tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/native-species-21800/articlesNative species – The Conversation2024-02-01T19:04:17Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2218732024-02-01T19:04:17Z2024-02-01T19:04:17ZHorses, camels and deer get a bad rap for razing plants – but our new research shows they’re no worse than native animals<p>Large introduced herbivores such as feral horses and camels are often seen as “<a href="https://theconversation.com/double-trouble-as-feral-horse-numbers-gallop-past-25-000-in-the-australian-alps-128852">invasive</a>” species which damage native plants. </p>
<p>My colleagues and I published <a href="http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adh2616">new research</a> in Science testing this assumption and found it isn’t true. Instead, both native and introduced species of plant-eating megafauna (weighing over 45 kilos) have similar impacts on plants. </p>
<p>The effects of introduced megafauna on plants can drive negative public sentiment towards the species. It’s time to change how we think of these animals. </p>
<h2>Megafauna over millennia</h2>
<p>For the last 35-55 million years, megafauna have shaped Earth’s terrestrial ecosystems. Present-day plant and animal species in Australia evolved on a continent dominated by earth-trampling beasts. They include hoofed horse-like kangaroos, tree-thrashing marsupial tapirs and <a href="https://theconversation.com/giant-marsupials-once-migrated-across-an-australian-ice-age-landscape-84762">migratory</a> two-tonne diprotodons resembling womabts. </p>
<p>Sadly, much of the world’s megafauna went extinct as humans radiated out from Africa. Australia lost all its land megafauna with an average weight over 45kg.</p>
<p>This drove radical changes in Australian ecosystems. Ancient megafauna were uniquely able to eat large volumes of fibrous low-nutrient plants. With them gone, fires may have intensified and once-widespread rainforests shifted to <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1214261">fire-prone</a> eucalypt forest. </p>
<p>But now, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-feral-camels-to-cocaine-hippos-large-animals-are-rewilding-the-world-83301">megafauna have returned</a> – introduced by humans. </p>
<p>Australia, for instance, now has the world’s only wild herd of dromedary camels, extinct in the wild in their native range. Water buffalo wallow in the Top End, though they’re endangered in their native range. And feral horses, also endangered in their native range, roam the Australian Alps. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571738/original/file-20240127-94586-1hcvqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="image of water buffalo, elephant, horses" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571738/original/file-20240127-94586-1hcvqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571738/original/file-20240127-94586-1hcvqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571738/original/file-20240127-94586-1hcvqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571738/original/file-20240127-94586-1hcvqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571738/original/file-20240127-94586-1hcvqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571738/original/file-20240127-94586-1hcvqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571738/original/file-20240127-94586-1hcvqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Would an extraterrestrial ecologist be able to tell which of these megafauna is introduced based on their ecological impacts?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steven dosRemedios/Flickr, Cowboy Dave/Flickr, Geoff Whalan/Flickr, Pär Söderquist/Author provided, Caroline Jones/Flickr, Daniela Hartmann/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How megafauna affects plants</h2>
<p>Our research set out to evaluate the effects of megafauna on plant abundance and plant diversity. To do this, we reviewed all literature available on the impacts of native and introduced megafauna and extracted all available data comparing the effects of megafauna between an excluded area and a control site. </p>
<p>We found no evidence that introduced, “invasive”, or “feral” megafauna have different impacts on native plants than native megafauna. Nor was there evidence that the effects of introduced megafauna in biologically distinct places such as Australia are different from their effects in their native ranges. </p>
<p>Our study adds to a growing <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10750-020-04378-9">body of research</a> that has looked for differences between the impacts of native and introduced species and failed to find them.</p>
<p>Yes, there are outliers. Some introduced species have novel effects very different what they do in their native ranges, such as introduced diseases and insect herbivores such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-invasive-emerald-ash-borer-has-destroyed-millions-of-trees-scientists-aim-to-control-it-with-tiny-parasitic-wasps-158403">emerald ash borer</a>, those with novel defences such as cane toads, or those introduced to islands. But extrapolating to all introduced species may be unjustified. </p>
<h2>Megafauna traits determine their impact</h2>
<p>We found ecological explanations – rather than whether an animal was native or not – explained the effects of both native and introduced megafauna. </p>
<p>In particular, we found the effects of megafauna were determined by their traits. Larger and less-picky species tended to have more positive effects on plant diversity.</p>
<p>This suggests that studying introduced megafauna simply as wildlife rather than as an ecological problem can help us respond to situations where megafauna — native and introduced — come into conflict with conservation goals. </p>
<p>Let’s say there is high abundance of introduced sambar deer eating rare plants in a national park. A typical response is to start shooting. </p>
<p>But if you look at this as an ecological conflict rather than as an introduced species problem, the real issue might be that dingoes are routinely poisoned in the area. </p>
<p>Dingoes, as the top terrestrial predator, create <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169534719300199?via%3Dihub">landscapes of fear</a>, meaning deer and kangaroos can’t eat their way through everything because they have to watch for predators and often flee. The solution may be to <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-should-enlist-dingoes-to-control-invasive-species-24807">stop killing dingoes</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-should-enlist-dingoes-to-control-invasive-species-24807">Australia should enlist dingoes to control invasive species</a>
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<h2>The double standard of ‘harm’</h2>
<p>It can be a shock to see the impact of feral pigs, deer, camels and buffalo. They eat plants, trample vegetation, or root around in the ground.</p>
<p>These animals do the same thing in their native ranges, where it is not generally considered a bad thing, ecologically. Elephants tear down trees to eat or to make a path. That’s bad for the tree, but gives other species a chance to grow.</p>
<p>Australia’s extinct megafauna would have also trampled sensitive plants and eaten huge volumes of vegetation. Large animals suppress some species and benefit others. For example, buffalo can actually increase plant diversity by chowing down on dominant plant species.</p>
<p>The debate over native versus introduced species can create a double standard when assessing the harm they cause. This is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/474153a">longstanding blind spot</a> in how we think about and study introduced species. </p>
<p>The world could look quite different if we relax cultural beliefs about “belonging” and nativeness.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221873/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erick Lundgren receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Introduced water buffalo and camels trash native plants – don’t they? Our research shows megafauna herbivores have the same impact wherever they are.Erick Lundgren, Adjunct Lecturer, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2173582023-12-11T23:29:05Z2023-12-11T23:29:05ZPeople worry Christmas beetles are disappearing. We’re gathering citizen data to see the full picture<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564735/original/file-20231211-25-tm8qr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=156%2C287%2C3621%2C2614&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/christmas-beetle-feeding-on-scrub-apple-1566097558">Ken Griffiths/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In eastern Australia, the arrival of the summer holidays has traditionally been heralded by big iridescent beetles known as <a href="https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/christmas-beetle/">Christmas beetles</a> due to their appearance during the Christmas season.</p>
<p>In recent years, public perception seems to suggest these lovely insects may no longer be arriving in high numbers.</p>
<p>Each year insect scientists like us field questions from the press and public about <a href="https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/christmas-beetles/">Christmas beetle populations</a>: where have they gone? Why have their populations shrunk? Is it climate change?</p>
<p>So have Christmas beetles really declined? With the help of people around Australia, we’re working to figure this out.</p>
<h2>What are Christmas beetles?</h2>
<p>In most of Australia, the term “Christmas beetle” refers to large beetles in the genus <em>Anoplognathus</em>. There are 36 Christmas beetle species, almost all of which are only found in Australia.</p>
<p>Christmas beetles are most common along the east coast and are found over most of the continent, except for a <a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/c0b25da0-a8f0-4be8-a2c3-72cb64918aba">curious absence in the south west</a>.</p>
<p>They emerge in early summer and seek out mates, sometimes pausing to munch on eucalyptus leaves. Females lay their eggs in the soil. After a few weeks, these eggs hatch into chunky white or cream coloured larvae often known as “curl grubs”.</p>
<p>Larvae live in the soil for 1–2 years until forming a pupa and transforming into their final adult form. They then dig their way out of the ground and take to the air, starting the cycle again.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TolRQ4pXDjI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Commonly observed species like the washerwoman (<em><a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/01a8652e-6a29-47ef-ae90-9c87bdb5e04d">Anoplognathus porosus</a></em>) and <em><a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/09b5e6e4-4818-45b0-821e-960c2c41f9bf">A. olivieri</a></em> have classic Christmas beetle colouring, with flecks of iridescence across their tawny brown bodies.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564407/original/file-20231207-23-96i7xh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Close-up of a beige beetle with orange-green iridescence on its front part" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564407/original/file-20231207-23-96i7xh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564407/original/file-20231207-23-96i7xh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564407/original/file-20231207-23-96i7xh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564407/original/file-20231207-23-96i7xh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564407/original/file-20231207-23-96i7xh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564407/original/file-20231207-23-96i7xh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564407/original/file-20231207-23-96i7xh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The washerwoman (<em>Anoplognathus porosus</em>) Christmas beetle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tanya Latty</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But not all Christmas beetles are iridescent. Some, like the Granny Smith beetle (<em><a href="https://australian.museum/learn/collections/natural-science/entomology/christmas-beetles/Anoplognathus-prasinus/">A. prasinus</a></em>), are a vibrant green, while others look golden (<a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/f68e243d-2353-4f7c-90e5-4c9d8a256e43"><em>A. aureus</em></a> and <em><a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/9460fbc2-3b3d-4bff-b3e2-e5d6e4a96493">A. parvulus</a></em>).</p>
<p>To make things more complicated, people in Tasmania tend to use the term “Christmas beetle” to refer to the glorious golden stag beetle (<em><a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/59fede41-4359-40c9-bff7-c0cbcab02440">Lamprima aurata</a></em>). A lovely beetle to be sure – but not the kind we’re talking about.</p>
