ORCID Profile
0000-0003-3202-9898
Current Organisation
University of Technology 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)
Ecological Applications | Applied Statistics | Ecological Impacts of Climate Change | Environmental Science and Management | Invasive Species Ecology | Conservation and Biodiversity | Sociobiology And Behavioural Ecology | Conservation And Biodiversity |
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Land and Water Management of environments not elsewhere classified | Effects of Climate Change and Variability on Australia (excl. Social Impacts) | Ecosystem Assessment and Management at Regional or Larger Scales | Land and water management | Living resources (flora and fauna) | Road safety | Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity at Regional or Larger Scales
Related Links
Publications
Reintroducing extirpated herbivores could partially reverse the late Quaternary decline of large and grazing species
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-02-2021
DOI: 10.1111/GEB.13264
Cautioning against overemphasis of normative constructs in conservation decision making.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-03-2019
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13298
Abstract: Questions around how to conserve nature are increasingly leading to dissonance in conservation planning and action. While science can assist in unraveling the nature of conservation challenges, conservation responses rely heavily on normative positions and constructs to order actions, aid interpretations, and provide motivation. However, problems can arise when norms are mistaken for science or when they stymy scientific rigor. To highlight these potential pitfalls, we used the ethics-based tool of argument analysis to assess a controversial conservation intervention, the Pelorus Island Goat Control Program. The program proponents' argument for restorative justice was unsound because it relied on weak logical construction overly entrenched in normative assumptions. Overreliance on normative constructs, particularly the invocation of tragedy, creates a sense of urgency that can subvert scientific and ethical integrity, obscure values and assumptions, and increase the propensity for flawed logic. This ex le demonstrates how the same constructs that drive bio ersity conservation can also drive poor decision making, spur public backlash, and justify poor animal welfare outcomes. To provide clarity, a decision-making flowchart we devised demonstrates how values, norms, and ethics influence one another. We recommend practitioners follow 3 key points to improve decision making: be aware of values, as well as normative constructs and ethical theories that those values inform be mindful of overreliance on either normative constructs or ethics when deciding action is justified and be logically sound and transparent when building justifications. We also recommend 5 key attributes that practitioners should be attentive to when making conservation decisions: clarity, transparency, scientific integrity, adaptiveness, and compassion. Greater attention to the role of norms in decision making will improve conservation outcomes and garner greater public support for actions.
Spatial sensitivity of surface energy balance algorithms to meteorological data in a heterogeneous environment
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2016
Foot-thumping as an alarm signal in macropodoid marsupials: Prevalence and hypotheses of function
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2006
A novel approach to quantify and locate potential microrefugia using topoclimate, climate stability, and isolation from the matrix
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-03-2012
A Ten-Stage Protocol for Assessing the Welfare of Individual Non-Captive Wild Animals: Free-Roaming Horses (Equus Ferus Caballus) as an Example
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 16-01-2020
DOI: 10.3390/ANI10010148
Abstract: Knowledge of the welfare status of wild animals is vital for informing debates about the ways in which we interact with wild animals and their habitats. Currently, there is no published information about how to scientifically assess the welfare of free-roaming wild animals during their normal day-to-day lives. Using free-roaming horses as an ex le, we describe a ten-stage protocol for systematically and scientifically assessing the welfare of in idual non-captive wild animals. The protocol starts by emphasising the importance of readers having an understanding of animal welfare in a conservation context and also of the Five Domains Model for assessing welfare. It goes on to detail what species-specific information is required to assess welfare, how to identify measurable and observable indicators of animals’ physical states and how to identify which in iduals are being assessed. Further, it addresses how to select appropriate methods for measuring/observing physical indicators of welfare, the scientific validation of these indicators and then the grading of animals’ welfare states, along with assigning a confidence score. Finally, grading future welfare risks and how these can guide management decisions is discussed. Applying this ten-stage protocol will enable biologists to scientifically assess the welfare of wild animals and should lead to significant advances in the field of wild animal welfare.
Promoting predators and compassionate conservation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-05-2015
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.12525
Creating vegetation density profiles for a diverse range of ecological habitats using terrestrial laser scanning
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-01-2014
Compassion and moral inclusion as cornerstones for conservation education and coexistence
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2021
Cruel to be kind?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2014
Risks to carbon dynamics in semi-arid woodlands of eastern Australia under current and future climates
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVMAN.2019.01.076
Abstract: Extreme disturbance events, such as wildfire and drought, have large impacts on carbon storage and sequestration of forests and woodlands globally. Here, we present a modelling approach that assesses the relative impact of disturbances on carbon storage and sequestration, and how this will alter under climate change. Our case study is semi-arid Australia where large areas of land are managed to offset over 122 million tonnes of anthropogenic carbon emissions over a 100-year period. These carbon offsets include mature vegetation that has been protected from clearing and regenerating vegetation on degraded agricultural land. We use a Bayesian Network model to combine multiple probabilistic models of the risk posed by fire, drought, grazing and recruitment failure to carbon dynamics. The model is parameterised from a review of relevant literature and additional quantitative analyses presented here. We found that the risk of vegetation becoming a net source of carbon due to a mortality event, or failing to realise maximum sequestration potential, through recruitment failure in regenerating vegetation, was primarily a function of rainfall in this semi-arid environment. However, the relative size of an emissions event varied across vegetation communities depending on plant attributes, specifically resprouting capacity. Modelled climate change effects were variable, depending on the climate change projection used. Under 'best-case' or 'most-likely' climate scenarios for 2050, similar or increased projections of mean annual precipitation, associated with a build-up of fuel, were expected to drive an increase in fire activity (a 40-160% increase), but a decrease in drought (a 20-35% decrease). Under a 'worst-case' climate scenario, fire activity was expected to decline (a 37% decrease), but drought conditions remain similar (a 5% decrease). These projected changes to the frequency of drought and fire increase the risk that vegetation used for carbon offsetting will fail to provide anticipated amounts of carbon abatement over their lifetime.
Feral equids’ varied effects on ecosystems—Response
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 27-08-2021
Decline in colonial waterbird breeding highlights loss of Ramsar wetland function
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2018
Animal cognition and culture mediate predator–prey interactions
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2023
Compassion as a practical and evolved ethic for conservation
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2016
Re-Thinking Felid–Human Entanglements through the Lenses of Compassionate Conservation and Multispecies Studies
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 31-10-2022
DOI: 10.3390/ANI12212996
Abstract: With many felid species in widespread decline, re-thinking the messy felid–human entanglements is a necessary step for fostering coexistence as current conservation frameworks centered on human exceptionalism and widespread violence toward wild animals are conspicuously failing felids. This paper argues for fostering a critical awareness of how we understand our relationships with nonhuman animals, particularly in the context of conservation. We bring two distinct but related interdisciplinary fields into a dialogue to critically question the values and conceptual assumptions that frame the practices of felid conservation today. Compassionate conservation and multispecies studies share many synergies and conceptual overlaps despite emerging from different academic domains. We identified four key areas for further exploration: (1) A shift in emphasis from practices of killing to the underlying assumptions that make forms of killing permissible and ethically unproblematic. (2) Re-engagement with in iduals, not just species, in conservation settings. (3) Unsettling human exceptionalism through an emphasis on the agency of animals and an ethic involving compassion. (4) Acknowledging the ways in which humans co-become with other animals and cultivating relationships of multispecies cohabitation and flourishing.
