BDBSA Project Metadata Detail

Survey/Project Number: 1021          Total No. of Sites: 221
Survey/Project Name: Bird Population Trends 2001-2002 Mount Lofty Ranges (MLR)
Abstract: Fruit growers in the Mount Lofty Ranges (MLR), near Adelaide South Australia, have long been faced with the problem of birds feeding on their crops. Apple and pear crops are damaged mainly by lorikeets and rosellas, which congregate in orchards in late summer and often remain throughout much of autumn. Although bird numbers and damage levels may vary greatly from year to year, most growers perceive that there has been a general increase in damage levels in recent years. According to a Department for Environment and Heritage survey of fruit growers, approximately 5000 rosellas and 40,000 lorikeets were destroyed during the 2000 fruit season. This culling took place without the knowledge of how it may impact the bird populations. Given that the MLR area has a history of extinctions of once widespread bird species, as well as a general decline of many woodland birds, it seems unwise to allow such destruction of any native species, even one that appears to be abundant, without adequate knowledge of its ecology and population biology. This project follows on from a baseline survey conducted in March and April 2001 (Taylor 2001). However, whereas that study compared the numbers of pest species at horticultural sites with those at native vegetation sites during the fruit-damage season, this study focuses on bird numbers only at native vegetation sites during the breeding season. The second and third censuses were conducted in native vegetation during the breeding period of the target species, and provide a baseline for determining population trends from year to year. Original project name was 'Population trends in Rosella and Lorikeets in the MLR, SA'.
 
Start Date: 25/01/2001      End Date: 09/12/2002
Survey Type: Fauna only
   
Study Area Description: Kaiser Stuhl CP to Onkaparinga River NP
Objectives
         Vegetation: *** No vegetation survey objectives recorded
         Fauna: Refer to Abstract.
Methodology
         Vegetation: *** No vegetation methodology recorded
         Fauna: Twenty native vegetation sites located in the area of the Mt Lofty Ranges between Kaiser Stuhl Conservation Park in the north and Onkaparinga River National Park in the south were used for the census. These consist of 13 sites in NPWSA parks, three in SA Water reserves, three in Forestry SA native forest reserves and one in a council reserve. These were the same sites used during spring 2001, ten of which were also used in autumn 2001. Each site contained a transect 100m wide and at least one kilometre long. A small number of sites included a further 1-200 metres to incorporate different habitat types. At Kaiser Stuhl Conservation park there is an additional 600 metre transect which was monitored as part of a separate long term study. GPS coordinates were previously taken at every 100m along the centre of the transect. Twelve bird species were targeted for this study, including six identified as pests of fruit crops. The other six species were chosen based on their ecological similarities or because they are closely related to the pest species, to enable comparisons of population sizes and fluctuations.

Data Distribution Rules: Public Dataset
Project Basis: Fauna : Fauna species/population Study (ie trapping records over time period for species study). NOTE:NON Std Svy methodology may have been used.
Fauna : Baseline Survey of flora and/or fauna - Standard Biol Survey of SA survey methodology not used.
Information Authority: Department for Environment and Heritage (BDBSA:Adelaide) - Cleland Office
University of Adelaide