ORCID Profile
0000-0002-0113-4778
Current Organisations
The University of Sydney Library
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University of Sydney
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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)
Applied Statistics | Natural Resource Management | Ecological Impacts of Climate Change | Ecological Applications | Statistics | Knowledge Representation and Machine Learning | Conservation and Biodiversity
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Sparseland, Permanent Grassland and Arid Zone Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity | Environmental Management Systems | Precious (Noble) Metal Ore Exploration | Mining Land and Water Management |
Related Links
Publications
Ecological roles of rabbit, bettong and bilby warrens in arid Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2008
Long‐term livestock exclusion increases plant richness and reproductive capacity in arid woodlands
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-09-2023
DOI: 10.1002/EAP.2909
Abstract: Herbivore exclusion is implemented globally to recover ecosystems from grazing by introduced and native herbivores, but evidence for large‐scale bio ersity benefits is inconsistent in arid ecosystems. We examined the effects of livestock exclusion on dryland plant richness and reproductive capacity. We collected data on plant species richness and seeding (reproductive capacity), rainfall, vegetation productivity and cover, soil strength and herbivore grazing intensity from 68 sites across 6500 km 2 of arid Georgina gidgee ( Acacia georginae ) woodlands in central Australia between 2018 and 2020. Sites were on an actively grazed cattle station and two destocked conservation reserves. We used structural equation modelling to examine indirect (via soil or vegetation modification) versus direct (herbivory) effects of grazing intensity by two introduced herbivores (cattle, camels) and a native herbivore (red kangaroo), on seasonal plant species richness and seeding of all plants, and the richness and seeding of four plant groups (native grasses, forbs, annual chenopod shrubs, and palatable perennial shrubs). Non‐native herbivores had a strong indirect effect on plant richness and seeding by reducing vegetative ground cover, resulting in decreased richness and seeding of both native grasses and forbs. . Herbivores also had small but negative direct impacts on plant richness and seeding. This direct effect was explained by reductions in annual chenopod and palatable perennial shrub richness under grazing activity Responses to grazing were herbivore‐dependent – introduced herbivore grazing reduced native plant richness and seeding, while native herbivore grazing had no significant effect on richness or seeding of different plant functional groups. Soil strength decreased under grazing by cattle but not camels or kangaroos. Cattle had direct effects on palatable perennial shrub richness and seeding, whereas camels had indirect effects, reducing richness and seeding by reducing the abundance of shrubs. We show that considering indirect pathways improves evaluations of the effects of disturbances on bio ersity, as focusing only on direct effects can mask critical mechanisms of change. Our results indicate substantial bio ersity benefits from excluding livestock and controlling camels in drylands. Reducing introduced herbivore impacts will improve soil and vegetation condition, ensure reproduction and seasonal persistence of species, and protect native plant ersity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Fire and rain are one: extreme rainfall events predict wildfire extent in an arid grassland
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2020
DOI: 10.1071/WF19087
Abstract: Assessing wildfire regimes and their environmental drivers is critical for effective land management and conservation. We used Landsat imagery to describe the wildfire regime of the north-eastern Simpson Desert (Australia) between 1972 and 2014, and to quantify the relationship between wildfire extent and rainfall. Wildfires occurred in 15 of the 42 years, but only 27% of the study region experienced multiple wildfires. A wildfire in 1975 burned 43% of the region and is the largest on record for the area. More recently, a large wildfire in 2011 reburned areas that had not burned since 1975 (47% of the 2011 wildfire), as well as new areas that had no record of wildfires (25% of the 2011 wildfire). The mean minimum wildfire return interval was 27 years, comparable with other spinifex-dominated grasslands, and the mean time since last wildfire was 21 years. Spinifex-dominated vegetation burned most frequently and over the largest area. Extreme annual rainfall events (& 93rd percentile) effectively predicted large wildfires occurring 2 years after those events. Extreme rainfall is predicted to increase in magnitude and frequency across central Australia, which could alter wildfire regimes and have unpredictable and far-reaching effects on ecosystems in the region’s arid landscapes.
