Bush Heritage Australia

Context Conservation managers often have little information on distribution ranges and ecological characteristics of rare species, thereby hindering effective decision-making. This challenge is evident for arboreal mammals of northern Australia where species vary widely in abundance, are nocturnal and cryptic, and exhibit regionally divergent patterns of rarity and decline. Aims We compare (1) trapping niche, (2) denning and foraging niche and (3) vegetation habitat preferences to test for links between niche and rarity among arboreal species. Methods Survey data obtained using a variety of terrestrial and arboreal methods are used to define trapping niche, vegetation habitat preferences and abundance/distribution of arboreal mammal species in Western Australia’s northern Kimberley. Denning and foraging niche is defined based on available literature. Key results Based on combined niche observations, we suggest that arboreal denning species with a preference for open forest vegetation are the most prone to rarity, restricted distributions and decline in the Kimberley. Very restricted extent of suitable open forest vegetation in the Kimberley may locally exacerbate threats to forest specialists. Generalist, terrestrial denning species preferring savanna woodlands/shrublands and rugged rocky habitats were more abundant and less restricted in their distributions than forest specialists. Conclusions These results highlight the local importance of small areas of open forest for threatened arboreal mammals in the Kimberley. Implications We suggest that targeted adaptive management interventions to preserve and enhance open forest vegetation and arboreal habitat including den hollows, through application of low intensity prescribed burning for protection from damaging wildfires, would benefit specialist arboreal species.

Abstract Intact native forests under negligible large-scale human pressures (i.e. high-integrity forests) are critical for biodiversity conservation. However, high-integrity forests are declining worldwide due to deforestation and forest degradation. Recognizing the importance of high-integrity ecosystems (including forests), the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) has directly included the maintenance and restoration of ecosystem integrity, in addition to ecosystem extent, in its goals and targets. Yet, the headline indicators identified to help nations monitor forest ecosystems and their integrity can currently track changes only in (1) forest cover or extent, and (2) the risk of ecosystem collapse using the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems (RLE). These headline indicators are unlikely to facilitate the monitoring of forest integrity for two reasons. First, focusing on forest cover not only misses the impacts of anthropogenic degradation on forests but can also fail to detect the effect of positive management actions in enhancing forest integrity. Second, the risk of ecosystem collapse as measured by the ordinal RLE index (from Least Concern to Critically Endangered) makes it unlikely that changes to the continuum of forest integrity over space and time would be reported by nations. Importantly, forest ecosystems in many biodiverse African and Asian nations remain unassessed with the RLE. As such, many nations will likely resort to monitoring forest cover alone and therefore inadequately report progress against forest integrity goals and targets. We concur that monitoring changes in forest cover and the risk of ecosystem collapse are indeed vital aspects of conservation monitoring. Yet, they are insufficient for the specific purpose of tracking progress against crucial ecosystem integrity components of the GBF’s goals. We discuss the pitfalls of merely monitoring forest cover, a likely outcome with the current headline indicators. Augmenting forest cover monitoring with indicators that capture change in absolute area along the continuum of forest integrity would help monitor progress toward achieving area-based targets related to both integrity and extent of global forests.

Context The incorporation of invasive plants into novel ecosystems often has negative effects, but it can also sometimes enhance ecosystem function. The threatened native rodent species Leporillus conditor (greater stick-nest rat) is extinct on the Australian mainland and now lives primarily on small islands off the coast of southern Australia. Many of these are degraded novel ecosystems invaded by African boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum), a weed of national significance. However, L. conditor does not appear to be negatively affected by the presence of boxthorn, raising the question of how the two species co-exist. Aims To understand how L. conditor uses African boxthorn, we evaluated dietary composition of L. conditor on parts of Reevesby Island by comparing consumption of invasive boxthorn with that of native vegetation. Methods We identified three key vegetation types on the centre of the island and used point-intercept vegetation surveys to estimate relative availability of plant species in each. We then used micro-histological faecal analysis to estimate the proportions of each species in the diet of L. conditor, and quantified plant species selection by using selection ratios (use/availability). Key results Qualitative evidence of L. conditor activity suggested that it was mostly confined to vegetation with greater abundance of boxthorn than the other vegetation types (13.5%, compared with 5.7% total sampled vegetation). Furthermore, 51.7% of the faecal plant content and 11.8% of total sampled vegetation was African boxthorn, resulting in a selection ration for boxthorn of 4.4. Native species that appeared to be favoured food sources of L. conditor included Olearia axillaris, Myoporum insulare and Enchylaena tomentosa. Conclusions Stick-nest rats of Reevesby Island demonstrate a clear selection for African boxthorn, both in terms of diet (tested quantitatively) and nesting (from previous research and our field observations). Implications The strong selection of stick-nest rats for a declared noxious weed as its main food source and persistence of stick-nest rats on Reevesby Island require consideration with regards to vegetation management on islands where L. conditor occurs. More broadly, it highlights that some elements of novel ecosystems may have unexpected positive impacts on parts of original ecosystems.

