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8. Design considerations for rapid biodiversity reconnaissance surveys and long-term monitoring to assess the impact of wildfire

Author

Southwell, D, Legge, S, Woinarski, J, Lindenmayer, D, Lavery, T, Wintle, B, Southwell, D, Legge, S, Woinarski, J, Lindenmayer, D, Lavery, T, and Wintle, B

Abstract

Aims Reconnaissance surveys followed by monitoring are needed to assess the impact and response of biodiversity to wildfire. However, post‐wildfire survey and monitoring design are challenging due to the infrequency and unpredictability of wildfire, an urgency to initiate surveys and uncertainty about how species respond. In this article, we discuss key design considerations and quantitative tools available to aid post‐wildfire survey design. Our motivation was to inform the design of rapid surveys for threatened species heavily impacted by the 2019–2020 fires in Australia. Location Global. Methods We discuss a set of best practice design considerations for post‐wildfire reconnaissance surveys across a range of survey objectives. We provide examples that illustrate key design considerations from post‐fire reconnaissance surveys and monitoring programmes from around the world. Results We highlight how the objective of post‐fire surveys drastically influences design decisions (e.g. survey location and timing). We discuss how the unpredictability of wildfire and uncertainty in the response of biodiversity complicate survey design decisions. Main conclusions Surveys should be conducted immediately following wildfire to assess the impact on biodiversity, to ground truth fire severity mapping and to provide a benchmark from which to assess recovery. Where possible, surveys should be conducted at burnt and unburnt sites in regions with historical data so that state variables of interest can be compared with baseline estimates (i.e. BACI design). This highlights the need to have long‐term monitoring programmes already in place and be prepared to modify their design when wildfires occur. There is opportunity to adopt tools from statistics (i.e. power analysis) and conservation planning (i.e. spatial prioritization) to improve survey design. We must anticipate wildfires rather than respond to them reactively as they will occur more frequently due to climate change.

Published
2022

9. Modelling the spatial extent of post‐fire sedimentation threat to estimate the impacts of fire on waterways and aquatic species

Author

Ward, M., Southwell, D., Gallagher, R.V., Raadik, T.A., Whiterod, N.S., Lintermans, M., Sheridan, G., Nyman, P., Suarez‐Castro, A.F., Marsh, J., Woinarski, J., Legge, S., Ward, M., Southwell, D., Gallagher, R.V., Raadik, T.A., Whiterod, N.S., Lintermans, M., Sheridan, G., Nyman, P., Suarez‐Castro, A.F., Marsh, J., Woinarski, J., and Legge, S.

Abstract

Aim Fires can severely impact aquatic fauna, especially when attributes of soil, topography, fire severity and post-fire rainfall interact to cause substantial sedimentation. Such events can cause immediate mortality and longer-term changes in food resources and habitat structure. Approaches for estimating fire impacts on terrestrial species (e.g. intersecting fire extent with species distributions) are inappropriate for aquatic species as sedimentation can carry well downstream of the fire extent, and occur long after fire. Here, we develop an approach for estimating the spatial extent of fire impacts for aquatic systems, across multiple catchments. Location Southern Australian bioregions affected by the fires in 2019–2020 that burned >10 million ha of temperate and subtropical forests. Methods We integrated an existing soil erosion model with fire severity mapping and rainfall data to estimate the spatial extent of post-fire sedimentation threat in waterways and in basins and the potential exposure of aquatic species to this threat. We validated the model against field observations of sedimentation events after the 2019–20 fires. Results While fires overlapped with ~27,643 km of waterways, post-fire sedimentation events potentially occurred across ~40,449 km. In total, 55% (n = 85) of 154 basins in the study region may have experienced substantial post-fire sedimentation. Ten species—including six Critically Endangered—were threatened by post-fire sedimentation events across 100% of their range. The model increased the estimates for potential impact, compared to considering fire extent alone, for >80% of aquatic species. Some species had distributions that did not overlap with the fire extent, but that were entirely exposed to post-fire sedimentation threat. Conclusions Compared with estimating the overlap of fire extent with species' ranges, our model improves estimates of fire-related threats to aquatic fauna by capturing the complexities of fire impacts on hydr

Published
2022

10. Expert range maps of global mammal distributions harmonised to three taxonomic authorities

Author

Marsh, CJ, Sica, YV, Burgin, CJ, Dorman, WA, Anderson, RC, del Toro Mijares, I, Vigneron, JG, Barve, V, Dombrowik, VL, Duong, M, Guralnick, R, Hart, JA, Maypole, JK, McCall, K, Ranipeta, A, Schuerkmann, A, Torselli, MA, Lacher, T, Mittermeier, RA, Rylands, AB, Sechrest, W, Wilson, DE, Abba, AM, Aguirre, LF, Arroyo-Cabrales, J, Astua, D, Baker, AM, Braulik, G, Braun, JK, Brito, J, Busher, PE, Burneo, SF, Camacho, MA, Cavallini, P, de Almeida Chiquito, E, Cook, JA, Cserkesz, T, Csorba, G, Cuellar Soto, E, da Cunha Tavares, V, Davenport, TRB, Demere, T, Denys, C, Dickman, CR, Eldridge, MDB, Fernandez-Duque, E, Francis, CM, Frankham, G, Franklin, WL, Freitas, T, Friend, JA, Gadsby, EL, Garbino, GST, Gaubert, P, Giannini, N, Giarla, T, Gilchrist, JS, Gongora, J, Goodman, SM, Gursky-Doyen, S, Hacklander, K, Hafner, MS, Hawkins, M, Helgen, KM, Heritage, S, Hinckley, A, Hintsche, S, Holden, M, Holekamp, KE, Honeycutt, RL, Huffman, BA, Humle, T, Hutterer, R, Ibanez Ulargui, C, Jackson, SM, Janecka, J, Janecka, M, Jenkins, P, Juskaitis, R, Juste, J, Kays, R, Kilpatrick, CW, Kingston, T, Koprowski, JL, Krystufek, B, Lavery, T, Lee, TE, Leite, YLR, Novaes, RLM, Lim, BK, Lissovsky, A, Lopez-Antonanzas, R, Lopez-Baucells, A, MacLeod, CD, Maisels, FG, Mares, MA, Marsh, H, Mattioli, S, Meijaard, E, Monadjem, A, Morton, FB, Musser, G, Nadler, T, Norris, RW, Ojeda, A, Ordonez-Garza, N, Pardinas, UFJ, Patterson, BD, Pavan, A, Pennay, M, Pereira, C, Prado, J, Queiroz, HL, Richardson, M, Riley, EP, Rossiter, SJ, Rubenstein, DI, Ruelas, D, Salazar-Bravo, J, Schai-Braun, S, Schank, CJ, Schwitzer, C, Sheeran, LK, Shekelle, M, Shenbrot, G, Soisook, P, Solari, S, Southgate, R, Superina, M, Taber, AB, Talebi, M, Taylor, P, Vu Dinh, T, Ting, N, Tirira, DG, Tsang, S, Turvey, ST, Valdez, R, Van Cakenberghe, V, Veron, G, Wallis, J, Wells, R, Whittaker, D, Williamson, EA, Wittemyer, G, Woinarski, J, Zinner, D, Upham, NS, Jetz, W, Marsh, CJ, Sica, YV, Burgin, CJ, Dorman, WA, Anderson, RC, del Toro Mijares, I, Vigneron, JG, Barve, V, Dombrowik, VL, Duong, M, Guralnick, R, Hart, JA, Maypole, JK, McCall, K, Ranipeta, A, Schuerkmann, A, Torselli, MA, Lacher, T, Mittermeier, RA, Rylands, AB, Sechrest, W, Wilson, DE, Abba, AM, Aguirre, LF, Arroyo-Cabrales, J, Astua, D, Baker, AM, Braulik, G, Braun, JK, Brito, J, Busher, PE, Burneo, SF, Camacho, MA, Cavallini, P, de Almeida Chiquito, E, Cook, JA, Cserkesz, T, Csorba, G, Cuellar Soto, E, da Cunha Tavares, V, Davenport, TRB, Demere, T, Denys, C, Dickman, CR, Eldridge, MDB, Fernandez-Duque, E, Francis, CM, Frankham, G, Franklin, WL, Freitas, T, Friend, JA, Gadsby, EL, Garbino, GST, Gaubert, P, Giannini, N, Giarla, T, Gilchrist, JS, Gongora, J, Goodman, SM, Gursky-Doyen, S, Hacklander, K, Hafner, MS, Hawkins, M, Helgen, KM, Heritage, S, Hinckley, A, Hintsche, S, Holden, M, Holekamp, KE, Honeycutt, RL, Huffman, BA, Humle, T, Hutterer, R, Ibanez Ulargui, C, Jackson, SM, Janecka, J, Janecka, M, Jenkins, P, Juskaitis, R, Juste, J, Kays, R, Kilpatrick, CW, Kingston, T, Koprowski, JL, Krystufek, B, Lavery, T, Lee, TE, Leite, YLR, Novaes, RLM, Lim, BK, Lissovsky, A, Lopez-Antonanzas, R, Lopez-Baucells, A, MacLeod, CD, Maisels, FG, Mares, MA, Marsh, H, Mattioli, S, Meijaard, E, Monadjem, A, Morton, FB, Musser, G, Nadler, T, Norris, RW, Ojeda, A, Ordonez-Garza, N, Pardinas, UFJ, Patterson, BD, Pavan, A, Pennay, M, Pereira, C, Prado, J, Queiroz, HL, Richardson, M, Riley, EP, Rossiter, SJ, Rubenstein, DI, Ruelas, D, Salazar-Bravo, J, Schai-Braun, S, Schank, CJ, Schwitzer, C, Sheeran, LK, Shekelle, M, Shenbrot, G, Soisook, P, Solari, S, Southgate, R, Superina, M, Taber, AB, Talebi, M, Taylor, P, Vu Dinh, T, Ting, N, Tirira, DG, Tsang, S, Turvey, ST, Valdez, R, Van Cakenberghe, V, Veron, G, Wallis, J, Wells, R, Whittaker, D, Williamson, EA, Wittemyer, G, Woinarski, J, Zinner, D, Upham, NS, and Jetz, W

Abstract

AIM: Comprehensive, global information on species' occurrences is an essential biodiversity variable and central to a range of applications in ecology, evolution, biogeography and conservation. Expert range maps often represent a species' only available distributional information and play an increasing role in conservation assessments and macroecology. We provide global range maps for the native ranges of all extant mammal species harmonised to the taxonomy of the Mammal Diversity Database (MDD) mobilised from two sources, the Handbook of the Mammals of the World (HMW) and the Illustrated Checklist of the Mammals of the World (CMW). LOCATION: Global. TAXON: All extant mammal species. METHODS: Range maps were digitally interpreted, georeferenced, error-checked and subsequently taxonomically aligned between the HMW (6253 species), the CMW (6431 species) and the MDD taxonomies (6362 species). RESULTS: Range maps can be evaluated and visualised in an online map browser at Map of Life (mol.org) and accessed for individual or batch download for non-commercial use. MAIN CONCLUSION: Expert maps of species' global distributions are limited in their spatial detail and temporal specificity, but form a useful basis for broad-scale characterizations and model-based integration with other data. We provide georeferenced range maps for the native ranges of all extant mammal species as shapefiles, with species-level metadata and source information packaged together in geodatabase format. Across the three taxonomic sources our maps entail, there are 1784 taxonomic name differences compared to the maps currently available on the IUCN Red List website. The expert maps provided here are harmonised to the MDD taxonomic authority and linked to a community of online tools that will enable transparent future updates and version control.

