This review examines the ecological effects of roads and utility corridors such as powerlines, pipelines, canals and railway lines on undisturbed habitat and native wildlife. Public concern about roads in natural areas is increasing, as shown by the public protests against forest roads in the Central Highlands of Victoria and the National Estate areas in the south-east forests of New South Wales. The Daintree Read through Queensland's tropical rainforest created an international protest and remains Australia's most notorious road. The original Very Fast Train (VFT) proposal favoured a route which would have divided the two major wilderness areas of the Gippsland forests in Victoria by creating a fenced impenetrable barrier to some wildlife. Planning authorities need to address the impacts of fragmentation of natural habitats by such developments. Although it is difficult to draw conclusions from a comparison of studies covering different countries, species and habitats, areas of concern for wildlife conservation and management emerge, including increased mortality, divided populations and invasions of common species. There is a need for studies on the effects of these linear artifacts on Australian wildlife.

ABSTRACT There are 5.2 million hectares of public native forest within the coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approval (IFOA) regions in New South Wales on and east of the Great Dividing Range. 4.3 million hectares or 83% of these forests are set aside in formal or informal conservation reserves. State Forests which comprise 1.55 million hectares or 30% of the public estate within the coastal IFOA regions in New South Wales are managed for a variety of reasons including timber production, recreation, and conservation. While commonly associated with timber harvesting, 43% (675,717 hectares) of the native State forest estate is set aside for conservation in informal reserves. State forest conservation areas include formal Flora Reserves, and a suite of informal reserves including riparian protections, ridge and headwater connection, old growth patches, rare and non– commercial forest types, rainforest, heath, rock outcrops, steep slopes, wildlife corridors, large forest owl protection areas and species specific exclusion zones. These informal reserves receive legal protection via the State Forest Management Zones (FMZ) across the landscape. These informal reserves facilitate the movement of forest fauna and provide important habitat for a unique subset of species. When harvesting occurs in adjoining forest land the reserved areas provide refugia and opportunities from which re–colonisation can occur. Additionally and importantly, the juxtaposition of the undisturbed forest in informal reserves and open areas created by harvest operations creates an ecotone and a variety of successional forest habitats. In addition to describing the current extent of these areas in State Forests in eastern NSW, we reviewed research that assessed their effectiveness as a complementary conservation measure to formal Reserves. Our review indicates that there is a considerable body of knowledge supporting their effectiveness at the local level. To date, however, there has been limited investment in extending and testing these findings more broadly across the landscape. The current forestry regulatory framework is a mix of broad landscape exclusions, general protective conditions implemented routinely regardless of the result of biodiversity surveys and also the option of implementing a condition in lieu of survey, but relies heavily on localised pre– harvesting surveys of threatened species. The costly nature of these surveys and the requirement for these surveys to comply with licence conditions, however, limits the ability to undertake post– harvest surveys or monitoring on a broader scale with available resources. A new model is currently being developed whereby minimum standards are set for informal reserves across the landscape, in conjunction with local scale protection of key habitat features. The new direction has arisen from recognition that effective biodiversity conservation demands a holistic approach. However, the effectiveness of this approach and proposed retention thresholds needs to be rigorously monitored. This would require transferring effort from pre–harvest surveys towards monitoring occupancy trends and status of biodiversity over time.

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

ABSTRACT The invasive Red-eared Slider Trachemys scripta elegans has spread extensively, forming naturalised populations on all continents except Antarctica. Ranked among the 100 worst invasive species, there are biosecurity concerns that native turtles become outcompeted and displaced, as well as other speculative impacts. The actual ecological impacts in Australia have not been properly studied, however impacts shown in other countries are concerning. Incursions have presented in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. A number of sightings have been reported from southern Sydney, including six sites where more than one slider has persisted. The incursions at Yeramba Lagoon in the Georges River National Park and the Centennial Parklands have been the most documented, whereas incursions in the Lime Kiln Bay Wetland, Rockdale Wetlands Corridor and Audley in the Royal National Park appear to have occurred recently. To date, breeding in southern Sydney has only been confirmed at Yeramba Lagoon. A range of removal techniques have been successfully applied to eradicate isolated incursions in Brisbane and Melbourne. However, these options are difficult to implement in southern Sydney sites where incursions occur in high visitation public lands.

