High survivorship and rapid population growth of the greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis) reintroduced to a feral predator exclosure

IF 16.4 1区 化学 Q1 CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY Accounts of Chemical Research Pub Date : 2024-01-05 DOI:10.1071/wr23076
Cassandra M. Arkinstall, Sean I. FitzGibbon, Kevin J. Bradley, Katherine E. Moseby, Peter J. Murray
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Abstract

Context

The distribution of the threatened greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis) has significantly contracted since the introduction of feral cats and foxes. To counteract these threats, bilbies have been reintroduced to multiple feral predator exclosures and offshore islands across Australia.

Aims

The aims of this study were to monitor the reintroduction of bilbies to the feral predator exclosure at Currawinya National Park and assess three hypotheses: (1) captive-born founders would establish stable home ranges and utilise habitats similar to those of wild-born bilbies in the exclosure; (2) founders would maintain adequate body condition and weight, enabling the survival of >50% of founders at 12 months post-release; and (3) the population would rapidly increase in the absence of feral predators, due to the high reproductive potential of bilbies.

Methods

We used VHF/GPS telemetry to compare home range size and habitat use of 12 founders and 11 wild-born bilbies. Founders were monitored intensively to assess reproductive success, weight, body condition and survival. Pouch activity was monitored to examine reproductive output. Spatially explicit capture–recapture modelling was used to estimate population density/size.

Key results

The population rapidly increased to >450 bilbies after 3 years, and founder survivorship was high (70% at 12 months post-release). Male founder home ranges (248.46 ha ± 97.22) were comparable in size to wild-born males (216.74 ha ± 54.19), but female founder home ranges (51.23 ha ± 12.22) were significantly larger than wild-born females (20.80 ha ± 2.94) (P = 0.04). The doubling of the population between 2021 and 2022 may have resulted in the contraction of female home ranges. Reproductive output decreased significantly in 2022, indicating that reproduction may be density-dependent at high densities. There was a significant relationship between track counts and population estimates, indicating that track counts are a reliable method for estimating population size inside the exclosure.

Conclusions

This reintroduction has been highly successful to date, demonstrating that bilbies are an adaptable species capable of rapid population growth in the absence of feral predators.

Implications

Bilbies are a model species for reintroductions to feral predator exclosures due to high survival rates, reproductive output, dietary flexibility and the ability to utilise a broad range of environments.

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重新引入野外捕食者围栏的大山熊(Macrotis lagotis)的高存活率和快速种群增长
背景自野猫和狐狸引入以来,濒危的大山熊(Macrotis lagotis)的分布范围已大幅缩小。为了应对这些威胁,澳大利亚在多个野外捕食者隔离区和近海岛屿上重新引入了大山熊。研究目的本研究的目的是监测在库拉温亚国家公园的野外捕食者隔离区重新引入比熊的情况,并对三个假设进行评估:(1)人工饲养的始祖鸟将建立稳定的家园范围,并利用与围栏内野生始祖鸟相似的栖息地;(2)始祖鸟将保持足够的身体状况和体重,使50%的始祖鸟在放归后12个月内存活;(3)由于比熊的繁殖潜力很高,在没有野外捕食者的情况下,比熊的数量将迅速增加。方法我们使用甚高频/全球定位系统遥测技术比较了12只始祖鸟和11只野外出生的长尾猴的家园范围大小和栖息地使用情况。对始祖鸟进行了密集监测,以评估其繁殖成功率、体重、身体状况和存活率。监测袋的活动以检查繁殖产出。采用空间明确的捕获-再捕获模型来估计种群密度/规模。主要结果种群数量在3年后迅速增加到450只,始祖鸟的存活率很高(释放后12个月时为70%)。雄性始祖鸟的家园范围(248.46公顷±97.22)与野外出生的雄性始祖鸟的家园范围(216.74公顷±54.19)相当,但雌性始祖鸟的家园范围(51.23公顷±12.22)明显大于野外出生的雌性始祖鸟的家园范围(20.80公顷±2.94)(P = 0.04)。2021 年至 2022 年间种群数量翻了一番,这可能导致雌性巢区缩小。2022 年的繁殖量明显下降,表明在高密度条件下,繁殖可能取决于密度。足迹计数与种群数量估计之间存在显著关系,表明足迹计数是估计围栏内种群数量的可靠方法。结论迄今为止,这次重新引入非常成功,证明了黑熊是一种适应性很强的物种,能够在没有野外捕食者的情况下快速增加种群数量。意义由于具有高存活率、高繁殖率、饮食灵活性和利用各种环境的能力,黑嘴猴是野外捕食者隔离区重新引入的典范物种。
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来源期刊
Accounts of Chemical Research
Accounts of Chemical Research 化学-化学综合
CiteScore
31.40
自引率
1.10%
发文量
312
审稿时长
2 months
期刊介绍: Accounts of Chemical Research presents short, concise and critical articles offering easy-to-read overviews of basic research and applications in all areas of chemistry and biochemistry. These short reviews focus on research from the author’s own laboratory and are designed to teach the reader about a research project. In addition, Accounts of Chemical Research publishes commentaries that give an informed opinion on a current research problem. Special Issues online are devoted to a single topic of unusual activity and significance. Accounts of Chemical Research replaces the traditional article abstract with an article "Conspectus." These entries synopsize the research affording the reader a closer look at the content and significance of an article. Through this provision of a more detailed description of the article contents, the Conspectus enhances the article's discoverability by search engines and the exposure for the research.
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