Mammal declines in northern Australia: science for conservation and recovery. Australia’s unique mammal fauna is a rich biological heritage for the nation. It provides a wealth of ecosystem services, and many mammal species have special cultural or aesthetic value. However, our mammals are sadly depleted, and we already have the worst record of recent mammal extinction of any nation. Preventing further mammal extinctions, and managing environments to allow declined mammals to recover, will be of ....Mammal declines in northern Australia: science for conservation and recovery. Australia’s unique mammal fauna is a rich biological heritage for the nation. It provides a wealth of ecosystem services, and many mammal species have special cultural or aesthetic value. However, our mammals are sadly depleted, and we already have the worst record of recent mammal extinction of any nation. Preventing further mammal extinctions, and managing environments to allow declined mammals to recover, will be of great benefit to Australian biodiversity and to the ecosystem processes and human values that depend on it.Read moreRead less
Conservation management of seed-eating birds in the tropical savannas. Biodiversity loss in the savannas indicates unsustainable management. This research will enhance our abilities to effectively manage Australia's tropical savannas, as well as contributing to several State and Territory, Commonwealth and international obligations to maintain biodiversity. Understanding the processes underlying current declines will also make the effects of future management or environment changes easier to pre ....Conservation management of seed-eating birds in the tropical savannas. Biodiversity loss in the savannas indicates unsustainable management. This research will enhance our abilities to effectively manage Australia's tropical savannas, as well as contributing to several State and Territory, Commonwealth and international obligations to maintain biodiversity. Understanding the processes underlying current declines will also make the effects of future management or environment changes easier to predict. Retaining threatened species can benefit remote and regional communities through tourism, and also through the extra employment required to implement the management prescriptions that will be developed from this research.Read moreRead less
Movement ecology of granivores: informing fire management of savannas. This project aims to examine the decline in granivorous finches across north Australia and test the hypothesis that an increasingly nomadic lifestyle, associated with tracking grass seed availability over larger spatial scales, is the cause. The project also aims to evaluate how fire affects rangeland functioning, particularly grass diversity, to improve fire management of tropical savannas in northern Australia. This project ....Movement ecology of granivores: informing fire management of savannas. This project aims to examine the decline in granivorous finches across north Australia and test the hypothesis that an increasingly nomadic lifestyle, associated with tracking grass seed availability over larger spatial scales, is the cause. The project also aims to evaluate how fire affects rangeland functioning, particularly grass diversity, to improve fire management of tropical savannas in northern Australia. This project will provide new tools and technologies that will monitor mobile small vertebrates. Expected outcomes will improve the understanding of tropical savanna functioning and fire management. The research aligns with ‘savanna burning’ methodologies and carbon sequestration goals in north Australia.
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Surviving in a toad-colonised landscape: manipulating predator behaviour to reduce the impact of the cane toad invasion. Invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity; and within Australia, cane toads are widely viewed as one of the biggest such problems. Vigorous attempts at toad control have failed to slow the invasion front, and toads are now entering the Kimberley region. If we can’t stop the toads, are there other ways to reduce the numbers of native predators killed by eating thes ....Surviving in a toad-colonised landscape: manipulating predator behaviour to reduce the impact of the cane toad invasion. Invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity; and within Australia, cane toads are widely viewed as one of the biggest such problems. Vigorous attempts at toad control have failed to slow the invasion front, and toads are now entering the Kimberley region. If we can’t stop the toads, are there other ways to reduce the numbers of native predators killed by eating these poisonous invaders? Predators given nausea-inducing chemicals with their first toad meal rapidly learn to avoid cane toads as prey, enabling them to survive even where toads are present. The study will develop those methods for several vulnerable native species, including techniques for deployment of aversion-inducing baits in advance of the toad invasion.Read moreRead less
Cane toads in southern Australia: invasion dynamics and options for control. This project aims to investigate the spread of cane toads through southern Australia, an invasion front that has attracted far less research than the same species’ expansion through tropical regions, even though toads severely impact native wildlife in both areas. This project expects to generate new knowledge to determine why the rate of toad invasion is so much slower in New South Wales than in the tropics, and how be ....Cane toads in southern Australia: invasion dynamics and options for control. This project aims to investigate the spread of cane toads through southern Australia, an invasion front that has attracted far less research than the same species’ expansion through tropical regions, even though toads severely impact native wildlife in both areas. This project expects to generate new knowledge to determine why the rate of toad invasion is so much slower in New South Wales than in the tropics, and how best to modify newly-developed approaches to toad control to the conditions in southern Australia. Expected outcomes include predicting future trajectories of expansion, and identifying optimal approaches to toad control and impact mitigation. This should provide significant benefits for biodiversity conservation.Read moreRead less