In this study, we used genomic DNA extracted from muscle tissue samples and also identified the optimal method to extract DNA from fresh wombat scat samples to enable further analyses to be performed using non-invasive techniques.

The eastern quoll is currently considered extinct on mainland Australia, with the last definite live individual recorded at Vaucluse, NSW in 1963. Prompted by the discovery of a 1989 specimen from Barrington Tops, we document and review recent records, the most noteworthy including a photograph (2013, Nungatta NSW) and multiple observations from the 1990s in the Barrington Tops and Carrai areas. The review finds sufficient recent credible records to consider that this species may not be extinct on mainland Australia.

Researchers have located a rare, ancient, proto-domestic dog, closely related to the dingo and New Guinea Singing Dog, and progenitor of many modern breeds, in the highlands of Papua Province, New Guinea. The elusive highland wild dog not only occupies a singular ecological niche, it also has behavioural and morphological traits unique to all canids. Scientists can now study this important dog, and a long term research project to reveal answers to canid evolution and genetics is under way. Photograph by James K. McIntyre, New Guinea Highland Wild Dog Foundation.

Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that can cause severe disease in all warm blooded species. This study found no infected secondary hosts despite 50% of co-occurring cats testing positive, suggesting a loss of infected individuals, or parasite infectivity being suppressed by Queensland’s hot, dry climate. Photograph by Alexandra Ross.

As road construction and human development escalate, Australian animal-vehicle collisions are of increasing concern in the Outback, habitat for much Australian wildlife including many iconic and endangered species. Over the same two-week period from 2008 to 2014, we conducted a single-pass roadkill survey along two rural highways near Carnarvon Gorge National Park. Actual and projected losses were high and variable, particularly among large macropods, underscoring the need for multi-year data to inform research and efforts to diminish losses.

Monitoring faecal hormone metabolites offers a non-invasive technique for determining stress responses in wild species. Our study confirms the use of this technique for the marsupial sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) by validating an appropriate enzyme immunoassay. We show that not only physiological validation, but also separation of individuals from their social group caused a detectable stress response. The validation of an appropriate assay allows the future use of non-invasive monitoring of physiological states in free-ranging sugar glider populations.

The New Holland Mouse (NHM) is a small rodent species native to south eastern Australia. Suspected of disappearing from much of its historical range, the NHM is endangered in Victoria. In this study, the species’ distribution across the state was assessed using an extensive camera trapping program. Despite recording the first NHM sighting in the Lakes National Park in 21 years, this study provides evidence of the species’ local extinction from seven of 12 historically occupied regions.

We tracked koalas using GPS collars in a rural landscape to examine which habitat types were used: patches of habitat, roadside vegetation or scattered paddock trees. We found koalas used all three habitat types, with paddock trees and roadside vegetation used extensively. We believe planting or retaining paddock trees and roadside vegetation may supplement habitat for koalas in agricultural landscapes, potentially providing a practical means for landowners to increase the conservation value of their land for koalas.

Basket asparagus (Asparagus aethiopicus) has become a naturalised invasive plant in some coastal areas of Australia since its introduction in the late 19th century. A number of avian seed vectors have been previously identified for this invasive weed. This study has confirmed that the European red fox consumes and disperses basket asparagus seeds, and that these seeds are viable and germinate under field conditions.

Here, we analyse the diet of the crest-tailed mulgara (Dasycercus cristicauda) in the Strzelecki Desert. Dasycercus cristicauda consumed a wide and varied range of prey, even including rabbits in their diet. Beetles were the most frequent food item, followed by spiders, ants and the rodent Notomys fuscus. Prey consumption shifted from predominantly vertebrates in July 2016 to invertebrates in November 2016. The flexible diet observed in D. cristicauda may be a response to fluctuating availability of food in desert environments

Surgical adhesive is widely used to prevent shedding of injected PIT-tags, but the effect of this adhesive on individuals has not been documented. We recaptured 52 southern bent-winged bats up to 741 days after PIT-tagging. All recaptured individuals were in good body condition, with no signs of infection or skin irritation; however, temporary fur loss occurred at the injection site. We advocate that researchers consider the impact this may have on study species, particularly when PIT-tagging small mammals during cooler months.

We investigated the influence of camera-trap flash type on the behaviour of feral cats by categorising their behavioural response to white-flash and infrared-flash cameras and assessing the frequency with which individual cats were redetected by the same white-flash camera or a different white-flash camera at the same site following their initial detection. We found no evidence that flash type had any influence on the cats’ observed behavioural responses towards cameras, or that cats captured by white-flash cameras avoided redetection.

TThe desert rat-kangaroo (Caloprymnus campestris) is a small marsupial known from specimens collected at just a few localities in north-eastern South Australia. We examined a museum skin of this animal collected at Lake Killalpaninna in South Australia around 1905. Bringing this specimen to light revealed a new geographic locality and southerly range extension for this poorly-known species, and a record that pre-dated Hedley Herbert Finlayson’s famous rediscovery of the animal in 1931 by more than 25 years.

During camera-trapping surveys for arboreal mammals within Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve we recorded arboreal behaviour in the mainland dusky antechinus, which is typically regarded as a strictly terrestrial species. The species was detected visiting baits positioned ~3.5 m high on trees on 29 occasions, providing additional evidence of arboreal behaviour in the species and further demonstrating the value of camera traps in providing novel insights into animal behaviour.

We present a dietary analysis of dingoes living at a mine site in remote Western Australia. Among this population, the most frequently consumed food resource was human related (e.g. food waste and rubbish). We also found a high proportion of dingo remains in their scats, suggesting the occurrence of cannibalism. These findings highlight the influence that human-modified areas can have on dingo diet and resource availability. Photograph by Bradley Smith.

We investigated predator–prey interactions between cane toads (Rhinella marina) and native water rats (Hydromys chrysogaster), where toads are novel prey. We showed for the first time that wild water rats preferentially targeted larger toads, and consumed non-toxic muscle and specific organs, especially the heart and liver, only. Rats either rapidly learned these behaviours, or adapted them from ancestral hunting behaviour and targeted organ consumption of native frogs. Photograph by Ian Elton, Zoos Victoria.

The numbat is a peculiar marsupial, being diurnal and having a diet that consisting of termites. We use genomic approaches to develop a DNA profiling system, like that used in forensic laboratories. We identified 19 highly variable DNA markers to exclude candidate parents with greater than 99.99% probability. The development of molecular tools to identify parentage, establish population identity and improve genetics are important for the genetic management of future re-introduction programs and the long-term conservation of the numbat.

Following up on two reports from the 1990s, we undertook a ground survey and analysed satellite imagery in order to determine whether there are any extant colonies of southern hairy-nosed wombats in south-western New South Wales. No evidence was found to confirm the continuing presence of wombats in the region. Photograph by Michael Swinbourne.