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AIM 8: UNDERTAKE PROGRAM REPORTING AND REVIEWRegular program review and associated reporting is essential to effectively maintain viable populations of kangaroos throughout their ranges; they ensure management outcomes remain consistent with the goal and aims of the plan, and that management is fully informed. ACTION 26: DEWNR will review and remake the National Parks and Wildlife (Kangaroo Harvesting) Regulations 2003. The National Parks and Wildlife (Kangaroo Harvesting) Regulations 2003 will be due to be remade in 2013, with a possible sunset period of up to three years. Therefore these Regulations will be remade during the life of this management plan. DEWNR will ensure that thorough consultation occurs during this review. Remaking these Regulations may include changes to make the sealed tag process more efficient (see Action 18), and extending the scope of the commercial kangaroo harvest to include other macropod species. Performance indicators 26.1 The National Parks and Wildlife (Kangaroo Harvesting) Regulations 2003 are reviewed and remade by 2016. ACTION 27: An annual report on the South Australia Kangaroo Management Plan 2013 – 2017 will be prepared and submitted to the Commonwealth. An annual report detailing the operation of the South Australian Kangaroo Management Plan 2013 – 2017 for the previous calendar year will be prepared and submitted to the Commonwealth. This report will provide information on the previous year's quotas and harvest rates, any use of special quotas and details of research involvement. This report will also identify whether any adaptive management experiments were undertaken and provide details about compliance actions undertaken within the auspices of this plan. Finally, this report will audit plan aims against performance indicators so that progress towards achieving the goal of the management plan can be measured. Performance indicators 27.1 An annual report on the operation of the South Australia Commercial Kangaroo Harvest Management Plan 2013 - 2017 for the previous calendar year is submitted to the Commonwealth by end of March of the following year.
The Annual Report will include the following information: 27.2 All annual reports prepared during the life of this plan are posted on the Kangaroo Management Program web page. ACTION 28: The review of the South Australian Kangaroo Management Plan 2013 – 2017 will commence no later than twelve months prior to the expiry of this plan. The review of the South Australian Kangaroo Management Plan 2013 – 2017 will commence no later than twelve months prior to the expiry of this plan in order to assess the success of the plan in achieving its goal. The review will be conducted with the aim of improving on the current plan in the development of subsequent plans. Performance indicators: 28.1 The success of the current plan in achieving its goal is assessed by measuring performance indicators. 28.2 A review of the plan commences by November 2016. 28.3 A report on the results of the plan review is submitted to the Commonwealth and is placed on the Kangaroo Management Program web page. The report should summarise the results of the final review including an explanation of any proposed changes to the management plan. It should also include an assessment of DENWR performance against the performance indicators. The report should be submitted to the Commonwealth by 31 October 2017. Appendix 1: Biology, Ecology and Conservation of KangaroosBiology and ecologyImpacts of European settlement on kangaroo populationsThe larger-bodied macropods that are the subject of this management plan have generally been advantaged by European settlement. These kangaroo populations in South Australia are considered secure and widespread. Many changes have been brought about in the last 200-plus years of European settlement. These include widespread changes to the landscape, through replacement of native vegetation in many areas with agricultural and urban land uses. In places where native vegetation has not been widely cleared (e.g. pastoral rangelands) the landscape has still been modified by settlement, through measures such as provision of watering points for stock, and construction of a dingo-proof fence across Australia to protect sheep in the southern rangelands from Dingo predation. These changes have altered the natural distribution and abundance of kangaroos. The species to which this plan relates have all been advantaged by these changes and in many places are present in higher abundances than they were previously. Increased pasture, greater availability of water and reduced predator pressure have all contributed to an increased abundance of the three species (Pople & Grigg 1999). There are large populations of each of the harvested species in Australia and South Australia. The kangaroo population across Australia that is exposed to commercial harvest has been estimated to have fluctuated between 15 and 35 million animals over the past 25 years (numbers of red kangaroo, western grey kangaroo and eastern grey kangaroo combined; Department of the Environment and Heritage 2007). In the commercially harvested parts of South Australia, populations range up to numbers exceeding three million red kangaroos and one-and-a-half million western grey kangaroos (Pople et al. 2010). Localised surveys of euro suggest that there are currently around 500,000 euros in the commercially harvested area of South Australia.
