Plant-animal interactions: Calibrating the impact of herbivores on mallee vegetation

Project description

Herbivore browsing pressure on vegetation is one of the key threats to biodiversity and ecosystem function in semi-arid landscapes. Browsing can significantly reduce the abundance and population size of palatable plants, change vegetation composition, with flow on effects to fauna, soils, hydrology and much more. For over a decade, major feral herbivore management programs have been implemented in South Australia’s semi-arid regions, primarily focussed on goats, but also removing artificial water sources to reduce kangaroo pressure as well. Landscape-scale monitoring frameworks have been established to track the impact of herbivores on vegetation, and whether vegetation recovers with herbivore management. In effect, these monitoring frameworks are measuring herbivore impact, and management actions, but key knowledge gaps remain to calibrate this herbivore-impact model. This project is focussed in the Riverland Biosphere and Murray Mallee, two important mallee regions in South Australia. Student project/s could include:

• Using camera traps to confirm the impact on vegetation of different herbivore species (e.g. goats versus kangaroos)
• Using camera traps, herbivore sign, and management control information, to relate impact on vegetation to local densities of herbivores
• Using camera traps to investigate more fine-scale details of herbivore behaviours and seasonal movements.
• Some pilot studies have occurred in the past using camera trap arrays, with some camera trapping still ongoing. Thus, there is existing data that needs to be analysed, as well as expanding the study into understudied regions.
• Adding student findings into the herbivore-impact model for the region, as a keystone part of the monitoring framework used by the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board to manage herbivore browsing pressure on vegetation and restore Mallee landscapes.

Co-supervisors

Industry Partners: Craig Gillespie, Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board, SA Government; Zoe Beer, Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board, SA Government

Assumed knowledge

Training in using camera traps and processing data will be provided. Managing data in Excel and preferably R would be ideal, or a willingness to learn R. Some use of GIS would be ideal.

Industry involvement

Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board (Sa Government)

Note: You need to register interest in projects from different supervisors (not a number of projects with the one supervisor).
You must also contact each supervisor directly to discuss both the project details and your suitability to undertake the project.