Aerial 1080 baiting practices for rabbit control in New Zealand could use less bait if stricter controls are set to ensure uniform bait sizes, and if 1080 concentrations are increased beyond the current 0.02% recommendation. Aerial 1080 practices for rabbit control have changed little over recent decades. By reviewing techniques and conducting new research, we conclude that current practices could be improved in line with the continual refinements that have been made in possum control. Photograph by Dave Latham, Landcare Research.

To trial a new strategy for bovine tuberculosis (TB) control in Michigan, USA, a trap–test–cull project was conducted to assess the feasibility and cost of live-trapping, TB-testing and culling free-ranging white-tailed deer (WTD). Six of the 762 WTD captured and tested were confirmed positive and costs were ~US$228 000. Trap–test–cull at this scale would not significantly reduce TB prevalence in Michigan, but used in conjunction with vaccination it may prove useful. Photograph by Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Calomys musculinus is the natural reservoir of a zoonotic agent and it is particularly abundant in Pampean agroecosystems, where it is known to select border habitats over cropfields. We assessed habitat use by C. musculinus in cropfield borders. We suggest that wide borders, particularly those contiguous to maize and peanut cropfields, should be understood as priority sites for the implementation of any specific control actions. Photograph by Ivana Simone.

Grazing wildlife such as pademelons, wallabies, kangaroos, possums and introduced deer are locally abundant in many areas of Tasmania and are thought to be the cause of major agricultural losses. The present study has confirmed that significant losses in pasture production occur as a result of wildlife grazing, particularly in areas with nearby bush or scrub, and particularly during periods of low feed availability. These findings highlight the need for landowners to monitor pasture losses and implement wildlife control where necessary to mitigate these losses. Photograph by Rowan Smith.

The Australian sea lion population at Seal Bay Conservation Park, South Australia, was identified as declining at 1.14% per breeding season over 13 seasons to 2002–03. Because the reliability of the pup-production estimates was considered uncertain, four methods of determining pup production were compared over five more breeding seasons. Using the best of those five estimates, no declining trend was identified; a longer time-series is required to be confident, which makes ongoing monitoring of pup production a priority for this site. Photograph by Rebecca McIntosh.

Artificial refuges are a popular method for surveying frogs and reptiles, although their value compared with active searches is poorly known. We examined the effectiveness of using active searches, corrugated steel, roof tiles and timber refuges to detect herpetofauna in eucalypt-woodland communities. We found active searches detected most species. However, the use of artificial refuges increased the detection of secretive nocturnal species, suggesting long-term reptile-monitoring programs will benefit from using multiple survey methods. Photograph by Damian Michael.

Source–sink dynamics in populations can confuse understandings of changes in abundance of rare or common species. In the Yukon, arctic ground squirrels occupy boreal forest habitats that are a sink caused by predation, and source areas are open meadows that form only 7–9% of the total forested area. Vegetation changes that facilitate predation can result in extirpation in sink habitats. Photograph by Alice Kenney.

Hunting interests have promoted the presence of exotic ungulates in Western countries, but little is known on their effects on the ecosystem. Comparative feeding patterns of two exotic bovids, mouflon and aoudad, and native red deer in Central Spain indicated that bovids may compete for resources, and only under constrained summer conditions might deer overlap resource selection with mouflon. Game management of native and exotic ungulates should contemplate these premises. Photograph by Ungulata team.