ORCID Profile
0000-0002-4766-4088
Current Organisation
Australian National University
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Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Environmental Science and Management | Conservation And Biodiversity | Wildlife And Habitat Management | Conservation and Biodiversity | Fire Management | Environmental Monitoring | Landscape Ecology | Wildlife and Habitat Management | Ecology | Forestry Sciences | Conservation | Environmental Management | Terrestrial Ecology | Environmental Management And Rehabilitation | Ecological Impacts of Climate Change | Ecosystem Function | Landscape Ecology | Environmental Rehabilitation (excl. Bioremediation) | Community Ecology |
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Remnant vegetation and protected conservation areas | Living resources (flora and fauna) | Remnant vegetation and protected conservation areas | Integrated (ecosystem) assessment and management | Rehabilitation of degraded farmland | Forest and Woodlands Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity | Ecosystem Assessment and Management at Regional or Larger Scales | Remnant vegetation and protected conservation areas (both terrestrial and marine) | Climate change | Remnant Vegetation and Protected Conservation Areas in Forest and Woodlands Environments | Remnant Vegetation and Protected Conservation Areas at Regional or Larger Scales | Rehabilitation of Degraded Forest and Woodlands Environments | Land and water management | Control of pests and exotic species | Natural Hazards in Forest and Woodlands Environments | Forestry not elsewhere classified | Expanding Knowledge in the Environmental Sciences | Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity at Regional or Larger Scales | Sustainability Indicators
Related Links
Publications
A novel approach to assessing the ecosystem‐wide impacts of reintroductions
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-11-2018
DOI: 10.1002/EAP.1811
Abstract: Reintroducing a species to an ecosystem can have significant impacts on the recipient ecological community. Although reintroductions can have striking and positive outcomes, they also carry risks many well-intentioned conservation actions have had surprising and unsatisfactory outcomes. A range of network-based mathematical methods has been developed to make quantitative predictions of how communities will respond to management interventions. These methods are based on the limited knowledge of which species interact with each other and in what way. However, expert knowledge isn't perfect and can only take models so far. Fortunately, other types of data, such as abundance time series, is often available, but, to date, no quantitative method exists to integrate these various data types into these models, allowing more precise ecosystem-wide predictions. In this paper, we develop mathematical methods that combine time-series data of multiple species with knowledge of species interactions and we apply it to proposed reintroductions at Booderee National Park in Australia. There have been large fluctuations in species abundances at Booderee National Park in recent history, following intense feral fox (Vulpes vulpes) control, including the local extinction of the greater glider (Petauroides volans). These fluctuations can provide information about the system isn't readily obtained from a stable system, and we use them to inform models that we then use to predict potential outcomes of eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) and long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) reintroductions. One of the key species of conservation concern in the park is the Eastern Bristlebird (Dasyornis brachypterus), and we find that long-nosed potoroo introduction would have very little impact on the Eastern Bristlebird population, while the eastern quoll introduction increased the likelihood of Eastern Bristlebird decline, although that depends on the strength and form of any possible interaction.
Correction: Fine-Scale Habitat Heterogeneity Influences Occupancy in Terrestrial Mammals in a Temperate Region of Australia
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 14-10-2015
Avian functional responses to landscape recovery
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 17-04-2019
Abstract: Restoring native vegetation in agricultural landscapes can reverse bio ersity declines via species gains. Depending on whether the traits of colonizers are complementary or redundant to the assemblage, species gains can increase the efficiency or stability of ecological functions, yet detecting these processes is not straightforward. We propose a new conceptual model to identify potential changes to complementarity and redundancy in response to landscape change via relative changes in taxonomic and functional richness. We applied our model to a 14-year study of birds across an extensive agricultural region. We found compelling evidence that high levels of landscape-scale tree cover and patch-scale restoration were significant determinants of functional change in the overall bird assemblage. This was true for every one of the six traits investigated in idually, indicating increased trait-specific functional complementarity and redundancy in the assemblage. Applying our conceptual model to species ersity data provided new insights into how the return of vertebrates to restored landscapes may affect ecological function.
Associations between socio‐environmental factors and landscape‐scale biodiversity recovery in naturally regenerating tropical and subtropical forests
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-09-2020
DOI: 10.1111/CONL.12768
A Long-Term Experimental Case Study of the Ecological Effectiveness and Cost Effectiveness of Invasive Plant Management in Achieving Conservation Goals: Bitou Bush Control in Booderee National Park in
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 03-06-2015
How does a transforming landscape influence bird breeding success?
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-03-2017
Effects of fire regime on plant species richness and composition differ among forest, woodland and heath vegetation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-11-2017
DOI: 10.1111/AVSC.12345
Monitoring populations and threats to range‐restricted freshwater fishes: A case study of the Stocky Galaxias (Galaxias tantangara)
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2022
DOI: 10.1111/EMR.12562
Abstract: Monitoring is critical for conservation, to track the status of threatened species, assess the relative impacts of threats, inform management responses and prioritise them according to their efficacy. Globally, freshwater fish are impacted by a range of threats including deterioration in water quality, climate change, habitat loss and degradation, introduced predators and herbivores, and wildfire. Monitoring of freshwater fish can be challenging because aquatic conditions can make detecting and identifying population trends difficult for many species. Galaxiidae is the most speciose family of Gondwanan‐distributed freshwater fishes, and over 75% of species assessed by the IUCN Red List have been classified as threatened. Many Australian galaxiids are highly imperilled and monitoring effort and adequacy is low. We prepared a detailed monitoring plan for the Stocky Galaxias ( Galaxias tantangara ) that is representative of the conservation status and level of threat facing many congeneric and other similar species. Our protocol provides details of species biology, pertinent threats, and management options with s ling methods to gather these data, and options to link with management actions for maximum benefit. Improved monitoring linked with threat management should improve the conservation status of Stocky Galaxias. By providing this ex le, we have sought to improve monitoring for range‐restricted freshwater fishes more generally.
Tests of predictions associated with temporal changes in Australian bird populations
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2018
Response to Comment on “Amphibian fungal panzootic causes catastrophic and ongoing loss of biodiversity”
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 20-03-2020
Abstract: Lambert et al . question our retrospective and holistic epidemiological assessment of the role of chytridiomycosis in hibian declines. Their alternative assessment is narrow and provides an incomplete evaluation of evidence. Adopting this approach limits understanding of infectious disease impacts and h ers conservation efforts. We reaffirm that our study provides unambiguous evidence that chytridiomycosis has affected at least 501 hibian species.
Does forest thinning reduce fire severity in Australian eucalypt forests?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-09-2020
DOI: 10.1111/CONL.12766
From natural capital accounting to natural capital banking
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-07-2021
Earth Observation Networks (EONs): Finding the Right Balance
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.TREE.2017.10.008
Abstract: Earth observation networks (EONs) are an emerging, surveillance-based approach to environmental monitoring and research that are fundamentally different than traditional question-driven, experimentally designed approaches. There is an urgent need to find an optimal balance between these approaches and to develop new integrated initiatives that take advantage of key features of them both.
Patterns and drivers of recent disturbances across the temperate forest biome
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-10-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-018-06788-9
Abstract: Increasing evidence indicates that forest disturbances are changing in response to global change, yet local variability in disturbance remains high. We quantified this considerable variability and analyzed whether recent disturbance episodes around the globe were consistently driven by climate, and if human influence modulates patterns of forest disturbance. We combined remote sensing data on recent (2001–2014) disturbances with in-depth local information for 50 protected landscapes and their surroundings across the temperate biome. Disturbance patterns are highly variable, and shaped by variation in disturbance agents and traits of prevailing tree species. However, high disturbance activity is consistently linked to warmer and drier than average conditions across the globe. Disturbances in protected areas are smaller and more complex in shape compared to their surroundings affected by human land use. This signal disappears in areas with high recent natural disturbance activity, underlining the potential of climate-mediated disturbance to transform forest landscapes.
Species co-occurrence analysis predicts management outcomes for multiple threats
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-02-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41559-017-0457-3
Abstract: Mitigating the impacts of global anthropogenic change on species is conservation's greatest challenge. Forecasting the effects of actions to mitigate threats is h ered by incomplete information on species' responses. We develop an approach to predict community restructuring under threat management, which combines models of responses to threats with network analyses of species co-occurrence. We discover that contributions by species to network co-occurrence predict their recovery under reduction of multiple threats. Highly connected species are likely to benefit more from threat management than poorly connected species. Importantly, we show that information from a few species on co-occurrence and expected responses to alternative threat management actions can be used to train a response model for an entire community. We use a unique management dataset for a threatened bird community to validate our predictions and, in doing so, demonstrate positive feedbacks in occurrence and co-occurrence resulting from shared threat management responses during ecosystem recovery.
Population genetic patterns in an irruptive species, the long-nosed bandicoot (Perameles nasuta)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-01-2018
Habitat preference of the striped legless lizard: Implications of grazing by native herbivores and livestock for conservation of grassland biota
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-03-2016
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12337
Genomic reconstruction of 100 000-year grassland history in a forested country: population dynamics of specialist forbs
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 29-05-2019
Abstract: Grassland ecosystems worldwide have been extensively converted to other land uses and are globally imperiled. Because many grasslands have been maintained by human activities, understanding their origin and history is fundamentally important to better contemporary management. However, existing methods to reconstruct past vegetation can produce contrasting views on grassland history. Here, we inferred demographic histories of 40 populations of four grassland forb species throughout Japan using high-resolution genome sequences and model-flexible demographic simulation based on the site frequency spectrum. Although two species showed a slight decline in population size between 100 000–10 000 years ago, our results suggest that population sizes of studied species have been maintained within the range of 0.5–2.0 times the most recent estimates for at least 100 000 years across Japan. Our results suggest that greater than 90% declines in Japanese grasslands and subsequent losses of grassland species in the last 100 years are geologically and biologically important and will have substantial consequences for Japanese biota and culture. People have had critical roles in maintaining disturbance-dependent grassland ecosystems and biota in this warm and wet forested country. In these contexts, disturbances associated with forest harvesting and traditional extensive farming have the potential to maintain grassland ecosystems and can provide important opportunities to reconcile resource production and conservation of grassland bio ersity.
Diversity and density patterns of large old trees in China
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2018.11.147
Abstract: Large old trees are keystone ecological structures that provide vital ecosystem services to humans. However, there are few large-scale empirical studies on patterns of ersity and density of large old trees in human-dominated landscapes. We present the results of the first nationwide study in China to investigate the patterns of ersity and density of large old trees in human-dominated landscapes. We collated data on 682,730 large trees ≥100 years old from 198 Chinese regions to quantify tree species ersity, tree density and maximum tree age patterns. We modelled the effects of natural environmental variables (e.g. climate and topography) and anthropogenic variables (e.g. human population density and city age) on these measures. We found a low density of large old trees across study regions (0.36 trees/km
Do not publish
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 26-05-2017
Abstract: Limiting open-access information on rare and endangered species will help to protect them
Ecological restoration success is higher for natural regeneration than for active restoration in tropical forests
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 03-11-2017
Abstract: Natural forest recovery is an effective ecological alternative to tree planting in tropical forests under certain conditions.
Biodiversity in court: will the Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) make the EPBC Act irrelevant?
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 21-09-2021
DOI: 10.1071/PC21035
Abstract: Two key pieces of Australian legislation regarding the protection of bio ersity and forest management are the federal Environment Protection and Bio ersity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999 and the Regional Forest Agreements (RFA) Act 2002. Both have significant deficiencies. A Federal Court ruling associated with a challenge to the Victorian Government-owned logging company, VicForests, by a community environmental group (Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum Inc.) found that RFAs are exempt from the EPBC Act. There was an argument of legal interpretation concerning the exemption in the EPBC and RFA Acts relating to RFA forestry operations that are conducted ‘in accordance with’ an RFA. The Court held that ‘in accordance with’ only required that forestry operations be ‘conducted under’ an RFA rather than ‘in compliance’ with it. Therefore, the mere existence of the RFA is enough to exclude the bio ersity protections of the EPBC Act, even where there are extensive breaches of codes of practice for logging operations and logging is demonstrably unsustainable in terms of its environmental impacts. This amounts to the loss of the ‘safety net’ provided by EPBC Act to protect threatened forest-dependent species. The decision in the Federal Court highlights how deficient Australia’s environmental laws are in conserving the nation’s bio ersity, especially for forest-dependent threatened species. The ruling serves to further weaken already very weak legislation. Major reforms to the EPBC Act are urgently required.
Higher-taxon and functional group responses of ant and bird assemblages to livestock grazing: A test of an explicit surrogate concept
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2019
Ecosystem accounts define explicit and spatial trade-offs for managing natural resources
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-09-2017
DOI: 10.1038/S41559-017-0309-1
Abstract: Decisions about natural resource management are frequently complex and vexed, often leading to public policy compromises. Discord between environmental and economic metrics creates problems in assessing trade-offs between different current or potential resource uses. Ecosystem accounts, which quantify ecosystems and their benefits for human well-being consistent with national economic accounts, provide exciting opportunities to contribute significantly to the policy process. We advanced the application of ecosystem accounts in a regional case study by explicitly and spatially linking impacts of human and natural activities on ecosystem assets and services to their associated industries. This demonstrated contributions of ecosystems beyond the traditional national accounts. Our results revealed that native forests would provide greater benefits from their ecosystem services of carbon sequestration, water yield, habitat provisioning and recreational amenity if harvesting for timber production ceased, thus allowing forests to continue growing to older ages.
The business of biodiversity – What is needed for biodiversity markets to work
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2023
DOI: 10.1111/EMR.12573
Abstract: There has been considerable discussion in Australia about market‐based initiatives with the potential to bring effective incentives and greater investment for farmers and other land managers to promote bio ersity conservation. These initiatives include bio ersity trading markets (also termed the nature repair market), stewardship schemes, certification programmes, sustainability frameworks, and natural capital accounting. We welcome these discussions and believe these initiatives would be true advances if they bring much greater investment in conservation and stronger protection and recovery of bio ersity. However, we also have major concerns about the integrity and scientific credibility of some of these initiatives. In this article, we discuss why it is critical that such initiatives both carefully define bio ersity and determine what elements of bio ersity are to be targeted in conservation efforts. We also discuss the fundamental importance of appropriate and agreed bio ersity metrics, as well as the critical need for rigorous, well designed and independent bio ersity monitoring. To ensure that initiatives like bio ersity trading markets, stewardship schemes, certification programmes, sustainability frameworks and natural capital accounting are rigorous, non‐corruptible and actually deliver what they are intended to do, they will need to be underpinned by appropriate programme designs. This includes robust and transparent governance structures, high‐quality monitoring and timely reporting of key metrics.
Metrics of progress in the understanding and management of threats to Australian birds.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-11-2019
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13220
Abstract: Although evidence-based approaches have become commonplace for determining the success of conservation measures for the management of threatened taxa, there are no standard metrics for assessing progress in research or management. We developed 5 metrics to meet this need for threatened taxa and to quantify the need for further action and effective alleviation of threats. These metrics (research need, research achievement, management need, management achievement, and percent threat reduction) can be aggregated to examine trends for an in idual taxon or for threats across multiple taxa. We tested the utility of these metrics by applying them to Australian threatened birds, which appears to be the first time that progress in research and management of threats has been assessed for all threatened taxa in a faunal group at a continental scale. Some research has been conducted on nearly three-quarters of known threats to taxa, and there is a clear understanding of how to alleviate nearly half of the threats with the highest impact. Some management has been attempted on nearly half the threats. Management outcomes ranged from successful trials to complete mitigation of the threat, including for one-third of high-impact threats. Progress in both research and management tended to be greater for taxa that were monitored or occurred on oceanic islands. Predation by cats had the highest potential threat score. However, there has been some success reducing the impact of cat predation, so climate change (particularly drought), now poses the greatest threat to Australian threatened birds. Our results demonstrate the potential for the proposed metrics to encapsulate the major trends in research and management of both threats and threatened taxa and provide a basis for international comparisons of evidence-based conservation science.
Synergistic impacts of aggressive species on small birds in a fragmented landscape
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-02-2021
Flawed forest policy: flawed Regional Forest Agreements
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 07-05-2018
Exotic herbivores dominate Australian high‐elevation grasslands
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-12-2021
DOI: 10.1111/CSP2.601
Abstract: Invasive species are major drivers of ecosystem degradation globally. How invasive herbivore impacts differ from native herbivore impacts remains understudied. We examined the relationships between herbivore sign and vegetation height, foliage density, cover of forbs, weeds, bare ground, and soil compaction across environmental and herbivore activity gradients in the mainland Australian Alps. We detected native and exotic herbivore sign at 32.8% and 94.0% of sites, respectively. Total herbivore activity was primarily attributed to exotic herbivores and was associated with elevation and grassland type. Greater horse (exotic) activity was associated with lower vegetation height, lower foliage density, higher forb cover, and higher soil compaction. Greater rabbit and hare (exotic) activity was associated with lower vegetation height, lower foliage density, and a higher cover of bare ground. Greater total herbivore activity was associated with greater weed cover. Neither deer (exotic) nor kangaroo and wallaby (native) activity was related to response variables. We demonstrate that exotic herbivores dominate mammalian herbivory in these grasslands, which evolved without analogous hooved species. Given the restricted distribution and high endemism of these ecosystems, and associations between exotic herbivores and characteristics of degraded grasslands, we recommend landscape‐scale exotic herbivore management, focusing on maintaining ground cover and vegetation structure.
Genesis, goals and achievements of Long-Term Ecological Research at the global scale: A critical review of ILTER and future directions
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2017.12.001
Abstract: Since its founding in 1993 the International Long-term Ecological Research Network (ILTER) has gone through pronounced development phases. The current network comprises 44 active member LTER networks representing 700 LTER Sites and ~80 LTSER Platforms across all continents, active in the fields of ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological research. The critical challenges and most important achievements of the initial phase have now become state-of-the-art in networking for excellent science. At the same time increasing integration, accelerating technology, networking of resources and a strong pull for more socially relevant scientific information have been modifying the mission and goals of ILTER. This article provides a critical review of ILTER's mission, goals, development and impacts. Major characteristics, tools, services, partnerships and selected ex les of relative strengths relevant for advancing ILTER are presented. We elaborate on the tradeoffs between the needs of the scientific community and stakeholder expectations. The embedding of ILTER in an increasingly collaborative landscape of global environmental observation and ecological research networks and infrastructures is also reflected by developments of pioneering regional and national LTER networks such as SAEON in South Africa, CERN/CEOBEX in China, TERN in Australia or eLTER RI in Europe. The primary role of ILTER is currently seen as a mechanism to investigate ecosystem structure, function, and services in response to a wide range of environmental forcings using long-term, place-based research. We suggest four main fields of activities and advancements for the next decade through development/delivery of a: (1) Global multi-disciplinary community of researchers and research institutes (2) Strategic global framework and strong partnerships in ecosystem observation and research (3) Global Research Infrastructure (GRI) and (4) a scientific knowledge factory for societally relevant information on sustainable use of natural resources.
