The characterisation of Australian marsupials’ faecal microbiome is largely uncharted, but has previously been identified as an important component of conservation programs. This project examined the interaction between diet and faecal microbiome of yellow-footed rock-wallabies in South Australia, found that there are similarities with other Australia marsupials and that diet likely affects faecal microbial composition. Continuing to characterise the faecal microbiome of Australian marsupials will provide a valuable tool for their conservation as climate change worsens. Photograph by Stacey Dix.

Growth of two species of the endangered lizard in the genus Tympanocryptis (T. lineata and T. osbornei) from around the Canberra, ACT, and Cooma, NSW, respectively, is similar over three years, as is the population age structure. Individuals of each species are also able to survive over multiple years. Colour changes with reproduction in females is most obvious for both species in spring and autumn during the year for both species. Image Paul Cooper.

Knowing the ages of animals in wild populations is important for conservation modelling. But for many species it is not possible to determine an adult individual’s age. By looking at how long individuals of unknown ages live, this report uses a hypothetical population of unicorns to illustrate a method of working out the proportion of animals in a population that are any particular age, and then applies the same method to a population of wild platypuses. Photograph by Joanne Connolly.

We conducted molecular identification of the highly depredated remains of a cetacean specimen found on a beach in the Jurabi Coastal Park, Western Australia. The specimen was identified as Shepherd’s beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi). This represents the most northern occurrence record for this poorly known beaked whale species. Photograph by Michael Cox, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

The grey goshawk (Tachyspiza novaehollandiae) is an endangered raptor whose spatial ecology is poorly known. We estimated home range size of 15 GPS tracked goshawks in Tasmania to assist with conservation management of the species. Home range size of male goshawks (160.50 km²) was eight times larger than that of females (19.03 km²). Image by David A. Young.

Fragmentation of populations is a major concern for many threatened species. Population genetics can be used to identify barriers to dispersal and, in this study, revealed that small extents of ocean and urbanised land resulted in isolation of populations of the white-fronted chat. Conservation efforts for this species, listed as Vulnerable in NSW, must recognise that despite the powers of flight and a tendency towards nomadism, this species is not as dispersive as was previously believed. Image by R.E. Major.

We conducted a 13-month camera trap study investigating when and how a diverse fauna utilises the ancient and complex rocky landforms of the Mount Isa Inlier. We found a unique rocky landform specialist community that utilised the landscape at different rates throughout the year, and favoured certain slope aspects, landform types, and lithologies. Our results highlight the best times of year and the environmental characteristics of sites in which to focus future management and conservation initiatives for this unique community. Photograph by Jarrad Barnes.

Weak links installed on radio collars are devices designed to protect animals from entanglement during animal studies and allow remote retrieval of the collar after study. We tested a latex weak link on collars used to track eastern grey kangaroos and found that it was able to successfully achieve both functions on all animals. Future researchers can use weak links of similar design to provide good welfare for animals involved in research. Photograph by Tian Chen.

The new Editors-in-Chief for the Journal discuss changes to the editorial team, along with their future plans for broadening the Journal’s scope and encouraging submissions across the different article types currently offered by AJZ.

Successful management of animal communities depends on understanding what features of the environment allow populations to persist. We examined spatial mosaics of animal communities in semiarid Australia and found that spiders and lizards were more abundant where cover of woody vegetation was relatively high, but other taxa were not linked to vegetation cover. Thus, preserving woody vegetation is important for conserving some taxa. Environmental features important for other taxa need to be identified for management consideration. Photograph by L. Schwanz.