<p>Christmas beetles are also frequently <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECEHmBibyAY">confused with other scarab beetles</a>, especially Argentinian lawn scarabs (<em><a href="https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/517487-Cyclocephala-signaticollis">Cyclocephala signaticollis</a></em>) which are very common in the summer, particularly in cities. Argentinian lawn scarabs are smaller than most Christmas beetles and lack the distinct thickened back legs and scoop-shaped snout.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564444/original/file-20231208-25-v6wlih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Close-up of a brown beetle with dark specks on its wings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564444/original/file-20231208-25-v6wlih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564444/original/file-20231208-25-v6wlih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564444/original/file-20231208-25-v6wlih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564444/original/file-20231208-25-v6wlih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564444/original/file-20231208-25-v6wlih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564444/original/file-20231208-25-v6wlih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564444/original/file-20231208-25-v6wlih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Argentinian lawn scarab (<em>Cyclocephala signaticollis</em>) is not a Christmas beetle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tanya Latty</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Native flower chafers such as <a href="https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/fiddler-beetle/">fiddler beetles</a> (<em>Eupoecila australasiae</em>), <a href="https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/punctate-flower-chafer-beetle/">punctate flower chafers</a> (<em>Neorrhina punctata</em>) and <a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/c88d4abd-4262-429b-b70a-428d1fb2cd8d">cowboy beetles</a> (<em>Chondropyga dorsalis</em>) are also commonly mistaken for Christmas beetles. These beautiful summer-active beetles are pollinators of native flowers.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564453/original/file-20231208-23-2uftxu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black beetle with neon green stripes in a cool pattern on its back" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564453/original/file-20231208-23-2uftxu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564453/original/file-20231208-23-2uftxu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564453/original/file-20231208-23-2uftxu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564453/original/file-20231208-23-2uftxu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564453/original/file-20231208-23-2uftxu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564453/original/file-20231208-23-2uftxu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564453/original/file-20231208-23-2uftxu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A native fiddler beetle (<em>Eupoecila australasiae</em>) is striking, but isn’t a Christmas beetle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tanya Latty</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Have Christmas beetles declined?</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, we don’t have long term population data for any Christmas beetle species, so we cannot conclusively say if there’s been a decline. However, many people (including some of the authors) remember there being more Christmas beetles in the past. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564447/original/file-20231208-21-tciit6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Close-up of a small beige beetle with black spots all over it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564447/original/file-20231208-21-tciit6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564447/original/file-20231208-21-tciit6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=678&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564447/original/file-20231208-21-tciit6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=678&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564447/original/file-20231208-21-tciit6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=678&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564447/original/file-20231208-21-tciit6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=852&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564447/original/file-20231208-21-tciit6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=852&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564447/original/file-20231208-21-tciit6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=852&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A native punctate flower chafer (<em>Neorrhina punctatum</em>).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tanya Latty</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But memory alone is not strong enough evidence, so we’ve designed a project to help us determine the health of Christmas beetle populations. The <a href="https://invertebratesaustralia.org/christmasbeetles">Christmas Beetle Count</a> is a community science project led by conservation organisation Invertebrates Australia in collaboration with the University of Sydney.</p>
<p>We are asking the public to submit their sightings of Christmas beetles to the online database <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/">iNaturalist</a>. We can then use the data to determine which Christmas beetle species are likely to be at risk of decline or extinction. </p>
<p>So far, the project has been a roaring success. As of December 2023, over <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/christmas-beetle-count">8,000 sightings</a> have been submitted by over 4,000 people across Australia, including photos of four very rare species last sighted decades ago.</p>
<p>For one species (<em><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1443806-Anoplognathus-vietor">A. vietor</a></em>), our observers took the first known picture of a living individual – it had previously been known only from a single, dead beetle. This record was 300km away from the only site previously known for this species, suggesting it occupies a larger range than thought. </p>
<p>Sightings like these help us better understand the distribution and population health of Christmas beetles, and anyone can help.</p>
<h2>Are Christmas beetles coming back in 2023?</h2>
<p>It’s too early to determine if Christmas beetles have made a comeback this year. Between November 1 and December 8 2023, 532 “research grade” sightings of Christmas beetles have been reported, more than double from the same period last year.</p>
<p>Although the rise in reported sightings seems promising, it’s possible this increase is not due to a growing beetle population, but rather because more people are aware of the project and are actively searching for Christmas beetles.</p>
<p>We will need a few more years of data before we can say anything conclusive about Christmas beetle population trends.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564448/original/file-20231208-21-za277f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The face of a beetle with red legs, big black eyes and green-yellow iridescent sheen" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564448/original/file-20231208-21-za277f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564448/original/file-20231208-21-za277f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564448/original/file-20231208-21-za277f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564448/original/file-20231208-21-za277f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564448/original/file-20231208-21-za277f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564448/original/file-20231208-21-za277f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564448/original/file-20231208-21-za277f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Close up, you can really appreciate the iridescent shine of a true Christmas beetle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tanya Latty</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why are Christmas beetles important?</h2>
<p>Like many insects, Christmas beetles are likely threatened by habitat loss. We can help by conserving our native bushland – Australia’s pledge to <a href="https://theconversation.com/weve-committed-to-protect-30-of-australias-land-by-2030-heres-how-we-could-actually-do-it-217795">preserve 30% of land</a> is welcome news.</p>
<p>These insects play an important ecological role. Since they emerge at a predictable time of the year when many reptiles, mammals and birds are producing and raising their young, adult Christmas beetles may be an important food source for many animals. </p>
<p>The larvae of Christmas beetles tunnel through the soil helping to aerate it and to recycle organic matter. They likely serve as a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4684676/">protein and fat-rich</a> meal for hungry birds, reptiles and mammals. </p>
<p>Christmas beetles are an iconic part of Australia’s natural heritage, as uniquely Australian as koalas, platypuses and kangaroos.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-kill-the-curl-grubs-in-your-garden-they-could-be-native-beetle-babies-191771">Don’t kill the curl grubs in your garden – they could be native beetle babies</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217358/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tanya Latty co-founded and works for conservation organisation Invertebrates Australia, is former president of the Australasian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour and is on the Education committee for the Australian Entomological Society. She receives funding from the Australian Research Council, NSW Saving our Species, and Agrifutures. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Reid received funding from the Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS), federal Department of Environment (2016) to produce the Xmas Beetle ID app.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hauke Koch volunteers as outreach officer for the conservation organization Invertebrates Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Mesaglio volunteers as outreach officer for the conservation organization Invertebrates Australia.</span></em></p>Each year insect scientists like us field questions from the press and public about Christmas beetle populations: where have they gone?Tanya Latty, Associate professor, University of SydneyChris Reid, Adjunct Associate Professor in Zoology, UNSW SydneyHauke Koch, Research Scientist, Environment, CSIROThomas Mesaglio, PhD candidate, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1898522023-08-10T14:34:34Z2023-08-10T14:34:34ZProtecting boreal plant species is a critical part of reconciliation efforts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482447/original/file-20220902-19-pnlr93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4594%2C3456&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Labrador Tea is one of the boreal plants that are classified as pests or weeds. The plant is important to Indigenous communities for its healing properties.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(J. Baker)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/protecting-boreal-plant-species-is-a-critical-part-of-reconciliation-efforts" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Labrador Tea, fireweed, chokecherry and raspberry are some of the boreal plants that are <a href="https://weedscience.ca/biology-of-canadian-weeds/">classified as weeds</a> by the Canadian Weed Science Society. These plants are targeted with herbicide by logging companies across the Canadian boreal forest.</p>
<p>However, these boreal plant species are important traditional plants for many Indigenous peoples in Canada and around the world. In addition to their <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/ai215e/ai215e.pdf">use as food</a>, these traditional native plants hold tremendous <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4269-8-7">medicinal, ceremonial and material value</a>.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524152/original/file-20230503-20-rp105s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>This article is part of <em>La Conversation Canada’s</em> series <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca-fr/topics/foret-boreale-138017">The boreal forest: A thousand secrets, a thousand dangers</a></strong></p>
<p><br><em>La Conversation Canada invites you to take a virtual walk in the heart of the boreal forest. In this series, our experts focus on management and sustainable development issues, natural disturbances, the ecology of terrestrial wildlife and aquatic ecosystems, northern agriculture and the cultural and economic importance of the boreal forest for Indigenous peoples. We hope you have a pleasant — and informative — walk through the forest!</em></p>
<hr>
<p>These plant species thrived before the arrival of Europeans and are respected and cared for by Indigenous communities, in ways that help increase <a href="https://www.cbd.int/portals/culturaldiversity/docs/north-american-regional-declaration-on-biocultural-diversity-en.pdf">biocultural diversity</a>. </p>
<p>As a cultural and environmental anthropologist, I have been working for and with First Nations communities in the boreal forests in Alberta since 2006. In my recently published paper, I reveal how the misappropriation of these plants from traditional territories is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1215/22011919-9712467">grounded in a colonial bias for the economic value of plants</a>.</p>
<h2>Boreal forests under threat</h2>
<p>Over recent decades, boreal forests in Canada have been facing numerous threats, including attempts to extract plants for economic gain or <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/10214/27311">eradicate them using herbicides</a>. </p>
<p>The issue lies in what gets referred to as “<a href="https://open.alberta.ca/publications/timber-harvest-planning-and-ogr-2023">merchantable timber</a>” versus the abundance of boreal forest plants that cover the ground below the trees. </p>
<p>When government agencies and logging companies follow their <a href="https://www.alberta.ca/indigenous-consultations-in-alberta.aspx">Duty to Consult First Nations</a>, they tend to overlook expressed concerns about the destruction of traditional plants that grow in abundance. </p>
<p>For example, balsam and aspen poplar trees, birch trees, Labrador Tea, blueberries and wild mint are all plants that grow in abundance in the boreal forest that have high cultural value. </p>
