The Influence Of Extreme Weather On The Ecology And Welfare Of Eastern Grey Kangaroos In Semi-Arid Rangelands

Juillard, Loic Quentin

The Influence Of Extreme Weather On The Ecology And Welfare Of Eastern Grey Kangaroos In Semi-Arid Rangelands

Juillard, Loic Quentin

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Publication Type:: Thesis
Issue Date:: 2024

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Juillard, Loic Quentin
dc.date.accessioned	2025-11-10T01:06:57Z
dc.date.available	2025-11-10T01:06:57Z
dc.date.issued	2024
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/190640
dc.description	University of Technology Sydney. TD School.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.description.abstract	Eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) are one of the most iconic species in Australia. Despite being a mesic species, part of their range extends in drylands. Furthermore, like most wild animals today, they must also navigate the impacts of an intensifying climate. Due to drylands covering the majority of Australia’s land mass, the main terrestrial impacts of climate change in Australia include more frequent and intense heatwaves and droughts. Impacts of such extreme weather events may be particularly severe for eastern grey kangaroos living in drylands. With Australian drylands expected to expand via aridification, we can expect more eastern grey kangaroos to be facing similar extreme conditions in the future. Therefore, knowing how eastern grey kangaroos currently living in drylands are being impacted by extreme weather is of urgent concern. I aimed to assess some of the challenges faced by eastern grey kangaroos in drylands during heatwaves and droughts by focusing on a population in south-western Queensland. Chapter 1 introduces the main topics and objectives of this thesis, while chapter 2 reviews the literature relevant to the thesis. In chapter 3 I assess the impacts of drought on the health and demography of eastern grey kangaroos finding that the drought caused a significant decline in body condition. The demography of the population was impacted, with fewer juveniles and fewer males observed. Using drone transects, I show in chapter 4 that eastern grey kangaroos were more likely to access waterpoints at high temperatures, while red kangaroos were more likely to access shade, highlighting a difference in thermoregulation strategy between the two species. In chapter 5, I show that during periods of extreme temperatures kangaroos were unable to avoid aggregating with dingoes at waterpoints, leading to an intensification of predator-prey interactions as both species increase their use of water. I then use the findings from chapters 3-5 to build a list of potential thermoregulatory and predation-related welfare indicators/behaviours in eastern grey kangaroos during heat anomalies. Thermoregulation indicators and behaviours (e.g., kangaroos standing in water, drinking) were significantly more prevalent during heat anomalies. Predation-related indicators were significantly more prevalent during heat anomalies, and at artificial waterpoints compared to dammed natural watercourses. My work suggests that protecting natural watercourses in drylands, including natural dammed watercourses, and improving access to water may assist eastern grey kangaroos by improving their welfare and survival as they attempt to navigate the impacts of an increasingly warming world.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.format	Thesis (PhD)
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US.UTF-8
dc.relation	https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/190640/1/thesis.pdf
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	The author owns the copyright in this thesis including all reproduction and reuse rights for the work. The work may not be altered without the permission of the copyright owner. Attribution is essential when quoting or paraphrasing from this thesis.
dc.rights	© 2024 Loic Quentin Juillard
dc.rights	au.edu.uts.lib/cph
dc.title	The Influence Of Extreme Weather On The Ecology And Welfare Of Eastern Grey Kangaroos In Semi-Arid Rangelands	en_US.UTF-8
dc.type	Thesis
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*

Abstract:

Eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) are one of the most iconic species in Australia. Despite being a mesic species, part of their range extends in drylands. Furthermore, like most wild animals today, they must also navigate the impacts of an intensifying climate. Due to drylands covering the majority of Australia’s land mass, the main terrestrial impacts of climate change in Australia include more frequent and intense heatwaves and droughts. Impacts of such extreme weather events may be particularly severe for eastern grey kangaroos living in drylands. With Australian drylands expected to expand via aridification, we can expect more eastern grey kangaroos to be facing similar extreme conditions in the future. Therefore, knowing how eastern grey kangaroos currently living in drylands are being impacted by extreme weather is of urgent concern. I aimed to assess some of the challenges faced by eastern grey kangaroos in drylands during heatwaves and droughts by focusing on a population in south-western Queensland. Chapter 1 introduces the main topics and objectives of this thesis, while chapter 2 reviews the literature relevant to the thesis. In chapter 3 I assess the impacts of drought on the health and demography of eastern grey kangaroos finding that the drought caused a significant decline in body condition. The demography of the population was impacted, with fewer juveniles and fewer males observed. Using drone transects, I show in chapter 4 that eastern grey kangaroos were more likely to access waterpoints at high temperatures, while red kangaroos were more likely to access shade, highlighting a difference in thermoregulation strategy between the two species. In chapter 5, I show that during periods of extreme temperatures kangaroos were unable to avoid aggregating with dingoes at waterpoints, leading to an intensification of predator-prey interactions as both species increase their use of water. I then use the findings from chapters 3-5 to build a list of potential thermoregulatory and predation-related welfare indicators/behaviours in eastern grey kangaroos during heat anomalies. Thermoregulation indicators and behaviours (e.g., kangaroos standing in water, drinking) were significantly more prevalent during heat anomalies. Predation-related indicators were significantly more prevalent during heat anomalies, and at artificial waterpoints compared to dammed natural watercourses. My work suggests that protecting natural watercourses in drylands, including natural dammed watercourses, and improving access to water may assist eastern grey kangaroos by improving their welfare and survival as they attempt to navigate the impacts of an increasingly warming world.

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