Context: Ungulate populations are subject to fluctuations caused by extrinsic factors and require efficient and frequent surveying to monitor population sizes and demographics. Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have become increasingly popular for ungulate research; however, little is understood about how this novel technology compares with conventional methodologies for surveying wild populations. Aims:

Context: Species Distribution Models (SDM) can be used to investigate and understand relationships between species occurrence and environmental variables, so as to predict potential distribution. These predictions can facilitate conservation actions and management decisions. Oxley Wild Rivers National Park (OWRNP) is regarded as an important stronghold for the threatened brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale

Context: The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) sometimes occurs as an overabundant folivore in south-eastern Australia, where high-density populations have caused defoliation of preferred food trees, threatening habitat. Kangaroo Island, South Australia and Budj Bim National Park, Victoria, are two regions where such eruptive population dynamics have arisen. One way of mitigating their damage is through

Context: Monitoring is an essential part of managing invasive species; however, accurate, cost-effective detection techniques are necessary for it to be routinely undertaken. Current detection techniques for invasive deer are time consuming, expensive and have associated biases, which may be overcome by exploiting new technologies. Aims: We assessed the accuracy and cost effectiveness of automated

Context: Safe and effective capture methods are crucial for improving our understanding and management of many wildlife species. The adaptation of established capture methods to novel situations requires critical evaluation because differences in environmental conditions and species’ susceptibility to trauma and capture myopathy can produce unexpected outcomes. Helicopter net-gunning has been a valuable

Context: Feral cats, Felis catus, have caused the decline and extinction of many species worldwide, particularly on islands and in Australia where native species are generally naïve to the threat of this introduced predator. Effectively reducing cat populations to protect wildlife is challenging because cats have a cryptic nature, high reproductive rate and strong reinvasion ability. Aims: We experimentally

Context: Carnaby’s (Calyptorhychus latirostris), Baudin’s (Calyptorhynchus baudinii) and forest red-tailed black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus banksii naso) are threatened parrot species endemic to south-western Australia. Behavioural monitoring has previously involved direct observation, which has proven challenging because of their cryptic nature, the type of habitat they move through and their speed

Context: Long-term changes in the breeding phenology of bird communities have been widely studied. For many species, breeding appears to be starting earlier as temperatures increase. For south-eastern Australia, such a trend has not so far been demonstrated. Aims: The aim was to determine how the date of laying of the first egg (FE; for sedentary species) or arrival times (for migratory species) responded

Context: Mustering (gathering) feral horses (Equus ferus caballus) often cause mortalities, yet cause-specific details are lacking. Aims: Given the need to optimise horse welfare, we analysed public horse muster data from the USA to understand specific causes of mortalities. Methods: We coded 393 individual horse mortality reports for 92 cause-specific mortality terms (keywords informing the deciphering

Context: Dogs are increasingly being used in conservation work to collect information on species abundance, distribution, occupancy and other biological measures. Monitoring feral cats through the use of detection dogs could provide a useful technique to complement existing feral cat survey and control methods. Aim: To demonstrate and quantify the ability of trained detection dogs to reliably and efficiently

Context: Invasive species are a major cause of biodiversity loss across much of the world, and a key threat to Australia’s diverse reptile fauna. There has been no previous comprehensive analysis of the potential impact of the introduced European red fox, Vulpes vulpes, on Australian reptiles. Aims: We seek to provide an inventory of all Australian reptile species known to be consumed by the fox, and

Context: Invasive predators are a key threat to biodiversity worldwide. In Australia, feral cats are likely to be responsible for many extinctions of native mammal species in the south and centre of the continent. Aims: Here we examine the effect of feral cats on native rodent populations in the second of two translocation experiments. Methods: In a wild-to-wild translocation, we introduced pale field

Context: Wildlife surveys often rely on a single live-capture technique to sample animal populations. Yet, animal personality (e.g. bold vs shy) can drive heterogeneity in capture probability, leading to biased sampling during live-capture trapping surveys. Aims: We tested whether a personality-related capture bias is similar between two live-capture techniques, or whether techniques with different

Context: West African crocodylian populations are declining and in need of conservation action. Surveys and other monitoring methods are critical components of crocodile conservation programs; however, surveys are often hindered by logistical, financial and detectability constraints. Increasingly used in wildlife monitoring programs, drones can enhance monitoring and conservation efficacy. Aims: This

Context: Baleen whale calves rapidly increase in size and improve locomotion abilities, while on their low-latitude breeding ground, allowing them to undertake a successful migration to high-latitude feeding grounds. Aims: We investigated energy expenditure and resting behaviour of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) mother–calf pairs in regard to changes in calf length on an undisturbed breeding/resting