<p>In the consultation process, when an Elder or community member identifies these plants for protection, company representatives often respond saying that these plants grow throughout the forest, so their destruction has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2017.12.008">no significant impact</a> on inherent rights protected by treaty. </p>
<p>This outside ruling can affect First Nation members’ access to their particular familial stewardship area. </p>
<p>The loss of access to seemingly abundant plants is exacerbated by the use of <a href="https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/2008d812-65eb-4608-9c00-54999149c2a1/resource/2a40a300-d391-4440-b870-e3b632588e92/download/af-forest-management-herbicide-reference-manual-2021-01.pdf">the herbicide glyphosate in the reforestation process</a>, and along roads, pipelines and power lines. </p>
<p>Plants with great nutritional and medicinal value like Labrador Tea are sprayed so that they do not compete with monocropping reforestation practices that focus on timber. This reflects a bias toward merchantable timber rather than a <a href="https://mothertreeproject.org/mother-tree-experiment/">biodiverse and healthy forest</a>. </p>
<h2>Boreal destruction impacts Indigenous communities</h2>
<p>When people lose their collecting areas, they have to search larger areas for the same plants, request access in other people’s areas and risk collecting plants contaminated by volatile organic compounds, heavy metals or herbicides. </p>
<p>Research in the boreal forest has revealed that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119259">glyphosate remains in plant tissues for at least a decade</a>. The communities I collaborate with during my research continue to be very concerned about the use of herbicides in their territories, and with reason. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541815/original/file-20230808-17-jgodur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="rows of leaves drying on a flat surface" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541815/original/file-20230808-17-jgodur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541815/original/file-20230808-17-jgodur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541815/original/file-20230808-17-jgodur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541815/original/file-20230808-17-jgodur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541815/original/file-20230808-17-jgodur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541815/original/file-20230808-17-jgodur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541815/original/file-20230808-17-jgodur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wild mint — used as food and medicine — from the boreal forest laid out to dry.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(J. Baker)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Elders from First Nations communities are also concerned about the impacts of bioaccumulation — the gradual accumulation of substances such as pesticides or other chemicals through the food chain. These concerns are based on Elders’ own systems of natural law, oral traditions and enacting <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00141844.2020.1765829">respect and reciprocity in the forest</a>.</p>
<h2>Reconciliation includes plant species</h2>
<p>As Canada attempts to reconcile with Indigenous communities through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/british-columbians-our-governments/indigenous-people/aboriginal-peoples-documents/calls_to_action_english2.pdf">Calls to Action</a>, the recognition of species of traditional value is critical in this process.</p>
<p>Calls to Action for improvements in Indigenous-centred education, youth programs, language and culture, and health supports are connected to people’s abilities to participate in land-based activities. Plant species must be available for these activities to be possible. </p>
<p>The availability of these species means that they need to be respected and conserved based on Indigenous approaches and ecological knowledge.</p>
<p>Not caring for plant species in the context of Indigenous natural legal systems ignores the ancient and ongoing stewardship by Indigenous Peoples living within the boreal forests. Ignoring native species results in the continued misappropriation of traditional territories, one plant at a time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189852/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janelle Marie Baker receives funding from ECCC, the Arctic Connections Fund, CIHR, SSHRC, NSERC, and Athabasca University.</span></em></p>Some boreal plant species are classified — and treated — as weeds, affecting Indigenous communities’ access to important cultural, medicinal and ceremonial resources.Janelle Marie Baker, Associate professor, Anthropology, Athabasca UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2106442023-08-02T00:40:21Z2023-08-02T00:40:21ZUnique study shows we can train wild predators to hunt alien species they’ve never seen before<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540358/original/file-20230801-17770-u3qt9k.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=58%2C180%2C1937%2C1290&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bush rat eating a beetle.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/120888928">Larney Grenfell/iNaturalist</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Humans have trained domestic animals for thousands of years, to help with farming, transport, or hunting.</p>
<p>But can we train wild animals to help us in conservation work? Wild animals can be <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2358950-bandicoots-can-be-trained-to-flee-predators-more-quickly/">taught to recognise dangerous predators</a>, avoid <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35235518">toxic food</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-coyotes-and-humans-can-learn-to-coexist-in-cities-147738">stay away from people</a>.</p>
<p>However, there are few examples of using classical learning techniques to train free-living animals to act in a way that benefits their ecosystem. In our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320723003129">newly published study in Biological Conservation</a>, we trained wild Australian native predatory rats to recognise an unfamiliar species of cockroach prey. It worked – in a simulated cockroach invasion, this training increased predation rates by the rats.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pest-plants-and-animals-cost-australia-around-25-billion-a-year-and-it-will-get-worse-164969">Pest plants and animals cost Australia around $25 billion a year – and it will get worse</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Growing number of aliens</h2>
<p>As humans have engaged in global trade, various species have moved across otherwise impossible-to-cross geographical barriers and into new environments. These species are known as alien species, and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14435">their number continues to grow</a>.</p>
<p>Some alien species are relatively harmless in their new environment, and can even <a href="https://theconversation.com/good-or-bad-some-invasive-species-can-help-native-ecosystems-thrive-200155">positively affect the ecosystem</a>. However, many others <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-07-30/invasive-species-cost-billions-australia/100333710">have costly</a> and devastating <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/15/increase-in-invasive-species-poses-dramatic-threat-to-biodiversity-report-aoe">impacts on biodiversity</a> and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/everywhere-s-bad-farmers-eye-long-campaign-against-mouse-plague-20210607-p57yor.html">agriculture</a>.</p>
<p>Not all species that arrive in new environments become established or spread. Even fewer of these species become invasive. Yet we don’t really know why some species are successful and others aren’t, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2008.00521.x">there are many different theories</a>. One reason some species fail to thrive in new environments is when native species resist, either by eating or simply outcompeting the arrivals. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540359/original/file-20230801-256057-g6z48f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A pale brown elongated bug with darker specks on its wings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540359/original/file-20230801-256057-g6z48f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540359/original/file-20230801-256057-g6z48f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540359/original/file-20230801-256057-g6z48f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540359/original/file-20230801-256057-g6z48f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540359/original/file-20230801-256057-g6z48f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540359/original/file-20230801-256057-g6z48f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540359/original/file-20230801-256057-g6z48f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Speckled cockroaches, the alien species chosen by the researchers for this study, don’t live in Sydney.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/292216009">Belinda Forbes/iNaturalist</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, native species can only resist against alien species if they can respond appropriately, which they may not do if they’ve never encountered the invaders before (biologists call this being “naive”).</p>
<p>Naivete can occur when two species with no recent evolutionary or ecological history come into contact with one another. Prey naivete is well documented, and the effect of alien predators on native prey that can’t recognise or escape them is significant.</p>
<p>But the role of native predator naivete in biological invasions is less clear. Native predators may not recognise an alien prey species or lack the ability to hunt them effectively. Sometimes predators may simply prefer to hunt their natural prey. When predators are naive, alien prey can establish and spread unchecked.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/1-7-million-foxes-300-million-native-animals-killed-every-year-now-we-know-the-damage-foxes-wreak-177832">1.7 million foxes, 300 million native animals killed every year: now we know the damage foxes wreak</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Speeding up a natural process</h2>
<p>Native predators do <a href="https://theconversation.com/eat-your-heart-out-native-water-rats-have-worked-out-how-to-safely-eat-cane-toads-123986">eventually learn to hunt alien prey</a>, but this process can take a long time when prey aren’t encountered often.</p>
<p>We wanted to know if we could speed up learning by exposing a free-living native predator to the scent of a novel prey species paired with a reward.</p>
<p>We conducted our study on bushland in the outskirts of Sydney, New South Wales, using <a href="https://australian.museum/learn/animals/mammals/bush-rat/">native bush rats</a> (<em>Rattus fuscipes</em>) as our model predator. Our chosen alien prey species, <a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/c5dd2e9b-38ad-46f8-a309-0ae69b078f0e">speckled cockroaches</a> (<em>Nauphoeta cinerea</em>), don’t live in Sydney and surrounds, so rats have no experience with them.</p>
<p>We housed cockroaches in small boxes for days at a time with absorbent paper on the floor to collect odour. When using them as prey, we froze and tethered the cockroaches to tent pegs, to avoid accidental introduction of cockroaches in the area.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540360/original/file-20230801-198210-c2smyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A grayscale image with a rodent in the top left corner sitting on leaf litter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540360/original/file-20230801-198210-c2smyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540360/original/file-20230801-198210-c2smyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540360/original/file-20230801-198210-c2smyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540360/original/file-20230801-198210-c2smyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540360/original/file-20230801-198210-c2smyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540360/original/file-20230801-198210-c2smyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540360/original/file-20230801-198210-c2smyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A bush rat caught on camera interacting with the tea strainer and the tethered reward of a dead roach.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Finn Cameron Gillies Parker</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We confirmed the presence of bush rats at 24 locations, and randomly allocated 12 as training sites and 12 as non-training (control) sites. At the training sites, we placed a metal tea strainer with the cockroach smell, and three dead cockroaches as a reward. The tea strainer and cockroaches were tethered to a tent peg in the ground so rats couldn’t carry them away.</p>
<p>We used cameras to observe the rat behaviour, and checked the training stations every one to two days. We also moved the stations so the rats wouldn’t just learn to associate the reward with the location.</p>
<h2>Trained for an invasion</h2>
<p>Immediately after training, we conducted a simulated invasion at all sites. The invasion involved ten dead and tethered cockroach “invaders”. The number of “surviving” (that is, uneaten) cockroaches was recorded each day for five days.</p>
<p>We compared prey survival rates in sites with trained and untrained rats, and found cockroach prey in training sites were 46% more likely to be eaten than prey in non-training sites.</p>
<p>We also found the number of cockroaches eaten during training was a significant predictor for how many were eaten on the first night of the “invasion”.</p>