Night of the hunter: using cameras to quantify nocturnal activity in desert spiders
Publisher: PeerJ
Date: 02-2021
DOI: 10.7717/PEERJ.10684
Abstract: Invertebrates dominate the animal world in terms of abundance, ersity and biomass, and play critical roles in maintaining ecosystem function. Despite their obvious importance, disproportionate research attention remains focused on vertebrates, with knowledge and understanding of invertebrate ecology still lacking. Due to their inherent advantages, usage of camera traps in ecology has risen dramatically over the last three decades, especially for research on mammals. However, few studies have used cameras to reliably detect fauna such as invertebrates or used cameras to examine specific aspects of invertebrate ecology. Previous research investigating the interaction between wolf spiders (Lycosidae: Lycosa spp.) and the lesser hairy-footed dunnart ( Sminthopsis youngsoni ) found that camera traps provide a viable method for examining temporal activity patterns and interactions between these species. Here, we re-examine lycosid activity to determine whether these patterns vary with different environmental conditions, specifically between burned and unburned habitats and the crests and bases of sand dunes, and whether cameras are able to detect other invertebrate fauna. Twenty-four cameras were deployed over a 3-month period in an arid region in central Australia, capturing 2,356 confirmed images of seven invertebrate taxa, including 155 time-lapse images of lycosids. Overall, there was no clear difference in temporal activity with respect to dune position or fire history, but twice as many lycosids were detected in unburned compared to burned areas. Despite some limitations, camera traps appear to have considerable utility as a tool for determining the diel activity patterns and habitat use of larger arthropods such as wolf spiders, and we recommend greater uptake in their usage in future.
Spatial dynamics of small mammals in central Australian desert habitats: the role of drought refugia
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 14-12-2011
Desert mammal populations are limited by introduced predators rather than future climate change
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 11-2017
DOI: 10.1098/RSOS.170384
Abstract: Climate change is predicted to place up to one in six species at risk of extinction in coming decades, but extinction probability is likely to be influenced further by biotic interactions such as predation. We use structural equation modelling to integrate results from remote camera trapping and long-term (17–22 years) regional-scale (8000 km 2 ) datasets on vegetation and small vertebrates (greater than 38 880 captures) to explore how biotic processes and two key abiotic drivers influence the structure of a erse assemblage of desert biota in central Australia. We use our models to predict how changes in rainfall and wildfire are likely to influence the cover and productivity of the dominant vegetation and the impacts of predators on their primary rodent prey over a 100-year timeframe. Our results show that, while vegetation cover may decline due to climate change, the strongest negative effect on prey populations in this desert system is top-down suppression from introduced predators.
Long‐term patterns of invertebrate abundance and relationships to environmental factors in arid Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-02-2016
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12334
Bottom-up and top-down processes interact to modify intraguild interactions in resource-pulse environments
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-06-2014
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-014-2977-8
Abstract: Top predators are declining globally, in turn allowing populations of smaller predators, or mesopredators, to increase and potentially have negative effects on bio ersity. However, detection of interactions among sympatric predators can be complicated by fluctuations in the background availability of resources in the environment, which may modify both the numbers of predators and the strengths of their interactions. Here, we first present a conceptual framework that predicts how top-down and bottom-up interactions may regulate sympatric predator populations in environments that experience resource pulses. We then test it using 2 years of remote-camera trapping data to uncover spatial and temporal interactions between a top predator, the dingo Canis dingo, and the mesopredatory European red fox Vulpes vulpes and feral cat Felis catus, during population booms, declines and busts in numbers of their prey in a model desert system. We found that dingoes predictably suppress abundances of the mesopredators and that the effects are strongest during declines and busts in prey numbers. Given that resource pulses are usually driven by large yet infrequent rains, we conclude that top predators like the dingo provide net benefits to prey populations by suppressing mesopredators during prolonged bust periods when prey populations are low and potentially vulnerable.
Ecological forecasts to inform near‐term management of threats to biodiversity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-08-2020
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.15272
Availability of invertebrate prey for micro-carnivores
Publisher: AEKOS - TERN Ecoinformatics
Date: 2017
Editorial: Fire regimes in desert ecosystems: Drivers, impacts and changes
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 08-2022
Characterising the spatiotemporal dynamics of drought and wet events in Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2022.157480
Abstract: Global climate change has altered precipitation patterns and disrupted the characteristics of drought and rainfall events. Climate projections confirm that more frequent, intense, and extreme droughts and rainfall events will continue. However, knowledge around how drought and wet events move dynamically through space and time is limited, especially in the southern hemisphere. Australia is the driest inhabited continent, renowned as the land of droughts and flooding rains, but recent climate-driven changes to the severity of wildfires and floods have garnered global attention. Here we used S-TRACK, a novel method for spatial drought tracking, to build pathways for past drought and wet events in Australia to examine their spatiotemporal dynamics. Characteristics such as duration, severity, and intensity were obtained from these pathways, and modified Mann-Kendall tests and Sen's slope were used to detect significant trends in characteristics over time. Drought conditions in southern Australia have intensified, particularly in the southwest of Australia and Tasmania, while the north of the country is experiencing longer, more severe, and more intense wet conditions. We also found that the location of drought and wet hotspots has clearly shifted in response to precipitation changes since the 1970's. Finally, pathways for the most extreme events show peak severity is reached in the middle to late stages of pathways, and that the largest drought and wet areas of a pathway have moved further west in recent times. The findings in this study provide the necessary knowledge to improve preparedness for extreme precipitation events as they become more common and to inform predictions for agricultural output or the extent of other climate events such as wildfires and flooding.
