Search

The Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) is a native Australian honeyeater that reduces avian biodiversity at sites it occupies through aggressive defence. Culling to remove miners has had limited success in some areas due to rapid recolonisation. This experiment trialled 'doughnut culls' as a new approach to reduce Noisy Miner aggression within a central area of colonies, by removing up to half the miners present within a 50 m radius of an identified central location in 29 different colonies on the New England Tablelands of NSW. Aggression from miners onsite within this central area was quantified before and after culling by presenting 3D printed models of three different bird species with accompanying vocal playback to resident miners at the centre of culled areas. These presentations identified a significant decline in Noisy Miner aggression onsite after doughnut culls, with this reduced rate of aggression (e.g. over 50% reduction in the maximum number of miners within a 20 m radius of models) remaining until the conclusion of the experiment at 28 days post culling, a timeframe commensurate with the duration of many passerine nesting attempts. Social hierarchy changes among remaining Noisy Miners may be the primary cause of this reduced aggression, with sufficient miners remaining onsite to prevent colony collapse and thus any recolonisation. While additional trials during peak Noisy Miner dispersal periods are warranted, this method provides an effective tool for land managers to reduce localised Noisy Miner aggression over the short to medium term when high conservation areas are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Birds are a prominent component of urban biodiversity yet many species, particularly forest-dependent birds, are vulnerable to landscape transformation. We examined the relative influence of three factors that potentially influence forest bird communities in residential areas of Melbourne, Australia: (i) local habitat attributes; (ii) types of land use; and (iii) biotic interactions with an aggressive native species, the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala). We also investigated characteristics of urban sites that contribute most to landscape-level diversity of forest species. We systematically surveyed forest birds at 300 sites in a range of urban land-uses; with sites clustered in 30 landscapes representing gradients in housing cover and tree cover. Composition and richness of forest bird communities differed among land-use types: sites with greater cover of native canopy trees had a distinct and richer avifauna. However, a pervasive influence on communities was the relative abundance of the noisy miner, a native species that aggressively excludes small insectivores. Sites in native vegetation made the greatest contribution to landscape-level richness of forest birds, but also were negatively influenced by noisy miner occurrence. The dominance of the noisy miner poses a challenge for conservation because actions to improve urban habitat for forest species may also benefit this aggressive species. Conservation of forest birds will depend on larger forest tracts, fringing residential areas, which are less suitable for the noisy miner and serve as potential source populations for forest species. Within residential areas, enhancing understorey complexity with native shrubs and mid-storey will help improve urban habitats for forest birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aposematic prey advertise their unprofitability with conspicuous warning signals that are often composed of multiple color patterns. Many species show intraspecific variation in these patterns even though selection is expected to favor invariable warning signals that enhance predator learning. However, if predators acquire avoidance to specific signal components, this might relax selection on other aposematic traits and explain variability. Here, we investigated this idea in the aposematic moth Amata nigriceps that has conspicuous black and orange coloration. The size of the orange spots in the wings is highly variable between individuals, whereas the number and width of orange abdominal stripes remains consistent. We produced artificial moths that varied in the proportion of orange in the wings or the presence of abdominal stripes. We presented these to a natural avian predator, the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala) , and recorded how different warning signal components influenced their attack decisions. When moth models had orange stripes on the abdomen, birds did not discriminate between different wing signals. However, when the stripes on the abdomen were removed, birds chose the model with smaller wing spots. In addition, we found that birds were more likely to attack moths with a smaller number of abdominal stripes. Together, our results suggest that bird predators primarily pay attention to the abdominal stripes of A. nigriceps, and this could relax selection on wing coloration. Our study highlights the importance of considering individual warning signal components if we are to understand how predation shapes selection on prey warning coloration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Much research has quantified species responses to human‐modified ecosystems. However, there is limited work on how human‐modified ecosystems may reshape competitive interactions between species. Using a 19‐year study across 3 million ha, we aimed to answer the question: Are levels of interference competition between bird species context dependent and influenced by habitat structure and productivity? We focussed on the hyper‐aggressive behaviour of the Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala), which is recognized as a key threatening process for other woodland bird species in Australia. Whether environmental conditions such as amount of forest cover and net primary productivity (NPP) mediate the Noisy Miners' impact remains untested at large spatiotemporal scales. Location: Temperate woodlands of south‐eastern Australia. Methods: We gathered data on bird site occupancy from repeated surveys of field sites and assembled satellite data on tree cover and NPP. We constructed Bayesian multi‐species occupancy/detection models of bird species in woodland patches and tested the fixed and interactive effects of Noisy Miner presence, the amount of tree cover, NPP, and time. We quantified the responses of 31 species, many with known interactions with the Noisy Miner documented previously at fine spatial scales. Results: We identified negative associations between the Noisy Miner and 18 bird species, including, unexpectedly, both small and large bodied taxa. Site occupancy in some species was influenced by interactions between Noisy Miner presence and increasing amounts of tree cover or productivity. For some species, interference competition by the Noisy Miner is context‐dependent and mitigated by increasing tree cover and/or increasing NPP. Main Conclusions: Our analyses revealed that woodland bird conservation in our study region will be promoted by protecting refugia characterized by areas of high NPP and high tree cover. Preventing vegetation clearing that reduces tree cover could reduce interference competition by the Noisy Miner on parts of the remaining woodland bird community, including species of conservation concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In birds, several physiological characters have been proposed and tested as possible criteria of age. Among them, skull development is likely to provide a valuable reflection of other physiological developments, however the relationship between skull ossification and other physiological and morphometric traits has rarely been quantified within species. Here, we investigated suitability of skull ossification as an indicator of age in Noisy Miners (Manorina melanocephala), an Australian passerine bird. We compared skull ossification with other age indicators including the bursa of Fabricius, gonadal development, and a range of commonly used body size measures that included wing length and tarsus length. We carried out morphological measurements on 1251 individual Noisy Miner carcasses that had been collected during a culling experiment in November, December and May 2015–2016 from north-eastern NSW, Australia. The probability of a bursa of Fabricius being present in an individual bird changed with skull ossification level, with a significant reduction in the size of the bursa of Fabricius correlating with the degree of skull ossification. In male Noisy Miners, birds that were at a later stage of skull ossification had significantly larger testis size than those with a lower stages of skull ossification. In females, ovary size increased significantly as skull ossification progressed. In both sexes, skull ossification level was also correlated with body mass and skeletal measures. Given this, the level of skull ossification in Noisy Miners accurately correlates with other age indicators, and can justifiably be used as a non-invasive aging method in the field for live birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Sex and age are frequently proposed as drivers of a number of behavioural and demographic patterns that can have important consequences for population dynamics including access to mates, sexual selection, parental care and lifetime productivity. Sex and age might also be important in shaping the movement patterns and colonisation processes of social species moving into vacant habitat. Such information is critical for the management of strongly interacting species such as the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), which structure ecological communities through aggressive exclusion of other taxa from areas that they occupy. Aims. In Manorina colonies, young females are usually dispersive, while males remain in the natal colony as the philopatric sex. Following removal of individuals from an