<p>We also wanted to ensure we had not just attracted more rats to training sites during the training process. To do this, immediately after the invasion we used cameras to compare rat visits to all sites using a peanut oil attractant. There was no difference between training and non-training sites.</p>
<p>Our study is the first to train free-living predators to hunt species they’ve never seen before. It shows the potential for training our native species to fight biological invasions. More broadly, we think our study adds to the growing evidence that training animals can help to address a variety of problems, such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/01/swedish-crows-pick-up-cigarette-butts-litter">birds picking up litter</a> and rats <a href="https://apopo.org/?v=6cc98ba2045f">sniffing out landmines</a>.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/alien-invaders-the-illegal-reptile-trade-is-a-serious-threat-to-australia-68815">Alien invaders: the illegal reptile trade is a serious threat to Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210644/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Banks receives funding from The Australian Research Council, The Herman Slade Foundation, Birdlife Australia, Northern Beaches Council and Manaaki Whenua. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Finn Cameron Gillies Parker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What happens when wild native bush rats meet cockroaches they’ve never seen before?Finn Cameron Gillies Parker, PhD candidate, University of SydneyPeter Banks, Professor of Conservation Biology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2001552023-02-22T22:06:37Z2023-02-22T22:06:37ZGood or bad? Some ‘invasive species’ can help native ecosystems thrive<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511584/original/file-20230222-16-84e4k9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=34%2C34%2C4566%2C3414&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A native Woodland Skipper butterfly sips nectar from a non-native Bull's Thistle flower.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stephanie A. Rivest</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/good-or-bad-some--invasive-species--can-help-native-ecosystems-thrive" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Whether or not invasive species threaten native biodiversity and ecosystems has been a point of debate amongst researchers for years. </p>
<p>Invasive species have caused <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2005.01.003">extinctions of native species</a> and even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-002-0151-3">altered the functioning of ecosystems</a>. But not all species that are introduced to new areas become invasive — meaning they cause negative impacts.</p>
<p>Despite this, all <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2022.08.005">non-native species are tagged as harmful</a>. This way of thinking has caused conservation management actions to typically focus on the eradication of non-native species with the goal of restoring “natural” landscapes. It has led scientific research to focus on identifying the negative consequences of non-native species. And it has stripped these species of their role as <a href="https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-10/cop-10-dec-02-en.pdf">biodiversity indicators</a> used to describe the state of the environment.</p>
<p>Collectively, this has perpetuated the idea that native species are good and non-native species are bad. But what if we’re wrong about non-native species?</p>
<h2>Some non-native species do good</h2>
<p>While we should continue to be wary of non-native species, particularly those that have overwhelmingly negative impacts, the reality is that the role of most non-native species in ecological communities is uncertain or complex. </p>
<p>Some non-native species are a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2005.01.003">leading cause of species extinctions</a> whereas others contribute to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5347(03)00224-6">regional biodiversity</a>. </p>
<p>Increasingly, scientists are reporting examples of positive roles that non-native species play such as providing food to native species, creating habitats or playing a role in ecosystem restoration. For example, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4004">native butterflies in Vancouver Island’s endangered Garry Oak savanna ecosystem</a> were found using non-native flowers for nectar, particularly in late summer when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-020-04785-8">native flowers are scarce</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A bird seen through large blades of grass in a marsh" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511588/original/file-20230222-14-4ylne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511588/original/file-20230222-14-4ylne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511588/original/file-20230222-14-4ylne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511588/original/file-20230222-14-4ylne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511588/original/file-20230222-14-4ylne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511588/original/file-20230222-14-4ylne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511588/original/file-20230222-14-4ylne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Today, California’s ridgeway rail species partly relies on non-native cordgrass to escape predators and build nests.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dagberg/39890003673/in/photolist-23LWGm2-2eoQWkE-242tUaL-PRRVAy-GppUyG-GppULq-DCaFgH-DbM2oH-242mnwq-HayBJ7-TdB414-2iccejL-F2ndEX-J9C3vz-ZVztvN-X6aai1-JsWpZ9-245oiwt-284UTkf-KfP8N2-93XYqj-zABhqB-PRRVtE-MC8o6y-4c3E23-qcKk7u-aLgGFg-Dtfo2q-CaYZD3-rhZnj3-2iubv3t-24biaCC-J6r2yL-HzSaAk-Jpexnv-YVA4cS-M7G8o4-FDNFVy-WK8rNL-QE7rjy-Jw2PK6-J6rKx5-MFHbft-MvDZUw-MFHaL2-2516HKR-pdeSjg-FdTq2o-EscSog-FdTpqU">(Doug Greenberg/flickr)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A more complex example is the case of the <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ridgways_Rail/overview#:%7E:text=">California ridgeway rail</a>, an endangered bird native to the marsh habitats in the San Francisco Bay area. Since the beginning of the 19th century, this species has been declining dramatically primarily because of the destruction of marsh habitats for agriculture and urban development. </p>
<p>Today, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10530-013-0634-5">this bird relies, in part, on non-native salt-water cordgrass</a>, introduced to California in the 1970s, to escape from predators and build nests. The non-native cordgrass enhances habitats for the birds by providing more tall plant cover and increasing the area of marsh habitat. Efforts to eradicate the cordgrass throughout the 2000s led to declines in the Rail’s population size, demonstrating how a non-native species could be used to restore habitats and <a href="https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-08134-210119">support some native species</a>. </p>
<p>However, the cordgrass also converts mudflats into tidal wetlands, negatively impacting shorebirds that need mudflat habitats for foraging. Today, management efforts balance smaller removals of the cordgrass with monitoring of the Rails.</p>
<h2>Managing non-native species</h2>
<p>As ecologists researching non-native species for over 10 years, we believe that the negative perception of non-native species and the one-sided aggressive approach to their management may be leading scientists, conservation practitioners and policymakers to underestimate the positive roles that these species can play in ecological communities. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1320794877412679681"}"></div></p>
<p>Controlling non-native species is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2004.10.002">expensive</a>, time-consuming and can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-018-0635-8">ineffective in the long term</a>. Spending money, time and effort eradicating non-native species that have neutral or positive effects on native species is wasteful as those limited resources could be put to better use. </p>
<p>In some regions and cities, non-native species make up <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2005568">more than half of all species</a>. Imagine the effort that would be needed to control all of the non-native species in these locations.</p>
<p>We need to re-think the idea that all non-native species are harmful. We need to evaluate the full range of impacts of non-native species before taking action against them. And eradication efforts should be reserved for situations where they will have the greatest benefits.</p>
<h2>Science shows the way</h2>
<p>We suggest two ways through which science can help move us forward.</p>
<p>First, rigorous biological research can help prioritize which non-native species should be removed and which can be left undisturbed. In cases where non-native species need to be removed, such studies can also tell us when additional management will be needed to support the existing native community. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A savanna ecosystem on Vancouver Island, B.C." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511583/original/file-20230222-26-3rwx9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511583/original/file-20230222-26-3rwx9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511583/original/file-20230222-26-3rwx9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511583/original/file-20230222-26-3rwx9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511583/original/file-20230222-26-3rwx9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511583/original/file-20230222-26-3rwx9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511583/original/file-20230222-26-3rwx9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Native butterflies in Vancouver Island’s endangered Garry Oak savanna ecosystem rely on non-native flower species for nectar late in the summer when this picture was taken.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Stephanie A. Rivest)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the Garry Oak ecosystem on Vancouver Island, non-native flowers that are highly visited by native butterflies could be left alone, whereas others that are not visited could be prioritized for removal. If all non-native flowers must be removed, then managers could plant native flowers to ensure butterflies and other pollinators are left with sufficient food resources.</p>
<p>Second, researching the net effects of non-native species in ecological communities can improve the effectiveness of our conservation strategies. We need more studies that explicitly consider both positive and negative impacts of the same non-native species. </p>
<p>We are not suggesting that we should abandon our efforts to mitigate serious problems caused by some non-native species, or that governments should stop trying to prevent potentially harmful species from entering their jurisdictions. </p>
<p>Rather, we urge conservation practitioners and policymakers to organize and prioritize the management of habitats around whether species are more beneficial or harmful to biodiversity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200155/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie A. Rivest receives funding from University of Ottawa. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Kharouba does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Conservation practitioners and policymakers must organize and prioritize the management of habitats around whether species are more beneficial or harmful to biodiversity.Heather Kharouba, Associate Professor of Ecology, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaStephanie A. Rivest, Researcher, Department of Biology, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1989802023-02-02T02:43:56Z2023-02-02T02:43:56ZThis strange donkey orchid uses UV light to trick bees into thinking it has food<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507764/original/file-20230202-1153-nnxcj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=119%2C12%2C1867%2C1278&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/86142077">Stephen Buckle/iNaturalist</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve ever compared a frozen pizza to the photo on the box, you know the feeling of being duped by appetising looks.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.9759">our latest study</a> we show that animals – in this case, bees – are also prone to being tricked into making poor decisions, which explains a lot about how gaps in perception are exploited in nature.</p>
<p>When Charles Darwin was testing the theory of evolution 150 years ago, he looked at the interaction between flowering plants and the animals that forage to collect nectar.</p>
<p>This helped establish that flowers have adaptations to promote easier pollinator access, making it beneficial for the animal who gets a food “reward” from them. At the same time, it means the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertilisation_of_Orchids">plants get pollinated and can reproduce</a>. </p>
<p>One perplexing problem is some flowering plants that reproduce by pollination are non-rewarding – the animal doesn’t get nectar from visiting the flower. This is true of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/plb.13113">certain orchids</a>, yet these flowers are still visited by pollinators and survive well in nature.</p>
<h2>A mistaken identity</h2>
<p>With the benefit of modern scientific tools like a spectrophotometer that measures the amount of colour, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0096646">digital ultraviolet (UV) photography</a> and computer modelling of how bees see the world, our international team set out to understand how some orchids have evolved dazzling floral displays.</p>