SystematicsA kangaroo is a marsupial from the Family Macropodidae. This family contains kangaroos, wallabies and tree kangaroos. At the time of writing, only three species of the genus Macropus are the subject of this management plan:
Conservation statusThe commercially harvested kangaroo species that are the subject of this management plan are widespread and secure. This secure nature is reflected in the fact that they are:
Distribution of each speciesThe red kangaroo is particularly well-adapted to the arid environment of central Australia, and has a distribution covering most of the continent west of the Great Dividing Range, but excluding Cape York, Arnhem Land, the Kimberley region, the south-west corner and Tasmania (Pople & Grigg 1999) (Figure 2). Red kangaroos prefer more open habitats with scattered trees (Pople 1989), such as grassland, open scrub, mulga, low shrublands and open woodlands. Within South Australia, the highest densities of red kangaroo coincide with the area of sheep grazing rangelands (Cairns et al. 1991). Over the time that aerial surveys have been flown in South Australia, the area of highest red kangaroo density has been just south of Lake Frome in the north-eastern section of the pastoral zone (Pople et al. 2006). The long-term monitoring data also suggest a westward shift in range of the red kangaroo (Pople et al. 2010) over the period that kangaroo surveys have been conducted. The western grey kangaroo is found along the southern part of Australia, excluding Tasmania, and extending into New South Wales and Queensland in the eastern end of its distribution (Pople & Grigg 1999) (Figure 3). The western grey kangaroo is generally associated with less arid environments than the red kangaroo, and is affiliated with semi-arid mallee scrub, shrub woodland and forests (Pople & Grigg 1999). western grey kangaroos can particularly exploit mosaic environments with areas of shrub interspersed with open habitats and cleared areas. Within South Australia, the western grey kangaroo is found in the southern half of the state and on Kangaroo Island (although this is a separate subspecies that is not covered by this management plan). Aerial survey data have revealed that western grey kangaroo densities are consistently highest in the Gawler Ranges and the south-eastern section of the South Australian pastoral zone (Pople et al. 2006). This distribution is complementary to that of red kangaroos, with high western grey kangaroo densities occurring in areas where red kangaroo numbers are low. Over the last 20 years, the western grey kangaroo has had a northwards expansion in its distribution and has become more common in the northern parts of the South Australian pastoral zone (Pople et al. 2010). The euro has a widespread distribution covering most of mainland Australia, except for the most southern and northern parts of the country (Pople & Grigg 1999) (Figure 4). However, within this wide distribution the presence of euros is patchy and localised, reflecting their preferences for rocky and hilly habitat. Euros can be found in a wide range of habitats but prefer areas where steep escarpments, rocky hills or stony rises are available to them. The euro can build up to localised high densities when conditions are favourable.
Biology of the Red Kangaroo Macropus rufusRed kangaroos are opportunistic breeders and will breed throughout the year except in periods of extreme drought. This species exhibits a reproductive technique called embryonic diapause, where a viable embryo can be carried in the uterus for many months with its development arrested at the stage of a blastocyst (e.g. 70-100 cells). A blastocyst will remain in diapause while there is another young in the pouch, or when environmental conditions are poor. This reproductive strategy reduces the time between breeding events. Largely a gregarious species, the red kangaroo has a polygamous mating system (i.e. one male, many females). The species exhibits sexual dimorphism, with males larger than females. The red kangaroo grazes grasses and dicotyledonous plants, and browses chenopods and shrubs when necessary (Tyndale-Biscoe 2005). The red kangaroo is dependent upon the presence of green herbage for breeding. As the supply of green pick dwindles, breeding is reduced. Red kangaroos generally have sedentary populations that move within home ranges of variable size (typical weekly home range size may be up to 560 hectares or 5.6 km2 (Croft 1991). Red kangaroos range more widely in response to drought and can move a long way to access better feed. Movements of up to 30km to access fresh pasture growth in response to rainfall have been recorded (Croft 1991). Occasional long-distance movements (i.e. >100km) of mature individuals of both sexes have been recorded (Bailey & Best 1992). Long-distance movements of red kangaroos to access better feed have also been found in the long-term aerial monitoring dataset for South Australia (Pople et al. 2006).
Figure 2: Distribution of red kangaroo (Macropus rufus) determined from aerial survey (Pople & Grigg 1999). Biology of the Western Grey Kangaroo Macropus fuliginosusLike the red kangaroo, the western grey kangaroo will breed year round except in very poor seasons. Breeding peaks in spring and summer have been recorded (Hacker et al. 2004). However, unlike in red kangaroos, embryonic diapause is not found in this species, so the species is not as able to rapidly respond with population increase following good conditions. western grey kangaroos are sexually dimorphic in body size, with males larger than females. Western grey kangaroos feed mainly on grasses, and also browses on some selected shrubs (Coulson & Norbury 1988). While red kangaroos will move a long way to access better feed, western grey kangaroos do not do this and are more sedentary with small individual home ranges (Priddel 1987). Dispersing individuals tend to be young males. The western grey kangaroo has higher water requirements than the red kangaroo (Dawson 1995), and so an expansion of available water in pastoral areas has enabled an expansion of this species into more arid areas.
Figure 3: Distribution of western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus) determined from aerial survey (Pople & Grigg 1999). Biology of the Euro Macropus robustusEuros are opportunistic breeders, with continuous breeding possible throughout the year. Breeding is reduced during dry conditions and may cease during prolonged drought. Like red kangaroos, embryonic diapause occurs in this species. The euro exhibits marked sexual dimorphism, with mature males attaining twice the weight of mature females. The euro feeds mainly on grasses and shrubs. The species is relatively sedentary and individuals occupy small stable home ranges. The euro exhibits a less gregarious social structure than red and western grey kangaroos. Euros are found in mountains and rocky hill habitat. Because this habitat type is not continuous across the landscape, the distribution of euro is likewise patchy (Dawson 1995). The steep escarpments, rocky hills and stony rises favoured by euro (Olsen & Braysher 2000) are less frequently cleared for agriculture, and thus this species is generally less affected by land-use changes.
Figure 4: Distribution of euro (Macropus robustus) (Pople & Grigg 1999). Note that distribution is patchy within the range, based on the availability of suitable habitat. |
