Thesis
Investigating feral pig use of firefighting water points
Masters by Research, Murdoch University
2024
Abstract
Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are one of the most significant mammalian pests in Australia. Feral pigs disrupt ecosystems and can transmit diseases, threatening environmental, agricultural, social and cultural assets. The Warren Bioregion of Western Australia hosts a range of endemic species and communities threatened by feral pigs. Throughout this region, a series of fire-fighting water points (i.e. natural and artificial reservoirs used for firefighting) provide a perennial source of water in an otherwise water-limited landscape, making them potentially valuable resources for fauna, including water-dependent feral pigs.
To investigate the occurrence of feral pigs at fire water points, we deployed camera traps at 57 fire water points from May to September 2024. We assessed the association between camera trap rates of feral pigs and native vertebrates with site characteristics: canopy cover, understory density, vegetation structure, leaf litter, percentage of native vegetation for a 2km-radius buffer, and rainfall.
Over 6,580 trap nights (average 92.1 ± 45.0 nights), feral pigs where only detected at 13 of the 57 sites (30 independent detections). No significant associations were identified between the trap rate of feral pigs and site characteristics. Rainfall was negatively correlated with western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus) and emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) trap rates.
The very low trap rate of feral pigs during this study resulted in an inability to conclusively assess factors driving their presence or activity. The measured site-based environmental factors did not explain the variation in feral pig occurrence across the study area, suggesting that other environmental or anthropogenic variables may determine their habitat use. Further research should prioritise larger time scale data collection to observe seasonality of water point use. The current study highlights the importance of local assessments of pig presence, rather than predictive approaches.
Details
- Title
- Investigating feral pig use of firefighting water points
- Authors/Creators
- Angus W Dempster
- Contributors
- Trish Fleming (Supervisor) - Murdoch University, Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and SustainabilityStuart Dawson (Supervisor) - Murdoch University, Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability
- Awarding Institution
- Murdoch University; Masters by Research
- Identifiers
- 991005795471807891
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Note
- accelerated Research Masters with Training (aRMT)
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