Context: Unmanned aerial vehicles or drones are powerful tools for wildlife research. Identifying the impacts of these systems on target species during operations is essential to reduce risks of disturbance to wildlife, to minimise bias in behavioural data, and to establish better practices for their use. Aims: We evaluated the responses of captive Antillean manatees to the overhead flight of a small

Context: Mammal–seed interactions are important for structuring vegetation communities across a diverse range of ecosystems worldwide. In Australia, mammals are typically considered to be seed predators and to play insignificant roles in seed dispersal. However, very few studies have investigated endozoochorous seed dispersal in Australian species. The translocation of Australian mammals for the purposes

Context: The development of reliable and cost-efficient survey techniques is key to the monitoring of all wildlife. One group of species that presents particular challenges for monitoring is the arboreal mammals. Traditional techniques for detecting these species often yield low detection probabilities (detectability) and are time-consuming, suggesting the potential for novel methods to enhance our

Context: Lethal control through the application of 1080 baits is widely used in Australia to manage the negative impacts of wild dogs (dingoes, wild domestic dogs and their hybrids) on cattle production, but its effectiveness in this regard is not well understood. Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of once yearly 1080 baiting on dingoes and its effects in mitigating predation and sublethal impacts on beef

Context: Line-transect sampling is considered to be a more efficient survey method than point-transect sampling to estimate population densities and abundance of many animal species. Aims: In the present study, we tested whether this claim holds true when surveying arboreal fast-moving primate species occurring at low densities, and whether the potential difference in efficiency can be explained by

Context: Fire management advice for fauna conservation in protected areas must often be based on expert opinion and extrapolation from very few scientific studies. More monitoring and research are needed to better inform land managers tasked with both managing for biodiversity and managing the threat of bushfires. Aims: To document changes in the activity of native and introduced mammal species in

Context: The Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) has experienced range-wide declines and has been listed as Threatened by the USA Fish and Wildlife Service to receive protections under the USA Endangered Species Act. A draft Recovery Plan was recently completed. No seasonal habitat models have been developed for the small isolated populations. Aims: To develop a habitat suitability model that

Context: Hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are conservation-dependent species in many areas of the world. A key component to ensuring successful conservation initiatives for the species is understanding their distribution and habitat use, in particular, knowing the nesting sites, migration routes and foraging areas for each genetic stock, and how these might overlap with threats. Aims:

Context: The pale field-rat (Rattus tunneyi) is a small native rat that formerly had a wide distribution throughout Australia. It has suffered substantial range contraction since European settlement and is now largely absent from arid and semiarid Australia. In this biome, it was known to persist only at two Western Australian locations: Edel Land, on the south-western shore of Shark Bay, and islands

Context: In central Queensland, Australia, the development of a coal-seam gas (CSG) industry is creating additional fragmentation of landscapes consisting of woodland and open forest that are already highly fragmented. Aims: To assess the response to fragmentation of Strophurus taenicauda (golden-tailed gecko). The species is ‘near threatened’ in Queensland. Methods: Occurrence and abundance were examined

Context: Mangroves and intertidal habitats have been identified as particularly challenging environments for bait application within both tropical and temperate environments, because bait applied to areas that are tidally inundated could degrade rapidly or become inaccessible to rats. Aims: To determine rat density, ranging behaviour and probability of detection using different monitoring devices;

Context: Human–elephant conflict (HEC) is a major threat to Asian elephants as humans and elephants are forced to share common resources. In Sri Lanka, human-dominated landscapes adjacent to protected areas promote high rates of HEC, especially in the form of crop-foraging by elephants. Crop-foraging can be dangerous to both elephants and humans involved in the conflict. Gunfire is a common way for

Several important techniques for managing wildlife rely on ballistics (the behaviour of projectiles), including killing techniques (shooting) as well as capture and marking methods (darting). Because all ballistic techniques have the capacity to harm animals, animal welfare is an important consideration. Standardised testing approaches that have allowed refinement for other physical killing and capture

Context: Forest harvest practices have the potential to alter habitat available to forest fauna. One aspect of harvesting practice that has received little research attention is the effect of multiple rotations on available habitat, and its use by fauna. Aims: We examined one component of habitat that is critical to many taxa, coarse woody debris (CWD). In forests of north-eastern New South Wales,

Context. Tree hollows are a key habitat resource for hollow-nesting species, including the northern Australian Gouldian finch (Erythrura gouldiae). Certain fire and disturbance regimes limit tree hollow availability in the northern Australian savannas. Aims. This study investigated the influence of fire regime and vegetation structure on the density of tree hollows at Gouldian finch breeding sites