Alcohol harm reduction advertisements: A content analysis of topic, objective, emotional tone, execution and target audience
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-04-2017
Population dynamics of desert mammals: Similarities and contrasts within a multispecies assemblage
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2016
DOI: 10.1002/ECS2.1343
Dynamics, habitat use and extinction risk of a carnivorous desert marsupial
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-08-2018
DOI: 10.1111/JZO.12605
Top predators constrain mesopredator distributions
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-05-2017
DOI: 10.1038/NCOMMS15469
Abstract: Top predators can suppress mesopredators by killing them, competing for resources and instilling fear, but it is unclear how suppression of mesopredators varies with the distribution and abundance of top predators at large spatial scales and among different ecological contexts. We suggest that suppression of mesopredators will be strongest where top predators occur at high densities over large areas. These conditions are more likely to occur in the core than on the margins of top predator ranges. We propose the Enemy Constraint Hypothesis, which predicts weakened top-down effects on mesopredators towards the edge of top predators’ ranges. Using bounty data from North America, Europe and Australia we show that the effects of top predators on mesopredators increase from the margin towards the core of their ranges, as predicted. Continuing global contraction of top predator ranges could promote further release of mesopredator populations, altering ecosystem structure and contributing to bio ersity loss.
The ecology of Lerista labialis (Scincidae) in the Simpson Desert: reproduction and diet
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2005
Spatial and temporal synchrony in reptile population dynamics in variable environments
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-06-2016
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-016-3672-8
Abstract: Resources are seldom distributed equally across space, but many species exhibit spatially synchronous population dynamics. Such synchrony suggests the operation of large-scale external drivers, such as rainfall or wildfire, or the influence of oasis sites that provide water, shelter, or other resources. However, testing the generality of these factors is not easy, especially in variable environments. Using a long-term dataset (13-22 years) from a large (8000 km(2)) study region in arid Central Australia, we tested firstly for regional synchrony in annual rainfall and the dynamics of six reptile species across nine widely separated sites. For species that showed synchronous spatial dynamics, we then used multivariate follow a multivariate auto-regressive state-space (MARSS) models to predict that regional rainfall would be positively associated with their populations. For asynchronous species, we used MARSS models to explore four other possible population structures: (1) populations were asynchronous, (2) differed between oasis and non-oasis sites, (3) differed between burnt and unburnt sites, or (4) differed between three sub-regions with different rainfall gradients. Only one species showed evidence of spatial population synchrony and our results provide little evidence that rainfall synchronizes reptile populations. The oasis or the wildfire hypotheses were the best-fitting models for the other five species. Thus, our six study species appear generally to be structured in space into one or two populations across the study region. Our findings suggest that for arid-dwelling reptile populations, spatial and temporal dynamics are structured by abiotic events, but in idual responses to covariates at smaller spatial scales are complex and poorly understood.
Artificial watering points are focal points for activity by an invasive herbivore but not native herbivores in conservation reserves in arid Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-08-2014
The Biology of DesertsDavidWard, 2nd edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2016. xv + 370 pp. Price AUD $66 (paperback, also available as hardback and Ebook). ISBN: 9780198732761.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-11-2017
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12523
Consequences of the Australian 2019/20 wildfires for sites important for biodiversity and other world heritage values
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 31-08-2022
DOI: 10.7882/AZ.2022.034
Abstract: The 2019/20 wildfire season was devastating for Australia’s bio ersity and unprecedented in its extent and severity, yet the consequences for sites important for bio ersity and other world heritage values remain unknown. Here, we summarise the 2019/20 wildfire impacts on key sites set aside for, or identified as being important for, bio ersity, with specific reference to nationally designated protected areas, World Heritage Listings, and Key Bio ersity Areas (KBAs). We also explore patterns between burn extent or severity, and underlying landscape characteristics. Over seven months, approximately 10 million hectares (ha) of native vegetation burned. Of these burned landscapes, ~3.2 million ha (41%) were within the Australian protected area estate (n = 815 and impacted & .1% of each protected area). Six Australian World Heritage Listings were impacted by the 2019/20 wildfires, with the largest impact being in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area (680,000 ha or 67% was affected by the fires). The 2019/20 fires impacted over 2 million ha across 69 KBAs. Of these, 18 KBAs had & % of their area burned. Critically, for the management of intact and recovering forests, we show that the degree of forest integrity and ecosystem intactness affected fire severity: more degraded forests and ecosystems experienced higher severity burns in the protected area estate and KBAs. Recovery for many of these places will require targeted effort and resources to help reduce the likelihood of future megafires, as well as increased resilience in the face of other catastrophic environmental events.