Published
2022

11. Eight things you should never do in a monitoring program: an Australian perspective

Author

Lindenmayer, DB, Woinarski, J, Legge, S, Maron, M, Garnett, ST, Lavery, T, Dielenberg, J, Wintle, BA, Lindenmayer, DB, Woinarski, J, Legge, S, Maron, M, Garnett, ST, Lavery, T, Dielenberg, J, and Wintle, BA

Abstract

Monitoring is critical to gauge the effect of environmental management interventions as well as to measure the effects of human disturbances such as climate change. Recognition of the critical need for monitoring means that, at irregular intervals, recommendations are made for new government-instigated programs or to revamp existing ones. Using insights from past well-intentioned (but sadly also often failed) attempts to establish and maintain government-instigated monitoring programs in Australia, we outline eight things that should never be done in environmental monitoring programs (if they aim to be useful). These are the following: (1) Never commence a new environmental management initiative without also committing to a monitoring program. (2) Never start a monitoring program without clear questions. (3) Never implement a monitoring program without first doing a proper experimental design. (4) Never ignore the importance of matching the purpose and objectives of a monitoring program to the design of that program. (5) Never change the way you monitor something without ensuring new methods can be calibrated with the old ones. (6) Never try to monitor everything. (7) Never collect data without planning to curate and report on it. (8) If possible, avoid starting a monitoring program without the necessary resources secured. To balance our "nevers", we provide a checklist of actions that will increase the chances a monitoring program will actually measure the effectiveness of environmental management. Scientists and resource management practitioners need to be part of a stronger narrative for, and key participants in, well-designed, implemented, and maintained government-led monitoring programs. We argue that monitoring programs should be mandated in threatened species conservation programs and all new environmental management initiatives.

Published
2022

16. Reptiles as food: Predation of Australian reptiles by introduced red foxes compounds and complements predation by cats

Author

Stobo-Wilson, A M, Murphy, B P, Legge, S M, Chapple, D G, Crawford, H M, Dawson, S J, Dickman, C R, Doherty, T S, Fleming, P A, Gentle, M, Newsome, T M, Palmer, R, Rees, M W, Martin Ritchie, Euan, Speed, J, Stuart, J M, Thompson, E, Turpin, J, Woinarski, J C Z, Stobo-Wilson, A M, Murphy, B P, Legge, S M, Chapple, D G, Crawford, H M, Dawson, S J, Dickman, C R, Doherty, T S, Fleming, P A, Gentle, M, Newsome, T M, Palmer, R, Rees, M W, Martin Ritchie, Euan, Speed, J, Stuart, J M, Thompson, E, Turpin, J, and Woinarski, J C Z

Published
2021

17. Testing a global standard for quantifying species recovery and assessing conservation impact.

Author

Grace, MK, Akçakaya, HR, Bennett, EL, Brooks, TM, Heath, A, Hedges, S, Hilton-Taylor, C, Hoffmann, M, Hochkirch, A, Jenkins, R, Keith, DA, Long, B, Mallon, DP, Meijaard, E, Milner-Gulland, EJ, Rodriguez, JP, Stephenson, PJ, Stuart, SN, Young, RP, Acebes, P, Alfaro-Shigueto, J, Alvarez-Clare, S, Andriantsimanarilafy, RR, Arbetman, M, Azat, C, Bacchetta, G, Badola, R, Barcelos, LMD, Barreiros, JP, Basak, S, Berger, DJ, Bhattacharyya, S, Bino, G, Borges, PAV, Boughton, RK, Brockmann, HJ, Buckley, HL, Burfield, IJ, Burton, J, Camacho-Badani, T, Cano-Alonso, LS, Carmichael, RH, Carrero, C, Carroll, JP, Catsadorakis, G, Chapple, DG, Chapron, G, Chowdhury, GW, Claassens, L, Cogoni, D, Constantine, R, Craig, CA, Cunningham, AA, Dahal, N, Daltry, JC, Das, GC, Dasgupta, N, Davey, A, Davies, K, Develey, P, Elangovan, V, Fairclough, D, Febbraro, MD, Fenu, G, Fernandes, FM, Fernandez, EP, Finucci, B, Földesi, R, Foley, CM, Ford, M, Forstner, MRJ, García, N, Garcia-Sandoval, R, Gardner, PC, Garibay-Orijel, R, Gatan-Balbas, M, Gauto, I, Ghazi, MGU, Godfrey, SS, Gollock, M, González, BA, Grant, TD, Gray, T, Gregory, AJ, van Grunsven, RHA, Gryzenhout, M, Guernsey, NC, Gupta, G, Hagen, C, Hagen, CA, Hall, MB, Hallerman, E, Hare, K, Hart, T, Hartdegen, R, Harvey-Brown, Y, Hatfield, R, Hawke, T, Hermes, C, Hitchmough, R, Hoffmann, PM, Howarth, C, Hudson, MA, Hussain, SA, Huveneers, C, Jacques, H, Jorgensen, D, Katdare, S, Katsis, LKD, Kaul, R, Kaunda-Arara, B, Keith-Diagne, L, Kraus, DT, de Lima, TM, Lindeman, K, Linsky, J, Louis, E, Loy, A, Lughadha, EN, Mangel, JC, Marinari, PE, Martin, GM, Martinelli, G, McGowan, PJK, McInnes, A, Teles Barbosa Mendes, E, Millard, MJ, Mirande, C, Money, D, Monks, JM, Morales, CL, Mumu, NN, Negrao, R, Nguyen, AH, Niloy, MNH, Norbury, GL, Nordmeyer, C, Norris, D, O'Brien, M, Oda, GA, Orsenigo, S, Outerbridge, ME, Pasachnik, S, Pérez-Jiménez, JC, Pike, C, Pilkington, F, Plumb, G, Portela, RDCQ, Prohaska, A, Quintana, MG, Rakotondrasoa, EF, Ranglack, DH, Rankou, H, Rawat, AP, Reardon, JT, Rheingantz, ML, Richter, SC, Rivers, MC, Rogers, LR, da Rosa, P, Rose, P, Royer, E, Ryan, C, de Mitcheson, YJS, Salmon, L, Salvador, CH, Samways, MJ, Sanjuan, T, Souza Dos Santos, A, Sasaki, H, Schutz, E, Scott, HA, Scott, RM, Serena, F, Sharma, SP, Shuey, JA, Silva, CJP, Simaika, JP, Smith, DR, Spaet, JLY, Sultana, S, Talukdar, BK, Tatayah, V, Thomas, P, Tringali, A, Trinh-Dinh, H, Tuboi, C, Usmani, AA, Vasco-Palacios, AM, Vié, J-C, Virens, J, Walker, A, Wallace, B, Waller, LJ, Wang, H, Wearn, OR, van Weerd, M, Weigmann, S, Willcox, D, Woinarski, J, Yong, JWH, Young, S, Grace, MK, Akçakaya, HR, Bennett, EL, Brooks, TM, Heath, A, Hedges, S, Hilton-Taylor, C, Hoffmann, M, Hochkirch, A, Jenkins, R, Keith, DA, Long, B, Mallon, DP, Meijaard, E, Milner-Gulland, EJ, Rodriguez, JP, Stephenson, PJ, Stuart, SN, Young, RP, Acebes, P, Alfaro-Shigueto, J, Alvarez-Clare, S, Andriantsimanarilafy, RR, Arbetman, M, Azat, C, Bacchetta, G, Badola, R, Barcelos, LMD, Barreiros, JP, Basak, S, Berger, DJ, Bhattacharyya, S, Bino, G, Borges, PAV, Boughton, RK, Brockmann, HJ, Buckley, HL, Burfield, IJ, Burton, J, Camacho-Badani, T, Cano-Alonso, LS, Carmichael, RH, Carrero, C, Carroll, JP, Catsadorakis, G, Chapple, DG, Chapron, G, Chowdhury, GW, Claassens, L, Cogoni, D, Constantine, R, Craig, CA, Cunningham, AA, Dahal, N, Daltry, JC, Das, GC, Dasgupta, N, Davey, A, Davies, K, Develey, P, Elangovan, V, Fairclough, D, Febbraro, MD, Fenu, G, Fernandes, FM, Fernandez, EP, Finucci, B, Földesi, R, Foley, CM, Ford, M, Forstner, MRJ, García, N, Garcia-Sandoval, R, Gardner, PC, Garibay-Orijel, R, Gatan-Balbas, M, Gauto, I, Ghazi, MGU, Godfrey, SS, Gollock, M, González, BA, Grant, TD, Gray, T, Gregory, AJ, van Grunsven, RHA, Gryzenhout, M, Guernsey, NC, Gupta, G, Hagen, C, Hagen, CA, Hall, MB, Hallerman, E, Hare, K, Hart, T, Hartdegen, R, Harvey-Brown, Y, Hatfield, R, Hawke, T, Hermes, C, Hitchmough, R, Hoffmann, PM, Howarth, C, Hudson, MA, Hussain, SA, Huveneers, C, Jacques, H, Jorgensen, D, Katdare, S, Katsis, LKD, Kaul, R, Kaunda-Arara, B, Keith-Diagne, L, Kraus, DT, de Lima, TM, Lindeman, K, Linsky, J, Louis, E, Loy, A, Lughadha, EN, Mangel, JC, Marinari, PE, Martin, GM, Martinelli, G, McGowan, PJK, McInnes, A, Teles Barbosa Mendes, E, Millard, MJ, Mirande, C, Money, D, Monks, JM, Morales, CL, Mumu, NN, Negrao, R, Nguyen, AH, Niloy, MNH, Norbury, GL, Nordmeyer, C, Norris, D, O'Brien, M, Oda, GA, Orsenigo, S, Outerbridge, ME, Pasachnik, S, Pérez-Jiménez, JC, Pike, C, Pilkington, F, Plumb, G, Portela, RDCQ, Prohaska, A, Quintana, MG, Rakotondrasoa, EF, Ranglack, DH, Rankou, H, Rawat, AP, Reardon, JT, Rheingantz, ML, Richter, SC, Rivers, MC, Rogers, LR, da Rosa, P, Rose, P, Royer, E, Ryan, C, de Mitcheson, YJS, Salmon, L, Salvador, CH, Samways, MJ, Sanjuan, T, Souza Dos Santos, A, Sasaki, H, Schutz, E, Scott, HA, Scott, RM, Serena, F, Sharma, SP, Shuey, JA, Silva, CJP, Simaika, JP, Smith, DR, Spaet, JLY, Sultana, S, Talukdar, BK, Tatayah, V, Thomas, P, Tringali, A, Trinh-Dinh, H, Tuboi, C, Usmani, AA, Vasco-Palacios, AM, Vié, J-C, Virens, J, Walker, A, Wallace, B, Waller, LJ, Wang, H, Wearn, OR, van Weerd, M, Weigmann, S, Willcox, D, Woinarski, J, Yong, JWH, and Young, S

