65Th Meeting of the Australian Mammal Society Annual Conference

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65th Meeting of the Australian Mammal Society Annual7-11 July 2019 Conference Veterinary Science Conference Centre, The University of Sydney

Twitter: #AMS2019 Program Overview

Sunday 7th July

REGISTRATION AND MIXER EVENT 5-7pm in The Refectory, Holme Building, Science Road

Monday 8th July

OPENING ADDRESS AND WELCOME 9am - Veterinary Science Conference Centre

PLENARIES AND SPOKEN PRESENTATIONS 9.30am start - Veterinary Science Conference Centre

POSTER SESSION 5:00pm - 7:00pm - Foyer of the Veterinary Science Conference Centre, followed by the student and old farts dinners in nearby pubs or restaurants in Glebe or Newtown

Tuesday 9th July

PLENARIES AND SPOKEN PRESENTATIONS 9am start - Veterinary Science Conference Centre

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE AUSTRALIAN MAMMAL SOCIETY 3:45pm - 5:45pm - Veterinary Science Conference Centre

CONFERENCE DINNER 6:30pm - 10:30pm - TAG Family Foundation Grandstand. An after-party will be held in Newtown, location TBA

Wednesday 10th July

PLENARIES AND SPOKEN PRESENTATIONS 9am start - Veterinary Science Conference Centre

IUCN MONOTREMES AND MARSUPIALS SPECIALISTS GROUP MEETING 12.50pm Lunch - Veterinary Science Conference Centre

AWARDS 4.50pm - We will wrap up the general sessions and present awards

2 Thursday 11th July

KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM DAY 9am start - Veterinary Science Conference Centre, hosted by Office of Environment and Heritage

Friday 12th July

CONFERENCE TOURS Tours to North Head National Park, the site of a threatened long-nosed bandicoot population and a number of mammal reintroductions, and Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park for demonstrations of mammal research.

Location Links

Sydney Veterinary Conference Centre https://goo.gl/maps/KZ7C9prnHrwHTZBe8

Holme Building https://goo.gl/maps/FpohTb9LeJ4nbje3A

3 Monday 8 July

9:00 Welcome and Opening Remarks Opening Address by Mathew Crowther Welcome to Country by Craig Madden, Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council

PLENARY 9:30 Mike Letnic Keystone effects of Australia’s top predator MAMMAL CONSERVATION: A BIG PICTURE VIEW 10:15 John Woinarski Reading the black book: Australian mammal extinctions in context 10:30 Ayesha Tulloch Developing a threatened species index for Australia 10:45 Morning Tea

NEW STRATEGIES IN MAMMAL CONSERVATION 11:15 Marissa Parrott How to deliver a wildlife conservation masterplan: successes, challenges and learnings to fight extinction 11:30 Amy Coetsee Winning over paradise: lessons learnt in community engagement 11:45 Stephane Batista Best-practice detection strategies for threatened mammal conservation: a case study using endangered antechinuses 12:00 Raphael Eisenhofer Life beyond sight: how microorganisms could be harnessed to improve mammal conservation 12:15 Euan Ritchie Ecological and evolutionary considerations for progress in species translocations 12:30 Jacqueline Mills Crucial research gaps in securing a future for the critically endangered northern hairy nosed wombat 12:45 Lunch

MANAGING THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES 13:45 Vivianna Miritis Understanding island cat ecology for pest management and threatened species recovery 14:00 Stephen Frankenberg Enhancing genome quoll-ity to combat toad 14:15 Rebecca Wheatley Could feral dromedaries reduce fuel loads for wildfire events? 14:30 Emma Spencer Animal carcasses attract foxes and threaten native ground nesting birds in arid Australia 14:45 Amelia Saul We all have our limits: the relationship between population density and the positive effects of aliens 15:00 Afternoon Tea

CASE STUDIES IN MAMMAL CONSERVATION 15:30 Diana Fisher The Ontong Java flying fox- status of a threatened endemic mammal on a remote and disappearing pacific atoll 15:35 Jo Haddock Experimentally introduced red and white lights at wetlands cause diverse effects on insectivorous bats 15:50 Emmanualle Leroy Passive acoustics identifies a new blue whale population in the Indian Ocean. 16:05 Jenny Nelson The decline of the spotted-tailed quoll in Victoria 16:20 Christopher Pocknee Saving an endangered bettong with fire 16:25 Elspeth McLennan Successful genetic integration of supplemented Tasmanian devils into a wild population 16:40 Simone Langodar The breeding trap: how whole genome sequencing can overcome breeding blocks in the new holland mouse (Pseudomys novaehollandiae). 16:45 Sarah Garnick Population persistence, breeding seasonality and sexual dimorphism in the red-necked wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus) 17:00 Louise Durkin Estimating relative abundance and densities of the greater glider in Victoria

17:15- POSTER SESSION

POSTERS Tom Newsome Project Oz Scav Danielle Beard Identifying the presence of tick-borne pathogens in ticks from bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus) Kate Dutton-Regester Using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry to measure body fat William La Marca The rise (or demise?) of a marsupial micro-carnivore, Dasyuroides byrnei Bronwyn Mcallan Torpor during reproduction in birds and mammals Anita Nahuysen Population ecology of the squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) in managed habitat William Terry Are cars a threat to brush-tailed phascogales? Rowen Thorley The diversity of the major histocompatibility complex class ii (mhcii) in wombats Ryuji Ueno A morphometric study of the maxillary molars and skulls in the three potoroids Stephanie Yip Comparing foraging and seed selection of rodents under different levels of predation risk Gabriel Orlando Odour-directed search for food by a generalist mammalian herbivore, the swamp wallaby Cassandra Thompson Reducing barrier effects for the Eastern Pygmy Possum in the peri-urban environment

Tuesday 9 July

BEHAVIOUR OF MAMMALIAN PREDATORS AND BEYOND 9:00 Peter Fleming Re-visiting free-roaming dogs in space: home ranges in the Australian alps and south east highlands 9:15 Dan Lunney Interactions between spotted-tailed quolls and foxes, feral cats and wild dogs as revealed by cameras 9:30 Cameron Radford Eyespots on cattle deter mammalian ambush predators 9:45 Catherine Price Understanding the role of experience and learning in foraging behaviours 10:00 Skye Cameron Boom and bust of an endangered dasyurid: fluctuations in density of northern quolls on an island refuge 10:15 Helen Waudby Evaluation of the ethical, scientific, and financial performances of Elliott and pitfall traps for sampling small desert-dwelling mammals

10:30 MORNING TEA

BEHAVIOUR AND ECOLOGY 11:00 Katie Wat Links between personality and problem-solving performance by an urban adapter, the common brushtail possum 11:15 Nicole Lynch Personality and problem-solving in the invasive black rat (Rattus rattus) 11:30 Kyla Johnstone The influence of personality on trapability of a trap-happy species, the mountain pygmy-possum (Burramys parvus) 11:35 Stephanie Todd Better understanding of the niche and distribution of an endangered habitat specialist, the northern bettong 11:40 Grace Nugi Indigenous use of mammals of the Bismarck Forest Corridor in Papua New Guinea 11:45 Terry Coates Diel activity of a suite of ground-dwelling mammals in northern Western Port, Victoria 12:00 Melissa Jensen Reintroduction of western quolls to arid recovery and their role in controlling overabundant herbivores 12:15 Casey Taylor What drives urban mammal and tick occurrence in Sydney’s northern beaches? 12:20 Gary Truong Modelling long term Antarctic blue whale call detections with large scale environmental variables across the southern hemisphere

12:35 LUNCH & CAT BOOK LAUNCH

AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS IN SPACE 13:30 Jemma Cripps Broad-scale surveys for Leadbeater’s possum reveal widespread occurrence across the central highlands of Victoria 13:45 Cara Penton Tree hollow requirements of three arboreal mammals on the Tiwi islands, northern Australia

5 14:00 Alyson Stobo-Wilson Illuminating den-tree selection by an arboreal mammal using terrestrial laser scanning in northern Australia 14:15 Michael Swinbourne Southern hairy-nosed wombats: why are they ‘there’, but not ‘there’? 14:30 Georgie Custance Habitat use by microbats in the Murray Darling depression bioregion 14:45 Aaron Greenville Dynamics, habitat use and extinction risk of the kowari are revealed by long-term monitoring 15:00 Leroy Gonsalves Tracking occupancy trends for Hastings river mouse in northern NSW

15:15 AFTERNOON TEA

15:45 AGM

17:45 END

18:30-22:00 CONFERENCE DINNER

Wednesday 10 July

PLENARY 9:00 Christine Cooper Regulation of insensible evaporative water loss by endotherms ADVANCES IN PHYSIOLOGY 9:45 James Turner Physiological responses of the common ringtail possum to heat wave exposure 10:00 Freya Russell Evaluating the relationship between stress and reproduction in the captive southern hairy nosed wombat using urinary metabolites. 10:15 Emily Scicluna Establishing the effects of captivity on the morphology and brain size of fat-tailed dunnarts (Sminthopsis crassicaudata) 10:30 Catharina Vendl Respiratory microbiota of humpback whales is depleted the longer they fast 10:45 Kate Moffatt The comparative utility of three-dimensional geometric versus traditional morphometrics in species- level taxonomy of cryptic small mammals: a case study using the carnivorous marsupial genus Pseudantechinus

10:50 MORNING TEA

ADVANCES IN REPRODUCTION 11:20 Wendy King The meaning of weaning and extended lactation in eastern grey kangaroos 11:35 Catherine Kemper Encounter bay, South Australia, is an important aggregation and nursery site for the endangered southern right whale 11:50 Holly Cope Efficacy and dose response effects of a gnrh agonist contraceptive implant in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) 12:05 Amy Edwards Seminiferous tubule area is related to sperm sex ratio in the tammar wallaby, Notamacropus eugenii 12:20 Hayley Stannard Sarcoptic mange incidence in bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus) 12:35 Carolyn Hogg The value of non-model species genomes

12:50 LUNCH AND IUCN MONTREMES AND MARSUPIALS SPECIALISTS GROUP MEETING

FORM FUNCTION AND ECOLOGY 13:50 Graeme Coulson A grey area: the eastern and western grey kangaroo sympatric zone in south-eastern south Australia and western Victoria 14:05 Stewart Nicol How special are Tasmanians? 14:20 Jonathan Cramb A tale of two mice: Pogonomys and Leggadina (Rodentia: Murinae) from pleistocene cave deposits at Mt Etna, eastern Queensland. 14:35 Meg Martin Who is best built for digging? Functional forelimb musculature in Australian marsupials

14:50 AFTERNOON TEA

ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PHYLOGENY 15:20 Melissa Taylor Size relationship of the tympanic bullae and pinnae in bandicoots and bilbies (Marsupialia: Peramelemorphia) 15:35 Kenny Travouillon The case of the 3 bandicoot skulls: a new species to add to the extinction list 6 15:50 Vera Weisbecker Is the 3D topology of the marsupial basicranium conserved enough for phylogenetic signal? 16:05 Philip Withers Assessing the efficacy of three approaches to phylogenetic analysis 16:20 Pietro Viacava Fragmented populations of the marsupial northern quoll reveal cranial shape divergence 16:35 Kathrin Dausmann The giant slumber party among dwarfs – hibernation in primates

16:50 CLOSING COMMENTS AND AWARDS

Thursday 11 July Koala Research Symposium

PLENARY 9:00 Kath Handasyde What do we know about the koala? A long-term view of its ecology for management OPEN SESSION 9:45 Mike Roache Prioritisation of koala conservation actions in NSW 9:50 Penny Vella The NSW koala strategy: securing the future of koalas in the wild 9:55 Kita Ashman The influence of plantations on habitat use and ranging behaviour of the koala 10:10 Adrian Rus Habitat fragmentation affects movement and space use of a specialist herbivore 10:25 Valentina Mella Pushing the limit: koalas close to the edge 10:40 Allen McIlwee A full set of regionally focused, niche-based habitat suitability models for koalas across NSW 10:55 Jillian Thonell Mapping koala tree suitability across NSW

11:10 MORNING TEA 11:40 Greta Frankham Genetic biobanking for conservation management: establishment of the Australian museum koala biobank. 11:55 Tamara Keeley Establishing a living koala genome bank: management tools for breeding koalas in captivity 12:00 Cristina Maria Fernandez Genetic differences in Chlamydia pecorum between neighbouring sub-populations of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) 12:15 Lyndal Hulse Genetic capture technology in the conservation of the koala in south-east Queensland 12:20 Jenny Seddon Loss of genetic diversity leading to a reduction in fitness in koalas 12:35 Chad Beranek Koala population surveys: comparing the efficiency of drone surveys to traditional methods 12:50 Grant Brearley A bird in the hand….coming to grips with the concept & components of koala source populations

13:05 LUNCH & POSTERS 14:05 Brad Law Passive acoustics provide a novel approach to assess and monitor the status of koalas in NSW’s northeast forests 14:20 Kylie Madden A way to calculate koala densities based on plant community type 14:25 Enhua Lee Application of the koala spotlighting survey method in the Campbelltown area for estimates of koala densities and total population size 14:30 Kirsten Wallis Mitigating koala threats from the desk: a quantitative approach to identifying and monitoring vehicle-strike hotspots 14:45 Amanda Lane Making tracks: new approaches to modelling dispersal pathways and koala habitat connectivity 15:00 Damien Higgins Koala Health Hub Website: online resources for koala care and research 15:15 Edward Narayan Assessing the emotion of wild koalas to environmental trauma and disease using non-invasive glucocorticoid monitoring 15:30 Steve Phillips Killing them softly with our song… negative outcomes arising from the management of disease in peri-urban koalas.

15:45 AFTERNOON TEA 16:15 Vera Weisbecker Cranio-mandibular shape in captive versus wild koalas

7 16:20 Lachlan Wilmott Koala home range size and chlamydial disease expression vary with soil fertility in South-west Sydney and the Southern Highlands, NSW 16:25 Mathew Crowther What is the fate of the iconic Liverpool Plains koala population? 16:40 Amy Hockings Interactions between wild dogs and koalas in north-east NSW 16:55 Clive McAlpine Conserving and recovering the koala populations on the NSW far north coast 17:10 Kellie Leigh It’s not all doom and gloom for koalas: a protected area case study 17:25 Dan Lunney The impact of the severe 2013 fire on the koala population of Warrumbungle National Park

POSTERS Penny Vella The NSW Koala Strategy: securing the future of koalas in the wild Renae Hockey The Koala Likelihood Map: a useful conservation management tool Billie Roberts Saving our Species Iconic Koala Project, key achievements July 2016 – June 2019

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p: 03 5157 9001 e: [email protected] w: www.faunatech.com.au www.wildlifeacoustics.com.au www.buckeyecamexperts.com.au www.faunatech.com.au Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 PLENARY

KEYSTONE EFFECTS OF AUSTRALIA’S TOP PREDATOR

Mike Letnic Centre for Ecosystem Science, University of NSW, Sydney

Top predators often have positive effects on biological diversity owing to their key functional roles in regulating trophic cascades and other ecological processes. Their loss has been identified as a major factor contributing to the decline of biodiversity in both aquatic and terrestrial systems. Consequently, restoring and maintaining the ecological function of top-order predators is a critical global imperative. The dingo is Australia’s largest terrestrial predator. Their status is ambiguous owing to their relatively recent arrival on the continent, the damage they cause to livestock and their role as ecosystem architects. In this talk, I will discuss the ecological role of dingoes, focusing particularly, on the strong regulatory effects they have on Australian ecosystems. A large body of research now indicates that dingoes regulate trophic cascades, particularly in arid Australia, and that the removal of dingoes results in an increase in the abundances and impacts of herbivores and invasive mesopredators, the red fox and feral cat. Trophic cascades associated with the removal of dingoes has been linked to widespread declines of small native mammals and ground nesting birds, the depletion of grass biomass and soil nutrients, woody shrub encroachment and shifts in the geomorphology of desert sand dunes. Looking forwards, one the great challenges facing biodiversity conservation in Australia will be finding ways to harness the positive effects that dingoes have on ecosystems while at the same time minimizing the damaging effects that dingoes have on livestock producers.

Biography Professor Mike Letnic I am a community/landscape ecologist with a strong focus on wildlife management and conservation biology. I did my PhD with Prof Chris Dickman at the University of Sydney examining the effects that fire and large rainfall events have on the ecology of the Simpson Desert. Early on in my career I worked in government wildlife management roles and for 3 years I was responsible for the management of crocodiles in the Northern Territory. I have been at UNSW since 2012. I have broad research interests spanning the roles of predators, impacts and control of invasive species, rewilding ecosystems by restoring the ecological functions of locally extinct species and understanding the effects that fire and grazing have on ecosystems. A common theme in my research is applying ecological theory to improve biodiversity outcomes.

9 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 MAMMAL CONSERVATION: A BIG PICTURE VIEW

READING THE BLACK BOOK: AUSTRALIAN MAMMAL EXTINCTIONS IN CONTEXT

John Woinarski1, Michael Braby2, Andrew Burbidge3, David Coates4, Stephen Garnett1, Rod Fensham5, Sarah Legge5, Norm McKenzie6, Jen Silcock5 and Brett Murphy1 1 NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub, Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0909 2 Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Acton, ACT 2601 3 87 Rosedale St., Floreat, WA, 6014 4 Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, 17 Dick Perry Ave, Kensington, WA 6151 5 NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub, Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Research, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072 6 Woodvale Research Centre, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Wildlife Place, Woodvale 6026 Email: [email protected]

Formal listings of Australian species that have become extinct since European settlement are deficient and inconsistent. We conclude that 99 Australian endemic species (comprising 38 plants, 33 mammals, 10 invertebrates, 9 birds, 4 frogs, 3 reptiles, 1 protist and 1 fish) are validly listed as extinct (or extinct in the wild). However, this tally is likely to substantially under-estimate the actual number of extinctions. The proportion of mammal extinctions (ca. 10% of the pre-European tally of endemic mammal species) is far higher than for any other taxonomic group, and the number of mammal extinctions is far higher than for modern mammal extinctions in any other country. Whereas most Australian plant extinctions were of species with small ranges and caused mainly by habitat loss, most now-extinct Australian mammal species had extensive ranges and their loss was due mostly to introduced cats and foxes. Island-endemic mammal species differed from this general pattern, with small ranges and extinction driven mostly by disease, introduced black rats and (in one case) climate change. The rate of Australian extinctions has been broadly constant over the last ca. 170 years, but the causal factors show some notable temporal change.

10 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 MAMMAL CONSERVATION: A BIG PICTURE VIEW

DEVELOPING A THREATENED SPECIES INDEX FOR AUSTRALIA

Elisa Bayraktarov1, Ayesha Tulloch2, Hugh Possingham3 1 The University of Queensland, QLD 4072 2 The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 3 The Nature Conservancy, Virginia 22203, United States Email: [email protected] Twitter: @ayeshatulloch

Understanding where and to what extent species populations are increasing or decreasing is crucial for monitoring progress towards global conservation targets, justifying and measuring benefits from conservation investments, stimulating targeted responses and raising the profile of threatened species. Most global indicators report on common species, not on those at greatest risk of extinction. Here we describe a Threatened Species Index (TSX) and test it as a mechanism for measuring changes in Australia’s imperilled birds (tsx.org.au). Based on more than 17,000 time series for 66 birds, the index shows an average reduction in relative abundance of 59% between 1985 and 2015, and 45% between 2000 and 2015. Decreases are most severe for shorebirds and terrestrial birds. The next step is to develop a TSX for mammals and plants. This talk aims to introduce the TSX concept to members of the Australian Mammal Society and engage in an open discussion. We are particularly interested to reach out to people who collect data on threatened/near-threatened mammals from repeated standardised monitoring at fixed sites and invite them to shape Australia’s Threatened Mammal Index. The TSX will enable governments, agencies and the public to observe whether the status of threatened species is improving or deteriorating.

11 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 NEW STRATEGIES MAMMAL CONSERVATION

HOW TO DELIVER A WILDLIFE CONSERVATION MASTERPLAN: SUCCESSES, CHALLENGES AND LEARNINGS TO FIGHT EXTINCTION

Marissa Parrott, Craig Whiteford, Lian Wilson, Darcie Carruthers and Rachel Lowry Wildlife Conservation and Science, Zoos Victoria, Parkville, VIC 3052 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @drmparrott

In 2014, Zoos Victoria, a zoo-based conservation organisation, launched a 5-year $30,000,000 Wildlife Conservation Masterplan focused on 20 south-eastern Australian species at risk of extinction and international conservation programs. During that timeframe, the funding allocated to conservation programs increased annually from $3,500,000 to over $10,500,000. 92% of 69 projects were implemented, and another 22 projects and a 21st critically endangered species, the Plains-wanderer, were added. Successes of the plan included clear strategic priorities, measurable targets, and improved partnerships and support. However, challenges included a lack of flexibility, consideration of commitments past 5 years, and a greater requirement for long-term costings, which often change across time. In July 2019, a second $80,000,000 Masterplan, integrating both threatened species and community conservation, will be launched with an increase in focal species and a watch list of additional species. It includes 334 projects with the majority of threatened species projects being conducted in situ. An increase in partners from 39 to 103, a greater degree of flexibility, and funding for wildlife technology and health have been included. In this presentation, I will detail the triumphs and tribulations experienced with the first plan and changes made to the second plan to maximise conservation outcomes.

12 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 NEW STRATEGIES MAMMAL CONSERVATION

WINNING OVER PARADISE: LESSONS LEARNT IN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Amy Coetsee Zoos Victoria, PO Box 74, Parkville, VIC 3052

Community engagement is recognised as a vital component of threatened species recovery. Whilst often challenging and time consuming, the outcomes of effective community engagement can provide long lasting, positive outcomes for threatened species. Whereas ineffective community engagement can have dire consequences for recovery projects. In 2007 the Eastern Barred Bandicoot Recovery Team approached the French Island community in Victoria to seek approval to translocate bandicoots to the island. The mainland subspecies is classified as extinct in the wild, has lost 99.9% of its native habitat and cannot establish self- sustaining populations in the presence of Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes). The key to recovering this species is maintaining suitable, fox-free habitat. French Island is Victoria’s largest fox-free island, but beyond the indigenous range of Eastern Barred Bandicoots (Perameles gunnii). Suitable habitat occurs mostly across private land; therefore, community support is critical to the success of this project. Twelve years ago, the importance of community engagement was not appreciated and resulted in significant delays to the project. Through building trust and addressing concerns, a bandicoot release later this year is now widely supported by the community. This release could significantly increase total population size and help ensure a future for Eastern Barred Bandicoots.

