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Abstract: Australia is currently experiencing a process of escalating ecosystem degradation. This landscape degradation is associated with many outcomes that may directly or indirectly impact on human health. This study used a Bayesian spatial method to examine the effects of environmental degradation (measured as dryland salinity) on the mental health of the resident rural population. An association was detected between dryland salinity and depression, indicating that environmental processes may be driving the degree of psychological ill-health in these populations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Urbanization is one of the biggest global threats to biodiversity. However, urban areas can offer opportunities for biodiversity conservation because of the assortment of resources and numerous taxa that occur in these habitats. While the use of gardens by animals is well documented, the ability of native fauna to exclusively use (i.e. reside in) them is largely uninvestigated and therefore constrains our current understanding of their conservation 'value'. We aimed to determine whether individuals of a threatened species can exclusively reside in gardens for several months of their life, and the frequency that novel resources (i.e. non‐natural) are used compared to natural ones. We predicted that individuals captured in gardens would use both bushland and residential habitat, and use natural resources more frequently than novel resources because of the assumption that remnant habitat is more suitable than modified gardens. Using the Critically Endangered western ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) as a case study, we captured 20 individuals in gardens and radio‐tracked them for a period of 95 ± 3.3 days to determine their habitat use. Contrary to our predictions, for the duration of our study individuals exclusively resided within gardens, irrespective of proximity to bushland, and used novel resources more frequently than natural resources for all behaviours. We also found that over half (53%) of all the captured female possums had pouch young, and at the conclusion of the study, male possums were on average 43 g heavier. Our results exemplify that gardens can be of sufficient quality to support individuals, and that these modified habitats should be incorporated into conservation policy in urban landscapes. Given the extensive number of threatened species located within cities globally, our finding that a threatened species can reside exclusively within gardens further highlights the conservation opportunity that residential landscapes and cities offer wildlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remnant natural habitat is assumed critical for supporting threatened animals within urban landscapes because these species generally have specific habitat requirements and typically respond poorly to anthropogenic disturbances. However, evidence that demonstrates some threatened species can occur, persist and even prosper in highly modified areas with seemingly little dependence on remnant vegetation challenges the role remnant vegetation is perceived to play in sustaining threatened species in urban landscapes. In this study, we tested the assumption that the presence of a threatened species in modified areas of an urban environment was dependent on remnant vegetation using the Critically Endangered western ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) as a case study. We predicted that the presence of possums in highly modified habitats would be positively correlated with proximity to remnant vegetation. Using spotlight surveys of 195 transects to determine species occurrence on residential streets, we found that the presence of the western ringtail possum was not related to remnant vegetation within the immediate surrounds, nor the distance from remnant habitats (neither large nor small). Our results promote the suggestion that highly modified habitats in urban landscapes can contribute conservation outcomes and that their potential role in wildlife conservation warrants serious consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive and contemporary understanding of habitat and resource requirements has been critical to the conservation of multiple taxa and ecosystems globally. Until recently, much of the ecological knowledge that contributes to conservation priorities and strategies for the Critically Endangered western ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) was largely derived from decades‐old observations in peppermint (Agonis flexuosa) and marri‐jarrah (Corymbia calophylla and Eucalyptus marginanta) woodlands in the northern parts of the species range. These observations do not account for more recent evidence of their flexible use of habitat resources in other regions of its range. This may represent a significant conservation opportunity for the species through the identification of additional habitats that warrant protection. In a region where knowledge of their ecology is scarce, we used scat analysis and quantitative spotlighting to determine the diet and density of western ringtail possums in three vegetation types: peppermint, sheoak (Allocasuarina fraseriana) and marri‐eucalypt (C. calophylla, E. marginanta and Eucalyptus staerii) woodlands. Given the species' reported dependence on peppermint woodlands and dominant canopy species for food sources, we hypothesised that western ringtail possums would be most abundant in this habitat type and that their diet would comprise the foliage of few (≤2 species) canopy species. We found western ringtail possums consumed a higher diversity of plant species than expected (8–14), exhibited dietary preference for non‐dominant canopy species and were present in all sampled vegetation types at substantially higher densities than previously recorded for the region (as high as 17 possums ha−1). Our results confirm (i) the western ringtail possum is flexible in its use of habitat resources and (ii) the significant conservation value of sheoak and marri‐eucalypt woodlands in the southernmost portion of its distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although critically endangered western ringtail possums (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) have been recorded from a variety of vegetation types in southwestern Australia, the extent to which many of these vegetation types are occupied by the species remains unknown. We conducted spotlight surveys for western ringtail possums between March and April 2018 in Albany, southwestern Australia, to determine the species' occupancy in 2 vegetation types. Using occupancy models, we demonstrated that sheoak (Allocasuarina fraseriana) woodlands, previously unrecognized as providing western ringtail possum habitat, support the species, although the median probability of their