The Australian Wildlife Conservancy continues to protect Bilby habitat and promote the recovery of wild populations of Bilbies, through their efforts in conjunction with partners such as Queensland’s Parks and Forests. To learn more about the AWC program and Greater Bilbies in general, see the AWC Wildlife Matters article on ‘Australia’s ecosystem engineer: the Greater […]
Highlighting the devastation due to invasive species and the imperative of investment in their control remains as relevant as ever according to several recent articles – especially given the impact of alien species on native species, ecosystem services, human health, and food production. A study published in ‘Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment’ found that […]
A tiny Alaskan island faces a threat as deadly as an oil spill – rats. However, ‘biological spills’ can be much worse than oil spills, because they don’t necessarily diminish over time. Biological pollution can adapt, self-propagate and spread, says Professor Anthony Ricciardi from McGill University, Montreal. Interesting to think of invasive species, like wild […]
The national Bilby Recovery Plan is under review, and new research may help re-introductions in southern Australia. The Bilby was adopted as a mascot by RFA to highlight the impact of rabbits on native wildlife and vegetation. According to the draft Recovery Plan for the Greater Bilby; ‘Bilby distribution is associated with an absence or […]
Victoria’s Rabbit Action Network has gained international acclaim with a United Nations Public Service award, for ‘delivering more inclusive and equitable services’. The program, delivered by Agriculture Victoria, brings together whole communities – land managers, farmers, scientists, government officials and the wider community – to manage one of their most invasive species, the European wild […]
Spotlight counts of rabbits from 116 sites across Australia, taken over 41 years, have enabled modellers to better understand what makes a ‘rabbit hotspot’ – places of high rabbit persistence. These areas are high priorities for well-timed eradication programs. The research team was able to use the survey data to test a new model of […]
A mix of recent stories from New Zealand highlight the importance of controlling invasive species for the benefit of native plants and animals – and the importance of public engagement as part of the solution. An article in the NZ Herald begins by asking if there is any solution to the devastating problem of rabbits. […]
Several recent news stories highlight the importance of controlling feral animals, like rabbits, cats and foxes, in order to restore native ecosystems. Scientists have shown that invasive species are responsible for hundreds of species becoming extinct, and have concluded that removing invasive species from islands would benefit nearly 10% of the most endangered species on […]
‘If overabundant wildlife populations are not reduced by some means, the result must be death by starvation or disease coupled with extensive damage to other species in these ecosystems,’ say ecologists Charley Krebs and Judy Myers. The killing of animals is abhorrent to many people, but alternative controls (e.g. capture and relocation or sterilisation) or […]
‘Gene drive’ technology (where genome editing increases the likelihood of certain traits being inherited) has now been applied to mammals. Previously trialled on insects, the technology was used to control the colour of mice in trials at UC San Diego, USA. Gene drive technology is being explored as a potential breakthrough in the control of […]