ABSTRACT Australian anurans generally display little prey specialisation. Most data available of frog diet is limited to stomach content and faecal analysis with few direct observations of prey capture. Limited information is available on the diet of adult Giant Barred Frogs Mixophyes iteratus . In this paper I report on several observations of M. iteratus feeding on a variety of prey from various taxa. These observations suggest that M. iteratus are opportunistic, ambush predators with a broad diet. Their morphology and hunting behaviour align with existing models of amphibian foraging patterns.

ABSTRACT Cost-effective surveys of low density koala populations are challenging, but technological developments in the acoustics field offer great potential for landscape-scale surveys and monitoring. We assessed passive acoustic recording coupled with automated call identification as a survey method for koalas Phascolarctos cinereus . Surveys targeted areas of previously known koala activity based on scat surveys in southern forests of New South Wales where a low density of koalas is suspected. We set 24 Song Meters to record at night over a two week period (~3,696 hours) in the koala breeding season (October/November) in Murrah Flora Reserve. Recordings were scanned by a koala call recogniser and “matches” were manually verified. Across the 24 sites, 522 validated koala bellows were recorded at 21 sites (87.5 % detection rate). Three environmental variables had most influence on detection probability of koalas, including nightly rainfall (-ve), nightly temperature (-ve) and topographic position (lower on ridges). Calling activity peaked at midnight. Sustained site occupancy, at least in the short-term, was apparent as under optimal conditions (no rain) koalas were recorded, on average, for > 50 % of survey nights rather than for just a few nights. We suggest that only a modest survey effort (4–5 nights) in the breeding season, on nights with < 3 mm of rain, is required to achieve 90–95 % probability of koala call detection in an area of low koala density. Comparison with scat surveys at the same sites revealed that detection rates were more than three times greater with acoustic surveys. Technological advances will continue to provide improvements for wildlife survey, and perhaps most importantly, for collecting much needed long-term data to assess trends in occupancy or other population attributes over time.

ABSTRACT The Pygmy Copperhead Austrelaps labialis is South Australia’s only endemic snake, being native to the Adelaide Mount Lofty Ranges and Fleurieu Peninsula; with an additional allopatric population on Kangaroo Island. Within the AMLR, it inhabits stringybark forests and adjacent dense vegetation, occupying a total area of ~150 km 2 . Here, we document a newly discovered and seemingly isolated population at the north-eastern extent of its known mainland distribution. We visited Lobethal Bushland Park from 2013–2018 and observed snakes of varying age and size, while documenting their ecology and behaviour. In late 2019, the site was decimated by catastrophic wildfire and its persistence here remains unknown. Alongside descriptions of our observations, we suggest measures for the conservation of this vulnerable population in its remnant habitat if it has survived the impacts of wildfire.

The foreshore of Sydney Harbour includes extensive areas of protected native bushland that are an iconic and world-renowned feature of the Sydney landscape. Despite this vegetative cover, however,native small mammals are uncommon and the bushland is dominated by introduced Black Rats Rattus rattus . In particular, the Bush Rat Rattus fuscipes is absent yet remains abundant in comparable habitats to the north and south of Sydney; the last record of the Bush Rat near Sydney Harbour is from 1901. In this paper we explore the idea that the arrival and spread of bubonic plague in the port City of Sydney between 1900 and 1910 was a primary cause of the extirpation of Bush Rats around the harbour foreshore. The plague killed 181 people in Sydney during three major outbreaks,and also killed hundreds of thousands of rats and 52 native Australian mammals in the Moore Park Zoo. The ensuing hysteria and fear of plague resulted in a determined campaign to rid Sydney of rats, including the introduction of a rat bounty. This campaign led to the culling of a further 100,000 rats, both native and introduced, including "bush rats". We suggest that Bush Rats were wiped out from the harbour foreshore by the direct effects of the plague and the indirect effects arising from rat persecution to prevent plague, making the arrival of bubonic plague in the 1900s a disaster for Sydney's foreshore wildlife. If this hypothesis is correct, then future attempts to restore Bush Rats to the harbour foreshore will not be hampered by the cause of their absence, as Australia is currently free from plague.