area, we aimed to determine whether female-biased dispersal, particularly of young females, would result in a more equal sex ratio and a younger age structure in the recolonising population. Methods. These predictions were tested by anatomically ageing and sexing 1856 noisy miners that had been experimentally culled in two regions of New South Wales, Australia, to reduce the aggressive impact of this species on other native species. Key results. Prior to removal, noisy miner populations were significantly male-biased in both regions (57% and 60%); however sex ratios after each of two removal episodes no longer differed from parity. Immature birds were a dominant feature (65%) of recolonising populations in both regions, however, the age structure of recolonising populations was different in each region, mostly likely due to the respective timing of culls during the year. Furthermore, the culling response in terms of age-specific sex ratio varied between regions. After the final cull, the sex ratio of mature birds had fallen to parity in one region but had become even more male biased (68%) in the other region. There was no sex-ratio bias among immature birds before or after culling. Conclusion. These results confirm the expectation that immature birds are more likely to be colonisers, but the expectation of greater female dispersal was equivocal. Implications. The differences in response between regions may reflect variation in population density, landscape connectivity or seasonality, highlighting challenges when implementing culling programs for conservation management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land-use changes have greatly impacted biodiversity and led to new conservation challenges, including greater predation pressure, although this can be difficult to quantify. Here we directly monitor predator encounters in fragmented woodlands by using passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) and a semi-automated assessment protocol to detect functionally referential alarm vocalisations of the noisy miner Manorina melanocephala. We demonstrate that measuring changes in perceived predation pressure, the so-called 'landscape of fear', in a prey species across temporal (dawn, midday, dusk across multiple seasons) and spatial scales (small/large fragments and edge/centre locations within fragments) is achievable. Vocalisations linked with ground predator presence were rarer during midday recordings, but more commonly detected from the edge rather than centre of smaller fragments. While the probability of detecting aerial alarm calls directed at flying raptors also increased in edge habitat, aerial alarm detections declined from a dawn peak to a minimum during dusk recordings. These patterns did not simply reflect noisy miner occupancy or different sections of monitored patches, but highlighted higher perceived predation risk along edges, particularly for small patches, demonstrating the nuanced insights that PAM can offer when quantifying animal behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala) is an aggressive Australian honeyeater that has been strongly implicated in the decline of assemblages of smaller passerine species in eastern Australia. Factors likely to promote the spread of noisy miners throughout modified landscapes have been identified using static correlative models. However, the underlying mechanisms resulting in the patterns of space-use implicit in such models remain largely unknown. Aims: The aim of the study was to develop a modelling context that is better able to capture the underlying mechanisms driving the spread of Noisy Miners than are static correlative modelling techniques. Methods: A spatially explicit, grid-based model framework was derived to estimate the vulnerability of assemblages of bird species to displacement or replacement by noisy miners. Data from an area of suburban and peri-urban Brisbane were used as a case study in the application of the model framework. Key results: The model framework predicted that sensitive bird assemblages, occupying a range of habitats, were far more vulnerable overall to displacement or replacement by noisy miners within the case study landscape than vice versa. The spaces within this landscape occupied by sensitive bird species predicted to be most vulnerable to noisy miner spread were identified. Conclusions: The spatially explicit context within which the model framework is set provides an opportunity to gain insights into the mechanisms underlying the spread of noisy miners that static correlative models have yet to fully identify. Implications: The model framework has potential for application in land use and conservation management planning. The dominance of noisy miners in eastern Australia is a serious threatening process affecting Australia's avifauna. A spatially explicit, grid-based model framework was derived to predict the spread of noisy miners and to identify areas in which the management of miner abundance will be more likely to succeed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1878: "...gallant little birds" (Wagga Wagga Advertiser) 1915: "... the carol of the magpie is eclipsed by the song of the miner" (Emu) 2004: "...the mafia of the bird world" (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) 2015: "I hate those f***in things" (RedditAustralia) Through the 19th Century and the first half of the 20th Century, notwithstanding its role as an agricultural pest, the Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala was considered with affection by colonial society. The species' reputation has been severely damaged in recent decades, however, on account of its violent tendencies towards smaller woodland birds, including many of conservation concern. Aggressive exclusion of small woodland birds from potential woodland habitat by Noisy Miners was declared a Key Threatening Process under federal conservation legislation in 2014. Given that Noisy Miners, other woodland birds, and the post-ice age woodland environment have been co-evolving for at least 10 000 years, how did the natural competitive behaviour of Noisy Miners become an ecological problem? In this paper I review historical references to Noisy Miners and current research on the ecology of the species to construct a trajectory of change. Culturally, these changes include a shift in attitudes to the species from agricultural pest and popular native bird to a vilified, "overabundant" native species and nemesis of small woodland birds. Ecologically, changes have included an expansion in distribution and abundance of Noisy Miners. This has led to an increase in scale of the effects of Noisy Miner aggression on small woodland birds. The historical record contains many references to Noisy Miner aggression against other species, the first appearing within four years of the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788. Evidence that such aggression could affect the abundance and distribution of small woodland birds, however, appears only in the period after World War II. The changing ecological role of Noisy Miners, and the associated changes in cultural attitude to the species, appear linked to the loss, fragmentation and degradation of native woodland in eastern Australia since the introduction of European agriculture and urbanization. In particular, the change in ecological role of the Noisy Miner appears to be linked to the accelerated rates of deforestation in the post-war period. Such broadscale habitat modification has both benefitted Noisy Miners and exacerbated declines in woodland-dependent small birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity loss is a major issue internationally and within Australia, with major restoration efforts to recover native biota focussing on agricultural landscapes. We introduce a free new webtool, BirdCast [https://sustfarm.shinyapps.io/BirdCast/], for estimating the primarily native bird biodiversity in Box Gum Grassy Woodlands within the NSW South Western Slopes bioregion. The tool has potential to demonstrate farm‐scale bird biodiversity dividends generated from past and future investments in vegetation management and restoration programmes. BirdCast incorporates 60 of the most commonly encountered bird species and includes visualisations, data export and summary reports for printing. It is underpinned by a large joint‐species distribution model fitted to 17 years of empirical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The effect of spatial scale on the location and abundance of species has long been a major topic of interest in ecology. Accounting for key drivers at multiple scales is critical for rigorous description of patterns of species distribution and biodiversity change. We quantified the effects of potential drivers of bird occupancy across a geographically dispersed, but heavily disturbed and fragmented ecosystem. Location: Threatened Box‐Gum Grassy Woodlands in south‐eastern Australia, which stretch across 9° of latitude (~900 km). Taxon: Birds (Class Aves). Methods: We grouped data from four monitoring studies of birds that spanned 10–22 years in Box‐Gum Grassy Woodlands. We then employed joint species distribution modelling to investigate multi‐species responses to environmental drivers measured at patch, landscape and regional scales, and selected combinations of all three. Results: We show that in Box‐Gum Grassy Woodlands: vegetation structure influences bird occupancy beyond the presence of the despotic Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala); woodland cover is more important than vegetation productivity and topographic position; bird occupancy is sensitive to a combination of average climate, seasonality, and summer and winter extremes; and there is limited redundancy between drivers of bird occupancy at different scales. Species differ most in their response to presence of the Noisy Miner, high summer temperatures and nearby woodland cover. Main Conclusions: Quantifying