Frequency and causes of kangaroo - vehicle collisions on an Australian outback highway
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2006
DOI: 10.1071/WR04066
Abstract: Kangaroo–vehicle collisions are frequent on Australian highways. Despite high economic costs, detrimental effects on animal welfare, and potential impacts on population viability, little research has been done to investigate the impact of road mortality on kangaroo populations, where and why accidents occur, and how the collisions can be mitigated. We therefore collected data on species (Macropus rufus, M. giganteus, M. fuliginosus, M. robustus), sex and age of kangaroos killed on a 21.2-km bitumenised section of outback highway over 6 months in far western New South Wales, Australia. The spatial and temporal distribution of road-killed kangaroos was investigated in relation to the cover and quality of road-side vegetation, road characteristics, the density of kangaroos along the road, climatic variables and traffic volume. A total of 125 kangaroos were found killed on the road at a rate of 0.03 deaths km–1 day–1. Grey kangaroos of two species (M. giganteus, M. fuliginosus) were under-represented in the road-kill s le in comparison with their proportion in the source population estimated during the day. No bias towards either sex was found. The age structure of road-killed kangaroos was similar to age structures typical of source kangaroo populations. Road-kills mainly occurred in open plains country. In road sections with curves or stock races, road-kill frequencies were higher than expected. Greater cover and greenness of roadside vegetation at the verge probably attracted kangaroos to the road and variation in this vegetation affected the spatial distribution of road-kills. The temporal distribution of road-kills was positively correlated with the volume of night-time traffic. The probability of a kangaroo–vehicle collision increased exponentially with traffic volume. Results are discussed in relation to the potential for mitigation of kangaroo–vehicle collisions.
Using endemism to assess representation of protected areas - the family Myrtaceae in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-11-2013
DOI: 10.1111/JBI.12001
Survival behaviour of swamp wallabies during prescribed burning and wildfire
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2010
DOI: 10.1071/WR08029
Abstract: Context. Prescribed (or controlled) burning is frequently advocated as a means of reducing fuel loads in peri-urban forests to minimise the risk of high-intensity wildfires. An important consideration in prescribed burns is the impact on native wildlife. Aims. An opportunity arose to follow the movements of radio-collared peri-urban sw wallabies during a prescribed burn and after an unexpected wildfire in the same location a short time later. Movement data was used to assess the relative impacts of the prescribed burn and wildfire on mortality, emigration and habitat use the behavioural responses and methods of avoidance used by sw wallabies in response to an oncoming fire front and the management implications for wildlife that inhabit fire-prone habitats in proximity to human settlement where wildfire mitigation is necessary. Methods. Here we report on the movements of radio-collared sw wallabies, Wallabia bicolor, before, during and after a prescribed fire and after a wildfire on the same site 6 months later. Key results. No radio-collared sw wallabies were killed during the prescribed burn and only one wallaby was observed to emigrate from the area post-fire. This contrasted to the wildfire where one wallaby died during or just after the fire and another perished in the post-fire environment a few months later. The wildfire also increased emigration post-fire. Conclusions. We demonstrate that wallabies can avoid fire fronts and that this avoidance behaviour may be more successful during cooler fires. The prescribed burn provided a suitable habitat for wallabies but did not result in a shift in habitat preference. Implications. Mitigation of the impact of prescribed burns on sw wallabies may be achieved by allowing sufficient time for habitat complexity to re-establish between burns.
International consensus principles for ethical wildlife control
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-02-2017
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.12896
Abstract: Human-wildlife conflicts are commonly addressed by excluding, relocating, or lethally controlling animals with the goal of preserving public health and safety, protecting property, or conserving other valued wildlife. However, declining wildlife populations, a lack of efficacy of control methods in achieving desired outcomes, and changes in how people value animals have triggered widespread acknowledgment of the need for ethical and evidence-based approaches to managing such conflicts. We explored international perspectives on and experiences with human-wildlife conflicts to develop principles for ethical wildlife control. A erse panel of 20 experts convened at a 2-day workshop and developed the principles through a facilitated engagement process and discussion. They determined that efforts to control wildlife should begin wherever possible by altering the human practices that cause human-wildlife conflict and by developing a culture of coexistence be justified by evidence that significant harms are being caused to people, property, livelihoods, ecosystems, and/or other animals have measurable outcome-based objectives that are clear, achievable, monitored, and adaptive predictably minimize animal welfare harms to the fewest number of animals be informed by community values as well as scientific, technical, and practical information be integrated into plans for systematic long-term management and be based on the specifics of the situation rather than negative labels (pest, overabundant) applied to the target species. We recommend that these principles guide development of international, national, and local standards and control decisions and implementation.
Detecting symptoms of Phytophthora cinnamomi infection in Australian native vegetation using reflectance spectrometry: complex effects of water stress and species susceptibility
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-06-2019
Red foxes avoid apex predation without increasing fear
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 17-06-2021
Abstract: Apex predators structure ecosystems by hunting mesopredators and herbivores. These trophic cascades are driven not only by the number of animals they kill, but also by how prey alter their behaviors to reduce risk. The different levels of risk navigated by prey has been likened to a “landscape of fear.” In Australia, dingoes are known to suppress red fox populations, driving a trophic cascade. However, most of what we know of this relationship comes from circumstances where predators are persecuted, which can affect their social and trophic interactions. Utilizing camera traps, we monitored fox behavior when accessing key resource points used by territorial dingoes, in a region where both predators are protected. We predicted that foxes would avoid and be more cautious in areas of high dingo activity. Indeed, foxes avoided directly encountering dingoes. However, contrary to our expectations, foxes were not more cautious or vigilant where dingo activity was high. In fact, fox activity and scent-marking rates increased where dingo scent-marking was concentrated. Further, foxes were increasingly confident with increasing levels of conspecific activity. Our results suggest that responses to the threat of predation are more complex than fear alone. In socially stable conditions, it is possible that prey may develop knowledge of their predators, facilitating avoidance, and reducing fear.
Incorporating an iterative energy restraint for the Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS)
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2017
Linking habitat suitability and road mortalities across geographic ranges
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-06-2012
Road impacts a tipping point for wildlife populations in threatened landscapes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-04-2011
The welfare ethics of the commercial killing of free-ranging kangaroos: an evaluation of the benefits and costs of the industry
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 02-2014
DOI: 10.7120/09627286.23.1.001
Abstract: The commercial killing of kangaroos provides multiple benefits to society, but also causes both deliberate and unintended harms to kangaroos. The ethics of the kangaroo industry is assessed in terms of whether the assumed benefits justify the welfare costs. An analysis of the stated benefits indicates that killing for damage mitigation is beneficial mainly during drought and not at current levels that there is a commercial value, although considerably lower than previously estimated, and that demonstrable environmental benefits from commercial killing of kangaroos are lacking and that the commercial kill may ameliorate the suffering of kangaroos during drought. Welfare practices are very difficult to assess and regulate due to the size and remote nature of the industry. A combination of empirical data on welfare outcomes and inferences drawn from behavioural and reproductive knowledge of the commercially killed species are utilised to assess harm. The welfare costs include deliberate and indirect harm to dependent young (a by-product of the commercial kill), and a number of unintended harms to adult kangaroos, including increased mortality during drought, inhumane killing of a portion of adult kangaroos, and a disruption of social stability and the evolutionary potential of in iduals. Furthermore, a substantial gap exists between the intended welfare standards of the code of practice governing the kangaroo industry and the welfare outcomes for both dependent young and adult kangaroos. We found that, on balance, the benefits are lower than expected and the welfare costs are likely to be considerably higher than acceptable. More research, particularly at the point of kill, is necessary to verify and assess the extent of harms. A number of improvements are suggested to the code of practice to improve welfare outcomes.
The Wily and Courageous Red Fox: Behavioural Analysis of a Mesopredator at Resource Points Shared by an Apex Predator
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 11-2019
DOI: 10.3390/ANI9110907
Abstract: The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a widespread and ecologically significant terrestrial mesopredator, that has expanded its range with human globalisation. Despite this, we know relatively little about their behaviour under the wide range of ecological conditions they experience, particularly how they navigate the risk of encounters with apex predators. We conducted the first ethological study of foxes outside their historic native range, in Australia, where both the foxes and their main predator were protected from human hunting. Using remote camera traps, we recorded foxes visiting key resource points regularly utilised by territorial dingoes (Canis dingo), their local apex predator, in the Painted Desert, South Australia. We constructed an ethogram sensitive to a range of behaviours and attitudes. Since foxes are suppressed by dingoes, we expected that the foxes would primarily be in a cautious state. In contrast, we found that foxes were in a confident state most of the time. Where human hunting is absent, social stability of predators may increase predictability and therefore decrease fear.