Context: Species translocations are used in conservation globally. Although harvest for translocation may have negative impacts on source populations, translocation programs rarely explore ways of minimising those impacts. In fluctuating source populations, harvest timing may affect its impact because population size and trajectory vary among years. Aims: We explored whether the timing and scale of

Context: Some prey species can shift their daily activity patterns to reduce the risk of encountering predators, and, in turn, predators develop strategies to increase their chances of meeting prey. European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is a key species in Iberian Mediterranean ecosystems. It is the main prey for many vertebrate predators. It is also a game species and is often the target of management

The delimitation of evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) frequently results in controversy, but prioritising populations with evolutionary independence is essential for effective in situ conservation management. The American manatee (Trichechus manatus) is distributed along subtropical and tropical coastal waters from Florida (USA) to Alagoas (Brazil), and two subspecies are traditionally recognised

Context: A coyote-caused human fatality in Cape Breton Highlands National Park of Canada (CBHNPC) occurred in 2009. Because CBHNPC is federally protected, rangers have a limited number of management options for dealing with human–coyote conflict. The park initiated the present study to understand the publics’ acceptance of coyotes. Aims: This article examined relationships between each of four independent

Context: Road mitigation to reduce animal–vehicle collisions (AVCs) is usually based on analysis of road survey animal carcass data. This is used to identify road sections with high AVC clusters. Large mammals that are struck and die away from a road are not recorded nor considered in these analyses, reducing our understanding of the number of AVCs and the cost–benefit of road mitigation measures.

Context: Understanding what constitutes high-quality habitat for threatened species is critical for conservation management planning. The endangered northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) has experienced an uneven range contraction among habitat types. Once common across multiple habitats of northern mainland Australia, declining populations have now contracted to rocky escarpments. Aim: The island refuge

Citizen science initiatives and the data they produce are increasingly common in ecology, conservation and biodiversity monitoring. Although the quality of citizen science data has historically been questioned, biases can be detected and corrected for, allowing these data to become comparable in quality to professionally collected data. Consequently, citizen science is increasingly being integrated

Context: It is widely recognised that red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are abundant within urban areas; however, it is difficult to apply lethal control measures using poison baits in cities because of concerns about the safety of domestic pets, particularly dogs (Canis familiaris). Aims: We tested canid pest ejectors (CPEs) as a potential method of fox control by measuring visitation and activation behaviour

Context: Forest fire activity is expected to increase in many parts of the globe over the course of the 21st century, with corresponding potential for heightened levels of proximate and ultimate threats to avian diversity. Landscape-scale investigations of the responses of birds in locations where current extreme fire regimes represent those expected in the future provide opportunities to identify

Wildlife translocations are gaining acceptance as a valuable conservation tool for threatened Australian fauna. The 2019–2020 bushfire crisis has significantly affected koala habitat across four states, and translocations, when properly implemented, could facilitate the demographic and genetic recovery of affected populations. Current translocation policies lack an appropriate spatial framework to

Context: Most of the effort dedicated to the conservation of biodiversity in the European Union is applied through the establishment and maintenance of the Natura 2000 network, the world’s most extensive network of conservation areas. European Member State must actively manage these sites and report the state of the species listed in the Annexes of the Habitat and Birds Directives. Fulfilling these

Context: Bird–aircraft collisions impose an economic cost and safety risk, yet ecological studies that inform bird hazard management are few, and to date no study has formally compared species’ strike profiles across airports. In response to strike risks, airports have implemented customised management on an airport-by-airport basis, based on the assumption that strike risk stems from prevailing local

Context: Over the past decade, the coastal waters off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, have emerged as the only known aggregation site for the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) in the western North Atlantic. During periods of seasonal residency, white sharks patrol the shoreline in search of pinniped prey, bringing them in close proximity to popular beaches where people recreate. Aim: To examine whether

Context: Determining the most efficient detection method for a target species is key for successful wildlife monitoring and management. Driven transects and sign surveys are commonly used to monitor populations of the endangered numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus). Camera trapping is being explored as a new method. These methods were unevaluated for efficacy and cost for numbat detection. Aims: To compare

Context: The introduced house mouse (Mus domesticus) causes significant economic damage to Australia’s agricultural enterprises. As part of the Marna Banggara Rewilding Project on the southern Yorke Peninsula (SYP), the present study focused on the eastern barn owl (Tyto alba delicatula) as a potential bio-controller of mice, by providing nesting spaces where natural hollows are limited. Aims: To design