Elevation, disturbance, and forest type drive the occurrence of a specialist arboreal folivore
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 13-04-2022
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0265963
Abstract: Quantifying the factors associated with the presence and abundance of species is critical for conservation. Here, we quantify the factors associated with the occurrence of the Southern Greater Glider in the forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria, south-eastern Australia. We gathered counts of animals along transects and constructed models of the probability of absence, and then the abundance if animals were present (conditional abundance), based on species’ associations with forest type, forest age, the abundance of denning sites in large old hollow-bearing trees, climatic conditions, and vegetation density. We found evidence of forest type effects, with animals being extremely uncommon in Alpine Ash and Shining Gum forest. In Mountain Ash forest, we found a negative relationship between the abundance of hollow-bearing trees and the probability of Southern Greater Glider absence. We also found a forest age effect, with the Southern Greater Glider completely absent from the youngest sites that were subject to a high-severity, stand-replacing wildfire in 2009. The best fitting conditional abundance model for the Southern Greater Glider included a strong positive effect of elevation the species was more abundant in Mountain Ash forests at higher elevations. Our study highlights the importance of sites with large old hollow-bearing trees for the Southern Greater Glider, although such trees are in rapid decline in Mountain Ash forests. The influence of elevation on conditional abundance suggests that areas at higher elevations will be increasingly important for the conservation of the species, except where Mountain Ash forest is replaced by different tree species that may be unsuitable for the Southern Greater Glider.
What environmental and climatic factors influence multidecadal fire frequency?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2023
DOI: 10.1002/ECS2.4610
Abstract: Fire is a key ecosystem process with more than half the world's land surface potentially subject to fire. A key aspect of fire ecology is the fire regime, with fire frequency an important component. Fire frequency appears to be increasing in some ecosystems, but decreasing in others. Such temporal and spatial variability in fire frequency highlights the importance of more effectively quantifying spatiotemporal changes in fire frequency for particular environments. We modeled changes in fire frequency over the past 40 years (1981–2020) in a 4.64 million ha area in Victoria, Australia. We quantified regional variation in the number of fires (hereafter termed fire frequency) during two 20‐year time periods (1981–2000 vs. 2001–2020), employing the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA), a standardized regionalization of Australia's terrestrial landscapes. We also quantified the climate and environmental factors influencing fire frequency in each IBRA subregion. Our empirical analyses revealed that fire frequency in Victoria was heterogeneous in both time and space. Wildfire frequency changed between 1981 and 2020, with the past 20 years (2001–2020) experiencing a substantially greater number of fires relative to the 20 years prior (1981–2000). Changes in fire frequency were not spatially uniform, with increases more pronounced in some IBRA subregions than others. Climate and topographic factors influenced the frequency of wildfires, but their effects manifested differently in different IBRA subregions. For ex le, fire frequency was associated with increasing rainfall deficit deviation in four IBRA subregions, but an opposite trend characterized two others. Associations between fire frequency and increasing temperature deviation also varied from negative to positive across subregions. We also found evidence of elevation, slope, and aspect effects, but these too varied between IBRA subregions. The complex spatiotemporal changes in fire frequency quantified in this study, and the complex between‐region differences in the factors associated with the number of fires, have major implications for bio ersity conservation, resource availability (e.g., timber yields), and ecosystem integrity. In ecosystems subjected to repeated fires at short intervals, new rapid detection and swift suppression technologies may be required to reduce the risks of ecosystem collapse as high‐severity wildfires increase in frequency.
Niche Contractions in Declining Species: Mechanisms and Consequences
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.TREE.2017.02.013
Abstract: A fundamental aim of conservation biology is to understand how species respond to threatening processes, with much research effort focused on identifying threats and quantifying spatial and temporal patterns of species decline. Here, we argue that threats often reduce the realized niche breadth of declining species because environmental, biotic, and evolutionary processes reduce or lify threats, or because a species' capacity to tolerate threats varies across niche space. Our 'niche reduction hypothesis' provides a new lens for understanding why species decline in some locations and not others. This perspective can improve management of declining species by identifying where to focus resources and which interventions are most likely to be effective in a given environment.
Drivers of temperate woodland condition through time in an agricultural landscape
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-05-2019
DOI: 10.1002/LDR.3325
From nature reserve to mosaic management: Improving matrix survival, not permeability, benefits regional populations under habitat loss and fragmentation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-02-2022
Abstract: Although matrix improvement in fragmented landscapes is a promising conservation measure, matrix permeability (willingness of an organism to enter the matrix) and movement survival in the matrix are usually aggregated. Consequently, it is unknown which matrix property needs to be improved. It also remains unclear whether matrix upgrading from dispersal passage to providing reproduction opportunities has large conservation benefits and whether there are interactive effects between habitat and matrix management. We examined matrix effects on regional populations across a gradient of habitat loss and fragmentation using simulation experiments that integrated demographic processes and movement modelling based on circuit theory. We separately modified the levels of matrix permeability and movement survival to evaluate their in idual effects. We also altered the amount and configuration of not only habitat but also improved matrix to assess their effects on population vital rates (size, survival and density). In binary landscapes comprising habitat and unimproved matrix, matrix movement survival had larger effects on population vital rates than matrix permeability. Increasing movement survival increased vital rates, yet, increasing matrix permeability decreased vital rates. Increased permeability required corresponding increased movement survival to offset potential negative population outcomes. When subsets of the matrix functioning as dispersal passage only (where no reproduction opportunities existed) were improved, increasing matrix permeability but holding movement survival constant reduced all vital rates, especially with increasing habitat fragmentation. In contrast, when movement survival increased, vital rates increased given strong habitat fragmentation. The benefits of upgrading dispersal passage to provide reproduction opportunities for population survival were greatest when habitat amount was moderate. We also found synergetic effects between amounts of habitat and improved matrix, and the benefits of matrix improvement were promoted when improvement was achieved in a spatially aggregated manner. Synthesis and applications . Matrix improvement and connectivity modelling aimed at increasing movement survival will likely bring larger conservation benefits than those for improving permeability alone. Buffering and connecting habitat remnants with improved matrix could provide benefits as long as movement survival is increased. Simultaneous implementation of habitat management and matrix improvement would yield synergistic conservation benefits.
Birds of a feather flock together: Using trait-groups to understand the effect of macropod grazing on birds in grassy habitats
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2016
How to ensure threatened species monitoring leads to threatened species conservation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-08-2018
DOI: 10.1111/EMR.12335
Old growth, regrowth, and planted woodland provide complementary habitat for threatened woodland birds on farms
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2018
Making monitoring work: Insights and lessons from Australia’s Long Term Ecological Research Network
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 12-2018
DOI: 10.7882/AZ.2018.030
High species turnover shapes anuran community composition in ponds along an urban-rural gradient
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 02-09-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.09.01.276378
Abstract: The rapid expansion of urban areas in which natural and semi-natural areas are replaced by human infrastructure, such as buildings and streets, is a major threat to bio ersity worldwide. However, little is known about how the structure of biotic communities is affected by urbanization in the tropics. Here, we tested the effect of land use types in urban and peri-urban areas on frog species richness and community composition in central Brazil. We selected 20 ponds differing in size and surrounding levels of urbanization as well as natural forest cover. We then used a Poisson GLM and a distance-based Redundancy Analysis (db-RDA) to relate species richness and community composition, respectively, to environmental variables. Variation in species richness was best explained by pond size (positive effect) and amount of urbanization (negative effect) in the surrounding 500 m. Community composition was mainly driven by species turnover than by nestedness, with db-RDA showing that turnover was explained primarily by urban infrastructure and forest cover. Our results indicate that urbanization negatively influences species richness. Moreover, as the amount of urbanization increased, several species were replaced by others taxa that appear better adapted to urban environments. Our results indicate that maintaining large ponds with surrounding native vegetation in urban environments might be an effective strategy for conserving frog communities.
Conserving small natural features with large ecological roles: A synthetic overview
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2017
Measuring net-positive outcomes for nature using accounting
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-01-2020
Why is long-term ecological research and monitoring so hard to do? (And what can be done about it)
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 12-2018
DOI: 10.7882/AZ.2017.018
Temporal trends in mammal responses to fire reveals the complex effects of fire regime attributes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2016
DOI: 10.1890/15-0575
Effects of environmental variation and livestock grazing on ant community structure in temperate eucalypt woodlands
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-01-2016
DOI: 10.1111/ICAD.12151
Biodiversity benefits of vegetation restoration are undermined by livestock grazing
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-01-2018
DOI: 10.1111/REC.12676
Interactive effects of fire and large herbivores on web-building spiders
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-05-2015
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-015-3323-5
Abstract: Altered disturbance regimes are a major driver of bio ersity loss worldwide. Maintaining or re-creating natural disturbance regimes is therefore the focus of many conservation programmes. A key challenge, however, is to understand how co-occurring disturbances interact to affect bio ersity. We experimentally tested for the interactive effects of prescribed fire and large macropod herbivores on the web-building spider assemblage of a eucalypt forest understorey and investigated the role of vegetation in mediating these effects using path analysis. Fire had strong negative effects on the density of web-building spiders, which were partly mediated by effects on vegetation structure, while negative effects of large herbivores on web density were not related to changes in vegetation. Fire lified the effects of large herbivores on spiders, both via vegetation-mediated pathways and by increasing herbivore activity. The importance of vegetation-mediated pathways and fire-herbivore interactions differed for web density and richness and also differed between web types. Our results demonstrate that for some groups of web-building spiders, the effects of co-occurring disturbance drivers may be mostly additive, whereas for other groups, interactions between drivers can lify disturbance effects. In our study system, the use of prescribed fire in the presence of high densities of herbivores could lead to reduced densities and altered composition of web-building spiders, with potential cascading effects through the arthropod food web. Our study highlights the importance of considering both the independent and interactive effects of disturbances, as well as the mechanisms driving their effects, in the management of disturbance regimes.
Predation risk for reptiles is highest at remnant edges in agricultural landscapes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-10-2018
Biodiversity responds to increasing climatic extremes in a biome-specific manner
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2018.03.285
Abstract: An unprecedented rate of global environmental change is predicted for the next century. The response to this change by ecosystems around the world is highly uncertain. To address this uncertainty, it is critical to understand the potential drivers and mechanisms of change in order to develop more reliable predictions. Australia's Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN) has brought together some of the longest running (10-60years) continuous environmental monitoring programs in the southern hemisphere. Here, we compare climatic variables recorded at five LTERN plot network sites during their period of operation and place them into the context of long-term climatic trends. Then, using our unique Australian long-term datasets (total 117 survey years across four biomes), we synthesize results from a series of case studies to test two hypotheses: 1) extreme weather events for each plot network have increased over the last decade, and 2) trends in bio ersity will be associated with recent climate change, either directly or indirectly through climate-mediated disturbance (wildfire) responses. We examined the bio ersity responses to environmental change for evidence of non-linear behavior. In line with hypothesis 1), an increase in extreme climate events occurred within the last decade for each plot network. For hypothesis 2), climate, wildfire, or both were correlated with bio ersity responses at each plot network, but there was no evidence of non-linear change. However, the influence of climate or fire was context-specific. Bio ersity responded to recent climate change either directly or indirectly as a consequence of changes in fire regimes or climate-mediated fire responses. A national long-term monitoring framework allowed us to find contrasting species abundance or community responses to climate and disturbance across four of the major biomes of Australia, highlighting the need to establish and resource long-term monitoring programs across representative ecosystem types, which are likely to show context-specific responses.
Dynamic species co-occurrence networks require dynamic biodiversity surrogates
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-03-2016
DOI: 10.1111/ECOG.02143
Interactive effects of land use, grazing and environment on frogs in an agricultural landscape
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2019
Ten lessons in 20 years: Insights from monitoring fauna and temperate woodland revegetation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-03-2018
DOI: 10.1111/EMR.12303
Conserving focal insect groups in woodland remnants: The role of landscape context and habitat structure on cross-taxonomic congruence
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2020
Net carbon accounting and reporting are a barrier to understanding the mitigation value of forest protection in developed countries
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Date: 28-04-2022
Abstract: Meeting the Paris Agreement global warming target requires deep and rapid cuts in CO 2 emissions as well as removals from the atmosphere into land sinks, especially forests. While international climate policy in the land sector does now recognize forest protection as a mitigation strategy, it is not receiving sufficient attention in developed countries even though they experience emissions from deforestation as well as from logging of managed forests. Current national greenhouse gas inventories obscure the mitigation potential of forest protection through net carbon accounting between the fossil fuel and the land sectors as well as within the different categories of the land. This prevents decision-makers in national governments, the private sector and civil society having access to all the science-based evidence needed to evaluate the merits of all mitigation strategies. The consequences of net carbon accounting for global policy were investigated by examining annual inventory reports of four high forest cover developed countries (Australia, Canada, USA, and Russia). Net accounting between sectors makes a major contribution to meeting nationally determined contributions with removals in Forest Land offsetting between 14% and 38% of the fossil fuel emissions for these countries. Analysis of reports for Australia at a sub-national level revealed that the State of Tasmania delivered negative emissions due to a change in forest management—a large and rapid drop in native forest logging—resulting in a mitigation benefit of ∼22 Mt CO 2 -e yr –1 over the reported period 2011/12–2018/19. This is the kind of outcome required globally to meet the Paris Agreement temperature goal. All CO 2 emissions from, and atmospheric removals into, forest ecosystem carbon stocks now matter and should be counted and credited to achieve the deep and rapid cuts in emissions needed over the coming decades. Accounting and reporting systems therefore need to show gains and losses of carbon stocks in each reservoir. Changing forest management in naturally regenerating forests to avoid emissions from harvesting and enabling forest regrowth is an effective mitigation strategy that can rapidly reduce anthropogenic emissions from the forest sector and simultaneously increase removals of CO 2 from the atmosphere.
Do nest boxes in restored woodlands promote the conservation of hollow-dependent fauna?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-11-2015
DOI: 10.1111/REC.12306
Non-target impacts of weed control on birds, mammals, and reptiles
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2017
DOI: 10.1002/ECS2.1804
Disturbance gradient shows logging affects plant functional groups more than fire
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-09-2016
DOI: 10.1002/EAP.1369
Abstract: Understanding the impacts of natural and human disturbances on forest biota is critical for improving forest management. Many studies have examined the separate impacts on fauna and flora of wildfire, conventional logging, and salvage logging, but empirical comparisons across a broad gradient of simultaneous disturbances are lacking. We quantified species richness and frequency of occurrence of vascular plants, and functional group responses, across a gradient of disturbances that occurred concurrently in 2009 in the mountain ash forests of southeastern Australia. Our study encompassed replicated sites in undisturbed forest (~70 yr post fire), forest burned at low severity, forest burned at high severity, unburned forest that was clearcut logged, and forest burned at high severity that was clearcut salvage logged post-fire. All sites were s led 2 and 3 yr post fire. Mean species richness decreased across the disturbance gradient from 30.1 species/site on low-severity burned sites and 28.9 species/site on high-severity burned sites, to 25.1 species/site on clearcut sites and 21.7 species/site on salvage logged sites. Low-severity burned sites were significantly more species-rich than clearcut sites and salvage logged sites high-severity burned sites supported greater species richness than salvage logged sites. Specific traits influenced species' sensitivity to disturbance. Resprouting species dominated undisturbed mountain ash forests, but declined significantly across the gradient. Fern and midstory trees decreased significantly in frequency of occurrence across the gradient. Ferns (excluding bracken) decreased from 34% of plants in undisturbed forest to 3% on salvage logged sites. High-severity burned sites supported a greater frequency of occurrence and species richness of midstory trees compared to clearcut and salvage logged sites. Salvage logging supported fewer midstory trees than any other disturbance category, and were distinctly different from clearcut sites. Plant life form groups, including midstory trees, shrubs, and ferns, were dominated by very few species on logged sites. The differences in biotic response across the gradient of natural and human disturbances have significant management implications, particularly the need to reduce mechanical disturbance overall and to leave specific areas with no mechanical disturbance across the cut area during logging operations, to ensure the persistence of resprouting taxa.
Effects of peat swamp logging and agricultural expansion on species richness of native mammals in Peninsular Malaysia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2017
Putting biodiversity into the national accounts: Creating a new paradigm for economic decisions
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 31-10-2019
Do temporal changes in vegetation structure additional to time since fire predict changes in bird occurrence?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-09-2016
DOI: 10.1002/EAP.1367
Plantations, not farmlands, cause biotic homogenisation of ground-active beetles in south-eastern Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2015
Inter-den tree movements by Leadbeater's Possum
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 09-2018
DOI: 10.7882/AZ.2017.028
Enriching small trees with artificial nest boxes cannot mimic the value of large trees for hollow-nesting birds
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-2015
DOI: 10.1111/REC.12303
Bark-scratching of storm-felled trees preserves biodiversity at lower economic costs compared to debarking
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2016
From unburnt to salvage logged: Quantifying bird responses to different levels of disturbance severity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-03-2018
Weather effects on birds of different size are mediated by long-term climate and vegetation type in endangered temperate woodlands
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-12-2019
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.14524
Abstract: Species occurrence is influenced by a range of factors including habitat attributes, climate, weather, and human landscape modification. These drivers are likely to interact, but their effects are frequently quantified independently. Here, we report the results of a 13-year study of temperate woodland birds in south-eastern Australia to quantify how different-sized birds respond to the interacting effects of: (a) short-term weather (rainfall and temperature in the 12 months preceding our surveys), (b) long-term climate (average rainfall and maximum and minimum temperatures over the period 1970-2014), and (c) broad structural forms of vegetation (old-growth woodland, regrowth woodland, and restoration plantings). We uncovered significant interactions between bird body size, vegetation type, climate, and weather. High short-term rainfall was associated with decreased occurrence of large birds in old-growth and regrowth woodland, but not in restoration plantings. Conversely, small bird occurrence peaked in wet years, but this effect was most pronounced in locations with a history of high rainfall, and was actually reversed (peak occurrence in dry years) in restoration plantings in dry climates. The occurrence of small birds was depressed-and large birds elevated-in hot years, except in restoration plantings which supported few large birds under these circumstances. Our investigation suggests that different mechanisms may underpin contrasting responses of small and large birds to the interacting effects of climate, weather, and vegetation type. A ersity of vegetation cover is needed across a landscape to promote the occurrence of different-sized bird species in agriculture-dominated landscapes, particularly under variable weather conditions. Climate change is predicted to lead to widespread drying of our study region, and restoration plantings-especially currently climatically wet areas-may become critically important for conserving bird species, particularly small-bodied taxa.