Topoclimate versus macroclimate: how does climate mapping methodology affect species distribution models and climate change projections?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-05-2014
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.12216
Contradiction and complacency shape attitudes towards the toll of roads on wildlife
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 17-06-2016
DOI: 10.3390/ANI6060040
Abstract: Most people in the world now live in cities. Urbanisation simultaneously isolates people from nature and contributes to bio ersity decline. As cities expand, suburban development and the road infrastructure to support them widens their impact on wildlife. Even so, urban communities, especially those on the peri-urban fringe, endeavour to support bio ersity through wildlife friendly gardens, green spaces and corridors, and conservation estates. On one hand, many who live on city fringes do so because they enjoy proximity to nature, however, the ever increasing intrusion of roads leads to conflict with wildlife. Trauma (usually fatal) to wildlife and (usually emotional and financial) to people ensues. Exposure to this trauma, therefore, should inform attitudes towards wildlife vehicle collisions (WVC) and be linked to willingness to reduce risk of further WVC. While there is good anecdotal evidence for this response, competing priorities and better understanding of the likelihood of human injury or fatalities, as opposed to wildlife fatalities, may confound this trend. In this paper we sought to explore this relationship with a quantitative study of driver behaviour and attitudes to WVC from a cohort of residents and visitors who drive through a peri-urban reserve (Royal National Park) on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia. We distributed a self-reporting questionnaire and received responses from 105 local residents and 51 visitors to small townships accessed by roads through the national park. We sought the respondents’ exposure to WVC, their evasive actions in an impending WVC, their attitudes to wildlife fatalities, their strategies to reduce the risk of WVC, and their willingness to adopt new ameliorative measures. The results were partitioned by driver demographics and residency. Residents were generally well informed about mitigation strategies but exposure led to a decrease in viewing WVC as very serious. In addition, despite most respondents stating they routinely drive slower when collision risk is high (at dusk and dawn), our assessment of driving trends via traffic speeds suggested this sentiment was not generally adhered to. Thus we unveil some of the complexities in tackling driver’s willingness to act on reducing risk of WVC, particularly when risk of human trauma is low.
Echoes of the late Pleistocene in a novel trophic cascade between cougars and feral donkeys
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 14-04-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.04.13.439662
Abstract: Introduced large herbivores have partly filled ecological gaps formed in the late Pleistocene, when many of the Earth’s megafauna were driven extinct. However, surviving predators are widely considered unable to influence introduced megafauna, leading them to exert unusually strong herbivory and disturbance-related effects. We report on a behaviorally-mediated trophic cascade between cougars ( Puma concolor ) and feral donkeys ( Equus africanus asinus ) at desert wetlands in North America. In response to predation of juveniles, donkeys shifted from nocturnal to almost exclusively diurnal, thereby avoiding peaks in cougar activity. Furthermore, donkeys reduced the time they spent at desert wetlands by 87%: from 5.5 hours a day to 0.7 hours at sites with predation. These shifts in activity were associated with increased activity and richness of other mammal species and reduced disturbance and herbivory-related effects on these ecologically-distinct wetland ecosystems, including 49% fewer trails, 35% less tr led bare ground, and 227% more canopy cover. Cougar predation on introduced donkeys rewires an ancient food web, with erse implications for modern ecosystems.
Predator protection dampens the landscape of fear
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-08-2022
DOI: 10.1111/OIK.09059
Abstract: Apex predators structure ecosystems by hunting mesopredators and herbivores. Their ecological influence is determined not only by the number of animals they kill, but also by how prey alter their behaviours to reduce risk. Predation risk is variable in space and time creating a landscape of fear. In Australia, dingoes hunt red foxes and suppress their populations. As both predators are commonly subjected to eradication programs, the question arises whether humans alter the risk dingoes pose to foxes and in turn alter the foxes' avoidance behaviours. We studied the spatio‐temporal activity patterns and wariness behaviours of foxes and dingoes at sites where they were protected (predator friendly), where they were persecuted (predator persecuted), and at sites where foxes were persecuted, and dingoes had been eradicated (dingo eradicated). The landscape of fear hypothesis predicts that foxes will be the most spatiotemporally restricted and most fearful at predator friendly sites, and least restricted and fearful at dingo eradicated sites. We found that fox occupancy was highest at dingo eradicated sites and that they avoided times of heightened dingo activity at predator friendly sites more than at predator persecuted sites. Contrary to predictions, foxes were the least fearful (lowest frequency of cautious and vigilant behaviour) and most social (highest frequency of social interactions) at predator friendly sites. Our findings suggest that in the absence of persecution, mesopredators living with socially‐stable apex predators can anticipate and avoid risk, reducing the need for constant vigilance (i.e. fear). Where predators are protected, predator avoidance may be driven by knowledge rather than fear alone.
Flight responses of eastern gray kangaroos to benign or harmful human behavior
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-11-2019
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.5818
The importance of temporal climate variability for spatial patterns in plant diversity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-06-2013
Assessing the impacts of roads in peri-urban reserves: Road-based fatalities and road usage by wildlife in the Royal National Park, New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2006
Using feathers to map continental‐scale movements of waterbirds and wetland importance
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-03-2021
DOI: 10.1111/CONL.12798
Abstract: Waterbirds are highly mobile, moving over large distances to access resources. Although consistent migration routes are observed in highly seasonal and predictable environments, movement patterns to utilize ephemeral resources in dryland environments are largely unknown. This makes conservation planning and water policy challenging as the relative importance of widely dispersed wetlands is difficult to rank. We addressed this challenge by combining a citizen science project with the novel application of X‐ray fluorescence of feathers to detect continental scale movement of waterbirds using elemental signatures. By doing so, we gained important insight into the movements of 24 waterbird species, including the significance of the Murray–Darling basin as a key source of waterbirds across the continent. Our approach highlights the benefits of elemental signatures to identify key areas of habitat use and priorities for wetland management.
Savviness of prey to introduced predators
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-11-2022
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.14012
Abstract: The prey naivety hypothesis posits that prey are vulnerable to introduced predators because many generations in slow gradual coevolution are needed for appropriate avoidance responses to develop. It predicts that prey will be more responsive to native than introduced predators and less responsive to introduced predators that differ substantially from native predators and from those newly established. To test these predictions, we conducted a global meta‐analysis of studies that measured the wariness responses of small mammals to the scent of sympatric mammalian mesopredators. We identified 26 studies that met our selection criteria. These studies comprised 134 experiments reporting on the responses of 36 small mammal species to the scent of six introduced mesopredators and 12 native mesopredators. For each introduced mesopredator, we measured their phylogenetic and functional distance to local native mesopredators and the number of years sympatric with their prey. We used predator and prey body mass as a measure of predation risk. Globally, small mammals were similarly wary of the scent of native and introduced mesopredators phylogenetic and functional distance between introduced mesopredators and closest native mesopredators had no effect on wariness and wariness was unrelated to the number of prey generations, or years, since first contact with introduced mesopredators. Small mammal wariness was associated with predator‐prey body mass ratio, regardless of the nativity. The one thing animals do not seem to recognize is whether their predators are native.
