Modelling human impacts on the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax fleayi)

Sarah A Bekessy; Brendan A Wintle; Ascelin Gordon; Julian C Fox; Ryan Chisholm; Bill Brown; Tracey Regan; Nick Mooney; Steve M Read; Mark A Burgman

Journal article

Modelling human impacts on the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax fleayi)

Sarah A Bekessy, Brendan A Wintle, Ascelin Gordon, Julian C Fox, Ryan Chisholm, Bill Brown, Tracey Regan, Nick Mooney, Steve M Read, Mark A Burgman

BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION | ELSEVIER SCI LTD | Published : 2009

DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2009.05.010

Abstract

The wedge-tailed eagle is Australia's largest bird of prey and one of the largest eagles in the world. Aquila audax fleayi is an endemic Tasmanian subspecies isolated for 10,000years from the nominate subspecies on the Australian mainland. The Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle is classified nationally and at a State level as endangered due to its small number of breeding pairs, low breeding success and high rate of mortality from unnatural causes. The subspecies experiences mortality throughout its range from shooting, poisoning, trapping, road accidents, electrocutions and collisions with wind turbines, aircraft, fences and overhead wires, which we term ‘un-natural mortality'. A portion of the s..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Mark Burgman Author Biosciences

Tracey Regan Author Ecosystem and Forest Sciences

Brendan Wintle Author Ecosystem and Forest Sciences

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Grants

Awarded by ARC

Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

This project was supported by an ARC Linkage Grant, funded by the Australian Commonwealth Government, with Forestry Tasmania as the industry partner. Wintle was supported by ARC Project LP0347473 to Burgman and DP0774288. Bekessy was also supported by ARC Project LP0454979. H.R. Akqakaya and M. McCarthy provided technical advice on landscape and population modelling methods. S.J. Grove and M.J. Brown provided useful input throughout this project.