ORCID Profile
0009-0009-7025-4456
Current Organisations
Australian Wildlife Conservancy
,
James Cook University
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Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-05-2008
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2001
DOI: 10.1071/PC010079
Abstract: Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroo Dendrolagus lumholtzi is endemic to the rainforests of north Queensland, Australia. Most records of D. lumholtzi are from upland forests on the Atherton Tablelands, an area extensively cleared for agriculture. In 1997, residents of the Tablelands formed the Tree Kangaroo and Mammal Group Inc. (TKMG) with the aim of promoting the conservation of the species. The first project of TKMG was an intensive community-based survey of the distribution of D. lumholtzi. Residents of all postal districts encompassing areas of upland rainforest within the range of D. lumholtzi were sent a written questionnaire seeking details of tree-kangaroo sightings. The Malanda postal district was surveyed in 1998 while all other postal districts were surveyed in 1999. In total, 10 122 questionairres were distributed in the survey. "Nearly 800 responses were received to the survey, providing 2 368 sighting records of D. lumholtzi. Of these, 367 records were of dead tree-kangaroos, mostly road-kills." The survey has provided a much more comprehensive account of the distribution of the species than was previously available. Most records of D. lumholtzi obtained in the survey were from upland forests between Atherton and Ravenshoe, particularly remnant forests in the central and western Tablelands. Although the survey methodology is biased towards areas frequented by humans, these patterns are consistent with independent surveys. The conservation of D. lumholtzi on the Tablelands would benefit from the protection of remnant forests, the restoration of habitat and a reduction in the incidence of road-kills and dog attacks on tree-kangaroos.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2006
DOI: 10.1016/J.MYCRES.2006.09.002
Abstract: The ersity and distribution of microfungal assemblages in leaf litter of a tropical Australian forest was assessed using two methods: (1) cultures were isolated using a particle filtration protocol (wet season 2001), and (2) fruit bodies were observed directly on leaf surfaces following incubation in humid chambers (wet and dry season of 2002). Four tree species were studied using both methods, namely Cryptocarya mackinnoniana (Lauraceae), Elaeocarpus angustifolius (Elaeocarpaceae), Ficus pleurocarpa (Moraceae), and Opisthiolepis heterophylla (Proteaceae). An additional two species, Darlingia ferruginea (Proteaceae) and Ficus destruens (Moraceae), were studied using direct observations. In total, fruiting bodies of 185 microfungal species were recorded on leaf surfaces (31-81 species per tree species), and 419 morphotypes were detected among isolates obtained by particle filtration (111-203 morphotypes per tree species). Although the observed microfungal ersity was higher with the particle filtration protocol, both methods concurred with respect to microfungal distributions. The overlap of microfungal species in pair wise comparisons of tree species was low (14-30%), and only 2 and 3% of microfungal species were observed in leaves of all tree species by particle filtration and by direct observations respectively. Multivariate analysis of data from direct observations confirmed the hypothesis that microfungal assemblages are strongly influenced by host phylogeny and are also affected by seasonal and site factors. The importance of host species in shaping microfungal distributions was also supported by the particle filtration data. Several taxa new to science, as well as some widespread saprotrophs, were detected on only one host. The underlying reasons for this affinity remain unclear, but we hypothesise that a number of factors may be involved such as fungal adaptation to plant secondary metabolites or the presence of a biotrophic phase in the fungus' life cycle.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2012
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-05-2008
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-05-2008
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2021
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-09-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41597-021-01006-6
Abstract: We introduce the AusTraits database - a compilation of values of plant traits for taxa in the Australian flora (hereafter AusTraits). AusTraits synthesises data on 448 traits across 28,640 taxa from field c aigns, published literature, taxonomic monographs, and in idual taxon descriptions. Traits vary in scope from physiological measures of performance (e.g. photosynthetic gas exchange, water-use efficiency) to morphological attributes (e.g. leaf area, seed mass, plant height) which link to aspects of ecological variation. AusTraits contains curated and harmonised in idual- and species-level measurements coupled to, where available, contextual information on site properties and experimental conditions. This article provides information on version 3.0.2 of AusTraits which contains data for 997,808 trait-by-taxon combinations. We envision AusTraits as an ongoing collaborative initiative for easily archiving and sharing trait data, which also provides a template for other national or regional initiatives globally to fill persistent gaps in trait knowledge.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2005
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-03-2010
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-1998
DOI: 10.1071/MU98007A
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-05-2009
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 09-2018
DOI: 10.7882/AZ.2018.005
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2009
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-10-2003
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2001
