Some responses of the threatened Northern Quoll to a large-scale cat baiting program in the Pilbara.

Date: 08, Aug, 2017
Author(s):   Brett Murphy, John Woinarski, Billy Ross, Teigan Cremona, Russell Palmer, Keith Morris, Brian Dalton, Russell Thomas
Publisher: TSR Hub

This PhD research project will build on an existing large-scale feral cat baiting and northern quoll monitoring program in the Pilbara being undertaken by the Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) in partnership with Rio Tinto. The aims of the broader program are to assess: • the efficacy of a landscape scale feral cat baiting program in the Pilbara • the impact of a feral cat baiting on a northern quoll population The PhD project will add to this through investigation of aspects of the northern quoll’s ecology and behaviour, and of the responses of cats to the control program. Across northern Australia quolls have been severely impacted by cane toads and feral cats. Due to the absence of cane toads, the Pilbara is a region of vital importance to the conservation of northern quolls.