the influence of environmental drivers that act at different spatial scales is valuable for understanding patterns of bird species occurrence. Fine‐scale studies can benefit from considering the climate and biogeographical context in which the research occurs. Conversely, large‐scale studies should recognise that downscaling species occupancy projections from continental to patch scales requires careful consideration of the role of patch‐scale vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Temperate woodlands are amongst the most threatened ecosystems in Australia because the land on which they occur is highly suited to agriculture. Two hundred years of habitat loss and fragmentation in the Midlands agricultural region in Tasmania have led to widespread declines in native vertebrates and landscapes with populations of predators including feral Cat (Felis catus) and the native‐invasive Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala). Ecologists at the University of Tasmania co‐designed mechanistic animal‐centric research on mammals and birds in the Midlands to inform vegetation restoration carried out by Greening Australia that would support the recovery of wildlife species. We used species‐appropriate technologies to assess the decisions made by individual animals to find food and shelter and to disperse across this fragmented landscape, and linked these, together with patterns of occupancy, across multiple spatial and temporal scales. We focussed on a native (Spotted‐tailed Quoll, Dasyurus maculatus) and an invasive (feral Cat, Felis catus) carnivore, a woodland‐specialist herbivore (Eastern Bettong, Bettongia gaimardi) and woodland birds including the native‐invasive Noisy Miner. Our results, which show intense predatory and competitive pressure of cats and populations of Noisy Miner on native fauna, highlight how grounding restoration in the context of ecological interactions is essential to success in managing the impacts of invasive species in restored landscapes. Successful restoration will require innovative approaches in plantings and field experimentation with artificial refuges, to reduce habitat suitability for the Noisy Miner and cats and provide refuges for native mammals and birds to live in the landscape where cats also occur. Our results emphasise the significance of structural complexity of restoration plantings for supporting the recolonisation and persistence of native fauna. At large landscape‐scale, we demonstrate the importance of retaining small habitat elements, including ancient paddock trees, pivot irrigation corners and small, degraded remnants, in facilitating occupancy and dispersal and, therefore, persistence of wild animals across this agricultural region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controlling problem species for conservation can be fraught, particularly when native species are subject to lethal control. The noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), has been the target of numerous lethal control efforts. Outcomes of these noisy miner removals have varied substantially, so identifying the circumstances under which they are effective is essential for ethical and effective management. We compiled data for all identified noisy miner removals (n = 45), including both permit‐based and unofficial removals. We investigated whether methodological and ecological factors explained the effectiveness of removals in reducing noisy miner density or increasing woodland bird richness and abundance. The only predictor of any measure of success was time between first and final culls which was positively related to reduction in noisy miner density. Surprisingly, despite removals mainly failing to reduce noisy miner density to below a threshold above which noisy miners impact smaller birds, woodland birds usually still increased. Disrupted social structure as noisy miners recolonized may have led to less effective aggressive exclusion of small birds. Further removals may not need to reduce noisy miner density to below this threshold to benefit woodland birds, but consistent monitoring and reporting would support better evaluation of effectiveness and correlates of success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interference competition by noisy miners Manorina melanocephala threatens small woodland bird communities in the highly modified agricultural landscapes of southeastern Australia. Noisy miners aggressively exclude small passerines from their territories promoting the biotic homogenization of communities. Here, we addressed the impact of this native species on the temporal dynamics of bird communities over a 7-years period (2010/2011–2016/2017). We explored the differences in community dynamic metrics (synchrony, stability, rate of change) between assemblages with and without presence of noisy miners. We also tested for differences in temporal beta diversity between the two categories of community. We first applied a multi-species abundance model to account for the imperfect observation process and uncertainty in species abundance. Yearly variation in species occurrence (but not in abundance) was higher in communities with presence of noisy miners, suggesting that this hyper-aggressive competitor excludes rare species and contributes to increased level of temporal turnover. In line with this, species loss was also significantly higher in communities with this competitor. These communities are also subject to greater variation in composition across years despite consisting of a smaller number of species in comparison to those without noisy miners. This translates into instability, where communities with noisy miners showed a loose equilibrium and generally exhibited little directional change. Our findings suggest that in the short term, noisy miners act as a filter, resulting in a predictable homogenization of species assemblages (small-bodied species are excluded while large-bodied ones are favored) in their presence. However, over a longer period, this species contributes to increased community instability. This study adds to the growing body of literature showing evidence of the ecological relevance that the impact of noisy miners can have on Australian woodlands. • Noisy miners increase species turnover and community dispersion across years. • Assemblages with miners show high interannual variation but this is somehow bounded. • This species not only act as a filter, but also as a disturbing agent. • The presence of noisy miners increases the instability of communities. • Conservation actions should consider long-term variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In cooperatively breeding species, the level of investment by both breeders and helpers may be influenced by the sex of offspring in broods that they attend, due to different fitness payoffs associated with investing in male versus female offspring. This might be expected if the sexes differ markedly in either the cost of their rearing, due to factors such as sexual size dimorphism, or the level of help that they may provide in later life that might benefit helpers in the future. Here we investigate how nestling sex influences the provisioning efforts provided by helpers and the subsequent growth and development of offspring in the cooperatively breeding noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala). In this species, helpers are predominantly philopatric males, as females disperse to other colonies to find breeding positions. We therefore predicted that helpers might invest more in helpful male-biased broods rather than those with dispersive female offspring, particularly if larger males required more resources than female offspring to successfully fledge. Male miners grew faster, fledging at the same age as their female siblings but with a heavier body mass. Male offspring therefore possibly require more resources than female offspring to raise. However, despite possible differences in the fitness returns of investing in different sexes, we were unable to detect any significant influence of brood sex ratio on the provisioning rate of pair or their helper contingent. Noisy miner helpers provision the brood irrespective of offspring sex. This could be due to an inability to recognise nestling sex, or potential future costs that might be imposed by philopatric males that subsequently compete for resources and/or mating opportunities with the helpers that reared them. From a male helper perspective, these potential costs may ultimately nullify benefits that male offspring provide in future. Significance statement: Male and female offspring might have different fitness benefits for helpers in the cooperatively breeding species. Given this, helpers in this breeding system might have sex-dependant preferences and direct their help towards the apparently more beneficial sex (i.e. the sex that is expected to stay at the same population and provide help in return). In this study, we showed that in the cooperatively breeding noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), although male offspring are expected to provide higher level of care with over 90% of helpers being male, this apparent difference in the fitness return did not result in higher provisioning rate in the male-biased broods compared to female-biased broods. We argue that (a) this could be due insufficient cues for recognition of nestling sex or (b) despite the higher level of help that male offspring are expected to provide into the future, the overall inclusive fitness benefits do not vary among the sexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interaction networks among native and invasive species in a community can inform both invasion impacts and applied management of invasive species. The intensity of aggressive interactions may be related to the overlap in species' ecological niche and functional traits, especially in cavity‐breeding species, that often compete for limited nesting sites. Australia is home to over 