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Macropods are often implicated as the main native Australian reservoir hosts of Coxiella burnetii (Q fever); however, the maintenance and transmission capacity of these species are poorly understood. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to describe the epidemiology of C. burnetii in a high-density population of eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) in a peri-urban coastal nature reserve in New South Wales, Australia. Blood, faeces and swabs were collected from forty kangaroos as part of a population health assessment. Frozen and formalin-fixed tissues were also collected from 12 kangaroos euthanised on welfare grounds. Specimens were tested for C. burnetii using PCR, serology, histopathology and immunohistochemistry. A total of 33/40 kangaroos were seropositive by immunofluorescence assay (estimated true seroprevalence 84%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 69% to 93%), with evidence of rising titres in two animals that had been tested four years earlier. The PCR prevalence was 65% (95% CI 48% to 79%), with positive detection in most sample types. There was no evidence of pathology consistent with C. burnetii, and immunohistochemistry of PCR-positive tissues was negative. These findings indicate that kangaroos are competent maintenance hosts of C. burnetii, likely forming a significant part of its animal reservoir at the study site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management of overabundant native mammals is a contentious issue. In Australia, this is exemplified by the management of kangaroos and koalas. The iconic status of these species, nationally and internationally, greatly influences the perception of acceptable wildlife management practices. Lethal control techniques now face widespread opposition. This has resulted in research and development of alternative management strategies, with emphasis on potential fertility control agents. Australian Research Council Funding in 2005 supported the formation of a new initiative: The Koala and Kangaroo Contraception Program. Over the last 7 years, our research group has been testing the effects of a long-acting contraceptive implant (Suprelorin®, Peptech Animal Health), containing the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist deslorelin, on kangaroos and koalas. Within the last year, we have commenced large-scale field trials on two species: koalas on Kangaroo Island, South Australia; and tammar wallabies on the Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. These field trials aim to evaluate the efficacy of using long-acting contraception to control marsupial populations and will measure the effects of contraception at the individual, population, and environmental level. This is paralleled by development of a remote delivery system that will greatly enhance the efficacy of this form of population management.

We know from research across all levels of education that feedback and interactive teaching have the greatest positive effect on students' achievement. However, in higher education, teachers' constructive feedback often logistically cannot be delivered in time for all students to apply to future tasks. In this article, we report on a study of an interactive teaching approach using assignment exemplars to provide students with before-task "feedback" or feedforward. We evaluated the effectiveness of the approach through a questionnaire and analysis of students' grades. Our results show that while the teacher's explanation of the exemplars was an important positive factor in students' achievement, some students did not improve their performance although they understood the quality of work expected. We discuss implications for teachers in teaching discipline-writing skills as part of an exemplar-based approach to providing feedforward.

Testosterone has a dualistic effect in males by promoting sexual ornamentation at the cost of immune defence. This trade-off has been demonstrated in several taxa, such that males often host a greater parasite burden compared with female conspecifics. We suppressed testosterone in wild male eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) for 10 weeks using a novel gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) vaccine, Bopriva. We evaluated the impact of testosterone suppression on testes width, parameters of health, tick and worm burden in kangaroos using a before-after-control-impact (BACI) experimental design. Given the potential impact of animal movement on parasite burden, core area use of a subset of males was also determined. Bopriva significantly reduced testosterone in male kangaroos as well as reducing the combined size of testes by 9.6% (P = 0.01). There was no detectable effect of testosterone suppression on parasite burden and core area use in Treated kangaroos compared to Control (placebo) and Before treatment animals. Our results suggest that a duration of suppression longer than 10 weeks may be required to observe changes in parasite burden. Overall, this study provides a suitable framework for future studies to test whether reproductive hormones influence energy allocation, parasitism, and reproductive strategies in marsupials. Are male animals more vulnerable to parasites and disease? We found that male kangaroos with artificially lowered testosterone levels did not have lower parasite burden compared to the average male kangaroo. Our study aims to better understand what drives natural selection in one of Australia's most iconic marsupials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millions of native animals around the world are rescued