Optimizing User Selection Schemes in Vector Broadcast Channels
Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Date: 02-2015
One year on: rapid assessment of fauna and red fox diet after the 2019–20 mega-fires in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 10-08-2022
DOI: 10.7882/AZ.2022.033
Abstract: Australia’s 2019–20 mega-fires burnt 79% of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, prompting an urgent need for rapid on-ground post-fire assessments of flora and fauna to aid in post-fire recovery. This project aimed to determine spatial patterns in populations and assemblages of vertebrates, vertebrate temporal activity, and the diet of the invasive Red Fox Vulpes vulpes, across burnt and unburnt sites. Using remote camera traps we surveyed 12 unburnt and 10 burnt sites approximately 12 months after the fires. We detected 41 species (11 mammals, 28 birds and 2 reptiles), with different species composition, but similar vertebrate species richness across both unburnt and burnt sites. The relative abundance of the Eastern Grey Kangaroo Macropus giganteus, Common Wombat Vombatus ursinus and Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen was higher in burnt sites, while small mammals (& 500 g) had higher relative abundance at unburnt sites. There was no difference in the relative abundance of the Superb Lyrebird Menura novaehollandiae across burnt and unburnt sites, and although 11 species of bird were only detected at unburnt sites, the numbers were too low for reliable estimates of differences. Red Fox scat analysis (n=23) revealed that invertebrates and plant material were the dominant prey items in both burnt and unburnt sites, but medium-sized mammals increased in Red Fox diets in burnt sites, and reptiles were consumed disproportionately more by Red Foxes in burnt compared to unburnt sites. Although the short-term nature of this study and low scat s le size limited detailed insights, our rapid survey was an effective tool to gain preliminary data on species responses to the 2019–20 megafires in the Blue Mountains and contribute to a baseline for understanding species recovery.
Grazing and ecosystem service delivery in global drylands
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 25-11-2022
Abstract: Grazing represents the most extensive use of land worldwide. Yet its impacts on ecosystem services remain uncertain because pervasive interactions between grazing pressure, climate, soil properties, and bio ersity may occur but have never been addressed simultaneously. Using a standardized survey at 98 sites across six continents, we show that interactions between grazing pressure, climate, soil, and bio ersity are critical to explain the delivery of fundamental ecosystem services across drylands worldwide. Increasing grazing pressure reduced ecosystem service delivery in warmer and species-poor drylands, whereas positive effects of grazing were observed in colder and species-rich areas. Considering interactions between grazing and local abiotic and biotic factors is key for understanding the fate of dryland ecosystems under climate change and increasing human pressure.
slimr: An R package for integrating data and tailor-made population genomic simulations over space and time
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 06-08-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.08.05.455258
Abstract: Software for realistically simulating complex population genomic processes is revolutionizing our understanding of evolutionary processes, and providing novel opportunities for integrating empirical data with simulations. However, the integration between simulation software and software designed for working with empirical data is currently not well developed. Here we present slimr, an R package designed to create a seamless link between standalone software SLiM 3.0, one of the most powerful population genomic simulation frameworks, and the R development environment, with its powerful data manipulation and analysis tools. We show how slimr facilitates smooth integration between genetic data, ecological data and simulation in a single environment. The package enables pipelines that begin with data reading, cleaning, and manipulation, proceed to constructing empirically-based parameters and initial conditions for simulations, then to running numerical simulations, and finally to retrieving simulation results in a format suitable for comparisons with empirical data – aided by advanced analysis and visualization tools provided by R. We demonstrate the use of slimr with an ex le from our own work on the landscape population genomics of desert mammals, highlighting the advantage of having a single integrated tool for both data analysis and simulation. slimr makes the powerful simulation ability of SliM 3.0 directly accessible to R users, allowing integrated simulation projects that incorporate empirical data without the need to switch between software environments. This should provide more opportunities for evolutionary biologists and ecologists to use realistic simulations to better understand the interplay between ecological and evolutionary processes.
Save Australia's ecological research
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 10-08-2017
Persistence through tough times: fixed and shifting refuges in threatened species conservation
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-03-2019
Grow up, be persistent, and stay focused: keys for solving foraging problems by free-ranging possums
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 28-06-2023
Abstract: In iduals within a species often vary in both their problem-solving approach and ability, affecting their capacity to access novel food resources. Testing problem-solving in free-ranging in iduals is crucial for understanding the fundamental ecological implications of problem-solving capacity. To examine the factors affecting problem-solving in free-ranging animals, we presented three food-extraction tasks of increasing difficulty to urban common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula). We quantified two measures of problem-solving performance: trial outcome (success/failure) and time to solve and tested the influence of a range of potential drivers, including in idual traits (personality, body weight, sex, and age), mechanistic behaviors that quantify problem-solving approach (work time, functional behavior time, behavioral ersity, and flexibility), and prior experience with the puzzles. We found that mechanistic behaviors were key drivers of performance. In iduals displaying greater persistence (higher work and functional behavior time) were more likely to solve a food-extraction task on their first attempt. In iduals also solved problems faster if they were more persistent and had lower behavioral flexibility. Personality indirectly affected time to solve one of the three problems by influencing time allocated to functional behaviors. Finally, adults solved the most difficult problem faster than juveniles. Overall, our study provides rare insight into the drivers underlying the problem-solving performance of wild animals. Such insight could be used to improve management strategies and conservation efforts, such as food or bait deployment, tailored to suit the innovative foraging abilities of target in iduals in new and changing environments.