100 native and introduced cavity‐nesting species, including several invasive species that are widespread globally, such as the common myna Acridotheres tristis. Here, we aimed to test the extent to which shared functional traits inform the intensity of aggression between cavity‐nesting birds.We quantified the outcomes of aggressive interactions between birds in large hollow‐bearing trees in SE Queensland, Australia. We examined whether more similarly sized birds interacted more frequently, whether larger species won aggressive interactions more often, and whether cavity‐breeding species with similar preferences for nesting sites (breeding‐niche space) interacted more frequently.We recorded a total of 410 aggressive interactions and 48 interacting bird species around tree hollows, including 20 cavity‐nesting bird species. These interactions were dominated by the invasive common myna, the native noisy miner (a non‐cavity‐breeder) and the native rainbow lorikeet Trichoglossus moluccanus, but the common myna won the largest total number of interspecific interactions. On average, larger birds won aggressive interactions more frequently, yet there were some important exceptions to this finding; the common myna (113 ± 30 g) won 26 of the 29 interactions against the larger native rainbow lorikeet (126 ± 44 g). Importantly, species with more similar nest‐site preferences were observed aggressively interacting more frequently.Synthesis and applications. The impact of the invasive common myna was higher‐site preferences. Control efforts for the myna should focus on birds that nest in natural tree hollows. An analysis of shared traits by managers could be used to help identify how many local species would benefit from common myna control in a given area and test if further behavioural studies of common myna are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interspecific competition is an essential element of the evolution of species and can strongly influence the abundance and distribution of species. Where competition interacts with anthropogenic habitat modification, this natural ecosystem process can become a threatening process. Understanding the mechanisms behind competition in such cases is essential for the formulation of cost‐effective management responses for biodiversity conservation. According to the resource availability hypothesis of competition, interference competition limits access to resources by species vulnerable to such aggression and wastes energy in evasive responses. Studying competition is notoriously difficult, however, empirical evidence of the resource availability theory is limited, and there are few published experimental studies showing such an effect at larger scales. We present the results of a controlled and replicated empirical study of interference competition at a landscape scale. We removed an aggressive, overabundant native bird, Manorina melanocephala (noisy miner), whose interference competition is a threatening process for small woodland birds in the highly modified agricultural landscapes of eastern Australia. We monitored foraging and harassment rates of small woodland birds before and after removal to indicate if levels of interference competition changed. Due to unexpected immediate recolonisation, abundance of M. melanocephala in treatment sites declined by only 34% relative to control sites. Twenty‐four bird species displayed aggressive behaviour towards other birds and 41 bird species were victims of aggression. Manorina melanocephala was responsible for 66% of all aggressive interactions. After removal, we recorded a doubling in foraging rate of small woodland birds in treatment compared to control sites. This appears to confirm the resource availability hypothesis of competition. Paradoxically, however, increased foraging was not accompanied by a decline in harassment. Low detection rates of harassment of small woodland birds, combined with the modest reduction in abundance of M. melanocephala, make it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the relationship between rates of harassment and rates of foraging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactions between competing species may be intensified when they are restricted to small patches of remnant habitat, potentially increasing physiological stress in individuals. The effects of interspecific competition on stress in wildlife remain largely unexplored. In Australia, remnant woodlands are often dominated by aggressive honeyeaters, especially the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala). Harassment of smaller birds by miners may result in their exclusion from suitable woodland habitat. We tested whether the presence of noisy miners is also associated with elevated stress in a model species of small passerine bird, the superb fairy‐wren (Malurus cyaneus). We sampled wrens from six sites, three remnant woodlands with noisy miners and three larger fragments of reserved habitat without noisy miners. Differential white blood cell counts were used to infer levels of chronic stress. We also assessed variation in body condition and the prevalence of blood parasites (Haemoproteus spp.) to test for associations between stress and parasitemia. The mean heterophil‐to‐lymphocyte (H:L) ratio was 1.8 × higher among superb fairy‐wrens living in miner‐dominated woodlands, suggesting higher levels of chronic stress. Individuals with higher stress appeared to be in poorer condition, as indicated by fat scores and residual body mass. Prevalence of blood parasites was generally high and was highest in reserved habitat (59%) where miners were absent. Birds with blood parasites living in these habitats had higher H:L ratios but the intensity of infection and H:L ratio was inversely related. Our results suggest that birds persisting in the presence of noisy miners might experience chronic stress, but further study is necessary to separate the relative importance of noisy miner aggression from other potential stressors in small patches of degraded woodland. Stress induced by interspecific aggression should be considered in future studies of wildlife living in remnant vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We document changes in the avifauna of Longueville, a residential suburb of Sydney, between 1971-73 and 1977-79 based on daily bird lists, and make comparisons with the present avifauna based on surveys in 2013-14. Of the 31 most common native terrestrial bird species, 17 were 'decreasers', present in 1971-73 but not recorded in 2013-14 (although 16 of them were recorded in a large bushland remnant 5 km away), and 14 were 'increasers', seven of which were absent or very rare in 1971-73. Eleven species decreased during the 1970s, and six species afterwards. Eight species increased during the 1970s and six species afterwards. The decreasers were predominantly small insectivores and nectarivores. The increasers were of three main types: medium to large carnivores, large frugivores or granivores, and medium-sized nectarivores. Two of the nectarivores, the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala) and rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus), now dominate the urban bird community of Longueville and are by far the most numerous birds. The increase of both species dates from the late 1970s. The noisy miner is highly aggressive towards other birds and its dramatic increase (it was absent in 1971-73) appears to be the chief cause of the decline of small native birds in Longueville. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nest cavities are a limited resource, given the extensive land clearance that has occurred in Australia. Some obligate cavity-nesting birds are vulnerable to extinction and experience risk from heterospecific species that compete for limited nest cavities. The aim of this study was to identify intruder bird species at nest cavities of a threatened eastern subspecies of Regent Parrot (Polytelis anthopeplus monarchoides), and to measure the impact of intruder birds on parental care (parental time budgets) and nesting outcome (nest usurpation). We observed 25 eastern Regent Parrot nests using a combination of 608 h of video recording and 67 h of binocular observation. In total, we observed 16 heterospecific bird species at the nest entrance of the eastern Regent Parrot. Two of these species were examined for their impact on parental care behaviour. The presence of Noisy Miners (Manorina melanocephala) near the nest cavity increased the time that Regent Parrots spent at the nest cavity entrance. The number of Yellow Rosella (Platycercus elegans flaveolus) visits to the nest cavity predicted nest usurpation. Nest usurpation of a Regent Parrot nest occurred in 6/25 cases (24%), of which 5/6 nests were usurped by Yellow Rosellas. Understanding heterospecific competition for nest cavities in eastern Regent Parrots should inform targeted conservation measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperative breeding is a breeding system in which offspring receive care not only from their parents but also from other conspecific helpers. This helping behavior could potentially be costly to attendants; however, one of the means by which helpers can override these costs is through preferentially directing aid towards kin. Helping patterns might vary according to helper sex if sex-biased dispersal is present. Here, we examined how genetic relatedness and sex of helpers shaped their provisioning behavior in the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala). This common Australian passerine lives year-round in large colonies that contain both related and unrelated individuals. There was a strong sex-bias in helper effort, with 93% of helpers being philopatric males that remain in natal colonies for life, even though males make up only 69% of the population. Females dispersed prior to breeding and rarely helped at the nest. Helpers varied in their level of relatedness to the breeders which