Skip to main content
Home

Information for:

  • Alumni
  • Applicants
  • Current Students
  • Staff
  • Parents
  • Job Vacancies
  • Covid-19
  • Cymraeg
My country:

Main Menu

    • Study Options
      • Study Home
      • Why Study at Bangor?
      • Undergraduate Study
      • Postgraduate Taught Study
      • Postgraduate Research
      • Part-time Courses
      • January Start Courses
      • Degree Apprenticeships
      • Study Abroad
      • Work Experience
    • Study Advice
      • Apply
      • Already Applied?
      • Fees and Finances
      • Scholarships and Bursaries
      • Get Ready for University
    • Explore Bangor
      • Open Days and Visits
      • Virtual Student Experience

    Find a Course

    Order a Prospectus

    • Student Life
      • Student Life Home
      • Bangor and the Area
      • Social Life and Entertainment
      • Accommodation
      • Clubs and Societies
      • Sport
      • Virtual Student Experience
    • Your Experience at Bangor
      • Student Support
      • Skills and Employability
      • Study or Work Abroad
      • Fees and Finances

    Student Profiles

    Student Videos and Vlogs

    • Choose Bangor
      • International Home
      • Why Bangor?
      • Location
      • Accommodation
      • Student Support
      • Contact Us
    • Apply
      • Entry Requirements
      • Tuition Fees and Scholarships
      • How to Apply
      • Already Applied
      • Study Abroad
      • Exchanges

    Country Specific Information

    Join us on a Virtual Open Day

    Bangor University International College

    Covid-19 Information

    • Research
      • Research Home
      • About Our Research
      • Research in our Academic Schools
      • Research Institutes and Centres
      • Research Portal
      • Research, Innovation and Impact Office (RIIO)
      • Energy
      • Research News
    • Postgraduate Research Opportunities
      • Postgraduate Research
      • Doctoral School
    • Events and Training Opportunities
      • Researcher Development
    • The University
      • About Us
      • Our Mission
      • Strategy 2030
      • Annual Review
      • Our Location
      • Academic Schools and Colleges
      • Services and Facilities
      • Vice Chancellor’s Office
      • Working with Business
      • Working with the Community
      • Sustainability
      • Health and Wellbeing
      • Contact Us
    • Working for Us
      • Job Vacancies
    • University Management and Governance
      • Policies and Procedures
      • Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement
      • Management and Governance
    • University and the Community
      • Pontio
      • Sports Facilities
      • Conference Facilities
      • Places to Eat and Drink
      • Public Events
      • Widening Access
      • Services to Schools
    • Business Services
      • Business Services Home
    • Collaboration Hub
      • Collaboration Hub
      • Funding for Collaborative Research and Development (R&D) & Innovation
      • Business Facilities and Networks
      • Consultancy, Specialist Expertise and Knowledge
      • Commercialisation and Intellectual Property (IP)
      • Student Placements and Internships in Business & Enterprise
      • Training and Continuing Professional Development
      • Degree Apprenticeships
    • Conferencing and Business Dining
      • Conferencing Facilities
      • Business Dining
    • Contacts
      • Research, Innovation and Impact Office (RIIO)
      • Get In Touch
    • News
      • Current News
      • Research News
      • Student News
    • Events
      • Events

    • Study Options
      • Study Home
      • Why Study at Bangor?
      • Undergraduate Study
      • Postgraduate Taught Study
      • Postgraduate Research
      • Part-time Courses
      • January Start Courses
      • Degree Apprenticeships
      • Study Abroad
      • Work Experience
    • Study Advice
      • Apply
      • Already Applied?
      • Fees and Finances
      • Scholarships and Bursaries
      • Get Ready for University
    • Explore Bangor
      • Virtual Open Days and Visits
      • Virtual Student Experience

    Find a Course

    Order a Prospectus

    • Student Life
      • Student Life Home
      • Bangor and the Area
      • Social Life and Entertainment
      • Accommodation
      • Clubs and Societies
      • Sport
      • Virtual Student Experience
    • Your Experience at Bangor
      • Student Support
      • Skills and Employability
      • Study or Work Abroad
      • Fees and Finances

