Thirty-one partners from Australia plus two each from New Zealand, Britain and the USA have joined in the biggest effort ever to build a research and development portfolio designed to make a significant impact on invasive animal management. By combining national and international skills in science, management, commerce and industry, this unique partnership will deliver the means to combat existing high profile invasive animal pests as well as those that have the potential to cause catastrophic impacts in the future.

NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) is a core partner of the new Invasive Animals CRC (IA CRC). Through its Vertebrate Pest Research Unit (VPRU) located at the Orange Agricultural Institute, NSW DPI will take the lead in a number of projects within the IA CRC's Terrestrial Products and Strategies Program as well as coordinating a demonstration site for the Uptake Program. These projects will involve a variety of collaborating agencies, including, as a key partner and end user, the Rural Lands Protection Board system of NSW.

Similarly, in the Freshwater Products and Strategies Program, NSW DPI through its Aquatic Ecosystems Research Unit will be a lead agency in projects aimed at controlling common carp in waterways of the Murray-Darling Basin as well as coordinating a demonstration site for the Uptake Program. On the following pages are listed projects commencing in 2005 – 06, with project leaders identified.

The National invasive animal assessment

Peter West, Orange

The IA CRC is collaborating with the National Land and Water Resources Audit (NLWRA) and lead agencies from each State/Territory to deliver improved information on the distribution, density, and possible threats caused by invasive pest animals on Australia’s productivity and environment.

Working closely with the Vertebrate Pest Sub-Committee on National Indicators, the program will identify priorities for invasive pest animal management in all States/Territories of Australia. It is intended that all States and Territories simultaneously utilise a consistent set of minimum standards, criteria and methods for assessing the distribution and density of invasive pest animals. This will for the first time provide a national perspective on the existing and emerging threats posed by invasive animals.

The national mapping information will act as a benchmark, and directly address reporting requirements under the national Natural Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (NM&EF).

The program will involve the formation of an Invasive Animals Technical Advisory Group to:

• Deliver consistent methods and procedures for reporting invasive animal distribution and density information throughout Australia.
• Assess the extent and density of existing and emerging invasive animals.
• Deliver State and national maps of invasive pest animals for national coordination programs, and
• Report national information to serve as benchmarks for ongoing performance monitoring and operational assessment.

Improving the management of Australia's bird pests

John Tracey, Orange

Primary producers suffer considerable crop losses to birds every year. This involves a diversity of bird species each with marked ecological differences. There is also a range of factors that influence damage seasonally and at the property, regional and national scale. Land managers are faced with increasing social, environmental and legal restrictions of techniques, particularly where native species are involved. Despite objective advice being available, management solutions are seldom suited to all bird species, crops and situations. This may be why industry has been reluctant to invest in research into reducing damage caused by birds. Other reasons could be due to the lack of information available on the severity and distribution of the problem and a lack of efficacy data and cost: benefit analyses for damage reduction strategies.

This project will address key research priorities for pest birds identified in collaboration with the Australasian Pest Bird Network. IA CRC funding will also serve as a platform for seeking further financial support from key industry partners. Objectives will be to:

• Develop simple and efficient techniques for estimating damage levels and the costs of damage.
• Estimate costs of bird impacts and costs of current control to Australian horticulture.
• Develop key national recommendations for future research and development with industry.
• Produce management guidelines and extension material for pest birds in Australia.
• Identify cost benefit thresholds for bird netting and other management options.
• Identify the potential role of wild birds in existing risk assessments of avian influenza and other viruses.

Can commercial use of wildlife contribute to the sustainable use of Australian rangelands?

