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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 37(5)

Shifts in macropod home ranges in response to wildlife management interventions

Natasha L. Wiggins A B E , Grant J. Williamson A , Hamish I. McCallum B D , Clive R. McMahon C and David M. J. S. Bowman A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Plant Science, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia.

B School of Zoology, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia.

C School for Environmental Research, Institute of Advanced Studies, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia.

D Present address: Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, Brisbane, Qld 4111, Australia.

E Corresponding author. Email: wigginsn@utas.edu.au

Wildlife Research 37(5) 379-391 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR09144
Submitted: 26 October 2009  Accepted: 31 May 2010   Published: 11 August 2010

Abstract

Context. Understanding how the individual movement patterns and dispersion of a population change following wildlife management interventions is crucial for effective population management.

Aims. We quantified the impacts of two wildlife management strategies, a lethal intervention and a subsequent barrier intervention, on localised populations of the two most common macropod species in Tasmania, the Tasmanian pademelon (Thylogale billardierii) and the red-necked wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus rufogriseus). This manipulation allowed us to examine two competing hypotheses concerning the distribution of individuals in animal populations – the Ideal Free Distribution (IFD) hypothesis and the Rose Petal (RP) hypothesis. We predicted that the RP would be supported if individuals maintained their previous home ranges following intervention, whereas the IFD would be supported if individuals redistributed following the management interventions.

Methods. The movement patterns of T. billardierii and M. r. rufogriseus were tracked using GPS technology before and after the two management interventions.

Key results. Following lethal intervention, pademelons and wallabies (1) maintained their home-range area, (2) increased their utilisation of agricultural habitat and (3) shifted their mean centroid locations compared with the pre-intervention period. Following barrier intervention, pademelons and wallabies (1) maintained their home-range area, (2) decreased their utilisation of agricultural habitat and (3) shifted their mean centroid locations compared with the pre-intervention period.

Conclusions. On the basis of the individual responses of macropods to the management strategies (1) lethal intervention appeared to induce small shifts in home-range distributions of those remaining individuals in the population with home ranges overlapping the areas of lethal intervention and (2) barrier intervention is likely to induce whole-scale population movements of the animals that survive the lethal intervention in their search of an alternative food source. Both species displayed spatial and temporal shifts in their home-range distributions in response to lethal and barrier interventions that appear to conform broadly to predictions of IFD, at least in the timeframe of the present experiment.

Implications. Wildlife management strategies, which are increasingly constrained by ethical, socio-political and financial considerations, should be based on ecological and behavioural data regarding the likely responses of the target population.

Additional keywords: behaviour, centroid location, habitat use, home-range area, movement patterns, Tasmanian pademelon, red-necked wallaby, wildlife intervention.


Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Tasmanian Community Forest Agreement: Alternatives to 1080 Program for project funding, and the University of Tasmania for in-kind project support. Greg Blackwell of the Alternatives to 1080 Program, DPIPWE, provided invaluable knowledge and assistance with animal trapping, collaring and tracking. Garth Bennett and staff at Forestry Tasmania provided in-kind support and assistance with animal trapping. Dr Ivo Edwards provided trapping equipment. John Evans, Jo McMillan and Scott Nicols provided invaluable technical and field support. Dr Mick Statham and Helen Statham provided advice for fencing design. Clare Brooker and Amelia Fowles provided field assistance. David Wilson provided GIS support. Dr Michael Perring provided additional statistical support and manuscript comments. The authors thank Trevor Hall and Barry Whiting for the use of their land. Approval for research was granted by the University of Tasmania Animal Ethics Committee (Permit # A9895) and the Parks and Wildlife Service (Permit # FA08122).


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Appendix 1.  Home ranges of (a) a medium-sized male Tasmanian pademelon (Individual 12) and (b) a medium-sized female red-necked wallaby (Individual 30) pre- and post-lethal intervention. The green line shows animal movement patterns pre-intervention and the red line shows movement patterns post-intervention.
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Appendix 2.  Home ranges of (a) a medium-sized male Tasmanian pademelon (Individual 12) and (b) a medium-sized female red-necked wallaby (Individual 30) pre- and post-barrier intervention. The green line shows animal movement patterns pre-intervention and the red line shows movement patterns post-intervention. The blue line indicates the location of the barrier construction (fence-line).
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