Rare but not lost: Endemic mountain lizard occupancy following megafire and grazing disturbances
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-09-2023
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.13431
Reptiles and frogs use most land cover types as habitat in a fine‐grained agricultural landscape
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-03-2018
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12587
The effect of natural disturbances on forest biodiversity: an ecological synthesis
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-07-2022
DOI: 10.1111/BRV.12876
Abstract: Disturbances alter bio ersity via their specific characteristics, including severity and extent in the landscape, which act at different temporal and spatial scales. Bio ersity response to disturbance also depends on the community characteristics and habitat requirements of species. Untangling the mechanistic interplay of these factors has guided disturbance ecology for decades, generating mixed scientific evidence of bio ersity responses to disturbance. Understanding the impact of natural disturbances on bio ersity is increasingly important due to human‐induced changes in natural disturbance regimes. In many areas, major natural forest disturbances, such as wildfires, windstorms, and insect outbreaks, are becoming more frequent, intense, severe, and widespread due to climate change and land‐use change. Conversely, the suppression of natural disturbances threatens disturbance‐dependent biota. Using a meta‐analytic approach, we analysed a global data set (with most s ling concentrated in temperate and boreal secondary forests) of species assemblages of 26 taxonomic groups, including plants, animals, and fungi collected from forests affected by wildfires, windstorms, and insect outbreaks. The overall effect of natural disturbances on α‐ ersity did not differ significantly from zero, but some taxonomic groups responded positively to disturbance, while others tended to respond negatively. Disturbance was beneficial for taxonomic groups preferring conditions associated with open canopies (e.g. hymenopterans and hoverflies), whereas ground‐dwelling groups and/or groups typically associated with shady conditions (e.g. epigeic lichens and mycorrhizal fungi) were more likely to be negatively impacted by disturbance. Across all taxonomic groups, the highest α‐ ersity in disturbed forest patches occurred under moderate disturbance severity, i.e. with approximately 55% of trees killed by disturbance. We further extended our meta‐analysis by applying a unified ersity concept based on Hill numbers to estimate α‐ ersity changes in different taxonomic groups across a gradient of disturbance severity measured at the stand scale and incorporating other disturbance features. We found that disturbance severity negatively affected ersity for Hill number q = 0 but not for q = 1 and q = 2, indicating that ersity–disturbance relationships are shaped by species relative abundances. Our synthesis of α‐ ersity was extended by a synthesis of disturbance‐induced change in species assemblages, and revealed that disturbance changes the β‐ ersity of multiple taxonomic groups, including some groups that were not affected at the α‐ ersity level (birds and woody plants). Finally, we used mixed rarefaction/extrapolation to estimate bio ersity change as a function of the proportion of forests that were disturbed, i.e. the disturbance extent measured at the landscape scale. The comparison of intact and naturally disturbed forests revealed that both types of forests provide habitat for unique species assemblages, whereas species ersity in the mixture of disturbed and undisturbed forests peaked at intermediate values of disturbance extent in the simulated landscape. Hence, the relationship between α‐ ersity and disturbance severity in disturbed forest stands was strikingly similar to the relationship between species richness and disturbance extent in a landscape consisting of both disturbed and undisturbed forest habitats. This result suggests that both moderate disturbance severity and moderate disturbance extent support the highest levels of bio ersity in contemporary forest landscapes.
Reptiles and frogs conform to multiple conceptual landscape models in an agricultural landscape
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-09-2017
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.12628
A bird occupancy estimator for land practitioners in the NSW South Western Slopes bioregion
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2022
DOI: 10.1111/EMR.12556
Abstract: Bio ersity loss is a major issue internationally and within Australia, with major restoration efforts to recover native biota focussing on agricultural landscapes. We introduce a free new webtool, BirdCast [ sustfarm.shinyapps.io/BirdCast/ ], for estimating the primarily native bird bio ersity in Box Gum Grassy Woodlands within the NSW South Western Slopes bioregion. The tool has potential to demonstrate farm‐scale bird bio ersity idends generated from past and future investments in vegetation management and restoration programmes. BirdCast incorporates 60 of the most commonly encountered bird species and includes visualisations, data export and summary reports for printing. It is underpinned by a large joint‐species distribution model fitted to 17 years of empirical data.
The vacant planting: limited influence of habitat restoration on patch colonization patterns by arboreal marsupials in south‐eastern Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-10-2016
DOI: 10.1111/ACV.12316
Amphibians in agricultural landscapes: the habitat value of crop areas, linear plantings and remnant woodland patches
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-08-2018
DOI: 10.1111/ACV.12437
Marsupial response to matrix conversion: Results of a large-scale long-term ‘natural experiment’ in Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2015
Effects of entrance size, tree size and landscape context on nest box occupancy: Considerations for management and biodiversity offsets
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2016
Increasing disturbance demands new policies to conserve intact forest
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-03-2018
DOI: 10.1111/CONL.12449
Effects of a large wildfire on vegetation structure in a variable fire mosaic
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-10-2017
DOI: 10.1002/EAP.1614
Temporal trends in reptile occurrence among temperate old-growth, regrowth and replanted woodlands
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 28-09-2023
Conserving and restoring endangered southern populations of the Squirrel Glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) in agricultural landscapes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1111/EMR.12245
How practitioners integrate decision triggers with existing metrics in conservation monitoring
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2019
The use and utility of surrogates in biodiversity monitoring programmes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-03-2019
Do migratory and resident birds differ in their responses to interacting effects of climate, weather and vegetation?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-12-2019
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.12874
Reversing habitat loss: An experimental test of the interactive effects of grazing exclusion and surface rock restoration on reptile conservation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-06-2023
Abstract: Restoring structural elements of habitats and understanding how restoration interacts with environmental factors such as grazing management can be crucial for improving conservation outcomes in agricultural landscapes. Surface rock is a structural habitat type that is critical for a range of reptile species yet, it is often poorly managed and protected. Using a Before/After, Control/Impact (BACI) design, we experimentally quantified the response of reptiles to surface rock restoration in an agricultural landscape, and tested whether its effects interacted with livestock grazing treatments to influence various reptile ersity measures. To implement our crossed factorial design, we added approximately 50 tonnes of rock and 1 km of grazing exclusion fencing across 10 sites in south‐eastern Australia. We found increases in the number of total reptile captures, total in iduals and species richness when comparing rock addition plots to non‐rock plots. There was no significant overall grazing exclusion effect or interactive effect of grazing and rock treatment on reptile measures. Synthesis and applications . Our study provides experimental evidence that surface rock addition is an effective restoration method for reptiles in agricultural landscapes. We recommend that the addition of surface rock is prioritised as a restoration tool for reptiles, and that existing surface rock areas are protected from clearing.
Increased livestock weight gain from improved water quality in farm dams: A cost-benefit analysis
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 16-08-2021
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0256089
Abstract: Access to water is a critical aspect of livestock production, although the relationship between livestock weight gain and water quality remains poorly understood. Previous work has shown that water quality of poorly managed farm dams can be improved by fencing and constructing hardened watering points to limit stock access to the dam, and revegetation to filter contaminant inflow. Here we use cattle weight gain data from three North American studies to develop a cost-benefit analysis for the renovation of farm dams to improve water quality and, in turn, promote cattle weight gain on farms in south-eastern Australia. Our analysis indicated a strong likelihood of positive results and suggested there may be substantial net economic benefit from renovating dams in poor condition to improve water quality. The average per-farm Benefit-Cost Ratios based on deterministic assumptions was 1.5 for New South Wales (NSW) and 3.0 for Victoria in areas where rainfall exceeds 600mm annually. Our analyses suggested that cattle on farms in NSW and Victoria would need to experience additional weight gain from switching to clean water of at least 6.5% and 1.8% per annum respectively, to break even in present value terms. Monte Carlo simulation based on conservative assumptions indicated that the probability of per-farm benefits exceeding costs was greater than 70%. We recommend localised experiments to assess the impact of improved water quality on livestock weight gain in Australian conditions to confirm these expectations empirically.
The effect of wildfire on scattered trees, ‘keystone structures’, in agricultural landscapes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-09-2016
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12414
Failing to conserve Leadbeater's Possum and its Mountain Ash forest habitat
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 09-2018
DOI: 10.7882/AZ.2018.008
Environmental policies to cope with novel disturbance regimes–steps to address a world scientists’ warning to humanity
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Date: 02-2021
Salvage logging effects on regulating and supporting ecosystem services — a systematic map
Publisher: Canadian Science Publishing
Date: 09-2018
Abstract: Wildfires, insect outbreaks, and windstorms are increasingly common forest disturbances. Post-disturbance management often involves salvage logging, i.e., the felling and removal of the affected trees however, this practice may represent an additional disturbance with effects on ecosystem processes and services. We developed a systematic map to provide an overview of the primary studies on this topic and created a database with information on the characteristics of the retrieved publications, including information on stands, disturbance, intervention, measured outcomes, and study design. Of 4341 retrieved publications, 90 were retained in the systematic map. These publications represented 49 studies, predominantly from North America and Europe. Salvage logging after wildfire was addressed more frequently than after insect outbreaks or windstorms. Most studies addressed logging after a single disturbance event, and replication of salvaged stands rarely exceeded 10. The most frequent response variables were tree regeneration, ground cover, and deadwood characteristics. This document aims to help managers find the most relevant primary studies on the ecological effects of salvage logging. It also aims to identify and discuss clusters and gaps in the body of evidence, relevant for scientists who aim to synthesize previous work or identify questions for future studies.
Patch-scale culls of an overabundant bird defeated by immediate recolonization
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-03-2019
DOI: 10.1002/EAP.1846
Abstract: Overabundant native animals cause a variety of human-wildlife conflicts that can require management to reduce their social, environmental, or economic impacts. Culling is an intuitively attractive management response to overabundance, but poor monitoring of results and costs means that evidence for successful outcomes is often lacking. Furthermore, many culls worldwide have been ineffective or counterproductive due to ecological release mechanisms or compensatory responses by the overabundant species. We completed a controlled, replicated, costed, and rigorously monitored experimental cull of the endemic Australian honeyeater, the Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala). Aggressive exclusion of birds from remnant woodland patches by overabundant Noisy Miners is listed as a Key Threatening Process under Australian conservation legislation due to its impacts on threatened birds. The problem is particularly prevalent in the highly modified agricultural landscapes of eastern Australia. The species impacts avian assemblages at low densities (0.6-0.8 birds/ha) and at a subcontinental scale (>1 million km
Impacts of salvage logging on biodiversity: A meta-analysis
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-07-2017
The role of relatedness in mate choice by an arboreal marsupial in the presence of fine-scale genetic structure
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-01-2016
Non-linear growth in tree ferns, Dicksonia antarctica and Cyathea australis
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 11-05-2017
The importance of scattered trees for biodiversity conservation: A global meta‐analysis
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-06-2017
Scale‐dependent signatures of local adaptation in a foundation tree species
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-04-2021
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.15894
Rapid bird species recovery following high‐severity wildfire but in the absence of early successional specialists
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-07-2022
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.13611
Abstract: The distribution and abundance of forest bio ersity can be shaped by multiple drivers, including disturbances like wildfires. We quantified the influence of wildfire severity and bird life history attributes on temporal patterns of bird site occupancy. Wet eucalypt forests of Victoria, Australia. We employed a Before, After, Control, Impact experimental design, gathering occupancy data on birds 5 years before, and for 10 years after, a wildfire in 2009. We quantified post‐fire decline and then recovery on sites subject to high‐severity fire, comparing these temporal patterns with those for birds at sites that were unburnt or burnt at moderate severity. We also tested the influence of life history attributes on bird responses to wildfire. Data were analysed using joint species distribution modelling, accounting for imperfect detection. We found a two‐way interaction between fire severity and time period for overall bird site occupancy. The largest change between time periods was on sites burnt at high severity where bird occupancy declined immediately after fire followed by a strong recovery. Occupancy patterns remained largely unchanged on unburnt sites. For many in idual species, interactions between fire severity and time period were similar to overall species occupancy. On sites subject to high‐severity fire, most species recovered to pre‐fire levels within 6 years. We found no evidence of a three‐way interaction between fire severity, time period, and life history attributes, with all trait groups of birds examined largely recovered to pre‐fire site occupancy levels 10 years post‐fire. The Victorian 2009 wildfires were severe, but their impacts on common bird species were relatively short‐lived, with immediate post‐fire declines mostly reversed within ~10 years. Rapid post‐fire stand regeneration appears a likely driver of these responses and may account for the relatively limited influence of life history attributes on bird species recovery. However, diet influenced bird species occupancy after fire, with nectivores recovering slower than insectivores on sites subject to high severity fire. Our findings may be relevant to other forests types globally where there can be rapid post‐fire vegetation growth and stand regeneration.
Temporal dynamics of soil fungi in a pyrodiverse dry‐sclerophyll forest
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-06-2023
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.17036
Abstract: Fire is a major evolutionary and ecological driver that shapes bio ersity in forests. While above‐ground community responses to fire have been well‐documented, those below‐ground are much less understood. However, below‐ground communities, including fungi, play key roles in forests and facilitate the recovery of other organisms after fire. Here, we used internal transcribed spacer (ITS) meta‐barcoding data from forests with three different times since fire [short (3 years), medium (13–19 years) and long ( years)] to characterize the temporal responses of soil fungal communities across functional groups, ectomycorrhizal exploration strategies and inter‐guild associations. Our findings indicate that fire effects on fungal communities are strongest in the short to medium term, with clear distinctions between communities in forests with a short time (3 years) since fire, a medium time (13–19 years) and a long time ( years) since fire. Ectomycorrhizal fungi were disproportionately impacted by fire relative to saprotrophs, but the direction of the response varied depending on morphological structures and exploration strategies. For instance, short‐distance ectomycorrhizal fungi increased with recent fire, while medium‐distance (fringe) ectomycorrhizal fungi decreased. Further, we detected strong, negative inter‐guild associations between ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi but only at medium and long times since fire. Given the functional significance of fungi, the temporal changes in fungal composition, inter‐guild associations and functional groups after fire demonstrated in our study may have functional implications that require adaptive management to curtail.
Logging elevated the probability of high-severity fire in the 2019–20 Australian forest fires
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-04-2022
Herbivory and fire interact to affect forest understory habitat, but not its use by small vertebrates
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-05-2016
DOI: 10.1111/ACV.12210
Where do animals come from during post-fire population recovery? Implications for ecological and genetic patterns in post-fire landscapes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-01-2017
DOI: 10.1111/ECOG.02251
Ecological and spatial drivers of population synchrony in bird assemblages
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2015
Improved management of farm dams increases vegetation cover, water quality, and macroinvertebrate biodiversity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2022
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.8636
Abstract: In many farming landscapes, aquatic features, such as wetlands, creeks, and dams, provide water for stock and irrigation, while also acting as habitat for a range of plants and animals. Indeed, some species threatened by land‐use change may otherwise be considerably rarer—or even suffer extinction—in the absence of these habitats. Therefore, a critical issue for the maintenance of bio ersity in agricultural landscapes is the extent to which the management of aquatic systems can promote the integration of agricultural production and bio ersity conservation. We completed a cross‐sectional study in southern New South Wales (southeastern Australia) to quantify the efficacy of two concurrently implemented management practices—partial revegetation and control of livestock grazing—aimed at enhancing the vegetation structure, bio ersity value, and water quality of farm dams. We found that excluding livestock for even short periods resulted in increased vegetation cover. Relative to unenhanced dams (such as those that remained unfenced), those that had been enhanced for several years were characterized by reduced levels of turbidity, nutrients, and fecal contamination. Enhanced dams also supported increased richness and abundance of macroinvertebrates. In contrast, unenhanced control dams tended to have high abundance of a few macroinvertebrate taxa. Notably, differences remained between the macroinvertebrate assemblages of enhanced dams and nearby “natural” waterbodies that we monitored as reference sites. While the bio ersity value of semilotic, natural waterbodies in the region cannot be replicated by artificial lentic systems, we consider the extensive system of farm dams in the region to represent a novel ecosystem that may nonetheless support some native macroinvertebrates. Our results show that management interventions such as fencing and grazing control can improve water quality in farm dams, improve vegetation structure around farm dams, and support greater abundance and ersity of aquatic macroinvertebrates.
Ongoing declines of woodland birds: Are restoration plantings making a difference?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-02-2021
DOI: 10.1002/EAP.2268
Prioritising source populations for supplementing genetic diversity of reintroduced southern brown bandicoots Isoodon obesulus obesulus
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-02-2021
Is Australia’s environmental legislation protecting threatened species? A case study of the national listing of the greater glider
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 25-08-2021
DOI: 10.1071/PC20077
Abstract: Effective environmental legislation that mitigates threats and strengthens protection are critical in arresting the decline of global bio ersity. We used the national listing of an Australian marsupial, the greater glider (Petauroides spp.), vulnerable to extinction under the Environment Protection and Bio ersity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC), as a case study to evaluate the effectiveness of legislation for protecting threatened species habitat. We quantified the extent of greater glider habitat destroyed (or extensively modified) due to deforestation and logging in Queensland and New South Wales (NSW), and logging in Victoria, 2 years before (2014–2016) and after (2016–2018) EPBC listing. We quantified the extent of greater glider habitat that burned in the 2019–2020 wildfires. Destruction of habitat increased in NSW and Queensland after the species was listed as vulnerable (NSW: 7602 ha/annum c.f. 7945 ha/annum Qld: 1501 ha/annum c.f. 5919 ha/annum). In Victoria, the amount of habitat logged remained relatively consistent pre- and post-listing (4916.5 ha logged pre-listing c.f. 4758.5 ha logged post-listing). Australia-wide, we estimate that 29% of greater glider habitat burned in the 2019–2020 wildfires. Fire severity was severe or extreme in 37% of greater glider habitat that burnt, suggesting that few gliders would persist in these areas. We demonstrate that since EPBC listing, greater glider habitat destruction and population decline has continued as a result of human activities, both directly (i.e. deforestation and logging) and indirectly (i.e. severe wildfire facilitated by human-induced climate change). We recommend that state and federal protections should be strengthened urgently to better conserve threatened species and the environment.