13 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 NEW STRATEGIES MAMMAL CONSERVATION

BEST-PRACTICE DETECTION STRATEGIES FOR THREATENED MAMMAL CONSERVATION: A CASE STUDY USING ENDANGERED ANTECHINUSES

S.G. Batista¹, D. Fisher², M.J. Phillips¹ and A. M. Baker¹ ¹ School of Earth, Environmental and Biological Sciences, Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Qld 4001 ² School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072 Email: [email protected]

The federally endangered Antechinus argentus and A. arktos are high-elevation species, susceptible to climate change and habitat disturbance, and are likely habitat specific. Given the species’ low densities and extinction risks, faster detection is required to clarify their distributions and to permit effective conservation management. Detection dogs were successfully piloted in 2017/18 field trials on these species. Using the threatened antechinuses as a model, the project aims to test and optimise canine detection to provide more detailed information about distribution and habitat requirements. I will compare distribution and abundance data collected using live trapping, camera trapping, and detection dogs. The project will assess their relative utility and cost-effectiveness to enable habitat and climate modelling of these and possibly other rare, altitude-limited antechinus species. I also aim to test the utility of canine detection in providing novel fine- scale ecological information (sex of the target species; distribution patterns across fine-scale altitudinal transects; location of female nesting sites) and potentially to investigate a novel species-sensitive pheromone- based lure to refine existing Elliott trapping and detection dog techniques. Here, I report results from intensive dog deployment during May 2019 in search of A. argentus and preliminary climate modelling for both antechinus species.

14 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 NEW STRATEGIES MAMMAL CONSERVATION

LIFE BEYOND SIGHT: HOW MICROORGANISMS COULD BE HARNESSED TO IMPROVE MAMMAL CONSERVATION

Raphael Eisenhofer1,2 1 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 2 Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA Email: [email protected] Twitter: @R_Eisenhofer

From birth until death, animals are covered in trillions of microorganisms. Recent studies have found that interactions between these microbial communities and their host animals are important for host health, development, metabolism, resilience to disease, dietary adaptability, detoxification of harmful compounds, and even mate choice. Such research suggests that our understanding of animal evolution, ecology, adaptation, and conservation viewed through the lens of the host genome alone is too simplistic. In this presentation, I will highlight current evidence for the importance of microorganisms to host animals and outline future methods for developing microbial communities as tools for improving the reintroduction success of threatened mammals. I will also emphasise the importance of interdisciplinary research in this endeavour, using examples of work currently being undertaken in Australia. Ultimately, my goal is to convey that by not considering the invisible world of microorganisms, we are missing out on an important facet of animal ecology that could be harnessed to serve the interests of threatened species conservation.

15 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 NEW STRATEGIES MAMMAL CONSERVATION

ECOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROGRESS IN SPECIES TRANSLOCATIONS

Euan G. Ritchie1, Ben L. Phillips2, Will G. Batson3, Chris J. Jolly4, Graeme R. Finlayson4 1 Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125 2 School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, VIC 3052 3 ACT Parks and Conservation Service, Woodlands and Wetlands Trust, Mitchell, ACT 2911 4 Bush Heritage, PO Box 17, Crafers, SA 5152 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @EuanRitchie1

Species reintroductions often fail. Why? For Australian mammal species, failure is often attributed to invasive predators. What is less often considered however, is the important role that the introduction environment and the traits of the introduced individuals play in determining success. Environmental factors such as habitat quality and food availability (for both introduced individuals and feral predators) determine levels of exposure to predation. Traits of introduced individuals, including social structure, antipredator behaviours and their background genetic health, also have a powerful influence on the success or failure of species translocations by determining vulnerability to that exposure. Release strategy (soft vs. hard) and whether dispersal of introduced individuals is free or initially limited are also important factors potentially affecting translocation outcomes. Despite this, these factors are often given insufficient consideration in the experimental design of reintroductions. With reference to recent mammal translocations, and where critical weight-range mammals still persist in the presence of invasive predators outside of sanctuaries, we discuss key lessons that emerge that could be used to rapidly increase the success of future species translocations. Given the emerging tools that can be applied to species translocations (e.g. predator-aversion training and targeted gene flow), we argue that it is premature to accept that certain species cannot persist outside of predator-free havens or islands.

16 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 NEW STRATEGIES MAMMAL CONSERVATION

CRUCIAL RESEARCH GAPS IN SECURING A FUTURE FOR THE CRITICALLY ENDANGERED NORTHERN HAIRY NOSED WOMBAT

Jacqueline Mills1 and Alynn Martin2 1 The Wombat Foundation, GPO Box 2188 Sydney, NSW 2001 2 School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, 7005 Email: [email protected]

The Wombat Foundation, dedicated exclusively to the conservation of the critically-endangered Northern Hairy Nosed Wombat, has undertaken the first comprehensive review of research into the species. The species was brought back from the brink of extinction in the 1980s when numbers dwindled to just 35 individuals living in Epping Forest National Park in Queensland. The species was added to the IUCN Red List and urgent conservation measures implemented, including erecting a predator-proof fence and supplementary feeding and water. Numbers steadily increased and in 2009 the first animals were translocated to a second site in Richard Underwood Nature Refuge in Southern Queensland. There are now 250 individuals across two sites but they are running out of room. The search is on for additional sites within the wombats’ historic range to establish additional populations and future-proof the species. This research gap analysis consolidates all the research and literature available on the species’ social behaviour, functional ecology, reproductive biology and major conservation threats, crucial to identifying suitable potential habitat sites. It also highlights critical gaps, specifically, the impact of climate change on the suitability of sites for wombats to persist into the future, and the impact of changing plant communities on wombat health.

17 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 MANAGING THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES

UNDERSTANDING ISLAND CAT ECOLOGY FOR PEST MANAGEMENT AND THREATENED SPECIES RECOVERY

Vivianna Miritis1,2, Amy Coetsee2, Tim Doherty1, Anthony Rendall1 and Euan Ritchie1 1 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125 2 Wildlife Conservation and Science, Zoos Victoria, Parkville, VIC 3052 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @vmiritis

Domestic cats (Felis catus) have contributed to a substantial loss of Australian biodiversity, but cat management remains challenging. Studying spatial and temporal interactions between cats and their native prey can aid in understanding how some mammal species are able to coexist with cats and consequently help management outcomes. The aims of this study were to determine cat density for French Island and examine spatial and temporal relationships between cats and long-nosed potoroos. Results showed that our study area had a density of 0.68 cats per km2 which was higher than reported for mainland Australian sites but lower than other islands. Cats were detected at 81% of camera stations and positively influenced the occupancy of long-nosed potoroos that occurred at 75% of camera stations, suggesting that cats may be tracking them as prey. Although the two species overlapped in their temporal activity, their peak activity times were significantly different. This divergent temporal activity may suggest that potoroos are reducing their predation risk by avoiding cats in time. The results from this study provide key information on predator- prey relationships. Given the current challenges of cat management for biodiversity conservation, these findings could be used to facilitate better threatened species outcomes.

18 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 MANAGING THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES

ENHANCING GENOME QUOLL-ITY TO COMBAT TOADS

Stephen Frankenberg1, Adnan Moussalli2, Ben Phillips1 and Andrew Pask1 1 School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, VIC 3010 2 Sciences Department, Museums Victoria, Carlton Gardens, VIC 3053 Email: [email protected]

The introduced cane toad secretes a toxin that has devastating impacts on Australian native predator species, such as the northern quoll. Known genetic modifications conferring bufotoxin resistance have evolved in natural predators of bufonid toads (including cane toads) but not in Australian species. A minor edit in either the ATP1A1 or ATP1A3 gene could provide the northern quoll with sufficient resistance to prevent toad- driven extinction and even establish it as an effective predator for limiting toad populations, which would additionally benefit other native species. The main challenge will be to introduce these genome edits to the northern quoll population. We are developing the fat-tailed dunnart, a small dasyurid marsupial related to quolls, as a marsupial model with the potential for gene editing using recently developed CRISPR technology. Concurrently, we are developing genomic and cell culture resources for eventually applying these technologies to introduce bufotoxin resistance to northern quolls.

19 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 MANAGING THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES

COULD FERAL DROMEDARIES REDUCE FUEL LOADS FOR WILDFIRE EVENTS?

Rebecca Wheatley1, Barry Brook1, Steven Higgins2 and Chris Johnson1 1 School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, TAS 7005 2 Lehrstuhl für Pflanzenökologie, Universität Bayreuth, Bayreuth 95440, Germany Email: [email protected]

Fifty thousand years ago, Australia was populated by various species of marsupial megaherbivores, from the giant wombat-like Diprotodon to Procoptodon goliah, a kangaroo that stood two meters tall. These megaherbivores went extinct in the late Pleistocene and no analogues of a comparable size exist today. Palaeontological evidence from across Australia suggests that, in certain areas, large herbivores reduced the incidence of wildfires by consuming potential fuels. However, we know little about what caused this effect to vary across biogeographic regions. The rewilding of large herbivores has been proposed as a method to reduce catastrophic fire events. We wanted to investigate whether an invasive large herbivore, the soft-footed dromedary, could potentially fill an ecological niche left open by our extinct megaherbivores and reduce fuel loads for wildfires. To answer this question, we built an aspatial, cohort-based metamodel to simulate the effects of feral camels on vegetative fuel loads in arid Australia. Our model predicts that camels do reduce fuel loads by consuming vegetation. However, the cascading effect this might have on fire regimes is uncertain, as the incidence of intense fires in arid Australia varies significantly with vegetation type and rainfall.

20 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 MANAGING THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES

ANIMAL CARCASSES ATTRACT FOXES AND THREATEN NATIVE GROUND NESTING BIRDS IN ARID AUSTRALIA

Emma Spencer1, Aaron Greenville1, Alex Kutt2, Chris Dickman1 and Thomas Newsome1 1 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 2 Bush Heritage Australia, VIC 3000 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @EE_Spencer

Carrion is a nutrient-rich resource that is utilised by a variety of vertebrate scavengers across the planet. As many of these scavengers are also predators, there are concerns that carrion (e.g. produced via pest culls, droughts and disease) may bolster predator numbers and have flow-on impacts to native wildlife. These impacts may be heightened if exotic mammalian predator species are present. Our research addresses these concerns, exploring the use of carrion by exotic and native predators and its impact on predation risk to ground nesting birds including the night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis). We made use of remote cameras and artificial bird nests positioned around kangaroo carcasses in an arid Australian environment to determine carrion visitation by different predator species and nest predation rates. Our findings reveal that while scavenging was dominated by native species such as eagles and crows, red foxes and feral cats also foraged frequently on carcasses. We further discovered that nest predation, particularly by foxes, was greater in the proximity of carrion resources, but varied according to factors such as tree coverage and season. This research will provide further insight into the role of carrion in Australian food-webs and will contribute to carrion management across conservation landscapes.

21 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 MANAGING THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES

WE ALL HAVE OUR LIMITS: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POPULATION DENSITY AND THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF ALIENS

Amelia M. Saul, Charlotte Taylor and Peter Banks School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Email: [email protected]

The impacts of invasive alien species are some of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide. Population density is one parameter that affects the magnitude of damage caused by alien species. The negative impacts of aliens often have nonlinear relationships with density, and so practitioners use these density- damage relationships to decide the optimal density at which to control alien populations and limit their adverse effects. Recent work highlights that aliens also have positive impacts on their new environments, and we expect that these benefits are related to population density. Like density-damage relationships, we predict that "density-benefit" relationships will be nonlinear with minimal benefits occurring at low and high densities. We investigated the "density-benefit" relationships of three common alien species (black rats, rabbits and lantana), and tested our predictions through a series of manipulative field experiments. We found that the efficacy of ecosystem functions provided by aliens is significantly related to density. Furthermore, this relationship can be linear or nonlinear, simple or complex, depending on the function and the species providing it. Including the benefits of aliens in their management will advance the current understanding of alien ecology and will ensure that essential ecosystem functions provided by aliens are not lost unnecessarily.

22 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 STUDIES IN MAMMAL CONSERVATION

THE ONTONG JAVA FLYING FOX- STATUS OF A THREATENED ENDEMIC MAMMAL ON A REMOTE AND DISAPPEARING PACIFIC ATOLL

Diana O. Fisher1, John Fasi2, Albert Kwatelae3, Edgar Pollard4, Corzzierrah Posala5 and George Kaola6 1 School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 2 Solomon Islands National University 3 Solomon Islands Community Conservation Partnership, Honiara, Solomon Islands 4 James Cook University, Townsville 5 DFAT 6 Solomon Islands Education Department, Honiara, Solomon Islands Email: [email protected] Twitter: @DianaF1080, @OzMMSSG

The Ontong Java flying fox (Pteropus howensis) is a Solomon Islands bat listed as Data Deficient. It was described in 1931 and the last specimen was found in 1945. It is likely to be at risk of extinction because the tiny islands of the atoll where it is endemic are eroding and being inundated. This remote atoll is more than 24 hours from the nearest island by boat. In September 2018, an all-Solomon Islander expedition of recent graduates in ecology, trained at UQ and the University of the South Pacific, and a teacher, originally from Ontong Java, set out to find this species. Our aims were to confirm if the species is extant, find how much it has declined, obtain a current population estimate, find if the species is currently persecuted or harvested (given the food shortage for the ~2500 people on the atoll), and the extent of threat from climate change. An aim of this expedition was also to give conservation leadership experience to graduates. The expedition was successful: the team discovered that there are ~85 individuals in on the largest island, and fewer in a secondary roost on a smaller island. We are in the process of genetically confirming if it is indeed a full species. If so, this distinctive golden bat should be listed as Endangered.

23 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 STUDIES IN MAMMAL CONSERVATION

EXPERIMENTALLY INTRODUCED RED AND WHITE LIGHTS AT WETLANDS CAUSE DIVERSE EFFECTS ON INSECTIVOROUS BATS

Joanna K. Haddock1, Leroy Gonsalves3, Caragh G. Threlfall1,2, Bradley Law3 and Dieter F. Hochuli1 1School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Heydon-Laurence Building, Science Road, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 2School of Ecosystem & Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Richmond, VIC 3121 3Department of Primary Industries, Level 12, 10 Valentine Avenue, Parramatta, NSW 2124 Email: [email protected]

Artificial light is rapidly intensifying, and its disruptive effects on nocturnal fauna are widely documented. Because street lights are deemed necessary for human residents, it is essential to find mitigation strategies that effectively reduce impacts to fauna, whilst meeting the lighting requirements for human society. We assessed the short-term response of insectivorous bats to experimentally introduced red and white halogen lights at replicated peri-urban wetlands by acoustically surveying 12 wetlands. The composition of the bat assemblage differed significantly among sites, but also changed significantly upon the introduction of white lights, but not red lights. Specifically, the activity of the vulnerable trawling bat species Myotis macropus significantly decreased upon the introduction of white lights but not red lights. Conversely, the vulnerable fast flying bat Micronomous norfolkensis was more active at wetlands with white lights. We found that, irrespective of artificial light, bat diversity was positively associated with wetland size and the amount of surrounding vegetation, and negatively associated with the distance of a wetland to a major waterway. Wetlands in cities support high bat diversity, and red lights with lower colour temperature and ultraviolet light may be a possible mitigation strategy for reducing lighting impacts on bats at urban wetlands.

24 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 STUDIES IN MAMMAL CONSERVATION

PASSIVE ACOUSTICS IDENTIFIES A NEW BLUE WHALE POPULATION IN THE INDIAN OCEAN

Emmanuelle C. Leroy and Tracey Rogers School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of NSW, NSW 2052 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Dr_EmmanuWhale

Blue whales were brought to the edge of extinction by 20th Century’s commercial whaling. Their recovery rate is slow, and they remain classified as endangered by the IUCN Red list. Ironically, although the blue whale is the largest animal on Earth, they have been difficult to study in the Southern Hemisphere; thus, our knowledge about their population structure, distribution and migration, remains sparse. Blue whales within a population produce highly stereotyped songs allowing us to distinguish different ‘acoustic populations’. We examined whether a blue whale call (the ‘DGD-call’), previously described as a call-variant of a known population, is in fact produced by a different, and as yet, unknown blue whale population. We identified the prevalence of the DGD-call in 17-years of continuous hydroacoustic data recorded at two North Indian Ocean sites and show that the DGD-call dominates the underwater soundscape at these sites. Seasonal differences in detections between our recording sites shows that the DGD-whales remain year-round in these tropical waters and migrate from West-to-East annually. We argue that the DGD-producing blue whales are an entirely different population. This study highlights the use of passive acoustic monitoring and shows that this is an efficient approach to study this cryptic species.

25 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 STUDIES IN MAMMAL CONSERVATION

THE DECLINE OF THE SPOTTED-TAILED QUOLL IN VICTORIA

Jenny Nelson Arthur Rylah Institute, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Email: [email protected]

The Spotted-tailed Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) is the largest marsupial carnivore on mainland Australia. Although broadly distributed in eastern Australia, its range has contracted by up to 50% and is now fragmented. In Victoria, quolls have declined markedly in distribution and abundance and the species is currently classified as Endangered. Spotted-tailed Quolls occur at naturally low densities over large areas making them difficult to detect during surveys. Despite this, a survey protocol prescribing the level of effort for a high probability of detection has been developed so that camera traps can be used effectively to survey for quolls. Collation of camera-trap survey data from 2006-2019 has revealed that quolls were rarely detected in targeted surveys, or in other broad-scale camera trapping programs. These results indicate that quolls continue to decline in Victoria and that many populations may now be locally extinct. A combination of threats has likely contributed to on-going declines, particularly introduced predators. The only area where Spotted-tailed Quolls can reliably be detected in Victoria is the upper Snowy River region in East Gippsland, and this likely represents the last remaining viable population in this state. Management of threats to this population is critical to the species’ conservation in Victoria.

26 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 STUDIES IN MAMMAL CONSERVATION

SAVING AN ENDANGERED BETTONG WITH FIRE

Christopher Pocknee1, Jane McDonald2, Sarah Legge1 and Diana Fisher1 1 School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, QLD 2 Threatened Species Program, Queensland Department of Environment and Science, QLD Email: [email protected] Twitter: @scipock

The northern bettong (Bettongia tropica) is an endangered potoroid endemic to a small area of the Queensland Wet Tropics. The bettong has suffered huge population declines since European arrival and this trend seems to be continuing. The one remaining stable population of the northern bettong occurs within the Lamb Range, west of Cairns. Habitat in the Lamb Range is managed using fire, with the aim of maintaining open sclerophyll forest and preventing rainforest encroachment down an elevational gradient. The timing of these management fires can alter the way they behave significantly, and the impact that this could have on this vital population of bettongs is unclear. I will be assessing the impact of fire, at different times of year, on the northern bettong using GPS collars to map the movement of individuals before, during and after burns. I will also be using camera traps to observe the movement of cats and any changes to their behaviour around recently burnt areas. At this conference, I will present some preliminary findings from my work, the results of which will be used to help guide fire management in the area.

27 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 STUDIES IN MAMMAL CONSERVATION

SUCCESSFUL GENETIC INTEGRATION OF SUPPLEMENTED TASMANIAN DEVILS INTO A WILD POPULATION

Elspeth McLennan1, Samantha Fox2,3, Catherine Grueber1,4, Carolyn Hogg1 and Kathy Belov1 1 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006 2 Save the Tasmanian Devil Program, DPIPWE, Hobart, TAS, 7001 3 Toledo Zoo and Aquarium, Toledo, OH, 43609, USA 4 San Diego Zoo Global, PO BOX 120551, San Diego, CA, 92112, USA

Tasmanian devils have experienced an 80% population decline across the species range since the emergence of an infectious cancer, devil facial tumour disease, in 1996. Given the success of the captive insurance population that commenced in 2006, the wild devil recovery program was launched. This program aims to reintroduce devils from the disease-free insurance population into wild populations across Tasmania to perform demographic and genetic rescue. In 2016 a total of 33 devils from the insurance population, were released to one such wild devil recovery population at Stony Head, Tasmania. The current study aimed to determine whether supplemented individuals were successfully breeding with the incumbent population and contributing their genetic material. DNA was extracted from a total of 190 devils (33 release; 155 incumbent) and samples sent to Diversity Array Technologies for reduced representation sequencing, DArT-seqTM. A total of 61 juveniles were trapped in the year following the release of which 34% were assigned to released and incumbent mixed pairings. Initial genetic diversity assessments showed a boost in observed heterozygosity of the F1 generation post-release. These results confirmed that translocated devils can successfully integrate into an existing population and provided the STDP with essential information for devil conservation management.

28 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 STUDIES IN MAMMAL CONSERVATION

THE BREEDING TRAP: HOW WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING CAN OVERCOME BREEDING BLOCKS IN THE NEW HOLLAND MOUSE (PSEUDOMYS NOVAEHOLLANDIAE)

Simone Lagondar1, Seungmin Ham 1, Yogeshwar Makanji 1, Marissa Parrott 2* and Peter Temple-Smith1* 1 Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800 2 Wildlife Conservation & Science, Zoos Victoria, Elliot Avenue, Parkville, VIC 3052 Email: [email protected] *these authors contributed equally to the study

Pseudomys novaehollandiae, or the native New Holland Mouse (NHM) is listed as a threatened species in Victoria, Australia. Captive breeding and reintroduction programs for NHM have historically had limited success, in part due to a lack of genetic knowledge. A successful genome-based technique for reproduction has been applied in the common laboratory mouse (Mus musculus) but has never been applied in any native Pseudomys species. We aimed to complete whole-genome sequencing (WGS) for the NHM and perform a comparative analysis of species genetic variation from Mus. Genomic DNA from dermal fibroblast cells of NHM and Mus was extracted. WGS was performed using Illumina Hiseq 3000 and NHM sequences were aligned against the Mus genome. Unexpectedly, WGS revealed 75-78% sequence mapping between NHM and Mus. Species-specific markers for fibroblast genes (Col1a2, Thy1 and S100a4) and pluripotency associated genes (Oct4, Sox2, KLF4 and Myc) were designed for RT-PCR. The species-specific markers and subsequent PCR results further confirmed genetic variation between the two species. Based on this level of variation, it is likely alternative techniques such as assisted reproductive technologies will need to be considered for the NHM to help restore lost genetic diversity and improve reproductive outcomes for future conservation programs.

29 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 STUDIES IN MAMMAL CONSERVATION

POPULATION PERSISTENCE, BREEDING SEASONALITY AND SEXUAL DIMORPHISM IN THE RED-NECKED WALLABY (NOTAMACROPUS RUFOGRISEUS)

Sarah Garnick and Graeme Coulson School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, VIC 3010 Email: [email protected]

Despite the wide range and common status of the red-necked wallaby, ecological research on the mainland subspecies has been concentrated at two locations. Here, we compile data from the Grampians National Park, Victoria collected over 40 years on stability at the site over time, and additional data collected over ten years on trap success, sexual dimorphism, breeding seasonality and home range. The abundance of red- necked wallabies has increased over time, and there was no negative effect of the arrival of the swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) in the 1970s on red-necked wallaby abundance. 64% of red-necked wallabies were re-trapped at least once and one was re-trapped 38 times. Red-necked wallabies showed no long- range movements and no sex bias in the likelihood of remaining on site. One female was regularly resighted for almost eight years after her initial capture and one male lived to an estimated age of 20 years. There was a marked peak of births in February and over three-quarters of births occurred in February and March. Red-necked wallabies were highly sexually dimorphic: the largest male was 24.5 kg and the largest female 15 kg. Male home ranges were over five times larger than those of females.