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 2011
DOI: 10.7882/FS.2011.028
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-01-2007
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1071/WR16058
Abstract: Context Feral cats are implicated in the decline of terrestrial native mammals across northern Australia. Research in the Kimberley region of north-western Australia found feral cats strongly selected for fire scars when hunting, suggesting that intensifying fire regimes will have severe consequences for declining prey species. Aims We tested the generality of cat–fire interaction beyond the Kimberley, by measuring habitat selection of feral cats in relation to fire scars and habitat types in north-eastern Australia. Methods Our study was conducted at Piccaninny Plains Wildlife Sanctuary, Cape York Peninsula. We live-captured feral cats during the dry season of 2015, released them with GPS collars set to record fixes at 15-min intervals, and recaptured cats 4 months later. We created dynamic habitat maps of vegetation types, fire and wetlands, and compared cat habitat selection using discrete choice modelling. We also measured cat density from arrays of camera traps and examined cat diet by analysis of stomach contents. Key results We obtained GPS movement data from 15 feral cats. Feral cats selected strongly for recent fire scars (1 or 2 months old), but avoided fire scars 3 months old or older. Three long-distance movements were recorded, all directed towards recent fire scars. Cats also selected for open wetlands, and avoided rainforests. Density of cats at Piccaninny Plains was higher than recorded elsewhere in northern Australia. All major vertebrate groups were represented in cat diet. Conclusions We showed that feral cats in north-eastern Australia strongly select for recent fire scars and open wetlands. These results are consistent with those from the Kimberley. Together, these studies have shown that lified predation facilitated by loss of cover is likely to be a fundamental factor driving mammal decline across northern Australia. Implications Reducing the frequency of intense fires may indirectly reduce the impact of feral cats at a landscape scale in northern Australia. We also suggest that managers target direct cat control towards open wetlands and recently burnt areas, which cats are known to favour.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-07-2008
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-07-2010
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2003
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-04-2008
Publisher: Author(s)
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1063/1.5026084
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-04-2008
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2014
DOI: 10.1111/EMR.12078
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.1111/CONL.12611
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-04-2008
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2012
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2006
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-08-2020
DOI: 10.1007/S10592-020-01299-X
Abstract: Translocation is an increasingly common component of species conservation efforts. However, translocated populations often suffer from loss of genetic ersity and increased inbreeding, and thus may require active management to establish gene flow across isolated populations. Assisted gene flow can be laborious and costly, so recipient and source populations should be carefully chosen to maximise genetic ersity outcomes. The greater stick-nest rat (GSNR, Leporillus conditor ), a threatened Australian rodent, has been the focus of a translocation program since 1985, resulting in five extant translocated populations (St Peter Island, Reevesby Island, Arid Recovery, Salutation Island and Mt Gibson), all derived from a remnant wild population on the East and West Franklin Islands. We evaluated the genetic ersity in all extant GSNR populations using a large single nucleotide polymorphism dataset with the explicit purpose of informing future translocation planning. Our results show varying levels of genetic ergence, inbreeding and loss of genetic ersity in all translocated populations relative to the remnant source on the Franklin Islands. All translocated populations would benefit from supplementation to increase genetic ersity, but two—Salutation Island and Mt Gibson—are of highest priority. We recommend a targeted admixture approach, in which animals for supplementation are sourced from populations that have low relatedness to the recipient population. Subject to assessment of contemporary genetic ersity, St Peter Island and Arid Recovery are the most appropriate source populations for genetic supplementation. Our study demonstrates an effective use of genetic surveys for data-driven management of threatened species.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-07-2008
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2001
DOI: 10.1071/WR99098
Abstract: The ecological factors controlling the distribution and abundance of the folivorous marsupials endemic to the rainforests of northern Australia are not understood. In this study, we surveyed folivore abundance at 40 sites stratified by altitude and geology in rainforests of the Atherton Tableland, north Queensland. All five species of folivore that inhabit the study area were more abundant in highland (800–1200 m) than in upland (400–800 m) forests. Allowing for the effects of altitude, four species of folivore were more abundant in forests on nutrient-rich basalts than in forests on nutrient-poor acid igneous or metamorphic rocks. The abundance of two folivore species also varied inversely with rainfall. Altitudinal variation in folivore abundance in the study area has been attributed to habitat destruction, Aboriginal hunting, the distribution of host plants and climate however, none of these hypotheses has been tested. Variation in folivore abundance with geology is plausibly explained as a response to the nutritional quality of foliage. Foliage quality may also explain the inverse relationship between two of the folivores and rainfall. The results of this study show that only a relatively small proportion of north Queensland rainforests support abundant populations of the endemic folivorous marsupials.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2010
