The theme for AWMS 2017 was a celebration of our 30th anniversary.  We were privileged to hear from founding members of the society, who opened and closed the conference with their views on how wildlife management has progressed over the decades (and entertained us with photos of their respective PPE and work habits).  The conference highlighted for me the important role that AWMS plays as a venue supporting applied ecological science – addressing fundamental issues of wildlife management with practical approaches.

Continuing this tradition, we are pleased to announce that we have two new awards to support research collaboration.  The Joan Southgate award will contribute to fostering relationships between AWMS members and Southern African researchers.  The Mike Braysher award focusses on building projects around community issues. 

In addition, the Society places substantial emphasis on supporting students and early career researchers.  A third of our members are students, and possibly the same would consider themselves ‘early career’.  We continue to support students, early researchers, and practitioners through our annual prizes, to grow our understanding of Australian and New Zealand wildlife management.

Conference Wrap-up

Konnie Gebauer

The AWMS2017 conference was held at the Carrington Hotel, Katoomba, NSW and attracted 135 delegates. The theme for the conference was ‘Wildlife Management – Present, Past and Future’. This year we were able to offer very exiting workshops before and after the conference. On Monday we had the Reintroduction Specialist Group workshop (20 participants) and the Student Mentor Workshop (27 participants), followed by a wonderful Icebreaker event in the Brewery of the Carrington Hotel. As with every year, we had a great poster happy hour on Tuesday followed by the student dinner, and on Wednesday we held the AGM followed by a wonderful conference dinner with a 1930s theme to celebrate the 30th annual AWMS conference. On Friday we finished our program with the Elsevier Writing Workshop (15 participants). Originally, we also had two field trips in the program (one with a local ranger to Echo Point on Monday, and a Walkabout tour on Friday), however, due to a lack of bookings we did cancel the field trips. The conference was a pleasure to organise due to the fantastic work by the local conference committee and the generous time commitment of volunteer mentors and presenters for the workshops!

Sponsors for AWMS2017

• Elsevier Publishing ‘Food Webs’ held an ‘Program and Book of Abstracts’ sponsorship as well as sponsoring a speaker for the writing workshop
• Sirtrack-Lotek sponsored ‘Best Student Presentations’
• Save our Species by NSW Government booked a Symposium sponsorship
• Wildlife Health Australia booked a Social Event sponsorship
• CSIRO sponsored the book prices for the photo competition

Trade exhibitors at AWMS2017

• Faunatech Austbat
• Advanced Telemetry Systems Australia
• Sirtrack-Lotek
• Australian Wildlife Society
• Sleepy Hollows Nesting Boxes – Waratah EcoWorks
• Professional Trapping Supplies

treasurers report (1/11/16-30/06/17)

Thomas Newsome

This report relates to the period of 1/11/2016 to 30/6/2017. This reflects the change in financial year that was established at the 2016 AGM. As such, no comparison between this year and previous years is possible. However, based on the status of the accounts as of 30/6/2017 the AWMS financial position is in a stable and improving condition. The total assets were $211,577. A full breakdown is below.

CURRENT ASSETS	$
CBA cheque account	77,372.90
CBA term deposit	17,051.75
CBA public fund	105,600.00
CBA transaction account	1,357.06
PayPal account	7,332.22
Prepaid expenses (MemberClicks)	2,863.60
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS	211,577.53

Note that the total current assets above includes the public fund account, which is audited separately (total $105,600). Note also that the CBA chq a/c contains the Southgate bequest of $20,000, and these funds were moved into the public fund account in the 2017-2018 financial year. Thus, the total current assets are actually $85,977.

Total income (including donations) was $182,348, which provided a net income before tax of $124,956. A breakdown is provided below.

INCOME	$
Membership fees	10,317.22
Conference income	66,530.95
Interest	13.72
Donation (Bequest)	105,500.00
TOTAL INCOME	182,361.89
EXPENSES	$
Audit	4,125.00
Awards	2,755.41
Bank charges and PayPal	596.63
Conference expenses	45,201.91
Insurance	805.11
General and admin expenses	442.88
MemberClicks	2,478.43
Printing and stationary	1,000.00
TOTAL EXPENSES	57,405.37
NET INCOME	124,956.52

Other major changes this year included:

• A new auditor (Burton Partners) was engaged this year in an effort to reduce costs. The fee is not known at this point, but will be cheaper than last year. The auditing fees are likely to reduce further in future years.
• The auditor suggested to use their own accounting software (Quick Books), at a cost of $10/month to reduce the need to use an excel spreadsheet each year. This will make the audit cheaper in future years.

Other business:

• The term deposit was renewed, but the interest rate is still very low.
• Future donations and bequests should be placed in the public fund account to ensure these funds are treated and kept separate from other funds. Royalties from published books should also be deposited in this account.
• Given poor performance in previous years the budget still needs to be managed carefully to increase surplus funds. Membership fees may need to be reviewed to aid this process as recommended previously, and the conference venue and timing requires careful thought to ensure no losses are incurred.
• The audit for this year was completed on time and was delivered prior to the conference for sign-off.