30 Monday 8th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 STUDIES IN MAMMAL CONSERVATION

ESTIMATING RELATIVE ABUNDANCE AND DENSITIES OF THE GREATER GLIDER IN VICTORIA

Louise Durkin, Jenny Nelson, Michael Scroggie, Jemma Cripps, Luke Emerson, Tiarne Ecker, David Ramsey and Lindy Lumsden Arthur Rylah Institute, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @louisekdurkin

Once considered common in Victoria, the Greater Glider has recently declined and is now listed as Threatened. However, the current status of many populations is unknown. We used mark-recapture distance sampling to estimate glider densities on 500 m off-track transects at 105 sites. We found marked differences in glider abundance between the two areas sampled. In the Strathbogie Ranges, north-eastern Victoria, we observed 121 Greater Gliders across 25 transects, with a mean detection rate of 4.9 individuals per transect (range 0- 14). We found significant positive relationships between the abundance of gliders, tree size, and eucalypt composition. In contrast, surveys across the Central Highlands observed only 66 gliders across 80 sites, with a mean detection rate of 0.9 individuals per transect (range 0-6). No Greater Gliders were detected on almost 60% of these transects, and we found no relationships between the abundance of gliders and any of the habitat or environmental variables considered. Why so few gliders were found in our Central Highlands study area, despite the presence of apparently suitable habitat, compared to the Strathbogie Ranges is unknown, but highlights the patchy nature of the species’ decline.

31 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 POSTERS

PROJECT OZ SCAV

Thomas Newsome and Emma Spencer School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @NewsomeTM

Carrion has the potential to affect many aspects of community ecology and to play key roles in nutrient cycling and in shaping food-web dynamics. But despite the potential community-wide impacts of this resource, carrion ecology remains understudied, and research on the topic is primarily northern hemisphere based. In this poster, we provide an overview of a new project (ProjectOzScav) that is investigating the role of carrion in ecological communities in Australia. This project currently (1) explores how carrion is used by Australian vertebrates, arthropods and microbes, (2) determines whether the presence of carrion has cascading impacts on surrounding live prey, and (3) examines the effects of carrion on soil nutrients and subsequent plant growth surrounding the resource. The project currently spans three study systems across Australia, representing temperate, subalpine and desert biomes. ProjectOzScav will be expanding to include an assessment of the impacts of European wasps around carcasses, pathogen spill-over risk around carcasses, as well as looking at the ecosystem effects of mass mortality events, including culling. Data are providing insights into the role of carrion in Australian food-webs, and, as study locations are situated on National parkland and conservation reserves, data are also contributing directly to local land management.

32 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 POSTERS

IDENTIFYING THE PRESENCE OF TICK-BORNE PATHOGENS IN TICKS FROM BARE-NOSED WOMBATS (VOMBATUS URSINUS)

Danielle Beard1, Hayley Stannard2 and Julie Old1 1 School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Hawkesbury, NSW 2 School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Email: [email protected]

Ticks (Arachnida: Acari) are a vector of pathogenic microorganisms and are the biggest threat to animal health. There are currently 71 known Australian tick species, and many are associated with pathogens (bacteria, viruses and protozoa) that cause disease in humans, domestic animals and livestock. Little however is known about the presence or impact of tick-borne pathogens in native Australian wildlife. Vector-borne disease is the primary cause of mortality in two of three extant wombat species (sarcoptic mange caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei). It is therefore critical to understand the species of ticks that are parasitizing wombats and their pathogens. This study determined the species of ticks parasitizing wombats and other Australian mammals. A total of 50 hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) were collected and identified from bare- nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus) and other native mammals using a light microscope and taxonomic keys. Tick species identified included Amblyomma papuanum, Aponomma auruginans, Haemaphysalis bremneri, H. longicornis and H. bancrofti. The results of this study list V. ursinus as a new host record for A. papuanum. All identified tick species have the potential to harbour zoonotic pathogens and will be screened for the presence of bacteria, viruses and protozoa using 16s rRNA genotyping.

33 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 POSTERS

USING DUAL-ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY TO MEASURE BODY FAT IN CAPTIVE SHORT-BEAKED ECHIDNAS (TACHYGLOSSUS ACULEATUS)

K.J. Dutton-Regester1, J. Fenelon2, A. Roser3, L. Clark3, M.B. Renfree2 and S.D. Johnston1 1 School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of QLD, Gatton, 4343 2 School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, VIC, 3010 3 Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Currumbin, QLD, 4223 Email: [email protected]

Although seasonal breeders, female short-beaked echidnas do not breed annually in the wild. A contributing factor to this phenomenon could be the requirement for a threshold level of energy. While free-ranging echidnas show increasing body mass leading into the breeding season, it is unclear whether this increase is correlated with body fat. The aims of this study were to validate the use of dual x-ray absorptiometery (DEXA) to measure echidna body fat and to determine if the adipostatic hormone leptin correlates with these measurements. Following initial correlations of MRI determined body fat with DEXA measurements, DEXA scans are being used to monitor body mass and body fat in 6 captive echidnas over 15-months. Preliminary results show that body mass does not accurately reflect body fat (r = -0.20) but body fat does appear to accumulate leading into the breeding season with gains of 0.8 – 6.7% (mean 2.6+/- 1.02%). We are currently establishing an assay to analyse leptin levels. Using DEXA as an estimate of body fat, we propose to conduct further dietary manipulation studies to investigate the relationship between fat reserves and echidna reproductive success. Our findings will be key to understanding the importance of energy to echidna breeding potential.

34 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 POSTERS

THE RISE (OR DEMISE?) OF A MARSUPIAL MICRO-CARNIVORE, DASYUROIDES BYRNIE

William La Marca1, Aaron Greenville1, Robert Brandle2, Kath Tuft3 and Chris Dickman1 1 Desert Ecology Research Group, Room 325, A08 – Heydon-Laurence Building, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 2 Natural Resources SA Arid Lands, Department for Environment and Water, Level 1, Mackay Street, Port Augusta, SA 5700 3 Arid Recovery, PO Box 147 Roxby Downs, SA 5725 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @eco_blam

The kowari (Dasyuroides byrnei) is a small marsupial carnivore restricted to the gibber plains of central Australia. Despite appearing to be at increasingly high risk of extinction, this micro-carnivore remains understudied and under-protected. It is listed currently as Vulnerable under national and IUCN criteria with a pending application to upgrade status to Endangered. Understanding the ecology, population dynamics, and threats facing the species will be crucial in constructing and enacting effective management planning. In this poster I will discuss how I aim to investigate factors such as social organisation and habitat associations that allow the persistence of refuge populations, in addition to predation rates and the ecological role of the species. I will further detail how I aim to combine these studies with analysis of how historical and present occurrence records - which depict an ongoing contraction in distribution - interact with biotic and abiotic factors. This synthesis of field-based research and modelling efforts will allow key gaps in existing knowledge to be explored and will improve the ability of land managers to identify and protect refuges for the populations of kowari. Through Team Kowari, this project will develop alongside translocation efforts undertaken by the not-for-profit conservation initiative Arid Recovery.

35 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 POSTERS

TORPOR DURING REPRODUCTION IN BIRDS AND MAMMALS

Bronwyn M. McAllan1,2 and Fritz Geiser 2 1 Physiology, School of Medical Sciences and Bosch Institute, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 2 Centre of Excellence for Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Zoology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351

Torpor, a controlled reduction of metabolism and body temperature, and reproduction, often requiring an increase in energy expenditure and reproductive hormones, in birds and mammals are widely viewed as mutually exclusive processes because of opposing energetic and hormonal demands. However, the number of heterothermic species that express torpor during reproduction is ever increasing, to some extent because of recent work on free-ranging animals. We summarise current knowledge about those heterothermic mammals that do not express torpor during reproduction and, in contrast, examine those heterothermic birds and mammals that do use torpor during reproduction. Mammals and birds that produce few offspring or spread the reproductive effort and the associated metabolic costs over a long time, may display torpor during the period of reproduction to be able to reproduce with limited resources. Many of the species that are heterothermic during reproduction also are animals that are found in unpredictable environments, where seasonal availability of food can be cut short by seasonal weather changes.

36 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 POSTERS

POPULATION ECOLOGY OF THE SQUIRREL GLIDER (PETAURUS NORFOLCENSIS) IN MANAGED HABITAT

Anita Nahuysen School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, NSW 2480 Email: [email protected]

The purpose of my PhD project is to understand the factors that enable persistence of small urban populations of squirrel gliders (Petaurus norfolcensis), and the factors that may lead to decline. My study will focus on an isolated population located within an urbanised area of Brisbane, Queensland. The site is subject to further fragmentation due to the development of an adjoining housing estate and golf course. It is hypothesized that the introduction of additional external pressures has the potential to negatively impact the already vulnerable squirrel glider population. The population has been subject to geographic isolation for several decades, following degradation of habitat corridors that previously linked the broader metapopulation. Comparison with other remnant populations will be used to understand population dynamics and the influence of site-specific factors. I will also investigate genetic variables to determine whether genetic drift and inbreeding present immediate threats to population viability. This project will contribute to the body of knowledge on the conservation of native wildlife populations in urban environments, in the face of change and increasing anthropogenic pressures.

37 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 POSTERS

ARE CARS A THREAT TO BRUSH-TAILED PHASCOGALES?

William Terry Southern Cross University, Military Road, East Lismore, NSW 2480

Roads can reduce habitat connectivity thus impacting on navigation routes of wildlife which can have long- term consequences for genetic diversity and breeding success. Vehicle collisions also present as a risk to wildlife. The Brush-tailed Phascogale is a free-ranging marsupial that is threatened by loss of habitat and introduced predators. In this pilot investigation, Phascogale road kills in central Victoria were recorded anecdotally over a two-year period from 2018 – 2019. Additional records from other years were retrieved from the Victorian Government peer reviewed atlas database and from relevant social media networks. A total of 42 Phascogales were recorded being killed on roads by vehicles. This number was surprisingly high given the mostly arboreal behaviour of Phascogales. The majority of road kills were males which are known to be more-free ranging than females which occupy smaller home-ranges. The females killed were found during early breeding season when young would have been present. At some sites, repeat deaths occurred suggesting that the surrounding habitat contained important resources. Phascogales have been shown to be attracted to roadsides due to the higher numbers of old growth trees which have more hollows for nesting and greater opportunities for food resources. Further research is required to determine if vehicle collisions represent a major threat for this species and potential solutions for mitigating this impact.

38 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 POSTERS

THE DIVERSITY OF THE MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY COMPLEX CLASS II (MHCII) IN WOMBATS

Rowan K. Thorley and Julie M. Old School of Science and Health, Hawkesbury, Western Sydney University, Locked bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751 Email: [email protected]

Wombats are large marsupial grazers native to Australia. They are ‘ecosystem engineers’ due to their burrowing, which impacts rates of soil turnover and assists with nutrient cycling and water infiltration. There are three extant species of wombat, the bare-nosed wombat (Vombatus ursinus), the southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons), and the northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus kreftii) all impacted by anthropogenic environmental changes. The major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII) is a highly researched complex of genes which can be used as an indicator of immunological fitness in a population. Previous results from MHCII studies in bare-nosed wombats have identified 24 unique MHC sequences from 34 samples, and MHCII have not yet been investigated in southern hairy-nosed or northern hairy-nosed wombats. This study will be furthering studies on wombat MHC diversity to determine its influence on the impact of sarcoptic mange in bare-nosed and southern hairy-nosed wombats and determining if a lack of MHC diversity may pose a threat to the critically endangered northern hairy-nosed wombat.

39 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 POSTERS

A MORPHOMETRIC STUDY OF THE MAXILLARY MOLARS AND SKULLS IN THE THREE POTOROIDS

Ryuji Ueno1,2,4, Iwao Sato2, Katsuo Oshima1, Ikuo Kageyama3 and Grant C. Townsend4 1Department of Dental Technology, The Nippon Dental University, College at Tokyo 2-3-16 Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0071, Japan 2Department of Anatomy, School of Life Dentistry at Tokyo, The Nippon Dental University, 1-9-20 Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8159, Japan 3 Department of Anatomy, School of Life Dentistry at Niigata, The Nippon Dental University, 1-8 Hamaura-cho, Chuo- ku, Niigata 951-8580, Japan 4 Adelaide Dental School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000 Email: [email protected]

Although there have been many general descriptions of the teeth of mammals, detailed investigations of the similarities and differences between various mammalian dentitions are still needed. The aim of this study was to measure skull size to determine whether there were any trends or relationships between molar dimensions and size of skull among the three potoroids. A sample of skulls housed in the South Australian Museum, Adelaide, was examined. Maxillary molar crown dimensions and linear measurements of the skulls were recorded, and descriptive statistics calculated. Regarding the characteristics of maxillary molar crown size in the Rufous Rat-kangaroo, Eastern Bettong and Brush-tailed Bettong, we found that distal reduction was observed in each maxillary molar and that there was no terminal reduction in both sexes in the Rufous Rat- kangaroo. In contrast, there was a tendency for terminal reduction in both sexes from second to fourth molars in the Eastern Bettong and Brush-tailed Bettong. There was a similarity in palate shape in both sexes in the Brush-tailed Bettong and the Eastern Bettong but contrasting in the Rufous Rat-kangaroo. These results suggested a relationship between the palate shape and molar crown morphology.

40 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 POSTERS

COMPARING FORAGING AND SEED SELECTION OF RODENTS UNDER DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PREDATION RISK

Stephanie Yip and Christopher Dickman School of Life and Environmental Sciences, A08 – Heydon-Laurence Building, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Email: [email protected]

This study compared foraging and native seed selection of the sandy inland mouse (Pseudomys hermannsburgensis) and tested the hypothesis that animals would choose preferred seeds under conditions of low risk of predation (in sheltered microhabitat), but not high risk of predation (in open microhabitat). We placed trays with the seeds of spinifex (Triodia basedowii), Grevillea stenobotrya, Eremophila macdonnellii, Goodenia cycloptera and Trachymene glaucifolia in open and sheltered microhabitats in the swales of sand dunes in the Simpson Desert, QLD, and measured their removal by mice. As predicted, preferred seeds were selected and consumed in sheltered microhabitats when predators were active but selected similarly in both microhabitats when predator numbers were low. Preference for the most highly preferred seed, Grevillea stenobotrya, was especially obvious under conditions of low predation risk, indicating that P. hermannsburgensis spent more time at seed plates in active seed choice, rather than taking seeds at random. The significance of this research is that, by understanding the factors influencing the foraging habits of small mammals, we should be able to use this information to help identify and mitigate threats, and thus assist in the conservation of threatened species.

41 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 POSTERS

ODOUR-DIRECTED SEARCH FOR FOOD BY A GENERALIST MAMMALIAN HERBIVORE, THE SWAMP WALLABY (WALLABIA BICOLOR)

Cristian Gabriel Orlando1, Ashley Tews2, Peter Banks1 and Clare McArthur1 1 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney. Camperdown 2006, NSW, Australia 2 CSIRO Data61 Robotics and Autonomous Systems Laboratory, 1 Technology Court. Pullenvale 4069, QLD, Australia Email: [email protected]

Odour cues affect how mammalian herbivores search for food in their environment, enabling non-random, selective foraging. For generalist herbivores, food plants may occur within metres and their cues harnessed for efficient, directed search even at this fine scale. We aimed to quantify the behaviours and movement of a foraging generalist herbivore within food patches, and to test whether foraging patterns change in response to a strongly smelling, highly attractive food. We used thermal cameras in eucalyptus woodland, NSW, to film free-ranging swamp wallabies foraging on natural vegetation within areas of ~100m2. We then filmed the same areas, but with chopped apple added in the centre. We quantified detailed foraging behaviours and movement in space and time. In natural vegetation, wallabies stopped frequently (mean length between stops 1.14m) and changed direction often to forage. When apple was added, wallabies showed highly directed and efficient search behaviour. They made fewer stops, travelled faster and with lower movement tortuosity, detecting apple odour cues from at least six meters away. Our results indicate that within food patches, odour cues can direct fine-scale movement of foraging herbivores. This implies that area-restricted search can become even more focused and efficient, consistent with mathematical foraging simulations.

42 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 POSTERS

REDUCING BARRIER EFFECTS FOR EASTERN PYGMY POSSUMS IN THE PERI-URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Cassandra Thompson1, Brad Law2, Rodney van der Ree3 and Peter Banks1 1 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 2 Forest Science Unit, NSW Primary Industries, Locked Bag 5123, Parramatta, 2124 3 Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology, University of Melbourne, VIC

Email: [email protected]

Urbanisation is changing the composition of animal communities, with native generalists and introduced species dominating the urban matrix. Urban-sensitive species, generally habitat and dietary specialists, are unable to persist or are restricted to isolated, remnant native vegetation. My research will investigate why some urban-sensitive small mammal populations persist in habitat patches in the peri-urban environment, while are absent at others, using site occupancy modelling. In these environments, there are many obstacles to the movement of urban-sensitive species between habitat areas, affecting long-term viability of populations. In my peri-urban Northern Sydney study area, the extensive road network may be creating a barrier between occupied habitat patches. My research aims to identify if the barrier effects from these roads are influencing the movement and viability of populations. In particular, small mammals have been shown to have road crossing inhibitions, and my research will focus on the threatened and urban-sensitive Eastern Pygmy Possum (Cercartetus nanus). It will also look at the efficacy of purpose-built crossing structures (vegetated overpasses and underpasses), designed to maximise use and improve the long-term viability of the local Eastern Pygmy Possum population. My poster will present my research plan and early results of my study, including the distribution and genetic analysis of the local Eastern Pygmy Possum population.

43 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 BEHAVIOUR OF MAMMALIAN PREDATORS AND BEYOND

RE-VISITING FREE-ROAMING DOGS IN SPACE: HOME RANGES IN THE AUSTRALIAN ALPS AND SOUTH EAST HIGHLANDS.

Peter J.S. Fleming1,2,3, G. Ballard1,4, D. Wheeler2, P.D Meek1,5 A.W Claridge6 and R. Hunt6 1 Ecosystem Management, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351 2 Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, NSW DPI, Forest Rd, Orange, NSW 2800 3 Sustainable Agricultural System, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350 4 Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, NSW DPI, Allingham St, Armidale, NSW 2350 5 Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, NSW DPI, Park Ave, Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450 6 NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, Farrer Pl, Queanbeyan, NSW 2620

Dingoes and other free-roaming dogs are considered to be good, bad and indifferent depending on their situation and hence we need estimates of home range size for control and conservation. Telemetry technologies and battery performance have improved substantially since previous estimates were published. Because wild dog management in the alpine and south east highland bioregions of Australia is ongoing, we needed to update estimates of home range size and shape, and to compare the new and old estimates. In the alpine regions, where Claridge et al. (2009) had previously worked, we captured, collared and released 3 dingoes and 26 dingo x modern dog cross breed adults (cf. 2 and 17, respectively in Claridge et al.), each fitted with GPS logging collars that took locations every 30 minutes. In both studies, all animals spent most of their time in forested country and there was considerable home range overlap between animals. Home range sizes (MCPs) ranged from 1002–17,829 ha (cf. 1,505–19,248 ha in Claridge et al.) indicating that conservation areas in these environments should be at least 2x ~19,300ha. Cross generational site fidelity was evident, which implies that control actions could be similarly targeted spatially between years for efficiency.

44 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 BEHAVIOUR OF MAMMALIAN PREDATORS AND BEYOND

INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SPOTTED-TAILED QUOLLS AND FOXES, FERAL CATS AND WILD DOGS AS REVEALED BY CAMERAS

Dan Lunney1, Indrie Sonawane, Ian Shannon, Al Glen2 and Sarah Niklas 1 Office of Environment and Heritage NSW, PO Box 1967, Hurstville, NSW 1481 2 Landcare Research, PO Box 40, Lincoln 7640, New Zealand Email: [email protected]

The National Recovery Plan for the Spotted-tailed Quoll has identified the potential adverse impacts on Spotted-tailed Quolls from foxes, feral cats and wild dogs. The aim was to examine the distribution and daily movements of these species to determine their relationships in protected areas. We used data from camera traps set up in NSW national parks and nature reserves in the eastern third of the state. There were 200 camera sites, with four cameras at each site. The survey period was set for two weeks in Autumn from 2012 to 2017. By comparing site, year, time of day and date of sightings, we were able to reveal distinct patterns of separation of movements. For example, comparing the time of day of movement of quolls at sites with and without foxes, Spotted-tailed Quolls demonstrated a different pattern of daily movement. Cats and dogs occurred at fewer sites than foxes and commonly co-occurred. Despite the widespread occurrence of foxes, the camera data have shown that Quolls are persisting in protected areas.

45 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 BEHAVIOUR OF MAMMALIAN PREDATORS AND BEYOND

EYESPOTS ON CATTLE DETER MAMMALIAN AMBUSH PREDATORS

C.G. Radford1,2, J.W McNutt2, T. Rogers3, B. Maslen4 and N.R. Jordan1,2,5 1 Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of NSW, NSW 2052 2 Botswana Predator Conservation Trust, Private Bag 13, Maun, Botswana 3 Ecology and Evolution Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of NSW, NSW 2052 4 Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, University of NSW, NSW 2052 5 Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Wildlife Reproduction Centre, Obley Road, Dubbo, NSW 2830

Human-predator conflict is a leading cause of global large predator population declines. This is particularly evident at the wildlife-livestock interface where free-ranging and often unattended livestock are exposed to predator attacks. Cost-effective tools to reduce this conflict and promote coexistence are much needed but in short supply. Eyespots have evolved as an anti-predator signal in many taxa, however, are not known to occur naturally in mammals. We tested whether painting artificial eyespots on cattle rumps deterred ambush predator attacks. In 14 study herds in northern Botswana, we compared predation rates on cattle in three treatment groups: 1) unpainted cattle; 2) cattle painted with eyespots; and 3) procedural controls painted with cross marks. Cattle painted with eyespots were significantly less likely to be predated by lions and leopards. This is the first-time eyespots have been shown to be effective at deterring large mammalian predators and given the low cost of implementation, we suggest that this technique represents an accessible mitigation tool for predator-livestock conflict prevention even in low-income households.

