Abstract
Population manipulation of introduced species can be difficult and many widespread eradication or reduction attempts have failed. Understanding the population dynamics of a species is essential for undertaking a successful control program. Despite this, control attempts are frequently undertaken with limited knowledge of the species population dynamics. For example, in Australia, concern over the impact of the introduced common myna (Acridotheres tristis) has led to community members culling the species. In this paper, we assessed the impact of community-led common myna culling program over broad and fine-scales in Canberra, Australia. We utilized a basic population model to enhance understanding of common myna population dynamics and the potential influence of various culling regimes. We found a significant negative relationship between common myna abundance and culling at fine-scales (1 km2). However, over broad-scales the relationship between common myna abundance and culling was not significant. Our population model indicated culling at a rate of 25 birds per km2 per year would reduce common myna abundance, regardless of initial density. Our results suggest that currently too few individuals are being removed from the Canberra population, and natural reproduction, survival and/or immigration is able to replace the culled individuals. This highlights the value of undertaking basic population modeling to assess if potential control measures are capable of achieving desired outcomes. Our work provides information for researchers, government and community groups interested in controlling not only the common myna, but also other introduced species.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ABC (2011) WildWatch2: quest for pests. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/wildwatch/credits.htm. Accessed 30 Jan 2013
Ascunce MS, Yang C, Oakey J, Calcaterra L, Wu W, Shih C, Goudet J, Ross KG, Shoemaker D (2011) Global invasion history of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta. Science 331:1066–1068
Beggs JR, Rees JS (1999) Restructuring of Lepidoptera communities by introduced Vespula wasps in a New Zealand beech forest. Oecologia 119:565–571
BOM (2013) Climate statistics for Australian locations: summary statistics Canberra city. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_070282.shtml. Accessed 13 May 2013
Bomford M, O’Brien P (1995) Eradication or control of vertebrate pests? Wildl Soc Bull 23:249–255
Bonesi L, Rushton SP, Macdonald DW (2007) Trapping for mink control and water vole survival: identifying key criteria using a spatially explicit individual based model. Biol Conserv 136:636–650
Boyce MS, Sinclair ARE, White GC (1999) Seasonal compensation of predation and harvesting. Oikos 87:419–426
Braysher ML (1993) Managing vertebrate pests: principles and strategies. Australian Bureau of Rural Sciences, Canberra
Bremner A, Park K (2007) Public attitudes to the management of invasive non-native species in Scotland. Biol Conserv 139:306–314
Brook BW, Sodhi NS, Soh MC, Lim HC (2003) Abundance and projected control of invasive House Crows in Singapore. J Wildl Manage 67:808–817
Buckley YM, Rees M, Paynter Q, Lonsdale M (2004) Modelling integrated weed management of an invasive shrub in tropical Australia. J Appl Ecol 41:547–560
Byrd GV (1979) Common myna predation on wedge-tailed Shearwater eggs. Elepaio 39:69–70
Canberra Ornithologists Group (2011) Annual bird report: 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010. Canberra Bird Notes 36:1–82
Caughley G (1977) Analysis of vertebrate populations. Wiley, New York
Choquenot D, Parkes J (2001) Setting thresholds for pest control: how does pest density affect resource viability? Biol Conserv 99:29–46
CIMAG (2013) The Canberra Indian Myna Action Group Inc. http://www.indianmynaaction.org.au. Accessed 26 Apr 2013
Clark WM (1987) Effects of harvest on annual survival of Muskrats. J Wildl Manage 51:265–272
Conroy MJ, Krementz DG (1990) A review of the evidence for the effects of hunting on American Black Duck populations. Trans N Am Wildl Nat Resour Conf 55:501–517
Courchamp F, Chapuis J-L, Pascal M (2003) Mammal invaders on islands: impact, control and control impact. Biol Rev 78:347–383