The fire history of an arid grassland: the influence of antecedent rainfall and ENSO
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2009
DOI: 10.1071/WF08093
Abstract: Implementing appropriate fire regimes has become an increasingly important objective for bio ersity conservation programs. Here, we used Landsat imagery from 1972 to 2003 to describe the recent fire history and current wildfire regime of the north-eastern Simpson Desert, Australia, within each of the region’s seven main vegetation classes. We then explored the relationship between antecedent rainfall and El Niño–Southern Oscillation with wildfire area. Wildfires were recorded in 11 years between 1972 and 2003, each differing in size. In 1975, the largest wildfire was recorded, burning 55% (4561 km2) of the study region. Smaller fires in the intervening years burnt areas that had mostly escaped the 1975 fire, until 2002, when 31% (2544 km2) of the study region burnt again. Wildfires burnt disproportionally more spinifex (Triodia basedowii) than any other vegetation class. A total of 49% of the study area has burnt once since 1972 and 20% has burnt twice. Less than 1% has burnt three times and 36% has remained unaffected by wildfire since 1972. The mean minimum fire return interval was 26 years. Two years of cumulative rainfall before a fire event, rainfall during the year of a fire event, and the mean Southern Oscillation Index from June to November in the year before a fire event could together be used to successfully predict wildfire area. We use these findings to describe the current fire regime.
Impact of 2019–2020 mega-fires on Australian fauna habitat
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-07-2020
Social organization and movements of desert rodents during population “booms” and “busts” in central Australia
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 16-08-2010
Predicting predator–prey interactions in terrestrial endotherms using random forest
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-07-2023
DOI: 10.1111/ECOG.06619
Abstract: Species interactions play a fundamental role in ecosystems. However, few ecological communities have complete data describing such interactions, which is an obstacle to understanding how ecosystems function and respond to perturbations. Because it is often impractical to collect empirical data for all interactions in a community, various methods have been developed to infer interactions. Machine learning is increasingly being used for making interaction predictions, with random forest being one of the most frequently used of these methods. However, performance of random forest in inferring predator‐prey interactions in terrestrial vertebrates and its sensitivity to training data quality remain untested. We examined predator–prey interactions in two erse, primarily terrestrial vertebrate classes: birds and mammals. Combining data from a global interaction dataset and a specific community (Simpson Desert, Australia), we tested how well random forest predicted predator–prey interactions for mammals and birds using species' ecomorphological and phylogenetic traits. We also tested how variation in training data quality – manipulated by removing records and switching interaction records to non‐interactions – affected model performance. We found that random forest could predict predator–prey interactions for birds and mammals using ecomorphological or phylogenetic traits, correctly predicting up to 88 and 67% of interactions and non‐interactions in the global and community‐specific datasets, respectively. These predictions were accurate even when there were no records in the training data for focal species. In contrast, false non‐interactions for focal predators in training data strongly degraded model performance. Our results demonstrate that random forest can identify predator–prey interactions for birds and mammals that have few or no interaction records. Furthermore, our study provides guidance on how to prepare training data to optimise machine learning classifiers for predicting species interactions, which could help ecologists 1) address knowledge gaps and explore network‐related questions in data‐poor situations, and 2) predict interactions for range‐expanding species.
Predicting predator-prey interactions in terrestrial endotherms using random forest
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 05-09-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.09.02.506446
Abstract: Species interactions play a fundamental role in ecosystems. However, few ecological communities have complete data describing such interactions, which is an obstacle to understanding how ecosystems function and respond to perturbations. Because it is often impractical to collect empirical data for all interactions in a community, various methods have been developed to infer interactions. Machine learning is increasingly being used for making interaction predictions, with random forest being one of the most frequently used of these methods. However, performance of random forest in inferring predator-prey interactions in terrestrial vertebrates and its sensitivity to training data quality remain untested. We examined predator-prey interactions in two erse, primarily terrestrial vertebrate classes: birds and mammals. Combining data from a global interaction dataset and a specific community (Simpson Desert, Australia), we tested how well random forest predicted predator-prey interactions for mammals and birds using species’ ecomorphological and phylogenetic traits. We also tested how variation in training data quality—manipulated by removing records and switching interaction records to non-interactions—affected model performance. We found that random forest could predict predator-prey interactions for birds and mammals using ecomorphological or phylogenetic traits, correctly predicting up to 88% and 67% of interactions and non-interactions in the global and community-specific datasets, respectively. These predictions were accurate even when there were no records in the training data for focal species. In contrast, false non-interactions for focal predators in training data strongly degraded model performance. Our results demonstrate that random forest can identify predator-prey interactions for birds and mammals that have few or no interaction records. Furthermore, our study provides guidance on how to prepare training data to optimise machine-learning classifiers for predicting species interactions, which could help ecologists ( i ) address knowledge gaps and explore network-related questions in data-poor situations, and ( ii ) predict interactions for range-expanding species.
