The common brushtail possum is a medium-sized marsupial that was formerly widespread across Australia, but has suffered extensive declines in its range and population size, with a significant loss in semi-arid/arid areas. Despite this, the species still exists in the semi-arid Pilbara region of Western Australia (WA). Here, we report on modern and unpublished records of brushtail possums in north-west WA, focusing on the Pilbara region. We uncovered new unpublished records of the species, which shows them persisting on mainland semi-arid/arid WA.

In urban bushland, individual sugar and squirrel gliders were tracked to determine where they went, including where they slept during the day and where they foraged at night. We found that a wide range of different trees were used and that animals traversed several hectares. The results allow for an understanding of how these species can persist in urban bushland. Photograph by Chris McLean.

We describe our expedition to the Grasberg mine to observe, sample, and track New Guinea highland wild dogs. We have described methods, observations, behaviour, and tracking success.

Little is known about the social interactions of platypuses. We found that juveniles have larger total home ranges and burrow ranges than do adults. Juvenile–adult dyads also demonstrated the greatest home-range overlap.

This article belongs to the collection: Recent research on the platypus.

The elusive kultarr was hunted across three states, namely New South Wales (NSW), Queensland and Western Australia from 1979 to 1982, so that its biology could be studied in greater depth in the laboratory. Although sighted in NSW, none was caught in NSW or Queensland, but enough individuals were captured in Western Australia to establish a laboratory colony. The scarcity of kultarrs in the field ties in with past surveys, which have indicated that their numbers can vary greatly over its range and over time.

Excavation or other works in and around streams can adversely affect platypus resting and nesting burrows, along with their bottom-dwelling invertebrate food species. Such works, to remove flood-deposited material from the iconic Blue Lake at Jenolan Caves, were monitored in our study. Platypuses showed site affinity, leaving the area during the works but returning once they had finished. Modelling studies showed the importance of coarse bottom substrates (cobbles and pebbles) in maintaining platypus macroinvertebrate prey communities. Photograph by Anne Musser.

This article belongs to the collection: Recent research on the platypus.

I describe the breeding pattern of the parma wallaby on the New England Tableland in northern New South Wales. Remote cameras that operated continuously over a 17-month period produced frequent detections of parma wallabies at 17 sites. Camera images produced evidence that suggested that 45 separate breeding events were documented. Photograph by R. Goldingay.