Abstract

Recognizing the imperative to evaluate species recovery and conservation impact, in 2012 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) called for development of a "Green List of Species" (now the IUCN Green Status of Species). A draft Green Status framework for assessing species' progress toward recovery, published in 2018, proposed 2 separate but interlinked components: a standardized method (i.e., measurement against benchmarks of species' viability, functionality, and preimpact distribution) to determine current species recovery status (herein species recovery score) and application of that method to estimate past and potential future impacts of conservation based on 4 metrics (conservation legacy, conservation dependence, conservation gain, and recovery potential). We tested the framework with 181 species representing diverse taxa, life histories, biomes, and IUCN Red List categories (extinction risk). Based on the observed distribution of species' recovery scores, we propose the following species recovery categories: fully recovered, slightly depleted, moderately depleted, largely depleted, critically depleted, extinct in the wild, and indeterminate. Fifty-nine percent of tested species were considered largely or critically depleted. Although there was a negative relationship between extinction risk and species recovery score, variation was considerable. Some species in lower risk categories were assessed as farther from recovery than those at higher risk. This emphasizes that species recovery is conceptually different from extinction risk and reinforces the utility of the IUCN Green Status of Species to more fully understand species conservation status. Although extinction risk did not predict conservation legacy, conservation dependence, or conservation gain, it was positively correlated with recovery potential. Only 1.7% of tested species were categorized as zero across all 4 of these conservation impact metrics, indicating that conservation has

Published
2021

18. A threatened species index for Australian birds

Author

Bayraktarov, E, Ehmke, G, Tulloch, AIT, Chauvenet, AL, Avery-Gomm, S, McRae, L, Wintle, BA, O'Connor, J, Driessen, J, Watmuff, J, Nguyen, HA, Garnett, ST, Woinarski, J, Barnes, M, Morgain, R, Guru, S, Possingham, HP, Bayraktarov, E, Ehmke, G, Tulloch, AIT, Chauvenet, AL, Avery-Gomm, S, McRae, L, Wintle, BA, O'Connor, J, Driessen, J, Watmuff, J, Nguyen, HA, Garnett, ST, Woinarski, J, Barnes, M, Morgain, R, Guru, S, and Possingham, HP

Abstract

Quantifying species population trends is crucial for monitoring progress towards global conservation targets, justifying investments, planning targeted responses and raising awareness about threatened species. Many global indicators are slow in response and report on common species, not on those at greatest risk of extinction. Here we develop a Threatened Species Index as a dynamic tool for tracking annual changes in Australia's imperiled birds. Based on the Living Planet Index method and containing more than 17,000 time series for 65 bird taxa surveyed systematically, the index at its second iteration shows an average reduction of 59% between 1985 and 2016, and 44% between 2000 and 2016. Decreases seem most severe for shorebirds and terrestrial birds and least severe for seabirds. The index provides a potential means for measuring performance against the Convention on Biological Diversity's Aichi Target 12, enabling governments, agencies and the public to observe changes in threatened species.

Published
2021

19. A national-scale dataset for threats impacting Australia's imperiled flora and fauna

Author

Ward, M, Carwardine, J, Yong, CJ, Watson, JEM, Silcock, J, Taylor, GS, Lintermans, M, Gillespie, GR, Garnett, ST, Woinarski, J, Tingley, R, Fensham, RJ, Hoskin, CJ, Hines, HB, Roberts, JD, Kennard, MJ, Harvey, MS, Chapple, DG, Reside, AE, Ward, M, Carwardine, J, Yong, CJ, Watson, JEM, Silcock, J, Taylor, GS, Lintermans, M, Gillespie, GR, Garnett, ST, Woinarski, J, Tingley, R, Fensham, RJ, Hoskin, CJ, Hines, HB, Roberts, JD, Kennard, MJ, Harvey, MS, Chapple, DG, and Reside, AE

Abstract

Australia is in the midst of an extinction crisis, having already lost 10% of terrestrial mammal fauna since European settlement and with hundreds of other species at high risk of extinction. The decline of the nation's biota is a result of an array of threatening processes; however, a comprehensive taxon-specific understanding of threats and their relative impacts remains undocumented nationally. Using expert consultation, we compile the first complete, validated, and consistent taxon-specific threat and impact dataset for all nationally listed threatened taxa in Australia. We confined our analysis to 1,795 terrestrial and aquatic taxa listed as threatened (Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered) under Australian Commonwealth law. We engaged taxonomic experts to generate taxon-specific threat and threat impact information to consistently apply the IUCN Threat Classification Scheme and Threat Impact Scoring System, as well as eight broad-level threats and 51 subcategory threats, for all 1,795 threatened terrestrial and aquatic threatened taxa. This compilation produced 4,877 unique taxon-threat-impact combinations with the most frequently listed threats being Habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation (n = 1,210 taxa), and Invasive species and disease (n = 966 taxa). Yet when only high-impact threats or medium-impact threats are considered, Invasive species and disease become the most prevalent threats. This dataset provides critical information for conservation action planning, national legislation and policy, and prioritizing investments in threatened species management and recovery.

Published
2021

20. Predation by introduced cats Felis catus on Australian frogs: compilation of species records and estimation of numbers killed

Author

Woinarski, J. C. Z., primary, Legge, S. M., additional, Woolley, L. A., additional, Palmer, R., additional, Dickman, C. R., additional, Augusteyn, J., additional, Doherty, T. S., additional, Edwards, G., additional, Geyle, H., additional, McGregor, H., additional, Riley, J., additional, Turpin, J., additional, and Murphy, B. P., additional

Published
2020
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22. Havens for threatened Australian mammals: the contributions of fenced areas and offshore islands to the protection of mammal species susceptible to introduced predators

Author

Legge, S, Woinarski, J, Burbidge, A, Palmer, R, Ringma, J, Radford, J, Mitchell, N, Bode, M, Wintle, B, Baseler, M, Bentley, J, Copley, P, Dexter, N, Dickman, C, Gillespie, G, Hill, B, Johnson, C, Latch, P, Letnic, M, Manning, A, McCreless, E, Menkhorst, P, Morris, K, Moseby, K, Page, M, Pannell, D, Tuft, K, Legge, S, Woinarski, J, Burbidge, A, Palmer, R, Ringma, J, Radford, J, Mitchell, N, Bode, M, Wintle, B, Baseler, M, Bentley, J, Copley, P, Dexter, N, Dickman, C, Gillespie, G, Hill, B, Johnson, C, Latch, P, Letnic, M, Manning, A, McCreless, E, Menkhorst, P, Morris, K, Moseby, K, Page, M, Pannell, D, and Tuft, K

Published
2018

23. Degrees of population-level susceptibility of Australian terrestrial non-volant mammal species to predation by the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and feral cat (Felis catus).

Author

Radford, J, Woinarski, J, Legge, S, Baseler, M, Bentley, J, Burbidge, A, Bode, M, Copley, P, Dexter, N, Dickman, C, Gillespie, G, Hill, B, Johnson, C, Kanowski, J, Latch, P, Letnic, M, Manning, A, Menkhorst, P, Mitchell, N, Morris, K, Moseby, K, Page, M, Ringma, J, Radford, J, Woinarski, J, Legge, S, Baseler, M, Bentley, J, Burbidge, A, Bode, M, Copley, P, Dexter, N, Dickman, C, Gillespie, G, Hill, B, Johnson, C, Kanowski, J, Latch, P, Letnic, M, Manning, A, Menkhorst, P, Mitchell, N, Morris, K, Moseby, K, Page, M, and Ringma, J

Published
2018

24. The benefits of adding metformin to tamoxifen to protect the endometrium-A randomized placebo-controlled trial

Author

Davis, SR, Robinson, PJ, Jane, F, White, S, Brown, KA, Piessens, S, Edwards, A, McNeilage, J, Woinarski, J, Chipman, M, Bell, RJ, Davis, SR, Robinson, PJ, Jane, F, White, S, Brown, KA, Piessens, S, Edwards, A, McNeilage, J, Woinarski, J, Chipman, M, and Bell, RJ

Abstract

BACKGROUND: We investigated whether metformin prevents tamoxifen-induced endometrial changes and insulin resistance (IR) after a diagnosis of breast cancer. METHODS: This was a single-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group trial. Postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer taking tamoxifen were randomly allocated to metformin 850 mg or identical placebo, twice daily, for 52 weeks. Outcome measures included double endometrial thickness (ET) measured by transvaginal ultrasound, fasting insulin, glucose and IR estimated by the homeostasis model of assessment (HOMA-IR). RESULTS: A total of 112 women were screened and 102 randomized. Results are presented as median (range). The 101 women who took at least one dose of medication were aged 56 (43-72) years, with 5(0.5-28) years postmenopause, and had taken tamoxifen for 28.9 (0-367.4) weeks. The baseline ET was 2.9 mm (1.4-21.9) for the placebo group (n = 52) and 2.5 mm (1.3-14.8) for the metformin group (n = 50). At 52 weeks, the median ET was statistically significantly lower for the metformin (n = 36) than for the placebo group (n = 45) (2.3 mm (1.4-7.8) vs 3.0 (1.2-11.3); P = 0.05). 13.3% allocated to placebo had an ET greater than 4 mm vs 5.7% for metformin (P = 0.26). There was no endometrial atypia or cancer. Compared with placebo, metformin resulted in significantly greater baseline-adjusted reductions in weight (P < 0.001), waist circumference (0.03) and HOMA-IR (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Metformin appears to inhibit tamoxifen-induced endometrial changes and has favourable metabolic effects. Further research into the adjuvant use of metformin after breast cancer and to prevent EH and cancer is warranted.