Halting natural resource depletion: Engaging with economic and political power
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 03-2017
Abstract: Globally, fisheries and forestry have been characterised by substantial ecological and economic problems. Both sectors have become notorious for depleting the stocks on which they depend, eroding the value of harvested natural resources over time and having significant negative ‘by-catch’ impacts on non-target natural resources. Problems of resource overuse and potential ecosystem collapse inherently derive from poor decisions influenced by those with undue or excessive economic, political and labour market power. Solutions to problems of unsustainability of resource management will need to engage with these economic drivers and beneficiaries, and require strategies including better and more independent assessments of the status and condition of resources. Deep-seated problems caused by resource over-commitment need more robust approaches to resource assessment that (1) better account for uncertainty (including uncertainty resulting from stock losses due to disturbance), (2) avoid ratchet effects and (3) provide appropriate ecological parameters for resource harvest. The United Nations framework for environmental and economic accounting methods can help assess the economic and other contributions of different resource-based industries and inform decisions about trade-offs between competing interests. Finally, there is value in examining successful and unsuccessful industry restructuring, in which decisions to transition away from demonstrably unsustainable resource industries have been made.
Meeting the Global Ecosystem Collapse Challenge
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-02-2017
DOI: 10.1111/CONL.12348
Impact of 2019–2020 mega-fires on Australian fauna habitat
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-07-2020
Biodiversity response to rapid successive land cover conversions in human-dominated landscapes
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2023
Fencing farm dams to exclude livestock halves methane emissions and improves water quality
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-06-2022
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.16237
Abstract: Agricultural practices have created tens of millions of small artificial water bodies (“farm dams” or “agricultural ponds”) to provide water for domestic livestock worldwide. Among freshwater ecosystems, farm dams have some of the highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per m 2 due to fertilizer and manure run‐off boosting methane production—an extremely potent GHG. However, management strategies to mitigate the substantial emissions from millions of farm dams remain unexplored. We tested the hypothesis that installing fences to exclude livestock could reduce nutrients, improve water quality, and lower aquatic GHG emissions. We established a large‐scale experiment spanning 400 km across south‐eastern Australia where we compared unfenced ( N = 33) and fenced farm dams ( N = 31) within 17 livestock farms. Fenced farm dams recorded 32% less dissolved nitrogen, 39% less dissolved phosphorus, 22% more dissolved oxygen, and produced 56% less diffusive methane emissions than unfenced dams. We found no effect of farm dam management on diffusive carbon dioxide emissions and on the organic carbon in the soil. Dissolved oxygen was the most important variable explaining changes in carbon fluxes across dams, whereby doubling dissolved oxygen from 5 to 10 mg L −1 led to a 74% decrease in methane fluxes, a 124% decrease in carbon dioxide fluxes, and a 96% decrease in CO 2 ‐eq (CH 4 + CO 2 ) fluxes. Dams with very high dissolved oxygen ( mg L −1 ) showed a switch from positive to negative CO 2 ‐eq. (CO 2 + CH 4 ) fluxes (i.e., negative radiative balance), indicating a positive contribution to reduce atmospheric warming. Our results demonstrate that simple management actions can dramatically improve water quality and decrease methane emissions while contributing to more productive and sustainable farming.
The dynamic regeneration niche of a forest following a rare disturbance event
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-01-2016
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.12414
The value of scattered trees for wildlife: Contrasting effects of landscape context and tree size
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-10-2017
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.12658
Effects of time since fire on frog occurrence are altered by isolation, vegetation and fire frequency gradients
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-10-2017
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.12659
Comparative use of active searches and artificial refuges to detect amphibians in terrestrial environments
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-11-2019
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12677
Integrating forest biodiversity conservation and restoration ecology principles to recover natural forest ecosystems
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-03-2019
Passive restoration contributes to bird conservation in Brazilian Pampa grasslands
Publisher: Resilience Alliance, Inc.
Date: 12-2019
DOI: 10.1111/JOFO.12316
Who will name new plant species? Temporal change in the origins of taxonomists in China
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 02-2023
Abstract: Discovery rates of new plant species need to be accelerated because many species will be extinct before they are formally described. Current studies have focused on where new species may occur and their characteristics. However, who will actually discover and describe these new species has received limited attention. Here, we used 31 576 vascular plant species distributed and described in China as a case study to explore the temporal patterns of the nationalities of the taxonomists. We found that most recently described species are endemic species, and there has been an increasing proportion of species descriptions by resident Chinese taxonomists over time. The proportion of species described by resident taxonomists reached an average of 80.8% between 1977 and 2018. By contrast, species discoveries by non-resident experts, often non-endemic species, showed signs of levelling off. Our study underscores an urgent need for training of, support for and collaboration with resident taxonomists in mega erse countries with a high potential of discovering undescribed plant species.
Direct and indirect effects of fire on microbial communities in a pyrodiverse dry‐sclerophyll forest
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-05-2022
Abstract: Fire is one of the predominant drivers of the structural and functional dynamics of forest ecosystems. In recent years, novel fire regimes have posed a major challenge to the management of pyro erse forests. While previous research efforts have focused on quantifying the impacts of fire on above‐ground forest bio ersity, how microbial communities respond to fire is less understood, despite their functional significance. Here, we describe the effects of time since fire, fire frequency and their interaction on soil and leaf litter fungal and bacterial communities from the pyro erse, Eucalyptus pilularis forests of south‐eastern Australia. Using structural equation models, we also elucidate how fire can influence these communities both directly and indirectly through biotic–abiotic interactions. Our results demonstrate that fire is a key driver of litter and soil bacterial and fungal communities, with effects most pronounced for soil fungal communities. Notably, recently burnt forest hosted lower abundances of symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungi and Acidobacteria in the soil, and basidiomycetous fungi and Actinobacteriota in the litter. Compared with low fire frequencies, high fire frequency increased soil fungal plant pathogens, but reduced Actinobacteriota. The majority of fire effects on microbial communities were mediated by fire‐induced changes in litter and soil abiotic properties. For instance, recent and more frequent fire was associated with reduced soil sulphur, which led to an increase in soil fungal plant pathogens and saprotrophic fungi in these sites. Pathogenic fungi also increased in recently burnt forests that had a low fire frequency, mediated by a decline in litter carbon and an increase in soil pH in these sites. Synthesis . Our findings indicate that predicted increases in the frequency of fire may select for specific microbial communities directly and indirectly through ecological interactions, which may have functional implications for plants (increase in pathogens, decrease in symbionts), decomposition rates (declines in Actinobacteriota and Acidobacteriota) and carbon storage (decrease in ectomycorrhizal fungi). In the face of predicted shifts in wildfire regimes, which may exacerbate fire‐induced changes in microbial communities, adaptive fire management and monitoring is required to address the potential functional implications of fire‐altered microbial communities.
Disentangling the effects of farmland use, habitat edges, and vegetation structure on ground beetle morphological traits
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-06-2018
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-018-4180-9
Abstract: Land-use change due to agriculture has a major influence on arthropod bio ersity, and may influence species differently depending on their traits. It is unclear how species traits vary across different land uses and their edges, with most studies focussing on single habitat types and overlooking edge effects. We examined variation in morphological traits of carabid beetles (Coleoptera:Carabidae) on both sides of edges between woodlands and four adjoining, but contrasting farmland uses in an agricultural landscape. We asked: (1) how do traits differ between woodlands and different adjoining farmland uses (crop, fallow, restoration planting, and woody debris applied over crop), and do effects depend on increasing distances from the farmland-woodland edge? (2) Does vegetation structure explain observed effects of adjoining farmland use and edge effects on these traits? We found that carabid communities varied in body size and shape, including traits associated with diet, robustness, and visual ability. Smaller sized species were associated with woodlands and larger sized species with farmlands. Farmland use further influenced these associations, where woodlands adjoining plantings supported smaller species, while fallows and crops supported larger species. Vegetation structure significantly influenced body size, flying ability, and body shape, and helped explain the effects of farmland use and distance from edges on body size. We highlight the important role of vegetation structure, farmland use, and edge effects in filtering the morphological traits of carabid assemblages across a highly modified agricultural landscape. Our findings suggest that farmland management can influence body size and dispersal-related traits in farmland and adjacent native vegetation.
Decline of forest structural elements across forest–urban interfaces is stronger with high rather than low residential density
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2016
Evaluating the effectiveness of overstory cover as a surrogate for bird community diversity and population trends
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2016
A spatially-explicit empirical model for assessing conservation values of conifer plantations
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2019
Using empirical models of species colonization under multiple threatening processes to identify complementary threat-mitigation strategies
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-04-2016
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.12672
Abstract: Approaches to prioritize conservation actions are gaining popularity. However, limited empirical evidence exists on which species might benefit most from threat mitigation and on what combination of threats, if mitigated simultaneously, would result in the best outcomes for bio ersity. We devised a way to prioritize threat mitigation at a regional scale with empirical evidence based on predicted changes to population dynamics-information that is lacking in most threat-management prioritization frameworks that rely on expert elicitation. We used dynamic occupancy models to investigate the effects of multiple threats (tree cover, grazing, and presence of an hyperaggressive competitor, the Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) on bird-population dynamics in an endangered woodland community in southeastern Australia. The 3 threatening processes had different effects on different species. We used predicted patch-colonization probabilities to estimate the benefit to each species of removing one or more threats. We then determined the complementary set of threat-mitigation strategies that maximized colonization of all species while ensuring that redundant actions with little benefit were avoided. The single action that resulted in the highest colonization was increasing tree cover, which increased patch colonization by 5% and 11% on average across all species and for declining species, respectively. Combining Noisy Miner control with increasing tree cover increased species colonization by 10% and 19% on average for all species and for declining species respectively, and was a higher priority than changing grazing regimes. Guidance for prioritizing threat mitigation is critical in the face of cumulative threatening processes. By incorporating population dynamics in prioritization of threat management, our approach helps ensure funding is not wasted on ineffective management programs that target the wrong threats or species.
The Unique Challenges of Conserving Large Old Trees
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.TREE.2016.03.003
Abstract: Large old trees play numerous critical ecological roles. They are susceptible to a plethora of interacting threats, in part because the attributes that confer a competitive advantage in intact ecosystems make them maladapted to rapidly changing, human-modified environments. Conserving large old trees will require surmounting a number of unresolved challenges.
Remnant vegetation, plantings and fences are beneficial for reptiles in agricultural landscapes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-05-2017
Compact development minimizes the impacts of urban growth on native mammals
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-10-2017
Metal Complexes as Antifungals? from a Crowd-Sourced Compound Library to the First in Vivo Experiments
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 23-09-2022
Managing interacting disturbances: Lessons from a case study in Australian forests
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-06-2020
A Mini Review on Cyanophycin: Production, Analysis and Its Applications
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2016
Empirical relationships between tree fall and landscape-level amounts of logging and fire
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 23-02-2018
Environmental and grazing management drivers of soil condition
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2019
Reply to 'Policy institutions and forest carbon'
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-08-2016
DOI: 10.1038/NCLIMATE3094
Isolated trees support lower bird taxonomic richness than trees within habitat patches but similar functional diversity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-10-2020
DOI: 10.1111/BTP.12862
Barking up the right tree: Comparative use of arboreal and terrestrial artificial refuges to survey reptiles in temperate eucalypt woodlands
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1071/WR17117
Abstract: Context Artificial refuges (cover boards) are a popular method to survey and monitor herpetofauna worldwide. However, one limitation of using artificial refuges in terrestrial environments is the low detection rates of arboreal species. Furthermore, destructive search techniques can damage critical microhabitat such as exfoliating rock or flaking bark of mature trees. Aim We tested a non-destructive, passive method of s ling arboreal reptiles in fragmented agricultural landscapes in south-eastern Australia. Methods We installed 84 artificial bark refuges consisting of strips of non-toxic, closed-cell foam attached to eucalypt trees in 13 patches of remnant vegetation. We used Bayesian statistics to compare differences in detection rates among artificial bark refuges, terrestrial artificial refuges and active searches of natural habitat over a 4-year period. Key results Active searches combined with terrestrial artificial refuges detected the highest number of reptile species, including several cryptic fossorial species. Artificial bark refuges detected, on average, 132 times more in iduals of the arboreal southern marbled gecko, Christinus marmoratus, than did terrestrial refuges. Gecko abundance patterns were related to tree characteristics such as tree size, bark thickness and stand basal area, as well as survey year. Conclusions Traditional survey methods such as terrestrial cover boards, in combination with active searches of natural habitat, may significantly underestimate counts for arboreal gecko species. Implications Artificial bark refuges provide a cost-effective, non-destructive and durable method for surveying and monitoring arboreal reptiles in woodland environments over short to medium time frames. Foil-backed, closed-cell foam has broad application for use in spatial capture–recapture studies and long-term monitoring of arboreal reptiles. This method also may be effective for procuring records of threatened arboreal geckos or as a solution for providing temporary habitat in ecological restoration projects.
The anatomy of a failed offset
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2017
Principles for integrated environmental management of military training areas
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2017
Pasture height and crop direction influence reptile movement in an agricultural matrix
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2016
Optimal taxonomic groups for biodiversity assessment: a meta-analytic approach
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-04-2017
DOI: 10.1111/ECOG.02318
Nanolamellar Zn–Ni/Co–Ni Catalysts Introduced by Ball Milling for the Copolymerization of CO<SUB>2</SUB> with Propylene Oxide
Publisher: American Scientific Publishers
Date: 04-2014
The importance of travelling stock reserves for maintaining high-quality threatened temperate woodlands
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1071/BT17114
Abstract: Travelling stock reserves (TSRs) are thought to represent some of the highest-quality and least degraded remnants of threatened temperate woodland in south-eastern Australia. These public reserves have not had the same high levels of grazing pressure and other disturbances as woodland remnants on private land. Thus, TSRs are expected to be important for the protection of bio ersity in heavily cleared and modified landscapes. We tested the hypothesis that land tenure had significant effects on the quality of woodlands by comparing vegetation structural attributes between TSRs and remnant vegetation used for primary production purposes. Vegetation attributes were monitored in 155 permanent plots over 5 years in remnant temperate woodland sites in the Riverina bioregion of New South Wales. Overall, TSRs supported higher native plant species richness and were characterised by higher ground cover of native shrubs and less cover of exotic plant species than agricultural production areas. We found land tenure had significant effects on some vegetation attributes demonstrated to be important for threatened fauna. We attribute these results to TSRs having a history of lower grazing pressure compared with remnants managed for agricultural production. Our study provides empirical evidence to support the high conservation value of TSRs in formerly woodland-dominated, but now extensively cleared agricultural landscapes.
Increases in intraspecific body size variation are common among North American mammals and birds between 1880 and 2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-01-2023
Invasive shrub re-establishment following management has contrasting effects on biodiversity
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-03-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-019-40654-Y
Abstract: Effective control of an invasive species is frequently used to infer positive outcomes for the broader ecosystem. In many situations, whether the removal of an invasive plant is of net benefit to bio ersity is poorly assessed. We undertook a 10-year study on the effects of invasive shrub management (bitou bush, Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. rotundata ) on native flora and fauna in a eucalypt forest in south-eastern Australia. Bitou bush eradication is a management priority, yet the optimal control regime (combination of herbicide spray and fire) is difficult to implement, meaning managed sites have complex management histories that vary in effectiveness of control. Here we test the long-term response of common bio ersity indicators (species richness, abundance and ersity of native plants, birds, herpetofauna and small mammals) to both the management, and the post-management status of bitou bush (% cover). While average bitou bush cover decreased with management, bitou bush consistently occurred at around half of our managed sites despite control efforts. The relationship between bio ersity and bitou bush cover following management differed from positive, neutral or negative among species groups and indicators. Native plant cover was lower under higher levels of bitou bush cover, but the abundance of birds and small mammals were positively related to bitou bush cover. Evidence suggests that the successful control of an invader may not necessarily result in beneficial outcomes for all components of bio ersity.
Contrasting beetle assemblage responses to cultivated farmlands and native woodlands in a dynamic agricultural landscape
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2017
DOI: 10.1002/ECS2.2042
Why We Need to Invest in Large-Scale, Long-Term Monitoring Programs in Landscape Ecology and Conservation Biology
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-10-2022
DOI: 10.1007/S40823-022-00079-2
Abstract: Large-scale and/or long-term monitoring has many important roles in landscape ecology and conservation biology. We explore some of these roles in this review. We also briefly discuss some of the key design issues that need to be considered when developing long-term, large-scale monitoring to ensure it is effective. Much has been written on the importance of ecological monitoring, but the record on monitoring in landscape ecology and conservation remains generally poor. For populations of many species and for many environmental management interventions, monitoring is rarely done, or done well. This review outlines some of the reasons it is critical to invest in well-designed, implemented, and maintained monitoring. New ways of using monitoring data, such as in environmental accounting and mandated environmental reporting, might provide avenues for garnering greater support for monitoring programs in the future. We discuss seven of the most important roles of monitoring in landscape ecology and conservation biology. These are (1) documenting responses to environmental change, (2) answering key ecological questions, (3) testing existing ecological theory and developing new theory, (4) quantifying the effectiveness of management interventions, (5) informing environmental prediction systems, (6) engaging citizen scientists and the general public, and (7) contributing data and other insights to environmental initiatives. We illustrate these key roles with ex les, drawn from existing large-scale, long-term work in a range of environments in Australia. We argue that some of these functions can only be realized if a monitoring program is well designed, implemented, and maintained.