Davis MA (2003) Biotic globalization: does competition from introduced species threaten biodiversity? Bioscience 53:481–489
Davis MA, Chew MK, Hobbs RJ et al (2011) Don’t judge species on their origins. Nature 474:153–154
Dhami MK, Nagle B (2009) Review of the biology and ecology of the common myna (Acridotheres tristis) and some implications for management of this invasive species. Pacific Invasives Initiative. The University of Auckland, Auckland
Dufour KW, Ankney CD, Weatherhead PJ (1993) Condition and vulnerability to hunting among Mallards staging at lake St. Clair, Ontario. J Wildl Manag 57:209–215
Edwards GP, Pople AR, Saalfeld K, Caley P (2004) Introduced mammals in Australian rangelands: future threats and the role of monitoring programmes in management strategies. Austral Ecol 29:40–50
Eiswerth ME, Johnson WS (2002) Managing nonindigenous invasive species: insights from dynamic analysis. Environ Resour Econ 23:319–342
ESRI (2010) ArcGIS. Environmental Systems Resource Institute, Redlands
Feare C (1991) Control of bird pest populations. In: Perrins C, Lebreton J-D, Hirons G (eds) Bird population studies: relevance to conservation and management. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 463–478
Feare C, Craig A (1998) Starlings and mynas. Helm, London
Gibbs HM, Chambers LE, Bennett AF (2011) Temporal and spatial variability of breeding in Australian birds and the potential implications of climate change. Emu 111:283–291
Glen AS, Hamilton T, McKenzie D, Ruscoe WA, Byrom AE (2012) Kiwi Apteryx mantelli population recovery through community-led trapping of invasive non-native mammals in Northland, New Zealand. Conserv Evid 9:22–27
Grarock K, Lindenmayer DB, Wood JT, Tidemann CR (2013a) Using invasion process theory to enhance the understanding and management of introduced species. A case study reconstructing the invasion sequence of the common myna (Acridotheres tristis). J Environ Manage 126:398–409
Grarock K, Lindenmayer DB, Wood JT, Tidemann CR (2013b) Does human-induced habitat modification influence the impact of introduced species? A case study on cavity- nesting by the introduced common myna (Acridotheres tristis) and two Australian native parrots. Environ Manag. 52:958–970
Griffin AS (2008) Social learning in Indian mynahs, Acridotheres tristis: the role of distress calls. Anim Behav 75:79–89
Griffin AS, Boyce HM (2009) Indian mynahs, Acridotheres tristis, learn about dangerous places by observing the fate of others. Anim Behav 78:79–84
Gurevitch J, Padilla DK (2004) Are invasive species a major cause of extinctions? Trends Ecol Evol 19:470–474
Gurevitch J, Fox GA, Wardle GM, Inderjit Taub D (2011) Emergent insights from the synthesis of conceptual frameworks for biological invasions. Ecol Lett 14:407–418
Hampton JO, Spencer PBS, Alpers DL et al (2004) Molecular techniques, wildlife management and the importance of genetic population structure and dispersal: a case study with Feral Pigs. J Appl Ecol 41:735–743
Harper MJ, McCarthy MA, van der Ree R (2005) The use of nest boxes in urban natural vegetation remnants by vertebrate fauna. Wildl Res 32:509–516
Hengeveld R (1989) Dynamics of biological invasions. Chapman and Hall, London
Hone J (1995) Spatial and temporal aspects of vertebrate pest damage with emphasis on Feral Pigs. J Appl Ecol 32:311–319
Hudson PJ, Newborn D, Robertson PA (1997) Geographical and seasonal patterns of mortality in Red Grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus populations. Wildl Biol 3:79–87
Hulme PE (2006) Beyond control: wider implications for the management of biological invasions. J Appl Ecol 43:835–847
ISSG (2000) 100 of the world’s worst invasive alien species: a selection from the global invasive species database. http://www.issg.org/database/species/reference_files/100English.pdf. Accessed 22 May 2012
Jones CG (1996) Bird introductions to Mauritius: status and relationships with native birds. In: Holmes JS, Simons JR (eds) The introduction and naturalisation of birds. Stationery Office Publishing Centre, London, pp 113–123
Keane RM, Crawley MJ (2002) Exotic plant invasions and the enemy release hypothesis. Trends Ecol Evol 17:164–170
