We studied two groups of koalas during a drought in central Queensland to investigate potential impacts of climatic variability on the physiology and behaviour of this species. The tree use, water turnover, field metabolic rate and diet of koalas during autumn and spring were compared to a similar study of koalas in summer and winter, also in central Queensland, to generate a seasonal picture of the response of koalas to climatic variation. We also compared the microclimate temperature of a range of food and non-food tree species against daily ambient temperatures, to examine the benefit to koalas of using of non-food species. Field metabolic rate, adjusted for body mass, was significantly higher in spring than autumn and there was no difference between males and females. Neither females with pouch young nor those with back young had significantly different FMR to that of females without young, confirming that koalas may compartmentalize energy demands during lactation. Estimations of theoretical water influx, determined from FMR of koalas, were generally lower than water flux determined by tritiated water turnover. This mismatch could indicate that koalas are able to modify their assimilation of energy from browse in order to maximize water intake. Temperature was generally lower in non-food trees used by koalas in daytime than in the food trees, which were generally used at night. Leaf moisture may influence tree selection during periods of extremely high or low temperature, but the physical attributes of trees, such as their capacity to “buffer” koalas against extremes of ambient temperature, appear to be important to selection by koalas. We conclude that koalas adapt their behaviour, using shady trees during the day, but might also employ physiological adaptations, to access sufficient water for evaporative cooling during periods of hot, dry weather.

ABSTRACT Habitat and landscape gradients can provide insight on how vegetation pattern influence the composition and species turnover in birds. Gradients on mountainsides are particularly suitable as the vegetation can be distinctly stratified. On the western fall of the Australian wet tropics, the vegetation traverses through tropical savanna into tropical rainforest over a relatively short distance. We investigated bird richness and abundance in this transition. Seventeen sites were sampled from lowland (350 m) to upland (1000 m) locations, comprising six zones. Birds were sampled four times between 2006–2007. 125 species of birds representing 38 families were recorded. The pattern of abundance and richness along this gradient was characterised by second-order polynomial relationships. The nadir was where change in vegetation was most rapid; low open woodlands to dry open forest, between 500 and 800 m. We conclude that the avifauna assemblage we recorded along the gradient represents predominantly a woodland bird community that drifts upslope, an upland rainforest community that extends into adjacent tall forests, and an intermediate zone comprising a subset of the two communities. Very few species were ubiquitous. We conclude these intermediate zones may be important linking areas and habitat as climate change continues.

Twenty-one surveys have been conducted using a Cessna 182 in the pastoral zone of South Australia, covering the twenty year period 1978 to 1998, flying the same transacts and using the same method. Considerable attention has been given to observer training and the turnover rate of observers has been low. The same pilot has flown all surveys. The pastoral zone is bounded in the north and west by a dingo-proof fence. Large lakes and areas of terrain above 2000 ft elevation (notably the Flinders Ranges) were excluded from the survey, leaving a surveyed area of approximately 207 000 km 2 . Surveys are conducted each year in July/August, with morning and afternoon survey sessions. Transects run east/west and are 15 nautical miles (28 km) apart. The method has followed what has become the standard for fixed-wing surveys: a height of 250 ft (76m) above ground (AGL), a ground speed of 100 knots (185 km h -1 ), 5 km unit lengths (97 sec.) with a 7 sec. pause between each and animals counted in 200 m wide strips each side of the aircraft, demarcated by streamers attached to the wing struts. A radar altimeter is used to maintain height above the terrain and, since 1989, a global positioning system has been used to ensure adherence to the transact and to maintain the required groundspeed. Red kangaroos, western grey kangaroos, common waflaroos, emus and goats are counted and other macro fauna noted (camels, horses, dingoes, ostriches, etc.). Standard correction factors have been applied throughout, except that, in the present paper, the data are recalculated to reflect the outcomes of this workshop concerning a move to modified correction factors. The results have highlighted the responsiveness of kangaroo populations to rainfall and pasture availability. There has been a statistically significant long-term trend towards higher numbers of western grey kangaroos in the study area, and a similar trend in reds since the end of the 198211983 drought. Over the 20 years, however, there has been no statistically significant trend to either higher or lower numbers of red kangaroos. Some analyses of the data obtained by aerial survey have already been presented and, in due course, further analyses will be presented elsewhere. Importantly, the results provide a useful demonstration that long-term harvesting can be carried out without detriment to the populations.

