Feral pig predation threatens the indigenous harvest and local persistence of snake-necked turtles in northern Australia

By Damien A. Fordham, Arthur Georges, B. Corey, Barry W. Brook. 2006

94 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Northern snake-necked turtles (Chelodina rugosa) traditionally provided an important seasonal source of protein for indigenous communities in Arnhem Land, northern Australia. Harvest techniques today differ little from those used historically, harvesting being applied in the late dry season when ephemeral waters have drawn down and turtles are aestivating. Radio-telemetry was used to quantify survival rates of C. rugosa at a traditional turtle harvest site and relate them to harvest, predation by feral pigs (Sus scrofa) and environmental factors. Although turtle survival was positively correlated with body size, the survival of turtles of all sizes and stages of maturity was compromised by pig predation. Seasonal variation in the onset, duration and severity of rainfall and associated influences on periodic drying, are important for C. rugosa survival because such variation influences the timing and intensity of both Aboriginal harvest and pig predation. Contemporary harvest rates of C. rugosa in Arnhem Land by Aboriginal people are very low because pig predation depletes available stocks immediately before Aboriginal harvesting. Aboriginal harvest rates are regulated also by the frequency and timing of ceremonies and other cultural activities that interfere with harvests. Before the arrival of pigs, such relaxation of harvest pressure in years when harvest would otherwise be possible would have contributed to the local abundance and persistence of C. rugosa. In contrast, pig predation is unrelenting, and years of high turtle survival are now restricted only to years of high wet season rainfall.

Subfields: Ecology, Global and Planetary Change, Nature and Landscape Conservation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/2f1b1ca5c73a821405b33f8d48f44284731af465

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Citations in the corpus

How many reptiles are killed by cats in Australia? (2018, background): “…scrofa) are implicated in population declines of several species, some threatened, of freshwater turtles (Spencer 2002; Spencer and Thompson 2005; Fordham et al. 2006, 2008; Micheli-Campbell et al. 2013; Whytlaw et al. 2013; Freeman et al. 2014; Fielder et al. 2015; Robley et al. 2016) and…”
A review of wild boar Sus scrofa diet and factors affecting food selection in native and introduced ranges (2014, background): “1974, Coblentz & Baber 1987), as well as in Australia, where predation by the wild boar is reducing the survival of the northern snake-necked turtle Chelodina rugosa (Fordham et al. 2006).”
Impacts and management of wild pigs Sus scrofa in Australia (2014, background): “In Arnhem Land, predation on aestivating snake-necked turtles Chelodina rugosa reduced local population abundances by over 90% in some areas (Fordham et al. 2006) and is expected to lead to localised extinctions if predation pressure is not mitigated (Fordham et al.”
Non-indigenous ungulates as a threat to biodiversity (2009, background): “, 2001), and to compete with (Baccus, Harmel & Armstrong, 1985; Côté, 2005), eat (Fordham et al., 2006), infect (Meltzer, 1993) and hybridize with (Goodman et al.”
Biological invasions and biocultural diversity: linking ecological and cultural systems (2008, background): “In Australia, feral pigs affect Northern snake-necked turtle (Chelodina rugosa) populations, threatening Aboriginal harvesting practices and disrupting the timing and frequency of related cultural activities (Fordham et al. 2006).”
Feral swine damage and damage management in forested ecosystems. (2009, background): “For example, feral swine have been implicated in local extinctions of the endangered Hutton’s shearwater (Puffinus huttoni) in New Zealand (Cuthbert, 2002) and threaten local persistence of snake-necked turtles (Chelodina rugosa) in northern Australia (Fordham et al., 2006).”