Post‐fire pickings: Large herbivores alter understory vegetation communities in a coastal eucalypt forest
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2022
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.8828
Abstract: Fire and herbivores alter vegetation structure and function. Future fire activity is predicted to increase, and quantifying changes in vegetation communities arising from post‐fire herbivory is needed to better manage natural environments. We investigated the effects of post‐fire herbivory on understory plant communities in a coastal eucalypt forest in southeastern Australia. We quantified herbivore activity, understory plant ersity, and dominant plant morphology following a wildfire in 2017 using two sizes of exclosures. Statistical analysis incorporated the effect of exclusion treatments, time since fire, and the effect of a previous prescribed burn. Exclusion treatments altered herbivore activity, but time since fire did not. Herbivory reduced plant species richness, ersity, and evenness and promoted the dominance of the most abundant plants within the understory. Increasing time since fire reduced community ersity and evenness and influenced morphological changes to the dominant understory plant species, increasing size and dead material while decreasing abundance. We found the legacy effects of a previous prescribed burn had no effect on herbivores or vegetation within our study. Foraging by large herbivores resulted in a depauperate vegetation community. As post‐fire herbivory can alter vegetation communities, we postulate that management burning practices may exacerbate herbivore impacts. Future fire management strategies to minimize herbivore‐mediated alterations to understory vegetation could include aggregating management burns into larger fire sizes or linking fire management with herbivore management. Restricting herbivore access following fire (planned or otherwise) can encourage a more erse and species‐rich understory plant community. Future research should aim to determine how vegetation change from post‐fire herbivory contributes to future fire risk.
New spatial analyses of Australian wildfires highlight the need for new fire, resource, and conservation policies
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 18-05-2020
Abstract: Discussions after significant fire-related losses of life, property, and vegetation are often conducted in the absence of nuanced debates about climate, land, and resource management policy. Here we present the results of new spatial and temporal analyses of widespread current and previous fires in the Australian state of Victoria that highlight the need for major changes in policies associated with fire and land management. We found compelling evidence to support policy reforms that aim to reduce megafires, alter the mode of forest management, target the protection of key natural assets including unburnt areas, manage repeatedly damaged and potentially collapsed ecosystems, and expand the conservation estate. Our approach should have wide applicability to other jurisdictions confronting threats from widespread, recurrent wildfires.
Development of a cloud-based platform for reproducible science: A case study of an IUCN Red List of Ecosystems Assessment
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2016
Accounting for ecosystem services – Lessons from Australia for its application and use in Oceania to achieve sustainable development
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2019
Single large or several small? Applying biogeographic principles to tree-level conservation and biodiversity offsets
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2015
Fine-Scale Habitat Heterogeneity Influences Occupancy in Terrestrial Mammals in a Temperate Region of Australia
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 22-09-2015
Environmental and human drivers influencing large old tree abundance in Australian wet forests
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2016
Revegetation, restoration and reptiles in rural landscapes: Insights from long-term monitoring programmes in the temperate eucalypt woodlands of south-eastern Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1111/EMR.12294
The relative importance of aquatic and terrestrial variables for frogs in an urbanizing landscape: Key insights for sustainable urban development
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2017
Eight things you should never do in a monitoring program: an Australian perspective
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-08-2022
DOI: 10.1007/S10661-022-10348-6
Abstract: Monitoring is critical to gauge the effect of environmental management interventions as well as to measure the effects of human disturbances such as climate change. Recognition of the critical need for monitoring means that, at irregular intervals, recommendations are made for new government-instigated programs or to rev existing ones. Using insights from past well-intentioned (but sadly also often failed) attempts to establish and maintain government-instigated monitoring programs in Australia, we outline eight things that should never be done in environmental monitoring programs (if they aim to be useful). These are the following: (1) Never commence a new environmental management initiative without also committing to a monitoring program. (2) Never start a monitoring program without clear questions. (3) Never implement a monitoring program without first doing a proper experimental design. (4) Never ignore the importance of matching the purpose and objectives of a monitoring program to the design of that program. (5) Never change the way you monitor something without ensuring new methods can be calibrated with the old ones. (6) Never try to monitor everything. (7) Never collect data without planning to curate and report on it. (8) If possible, avoid starting a monitoring program without the necessary resources secured. To balance our “nevers”, we provide a checklist of actions that will increase the chances a monitoring program will actually measure the effectiveness of environmental management. Scientists and resource management practitioners need to be part of a stronger narrative for, and key participants in, well-designed, implemented, and maintained government-led monitoring programs. We argue that monitoring programs should be mandated in threatened species conservation programs and all new environmental management initiatives.
Surrogates Underpin Ecological Understanding and Practice
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 18-07-2018
Cross-taxonomic surrogates for biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes – A multi-taxa approach
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2018
Synergistic interactions between fire and browsing drive plant diversity in a forest understorey
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-06-2015
DOI: 10.1111/JVS.12311
Impact Indicators for Biodiversity Conservation Research: Measuring Influence within and beyond Academia
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 20-01-2021
Abstract: Measuring, reporting, and forecasting research impact beyond academia has become increasingly important to demonstrate and understand real-world benefits. This is arguably most important in crisis disciplines such as medicine, environmental sustainability and bio ersity conservation, where application of new knowledge is urgently needed to improve health and environmental outcomes. Increasing focus on impact has prompted the development of theoretical guidance and practical tools tailored to a range of disciplines, but commensurate development of tools for conservation is still needed. In the present article, we review available tools for evaluating research impact applicable to conservation research. From these, and via a survey of conservation professionals, we compiled and ranked a list of 96 impact indicators useful for conservation science. Our indicators apply to a logic chain of inputs, processes, outputs, outcomes, and impacts. We suggest the list can act as a clear guide to realize and measure potential impacts from conservation research within and beyond academia.
The difficulties of systematic reviews
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-06-2017
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.12890
Abstract: The need for robust evidence to support conservation actions has driven the adoption of systematic approaches to research synthesis in ecology. However, applying systematic review to complex or open questions remains challenging, and this task is becoming more difficult as the quantity of scientific literature increases. We drew on the science of linguistics for guidance as to why the process of identifying and sorting information during systematic review remains so labor intensive, and to provide potential solutions. Several linguistic properties of peer-reviewed corpora-including nonrandom selection of review topics, small-world properties of semantic networks, and spatiotemporal variation in word meaning-greatly increase the effort needed to complete the systematic review process. Conversely, the resolution of these semantic complexities is a common motivation for narrative reviews, but this process is rarely enacted with the rigor applied during linguistic analysis. Therefore, linguistics provides a unifying framework for understanding some key challenges of systematic review and highlights 2 useful directions for future research. First, in cases where semantic complexity generates barriers to synthesis, ecologists should consider drawing on existing methods-such as natural language processing or the construction of research thesauri and ontologies-that provide tools for mapping and resolving that complexity. These tools could help in idual researchers classify research material in a more robust manner and provide valuable guidance for future researchers on that topic. Second, a linguistic perspective highlights that scientific writing is a rich resource worthy of detailed study, an observation that can sometimes be lost during the search for data during systematic review or meta-analysis. For ex le, mapping semantic networks can reveal redundancy and complementarity among scientific concepts, leading to new insights and research questions. Consequently, wider adoption of linguistic approaches may facilitate improved rigor and richness in research synthesis.
Effects of past and present livestock grazing on herpetofauna in a landscape-scale experiment
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-10-2017
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.12779
High species turnover shapes anuran community composition in ponds along an urban-rural gradient
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-10-2021
Human activities and species biological traits drive the long-term persistence of old trees in human-dominated landscapes
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-05-2023
Surviving with a resident despot: Do revegetated patches act as refuges from the effects of the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala) in a highly fragmented landscape?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-04-2016
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.12444
Using ecological niche theory to avoid uninformative biodiversity surrogates
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2020
The oldest trees in China and where to find them
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-05-2019
DOI: 10.1002/FEE.2046
Towards integrated management of Australia’s ecologically significant military training areas
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 18-12-2018
Prior disturbance legacy effects on plant recovery post‐high‐severity wildfire
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2021
DOI: 10.1002/ECS2.3480
Abstract: Large, high‐severity wildfires are an important component of disturbance regimes around the world and can influence the structure and function of forest ecosystems. Climatic changes and anthropogenic disturbances have altered global disturbance patterns and increased the frequency of high‐severity wildfires worldwide. While the recovery of plant communities at different successional stages after fire is well known, the influence of prior disturbances and stand age is poorly understood. Despite this, high‐intensity wildfires can produce long‐lasting legacy effects, which can influence the resistance and resilience of ecosystems. Here, we quantified the influence of prior stand age and disturbance history on the recovery of plant communities in the Mountain Ash and Alpine Ash forests of south‐eastern Australia after high‐severity wildfire. Specifically, controlling for stand age, we compared the abundance (percent cover) of different plant life forms and reproductive strategies in forests that were, at the time of high‐severity wildfire in 2009, “young” (28–35 yr old and previously logged), “mixed” age (26, 70–83, yr old), “mature” (70–83 yr old), and “old‐growth” ( yr old). We uncovered evidence that the legacy of prior disturbance and stand age at the time of high‐severity wildfire can influence the recovery of plant communities in early successional forests. Specifically, we found that “young” forests burnt in 2009 had a higher abundance of ruderal and graminoid species, but had a lower abundance of persistent, onsite seeders, including Acacia and eucalypt species, relative to “old‐growth” forests burnt in 2009. “Mature” aged forests burnt in 2009 also had a lower abundance of Acacia , eucalypt, and shrub species, relative to “old‐growth forests” burnt in 2009. Our findings provide evidence of advanced recovery in forests that were older when burnt by high‐severity wildfire, relative to younger forests burnt by the same wildfire. Further, we also demonstrate the influence of different environmental conditions on plant communities. In a period of rapid, global, environmental change, our study provides insights into the recovery of plant communities post‐wildfire with implications for forest management. Further, our findings suggest that predicted increases in the frequency of high‐severity wildfires may have consequences for forest regeneration.
Under What Circumstances Do Wood Products from Native Forests Benefit Climate Change Mitigation?
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 05-10-2015
Improving the design of a conservation reserve for a critically endangered species
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 25-01-2017
Relationships between tree size and occupancy by cavity-dependent arboreal marsupials
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2017
Properties of Polypropylene and Surface Modified Glass-Fibre Composites
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 05-2014
DOI: 10.1177/096739111402200403
Abstract: To improve the interfacial bonding between polypropylene (PP) and glass-fibre (GF), the surface modified glass-fibre (SMGF) was prepared with the self-designed sizing containing organofunctional silanes and a copolymer. Then the SMGF-PP composites were prepared and those properties were observed by mechanical testing, light microscopy, X-ray diffractometry (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Mechanical tests displayed that SMGF-PP composites had an increase in tensile strength, tensile modulus, bending strength, bending modulus and notched impact strength compared to the pure PP. Light micrographs showed that the average fibre length of the composite was 397 μm. XRD data indicated that the crystal size of SMGF-PP composites became smaller compared to pure PP, and β form crystals of PP disappeared with the addition of SMGF to PP matrix. DSC data showed that SMGF could promote the crystallization temperature of PP. TGA analyses showed that the thermal stability of SMGF-PP was better than that of pure PP.
Effects of polyculture and monoculture farming in oil palm smallholdings on tropical fruit-feeding butterfly diversity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-08-2016
DOI: 10.1111/AFE.12182
Spatiotemporal effects of logging and fire on tall, wet temperate eucalypt forest birds
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-10-2019
DOI: 10.1002/EAP.1999
Abstract: Forests globally are subject to disturbances such as logging and fire that create complex temporal variation in spatial patterns of forest cover and stand age. However, investigations that quantify temporal changes in bio ersity in response to multiple forms of disturbance in space and time are relatively uncommon. Over a 10-yr period, we investigated the response of bird species to spatiotemporal changes in forest cover associated with logging and wildfire in the mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) forests of southeastern Australia. Specifically, we examined how bird occurrence changed with shifts in the proportion of area burned or logged in a 4.5 km radius surrounding our 88 long-term field survey sites, each measuring 1 ha in size. Overall species richness was greatest in older forest patches, but declined as the amount of fire around each site increased. At the in idual species level, 31 of the 37 bird species we modeled exhibited a negative response to the amount of fire in the surrounding landscape, while one species responded positively to fire. Only nine species exhibited signs of recovery in the 6 yr of surveys following the fire. Five species were more likely to be detected as the proportion of logged forest surrounding a site increased, suggesting a possible "concentration effect" with displaced birds moving into unlogged areas following harvesting of adjacent areas. We also identified relationships between the coefficients of life history attributes and spatiotemporal changes in forest cover and stand age. Large-bodied birds and migratory species were associated with landscapes subject to large amounts of fire in 2009. There were associations between old growth stands and small-bodied bird species and species that were not insectivores. Our study shows that birds in mountain ash forests are strongly associated with old growth stands and exhibit complex, time-dependent, and species-specific responses to landscape disturbance. Despite logging and fire both being high-severity perturbations, no bird species exhibited similar responses to fire and logging in the landscape surrounding our sites. Thus, species responses to one kind of landscape-scale disturbance are not readily predictable based on an understanding of the responses to another kind of (albeit superficially similar) disturbance.
Mexico's logging threatens butterflies
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 23-11-2017
Two roles for ecological surrogacy: Indicator surrogates and management surrogates
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2016
The road to oblivion – Quantifying pathways in the decline of large old trees
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2018
Where there is fire, there is smoke
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 27-07-2018
The largest trees in Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-02-2023
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.13292
Abstract: Large old trees have many critical ecological functions. We collated information about Australia's tallest and largest (by circumference) trees from several databases. The 20 tallest trees in Australia are currently all Mountain Ash ( Eucalyptus regnans ) found primarily in Tasmania. There are also some Mountain Ash trees in Victoria which are over 90 m tall and still increasing in height. The 20 largest (by circumference) trees are distributed throughout four states (NSW, TAS, WA and VIC) with Mountain Ash accounting for more than half of the trees on this list. Making this information available in one location increases its accessibility and allows for priority species and areas for conservation to be more easily identified. Documenting the size and condition of trees, together with their location, will enable them to be revisited and monitored in the future. This practice will allow changes in tree condition, occurring through growth and/or deterioration, to be documented. We trust that by increasing the accessibility of this information, we encourage more people to take an interest in the ecology and conservation of large old trees. This is important given the past and present cultural significance of trees to Australia's First Nations People and the need to preserve this information and appreciation for nature.
Long‐term monitoring in endangered woodlands shows effects of multi‐scale drivers on bird occupancy
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-03-2022
DOI: 10.1111/JBI.14353
Abstract: The effect of spatial scale on the location and abundance of species has long been a major topic of interest in ecology. Accounting for key drivers at multiple scales is critical for rigorous description of patterns of species distribution and bio ersity change. We quantified the effects of potential drivers of bird occupancy across a geographically dispersed, but heavily disturbed and fragmented ecosystem. Threatened Box‐Gum Grassy Woodlands in south‐eastern Australia, which stretch across 9° of latitude (~900 km). Birds (Class Aves). We grouped data from four monitoring studies of birds that spanned 10–22 years in Box‐Gum Grassy Woodlands. We then employed joint species distribution modelling to investigate multi‐species responses to environmental drivers measured at patch, landscape and regional scales, and selected combinations of all three. We show that in Box‐Gum Grassy Woodlands: vegetation structure influences bird occupancy beyond the presence of the despotic Noisy Miner ( Manorina melanocephala ) woodland cover is more important than vegetation productivity and topographic position bird occupancy is sensitive to a combination of average climate, seasonality, and summer and winter extremes and there is limited redundancy between drivers of bird occupancy at different scales. Species differ most in their response to presence of the Noisy Miner, high summer temperatures and nearby woodland cover. Quantifying the influence of environmental drivers that act at different spatial scales is valuable for understanding patterns of bird species occurrence. Fine‐scale studies can benefit from considering the climate and biogeographical context in which the research occurs. Conversely, large‐scale studies should recognise that downscaling species occupancy projections from continental to patch scales requires careful consideration of the role of patch‐scale vegetation.
Are Flagship, Umbrella and Keystone Species Useful Surrogates to Understand the Consequences of Landscape Change?
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-05-2020
Landscape, fire and habitat: which features of recently burned heathland influence site occupancy of an early successional specialist?
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-07-2016
Birds as surrogates for mammals and reptiles: Are patterns of cross-taxonomic associations stable over time in a human-modified landscape?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2016
Influence of land sharing and land sparing strategies on patterns of vegetation and terrestrial vertebrate richness and occurrence in Australian endangered eucalypt woodlands
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2016
Species co-occurrence networks show reptile community reorganization under agricultural transformation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-09-2018
DOI: 10.1111/ECOG.03079
Design considerations for rapid biodiversity reconnaissance surveys and long-term monitoring to assess the impact of wildfire
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-10-2022
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.13427
Abstract: Reconnaissance surveys followed by monitoring are needed to assess the impact and response of bio ersity to wildfire. However, post‐wildfire survey and monitoring design are challenging due to the infrequency and unpredictability of wildfire, an urgency to initiate surveys and uncertainty about how species respond. In this article, we discuss key design considerations and quantitative tools available to aid post‐wildfire survey design. Our motivation was to inform the design of rapid surveys for threatened species heavily impacted by the 2019–2020 fires in Australia. Global. We discuss a set of best practice design considerations for post‐wildfire reconnaissance surveys across a range of survey objectives. We provide ex les that illustrate key design considerations from post‐fire reconnaissance surveys and monitoring programmes from around the world. We highlight how the objective of post‐fire surveys drastically influences design decisions (e.g. survey location and timing). We discuss how the unpredictability of wildfire and uncertainty in the response of bio ersity complicate survey design decisions. Surveys should be conducted immediately following wildfire to assess the impact on bio ersity, to ground truth fire severity mapping and to provide a benchmark from which to assess recovery. Where possible, surveys should be conducted at burnt and unburnt sites in regions with historical data so that state variables of interest can be compared with baseline estimates (i.e. BACI design). This highlights the need to have long‐term monitoring programmes already in place and be prepared to modify their design when wildfires occur. There is opportunity to adopt tools from statistics (i.e. power analysis) and conservation planning (i.e. spatial prioritization) to improve survey design. We must anticipate wildfires rather than respond to them reactively as they will occur more frequently due to climate change.