Membership secretary report

Shannon Dundas

Our membership numbers have decreased slightly although it should be acknowledged that the AWMS financial year has been reset to align with the standard financial year. The figures presented in this report therefore only represent a partial year (1st November 2016 – 30th June 2017). At the end of the financial year for 2016-2017 we had 210 members, which is similar to last year (213 members). Prior to this year’s conference we had an influx of new members registering (22 students, 13 full, 2 retired, 1 institutional – these will be included in next year’s membership figures).

We are looking at a few options to assist with retaining members, such as automatic renewals. In addition, I have put forth a constitutional change to be discussed at this AGM which will allow new members to apply and pay in one transaction.

If anyone has any suggestions or comments related to increasing or retaining members, I would love to hear them. Is there something you would like as a ‘perk’ for being an AWMS member? Would a discounted membership rate make you more inclined to renew your membership for multiple years? I would especially like to hear from students – why did you join AWMS? Are you likely to keep your AWMS membership after you graduate?

Figures for 2017-2021 are current as at 30 June2017. "Number" indicates total number of financial members for that AWMS financial year.

		Number	Number	Number	Number	Number
	Rate $	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Full member	50.00	41	40	12	3	0
	70.00	65	57	21	9	5
Student member	30.00	15	15	4	0	0
	50.00	25	23	5	3	0
Retired member	30.00	2	2	1	0	0
	50.00	10	9	2	1	0
Institutional member	80.00	2	2	1	0	0
	100.00	3	3	1	0	0
TOTAL		160	148	46	16	5
		Payment $	Payment $	Payment $	Payment $	Payment $
	Rate $	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Full member	50.00	2,050.00	2,000.00	600.00	150.00	0.00
	70.00	4,550.00	3,990.00	1,470.00	630.00	350.00
Student member	30.00	450.00	450.00	120.00	0.00	0.00
	50.00	1,250.00	1,150.00	250.00	150.00	0.00
Retired member	30.00	60.00	60.00	30.00	0.00	0.00
	50.00	500.00	450.00	100.00	50.00	0.00
Institutional member	80.00	160.00	160.00	80.00	0.00	0.00
	100.00	300.00	300.00	100.00	0.00	0.00
Totals		9,320.00	8,560.00	2,750.00	980.00	350.00
TOTAL						21,260.00

Less complimentary membership (prize winners)

Name	Award	Total Value  $	YR 1	Remaining Value  $
Helen Smith	Best presentation 2014	90	2015	30
Bronwyn Fancourt	DW Cooper 2015	150	2016	50
Carolyn Hogg	Practitioner 2015	150	2016	50
Patrick Garvey	Best presentation 2015	150	2016	100
Heather Crawford	Best poster 2015	150	2016	100
Kakapo Recovery Programme	Practitioner 2016	210	2017	210
Emily Gregg	Best presentation 2016	150	2017	150
Anushika Herath	Best poster 2016	150	2017	150
Total		1,200		840
Less PayPal transaction fees				98.52
TOTAL MEMBERSHIP REVENUE				20,321.48

conference award winners

You can read about the work of our Postgraduate Award winner Laura Tan in this issue of the newsletter.

You can read more about the work of our other award winners (Best student presentation, Best student poster and D.W. Cooper Award) in our July Newsletter.

The 2017 Postgraduate Student Award winner is Laura Tan, for her project investigating corvid ecology to better combat ravens preying on clutches of a burrow-nesting bird.

Congratulations Laura!

Introduction

The intelligence and adaptability of Corvids (ravens, crows) contributes to their ability to shift foraging strategies to exploit new prey (Marzluff & Neatherlin 2006), and coupled with their abundance this makes them difficult to manage (Bolton et al. 2007). The consequences for the prey include compromised population viability, and where prey are economically valuable (Admiraal et al. 2013), predation could detrimentally affect associated economically and socially significant industries such as ecotourism (e.g. Rowat & Engelhardt 2007). Recently in southern Australia, Little Ravens (Corvus mellori) have been identified as an emerging threat to the Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor) population on Phillip Island (Victoria). Little Ravens now actively and systematically target eggs in penguin burrows, resulting in significant penguin clutch loss of up to 60 % (Ekanayake et al. 2015a,b,c). This depredation has emerged in the last few years and is apparently increasing, but its extent has only been quantified recently.