ABSTRACT Long-term ecological research and monitoring is a critical activity that has multiple important values for research, policy and management. Yet long-term studies are not particularly common. A range of factors contributes to this relative rarity and make it hard to establish (and then even harder to maintain) long-term ecological research and monitoring. These factors include: (1) a focus on novelty in science publication and awarding of grants that disadvantages long-term studies, (2) a paucity of long-term funding, (3) a bias against the publication of place-based research in favour of short-term “newsy” articles, global syntheses and meta-analyses, (4) a loss of people with natural history skills but a concurrent increase in modellers, (5) a trend away from evidence-based management acting as a disincentive to undertake long-term research, and (6) a focus on funding equipment rather than people (who are actually the critical “infrastructure” for maintaining on-the-ground research). Those with interests in maintaining long-term research must work hard to push back against these and other problems. In particular, it will be important to more clearly and forcefully demonstrate the many values of long-term research and monitoring by highlighting both its management-relevance and policy-relevance, and ensuring that long-term data are fundamental planks in initiatives like State of Environment reporting. More effort also will be needed to overturn some of the current flaws in science culture that hinder long-term ecological research and monitoring and, at the same time, develop and then strongly advocate for innovative funding models to ensure the maintenance of existing programs and the establishment of new long-term studies.

ABSTRACT Australian mammals have been subject to a range of threats that have contributed to species declines and extinctions since European settlement. Invasive predators, namely the European Red Fox Vulpes vulpes and the feral Cat Felis catus , are particularly detrimental to small to medium–sized terrestrial mammals. Suppression of these predators is critical to the persistence of many native species. However, few broad–scale fox baiting programs exist in Australia and the efficacy of cat control measures is extremely limited. One of the most successful approaches to safeguarding threatened species from these impacts is the establishment of predator–exclusion areas; offshore islands or mainland ‘islands’ protected by predator–proof fencing. The Australian Wildlife Conservancy is a not–for–profit private conservation organisation that has established several predator–free ‘islands’ for conservation purposes. This brief summary of the work undertaken in these predator–proof reserves highlights how threatened species can persist and even thrive when foxes and cats are excluded, with examples from the Bridled Nailtail Wallaby Onychogalea fraenata , Burrowing Bettong Bettongia lesueur and Bilby Macrotis lagotis .

The greater bilby Macrotis lagotis once occupied about 70% of the Australian mainland but is now restricted in occurrence to just 20% of its former range. It is classified as Extinct in New South Wales. We assessed the major components of the diet of a recently re-introduced population of bilbies at Scotia Sanctuary, in western New South Wales, from faecal material collected over a period of 13 months. Animals consumed more invertebrates than green plant material and seeds throughout the study, although there was temporal variation in the presence of these food categories. Five orders of invertebrates were identified, with Coleoptera (beetles) occurring in more than 80% of faecal samples and Isoptera (termites) and Formicidae (ants) in 48% and 40%, respectively. These results identify key components of the diet of the first population of bilbies in New South Wales since the early 20 th century and, combined with detailed studies of habitat requirements and prey abundance, should assist with selection of additional sites to expand the distribution of this iconic species further in future.

ABSTRACT Many species of arboreal marsupials move regularly between den sites in hollow-bearing trees. We show, based on short-term radio-tracking data, that the Critically Endangered Leadbeater's Possum ( Gymnobelideus leadbeateri ) can move 100 m (and sometimes up to 600 m) between den sites in hollow-bearing trees. These movement data have significant implications for the design of buffers of unlogged forest to protect colonies of Leadbeater's Possum as well as for crude estimates of the species' population size.

ABSTRACT Infrared cameras are now used universally to study wildlife. In this study camera traps were used to report the use of bare-nosed wombat Vombatus ursinus burrows by other species. Eleven species were captured using camera traps. The species observed utilising wombat burrows included wombats, rabbits, macropods, possums, murids, foxes, cats and birds. The utilisation of wombat burrows by these species included entry into the burrow for shelter and hunting, and exploitation of the burrow entrance and spoil for foraging and potentially geophagic purposes.