Beetle’s responses to edges in fragmented landscapes are driven by adjacent farmland use, season and cross-habitat movement
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-10-2018
Bandicoots return to Booderee: initial survival, dispersal, home range and habitat preferences of reintroduced southern brown bandicoots (eastern sub species; Isoodon obesulus obesulus)
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1071/WR17040
Abstract: Context Reintroductions can be an effective means of re-establishing locally extinct or declining faunal populations. However, incomplete knowledge of variables influencing survival and establishment can limit successful outcomes. Aim We aimed to examine the factors (e.g. sex, body mass, release order) influencing the survival, dispersal, home range and habitat selection of reintroduced southern brown bandicoots (eastern subspecies Isoodon obesulus obesulus) into an unfenced, predator-managed environment in south-eastern Australia (Booderee National Park). Methods Over 2 weeks in May 2016, six female and five male bandicoots were wild-caught in state forest and hard released into the park. Release locations were approximately evenly distributed between three primary vegetation types assessed as suitable habitat: heath, woodland and forest. Bandicoots were radio-tracked day and night for 4 weeks from the initial release date. Key results No mortality was detected. Males dispersed more than twice as far as females (male 704 m, female 332 m), but there was no significant sex bias in home range size. At the landscape scale, bandicoots preferentially selected home ranges that contained heath and avoided forest. Within home ranges, heath and woodland were both favoured over forest. Conclusions Post-release dispersal is sex-biased, but more data are required to determine the influence of other predictors such as body mass and release order. Within the release area, bandicoots favoured non-forest vegetation types. Implications Our study outlines factors influencing the establishment of reintroduced bandicoots. We recommend that future bandicoot reintroductions to Booderee National Park occur within areas of heath and woodland, and that subsequent releases consider the potentially larger spatial requirements and conspecific avoidance among male bandicoots. Our findings contribute new knowledge for improving translocation methods of a nationally endangered medium-sized mammal.
The Role of Biotic Interactions in the Niche Reduction Hypothesis: A Reply to Doherty and Driscoll
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2018
Isolated on sky islands: genetic diversity and population structure of an endangered mountain lizard
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-12-2022
Amphibian fungal panzootic causes catastrophic and ongoing loss of biodiversity
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 29-03-2019
Abstract: Rapid spread of disease is a hazard in our interconnected world. The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis was identified in hibian populations about 20 years ago and has caused death and species extinction at a global scale. Scheele et al. found that the fungus has caused declines in hibian populations everywhere except at its origin in Asia (see the Perspective by Greenberg and Palen). A majority of species and populations are still experiencing decline, but there is evidence of limited recovery in some species. The analysis also suggests some conditions that predict resilience. Science , this issue p. 1459 see also p. 1386
Incorporating regional-scale ecological knowledge to improve the effectiveness of large-scale conservation programmes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-03-2016
DOI: 10.1111/ACV.12267
Countering resistance to protected-area extension
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-01-2018
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.12990
Abstract: The establishment of protected areas is a critical strategy for conserving bio ersity. Key policy directives like the Aichi targets seek to expand protected areas to 17% of Earth's land surface, with calls by some conservation biologists for much more. However, in places such as the United States, Germany, and Australia, attempts to increase protected areas are meeting strong resistance from communities, industry groups, and governments. We examined case studies of such resistance in Victoria, Australia, Bavaria, Germany, and Florida, United States. We considered 4 ways to tackle this problem. First, broaden the case for protected areas beyond nature conservation to include economic, human health, and other benefits, and translate these into a persuasive business case for protected areas. Second, better communicate the conservation values of protected areas. This should include highlighting how many species, communities, and ecosystems have been conserved by protected areas and the counterfactual (i.e., what would have been lost without protected area establishment). Third, consider zoning of activities to ensure the maintenance of effective management. Finally, remind citizens to think about conservation when they vote, including holding politicians accountable for their environmental promises. Without tackling resistance to expanding the protected estate, it will be impossible to reach conservation targets, and this will undermine attempts to stem the global extinction crisis.
An experimental test of a compensatory nest predation model following lethal control of an overabundant native species
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2019
Assessing reserve effectiveness: Application to a threatened species in a dynamic fire prone forest landscape
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2016
Estimating retention benchmarks for salvage logging to protect biodiversity
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-09-2020
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-020-18612-4
Abstract: Forests are increasingly affected by natural disturbances. Subsequent salvage logging, a widespread management practice conducted predominantly to recover economic capital, produces further disturbance and impacts bio ersity worldwide. Hence, naturally disturbed forests are among the most threatened habitats in the world, with consequences for their associated bio ersity. However, there are no evidence-based benchmarks for the proportion of area of naturally disturbed forests to be excluded from salvage logging to conserve bio ersity. We apply a mixed rarefaction/extrapolation approach to a global multi-taxa dataset from disturbed forests, including birds, plants, insects and fungi, to close this gap. We find that 75 ± 7% (mean ± SD) of a naturally disturbed area of a forest needs to be left unlogged to maintain 90% richness of its unique species, whereas retaining 50% of a naturally disturbed forest unlogged maintains 73 ± 12% of its unique species richness. These values do not change with the time elapsed since disturbance but vary considerably among taxonomic groups.
Integrating theory into disturbance interaction experiments to better inform ecosystem management
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-02-2016
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.13155
Abstract: Managing multiple, interacting disturbances is a key challenge to bio ersity conservation, and one that will only increase as global change drivers continue to alter disturbance regimes. Theoretical studies have highlighted the importance of a mechanistic understanding of stressor interactions for improving the prediction and management of interactive effects. However, many conservation studies are not designed or interpreted in the context of theory and instead focus on case-specific management questions. This is a problem as it means that few studies test the relationships highlighted in theoretical models as being important for ecological management. We explore the extent of this problem among studies of interacting disturbances by reviewing recent experimental studies of the interaction between fire and grazing in terrestrial ecosystems. Interactions between fire and grazing can occur via a number of pathways one disturbance can modify the other's likelihood, intensity or spatial distribution, or one disturbance can alter the other's impacts on in idual organisms. The strength of such interactions will vary depending on disturbance attributes (e.g. size or intensity), and this variation is likely to be nonlinear. We show that few experiments testing fire-grazing interactions are able to identify the mechanistic pathway driving an observed interaction, and most are unable to detect nonlinear effects. We demonstrate how these limitations compromise the ability of experimental studies to effectively inform ecological management. We propose a series of adjustments to the design of disturbance interaction experiments that would enable tests of key theoretical pathways and provide the deeper ecological understanding necessary for effective management. Such considerations are relevant to studies of a broad range of ecological interactions and are critical to informing the management of disturbance regimes in the context of accelerating global change.
Variable retention harvesting in Victoria’s Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) forests (southeastern Australia)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-01-2019
Predicting landscape‐scale biodiversity recovery by natural tropical forest regrowth
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-04-2022
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13842
Abstract: Natural forest regrowth is a cost‐effective, nature‐based solution for bio ersity recovery, yet different socioenvironmental factors can lead to variable outcomes. A critical knowledge gap in forest restoration planning is how to predict where natural forest regrowth is likely to lead to high levels of bio ersity recovery, which is an indicator of conservation value and the potential provisioning of erse ecosystem services. We sought to predict and map landscape‐scale recovery of species richness and total abundance of vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants in tropical and subtropical second‐growth forests to inform spatial restoration planning. First, we conducted a global meta‐analysis to quantify the extent to which recovery of species richness and total abundance in second‐growth forests deviated from bio ersity values in reference old‐growth forests in the same landscape. Second, we employed a machine‐learning algorithm and a comprehensive set of socioenvironmental factors to spatially predict landscape‐scale deviation and map it. Models explained on average 34% of observed variance in recovery (range 9–51%). Landscape‐scale bio ersity recovery in second‐growth forests was spatially predicted based on socioenvironmental landscape factors (human demography, land use and cover, anthropogenic and natural disturbance, ecosystem productivity, and topography and soil chemistry) was significantly higher for species richness than for total abundance for vertebrates (median range‐adjusted predicted deviation 0.09 vs. 0.34) and invertebrates (0.2 vs. 0.35) but not for plants (which showed a similar recovery for both metrics [0.24 vs. 0.25]) and was positively correlated for total abundance of plant and vertebrate species (Pearson r = 0.45, p = 0.001). Our approach can help identify tropical and subtropical forest landscapes with high potential for bio ersity recovery through natural forest regrowth.
Environmental influences on growth and reproductive maturation of a keystone forest tree: Implications for obligate seeder susceptibility to frequent fire
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2018
Conservation: thrive on slings and arrows
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-11-2016
DOI: 10.1038/540038D
Managing military training-related environmental disturbance
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVMAN.2017.09.029
Abstract: Military Training Areas (MTAs) cover at least 2 percent of the Earth's terrestrial surface and occur in all major biomes. These areas are potentially important for bio ersity conservation. The greatest challenge in managing MTAs is balancing the disturbance associated with military training and environmental values. These challenges are unique as no other land use is managed for these types of anthropogenic disturbances in a natural setting. We investigated how military training-related disturbance is best managed on MTAs. Specifically, we explored management options to maximise the amount of military training that can be undertaken on a MTA while minimising the amount of environmental disturbance. MTAs comprise of a number of ranges designed to facilitate different types of military training. We simulated military training-related environmental disturbance at different range usage rates under a typical range rotation use strategy, and compared the results to estimated ecosystem recovery rates from training activities. We found that even at relatively low simulated usage rates, random allocation and random spatial use of training ranges within an MTA resulted in environmental degradation under realistic ecological recovery rates. To avoid large scale environmental degradation, we developed a decision-making tool that details the best method for managing training-related disturbance by determining how training activities can be allocated to training ranges.
Temporal fragmentation of a critically endangered forest ecosystem
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-08-2020
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12863
Abstract: Landscape change and habitat fragmentation is increasingly affecting forests worldwide. Assessments of patterns of spatial cover in forests over time can be critical as they reveal important information about landscape condition. In this study, we assessed landscape patterns across the Mountain Ash ( Eucalyptus regnans ) and Alpine Ash ( Eucalyptus delegatensis ) forests in the Central Highlands of Victoria between 1999 and 2019. These forests have experienced major disturbance over the past 20 years through a major fire (in 2009) and extensive industrial logging. We found that around 70% and 65% of the Mountain Ash and Alpine Ash forest areas, respectively, were either disturbed or within 200 m of a disturbed area. Inclusion of planned logging increased these disturbance categories to 72% and 70%, respectively. We also found that the isolation of Mountain Ash core areas (patches of undisturbed forest ha) increased significantly ( P 0.05) over our study period, with the proximity between disturbed areas conversely increasing significantly ( P 0.05). This means that continued and planned disturbance through industrial logging will have an lified adverse effect on remaining undisturbed ash forest patches, which will become smaller and more dispersed across the landscape.
Size or quality. What matters in vegetation restoration for bird biodiversity in endangered temperate woodlands?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-05-2018
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12622
Beyond pattern to process: current themes and future directions for the conservation of woodland birds through restoration plantings
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1071/WR17156
Abstract: Habitat loss as a result of land conversion for agriculture is a leading cause of global bio ersity loss and altered ecosystem processes. Restoration plantings are an increasingly common strategy to address habitat loss in fragmented agricultural landscapes. However, the capacity of restoration plantings to support reproducing populations of native plants and animals is rarely measured or monitored. This review focuses on avifaunal response to revegetation in Australian temperate woodlands, one of the world’s most heavily altered biomes. Woodland birds are a species assemblage of conservation concern, but only limited research to date has gone beyond pattern data and occupancy trends to examine whether they persist and breed in restoration plantings. Moreover, habitat quality and resource availability, including food, nesting sites and adequate protection from predation, remain largely unquantified. Several studies have found that some bird species, including species of conservation concern, will preferentially occupy restoration plantings relative to remnant woodland patches. However, detailed empirical research to verify long-term population growth, colonisation and extinction dynamics is lacking. If restoration plantings are preferentially occupied but fail to provide sufficient quality habitat for woodland birds to form breeding populations, they may act as ecological traps, exacerbating population declines. Monitoring breeding success and site fidelity are under-utilised pathways to understanding which, if any, bird species are being supported by restoration plantings in the long term. There has been limited research on these topics internationally, and almost none in Australian temperate woodland systems. Key knowledge gaps centre on provision of food resources, formation of optimal foraging patterns, nest-predation levels and the prevalence of primary predators, the role of brood parasitism, and the effects of patch size and isolation on resource availability and population dynamics in a restoration context. To ensure that restoration plantings benefit woodland birds and are cost-effective as conservation strategies, the knowledge gaps identified by this review should be investigated as priorities in future research.
Does land use change influence predation of bird nests?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2019
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12747
Continental-scale assessment reveals inadequate monitoring for threatened vertebrates in a megadiverse country
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2019
Please do not disturb ecosystems further
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-01-2017
Long-term impacts of wildfire and logging on forest soils
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-01-2019
Contribution of native forests to climate change mitigation – A common approach to carbon accounting that aligns results from environmental-economic accounting with rules for emissions reduction
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2019
Staving off extinction - more than luck and fate
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2017
DOI: 10.1002/FEE.1533
Identifying the location of fire refuges in wet forest ecosystems
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2015
DOI: 10.1890/14-1699.1
Abstract: The increasing frequency of large, high-severity fires threatens the survival of old-growth specialist fauna in fire-prone forests. Within topographically erse montane forests, areas that experience less severe or fewer fires compared with those prevailing in the landscape may present unique resource opportunities enabling old-growth specialist fauna to survive. Statistical landscape models that identify the extent and distribution of potential fire refuges may assist land managers to incorporate these areas into relevant bio ersity conservation strategies. We used a case study in an Australian wet montane forest to establish how predictive fire simulation models can be interpreted as management tools to identify potential fire refuges. We examined the relationship between the probability of fire refuge occurrence as predicted by an existing fire refuge model and fire severity experienced during a large wildfire. We also examined the extent to which local fire severity was influenced by fire severity in the surrounding landscape. We used a combination of statistical approaches, including generalized linear modeling, variogram analysis, and receiver operating characteristics and area under the curve analysis (ROC AUC). We found that the amount of unburned habitat and the factors influencing the retention and location of fire refuges varied with fire conditions. Under extreme fire conditions, the distribution of fire refuges was limited to only extremely sheltered, fire-resistant regions of the landscape. During extreme fire conditions, fire severity patterns were largely determined by stochastic factors that could not be predicted by the model. When fire conditions were moderate, physical landscape properties appeared to mediate fire severity distribution. Our study demonstrates that land managers can employ predictive landscape fire models to identify the broader climatic and spatial domain within which fire refuges are likely to be present. It is essential that within these envelopes, forest is protected from logging, roads, and other developments so that the ecological processes related to the establishment and subsequent use of fire refuges are maintained.
Salvage logging in the world’s forests: Interactions between natural disturbance and logging need recognition
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-09-2018
DOI: 10.1111/GEB.12772
Context dependency in interference competition among birds in an endangered woodland ecosystem
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-02-2023
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.13680
Abstract: Much research has quantified species responses to human‐modified ecosystems. However, there is limited work on how human‐modified ecosystems may reshape competitive interactions between species. Using a 19‐year study across 3 million ha, we aimed to answer the question: Are levels of interference competition between bird species context dependent and influenced by habitat structure and productivity? We focussed on the hyper‐aggressive behaviour of the Noisy Miner ( Manorina melanocephala ), which is recognized as a key threatening process for other woodland bird species in Australia. Whether environmental conditions such as amount of forest cover and net primary productivity (NPP) mediate the Noisy Miners' impact remains untested at large spatiotemporal scales. Temperate woodlands of south‐eastern Australia. We gathered data on bird site occupancy from repeated surveys of field sites and assembled satellite data on tree cover and NPP. We constructed Bayesian multi‐species occupancy/detection models of bird species in woodland patches and tested the fixed and interactive effects of Noisy Miner presence, the amount of tree cover, NPP, and time. We quantified the responses of 31 species, many with known interactions with the Noisy Miner documented previously at fine spatial scales. We identified negative associations between the Noisy Miner and 18 bird species, including, unexpectedly, both small and large bodied taxa. Site occupancy in some species was influenced by interactions between Noisy Miner presence and increasing amounts of tree cover or productivity. For some species, interference competition by the Noisy Miner is context‐dependent and mitigated by increasing tree cover and/or increasing NPP. Our analyses revealed that woodland bird conservation in our study region will be promoted by protecting refugia characterized by areas of high NPP and high tree cover. Preventing vegetation clearing that reduces tree cover could reduce interference competition by the Noisy Miner on parts of the remaining woodland bird community, including species of conservation concern.
Large‐scale, long‐term ecosystem monitoring: Interview with David Lindenmayer
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2020
DOI: 10.1111/EMR.12400
Small patches make critical contributions to biodiversity conservation
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 27-12-2019
Bombs, fire and biodiversity: Vertebrate fauna occurrence in areas subject to military training
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2016
Fire severity alters spatio-temporal movements and habitat utilisation by an arboreal marsupial, the mountain brushtail possum (Trichosurus cunninghami)
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1071/WF15204
Abstract: Understanding how severe wildfires influence faunal movement is essential for predicting how changes in fire regimes will affect ecosystems. We examined the effects of fire severity distribution on spatial and temporal variation in movement of an Australian arboreal mammal, the mountain brushtail possum (Trichosurus cunninghami). We used GPS telemetry to characterise the movements of 18 possums in landscapes burnt to differing extents by a large wildfire. We identified a temporal change in movement patterns in response to fire. In unburnt landscapes, in iduals moved greater distances early and late in the night and had less overlap in the areas used for foraging and denning, than in high-severity burnt landscapes. Habitat selection was dependent on the spatial context of fire in the surrounding landscape. Forest recently burnt at high severity may provide suitable habitat for species such as the mountain brushtail possum, if protected from subsequent disturbance, such as salvage logging. However, spatial and temporal patterns of habitat use and selection differ considerably between burnt and undisturbed landscapes. The spatial outcomes of ecological disturbances such as wildfires have the potential to alter the behaviour and functional roles of fauna across large areas.
