Territory Stories

Vertebrate monitoring and resampling in Kakadu National Park : Year 3, 2003-04

Details:

Title

Vertebrate monitoring and resampling in Kakadu National Park : Year 3, 2003-04

Creator

Watson, Michelle; Woinarski, John Casimir Zichy; Northern Territory. Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment

Collection

E-Publications; E-Books; PublicationNT

Date

2004-05-01

Notes

Date:2004-05; Made available via the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT)

Table of contents

Summary -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Continuation of a monitoring program that will contribute to the assessment of impacts of cane toads -- 3. Baseline survey of vertebrates at fire monitoring plots -- 4. Investigation of change in vertebrate (especially mammal) species composition at sites sampled in historic surveys -- a. Jabiluka -- b. Kapalga -- 5. Survey of threatened plants -- 6. Investigation of census and trapping methods for feral cats and dingoes -- 7. Training of Parks Australia staff in fauna survey through a field-based camp -- 8. Compilation of data bases and GIS layers showing existing and current fauna records -- Appendix A. Schedule for consultancy RS19 Vertebrate monitoring and resampling in Kakadu National Park.

Language

English

Subject

Animals -- Northern Territory -- Kakadu National Park

Publisher name

Northern Territory Government

Place of publication

Palmerston

Format

v, 57 pages : col. maps ; 30 cm.

File type

application/pdf

Use

Attribution International 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)

Copyright owner

Northern Territory Government

License

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Parent handle

https://hdl.handle.net/10070/213586

Citation address

https://hdl.handle.net/10070/715012

Page content

38 Inthischapterwediscussresultsfromastudythatusedtwomethodstoestimate distributionandrelativeabundanceofferalcatsanddingoesinthesavanna woodlandsofKakaduNationalPark.Bothmethodsemployacombinationof spotlightingandtrackcountingtoprovidearelativeabundanceofbothferalcatsand dingoesalongsurveytransects.ResearchfromelsewhereinAustraliahasshownthat dingoespreyonferalcats,andthepresenceofdingoesinanareamayaffectthe behaviourofferalcats(eg.catsmayavoidareaswheredingoeshaverecentlybeen active,apotentialsourceofbiasinthesurveymethodsemployedduringthisstudy). Forthisreason,relationshipsbetweenferalcatanddingo/dogabundanceare investigated.Simultaneousmammaltrappinginthevicinityofcat/dingosurvey transectswasusedtoprovideinformationabouttheabundanceanddiversityofsmall mammalsintheseareasandtoallowinvestigationintotherelationshipsbetween cat/dingonumbersandsmallmammalpopulations.Thisstudyrepresentsthefirst dedicatedattempttoquantifyferalcatpopulationsinKakaduNationalParkandhas beenpromptedbyrecentconcernoverthecurrentstatusofsmallmammalswithinthe Parkandthepotentialrolethatferalcatsmayplayindeterminingnativemammal populations. Methods Twosurveytechniqueswereusedtoinvestigateferalcatanddingodistributionand abundanceintworegionswithinKakaduNationalPark.Thefirsttechnique,which utilisesbaitedsurveystationshaspreviouslybeentestedasamethodtodetermine relativeabundanceofferalcatsandtotesttheefficacyofarangeofbaitsatanumber ofsitesintheTopEndoftheNorthernTerritory (Cameron1994)andelsewherein arid/semiaridareasofAustralia(Clappertonetal.1994Edwardsetal.1997Risbey etal.1997).Aswellasprovidingsomeindicationofferalcatnumbersinthestudy sites,thismethodwasalsodesignedtotesttheefficacyofanumberoftypesand combinationsofbaitsandluresforpossibleuseinfuturetrappingprogramsin KakaduNationalPark.Thesecondtechniquehasbeenextensivelyemployedto surveymammalsontheeastcoastofNewSouthWalesandQueenslandandtosurvey catsanddingoesintheAliceSpringsregion,buthasonlybeenusedonceinthe tropicalsavannasoftheNorthernTerritory (Catlingetal.1999). Baitedsurveystations Thebaitedstationsurveyusedinthisstudyisbasedlooselyonprevioussurveys performedintheAliceSpringsregionbyEdwardsetal.(1997)andintheTopEndof theNorthernTerritory (Cameron1994).Duringthissurvey,twotransectswere establishedinboththeEastAlligatorandSouthAlligatorDistrictsofKakadu NationalPark(seeAppendixAforGPScoordinates).Eachofthetransectswas locatedalonganexistingvehicletrackthatpassedthrough Eucalyptusdominated woodland.ThedominanttreespecieswereEucalyptstetrodonta,E.miniataand Corymbiableeseriwithamixedmidstoreyanddensegrassunderstoreydominatedby Sargasp. Baitedsurveystationsweresetupat200mintervalsalonga6kmtransectcentredon anexistingvehicletrack.Surveystationswerelocatedapproximately10mintothe woodlandonthelefthandsideofthetrack.Ateachstationanareaofapproximately 1.5mx1.5mwasclearedofgroundvegetationandcoveredwithalayerofsand collectedlocally.Oneoffivebait/lure/trapcombinationswassetupatthecentreof