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-2003
DOI: 10.1046/J.1365-2656.2003.00733.X
Abstract: Three species of folivorous ringtail possums (Marsupialia: Pseudocheiridae) inhabit higher elevation rain forests on the Atherton Tablelands, north-east Queensland, Australia. Each possum is thought to specialize on a restricted suite of host plants. It has been hypothesized that the absence of the possums from lowland forests may reflect the absence or 'inappropriate combination' of their host plants in lowland forests. We test this 'floristics hypothesis' using data from published dietary studies, herbarium records and field surveys. Studies of the possums' diets show that each possum eats a wide variety of plant species. However, the majority of each possum's diet comes from a few genera or families of plants and there is considerable dietary partitioning between the possums. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that the possums are specialists on a restricted suite of plant taxa. The altitudinal ranges of plants known to be important in the diets of the ringtail possums were compiled from herbarium records. Several plant species eaten by the possums are absent from lowland forests, but all genera and families of plants important in the possums' diets occur in lowland forests. The relationship between the floristic composition of forests and the abundance of the ringtail possums was examined at 16 sites on the Atherton Tablelands. The floristic composition of forests varied primarily with geology and secondarily with altitude. This was true whether the entire plant assemblage was considered, or just those families known to be important in each possum's diet. Possum abundance varied primarily with altitude and secondarily, for two species, with geology. There was no correlation between the abundance of ringtail possums and the floristic composition of forests, whether the entire plant assemblage was considered, or just those families known to be important in each possum's diet. Altitudinal variation in the abundance of ringtail possums in north Queensland does not appear to be a response to variation in the floristic composition of those forests.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-10-2015
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.12606
Abstract: There is current debate about the potential for secondary regrowth to rescue tropical forests from an otherwise inevitable cascade of bio ersity loss due to land clearing and scant evidence to test how well active restoration may accelerate recovery. We used site chronosequences to compare developmental trajectories of vegetation between self-organized (i.e., spontaneous) forest regrowth and bio ersity plantings (established for ecological restoration, with many locally native tree species at high density) in the Australian wet tropics uplands. Across 28 regrowth sites aged 1-59 years, some structural attributes reached reference rainforest levels within 40 years, whereas wood volume and most tested components of native plant species richness (classified by species' origins, family, and ecological functions) reached less than 50% of reference rainforest values. Development of native tree and shrub richness was particularly slow among species that were wind dispersed or animal dispersed with large (>10 mm) seeds. Many species with animal-dispersed seeds were from near-basal evolutionary lineages that contribute to recognized World Heritage values of the study region. Faster recovery was recorded in 25 bio ersity plantings of 1-25 years in which wood volume developed more rapidly native woody plant species richness reached values similar to reference rainforest and was better represented across all dispersal modes and species from near-basal plant families were better (although incompletely) represented. Plantings and regrowth showed slow recovery in species richness of vines and epiphytes and in overall resemblance to forest in species composition. Our results can inform decision making about when and where to invest in active restoration and provide strong evidence that protecting old-growth forest is crucially important for sustaining tropical bio ersity.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-10-2012
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-011-2146-2
Abstract: Models of impacts of climate change on species are generally based on correlations between current distributions and climatic variables, rather than a detailed understanding of the mechanisms that actually limit distribution. Many of the vertebrates endemic to rainforests of northeastern Australia are restricted to upland forests and considered to be threatened by climate change. However, for most of these species, the factors controlling their distributions are unknown. We examined the role of thermal intolerance as a possible mechanism limiting the distribution of Pseudochirops archeri (green ringtail possum), a specialist arboreal folivore restricted to rainforests above an altitude of 300 m in Australia's Wet Tropics. We measured short-term metabolic responses to a range of ambient temperatures, and found that P. archeri stores heat when ambient temperatures exceed 30°C, reducing water requirements for evaporative cooling. Due to the rate at which body temperature increases with ambient temperatures >30°C, this strategy is not effective over periods longer than 5 h. We hypothesise that the distribution of P. archeri is limited by interactions between (i) the duration and severity of extreme ambient temperatures (over 30°C), (ii) the scarcity of free water in the rainforest canopy in the dry season, and (iii) constraints on water intake from foliage imposed by plant secondary metabolites and fibre. We predict that dehydration becomes limiting for P. archeri where extreme ambient temperatures (>30°C) persist for more than 5 h per day over 4-6 days or more. Consistent with our hypothesis, the abundance of P. archeri in the field is correlated with the occurrence of extreme temperatures, declining markedly at sites where the average maximum temperature of the warmest week of the year is above 30°C. Assuming the mechanism of limitation is based on extreme temperatures, we expect impacts of climate change on P. archeri to occur in discrete, rapid events rather than as a slow contraction in range.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 03-08-2012
