The performance of wombat gates in controlling wildlife movement through a predator fence
T. D. CoatesRoyal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne, 1000 Ballarto Road, Cranbourne, Vic. 3977, Australia. Email: terry.coates@rbg.vic.gov.au
Australian Mammalogy 35(2) 184-187 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM12030
Submitted: 14 June 2012 Accepted: 18 April 2013 Published: 14 June 2013
Abstract
Because of the ubiquitous and intractable threat posed by fox predation in many parts of south-east Australia, exclusion fences are increasingly seen as playing an important role in the long-term management of some biodiversity reserves. However, while fences can help to reduce predation pressure on populations of small to medium-sized vertebrates, they may also restrict the movement of non-target species and require maintenance to ensure their continued effectiveness. One of the challenges facing conservation agencies is to construct fences that reduce maintenance costs while reliably and selectively controlling the movement of desirable and undesirable species into and out of areas of conservation significance. In this study 10 custom-designed ‘wombat gates’ were monitored with motion-detecting cameras to determine whether they remained an effective barrier to foxes and other taxa after more than a decade of operation. Wombats and echidnas frequently passed through gates while foxes and black wallabies were apparently unable or unwilling to use them. This type of gate may prove valuable in the management of fenced conservation reserves.
Additional keywords: fenced reserve, introduced predators, motion-detecting cameras, predator-proof fence.
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