data contributions. We would like to thank Australian Wildlife Conservancy for their major contribution to the data collected in Cape York (Piccaninny Plains), Central Kimberley (Mornington) and Scotia Sanctuary. In particular, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy's role in generating the Cape York data was under-referenced. We would also like to acknowledge the contributions made to our study from two open access studies: (1) https:// libra ry. dbca. wa. gov.

The Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), signed in 2022 by Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, recognized the importance of area-based conservation, and its goals and targets specify the characteristics of protected and conserved areas (PCAs) that disproportionately contribute to biodiversity conservation. To achieve the GBF’s target of conserving a global area of 30% by 2030, this Essay argues for recognizing these characteristics and scaling them up through the conservation of areas that are: extensive (typically larger than 5,000 km2); have interconnected PCAs (either physically or as part of a jurisdictional network, and frequently embedded in larger conservation landscapes); have high ecological integrity; and are effectively managed and equitably governed. These areas are presented as “Nature’s Strongholds,” illustrated by examples from the Congo and Amazon basins. Conserving Nature’s Strongholds offers an approach to scale up initiatives to address global threats to biodiversity.

In 2023, the world faced increased local and global headwinds in achieving the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 due to geopolitical factors, global economic variables, advancing technology, and evolving policies and regulations. Despite a 22% rise in global investments for renewable energy, the world fell short of the 76% required for a Net Zero Emissions Pathway by 2050. There was a collective return to fossil fuels, particularly natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), to meet the demand for secure and affordable energy amid global energy supply shocks. As a result of sustained elevated energy prices governments and energy companies are having to consider all three elements of the energy trilemma – affordability, sustainability, and security – in a more balanced way. The energy industry responded to these challenges by increasing investments in gas-oriented resources and the emergence of investments into the critical minerals value chain, indicating a historic convergence of multiple industries to address the global energy transition. Investment in new energy technologies to support decarbonisation continued, albeit at a slower pace than required. The energy transition also accelerated the decommissioning responsibilities of upstream energy producers for their mature infrastructure assets. As Australia and other countries globally, strive to deliver on net zero ambitions, the oil and gas sector continues to grapple with the delicate balancing act of providing reliable, affordable, secure and sustainable sources of energy, which only continues to emphasise the need for fossil fuels during this energy transition.

Abstract Passive acoustic recorders have emerged as powerful tools for ecological monitoring. However, effective monitoring is not simply an act of recording sounds. To have meaning for conservation and management, acoustic monitoring needs to be properly planned and analyzed to yield high quality information. Here, we provide a set of considerations for the design of an effective acoustic monitoring program. We argue that such a program, has the following attributes: (1) has established appropriate partnerships with landowners, Traditional Owners, researchers, or other relevant stakeholders, (2) is based on clear objectives and questions, (3) is explicit in its target sound signals, (4) has considered in‐field sensor placement for a range of factors, including experimental design, statistical power, background noise, and potential impacts on human privacy and animal disturbance, (5) has a justified recording schedule and periodicity, (6) has methods to process sound data in line with objectives, and (7) has protocols for permanent data storage and access. Acoustic monitoring is increasingly used in large‐scale programs and will be important in addressing global biodiversity targets and new biodiversity markets. It is critical that new monitoring programs are designed to effectively and efficiently capture data that address pertinent and emerging issues in conservation.

