Pest or Guest: the zoology of overabundance

Abstract

Proceedings of a forum of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales held on Oct. 22, 2005 at the ANZ Conservation Lecture Theatre, Taronga Zoo, Mosman, N.S.W. Exotic pest species are one of the main threats to the conservation of Australia's biodiversity. Many native species have been regarded as a pest in some locations at some times. This is a discussion of the problem of overabundance of alien invading species and some native species in Australia. Status report on Trachemys scripta elegans : pet terrapin or Australia's pest turtle? / Shelley Burgin -- Reducing the impact of feral house mice in agricultural ecosystems / Peter R. Brown -- Living with Bufo / Arthur W. White -- Carp in Australian rivers / Dean Gilligan -- Invasion of a New South Wales stream by the tropical crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus (von Martens) / Jason Coughran and Shawn Leckie -- Red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren) in Australia / Kristine P. Plowman -- Presence of Asian house gecko Hemidactylus frenatus across an urban gradient in Brisbane : influence of habitat and potential for impact on native gecko species / Brock Newbery and Darryl N. Jones -- Impacts of black rats Rattus rattus across an urban/bushland interface at Sydney's North Head / Tania A. Rose and Peter B. Banks -- The Game Council NSW and its emerging role in game and feral animal management in NSW / Brian Boyle and Craig Henderson -- Introduced marine pests : how they get here, how do we get rid of them, and how do we know they are really introduced? / Pat Hutchings -- The Invasive Animals CRC : a new research initiative for managing some old problems / Glen Saunders [and others] -- The status and management of wild deer in Australia / A.W. English -- Planting for possums : prime pickings or prohibited provender? : a discussion paper from a horticultural and wildlife care perspective / Claire deLacey and Steven Chamberlain -- Managing eastern grey kangaroos Macropus giganteus in the Australian Capital Territory : reducing the overabundance -- of opinion / Don Fletcher -- From the urban fringe to the Abrolhos Islands : management challenges of burgeoning marsupial populations / Catherine A. Herbert -- Relative abundance of Australia white ibis Threskiornis molluca across the Greater Brisbane region / Stephanie Meyer-Gleaves and Darryl N. Jones -- Pest or guest : some perspectives of abundant wildlife in Victoria / Ian Temby. Overabundant native vertebrates in New South Wales : characterising populations, gauging perceptions, and developing an ethical management framework / Daniel Lunney [and others] -- Exploding kangaroos : assessing problems and setting targets / Graeme Coulson -- Kangaroo faeces : a reflection of kangaroo nutrition / Justin Billing -- Parrots of the Sydney region : population changes over 100 years / Shelley Burgin and Tony Saunders -- Species richness and community composition of passerine birds in suburban Perth : is predation by pet cats the most important factor? / Jacky Grayson, Michael Calver, and Alan Lymbery -- The complex pest : interaction webs between pests and native species / Chris R. Dickman -- Effects of exotic plants in native vegetation on species richness and abundance of birds and mammals / Brad R. Murray [and others] -- Dangerous dichotomies : native good, exotic bad / Tim Low -- From rarity to abundance : a consequence of value / Michael Archer and Bob Beale -- 1080 and wildlife : scientific and ethical issues raised by its use on Australian mammals / Des Cooper, Elisabeth Larsen, and Jim Shields -- Homo sapiens : overabundant and the ultimate pest? / A.R. Jones -- Guest or pest? : animal rights activists at the 2005 Royal Zoological Society's annual forum / Peter B. Banks -- Pest or guest : the cultural context of the zoology of overabundance / Daniel Lunney [and others].