<p>Our chosen species was the winter donkey orchid (<em>Diuris brumalis</em>), <a href="https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/12943">endemic to Western Australia</a>. This non-rewarding, food deceptive plant blooms at the same time as rewarding native pea plants (<em>Daviesia</em>). </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507769/original/file-20230202-17-45084q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A yellow flower with two large petals on top and a similar orange flower next to it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507769/original/file-20230202-17-45084q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507769/original/file-20230202-17-45084q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507769/original/file-20230202-17-45084q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507769/original/file-20230202-17-45084q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507769/original/file-20230202-17-45084q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507769/original/file-20230202-17-45084q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507769/original/file-20230202-17-45084q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A winter donkey orchid (left) and a prickly bitter-pea.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cal Wood/iNaturalist;
caitlind164/iNaturalist</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a result, native <em>Trichocolletes</em> bees appear to mistake the orchid for legume plants <a href="https://academic.oup.com/aob/article/122/6/1061/5088838">frequently enough</a> that the orchid gets pollinated.</p>
<p>We quantified the flower colour signals from both plants, revealing the main component of the visual information perceived by a bee was in the short wavelength UV region of the spectrum.</p>
<p>This made sense – while our vision sees blue, green and red wavelengths of light as primary colours, bees can see UV reflected light <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-bee-eye-camera-helps-us-support-bees-grow-food-and-protect-the-environment-110022">but lack a channel for perceiving primary red</a>.</p>
<p>By using computer models of bee pollinator perception, we observed the orchid mimic species and the native pea plant species did actually look similar in colour to bees.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507759/original/file-20230202-3738-nxfh9e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A chart showing two images of flowers, a larger yellow one and a smaller one, with graphs next to them" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507759/original/file-20230202-3738-nxfh9e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507759/original/file-20230202-3738-nxfh9e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507759/original/file-20230202-3738-nxfh9e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507759/original/file-20230202-3738-nxfh9e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507759/original/file-20230202-3738-nxfh9e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507759/original/file-20230202-3738-nxfh9e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507759/original/file-20230202-3738-nxfh9e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Flower shape and colour properties of an orchid (upper row) and a native pea flower (lower row) shown in the field, as individual flowers, and with spectral measurements.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.9759">Scaccabarozzi et al., 2023</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Putting a UV block on flowers</h2>
<p>What was surprising, however, was the non-rewarding orchid flowers – pollinated by deception – actually have more conspicuous advertising for bee vision.</p>
<p>For example, the main display outer flower petals were significantly larger on the orchid plants, and also produced a stronger UV colour signal.</p>
<p>To understand if such signalling was biologically relevant, we next conducted field experiments with the plants. We used a special UV sun-blocking solution to remove the strong UV signals in half of the orchid species, whilst the other half retained their natural appearance.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507760/original/file-20230202-1411-nxfh9e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A row of colourful and greyscale images showing flowers next to a hexagonal chart" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507760/original/file-20230202-1411-nxfh9e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507760/original/file-20230202-1411-nxfh9e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507760/original/file-20230202-1411-nxfh9e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507760/original/file-20230202-1411-nxfh9e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507760/original/file-20230202-1411-nxfh9e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507760/original/file-20230202-1411-nxfh9e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507760/original/file-20230202-1411-nxfh9e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">UV photographs of orchid flowers (upper left panel) in natural state and also with applied UV blocking screen. Middle panels show false-colour photographs of flower appearance for a bee, and right hand panel a computer model of how bee vision perceives flower colours.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.9759">Scaccabarozzi et al., 2023</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the completion of the field season, several months latter, we could measure which plants were more successfully pollinated by bees, revealing the strong UV signals had a significant role in promoting pollination in the orchids.</p>
<p>A second interesting finding of the field experiments was the distance between the pea flowers and their copycat orchids was a major factor in the success of the orchids’ deception strategy.</p>
<p>If the orchids with strong UV signals were within close proximity – a meter or two – to the rewarding native pea flowers, the deception was less successful and few orchid flowers were pollinated. However, if the deceptive orchids were about eight meters away from the rewarding model species, this produced the highest success rate in pollination.</p>
<h2>Why deception works</h2>
<p>It turns out a distance of about eight meters is important because of the way bee brains process colour. When bees see a pair of colours in close proximity, they can evaluate them at the same time. This leads to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00359-005-0622-z">very precise colour matching</a>. A similar process happens in human brains – we also have <a href="https://opg.optica.org/josa/abstract.cfm?uri=josa-47-1-43">to see colours at the same time</a>. </p>
<p>However, seeing colour stimuli with a time interval in between means the brain has to remember the first colour, inspect the second colour, and make a mental calculation about whether the two samples are indeed the same. </p>
<p>Neither bee brains, nor our own, are good at successive colour comparisons. This is why when we purchase paint for a repair job we take a sample to get a precise match, rather than try and remember what we thought the colour should look like.</p>
<p>Deceptive flowers are successful by exploiting this perceptual gap in how brains have to code information when bees need to fly several meters in search of more food.</p>
<p>By using a “look at me” strategy (essentially, better advertising than other plants) it is possible to survive in nature without actually offering a food reward to the pollinators. To do this, the plants need to be at an optimal distance from the plants they are mimicking. Not too close and not too far, and success is assured.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/like-finding-life-on-mars-why-the-underground-orchid-is-australias-strangest-most-mysterious-flower-144727">'Like finding life on Mars': why the underground orchid is Australia's strangest, most mysterious flower</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198980/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adrian Dyer receives funding from The Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Endeavor Fellowship Program grant ID 5117_2016 (Daniela Scaccabarozzi)
Templeton World Charity Foundation grant TWCF0541 (Monica Gagliano)</span></em></p>Orchids give nothing in return to pollinators, so how come they get visited by bees anyway? The answer is trickery and deceit.Adrian Dyer, Associate Professor, Monash UniversityDaniela Scaccabarozzi, Uppsala UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1862752023-01-13T13:30:36Z2023-01-13T13:30:36ZNative eastern fence lizards changed their bodies and behavior in response to invasive red imported fire ants<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503699/original/file-20230109-5266-ezc4go.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=191%2C97%2C2151%2C1645&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Lizards that do or do not share space with invasive fire ants will react differently to this scenario. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tracy Langkilde and Travis Robbins</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>An eastern fence lizard basking in the sun feels a small red ant walk over its back. Not hungry, it ignores the insect. Soon there are lots of ants crawling up its legs, biting the scales that usually protect it and inserting their stingers in its soft underlying flesh.</p>
<p>Not having evolved with this threat, the lizard adopts its typical defensive posture of lying flat and closing its eyes, counting on its natural camouflage to protect it. This can be a deadly decision, though. As few as 12 of these ants can kill an adult lizard in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1890/08-0355.1">less than a minute</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503701/original/file-20230109-8020-tpch1g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="lizard clings to a vertical fence post" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503701/original/file-20230109-8020-tpch1g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503701/original/file-20230109-8020-tpch1g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503701/original/file-20230109-8020-tpch1g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503701/original/file-20230109-8020-tpch1g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503701/original/file-20230109-8020-tpch1g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503701/original/file-20230109-8020-tpch1g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503701/original/file-20230109-8020-tpch1g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A male fence lizard showing off his throat and abdominal badges.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tracy Langkilde</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Such interactions are now common in the southeastern United States, where native animals such as eastern fence lizards (<em>Sceloporus undulatus</em>) have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1890/08-0355.1">shared their habitat</a> with the invasive red imported fire ant (<em>Solenopsis invicta</em>) for decades.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4fYdo1MAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Our</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4vr-wR8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">research</a> <a href="http://langkildelab.com">group</a> has been studying the interactions between these two species and how they change over time. These small lizards, about 6 inches (15 centimeters) from nose to the tip of the tail, have been native to the southeastern United States <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/1562904">for thousands of years</a>. Invasive red imported fire ants are originally from South America but were unintentionally introduced to the port of Mobile, Alabama, in the 1930s and have steadily spread northward – into the lizards’ territory – since their introduction.</p>
<p>We’re particularly interested in how animals may adapt to coexist with venomous species. The fire ants’ well-documented path of invasion, and the fact that they are currently restricted to just a portion of the lizards’ range, allows us to compare how lizards from ecologically similar areas differ based on the presence or absence of these fire ants. Overall it seems the lizards are learning to live with the invaders, adapting their behavior and bodies to better survive attacks from the ants and using them as a new food source.</p>
<h2>Changing looks and behavior to survive attacks</h2>
<p>Lizards and fire ants require a similar habitat to survive – open and often disturbed patches of land that let in sunlight. We’ve found that lizards <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/Z09-053">don’t avoid areas</a> where fire ants are and they don’t avoid their scent. It would be difficult to do, anyway, given how ubiquitous these ants are – within the areas they’ve invaded, fire ant mounds can dot the landscape every few meters.</p>
<p>Foraging fire ants can locate a basking lizard within minutes and quickly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ars011">recruit other ants</a> to attack. All is not lost for the lizard, however. Some do what you probably would when attacked by fire ants: flick them off and move away. This twitch-and-flee behavior <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ars011">removes scout ants</a>, preventing them from recruiting reinforcements, and also gets rid of any other ant attackers.</p>