ABSTRACT Long-term monitoring of the Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae in a semi-urban landscape before, during and after large-scale habitat removal identified a positive response in breeding activity in the short-term and a change in prey selectivity. Over the longer term, the loss in habitat had a negative impact on site fidelity. A pair of Masked Owls exhibited high fidelity to a particular breeding territory before and during the removal of large areas of habitat within this territory. Breeding success occurred over two consecutive seasons during the removal of known habitat and other disturbance events at which time the pair and their offspring were observed to exploit disturbed habitat and newly created forest edges in search of prey. Breeding activity was supported by an increased dietary focus on introduced rodents and other mammals displaced during habitat clearing. Fidelity to the breeding territory became more irregular post-disturbance and after two years the territory appeared to be abandoned. This response may suggest that the cumulative loss of habitat for established pairs as a result of urban expansion is likely to adversely affect reproductive success and site fidelity in the longer term.

ABSTRACT Continuous fauna surveys have been conducted by the Frog and Tadpole Study Group of New South Wales Inc. (FATS) at Wallingat since 1994. Between 1983 and 1994 occasional surveys were carried out by the founding members of FATS. Unlike the early surveys, which were entirely opportunistic, FATS established a series of regular survey locations within Wallingat State Forest (SF) and these sites have been routinely surveyed twice a year since 1994. In addition, opportunistic surveys were also undertaken for other fauna. The data collected from these surveys were dutifully reported to the state government agencies, who recorded the wildlife data (now under the auspices of the Office of Environment and Heritage NSW). The fauna records supplied by FATS (and other natural history groups) documented a rich and diverse fauna in Wallingat SF that includes 26 frog species (including 1 threatened species), 40 reptile species (including 2 threatened species), 30 mammal species (including 6 threatened species) and over 100 bird species (including 5 threatened species). These data paved the way for the gazetting of 6,557 ha of Wallingat SF to become Wallingat National Park (NP). The justification for the creation of the national park was mostly due to the rich biodiversity and faunal significance demonstrated by the FATS' surveys (DECCW 2010). FATS continue to survey in Wallingat NP and to compile a record of changes in the frog communities over time.

ABSTRACT The majority of studies into the response of birds to logging in Australian forests has been done in forest-dominated landscapes or relatively large forest blocks, where the surrounding landscape can ameliorate impacts. This is the first study to examine the response of birds to logging of a small, relatively isolated woodland remnant in a landscape dominated by agriculture, with a focus on declining woodland birds. Approximately two thirds of a 120 ha cypress-eucalypt woodland remnant was selectively logged. Eighty bird species in total were recorded 2–3½ years after logging, including 18 recognised as declining woodland birds. Sixty-four species were recorded in the unlogged area and 72 in the logged area. Of the 31 species recorded sufficiently frequently for analysis, 19 showed no statistical difference in occurrence between logged and unlogged areas at the power of the study, nine were more prevalent in unlogged areas and three more prevalent in logged areas. Declining woodland birds comprised 22½% of overall species and 33% of those more prevalent in unlogged areas. Mapping of records enabled the response of a subset of species to be examined in greater detail. Four species illustrate the range of responses by declining woodland birds: Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis was confined to unlogged areas, White-browed Babbler Pomatostomus superciliosus favoured unlogged areas, Varied Sittella Daphoenositta chrysoptera favoured proximity to unlogged areas and Red-capped Robin Petroica goodenovii was widely distributed in both logged and unlogged areas. The likelihood of recovery of local woodland bird populations is discussed in the context of limited landscape connectivity and the recent colonisation of the remnant by the hyper-aggressive Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala . White-browed Babbler and Eastern Yellow Robin are considered to be at high risk of local extinction in the remnant.