The interactions among fire, logging, and climate change have sprung a landscape trap in Victoria’s montane ash forests
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-01-2022
Be nimble with threat mitigation: lessons learned from the reintroduction of an endangered species
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-11-2020
DOI: 10.1111/REC.13028
Abstract: Reintroductions are increasingly being used to restore species and ecosystems. However, chances of successful establishment are often low. Key to improving success is careful consideration of threats, threat mitigation, monitoring, and subsequent improvement to management. We demonstrate this planning, implementation, and review process using the reintroduction of an endangered mesopredator, the eastern quoll Dasyurus viverrinus , in the first attempt to reestablish it in the wild on mainland Australia. In March 2018, 20 captive‐bred quolls (10 male, 10 female) were released into Booderee National Park and monitored via telemetry, camera, and cage trapping. There were many unknowns and, despite thorough consideration of threats, there were surprising outcomes. Within 3 months, 80% of animals had died half due to predation, an expected threat. Other threats were unexpected yet, due to good monitoring and responsive management, were quickly detected and effective mitigation implemented. These learnings have been incorporated into revised translocation procedures. One year later, four founder quolls remained and had successfully bred. We highlight lessons applicable to other reintroductions. These are, the importance of: (1) conducting a thorough review of threats and implementing appropriate mitigation (2) targeted monitoring and responsive management (3) effective communication, education, and engagement with the local community and stakeholders and (4) ensuring learnings are disseminated and incorporated into future translocation plans. Threat assessment is an important step in identifying potential reasons for failure. However, actual threats can be realized only via experimentation and monitoring. Applying this knowledge to future reintroduction attempts can increase their chance of success.
Is bigger always better? Influence of patch attributes on breeding activity of birds in box-gum grassy woodland restoration plantings
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2019
Text analysis tools for identification of emerging topics and research gaps in conservation science
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-11-2015
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.12605
Abstract: Keeping track of conceptual and methodological developments is a critical skill for research scientists, but this task is increasingly difficult due to the high rate of academic publication. As a crisis discipline, conservation science is particularly in need of tools that facilitate rapid yet insightful synthesis. We show how a common text-mining method (latent Dirichlet allocation, or topic modeling) and statistical tests familiar to ecologists (cluster analysis, regression, and network analysis) can be used to investigate trends and identify potential research gaps in the scientific literature. We tested these methods on the literature on ecological surrogates and indicators. Analysis of topic popularity within this corpus showed a strong emphasis on monitoring and management of fragmented ecosystems, while analysis of research gaps suggested a greater role for genetic surrogates and indicators. Our results show that automated text analysis methods need to be used with care, but can provide information that is complementary to that given by systematic reviews and meta-analyses, increasing scientists' capacity for research synthesis.
A global meta-analysis on the ecological drivers of forest restoration success
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-05-2016
DOI: 10.1038/NCOMMS11666
Abstract: Two billion ha have been identified globally for forest restoration. Our meta-analysis encompassing 221 study landscapes worldwide reveals forest restoration enhances bio ersity by 15–84% and vegetation structure by 36–77%, compared with degraded ecosystems. For the first time, we identify the main ecological drivers of forest restoration success (defined as a return to a reference condition, that is, old-growth forest) at both the local and landscape scale. These are as follows: the time elapsed since restoration began, disturbance type and landscape context. The time elapsed since restoration began strongly drives restoration success in secondary forests, but not in selectively logged forests (which are more ecologically similar to reference systems). Landscape restoration will be most successful when previous disturbance is less intensive and habitat is less fragmented in the landscape. Restoration does not result in full recovery of bio ersity and vegetation structure, but can complement old-growth forests if there is sufficient time for ecological succession.
The importance of managing and conserving large old trees: a case study from Victorian Mountain Ash forests
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1071/RS16006
Abstract: Large old trees are critical structures in the Mountain Ash forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria. They perform many critical ecological and other roles. Populations of these trees are also in serious decline. A range of key management strategies is needed to arrest the decline of existing populations of large old trees and instigate population recovery. In particular all existing large old trees need to be properly protected with adequate buffers of uncut forest. In addition, all stands of old-growth forest, irrespective of their size, need to be protected to ensure they are not logged. The size of the old-growth estate also must be expanded so that it encompasses at least 30%‒50% of the distribution of Mountain Ash. Finally, the recruitment of new cohorts of large old trees is critically important to replace existing trees when they are lost. To achieve this, large areas of existing regrowth forest that regenerated after the 1939 fires need to be excluded from logging and grown through to an old-growth stage. Implementation of altered management in Mountain Ash forests is urgent, as delays in policies will exacerbate the decline of this significant population of large old trees in south-eastern Australia.
Birds on farms: a review of factors influencing bird occurrence in the temperate woodlands of south-eastern Australia
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-08-2022
Dynamic effects of ground-layer plant communities on beetles in a fragmented farming landscape
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-02-2018
Factors influencing the occurrence of the Southern Long‐nosed Bandicoot ( Perameles nasuta Geoffroy) during a population irruption and decline
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-07-2020
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12930
A spatially explicit empirical model of structural development processes in natural forests based on climate and topography
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-08-2019
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13370
The global palm oil sector must change to save biodiversity and improve food security in the tropics
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVMAN.2017.08.021
Abstract: Most palm oil currently available in global markets is sourced from certified large-scale plantations. Comparatively little is sourced from (typically uncertified) smallholders. We argue that sourcing sustainable palm oil should not be determined by commercial certification alone and that the certification process should be revisited. There are so-far unrecognized benefits of sourcing palm oil from smallholders that should be considered if genuine bio ersity conservation is to be a foundation of 'environmentally sustainable' palm oil production. Despite a lack of certification, smallholder production is often more bio ersity-friendly than certified production from large-scale plantations. Sourcing palm oil from smallholders also alleviates poverty among rural farmers, promoting better conservation outcomes. Yet, certification schemes - the current measure of 'sustainability' - are financially accessible only for large-scale plantations that operate as profit-driven monocultures. Industrial palm oil is expanding rapidly in regions with weak environmental laws and enforcement. This warrants the development of an alternative certification scheme for smallholders. Greater attention should be directed to deforestation-free palm oil production in smallholdings, where production is less likely to cause large scale bio ersity loss. These small-scale farmlands in which palm oil is mixed with other crops should be considered by retailers and consumers who are interested in promoting sustainable palm oil production. Simultaneously, plantation companies should be required to make their existing production landscapes more compatible with enhanced bio ersity conservation.
Quantifying shifts in topic popularity over 44 years of Austral Ecology
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-08-2020
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12938
Forest Biodiversity Declines and Extinctions Linked with Forest Degradation: A Case Study from Australian Tall, Wet Forests
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 22-02-2023
DOI: 10.3390/LAND12030528
Abstract: Tens of thousands of species are at risk of extinction globally. In many ecosystems, species declines are associated with deforestation. However, forest degradation also can profoundly affect bio ersity. I present a detailed case study of species declines associated with forest degradation in southeastern Australia’s montane ash (Eucalyptus spp.) forests. The case study is based on ~40 years of long-term monitoring focused on declines (and potential extinction trajectories) of arboreal marsupials and birds, with a particular emphasis on key drivers, especially logging, wildfire, habitat loss, climate change, and interactions among these drivers. I discuss policy failures contributing to species declines, including ongoing logging of high-conservation-value forests, poor regulation of forest management, and inadequate design of reserves. I conclude with general lessons for better conservation and forest management efforts aimed at reducing forest degradation and loss of ecosystem integrity. I contend that ongoing logging in already highly degraded montane ash forests is inconsistent with the Australian government’s commitment at the Glasgow COP26 meeting in 2021 on halting forest degradation. Similarly, the Australian Government has committed to preventing further extinctions in Australia, yet its current support for ongoing logging in montane ash forests through federal–state legislation will likely promote extinctions for some species. The inherent conflicts and contradictions between conservation and logging policies need to be addressed.
Better managing fire in flammable tree plantations
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2023
Publish openly but responsibly—Response
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 14-07-2017
The contribution of insects to global forest deadwood decomposition
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-2021
A new framework for selecting environmental surrogates
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2015
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2015.08.056
Abstract: Surrogate concepts are used in all sub-disciplines of environmental science. However, controversy remains regarding the extent to which surrogates are useful for resolving environmental problems. Here, we argue that conflicts about the utility of surrogates (and the related concepts of indicators and proxies) often reflect context-specific differences in trade-offs between measurement accuracy and practical constraints. By examining different approaches for selecting and applying surrogates, we identify five trade-offs that correspond to key points of contention in the application of surrogates. We then present an 8-step Adaptive Surrogacy Framework that incorporates cross-disciplinary perspectives from a wide spectrum of the environmental sciences, aiming to unify surrogate concepts across disciplines and applications. Our synthesis of the science of surrogates is intended as a first step towards fully leveraging knowledge accumulated across disciplines, thus consolidating lessons learned so that they may be accessible to all those operating in different fields, yet facing similar hurdles.
Developing accurate prediction systems for the terrestrial environment
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-04-2018
Evaluating complementary networks of restoration plantings for landscape-scale occurrence of temporally dynamic species
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-05-2016
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.12730
Abstract: Multibillion dollar investments in land restoration make it critical that conservation goals are achieved cost-effectively. Approaches developed for systematic conservation planning offer opportunities to evaluate landscape-scale, temporally dynamic bio ersity outcomes from restoration and improve on traditional approaches that focus on the most species-rich plantings. We investigated whether it is possible to apply a complementarity-based approach to evaluate the extent to which an existing network of restoration plantings meets representation targets. Using a case study of woodland birds of conservation concern in southeastern Australia, we compared complementarity-based selections of plantings based on temporally dynamic species occurrences with selections based on static species occurrences and selections based on ranking plantings by species richness. The dynamic complementarity approach, which incorporated species occurrences over 5 years, resulted in higher species occurrences and proportion of targets met compared with the static complementarity approach, in which species occurrences were taken at a single point in time. For equivalent cost, the dynamic complementarity approach also always resulted in higher average minimum percent occurrence of species maintained through time and a higher proportion of the bird community meeting representation targets compared with the species-richness approach. Plantings selected under the complementarity approaches represented the full range of planting attributes, whereas those selected under the species-richness approach were larger in size. Our results suggest that future restoration policy should not attempt to achieve all conservation goals within in idual plantings, but should instead capitalize on restoration opportunities as they arise to achieve collective value of multiple plantings across the landscape. Networks of restoration plantings with complementary attributes of age, size, vegetation structure, and landscape context lead to considerably better outcomes than conventional restoration objectives of site-scale species richness and are crucial for allocating restoration investment wisely to reach desired conservation goals.
The contribution of policy, law, management, research, and advocacy failings to the recent extinctions of three Australian vertebrate species
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-11-2016
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.12852
Abstract: Extinctions typically have ecological drivers, such as habitat loss. However, extinction events are also influenced by policy and management settings that may be antithetical to bio ersity conservation, inadequate to prevent extinction, insufficiently resourced, or poorly implemented. Three endemic Australian vertebrate species-the Christmas Island pipistrelle (Pipistrellus murrayi), Bramble Cay melomys (Melomys rubicola), and Christmas Island forest skink (Emoia nativitatis)-became extinct from 2009 to 2014. All 3 extinctions were predictable and probably preventable. We sought to identify the policy, management, research, and other shortcomings that contributed to their extinctions or failed to prevent them. These included a lack within national environmental legislation and policy of explicit commitment to the prevention of avoidable extinctions, lack of explicit accountability, inadequate resources for conservation (particularly for species not considered charismatic or not of high taxonomic distinctiveness), inadequate biosecurity, a slow and inadequate process for listing species as threatened, recovery planning that failed to consider the need for emergency response, inability of researchers to identify major threatening factors, lack of public engagement and involvement in conservation decisions, and limited advocacy. From these 3 cases, we recommend: environmental policy explicitly seeks to prevent extinction of any species and provides a clear chain of accountability and an explicit requirement for public inquiry following any extinction implementation of a timely and comprehensive process for listing species as threatened and for recovery planning reservation alone not be assumed sufficient to maintain species enhancement of biosecurity measures allocation of sufficient resources to undertake actions necessary to prevent extinction monitoring be considered a pivotal component of the conservation response research provides timely identification of factors responsible for decline and of the risk of extinction effective dissemination of research results advocacy by an informed public for the recovery of threatened species and public involvement in governance of the recovery process. These recommendations should be applicable broadly to reduce the likelihood and incidence of extinctions.
Short-sighted to cut environment posts
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-2016
DOI: 10.1038/531305A
Effectiveness of woodland birds as taxonomic surrogates in conservation planning for biodiversity on farms
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2016
Natural tree regeneration in agricultural landscapes: The implications of intensification
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2016
Conserving large old trees as small natural features
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2017
Modelling water yields in response to logging and Representative Climate Futures
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2019.06.298
Abstract: Natural and human disturbance along with climate change pose major challenges for resource management. This is relevant in natural forests, where conflict can occur between water provision and industrial logging. As a result, conversion of old forests to young, fast-growing stands through logging can dramatically reduce streamflow and water yield. We modelled changes in stream run-off and hence water yield from a forest catchment in response to clearcut logging and compared this with projected climate change (using a Representative Climate Futures [RCFs] approach). We focused on the Thomson Catchment, which is the largest single catchment for the city of Melbourne, south-eastern Australia. Within this catchment, we targeted our analysis at montane ash-type eucalypt forests, as these receive the most rainfall and are subject to clearcutting. We used several forest management scenarios to model changes in water yield over time. For our analysis of projected climate change, we employed a range of RCFs that represent 'consensus', 'wettest' and 'driest' scenarios to model the impacts of multiple Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs). Our initial spatial analysis revealed that 42% of the ash-type eucalypt forests in the Thomson Catchment have been logged. Under historical and continued logging, stream runoff decreases by 40,211 ML by 2090 compared with a hypothetical baseline if logging had ceased in 1995 and 34,059 ML if logging continues beyond 2019. These losses exceed the projected impacts of climate change under the consensus and wettest scenarios, but the driest scenarios are projected to exceed these losses, consisting of 49,998 ML and 69,474 ML for RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5, respectively. We suggest logging be excluded from the Thomson Catchment because of decreasing stream flows due to climate change and an increasing water demand due to human population growth. This study provides a quantitative approach for highlighting how resource conflicts can be magnified under climate change.
Logging and fire regimes alter plant communities
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2018
DOI: 10.1002/EAP.1693
Abstract: Disturbances are key drivers of plant community composition, structure, and function. Plant functional traits, including life forms and reproductive strategies are critical to the resilience and resistance of plant communities in the event of disturbance. Climate change and increasing anthropogenic disturbance are altering natural disturbance regimes globally. When these regimes shift beyond the adaptive resilience of plant functional traits, local populations and ecosystem functions can become compromised. We tested the influence of multiple disturbances, of varying intensity and frequency, on the composition and abundance of vascular plant communities and their respective functional traits (life forms and reproductive strategies) in the wet sclerophyll, Mountain Ash Eucalyptus regnans forests of southeastern Australia. Specifically, we quantified the effect of the type and number of disturbances (including fires, clearcut logging, and salvage logging) on plant community composition. We found that clearcut and salvage logging and the number of fires significantly influenced plant community composition and functional traits. Specifically, multiple fires resulted in lower populations of species that depend on on-site seeding for persistence. This includes the common tree species Eucalyptus regnans, Pomaderris aspera, and Acacia dealbata. In contrast, clearcut and salvage logged sites supported abundant on-site seeder species. However, species that depend on resprouting by surviving in iduals, such as common and keystone "tree ferns" Dicksonia antarctica and Cyathea australis, declined significantly. Our data have important implications for understanding the relationship between altered disturbance regimes and plant communities and the respective effects on ecosystem function. In a period of rapid global environmental change, with disturbances predicted to increase and intensify, it is critical to address the impact of altered disturbance regimes on bio ersity.
The exceptional value of intact forest ecosystems
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-02-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41559-018-0490-X
Abstract: As the terrestrial human footprint continues to expand, the amount of native forest that is free from significant damaging human activities is in precipitous decline. There is emerging evidence that the remaining intact forest supports an exceptional confluence of globally significant environmental values relative to degraded forests, including imperilled bio ersity, carbon sequestration and storage, water provision, indigenous culture and the maintenance of human health. Here we argue that maintaining and, where possible, restoring the integrity of dwindling intact forests is an urgent priority for current global efforts to halt the ongoing bio ersity crisis, slow rapid climate change and achieve sustainability goals. Retaining the integrity of intact forest ecosystems should be a central component of proactive global and national environmental strategies, alongside current efforts aimed at halting deforestation and promoting reforestation.
The ecology, distribution, conservation and management of large old trees
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-07-2016
DOI: 10.1111/BRV.12290
Abstract: Large old trees are some of the most iconic biota on earth and are integral parts of many terrestrial ecosystems including those in tropical, temperate and boreal forests, deserts, savannas, agro-ecological areas, and urban environments. In this review, we provide new insights into the ecology, function, evolution and management of large old trees through broad cross-disciplinary perspectives from literatures in plant physiology, growth and development, evolution, habitat value for fauna and flora, and conservation management. Our review reveals that the diameter, height and longevity of large old trees varies greatly on an inter-specific basis, thereby creating serious challenges in defining large old trees and demanding an ecosystem- and species-specific definition that will only rarely be readily transferable to other species or ecosystems. Such variation is also manifested by marked inter-specific differences in the key attributes of large old trees (beyond diameter and height) such as the extent of buttressing, canopy architecture, the extent of bark micro-environments and the prevalence of cavities. We found that large old trees play an extraordinary range of critical ecological roles including in hydrological regimes, nutrient cycles and numerous ecosystem processes. Large old trees strongly influence the spatial and temporal distribution and abundance of in iduals of the same species and populations of numerous other plant and animal species. We suggest many key characteristics of large old trees such as extreme height, prolonged lifespans, and the presence of cavities - which confer competitive and evolutionary advantages in undisturbed environments - can render such trees highly susceptible to a range of human influences. Large old trees are vulnerable to threats ranging from droughts, fire, pests and pathogens, to logging, land clearing, landscape fragmentation and climate change. Tackling such erse threats is challenging because they often interact and manifest in different ways in different ecosystems, demanding targeted species- or ecosystem-specific responses. We argue that novel management actions will often be required to protect existing large old trees and ensure the recruitment of new cohorts of such trees. For ex le, fine-scale tree-level conservation such as buffering in idual stems will be required in many environments such as in agricultural areas and urban environments. Landscape-level approaches like protecting places where large old trees are most likely to occur will be needed. However, this brings challenges associated with likely changes in tree distributions associated with climate change, because long-lived trees may presently exist in places unsuitable for the development of new cohorts of the same species. Appropriate future environmental domains for a species could exist in new locations where it has never previously occurred. The future distribution and persistence of large old trees may require controversial responses including assisted migration via seed or seedling establishment in new locales. However, the effectiveness of such approaches may be limited where key ecological features of large old trees (such as cavity presence) depend on other species such as termites, fungi and bacteria. Unless other species with similar ecological roles are present to fulfil these functions, these taxa might need to be moved concurrently with the target tree species.