Steve McLeod, Orange

The idea that income obtained from harvesting or commercial use of pest animals can offset some management costs and achieve more cost-effective reduction in pest animal impact has not yet been tested. However, there has been considerable harvesting of rabbits and foxes in Australia. More recently these wild harvests have declined due to the impact of pest control activities. Currently, the greatest potential for commercial use of introduced pest animals contributing to pest management is the harvesting of feral goats, feral pigs and other pest animals. It is not known if commercial harvesting will reduce numbers to a level at which pest impact is acceptable. Key objectives of this project are to:

• Determine the circumstances under which commercial harvesting contributes to the management of pests.
• Determine the extent to which commercial harvesting contributes to primary production goals (sheep and cattle profitability and sustainable grazing practices) and conservation goals (maintenance of biodiversity).
• Use bioeconomic analyses to define optimal sustainable grazing of rangelands under the following scenarios:
  • domestic stock only
  • commercial use of feral goats, feral pigs and other pest wildlife only
  • combination of domestic stock and wildlife
• Determine the influence markets have on the profitability and sustainability of commercial harvesting of feral goats, feral pigs and other pest animals.

Identification of ‘hot spots’ of carp reproduction in the Murray Darling Basin

Dean Gilligan, Narrandera

Carp are considered the most significant pest of freshwater river systems, impacting on native fish communities, recreational fisheries and riverine environments. Carp dominate many river systems, comprising an average of around 80% of the fish biomass in many areas.

Current NSW DPI research has identified that carp do not reproduce throughout entire river systems, and that a vast majority of recruitment occurs at a relatively small number of locations. The identification of these ‘hot spots’ provides some important opportunities for carp control.

NSW DPI, in cooperation with Queensland Department of Primary Industries, South Australian Research and Development Institute and Primary Industries Research Victoria will undertake larval carp sampling across the entire Murray-Darling Basin in order to identify the most important ‘hot spots’ of carp reproduction. These locations can then be targeted using a range of control options as identified under a detailed Integrated Pest Management strategy developed by the IA CRC. The objectives of the project are to:

• Provide complete spatial coverage for identification of carp spawning hot spots within the Murray-Darling Basin.
• Provide data on temporal variability in carp spawning success at hot spots.
• Assess the relationship between spawning hot spots and recruitment hot spots and validating larval sampling as a method of detecting recruitment hot spots.

Demonstration site - strategic approach to wild dog management

Peter Fleming, Orange

This project will involve a number of localities and Wild Dog Control Associations within the Northern Tablelands and adjacent North Coast where wild dog control has been conducted over the past 150 years. Project objectives will be to:

• Demonstrate the strategic approach to wild dogs management at the local level including the nil-tenure strategy.
• Integrate research with management at the local level and demonstrate this approach.
• Integrate training programs within research and management sites.
• Facilitate the uptake of strategy advances and IA CRC products by stakeholders.

Important outcomes from this site will be a community dialogue and engagement in management and research. Local regional plans of action will see the implementation of a strategic approach to wild dog management. Wild Dog Control Associations will be aided by the establishment of a centralised data collection and mapping facility to monitor dog attacks and control efforts. The project will also allow rapid uptake of IA CRC products through local application and trialling.

Demonstration site - targeted carp control at a ‘hot spot’ of carp reproduction, the Barmah-Millewa Forest

Dean Gilligan, Narrandera

The Barmah-Millewa Forest covers an area of approximately 70,000 ha on the Murray River floodplain upstream of Moama-Echuca. The forest is recognised for its ecological values, being the largest stand of river red gum. The forest contains a variety of different aquatic habitats, including marshes and swamplands which are important for carp recruitment.

The Barmah-Millewa Forest has been identified as the source for most of the carp recruitment within the Murray–Riverina. The forest will be the demonstration site for carp control beginning in July 2006. The carp population of the forest and adjacent Murray River will be benchmarked to establish the size, population structure, movement and breeding patterns over the first two years of the project. Subsequently, current control methods, including fishway traps, commercial harvest and water level manipulation in wetlands, will be used to test the efficiency of these carp control strategies. Additional control strategies can be rolled out at the demonstration site as they are developed by the IA CRC' s Freshwater Products and Strategies program.

This site is innovative because it will be the first of its kind within the Murray-Darling Basin and the first site anywhere where a number of different control techniques for a pest fish will be implemented and evaluated. Its goal is to demonstrate to all concerned that carp control is an achievable outcome.