46 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 BEHAVIOUR OF MAMMALIAN PREDATORS AND BEYOND

UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF EXPERIENCE AND LEARNING IN FORAGING BEHAVIOURS

Catherine Price, Annabel Ellis and Peter Banks School of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @cathjprice

Not all individuals within a population are likely to consume the same foods. In predator populations, understanding why some individuals cause a disproportionate impact on vulnerable prey can help to develop more effective and targeted strategies to reduce predator impacts. Using individually marked wild black rats, Rattus rattus, a notorious invasive predator, we looked for characteristics that predicted which individuals were the first to find and then target birds’ eggs (domestic quail). We then tested whether a simple technique to induce habituation using unrewarded bird odours reduced predation by disrupting learnt cue-reward associations. Our results showed that no demographic factors (sex, weight, age) predicted initial predation success, but that individuals that had consumed two or more eggs initially were the most likely to continue hunting eggs, irrespective of the habituation treatment. Individuals with less experience of eggs initially did not hunt eggs after the habituation phase. Our experiment provides evidence that many individuals have the potential to become ‘problem’ predators and that repeated rewarding experiences allows individuals to develop the behaviours needed to hunt rare prey. These ‘problem’ individuals may not necessarily succumb to general predator control techniques and may require specific methods to reduce their impacts on prey.

47 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 BEHAVIOUR OF MAMMALIAN PREDATORS AND BEYOND

BOOM AND BUST OF AN ENDANGERED DASYURID: FLUCTUATIONS IN DENSITY OF NORTHERN QUOLLS ON AN ISLAND REFUGEE

Skye Cameron1, Jaime Heiniger1, Natalie Freeman1, Rebecca Wheatley2 and Robbie Wilson1 1 School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072 2 School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay TAS 7005 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @skyefcameron

As small mammal populations continue to decline in northern Australia, baseline data on their ecology is more important than ever. Northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus) were once widespread across northern Australia but are now listed as endangered due to marked declines over much of their range. Despite this, a few intact populations have persisted, largely limited to islands where known threats are absent or operating at reduced levels. Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory is Australia’s fourth largest island and is an important refuge for 17 threatened species, including northern quolls. Groote provides a unique opportunity to gain baseline data on natural fluctuations in population densities of northern quolls due to climatic variabilities and/or life history cycles. Over the last eight years we have conducted a tri-annual mark- recapture program on a population of northern quolls within a 128-ha region of rocky habitat. Sampling encompasses three important life stages of this species: pre-breeding, breeding and post-breeding. Although Groote Eylandt has one of the highest recorded densities of northern quolls, our data shows that this population can fluctuate dramatically. Over a 7-year period, population density had boomed from 0.46 quolls/ha in 2012 to 0.19 quolls/ha in 2016 (a decline of 42%), only to recover to 0.53 quolls/ha in 2018 (an increase of 64%). Changes in population densities correlated with wet season rainfall, which may reflect shifts in resource availability. Such marked annual fluctuations in densities are likely due to the northern quoll’s semelparous breeding cycle. This information is vital for understanding how we assess and manage this endangered species.

48 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 BEHAVIOUR OF MAMMALIAN PREDATORS AND BEYOND

EVALUATION OF THE ETHICAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCES OF ELLIOTT AND PITFALL TRAPS FOR SAMPLING SMALL DESERT-DWELLING MAMMALS

Helen Patricia Waudby1, 2, Sophie Petit1 and Matthew Gill3 1 Sustainable Environments Research Group, School of Natural and Built Environments, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 2 Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW 2640 3 Faculty of Science, Charles Sturt University, Albury NSW 2640 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @hpwecology

Trapping is resource intensive and has animal welfare implications. We compared the ethical, scientific and financial performances of Elliott traps and two pitfall trap designs (shallow/wide and deep/narrow) for estimating diversity and sampling small mammals in an arid environment. Shallow and deep pitfalls sampled approximately 79.0% and 85.0% (respectively) more small mammals than Elliott traps. Deep pitfall traps sampled the greatest diversity and number of small mammals, and number of small mammal species and individuals per dollar. Elliott traps were the least efficient traps on most scientific and cost measures, recording the greatest overall recapture rates, and particularly for Sminthopsis crassicaudata and S. macroura (41.2% and 47.6% higher in Elliott traps than in shallow or deep pitfall traps, respectively). Body size of one species only, the nationally-threatened Pseudomys australis, influenced its capture rate, with larger individuals more likely to be caught in deep pitfalls. Mortality was highest in pitfalls and mostly related to interactions between trapped animals. Deep pitfalls likely detect species that can escape shallow pitfalls and were most cost-effective for sampling small mammals. Some of the ethical issues associated with pitfall traps could be mitigated by checking traps more often at night during periods of high abundance.

49 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 BEHAVIOUR AND ECOLOGY

LINKS BETWEEN PERSONALITY AND PROBLEM-SOLVING PERFORMANCE BY AN URBAN ADAPTER, THE COMMON BRUSHTAIL POSSUM

Katie Wat, Peter Banks and Clare McArthur School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Email: [email protected]

One explanation for the success of urban adapters is their capacity to solve problems. But individuals vary in their problem-solving performance. As animal personality affects how individuals perceive and interact with their environment, it may help explain such inter-individual variation. Proximate factors — behavioural flexibility and learning — can also affect problem-solving performance. Our aim was to assess problem- solving in common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), an urban adapter. We quantified personality traits, including exploration, of wild possums in the inner city, Sydney. We presented these free-ranging individuals with an easy or difficult task in an escape-box test. We found that exploratory animals were more likely to succeed in their first trial irrespective of task difficulty, but only the most exploratory were likely to solve the difficult task. Persistent individuals (spending more time engaged) were less likely to succeed in the easy task, but more likely in the difficult task. Individuals learnt effectively, solving tasks faster on their second attempt. Our study is the first to test problem-solving in free ranging marsupials and to link it to personality traits. It advances our understanding of how, and how well, individuals with different personalities cope with artificial or novel environments and adapt to urban habitat.

50 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 BEHAVIOUR AND ECOLOGY

PERSONALITY AND PROBLEM-SOLVING IN THE INVASIVE BLACK RAT (RATTUS RATTUS)

Nicole Lynch, Peter Banks and Clare McArthur School of Life & Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 Email: [email protected]

Animals can use problem-solving skills to access resources that would be otherwise unavailable, aiding, for example, reproductive and invasion success. But individuals within a species likely differ in their problem- solving ability. One explanation for this difference is variation in their behavioural phenotype, also known as animal personality. A relationship between animal personality and problem-solving ability has been demonstrated in a range of both domesticated species and wildlife, though often in captive trials. We tested the relationship between personality and problem-solving in free-living, invasive black rats (Rattus rattus). We quantified personality using field-based tests on trapped rats. We then assessed the ability of free-ranging rats to solve an extractive foraging task and quantified their behaviours. Immobility during a handling bag test was a consistent personality trait, though overall females were more immobile than males. More immobile rats were slower at solving the task, as were less behaviourally flexible rats. Females spent more time engaged with functional components of the task than males. Our results provide evidence of a relationship between personality and problem-solving in the invasive black rat. This finding could be used to help develop better methods for effectively controlling black rats, taking into account individual behavioural variation.

51 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 BEHAVIOUR AND ECOLOGY

THE INFLUENCE OF PERSONALITY ON TRAPPABILITY OF A TRAP-HAPPY SPECIES, THE MOUNTAIN PYGMY-POSSUM (BURRAMYS PARVUS)

Kyla Johnstone, Clare McArthur and Peter Banks School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Email: [email protected]

Reliable population estimates garnered through surveys and sampling underpin many wildlife management decisions. However consistent behavioural differences between individuals (i.e. personality) is known to present as variation in trap success. Individuals expressing traits related to risk-taking (e.g. boldness, aggression) are often overrepresented during surveys, becoming trap-happy. While risk-adverse individuals can actively avoid traps. But does personality always present as a bias in surveys? We surveyed a critically endangered but trap-happy species, the Mountain pygmy-possum (Burramys parvus). During an annual survey in Kosciuszko National Park run by the Office of Environment and Heritage, we tested for personality traits, uniquely marked animals and pit-tagged new individuals. to test for personality effects on risk-taking for foraging rewards and for behavioural differences between the trapped and untrapped population, remote sensing cameras were stationed at high and low preferred food lures set in exposed and sheltered microhabitats. While not correlated with measured personality, individuals surveyed in previous years were more likely to be recaptured throughout this survey and took increased risks for foraging rewards; indicative of a bolder personality type. We also observed that the ratio of untrapped to trapped animals was higher than expected, with untrapped animals displaying limited risk adverse behaviours. Our findings suggest that even within a trap-happy species, there is still a biased selection towards the risk-taking subset of the population during trapping.

52 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 BEHAVIOUR AND ECOLOGY

BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE NICHE AND DISTRIBUTION OF AN ENDANGERED HABITAT SPECIALIST, THE NORTHERN BETTONG

Stephanie Todd College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD 4870

Species distribution (niche) models are frequently used to inform conservation management. Advantages of using such datasets are that they are available across large scales, incur relatively little time and resources to obtain, and have been shown in many cases to perform well at predicting species distributions. However, circumstances where such models may perform poorly include when key resources are not well characterised by spatial environmental layers and when species are in non-equilibrium with their environment. The northern bettong, Bettongia tropica, is a ground-dwelling and mycophagous potoroid that is restricted to a small band of ecotonal woodland in far north Queensland. In the last 20 years B. tropica has undergone dramatic population declines, with two out of four populations now likely to be extinct. I use occupancy models based on extensive camera trap data to demonstrate that spatial environmental layers alone are unable to explain the present distribution of northern bettongs. I argue that whilst predictive distribution maps generated from spatial environmental variables have an important role to play in suggesting potential habitat, it is often necessary to include more ecologically relevant, on-ground predictors and to consider the role of population dynamics in shaping a species actual distribution.

53 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 BEHAVIOUR AND ECOLOGY

INDIGENOUS USE OF MAMMALS OF THE BISMARCK FOREST CORRIDOR IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Grace Nugi School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, QLD Email: [email protected] Twitter: @NugiGrace2018

Melanesians have relied on the wildlife and natural resources for survival for generations. In Papua New Guinea, 80 per cent of its people live a subsistence lifestyle. The Bismarck Forest Corridor along the central cordillera of PNG is an ecologically significant region containing endemic and threatened mammals in some of the last densely forested regions of the world. Given an increasing human population with high harvest rates, mammal populations are at risk of over exploitation. However, increasing access to outside markets and services have seen a shift to reliance on store-bought food and goods that were otherwise provided by the natural environment. Given these two potentially contrasting sets of pressures, my study aimed to determine the sustainability indigenous use of mammals and determine which species are most at risk of being overhunted. I used household and market surveys to quantify harvested and traded wildmeat and used estimates of species population density and hunter interceptions to calculate species selectivity for food and costumes. I am currently analysing the results. Ultimately, my work will assess the sustainability of indigenous wildlife use and build predictions about future patterns of use and develop species recovery plans and increase awareness of these threatened species.

54 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 BEHAVIOUR AND ECOLOGY

DIEL ACTIVITY OF A SUITE OF GROUND-DWELLING MAMMALS IN NORTHERN WESTERN PORT, VICTORIA

David Nicholls1, AO (Nick) Nicholls2, Terry Coates3 and Samantha Ibbetson 1 31 Northcote Road, Armadale, VIC 3143 2 Institute of Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Thurgoona, NSW 2640 3 Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Cranbourne Gardens, 1000 Ballarto Road, Cranbourne, VIC 3977

A long-term survey around Western Port, 60 km southeast of Melbourne Victoria, has produced a database of over 800 000 time-stamped images of mammalian fauna. Formerly dominated by the Koo Wee Rup (“Great”) Swamp the region is now a matrix of highly modified agricultural land interspersed with small disjunct patches of remnant indigenous vegetation. There are several small, isolated nature conservation reserves but most remaining native vegetation occurs on private land or within narrow linear utility corridors. Using ‘R’ and the packages ‘camtrapR’, ‘activity’ and ‘overlap’ we investigated the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of eighteen mammal species extant in the region. Here we report on the influence of season, moon phase, habitat context and the presence or absence of other species on daily activity patterns. Testing for significant differences has proven a challenge. However, while the results largely confirmed our predictions, we identified some unusual activity patterns and provided quantitative assessments for the first time. Our work suggests the timing of activity is a continuous rather than categorical phenomenon for many species.

55 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 BEHAVIOUR AND ECOLOGY

REINTRODUCTION OF WESTERN QUOLLS TO ARID RECOVERY AND THEIR ROLE IN CONTROLLING OVERABUNDANT HERBIVORES

Melissa Jensen1, Katherine Moseby1,2, Georgina Neave1 and Katherine Tuft1 1 Arid Recovery, Roxby Downs, South Australia 5725, Australia 2 Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of NSW, NSW 2052 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @MelissaJensen

Arid Recovery is a 123 km2 fenced reserve in outback South Australia where five locally extinct species have been reintroduced, including the burrowing bettong (Bettongia lesueur). Since their release in 1999, bettongs have increased exponentially, resulting in a decline in vegetation condition and likely flow-on impacts to other reintroduced species including the greater stick-nest rat (Leporillus conditor). Following a successful trial release of western quolls (Dasyurus geoffroii) in 2016, a full reintroduction of twelve quolls was conducted in 2018. One of our aims is to test whether releasing a native predator could help balance the ecosystem by reducing the density of overabundant native herbivores. One section of the reserve has been fenced to exclude quolls and act as a control area to measure impacts to other threatened prey species such as western barred bandicoots (Perameles bougainville) and greater stick-nest rats. The survival, habitat use, home ranges, breeding success and diet of the quolls have been monitored for the past year. Survival has been high, they have established large home ranges both inside and outside the reserve, and they have successfully bred. Diet studies confirm quolls are eating bettongs along with a range of other species. We continue to monitor impacts to prey species and aim to understand the role quolls play as ecosystem regulators, with implications for sustainable management of fenced reserves.

56 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 BEHAVIOUR AND ECOLOGY

WHAT DRIVES URBAN MAMMAL AND TICK OCCURRENCE IN SYDNEY’S NORTHERN BEACHES?

Casey Taylor, Henry Lydecker, Dieter Hochuli and Peter Banks School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @caseyttaylor

Small mammals are important hosts of ticks that cause problems for people around the world. Some hosts live in close proximity to humans, which can lead to the spread of ticks into human-dominated landscapes. In Australia, bandicoots are often implicated as the primary host of ticks; yet, we have a poor understanding of how the urban mammal assemblage and landscape features drive tick occurrence, particularly in Sydney’s Northern Beaches where tick encounters are frequent. Here, we report on an online survey of Northern Beaches residents that aimed to determine the drivers of urban wildlife and tick encounters in yards. We examine how the characteristics of urban yards relate to the presence of wildlife and ticks. We received 604 responses and 77.9% of respondents reported encountering ticks in their yard. Frequent garden watering and the use of mulch were positively associated with frequent mammal sightings in yards. Frequent bandicoot and possum sightings were positively associated with the presence of ticks, but not all residents with frequent bandicoot or possum sightings had a tick problem, indicating that additional factors influence tick occurrence in yards. Understanding the drivers of urban mammal and tick occurrence is critical to managing ticks on a landscape scale.

57 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 BEHAVIOUR AND ECOLOGY

MODELLING LONG TERM ANTARCTIC BLUE WHALE CALL DETECTIONS WITH LARGE SCALE ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

Gary Truong and Tracey Rogers School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of NSW, NSW 2052 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @GaryTruong16

The Antarctic blue whale is the largest animal on the planet and is currently listed as endangered by the IUCN. Blue whales undergo an annual migration between high latitude feeding grounds and low latitude wintering areas. However, we have very little understanding of what factors influence these migration patterns. Here we use multiple large-scale environmental covariates to model up to 18 years of Antarctic blue whale detections at four sites across the three major oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. We utilise the highly standardized network of hydrophones established in 2001 by the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation. Antarctic Z-calls were detected using an automated detector and then modelled with environmental variables which included El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index, Southern Annular Mode and Antarctic sea ice concentration. ENSO had the strongest correlation with whale detections with a higher number of calls detected during La Nina years. Climate change is predicted to influence the frequency and intensity of ENSO events as well as the amount of sea ice surrounding Antarctica and therefore will influence krill density and abundance. The reduction of krill will likely impact whale migration patterns as blue whales depend on krill as their primary food source.

58 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS IN SPACE

BROAD-SCALE SURVEYS FOR LEADBEATER’S POSSUM REVEAL WIDESPREAD OCCURRENCE ACROSS THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF VICTORIA

Jemma Cripps, Lindy Lumsden, Jenny Nelso, Louise Durkin, Michael Scroggi, Phoebe Macak and David Bryant Arthur Rylah Institute, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Heidelberg, Victoria 3084 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @drjcripps

The conservation and management of cryptic species can be challenging as they are often difficult to detect, resulting in limited distribution data. The critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum Gymnobelideus leadbeateri, is endemic to Victoria, with its current core range largely restricted to the montane ash forests of the Central Highlands. We designed a tenure-blind, randomised stratified sampling program and surveyed 149 sites using arboreal camera trapping. The objectives were to improve our understanding of the species’ current distribution, explore habitat factors driving its pattern of occupancy, and to undertake a preliminary investigation of recolonisation of areas burnt in severe bushfires in 2009. Leadbeater’s Possums were detected at 55 (37%) of the 149 randomly-selected sites, on all public land tenures. The highest detection rate was in unburnt state forest (42% of sites), with a marginally lower rate in unburnt parks (38%). Possums were detected at 25% of the 40 sites surveyed within the 2009 bushfire footprint, indicating that colonisation had commenced by eight years post-fire. These results demonstrate that the species is widely-distributed across its range, with both state forest and national park important for supporting populations, and that recolonisation of forest burnt in 2009 has occurred earlier than originally predicted.

59 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS IN SPACE

TREE HOLLOW REQUIREMENTS OF THREE ARBOREAL MAMMALS ON THE TIWI ISLANDS, NORTHERN AUSTRALIA

Cara Penton1, Leigh-Ann Woolley2, Ian Radford3 and Brett Murphyt1,2 1 Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, NT 0909 2 NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub, Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, NT 0909 3 Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, PO Box 942, Kununurra, WA 6743 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @CaraPenton

There has been a rapid decline of small mammals across northern Australia, possibly driven by predation by feral cats and habitat simplification via changed fire regimes. It has been suggested that arboreal mammals are being negatively affected by the fire-driven loss of large, hollow-bearing trees. We aimed to characterise the reliance of arboreal mammals on tree hollows as den sites on Melville Island. We radio- tracked 41 individuals of three species (brush-tailed rabbit-rat, black-footed tree-rat, and common brushtail possum) to 220 den sites. 30 of these individuals was tracked for a continuous 2-week period to assess frequency of tree hollow use. All three species almost exclusively denned (≥88% of den sites) in tree hollows (other sites such as hollow logs, Pandanus canopies, dreys etc). Larger tree hollows (entrance diameter >10 cm) were most common. Den trees were clustered, typically occurring within an area of just 0.9 ha-1. Although none of our study species are considered obligate hollow users, we conclude that access to suitable tree hollows is essential to maintaining viable populations of these species. We speculate that the rapid decline of northern Australian arboreal mammals could have been amplified by contemporary fire regimes reducing the abundance of tree hollows.

60 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS IN SPACE

ILLUMINATING DEN-TREE SELECTION BY AN ARBOREAL MAMMAL USING TERRESTRIAL LASER SCANNING IN NORTHERN AUSTRALIA

Alyson M. Stobo-Wilson1, Shaun R. Levick1,2, Brett P. Murphy1, Teigan Cremona1 and Susan M. Carthew1 1 Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0909 2 CSIRO Land and Water, PMB 44, Winnellie, NT 0822 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @astobowilson

There has been a significant decline of arboreal mammals in northern Australia, especially in areas of lower rainfall. To better understand their habitat requirements, we investigated how variation in habitat structure influences den-tree selection by the savanna glider (Petaurus ariel). Habitat structure and den-tree selection were compared in two populations at the climatic extremes of the species’ geographic range, representing areas of high and low rainfall (mean annual rainfall: 1695 mm and 1074 mm), using traditional habitat surveys complemented by advanced terrestrial Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology. Den-tree selection varied significantly with habitat structure. The higher rainfall site had greater tree abundance, canopy cover and variation in tree size/form, and P. ariel den-trees were significantly larger than neighbouring trees (mean trunk diameter– 53.4 cm against 33.8 cm; canopy diameter– 14.0 m against 10.4 m). In contrast, den-trees at the low rainfall site were no larger than neighbouring trees, with animals selecting tree species more likely to be hollow-bearing. We conclude that hollow availability is likely to be a limiting resource for arboreal mammals in northern Australia, particularly in areas of lower rainfall where tree abundance is low, and trees are more likely to be killed and consumed by fire.

61 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS IN SPACE

SOUTHERN HAIRY-NOSED WOMBATS: WHY ARE THEY ‘THERE’, BUT NOT ‘THERE’?

Michael Swinbourne1, David Taggart2 and Bertram Ostendorf1 1 University of Adelaide School of Biological Sciences L3, Oliphant Building, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5005 2 University of Adelaide School of Biological Sciences, Davies Building, Waite Campus, Urrbrae SA 5064 Email: [email protected]

Southern hairy-nosed wombats inhabit a fragmented distribution across the arid and semi-arid regions of southern South Australia and south-eastern Western Australia. At the local level the distribution and population density are patchy, with large clusters of warrens in some areas but with few-to-no warrens in adjacent areas. To understand why this is the case, we mapped the species-wide distribution and correlated warren locations with environmental and landscape data. At the species-wide level, the distribution is most strongly influenced by rainfall, with no wombats being present in areas where mean rainfall is < 154 mm/annum. Abundance is reduced where rainfall is ≤ 227 mm/annum. At the regional / local scale, warrens only occur in areas where the soil clay content is between 9 – 40%, and abundance is higher in open vegetation classes (chenopod shrublands, grasslands) than in closed vegetation classes (mallee woodlands with shrubby understory). Over-riding these environmental factors are anthropogenic land-use practices. Although 38% of the distribution is located in protected areas and 51% on grazing land, wombats are virtually absent from croplands (< 2%). An understanding of these factors is important to guide wombat conservation and management; especially in response to climate and land-use changes.

62 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS IN SPACE

HABITAT USE BY MICROBATS IN THE MURRAY DARLING DEPRESSION BIOREGION

Georgie Custance1, Rod Kavanagh1, Brad Law2 and Laurence Berry1 1 Australian Wildlife Conservancy, PO Box 8070, Subiaco East, WA 6008, Australia 2 Forest Science Unit, NSW Primary Industries, Locked Bag 5123, Parramatta, 2124 Email: [email protected]

Bats (Order: Chiroptera) represent approximately 30 % of all Australian mammal species but remain an understudied taxonomic group. In particular, microbats lack regionally-specific studies on factors driving habitat use and distribution, particularly across multiple spatial scales. Whilst many Australian microbat species are known to depend on key site-level attributes (i.e. tree hollows and water availability), how these features vary between regions and landscape contexts is less well known. We conducted our study in the Murray-Darling Depression (MDD) bioregion, which has rich bat diversity in comparisons with surrounding Mallee areas. We investigated how bat species distribution at Mallee Cliffs National Park, NSW, was shaped by site-level vegetation characteristics and how these relationships differed with changes in the surrounding landscape context. Specifically, we used acoustic detectors (SM4BAT) and vegetation data to investigate how microbat activity and species composition varied across the four main vegetation types (Belah Woodland, Mallee Triodia, Mallee Shrub and Open Herbfield) and how this was influenced by fine- scale habitat attributes. We also considered the influence of the proportional availability of differing vegetation types within the landscape. Our findings provide insights into factors driving microbat habitat use at site and landscape scales, relevant to the development of future conservation programs.