Context: Tree squirrels disappear when forests are clearcut. The American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) and northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) may occupy retention forest patches on new clearcuts, but with conflicting results with respect to area, isolation, and edge effects of patches. Aims: We tested the hypothesis that abundance, reproduction and body mass of T. hudsonicus and

Context: Capture, measurement, genetic sampling, ringing and flagging of shorebirds on their nests are standard techniques that underpin the study and conservation of these species. However, these techniques may reduce hatching success by compromising parental care or nest crypsis, thereby negatively influencing results, study populations and bird welfare. Only a few studies that examine the effect

Context: Urbanisation and human population growth can generate conflicts, threatening biodiversity. Resource availability and vegetation complexity owing to human influence may increase the potential that a habitat would lose its species. Conservation biology aims to understand how to soften human influence and maintain viable in situ populations. Aims: We evaluated the non-volant mammal’s richness

Context: Wildlife detection dogs have been used globally in environmental monitoring. However, their effectiveness in the Australian context has been only minimally researched. Increased understanding of detection dog accuracy and efficacy is required for their inclusion in survey guidelines used by proponents of referred actions potentially impacting Australia’s threatened mammals. Evaluation of new

Context: The Cerrado is a Global Biodiversity Hotspot as well as Brazil’s main frontier for large-scale agriculture and livestock production, making it one of the most threatened biomes in the country. Brazil is one of the biggest consumers of pesticides in the world and allows the use of chemicals that are banned in many other countries due to their adverse health effects in a wide range of species

Context: Outside its breeding season, the marsupial carnivore the spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) is apparently largely unaffected by aerial baiting for dingoes and other wild dogs (Canis familiaris). However, the potential impact of aerial baiting during spring on female spotted-tailed quolls carrying and weaning young remains unquantified. Aim: The survivorship of female quolls and their

Context. The ranges of many small, at-risk felid species occur almost entirely in unprotected areas, where research efforts are minimal; hence data on their density and activity patterns are scare. Aims. We estimated density and activity patterns of Pallas’s cats on unprotected lands in central Mongolia during two periods (May–August and September–November) in 2019. Methods. We used spatially explicit

Abstract Context Damage to harvest storage systems by mammals and associated postharvest losses generate human–wildlife conflicts. Silo bags have been widely adopted worldwide as a type of temporary harvest storage for agricultural crops. The basis of silo-bag technology is the hermetic condition of the plastic lining. Breaks in this silo-bag lining by mammals generate damage of stored content and

Abstract Context Green sea turtles are threatened by exploitation for food and medicine markets, with Asian populations facing the heaviest pressures. Sea turtle confiscations that happen out at sea can give a general area that poachers are targeting, but it can be difficult to determine the impact on specific nesting rookeries. Previous studies circumvented this difficulty by using genetic markers

Abstract Context Feral goats (Capra hircus) are a significant pest species throughout southern Australia. They threaten rare plants, contribute to soil erosion, compete with domestic stock, and are implicated in the decline of several native herbivores. Feral goats are a declared pest and control is often implemented. Aims We fitted feral goats with GPS collars in semiarid South Australia to determine

Context: Management of human–wildlife conflicts is of critical importance for both wildlife conservation and agricultural production. Population models are commonly used to simulate population dynamics and their responses to management actions. However, it is essential that this class of models captures the drivers and mechanisms necessary to reliably forecast future system dynamics. Aims: We aimed

Abstract Context In many countries, annual wolf surveys based on snow-track counts have become unreliable because of inconsistent snow coverage. We considered incidental observations by volunteers throughout the year as an alternative monitoring protocol. Aims We recruited interested citizens throughout Lithuania, including hunters, foresters and farmers, to estimate wolf distribution, abundance, pack

Abstract Context Developing a new tool for wide-scale rat eradication is necessary for significant biodiversity gains. Underlying beliefs linked to public opinion can help guide policy makers to understand public concern and inform an effective discourse. Aims We investigated underlying beliefs linked to levels of support for a potentially disruptive tool, gene drive, compared with a traditional stepwise

Abstract Context In recent years, multiple computer algorithms, which allow us to perform photographic capture–recapture analysis, have been developed. Their massive application, also in wildlife demographic and ecological studies, is largely due to the fact that these tools are non-invasive and non-expensive. To maximise the performance of these programs, it is essential to have a good photo-standardisation

Abstract Context The Baudin’s cockatoo is one of three black cockatoo species endemic to Western Australia and is listed as Endangered by state and federal governments. Although there is a Recovery Plan in place for this species, conservation efforts are hindered by gaps in knowledge regarding the species movement ecology. Aims To identify key foraging and roosting habitat for Baudin’s cockatoos and