Spatial Distribution of Sheep and Goats in Queensland, Australia

• Main Author: Wade, Caroline
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2022
• Subjects: Agriculture; Range management
• ISBN: 9798374405194

Spatial distribution of sheep and goats has received little study. Small ruminant landscape distribution and grazing management are becoming a more important issue as the sheep and goat industry in Australia continues to grow. The objective of the research in this thesis was to evaluate spatial movement patterns of small ruminants by 1) gathering information from past studies, 2) using GPS tracking to determine daily distance travelled, distance travelled from water, activity levels, and the influence of ambient temperature on these metrics, and 3) assessing the impact of water location, wind direction, forage resources, and tree cover on sheep and goat movements. Merino sheep, Dorper sheep, and Rangeland goats were tracked at 10-minute intervals with GPS collars on several properties near Longreach, Queensland, Australia. Optimized hotspot analysis was performed to determine areas of increased small ruminant presence across the landscape. Remote sensing imagery provided bare ground, green vegetation and non-green vegetation cover as well as total standing dry matter (TSDM). In order to determine the impact of forage resources, water, wind, and tree cover on sheep and goat movement, resource selection function analyses were conducted with Proc Glimmix in SAS using a negative binomial distribution and log link function. Sheep and goats travelled an average distance from water of 0.6 – 1.1 km, with a maximum of 2.4 km. Daily distance travelled of sheep and goats averaged 6 – 9 km, with a maximum of 11 km. Activity ranged between 42 and 47%. The overall trend of the data showed that increased temperature led to decreased daily distance travelled, distance travelled from water, and activity of sheep and goats. Sheep and goats selected areas closer to water, trees, and the fence line in the direction of the prevailing wind. Some data suggested goat presence increased in areas of green vegetation and sheep presence increased in areas of non-green vegetation. However, the effect of forage characteristics on small ruminant spatial movements may have been overwhelmed by the strong relationships of animal presence with water, trees, and wind. Further study is required to fully assess the impact of temperature and vegetation on small ruminant landscape distribution. This study provided valuable insight into the main drivers of sheep and goat landscape distribution and will be helpful in informing grazing management decisions.