Pervasive admixture between eucalypt species has consequences for conservation and assisted migration
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-02-2019
DOI: 10.1111/EVA.12761
How to improve threatened species management: An Australian perspective
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVMAN.2018.06.084
Abstract: Targeted threatened species management is a central component of efforts to prevent species extinction. Despite the development of a range of management frameworks to improve conservation outcomes over the past decade, threatened species management is still commonly characterised as ad hoc. Although there are notable successes, many management programs are ineffective, with relatively few species experiencing improvements in their conservation status. We identify underlying factors that commonly lead to ineffective and inefficient management. Drawing attention to some of the key challenges, and suggesting ways forward, may lead to improved management effectiveness and better conservation outcomes. We highlight six key areas where improvements are needed: 1) stakeholder engagement and communication 2) fostering strong leadership and the development of achievable long-term goals 3) knowledge of target species' biology and threats, particularly focusing on filling knowledge gaps that impede management, while noting that in many cases there will be a need for conservation management to proceed initially despite knowledge gaps 4) setting objectives with measurable outcomes 5) strategic monitoring to evaluate management effectiveness and 6) greater accountability for species declines and failure to recover species to ensure timely action and guard against complacency. We demonstrate the importance of these six key areas by providing ex les of innovative approaches leading to successful species management. We also discuss overarching factors outside the realm of management influence that can help or impede conservation success. Clear recognition of factors that make species' management more straightforward - or more challenging - is important for setting realistic management objectives, outlining strategic action, and prioritising resources. We also highlight the need to more clearly demonstrate the benefit of current investment, and communicate that the risk of under-investment is species extinctions. Together, improvements in conservation practice, along with increased resource allocation and re-evaluation of the prioritisation of competing interests that threaten species, will help enhance conservation outcomes for threatened species.
The adequacy of Victoria's protected areas for conserving its forest-dependent fauna
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-08-2019
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12805
Avoiding ecosystem collapse in managed forest ecosystems
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2016
DOI: 10.1002/FEE.1434
Long‐term mammal and nocturnal bird trends are influenced by vegetation type, weather and climate in temperate woodlands
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-07-2020
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12928
Save Australia's ecological research
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 10-08-2017
The fire regime response of a reintroduced endangered species
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-12-2021
DOI: 10.1111/REC.13607
Abstract: Reintroduction and translocation are widely employed actions in restoration ecology. The broad aim of these activities is to re‐establish populations in places where they formerly existed. However, the success of re‐establishment efforts in terms of responses to key ecosystem processes such as natural disturbances like fires has rarely been quantified. Using the iconic and endangered Australian Eastern Bristlebird ( Dasyornis brachypterus ) as a case study, we quantified associations with fire regime variables in an intact population (surveyed for 17 years) and a translocated population (surveyed for 10 years). Both populations occurred in a similar environment and were surveyed on an (almost) annual basis using the same field protocols. We found that both the intact population and the translocated population of the Eastern Bristlebird were associated with the same key fire regime variable, time since fire, in a broadly similar way. In addition, the probability of species persistence was found to lowest on recently burnt sites. We tentatively suggest that the translocation program has not only successfully re‐established a population of the Eastern Bristlebird but associations with (and resilience to) fire as a key ecological process are similar in both populations. On the basis of our findings, we recommend that in areas where the Eastern Bristlebird occurs prescribed fire management should focus on ensuring there are patches of unburnt vegetation within the fire footprint. This is especially important given the widespread wildfires that have recently occurred throughout south‐eastern Australia.
A new approach to map landscape variation in forest restoration success in tropical and temperate forest biomes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-09-2019
Recent Australian wildfires made worse by logging and associated forest management
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-05-2020
Key lessons for achieving biodiversity-sensitive cities and towns
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-2015
DOI: 10.1111/EMR.12180
Living with the enemy: Facilitating amphibian coexistence with disease
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2019
A methodological framework for coastal development assessment: A case study of Fujian Province, China
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2017.09.309
Abstract: Decision-makers often have to make trade-offs between economic growth and environmental conservation when developing and managing coastal environments. Coastal development and management need to be subject to rigorous assessments to determine if they are sustainable over time. We propose a methodological framework - the Coastal Development Index (CDI) for the assessment of the changes in sustainability of coastal development over time. CDI is a modified version of the Ocean Health Index (OHI) but with two new indicators - ecological and environmental indicators (EEI), and social and economic indicators (SEI), both of which comprise three sub-indicators (coastal protection, clean waters and species protection for EEI, and food provision, coastal livelihoods and economies and tourism and recreation for SEI). The six sub-indicators represent key aspects of coastal development and the level of exploitation of natural resources that have previously been missing in other conceptual frameworks. We demonstrate the value of CDI with a detailed case study of Fujian Province in China, 2000-2013. The scores of CDI decreased from 1.01 in 2000 to 0.42 in 2013 suggesting that the Fujian coastal zone has experienced unsustainable development in that time. Meanwhile, the scores of EEI decreased from 22.1 to 20.4 while the scores of SEI increased from 21.9 to 48.1 suggesting that environmental values have been eroded by economic growth. Analysis of the scores of sub-indicators reveals a need to integrate economic growth and social development with environmental conservation on Fujian coastal management. Our case study highlights the potential value of the CDI for improving the ecological sustainability of coastal zone management and development practices.
Novel bird responses to successive, large-scale, landscape transformations
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-03-2019
DOI: 10.1002/ECM.1362
What factors influence the occurrence and abundance of midstorey Acacia in Mountain Ash forests?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-02-2021
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.13002
Relationship between effective and demographic population size in continuously distributed populations
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-05-2018
DOI: 10.1111/EVA.12636
Abstract: Genetic monitoring of wild populations can offer insights into demographic and genetic information simultaneously. However, widespread application of genetic monitoring is hindered by large uncertainty in the estimation and interpretation of target metrics such as contemporary effective population size, N e . We used four long‐term genetic and demographic studies (≥9 years) to evaluate the temporal stability of the relationship between N e and demographic population size ( N c ). These case studies focused on mammals that are continuously distributed, yet dispersal‐limited within the spatial scale of the study. We estimated local, contemporary N e with single‐s le methods ( LDNE , Heterozygosity Excess, and Molecular Ancestry) and demographic abundance with either mark–recapture estimates or catch‐per‐unit effort indices. Estimates of N e varied widely within each case study suggesting interpretation of estimates is challenging. We found inconsistent correlations and trends both among estimates of N e and between N e and N c suggesting the value of N e as an indicator of N c is limited in some cases. In the two case studies with consistent trends between N e and N c , F IS was more stable over time and lower, suggesting F IS may be a good indicator that the population was s led at a spatial scale at which genetic structure is not biasing estimates of N e . These results suggest that more empirical work on the estimation of N e in continuous populations is needed to understand the appropriate context to use LDN e as a useful metric in a monitoring programme to detect temporal trends in either N e or N c .
Do big unstructured biodiversity data mean more knowledge?
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 24-01-2019
Time since fire influences macropod occurrence in a fire‐prone coastal ecosystem
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-11-2021
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.13127
Abstract: Knowledge of animal responses to fire is fundamental to wildlife management in fire‐prone ecosystems. Fire can influence the occurrence of large herbivores by altering the structure and composition of vegetation. However, how fire affects herbivore occurrence in many ecosystems is poorly understood. Large herbivores may be attracted to burnt areas due to higher foraging quality. Conversely, herbivores may avoid burnt areas due to heightened predation risk. We tested the influence of vegetation type and fire history variables on the occurrence of macropods at Booderee National Park in south‐eastern Australia. We documented macropod occurrence at 107 long‐term monitoring sites using spotlighting surveys conducted between 2003 and 2019. We modelled relationships between the occurrence of the eastern grey kangaroo ( Macropus giganteus ) and the sw wallaby ( Wallabia bicolor ) with three fire history variables time since fire, fire frequency and burn context (the proportion of the area surrounding each site that was recently burnt), as well as their interaction with vegetation type. We found both macropod species selected recently burnt sites, likely due to a higher abundance of preferred plants at these sites. Increasing fire frequency was associated with a reduced occurrence of the eastern grey kangaroo. The occurrence of both macropod species was significantly higher in forest sites, possibly reflecting higher foraging quality of grass and shrub species compared to woodland, heathland and shrubland sites. We suggest that if fire is used as a management tool, it is important to recognise potential feedbacks from increased foraging pressure from large herbivores. Future fire management will need to avoid burning areas of sensitive vegetation if local herbivores display pyric herbivory responses, and/or avoid small‐scale burns, which may concentrate foraging pressure.
Surrogacy in invasion research and management: inferring “impact” from “invasiveness”
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-08-2019
DOI: 10.1002/FEE.2097
Age and spatial distribution of the world's oldest trees
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-05-2022
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13907
Abstract: Extremely old trees have important roles in providing insights about historical climatic events and supporting cultural values, yet there has been limited work on their global distribution and conservation. We extracted information on 197,855 tree cores from 4854 sites and combined it with other tree age (e.g., the OLDLIST) data from a further 156 sites to determine the age of the world's oldest trees and quantify the factors influencing their global distribution. We found that extremely old trees years were rare. Among 30 in idual trees that exceeded 2000 years old, 27 occurred in high mountains. We modeled maximum tree age with climatic, soil topographic, and anthropogenic variables, and our regression models demonstrated that elevation, human population density, soil carbon content, and mean annual temperature were key determinants of the distribution of the world's oldest trees. Specifically, our model predicted that many of the oldest trees will occur in high‐elevation, cold, and arid mountains with limited human disturbance. This pattern was markedly different from that of the tallest trees, which were more likely to occur in relatively more mesic and productive locations. Global warming and expansion of human activities may induce rapid population declines of extremely old trees. New strategies, including targeted establishment of conservation reserves in remote regions, especially those in western parts of China and the United States, are required to protect these trees.
Movement patterns of an arboreal gecko in fragmented agricultural landscapes reveal matrix avoidance
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-09-2019
DOI: 10.1111/ACV.12505
A succession of theories: purging redundancy from disturbance theory
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-11-2014
DOI: 10.1111/BRV.12163
Abstract: The topics of succession and post-disturbance ecosystem recovery have a long and convoluted history. There is extensive redundancy within this body of theory, which has resulted in confusion, and the links among theories have not been adequately drawn. This review aims to distil the unique ideas from the array of theory related to ecosystem change in response to disturbance. This will help to reduce redundancy, and improve communication and understanding between researchers. We first outline the broad range of concepts that have developed over the past century to describe community change in response to disturbance. The body of work spans overlapping succession concepts presented by Clements in 1916, Egler in 1954, and Connell and Slatyer in 1977. Other theories describing community change include state and transition models, biological legacy theory, and the application of functional traits to predict responses to disturbance. Second, we identify areas of overlap of these theories, in addition to highlighting the conceptual and taxonomic limitations of each. In aligning each of these theories with one another, the limited scope and relative inflexibility of some theories becomes apparent, and redundancy becomes explicit. We identify a set of unique concepts to describe the range of mechanisms driving ecosystem responses to disturbance. We present a schematic model of our proposed synthesis which brings together the range of unique mechanisms that were identified in our review. The model describes five main mechanisms of transition away from a post-disturbance community: (i) pulse events with rapid state shifts (ii) stochastic community drift (iii) facilitation (iv) competition and (v) the influence of the initial composition of a post-disturbance community. In addition, stabilising processes such as biological legacies, inhibition or continuing disturbance may prevent a transition between community types. Integrating these six mechanisms with the functional trait approach is likely to improve the predictive capacity of disturbance theory. Finally, we complement our discussion of theory with a case study which emphasises that many post-disturbance theories apply simultaneously to the same ecosystem. Using the well-studied mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) forests of south-eastern Australia, we illustrate phenomena that align with six of the theories described in our model of rationalised disturbance theory. We encourage further work to improve our schematic model, increase coverage of disturbance-related theory, and to show how the model may link to, or integrate with, other domains of ecological theory.
Contrasting effects of mosaic structure on alpha and beta diversity of bird assemblages in a human-modified landscape
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-10-2019
DOI: 10.1111/ECOG.02981
Woodland habitat structures are affected by both agricultural land management and abiotic conditions
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-04-2015
Movement across woodland edges suggests plantations and farmland are barriers to dispersal
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-09-2022
In the Aftermath of Fire
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2015
Undescribed species have higher extinction risk than known species
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-02-2022
DOI: 10.1111/CONL.12876
Abstract: Newly discovered species are often threatened with extinction but in many cases have received limited conservation effort. To guide future conservation, it is important to determine the extinction risk of newly described species. Here, we test how time since formal description of a species is linked to its threat status to obtain a better insight into the possible threat status of newly described species and as yet undescribed species. We compiled IUCN Red List data for 53,808 species from five vertebrate groups described since 1758. Extinction risk for more recently described species has increased significantly over time the proportion of threatened species among newly described species has increased from 11.9% for species described between 1758 and 1767 to 30.0% for those described between 2011 and 2020. Based on projections from our analysis, this could further increase to 47.1% by 2050. The pattern is consistent across vertebrate taxonomic groups and biomes. Current species extinction rates estimated from data of all known species are therefore highly likely to be underestimated. Intensive fieldwork to boost discovery of new species and immediate conservation action for newly described species, especially in tropical areas, is urgently required.
Hidden collapse is driven by fire and logging in a socioecological forest ecosystem
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 30-04-2018
Abstract: Almost all descriptions of ecosystem collapse are made after it has occurred and not during the process of collapse. We describe the process of collapse in the iconic Australian Mountain Ash ecosystem. We uncovered empirical evidence for hidden collapse, which occurs when an ecosystem superficially appears to be intact but a prolonged period of decline coupled with long lag times for recovery mean that collapse is almost inevitable. This is because key ecosystem components continue to decline for long periods even after drivers of collapse are removed. Hidden collapse suggests a need for actions well before managers perceive they are required. Long-term monitoring targeting different classes of state variables can be used to provide early warnings of impending collapse.
Combating ecosystem collapse from the tropics to the Antarctic
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-02-2021
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.15539
Abstract: Globally, collapse of ecosystems—potentially irreversible change to ecosystem structure, composition and function—imperils bio ersity, human health and well‐being. We examine the current state and recent trajectories of 19 ecosystems, spanning 58° of latitude across 7.7 M km 2 , from Australia's coral reefs to terrestrial Antarctica. Pressures from global climate change and regional human impacts, occurring as chronic ‘presses’ and/or acute ‘pulses’, drive ecosystem collapse. Ecosystem responses to 5–17 pressures were categorised as four collapse profiles—abrupt, smooth, stepped and fluctuating. The manifestation of widespread ecosystem collapse is a stark warning of the necessity to take action. We present a three‐step assessment and management framework (3As Pathway Awareness , Anticipation and Action ) to aid strategic and effective mitigation to alleviate further degradation to help secure our future.
Scale-dependent occupancy patterns in reptiles across topographically different landscapes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-03-2017
DOI: 10.1111/ECOG.02199
Implications of recurrent disturbance for genetic diversity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-01-2016
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.1948
Conservation conundrums and the challenges of managing unexplained declines of multiple species
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2018
Software support for environmental evidence synthesis
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-03-2018
The response of arboreal marsupials to long‐term changes in forest disturbance
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-09-2020
DOI: 10.1111/ACV.12634
Using ideal distributions of the time since habitat was disturbed to build metrics for evaluating landscape condition
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-02-2018
DOI: 10.1002/EAP.1676
Abstract: Developing a standardized approach to measuring the state of bio ersity in landscapes undergoing disturbance is crucial for evaluating and comparing change across different systems, assessing ecosystem vulnerability and the impacts of destructive activities, and helping direct species recovery actions. Existing ecosystem metrics of condition fail to acknowledge that a particular community could be in multiple states, and the distribution of states could worsen or improve when impacted by a disturbance process, depending on how far the current landscape distribution of states erges from pre-anthropogenic impact baseline conditions. We propose a way of rapidly assessing regional-scale condition in ecosystems where the distribution of age classes representing increasing time since last disturbance is suspected to have erged from an ideal benchmark reference distribution. We develop two metrics that (1) compare the observed mean time since last disturbance with an expected mean and (2) quantify the summed shortfall of vegetation age-class frequencies relative to a reference age-class distribution of time since last disturbance. We demonstrate the condition metrics using two case studies: (1) fire in threatened southwestern Australian proteaceaous mallee-heath and (2) impacts of disturbance (fire and logging) in the critically endangered southeastern Australian mountain ash Eucalyptus regnans forest on the yellow-bellied glider Petaurus australis. We explore the effects of uncertainty in benchmark time since last disturbance, and evaluate metric sensitivity using simulated age-class distributions representing alternative ecosystems. By accounting for and penalizing too-frequent and too-rare disturbances, the summed shortfall metric is more sensitive to change than mean time since last disturbance. We find that mountain ash forest is in much poorer condition (summed shortfall 38.5 out of 100 for a 120-yr benchmark disturbance interval) than indicated merely by loss of extent (84% of vegetation remaining). Proteaceaous mallee-heath is in worse condition than indicated by loss of extent for an upper benchmark interval of 80 yr, but condition almost doubles for the minimum tolerable time since last disturbance interval of 20 yr. To fully describe ecosystem degradation, we recommend that our summed shortfall metric, focused on habitat quality and informed by biologically meaningful baselines, be added to existing condition measures focused on vegetation extent. This will improve evaluation of change in ecosystem states and enhance management of ecosystems in poor condition.
Long-term bird colonization and turnover in restored woodlands
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-05-2016
Diversifying Forest Landscape Management—A Case Study of a Shift from Native Forest Logging to Plantations in Australian Wet Forests
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 10-03-2022
DOI: 10.3390/LAND11030407
Abstract: Natural forests have many ecological, economic and other values, and sustaining them is a challenge for policy makers and forest managers. Conventional approaches to forest management such as those based on maximum sustained yield principles disregard fundamental tenets of ecological sustainability and often fail. Here we describe the failure of a highly regulated approach to forest management focused on intensive wood production in the mountain ash forests of Victoria, Australia. Poor past management led to overcutting with timber yields too high to be sustainable and failing to account for uncertainties. Ongoing logging will have negative impacts on bio ersity and water production, alter fire regimes, and generate economic losses. This means there are few options to ersify forest management. The only ecologically and economically viable option is to cease logging mountain ash forests altogether and transition wood production to plantations located elsewhere in the state of Victoria. We outline general lessons for ersifying land management from our case study.
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