King DH (2010) The effect of trapping pressure on trap avoidance, and the role of foraging strategies in anti-predator behaviour of common mynas (Sturnus tristis). Canberra Bird Notes 35:85–108
King CM, Powell RA (2011) Managing an invasive predator pre-adapted to a pulsed resource: a model of stoat (Mustela erminea) irruptions in New Zealand beech forests. Biol Invasions 13:3039–3055
Kokko H (2001) Optimal and suboptimal use of compensatory responses to harvesting: timing of hunting as an example. Wildl Biol 7:141–150
Lebreton J-D (2005) Dynamical and statistical models for exploited populations. Aust NZ J Stat 47:49–63
Lee Y, Nelder JA, Pawitan Y (2006) Generalized linear models with random effects. Unified analysis via H-likelihood. Chapman and Hall, London
Lensink R (1998) Temporal and spatial expansion of the Egyptian goose Alopochen aegyptiacus in the Netherlands. J Biogeogr 25:251–263
Lindenmayer D, Wood J, MacGregor C (2009) Do observer differences in bird detection affect inferences from large-scale ecological studies? Emu 109:100–106
Lockwood JL, Cassey P, Blackburn T (2005) The role of propagule pressure in explaining species invasions. Trends Ecol Evol 20:223–228
Louette G, Devisscher S, Adriaens T (2013) Control of invasive American bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus in small shallow water bodies. Eur J Wildl Res 59:105–114
McMahon CR, Brook BW, Collier N, Bradshaw CJA (2010) Spatially explicit spreadsheet modelling for optimising the efficiency of reducing invasive animal density. Methods Ecol Evol 1:53–68
Melero Y, Palazón S, Bonesi L, Gosàlbez J (2010) Relative abundance of culled and not culled American mink populations in northeast Spain and their potential distribution: are culling campaigns effective? Biol Invasions 12:3877–3885
Moritz C, Worthington Wilmer J, Pope L, Sherwin WB, Taylor AC, Limpus CJ (1996) Applications of genetics to the conservation and management of Australian fauna: four case studies from Queensland. In: Smith TB, Wayne RK (eds) Molecular genetics approaches to conservation. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 442–456
Myers JH, Simberloff D, Kuris AM, Carey JR (2000) Eradication revisited: dealing with exotic species. Trends Ecol Evol 15:316–320
Neubert MG, Caswell H (2000) Demography and dispersal: calculation and sensitivity analysis of invasion speed for structured populations. Ecology 81:1613–1628
Newton I (1998) Population limitation in birds. Academic Press, London
Nichols JD (1991) Extensive monitoring programmes viewed as long-term population studies: the case of North American Waterfowl. IBIS 133:89–98
Nichols JD, Conroy MJ, Anderson DR, Burnham KP (1984) Compensatory mortality in waterfowl populations: a review of the evidence and implications for research and management. Trans N Am Wildl Nat Resour Conf 49:535–554
Parkes JP (1990) Eradication of feral goats on islands and habitat islands. J R Soc NZ 20:297–304
Peacock T (2007) Community on-ground cane toad control in the Kimberley. Review for Western Australia Department of Environment and Conservation. Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, Canberra
Pell AS, Tidemann CR (1997a) The ecology of the common myna in urban nature reserves in the Australian Capital Territory. Emu 97:141–149
Pell AS, Tidemann CR (1997b) The impact of two exotic hollow-nesting birds on two native parrots in savannah and woodland in eastern Australia. Biol Conserv 79:145–153
Pulliam RH (1988) Sources, sinks, and population regulation. Am Nat 132:652–661
Ratikainen II, Gill JA, Gunnarsson TG, Sutherland WJ, Kokko H (2008) When density dependence is not instantaneous: theoretical developments and management implications. Ecol Lett 11:184–198
Reddiex B, Forsyth DM (2006) Control of pest mammals for biodiversity protection in Australia. II. Reliability of knowledge. Wildl Res 33:711–717
Ricciardi A (2012) Invasive species. In: Meyers RA (ed) Encyclopaedia of sustainability science and technology. Springer, Berlin, pp 5547–5560
Richardson DM, Pysek P (2006) Plant invasions: merging the concepts of species invasiveness and community invasibility. Prog Phys Geogr 30:409–431
Robertson BC, Gemmell NJ (2004) Defining eradication units to control invasive pests. J Appl Ecol 41:1042–1048
Ruhren S (2012) Invasive species reconsidered. Bioscience 62:305–306
