Deakin blames dogs for hooded plover deaths

VICTORIAN beachgoers have been urged to leash their pets, after Deakin University ecologists found evidence of threatened shorebirds mauled by dogs, including the discovery of one dead chick dumped in a rubbish bin.

Researchers from Deakin’s Centre for Integrative Ecology have long been working to halt the decline of the hooded plover, a threatened species that nests on Victoria’s surf beaches from the start of spring.

Wildlife and Conservation Biology Associate Professor Mike Weston said the research was recently expanded to include the radio tracking of newly hatched chicks, to give a more accurate picture of what was threatening their survival.

“The battle to save threatened shorebirds that breed on our beaches rages every spring and summer, as thousands of Victorians and their dogs enjoy time at the beach, and the birds desperately try to breed.

“Sadly, the chances of surviving from hatching to the age at which they can fly, a mere 30 days, are so low that chick death is considered a major conservation problem.

“Tracking such small and mobile creatures is a real challenge, so after two decades of research we decided to get bolder in our approach.”

Deakin honours student Tom Schmidt led the project at beaches on the Bellarine Peninsula, Mornington Peninsula and Bass Coast to find the bodies of chicks that had not survived.

Mr Schmidt said dog and bird attacks were the lead candidates as causes of death, but finding a mauled chick dumped in a rubbish bin at 13th Beach was a shock.

“The whole time I was thinking to myself that this must be a mistake: how could a small flightless chick of a threatened species end up in a bin?

“The tiny body was tied into a bag containing dog faeces, and the injuries were consistent with dog attack. Internal organs protruded and a second bag was used, apparently to conceal the evidence.”

Associate Professor Weston said it was a shameful act, and showed dog attacks could be playing a prominent role in the decline of hooded plovers.

“This is not a trivial matter. Beachgoers must obey the prevailing rules and regulations, particularly the leashing laws.”