Is there a diel pattern to nectar secretion in the Red Bloodwood Corymbia gummifera?

Nectar secretion was measured at 6-h intervals over a 24-h period in flowers of the Red Bloodwood, Corymbia gummifera (family Myrtaceae). Secretion varied among time periods and among trees. There was no clear diurnal or nocturnal pattern. Flowers produced 0.5–3 µl of dilute nectar (9% concentration) per hour throughout the diel cycle. Standing crops of nectar averaged 1–12.6 µl per flower and also varied temporally and spatially. Flowers were visited by a wide array of nectarivores: insects, birds, gliding possums and bats. Although it is likely that these visitors vary considerably in their effectiveness as pollinators, it would appear that Corymbia gummifera has a generalised pollination system

What Role Does Ecological Research Play in Managing Biodiversity in Protected Areas? Australia’s Oldest National Park as a Case Study

How we manage National Parks (protected areas or reserves) for their biodiversity is an issue of current debate. At the centre of this issue is the role of ecological research and its ability to guide reserve management. One may assume that ecological science has sufficient theory and empirical evidence to offer a prescription of how reserves should be managed. I use Royal National Park (Royal NP) as a case study to examine how ecological science should be used to inform biodiversity conservation. Ecological research relating to reserve management can be: i) of generic application to reserve management, ii) specific to the reserve in which it is conducted, and iii) conducted elsewhere but be of relevance due to the circumstances (e.g. species) of another reserve. I outline how such research can be used to inform management actions within Royal NP. I also highlight three big challenges for biodiversity management in Royal NP: i) habitat connectivity, ii) habitat degradation and iii) fire management. A key issue for local managers is finding a mechanism to enable their management to be informed by ecological research in their Park in an ongoing way and to be able to encourage further research. If resolved, Royal NP could provide a model to be used by other protected areas

Degree of Landscape Fragmentation Influences Genetic Isolation among Populations of a Gliding Mammal

Forests and woodlands are under continuing pressure from urban and agricultural development. Tree-dependent mammals that rarely venture to the ground are likely to be highly sensitive to forest fragmentation. The Australian squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) provides an excellent case study to examine genetic (functional) connectivity among populations. It has an extensive range that occurs in a wide band along the east coast. However, its forest and woodland habitat has become greatly reduced in area and is severely fragmented within the southern inland part of the species' range, where it is recognised as threatened. Within central and northern coastal regions, habitat is much more intact and we thus hypothesise that genetic connectivity will be greater in this region than in the south. To test this we employed microsatellite analysis in a molecular population biology approach. Most sampling locations in the highly modified south showed signatures of genetic isolation. In contrast, a high level of genetic connectivity was inferred among most sampled populations in the more intact habitat of the coastal region, with samples collected 1400 km apart having similar genetic cluster membership. Nonetheless, some coastal populations associated with urbanisation and agriculture are genetically isolated, suggesting the historic pattern observed in the south is emerging on the coast. Our study demonstrates that massive landscape changes following European settlement have had substantial impacts on levels of connectivity among squirrel glider populations, as predicted on the basis of the species' ecology. This suggests that landscape planning and management in the south should be focused on restoring habitat connectivity where feasible, while along the coast, existing habitat connectivity must be maintained and recent losses restored. Molecular population biology approaches provide a ready means for identifying fragmentation effects on a species at multiple scales. Such studies are required to examine the generality of our findings for other tree-dependent species

Conservation of the endangered Green and Golden Bell Frog: what contribution has ecological research made since 1996?

The status and conservation requirements of the Green and Golden Bell Frog Litoria aurea were the focus of immense scrutiny 12 years ago. In this paper I review what progress has occurred since then in understanding the ecology of this species because ecological research is of fundamental importance to the recovery of threatened species. Field surveys and collation of unpublished information have led to a very detailed understanding of the distribution of this species, including recognition that some populations have become extinct since 1996. Population studies involving the permanent tagging of individuals have revealed substantial variation in the size of populations but further research is needed to relate population size to viability. Two major threatening processes (habitat loss and predation by exotic fish) were implicated in 1996 in the decline of the Green and Golden Bell Frog, though others were acknowledged. Provision of breeding habitat has been a key element of bell frog management since then but despite some success, there have been few general insights gained concerning its effectiveness to allow existing populations to expand. Attempts to translocate bell frogs to suitable breeding habitat have failed to establish self-sustaining populations but insights have been gained concerning husbandry, infection control and optimal field conditions for tadpole development. Studies conducted since 1996 have confirmed the negative impact of predation by the exotic Plague Minnow Gambusia holbrooki on bell frog breeding success. Although fish predation is a prominent consideration when devising management plans for breeding habitat, our understanding of the role of this threat in regulating frog populations is still limited. The amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has now been recognized as an additional key threat to bell frog populations but research on this is in its infancy. My attempt at a general synthesis to understand the dramatic decline of the Green and Golden Bell Frog suggests that habitat loss and fragmentation were the ultimate cause because they predisposed the species to the impacts of fish predation and disease. The species has persisted where multiple waterbodies, including those that are fish-free, occur within 1-2 km of each other. This provides a clue to conserving populations - it is likely that local population size and viability will be correlated with the number of available waterbodies. Progress to enhance the viability of key populations in each region has been slow. If this does not occur more quickly then extinction will prevail

Can the community contribute to conservation of the endangered Green and Golden Bell Frog at Port Kembla?