Urban green roofs promote metropolitan biodiversity: A comparative case study
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2022
Emotion as a source of moral understanding in conservation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-03-2021
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13689
Abstract: Recent debates around the meaning and implications of compassionate conservation suggest that some conservationists consider emotion a false and misleading basis for moral judgment and decision making. We trace these beliefs to a long‐standing, gendered sociocultural convention and argue that the disparagement of emotion as a source of moral understanding is both empirically and morally problematic. According to the current scientific and philosophical understanding, reason and emotion are better understood as partners, rather than opposites. Nonetheless, the two have historically been seen as separate, with reason elevated in association with masculinity and emotion (especially nurturing emotion) dismissed or delegitimated in association with femininity. These associations can be situated in a broader, dualistic, and hierarchical logic used to maintain power for a dominant male (White, able‐bodied, upper class, heterosexual) human class. We argue that emotion should be affirmed by conservationists for the novel and essential insights it contributes to conservation ethics. We consider the specific ex le of compassion and characterize it as an emotional experience of interdependence and shared vulnerability. This experience highlights conservationists’ responsibilities to in idual beings, enhancing established and widely accepted beliefs that conservationists have a duty to protect populations, species, and ecosystems (or bio ersity). We argue compassion, thus understood, should be embraced as a core virtue of conservation.
When all life counts in conservation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-02-2019
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13447
Abstract: Conservation science involves the collection and analysis of data. These scientific practices emerge from values that shape who and what is counted. Currently, conservation data are filtered through a value system that considers native life the only appropriate subject of conservation concern. We examined how trends in species richness, distribution, and threats change when all wildlife count by adding so-called non-native and feral populations to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List and local species richness assessments. We focused on vertebrate populations with founding members taken into and out of Australia by humans (i.e., migrants). We identified 87 immigrant and 47 emigrant vertebrate species. Formal conservation accounts underestimated global ranges by an average of 30% for immigrants and 7% for emigrants immigrations surpassed extinctions in Australia by 52 species migrants were disproportionately threatened (33% of immigrants and 29% of emigrants were threatened or decreasing in their native ranges) and incorporating migrant populations into risk assessments reduced global threat statuses for 15 of 18 species. Australian policies defined most immigrants as pests (76%), and conservation was the most commonly stated motivation for targeting these species in killing programs (37% of immigrants). Inclusive bio ersity data open space for dialogue on the ethical and empirical assumptions underlying conservation science.
Is the prickly pear a ‘Tzabar’? Diversity and conservation of Israel’s migrant species
Publisher: Brill
Date: 31-08-2017
Density dependence in foraging habitat preference of eastern grey kangaroos
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-2002
Bringing Compassion to the Ethical Dilemma in Killing Kangaroos for Conservation: Comment on Conservation Through Sustainable Use by Rob Irvine
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-04-2013
DOI: 10.1007/S11673-013-9442-Y
Abstract: Ethical debate on the killing of kangaroos has polarised conservation and animal welfare science, yet at the heart of these scientific disciplines is the unifying aim of reducing harm to non-human animals. This aim provides the foundation for common ground, culminating in the development of compassionate conservation principles that seek to provide mechanisms for achieving both conservation and welfare goals. However, environmental decision-making is not devoid of human interests, and conservation strategies are commonly employed that suit entrenched positions and commercial gain, rather than valuing the needs of the non-human animals in need of protection. The case study on the wild kangaroo harvest presents just such a dilemma, whereby a conservation strategy is put forward that can only be rationalised by ignoring difficulties in the potential for realising conservation benefits and the considerable welfare cost to kangaroos. Rather than an open debate on the ethics of killing game over livestock, in this response I argue that efforts to bring transparency and objectivity to the public debate have to date been obfuscated by those seeking to maintain entrenched interests. Only by putting aside these interests will debate about the exploitation of wildlife result in humane, compassionate, and substantive conservation benefits.
Spatio-temporal distribution of sugarcane potential yields and yield gaps in Southern China
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2018
Tolerance of wolves shapes desert canid communities in the Middle East
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2022
Predator scent induces differing responses in two sympatric macropodids
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2005
DOI: 10.1071/ZO04053
Abstract: When prey species encounter the scent of a predator they must make a decision on how to respond. This may be either to ignore, flee, hide or alarm call. While many species are able to derive detailed information from the chemical cues associated with predator scent, for some the decision to respond is often made without being able to identify the actual location and intentions of the predator. Depending on the sociality and ecology of the species, it may pay to flee or to engage in predator inspection where knowledge is impure. We tested for this in two sympatric marsupial macropodids, the parma wallaby (Macropus parma) and the red-necked pademelon (Thylogale thetis), as little is known of how these species detect and respond to olfactory cues of predation risk. We observed that, when presented with a synthetic predator scent mimicking dog urine, the social forager, T. thetis, tended to spend more time close to the predator odour, while the solitary forager, M. parma, exhibited an aversive response. The results suggest that social and ecological constraints on the sensory modalities used in predator detection may influence how macropodids respond to olfactory predator cues.
Enhancing the parasitism of insect herbivores through diversification of habitat in Philippine rice fields
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-2018
Chasing the unknown: predicting seed dispersal mechanisms from plant traits
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-08-2010
Review of the Foundational Knowledge Required for Assessing Horse Welfare
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 12-2022
DOI: 10.3390/ANI12233385
Abstract: A detailed understanding of what is usual for a species under optimal conditions is critical for identifying and interpreting different features of body function that have known impacts on animal welfare and its assessment. When applying the Five Domains Model to assess animal welfare, the key starting point is therefore to acquire extensive species-specific knowledge relevant to each of the four physical/functional Domains of the Model. These Domains, 1 to 4, address areas where objective information is evaluated and collated. They are: (1) Nutrition (2) Physical environment (3) Health and (4) Behavioural interactions. It is on the basis of this detailed knowledge that cautious inferences can then be made about welfare-relevant mental experiences animals may have, aligned with Domain 5, Mental State. However, this review is focused entirely on the first four Domains in order to provide a novel holistic framework to collate the multidisciplinary knowledge of horses required for undertaking comprehensive welfare assessments. Thus, inferring the potential mental experiences aligned with Domain 5, the final step in model-based welfare assessments, is not considered here. Finally, providing extensive information on free-roaming horses enables a better understanding of the impacts of human interventions on the welfare of horses in both free-roaming and domestic situations.
Foraging behaviour and dispersion of eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) in an ideal free framework
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-02-2006
Heavy metal habitat: A novel framework for mapping heavy metal contamination over large-scale catchment with a species distribution model
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.WATRES.2022.119310
Abstract: Heavy metal(loid)s (HMs) have been consistently entering the food chain, imposing great harm on environment and public health. However, previous studies on the spatial dynamics and transport mechanism of HMs have been profoundly limited by the field s ling issues, such as the uneven observations of in idual carriers and their spatial mismatch, especially over large-scale catchments with complex environment. In this study, a novel methodological framework for mapping HMs at catchment scale was proposed and applied, combining a species distribution model (SDM) with physical environment and human variables. Based on the field observations, we ecologicalized HMs in different carriers as different species. This enabled the proposed framework to model the 'enrichment area' of in idual HMs in the geographic space (termed as the HM 'habitat') and identify their 'hotspots' (peak value points) within the catchment. Results showed the output maps of HM habitats from secondary carriers (soil, sediment, and wet deposition) well agreed with the influence of industry contaminants, hydraulic sorting, and precipitation washout process respectively, indicating the potential of SDM in modeling the spatial distributions of the HM. The derived maps of HMs from secondary carriers, along with the human and environmental variables were then input as explanatory variables in SDM to predict the spatial patterns of the final HM accumulation in river water, which was observed to have largely improved the prediction quality. These results confirmed the value of our framework to leverage SDMs from ecology perspective to study HM contamination transport at catchment scale, offering new insights not only to map the spatial HM habitats but also help locate the HM transport chains among different carriers.
