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Manager perspectives on strategies used at flying-fox camps

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posted on 2023-05-25, 19:19 authored by Currey, K, Lentini, PE, van der Ree, R, David Kendal
Mainland Australia is home to four species of flying-foxes or ‘fruit bats’ (Figure 1). Flying-foxes are increasingly found in urban areas, most likely because of ongoing habitat loss and an increase in the diversity and reliability of foraging resources in many cities and towns. Roosts (or ‘camps’) of flying-foxes can vary in size, ranging from hundreds to many thousands of bats. The associated noise, smell, mess, loss of amenity and perceived disease risk of these can result in conflict with local communities.

Land managers use a range of approaches to address community concerns about the impacts of flying-fox camps. However, they are often operating with limited resources, time, and few opportunities to interact with- and learn from others in the same situation. Collating and sharing their experiences and knowledge will highlight key factors and risks to consider, and hopefully provide a more realistic picture of costs that can then be incorporated into planning.

In 2017 we conducted interviews with- and distributed an open invitation to managers to complete an online questionnaire (consisting of 35 questions) to understand why they chose to actively manage camps, what they had tried, how effective they perceived it to be and what it cost. Our findings provide a general picture of what many managers of flying-fox camps are doing.

History

Commissioning body

National Environmental Science Program

Issue

May

Pagination

12

Department/School

School of Geography, Planning and Spatial Sciences

Publisher

National Environmental Science Program

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Terrestrial biodiversity

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    University Of Tasmania

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