Competition and indirect ELISAs are currently being used to monitor rabbit haemorrhagic disease viruses (RHDV1 and RHDV2) in rabbits worldwide. Temporal changes in the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of RHDV1 competition-ELISA (cELISA1), RHDV2 competition-ELISA (cELISA2), and RHDV1 Immunoglobulin G (IgG1) ELISA, were investigated using Bayesian Latent Class models (BCLM) in the Australian wild rabbit population where both viruses circulate simultaneously and a long-term serological dataset exists. When cELISA1 was compared to IgG1 ELISA, the Se of cELISA1 improved while the Sp of IgG1 ELISA declined over the 2011–21. This corresponded with a decline in the true RHDV1 prevalence in 2018–21, suggesting that a large proportion of RHDV1 exposed rabbits survived the introduction and dominance of RHDV2 up to approximately 2017/2018, after which they died and were not replaced. The Se and Sp estimates for 2014–15 for both cELISA1 and IgG1 ELISA, and the true prevalence when analysing all three tests together were similar to those obtained from the analysis of cELISA1/IgG1 ELISA. The same was also true for the Se and Sp of cELISA2 and IgG1 ELISA estimates from 2018 onwards. This suggests that RHDV1 was the dominant infection type in 2014–15, but RHDV2 was the dominant infection type in 2018–21. Further, the increase in Se of cELISA2 and the low Sp of IgG1 ELISA in the cELISA2/IgG1 ELISA analysis, compared to the Se of cELISA2 and Sp of IgG1 ELISA when analysing all three tests together suggests that the underlying infection status was more influenced by RHDV2 and that the higher Se of IgG1 ELISA is due to cross-reaction of RHDV2 antibodies on IgG1 ELISA. The true prevalence data suggest that RHDV2 exposure peaked in 2017. Our findings show that test characteristics changed in response to the changing virus prevalences over time. IgG1 ELISA, currently having a high Se, should be used to monitor both viruses and will perform better than both cELISAs.

The Parramatta Sand Body (PSB) in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia is an ancient sedimentary sand deposit bordering parts of the Parramatta River which today flows into Sydney Harbour. Whilst the lower portions of the sand deposit pre-date human occupation, some locations with near surface sand deposits contain dense Aboriginal archaeological sites with a profusion of stone tools and remains of hearths. We explored the timing of human occupation in Parramatta by applying optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages to archaeological evidence from site AT14. Interpretation of the OSL data was guided by particle size analysis and the resulting age estimates agreed with the radiocarbon dating of charcoal sampled from archaeological deposits at AT14, to provide a secure age for human occupation evidence in the Sydney region at 31 ± 2 ka. Results link the single grain overdispersion found in quartz OSL samples to trampling actions resultant of Aboriginal occupation and forms a future consideration for the effective dating of archaeological sites.

Abstract As part of the Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (K‐M GBF), signatory nations of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) aim to protect at least 30% of the planet by 2030 (Target 3). This bold ambition has been widely celebrated and its implementation seen as pivotal for the overall success of K‐M GBF. However, given that many CBD signatory nations prioritised quantity (e.g., area) over quality (e.g., important areas for biodiversity) when attempting to meet their 2010 CBD Aichi protected area commitments, it is critical that nations focus on protecting those terrestrial, inland waters and marine areas that have the best chance of halting and reversing biodiversity loss and thus contribute to Goal A of the K‐M GBF. Here we provide a review on the type of areas that nations need to prioritise when implementing Target 3 that relates to area ‘quality’: areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, are effectively conserved and managed through ecologically representative, well‐connected and equitably governed systems. We show that data is available for 12 distinct biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service elements that can be mapped and, if conserved, will (with appropriate management) help meet the broad intention of Target 3. We highlight examples of the planning methods available that can be utilized so these areas can be targeted for protection. We discuss issues related to trade‐offs regarding how to prioritise amongst them as well as to operationalise some of the vaguer concepts like ‘representation’ and ‘ecosystem functions and services’ so that they achieve the best outcomes for biodiversity.