    Student Profiles

    Student Videos and Vlogs

    • Choose Bangor
      • International Home
      • Why Bangor?
      • Location
      • Student Support
      • Contact Us
    • Apply
      • Entry Requirements
      • Tuition Fees and Scholarships
      • How to Apply
      • Already Applied
      • Study Abroad
      • Exchanges

    Country Specific Information

    Join us on a Virtual Open Day

    Bangor University International College

    Covid-19 Information

    • Research
      • Research Home
      • About Our Research
      • Research in our Academic Schools
      • Research Institutes and Centres
      • Research Portal
      • Research, Innovation and Impact Office (RIIO)
      • Energy
      • Research News
    • Postgraduate Research Opportunities
      • Postgraduate Research
      • Doctoral School
    • Events and Training Opportunities
      • Researcher Development
    • The University
      • About Us
      • Our Mission
      • Strategy 2030
      • Annual Review
      • Our Location
      • Academic Schools and Colleges
      • Services and Facilities
      • Vice Chancellor’s Office
      • Working with Business
      • Working with the Community
      • Sustainability
      • Health and Wellbeing
      • Contact Us
    • Working for Us
      • Job Vacancies
    • University Management and Governance
      • Policies and Procedures
      • Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement
      • Management and Governance
    • University and the Community
      • Pontio
      • Sports Facilities
      • Conference Facilities
      • Places to Eat and Drink
      • Public Events
      • Widening Access
      • Services to Schools
    • Business Services
      • Business Services Home
    • Collaboration Hub
      • Collaboration Hub
      • Funding for Collaborative Research and Development (R&D) & Innovation
      • Business Facilities and Networks
      • Consultancy, Specialist Expertise and Knowledge
      • Commercialisation and Intellectual Property (IP)
      • Student Placements and Internships in Business & Enterprise
      • Training and Continuing Professional Development
      • Degree Apprenticeships
    • Conferencing and Business Dining
      • Conferencing Facilities
      • Business Dining
    • Contacts
      • Research, Innovation and Impact Office (RIIO)
      • Get In Touch
    • News
      • Current News
      • Research News
      • Student News
    • Events
      • Events

Information for:

  • Alumni
  • Applicants
  • Current Students
  • Staff
  • Parents
  • Job Vacancies
  • Covid-19
My country:

Search

Close

Breadcrumb

  • Cymraeg

Share this page:
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

First count your species- Scientists urge better information before further conservation decisions are made in Australia

Dingo in Kakadu National Park, in Australia's Northern Territory: image credit & copyright:Peter FlemingDingo in Kakadu National Park, in Australia's Northern Territory: image credit & copyright:Peter FlemingHow Australian naturalists manage dingoes is both a longstanding and current hot topic on that continent.

As well as building the world’s longest fence to keep dingoes out of Australia’s sheep grazing areas, conservationists have argued about the dingo’s role as apex predator. The arguments have ranged around the extent that dingoes should be controlled and the effect that controlling dingo numbers is having on introduced species such as cats and red foxes. These in turn are decimating Australia’s smaller indigenous mammals.

Arguments have raged about whether or not dingoes should be culled and how far they are useful in safeguarding threatened smaller fauna, as they prey on the larger cats and foxes.   

While the Australian wildlife services are spending thousands on other means of controlling non-native species, without achieving great results, there is evidence that maintaining dingo numbers benefits the smaller mammals.

A paper in the Journal of Applied Ecology (doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12250 published 10 April) urges all the participants in what has been, at times, a heated debate, to lay down their differences and get back into the field to collate the robust data necessary to provide certainty for management action.

Lead author and Australian, Matthew Hayward, a lecturer in Conservation at Bangor University (Wales, UK) says that before any further decisions are made, there should be some more robust data collection and methodology agreed. He suggests that both sides of the argument are using flawed methodology to enumerate the number of mesopredators, in this case, introduced red foxes and feral cats.