positively predicted their provisioning rate and biomass delivered to the broods, with the majority of help provided by related helpers. These results show that there was a clear sex difference in helping behavior in this species; with related males, most likely retained offspring from previous years, being the main providers of aid among all helpers. Kinship and patterns of philopatry, therefore, appear to be important drivers of helping behavior in noisy miners, although given that unrelated helpers also provisioned young at substantial levels, other types of direct benefits may further play a role in maintaining cooperatively breeding in this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linear strips of vegetation (e.g., hedges, roadsides) are characteristic of rural environments worldwide. Different types of linear features have distinct structure and landscape context, suggesting they each may offer unique opportunities for conservation in modified landscapes. We compared the avifauna of 76 streamside (riparian) sites and 33 sites in roadside vegetation—two distinctive types of linear features of rural landscapes in southern Australia. There was a marked difference in the composition of the avifauna between these linear features, reflecting their individual context within the landscape. For all response groups—woodland bird species, non-woodland species, waterbirds—riparian vegetation supported a greater species richness per site, and greater cumulative richness across multiple sites, than did roadside vegetation. For woodland species, the assemblage of greatest conservation concern, richness in both riparian and roadside sites increased with increasing width, and decreased with increasing abundance of an aggressive avian competitor. The ubiquity of linear features worldwide means that measures that enhance their conservation value will have widespread benefits. Our results demonstrate that: (1) linear features offer habitat for a broad range of species in rural environments; (2) by supporting distinct assemblages, different types of linear features have complementary roles in nature conservation; (3) wider linear features have a positive influence on species that require vegetated cover; and (4) the fauna of linear features are vulnerable to biotic influences, in this case a native avian competitor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Interspecific aggression by the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), a highly despotic species, is homogenizing woodland avifaunas across eastern Australia. Although a native species, the noisy miner's aggressive exclusion of small birds is a Key Threatening Process under national law. Large‐scale removal of noisy miners has been proposed as a management response to this threat following increases in miner presence due to anthropogenic land use practices. We tested this proposal by experimentally removing noisy miners from eucalypt woodland remnants (16–49 ha), assigned randomly as control (n = 12) or treatment (miner removal) sites (n = 12). Standardized bird surveys were conducted before and after removal, and generalized linear mixed models were used to investigate the effect of miner removal on bird assemblage metrics. Despite removing 3552 noisy miners in three sessions of systematic shooting, densities of noisy miners remained similarly high in treatment and control sites, even just 14 days after their removal. However, there was evidence of an increase in richness and abundance of small birds in treatment sites compared to controls—an effect we only expected to see if noisy miner densities were drastically reduced. We suggest that miner removal may have reduced the ability of the recolonizing miners to aggressively exclude small birds, even without substantially reducing miner densities, due to the breakdown of social structures that are central to the species' despotic behaviour. However, this effect on small birds is unlikely to persist in the long term. Synthesis and applications: Despite evidence from other studies that direct removal of noisy miners can result in rapid and sustained conservation benefit for bird communities at small scales, our findings cast doubt on the potential to scale‐up this management approach. The circumstances under which direct control of noisy miners can be achieved remain unresolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban environments are characteristically noisy and this can pose a challenge for animals that communicate acoustically. Although evidence suggests that some birds can make acoustic adjustments that preclude masking of their signals in high-disturbance environments such as cities, studies to date have tended to focus on acoustic signals important in mate attraction (e.g., songs). Far less attention has been given to the impact of urban noise on other kinds of calls. To redress this, we compared a range of different vocalizations (encompassing alarm calls, begging calls and parent response calls) among urban and rural individuals of a successful Australian ‘urban adapter’, the Noisy miner, Manorina melanocephala. We found that urban miners had significantly higher minimum sound frequencies for calls with low base-frequencies (2 kHz) had the same minimum frequency in urban and rural birds. Dominant frequency and call duration did not differ between urban and rural individuals. Although urban Noisy miners exhibited differences from rural individuals in the minimum frequency of calls, this shift was not large enough to avoid masking from low-frequency, anthropogenic noise. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that the calls of Noisy miners may be naturally well suited to being heard in noisy urban environments by having (a) dominant frequencies higher than low-level, anthropogenic noise and (b) several important call-types with frequencies above the main frequency range associated with urban noise.

In many socially monogamous bird species, both sexes regularly engage in mating outside their pair bond. Although the benefits of extra-pair (EP) mating behavior are clear and well established for males, such as an increase in the number of sired offspring, the benefits of EP mating behavior to females are less clear. A dominant theory for the incidence of EP mating is that socially monogamous females can improve the genetic quality of their offspring and avoid the costs of inbreeding through EP mating. In addition, in cooperatively breeding species, the theory of "parental care" predicts that females obtain additional help for their offspring through EP matings. Here, we examined evidence for both the inbreeding avoidance and parental care hypotheses in the cooperatively breeding noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala). Overall, EP mating occurred in 27% of broods, with 14% of offspring sired by males other than the identified pair-bonded male. There was a strong tendency to avoid pairing with genetically related individuals, with 86% of breeding pairs being significantly less related to each other than the general population. The occurrence of EP paternity was independent of the degree of relatedness between the pair. Provisioning patterns in relation to EP mating was not consistent with the "parental care" hypothesis and EP males did not contribute to the care of broods. These results demonstrate that in this system, there is no evidence that EP mating might function as a mechanism to reduce the costs of inbreeding depression or to gain benefits of extra helpers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To provide, through a large-scale long-term field study, an empirical evaluation of the extent to which revegetated patches act as refuges for woodland bird species in the face of enhanced abundance of a native despotic species in a highly fragmented landscape. Location South-west slopes, New South Wales, Australia. Methods Birds were surveyed using point counts over a 9-year period. Colonization/extinction dynamics of local bird populations were modelled using multiple-season occupancy models. Results We show how the spread of the noisy miner ( Manorina melanocephala), an indirect effect of habitat loss and fragmentation, is now the main driver of bird distribution patterns, affecting 65% of the studied species, including 10 species of conservation concern. Noisy miners both increased the risk that birds would become extinct in patches and prevented birds colonizing new patches. We discovered that restoration plantings, despite having low noisy miner abundance, rarely acted as a refuge for bird species: only 6 of 42 species, and only one of conservation concern, showed a positive response to plantings. Instead, bird species colonized or persisted more in regrowth or old growth sites where the abundance of the noisy miner was relatively low. Main conclusions Despite a major restoration effort of replanted vegetation over several decades, the majority of our target bird species preferred native woodland patches over plantings, and particularly native patches with a low abundance of the noisy miner. Our study showed that conservation actions such as habitat restoration aimed at reversing the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation should be preceded by a careful threat-mitigation prioritization considering, in particular, the indirect effects of fragmentation, such as the impact of despotic or invasive species. Our results support calls to manage noisy miners by undertaking actions that will reduce their numbers, such as through culling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three factors potentially facilitating avian urban colonisation are: (a) inherent suitability for city environments, (b) limited resource overlap with residents, achieved through resource partitioning or outcompeting residents for shared resources, and (c) behavioural flexibility permitting innovative resource exploitation. We examined the foraging ecology and nest site choice of the Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) in urban parks in Melbourne, Australia to elucidate which of these three factors was likely to be instrumental in facilitating occupancy of this urban habitat by this native honeyeater. The Noisy Miner was relatively unspecialised in its nest site choice in parks, suggesting that the many suburban parks with branching eucalypts probably provide lots of suitable nest sites for this species. Park-dwelling Noisy Miners appeared to be superior competitors for food to most cohabiting bird species. They were never targets of interspecific aggression, but quite often initiated it against 16 other bird species. Most interactions were attacks and/or chases and 74% displaced the target species' member. In Melbourne's parks, Noisy Miners foraged for invertebrates mainly: (a) in the sub-canopy on foliage, using hanging and reaching behaviours, and (b) on the ground on bark litter and grass, gleaning in a standing posture. Several cohabiting bird species also gleaned invertebrates on the ground in a similar manner, but all also commonly used other behaviours when foraging on this substrate. No cohabiting species that foraged extensively in the sub-canopy fed substantially on invertebrates there. Thus Noisy Miners could successfully inhabit Melbourne's parks apparently at least partly because: (i) nest site choice was relatively unspecialised; (ii) they flexibly exploited food resources at ground level, unlike exurban conspecifics; (iii) they aggressively dominated possible heterospecific food competitors at ground level; and (iv) they probably experienced fairly limited dietary overlap with cohabiting bird species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bell miners ( M anorina melanophrys; Meliphagidae) are a highly social and very aggressive honeyeater. They are despotic and cooperate in the defence of their territories against other bird species, leading to the almost complete exclusion of other avifauna from miner-occupied regions. This study aimed to resolve some of the fine-scale effects of bell miner aggression on avian diversity both within and adjacent to colonies to determine the true impact of a colony on local avifaunal abundance. Three areas, distributed throughout the range of the bell miner, were surveyed across both non-breeding and breeding seasons to assess the temporal and spatial impacts of bell miner aggression on other bird species. Bell miner colonies were found to occupy very clearly defined areas and had the expected negative impact on avian diversity within their colony. The effects of bell miner colony presence on abundance and richness of avian species were found to cease at the colony boundary, with both recovering to normal levels immediately outside the bell miner colony. Whether bell miners were breeding or not, and irrespective of the amount of vegetation coverage, bell miner colonies were found to have relatively marginal impacts on avian richness and abundance. No impact of colony presence/absence was found on the richness or abundance of the avian species that dwell in the undergrowth, with some evidence that these species were actually more common at the colony edge. Our results demonstrate that the influence of bell miner colony presence upon avian biodiversity is restricted to the confines of the colony and does not radiate outwards into the surrounding habitat. Colony presence influences, therefore, have implications when considering the impact of bell miner behaviour on the diversity of insectivorous birds and processes, most notably the propagation of Bell Miner Associated Dieback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptive resource tracking in space and time may be disrupted by the modification of resources and competitors. Major global change drivers (e.g. land-use change) have induced declines in many native species, while facilitating only a few. Given that many resources are predicted to become increasingly scarce under the joint effects of climate and land-use change, disturbance-tolerant species that are able to defend high-value resources may further limit the persistence of disturbance-sensitive species., We sought to determine which nectarivorous birds track variation in flowering and if relationships between nectarivores and flowering are affected by on-transect vegetation structure or the occurrence of a native, hyper-aggressive species, the noisy miner Manorina melanocephala, which has become more prevalent., We measured eucalypt flowering and abundances of nectarivorous birds over the course of a year; we measured vegetation structure on the same forest transects., Nectarivores tracked spatial and some temporal variation in flowering, but this relationship was disrupted by noisy miners. Where present in sufficient numbers, the noisy miner excluded small-bodied nectarivores (<63 g) from fragments, limiting the ability of this numerically dominant component of the avifauna to gain access to flowering resources., Altered patterns of interspecific competition due to vegetation fragmentation and climate-induced degradation may have led to changes in the distribution of small nectarivore species that is a departure from the 'ideal free distribution' model. Interactions between noisy miners and small-bodied nectarivores appear to be best described by the 'ideal despotic distribution' model in which noisy miners exclude smaller competitors and monopolize local resources. Increases in the severity and frequency of extreme climatic events (e.g. long droughts) predicted under climate change may create a boom-bust pattern of availabilities of resources. The apparent insensitivity of noisy miners to such variation in flowering resource availability and the miners' influence on the ability of small nectarivores to access resources may lead to disproportionate declines in smaller-bodied nectarivorous species. Reduced tracking of flowering by nectarivores has the potential to disrupt ecosystem services (e.g. pollination, seed dispersal) and may have long-term consequences for the persistence of fragmented vegetation, adding further pressure on forest-dependent biota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We report bird trends in a 12year study of large-scale eucalypt plantations. [•] Species richness increased over time in the plantation and embedded remnants. [•] Bird composition in the plantation and remnants shifted towards that of forest. [•] For individual species, 47% increased over time and 31% declined. [•] After 11 years growth, the plantation supported fewer species than adjacent forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, modification of landscapes for agriculture has had a strong influence on the distribution and abundance of biota. In particular, woodland-dependent birds are under threat across agricultural landscapes in Britain, North America and Australia, with their decline and extirpation attributed to the loss and fragmentation of habitat. Other native species have become over-abundant in response to anthropogenic landscape change and have strong interactive effects on avian assemblage structure. In eastern Australia, the hyper-aggressive noisy miner ( Manorina melanocephala) often dominates woodlands in agricultural landscapes through interspecific competition, resulting in declines of species richness of woodland-dependent birds. We aimed to determine the relative influence and importance of interspecific competition, in situ habitat structure and landscape structure for woodland-dependent bird species at the landscape level. We recorded species-specific landscape incidence of woodland-dependent birds in 24 agricultural-woodland mosaics (25 km 2) in southern Queensland, Australia. We selected extensively cleared landscapes (10–23 % woodland cover) where fragmentation effects are expected to be greatest. We applied generalised linear models and hierarchical partitioning to quantify the relative importance of the landscape-level incidence of the noisy miner, mistletoe abundance, shrub cover, woodland extent, woodland subdivision and land-use intensity for the incidence of 46 species of woodland birds at the landscape-scale. The landscape-level incidence of the noisy miner was the most important explanatory variable across the assemblage. Both in situ habitat structure and landscape structure were of secondary importance to interspecific aggression, although previous research suggests that the increasing incidence of the noisy miner in fragmented agricultural landscapes is itself a consequence of anthropogenic changes to landscape structure. Species’ responses to fragmentation varied from positive to negative, but complex habitat structure had a consistently positive effect, suggesting in situ restoration of degraded habitats could be a conservation priority. Landscape wide conservation of woodland-dependent bird populations in agricultural landscapes may be more effective if direct management of noisy miner populations is employed, given the strong negative influence of this species on the incidence of woodland-dependent birds among landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of nectarivorous species have demonstrated a bias to ‘win-shift’ (shift away from/avoid locations that have recently yielded food, as opposed to ‘win-stay’ behaviour where the animal returns to such locations). Since recently exploited flowers contain no nectar, the win-shift bias is a candidate for an adaptive specialization of cognition. This bias tends to manifest as faster learning and/or better performance on a win-shift than a win-stay task. In standard win-shift/win-stay tasks (multiple two-phase trials where animals first find rewards in particular locations, and must subsequently avoid, or return to, such locations) noisy miners, Manorina melanocephala, and rainbow lorikeets, Trichoglossus haematodus, developed patterns of revisits/errors in the exploration phases that corresponded to the spatial contingency they experienced in