School of BioSciences - Research Publications

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    Cost-benefit analysis of the yellow crazy ant eradication program. Technical Report prepared for the Wet Tropics Management Authority
    Spring, D ; Kompas, T ; Bradhurst, R (Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis, 2019)
    Yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) (YCA) are one of the world’s 100 worst invasive species (Lowe et al. 2000). Previous assessments of YCA invasions have demonstrated that YCA can dramatically reduce native species richness in invaded areas, including in the Seychelles (Bos et al. 2008), Christmas Island (O'Dowd et al. 2003), and Hawaii (Plentovich et al. 2011). Native species losses include direct losses of competing invertebrate species and indirect losses resulting from ecological interdependencies, which can result in “ecological meltdown” in extreme cases such as Christmas Island (O'Dowd et al. 2003). YCA can also cause large losses to people living in infested areas through nuisance and health effects (Lach and Hoskin 2015) and can also adversely affect agricultural producers (Young et al. 2001) through reducing yields and/or increasing pesticide costs. YCA was first detected in Cairns and its southern suburbs in 2001, and an eradication program was initiated by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) and Biosecurity Queensland as part of a larger state-wide program. Later discoveries of YCA across the state, including in and around the WTWHA led to the state-wide eradication program being discontinued. An application was then made by WTMA to continue eradication efforts in and around the WTWHA. The program has been funded by the Australian Government and the Queensland Government in two overlapping projects, as described in the Executive Summary.
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    Vector-borne spread of Animal Disease (CEBRA Project 1608B). Technical Report for the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment
    Bradhurst, R ; Garner, G ; East, I ; Iglesias, R ; Stevenson, M ; AL-RIYAMI, S ; Kompas, T (University of Melbourne, 2018)