Published
2018

25. Metrics of progress in the understanding and management of threats to Australian birds

Author

Garnett, S. T., primary, Butchart, S. H. M., additional, Baker, G. B., additional, Bayraktarov, E., additional, Buchanan, K. L., additional, Burbidge, A. A., additional, Chauvenet, A. L. M., additional, Christidis, L., additional, Ehmke, G., additional, Grace, M., additional, Hoccom, D. G., additional, Legge, S. M., additional, Leiper, I., additional, Lindenmayer, D. B., additional, Loyn, R. H., additional, Maron, M., additional, McDonald, P., additional, Menkhorst, P., additional, Possingham, H. P., additional, Radford, J., additional, Reside, A. E., additional, Watson, D. M., additional, Watson, J. E. M., additional, Wintle, B., additional, Woinarski, J. C. Z., additional, and Geyle, H. M., additional

Published
2018
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27. How many reptiles are killed by cats in Australia?

Author

Woinarski, J. C. Z., primary, Murphy, B. P., additional, Palmer, R., additional, Legge, S. M., additional, Dickman, C. R., additional, Doherty, T. S., additional, Edwards, G., additional, Nankivell, A., additional, Read, J. L., additional, and Stokeld, D., additional

Published
2018
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28. The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project

Author

Hudson, L., Newbold, T., Contu, S., Hill, S., Lysenko, I., De Palma, A., Phillips, H., Alhusseini, T., Bedford, F., Bennett, D., Booth, H., Burton, V., Chng, C., Choimes, A., Correia, D., Day, J., Echeverria-Londono, S., Emerson, S., Gao, D., Garon, M., Harrison, M., Ingram, D., Jung, M., Kemp, V., Kirkpatrick, L., Martin, C., Pan, Y., Pask-Hale, G., Pynegar, E., Robinson, A., Sanchez-Ortiz, K., Senior, R., Simmons, B., White, H., Zhang, H., Aben, J., Abrahamczyk, S., Adum, G., Aguilar-Barquero, V., Aizen, M., Albertos, B., Alcala, E., del Mar Alguacil, M., Alignier, A., Ancrenaz, M., Andersen, A., Arbelaez-Cortes, E., Armbrecht, I., Arroyo-Rodriguez, V., Aumann, T., Axmacher, J., Azhar, B., Azpiroz, A., Baeten, L., Bakayoko, A., Baldi, A., Banks, J., Baral, S., Barlow, J., Barratt, B., Barrico, L., Bartolommei, P., Barton, D., Basset, Y., Batary, P., Bates, A., Baur, B., Bayne, E., Beja, P., Benedick, S., Berg, A., Bernard, H., Berry, N., Bhatt, D., Bicknell, J., Bihn, J., Blake, R., Bobo, K., Bocon, R., Boekhout, T., Bohning-Gaese, K., Bonham, K., Borges, P., Borges, S., Boutin, C., Bouyer, J., Bragagnolo, C., Brandt, J., Brearley, F., Brito, I., Bros, V., Brunet, J., Buczkowski, G., Buddle, C., Bugter, R., Buscardo, E., Buse, J., Cabra-Garcia, J., Caceres, N., Cagle, N., Calvino-Cancela, M., Cameron, S., Cancello, E., Caparros, R., Cardoso, P., Carpenter, D., Carrijo, T., Carvalho, A., Cassano, C., Castro, H., Castro-Luna, A., Cerda, R., Cerezo, A., Chapman, K., Chauvat, M., Christensen, M., Clarke, F., Cleary, D., Colombo, G., Connop, S., Craig, M., Cruz-Lopez, L., Cunningham, S., D'Aniello, B., D'Cruze, N., da Silva, P., Dallimer, M., Danquah, E., Darvill, B., Dauber, J., Davis, A., Dawson, J., de Sassi, C., de Thoisy, B., Deheuvels, O., Dejean, A., Devineau, J., Diekoetter, T., Dolia, J., Dominguez, E., Dominguez-Haydar, Y., Dorn, S., Draper, I., Dreber, N., Dumont, B., Dures, S., Dynesius, M., Edenius, L., Eggleton, P., Eigenbrod, F., Elek, Z., Entling, M., Esler, K., De Lima, R., Faruk, A., Farwig, N., Fayle, T., Felicioli, A., Felton, A., Fensham, R., Fernandez, I., Ferreira, C., Ficetola, G., Fiera, C., Filgueiras, B., Firincioglu, H., Flaspohler, D., Floren, A., Fonte, S., Fournier, A., Fowler, R., Franzen, M., Fraser, L., Fredriksson, G., Freire-, G., Frizzo, T., Fukuda, D., Furlani, D., Gaigher, R., Ganzhorn, J., Garcia, K., Garcia-R, J., Garden, J., Garilleti, R., Ge, B., Gendreau-Berthiaume, B., Gerard, P., Gheler-Costa, C., Gilbert, B., Giordani, P., Giordano, S., Golodets, C., Gomes, L., Gould, R., Goulson, D., Gove, Aaron, Granjon, L., Grass, I., Gray, C., Grogan, J., Gu, W., Guardiola, M., Gunawardene, Nihara, Gutierrez, A., Gutierrez-Lamus, D., Haarmeyer, D., Hanley, M., Hanson, T., Hashim, N., Hassan, S., Hatfield, R., Hawes, J., Hayward, M., Hebert, C., Helden, A., Henden, J., Henschel, P., Hernandez, L., Herrera, J., Herrmann, F., Herzog, F., Higuera-Diaz, D., Hilje, B., Hofer, H., Hoffmann, A., Horgan, F., Hornung, E., Horvath, R., Hylander, K., Isaacs-Cubides, P., Ishida, H., Ishitani, M., Jacobs, C., Jaramillo, V., Jauker, B., Jimenez Hernandez, F., Johnson, M., Jolli, V., Jonsell, M., Juliani, S., Jung, T., Kapoor, V., Kappes, H., Kati, V., Katovai, E., Kellner, K., Kessler, M., Kirby, K., Kittle, A., Knight, M., Knop, E., Kohler, F., Koivula, M., Kolb, A., Kone, M., Koroesi, A., Krauss, J., Kumar, A., Kumar, R., Kurz, D., Kutt, A., Lachat, T., Lantschner, V., Lara, F., Lasky, J., Latta, S., Laurance, W., Lavelle, P., Le Feon, V., LeBuhn, G., Legare, J., Lehouck, V., Lencinas, M., Lentini, P., Letcher, S., Li, Q., Litchwark, S., Littlewood, N., Liu, Y., Lo-Man-Hung, N., Lopez-Quintero, C., Louhaichi, M., Lovei, G., Lucas-Borja, M., Luja, V., Luskin, M., MacSwiney G, M., Maeto, K., Magura, T., Mallari, N., Malone, L., Malonza, P., Malumbres-Olarte, J., Mandujano, S., Maren, I., Marin-Spiotta, E., Marsh, C., Marshall, E., Martinez, E., Pastur, G., Mateos, D., Mayfield, M., Mazimpaka, V., McCarthy, J., McCarthy, K., McFrederick, Q., McNamara, S., Medina, N., Medina, R., Mena, J., Mico, E., Mikusinski, G., Milder, J., Miller, J., Miranda-Esquivel, D., Moir, M., Morales, C., Muchane, M., Mudri-Stojnic, S., Munira, A., Muonz-Alonso, A., Munyekenye, B., Naidoo, R., Naithani, A., Nakagawa, M., Nakamura, A., Nakashima, Y., Naoe, S., Nates-Parra, G., Gutierrez, D., Navarro-Iriarte, L., Ndang'ang'a, P., Neuschulz, E., Ngai, J., Nicolas, V., Nilsson, S., Noreika, N., Norfolk, O., Noriega, J., Norton, D., Noeske, N., Nowakowski, A., Numa, C., O'Dea, N., O'Farrell, P., Oduro, W., Oertli, S., Ofori-Boateng, C., Oke, C., Oostra, V., Osgathorpe, L., Eduardo Otavo, S., Page, N., Paritsis, J., Parra-H, A., Parry, L., Pe'er, G., Pearman, P., Pelegrin, N., Pelissier, R., Peres, C., Peri, P., Persson, A., Petanidou, T., Peters, M., Pethiyagoda, R., Phalan, B., Philips, T., Pillsbury, F., Pincheira-Ulbrich, J., Pineda, E., Pino, J., Pizarro-Araya, J., Plumptre, A., Poggio, S., Politi, N., Pons, P., Poveda, K., Power, E., Presley, S., Proenca, V., Quaranta, M., Quintero, C., Rader, R., Ramesh, B., Ramirez-Pinilla, M., Ranganathan, J., Rasmussen, C., Redpath-Downing, N., Reid, J., Reis, Y., Rey Benayas, J., Carlos Rey-Velasco, J., Reynolds, C., Ribeiro, D., Richards, M., Richardson, B., Richardson, M., Macip Rios, R., Robinson, R., Robles, C., Roembke, J., Romero-Duque, L., Ros, M., Rosselli, L., Rossiter, S., Roth, D., Roulston, T., Rousseau, L., Rubio, A., Ruel, J., Sadler, J., Safian, S., Saldana-Vazquez, R., Sam, K., Samnegard, U., Santana, J., Santos, X., Savage, J., Schellhorn, N., Schilthuizen, M., Schmiedel, U., Schmitt, C., Schon, N., Schuepp, C., Schumann, K., Schweiger, O., Scott, D., Scott, K., Sedlock, J., Seefeldt, S., Shahabuddin, G., Shannon, G., Sheil, D., Sheldon, F., Shochat, E., Siebert, S., Silva, F., Simonetti, J., Slade, E., Smith, J., Smith-Pardo, A., Sodhi, N., Somarriba, E., Sosa, R., Soto