the test phases: birds reinforced to shift revisited locations in the exploration phase that were unrewarded; birds reinforced to stay revisited rewarded ones. This was true even for birds that failed to shift or stay appropriately in the test phase itself. This suggests that the poorer performance of nectarivorous birds in win-stay than win-shift tasks may not be a consequence of an inability to learn the win-stay contingency. Our results suggest that these birds are equally sensitive to the win-shift and win-stay contingencies. This implies that, if the win-shift bias previously reported in nectarivorous birds is an example of a cognitive adaptation to the depleting nature of nectar, then the specially adapted mechanisms may have more to do with inhibition of the win-stay response than insensitivity to the win-stay contingency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We explored the effects of a purported 'reverse keystone species', the Noisy Miner ( Manorina melanocephala) using a long-term, large-scale dataset. Specifically, we identify whether this aggressive bird affects the landscape distribution patterns of other avifauna, by displacing them into, or restricting their distribution to, less productive areas, and in so doing, adheres to 'isoleg theory'. We sought to determine the effect of abundance of the Noisy Miner on the abundance of other birds (individual species and groups), and determine whether that effect was consistent with varying site productivity, using a negative binomial distribution with a logarithmic link function, and an offset variable to account for variations in search effort. Relationships between abundance of Noisy Miners and habitat variables were examined using a Poisson distribution with a logarithmic link function scaled for extra-variation (quasi-Poisson regression). We demonstrate that when Noisy Miner abundance is low, many small passerine species are more abundant on high productivity sites. However, as Noisy Miner abundance increases, small passerine abundance decreases, with this decrease most apparent on productive sites. The same patterns were not evident for birds considered 'non-competitors' of the Noisy Miner. We identify that both site productivity and vegetation structure influence the abundance of the Noisy Miner. We reveal that the species increasingly tolerates 'less desirable' habitat attributes with increasing site productivity. The preference of the Noisy Miner for productive areas is likely to have deleterious impacts on the long-term survival and reproductive success of other Australian woodland bird species, many of which have already undergone severe declines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the approval of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) on the conservation of the use of nine specific names of common Australian birds. The names were labeled senior by First Revisers and eventually replaced almost a hundred years ago by simultaneously published named on grounds of page precedence. Based on the ruling, the names albogularis, auricomis, crepitans, garrulus, mellivora, picata as published in the binomen Columba picata, picata as published in the binomen Gracula picata, and viridis as published in the binomen Gracula viridis are suppressed for the Purposes of the Principle of Priority but not for those of the Principle of Homonymy.

Abstract: Throughout eastern Australia, fragmentation and modification of eucalypt woodlands are causing declines in populations of woodland-dependent small passerines. Although agriculture is a major factor in these land use changes, development of peri-urban areas is also driving the simplification of habitat structure through removal of both native and weedy understorey species and the subdivision of remnant habitat. This study investigated the influence of habitat modification and fragmentation on birds in an urbanizing area of south east Queensland, Australia. The influence of spatial factors, such as surrounding vegetation cover, was considered alongside that of site-level habitat factors (vegetation structure) including interspecific competition from the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala). Spatial factors did not influence the abundance and species richness of small passerines, a group of conservation concern. However, site-level factors, specifically shrub density and interspecific competition from the noisy miner, had a substantial influence on small passerine species richness and abundance. The density of shrubs (which consisted mainly of the introduced weed Lantana camara) had a strong positive relationship with small passerines while the abundance of noisy miners had a strong negative influence. Consequently, protection of vegetation with an intact shrub layer in this developing area is essential for many small birds of conservation significance. Removal of weedy understorey plants should be accompanied by replacement with native shrubs. The results of the study emphasize that factors other than the spatial distribution of vegetation in the landscape need to be considered in order to develop appropriate conservation strategies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The impact of forest management on diurnal bird assemblages and abundance was investigated in contiguous tracts of eucalypt forest in the Brigalow Belt Bioregion, south central Queensland. Sites were located across three levels of livestock grazing intensity and three levels of selective logging intensity within the most extensive habitat type, Corymbia citriodora-dominant forest. We recorded a high rate of incidence and large numbers of the hyper-aggressive noisy miner Manorina melanocephala (Passeriformes: Meliphagidae) at the majority of our survey sites, a phenomenon rarely reported in non-cleared landscapes. As shown by numerous studies in fragmented landscapes, the distribution of this species in our study had a substantial negative effect upon the distribution of small passerine species. Noisy miners exerted the strongest influence upon small passerine abundance, and masked any forest management effects. However, key habitat features important for small passerines were identified, including a relatively high density of large trees and stems in the midstorey. Selective logging appeared to exert a minimal effect upon noisy miner abundance, whereas grazing intensity had a profound, positive influence. Noisy miners were most abundant in intensively grazed forest with minimal midstorey and a low volume of coarse woody debris. Higher road density in the forest landscape also corresponded with increased numbers of noisy miners. Reduction in grazing pressure in Brigalow Belt forests has the potential to benefit small passerine assemblages across large areas through moderating noisy miner abundance. The strong relationship between noisy miners and small passerines suggests that noisy miner abundance could act as an easily measured indicator of forest condition, potentially contributing to monitoring of forest management outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated habitat characteristics that have been postulated to influence the occurrence of noisy miners ( Manorina melanocephala Family Meliphagidae). It builds on an earlier study that identified corners along remnant edges as important predictors of the presence of noisy miners in large blocks of remnant vegetation (>300 ha). Six habitat characteristics were recorded at 39 corner sites within the box-ironbark region of Victoria. We failed to detect any significant effect of the density of understorey vegetation on the likelihood of noisy miners occupying a site, but this might have been an artefact of prolonged drought conditions. The most powerful predictors of the presence of noisy miners at remnant corners were found to be soil type and the proportion of canopy trees at a site that were yellow gum ( Eucalyptus leucoxylon), with noisy miners being associated with deeper, more fertile soils and higher proportions of yellow gums present. As yellow gum is a prolific and reliable nectar producer, the inherent productivity of a site might be more important in determining the attractiveness of a site to noisy miners than structural attributes like the presence or absence of an understorey. Noisy miners are sedentary colonial birds that occupy year-round territories, often at high densities. Sites capable of supporting such high density occupation year-round might be limited to the most productive sites within the landscape. This productivity hypothesis has potentially profound implications for other woodland avifauna, as noisy miners might be excluding other woodland birds from some of the most fertile components of the landscape; components that are already rare in the box-ironbark region due preferential clearing for agriculture at the time of settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated patterns in habitat use by the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala) along farmland-woodland edges of large patches of remnant vegetation (>300 ha) in the highly fragmented boxironbark woodlands and forests of central Victoria, Australia. Noisy miners exclude small birds from their territories, and are considered a significant threat to woodland bird communities in the study region. Seventeen different characteristics of edge habitat were recorded, together with the detection or nondetection of noisy miners along 129 500-m segments of patch edge. Habitat characteristics ranged from patch-level factors related to patch-edge geometry to site-level floristic factors. Backward (stepwise) logistic regression analyses were used to identify habitat characteristics that were associated with the occupancy of a site by noisy miners. After accounting for the effects of spatial autocorrelation on the occurrence of noisy miners along edges, we identified projections of remnant vegetation from the patch edge into the agricultural matrix (e.g., corners of