Small-scale patch selection and consumer-resource dynamics of eastern grey kangaroos
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 12-2004
DOI: 10.1644/BEH-104.1
Introduced herbivores restore Late Pleistocene ecological functions
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 23-03-2020
Abstract: Humans have caused extinctions of large-bodied mammalian herbivores over the past ∼100,000 y, leading to cascading changes in ecosystems. Conversely, introductions of herbivores have, in part, numerically compensated for extinction losses. However, the net outcome of the twin anthropogenic forces of extinction and introduction on herbivore assemblages has remained unknown. We found that a primary outcome of introductions has been the reintroduction of key ecological functions, making herbivore assemblages with nonnative species more similar to preextinction ones than native-only assemblages are. Our findings support calls for renewed research on introduced herbivore ecologies in light of paleoecological change and suggest that shifting focus from eradication to landscape and predator protection may have broader bio ersity benefits.
Recognizing animal personhood in compassionate conservation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-05-2020
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13494
Mental Experiences in Wild Animals: Scientifically Validating Measurable Welfare Indicators in Free-Roaming Horses
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 28-04-2023
DOI: 10.3390/ANI13091507
Abstract: The mental experiences of animals are what characterises their welfare status. The Five Domains Model for assessing welfare aligns with the understanding that physical and mental states are linked. Following measurement of indicators within each of the four physical/functional Domains (1. Nutrition 2. Physical environment 3. Health and 4. Behavioural interactions), the anticipated negative or positive affective consequences (mental experiences) are cautiously inferred and assigned to Domain 5. Those inferences derive credibility from validated knowledge of the underlying systems of physiology, neurophysiology, neuroethology and affective neuroscience. Any indicators used for assessing welfare need to be scientifically validated. This requires, firstly, evidence of the links between a measurable/observable indicator and the physical/functional impact (in Domains 1 to 4), and secondly, a demonstrable relationship between the physical/functional impact and the mental experience it is inferred the indicators reflect (in Domain five). This review refers to indicators of physical/functional states in Domains 1 to 4, which have been shown to be measurable in free-roaming wild horses, and then evaluates the scientific evidence linking them to inferred mental experiences in Domain 5. This is the first time that the scientific evidence validating a comprehensive range of welfare indicators has been synthesised in this way. Inserting these indicators into the Five Domains Model enables transparently justifiable assessment and grading of welfare status in free-roaming horses.
Identifying minimal sets of survey techniques for multi-species monitoring across landscapes: an approach utilising species distribution models
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 14-03-2014
Tracing geochemical pollutants in stream water and soil from mining activity in an alpine catchment
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.CHEMOSPHERE.2019.125167
Abstract: This research developed a method of tracing major water chemical parameters (WCP) and soil heavy metals (HM) to identify the processes of mining pollution in topographically complex landscapes. Ninety-nine spatially distributed water s les were collected to characterise the hydrochemical characteristics of an alpine river in north-west China. Sixty river WCP and fifty-six soil HM s les from areas near mining sites were then used to analyse the mining pollution process. Geographical and mining activity characteristics were derived from topographic and mine site information. The occurrence of sulphates (SO
Traditional ‘maavee’ rice production in Sri Lanka: environmental, economic and social pressures revealed through stakeholder interviews
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-07-2018
Biophysical risks to carbon sequestration and storage in Australian drylands
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVMAN.2017.12.002
Abstract: Carbon abatement schemes that reduce land clearing and promote revegetation are now an important component of climate change policy globally. There is considerable potential for these schemes to operate in drylands which are spatially extensive. However, projects in these environments risk failure through unplanned release of stored carbon to the atmosphere. In this review, we identify factors that may adversely affect the success of vegetation-based carbon abatement projects in dryland ecosystems, evaluate their likelihood of occurrence, and estimate the potential consequences for carbon storage and sequestration. We also evaluate management strategies to reduce risks posed to these carbon abatement projects. Identified risks were primarily disturbances, including unplanned fire, drought, and grazing. Revegetation projects also risk recruitment failure, thereby failing to reach projected rates of sequestration. Many of these risks are dependent on rainfall, which is highly variable in drylands and susceptible to further variation under climate change. Resprouting vegetation is likely to be less vulnerable to disturbance and have faster recovery rates upon release from disturbance. We conclude that there is a strong impetus for identifying management strategies and risk reduction mechanisms for carbon abatement projects. Risk mitigation would be enhanced by effective co-ordination of mitigation strategies at scales larger than in idual abatement project boundaries, and by implementing risk assessment throughout project planning and implementation stages. Reduction of risk is vital for maximising carbon sequestration of in idual projects and for reducing barriers to the establishment of new projects entering the market.
Contrasting topoclimate, long‐term macroclimatic averages, and habitat variables for modelling ant biodiversity at landscape scales
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-06-2014
DOI: 10.1111/ICAD.12081
Incorporating habitat use in models of fauna fatalities on roads
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-02-2009
Assessing the Distribution and Protection Status of two Types of Cool Environment to Facilitate Their Conservation under Climate Change
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-01-2014
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.12212
Abstract: Strategies to mitigate climate change can protect different types of cool environments. Two are receiving much attention: protection of ephemeral refuges (i.e., places with low maximum temperatures) and of stable refugia (i.e., places that are cool, have a stable environment, and are isolated). Problematically, they are often treated as equivalents. Careful delineation of their qualities is needed to prevent misdirected conservation initiatives yet, no one has determined whether protecting one protects the other. We mapped both types of cool environments across a large (∼3.4M ha) mixed-use landscape with a geographic information system and conducted a patch analysis to compare their spatial distributions examine relations between land use and their size and shape and assess their current protection status. With a modest, but arbitrary, threshold for demarcating both types of cool environments (i.e., values below the 0.025 quantile) there were 146,523 ha of ephemeral refuge (62,208 ha) and stable refugia (62,319 ha). Ephemeral refuges were generally aggregated at high elevation, and more refuge area occurred in protected areas (55,184 ha) than in unprotected areas (7,024 ha). In contrast, stable refugia were scattered across the landscape, and more stable-refugium area occurred on unprotected (40,135 ha) than on protected land (22,184 ha). Although sensitivity analysis showed that varying the thresholds that define cool environments affected outcomes, it also exposed the challenge of choosing a threshold for strategies to address climate change there is no single value that is appropriate for all of bio ersity. The degree of overlap between ephemeral refuges and stable refugia revealed that targeting only the former for protection on currently unprotected land would capture ∼17% of stable refugia. Targeting only stable refugia would capture ∼54% of ephemeral refuges. Thus, targeting one type of cool environment did not fully protect the other.
Modelling of wildlife fatality hotspots along the Snowy Mountain Highway in New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2005
Challenges at the intersection of conservation and ethics: Reply to Meyer et al. 2021
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-12-2021
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13666
Do wildlife warning reflectors elicit aversion in captive macropods?
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2006
DOI: 10.1071/WR05115
Abstract: A goal to reduce the frequency of animal–vehicle collisions is motivating extensive research on this topic world-wide. Over the last 30 years, one popular mechanism to warn wildlife of approaching vehicles has been the wildlife warning reflector, manufactured and distributed under the brands Swareflex (Austria) and Strieter-Lite (USA). These reflectors were designed to scare deer and other ungulates from roadways at night by reflecting light from the headlights of approaching vehicles into the eyes of animals on the road verge. Robust documentation of their effectiveness has been lacking, yet there has been a push in Australia to examine their efficacy with regard to medium to large macropodids. Field trials of the reflectors are problematic and difficult to design rigorously, so we chose to examine the behavioural response of two captive macropodid species (Macropus rufus and M. rufogriseus) to the reflectors on a simulated road in order to derive some indication as to their efficacy. The behavioural response to the reflectors was negligible for both species and not consistent with an aversive effect to deter road use or crossing. We conclude that they would be of little value in our efforts to reduce the frequency of collisions of kangaroos or wallabies with vehicles in Australia.