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-04-2011
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-08-2018
DOI: 10.1111/EMR.12335
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-02-2006
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2010
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2012
DOI: 10.1071/WR11137
Abstract: Context There is growing evidence that vertebrates inhabiting the extensive savannas of northern Australia are undergoing a widespread decline as a result of the effects of anthropogenic land management such as the grazing of domestic stock. Despite the ubiquity of pastoral grazing in the Australian savannas, few studies have examined the changes in terrestrial vertebrate fauna following destocking. Aims The present study monitored the response of birds, mammals and reptiles to destocking of a newly acquired conservation reserve in north-eastern Australia. Methods The vertebrate fauna was s led over a 5-year period. Standardised 1-ha survey was conducted twice a year in 2006, 2007 and 2010, at 40 sites representing six habitat types. Key results The fauna assemblage, the abundance and richness of major taxa, and the abundance of a suite of in idual species were found to vary significantly with time since destocking. Although some of the observed trends were consistent with previously reported responses of vertebrates to grazing, in general species richness and abundance did not increase linearly over time since destocking, with an overall decline in the first year, and an increase in the subsequent survey. Mammals remained at very low abundance and displayed a trend contrary to that for birds and reptiles, and variation was often confounded by habitat type. Conclusions In general, where there has been a long history of pastoral land management, destocking alone may not induce short-term increases in the vertebrate fauna thought to be affected by grazing in Australian savannas. Implications Monitoring the outcomes of conservation management activity is a critical component of understanding the success, failures and adaptation needed to maximise the costs and benefits of conservation investment. The recovery of the vertebrate fauna thought to be of conservation concern in relatively intensively used, long-grazed landscapes may be lengthy and contingent on other factors, such as periods of favourable weather, or understanding the interactive effects of herbivore removal, fire pattern and feral predators. In such landscapes, it is possible that recovery of some elements of the vertebrate fauna may not occur without deliberate interventions, such as reintroductions or intense predator control.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1071/WR18008
Abstract: Context Over the last 230 years, the Australian terrestrial mammal fauna has suffered a very high rate of decline and extinction relative to other continents. Predation by the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and feral cat (Felis catus) is implicated in many of these extinctions, and in the ongoing decline of many extant species. Aims To assess the degree to which Australian terrestrial non-volant mammal species are susceptible at the population level to predation by the red fox and feral cat, and to allocate each species to a category of predator susceptibility. Methods We collated the available evidence and complemented this with expert opinion to categorise each Australian terrestrial non-volant mammal species (extinct and extant) into one of four classes of population-level susceptibility to introduced predators (i.e. ‘extreme’, ‘high’, ‘low’ or ‘not susceptible’). We then compared predator susceptibility with conservation status, body size and extent of arboreality and assessed changes in the occurrence of species in different predator-susceptibility categories between 1788 and 2017. Key results Of 246 Australian terrestrial non-volant mammal species (including extinct species), we conclude that 37 species are (or were) extremely predator-susceptible 52 species are highly predator-susceptible 112 species are of low susceptibility and 42 species are not susceptible to predators. Confidence in assigning species to predator-susceptibility categories was strongest for extant threatened mammal species and for extremely predator-susceptible species. Extinct and threatened mammal species are more likely to be predator-susceptible than Least Concern species arboreal species are less predator-susceptible than ground-dwelling species and medium-sized species (35 g–3.5kg) are more predator-susceptible than smaller or larger species. Conclusions The effective control of foxes and cats over large areas is likely to assist the population-level recovery of ~63 species – the number of extant species with extreme or high predator susceptibility – which represents ~29% of the extant Australian terrestrial non-volant mammal fauna. Implications Categorisation of predator susceptibility is an important tool for conservation management, because the persistence of species with extreme susceptibility will require intensive management (e.g. predator-proof exclosures or predator-free islands), whereas species of lower predator susceptibility can be managed through effective landscape-level suppression of introduced predators.
No related grants have been discovered for John Kanowski.