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Australia's Anthropogenic Ecology; Rewilding, Introduction of New Species, Etc
Topic Started: Mar 5 2015, 03:57 AM (1,904 Views)
maker
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Tigers or other big cats won't be good, as the native animals have no idea how to respond to a large or even small cat, the tiger will simply surplus kill, similar to this:
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0031804

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/02/21/3435076.htm
Edited by maker, Mar 10 2015, 07:19 AM.
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snap
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I'm curious as to exactly how devils would compete with feral cats. Feral cats are mean, but I very much doubt that they would engage devils directly. If the devils tried strong-arming the cats kills from them they would probably just take to devouring them in trees or other places where a devil couldn't climb.
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Mesopredator
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maker
Mar 10 2015, 07:18 AM
Tigers or other big cats won't be good, as the native animals have no idea how to respond to a large or even small cat, the tiger will simply surplus kill, similar to this:
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0031804

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/02/21/3435076.htm
Hence I think that felines can't be considered. Also, I think kangeroos are vulnerable to them because it seems they can easily be grappled out of balance.

My hypothetical idea is that spotted hyenas prey on brumbies, donkeys, camels and razorbacks while dholes prey on the numerous cervids, goats and razorbacks. Alongside some native animals of course.

I have no idea however how the native animals would respond to spotted hyenas and dholes. Dholes seem very a-like dingos, but more social.
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maker
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Cape Leopard
Mar 10 2015, 02:09 AM
large wolves
No, imagine what they will do to the declining dingo population.
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Mesopredator
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Wolves would interbreed with the dingos.
Edited by Mesopredator, Mar 10 2015, 08:55 PM.
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maker
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Aren't the size difference too large, "large" wolves average 40-55 kg while dingoes 13-20 kg, large dingoes weighed 27-35 kg though.
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DinosaurFan95
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Mar 10 2015, 08:42 PM
Wolves would interbreed with the dingos.
What do you suppose a Wingo would be like?
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Mesopredator
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maker
Mar 11 2015, 06:59 AM
Aren't the size difference too large, "large" wolves average 40-55 kg while dingoes 13-20 kg, large dingoes weighed 27-35 kg though.
Did not take that into consideration. That's true.

In general, I don't see anything being introduced to Australia, but who knows in the future we might think otherwise.
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Cape Leopard
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Yes, things may change in the future.

Australians' attitudes are certainly changing when it comes to the dingo.
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Mesopredator
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We already see shift in thinking. What I see as relatively new, are ideas that include more room for natural processes, rewilding, aknowledgement of novel ecosystems and the importance of dying trees and animals (yes). All positive to me, except for more "marketization" - but that's less conservation and more politics. Oh and there is a subculture of mostly technophiles, that doesn't care that much at all about nature. Varying of people who think extinction isn't bad because we humans develop new things, to the more extreme that think nature shouldn't stand in the way of progress.

I speculate that we might see a counteral movement against this, sort of like the romanticism and ludditism during the industrial revolution. Some of those ideas might become popular again but with a new flavour. Not to say these do not exist, because they do, but they might increase in popularity as people start to get fed up with, like, smartphones and Ipads, just as there is a movement of people who want more organic food and the-like.

Anyway. What I can say for sure that the new generation will bring new ideas to the table. So maybe what we think of radical now might become normal than. That could include proxy predators to restore degraded ecosystems.
Edited by Mesopredator, Mar 13 2015, 01:50 AM.
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Cape Leopard
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All other things being equal, the feral organisms in Australia will probably become properly assimilated into the Australian ecosystem over time. Do any of you think about how these animals will evolve and diversify in Australia?

I think that the feral cat will likely diversify into at least three species, with the typical 'wildcat' form inhabiting the arid regions, open grasslands and scrublands; the Australian Wildcat, if you will. Then we might get a rainforest species that could be closer to leopard cats/ocelots in form and function. And thirdly, I think we may get a cat that is much larger than the typical feline classified in the Felis genus. The size will probably approach that of a lynx or even a puma as its forbears evolve to take on larger animals.

With the dingo, I think we may get at least two forms as well, with the cursorial running species and a heavyset species that resembles a hyena or dire wolf, better adapted to opening up carcasses and crunching up bones than the cursorial form.

My guess is that the red fox's descendants will evolve into several niches as well, with one group becoming a termite specialist (possibly outcompeting the numbat), and an opportunist and generalist species like the present form or a jackal/coyote, scavenging on dingo kills and avoiding being killed by them wherever possible.

The feral water buffalo may become its own species/sub-species, though I think it is unlikely to spread beyond northern Australia. Likewise, most of the present placental herbivores may essentially remain the "same", though we may never know due to possible ecological competition with macropods. Horn/antler shape will diverge away from that of their ancestors, and body shape and size may increase/decrease according to the environment, as Australia will have different selection pressures to their original habitats in Eurasia. It certainly remains to be seen as noted in this thread whether ungulates will outcompete macropods or vice versa; what could happen is the partitioning of niches between the two groups, as what happened when ungulates first entered Africa and encountered the varied and giant species of hyrax roaming africa during that time. Today's hyraxes are small animals clinging to specialised habitats; could the same happen with macropods? Certainly, tree-kangaroos are unlikely to be outcompeted by any ungulate.
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Mesopredator
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Foxes could start to radiate into a desert subspecies, same with the feral cat. And for the feral cat a tropical subspecies. Both the fox and feral cat are also unlikely to be (fully) eradicated

Everything else is too speculative for me. I do not know what the Australians are up to.
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7574
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well spend more dingo non hunting them make them greater popolation large pack of dingo is no joke
for buffalo we has fearsome animal to bring back..komodo dragon
if we could management good large dragonis perfect killler to buffalo and camel
maybe cougar is good choies to
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Mesopredator
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Komodo dragon, the ora, is definitely the best choice after the devil has been reintroduced - the animal not the disobedient angel.
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Cape Leopard
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What effect would introducing the cheetah have on Australia's ecology?
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