peninsula, Western Australia. Conservation Science Western Australia 6, 109-149.
| Google Scholar |
Bourke J, Wroe S, Moreno K, McHenry C, Clausen P (2008) Effects of gape and tooth position on bite force and skull stress in the dingo (Canis lupus dingo) using a 3-dimensional finite element approach. PLoS ONE 3, e2200.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Brooks ME, Kristensen K, van Benthem KJ, Magnusson A, Berg CW, Nielsen A, Skaug HJ, Marchler M, Bolker BM (2017) glmmTMB balances speed and flexibility among packages for zero-inflated generalized linear mixed modeling. The R Journal 9, 378-400.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Bureau of Meteorology (2021) Climate Data Online. Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology. Available at http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/ [accessed 4 October 2019]
Caravaggi A, Gatta M, Vallely M-C, Hogg K, Freeman M, Fadaei E, Dick JTA, Montgomery WI, Reid N, Tosh DG (2018) Seasonal and predator-prey–effects on circadian activity of free-ranging mammals revealed by camera traps. PeerJ 6, e5827.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Dickman CR (1996) Impact of exotic generalist predators on the native fauna of Australia. Wildlife Biology 2, 185-195.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Doherty TS, Algar D (2015) Response of feral cats to a track-based baiting programme using Eradicat® baits. Ecological Management & Restoration 16, 124-130.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Dundas SJ, Adams PJ, Fleming PA (2014) First in, first served: uptake of 1080 poison fox baits in south-west Western Australia. Wildlife Research 41, 117-126.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Fairbridge D, Anderson R, Wilkes T, Pell G (2003) Bait uptake by free living brush-tailed phascogales Phascogale tapoatafa and other non-target mammals during simulated buried fox baiting. Australian Mammalogy 25, 31-40.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Fancourt BA, Augusteyn J, Cremasco P, Nolan B, Richards S, Speed J, Wilson C, Gentle MN (2021) Measuring, evaluating and improving the effectiveness of invasive predator control programs: feral cat baiting as a case study. Journal of Environmental Management 280, 111691.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Fox J, Weisberg S (2019) ‘An {R} companion to applied regression’, 3rd edn. (Sage: Thousand Oaks, CA, USA) Available at https://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/jfox/Books/Companion/
Gil-Fernández M, Harcourt R, Towerton A, Newsome T, Milner HA, Sriram S, Gray N, Escobar-Lasso S, González-Cardoso VH, Carthey A (2021) The canid pest ejector challenge: controlling urban foxes while keeping domestic dogs safe. Wildlife Research 48, 314-322.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Heffernan J, Andelt WF, Shivik JA (2007) Coyote investigative behaviour following removal of novel stimuli. The Journal of Wildlife Management 71, 587-593.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Kinnear JE, Onus ML, Sumner NR (1998) Fox control and rock-wallaby population dynamics — II. An update. Wildlife Research 25, 81-88.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Kinnear JE, Krebs CJ, Pentland C, Orell P, Holme C, Karvinen R (2010) Predator-baiting experiments for the conservation of rock-wallabies in Western Australia: a 25-year review with recent advances. Wildlife Research 37, 57 67.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Kreplins TL, Kennedy MS, Adams PJ, Bateman PW, Dundas SD, Fleming PA (2018a) Fate of dried meat baits aimed at wild dog (Canis familiaris) control. Wildlife Research 45, 528-538.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Kreplins TL, Kennedy MS, Dundas SJ, Adams PJ, Bateman PW, Fleming PA (2018b) Corvid interference with Canid Pest Ejectors in the southern rangelands of Western Australia. Ecological Management & Restoration 19, 169-172.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Kreplins TL, Miller J, Kennedy MS (2022) Are canid pest ejectors an effective control tool for wild dogs in an arid rangeland environment? Wildlife Research 49, 227-236.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Marks CA, Wilson R (2005) Predicting mammalian target-specificity of the M-44 ejector in south-eastern Australia. Wildlife Research 32, 151-156.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Marks CA, Busana F, Gigliotti F (1999) Assessment of the M-44 ejector for the delivery of 1080 for red fox (Vulpes vulpes) control. Wildlife Research 26, 101-109.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Marks CA, Gigliotti F, Busana F (2003) Field performance of the M-44 ejector for red fox (Vulpes vulpes) control. Wildlife Research 30, 601-609.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Mcilroy JC (1984) The sensitivity of Australian Animals to 1080 Poison. Vii. Native and Introduced Birds. Wildlife Research 11, 373-385.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Mcilroy JC (1986) The sensitivity of Australian animals to 1080 Poison. 9. Comparisons between the major groups of animals, and the potential danger nontarget species face from 1080 poisoning campaigns. Wildlife Research 13, 39-48.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
