Kararehe Kino - Vertebrate Pest Research, Issue 23
February 2014 — Animal movements
In this issue
![23 editorial thumb](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0019/71452/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
Editorial — Managing animal movements
Understanding animal movements is fundamental to many aspects of pest management.
![23 Zero density - Resolution Island Resolution Island, Fiordland. Image - Peter McMurtrie.](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0019/71416/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
Eradication or control to zero density on near-shore islands?
Lessons from a stoat-removal operation on Resolution Island, Fiordland.
![23 TB cow A fatal curiosity; how TB could spread from an infected possum (with pus on its fur) to cattle. Image - Graham Nugent.](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0014/71420/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
Dispersal of a non-motile species: the story of bovine TB’s spread in New Zealand
Parasitic bacteria such as Mycobacterium bovis (the cause of bovine tuberculosis; TB) have to rely on their hosts for dispersal.
![23 wallaby Image - Grant Morriss.](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0017/71423/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
Bennett’s wallabies: do they provide any lessons for eradicating invasives?
The lessons from this case study will be applicable to eradication of other pest species with restricted distributions and will also be useful to test the technological and social challenges posed by the aspirational goal of a predator-free New Zealand.
![23 tui thumb](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0020/71453/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
Movements of tūī in the Waikato
For the last decade, Neil Fitzgerald, John Innes and team have studied tūī in Waikato in two different contexts.
![23 buffer Fig. 1 Fig. 1 Conceptual illustration of the probability of an infected possum arriving on farmland (white) by traversing a poisoned buffer from uncontrolled forest (green). Possum silhouettes represent randomly located possums, and red silhouettes represent infected possums in an uncontrolled forest block (green). Arrows represent examples of dispersal and exploratory movements by possums.](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0005/71429/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
How do forest buffers help control the spread of bovine tuberculosis?
Removing possums from strips of forest (buffers) adjacent to farmland is the main strategy for reducing the spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB) to livestock from uncontrolled possum populations in large areas of forest hinterland.
![23 rat Image courtesy of Nga Manu Images.](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0017/71432/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
How rapidly do rat populations recover after control with 1080?
Two critical questions are how far does this control extend and how fast do pest numbers recover across the entire control area?
![23 dog Wild dog fitted with a GPS collar. Image - Alan Robley.](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0019/71434/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
Dispersal movements by wild dogs in eastern Victoria, Australia
Andrew Gormley and Alan Robley used collars fitted with GPS receivers to investigate the movements and habitat use of wild dogs on Nunniong Plain in eastern Victoria.
![23 ungulate Image -Grant Morriss.](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0020/71435/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
Understanding dispersal and dispersion of wild ungulates for their better management
If wild ungulates are continuing to expand their ranges and increase their numbers, this has implications for biosecurity and the spread of wildlife diseases, native biodiversity, and agriculture and forestry.
![23 possum Image - Caroline Thomson.](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0004/71437/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
Forecasts and ‘nowcasts’ of possum distribution in New Zealand
The abundance and distribution of possums in New Zealand changes continuously as a result of natural fluctuations in food supply, control programmes, and reinvasion and reestablishment of populations in previously controlled areas.
![KK publications thumb](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0010/71767/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
Recent publications
Some recent vertebrate-pest-related publications.