Understanding selective predation: Are energy and nutrients important?
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 08-08-2018
The case for a dingo reintroduction in Australia remains strong: A reply to Morgan et al., 2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2017
Extreme rainfall events predict irruptions of rat plagues in central A ustralia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-03-2013
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12033
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.
Animal movements in fire-prone landscapes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-12-2019
DOI: 10.1111/BRV.12486
Abstract: Movement is a trait of fundamental importance in ecosystems subject to frequent disturbances, such as fire-prone ecosystems. Despite this, the role of movement in facilitating responses to fire has received little attention. Herein, we consider how animal movement interacts with fire history to shape species distributions. We consider how fire affects movement between habitat patches of differing fire histories that occur across a range of spatial and temporal scales, from daily foraging bouts to infrequent dispersal events, and annual migrations. We review animal movements in response to the immediate and abrupt impacts of fire, and the longer-term successional changes that fires set in train. We discuss how the novel threats of altered fire regimes, landscape fragmentation, and invasive species result in suboptimal movements that drive populations downwards. We then outline the types of data needed to study animal movements in relation to fire and novel threats, to hasten the integration of movement ecology and fire ecology. We conclude by outlining a research agenda for the integration of movement ecology and fire ecology by identifying key research questions that emerge from our synthesis of animal movements in fire-prone ecosystems.
Cattle removal in arid Australia benefits kangaroos in high quality habitat but does not affect camels
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1071/RJ15039
Abstract: Removing cattle as a management tool to conserve bio ersity may not necessarily alter grazing impacts on vegetation if other introduced or native herbivores move in and replace the cattle after removal. This study investigated whether there was a difference in the abundance of native red kangaroos (Osphranter (Macropus) rufus) and introduced feral camels (Camelus dromedarius) on arid rangelands where cattle had been recently removed compared with where cattle remained. Activity was measured by clearing and weighing dung, and by counting animal sightings. Kangaroos were encountered more frequently in high quality habitat (gidgee woodland) where cattle had been recently removed. However, kangaroo dung in newly cattle-free areas comprised only ~1.5% of the weight of cattle dung in this habitat where cattle still grazed, indicating no grazing compensation by the native herbivore. Camels showed no clear preference for particular habitat types but used dune tops usually avoided by kangaroos and cattle. There was no indication of camels using habitats differently in areas where cattle were removed. Camel dung collected across all habitats comprised less than a tenth the weight of cattle dung, but almost five times as much as kangaroo dung. As cattle removal had occurred relatively recently, further monitoring is needed to determine its impact over longer periods, especially through low and high rainfall cycles. Methods to improve the monitoring of large herbivores in the presence and absence of livestock and to assess whether anticipated conservation goals are achieved are discussed.
75 years of dryland science: Trends and gaps in arid ecology literature
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 06-04-2017
Dementia in residential care: Education intervention trial (DIRECT); protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-05-2010
Extreme climatic events drive mammal irruptions: regression analysis of 100‐year trends in desert rainfall and temperature
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-09-2012
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.377
Gathering lots of data on a small budget
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 22-09-2016
Factors affecting habitat selection in a specialist fossorial skink
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 23-06-2009
Simultaneously operating threats cannot predict extinction risk
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-2021
DOI: 10.1111/CONL.12758
Microhabitat selection by wolf spiders and dunnarts
Publisher: AEKOS - TERN Ecoinformatics
Date: 2017
Accounting for the neglected: Invertebrate species and the 2019–2020 Australian megafires
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-05-2022
DOI: 10.1111/GEB.13550
Abstract: Invertebrates make up the vast majority of fauna species but are often overlooked in impact assessment and conservation response. The extent to which the 2019–2020 Australian megafires overlapped with the range of vertebrate species has been well documented consequently, substantial resourcing has been directed towards their recovery. Here, we attempt to document the extent of overlap of these megafires with invertebrate species. In doing so, we seek to demonstrate that it is possible and worthwhile to assess the effect of a catastrophic event on a large number of poorly known species. Temperate and subtropical Australia. 2019–2020. Australian invertebrates. We adapted a published analytical pathway for the assessment of distributional fire overlap on vertebrate species. Overlaps with fire for 32,163 invertebrate taxa were determined using point records and polygons. We found that 13,581 invertebrate taxa had part of their range burnt in the 2019–2020 Australian megafires. Of these, 382 taxa had the whole of their known range burnt, and a further 405 taxa had 50–99.9% of their range burnt. Five ex les are described. Poorly known groups of bio ersity can be impacted significantly by major disturbance events, but such impact is often overlooked. This oversight has the consequences of under‐estimating the magnitude of impacts and the potential failure to direct conservation responses to those species most in need of them. Our analysis demonstrates that the 2019–2020 megafires burnt ≥50% of the known range of nearly 800 Australian invertebrate taxa, a tally far higher than for vertebrates (19 taxa). Assessment of the real impact (i.e., beyond simply overlap with fire) requires more consideration of susceptibility and/or post‐fire survey and monitoring. The magnitude of overlap of the 2019–2020 megafires on invertebrate species justifies a conservation response that is less biased towards iconic vertebrate species.
