Mitigating cat impacts on the brush-tailed rabbit-rat

Date: 06, Jun, 2018
Author(s):   Brett Murphy, John Woinarksi, Hugh Davies, Alan Anderson, Tiwi Land Rangers, John Kanowski
Publisher: TSR Hub

The brush-tailed rabbit-rat has declined dramatically across northern Australia’s tropical savannas. Cat predation is considered a major threat, but cat impacts are influenced by vegetation, which in turn is strongly influenced by fire. This project will investigate 1) relationships between fire frequency, brush-tailed rabbit-rat populations, cat populations, and habitat attributes required by small mammals 2) the extent of cat predation on the brush-tailed rabbit-rat 3) whether cat impacts can be managed through fire management or whether cat control is needed to secure the species 4) the cost-effectiveness of the two approaches 5) if fire management for carbon credits is compatible with conservation of brush-tailed rabbit-rats and 6) how to improve fire management for conservation outcomes.