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Rebalancing Australia’s ecology?

By Chris Johnson - posted Tuesday, 2 October 2007


Here is a more radical suggestion: perhaps now is the time to return them to the mainland, where they could potentially be re-established over large areas. The only reason not to attempt this would be the continuing threat from foxes and cats. But maybe we could fight this threat with an ecological weapon, by simultaneously installing a large predator. By doing this we might not only be restoring a few species to the mainland, but reinstating the ecological balance that top predators provide. There could be three candidates for this job.

First is the dingo. Rat-kangaroos, quolls, pademelons and bandicoots coexisted with the dingo for thousands of years, and continue to do so in northern Australia. Dingoes seem to be effective in limiting fox and cat impact in many habitats. Maybe we should be using them as a biological control to help restore biodiversity in large nature reserves in the mammal-devastated southern mainland.

Second are livestock guardian dogs, such as the maremma. They are used to keep foxes and wild dogs away from livestock, and can do so over large areas. Maybe they also suppress feral cats. If so, they create the opportunity to reintroduce sensitive species of wildlife to areas that are also used by livestock.

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Third could be the devil itself. The devil was widespread on the mainland until a few thousand years ago, perhaps just a few hundred years. It is possible that if nature reserves in southeast Australia were pre-conditioned by reducing fox and cat numbers, and if devils were introduced along with the other mammals, they might prevent foxes and cats re-emerging as a threat. An ambitious project like this might not only save species indirectly threatened by the decline of the devil in Tasmania. It could also turn out to be the most effective way to protect devils from the facial tumour disease, by setting up a healthy population far from any source of infection.

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About the Author

Chris Johnson is a Professor of Ecology in the School of Marine and Tropical Biology at James Cook University. His book Australia’s Mammal Extinctions: a 50,000 year history won the Whitley Medal for 2007.

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