Wild horse populations in south-east Australia have a high prevalence of Strongylus vulgaris and may act as a reservoir of infection for domestic horses
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2019
Genetic Structure and Gene Flow in Eastern Grey Kangaroos in an Isolated Conservation Reserve
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 08-11-2021
DOI: 10.3390/D13110570
Abstract: Dispersal is a key process for population persistence, particularly in fragmented landscapes. Connectivity between habitat fragments can be easily estimated by quantifying gene flow among subpopulations. However, the focus in ecological research has been on endangered species, typically excluding species that are not of current conservation concern. Consequently, our current understanding of the behaviour and persistence of many species is incomplete. A case in point is the eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), an Australian herbivore that is subjected to considerable harvesting and population control efforts. In this study, we used non-invasive genetic s ling of eastern grey kangaroos within and outside of the Mourachan Conservation Property to assess functional connectivity. In total, we genotyped 232 s les collected from 17 locations at 20 microsatellite loci. The clustering algorithm indicated the presence of two clusters, with some overlap between the groups within and outside of the reserve. This genetic assessment should be repeated in 10–15 years to observe changes in population structure and gene flow over time, monitoring the potential impact of the planned exclusion fencing around the reserve.
Safeguarding reforestation efforts against changes in climate and disturbance regimes
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2018
Behavioural Plasticity by Eastern Grey Kangaroos in Response to Human Behaviour
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 15-05-2019
DOI: 10.3390/ANI9050244
Abstract: Sharing landscapes with humans is an increasingly fraught challenge for wildlife across the globe. While some species benefit from humans by exploiting novel opportunities (e.g., provision of resources or removal of competitors or predators), many wildlife experience harmful effects, either directly through persecution or indirectly through loss of habitat. Consequently, some species have been shown to be attracted to human presence while others avoid us. For any given population of a single species, though, the question of whether they can recognise and change their response to human presence depending on the type of human actions (i.e., either positive or negative) has received little attention to date. In this study, we chose to examine the behavioural plasticity within a single population of eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) to both positive and negative human activity. Within a relatively small and contiguous landscape, we identified areas where kangaroos experience a combination of either low and high frequencies of benign and harmful human disturbances. From six s ling sessions over five months, we found that density and group sizes were higher where humans acted benignly towards them, and that these groups had higher representations of sub-adults and juveniles than where humans had harmful intentions. Importantly, we found that the vital antipredator strategy of increasing group size with distance from cover was not detectable at sites with low and high levels of harm. Our findings suggest that these kangaroos are recognising and adjusting their behavioural response to humans at fine spatial scales, a plasticity trait that may be key to the survival of these species in human dominated landscapes.
Ethical Treatment of Invasive and Native Fauna in Australia: Perspectives through the One Welfare Lens
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 30-05-2022
DOI: 10.3390/ANI12111405
Abstract: The One Welfare concept is proposed to guide humans in the ethical treatment of non-human animals, each other and the environment. One Welfare was conceptualized for veterinarians but could be a foundational concept through which to promote the ethical treatment of animals that are outside of direct human care and responsibility. However, wild-living animals raise additional ethical conundrums because of their multifarious values and roles, and relationships that humans have with them. At an open facilitated forum, the 2018 Robert Dixon Memorial Animal Welfare Symposium, a panel of five experts from different fields shared their perspectives on “loving and hating animals in the wild” and responded to unscripted questions from the audience. The Symposium’s objectives were to elucidate views on the ethical treatment of the native and invasive animals of Australia and to identify some of the resultant dilemmas facing conservationists, educators, veterinarians and society. Here, we document the presented views and case studies and synthesize common themes in a One Welfare framework. Additionally, we identified points of contention that can guide further discourse. With this guide in place, the identification and discussion of those disparate views was a first step toward practical resolutions on how to manage wild-living Australian fauna ethically. We concluded that there was great utility in the One Welfare approach for any discourse about wild animal welfare. It requires attention to each element of the triple bottom line and ensures that advocacy for one party does not vanquish the voices from other sectors. We argue that, by facilitating a focus on the ecology in the context of wild animal issues, One Welfare is more useful in this context than the veterinary context for which it was originally developed.
The Impacts of Drought on the Health and Demography of Eastern Grey Kangaroos
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 21-01-2022
DOI: 10.3390/ANI12030256
Abstract: Extreme climatic events such as droughts and floods are expected to become more intense and severe under climate change, especially in the southern and eastern parts of Australia. We aimed to quantify the relationship between body condition scores (BCS), demography, activity rate, and parasitic infections of eastern grey kangaroos on a large conservation property under different climate extremes by employing camera traps established at artificial water points (AWPs). The survey period included a severe drought, broken by a significant flooding event. Climatic and environmental conditions were documented using remotely sensed indices of moisture availability and vegetation productivity. These conditions were found to affect all health and population parameters measured. BCS, juvenile proportions, and sex ratios were most correlated with 6-month lags in climatic conditions, while the activity rate of kangaroos at AWPs was most correlated with vegetation productivity. Ticks were mostly found on in iduals with a poorer BCS, while the concentration of parasitic eggs in feces was higher in autumn than in spring. Our study offers a glimpse into some of the environmental drivers of eastern grey kangaroo populations and their health, information that may become increasingly important in today’s climate. It further emphasizes the importance of this knowledge for wildlife conservation efforts appropriate to managing the impact of climate change alongside other threats.
Integrating Science into Management of Ecosystems in the Greater Blue Mountains
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-07-2011
DOI: 10.1007/S00267-011-9721-5
Abstract: Effective management of large protected conservation areas is challenged by political, institutional and environmental complexity and inconsistency. Knowledge generation and its uptake into management are crucial to address these challenges. We reflect on practice at the interface between science and management of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area (GBMWHA), which covers approximately 1 million hectares west of Sydney, Australia. Multiple government agencies and other stakeholders are involved in its management, and decision-making is confounded by numerous plans of management and competing values and goals, reflecting the different objectives and responsibilities of stakeholders. To highlight the complexities of the decision-making process for this large area, we draw on the outcomes of a recent collaborative research project and focus on fire regimes and wild-dog control as ex les of how existing knowledge is integrated into management. The collaborative research project achieved the objectives of collating and synthesizing biological data for the region however, transfer of the project's outcomes to management has proved problematic. Reasons attributed to this include lack of clearly defined management objectives to guide research directions and uptake, and scientific information not being made more understandable and accessible. A key role of a local bridging organisation (e.g., the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute) in linking science and management is ensuring that research results with management significance can be effectively transmitted to agencies and that outcomes are explained for nonspecialists as well as more widely distributed. We conclude that improved links between science, policy, and management within an adaptive learning-by-doing framework for the GBMWHA would assist the usefulness and uptake of future research.
Overcoming the ordinal imbalanced data problem by combining data processing and stacked generalizations
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2022
Use of Remote Camera Traps to Evaluate Animal-Based Welfare Indicators in Individual Free-Roaming Wild Horses
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 15-07-2021
DOI: 10.3390/ANI11072101
Abstract: We previously developed a Ten-Stage Protocol for scientifically assessing the welfare of in idual free-roaming wild animals using the Five Domains Model. The protocol includes developing methods for measuring or observing welfare indices. In this study, we assessed the use of remote camera traps to evaluate an extensive range of welfare indicators in in idual free-roaming wild horses. Still images and videos were collected and analysed to assess whether horses could be detected and identified in idually, which welfare indicators could be reliably evaluated, and whether behaviour could be quantitatively assessed. Remote camera trapping was successful in detecting and identifying horses (75% on still images and 72% on video observation events), across a range of habitats including woodlands where horses could not be directly observed. Twelve indicators of welfare across the Five Domains were assessed with equal frequency on both still images and video, with those most frequently assessable being body condition score (73% and 79% of observation events, respectively), body posture (76% for both), coat condition (42% and 52%, respectively), and whether or not the horse was sweating excessively (42% and 45%, respectively). An additional five indicators could only be assessed on video those most frequently observable being presence or absence of weakness (66%), qualitative behavioural assessment (60%), presence or absence of shivering (51%), and gait at walk (50%). Specific behaviours were identified in 93% of still images and 84% of video events, and proportions of time different behaviours were captured could be calculated. Most social behaviours were rarely observed, but close spatial proximity to other horses, as an indicator of social bonds, was recorded in 36% of still images, and 29% of video observation events. This is the first study that describes detailed methodology for these purposes. The results of this study can also form the basis of application to other species, which could contribute significantly to advancing the field of wild animal welfare.
