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Question 1
Rabbits have destructive impacts on farms and livestock. Their competitiveness disrupts
the environmental balance. In Australia, the European wild rabbits largely contributed to the
decline of the greater bilby, yellow-footed rock-wallaby, southern and northern hairy-nosed
wombats, etc. (Rabbit Free Australia, n.d.). Weeds are also known to be destructive as well for
crops. They compete against other plants which results in reduced crop yield and farmer’s
income (Barberi, 2000).
To monitor the population of the rabbits, the team of environmental scientists must check
the surrounding areas of the farm by looking for signs where the rabbits are residing and estimate
how much of the native environment has been disrupted. The most simple and fastest approach
in determining the number of rabbits is the night-time counting (Latham, 2014). This is
conducted by using spotlights along fixed routes and is a great way of estimating the abundance
or describe their distribution across the property.
Once population is assessed, the controlling guidelines can now be followed. In
Australia, they first understand the biology and behavior of rabbits: their diet, what kind of
environment they live in, and their behavior in the wild. After the biology and behavior are
understood, the controlling methods, such as warren destruction, fumigation, poisoning,
shooting, trapping, and biological controls, can now be commenced (Rabbit Free Australia, n.d.).
The warren destruction destroys their hiding places which will make it difficult for them
to survive extreme weather. Fumigation can be done by closing all of the holes of the warren and
leaving a hole where the poisonous gas will be fumigated inside the warren. However, if the
warrens are too close to the farm, doing this may not be safe for both the farm and the farmers.
Poisoning is done by putting poisonous chemicals into the food of the rabbits or by setting up a
bait. Shooting has a high successful rate. Trapping may be a great idea but is ineffective and may
catch other animals as well. Biological controls such as diseases, introducing predators, and
parasites have produced great results and can also be safe for the farm.
In managing weeds, it is important to establish a long-term weed management strategy
such as crop rotation, seed bed preparation, tillage systems, and managing the drainage and
irrigation systems. Crop rotation is an effective way of preventing weed growth and reducing the
rate of their emergence. This can be done by, for example, alternating between winter and
spring-summer crops. Seed bed preparation or false seed bed technique helps in stimulating weed
seed germination and consequent seedling emergence. This can be exploited by applying stale
seeds which would help reduce weed growth in the next crop cycle. This can be done hand in
hand with tillage systems which includes moldboard ploughing and reduces the labor needed in
subsequent hand-weeding. Environmental scientists can guide the farmer by explaining
thoroughly how each method must be done.
Word Count: 480 words
Question 2

i.
Deciding on what conservation projects to implement can be a challenge, especially if
you are given a limited amount of budget and a lot of projects to choose from. Fortunately, there
are principles, tools, protocols, and guides that will help in making these decisions.
In order to know what projects to fund, I must first know the number of families in the
order, the number of genera in the family, and the number of species in the genus of each project.
With this numeric data, I will be able to calculate the weight of each project and will be able to
identify what projects to prioritize according to the budget of 10 million dollars. Following the
Project Prioritization Protocol (PPP) will help me decide on what projects to choose. I must also
estimate the benefits by using the formula 𝑃𝑎 − 𝑃𝑜 and estimate the likelihood of success and
project efficiency.
Conservation planning tools and software applications such as Marxan, Zonation, C-Plan,
Sites, GeoCAT, Miradi, BIOMOD, etc. are also readily available on the Internet which will help
me in planning how to conduct each of the projects and make decisions. The most effective way
to weigh in the projects which will help in the prioritizing and conservation planning are the
Marxan and C-Plan. Marxan provides a decision support system and can also help in designing
new reserve systems and the providing a report about the situation of existing reserve systems.
C-Plan, like Marxan, also has a decision support system and helps in determining planning units,
maps of biodiversity features, and many other features.
Considering all of these tools, principles, and features will be able to help influen...