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Context: The Felixer grooming device ('Felixer') is a lethal method of feral cat control designed to be cost-effective and target specific. Aims: This study aims to test the target specificity of the Felixer in Tasmania, with a particular focus on Tasmanian devil and quoll species due to the overlap in size, habitats and behaviour between these native carnivores and feral cats. Methods: Our study deployed Felixer devices set in a non-lethal mode in nine field sites in Tasmania, one field site in New South Wales and two Tasmanian wildlife sanctuaries. Key results: Our study recorded 4376 passes by identifiable vertebrate species including 528 Tasmanian devil passes, 507 spotted-tailed quoll passes and 154 eastern quoll passes. Our data showed that the Felixer can successfully differentiate quoll species from feral cats with spotted-tailed quolls and eastern quolls targeted in 0.19% and 0% of passes, respectively. However, Tasmanian devils and common wombats were targeted in 23.10% and 12% of passes, respectively, although sample size was low for common wombats (n = 25). Conclusions: The Felixer could not reliably identify Tasmanian devils and possibly common wombats as non-target species. Further data is needed to confirm the potential for impacts on the common wombat and other potential non-target species in Tasmania, and the likelihood of the toxin being ingested by falsely targeted individuals. Implications: Our study suggest that the Felixer device is safe for use in the presence of two species of conservation concern, the eastern and spotted-tailed quoll. It also supports evidence from previous studies that the Felixer is unlikely to impact bettongs and potoroos. Use of Felixer devices across much of Tasmania would have to balance the conservation or economic benefits of cat control against potential impacts on Tasmanian devils. We suggest that active Felixer deployments be preceded by surveys to establish the range of species present at the control site, and the season of control considered carefully to minimise potential impacts on more susceptible juvenile animals. In addition, modifications to the Felixer device such as the proposed incorporation of AI technology should be tested against the Tasmanian devil and other non-target species. Feral cats present an alarming threat to Australia's native biodiversity. The Felixer grooming device is a method of feral cat control that is designed to be target-specific and efficient in the control of this invasive species. In order for the Felixer to be considered as a feral cat control device in Tasmania, its effectiveness in differentiating cats from similar carnivores, specifically Tasmanian devils and quolls, needs to be tested. Photograph by Darren Rumble. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the effects of climate (long‐term, prevailing weather) on species abundance, range and genetic diversity have been widely studied, short‐term, localized variations in atmospheric conditions (i.e., weather) can also rapidly alter species' geographical ranges and population sizes, but little is known about how they affect genetic diversity. We investigated the relationship between weather and range‐wide genetic diversity in a marsupial, Bettongiagaimardi, using dynamic species distribution models (SDMs). Genetic diversity was lower in parts of the range where the weather‐based SDM predicted high variability in probability of B. gaimardi occurrence during 1950–2009. This is probably an effect of lower population sizes and extinction–recolonization cycles in places with highly variable weather. Spatial variation in genetic diversity was also better predicted by mean probabilities of B. gaimardi occurrence from weather‐ than climate‐based SDMs. Our results illustrate the importance of weather in driving population dynamics and species distributions on decadal timescales and thereby in affecting genetic diversity. Modelling the links between changing weather patterns, species distributions and genetic diversity will allow researchers to better forecast biological impacts of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Access to effective toxicants and delivery systems that target red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are likely to be required as part of a management strategy in the event of future red fox incursions into Tasmania. Potential toxicants include sodium fluoroacetate (1080), para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP) and sodium cyanide (NaCN). Aims. To assess the risk of three toxicants (1080, PAPP and NaCN) to non-target native Tasmanian mammals and birds and domestic dogs and cats. Methods.Weidentified native Tasmanian mammal and bird species that may potentially consume fox baits, by reviewing the ecological traits of native species and by monitoring 180 buried bait stations with video cameras. We also assess the potential risk to non-target species of dying from a single standard dose of each of the three toxicants. Key results. Seven native mammal and 20 native bird species have the potential to consume fox bait. All vertebrates would be susceptible to a single dose of NaCN. Consumption of a single fox bait containing 3mg 1080 may be lethal to five native mammals, three native