Frequency of animal-vehicle collisions in NSW
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 2008
DOI: 10.7882/FS.2008.017
Population viability assessment and sensitivity analysis as a management tool for the peri-urban environment
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-07-2006
Niche evolution in Australian terrestrial mammals? Clarifying scale-dependencies in phylogenetic and functional drivers of co-occurrence
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-02-2013
Foraging Strategies Determine the Effect of Traffic Noise on Bats
Publisher: Museum and Institute of Zoology at the Polish Academy of Sciences
Date: 12-2015
Correction to Supporting Information for Lundgren et al., Introduced herbivores restore Late Pleistocene ecological functions
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 13-07-2020
Bait preference for remote camera trap studies of the endangered northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus)
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1071/AM15053
Abstract: Estimating population size is crucial for managing populations of threatened species. In the Top End of northern Australia, populations of northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus), already affected by livestock grazing, inappropriate burning regimes and predation, have collapsed following the spread of the toxic cane toad (Rhinella marina). Cane toads are currently invading the Kimberley, where they pose a threat to quoll populations. To manage these populations, we need reliable methods for detecting and estimating quoll abundance. We deployed camera traps with lures containing tuna, peanut butter or no bait and found that baited cameras performed better than the unbaited control. Cameras with a tuna lure detected more in iduals than cameras baited with peanut butter or no bait. Cameras with a tuna lure yielded more photographs per quoll than those baited with peanut butter or no bait. We identified in idual quolls from unique spot patterns and found multiple photographs improved the accuracy of identification. We also found that population estimates for the s le area derived from camera trapping were consistent with those from live trapping using mark–recapture techniques.
Cattle mortality on a predator-friendly station in central Australia
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 02-02-2017
Habitat selection by the common wombat (Vombatus ursinus) in disturbed environments: Implications for the conservation of a 'common' species
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2007
Wildlife-friendly farming recouples grazing regimes to stimulate recovery in semi-arid rangelands
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2021
Reduced efficiency of tropical flies (Diptera) in the decomposition of snail cadavers following molluscicide poisoning
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2018
Model-Based Control of Observer Bias for the Analysis of Presence-Only Data in Ecology
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 18-11-2013
Introduced megafauna are rewilding the Anthropocene
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-09-2017
DOI: 10.1111/ECOG.03430
Equids engineer desert water availability
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 30-04-2021
Abstract: Water is scarce in dryland ecosystems. Some larger animals in these regions dig wells that may provide water to other species. This behavior may have been common among megafauna that are now extinct, especially in North and South America, where megafaunal extinctions were the most severe. Lundgren et al. tested whether feral equids (horses and donkeys) reintroduced to desert regions in the North American southwest dig wells that provide ecosystem-level benefits. They found that equid-dug wells increased water availability, were used by a large number of species, and decreased distance between water sources. Abandoned wells also led to increased germination in key riparian tree species. Such equid-dug wells improve water availability, perhaps replacing a lost megafaunal function. Science , this issue p. 491
Improving bioregional frameworks for conservation by including mammal distributions
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-06-2012
The effect of road-based fatalities on the viability of a peri-urban swamp wallaby population
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2006
Preventing extinction in an age of species migration and planetary change
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 20-10-2023
A Switch in Keystone Seed-Dispersing Ant Genera between Two Elevations for a Myrmecochorous Plant, Acacia terminalis
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 16-06-2016
Suitability of acoustics as non-lethal deterrents for macropodids: the influence of origin, delivery and anti-predator behaviour
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2011
DOI: 10.1071/WR11093
Abstract: Context Auditory devices used to deter wildlife are a potentially humane and effective way of minimising deleterious interactions with humans and their livelihoods and have been used successfully for many species around the world. Acoustic cues can be used to manipulate anti-predator behaviour, encouraging animals to forage elsewhere. Employing acoustics derived from natural sources to make use of innate behavioural responses has been suggested to outperform novel or artificial sounds however, anti-predator strategies vary among sympatric species and will influence the utility of acoustic stimuli for deterring wildlife. Aims We aimed to test the interaction between the source of origin (natural or novel) and species traits (anti-predator strategy – grouping behaviour) on the efficacy of using acoustic stimuli to elicit alarm responses for two species in the family Macropodidae commonly associated with browsing on forest plantation seedlings the red-necked pademelon (Thylogale thetis) and the red-necked wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus banksianus). Methods We tested these factors in captivity using playback experiments of acoustic stimuli and monitored the behavioural responses of subjects. Results Red-necked pademelons exhibited strong responses to bioacoustic and novel stimuli but did not greatly differentiate among them. Short-term habituation to predator calls was detected whereas responsiveness to novel sounds increased. Red-necked wallabies most strongly responded to conspecific distress calls, showing no sign of short-term habituation. Conclusions Results from the present and other studies suggest that bioacoustic deterrents, particularly those utilising natural conspecific sounds, aimed at communicating danger, have the potential to play an important role in non-lethal wildlife management, although that responsiveness varies with the form of anti-predator strategies employed. Implications If alarm responses translate into subjects vacating targeted areas, then there is some potential to implement non-lethal acoustic deterrents for macropodids alongside other management measures aimed at preventing impacts on primary production. Problematically, our experiments showed that without accurate acoustic delivery, particularly of sounds with infrasonic components, the development of effective bioacoustic deterrents may remain stymied.
Summoning compassion to address the challenges of conservation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-07-2018
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13126
Abstract: Conservation practice is informed by science, but it also reflects ethical beliefs about how humanity ought to value and interact with Earth's biota. As human activities continue to drive extinctions and diminish critical life-sustaining ecosystem processes, achieving conservation goals becomes increasingly urgent. However, the determination to react decisively can drive conservationists to handle complex challenges without due deliberation, particularly when wildlife in iduals are sacrificed for the so-called greater good of wildlife collectives (populations, species, ecosystems). With growing recognition of the widespread sentience and sapience of many nonhuman animals, standard conservation practices that categorically prioritize collectives without due consideration for the well-being of in iduals are ethically untenable. Here we highlight 3 overarching ethical orientations characterizing current and historical practices in conservation that suppress compassion: instrumentalism, collectivism, and nativism. We examine how establishing a commitment to compassion could reorient conservation in more ethically expansive directions that incorporate recognition of the intrinsic value of wildlife, the sentience of nonhuman animals, and the values of novel ecosystems, introduced species, and their members. A compassionate conservation approach allays practices that intentionally and unnecessarily harm wildlife in iduals, while aligning with critical conservation goals. Although the urgency of achieving effective outcomes for solving major conservation problems may enhance the appeal of quick and harsh measures, the costs are too high. Continuing to justify moral indifference when causing the suffering of wildlife in iduals, particularly those who possess sophisticated capacities for emotion, consciousness, and sociality, risks estranging conservation practice from prevailing, and appropriate, social values. As conservationists and compassionate beings, we must demonstrate concern for both the long-term persistence of collectives and the well-being of in iduals by prioritizing strategies that do both.