<p>This behavior is common in baby fence lizards, which are vulnerable even to native ants, but is usually lost in adults as they outgrow threats from native ants by getting larger. However, in areas with fire ants, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1890/08-0355.1">adult lizards retain this behavior</a> that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14510">better enables them to</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ars011">survive fire ant attack</a>.</p>
<p>Lizards can’t tell whether they have a potentially deadly fire ant crawling on them or if it’s something harmless like a fly. So, to be safe, they respond in the same way to anything that they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.11.006">feel climbing on their scales</a>. Unfortunately, this shake-it-off behavior doesn’t solve all the lizards’ problems, since it breaks their usual camouflage, making them more obvious to visual predators like birds. We have observed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.11.006">more evidence of wounds</a> in fire ant-adapted lizards. And a lizard that survives a fire ant attack can still <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/WR10098">die weeks to months later</a>, though we’re not sure yet why.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503698/original/file-20230109-9349-lxdmaf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="fingers hold a transparent ruler up to a lizard's extended rear leg" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503698/original/file-20230109-9349-lxdmaf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503698/original/file-20230109-9349-lxdmaf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503698/original/file-20230109-9349-lxdmaf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503698/original/file-20230109-9349-lxdmaf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503698/original/file-20230109-9349-lxdmaf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503698/original/file-20230109-9349-lxdmaf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503698/original/file-20230109-9349-lxdmaf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Careful measurements in the field find longer legs in lizard populations exposed to fire ants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nisha Ligon</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We find lizard populations that have been living with fire ants have adapted <a href="https://doi.org/10.1670/11-002">to have longer legs</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14510">which are better at removing fire ants</a> when a lizard twitches and flees. This is a big shift for this species, reversing the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14510">latitudinal pattern</a> we see in museum specimens – lizards tend to have shorter limbs the closer the population is to the equator. Since limb length can have important implications for how animals move around their environment, this anatomical change could have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S1095-6433(01)00469-X">important consequences</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503700/original/file-20230109-9211-auh4va.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="front half of a lizard with part of an ant's body coming out of its mouth" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503700/original/file-20230109-9211-auh4va.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503700/original/file-20230109-9211-auh4va.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503700/original/file-20230109-9211-auh4va.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503700/original/file-20230109-9211-auh4va.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503700/original/file-20230109-9211-auh4va.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503700/original/file-20230109-9211-auh4va.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503700/original/file-20230109-9211-auh4va.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Potentially dangerous venomous stings don’t stop these lizards from learning to make a meal of the invasive fire ants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tracy Langkilde and Travis Robbins</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Venomous predator can also be prey</h2>
<p>These lizards, especially when they are young, eat a lot of ants of various types. Eating a fire ant, though, can mean getting stung inside the mouth, which can make this a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.570">lethal meal</a>. Baby lizards quickly learn to avoid eating fire ants, but this leads to their also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-019-01949-3">avoiding their native ant diet</a>, the consequences of which are unknown.</p>
<p>Adult lizards, on the other hand, are less vulnerable to succumbing to consumed fire ants and take advantage of this <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3596-3">new</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-012-0295-9">food</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2012.02583.x">source</a>. So there’s an upside to these troublesome insect invaders for fence lizards.</p>
<h2>Physiological changes triggered by fire ants</h2>
<p>Lethal outcomes are the most striking consequence of interactions between fire ants and fence lizards, but that’s not the full story.</p>
<p>As you might imagine – or even have experienced – being stung by fire ants is stressful for lizards, as indicated by an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/689983">increase in a stress-relevant glucocorticoid hormone</a> following attack, just as you would experience after getting a scare.</p>
<p>We find that lizards that frequently experience fire ant attacks have a different “stress profile.” They have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14510">higher</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2011.12.027">concentrations</a> of this stress hormone even while at rest. They show <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.11.010">greater</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2011.12.027">increases</a> in glucocorticoids in response to a stressor and have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab099">different</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.04.001">behavioral</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blz154">immune</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.188359">responses</a> to glucocorticoid exposure. While stress gets a bad rap, these hormones play an important role and in this case can trigger survival-enhancing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1890/08-0355.1">behavioral</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ars011">responses</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.10.028">fire</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14510">ants</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ekfdDEivgAI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Eating fire ants is almost like getting a vaccine against their stings for lizards.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Lizards living with fire ants show <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.2418">changes to their immune systems</a>. They have elevated levels of IgM antibodies that respond to fire ants and higher levels of a type of white blood cell that can help <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alit.2015.09.002">neutralize venom toxins</a>. They also have decreased levels of other immune system components. Together, these immune differences may allow lizards to better coexist with fire ants, with the elevated immune measures being particularly useful when dealing with stings. Tailoring the immune system to survive fire ant attacks may, however, leave lizards more vulnerable to other immune challenges, such as viruses.</p>
<p>Getting stung over a period of time stimulates lizards’ skin immunity, which could guard against effects of skin damage. Additionally, feeding on fire ants that we’ve rendered in the lab incapable of stinging <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02939-8">increases some immune measures</a> in the lizards above what we see in lizards that were stung by fire ants. This bolstered immunity may then help lizards survive future stings. We think the elevated immunity we see in wild lizards in fire ant-invaded places may be caused by consumption of fire ants.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503702/original/file-20230109-6779-g7lf20.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="lizard missing a front foot" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503702/original/file-20230109-6779-g7lf20.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503702/original/file-20230109-6779-g7lf20.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503702/original/file-20230109-6779-g7lf20.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503702/original/file-20230109-6779-g7lf20.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503702/original/file-20230109-6779-g7lf20.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503702/original/file-20230109-6779-g7lf20.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503702/original/file-20230109-6779-g7lf20.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Injuries like this one to a forelimb appear to be more common in lizard populations that have adapted to the fire ants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christopher Thawley</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Animals adapt – but there can be consequences</h2>
<p>The effects of invasive fire ant and eastern fence lizard interactions demonstrate how species can adapt to survive the presence of invasive predators. Behavioral shifts can allow animals to avoid or escape attack, and changes in morphology can make these strategies more effective. And eating venomous prey may provide immune protection against subsequent attack.</p>
<p>However, this research also illustrates that adaptations are not a panacea. While adapting to a changing world is clearly critical for survival, by its very nature this changes animals, pushing them off their original evolutionary trajectory and leaving them vulnerable to new threats. Getting a full picture of the consequences of the presence of a new threatening species, and of the changes that animals may need to make to survive them, is critical if scientists are going to be able to predict and manage the impact of invasive species on native communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186275/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Funding was provided in part by the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracy Langkilde receives funding from The Pennsylvania State University. </span></em></p>The ways eastern fence lizards have changed in response to red imported fire ants demonstrate how species can adapt to survive the presence of invasive predators.Catherine Tylan, Postdoctoral Researcher in Biology, Penn StateTracy Langkilde, Professor of Biology and Verne M. Willaman Dean, Eberly College of Science, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1960312023-01-08T19:00:02Z2023-01-08T19:00:02ZCan customary harvesting of NZ’s native species be sustainable? Archaeology and palaeo-ecology provide some answers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501721/original/file-20221218-12-qnifpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C79%2C5296%2C2150&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Tessa Palmer</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Aotearoa’s wilderness areas are the jewel in our ecotourism crown. But conservation laws may soon be in for a radical shake-up. </p>
<p>Recent <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/our-work/options-development-group/options-development-group-report-march-2022.pdf">proposals</a> would, among other things, allow Māori to resume traditional harvesting practices (mahinga kai) on conservation land. </p>
<p>This has <a href="https://northandsouth.co.nz/2022/07/14/the-fate-of-our-national-parks/">elicited heated emotions</a> from some conservationists, who fear that biodiversity protection will be compromised, as well as from proponents of mahinga kai, who have been alienated from their traditional lands and customs for more than 130 years. </p>
<p>What does this all mean for our native species?</p>
<h2>The times are a-changing</h2>
<p>Article Two of <a href="https://waitangitribunal.govt.nz/treaty-of-waitangi/">Te Tiriti o Waitangi</a> guaranteed Māori authority over natural resources. But, with government-administered and <a href="https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/southland/tau-fined-over-wood-pigeons">legally enforced</a> “no take” policies covering most conservation land and native species, it is little wonder that many Māori feel alienated from their traditional lands and practices. </p>
<p>Article Four of the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1987/0065/latest/DLM103610.html">Conservation Act 1987</a> states the government must give effect to the principles of Te Tiriti. In 2022, in response to these disparities, the Department of Conservation released a <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/our-work/options-development-group/options-development-group-report-march-2022.pdf">report</a> calling for an overhaul of Aotearoa’s conservation laws to have Māori at their heart. This was a move away from “preservation and protection” to “maintenance, enhancement and sustainable use”. </p>