63 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS IN SPACE

DYNAMICS, HABITAT USE, AND EXTINCTION RISK OF THE KOWARI ARE REVEALED BY LONG-TERM MONITORING

Aaron C. Greenville1,2, Robert Brandle2,3, Peter Canty4 and Chris R. Dickman1,2 1School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2 National Environmental Science Program Threatened Species Recovery Hub 3 Natural Resources SA Arid Lands, Department for Environment and Water, Port Augusta, SA 4 State Herbarium, Department for Environment and Water, Adelaide, SA Email: [email protected] Twitter: @AarontheEcolog

Understanding drought-wet cycle dynamics is important for managing arid ecosystems, particularly if populations of threatened species are present. Such species may face increased risks of extinction if all populations decrease synchronously toward zero during low-resource periods, and if key refuge habitats needed during these periods are disturbed or unavailable. We describe the dynamics and habitat requirements of two sub-populations of the threatened kowari, Dasyuroides byrnei, during long-term sampling (2000–2015) that encompassed multiple drought-wet cycles. We found that the study region contains favourable habitat, with kowari occurring on hard stony (gibber) pavements in association with coverage of sand that may facilitate construction of burrows. Both sub-populations of kowari declined over the study period irrespective of climatic conditions, despite some evidence that both body condition and reproductive output increased after rain. We suggest that the studied sub-populations are under stress from extrinsic rather than intrinsic factors, with livestock grazing and introduced predators perhaps having the most negative effects. If similar demographic trends are apparent elsewhere in the species' geographical range, the species would be eligible for listing on the IUCN Red List as Endangered. Urgent research is required to quantify and mitigate the extrinsic threats to kowari populations.

64 Tuesday 9th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS IN SPACE

TRACKING OCCUPANCY TRENDS FOR HASTINGS RIVER MOUSE IN NORTHERN NSW

Leroy Gonsalves1, Brad Law1, Traecey Brassil1, Mark Drury2 and Matt Dobson2 1 Forest Science Unit, NSW Department of Primary Industries 2 Forestry Corporation of NSW Email: [email protected]

The endangered Hastings River Mouse Pseudomys oralis inhabits upland grassy forests of northeast NSW and southeast Qld. A recent study revealed high levels of occupancy 7-15 years post-harvesting, but lower occupancy where harvesting was excluded for 35-45 years. An annual monitoring program (23 grids) was subsequently established in 2015 to track trends in site occupancy and further assess harvesting effects. Grids encompassed sites harvested <2 years since the start of the program to sites harvested >15 years earlier, as well as mapped old growth. Consistent with previous research, initial occupancy was greatest at sites harvested 3-15 years ago and older harvesting sites (>15 years old). Recently harvested (<2 years) sites had lower levels of occupancy, as did mapped old growth. Site extinction was high and declined with harvesting extent, whereas colonisation was low and declined with rat abundance. Occupancy declined from 0.67 in 2015 to 0.23 in 2018. Longer-term (2000-2018) forestry pre-harvest survey (79,650 trap nights) data suggest this decline for occupancy may be part of an extended boom-bust cycle.

65 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 PLENARY

REGULATION OF INSENSIBLE EVAPORATIVE WATER LOSS BY ENDOTHERMS

Christine Cooper School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6102 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @CECooperEcophys

Maintaining water, energy and thermal balance are core functions for terrestrial endotherms. Water balance is of more immediate concern than energy balance as it can be compromised more quickly, so a species’ hygric physiology is of particular adaptive significance. Non-thermoregulatory “insensible” evaporation is an important component of water balance and can contribute >70% of the overall water turnover. It has long been a physiological paradigm that this insensible evaporative water loss (EWL) is a passive consequence of the physics of evaporation in and below thermoneutrality, and therefore EWL is proportional to the water vapour pressure deficit between the animal and the ambient air. There has been no consideration that insensible EWL could be regulated. However, attempts to account for the effects of ambient water vapour pressure on measurements of marsupial EWL failed to reduce variability in the data. To understand this, we experimentally investigated the effect of the evaporative environment on insensible evaporative water loss for several marsupials (pygmy possums, brushtail possums, kaluta), and found that EWL can be maintained constant over a range of ambient water vapour pressures. We used helox (21% oxygen in helium) as an alternate method to perturb the evaporative environment. Helox should increase insensible EWL via greater respiratory water loss as a consequence of ventilatory increases and greater cutaneous water loss due to increased diffusion. However, three mammals (two marsupials and a rodent) had rates of EWL in helox indistinguishable from those in normal air, further evidence of physiological control of EWL. The efficacy of EWL regulation can be assessed by comparing the magnitude of the slope of the relationship between EWL as a function of the water vapour pressure deficit, and relative humidity. Zero slope indicates no regulation, and a greater slope indicates “better” regulation. For eight species of dasyurid marsupial there was no body mass effect on regulatory ability. There was also no evidence that arid habitat species are better regulators of insensible EWL than those from mesic habitats, suggesting the role of insensible EWL regulation may be thermoregulatory, rather than for water conservation. This hypothesis is supported by evidence that the other major group of endothermic vertebrates, birds, also regulate insensible EWL. We demonstrated that birds from both arid (budgerigars) and mesic (red-rumped parrots and eastern rosellas) habitats also maintain EWL constant under varying water vapour pressure deficits. Iterative modelling of evaporative water loss from body temperature, metabolic rate and ventilatory variables allowed us to partition total EWL into respiratory and cutaneous EWL, and calculate expired air temperature, surface temperature and cutaneous resistance. For birds, this modelling suggested that changes in expired air and/or surface temperature may be the mechanism by which EWL is regulated. Thermal imaging may provide a direct methodology for non-invasively measuring the evaporative temperature of endotherms, to better calculate the water vapour deficit between the animal and environment. This would allow us to more accurately assess EWL control, as well as revealing the mechanism by which this physiological variable is regulated.

Biography Dr Christine Cooper completed a Bachelor of Science degree, with majors in Zoology and Geography, at the University of Western Australia in 1998, and achieved first class honours in Zoology in 1999 with a thesis entitled “Ecophysiology of West Australian Cockatoos”. She was awarded her PhD by UWA in 2004 for her thesis “Physiological and Behavioural Specialisations of the Numbat (Myremecobius fasciatus, Waterhouse 1836)”, completed under the supervision of Professor Philip Withers. During 2004 she was the Vice Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of New England, where she studied the ecophysiology of birds and small mammals with Professor Fritz Geiser. Since 2005, Christine has held a research and teaching academic position at Curtin University, and has also had visiting and adjunct positions at various institutions throughout Australia, and North and South America. Her research and teaching expertise lie in the ecological physiology of terrestrial vertebrates, in particular birds and mammals. 66 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 PLENARY

Christine’s research focusses on how birds and mammals meet their energetic, water and temperature requirements, combining laboratory and field research to obtain a complete picture of species’ function in their environment. In addition to addressing fundamental theoretical questions of physiological function, environmental adaptation and evolution, her work also contributes to improved conservation and environmental management. Christine has authored/co-authored 66 peer-reviewed publications, including journal articles, book chapters, and the book “Environmental Physiology of Mammals” published by Oxford University Press, along with a variety of popular science articles and podcasts. She serves as an associate editor for Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Mammalian Species, and Australian Mammalogy, and is a member of the editorial board of Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. She reviews for some 24 scientific journals. Christine teaches a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate coursework units, including Zoology, Wildlife Conservation, Comparative Physiology, Terrestrial Ecology Field Project, and Advanced Statistics. She has supervised 20 honours and 12 postgraduate research students. She has had various roles on School and Faculty Teaching, Safety and Discipline committees, is currently the Ecology honours coordinator, and is a member of the Curtin University Animal Ethics committee. Christine is a member of Birdlife Australia, Project Numbat, Society of Experimental Biology, American Society of Mammologists (life member), Australian and New Zealand Society of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry (ANZSCPB) and the Australian Mammal Society (AMS), where she served on council as Secretary from 2010-2012. She also sits on the Forest Cockatoo Recovery Team. She has been an active member of the organising committees for a number of ANZSCPB and AMS conferences, including the International Mammalogical Congress hosted by the AMS in Perth in 2017.

67 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ADVANCES IN PHYSIOLOGY

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF THE COMMON RINGTAIL POSSUM TO HEAT WAVE EXPOSURE

James M. Turner Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW 2640 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Torpidator

As the world's climate warms, heat waves are predicted to increase in intensity, frequency and duration. Although relatively brief, they can bear long-lasting ecological consequences by having both sub-lethal (e.g., reduced body condition) and lethal effects. As such, heat waves will increasingly pose a globally significant problem for animal species. Mammals can manage excess heat by allowing body temperature to increase with high ambient temperature to save water, but only up to a point—after which, they must actively cool themselves using evaporative water loss, thereby increasing the risk of dehydration. Surpassing such a threshold for too long can result in mortality. Therefore, the efficacy of cooling strategies is likely to be vital for wildlife species survival, particularly those with limited opportunities for behavioural thermoregulation. To better understand the direct effects of high ambient temperature on marsupial physiology, I measured the body temperature, water loss and metabolic rate of wild-caught common ringtail possums Pseudocheirus peregrinus in response to a simulated heat wave. Here, I present preliminary data on the possum’s use of controlled hyperthermia and changes in thermal conductance to reduce water loss and cope with extreme ambient temperature. By quantifying the effect of environmental heat on animal physiology, this project aims to provide information crucial for predicting how and where wildlife populations will persist in a warming world.

68 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ADVANCES IN PHYSIOLOGY

EVALUATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRESS AND REPRODUCTION IN THE CAPTIVE SOUTHERN HAIRY NOSED WOMBAT USING URINARY METABOLITES

F. Russell1, S.D. Johnston1, T. Janssen2 and T. Keeley1 1 School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Qld, Gatton, Qld 4343 2 Australian Animals Care and Education, Mt Larcom, Qld 4695

The Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat (SHNW) does not breed readily in captivity and has recently been listed as near threatened. The SHNW may also serve as a reproductive and husbandry model for the critically endangered Northern Hairy-nosed wombat.

Purpose: Explore the relationship between cortisol and progesterone metabolite secretions in SHNW urine to better understand the impact of stress on reproductive function.

Six captive female wombats, housed at Mt Larcom QLD, were used to collect urine daily between October and December 2018, including emergency evacuation of the captive facility associated with a bush fire event. These samples were analysed using validated enzyme immunoassays for progesterone and cortisol metabolites. Results showed significant individual variation with respect to the major stress event. 4/6 wombats deviated from their pre-evacuation cortisol patterns. Four response categories to steroid secretion were noted +P/+C (cyclicity/rise in cortisol) +P/-C (cyclicity/decline in cortisol), -P/+C (non-cyclicity/rise in cortisol) and -P/-C (non-cyclicity/decline in cortisol). This study has revealed a variable individual wombat response regards to the impact of an external stress event on the wombat reproductive cycle and cortisol secretion as measured by urinary metabolites and suggests that individual wombats are likely to perceive and respond to stress differently.

69 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ADVANCES IN PHYSIOLOGY

ESTABLISHING THE EFFECTS OF CAPTIVITY ON THE MORPHOLOGY AND BRAIN SIZE OF FAT-TAILED DUNNARTS (SMINTHOPSIS CRASSICAUDATA)

Emily Scicluna1, Marissa Parrott2 and Kylie Robert1 1 Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086 2 Department of Wildlife Conservation and Science, Zoos Victoria, Parkville, VIC 3052 Email: [email protected]

Species extinction is an international crisis and Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinctions of any country in the past 200 years. Captive breeding and reintroduction are key approaches for conservation of many endangered species; however, the success of programs can be low. Morphological, genetic and behavioural changes can occur while in captivity. Changes in brain size per body weight have been observed in agriculture and domestication of species where individuals are bred for specific traits, and this can correspond with behavioural and cognitive changes. Less significant changes have occurred in long-term wildlife breeding programs, and it is unknown how such changes may affect cognition or reintroduction success. We are conducting multi-factorial research on endangered species reintroduction using the fat-tailed dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata) as a model. Here, we investigate whether captivity alters brain size and skull morphology across generations by comparing the skulls of 100 wild dunnarts from 3 museum collections with skulls from 108 animals bred in captivity for a minimum of 13-18 generations. This research will provide important information for a variety of captive breeding and reintroduction programs, on whether genetic, behavioural and management intervention is necessary to avoid brain size and morphological changes in captive populations.

70 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ADVANCES IN PHYSIOLOGY

RESPIRATORY MICROBIOTA OF HUMPBACK WHALES IS DEPLETED THE LONGER THEY FAST

C. Vendl1, E. Slavich1,2, B. Wemheuer5, T. Nelson3, B. Ferrari4, T. Thomas5 and T. Rogers1 1 Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of NSW, Sydney, NSW 2052 2 Stats Central, Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of NSW, Sydney, NSW 2052 3 Queensland Facility for Advanced Bioinformatics, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Southport, QLD 4215 4 School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of NSW, Sydney, NSW,2052 5 Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Sydney, NSW 2052 E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @ScienceCath

Humpback whales endure several months of fasting while undertaking one of the longest annual migrations of any mammal. Prolonged fasting, coupled with high-energy behaviours related to reproduction, depletes the whales’ energy stores (25 to 50 % of their body weight) and likely compromises their physiological state. Airway microbiota are linked to respiratory health in mammals. To illuminate the dynamics of airway microbiota in a physiologically challenged mammal, we investigated the microbial communities in the exhaled breath condensate (‘blow’) of East Australian humpback whales at two stages: at the beginning (HumpbackNM, n=20) and several months after the beginning of their migration and thus of their fasting (HumpbackSM, n=20). We used barcoded tag sequencing targeting the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. We show that at the early stage of the migration, the whale blow had a higher alpha diversity combined with a large number of core taxa (defined as present in 80 % of whales of one group). We conclude that the rich blow microbiota at the beginning of their fasting reflects the whales’ uncompromised physiology. This is the first evidence that the blow microbiota of whales may be directly correlated to their overall physiological state.

71 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ADVANCES IN PHYSIOLOGY

THE COMPARATIVE UTILITY OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL GEOMETRIC VERSUS TRADITIONAL MORPHOMETRICS IN SPECIES-LEVEL TAXONOMY OF CRYPTIC SMALL MAMMALS: A CASE STUDY USING THE CARNIVOROUS MARSUPIAL GENUS PSEUDANTECHINUS

Kate Moffatt1, Matthew Phillips1 and Andrew M. Baker1,2 1 School of Earth, Environmental and Biological Sciences, Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001 2 Natural Environments Program, Queensland Museum, PO Box, 3300, South Brisbane, QLD 4101 Email: [email protected]

Advances in three-dimensional geometric morphometrics (3DGM) promise to revolutionise taxonomic analysis, by providing higher sensitivity and finer resolution when resolving patterns in obscure genera. However, the utility of this approach for the rapid and accurate assessment of certain taxonomic groups is still uncertain, particularly when incorporating morphometric variation within and among cryptic small mammal species, thus raising questions about the place of 3DGM in future integrative taxonomic research of such taxa. Using the taxonomically unresolved carnivorous marsupial genus Pseudantechinus as a case study, the present project aims to test the comparative utility of three-dimensional geometric morphometrics with traditional morphometrics to inform species-level taxonomic identifications of small mammals. Using a total evidence- based approach comprised of traditional morphometrics, 3DGM and partial-genome genetic analyses, the present project will compare the utility of these morphological techniques in view of detailed genetic data to resolve taxonomic relationships. This will permit a formal revision of Pseudantechinus taxonomy, with reference to museum general collection holdings and comprehensive comparative description of type specimens and new taxa. Here, I report results from a preliminary assessment of the genus, comment on taxonomic trends within the group and discuss future directions of the research.

72 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ADVANCES IN REPRODUCTION

THE MEANING OF WEANING AND EXTENDED LACTATION IN EASTERN GREY KANGAROOS

Wendy J. King and Marco Festa-Bianchet Biology Department, Université de Sherbrooke, Québec J1K 2R1, Canada Email: [email protected] Twitter: @festa_bianchet

At weaning, mammalian young shift from suckling milk to feeding on other food. Although age at weaning is an important life-history trait, most information on weaning age of marsupials comes from well-provisioned, captive populations. We studied weaning age for 138 free-ranging eastern grey kangaroos from 109 mothers over 10 years at Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria. We expected mothers in good and extremely bad body condition to wean offspring early. We also expected mothers to nurse daughters for longer than sons. Our results showed that female kangaroos without a large pouch young the following year weaned their offspring about 4 months later (at 20 months of age) than females that had a new pouch young. Females that gave birth late in the season weaned their offspring earlier, even if they had no new offspring. Mothers did not wean daughters later than sons, however, mothers that lost the most body condition weaned offspring early. Year accounted for 19% of the variance in weaning age but individual mothers did not wean offspring at consistent ages. In conclusion, having a new large pouch young appears to force an earlier weaning of the previous offspring.

73 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ADVANCES IN REPRODUCTION

ENCOUNTER BAY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA, IS AN IMPORTANT AGGREGATION AND NURSERY SITE FOR THE ENDANGERED SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALE, EUBALAENA AUSTRALIS

Catherine Kemper1, Elizabeth Steele-Collins2, Claire Charlton3, Alia Al-Humaidhi4, Tomoyo Segawa Fellowes1

1 South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000 2 PO Box 307, Victor Harbor, SA 5211 3 Centre for Marine Science and Technology, Curtin University Western Australia, Kent Street, Bentley, Western Australia 6102 4 PO Box 1325, Nairne, South Australia 5252 Email: [email protected]

Australian southern right whales are divided into eastern and western sub-populations. The estimate for the eastern sub-population is <300 individuals and Warrnambool, Victoria is the only federally-recognised, established aggregation/nursery area. This study assessed distribution, relative abundance, residency and site fidelity in Encounter Bay (200 km long) using opportunistic sightings (n = 1072, 1970–2013) and photo- identified individuals (n = 128, 2013–2018). Annual maximum daily counts increased from <8 before 2000 to 25 in 2013. Whale sightings were not evenly distributed throughout the bay. Most cow-calf pairs (CC) were seen along an 8-km stretch of south-east facing coast, consistent with most other aggregations in Australia. During 2013–2018, when data collection was more consistent, 31 CC (1–11/year, mean = 4.8) and 102 unaccompanied animals (UA, 7–40/year, mean = 17.1) were identified. Mean residency periods were 35.8 days (1–124) for CC and 3.6 days (1–33) for UA. Three females returned to calve twice at Encounter Bay. During the same period one UA was resighted in more than one year. Information from this study shows that Encounter Bay should be upgraded from a ‘small, emerging aggregation’ to ‘small, established aggregation’, thus demonstrating its importance to the eastern sub-population.

74 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ADVANCES IN REPRODUCTION

EFFICACY AND DOSE RESPONSE EFFECTS OF A GNRH AGONIST CONTRACEPTIVE IMPLANT IN TASMANIAN DEVILS (SARCOPHILUS HARRISII)

Holly R. Cope1, Sarah Peck2, Rebecca Hobbs3, Tamara Keeley4, Stephen Izzard2, Wei Yeen- Yap5, Peter J. White6, Carolyn J1,7 and Catherine A. Herbert1 1 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, J.D. Stewart Building B01, Camperdown, NSW 2006 2 Wildlife Management Branch, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Hobart, Tas, 7000 3 Taronga Institute of Science and Learning, Taronga Conservation Society, NSW, 2088 4 School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Qld 4343 5 Hobart, Tas 7000 6 Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, R.M.C. Gunn Building B19, Camperdown, NSW 2006 7 Zoo and Aquarium Association Australasia, Mosman, NSW 2088 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @hollycope201

In the Tasmanian devil insurance metapopulation, there was a desire for greater control over breeding within group housing situations. Therefore, studies were conducted to ascertain the efficacy, duration of effect, optimal dosage, and potential side effects of the Suprelorin contraceptive implant (containing a gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist) in Tasmanian devils. In our pilot study, Suprelorin was found to effectively suppress oestrous cycles in female devils yet caused a paradoxical increase in testosterone in males. Therefore, we focused on females in further trials. Females received one (n = 5), two (n = 5) or no (n = 5) 4.7 mg implants, with quarterly GnRH challenges to test pituitary responsiveness over two breeding seasons. Both dosages suppressed pituitary responsiveness for at least one breeding season, with a reduced effect in the second (p<0.001). There was a dose-response effect on duration rather than magnitude of effect, with high-dose devils remaining suppressed for longer than low-dose animals. There were no apparent negative effects on general health, yet captivity and contraception together may cause weight gain. Suprelorin implants can safely be used to meet the aims of maintaining genetic and behavioural integrity of Tasmanian devil populations by controlling individual reproductive contribution in group housing situations.

75 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ADVANCES IN REPRODUCTION

SEMINIFEROUS TUBULE AREA IS RELATED TO SPERM SEX RATIO IN THE TAMMAR WALLABY, NOTAMACROPUS EUGENII

A.M. Edwards1, E.Z. Cameron2, and K.A. Robert1 1 Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 2 School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

Mammalian sperm sex ratios (SSR) have previously been assumed to be under meiotic control, and therefore at parity. However, increases in reports of SSR variation suggest that fathers may have more control than previously thought. Variances between and within individuals have been reported in a number of mammalian species, but the extent to which these may be under adaptive control remains unknown. Biases may arise as a result of differences in production or survival, but the cause or mechanism of such biases is also unknown. Here, we test whether testicular tissue variation is a mechanism for SSR bias in the tammar wallaby. A negative relationship was found between seminiferous tubule area and SSR, while a positive relationship was found between lumen area and SSR. Y-chromosome bearing spermatozoa (CBS) are potentially generated at a faster rate than X-CBS due to the small size of the Y-chromosome, creating a smaller overall sperm head. Therefore, in space-limited environments, or for males with lower seminiferous tubule area, the uptake of incomplete X-CBS may be more likely to occur as sperm demands potentially exceed production. Further research is required to determine whether SSR biases are under adaptive control.