Quiroga, G., St-Laurent, M., Starzomski, B., Stefanescu, C., Steffan-Dewenter, I., Stouffer, P., Stout, J., Strauch, A., Struebig, M., Su, Z., Suarez-Rubio, M., Sugiura, S., Summerville, K., Sung, Y., Sutrisno, H., Svenning, J., Teder, T., Threlfall, C., Tiitsaar, A., Todd, J., Tonietto, R., Torre, I., Tothmeresz, B., Tscharntke, T., Turner, E., Tylianakis, J., Uehara-Prado, M., Urbina-Cardona, N., Vallan, D., Vanbergen, A., Vasconcelos, H., Vassilev, K., Verboven, H., Verdasca, M., Verdu, J., Vergara, C., Vergara, P., Verhulst, J., Virgilio, M., Van Vu, L., Waite, E., Walker, T., Wang, H., Wang, Y., Watling, J., Weller, B., Wells, K., Westphal, C., Wiafe, E., Williams, C., Willig, M., Woinarski, J., Wolf, J., Wolters, V., Woodcock, B., Wu, J., Wunderle, J., Yamaura, Y., Yoshikura, S., Yu, D., Zaitsev, A., Zeidler, J., Zou, F., Collen, B., Ewers, R., Mace, G., Purves, D., Scharlemann, J., Purvis, A., Hudson, L., Newbold, T., Contu, S., Hill, S., Lysenko, I., De Palma, A., Phillips, H., Alhusseini, T., Bedford, F., Bennett, D., Booth, H., Burton, V., Chng, C., Choimes, A., Correia, D., Day, J., Echeverria-Londono, S., Emerson, S., Gao, D., Garon, M., Harrison, M., Ingram, D., Jung, M., Kemp, V., Kirkpatrick, L., Martin, C., Pan, Y., Pask-Hale, G., Pynegar, E., Robinson, A., Sanchez-Ortiz, K., Senior, R., Simmons, B., White, H., Zhang, H., Aben, J., Abrahamczyk, S., Adum, G., Aguilar-Barquero, V., Aizen, M., Albertos, B., Alcala, E., del Mar Alguacil, M., Alignier, A., Ancrenaz, M., Andersen, A., Arbelaez-Cortes, E., Armbrecht, I., Arroyo-Rodriguez, V., Aumann, T., Axmacher, J., Azhar, B., Azpiroz, A., Baeten, L., Bakayoko, A., Baldi, A., Banks, J., Baral, S., Barlow, J., Barratt, B., Barrico, L., Bartolommei, P., Barton, D., Basset, Y., Batary, P., Bates, A., Baur, B., Bayne, E., Beja, P., Benedick, S., Berg, A., Bernard, H., Berry, N., Bhatt, D., Bicknell, J., Bihn, J., Blake, R., Bobo, K., Bocon, R., Boekhout, T., Bohning-Gaese, K., Bonham, K., Borges, P., Borges, S., Boutin, C., Bouyer, J., Bragagnolo, C., Brandt, J., Brearley, F., Brito, I., Bros, V., Brunet, J., Buczkowski, G., Buddle, C., Bugter, R., Buscardo, E., Buse, J., Cabra-Garcia, J., Caceres, N., Cagle, N., Calvino-Cancela, M., Cameron, S., Cancello, E., Caparros, R., Cardoso, P., Carpenter, D., Carrijo, T., Carvalho, A., Cassano, C., Castro, H., Castro-Luna, A., Cerda, R., Cerezo, A., Chapman, K., Chauvat, M., Christensen, M., Clarke, F., Cleary, D., Colombo, G., Connop, S., Craig, M., Cruz-Lopez, L., Cunningham, S., D'Aniello, B., D'Cruze, N., da Silva, P., Dallimer, M., Danquah, E., Darvill, B., Dauber, J., Davis, A., Dawson, J., de Sassi, C., de Thoisy, B., Deheuvels, O., Dejean, A., Devineau, J., Diekoetter, T., Dolia, J., Dominguez, E., Dominguez-Haydar, Y., Dorn, S., Draper, I., Dreber, N., Dumont, B., Dures, S., Dynesius, M., Edenius, L., Eggleton, P., Eigenbrod, F., Elek, Z., Entling, M., Esler, K., De Lima, R., Faruk, A., Farwig, N., Fayle, T., Felicioli, A., Felton, A., Fensham, R., Fernandez, I., Ferreira, C., Ficetola, G., Fiera, C., Filgueiras, B., Firincioglu, H., Flaspohler, D., Floren, A., Fonte, S., Fournier, A., Fowler, R., Franzen, M., Fraser, L., Fredriksson, G., Freire-, G., Frizzo, T., Fukuda, D., Furlani, D., Gaigher, R., Ganzhorn, J., Garcia, K., Garcia-R, J., Garden, J., Garilleti, R., Ge, B., Gendreau-Berthiaume, B., Gerard, P., Gheler-Costa, C., Gilbert, B., Giordani, P., Giordano, S., Golodets, C., Gomes, L., Gould, R., Goulson, D., Gove, Aaron, Granjon, L., Grass, I., Gray, C., Grogan, J., Gu, W., Guardiola, M., Gunawardene, Nihara, Gutierrez, A., Gutierrez-Lamus, D., Haarmeyer, D., Hanley, M., Hanson, T., Hashim, N., Hassan, S., Hatfield, R., Hawes, J., Hayward, M., Hebert, C., Helden, A., Henden, J., Henschel, P., Hernandez, L., Herrera, J., Herrmann, F., Herzog, F., Higuera-Diaz, D., Hilje, B., Hofer, H., Hoffmann, A., Horgan, F., Hornung, E., Horvath, R., Hylander, K., Isaacs-Cubides, P., Ishida, H., Ishitani, M., Jacobs, C., Jaramillo, V., Jauker, B., Jimenez Hernandez, F., Johnson, M., Jolli, V., Jonsell, M., Juliani, S., Jung, T., Kapoor, V., Kappes, H., Kati, V., Katovai, E., Kellner, K., Kessler, M., Kirby, K., Kittle, A., Knight, M., Knop, E., Kohler, F., Koivula, M., Kolb, A., Kone, M., Koroesi, A., Krauss, J., Kumar, A., Kumar, R., Kurz, D., Kutt, A., Lachat, T., Lantschner, V., Lara, F., Lasky, J., Latta, S., Laurance, W., Lavelle, P., Le Feon, V., LeBuhn, G., Legare, J., Lehouck, V., Lencinas, M., Lentini, P., Letcher, S., Li, Q., Litchwark, S., Littlewood, N., Liu, Y., Lo-Man-Hung, N., Lopez-Quintero, C., Louhaichi, M., Lovei, G., Lucas-Borja, M., Luja, V., Luskin, M., MacSwiney G, M., Maeto, K., Magura, T., Mallari, N., Malone, L., Malonza, P., Malumbres-Olarte, J., Mandujano, S., Maren, I., Marin-Spiotta, E., Marsh, C., Marshall, E., Martinez, E., Pastur, G., Mateos, D., Mayfield, M., Mazimpaka, V., McCarthy, J., McCarthy, K., McFrederick, Q., McNamara, S., Medina, N., Medina, R., Mena, J., Mico, E., Mikusinski, G., Milder, J., Miller, J., Miranda-Esquivel, D., Moir, M., Morales, C., Muchane, M., Mudri-Stojnic, S., Munira, A., Muonz-Alonso, A., Munyekenye, B., Naidoo, R., Naithani, A., Nakagawa, M., Nakamura, A., Nakashima, Y., Naoe, S., Nates-Parra, G., Gutierrez, D., Navarro-Iriarte, L., Ndang'ang'a, P., Neuschulz, E., Ngai, J., Nicolas, V., Nilsson, S., Noreika, N., Norfolk, O., Noriega, J., Norton, D., Noeske, N., Nowakowski, A., Numa, C., O'Dea, N., O'Farrell, P., Oduro, W., Oertli, S., Ofori-Boateng, C., Oke, C., Oostra, V., Osgathorpe, L., Eduardo Otavo, S., Page, N., Paritsis, J., Parra-H, A., Parry, L., Pe'er, G., Pearman, P., Pelegrin, N., Pelissier, R., Peres, C., Peri, P., Persson, A., Petanidou, T., Peters, M., Pethiyagoda, R., Phalan, B., Philips, T., Pillsbury, F., Pincheira-Ulbrich, J., Pineda, E., Pino, J., Pizarro-Araya, J., Plumptre, A., Poggio, S., Politi, N., Pons, P., Poveda, K., Power, E., Presley, S., Proenca, V., Quaranta, M., Quintero, C., Rader, R., Ramesh, B., Ramirez-Pinilla, M., Ranganathan, J., Rasmussen, C., Redpath-Downing, N., Reid, J., Reis, Y., Rey Benayas, J., Carlos Rey-Velasco, J., Reynolds, C., Ribeiro, D., Richards, M., Richardson, B., Richardson, M., Macip Rios, R., Robinson, R., Robles, C., Roembke, J., Romero-Duque, L., Ros, M., Rosselli, L., Rossiter, S., Roth, D., Roulston, T., Rousseau, L., Rubio, A., Ruel, J., Sadler, J., Safian, S., Saldana-Vazquez, R., Sam, K., Samnegard, U., Santana, J., Santos, X., Savage, J., Schellhorn, N., Schilthuizen, M., Schmiedel, U., Schmitt, C., Schon, N., Schuepp, C., Schumann, K., Schweiger, O., Scott, D., Scott, K., Sedlock, J., Seefeldt, S., Shahabuddin, G., Shannon, G., Sheil, D., Sheldon, F., Shochat, E., Siebert, S., Silva, F., Simonetti, J., Slade, E., Smith, J., Smith-Pardo, A., Sodhi, N., Somarriba, E., Sosa, R., Soto Quiroga, G., St-Laurent, M., Starzomski, B., Stefanescu, C., Steffan-Dewenter, I., Stouffer, P., Stout, J., Strauch, A., Struebig, M., Su, Z., Suarez-Rubio, M., Sugiura, S., Summerville, K., Sung, Y., Sutrisno, H., Svenning, J., Teder, T., Threlfall, C., Tiitsaar, A., Todd, J., Tonietto, R., Torre, I., Tothmeresz, B., Tscharntke, T., Turner, E., Tylianakis, J., Uehara-Prado, M., Urbina-Cardona, N., Vallan, D., Vanbergen, A., Vasconcelos, H., Vassilev, K., Verboven, H., Verdasca, M., Verdu, J., Vergara, C., Vergara, P., Verhulst, J., Virgilio, M., Van Vu, L., Waite, E., Walker, T., Wang, H., Wang, Y., Watling, J., Weller, B., Wells, K., Westphal, C., Wiafe, E., Williams, C., Willig, M., Woinarski, J., Wolf, J., Wolters, V., Woodcock, B., Wu, J., Wunderle, J., Yamaura, Y., Yoshikura, S., Yu, D., Zaitsev, A., Zeidler, J., Zou, F., Collen, B., Ewers, R., Mace, G., Purves, D., Scharlemann, J., and Purvis, A.

