Kangaroos: Their Ecology and Management in the Sheep Rangelands of Australia

About this book

The management of kangaroos is one of the most controversial issues in Australian wildlife management today - kangaroos are 'in plague proportions' or 'on the verge of extinction' depending on whom you spoke to last. This book examines the ecology and management of kangaroos and shows how they interact with their own environment and with that shaped by sheep grazing and the wool industry. It presents the results of intensive and detailed studies of feeding behaviour, movement and habitat utilisation, body condition and population dynamics, weather and plant growth. These are then synthesised to produce a clear picture of how kangaroos cope so successfully with the climatic extremes of the arid zone, how they and the sheep jointly affect each other's fortunes, and what the options are for the future management of kangaroos both within the national parks and on the sheep rangelands.

First published in 1987.

Contents

Preface; 1. Introduction to the sheep rangelands Graeme Caughley; 2. The environment of the Australian sheep rangelands Graham Robertson, Jeff Short and Greg Wellard; 3. The effect of weather on soil moisture and plant growth in the arid zone Greg Wellard; 4. Plant dynamics Graham Robertson; 5. The diet of herbivores in the sheep rangelands R. D. Barker; 6. Factors affecting food intake of rangelands herbivores Jeff Short; 7. The mobility and habitat utilisation of kangaroos David Priddel; 8. Kangaroo dynamics Peter Bayliss; 9. Condition and recruitment of kangaroos Neil Shepherd; 10. Ecological relationships Graeme Caughley; 11. Options for management of kangaroos Neil Shepherd and Graeme Caughley; Indices.

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