76 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ADVANCES IN REPRODUCTION

SARCOPTIC MANGE INCIDENCE IN BARE-NOSED WOMBATS (VOMBATUS URSINUS)

Hayley J. Stannard1,2, Jack Wolfenden1, Eden M. Hermsen1, Blaire T. Vallin1, Nicole E. Hunter1 and Julie M. Old1 1 School of Science and Health, Hawkesbury, Western Sydney University, Penrith NSW 2751 2 Current Address: Charles Sturt University, School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @hjstannard

Sarcoptic mange is a threat to bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus) in Australia and a major factor contributing to the decline in populations of this species. It is caused by a mite, Sarcoptes scabiei, and if untreated can lead to severe irritation, blindness, starvation and eventual death. Our study aimed to estimate and compare the population numbers of bare-nosed wombats at three study sites, and to determine how rainfall, temperature and humidity influenced the incidence of sarcoptic mange in bare-nosed wombat populations. Macropod and rabbit abundance were also compared to wombat abundance and sarcoptic mange prevalence at the three study sites. Across the study sites a total of 1655 bare-nosed wombats were observed. Sarcoptic mange prevalence was between 8.9% and 40.3% depending on location and year. Sarcoptic mange prevalence correlated to yearly rainfall, with a higher incidence of sarcoptic mange occurring in higher rainfall years. Further monitoring is required to ensure sarcoptic mange prevalence does not increase at the study sites. Increases in prevalence will likely lead to the extinction of small and isolated populations in years with high rainfall.

77 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ADVANCES IN REPRODUCTION

THE VALUE OF NON-MODEL SPECIES GENOMES

Carolyn J. Hogg, Emma Peel, Parice A. Brandies and Katherine Belov School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @HoggCarolyn

Advances in sequencing technologies have made high-quality non-model species genomes more achievable than ever before. Non-model organisms provide a wealth of valuable information unobtainable from the limited number of model species genomes currently available. Marsupials occupy a unique position in the phylogenetic tree and can provide insight into mammalian evolution. Their distinctive biology offers crucial insights into the genetic basis of many important processes such as immunity and reproduction. We will demonstrate how genomic information for non-model species has been used to discover novel antibiotics, understand gene evolution, investigate de-extinction and inform conservation management decisions. Over the past five years we have assembled and annotated a suite of genomes from some of our most iconic Australian marsupials including the koala, Tasmanian devil, bilby and woylie. By characterising immune and reproductive gene families, we have uncovered unique genes and expansions in functionally important families. This has led to the discovery of novel antimicrobial peptides in marsupials that display potent broad-spectrum activity and are ideal candidates for development as drug alternatives. Globally many species are faced with extinction. Using the bilby, koala and Tasmanian devil genomes we have been able to gain a better understanding of historical population bottlenecks and interactions with disease. Aligning reduced representation sequencing (RRS) data against the reference genome gives meaning to thousands of SNPs. We have sequenced over a thousand individuals from more than six species using RRS methods and assisted conservation managers with making science-based management decisions. The breadth of our research exhibits the value of investigating non-model genomes not only to the species studied but more broadly.

78 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 FORM, FUNCTON AND ECOLOGY

A GREY AREA: THE EASTERN AND WESTERN GREY KANGAROO SYMPATRIC ZONE IN SOUTH-EASTERN SOUTH AUSTRALIA AND WESTERN VICTORIA

Graeme Coulson1and Michael Scroggie1,2 1 School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, VIC 3010 2 Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, PO Box 137, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Email: [email protected]

Eastern Grey (Macropus giganteus) and Western Grey (M. fuliginosus) Kangaroos overlap in south-eastern South Australia, north-western Victoria, western NSW and southern Queensland. However, much less is known about the ratios of the two species across this sympatric space, or how their ratios might change through time. We estimated the spatiotemporal distribution of the two species using a Generalized Additive Model (GAM) incorporating a smoother of space and time dimensions. We based the initial analysis on data from the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), filtered to remove erroneous and dubious records. Modelling indicated that the overlap zone has been essentially stable over a 50-year period, although there was some evidence of recent change in western Victoria. To improve model certainty, we augmented the ALA records with ground surveys of western Victoria in 2017 and 2018, and of South Australia south of 37° S in 2019. The revised models show a progressive shift in the probability ratio of encountering one or other species, reflecting a northward and westward extension in the distribution and abundance of Eastern Grey Kangaroos. We conclude that spatio-temporal GAMs perform well in estimating location and movement of zones of interaction between taxa through space and time.

79 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 FORM, FUNCTON AND ECOLOGY

HOW SPECIAL ARE TASMANIANS?

Stewart Nicol School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @topechidna

Although short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) are found over most of Australia and its off-shore islands, as well as in New Guinea, there are significant morphological and physiological differences between echidnas from different areas. The Tasmanian echidna was so different in appearance from the ‘spiny echidna’ from Sydney that French biologists classified it as a separate species, l’Echidné soyeux or silky echidna. All short-beaked echidnas are now considered to belong to a single species and the Tasmanian echidna to be a sub-species. The tachyglossids, the short- and long-beaked echidnas, are characterised by the beak (or rostrum) formed by prolongations of the maxillae, premaxillae and mandibles, a lack of teeth, and a long, extensible tongue with spines on the dorsal surface, which grind food against a spiny keratinous pad on the palate. The differences in beaks of the short- and long beaked echidnas reflect differences in diet and feeding behaviour. Short-beaked echidnas have been described as the most derived on the monotremes, with the beak being less than half the total skull length. I measured beak and skull lengths in short-beaked echidnas from across their range and found that Tasmanian echidnas have longer beaks that other echidnas, despite similarities in diet.

80 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 FORM, FUNCTON AND ECOLOGY

A TALE OF TWO MICE: POGONOMYS AND LEGGADINA (RODENTIA: MURINAE) FROM PLEISTOCENE CAVE DEPOSITS AT MT ETNA, EASTERN QUEENSLAND

Jonathan Cramb1, Scott Hocknull2 and Gilbert Price3 1 Queensland Museum, South Brisbane, QLD 2 Geosciences, Queensland Museum, South Brisbane, QLD 3 School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Crambot_palaeo

Fossils from caves at Mt Etna (eastern Queensland) record the regional extinction of rainforest during the middle Pleistocene. Interestingly, the Mt Etna rainforest fauna includes taxa with extant members that do not currently inhabit rainforest. Two murine species give insights into the unusual nature of the fauna. One is an extinct species of Pogonomys, a genus whose extant members are all associated with rainforests in New Guinea and north Queensland. The other, Leggadina webbi, is a member of a genus whose other members are presently or prehistorically thought to occupy woodland to arid habitats. Finding a species of Leggadina in a demonstrably rainforest assemblage thus seems anomalous. This ‘atypical’ occurrence may be explained by considering the evolutionary history of murines in Australia as a whole. Leggadina webbi exhibits several plesiomorphic characters, and shows greatest similarity to L. gregoriensis, the oldest species of Leggadina. We hypothesise that Pliocene colonisation of the once separated island entities of Australia and New Guinea by murines produced parallel adaptive radiations, with subsequent uni-directional dispersal from New Guinea introducing species of Pogonomys. The resulting hybrid assemblage was then driven extinct by a climatic shift after 280 kya and replaced by an assemblage of xeric-adapted species.

81 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 FORM, FUNCTON AND ECOLOGY

WHO IS BEST BUILT FOR DIGGING? FUNCTIONAL FORELIMB MUSCULATURE IN AUSTRALIAN MARSUPIALS

Meg L. Martin1, Natalie M. Warburton2, Kenny J. Travouillon3 and Patricia A. Fleming1 1 Environmental & Conservation Sciences, Murdoch University, South Street, Murdoch, WA 6150 2 Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences, Murdoch University, South Street, Murdoch, WA 6150 3 Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Welshpool, WA 6160 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @MegL_Martin

Digging behaviour in Australian marsupials ranges from shallow foraging diggings to the excavation of large burrows for nesting and shelter. The ability to dig is reflected in the forelimb morphology, however phylogeny and mode of locomotion also may significantly influence this morphology. We present a comparative analysis of forelimb muscle architecture in 12 extant species (in the order Diprotodontia, Dasyuridae, and Peramelemorphia) with differing levels of digging behaviour and locomotory modes. Muscle mass and physiological-cross sectional area (PCSA) were examined in the context of phylogeny, as well as digging behaviour (non-digging, foraging, burrowing) and locomotion (bipedal and quadrupedal). Seven bone indices that represent digging behaviour were also calculated from linear bone measurements. The distribution of muscle mass and PCSA throughout the limb and the bone indices were significantly different between species, and between the three digging behaviour categories. The combination of both the bone indices and muscle architecture allowed us to assess the degree of forelimb specialisation for digging or burrowing in comparison to other influence by locomotion. This work provides a framework on methods to quantifiably integrate muscle and bone data in functional morphology to understand the ecology and anatomy of these species.

82 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PHYLOGENY

SIZE RELATIONSHIP OF THE TYMPANIC BULLAE AND PINNAE IN BANDICOOTS AND BILBIES (MARSUPIALIA: PERAMELEMORPHIA)

Melissa C. Taylor1, Natalie M. Warburton1,2, Patricia A. Fleming1 and Kenny J. Travouillon3 1 College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Murdoch University, 90 South St, Murdoch WA 6150 2 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Western Australian Museum, Welshpool, WA 6106 3 Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Welshpool, WA 6106 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Mammal_Mel

Hearing provides information about the environment, finding prey and avoiding predators for many animals. In mammals, tympanic bullae and pinnae have been linked with hearing sensitivity and sound localisation. Little is known about the relationship between these structures, how they covary with different ecological traits and possible behavioural implications. This study investigated the relationship between tympanic bulla and pinna size in 29 bandicoot and bilby species. Measurements were taken from museum specimens using direct measurement methods and linear dimensions. It was hypothesised that an inverse relationship would exist and species residing in arid regions would have more extreme differences. Environmental variables were used to determine the level of influence they had. A phylogenetic correlation between the structures was found. Species tended towards either relatively larger bullae or pinnae, and the relationship was more pronounced in arid residing species. Previous studies have found a relationship between relative bulla and pinna size and predator evasion tactics, and our results appeared to support this. This study suggests that relative bulla and pinna size are linked with various ecological traits along with the hearing threshold of animals. This could be used to determine possible lifestyles and habitat type for understudied, rare or extinct species.

83 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PHYLOGENY

THE CASE OF THE 3 BANDICOOT SKULLS: A NEW SPECIES TO ADD TO THE EXTINCTION LIST

Kenny J. Travouillon1 and David Stemmer2 1 Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool DC, WA 6986 2 South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5000 E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @TravouillonK

While visiting the mammal collection at Museum Victoria, two bandicoot skulls were found in the Perameles drawer which did not belong to that genus, or to any known living species. The two specimens had no data associated, except for an old label saying “Little Perameles from Mr Waterhouse same as two sent up”. This started an investigation to find out who Mr Waterhouse was, and what other information could be found about those two skulls. It led to finding a third skull at the South Australian Museum, unfortunately without much more information, other than it was collected by Mr Symonds Clark. The three skulls will be used to describe a new species, showing how distinct they are from all modern taxa. A morphological phylogenetic analysis was performed to identify the relationship of the new species within Peramelemorphia. Tissue and bone were also sampled to recover molecular data and will be analysed in the near future thanks to the Oz Mammal Genomics Project. Our results show that the new species belong in the genus Isoodon and is sister to all members of that genus. We also present some of the preliminary results of the investigation of Mr Waterhouse and Mr Symonds Clark, presenting a range of possible localities where this species may have been collected. We suspect that this new species went extinct sometimes in the late 1800s, and these three skulls are all that remain of its existence.

84 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PHYLOGENY

IS THE 3D TOPOLOGY OF THE MARSUPIAL BASICRANIUM CONSERVED ENOUGH FOR PHYLOGENETIC SIGNAL?

Vera Weisbecker1, Leoine Lange-Hodgson1, Robin M.D. Beck2, Thomas Guillerme1, Arianna Harrington3 and M. Phillips4 1 School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, QLD 4072 2 School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT, UK 3 Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-9976, USA 4 School of Earth, Environmental and Biological Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000

Morphological phylogenetic analysis is important for understanding the evolution of extinct lineages and calibrating molecular clocks for extant clades. Unfortunately, conventional multi-state character coding is subjective in choice and reductive of the three-dimensional complexity of the characters. However, it remains unclear if 3D shape variation is as informative as expected for traditional phylogenetic characters. Here, we “translate” phylogenetic characters for the basicranium of 48 marsupial mammals into a 3D landmarking protocol, together with landmarks characterizing the rest of the skull. We tested if the basicranium has higher phylogenetic signal, slower evolutionary rates, and is less influenced by allometry and dietary/locomotor function. While there was less allometry in the basicranial region, phylogenetic signal and evolutionary rate were similar to that in the rest of the skull; surprisingly, locomotor mode explained substantial shape variation in both partitions. Principal components analysis also grouped some ecomorphs (such as small, arboreal species). However, the basicranium displayed much lower landmark displacement than the rest. Our results show little evidence that shape evolution of the basicranium is particularly phylogenetically informative; rather, cranial function seems to be an important – and likely phylogenetically confounding – driver of the entire marsupial skull. Funded by ARC DP170103227 and NSF BCS 1552848/1825129/DBI 1701714.

85 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PHYLOGENY

ASSESSING THE EFFICACY OF THREE APPROACHES TO PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS FOR EXAMINING ECOLOGICAL PATTERNS IN MARSUPIAL WATER LOSS AND RELATIVE WATER ECONOMY

Philip Withers1,2 and Christine Cooper1,2 1 School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, WA 6009 2 School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, WA 6845 Email: [email protected]

Identifying and, if necessary, accounting for phylogenetic relationships between species is a key aspect of modern comparative methods. Rarely is the efficacy of these various approaches assessed, and even less often are their outcomes compared. We analysed our data for evaporative water loss (EWL) and point of relative economy (PRWE: ambient temperature where EWL = metabolic water production) for over 50 marsupials using conventional and three phylogenetic methods (PGLS, autoregression, phylogenetic vector regression), and assessed residuals in an ecological context (mesic or arid habitat). Conventional EWL allometry was similar to previous analyses (EWL∝M0.7). Phylogenetic signal (Pagel’s λ, Blomberg’s K) was moderate to strong and highly significant for log(mass), log(EWL) and log(PRWE). The efficacy in removing the phylogenetic signal for residuals of the regression of log EWL (and PRWE) against log mass varied for conventional and phylogenetic methods. Conventional residuals had a weak, insignificant phylogenetic signal. Standard PGLS residuals had a moderate, significant phylogenetic signal, but for optimised PGLS it was insignificant. Residuals from autoregression and PVR had even weaker, very insignificant signals. We found similar results for PRWE. There were weak ecological patterns, with arid-habitat marsupials having lower EWL and higher PRWE than mesic- habitat marsupials, regardless of methodology.

86 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PHYLOGENY

FRAGMENTED POPULATIONS OF THE MARSUPIAL NORTHERN QUOLL REVEAL CRANIAL SHAPE DIVERGENCE

Pietro Viacava¹, Simone P. Blomberg¹, Matthew Phillips² and Vera Weisbecker¹ ¹ School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD ² School of Earth, Environmental and Biological Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD E-mail: [email protected]

Conservation plans generally consider the genetic diversity to make decisions on the units worth monitoring and protecting. Unfortunately, this leaves the morphological component aside despite its direct interaction with the environment. Here we focus on the skull, a skeletal trait that is functionally complex and evolutionarily informative. Different populations from a same species can locally adapt to ecologically distinct environments leading to cranial shape divergence between genetically close relatives. To test this, the endangered Northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus), our study species, is an ideal test case. This species used to be distributed throughout a large part of northern Australia until the European colonization that brought invasive species and habitat modification. Its current distribution is fragmented into genetically distinct, isolated populations formerly classified as subspecies and separated by major biogeographic barriers, which may have begun to partition their range before the first records of the European settlement. Despite this relatively short time of isolation, fast phenotypic adaptation is expected due to the short life spans of one year of the species. Here we show shape differences between populations that are potentially linked to environmental factors. We use 3D geometric morphometrics to quantify full 3D cranial shape variation of 181 individuals belonging to four mainland populations and several island populations. Nine-hundred landmarks were used in this study, including 101 fixed landmarks, 93 curves (271 semilandmarks) and 18 patches (528 semilandmarks). Procrustes ANOVA suggests significant interpopulational shape differences. Cluster analysis also reveals that x to some genetics- based phylogenies. Pairwise comparisons between mean shapes of each population showed longer skulls with shorter muzzles for Queensland and Northern Territory populations, a more prominent braincase and wider muzzles for Kimberley and Pilbara populations, and smaller skulls and shorter muzzles for island populations. Some of this variation is potentially due to confounding factors such as allometry, sexual dimorphism, a geographical continuum and precipitation ranges. For instance, we demonstrated a possible link to precipitation data and a longitudinal continuum. Pilbara desert individuals present acoustic-adapted basicranium shape relative to rainforest individuals with larger skulls possibly adapted to interspecific competition and a high- resource diet. This intraspecific shape diversity may reflect the discontinuity in their habitat and diet, complementing current genetics-based conservation efforts. Further studies to integrate the detailed shape information obtained to genetic data could provide a novel conservation approach for decision-making on the protection of adaptive morphologies.

87 Wednesday 10th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PHYLOGENY

THE GIANT SLUMBER PARTY AMONG DWARFS – HIBERNATION IN PRIMATES

Kathrin H. Dausmann1,2 1 Functional Ecology, Institute for Zoology, University Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany 2 Centre for Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Zoology, University of New England, NSW 2351 Email: [email protected]

Of all fundamental principles in biology, energy expenditure is perhaps the single-most important as it is a prerequisite for life itself. In many species life history parameters, such as nutrition ecology, reproductive patterns or even social systems are shaped by energetical constraints. To cope with environmental energetic bottlenecks many small mammal species use torpor or hibernation. Over the last decades it has become evident that not only the “classical” hibernators of temperate and arctic regions use this option, but also animal groups much less expected. One example are the lemurs of Madagascar, all living under tropical, but nevertheless seasonal and energetically demanding conditions. Comparison of the Cheirogaleidae species showed that there is an amazing physiological flexibility in regard to their thermoregulatory adaptations, depending on the climatic parameters of their habitat and choices of hibernacula, between closely related species, between individuals of the same population, or even within the same individual, reflecting ecological and evolutionary forces. The insight into tropical species has also taught us that the underlying ecological causes which elicit the employment of heterothermy are not restricted to seasonal adjustments. This flexibility may possibly prove beneficial in heterothermic species to master the challenges of current and future climate changes.

88 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 PLENARY – KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE KOALA? A LONG-TERM VIEW OF ITS ECOLOGY FOR MANAGEMENT

Kath Handasyde School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010

Comprehensive knowledge of the ecology of wildlife populations is critical for effective management and conservation, even more so now with increasing impacts of climate change. Our ability to manage wild populations is often constrained by limited availability of comprehensive data on key aspects of their ecology. Having a large geographic distribution, koalas present us with additional challenges in understanding the considerable variation in their biology across their range. Further, being long-lived means that investigating basic parameters, such as life-time reproductive success, longevity and habitat requirements can be problematic. Ideally, we should monitor multiple individuals from different populations, over the bulk of their lifetimes. Such information is essential to inform models of population growth for predicting population persistence/trajectories and for triggering management intervention. Our relatively short funding cycles often make it difficult to conduct long-term field studies that are essential to inform management and conservation of koalas into the future. Despite this, we currently have good information on koala distribution and habitat requirements in comparison to many other native species, sufficient to allow appropriate management of koalas. What we need is proactive protection of habitat, in particular, enforcement by Local and State Governments to prevent further land clearing and habitat degradation.

Biography Kath Handasyde’s native mammal research spans 39 years. Her focus has been on the collection of long-term field data, including ecology, reproduction and diseases, to inform management and conservation. Along with her team of graduate students she has conducted research on wild koala, platypus, possum, echidna and potoroo populations. She has served on numerous committees responsible for wildlife management and welfare, developed and taught subjects on wildlife biology to undergraduate and graduate students and presents frequently to community conservation groups.

89 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

PRIORITISATION OF KOALA CONSERVATION ACTIONS IN NSW

Mike Roache, Brendan Rennison, Mark Fisher and John Turbill Saving Our Species, Office of Environment and Heritage, Sydney, NSW 2000 Email: [email protected]

Management intervention for koala conservation should be informed by a detailed understanding of the spatial distribution of koalas, the proportion of land already reserved, the nature and intensity of threats to koalas, the habitat values, and the likelihood of securing koalas with appropriate management. The Saving our Species Iconic Koala Project aims to prioritise conservation action and investment by targeting areas known to be occupied by significant koala populations. Detailed spatial analysis identified Areas of Regional Koala Significance (ARKS) using koala observation densities, measures of functional habitat and assessment of threats at a regional scale. Forty-eight ARKS have been identified, varying in scale from 400 to 353,000 hectares. In total, 4,195,549 hectares (~42,000 square kilometres), or around 5% of NSW has been mapped as being of significance for koalas. The analysis is being used to guide targeted threat mitigation (Saving our Species), expansion of the NSW reserve system (NPWS acquisition program), and priority areas for private land conservation (Biodiversity Conservation Trust).

90 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

THE NSW KOALA STRATEGY: SECURING THE FUTURE OF KOALAS IN THE WILD

Penny Vella Policy Division, Office of Environment and Heritage NSW, PO Box A290, Sydney 2000 Email: [email protected]

On 6 May 2018, the NSW Government released the Koala Strategy, committing $44.7 million towards securing the future of koalas in the wild. This whole-of-government initiative is based on the principles of action, ongoing monitoring and continuous learning. The strategy responds to recommendations from the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer’s 2016 Independent Review into the Decline of Koala Populations in Key Areas of NSW. The strategy supports a comprehensive suite of conservation actions, being delivered with project partners, over three years. The strategy focused on four pillars: koala habitat conservation, conservation through community action, safety and health of koala populations, and building our knowledge. Substantial progress across all pillars has been made during the first year of implementation. Supporting priority research is fundamental to building our knowledge about koalas. In February 2019, a 10-year research plan was released, as part of the strategy. The research plan sets out research priorities to fill critical knowledge gaps. Up to $2.96 million is available to fund koala research projects between 2019 and 2022. We are adopting an adaptive management approach considering expert advice, research findings, and monitoring results to maximise outcomes for koalas and other native wildlife across NSW.

91 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

THE INFLUENCE OF PLANTATIONS ON HABITAT USE AND RANGING BEHAVIOUR OF THE KOALA

K.R. Ashman, N. Page and D.A. Whisson School of Life and Environmental, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Hwy, Burwood, Melbourne, VIC Email: [email protected] Twitter: @kita.ashman

Over the past two decades, there has been significant conversion of cleared agricultural land to eucalyptus plantations across much of Australia. These plantations provide habitat for koalas and can facilitate increases in the abundance of koalas in plantation dominated areas. Whilst an increase in the number of koalas can be viewed as a positive conservation outcome associated with plantations, it may also pose koala welfare issues associated with plantation harvesting and raises concerns for the conservation of nearby remnant native vegetation. We used GPS loggers and radio tracking to examine koala home ranges and habitat use of two landscape types: a plantation-dominated landscape and a highly cleared agricultural landscape. Seasonal range sizes did not differ between landscape types, and range sizes in both landscapes were relatively small (average size of 1 hectare for males and 0.8 hectares for females). Koalas used plantations when available, with up to 60% of animals using plantations, however, koalas showed selection for native habitat over plantations. The use of plantations by koalas in this study demonstrates their potential for providing additional habitat and connectivity. However, it also highlights the importance of native vegetation for the persistence of koalas in both plantation-dominated habitats and agricultural landscapes.