Dingo: image credit/ copyright John TraceyDingo: image credit/ copyright John TraceyThese mesopredators are having a dramatic effect on the smaller native mammals, and arguments rage between culling dingoes and allowing them to coexist, thereby controlling the numbers of mesopredators.

Much of the currently published scientific research uses data based on footprint detection, without actually validating their estimates. Hayward points out that this is an unreliable method: just because footprints aren’t seen does not mean any given species is not present any more than five cat footprints would prove the presence of five cats.

Another frequently used methodology relies on trail-based surveys. The majority of apex predators follow trails, while mesopredators avoid them in the presence of apex predators, but if the apex predator is removed, then this behaviour changes.

Matt Hayward also finds this methodology of predicting population sizes unreliable and illustrates this by using an analogy of the vehicle traffic in cities, where the vehicles are the apex predators and pedestrians the mesopredators.  He explains: “During peak hour, a trail-based index would show that vehicles were the most abundant or active member of a community, while outside peak hours humans would appear. Implement a car-free day, akin to removing the apex predator, and humans would rapidly become the most abundant member of the city.”

Hayward and co-author Nicky Marlow of the Woodvale Research Centre, Department of Environment and Conservation, Western Australia argue that there are plenty of evidenced papers that show that reliance on unvalidated indices of abundance have led to major problems in conservation throughout the world.

Hayward argues that the data and methodologies currently being used in the debate are insufficiently robust. This lack of robust evidence means that the conservation managers are unlikely to use dingoes to control mesofauna for the benefit of the smaller mammals.

He says: “Both sides in the argument are ignoring detectability. If they analysed the data using robust methods, they may not be having this debate at all.”

Hayward suggests methods which would provide more robust population size and interaction evidence which could be used.

Publication date: 9 April 2014

Home

About Us

Academic Schools and Colleges

  • School of Natural Sciences
    • Home
    • About the School
      • Our Location
      • Bangor and the Area
      • Commercial Facilities
      • Our Staff
      • Teaching
      • Athena Swan
    • Our Staff
    • Key Subjects
      • Biology
      • Conservation
      • Food Security
      • Environment
      • Forestry
      • Geography
      • Zoology
    • Undergraduate Study
      • Order a prospectus
      • University Open Days
      • Offer Holder Days
      • Why Study at Bangor?
      • Accommodation
      • Get ready for University
      • Student Life
      • Scholarships & Bursaries
      • Fees & Finances
      • Study or Work Abroad
      • Our Videos
      • What our Students say
    • Postgraduate Study
      • Why study with us?
      • Register your interest in postgraduate study
      • Fees & Finances
      • Scholarships & Funding
      • Entry requirements
      • Applying to Bangor
      • Accommodation
      • Student Support
      • Student Life
      • Studying at Bangor
      • Student Profiles
    • Order a Prospectus
    • Open Days
    • Distance Learning
      • About us
      • Our Courses
      • Teaching and Learning
      • What our students say...
      • Our Videos
      • Careers and Employability
      • How to Apply
      • Course Structure
      • Publications and News
      • Fees
      • Entry Requirements
      • Contact details
    • Professional Accreditation
    • Our Research
      • Biology and Zoology
        • Molecular Ecology and Evolution
        • Biogeochemistry and Plant Science
        • Animal Physiology, Behaviour and Conservation
        • Microbiology, Parasitology and Biotechnology
        • Research degrees
      • Environment and Natural Resources
        • Research Students
        • Opportunities
        • Project websites
        • Facilities
        • Partners and Collaborators
    • Outreach activities
      • Chemistry
        • Salters Events
        • Welsh and English Interactive Periodic Table
    • News
    • Opportunities
    • Contact us
Home

Follow Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn

Bangor University

Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DG, UK

+44 (0)1248 351151

Contact Us

Visit Us

Maps & Directions

Policy

  • Legal Compliance
  • Modern Slavery Act 2015 Statement
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy and Cookies
  • Welsh Language Policy
Map

Bangor University is a Registered Charity: No. 1141565

© 2020 Bangor University