occupancy was lower than in marri (Corymbia calophylla) and eucalypt (Eucalyptus marginata and E. staeri) woodlands. Use of trees and other habitat components by western ringtail possums varied within and between vegetation types. Sheoak woodlands are likely critical for western ringtail possums and given the apparent flexibility in vegetation types used by the species, investigation of the potential value of other vegetation types for this species has conservation merit. © 2019 The Wildlife Society. Occupancy modeling showed that the probability of western ringtail possums occupying sheoak woodlands was similar to another vegetation type that provides important habitat. If sheoak and other unrecognized vegetation types support sustainable populations of western ringtail possums, substantial benefits to the conservation of the species could be realized through habitat protection, management, and identification of new populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accelerating environmental change is perhaps the greatest challenge for natural resource management; successful strategies need to be effective for decades to come. Our objective is to identify opportunities that new environmental conditions may provide for conservation, restoration, and resource use in a globally recognized biodiversity hotspot in southwestern Australia. We describe a variety of changes to key taxonomic groups and system-scale characteristics as a consequence of environmental change (climate and land use), and outline strategies for conserving and restoring important ecological and agricultural characteristics. Opportunities for conservation and economic adaptation are substantial because of gradients in rainfall, temperature, and land use, extensive areas of remnant native vegetation, the ability to reduce and ameliorate areas affected by secondary salinization, and the existence of large national parks and an extensive network of nature reserves. Opportunities presented by the predicted environmental changes encompass agricultural as well as natural ecosystems. These may include expansion of aquaculture, transformation of agricultural systems to adapt to drier autumns and winters, and potential increases in spring and summer rain, carbon-offset plantings, and improving the network of conservation reserves. A central management dilemma is whether restoration/preservation efforts should have a commercial or biodiversity focus, and how they could be integrated. Although the grand challenge is conserving, protecting, restoring, and managing for a future environment, one that balances economic, social, and environmental values, the ultimate goal is to establish a regional culture that values the unique regional environment and balances the utilization of natural resources against protecting remaining natural ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban environments offer substantial opportunities for wildlife conservation as they commonly overlap the distribution of native species and comprise structurally complex and diverse habitats. Conservation strategies within urban environments currently focus on enhancing or maintaining natural remnant vegetation despite the variety of smaller greenspaces that are known to support wildlife. Residential gardens in particular comprise a major component of the total greenspace in urban areas and offer numerous resources that can be used by multiple taxa, and may therefore represent an important, yet unrealised opportunity for conservation. In this study we aimed to further the understanding of the potential value of gardens for biodiversity conservation by comparing the diversity, presence, abundance and reproductive activity of mammals in gardens to natural urban bushland remnants. We demonstrate that gardens support a similar diversity of native mammals as urban bushland and that the presence, abundance and reproductive activity for most native mammals was similar in both bushland and gardens. With the exception of domestic pets, the presence and abundance of introduced species was not higher in gardens compared to urban bushland. Our study highlights that the potential role of residential gardens for biodiversity conservation should not be overlooked. Given that novel urban ecosystems will continue to expand, inclusion of gardens in wildlife conservation and management actions is likely to greatly increase our ability to conserve wildlife in urban habitats. • Gardens can support similar mammal assemblages to urban bushland remnants. • Presence and abundance of native mammals were similar between bushland and gardens. • Gardens did not support greater abundances of non-domestic introduced species. • The potential value of gardens for biodiversity conservation should not be overlooked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For animals which utilise vertically distributed habitat resources, home ranges quantified in two-dimensions (2D) likely misrepresent space use and constrain interpretations of species' ecology and behaviour. Three-dimensional (3D) home range estimation has proved useful for understanding space use over relatively large vertical ranges (e.g. 100's of meters), yet none have applied a 3D approach to describe space use over narrower vertical ranges (e.g. meters or 10's of metres) typical for many arboreal animals. This study demonstrates 3D home range estimation for the arboreal western ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) using temporally resolute locations (15 min intervals) of five radio collared animals. We hypothesised that, due to the use of vertically distributed habitat resources, 3D home ranges would be more complex, spanning a range of heights, and would subsequently be larger in size compared to those estimates derived from typical 2D analysis. A comparison of 50% (core) and 95% (total) 2D kernel density and 3D kernel density utilisation distributions reveal structurally complex home ranges that span the entire vertical range of vegetated habitat. Estimates of the total 3D home range size were significantly greater than those derived from 2D analysis, and the difference in size was positively related to the vertical range of available habitat. This study establishes that 3D home range analysis can reveal information on vertical space use of arboreal species over relatively small vertical ranges, and is likely to be valuable in understanding the use and identification of key habitats and resources, as well as interactions among sympatric species. • 3D home range estimation more suitable than 2D in vertically constrained habitats. • 3D reflects the use of vertically distributed resources unseen in 2D analysis alone. • 3D home range analysis depicts spatially complex home ranges for an arboreal mammal. • Total 3D home range size is significantly larger than when using 2D methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]