ORCID Profile
0009-0005-6446-0545
Current Organisation
Australian Wildlife Conservancy
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-08-2013
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-012-2424-7
Abstract: It is widely accepted that predator recognition and avoidance are important behaviors in allowing prey to mitigate the impacts of their predators. However, while prey species generally develop anti-predator behaviors through coevolution with predators, they sometimes show accelerated adoption of these behaviors under strong selection pressure from novel species. We used a field manipulation experiment to gauge the ability of the common ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus), a semi-arboreal Australian marsupial, to recognize and respond to olfactory cues of different predator archetypes. We predicted that ringtails would display stronger anti-predator behaviors to cues of the invasive European red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in areas where fox impacts had been greatest, and to cues of the native lace monitor (Varanus varius) in areas of sympatry compared with allopatry. We found that ringtails fled quickly and were more alert when exposed to the fecal odors of both predators compared to neutral and pungent control odors, confirming that predator odors are recognized and avoided. However, these aversive responses were similar irrespective of predator presence or level of impact. These results suggest that selection pressure from the fox has been sufficient for ringtails to develop anti-predator behaviors over the few generations since foxes have become established. In contrast, we speculate that aversive responses by ringtails to the lace monitor in areas where this predator is absent reflect recent coexistence of the two species. We conclude that rapid evolution of anti-predator behaviors may occur when selection is strong. The maintenance of these behaviors should allow re-establishment of predator-prey relationships if the interactants regain sympatry via range shifts or management actions to reintroduce them to their former ranges.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-09-2019
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 12-07-2023
DOI: 10.3390/D15070848
Abstract: The application of genetic data to conservation management programs can be hindered by the mismatch in timelines for management decisions and the acquisition of genetic data, particularly genomic sequence data that may require outsourcing. While applying genetic principles where data are absent can provide general guidelines for actions, genetic data can often fine-tune actions through adaptive management. We describe the adaptive genetic management of the establishment of a metapopulation of a small arboreal marsupial, the red-tailed phascogale (Phascogale calura). Two captive breeding programs were established as source populations, with genetic principles applied to the establishment of the first program and empirical genetic data used to guide the establishment of the second program. Genetic data from both programs were then used to allocate founders to three new populations to create a metapopulation with ersity both within and among the sites. Building and maintaining the ersity of metapopulations when recovering threatened species will reduce pressure on the original source populations and increase the resilience of the species.
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.7882/AZ.2016.004
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2008
DOI: 10.1897/07-414.1
Abstract: High-molecular weight petroleum hydrocarbons (HMWPHs) are a common pollutant in urban freshwater sediments. A previous study found that HMWPHs derived from synthetic oils are detrimental to aquatic benthic macroinvertebrates at concentrations greater than 840 mg/kg, but it is unclear what effect hydrocarbons derived from other sources have on these organisms. A field-based microcosm experiment was conducted to determine whether natural and other types of HMWPHs produce similar effects on indigenous benthic macroinvertebrates as was induced by synthetic motor oils. Ordinations and comparisons of sensitive species indicated that HMWPHs from different anthropogenic sources negatively affected macroinvertebrates, whereas naturally occurring hydrocarbons above the threshold of 840 mg/kg had no detrimental effect. This result suggests that total petroleum hydrocarbon content, which is often used to identify hydrocarbon pollutants, is a good conservative indicator of HMWPH concentrations affecting the biota.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Date: 05-2015
DOI: 10.1086/680689
Abstract: Glucocorticoid hormone profiles are increasingly used as physiological markers to infer the strength of species interactions that can influence fitness and ensuing population dynamics of animals. Here we investigated two aims. First, we measured the effect of a 90-min capture stress protocol on the plasma corticosterone responses of a large native Australian lizard, the lace monitor (Varanus varius). Second, we compared the basal and postcapture stress corticosterone responses of lace monitors in habitats where they were exposed to high or low densities of the European red fox (Vulpes vulpes), an introduced competitor. Lace monitors responded to the capture stress protocol by significantly increasing plasma levels of corticosterone above basal at 45- and 90-min-postcapture blood-s ling intervals. In habitats with high fox densities, lace monitors produced a significantly greater basal and capture-stress-induced corticosterone response compared to in iduals in low-fox density habitat. A significant interaction among fox density, time postcapture, and body condition was also found to influence plasma corticosterone values. These results suggest competition with red fox, perhaps via nutritional stress and increased hypersensitivity of the adrenocortical axis in lizards. At present, without further research, we do not understand whether such responses mediate lizard fitness or whether they have adaptive or maladaptive consequences for lizard populations in response to red fox competition. Nevertheless, our results help broaden understanding of the physiological implications arising from species interactions and specifically how introduced competitors could mediate erse impacts on native bio ersity.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-05-2021
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-11-2022
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-05-2022
DOI: 10.1111/ACV.12787
Abstract: Common species play a disproportionate role in shaping ecosystem structure and function, but are currently under‐represented in conservation translocation initiatives. This represents a missed opportunity because common species are typically easier to source for restoration projects, and larger numbers of common species can feasibly be translocated without substantially impacting source populations. Reintroduction of common species is an important first step in the faunal restoration of severely impacted habitats, such as urban spaces. Common species typically retain higher genetic ersity than threatened species, but this also means that they may have more to lose via population bottlenecks that can occur from translocation. To inform efforts to translocate common species, we assessed genetic impacts of a reintroduction of the common native bush rat Rattus fuscipes to an urban reserve at North Head, Sydney (Australia). Using single‐nucleotide polymorphism ersity, we found that differentiation between source populations was low. Nevertheless, admixture during reintroduction and follow‐up translocations initially increased standardized observed heterozygosity of North Head‐born bush rats and population N E , with a subtle corresponding decrease in within‐population kinship. For 3 years following the last translocation, we detected a small decline in genetic ersity in the North Head population, although final statistics remained similar to the source populations. Our results indicate that no short‐term interventions are necessary to further promote bush rat genetic ersity at North Head, but that continued genetic monitoring will be important to determine whether a trend in declining ersity continues as the population stabilizes. We conclude that translocation of a large number of in iduals from multiple sources presents a suitable option for restoring an extirpated small mammal population whilst minimizing genetic effects typically associated with such management actions. Common species present viable candidates for translocations aiming to return bio ersity to disturbed or fragmented urban ecosystems.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 09-04-2013
No related grants have been discovered for Jennifer Anson.