1. A citizen-trapper effort to control Common Myna: Trap success, specificity and preferred bait type.
- Author
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Linley, Grant D., Paton, David C., and Weston, Michael A.
- Subjects
- *
BIRDS , *BAIT for wildlife , *FINANCE , *BREAD , *DOGS - Abstract
We describe a community-run effort to cull Common Myna ( Acridotheres tristis) in Melbourne undertaken with modest funding (overall: $30.14 per trap day, $5.17 per euthanized Common Myna). Trap success (overall, 0.04 birds per trap per day) peaked early in the effort and slowly declined. Trap specificity was high (83.8%) and similar between bait types. Dry cat food captured more Common Myna, and a similar assemblage of animals, to dry dog food. Bread baits captured a broader assemblage of animals. The community-led trapping programme reduced the mean density of Common Myna and achieved high target specificity with relatively few unintended trap deaths. While long-term impacts on the population of Common Myna or native birds are yet to be analysed, the results suggest that ongoing effort is required for population suppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017
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