Abstract

The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.

Published
2017

30. Endemic species of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean.

Author

James, D. J., Green, P. T., Humphreys, W. F., and Woinarski, J. C. Z.

Subjects
ENDEMIC animals, ENDANGERED species, BIODIVERSITY conservation, ISLANDS, HUMAN settlements, SPECIES, REPTILES
Abstract

Many oceanic islands have high levels of endemism, but also high rates of extinction, such that island species constitute a markedly disproportionate share of the world's extinctions. One important foundation for the conservation of biodiversity on islands is an inventory of endemic species. In the absence of a comprehensive inventory, conservation effort often defaults to a focus on the better-known and more conspicuous species (typically mammals and birds). Although this component of island biota often needs such conservation attention, such focus may mean that less conspicuous endemic species (especially invertebrates) are neglected and suffer high rates of loss. In this paper, we review the available literature and online resources to compile a list of endemic species that is as comprehensive as possible for the 137 km2 oceanic Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the north-eastern Indian Ocean. This objective is helped by impressive biodiversity inventories made within a decade of the island's first human settlement (1888) that provide a reasonable baseline from which to measure the changes associated with the island's colonisation and development. However, there are some notable challenges in compiling this inventory: the spate of surveys that preceded and immediately followed the island's settlement has not been matched subsequently; many groups have not been sampled, or sampled only superficially; the taxonomic fate of some of the species initially described from the island is opaque; some endemic taxa are of contested taxonomic rank; and demonstrating endemicity is difficult given that there has been relatively little sampling in the nearest lands (Java and nearby islands, about 350 km distant from Christmas Island). We conclude that at least 253 species are endemic to Christmas Island (including 17 vascular plants, 27 molluscs, 15 crustaceans, 150 insects and 21 vertebrates). There has been a high rate of extinction of the island's endemic mammal and reptile faunas, with at least six of the 10 endemic species now extinct or extinct in the wild. In the last decade, an endemic mammal and an endemic reptile species became extinct, and two endemic reptile species became extinct in the wild. Given the array of introduced species and other environmental disruptions now present on the island, it is highly plausible that many endemic species in less conspicuous or charismatic groups are now imperilled or already extinct; indeed, we conclude that more than 50 endemic species have not been reported for >100 years. Hence, the recognised number of extinct and of threatened species on this island is likely to be severely under-estimated. Although most of the endemic vertebrate species are listed as threatened (or extinct), only one of the c. 200 endemic invertebrate species is formally listed as threatened. This lack of listing is likely to severely understate the conservation plight of many species, and most would merit recognition as threatened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2019
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31. Enumerating a continental-scale threat: How many feral cats are in Australia?

Author

Legge, S., Murphy, B. P., McGregor, H., Woinarski, J. C. Z., Augusteyn, J., Ballard, G., Baseler, M., Buckmaster, T., Dickman, C. R., Doherty, T., Edwards, G., Eyre, T., Fancourt, B. A., Ferguson, D., Forsyth, D. M., Geary, W. L., Gentle, Matthew N., Gillespie, G., Greenwood, L., Hohnen, R., Hume, S., Johnson, C. N., Maxwell, M., McDonald, P. J., Morris, K., Moseby, K., Newsome, T., Nimmo, D., Paltridge, R., Ramsey, D., Read, J., Rendall, A., Rich, M., Ritchie, E., Rowland, J., Short, J., Stokeld, D., Sutherland, D. R., Wayne, A. F., Woodford, L., Zewe, F., Legge, S., Murphy, B. P., McGregor, H., Woinarski, J. C. Z., Augusteyn, J., Ballard, G., Baseler, M., Buckmaster, T., Dickman, C. R., Doherty, T., Edwards, G., Eyre, T., Fancourt, B. A., Ferguson, D., Forsyth, D. M., Geary, W. L., Gentle, Matthew N., Gillespie, G., Greenwood, L., Hohnen, R., Hume, S., Johnson, C. N., Maxwell, M., McDonald, P. J., Morris, K., Moseby, K., Newsome, T., Nimmo, D., Paltridge, R., Ramsey, D., Read, J., Rendall, A., Rich, M., Ritchie, E., Rowland, J., Short, J., Stokeld, D., Sutherland, D. R., Wayne, A. F., Woodford, L., and Zewe, F.

Abstract

Feral cats (Felis catus) have devastated wildlife globally. In Australia, feral cats are implicated in most recent mammal extinctions and continue to threaten native species. Cat control is a high-profile priority for Australian policy, research and management. To develop the evidence-base to support this priority, we first review information on cat presence/absence on Australian islands and mainland cat-proof exclosures, finding that cats occur across >99.8% of Australia's land area. Next, we collate 91 site-based feral cat density estimates in Australia and examine the influence of environmental and geographic influences on density. We extrapolate from this analysis to estimate that the feral cat population in natural environments fluctuates between 1.4 million (95% confidence interval: 1.0–2.3 million) after continent-wide droughts, to 5.6 million (95% CI: 2.5–11 million) after extensive wet periods. We estimate another 0.7 million feral cats occur in Australia's highly modified environments (urban areas, rubbish dumps, intensive farms). Feral cat densities are higher on small islands than the mainland, but similar inside and outside conservation land. Mainland cats reach highest densities in arid/semi-arid areas after wet periods. Regional variation in cat densities corresponds closely with attrition rates for native mammal fauna. The overall population estimate for Australia's feral cats (in natural and highly modified environments), fluctuating between 2.1 and 6.3 million, is lower than previous estimates, and Australian feral cat densities are lower than reported for North America and Europe. Nevertheless, cats inflict severe impacts on Australian fauna, reflecting the sensitivity of Australia's native species to cats and reinforcing that policy, research and management to reduce their impacts is critical.

Published
2016

34. The other subpopulation of Christmas Island White-eye Zosterops natalis (Aves: Zosteropidae): a historic introduction has led to an enduring subpopulation on Horsburgh Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands group

Author

Woinarski, J. C. Z., Detto, T., Macrae, Ismail, Woinarski, J. C. Z., Detto, T., and Macrae, Ismail

Abstract

The Christmas Island White-eye Zosterops natalis occurs naturally only on the 135 km 2 Christmas Island. Between 1888 and 1900 (remarkably soon after it was first discovered and described), it was introduced to the 1 km 2 Horsburgh Island in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands group. There has been limited subsequent documentation of the fate of this translocated population. Based on transect sampling in 2013, we estimate the population size to be 1084 individuals (with 95% confidence limits of 731 to 1716). This represents a substantially larger estimate than the previous estimate (of 400 individuals in 1941), and indicates a greater abundance than the most recent (1982) non-quantitative record of its status. In contrast to previous documentation, this species is widespread on Horsburgh Island, and abundant in a mosaic of natural and modified vegetation (dominated by coconut Cocos nucifera plantation with Scaevola taccada shrub layer). Contextualising the conservation significance of this introduced population is difficult because there is no reliable estimate of the population size on Christmas Island, but it is plausible that the Horsburgh Island subpopulation now comprises c. 5% of the species’ total population size. However, more importantly, its significance lies in the provision of a second location that may reduce extinction risk.

Published
2014

36. Optimising management actions for the conservation of threatened species in Kakadu National Park: Background Paper for Kakadu National Park Threatened Species Strategy

Author

Woinarski, J. C. Z., Winderlich, S., Woinarski, J. C. Z., and Winderlich, S.

Abstract

Kakadu National Park is important for the conservation of very many threatened species, and the conservation of such species is a clear commitment under the Park’s Plans of Management. However, at least some of these threatened species are declining in Kakadu, suggesting that current management actions may not be optimal. Given the large number of threatened species, occurring across diverse habitats and affected by a wide range of threats, there is a large array of potential management actions that could, or need to, be implemented. However, resourcing for such management is finite, so there is a need to prioritise management actions in order to most cost-effectively make a substantial contribution to the conservation of threatened species. This report describes aspects of such prioritisation, following an approach previously used for management prioritisation for conservation in the Kimberley and Pilbara (Carwardine et al. 2011; Carwardine et al. 2014).This report provides advice rather than a single definitive answer. One of its main conclusions is that the optimal management solution depends very much on the objective, and that there are many nuanced variations in objectives – e.g. whether the objective is to achieve the greatest benefit across all threatened species, the least likelihood of species becoming lost from Kakadu, the greatest likelihood of maintaining secure populations of species in Kakadu, and the extent to which these objectives are framed by budget constraints.In this report, we consider all 75 threatened species that have been reported from Kakadu, along with 103 Near Threatened and 13 culturally significant species. Species are attributed values according to their conservation status, taxonomic distinctiveness, ecological significance and cultural value (and a combination of all of these attributes), and – in some analyses here – management actions that particularly benefit higher value species are accorded more weight.