This paper outlines the development in 2001 of a management policy for the Yellow-bellied Glider Petaurus australis in the Eurobodalla Shire in response to case studies conducted by the author for a development proposal. The proposal to clear habitat for a school indicated that significant impact on the Yellow-bellied Glider was likely after addressing the “eight part test” under section 5A of the NSW Environmental Planning & Assessment Act (1979). The subsequent Species Impact Statement placed the impacts of the development into a regional context in respect to the distribution of the glider and included an estimate of population size and identified a habitat corridor in the Broulee area. The local government then requested concurrence from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. A ‘condition of concurrence’ was that a policy be developed by the Local Government Authority to conserve Yellow-bellied Glider habitat in the Broulee subregion. The policy to conserve the Yellow-bellied Glider in the Broulee area identified a major limitation in the EP&A Act, that is, the failure to consider the cumulative impact of development.

ABSTRACT Surveys were conducted for the Giant Burrowing Frog Heleioporus australiacus within 50 km of Nowra, on the south coast of New South Wales using a variety of methods. Thirty-eight 250 m transects were surveyed at night for 30 min each and 0–12 adult frogs were detected during these searches. Additional diurnal searches for tadpoles proved to be the most efficient method to detect the species and locate breeding sites. Of 102 sites surveyed, fragmented populations were found at 27 by the presence of tadpoles and adult frogs. The vegetation at these sites was woodland and open forest with a dense shrublayer of heath, but was often ecotonal. Forty-six percent of the sites were within 100 m of cliff edges/waterfalls. The lithology of sites where the frog was found varied from Hawkesbury, Nowra and Snapper Point sandstones. The exception was a population south of Ulladulla that occurs on undifferentiated sediments, but at that site exposed sandstone and a sandy overlay was present. The location of tadpoles indicated that adults were highly selective of the section of drainage line used for breeding. Often these sites consisted of a few small pools in non-perennial creeks. Breeding behaviour was associated with late summer and autumn rain, but in some sites reproduction did not occur annually. Based on distribution and habitat preference, the region has five discrete populations. Urban development has fragmented populations.

ABSTRACT Food is central to our existence. We are keen to know about it as we are vulnerable to its lack. Biodiversity is directly affected by the human need for food. Foley, in a lead paper in National Geographic, identifies that agriculture accelerates the loss of biodiversity and that agriculture is a major driver of wildlife extinction. In the increasing concern for the animals raised and slaughtered for human food on an industrial scale, the question of the number of species, rather than the number of individuals, hardly ever enters the debate. Yet this is a point of considerable zoological interest. The lack of diversity of food options strikes a zoologist as basis for concern about how we can manage the future of our food supplies. Zooarchaeologist Juliet Clutton-Brock adds a new dimension to the debate by looking at the arrival of animals as domesticates. In Europe, she says, the driving force of domesticating animals for agriculture may have been the increasing human population. The grim story of famine in Ethiopia will repeat across the globe as the human population rises, and food crises will become the ethical flashpoint of a larger problem of too many people for the earth to sustain. We need to face the converse of the food shortage more squarely, and that is the issue of the overabundance of people. An underlying concern for zoologists is that the subject areas of zoology, such as species survival, ecosystem management and conserving biodiversity, are poorly covered, or not even mentioned, in so many writings on food, food ethics, agriculture and economic growth, yet zoology needs to be on the table at every discussion. The zoologist has been a missing voice and now must be heard.