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Context: The decline of birds in farmland is of global concern. Aims. The aim of this paper was to provide a local-scale case study of the bird fauna of temperate inland eastern Australia's sheep-wheat belt. Methods. Relationships between species occurrence and various habitat elements in the landscape were examined in a 342 km2 area of agricultural countryside near Wagga Wagga in southern inland New South Wales, Australia. The pre-agricultural bird fauna of this area was also investigated by collating records from previous studies of nearby larger woodland remnants. Key results: The study identified a bird fauna of 115 species compared to 160 species known from nearby woodland remnants. Significant relationships were found with the presence of farm dams, extent of local woodland cover and roadside woodland at the levels of individual species, guilds and total fauna. A small ephemeral wetland also contributed substantially to waterbird diversity. Conclusion. Twenty commonly recorded species typical of the farmland matrix and 15 species considered at particular risk of local extinction were identified. At the guild level, frugivore/granivores, small insectivores and hollow-users were found to be associated with remaining woodland elements in the agricultural landscape. Implications. Ecologically sustainable management of agricultural areas is essential to avoid further local extinctions. Hollow-using species are expected to be particularly affected by the anticipated widespread loss of trees in the landscape over the next century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire is a major ecological driver in many Australian ecosystems, and large‐scale wildfires can impact on faunal assemblages at a landscape scale. Monitoring the response of the avian community and individual bird species following a 92 039 ha wildfire in the Pilliga Forest, in temperate inland south‐eastern Australia, showed an initial decline in species richness and changes in community composition, followed by gradual recovery. Recovery was not complete by the end of the seven‐year study. Eighteen species (including Speckled Warbler Chthonicola sagittata and Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis) were identified as likely to be fire sensitive and nine species (including Australian Magpie Cracticus tibicen and Red‐capped Robin Petroica goodenovii) as likely to respond positively to fire at the time scale of this study. Another 11 species (including Dusky Woodswallow Artamus cyanopterus and Jacky Winter Microeca fascinans) appeared to favour burnt areas close to the fire edge. Guild‐level patterns included an overall negative response to fire by insectivores, granivores/frugivores and declining woodland birds and a positive response by predators. The avian community recovered more quickly at burnt sites close to (within 2 km of) the fire edge compared to more remote sites more than 4 km from unburnt habitat, suggesting that proximity to unburnt areas (and therefore fire extent) is likely to be a key consideration in understanding the post‐fire recovery of birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sixty-three butterfly species representing five families have been recorded from the Pilliga Forest in northern inland New South Wales – the largest surviving remnant of native forest on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range. This is one of the richest recorded butterfly faunas of any location on the New South Wales western slopes and adjacent plains, reflecting the location of the Pilliga Forest in a biogeographic overlap zone between northern and southern faunal assemblages with proximity to both the western plains and outliers of the mesic eastern highlands. No narrow-range endemic species or species of state or national conservation concern were recorded; however, half of the species recorded have patchy, discontinuous distributions within their broad range due to specific habitat requirements. Some minor western range extensions are recorded and two hilltopping sites are documented. This study highlights the significant biodiversity conservation value of the Pilliga Forest in the predominantly cleared western slopes bioregions. Sixty-three butterfly species have been recorded from the Pilliga Forest on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales. This is one of the richest recorded butterfly faunas of any location on the New South Wales western slopes and adjacent plains and highlights the significant conservation value of the Pilliga Forest in the predominantly cleared western slopes bioregions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New South Wales (NSW) north coast has a diverse marine bivalve and gastropod fauna of biogeographical interest. A field survey at Shelly Beach, on the NSW lower north coast over the period 2009-2015, complemented by a review of data from secondary sources, identified 142 species comprising 34 bivalves (24 families) and 108 gastropods (51 families). It is likely that further survey effort, particularly targeting micro-molluscs less than 5 mm in size, would identify additional species. The molluscan fauna of Shelly Beach reflects the location of the NSW north coast in an overlap zone between the tropical Indo-West Pacific region to the north and the temperate southern Australian region to the south. Temperate zone species comprised about 63% of the identified species diversity, sub-tropical species about 20%, overlap zone endemics about 12% and widespread species about 5%.q [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]