Applying a versatile, comprehensive, attribute-based waterhole classification scheme to ecosystem-based management challenges
K. Glanville
A * , J. Perry B D , T. Ryan A , M. Ronan C and P. Zivec C E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Queensland Herbarium, Department of Environment and Science, Queensland Government, Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha Road, Toowong, Qld 4066, Australia.
B CSIRO Land and Water, Australian Tropical Science and Innovation Precinct, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4814, Australia.
C Department of Environment and Science, Queensland Government, 400 George Street, Brisbane, Qld 4000, Australia.
D Present address: North Australia Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd, 23 Ellengowan Drive, Brinkin, NT 0810, Australia.
E Present address: Australian Rivers Institute, Sir Samuel Griffith Centre, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, Qld 4111, Australia.
Wildlife Research 50(12) 1085-1096 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR22027
Submitted: 10 March 2022 Accepted: 18 January 2023 Published: 13 February 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing
Abstract
Context: Understanding habitat suitability for feral animals across a landscape is important for conservation planning because the spatial and temporal availability of water provides critical limits to native biodiversity and the processes that threaten it. Previous attempts to support management actions on feral pig populations through predictions of population abundance, distribution and seasonal resource constraints have been confounded by a lack of knowledge, classification and mapping of waterholes – which are critical to their survival.
Aims: In this paper, we aimed to apply a waterhole classification scheme for feral pig management to address gaps in our understanding of water and food availability through space and time, at scales relevant to feral animal movement and resource use.
Methods: We utilise an attribute-based waterhole classification scheme for ecosystem-based management by defining a waterhole typology of feral pig habitat suitability and applying it spatially.
Key results: Five attributes (water permanence, predictability of inundation, oceanic influence, dominant vegetation and shading) reflect many of the critical requirements for feral pig habitat in northern Australia. The attributes directly relate to the environmental constraints that exert population and behavioural pressure on feral pigs. These attributes were applied spatially in a specific hierarchy to group waterholes into 21 types.
Conclusions: A waterhole typology that characterises within the context of their suitability for feral pig populations is foundational for systematic adaptive management and monitoring programs that aim to reduce the impact of threatening processes on freshwater ecosystems.
Implications: Refining the mapping of important feral pig habitat variables (water and food) will greatly improve modelling approaches that aim to support data-driven management approaches, such as connectivity analysis and estimating population dynamics to inform culling programs. Here we demonstrate a significant increase in overlap with known feral pig distributions using a much smaller mapped effective management area when compared with previous best available spatial products.
Keywords: adaptive management, Australia, classification, feral pigs, habitat, typology, waterholes, wetlands.
References
Acreman, M, Hughes, KA, Arthington, AH, Tickner, D, and Dueñas, M-A (2020). Protected areas and freshwater biodiversity: a novel systematic review distils eight lessons for effective conservation. Conservation Letters 13, .| Protected areas and freshwater biodiversity: a novel systematic review distils eight lessons for effective conservation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Aquatic Ecosystems Task Group (2012) Aquatic ecosystems toolkit. Module 2. Interim Australian national aquatic ecosystem classification framework. Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Canberra.
Barrios-Garcia, MN, and Ballari, SA (2012). Impact of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in its introduced and native range: a review. Biological Invasions 14, 2283–2300.
| Impact of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in its introduced and native range: a review.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Bengsen, AJ, Gentle, MN, Mitchell, JL, Pearson, HE, and Saunders, GR (2014). Impacts and management of wild pigs Sus scrofa in Australia. Mammal Review 44, 135–147.
| Impacts and management of wild pigs Sus scrofa in Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Bohnet, IC, and Kinjun, C (2009). Community uses and values of water informing water quality improvement planning: a study from the Great Barrier Reef region, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 60, 1176–1182.
| Community uses and values of water informing water quality improvement planning: a study from the Great Barrier Reef region, Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Box, JB, Duguid, A, Read, RE, Kimber, RG, Knapton, A, Davis, J, and Bowland, AE (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 |
Bureau of Meteorology (2016) Climate classification maps. [Accessed 19 October 2020]. Available at http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/climate_averages/climate-classifications/index.jsp?maptype=seasgrpb#maps
Choquenot D, McIlroy J, Korn T (1996) ‘Managing vertebrate pests: feral pigs.’ (Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra)
Costelloe, F, Shields, A, Grayson, B, and McMahon, A (2007). Determining loss characteristics of arid zone river waterbodies. River Research and Applications 23, 715–731.
| Determining loss characteristics of arid zone river waterbodies.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Daily, GC, Polasky, S, Goldstein, J, Kareiva, PM, Mooney, HA, Pejchar, L, Ricketts, TH, Salzman, J, and Shallenberger, R (2009). Ecosystem services in decision making: time to deliver. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 7, 21–28.
