Using climate change models to inform the recovery of the western ground parrot Pezoporus flaviventris

Translocation of species to areas of former habitat after threats have been mitigated is a common conservation action. However, the long-term success of reintroduction relies on identification of currently available habitat and areas that will remain, or become, habitat in the future. Commonly, a short-term view is taken, focusing on obvious and assumed threats such as predators and habitat degradation. However, in areas subject to significant climate change, challenges include correctly identifying variables that define habitat, and considering probable changes over time. This poses challenges with species such as the western ground parrot Pezoporus flaviventris, which was once relatively common in near-coastal south-western Australia, an area subject to major climate change. This species has declined to one small population, estimated to comprise \u3c 150 individuals. Reasons for the decline include altered fire regimes, introduced predators and habitat clearing. The establishment of new populations is a high priority, but the extent to which a rapidly changing climate has affected, and will continue to affect, this species remains largely conjecture, and understanding probable climate change impacts is essential to the prioritization of potential reintroduction sites. We developed high-resolution species distribution models and used these to investigate climate change impacts on current and historical distributions, and identify locations that will remain, or become, bioclimatically suitable habitat in the future. This information has been given to an expert panel to identify and prioritize areas suitable for site-specific management and/or translocation

Population genetic structure associated with a landscape barrier in the Western Grasswren (Amytornis textilis textilis)

Dispersal patterns can dictate genetic population structure and, ultimately, population resilience, through maintaining gene flow and genetic diversity. However, geographical landforms, such as peninsulas, can impact dispersal patterns and thus be a barrier to gene flow. Here, we use 13 375 genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to evaluate genetic population structure and infer dispersal patterns of the Western Grasswren Amytornis textilis textilis (WGW, n = 140) in the Shark Bay region of Western Australia. We found high levels of genetic divergence between subpopulations on the mainland (Hamelin) and narrow peninsula (Peron). In addition, we found evidence of further genetic sub-structuring within the Hamelin subpopulation, with individuals collected from the western and eastern regions of a conservation reserve forming separate genetic clusters. Spatial autocorrelation analysis within each subpopulation revealed significant local-scale genetic structure up to 35 km at Hamelin and 20 km at Peron. In addition, there was evidence of male philopatry in both subpopulations. Our results suggest a narrow strip of land may be acting as a geographical barrier in the WGW, limiting dispersal between a peninsula and mainland subpopulation. In addition, heterogeneous habitat within Hamelin may be restricting dispersal at the local scale. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that the limited gene flow is asymmetrical, with directional dispersal occurring from the bounded peninsula subpopulation to the mainland. This study highlights the genetic structure existing within and between some of the few remaining WGW subpopulations, and shows a need to place equal importance on conservation efforts to maintain them in the future

Establishing effective conservation management strategies for a poorly known endangered species: A case study using Australia’s night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis)

An evidence-based approach to the conservation management of a species requires knowledge of that species’ status, distribution, ecology, and threats. Coupled with budgets for specific conservation strategies, this knowledge allows prioritisation of funding toward activities that maximise benefit for the species. However, many threatened species are poorly known, and determining which conservation strategies will achieve this is difficult. Such cases require approaches that allow decision-making under uncertainty. Here we used structured expert elicitation to estimate the likely benefit of potential management strategies for the Critically Endangered and, until recently, poorly known Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis). Experts considered cat management the single most effective management strategy for the Night Parrot. However, a combination of protecting and actively managing existing intact Night Parrot habitat through management of grazing, controlling feral cats, and managing fire specifically to maintain Night Parrot habitat was thought to result in the greatest conservation gains. The most cost-effective strategies were thought to be fire management to maintain Night Parrot habitat, and intensive cat management using control methods that exploit local knowledge of cat movements and ecology. Protecting and restoring potentially suitable, but degraded, Night Parrot habitat was considered the least effective and least cost-effective strategy. These expert judgements provide an informed starting point for land managers implementing on-ground programs targeting the Night Parrot, and those developing policy aimed at the species’ longer-term conservation. As a set of hypotheses, they should be implemented, assessed, and improved within an adaptive management framework that also considers the likely co-benefits of these strategies for other species and ecosystems. The broader methodology is applicable to conservation planning for the management and conservation of other poorly known threatened species

What was the Jarnadup Bristlebird?

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Genetic analysis of the australian whipbirds and wedgebills illuminates the evolution of their plumage and vocal diversity

Morphological and vocal diversity among closely related species reflects a combination of shared ancestry and recent species-specific adaptations. A small group of Australo-Papuan passerines in the core Corvoidea, the whipbirds and wedgebills (Psophodes, Androphobus), provide an opportunity to explore this. Vocally, the Western Whipbird (Psophodes nigrogularis sensu lato) is very similar to the two species of wedgebills, whereas the sibilant whipcrack-like song of male Eastern Whipbirds is distinctive among the group. Using phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA we show that Australian whipbirds are not sister taxa but that the Eastern Whipbird is sister to the wedgebills and that the Western Whipbird is sister to the other three members of the group. Wedgebills are nested within the whipbird clade, supporting their current inclusion in Psophodes. The topology and reconstruction of ancestral states suggests the similarity in vocalisation among wedgebills and the Western Whipbird is a result of shared ancestral character states, whereas the whipcrack-like song of the Eastern Whipbirds is autapomorphic.Journal compilatio

Emu's first 120 years: landmark papers of change in austral ornithology

In celebration of Emu Austral Ornithology’s 120th birthday, the Editorial Board has compiled a virtual special issue, which highlights key contributions to austral ornithology across the journal’s history. Editorial Board members were invited to identify and contribute a few words on some key papers. Consequently, we highlight some of the published gems that have shone in 120 years of Emu Austral Ornithology, discuss their scientific significance and why their publication has shaped austral ornithology. It was a challenge to select only a few outstanding papers from 120 years of the journal’s history. To celebrate the importance of the key papers that we have selected (marked with an asterisk), they are provided free to access for a period of time

A case for realigning species limits in the southern Australian whipbirds long recognised as the Western Whipbird (Psophodes nigrogularis)

The Western Whipbird (Psophodes nigrogularis) has a highly disjunct west-east distribution across southern Australia. Earlier morphological analyses recognised four subspecies in one species: P. n. nigrogularis and P. n. oberon in south-west Western Australia, and P. n. leucogaster of the Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas and the Murray Mallee, and P. n. lashmari, restricted to Kangaroo Island, both in eastern Australia. Later morphological analyses elevated P. n. nigrogularis to monotypic species rank, and placed the remaining western and two eastern taxa as three subspecies of a second species P. leucogaster. Initial mtDNA analysis questioned both arrangements but could not include all taxa. We used mtDNA sequence data from all available specimens of the entire group (DNA extracted from cryo-preserved tissues, toe-pads and feathers; holotypes excepted) to derive a more stable view of species limits. The samples fell into two strongly divergent but geographically structured groups, completely reflecting the eastern and western components of the distribution. Thus we see merit in treating the two geographical groupings as two species, P. nigrogularis in the west and P. leucogaster in the east, each having two subspecies. Nuclear data could test whether the two western subspecies in particular are genetically isolated or currently exchanging genes