Community groups can make significant contributions to threatened species recovery planning. I conducted two questionnaire surveys of the community bordering on Coomaditchy Lagoon, an important breeding site of the endangered Green and Golden Bell Frog Litoria aurea at Port Kembla, New South Wales.The aims of these surveys were to gain an understanding of how widespread bell frogs were through the residential area and to identify how to involve the local community in some kind of monitoring of this endangered frog. There were 65 responses to the first questionnaire; 53 respondents indicated they were aware of this species in Port Kembla and 45 had seen it on their properties. There were 45 respondents who were interested in modifying their gardens to attract frogs and 39 who were willing to become involved with monitoring of frogs on their properties. A second questionnaire conducted 2.5 years later surveyed 46 people who indicated continued interest in bell frogs from the first questionnaire.This revealed that 17 people had modified their gardens to be more attractive to frogs and 7 people had installed frog ponds. Eleven respondents had seen the frog in the four months prior to the questionnaire.These surveys indicated that bell frogs were widespread through the residential area, and that installing ponds and using appropriate landscaping were likely to be beneficial to the local bell frog population. Community-based monitoring could be conducted but to be worthwhile would require the involvement of a community-based co-ordinator

Characteristics of tree hollows used by Australian birds and bats

Many hundreds of species of wildlife worldwide are dependent on tree hollows (cavities) for their survival. I reviewed the published literature for hollow-using Australian birds and microbats to document their tree-hollow requirements and to guide future research and management. Such information is vital to the conservation of these species. The hollow requirements of only 35 of 114 hollow-using bird species and 15 of 42 hollow-using microbat species were documented in some detail. This overall paucity of information limits the ability to manage for the future requirements of species. However, some generalisations can guide management until further studies are conducted. Most species used a variety of available tree species, and the extensive use of dead trees probably reflects the high likelihood of these trees containing hollows. Birds (other than large parrots) and bats chose hollow entrances of a size close to body width. Large parrots require large hollows, with a preference for large vertical spouts and trunk hollows. Few birds or bats demonstrated an absolute requirement for high (\u3e10 m) tree hollows, with most (70%) using some hollows with entrances ≤5 m above ground. Temperature has been postulated to influence roost selection among microbats because it enables passive rewarming from torpor and there is some evidence from Australian bats to support this. Many studies suggest a future shortage of hollow-bearing trees. Currently, artificial hollows appear to be the most likely interim solution to address this. Knowledge of the natural hollow requirements of species can be used to refine artificial-hollow designs. An increase in research effort is needed to address the many gaps in knowledge that currently exist. Priorities for research include (1) many additional studies to document the characteristics of the hollow-bearing trees used by species of microbat, (2) the need to conduct long-term bioregional studies of hollow-bearing tree attrition to help identify where management responses are most needed and (3) investigating whether fire plays a significant role in the creation of tree hollows of a range of size classes and therefore may have a management use. Such information has broad relevance because it will provide ecological insight that can be applied to the management of hollow-using birds and bats elsewhere in the world

Temperature variation in nest boxes in eastern Australia

Nest boxes are frequently installed in Australia to provide shelter sites for arboreal mammals. Little is known about the temperatures that may be experienced inside nest boxes or the factors that may influence those temperatures. I established paired nest boxes on the south-east and north-west sides of trees at two locations in south-east Queensland to investigate the influence of nest box aspect on nest box temperature. Squirrel gliders (Petaurus norfolcensis) occupied boxes at both locations. I recorded temperatures over a 1-month period in two summers. Temperature varied by up to 20°C within a 24-h period and some nest boxes experienced temperatures above 40°C. There was no significant difference in maximum temperature with nest box aspect but south-east boxes could be 1°C cooler during hot weather. Nest box construction material, colour (brown or green) and volume (0.008 m3 or 0.025 m3) had variable influences on temperature. Nest box installations for non-flying mammals should place nest boxes to minimise extreme temperatures. Further studies are required to determine whether temperature limits the effectiveness of nest boxes at some locations

A review of home-range studies on Australian terrestrial vertebrates: adequacy of studies, testing of hypotheses, and relevance to conservation and international studies

Describing the spatial requirements of animals is central to understanding their ecology and conservation needs. I reviewed 115 studies describing the home ranges of Australian terrestrial vertebrates that were published during 2001–12. Understanding the features that characterise best practice can guide future studies. I aimed to: evaluate the adequacy of these studies, examine the use of current analysis techniques, examine the application of home-range knowledge to species’ management, and examine hypotheses that seek to explain the size and location of home ranges. The reviewed studies were unevenly distributed across taxa with a majority (68%) involving mammals compared with birds (12%), reptiles (19%) and frogs (1%). Many studies had various shortcomings, suggesting that they had not fully described home ranges; many (41%) involved 10 or fewer individuals, ≤50 locations per individual (44%), and spanned periods of ≤3 months (46%). Studies of short duration risk underestimating home-range area and overlooking seasonal habitat use. Global positioning system telemetry was used in 10% of Australian studies. Many were also of short duration. Despite frequent criticism in the literature, the Minimum Convex Polygon was the most frequently used home-range estimator (84% of studies), followed by the Fixed Kernel (45% of studies). Applying knowledge of home ranges appears to be underappreciated, with only 39% of studies explicitly aiming to address management or conservation issues. Only three studies tested hypotheses that may explain home-range characteristics. Resource (food and shelter) distribution and, in one case, its heterogeneity, shaped home-range characteristics. I found that most studies use the term ‘home range’ in an indiscriminate way. Only 11% of studies within the international literature used qualifying terms (e.g. seasonal, annual). Tracking period is shown to influence home-range estimates. Therefore, I recommend that qualifying terms be used more frequently to avoid confusion when referring to animal home ranges