birds, and the domestic cat (Felis catus) and dog (Canis familiaris). Consumption of a single fox bait containing 226 mg PAPP may be lethal to the spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) and the domestic cat and dog. Delivery of toxicants via a mechanical ejector would reduce non-target exposure to toxicants. Conclusions. It appears that PAPP would provide a useful alternative to 1080 for use in lethal fox control in Tasmania, either in the event of an incursion or in the eradication of an established population. NaCN is not suitable for broadscale use in Tasmania because of the high susceptibility of all vertebrates to this toxicant. Nevertheless, NaCN would be useful in highly restricted areas in the event of an incursion where carcass recovery is important. The use of a mechanical ejector to target delivery of toxicants to red foxes would reduce non-target risks. Implications. Our results clarify theoretical non-target risks from any future fox-poisoning programs in Tasmania and highlight the need for further research on the susceptibility of native species to PAPP as a potential alternative to 1080. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agile wallaby (Macropus agilis) has established in a small area of coastal plain on the central east coast of Tasmania. The Tasmanian occurrence is the only known population of this species outside its natural geographical range. The current wild population is likely to have originated from a small number of individuals that escaped or were released from a nearby wildlife park in the late 1990s. The population is successfully reproducing although it appears to be relatively small and restricted. A precautionary approach is needed and the eradication of the population is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which determined the presence and distribution of the amphibian fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) within and immediately around the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) and identified the risk factors associated with the distribution of the disease to direct appropriate management actions. In the survey conducted, Bd was detected at only 1 of the 33 sites within the TWWHA and at 15 of the 29 sites surrounding the TWWHA. It was shown that for all the surveyed sites within and around the TWWHA, the presence of Bd was strongly associated with the presence of gravel roads, forests and altitude.

We studied the nesting behavior of the pig-nosed turtle, Carettochelys insculpta, in northern Australia. We used remote camera systems and focal observations to test the hypothesis that the nesting behavior in C. insculpta is similar to that of its closest relatives, the softshell turtles (Trionychidae). Carettochelys nested at night, in contrast to diurnal nesting in the majority of softshell turtles. Observations of groups of turtles in the water prior to nesting indicated gregarious or social behavior. On average, gravid turtles emerged around 6 times onto 1-2 beaches spanning 2 nights. Turtles nested at around 2100 ± 3 h, when sand temperatures at nest depth were near their maxima. Minimum air and water temperatures during nesting were 17.5°C and 24.6°C, respectively. Nesting turtles spent an average of 27 min on a beach, similar to softshell turtles but shorter than reported for most other turtle species. Relatively short nesting duration in these species may be caused by the ease in excavating a chamber in sand and the close proximity of nesting areas to water. Overall, the nesting sequence reflected the conservative nesting behavior in turtles, was similar to that of softshells, but differed in subtle ways. Empty nest chambers, commonly referred to in the literature as ''test holes'', were sometimes the result of abandonment resulting from incidental contact between turtles searching for a nest site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey of the Kikori River drainage of the Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea identified four species of freshwater turtle. The pig-nosed turtle Carettochelys insculptaand the southern New Guinea soft-shelled turtle Pelochelys bibroniare riverine species. The New Guinea spotted turtle Elseya novaeguineaelives primarily in the tidal freshwater creeks and streams, flooded sinkholes and swamps of the lowland rainforest. The New Guinea painted turtle Emydura subglobosaresides almost exclusively in forest sinkholes and swamps. Pelochelys bibroniwas the least-common species, and is probably locally endangered. Greatest turtle diversity occurred in the Karst Plains of the Kikori sub-basin, where there is a greater diversity of habitat available to turtles. Lowest diversity occurred in the highlands, where turtles were present in very low density as introduced populations, brought in from the Kikori lowlands, Mount Bosavi and the Western Province by visiting relatives. Linguistic diversity concurred with turtle diversity of the regions in which the languages were spoken. C. insculptanests both on riverine sand beaches and on coastal beaches, sand spits and isolated sand bars where the Kikori River discharges into the Gulf of Papua. Adult females and eggs of C. insculptaare harvested heavily by local people for local consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]