This paper explores the question of why the endangered Spotted-tailed Quoll Dasyurus maculatus remains abundant in parts of north-eastern New South Wales, while populations in many other areas have declined or disappeared. Based on a two-year field study of a high-density population, we discuss a number of possible explanations for this pattern. These include high availability of prey (in particular, arboreal mammals), quality and spatial extent of habitat, low density of competitors, and relatively small home range sizes of females compared to those in other areas. We emphasise the importance of maintaining high densities of hollow-bearing trees, which probably help to support prey populations. Managers should also seek to maintain an abundance of fallen timber, which provides shelter and movement pathways for quolls. We hypothesise that the low density of foxes in our study area, along with the large expanse of relatively undisturbed habitat, most likely explains the high abundance of D. maculatus . However, experiments are required. Fox removal experiments should be conducted as a matter of highest priority, and should seek to measure the response of quolls to the removal of foxes at least at the individual level and preferably also at the population level.

The woodlands of southern Australia have been extensively cleared for agriculture. The loss and fragmentation of the native vegetation has been followed by dramatic declines in woodland-dependant species. Here we present data from the Central Western Plains of New South Wales on the occurrence of birds in woodlands that have been highly fragmented and structurally altered over the last 150 years. The species composition of the region is still very similar to that recorded 3 decades earlier but many small insectivorous and nectivorous woodland birds are rare and restricted, while the woodland patches and remnant tree groves in the landscape are now dominated by the Galah, Noisy Miner, Australian Magpie, Crested Pigeon, Apostlebird, Magpie-lark, Grey-crowned Babbler, Australian Raven, Eastern Rosella and Pied Butcherbird.

Trpor is the most effective means for energy conservation available to mammals and is characterized by substantial reductions in body temperature (T b ) and metabolic rate (MR). Most Australian terrestrial mammals are small with high mass-specific energy requirements and, although it is widely believed that torpor is not needed in a ‘warm’ country like Australia, a large number of species are heterothermic (i.e. capable of changing T b , in contrast to homeothermic mammals with a constant high T b ). These heterothermic species (estimated >43% of terrestrial Australian native mammals) employ periods of daily torpor or prolonged multi-day torpor (hibernation) to conserve energy. Daily torpor is used by dasyurids (e.g. dunnarts, antechinus, quolls), myrmecobiids (numbat), tarsipedids (honey-possum), petaurid possums (e.g. sugar glider), rodents (but only known in the introduced house mouse), and small megabats (blossom-bats). During daily torpor, T b is reduced from ~35°C during the active or normothermic phase to ~I0-25°C during torpor, and the torpor MR (TMR) is ~30% of the basal metabolic rate (BMR). Daily torpor is often, but not exclusively, used during the rest phase and, between bouts of torpor, animals usually forage and feed. Recent evidence shows that free-ranging arid zone dasyurids may employ daily torpor on every day in winter and that torpor may last twice as long as in captivity (often up to around 20 hours), which will reduce energy expenditure and thereby food requirements by up to 80%. Hibernation or prolonged torpor has been observed in the Monotremes (echidna), marsupials (pygmy-possums and feathertail glider) and insectivorous bats (e.g. long-eared bats). During prolonged torpor, which often, but not exclusively, is expressed in winter, T b is usually reduced to a minimum of ~0-10°C, and torpor bouts may last for several days or weeks, but in all species periodic arousals with brief normothermic periods (hours) between bouts of torpor have been observed. The TMR during hibernation is extremely low and can be as little as 1 -5% of the BMR; daily energy expenditure can be reduced to only 3% of that in active individuals permitting survival on stored body fat for months without the need to feed. Daily and prolonged torpor in many Australian mammals appear to be opportunistic and not only important for survival of adverse seasonal conditions, but apparently also for dealing with unpredictable events such as droughts and perhaps fires and floods. As torpor substantially reduces energy requirements its use will in turn reduce the need for foraging and consequently exposure to predators. Predator avoidance by employing torpor and minimising foraging may be one of the reasons why none of the known heterothermic Australian species has gone extinct. In contrast many of the similar-sized perceived homeothermic species, such as rodents and bandicoots, have suffered high rates of extinction possibly because they must forage long and frequently to meet large energetic demands and thus are more vulnerable to predation by introduced foxes and cats.