92 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

HABITAT FRAGMENTATION AFFECTS MOVEMENT AND SPACE USE OF A SPECIALIST HERBIVORE

Adrian I. Ru, Clare McArthur1, Valentina S.A. Mella and Mathew S. Crowther School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 Email: [email protected]

Habitat fragmentation changes landscape patterns and can affect animal movement and space use. Ecologists studying animal movement and habitat use often overlook the organisation of habitat patches (i.e. size, shape, proximity) within a fragmented matrix. The objectives were to (1) quantify habitat fragmentation using robust landscape pattern metrics, and (2) determine their effects on animal movement and space use. We GPS-collared and tracked the movements of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus; n = 36) within a fragmented landscape. We calculated the total distance moved across a 4-month period as well as the number of core areas within each home-range. We used four class metrics to quantify landscape fragmentation and determine its effects on movement and space use. Habitat fragmentation, measured by the proportion of habitat patches that were functionally connected, affected individual koala movement and space use. Koalas had longer and more direct movements with increasing fragmentation. Increasing habitat fragmentation also led to more core areas within an individual home-range. Loss of functional connectivity between resource patches led to higher movement costs for koalas. Restoring or protecting resource patches will promote greater functional connectivity and reduce the costs associated with the isolation of resource patches for species occupying fragmented landscapes.

93 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

PUSHING THE LIMIT: KOALAS CLOSE TO THE EDGE

Valentina S.A. Mella1, Mathew S. Crowther1, Clare McArthur1 and Mark B. Krockenberger2 1 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 2 Sydney School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006

Koalas are expected to continue to experience severe contractions in their distribution as the weather becomes warmer and drier due to climate change. Large-scale koala mortality events due to dehydration have been recorded near the town of Gunnedah, in the Liverpool Plains, in north-west NSW. Here, we trialled water supplementation as a potential mitigation measure for koalas against water deficient conditions. We quantified individual differences in water use, energy and health parameters between drinking and not drinking koalas to establish if access to water impacts on water turnover rate (WTR), field metabolic rate (FMR) and health status. Our results show that koalas in Gunnedah are doing it tough, with very low WTR and FMR values, suggesting that they are at their physiological capacity to tolerate drought and heat. However, koalas that used supplemented water were able to significantly increase their WTR compared to individuals that did not drink. This in turn might help koalas to thermoregulate better by increasing their capacity to sustain high levels of evaporative cooling. Free water availability may therefore play an essential role for the survival of koalas in the Liverpool Plains during prolonged high temperatures and dry conditions.

94 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

A FULL SET OF REGIONALLY FOCUSED, NICHE-BASED HABITAT SUITABILITY MODELS FOR KOALAS ACROSS NSW

Allen McIlwee1, Jill Thonell2, Adam Roff3, Mike Day2 and Bob Denholm3 1 Science Division, Office for Environment and Heritage, Hurstville, NSW 2 Science Division, Office for Environment and Heritage, Parramatta, NSW 3 Science Division, Office of Environmental and Heritage, NSW, Newcastle 2300 Email: [email protected]

A core pillar of the NSW Koala Strategy is to increase knowledge of the location of potential koala habitat across the state. To deliver this objective, OEH has developed a Koala Habitat Information Base (KHIB). The KHIB brings together a review of koala tree species use on a region-by-region basis. It includes: a) individual tree species distribution models (SDMs), b) a Tree Suitability Index (TSI) that combines the SDMs and is unbiased in terms of where Koalas have been recorded in the landscape, and c) a Koala Habitat Suitability Model (KHSM) that predicts the distribution of potential habitat based on koala records. In this spoken paper, we present niche-based KHSMs for seven regions and discuss the drivers of habitat suitability across the core and edge of the species range. HSMs provide an indication of where animals have the potential to reside but need not actually live. We recognise that more information is needed on habitat use and occupancy to manage the on-going persistence of populations. Having completed the habitat models, we are now focused on better understanding the factors that drive local occupancy, and how both regional and individual (local-scale) persistence is likely to be impacted by a changing climate.

95 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

MAPPING KOALA TREE SUITABILITY ACROSS NSW

Jillian Thonell1, Mike Day1, Allen Mcilwee2, Adam Roff3 and Bob Denholm3 1 Science Division, Office for Environment and Heritage, Parramatta, NSW 2 Science Division, Office for Environment and Heritage, Hurstville, NSW 3 Science Division, Office of Environmental and Heritage, NSW, Newcastle 2300

The koala is an iconic Australian mammal but is under threat from land use change, predation and disease. Mapping koala habitat is important for strategic planning and improving conservation outcomes. The availability of preferred tree species at the local scale is fundamental for the occurrence of koalas. Thematic maps of vegetation type are commonly used in koala habitat models but are not always available or at an appropriate scale. The distributions of selected individual tree species and methods to integrate individual predictions into a single surface describing the likelihood of preferred koala trees being present are investigated. A review of koala tree use from written and verbal sources was undertaken to inform the selection of tree species for predictive modelling. Boosted Regression Tree was used to derive individual tree species distributions using presence-absence data from full-floristic surveys and environmental covariates at a 30 m resolution. Three integration methods were developed and resulting indices were tested in koala habitat models. The results of the review, modelling, and integration are presented here. We discuss the implications of the review findings and categorisation of trees into high, significant and low use, and the performance of the tree suitability indices in koala habitat models.

96 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

GENETIC BIOBANKING FOR CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT: ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM KOALA BIOBANK

Matthew J. Lott1, Greta J. Frankham1, David Alquezar1, Linda E. Neaves1,2, Mark D.B. Eldridge1 and Rebecca N. Johnson1 1 Australian Centre for Wildlife Genomics, Australian Museum Research Institute, 1 William Street, Sydney NSW 2 Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, United Kingdom Email: [email protected] Twitter: @gretafrankham

Genetic diversity is one of the three levels of biodiversity recommended by the IUCN for conservation. While the preservation of genetic diversity is often a goal of conservation strategies, it is rarely used for monitoring and/or benchmarking. Measuring genetic diversity is complicated for species with highly fragmented distributions, such as the koala. In 2016 the NSW Chief Scientist recommended the establishment of a genetic sample repository for NSW koalas to assist with future conservation management and monitoring. It was proposed that the Koala Biobank be located at the Australian Museum; a state government funded collections facility, that can ensure long term storage, curation and access to researchers. Based on the successful trial of this initiative, the Biobank was recommended in the 2018 NSW Koala Strategy. To date, the Biobank houses 1,497 koala samples and continues to grow, with regular donations from across the state. Here, we discuss the establishment of the Australian Museum Koala Biobank and the opportunities and challenges it presents. We also present population level data generated from samples currently in the Biobank and demonstrate the enormous benefit a Biobank presents for species management/monitoring, not only for koalas, but any species requiring long term management.

97 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

ESTABLISHING A LIVING KOALA GENOME BANK: MANAGEMENT TOOLS FOR BREEDING KOALAS IN CAPTIVITY

Tamara Keeley1, Michele Barnes2, Al Mucci2, Vere Nicolson2, Jade Fernance1 and Steve Johnston1 1 School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343 2 Dreamworld, Coomera, QLD 4209 Email: [email protected]

A “Living Koala Genome Bank” is a conservation management concept for capturing genetic variation and restoring population connectivity in urban landscapes. Wild koalas are temporarily brought into captivity to produce offspring to contribute to the genetic management of local wild koala populations. Wild males are also paired with captive female koalas to infuse genetics from wild populations into a captive population to establish a “Living Koala Genome Bank”; a genetic reservoir for future withdrawal for supplementing genes into fragmented or urban wild populations. Towards this aim, semen collection was used to assess potential male fertility and non-invasive hormone monitoring used as a management tool to evaluate breeding attempts. Semen collection confirmed a lack of sperm (n=1aspermic), poor sperm motility (n=1; 38.0 ± 2.0%) and good sperm motility (n=4; 79.2 ± 5.3%). Faecal progesterone metabolite levels confirmed a total of 13 ovulations after pairing for mating (n = 6 of 8 mating attempts) or during cohabitation (n = 4 of 5 females including n = 2 with multiple ovulations) with 5 resulting in a joey (38% success). These techniques identified possible infertility (n=2), facilitated minimized handling of wild female koalas housed temporarily in captivity for breeding, and allowed for the assessment of breeding success parameters for this species.

98 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

GENETIC DIFFERENCES IN CHLAMYDIA PECORUM BETWEEN NEIGHBOURING SUB- POPULATIONS OF KOALAS (PHASCOLARCTOS CINEREUS)

Christina Fernandez1, Laura J. Schmertmann1,2,3, Damien P. Higgins1,5, Andrea Casteriano1, Laszlo Irinyi, Valentina S.A. Mella5, Mathew S. Crowther5, Wieland Meyer2,3,4 and Mark B. Krockenberger1,4 1 Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 2 Molecular Mycology Research Laboratory, Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Westmead Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Westmead Clinical School, The University of Sydney, 176 Hawkesbury road, Westmead, Sydney, NSW, 2145 3 The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, 176 Hawkesbury Road, Westmead, Sydney, NSW, 2145, Australia 4 Marie Bashir Institute for Emerging Infectious diseases and Biosecurity, The University of Sydney, 176 Hawkesbury road, Westmead, Sydney, NSw 2145 5 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006

Chlamydiosis, primarily caused by Chlamydia pecorum, is an endemic disease of koalas, causing reduced fecundity and increased mortality. Disease expression and severity associated with C. pecorum infection differs across the koala’s geographical range with pathogen diversity and strain virulence likely important factors. Two sub-populations located within the Gunnedah Shire of NSW, displaying different emergent clinical disease expression provided a suitable model to explore the diversity and virulence of C. pecorum. Using an established Multi-Locus Sequence Typing analysis of seven housekeeping genes, we identified three sequence types; ST 69, ST 73 and ST 198. Typing of samples between 2015 to 2017 showed a significant association between ST 69 and clinical disease (p <0.041) and a significant difference in sequence type frequencies between each sub-population (p <0.001). Given that ST 69 and 73 have been identified in koalas from broad geographical ranges and ST 69 has previously been described in both diseased and non- diseased koalas, the suggestion is that emergent disease is a complex interaction between pathogen genotype, host immunity and environmental factors. Investigation of the importance of pathogen genotype will be explored at a finer scale by characterising less conserved markers associated with virulence, in strains from emergent severe clinical disease expression and the same MLST strains from non-diseased koalas.

99 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

GENETIC CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY IN THE CONSERVATION OF THE KOALA IN SOUTH- EAST QUEENSLAND

L. Hulse1, J. Seddon2 and S. Johnston1 1School of Agriculture and Food Science, University of Queensland, QLD 4343 2School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, QLD 4343 Email: [email protected]

Establishment of a Living Genome Bank in wildlife conservation has the ability to capture and rescue genetic diversity of endangered wildlife species in addition to functioning as genetic reservoirs for future preservation of wild population genetics. The koala is one such species currently under threat, whereby wild koala numbers in Queensland are rapidly declining due to habitat fragmentation and loss, motor vehicle trauma, dog attacks and infectious diseases, and subsequently wild koalas are now living in small, genetically isolated populations. In collaboration with Dreamworld, a Living Koala Genome Bank has been established to assist in improving genetic diversity of small fragmented populations in SE QLD and guide decisions to breed genetically valuable koalas for release back into the wild. Wild koalas entering the Living Koala Genome Bank were genotyped by means of a 30 microsatellite marker panel to evaluate individual heterozygosity, genetic diversity of loci and relatedness. Assessment of suitable breeding pairs within the genome bank was evaluated by predicting offspring heterozygosity via simulating offspring genotypes based on parental population alleles and selecting breeding pairs that produced offspring with high levels of heterozygosity. Retrospective analysis of actual offspring heterozygosity from known pedigrees versus predicted offspring heterozygosity revealed no significant difference (n = 16; p = 0.917) between values indicating that prediction of offspring heterozygosity by genotype simulation can act as a reliable predicator of future generation genetic diversity.

100 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

LOSS OF GENETIC DIVERSITY LEADING TO A REDUCTION IN FITNESS IN KOALAS

J.M. Seddon1, B. Schultz1,2, A. Mucci3 and S.D. Johnston2 1 School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343 2 School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343 3 Dreamworld, Coomera, QLD 4209 Email: [email protected]

Many koala populations are fragmented through habitat loss and human modification of the landscape and their numbers reduced through disease, vehicle strikes and dog attacks. There is a documented associated decline in genetic diversity. We assess heterozygosity-fitness correlations to determine the effect of reduced genetic diversity on fitness measures in koala populations. Wild and captive koalas from South-East Queensland were genotyped with 6433 SNPs. In the captive animals, there were significant positive correlations between heterozygosity and measures of female and male reproductive success, with inbreeding explaining large proportions (>90%) of the variance in these traits. With limited data on fitness in wild koalas, there were significant correlations of heterozygosity with skeletal length and presence of chlamydial disease. These findings indicate the loss of genetic diversity is impacting the health of koala populations and their capacity to recover without active management to restore genetic diversity.

101 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

KOALA POPULATION SURVEYS: COMPARING THE EFFICIENCY OF DRONE SURVEYS TO TRADITIONAL METHODS

Chad T. Beranek1, 2, Adam Roff1 and Bob Denholm1 1 Science Division, Office of Environmental and Heritage, Newcastle, NSW 2300 2 School of Biological and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @ChadleyBera

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is a cryptic marsupial that is difficult to detect in the field. Their populations are in decline in much of Australia due to habitat loss, disease, predation and climatic extremes. The most common survey method relies on collecting scats near koala food trees. Methods that aim to detect individual animals, such as spotlighting, require a large survey effort. This is impractical, particularly in low density populations or where repeat surveys are required. Recent studies in Australia have used unmanned aerial vehicles (also known as UAVs or drones) for surveying various fauna groups seeking to increase efficiency and cost effectiveness of monitoring. UAVs with thermal sensors show promise for gaining a complete population census of koalas over relatively large areas (>500 hectares) in a single night. To determine if UAVs are reliably detecting individual animals, we compared them to nocturnal strip-width transect surveys and the spot assessment technique (SAT). The objective was to compare accuracy, speed and cost. Preliminary results indicate that UAVs were faster, more accurate and more cost effective than traditional techniques. We discuss how this approach could be operationalised to reduce monitoring costs.

102 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

A BIRD IN THE HAND… COMING TO GRIPS WITH THE CONCEPT & COMPONENTS OF KOALA SOURCE POPULATIONS

Grant Brearley, Stephen Phillips, Kirsten Wallis and Amanda Lane Biolink Ecological Consultants, PO Box 3196 Uki, NSW 2484

Small localised source populations are, in essence, the ‘engine-rooms’ that enable larger, regional koala populations to persist over time. Finding such source populations remains critical for effective landscape-scale koala conservation, but before such status can be conferred, we need to know what to look for. We demonstrate how historical koala records can be used to examine and quantify changes in the distribution and abundance of koalas over time frames of relevance to koala conservation, including concepts such as Generational Persistence which examines the data for records of koalas reoccurring in a localised area over generational time frames, thereby identifying the likely presence of local and regional source populations. Caution is advised however, as the precise location of a local and/or regional source population or hub may or may not be immediately apparent using records alone. Using data from the Port Stephens LGA, we further demonstrate how the absence of records can also be utilised to achieve the same result. Understanding changes at the local and regional scales and distributional patterns over time frames that are of relevance to koalas is elemental to effective longer-term management and recovery of the species.

103 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

PASSIVE ACOUSTICS PROVIDE A NOVEL APPROACH TO ASSESS AND MONITOR THE STATUS OF KOALAS IN NSW’S NORTH-EAST FORESTS

B. Law1, T. Brassil1, L. Gonsalves1, A. Truskinger2 and P. Roe2 1Forest Science Unit, NSW Primary Industries, Parramatta, NSW 2 Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, Qld Email: [email protected]

Koalas are cryptic due to their low densities especially in tall, remote forests. We used passive acoustics in a large-scale survey of the hinterland forests of northeast NSW to provide new insights on their current status and response to timber harvesting. We deployed acoustic recorders at ~200 sites over 7-14 nights to record male bellows over four breeding seasons (>20,000 hours of recording). Sites were stratified by modelled habitat quality and logging history, including old growth as a reference. Recordings were scanned by a koala recogniser and then manually verified to eliminate false positives. Koala occupancy was much higher (~0.65) than expected based on previous surveys using alternative methods and was influenced by elevation (-ve), browse tree cover (+ve), site productivity (+ve) and wildfire extent in the last 10 years (-ve). Logging history at both site and landscape scales had no effect on occupancy or bellow rate. We extended these analyses to demonstrate how such data can be used as a baseline for systematic regional monitoring of koalas, including via spatial modelling of occupancy across the northeast forests. This will allow areas of increasing or decreasing koala occupancy to be mapped and identified when such surveys are repeated in the future.

104 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

A WAY TO CALCULATE KOALA DENSITIES BASED ON PLANT COMMUNITY TYPE

Kylie Madden Department of Planning, Infrastructure and Environment, NSW 84 Crown Street, Wollongong, NSW 2500 Email: [email protected]

Government and stakeholders desire certainty around koala population numbers and densities. However, these numbers are difficult to determine using the commonly employed methods for koala detection. Here we describe an approach to determining total koala numbers by extrapolating the results of presence-absence spotlighting across the landscape. Calculations undertaken so far have aligned with home range values and historic population estimates. This method relates koala densities to Plant Community Type (PCT). PCT is the baseline vegetation unit used in planning and regulation of biodiversity in NSW. Densities and total population estimates for koalas are underpinned by systematic and standardised spotlighting surveys that are undertaken randomly and proportionally across all PCTs. It allows a value for koalas/hectare to be derived for each PCT, provided there is sufficient sampling intensity. This can be extrapolated across the landscape to deliver a total population count, with standard error, for whatever area is of interest. The method can be used for monitoring koala populations over time. Outputs could also inform the planning and development assessment process. Like all methods for assessing koala densities, it has its shortcomings, however we have shown it to be a useful approach with wide application.

105 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

APPLICATION OF THE KOALA SPOTLIGHTING SURVEY METHOD IN THE CAMPBELLTOWN AREA FOR ESTIMATES OF KOALA DENSITIES AND TOTAL POPULATION SIZE

Enhua Lee1, Kylie Madden2 and Lachlan Wilmott2 1 Department of Planning, Infrastructure and Environment, NSW 43 Bridge Street, Hurstville, NSW 2220 2 Department of Planning, Infrastructure and Environment, NSW 84 Crown Street, Wollongong, NSW 2500 Email: [email protected]

Koalas have a long history of study in the Campbelltown area; however, koala densities and population size have not been formally estimated. The spotlighting method, which uses systematic and standardised presence-absence spotlighting surveys across Plant Community Types (PCTs), was applied in the Campbelltown area and surrounds to test how well it performed in 1) providing information on koala distribution across the landscape, and 2) generating density values for koalas/hectare (ha) for PCTs. Spotlighting surveys were undertaken across Campbelltown and extending into the Liverpool, Sutherland, and Wollongong areas. Total effort was 179 survey sites. Where possible, at least 10 survey sites/PCT were surveyed. Surveys were pooled based on soil type, with 86 sites in PCTs on shale-enriched soils and 93 sites in PCTs on sandstone. Koalas were more common in vegetation growing on shale-enriched soils, with densities of one koala for every 14 ha, whereas PCTs on sandstone had one koala for every 93 ha. Based on the total amount of habitat in the study area, the total koala population was calculated as between 350 and 630 (95% CI). The spotlighting survey method has proved to be useful in determining koala densities and numbers in the Campbelltown area.

106 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

MITIGATING KOALA THREATS FROM THE DESK: A QUANTITATIVE APPROACH TO IDENTIFYING AND MONITORING VEHICLE-STRIKE HOTSPOTS

Kirsten Wallis, Amanda Lane and Stephen Phillips Biolink Ecological Consultants, PO Box 3196 Uki, NSW 2484

Vehicle-strike is a threat to koalas throughout most of the species’ remaining range in eastern Australia and is a factor driving ongoing koala population decline in many areas. The total numbers of mortalities resulting from vehicle-strike is often under-reported, while black-spot identification remains largely anecdotal. Identification of discrete, manageable road segments which inform the need for and placement of mitigation measures can be both planned and cost-effective. This study demonstrates how koala vehicle-strike data can be analysed to create a standardised and repeatable approach to the initial assessment, correcting for under- reporting and informing ongoing monitoring of road-based koala mortalities. We used ArcGIS to intersect road segments with Euclidian clustered vehicle-strike records, further partitioned by koala-generation to highlight the discrete areas that generate the highest mortalities in an area. As demonstrated by case studies, vehicle-strike black spots can be readily identified and expressed in terms of numbers of koalas struck/km/generation. This approach can assist government road managers and councils to better direct their budgets to known high-ranking vehicle collision areas. Moreover, data enables effective long-term monitoring of the efficacy of vehicle-strike mitigation measures and consequently informs best practice mitigation measures on new roads with similar features.

107 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

MAKING TRACKS: NEW APPROACHES TO MODELLING DISPERSAL PATHWAYS AND KOALA HABITAT CONNECTIVITY

Amanda Lane, Kirsten Wallis, Alex Lechner and Stephen Phillips Biolink Ecological Consultants, PO Box 3196 Uki, NSW 2484

Habitat connectivity is essential for maintaining the long-term health of koala populations and the loss of dispersal pathways is identified as a key threat in the NSW Koala Research Plan (2019-2028). Current approaches to sustaining koala habitat connectivity generally speak to a broad geographic perspective, informing large-scale landscape priorities, whereas objective information on enhancing connectivity outcomes at finer scales is scarce. We utilise new analytical approaches to identify locations that offer the most suitable dispersal pathway opportunities to connect areas of Preferred Koala Habitat at smaller scales in three locations across NSW, namely Campbelltown/Wollondilly, Port Stephens and Port Macquarie. The GIS-based GAP CLoSR (General Approach to Planning Connectivity at Local and Regional Scales) framework considers, amongst other things, the ecological needs and movement characteristics of koalas and the extent to which the landscape functions to impede and/or facilitate their movements, including considerations such as minimum habitat patch size and the greatest distance of open ground that can be crossed. Recommendations arising from analyses can be used to finalise road design and other development outcomes and inform the best ways to consolidate connectivity at specific locations in light of changing land-uses and encroaching urban and agricultural development.