| Ecosystem services in decision making: time to deliver.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Davis L, Thoms M, Fellows C, Bunn S (2002) Physical and ecological associations in dryland refugia: waterholes of the Cooper Creek, Australia. In ‘The structure, function and management implications of fluvial sedimentary systems. Proceedings of an international symposium, Alice Springs, 2–6 September 2002’. (Eds FJ Dyer, MC Thoms, JM Olley). pp. 77–84. (International Association of Hydrological Sciences: Oxfordshire)
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 |
Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (2017) Queensland Intertidal and Subtidal Ecosystem Classification Scheme Version 1.0. Module 1 – Introduction and implementation of intertidal and subtidal ecosystem classification. Queensland Wetlands Program, Queensland Government, Brisbane.
Department of Environment and Science (2013) Archer River drainage sub-basin — facts and maps, WetlandInfo website. [Accessed 19 October 2020]. Available at https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetlands/facts-maps/sub-basin-archer-river/
Department of Environment and Science (2020a) The Queensland waterhole classification scheme. Queensland Wetlands Program, Queensland Government, Brisbane.
Department of Environment and Science (2020b) Queensland Intertidal and Subtidal Ecosystem Classification Scheme Version 1.0. Module 4 – A method for providing baseline mapping of intertidal and subtidal ecosystems in Queensland. Queensland Wetlands Program, Queensland Government, Brisbane.
Department of Environment and Science (2021) Seasonal persistent green - Landsat, JRSRP algorithm, Australia Coverage. Version 1.0. Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network. (Dataset).
Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (2008) Feral pig : A practical guide to pig control in Queensland. Queensland, Australia.
Ens, E-J, Cooke, P, Nadjamerrek, R, et al. (2010). Combining aboriginal and non-aboriginal knowledge to assess and manage feral water buffalo impacts on perennial freshwater springs of the aboriginal-owned Arnhem Plateau, Australia. Environmental Management 45, 751–758.
| Combining aboriginal and non-aboriginal knowledge to assess and manage feral water buffalo impacts on perennial freshwater springs of the aboriginal-owned Arnhem Plateau, Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Farley, J, Aquino, A, Daniels, A, Moulaert, A, Lee, D, and Krause, A (2010). Global mechanisms for sustaining and enhancing PES schemes. Ecological Economics 69, 2075–2084.
| Global mechanisms for sustaining and enhancing PES schemes.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fletcher WJ, Shaw J, Gaughan DJ, Metcalf SJ (2011) Ecosystem based fisheries management case study report – West Coast Bioregion, Fisheries Research Report No. 225. Department of Fisheries, Western Australia.
Foley, MM, Armsby, MH, Prahler, EE, Caldwell, MR, Erickson, AL, Kittinger, JN, Crowder, LB, and Levin, PS (2013). Improving ocean management through the use of ecological principles and integrated ecosystem assessments. BioScience 63, 619–631.
| Improving ocean management through the use of ecological principles and integrated ecosystem assessments.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Froese JG (2017) Modelling seasonal habitat suitability and connectivity for feral pigs in northern Australia: towards risk-based management of infectious animal diseases with wildlife hosts. PhD Thesis, The University of Queensland, Brisbane. Available at https://doi.org/10.14264/uql.2017.986
Froese, JG, Smith, CS, Durr, PA, McAlpine, CA, and van Klinken, RD (2017a). Modelling seasonal habitat suitability for wide-ranging species: invasive wild pigs in northern Australia. PLoS ONE 12, .
| Modelling seasonal habitat suitability for wide-ranging species: invasive wild pigs in northern Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Froese JG, Smith CS, Durr PA, McAlpine CA, van Klinken RD (2017b) Modelling seasonal habitat suitability for wide-ranging species: invasive wild pigs in northern Australia. Dryad, Dataset. Available at https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.v103v
Gibling, MR, Nanson, GC, and Maroulis, JC (1998). Anastomosing river sedimentation in the Channel Country of central Australia. Sedimentology 45, 595–619.
| Anastomosing river sedimentation in the Channel Country of central Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Granek, EF, Polasky, S, Kappel, CV, Reed, DJ, Stoms, DM, Koch, EW, Kennedy, CJ, Cramer, LA, Hacker, SD, Barbier, EB, Aswani, S, Ruckelshaus, M, Perillo, GME, Silliman, BR, Muthiga, N, Bael, D, and Wolanski, E (2010). Ecosystem services as a common language for coastal ecosystem-based management. Conservation Biology: the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology 24, 207–216.