and rehabilitated each year by wildlife rehabilitators. Triage and rehabilitation protocols need to be robust and evidence-based, with outcomes consistently recorded, to promote animal welfare and better understand predictors of wildlife survival. We conducted a global systematic review and meta-analysis of 112 articles that reported survival rates of native mammals and birds during rehabilitation and after release to determine intrinsic and extrinsic factors associated with their survival. We assessed survival during rehabilitation and in the short- and long-term postrelease, with the hypothesis that survival will vary as a function of species body size, diel activity pattern, trophic level, and study location (region of the world). We aimed to determine the direction of effect of these factors on survival to assist in decision-making during triage and rehabilitation. Results showed that mammals and birds were equally likely to survive all stages of rehabilitation, and survival rates varied between locations. Birds in North America had the poorest survival rates post-release, particularly long-term, as did diurnal and carnivorous birds in the shortterm post-release. Anthropogenic factors such as motor vehicle collisions and domestic or feral animal attack contributed to morbidity and post-release mortality in 45% (168 of 369) of instances. The reasons for rescue and associated severity of diagnosis were commonly reported to affect the likelihood of survival to release, but factors affecting survival were often species-specific, including bodyweight, age, and characteristics of the release location. Therefore, evidence-based, species-specific, and context-specific protocols need to be developed to ensure wildlife survival is maximised during rehabilitation and post-release. Such protocols are critical for enabling rapid, efficient rescue programs for wildlife following natural disasters and extreme weather events which are escalating globally, in part due to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technologies for remotely observing animal movements have advanced rapidly in the past decade. In recent years, Australia has invested in an Integrated Marine Ocean Tracking (IMOS) system, a land ecosystem observatory (TERN), and an Australian Acoustic Observatory (A2O), but has not established movement tracking systems for individual terrestrial animals across land and along coastlines. Here, we make the case that the Motus Wildlife Tracking System, an open-source, rapidly expanding cooperative automated radio-tracking global network (Motus, https://motus.org) provides an unprecedented opportunity to build an affordable and proven infrastructure that will boost wildlife biology research and connect Australian researchers domestically and with international wildlife research. We briefly describe the system conceptually and technologically, then present the unique strengths of Motus, how Motus can complement and expand existing and emerging animal tracking systems, and how the Motus framework provides a much-needed central repository and impetus for archiving and sharing animal telemetry data. We propose ways to overcome the unique challenges posed by Australia's ecological attributes and the size of its scientific community. Open source, inherently cooperative and flexible, Motus provides a unique opportunity to leverage individual research effort into a larger collaborative achievement, thereby expanding the scale and scope of individual projects, while maximising the outcomes of scant research and conservation funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reference intervals (RIs) describe baseline parameters of healthy animals, providing a powerful tool for wildlife managers to monitor health, identify disease and assess animal welfare. This paper reports haematological, glucose and serum protein RIs for one of Australia's most iconic and managed mammals, the eastern grey kangaroo Macropus giganteus. Blood samples (n = 514) were collected from 11 populations of eastern grey kangaroos, across much of their geographic range. A species-level RI was initially established based on samples collected from four sites (n = 245) and was further partitioned based on significant differences associated with sexual maturity and season. Unique population means were established from a further seven sites to investigate the importance of biotic (sex and sexual maturity) and abiotic (season, site, rainfall, temperature and laboratory) factors on kangaroo health parameters. Random forest analysis of health parameters revealed that abiotic factors (site, rainfall, temperature and season) were largely responsible for differences in haematological, glucose and serum protein values. Sex was found to have no influence, while sexual maturity and laboratory of analysis had moderate effects. Based on these findings, interpretation of individual and population haematological and serum protein values requires careful consideration of the timing of sample collection, environmental conditions and sexual maturity. When assessing kangaroo health, the relevant sexual maturity RI must be considered initially. For populations with similarities to those described (for example high density or captive populations) users should also consider site specific mean haematological and serum protein values. The RIs reported are valuable when establishing the health status of kangaroo populations. Furthermore, understanding the influence of biotic and abiotic factors will improve the utility of these RIs to assess health, disease status and improve welfare in eastern grey kangaroos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]