Creating vegetation density profiles for a diverse range of ecological habitats using terrestrial laser scanning
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2013
Potential lantana invasion of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area under climate change
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2011
DOI: 10.1071/PC110054
Abstract: Invasive weeds represent one of the greatest threats to ecosystem integrity worldwide, with climate change predicted to allow expansion of weed ranges in coming decades. One of Australia’s worst weeds is lantana (Lantana camara) which, given the potential for climatic change, is of increasing concern to those managing the mountainous regions in the country’s southeast. In order to identify potential additional threats lantana may pose for Australia’s valued bio ersity, this research develops a habitat suitability model for lantana in a portion of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area under current and simulated warmer conditions. Minimum temperature was found to be the most important predictor correlated with potential lantana establishment, explaining over 88% of the variation in lantana presence predicted by the model. Currently, 8% of the study area was found to be suitable for lantana, with this figure reaching 94% after a simulated 2°C rise in temperature anticipated by 2050. The sharp increase in suitable habitat highlights the importance of keeping the weed’s range restricted in the study area. The strong link between temperature and predicted lantana establishment confirms prior research and further stresses the threat this weed poses to the area’s bio ersity values as the climate warms. In addition, the model identified low-lying riparian areas as potential incursion pathways for the weed to travel further inland. Given the weed’s invasiveness, potential for adverse impacts, and high capacity for dispersal, these pathways should not be overlooked when monitoring potential invasion of mountainous regions by lantana and other tropical weeds.
Kangaroo-vehicle collisions in Australia's sheep rangelands, during and following drought periods
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2004
DOI: 10.1071/AM04215
Abstract: The effects of roads on wildlife behaviour and ecological function are poorly known in arid Australia. The most obvious impact is roadkill from wildlife-vehicle collisions. Therefore we collected statistics on kangaroo-vehicle collisions, investigated the causal factors of these collisions, and related roadkill mortality to the population structure, size and distribution of four kangaroo species in two intensive six month studies during and following drought. The research was conducted along a 21.2 km sealed section of the Silver City Highway between Broken Hill and Tibooburra that passes through the University of New South Wales (NSW) Arid Zone Research Station at ‘Fowlers Gap’ in north-western NSW. The rate of roadkill was higher during drought (20.8 roadkills month-1) than non-drought (2.6 roadkills month-1). Affected species were red kangaroos (Macropus rufus), euros (Macropus robustus erubescens), western grey kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus) and eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus). During drought, M. fuliginosus and M. giganteus were killed in lower proportions than their proportion in the source population, otherwise species were killed in proportion to their density along the road. There were no sex biases but male M. r. erubescens were much more likely to be beside the road than females and thus were killed more often during drought. The majority of roadkills were young in iduals around 2 years old. Curves and stockraces along the road significantly increased the likelihood of roadkills. Likewise the frequency of roadkills was a function of the kangaroo population density along the road, night time traffic volume, low rainfall and higher vegetation cover and greenness along the road relative to surrounding areas. We evaluate the relationships between these causal factors and kangaroovehicle collisions, and discuss the possible effects of these collisions on kangaroo population structure under drought and post-drought conditions.
Fine‐grained climate data alters the interpretation of a trait‐based cline
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2013
DOI: 10.1890/ES13-00275.1
Crisis Water Management and Ibis Breeding at Narran Lakes in Arid Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-06-2011
DOI: 10.1007/S00267-011-9705-5
Abstract: Narran Lakes is a Ramsar site recognised for its importance for colonial waterbird breeding, which only occurs after large highly variable flooding events. In 2008, 74,095 pairs of ibis bred for the first time in seven years, establishing two contiguous colonies, a month apart. Most (97%) of the colony consisted of the straw-necked ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis) with the remainder consisting of glossy ibis (2%, Plegadis falcinellus) and Australian white ibis (1%, T. molucca). Following cessation of river flows, water levels fell rapidly in the colony site, resulting in a crisis management decision by governments to purchase and deliver water (10,423 Ml) to avert mass desertion of the colonies. There were significant differences in the reproductive success of each colony. In colony 1 60% of eggs hatched and 94% of chicks fledged, while in colony 2 40% of eggs hatched with only 17% of chicks fledging. Statistical analyses found that water depth was a significant variable in determining reproductive success. Rapid falls in water level during the chick stage in colony 2 resulted in decreased chick and overall offspring success. The results of this study identify the impact of upstream water resource development on colonial waterbird breeding and have implications for water management policies.
Compassion as a practical and evolved ethic for conservation
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 02-02-2015
Using Learner-Generated Digital Media (LGDM) as an Assessment Tool in Geological Sciences.
Publisher: IATED
Date: 03-2017
Functional traits of the world’s late Quaternary large-bodied avian and mammalian herbivores
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-01-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41597-020-00788-5
Abstract: Prehistoric and recent extinctions of large-bodied terrestrial herbivores had significant and lasting impacts on Earth’s ecosystems due to the loss of their distinct trait combinations. The world’s surviving large-bodied avian and mammalian herbivores remain among the most threatened taxa. As such, a greater understanding of the ecological impacts of large herbivore losses is increasingly important. However, comprehensive and ecologically-relevant trait datasets for extinct and extant herbivores are lacking. Here, we present HerbiTraits , a comprehensive functional trait dataset for all late Quaternary terrestrial avian and mammalian herbivores ≥10 kg (545 species). HerbiTraits includes key traits that influence how herbivores interact with ecosystems, namely body mass, diet, fermentation type, habitat use, and limb morphology. Trait data were compiled from 557 sources and comprise the best available knowledge on late Quaternary large-bodied herbivores. HerbiTraits provides a tool for the analysis of herbivore functional ersity both past and present and its effects on Earth’s ecosystems.
Impact of roadside habitat on swamp wallaby movement and fitness
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2013
DOI: 10.1071/WR13034
Abstract: Context Roads have numerous impacts on wildlife populations, such as forming barriers to movement and isolating them from resources. However, knowledge of how wildlife behave in road-impacted environments is limited. Aims Our aim was to assess the suitability of roadside habitat for the sw wallaby (Wallabia bicolor). Methods We measured the home range, habitat use and body metrics of sw wallabies at two roadside locations. The home ranges and fitness of the roadside wallabies were compared with the metrics of sw wallabies within the adjacent reserve. Key results The roadside wallabies had a preference for canopy cover, but not for other habitat features. The roadside home ranges were stable and relatively small. The nocturnal ranges were considerably smaller and further from the road than were diurnal ranges. Only one wallaby crossed the road during the study, via an underpass. There was a significant positive linear correlation between pes length and bodyweight. Roadside wallabies were significantly heavier than were reserve wallabies. Conclusions Our study suggested that in idual wallabies avoid the road, are habituated to the roadside environment and may even benefit from it. At the very least, roadside habitats are adequate for the sw wallaby. Implications Fencing and road crossings are likely to be beneficial conservation-management measures for sw wallabies in roadside reserves.
Incorporating a distance cost in systematic reserve design
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-2011
A novel trophic cascade between cougars and feral donkeys shapes desert wetlands.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-07-2022
Abstract: Introduced large herbivores have partly filled ecological gaps formed in the late Pleistocene, when many of the Earth's megafauna were driven extinct. However, extant predators are generally considered incapable of exerting top-down influences on introduced megafauna, leading to unusually strong disturbance and herbivory relative to native herbivores. We report on the first documented predation of juvenile feral donkeys Equus africanus asinus by cougars Puma concolor in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of North America. We then investigated how cougar predation corresponds with differences in feral donkey behaviour and associated effects on desert wetlands. Focusing on a feral donkey population in the Death Valley National Park, we used camera traps and vegetation surveys to compare donkey activity patterns and impacts between wetlands with and without cougar predation. Donkeys were primarily diurnal at wetlands with cougar predation, thereby avoiding cougars. However, donkeys were active throughout the day and night at sites without predation. Donkeys were ~87% less active (measured as hours of activity a day) at wetlands with predation (p < 0.0001). Sites with predation had reduced donkey disturbance and herbivory, including ~46% fewer access trails, 43% less tr led bare ground and 192% more canopy cover (PERMANOVA, R
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