In conjunction with Phillip Island Nature Parks, we have identified key information gaps which currently prevent the implementation of successful, long-term corvid management. On Phillip Island, most penguin clutch loss appears to be attributable to a small number of ravens (Ekanayake unpubl. PhD data). Corvids have the ability to share learned information and skills with conspecifics (Jolles et al. 2013) and sharing of skills may occur only between birds with high genetic relatedness (Holzhaider et al. 2011). Ravens have a broad diet (Rowley & Vestjens 1973), and analysis of collected feather, faecal, and blood samples will allow us to examine the dietary composition of Little Raven individuals and the role Little Penguin plays in their diet. It may also potentially identify additional raven individuals preying on penguin clutches. There is a critical need to identify culprit birds and examine to what degree skill transmission occurs, to make an informed decision on how best to manage this intelligent and abundant species, and protect the iconic Little Penguin population. By identifying culprits, examining their diet, and investigating the genetic links between individual ravens, we aim to determine the relevance of genetic and social relatedness to transmission of egg predation skills. This research provides Phillip Island Nature Parks with vital information on whether targeting individual culprit birds represents a feasible solution, enabling effective threat mitigation. Given the abundance of corvids, their adaptive nature, and ability to exploit vulnerable species, the results of this study will have applications for corvid management programs worldwide.

Remote camera footage of a raven observing the inside of a penguin burrow while the adult penguin is present. An adult penguin typically remains with the clutch until chicks have reached around 2 weeks of age.

A raven with a penguin egg after successfully breaching a penguin burrow.

An example of roof holes some ravens create to obtain access to penguin eggs or chicks.

Remote camera footage of a colour-banded raven eating a penguin egg successfully obtained from the pictured burrow.

Preliminary results

Fieldwork (observations and camera-monitoring of burrows to identify culprit ravens) has been completed for this project, and through laboratory work we aim to establish Little Raven diet composition through stable isotope analysis and DNA diet analysis, and the genetic relatedness between egg-eating ravens and those that do not eat penguin eggs/chicks. We are currently preparing 197 unique raven samples to send to the Australian Genome Research Facility (AGRF) for genotyping, using 19 microsatellite markers identified in other corvid species (Haas & Hansson 2008) which have successfully amplified against our Little Raven samples. We have also recently received results from a small feasibility study we conducted on DNA diet analysis using raven faecal samples, and look to analyse our remaining faecal samples using this method. DNA diet analysis will complement stable isotope analyses that is to be conducted, to gain a broader understanding of raven diet composition and potentially assist in identifying culprit birds.

Funding from AWMS allows us to complete PCR work for our genetic relatedness samples, and also allows us to proceed and examine our remaining faecal samples. Little is known about the diet composition of Australian corvid species, and at present DNA diet analysis has not previously been conducted on any Australian corvid species. Understanding raven diet will further assist us in more accurately determining the relevance of genetic relatedness on raven predation of penguin clutches, and informing direction for corvid management.

Thank you AWMS!

References

Admiraal, J. E., Wossink, A., de Groot, W. T., and de Snoo, G. R. (2013). More than total economic value: How to combine economic valuation of biodiversity with ecological resilience. Ecological Economics 89, 115-122.
Bolton, M., Tyler, G., Smith, K., and Bamford, R. (2007). The impact of predator control on lapwing Vanellus vanellus breeding success on wet grassland nature reserves. Journal of Applied Ecology 44, 534-544.
Ekanayake K., Sutherland D., Dann P., and Weston M. (2015a). Out of sight but not out of mind: corvids prey extensively on eggs of burrow-nesting penguins. Wildlife Research 42, 509-517.
Ekanayake K., Whisson, D. A., Tan L. X. L., and Weston M. A. (2015b). Intense predation of non-colonial, ground-nesting bird eggs by corvid and mammalian predators. Wildlife Research 42, 518-528.
Ekanayake K. B., Weston M. A., Dann P., and Sutherland D. R. (2015c). Corvids congregate to breeding colonies of a burrow-nesting seabird. Austral Ecology 41, 291-301.
Haas, F., and Hansson, B. (2008). Identification of 20 polymorphic microsatellite loci in European crow (Corvus corone) from existing passerine loci. Molecular Ecology Resources 8, 846-850.
Holzhaider, J. C., Sibley, M. D., Taylor, A. H., Singh, P. J., Gray, R. D., and Hunt, G. R. (2011). The social structure of New Caledonian crows. Animal Behaviour 81, 83-92.
Jolles, J. W., Ostojic, L., and Clayton, N. S. (2013). Dominance, pair bonds and boldness determine social-foraging tactics in rooks, Corvus frugilegus. Animal Behaviour 85, 1261-1269.
Marzluff, J. M., and Neatherlin, E. (2006). Corvid response to human settlements and campgrounds: Causes, consequences, and challenges for conservation. Biological Conservation 130, 301-314.
Rowat, D., and Engelhardt, U. (2007). Seychelles: A case study of community involvement in the development of whale shark ecotourism and its socio-economic impact. Fisheries Research 84, 109-113.
Rowley, I., and Vestjens, W. J. M. (1973). The comparative ecology of Australian corvids. V. Food. Wildlife Research 18, 131-155.

AGM outcomes