<p>The report received a lukewarm reception from the government. But it is likely only a matter of time before many of these changes begin to be implemented.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fishing-with-elders-builds-these-childrens-oji-cree-language-cultural-knowledge-and-writing-138915">Fishing with Elders builds these children’s Oji-Cree language, cultural knowledge and writing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There are many precedents. Indigenous peoples in many countries lawfully practice <a href="https://theconversation.com/traditional-hunting-gets-headlines-but-is-not-the-big-threat-to-turtles-and-dugongs-69038">traditional harvesting</a> of some protected species. <a href="https://www.mpi.govt.nz/fishing-aquaculture/maori-customary-fishing/customary-fisheries-management-areas-rules-and-maps/">Customary management areas</a> in Aotearoa, such as mātaitai reserves and taiāpure, demonstrate that community and Indigenous leadership can be effective at managing resources. </p>
<p>In many instances, communities may be more motivated to support conservation measures if species can also be used as a resource, such as the harvesting of tītī (sooty shearwaters).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of people with harvested tītī (sooty shearwaters) hung up to dry." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501826/original/file-20221219-18-vgeae8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501826/original/file-20221219-18-vgeae8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501826/original/file-20221219-18-vgeae8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501826/original/file-20221219-18-vgeae8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501826/original/file-20221219-18-vgeae8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501826/original/file-20221219-18-vgeae8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501826/original/file-20221219-18-vgeae8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Māori in Foveaux Strait have practiced traditional harvesting of tītī (sooty shearwaters) for hundreds of years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hocken Collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>How do we ensure any harvesting is sustainable in this fast-changing world? Mātauranga (knowledge) and tikanga (custom) Māori, developed over centuries, can provide many of these answers. Combined with scientific methods and data, these bodies of knowledge create a powerful base from which managers can make robust and evidence-based decisions about harvest practices. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-hunters-are-protecting-animals-land-and-waterways-118652">Indigenous hunters are protecting animals, land and waterways</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The past is the key to the present</h2>
<p>Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua – I walk backwards into the future, with my eyes fixed on my past.</p>
<p>Palaeo-ecology, archaeology and matāuranga Māori share the philosophy that we can learn from the past. All three allow us to reconstruct how past ecosystems functioned, how people and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/chapter-epub/10.1002/9781394169764.ch18">species adapted to harvest pressures</a> and climate change, and how we can use this information moving forward.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An archaeological midden with a pile of shells and other animal remains" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500547/original/file-20221212-24-u7oobq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500547/original/file-20221212-24-u7oobq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500547/original/file-20221212-24-u7oobq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500547/original/file-20221212-24-u7oobq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500547/original/file-20221212-24-u7oobq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500547/original/file-20221212-24-u7oobq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500547/original/file-20221212-24-u7oobq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Archaeological middens contain the remains of animals and trace changes in areas of food gathering.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Justin Maxwell</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Palaeo-ecology and archaeology draw on many tools: </p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ourchangingworld/audio/20171239/waitaha-penguin-out,-yellow-eyed-penguin-in">radiocarbon-dating</a> anchors archaeological and fossil remains in time</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://newzealandecology.org/nzje/3306.pdf">stable dietary isotopes</a> help determine diet and where animals fitted into the food chain</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-did-ancient-moa-survive-the-ice-age-and-what-can-they-teach-us-about-modern-climate-change-183350">ancient DNA</a> is used to determine how and when genetic diversity and population sizes changed through time</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jbi.14092">statistical modelling</a> can show how abundance and distributions of plants and animals have changed, and may continue to change in the future. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>This information can paint a picture of how past ecosystems responded to human impacts as well as predicting how future impacts may affect species and populations.</p>
<h2>To harvest or not to harvest?</h2>
<p>Globally, waves of human settlement generally correlated with the rapid extinction of local species. Hunting rates that would have been sustainable for closely related species still culminated in the flightless <a href="https://hakaimagazine.com/news/from-healthy-to-extinct-in-350-years/">great auk’s extinction</a>. </p>
<p>Many of Aotearoa’s plants and animals are slow to reproduce. Ancient DNA <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ourchangingworld/audio/201808840/hunted-to-extinction-the-chatham-island-sea-lion">analysis and modelling</a> have shown even very low levels of human harvesting resulted in the rapid decline and extinction of numerous New Zealand sea lion lineages. Less than one sea lion killed per person per year, despite a small human population at the time, was enough to seal their fate. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="New Zealand sea lion on a beach" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500549/original/file-20221212-25-g5huck.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500549/original/file-20221212-25-g5huck.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500549/original/file-20221212-25-g5huck.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500549/original/file-20221212-25-g5huck.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500549/original/file-20221212-25-g5huck.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500549/original/file-20221212-25-g5huck.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500549/original/file-20221212-25-g5huck.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">While sealions have been harvested in the past, modelling shows slow-reproducing species cannot be taken sustainably.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikipedia/Hase</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other charismatic, slow-breeding animals that would be similarly vulnerable to even low levels of harvest, even if we managed to restore their populations to moderately “healthy” levels, include <a href="https://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/kakapo">kākāpō</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790318306274">tawaki</a> (<a href="https://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/fiordland-crested-penguin">Fiordland crested penguin</a>), <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jbi.12991">hoiho</a> (<a href="https://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/yellow-eyed-penguin">yellow-eyed penguin</a>) and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mec.13338">matapo</a> (<a href="https://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/stewart-island-shag">Otago shag</a>).</p>
<p>Conversely, several locally abundant species, such as <a href="https://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/weka">weka</a>, <a href="https://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/new-zealand-pigeon">kererū</a> and <a href="https://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/black-swan">kakīānau</a> (black swan) could probably be <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pan3.10196">sustainably harvested</a> in some areas as long as careful guidelines are in place. The archaeological record shows some of these species were regularly hunted for hundreds of years with little evidence of population decline. </p>
<h2>Looking to the future</h2>
<p>No-one is proposing free-for-all harvesting. Poorly managed and unregulated harvest would be a terrible set-back to recent restoration and conservation efforts. But conservation and mahinga kai principles are not mutually exclusive. Both stand to benefit from ecosystem restoration. </p>
<p>Palaeo-ecological tools and insights from archaeology can help inform ecosystem restoration projects by establishing which <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2015.2879">species or lineages</a> were present in a region. They can also facilitate translocations without <a href="https://newzealandecology.org/nzje/3425.pdf">unexpected ecological consequences</a> or failure due to lack of <a href="https://theconversation.com/tuatara-are-returning-to-the-mainland-but-feeding-the-hungry-reptiles-could-be-more-difficult-than-expected-191164">suitable habitat or food</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Weka" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500548/original/file-20221212-338-rbisur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500548/original/file-20221212-338-rbisur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500548/original/file-20221212-338-rbisur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500548/original/file-20221212-338-rbisur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500548/original/file-20221212-338-rbisur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500548/original/file-20221212-338-rbisur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500548/original/file-20221212-338-rbisur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Weka are an important mahinga kai species. But they are also a predator and can affect other taonga species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia/Bernard Spragg</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Modern ecosystems in Aotearoa are highly degraded and not comparable to those of centuries ago. They are vulnerable to a range of <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/environment/the-sixth-mass-extinction-is-happening-now-and-it-doesnt-look-good-for-us">old and new threats</a>, including invasive predators, habitat loss or modification, and climate change.</p>
<p>An open-ended ethical question driving much of the controversy is whether endangered species should ever be intentionally killed.</p>
<p>Some endangered species might eventually sustain a harvest of, at most, only one or two individuals per year. Such exceedingly limited harvest may be enough to preserve some of the tikanga and mātauranga associated with mahinga kai.</p>
<p>In Te Tiriti, Māori were guaranteed the right to manage and use natural resources. Integrating traditional management practices with a range of scientific tools could enable communities to make evidence-based decisions around what constitutes “sustainable” harvesting. Mahinga kai, science and conservation need not be at odds with one another: they all have a future in Aotearoa.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196031/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nic Rawlence receives funding from the Royal Society of New Zealand. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Walter receives funding from Royal Society of New Zealand</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kerry Walton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An overhaul of Aotearoa’s conservation laws could allow Māori to resume traditional harvesting practices of some native species.Nic Rawlence, Senior Lecturer in Ancient DNA, University of OtagoKerry Walton, Researcher, University of OtagoRichard Walter, Professor of Archaeology, University of OtagoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1968112022-12-21T17:08:14Z2022-12-21T17:08:14ZSquirrelpox outbreak detected in north Wales – without a vaccine, the disease will keep decimating red squirrels<p>Concerns over the spread of squirrelpox have increased after a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-63865940">sick red squirrel was found in Bangor, Wales, in late November</a>. </p>
<p>It’s not the first time an outbreak has happened in the area – back in 2020/21, the disease caused a loss of <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/1/99">70%-80% of its red squirrel population</a>. Such major outbreaks are devastating and lead to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.1216">dramatic and ongoing red squirrel declines</a>.</p>
<p>Conservationists have a formidable task to ensure that similar losses do not happen again. The current national strategy is simple: <a href="https://www.gov.wales/grey-squirrel-management-action-plan-for-wales">cull grey squirrels</a> in areas where red squirrels persist. However, there is no single, straightforward way to safeguard the future of this native mammal at the moment.</p>
<p>It is the grey squirrel which <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2000.tb00107.x">carries squirrelpox virus infection</a>, but it does not cause them obvious harm. When they were first introduced from North America during the Victorian era, <a href="http://www.italian-journal-of-mammalogy.it/pdf-126011-61760?filename=Introduced%20Canadian.pdf">grey squirrels brought the virus to Britain</a> and Ireland. </p>