Published
2014

37. The PREDICTS database: a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts

Author

Hudson, L., Newbold, T., Contu, S., Hill, S., Lysenko, I., De Palma, A., Phillips, H., Senior, R., Bennett, D., Booth, H., Choimes, A., Correia, D., Day, J., Echeverria-Londono, S., Garon, M., Harrison, M., Ingram, D., Jung, M., Kemp, V., Kirkpatrick, L., Martin, C., Pan, Y., White, H., Aben, J., Abrahamczyk, S., Adum, G., Aguilar-Barquero, V., Aizen, M., Ancrenaz, M., Arbelaez-Cortes, E., Armbrecht, I., Azhar, B., Azpiroz, A., Baeten, L., Baldi, A., Banks, J., Barlow, J., Batary, P., Bates, A., Bayne, E., Beja, P., Berg, A., Berry, N., Bicknell, J., Bihn, J., Bohning-Gaese, K., Boekhout, T., Boutin, C., Bouyer, J., Brearley, F., Brito, I., Brunet, J., Buczkowski, G., Buscardo, E., Cabra-Garcia, J., Calvino-Cancela, M., Cameron, S., cancello, E., Carrijo, T., carvalho, A., Castro, H., Castro-Luna, A., Cerda, R., Cerezo, A., Chauvat, M., Clarke, F., Cleary, D., Connop, S., D'Aniello, B., da Silva, P.G., Darvill, B., Dauber, J., Dejean, A., Diekotter, T., Dominguez-Haydar, Y., Dormann, C., Dumont, B., Dures, S., Dynesius, M., Edenius, L., Elek, Z., Entling, M., Farwig, N., Fayle, T., Felicioli, A., Felton, A., Ficetola, G., Filgueiras, B., Fonte, S., Fraser, L., Fukuda, D., Furlani, D., Ganzhorn, J., Garden, J., Gheler-Costa, C., Giordani, P., Giordano, S., Gottschalk, M., Goulson, D., Gove, Aaron, Grogan, J., Hanley, M., Hanson, T., Hashim, N., Hawes, J., Hebert, C., Helden, A., Henden, J., Hernandez, L., Herzog, F., Higuera-Diaz, D., Hilje, B., Horgan, F., Horvath, R., Hylander, K., Issacs-Cubides, P., Ishitani, M., Jacobs, C., Jaramillo, V., Jauker, B., Jonsell, M., Jung, T., Kapoor, V., Kati, V., Katovai, E., Kessler, M., Knop, E., Kolb, A., Korosi, A., Lachat, T., Lantschner, V., Le Feon, V., LeBuhn, G., Legare, J., Letcher, S., Littlewood, N., Lopez--Quintero, C., Louhaichi, M., Lovei, G., Lucas-Borja, M., Luja, V., Maeto, K., Magura, T., Mallari, N., Marin-Spiotta, E., Marshall, E., Martinez, E., Mayfield, M., Mikusinski, G., Milder, J., Miller, J., Morales, C., Muchane, M., Naidoo, R., Nakamura, A., Naoe, S., Nates-Parra, G., Navarrete Gutierrez, D., Neuschulz, E., Noreika, N., Norfolk, O., Noriega, J., Noske, N., O'Dea, N., Oduro, W., Ofori-Boateng, C., Oke, C., Osgathorpe, L., Paritsis, J., Parrah, A., Pelegrin, N., Peres, C., Persson, A., Petanidou, T., Phalan, B., Philips, T.K., Poveda, K., Power, E., Presley, S., Proenca, V., Quaranta, M., Quintero, C., Redpath-Downing, N., Reid, J.L., Reis, Y., Ribeiro, D., Richardson, B., Richardson, M., Robles, C., Rombke, J., Romero-Duque, L.P., Rosselli, L., Rossiter, S., Roulston, T., Rousseau, L., Sadler, J., Safian, S., Saldana-Vazquez, R., Samnegard, U., Schuepp, C., Schweiger, O., Sedlock, J., Shahabuddin, G., Sheil, D., Silva, F., Slade, E., Smith-Pardo, A., Sodhi, N., Somarriba, E., Sosa, R., Stout, J., Struebig, M., Sung, Y., Threlfall, C., Tonietto, R., Tothmeresz, B., Tscharntke, T., Turner, E., Tylianakis, J., Vanbergen, A., Vassilev, K., Verboven, H., Vergara, C., Vergara, P., Verhulst, J., Walker, T., Wang, Y., Watling, J., Wells, K., Williams, C., Willig, M., Woinarski, J., Wolf, J., Woodcock, B., Yu, D., Zaitsev, A., Collen, B., Ewers, R., Mace, G., Purves, D., Scharlemann, J., Purvis, A., Hudson, L., Newbold, T., Contu, S., Hill, S., Lysenko, I., De Palma, A., Phillips, H., Senior, R., Bennett, D., Booth, H., Choimes, A., Correia, D., Day, J., Echeverria-Londono, S., Garon, M., Harrison, M., Ingram, D., Jung, M., Kemp, V., Kirkpatrick, L., Martin, C., Pan, Y., White, H., Aben, J., Abrahamczyk, S., Adum, G., Aguilar-Barquero, V., Aizen, M., Ancrenaz, M., Arbelaez-Cortes, E., Armbrecht, I., Azhar, B., Azpiroz, A., Baeten, L., Baldi, A., Banks, J., Barlow, J., Batary, P., Bates, A., Bayne, E., Beja, P., Berg, A., Berry, N., Bicknell, J., Bihn, J., Bohning-Gaese, K., Boekhout, T., Boutin, C., Bouyer, J., Brearley, F., Brito, I., Brunet, J., Buczkowski, G., Buscardo, E., Cabra-Garcia, J., Calvino-Cancela, M., Cameron, S., cancello, E., Carrijo, T., carvalho, A., Castro, H., Castro-Luna, A., Cerda, R., Cerezo, A., Chauvat, M., Clarke, F., Cleary, D., Connop, S., D'Aniello, B., da Silva, P.G., Darvill, B., Dauber, J., Dejean, A., Diekotter, T., Dominguez-Haydar, Y., Dormann, C., Dumont, B., Dures, S., Dynesius, M., Edenius, L., Elek, Z., Entling, M., Farwig, N., Fayle, T., Felicioli, A., Felton, A., Ficetola, G., Filgueiras, B., Fonte, S., Fraser, L., Fukuda, D., Furlani, D., Ganzhorn, J., Garden, J., Gheler-Costa, C., Giordani, P., Giordano, S., Gottschalk, M., Goulson, D., Gove, Aaron, Grogan, J., Hanley, M., Hanson, T., Hashim, N., Hawes, J., Hebert, C., Helden, A., Henden, J., Hernandez, L., Herzog, F., Higuera-Diaz, D., Hilje, B., Horgan, F., Horvath, R., Hylander, K., Issacs-Cubides, P., Ishitani, M., Jacobs, C., Jaramillo, V., Jauker, B., Jonsell, M., Jung, T., Kapoor, V., Kati, V., Katovai, E., Kessler, M., Knop, E., Kolb, A., Korosi, A., Lachat, T., Lantschner, V., Le Feon, V., LeBuhn, G., Legare, J., Letcher, S., Littlewood, N., Lopez--Quintero, C., Louhaichi, M., Lovei, G., Lucas-Borja, M., Luja, V., Maeto, K., Magura, T., Mallari, N., Marin-Spiotta, E., Marshall, E., Martinez, E., Mayfield, M., Mikusinski, G., Milder, J., Miller, J., Morales, C., Muchane, M., Naidoo, R., Nakamura, A., Naoe, S., Nates-Parra, G., Navarrete Gutierrez, D., Neuschulz, E., Noreika, N., Norfolk, O., Noriega, J., Noske, N., O'Dea, N., Oduro, W., Ofori-Boateng, C., Oke, C., Osgathorpe, L., Paritsis, J., Parrah, A., Pelegrin, N., Peres, C., Persson, A., Petanidou, T., Phalan, B., Philips, T.K., Poveda, K., Power, E., Presley, S., Proenca, V., Quaranta, M., Quintero, C., Redpath-Downing, N., Reid, J.L., Reis, Y., Ribeiro, D., Richardson, B., Richardson, M., Robles, C., Rombke, J., Romero-Duque, L.P., Rosselli, L., Rossiter, S., Roulston, T., Rousseau, L., Sadler, J., Safian, S., Saldana-Vazquez, R., Samnegard, U., Schuepp, C., Schweiger, O., Sedlock, J., Shahabuddin, G., Sheil, D., Silva, F., Slade, E., Smith-Pardo, A., Sodhi, N., Somarriba, E., Sosa, R., Stout, J., Struebig, M., Sung, Y., Threlfall, C., Tonietto, R., Tothmeresz, B., Tscharntke, T., Turner, E., Tylianakis, J., Vanbergen, A., Vassilev, K., Verboven, H., Vergara, C., Vergara, P., Verhulst, J., Walker, T., Wang, Y., Watling, J., Wells, K., Williams, C., Willig, M., Woinarski, J., Wolf, J., Woodcock, B., Yu, D., Zaitsev, A., Collen, B., Ewers, R., Mace, G., Purves, D., Scharlemann, J., and Purvis, A.

Abstract

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation ofa range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database containsmeasurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems – www.predicts.org.uk).

Published
2014

38. Falling apart? Insights and lessons from three recent studies documenting rapid and severe decline in terrestrial mammal assemblages of northern, south-eastern and southwestern Australia.

Author

Wayne, A. F., Wilson, B. A., and Woinarski, J. C. Z.

Abstract

Context. Since European settlement in 1788, much of the Australian terrestrial mammal fauna has declined or become extinct. The pattern of, and reason for, that decline was little documented, and is now difficult to decipher. Many mammal species are still declining, providing (an unfortunate) opportunity to better document the process, identify the causal factors and attempt to redress the problem. Aim. We compare trends in mammal abundance reported in three recent longitudinal studies in conservation reserves in Australia. The studies were not established with the intention of documenting mammal decline, but marked simultaneous decline of co-existing species was the most striking feature of their results. Methods. Long-term monitoring in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory (2001-04 and 2007-09), the Upper Warren region of Western Australia (since 1974) and the Great Otway National Park, Victoria (since 1975) principally relied on trapping, but also some spotlighting and sand plots, to document changes and trends in abundance in their respective mammal assemblages. Key results. Decline was reported in most mammal species, across taxonomic groups, diets and size classes, but mostly involved species <5500 g. The studies differed in their monitoring protocols and varied in the degree to which potential causal factors were monitored, thereby constraining interpretation of the drivers of declines. Inappropriatefire regimes and predation by feral cats are likely contributing factors in at least two study areas, and periods of markedly below-average rainfall are implicated in two areas. Conclusions. We conclude the following: (1) conservation reserves in Australia may be failing to maintain at least some elements of the biodiversity that they were established to protect, and substantially enhanced management is required to redress this problem; (2) with current threats, mammal assemblages in Australia may be highly unstable; (3) substantial increase in effective long-term biodiversity monitoring programs in an adaptive management framework is needed; and (4) such monitoring programs will be more insightful if they also monitor factors driving population change. Implications. Native mammal species declines and community disassembly may be occurring elsewhere. Long-term monitoring is critical for assessing trends in biodiversity and if done well, it can guide more effective and efficient management to deliver better conservation outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2017
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42. Continental-Scale Governance and the Hastening of Loss of Australia's Biodiversity

Author

Ritchie, EG, Bradshaw, CJA, Dickman, CR, Hobbs, R, Johnson, CN, Johnston, EL, Laurance, WF, Lindenmayer, D, Mccarthy, MA, Nimmo, DG, Possingham, HH, Pressey, RL, Watson, DM, Woinarski, J, Ritchie, EG, Bradshaw, CJA, Dickman, CR, Hobbs, R, Johnson, CN, Johnston, EL, Laurance, WF, Lindenmayer, D, Mccarthy, MA, Nimmo, DG, Possingham, HH, Pressey, RL, Watson, DM, and Woinarski, J

Published
2013

43. The mammal fauna of the Sir Edward Pellew island group, Northern Territory, Australia: refuge and death-trap

Author

Woinarski, J. C. Z., Ward, S., Mahney, T., Bradley, J., Brennan, K., Ziembicki, M., Fisher, A., Woinarski, J. C. Z., Ward, S., Mahney, T., Bradley, J., Brennan, K., Ziembicki, M., and Fisher, A.