patches, peninsulas of vegetation) and clumps of trees in the agricultural matrix within 100 m of the edge as significant predictors of the occupancy of edges by noisy miners. This relationship was also confirmed in two other geographically and floristically distinct habitats within Victoria. The use of edges with projections by noisy miners may confer advantages in interspecific territorial defence. In light of these results, we advocate revegetation strategies that attempt to enclose projections within 100 m of the edge, with fencing placed out to this new boundary, to reduce the likelihood of colonisation and domination of an edge by noisy miners. Our study highlights the need for greater consideration to be given to the patterns in habitat use by aggressive edge specialists, particularly in relation to patch-edge geometry and other human-induced components of landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the impact of pastoral management on birds in subtropical grassy eucalypt woodland in southeastern Queensland, Australia, where the patterns of land management have made it possible to disentangle the effects of livestock grazing from those of tree clearing. We recorded changes in bird species composition, density, and relative abundance across two woodland habitat types (riparian and nonriparian) and two levels of clearing (wooded and nonwooded) and three levels of livestock grazing (low, moderate, and high) replicated over space (1000 km2) and time (2001–2002). We predicted that species that depend on understory vegetation would be most negatively affected by livestock grazing. A Bayesian generalized linear model showed that the level of grazing had the greatest effect when trees were present. When trees were absent, the impact of grazing was overshadowed by the effects of a lack of trees. Over 65% of species responded to different levels of grazing, and the abundance of 42% of species varied markedly with habitat and grazing. The most common response to grazing was high species relative abundance under low levels of grazing (28% of species), species absence at high levels of grazing (20%), and an increase in abundance with increasing grazing (18%). Despite having similar bird assemblages, the effect of grazing was stronger in riparian habitat than in adjacent woodland habitat. Our results suggest that any level of commercial livestock grazing is detrimental to some woodland birds, particularly the understory-dependant species, as predicted. Nevertheless, provided trees are not cleared, a rich and abundant bird fauna can coexist with moderate levels of grazing. Habitats with high levels of grazing, on the other hand, resulted in a species-poor bird assemblage dominated by birds that are increasing in abundance nationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noisy Miners ( Manorina melanocephala) are aggressive Australian honeyeaters that dominate many areas of remnant vegetation and forest edges from which they competitively exclude small birds. A similar domination can also occur in planted wildlife corridors. The aim of this study was to determine which corridor plantings encouraged the presence of small native birds in regions where Noisy Miners dominate. Six vegetation mixes were investigated in the main study: eucalypts with and without shrubby understorey; acacia with and without shrubby understorey; exotic conifer; and exotic deciduous trees. A supplementary study then examined sites with a mixture of eucalypt and acacia trees with a shrubby understorey. The findings showed that Noisy Miners dominated corridors of eucalypts, virtually excluding small birds, whereas native acacias, exotic conifer and exotic deciduous corridors had small birds and no resident Noisy Miners. The greatest abundance and richness of small birds occurred in plantings combining eucalypts with at least 15% acacias, in this case bipinnate species. Given these results, it is recommended that eucalypt plantings should be supplemented with both acacias (preferably bipinnate) and a shrubby understorey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The absence of small birds from many suburban areas may be due to adverse garden characteristics, interspecific aggression or human behaviour such as supplementary food provisioning that encourages predators. We investigated the relationship between these factors and the presence of seven small bird species in Sydney through a community-based survey. The survey was conducted by participants over a 7-day period between 7am and 10am in November and early December 2000. Three dominant species, the noisy miner ( Manorina melanocephala), pied currawong ( Strepera graculina) and common myna ( Acridotheres tristis) were each present in over 59% of gardens. Each small bird species was present in less than 40% of gardens. All small birds were negatively associated with noisy miners, but only the silvereye ( Zosterops lateralis) was negatively associated with pied currawongs. None of the species of small birds was negatively associated with common mynas. Four species of small birds were associated with at least one habitat variable, notably the proportion of native vegetation. Although more birds were recorded in gardens in which meat was provided, there were significantly fewer small birds in these gardens. There were also more birds recorded in gardens where seed was provided, with red-browed finches ( Neochmia temporalis) positively associated with seed provisioning in most regions of Sydney. The presence of dogs and cats was not related to the total abundance of birds overall or small birds in gardens. While garden characteristics may influence the presence of small birds to some degree, the presence of noisy miners, a species that are thought to aggressively exclude other species from their territories, is likely to be an important influence on these species in suburban areas. Furthermore, supplementary feeding by people is likely to negatively influence some small birds. The presence of carnivorous pets does not seem to influence the presence of small birds at the scale of the individual garden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An important challenge for riparian management is to determine the extent to which landscape context influences the faunal assemblages of riparian habitats. We examined this challenge in the variegated landscapes of southeastern Queensland, Australia where riparian vegetation is surrounded by both extensive grazing and intensive cropping. We investigated whether riparian habitats adjacent to different landuses support similar bird assemblages. Three types of riparian habitat condition were sampled (uncleared ungrazed; uncleared grazed; cleared grazed) in four different land-use contexts (ungrazed woodland; grazed woodland; native pasture; crop) although only six of the 12 possible treatment combinations were available. Eighty percent of bird species responded significantly to changes in both riparian habitat condition and landscape context, while fewer than 50% of species were significantly influenced by landscape context alone. The influence of landscape context on the bird assemblage increased as the surrounding land use became more intensive (e.g., woodland to native pasture to crop). Riparian zones have been shown to have consistently high biodiversity values relative to their extent. These findings suggest it is not enough to conserve riparian habitats alone, conservation and restoration plans must also take into consideration landscape context, particularly when that context is intensively used land. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract Aim To determine the factors influencing the distribution of birds in remnants in a fragmented agricultural landscape. Location Forty-seven eucalypt remnants and six sites in continuous forest in the subhumid Midlands region of Tasmania, Australia. Methods Sites were censused over a two-year period, and environmental data were collected for remnants. The avifauna of the sites was classified and ordinated. The abundances of bird species, and bird species composition, richness, abundance and diversity were related to environmental variables, using simple correlation and modelling. Results There were two distinct groups of sample sites, which sharply differed in species composition, richness, diversity and bird abundance, separated on the presence/absence of noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala Latham) colonies, remnant size, vegetation structural attributes and variables that reflected disturbance history. The approximate remnant size threshold for the change from one group to another was 20–30 ha. Remnant species richness and diversity were most strongly explained by remnant area and noisy miner abundance, with contributions from structural and isolation attributes in the second case. Segment richness was explained by precipitation, logging history and noisy miner abundance. Bird abundance was positively related to precipitation and negatively related to tree dieback. The 28 individual bird species models were highly individualistic, with vegetation structural variables, noisy miner abundance, climatic variables, variables related to isolation, area, variables related to floristics, disturbance variables, the nature of the matrix and remnant shape all being components in declining order of incidence. Age of the remnant did not relate to any of the dependent variables. Main conclusions Degraded and small remnants may have become more distinct in their avifaunal characteristics than might otherwise be the case, as a result of the establishment of colonies of an aggressive native bird, the noisy miner. The area, isolation and shape of remnants directly relate to the abundance of relatively few species, compared to vegetation attributes, climate and the abundance of the noisy miner. The nature of the matrix is important in the response of some species to fragmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]