ABSTRACT Urbanisation is altering local flora and fauna, but urban greenspaces can provide refugia for a variety of taxa. However, we often lack basic biodiversity information (e.g., species richness) for these urban greenspaces. Citizen science projects are continuously improving our understanding of ecology at broad temporal and spatial scales. But, many conservation-relevant decisions are idiosyncratic and made at small management scales (e.g., local government). Given a general bias of citizen science data towards areas with large human populations, citizen scientists are best placed to contribute to improving our understanding of the biodiversity within cities and urban greenspaces. We introduce the Greenspace Bird Calculator: a web-app aimed at enhancing our collective knowledge of bird diversity in urban greenspaces. Users of the web-app could be land managers seeking to understand the bird diversity in the greenspaces they manage. It is built in a reproducible workflow, allowing anyone to delineate a greenspace and submit it to the web-app administrator, receiving an output comprising the greenspace’s total bird diversity. The Greenspace Bird Calculator web-app provides an automated tool to utilise existing eBird citizen science data to calculate species richness for urban greenspaces globally. Critically, the GBC web-app statistically assesses available data that otherwise would be unlikely to be considered by decision-makers. This web-app is an example of the evolution of citizen science, whereby the data collected has been analysed to allow accessible interpretation and inclusion into urban greenspace management and planning.

The Long-nosed Potoroo Potorous tridactylus tridactylus has declined substantially on the far north coast of New South Wales. In this study, the known and potential habitat of the Long-nosed Potoroo on the coastal sandplain in the region is mapped in detail for the first time. A total of 3,613 ha of potential habitat is distributed in 10 areas from 24 ha to 1,423 ha in size. Heathy Scribbly Gum Eucalyptus signata woodland was considered to be particularly significant habitat in the region. While there is evidence that eight of the areas mapped once supported potoroos, their presence has only been confirmed in four of them since 2000. Targeted survey at known sites where the Long-nosed Potoroo has not been recently confirmed is urgently required, as well as a thorough reassessment of its conservation status in the region. Ecological research into threats and food preferences, and implementation of targeted conservation management actions is also needed.

Over the last 50 years major areas of bird habitat have been lost from the County of Cumberland. Included are the major saltmarshes and freshwater swamps from the western side of Botany Bay; the tall forests of the Upper North Shore and the woodlands of the Cumberland Plain between Parramatta and the Nepean. With this, major components of the former Sydney avifauna have become rare and at least eight species have been eliminated from the County as breeding species. Analyses are made of the avifaunas of these habitats as they existed in the 1930s and 1940s. It is confirmed that immediately a habitat goes so does the species dependent on it. Only one-third of the 108 forest and woodland species discussed occur in multiple habitats and hence are well insulated against change. The use of progressively degraded habitats is explored and it is found that only a very few species can persist once the process starts. It is strongly argued that the key to understanding ecosystems and the biology and ecology of species is research: only when we understand how they operate, and their needs, can we minimize the impact and predict the impact of changes. An extensive segment of the article is devoted to painting a word picture of habitats, familiar to the writer in the 1930s and 1940s, that are now extinct.

Increasingly our environment is impacted by anthropogenic activities, yet the study of whole animal biology is a neglected field of education together with a lack of support for systematic biology. The consequences of this lack of instruction and the environmental awareness it engenders is discussed both for the current and future generations of students. Suggestions are given as to how to reverse this situation and to change the attitude of academics responsible for developing course work to include the study of whole animal biology and systematics and the importance of senior scientists mentoring the next generation.

Phosphate compounds in the red blood cells of vertebrates play an important role in modulating haemoglobin function whereby tissue oxygenation is maintained despite changes in both environmental oxygen supply and metabolic demand. Three examples from Gordon Grigg's work on aquatic ectotherms illustrate how our thinking has developed in terms of adaptive responses to seasonal temperature changes, environmental hypoxia, and ontogeny.