108 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

KOALA HEALTH HUB WEBSITE: ONLINE RESOURCES FOR KOALA CARE AND RESEARCH

Damien Higgins School of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006

In addition to providing diagnostic support and expertise to koala rehabilitation and research communities, the Koala Health Hub has developed a website that is becoming a substantial resource for those working in various facets of koala conservation. Resources include an archive of news articles, research papers and feature articles; standardised protocols for collection of samples for research for a range of study types; fact sheets on various koala health issues; a range of policy documents and reports; and resources for vets and vet nurses engaged in koala care. This talk provides an overview of those resources.

109 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

ASSESSING THE EMOTION OF WILD KOALAS TO ENVIRONMENTAL TRAUMA AND DISEASE USING NON-INVASIVE GLUCOCORTICOID MONITORING

Edward Narayan1 and Rebecca Keeble2 1 School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751 2 International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Oceania, 6 Belmore Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @EdwardStresslab

Animals naturally feel or perceive environmental change using physiological and behavioural mechanisms no different from humans. In today’s world of rapid expansion of human population, animals are facing increased pressure from human induced changes in the environment. Stress occurs as a result of any unpleasant change in an animal’s surroundings and it creates a physiological response. One of the key neuroendocrine systems that is responsive to stress is the hypothalamus-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. Activation of the HPA-axis during stress results in the secretion of stress hormones such as glucocorticoids. With the current modern technological advancements in biomarker detection techniques, steroid metabolites can be readily measured in non-invasively obtained samples such as urine, faeces and hair. This technique is welfare friendly and it can be applied to animal study systems to explore specific research questions related to stress. In this presentation, I discuss this topic of stress physiology in the context of animal welfare by exploring the applications of non-invasive hormone monitoring techniques in koalas in relation to environmental trauma and disease. Thus, the presentation will aim to highlight the link between stress, sentience and animal welfare and the overall goal is to demonstrate the value of non-invasive endocrinology research in advancing koala conservation.

110 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

KILLING THEM SOFTLY WITH OUR SONG… NEGATIVE OUTCOMES ARISING FROM THE MANAGEMENT OF DISEASE IN PERI-URBAN KOALAS

Stephen Phillips, Kirsten Wallis, Amanda Lane and Grant Brearley Biolink Ecological Consultants, PO Box 3196 Uki, NSW 2484

Since its discovery in the mid-1970s, diseases collectively considered under the umbrella of Chlamydiosis have been perceived as a serious threat to the viability and conservation status of most free-ranging koala populations in eastern Australia. But if this is really true and notwithstanding other biotic considerations – why are koalas still relatively widespread across their remaining geographic range? Current solutions to the management of Chlamydiosis in free-ranging koala populations range from antibiotic therapies and the development of specialized vaccines, to the euthanasia of diseased animals, all of which are implemented and/or being undertaken in an attempt to improve the reproductive capacity and health of populations so affected. Using longitudinal hospital data collected over the last 20 – 30 years, we demonstrate ongoing koala population viability against a cyclical background of disease-mediated mortalities in a koala population on the far north coast of NSW, as well as the facilitation of near endangerment of a regionally significant population in south-east Queensland by poorly informed euthanasia practices. Moreover, there is little benefit in attempting to control disease if the causal factors that contribute to its prevalence/expression are not effectively managed in the first instance. It is time for a new song.

111 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

CRANIO-MANDIBULAR SHAPE IN CAPTIVE VERSUS WILD KOALAS

Vera Weisbecker1, Cruise Speck1, Steve Johnston2 and Olga Panagiotopoulou3 1 School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, QLD 4072 2 School of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, QLD 4072, 3 Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, VIC 3800

An important question in mammalian conservation is whether exposure to captive conditions impact on the function of an animal, particularly where captive individuals are to be released. Here we present a preliminary study of the skull (cranial and mandibular) 3D shape of a small sample (n=26) of koalas from across the geographical range of the species, including eight captives, using 3D geometric morphometrics. There was little differentiation in shape between latitudes or according to habitat type, but the captive specimens occupied a distinct region of the shape space by having narrower zygomatic arches and mandibles, longer and deeper snouts, more ventrally directed masseteric scars and a wider anterior temporalis area. This might suggest a plastic change in the bony feeding apparatus under captive conditions, possibly adding a challenge to feeding upon re-entry in the wild. Assessing the role of inbreeding in these shape differences, and possibly connecting them with other feeding issues such as known pathologies of the jaw in captivity, might ultimately inform best practices in conservation management of koalas and other marsupials. Funded by ARC DP170103227 and the Wombat Foundation.

112 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

KOALA HOME RANGE SIZE AND CHLAMYDIA DISEASE EXPRESSION VARY WITH SOIL FERTILITY IN SOUTH-WEST SYDNEY AND THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS, NSW

Lachlan Wilmott1, Kylie Madden1, George Madani2, Dympna Cullen3, Cristina Fernandez4, David Phalen4, Damien Higgins4 and Mark Krockenberger4 1 Department of Planning, Infrastructure and Environment, NSW 84 Crown Street, Wollongong NSW 2500 2 PO Box 3113 Hilltop, NSW 2575 3 School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of NSW, Sydney, NSW 2052 4 Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Email: [email protected]

Understanding of koala habitat, home ranges and disease status is important for koala conservation and management, particularly at a local and regional scale. We caught koalas to GPS collar and test for Chlamydia in two locations. Canyonleigh comprised low-fertility sandstone whereas Upper Nepean State Conservation Area (UNSCA) comprised higher fertility basalt and transitional soils. We recorded large home ranges in both areas, with the home ranges recorded for the Canyonleigh region (males ~ 577 ha, females ~155ha) larger than those previously recorded in the literature. Also, koalas on high fertility basalt soils had smaller home ranges than koalas on lower fertility soils. Chlamydia pecorum was recorded in both locations with similar levels of infection of the urogenital tract (8/12 UNSCA and 7/8 Canyonleigh) and urogenital disease (1/12 UNSCA and 0/8 Canyonleigh). High level of ocular infection (7/8) and disease (6/8) were recorded in the Canyonleigh region but was entirely absent in the UNSCA. Habitat quality probably influences home range size, as home ranges increase in lower-quality habitat to access the minimum level of resources required. Similarly, lower-quality habitat may make koalas more susceptible to chlamydial disease although other factors, such as strain virulence, should also be considered in future work.

113 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

WHAT IS THE FATE OF THE ICONIC LIVERPOOL PLAINS KOALA POPULATION?

Mathew Crowther1, Dan Lunney1,2, Mark Krockenberger3, Clare McArthur1, Adrian Rus1, Ben Moore4 and Valentina Mella1 1 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, 2 Office of Environment and Heritage, Hurstville, NSW 2220 3 Sydney School of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 4 Hawkesbury Institute of the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW 2753

The Liverpool Plain’s population, near the town of Gunnedah, was one of the few populations of koalas in NSW increasing in number in the early 2000s. Since 2009, the population has been in decline, with estimates of population reduction at sites being around 10-30%. These declines can be attributed to the high chlamydia prevalence (over 70% of koalas), high temperatures causing heat stress and low rainfall restricting koala access to water. Females with offspring have been few, further leading the population decline. However, despite these drastic setbacks to the populations, koalas are persisting in the Liverpool Plains, and there are still females with new young. We consider the role interventions may play in sustaining the koala population, as well the conservation of larger trees, with nitrogen-rich leaves, on the highly fertile soils of the Liverpool Plains. We consider these interventions within the context of climate change, as well the landscape changes brought about through mining and agriculture.

114 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

INTERACTIONS BETWEEN WILD DOGS AND KOALAS IN NORTH-EAST NSW

Amy Hockings School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, NSW 2351 Email: [email protected]

Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations have declined by 26% in NSW over the last two decades. There is a targeted effort to address known threats including, but not limited to, disease, securing and restoring koala habitat and addressing vehicle strikes. Recently, wild dogs have been implicated in the decline of koala populations in south-east Queensland. This project seeks to address this significant knowledge gap by investigating the interactions between wild dog and koalas. This project will use high resolution telemetry data to determine where within a koala’s activity range they most commonly use the ground, compared with spatial use of wild dogs in the same area to quantify the likely risk of interactions between wild dogs and koalas. Information from this study will assist in building knowledge regarding the potential impact of wild dogs on koalas, assisting to mitigate threats to koalas and stabilise local populations. This project will provide managers with ecological data for future conservation of koala populations in north-east NSW which holds one of the largest populations in the state.

115 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

CONSERVING AND RECOVERING THE KOALA POPULATIONS ON THE NSW FAR NORTH COAST

Clive A. McAlpine, John Callaghan, Will Goulding, Jonathan Rhodes, Ross, Goldingay, Dan Lunney, Scott Hetherington, Marama Hopkins, Clare Manning, Skye McNamara, Angie Brace, Lorraine Vass, Linda Swankie, Kelly Fielding, Greg Brown and Christine Hosking

Context: Recovering wildlife populations is typically achieved through the mitigation of threatening processes, and the restoration of habitat across the landscape. Local communities can play a critical role in the recovery of threatened populations as their knowledge provides the impetus to make conservation and recovery plans successful.

Aim: To develop a novel, integrated socio-ecological approach for strategic planning to recover threatened koala populations across four local government areas on the far north coast of NSW.

Material and Methods: We conducted a survey of 9,000 trees at 300 sites for evidence of koala use and applied hierarchical mixed effects modelling to identify variables with greatest influence on koala occurrence. We used this information to derive a map of habitat suitability classes and incorporated citizen science to identify and integrate community priorities to koala conservation in the region.

Results: Social survey respondents had overwhelmingly positive attitudes to koalas, and the future conservation of koalas is important. Ecological surveys identified four key eucalypt species used by koalas and two particularly important non-eucalypt species. We identified complex multi-scale interactions influencing koala habitat occurrence. The analysis was used to classify regional vegetation communities into habitat suitability classes.

Conclusion and Significance: The study is identifying where the application of recovery activities is most likely to be successful by linking social values and preferences to ecological priority areas to inform koala recovery actions.

116 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

IT’S NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM FOR KOALAS: A PROTECTED AREA CASE STUDY

Kellie Leigh1, Kyall Zenger2, Shannon Kjeldsen2, Herman Raadsma3, Adrian Sujaraj3, Nicole Gallahar3, David Phalen3, David and Jennifer Tobey4 1 Science for Wildlife, PO Box 286 Cammeray, NSW 2 Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811 3 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 4 Division of Behavioral Ecology, San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, Escondido California, USA Email: [email protected]

Koalas have been predicted to become extinct by 2050, while another claim has them already “functionally extinct”. Land clearing resulting in habitat loss is a critical threat for many koala populations and has been the focus of these claims. However, there is no single panacea for koalas across the species range and not all populations are declining. We assessed population distribution, habitat utilization and the genetic status of koalas at sites in and adjacent to the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. We applied a broad array of methods including telemetry data, scat surveys, public sighting records as well as whole-genome DNA (SNPs). Our results indicate growing koala populations in the region, occurring in medium densities and with koalas utilising an unexpectedly high diversity of habitats. Our findings also show that koalas in the Blue Mountains region contain much of the genetic diversity of the species. We suggest that the importance of koala populations in and around protected areas has been underestimated and that the Greater Blue Mountains region may provide vital refugia for koalas under climate change.

117 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

THE IMPACT OF THE SEVERE 2013 FIRE ON THE KOALA POPULATION OF WARRUMBUNGLE NATIONAL PARK

D. Lunney, I. Sonawane, S. Brookhouse, R. Wheeler, M. Predavec, M. Ellis, E. Tasker and M. Fleming Office of Environment and Heritage NSW, PO Box 1967, Hurstville, NSW 2220 Email: [email protected]

Fire has long been recognised as a threat to koalas, although to date there has been only one study of the direct impact of fire, at Port Stephens in coastal NSW. Warrumbungle National Park in north-western NSW has been famous for its koalas for decades, thus when an intense fire consumed almost all of the Park, and much surrounding land in January 2013, it presented a rare opportunity – and impetus – to examine the impact of the fire on the koalas of the park. Two weeks after the fire, a single koala was seen near Wambelong Creek, close to the epicentre of the fire. Another was seen in the west of the Park at Mount Exmouth in an area burnt at relatively low severity. Despite searches over the next six months by four local National Parks and Wildlife Service staff, no other koalas were sighted in the Park. Our findings, in the context of our research on Koalas in the wider region, show that decline and recovery of the Park’s population is likely to be at least partly a consequence of, and will be limited by, the currently low regional populations. Other studies have shown that these have plummeted from highs in the 1990s-2000s as a consequence of the Millennium drought. The Koala population of the Park does not exist in isolation, nor does the impact of any fire, and thus a regional approach to Koala ecology and management planning is warranted.

118 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 POSTER SESSION - KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

THE NSW KOALA STRATEGY: SECURING THE FUTURE OF KOALAS IN THE WILD

Penny Vella Policy Division, Office of Environment and Heritage NSW, PO Box A290, Sydney 2000 e-mail: [email protected]

119 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 POSTER SESSION - KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

THE KOALA LIKELIHOOD MAP: A USEFUL CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT TOOL

Renae Hockey and Martin Predavec Science Division, Office of Environment and Heritage NSW, PO Box 1967, Hurstville, NSW 2220 Email: [email protected]

The Koala Likelihood Map (KLM) predicts the likelihood of koalas being recorded across NSW within a 10- km2 grid. It is built using existing arboreal mammal records and represents the likelihood of koalas as the proportion of records within a grid cell that are koalas. The records of other arboreal mammals provide a measure of survey effort independent of koalas and allow identification of areas where surveys for arboreal mammals have taken place, but koalas have not been recorded. The map also includes a measure of the confidence in the koala likelihood estimate. This enables deficiencies in the data to be highlighted. Since the KLM was developed in 2014, it has been used in a range of conservation management applications and was recommended for inclusion in the NSW Koala Strategy’s Koala Habitat Information Base. Surveys are currently underway to increase the KLM’s statistical confidence measure in key areas of NSW, targeting grid cells with few existing records, and therefore low confidence in the koala likelihood estimate.

120 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 POSTER SESSION - KOALA RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

SAVING OUR SPECIES ICONIC KOALA PROJECT, KEY ACHIEVEMENTS JULY 2016 – JUNE 2019

Billie Roberts, Mike Roache and John Turbill Saving Our Species, Office of Environment and Heritage, Sydney, NSW 2000 Email: [email protected]

The Saving our Species Iconic Koala Project aims to secure the koala in the wild in NSW for 100 years by reducing critical threats to the species, ensuring adequate protection, management and restoration of koala habitat, and maintaining healthy breeding populations of koalas throughout their current range. Between 2017 and 2019, the SoS Iconic Koala Project has implemented several koala conservation actions across NSW and provided seed funding for community groups and local councils in priority areas. The SoS project has spent $2.6 million to date on koala conservation and a further $800,000 is allocated per year for the next 2 years. To deliver these local actions, SoS is working with over 30 project partners, across 19 management areas. Local actions have included fire management, habitat restoration, mitigation of vehicle strike and dog attack, improving koala health and population assessments. Key outcomes from the project include the development of 11 disease sampling protocols, mapping of key vehicle strike hotspots in Port Stephens, Lismore and Port Macquarie, development of three fire management plans to protect koala habitat, installation of 18 tree-mounted water solutions in drought effected areas and GPS tracking of 20+ koalas to understand home range.

121 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 CONFERENCE ATTENDEES

Title First Name Surname Affiliation Ms Theresa Adams Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Miss Dara Albrecht Ms Linda Ambrose Friends of the Koala DR Jennifer Anson Australian Wildlife Conservancy Ms Kita Ashman Deakin University Mr Robert Austin member Professor Peter Banks University of Sydney DR Mina Bassarova Natural Resources Commission Miss Stephane Batista QUT Miss Danielle Beard Western Sydney University DR Chad Beranek Department of Planning, Industry and Environment DR Grant Brearley Biolink Pty Ltd DR Kylie Cairns University of New South Wales DR Skye Cameron University of Queensland / AMS Secretary Mr Edward Cannella BIOSTAT Pty Ltd DR Andrea Casteriano Koala Health Hub Ms Marley Christian Friends of the Koala Miss Kaitlyn Close Department of Environment and Science DR Terry Coates Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria DR Amy Coetsee Zoos Victoria DR Christine Cooper Curtin University of Technology DR Holly Cope University of Sydney Ms Andrea Cormack University of New South Wales DR Graeme Coulson University of Melbourne DR Jonathan Cramb Queensland Museum DR Jemma Cripps Arthur Rylah Institute of Environmental Research A/Professor Mathew Crowther University of Sydney Ms Georgie Custance Australian Wildlife Conservancy DR Kathrin Dausmann UNE/Hamburg University DR Mike Day Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Ms Adelaide Dedden University of New South Wales DR Bob Denholm Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Miss Chandra Diamant University of Sydney Professor Chris Dickman University of Sydney Ms Ellie Dowing Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Ms Louise Durkin Arthur Rylah Institute of Environmental Research Mrs Kate Dutton-Regester University of Queensland DR Amy Edwards La Trobe University DR Raphael Eisenhofer University of Adelaide Mrs Jade Fernance University of Queensland Miss Cristina Maria Fernandez University of Sydney A/Professor Diana Fisher University of Queensland DR Mike Fleming Department of Planning, Industry and Environment DR Peter Fleming UNE/ VPRU 122 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 CONFERENCE ATTENDEES

DR Jennie Fluin SA Dept of Environment and Water Professor Barry Fox University of New South Wales DR Stephen Frankenberg University of Melbourne DR Greta Frankham Australian Museum Research Institute DR Tony FRIEND WA DBCA DR Nicole Gallahar Department of Planning, Industry and Environment DR Sarah Garnick Depart of Environment, Land, Water and Planning DR Ross Goldingay Southern Cross University DR Leroy Gonsalves NSW Department of Primary Industries DR Aaron Greenville University of Sydney Ms Jo Haddock University of Sydney DR Kathrine Handasyde University of Melbourne A/Professor Catherine Herbert University of Sydney A/Professor Damien Higgins University of Sydney DR James Hitchcock University of Sydney Ms Renae Hockey Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Miss Amy Hockings Local Land Services DR Carolyn Hogg University of Sydney DR Bill Holsworth Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment Ms Lyndal Hulse University of Queensland DR EMILY Hynes Ecoplan Australia DR Roslyn Irwin Friends of the Koala Miss Melissa Jensen Arid Recovery Professor Chris Johnson University of Tasmania Ms Kyla Johnstone University of Sydney DR Rod Kavanagh Australian Wildlife Conservancy Ms Rebecca Keeble IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) DR Tamara Keeley University of Queensland DR Anne Kerle Kerle Environmental DR Wendy J. King Universite de Sherbrooke Mr William La Marca University of Sydney Miss Simone Lagondar Monash University DR Amanda Lane Biolink Pty Ltd Mr Alex Lassalle Department of Planning, Industry and Environment DR Brad Law NSW Department of Primary Industries DR Enhua Lee Department of Planning, Industry and Environment DR Kellie Leigh Science for Wildlife DR Emmanuelle Leroy University of New South Wales Professor Mike Letnic University of New South Wales Ms Anna Lewis University of New South Wales DR Dan Lunney Department of Planning, Industry and Environment DR Lucy Lush University of Sydney Miss Nicole Lynch University of Sydney Ms Kylie Madden Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Ms Jacqui Marlow NGO 123 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 CONFERENCE ATTENDEES

Mrs Meg Martin Murdoch University A/Professor Bronwyn McAllan University of Sydney Professor Clive McAlpine University of Queensland A/Professor Clare McArthur University of Sydney DR Allen McIlwee Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Miss Elspeth McLennan University of Sydney DR Valentina Mella University of Sydney Ms Jacqueline Mills The Wombat Foundation Ms Vivianna Miritis Deakin University Miss Kate Moffatt Queensland University of Technology Ms Eloise Moir-Ford CSIRO Publishing Ms Anita Nahuysen Southern Cross University DR Edward Narayan Western Sydney University DR Jenny Nelson Arthur Rylah Institute of Environmental Research DR Thomas Newsome University of Sydney DR Stewart Nicol University of Tasmania Miss Grace Nugi University of Queensland A/Professor Julie Old Western Sydney University Mr Cristian Orlando University of Sydney DR Jonathan Parkyn Southern Cross University DR Marissa Parrott Zoos Victoria Ms Cara Ellen Penton Charles Darwin University DR Stephen Phillips Biolink Pty Ltd Mr Christopher Pocknee University of Queensland DR Martin Predavec Department of Planning, Industry and Environment DR Catherine Price University of Sydney Mr Evan Quartermain Humane Society International Mr Cameron Radford University of New South Wales Miss Julie Ravallion Roads and Maritime A/Professor Euan Ritchie Deakin University Mr Mike Roache Department of Planning, Industry and Environment DR Billie Roberts Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Ms Llyris Robyns Southern Cross University DR Adam Roff Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Professor Tracey Rogers University of New South Wales Mr Adrian Rus University of Sydney Miss Freya Russell University of Queensland DR Flavia Santamaria CQUniversity Ms Amelia Saul University of Sydney Ms Liza Schaeper Department of Planning, Industry and Environment DR Rolf Schlagloth CQUniversity Ms EMILY SCICLUNA La Trobe University Professor Jenny Seddon University of Queensland Ms Lily Sekuljica Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Professor Lynne Selwood University of Melbourne 124 Thursday 11th July Australian Mammal Society 2019 CONFERENCE ATTENDEES

Ms Josey Sharrad IFAW Mrs Mish Simpson Wildlife carer Miss Brie Sloggett University of Sydney Mrs Indrie Sonawane Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Ms Emma Spencer University of Sydney Ms Tandi Spencer-Smith Australian Committee for IUCN Inc DR Hayley Stannrd Charles Sturt University Mr David Stemmer South Australian Museum Ms Alyson Stobo-Wilson Charles Darwin University Ms Tina Strachan City of Gold Coast Mr Adrian Sujaraj Alumni DR Michael Swinbourne University of Adelaide Mr Bobby Tamayo University of Sydney Miss Melissa Taylor Murdoch University Miss Casey Taylor University of Sydney Mr William Terry Southern Cross University/Macedon Ranges SC DR Ashley Tews CSIRO Ms Cassie Thompson University of Sydney DR Jillian Thonell Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Miss Rowan Thorley Western Sydney University DR Kenny Travouillon Western Australian Museum Mr Gary Truong University of New South Wales DR John Turbill Department of Planning, Industry and Environment DR James Turner Charles Sturt University Professor Ryuji Ueno The Nippon Dental University College at Tokyo Ms Lorraine Vass Friends of the Koala Ms Catharina Vendl University of New South Wales Mr Pietro Viacava University of Queensland Ms Kirsten Wallis Biolink Pty Ltd Mr Jason Wasiak Urban Planner Ms Katie Wat University of Sydney DR Helen P. Waudby Institute for Land, Water and Society, CSU DR Vera Weisbecker University of Queensland DR Rebecca Wheatley University of Tasmania Mr Lachlan Wilmott Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Professor George Wilson Australian National University Professor Philip Withers Biological Sciences, University of Western Austral Professor John Woinarski Charles Darwin University Mr Aiden Wright University of Sydney Miss Stephanie Yip University of Sydney

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