Abstract

ContextAustralian islands have provided a major conservation refuge for many native mammals; however, conversely, island populations may also be highly susceptible to the introduction of novel threats. Nearby islands subject to different arrays of threats or different timing of arrival of those threats may provide a natural experiment, offering particular insight into the relative impacts of different threats to Australian mammals more generally.AimsThe present study sought to document the native mammal fauna occurring on the main islands of the Sir Edward Pellew group, Northern Territory, and the changes in that fauna over a ~50-year period, and to seek to identify those factors that have contributed to such change.Methods In different combinations, the five main islands (and three smaller islands) were subject to standard wildlife survey methods in 1966–67, 1988, 2003, 2004–05, and 2009–10. Sampling procedures were not identical in all periods; however, a measure of abundance (trap success rate) could be calculated for all sampling. This conventional survey approach was complemented by documentation of ethno-biological knowledge.Key resultsFor many species, these islands held populations of biogeographic or conservation significance. However, there has been a major loss or decline of mammal species from most islands. Extirpation is difficult to prove; however, we consider it most likely that the important regional populations of brush-tailed rabbit-rat (Conilurus penicillatus), northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus), northern brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale pirata), common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) and canefield rat (Rattus sordidus) have been lost from these islands, and that northern brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus), western chestnut mouse (Pseudomys nanus), pale field-rat (Rattus tunneyi) and long-haired rat (Rattus villosissimus) have been lost from most

Published
2011

44. Improving biodiversity monitoring

Author

Gibbons, Philip, Bourke, Max, Burgmann, M A, Dickman, Chris R, Ferrier, Simon, Fitzsimons, James, Freudenberger, David, Garnett, Stephen T, Groves, Craig, Hobbs, Richard, Kingsford, R. T, Krebs, C. J, Legge, Sarah, Lowe, Andrew J, McLean, Bob, Montambault, Jensen, Possingham, Hugh P, Radford, Jim, Robinson, Doug, Smallbone, Lisa, Thomas, David, Varcoe, Tony, Vardon, Michael, Wardle, G. M, Woinarski, J. C. Z, Zerger, Andre, Lindenmayer, David B, Gibbons, Philip, Bourke, Max, Burgmann, M A, Dickman, Chris R, Ferrier, Simon, Fitzsimons, James, Freudenberger, David, Garnett, Stephen T, Groves, Craig, Hobbs, Richard, Kingsford, R. T, Krebs, C. J, Legge, Sarah, Lowe, Andrew J, McLean, Bob, Montambault, Jensen, Possingham, Hugh P, Radford, Jim, Robinson, Doug, Smallbone, Lisa, Thomas, David, Varcoe, Tony, Vardon, Michael, Wardle, G. M, Woinarski, J. C. Z, Zerger, Andre, and Lindenmayer, David B

Abstract

Effective biodiversity monitoring is critical to evaluate, learn from, and ultimately improve conservation practice. Well conceived, designed and implemented monitoring of biodiversity should: (i) deliver information on trends in key aspects of biodiversity (e.g. population changes); (ii) provide early warning of problems that might otherwise be difficult or expensive to reverse; (iii) generate quantifiable evidence of conservation successes (e.g. species recovery following management) and conservation failures; (iv) highlight ways to make management more effective; and (v) provide information on return on conservation investment. The importance of effective biodiversity monitoring is widely recognized (e.g. Australian Biodiversity Strategy). Yet, while everyone thinks biodiversity monitoring is a good idea, this has not translated into a culture of sound biodiversity monitoring, or widespread use of monitoring data. We identify four barriers to more effective biodiversity monitoring in Australia. These are: (i) many conservation programmes have poorly articulated or vague objectives against which it is difficult to measure progress contributing to design and implementation problems; (ii) the case for long-term and sustained biodiversity monitoring is often poorly developed and/or articulated; (iii) there is often a lack of appropriate institutional support, co-ordination, and targeted funding for biodiversity monitoring; and (iv) there is often a lack of appropriate standards to guide monitoring activities and make data available from these programmes. To deal with these issues, we suggest that policy makers, resource managers and scientists better and more explicitly articulate the objectives of biodiversity monitoring and better demonstrate the case for greater investments in biodiversitymonitoring. There is an urgent need for improved institutional support for biodiversity monitoring in Australia, for improved monitoring standards, and for improved archiving of

Published
2011

45. Fauna assemblages in regrowth vegetation in tropical open forests of the Northern Territory, Australia

Author

Woinarski, J, Rankmore, B, Hill, B, Griffiths, A, Stewart, A, Grace, B, Woinarski, J, Rankmore, B, Hill, B, Griffiths, A, Stewart, A, and Grace, B

Abstract

Context. World-wide, primary forest is in decline. This places increasing importance on understanding the use by biodiversity of regrowth (secondary) forest, and on the management of such regrowth.Aims. This study aimed to compare the terrestrial vertebrate assemblages in tropical eucalypt forests, regrowth in these forests (following clearing for pastoral intensification) and cleared land without regrowth, to provide evidence for developing management guidelines for regrowth vegetation in a region (the Daly catchment of the Northern Territory) subject to increasing demands for land-use intensification.Methods. The terrestrial vertebrate fauna was surveyed consistently at 43 quadrats sampling forest, 38 sampling regrowth and 19 sampling cleared land (formerly forest), and the faunal composition was compared with ordination and analysis of variance. Further analysis used generalised linear modelling to include consideration of the relative importance of disturbance (condition) of quadrats.Key results. Faunal assemblages in regrowth vegetation were found to be intermediate between cleared land and intact forest, and converged towards the faunal assemblage typical of intact forest with increase in the canopy height of the regrowth. However, even the tallest regrowth quadrats that were sampled supported relatively few hollow-associated species. The management of fire, weeds and grazing pressure substantially affected the faunal assemblages of the set of regrowth and intact forest quadrats, in many cases being a more important determinant of faunal attributes than was whether or not the quadrat had been cleared.Conclusions. In this region, regrowth vegetation has value as habitat for fauna, with this value increasing as the regrowth structure increases. The convergence of the faunal composition of regrowth vegetation to that of intact forest may be substantially affected by post-clearing management factors (including fire regime and level of grazing pressure and weed inf

Published
2009

46. Cornerstones of biodiversity conservation? Comparing the management effectiveness of Kruger and Kakadu National Parks, two key savanna reserves

Author

Parr, C, Woinarski, J, Pienaar, D, Parr, C, Woinarski, J, and Pienaar, D

Abstract

How effective are large, well-resourced protected areas at achieving biodiversity conservation goals? In this study we critically review biodiversity research and management practice in two of the world’s premier savanna reserves (Kruger National Park, South Africa and Kakadu National Park, Australia) by exploring management approaches to three shared conservation issues: fire, alien species and threatened species. These management approaches contrast sharply between the two reserves, with Kruger having notably more detailed and prescribed planning for biodiversity conservation. Overall assessment of the effectiveness of management is hampered by limited available information on trends for native species and threatening processes, but in general it is far more straightforward to understand the management framework and to measure biodiversity conservation performance for Kruger than for Kakadu. We conclude that biodiversity conservation outcomes are most likely to be related to the adequacy of dedicated resources and of monitoring programs, the explicit identification of clear objectives with associated performance indicators, and the considered application of management prescriptions. In Kakadu particularly, conflicting park objectives (e.g., biodiversity and cultural management) can reduce the effectiveness of biodiversity efforts. However, we recognize that for the long-term persistence of these large conservation areas and hence for biodiversity conservation, it is critical to include consideration of social context.

Published
2009

48. A checklist for ecological management of landscapes for conservation

Author

Lindenmayer, D.B., Hobbs, R.J., Montague-Drake, R., Alexandra, J., Bennett, A., Burgman, M., Cale, P., Calhoun, A., Cramer, V.A., Cullen, P., Driscoll, D., Fahrig, L., Fischer, J., Franklin, J., Haila, Y., Hunter, M., Gibbons, P., Lake, S., Luck, G., MacGregor, C., McIntyre, S., Nally, R.M., Manning, A., Miller, J., Mooney, H.A., Noss, R., Possingham, H.P., Saunders, D.A., Schmiegelow, F., Scott, M., Simberloff, D., Sisk, T., Tabor, G., Walker, B.H., Wiens, J., Woinarski, J., Zavaleta, E., Lindenmayer, D.B., Hobbs, R.J., Montague-Drake, R., Alexandra, J., Bennett, A., Burgman, M., Cale, P., Calhoun, A., Cramer, V.A., Cullen, P., Driscoll, D., Fahrig, L., Fischer, J., Franklin, J., Haila, Y., Hunter, M., Gibbons, P., Lake, S., Luck, G., MacGregor, C., McIntyre, S., Nally, R.M., Manning, A., Miller, J., Mooney, H.A., Noss, R., Possingham, H.P., Saunders, D.A., Schmiegelow, F., Scott, M., Simberloff, D., Sisk, T., Tabor, G., Walker, B.H., Wiens, J., Woinarski, J., and Zavaleta, E.

Abstract

The management of landscapes for biological conservation and ecologically sustainable natural resource use are crucial global issues. Research for over two decades has resulted in a large literature, yet there is little consensus on the applicability or even the existence of general principles or broad considerations that could guide landscape conservation. We assess six major themes in the ecology and conservation of landscapes. We identify 13 important issues that need to be considered in developing approaches to landscape conservation. They include recognizing the importance of landscape mosaics (including the integration of terrestrial and aquatic areas), recognizing interactions between vegetation cover and vegetation configuration, using an appropriate landscape conceptual model, maintaining the capacity to recover from disturbance and managing landscapes in an adaptive framework. These considerations are influenced by landscape context, species assemblages and management goals and do not translate directly into on-the-ground management guidelines but they should be recognized by researchers and resource managers when developing guidelines for specific cases. Two crucial overarching issues are: (i) a clearly articulated vision for landscape conservation and (ii) quantifiable objectives that offer unambiguous signposts for measuring progress.

Published
2008

50. Darwin Woollybutt

Author

Woinarski, J, Mackey, B, Nix, H, Traill, B, Setterfield, SA, Woinarski, J, Mackey, B, Nix, H, Traill, B, and Setterfield, SA

Published
2007

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