McIlroy JC (1992) The effect on Australian animals of 1080 poisoning campaigns. In ‘Proceedings of the 15th Vertebrate Pest Conference’. pp. 356–359. (University of California: Davis, CA, USA) Available at https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpc15/54
Morton FB, Gartner M, Norrie E-M, Haddou Y, Soulsbury CD, Adaway KA (2023) Urban foxes are bolder but not more innovative than their rural conspecifics. Animal Behaviour 203, 101-113.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Moseby KE, Read JL, Galbraith B, Munro N, Newport J, Hill BM (2011) The use of poison baits to control feral cats and red foxes in arid South Australia II. Bait type, placement, lures and non-target uptake. Wildlife Research 38, 350-358.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Newsome TM, Crowther MS, Dickman CR (2014) Rapid recolonisation by the European red fox: how effective are uncoordinated and isolated control programs? European Journal of Wildlife Research 60, 749-757.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Nicholson E, Gigliotti F (2005) Increasing the target-specificity of the M-44 ejector by exploiting differences in head morphology between foxes and large dasyurids. Wildlife Research 32, 733-736.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
R Core Team (2022) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. (R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna, Austria) Available at https://www.R-project.org/
Read JL, Dagg E, Moseby KE (2019) Prey selectivity by feral cats at central Australian rock-wallaby colonies. Australian Mammalogy 41, 132.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Séquin ES, Jaeger MM, Brussard PF, Barrett RH (2003) Wariness of coyotes to camera traps relative to social status and territory boundaries. Canadian Journal of Zoology 81, 2015-2025.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Sergeyev M, Richards KA, Ellis KS, Hall LK, Wood JA, Larsen RT (2020) Behavioural differences at scent stations between two exploited species of desert canids. PLoS ONE 15, e0232492.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Sharp A, Norton M, Havelberg C, Cliff W, Marks A (2015) Population recovery of the yellow-footed rock-wallaby following fox control in New South Wales and South Australia. Wildlife Research 41, 560-570.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Southwell D, McCowen S, Mewett O, Hennecke B (2011) ‘Understanding the drivers and barriers towards the adoption of innovative canid control technologies: a review.’ (ABARES (Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences) report prepared for the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre: Canberra, ACT, Australia)
Thomson PC (1986) The effectiveness of aerial baiting for the control of dingoes in north-western Australia. Australian Wildlife Research 13, 165-176.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Tobler M (2015) Camera Base Version 1.7. User guide. Available at http://www.atrium-biodiversity.org/tools/camerabase/
Tobler MW, Carrillo-Percastegui SE, Leite Pitman R, Mares R, Powell G (2008) An evaluation of camera traps for inventorying large- and medium-sized terrestrial rainforest mammals. Animal Conservation 11, 169-178.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Towerton AL, Penman TD, Kavanagh RP, Dickman CR (2011) Detecting pest and prey responses to fox control across the landscape using remote cameras. Wildlife Research 38, 208-220.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Travaini A, Vassallo AI, García GO, Echeverría AI, Zapata SC, Nielsen S (2013) Evaluation of neophobia and its potential impact upon predator control techniques: a study on two sympatric foxes in southern Patagonia. Behavioural Processes 92, 79-87.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
van Polanen Petel AMP, Kirkwood R, Gigliotti F, Marks C (2004) Adaptation and assessment of M-44 ejectors in a fox-control program on Phillip Island, Victoria. Wildlife Research 31, 143-147.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Woinarski JCZ, Burbidge AA, Harrison PL (2015) Ongoing unraveling of a continental fauna: decline and extinction of Australian mammals since European settlement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112, 4531-4540.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Young JK (2016) Modifying M-44s to reduce risk of activation by swift fox. Wildlife Society Bulletin 40, 800-805.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