Rutz C (2008) The establishment of an urban bird population. J Anim Ecol 77:1008–1019
Sandercock BK, Nilsen EB, Brøseth H, Pedersen HC (2011) Is hunting mortality additive or compensatory to natural mortality? Effects of experimental harvest on the survival and cause-specific mortality of Willow Ptarmigan. J Anim Ecol 80:244–258
Sarre SD, MacDonald AJ, Barclay C, Saunders GR, Ramsey DSL (2013) Foxes are now widespread in Tasmania: DNA detection defines the distribution of this rare but invasive carnivore. J Appl Ecol 50:459–468
Shea K, Chesson P (2002) Community ecology theory as a framework for biological invasions. Trends Ecol Evol 17:170–176
Shea K, NCEAS (1998) Management of populations in conservation, harvesting and control. Trends Ecol Evol 13:371–375
Sher AA, Hyatt LA (1999) The disturbed resource-flux invasion matrix: a new framework for patterns of plant invasion. Biol Invasions 1:107–114
Shine R, Doody JS (2010) Invasive species control: understanding conflicts between researchers and the general community. Front Ecol Environ 9:400–406
Simberloff D, Gibbons L (2004) Now you see them, now you don’t!—population crashes of established introduced species. Biol Invasions 6:161–172
Sutherland WJ, Newton I, Green R (2004) Bird ecology and conservation: a handbook of techniques. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Taylor RH, Kaiser GW, Drever MC (2000) Eradication of Norway rats for recovery of seabird habitat on Langara island, British Columbia. Restor Ecol 8:151–160
Tidemann CR (2010) Investigation into the potential for broad-scale control of mynas by trapping at communal roosts. Final Report to the Hermon Slade Foundation, the Australian Rainforest Foundation and the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water. The Australian National University, Canberra
Tidemann CR, Grarock K, King DH (2011) Euthanasia of pest sturnids in nestboxes. Corella 35:49–51
Tobin PC, Kean JM, Suckling DM, McCullough DG, Herms DA, Stringer LD (2013) Determinants of successful arthropod eradication programs. Biol Invasions 1–14. doi:10.1007/s10530-013-0529-5
Towns DR, Broome KG (2003) From small Maria to massive Campbell: forty years of rat eradications from New Zealand islands. NZ J Zool 30:377–398
Tracey J, Bomford M, Hart Q, Saunders G, Sinclair R (2007) Managing bird damage to fruit and other horticultural crops. Bureau of Rural Sciences, Canberra
Travis JMJ, Park KJ (2004) Spatial structure and the control of invasive alien species. Anim Conserv 7:321–330
VSN International (2012) GenStat 15. VSN International, Hemel Hempstead
Ward P, Pant NC, Roy J, Dorow E, Betts E, Whellan JA (1979) Rational strategies for the control of Queleas and other migrant bird pests in Africa. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B 287:289–300
Zabala J, Zuberogoitia I, González-Oreja JA (2010) Estimating cost and outcomes of invasive American mink (Neovison vison) management in continental areas: a framework for evidence based control and eradication. Biol Invasions 12:2999–3012
Zuberogoitia I, González-Oreja JA, Zabala J, Rodríguez-Refojos C (2010) Assessing the control/eradication of an invasive species, the American mink, based on field data; how much would it cost? Biodivers Conserv 19:1455–1469
Acknowledgments
We thank the Canberra Indian Myna Action Group and Canberra Ornithologist Group for providing data for analysis. We thank volunteer bird observers, including: Barbara Allen, Heather Allsopp, Judith Bourne, John Brannan, Malcolm Fyfe, Bill Handke, Owen Holton, Anne I’Ons, Daryl King, Sue Lashko, Barbara Levings, Bruce Lindenmayer, Chris Marsh and Peter Ormay. We also thank Hamish Dalley, Sara Hanley and Simon Roz for their comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. Bird transect surveys were undertaken in accordance with animal ethics approval Protocol No. C.RE.51.08.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Grarock, K., Tidemann, C.R., Wood, J.T. et al. Understanding basic species population dynamics for effective control: a case study on community-led culling of the common myna (Acridotheres tristis). Biol Invasions 16, 1427–1440 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-013-0580-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-013-0580-2