Efficacy of Feratox® cyanide pellets to control introduced brushtail possums on Middle Island
RESEARCH TRIAL PROTOCOL
Animal Control Technologies
in conjunction with
Connovation (NZ) and the
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS)
February 2010
COMMERCIAL – IN – CONFIDENCE
Not to be published or reproduced without the consent of the authors
Table of Contents:
1. Executive Overview 3
1.1 Toxin welfare screening for possums: 4
1.2 Feratox® cyanide pellet possum bait: 5
1.3 Non target impacts: 6
2. Methods: 7
2.1 Site Selection: 7
2.2 Bait station use: 7
2.3 Free-feeding: 8
2.4 Bait application: Feratox® cyanide pellets: 8
2.5 Possum population monitoring: 8
2.5.1 Spotlight counts: 9
2.5.2 Possum track activity: 10
2.5.3 Carcass searches: 11
2.5.4 Camera monitoring: 11
2.5.5 Pre-feed bait uptake: 11
2.6 Non-target population monitoring: 12
3. References: 12
1. Executive Overview
The Keppel Islands, which are located within Keppel Bay (adjacent to the Capricorn Coast in Central Queensland) were cut off from the mainland approximately 6 000 years ago. Brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) are native to the adjacent mainland area and have been introduced to four islands in the bay, one of which (Middle Island) is the proposed site for this possum eradication trial.
In 2002 population estimates ranged from 4 - 11 animals per hectare (habitat dependant) on one of the islands (627ha North Keppel Island), compared to an average density on the adjacent mainland of 0.2 – 0.4 individuals per hectare (Strahan, 1995). Possums were most likely introduced to islands in Keppel Bay after European settlement as a harvesting source for pelts. Genetic analysis has not iden...
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Isle Royal is located fifty-six miles north of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. It is the largest wilderness area in Michigan (USNPS, 2014). The island is surrounded by Lake Superior, which creates a cooler temperature. This results in arctic plant species growth on the island. There are only eighteen mammal species present on the island because most mammals cannot make the trip across the frozen great lake (USNPS, 2014). The need for an ice bridge is not the only environmental factor that is stopping the migration of animals; there is also the severe cold, and also wind and fog (Vucetich, 2012). Some species such as caribou and coyote have found the island to be too intense and have gone extinct (Vucetich, 2012). Due to the harsh weather and isolation of the island, humans have never regularly lived on the island (Vucetich, 2012). Some of species that are present such as the red squirrel are becoming their own subspecies due to its separation from the mainland (USNPS, 2014). The isolation of Isle Royal is what makes it a great place to conduct research, it has very low human interaction and the species that are on the island will have been and continue to be isolated from the mainland.
1These two populations are different species because they have different capabilities of performing in nature. For example there is behavioral isolation. My evidence for that is that in the data, it states that the average time spent in courtship display for the St. Kitts rodent is 12.6 seconds. While the courtship display for the Nevis Rodent is 21.3. You can see that there is a major difference in the way that they behave. Also there is another type of isolation which is gametic isolation. There is gametic isolation because the average gestation time for St. Kitts rodent is 29.3 days. The average gestation for the Nevis rodent is 42.7 days. Therefore a sperm from St. Kitts rodent wouldn’t survive in the reproductive tract of the Nevis rodent. It wouldn’t survive because it wouldn’t develop properly and is not accustomed to its environment. There is also another type of isolation happening with the rodents of St. Kitts. This type of isolation is called temporal isolation. There is temporal isolation because the article states, “the reproductive seasons are being delayed by up to one year.” This is talking about that the rodents are having a hard time finding mates therefore, their reproductive season is being delayed. Also in the article it states, “In the 240 attempts to bring a Nevis animal into the St. Kitts population, you are unable to observe a single successful reproductive event.” The rodents are mechanically isolated, because if you can’t have a reproductive event, there reproductive organs might not be matching with one another. Their appearance might look identical but they are genetically different.
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Populations of the white-tailed deer have increased in great numbers. These will increase if the death rate is low and the food supply is high. A single doe can reproduce every year until they die (7). Because of this, the average herd can double in size every two to three years (3). Deer are also adaptable to the changing ecosystem around them. The growing suburbs provide open lawns, the summer gardens, varieties of shrubs, and patches of forest cover. The population cannot be controlled naturally because natural predato...
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The purpose of this paper is to explore available research on the overpopulation of the Snow Goose on the North American continent. The snow goose has been rising in population since the middle of the century and has been escalating so much it is destroying their natural habitat. Wildlife managers have just recently begun to implement strategies to combat this problem. Mainly through the use of hunters the managers are trying to curb the population growth.
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