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Planned burning generates different types of pyrodiversity, however, experimental tests of how alternative spatial patterns of burning influence animal communities remain rare. Field tests are needed to understand the mechanisms through which spatial variation in planned fire affects fauna, and how fire can be applied to benefit biodiversity.We tested five hypotheses of how fire‐driven variation in habitat composition and configuration affects fauna at fine scales. Small mammal, reptile and invasive predator activity was monitored at 12 burnt and eight unburnt sites through the year following a large, planned burn in semi‐arid 'mallee' woodlands of southern Australia. We explored measures of burnt or unburnt habitat ('habitat status'); amount of unburnt vegetation ('habitat amount'); interspersion of burnt and unburnt patches ('habitat complementation'); distance to external or internal unburnt vegetation ('habitat connectivity'); and unburnt patch size and local vegetation cover ('habitat refuge'). Generalized linear models were used to test the influence of each variable on capture rates of three small mammal and 11 reptile species; activity of the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes); and species richness of native animals.We found strong support for the habitat status hypothesis and moderate support for four hypotheses relating to spatial patterns of fire. Reptile assemblages varied between burnt and unburnt sites, and relationships were identified between abundance of one or more reptile species and each measure of spatial variation. Reptile species richness was higher at unburnt sites and at sites with more unburnt vegetation in the surrounding area. Sites that were less connected to unburnt vegetation had fewer reptile species. Mammals did not have clear relationships with fine‐scale fire patterns.Synthesis and applications. Application of planned fire to promote biodiversity is globally important. We show that retaining unburnt areas and well‐connected habitat refuges is important for reptile diversity. We also found that several species of small mammals and reptiles appear resilient to the fine‐scale patterns of planned fire experienced in this study, despite activity of introduced predators. The diversity of animals can remain relatively high in areas subject to planned fire, provided that internal and external habitat refuges are retained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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No quantitative information exists on the movement patterns of Brolga, Antigone rubicunda (Gruidae) although the species is considered to undertake seasonal movements between breeding and non-breeding areas, and has been also described as both non-migratory and partly migratory. Information on this species' movement behaviour is required to understand its basic ecology and inform conservation management across its range. Thus, we sought to investigate whether Brolgas in southern Australia undertake seasonal movements, to define routes travelled by individuals, and to clarify the species' migratory status. Here, for the first time for this species, we quantified the distances travelled, timing of movements between breeding and non-breeding areas, and individual-level differences in movement patterns. We deployed GPS transmitters on five adults, six juvenile and 12 unfledged 6–9 week chicks in Victoria, Australia. Individuals were monitored for 71–646 days. These Brolgas showed partial migratory behaviour, with the south-west Victorian population including resident and migrating individuals, moving 6–30 km and 96–111 km between breeding and non-breeding areas respectively and some remaining resident throughout the year. Brolgas moved 1.6 km from roost to foraging areas on average throughout the year, the majority (95%) of these movements were within 5.2 km and overall Brolgas moved shortest distances during the non-breeding season. We discuss the main potential drivers for these movement patterns. These findings may assist local conservation planning and add to our understanding of Australian waterbird movements more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article features the planning organisation Pro bono Planners Australia (PbPA), which aims to connect planning and allied professionals with local and international projects to work on a pro bono basis for the public good. PbPA plans to provide services aimed to advance common good and support opportunities for career development and expansion. Also cited are the projects to be supported by PbPA like those by nonprofits and community organisations.

Purpose: This study aimed to (i) validate the Response Evaluation Criteria in PSMA (RECIP 1.0) criteria in a cohort of biochemically recurrent (BCR) prostate cancer (PCa) patients and (ii) determine if this classification could be performed fully automatically using a trained artificial intelligence (AI) model., Methods: One hundred ninety-nine patients were imaged with [ 68 Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT once at the time of biochemical recurrence and then a second time a median of 6.0 months later to assess disease progression. Standard-of-care treatments were administered to patients in the interim. Whole-body tumour volume was quantified semi-automatically (TTV man ) in all patients and using a novel AI method (TTV AI ) in a subset (n = 74, the remainder were used in the training process of the model). Patients were classified as having progressive disease (RECIP-PD), or non-progressive disease (non RECIP-PD). Association of RECIP classifications with patient overall survival (OS) was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method with the log rank test and univariate Cox regression analysis with derivation of hazard ratios (HRs). Concordance of manual and AI response classifications was evaluated using the Cohen's kappa statistic., Results: Twenty-six patients (26/199 = 13.1%) presented with RECIP-PD according to semi-automated delineations, which was associated with a significantly lower survival probability (log rank p < 0.005) and higher risk of death (HR = 3.78 (1.96-7.28), p < 0.005). Twelve patients (12/74 = 16.2%) presented with RECIP-PD according to AI-based segmentations, which was also associated with a significantly lower survival (log rank p = 0.013) and higher risk of death (HR = 3.75 (1.23-11.47), p = 0.02). Overall, semi-automated and AI-based RECIP classifications were in fair agreement (Cohen's k = 0.31)., Conclusion: RECIP 1.0 was demonstrated to be prognostic in a BCR PCa population and is robust to two different segmentation methods, including a novel AI-based method. RECIP 1.0 can be used to assess disease progression in PCa patients with less advanced disease. This study was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12615000608561) on 11 June 2015., (© 2023. Crown.)