| Ecosystem services as a common language for coastal ecosystem-based management.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Jardine, TD, Pusey, BJ, Hamilton, SK, Pettit, NE, Davies, PM, Douglas, MM, Sinnamon, V, Halliday, IA, and Bunn, SE (2012). Fish mediate high food web connectivity in the lower reaches of a tropical floodplain river. Oecologia 168, 829–838.
| Fish mediate high food web connectivity in the lower reaches of a tropical floodplain river.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Karfs, RA, Abbott, BN, Scarth, PF, and Wallace, JF (2009). Land condition monitoring information for reef catchments: a new era. The Rangeland Journal 31, 69–86.
| Land condition monitoring information for reef catchments: a new era.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kenchington, R, and Hutchings, P (2012). Science, biodiversity and Australian management of marine ecosystems. Ocean & Coastal Management 69, 194–199.
| Science, biodiversity and Australian management of marine ecosystems.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Knighton, AD, and Nanson, GC (2000). Waterhole form and process in the anastomosing channel system of Cooper Creek, Australia. Geomorphology 35, 101–117.
| Waterhole form and process in the anastomosing channel system of Cooper Creek, Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
McLeod R (2004) Counting the Cost: Impact of Invasive Animals in Australia 2004. Cooperative Research Centre for Pest Animal Control, Canberra.
Medeiros, ESF, and Arthington, AH (2008). The importance of zooplankton in the diets of three native fish species in floodplain waterholes of a dryland river, the Macintyre River, Australia. Hydrobiologia 614, 19–31.
| The importance of zooplankton in the diets of three native fish species in floodplain waterholes of a dryland river, the Macintyre River, Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Negus, PM, Marshall, JC, Clifford, SE, et al. (2019). No sitting on the fence: protecting wetlands from feral pig damage by exclusion fences requires effective fence maintenance. Wetlands Ecology and Management 27, 581–585.
| No sitting on the fence: protecting wetlands from feral pig damage by exclusion fences requires effective fence maintenance.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Neldner VJ, Wilson BA, Dillewaard HA, Ryan TS, Butler DW, McDonald WJF, Addicott EP, Appelman CN (2019) Methodology for survey and mapping of regional ecosystems and vegetation communities in Queensland. Queensland Herbarium, Queensland Department of Environment and Science, Brisbane.
Nordberg, EJ, Macdonald, S, Zimny, G, Hoskins, A, Zimny, A, Somaweera, R, Ferguson, J, and Perry, J (2019). An evaluation of nest predator impacts and the efficacy of plastic meshing on marine turtle nests on the western Cape York Peninsula, Australia. Biological Conservation 238, .
| An evaluation of nest predator impacts and the efficacy of plastic meshing on marine turtle nests on the western Cape York Peninsula, Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Perry J, Waltham N, Schafer J, Marshall J, Negus P, Steward A, Blessing J, Clifford S, Ronan M, Glanville K, Lyons P, Vanderduys E, Macdonald S, Hoskins A, Robinson C, Nordberg E, Wilson S (2021) Defining metrics of success for feral animal management in northern Australia. CSIRO, Australia.
Price, K, Roburn, A, and MacKinnon, A (2009). Ecosystem-based management in the Great Bear Rainforest. Forest Ecology and Management 258, 495–503.
| Ecosystem-based management in the Great Bear Rainforest.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ross B (2009) Diet selectivity and feeding ecology of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in Lakefield National Park, Cape York Peninsula. BSc(Hons) Thesis, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld.
Sheldon, F, Bunn, SE, Hughes, JM, Arthington, AH, Balcombe, SR, and Fellows, CS (2010). Ecological roles and threats to aquatic refugia in arid landscapes: dryland river waterholes. Marine and Freshwater Research 61, 885–895.
| Ecological roles and threats to aquatic refugia in arid landscapes: dryland river waterholes.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Slocombe, DS (1998). Lessons from experience with ecosystem-based management. Landscape and Urban Planning 40, 31–39.
| Lessons from experience with ecosystem-based management.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
United States Geologial Survey (n.d.) What are the band designations for the Landsat satellites? [Accessed 7 February 2022]. Available at https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-are-band-designations-landsat-satellites#:~:text=Landsat%204%2D5%20Thematic%20Mapper,resampled%20to%2030%2Dmeter%20pixels
Warfe, DM, Pettit, NE, Davies, PM, Pusey, BJ, Hamilton, SK, Kennard, MJ, Townsend, SA, Bayliss, P, Ward, DP, Douglas, MM, Burford, MA, Finn, M, Bunn, SE, and Halliday, IA (2011). The ‘wet–dry’ in the wet-dry tropics drives river ecosystem structure and processes in northern Australia. Freshwater Biology 56, 2169–2195.
| The ‘wet–dry’ in the wet-dry tropics drives river ecosystem structure and processes in northern Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