Episodic population fragmentation and gene flow reveal a trade‐off between heterozygosity and allelic richness
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-10-2023
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.17174
75 years of dryland science
Publisher: AEKOS - TERN Ecoinformatics
Date: 2017
Supplementary material from Desert mammal populations are limited by introduced predators rather than future climate change
Publisher: Figshare
Date: 2017
Interactions between wildfire and drought drive population responses of mammals in coastal woodlands
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 03-02-2018
Top-down response to spatial variation in productivity and bottom-up response to temporal variation in productivity in a long-term study of desert ants
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 09-2022
Abstract: Under the Ecosystem Exploitation Hypothesis ecosystem productivity predicts trophic complexity, but it is unclear if spatial and temporal drivers of productivity have similar impacts. Long-term studies are necessary to capture temporal impacts on trophic structure in variable ecosystems such as deserts. We s led ants and measured plant resources in the Simpson Desert, central Australia over a 22-year period, during which rainfall varied 10-fold. We s led dune swales (higher nutrient) and crests (lower nutrient) to account for spatial variation in productivity. We asked how temporal and spatial variation in productivity affects the abundance of ant trophic guilds. Precipitation increased vegetation cover, with the difference more pronounced on dune crests seeding and flowering also increased with precipitation. Generalist activity increased over time, irrespective of productivity. Predators were more active in more productive (swale) habitat, i.e. spatial impacts of productivity were greatest at the highest trophic level. By contrast, herbivores (seed harvesters and sugar feeders) increased with long-term rainfall seed harvesters also increased as seeding increased. Temporal impacts of productivity were therefore greatest for low trophic levels. Whether productivity variation leads to top-down or bottom-up structured ecosystems thus depends on the scale and dimension (spatial or temporal) of productivity.
Simpson Desert Remote camera trap data
Publisher: AEKOS - TERN Ecoinformatics
Date: 2017
Assessing the potential for intraguild predation among taxonomically disparate micro-carnivores: marsupials and arthropods
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 05-2018
DOI: 10.1098/RSOS.171872
Abstract: Interspecific competition may occur when resources are limited, and is often most intense between animals in the same ecological guild. Intraguild predation (IGP) is a distinctive form of interference competition, where a dominant predator selectively kills subordinate rivals to gain increased access to resources. However, before IGP can be identified, organisms must be confirmed as members of the same guild and occur together in space and time. The lesser hairy-footed dunnart ( Sminthopsis youngsoni , Dasyuridae) is a generalist marsupial insectivore in arid Australia, but consumes wolf spiders ( Lycosa spp., Lycosidae) disproportionately often relative to their availability. Here, we test the hypothesis that this disproportionate predation is a product of frequent encounter rates between the interactants due to high overlap in their diets and use of space and time. Diet and prey availability were determined using direct observations and invertebrate pitfall trapping, microhabitat use by tracking in iduals of both species-groups, and temporal activity using spotlighting and camera traps. Major overlap (greater than 75% similarity) was found in diet and temporal activity, and weaker overlap in microhabitat use. Taken together, these findings suggest reasonable potential, for the first time, for competition and intraguild predation to occur between taxa as disparate as marsupials and spiders.
Taxonomic status of the Australian dingo: The case for Canis dingo Meyer, 1793
Publisher: Magnolia Press
Date: 04-03-2019
DOI: 10.11646/ZOOTAXA.4564.1.6
Abstract: The taxonomic status and systematic nomenclature of the Australian dingo remain contentious, resulting in decades of inconsistent applications in the scientific literature and in policy. Prompted by a recent publication calling for dingoes to be considered taxonomically as domestic dogs (Jackson et al. 2017, Zootaxa 4317, 201-224), we review the issues of the taxonomy applied to canids, and summarise the main differences between dingoes and other canids. We conclude that (1) the Australian dingo is a geographically isolated (allopatric) species from all other Canis, and is genetically, phenotypically, ecologically, and behaviourally distinct and (2) the dingo appears largely devoid of many of the signs of domestication, including surviving largely as a wild animal in Australia for millennia. The case of defining dingo taxonomy provides a quintessential ex le of the disagreements between species concepts (e.g., biological, phylogenetic, ecological, morphological). Applying the biological species concept sensu stricto to the dingo as suggested by Jackson et al. (2017) and consistently across the Canidae would lead to an aggregation of all Canis populations, implying for ex le that dogs and wolves are the same species. Such an aggregation would have substantial implications for taxonomic clarity, biological research, and wildlife conservation. Any changes to the current nomen of the dingo (currently Canis dingo Meyer, 1793), must therefore offer a strong, evidence-based argument in favour of it being recognised as a subspecies of Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758, or as Canis familiaris Linnaeus, 1758, and a successful application to the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature - neither of which can be adequately supported. Although there are many species concepts, the sum of the evidence presented in this paper affirms the classification of the dingo as a distinct taxon, namely Canis dingo.
Ecosystem risk assessment of G eorgina gidgee woodlands in central Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-05-2015
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12265
Temporal activity of wolf spiders and dunnarts in the Simpson Desert
Publisher: AEKOS - TERN Ecoinformatics
Date: 2017
Does a top predator suppress the abundance of an invasive mesopredator at a continental scale?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-11-2010
Arthropod Energy U 0026amp; Nutrients
Publisher: AEKOS - TERN Ecoinformatics
Date: 2018
Carcasses attract invasive species and increase artificial nest predation in a desert environment
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2021
Making the most of incomplete long-term datasets: the MARSS solution
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 12-2018
DOI: 10.7882/AZ.2018.018
Direct observations of foraging wolf spiders and dunnarts
Publisher: AEKOS - TERN Ecoinformatics
Date: 2017
Class Conflict: Diffuse Competition between Mammalian and Reptilian Predators
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 15-09-2020
DOI: 10.3390/D12090355
Abstract: (1) Diffuse competition affects per capita rates of population increase among species that exploit similar resources, and thus can be an important structuring force in ecological communities. Diffuse competition has traditionally been studied within taxonomically similar groups, although distantly related intraguild species are likely also to compete to some degree. (2) We assessed diffuse competition between mammalian and reptilian predators at sites in central Australia over 24 years. Specifically, we investigated the effect of dasyurid marsupial abundance on the diet breadth of three groups of lizards (nocturnal dietary generalists, diurnal dietary generalists and dietary specialists). (3) Nocturnal generalist lizards had progressively narrower diets as dasyurid abundance increased. The diet breadth of diurnal generalist lizards was unaffected by overall dasyurid abundance, but was restricted by that of the largest dasyurid species (Dasycercus blythi). Ant- and termite-specialist lizards were unaffected by dasyurid abundance. (4) Diffuse competition, mediated by interference, between dasyurids and nocturnal generalist lizards appears to have strong effects on these lizards, and is the first such between-class interaction to be described. Diffuse interactions may be widespread in natural communities, and merit further investigation among other disparate taxon groups that occur in the same ecological guilds.
On the validity of visual cover estimates for time series analyses: a case study of hummock grasslands
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-05-2015
Citizen science reveals current distribution, predicted habitat suitability and resource requirements of the introduced African Carder Bee Pseudoanthidium (Immanthidium) repetitum in Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-02-2022
DOI: 10.1007/S10530-022-02753-2
Abstract: The introduction of non-native bee species is a major driver of ecosystem change resulting in the spread of non-native weeds, alterations to plant-pollinator interactions and competition with native species for food and nesting resources. Our lack of ecological information for many non-native organisms hinders our ability to understand the impacts of species introductions. This is often compounded by the Wallacean Shortfall—a lack of adequate knowledge of a species’ distribution in geographic space. In Australia, the African carder bee ( Pseudoanthidium ( Immanthidium ) repetitum ) was first observed in 2000 and has since become one of the most common bees in some regions. Despite its rapid population increase and range expansion, little is known about the ecology or distribution of P. repetitum . In this study, we determine the flower preferences, current distribution and predicted areas at risk of future invasion of P. repetitum using opportunistic data collected from citizen science websites, social media and museum records. We found that the current distribution of P. repetitum in Australia encompasses approximately 332,000 km 2 concentrated along the eastern coast. We found considerable suitable habitat outside the current distribution including bio ersity hotspots and world heritage listed natural areas. Pseudoanthidium repetitum foraged on a wide range of plants from many families and can thus be classified as a generalist forager (polylectic). Our results suggest that P. repetitum is well suited for continued expansion in coastal Australia. Our results demonstrate the effective application of opportunistic data in overcoming knowledge gaps in species ecology and modelling of introduced species distribution.
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