<p>Grey squirrels compete for resources with <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0cc7l69">native red squirrels</a>, which is a species with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1690913/pdf/11886647.pdf">little immunity to the virus</a>. The infection produces extensive skin lesions around the eyes, muzzle and mouth, on the digits and around the genitalia. The sores become infected by bacteria and are a major source of viral particles which contaminate the environment. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502171/original/file-20221220-17-dycnm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502171/original/file-20221220-17-dycnm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502171/original/file-20221220-17-dycnm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502171/original/file-20221220-17-dycnm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502171/original/file-20221220-17-dycnm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502171/original/file-20221220-17-dycnm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502171/original/file-20221220-17-dycnm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Red squirrel with squirrelpox virus.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flickr.com/photos/55426027@N03/14469405549">Peter Trimming / Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This increases the likelihood of sick red squirrels spreading infection to other reds. Squirrelpox leads to <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/epidemiology-and-infection/article/epidemics-of-squirrelpox-virus-disease-in-red-squirrels-sciurus-vulgaris-temporal-and-serological-findings/6543EE3ED2792F0C9CD188EE3973EED8">death within three weeks</a> of infection. </p>
<h2>Does culling work?</h2>
<p>On the island of Anglesey, off the northern coast of Wales, culling between 1998 and 2013 led to the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/the-uk-island-which-has-completely-wiped-out-grey-squirrels-a6708781.html">eradication of grey squirrels</a>. As those efforts steadily reduced grey squirrel numbers, the proportion of remaining greys exposed to squirrelpox virus and showing <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-014-0671-8">antibodies progressively dwindled</a> to zero, revealing that the virus eventually disappeared from their population.</p>
<p>With fewer hosts to infect, eventually the infection was simply unable to spread between hosts. Although red squirrels were reintroduced before the grey squirrel eradication was completed, the steady decline in levels of infection among grey squirrels explains why no diseased reds were found on the island.</p>
<p>Across Wales, an <a href="https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutputs/striving-for-success-an-evaluation-of-local-action-to-conserve-red-squirrels-sciurus-vulgaris-in-wales(1963b515-5120-482d-b11b-59da05c9457a).html">estimated 1,500 red squirrels</a> may remain. Whereas there were only <a href="https://cdn.naturalresources.wales/media/691092/eng-red-squirrel-conservation-plan-for-wales.pdf">40 on Anglesey in 1998</a>, today there are perhaps 800. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1597980163266195456"}"></div></p>
<p>In 2009, red squirrels were first recorded on the Gwynedd mainland having <a href="https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/red-squirrels-spotted-areas-first-13519515">crossed the narrow Menai Strait from Anglesey</a>. This population expanded but since 2017, there have been repeated <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-42377351">squirrelpox outbreaks</a> there. </p>
<p>The problem with culling outside of a closed environment like an island is that, to be effective, control has to be coordinated over ever-larger areas, which is expensive and time-consuming. Sporadic or localised mainland grey squirrel culling simply leads to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20728617">rapid re-invasion</a>. </p>
<p>Red squirrels also naturally return to the habitats from where greys are removed. This inevitably leads to mixing and continued risk of infection.</p>
<h2>Birth control</h2>
<p>So what more can be done? A complementary, non-lethal population control method is being developed. This is an oral <a href="https://theconversation.com/grey-squirrels-is-birth-control-the-solution-to-britains-invasive-species-problem-154400">contraceptive bait</a> which, if consumed, makes grey squirrels infertile. It would be deployed in hoppers designed to only allow grey squirrels access.</p>
<p>Although this is an exciting prospect, research suggests effective use would <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304380020304506">require grey populations to be reduced first by culling</a>, before the contraceptive is presented. Using bait will also require coordination between a multitude of landowners, not all of whom may wish to be involved or pay for control.</p>
<p>It is therefore an important part of a future solution, but not a simple panacea. </p>
<h2>Pine marten to the rescue?</h2>
<p>Another interesting possibility could be to use pine martens to control the grey population. The pine marten is being reintroduced into many parts of Britain <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2352249620300240">including woodlands adjacent to Anglesey</a>. The occasional individual has been <a href="https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/rare-squirrel-eating-predator-discovered-24466313">detected on the island</a> too. </p>
<p>Pine marten <a href="https://theconversation.com/grey-squirrels-are-oblivious-to-threat-from-pine-martens-giving-native-reds-the-advantage-131064">predation is more pronounced upon grey</a> than red squirrels, and this fact could lead to the suppression of the squirrelpox pathogen. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502129/original/file-20221220-20-w0zd44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502129/original/file-20221220-20-w0zd44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502129/original/file-20221220-20-w0zd44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502129/original/file-20221220-20-w0zd44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502129/original/file-20221220-20-w0zd44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502129/original/file-20221220-20-w0zd44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502129/original/file-20221220-20-w0zd44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The pine marten is being reintroduced into many parts of Britain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>Recent <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380022003143">mathematical modelling</a> has reinforced the potential role for this native predator in reducing the impact of invasive grey squirrels and the infectious diseases they harbour. <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2352249620300240">Research by myself and colleagues</a> suggests that grey squirrels would decline if pine martens are reintroduced, and often their numbers would then be insufficient for the virus to be maintained. </p>
<p>One uncertainty is exactly how much of an effect this predator would have, because it is omnivorous and hunts a wide variety of prey. When vole populations are high, for example, pine martens may focus their hunting on this prey, and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/oik.08565">less on grey or red squirrels</a>. Nevertheless, pine marten recovery is likely to be a positive contribution to grey squirrel management and our modelling predictions are dramatic. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, both this and commercial contraceptive use are only likely to assist in the medium to long term. Consequently, we are currently left with expensive ongoing local culling programmes. </p>
<h2>A vaccine is essential</h2>
<p>A big gap in our ability to fight squirrelpox comes from the fact there is currently <a href="https://squirrelaccord.uk/squirrels/squirrel-pox-disease/">no vaccine available for the disease</a>. The <a href="https://www.wildlifearktrust.com/appeal.html">Wildlife Ark Trust</a> funded a vaccine development programme, but insufficient funding meant this research stopped a decade ago.</p>
<p>With no way to inoculate red squirrels against the pox virus, we can do little in the face of inevitable future squirrelpox outbreaks such as that which occurred near Bangor. It is to our collective shame that research halted because of insufficient funding and political will.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196811/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>I have given long standing and public support for the Wildlife Ark Trust vaccine appeal. </span></em></p>There is no single, straightforward way to safeguard the future of this native mammal at the moment – but here are some optionsCraig Shuttleworth, Honorary Visiting Research Fellow, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1864692022-07-08T03:36:35Z2022-07-08T03:36:35ZGreater gliders are hurtling towards extinction, and the blame lies squarely with Australian governments<p>The southern and central greater glider, the world’s largest gliding marsupial, <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=254">was officially listed as “endangered”</a> this week, with the species facing a very high risk of extinction.</p>
<p>In just six years, the number of greater gliders has declined at a staggering rate, going from no conservation listing at all, to “vulnerable”, and now to “endangered”. During this time, the destruction of their forest habitat in eastern Australia has continued.</p>
<p>Greater gliders are among thousands of native species under threat of extinction. Already this year, for example, the yellow-bellied glider was listed as <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=87600">vulnerable nationally</a>, and koala populations across Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory were listed as <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=85104">endangered</a>.</p>
<p>A key reason is that Australia’s environmental laws and practices are <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-major-report-excoriated-australias-environment-laws-sussan-leys-response-is-confused-and-risky-154254">outdated</a> and offer little meaningful protection to threatened plants and animals. To avoid a future in which greater gliders are nothing more than a memory, we must immediately stop destroying their habitat. </p>
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<h2>The plight of the greater glider</h2>
<p><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/greater-glider-glide-into-your-heart/">Greater gliders</a> are beautiful, fluffy, cat-sized possums with large ears, long tails and claws. They have fur-covered membranes that enable them to glide up to 100 metres between trees. </p>
<p>Like koalas, greater gliders feed almost exclusively on eucalypt leaves. But, unlike koalas, greater gliders require mature forests with tree hollows to sleep in and rear young.</p>
<p>In 2020, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-76364-z">scientists discovered</a> there are actually three species of greater glider: the northern greater glider (<a href="https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species-search/details/?id=2456">now vulnerable</a>), as well as the central and southern greater gliders, although these two are not officially recognised by the federal government as separate species yet.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/254-conservation-advice-05072022.pdf">conservation advice</a> following this uplisting to endangered indicates an overall rate of population decline exceeding 50% over a 21-year period – that’s just three generations of greater gliders. </p>
<p>Greater gliders were once abundant along Australia’s east coast. However, 200 years of forest clearing and logging has steadily reduced their habitat and numbers. This legacy of disturbance has amplified the impact of recent bushfires on remaining forest and glider populations. </p>
<p>For those who have stood on bare ground in recently logged or burnt forest, you know the silence of a once thriving ecosystem is chilling. The sense of loss is overwhelming. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-failed-greater-gliders-since-they-were-listed-as-vulnerable-weve-destroyed-more-of-their-habitat-164872">Australia has failed greater gliders: since they were listed as 'vulnerable' we’ve destroyed more of their habitat</a>
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<h2>The last six years</h2>
<p>In 2016, before we knew three species existed, the greater glider was listed as “vulnerable” under Australia’s key environment law: <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2021C00182">the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/254-conservation-advice-20160525.pdf">conservation advice</a> back then stated that stopping their decline required a recovery plan, and “existing mechanisms are not adequate to address these needs”. However, no such plan has ever been developed and implemented. </p>
<p>Logging and land clearing continued unabated. In fact, our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/PC20077">recent study</a> found that after this listing, destruction of greater glider habitat actually <em>increased</em> in Queensland and NSW, and remained consistently high in Victoria.</p>
<p>Then, in the summer of 2019 and 2020, the catastrophic Black Summer bushfires struck, <a href="https://theconversation.com/click-through-the-tragic-stories-of-119-species-still-struggling-after-black-summer-in-this-interactive-and-how-to-help-131025">razing around 30%</a> of greater glider habitat. Still, logging and land clearing continued. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/animals-and-plants/native-vegetation/landcover-monitoring-and-reporting/2020-landcover-change-reporting">NSW government report</a> revealed that in 2020, 51,400 hectares of woody vegetation was cleared. </p>
<p>So, it’s not terribly surprising that only six years on from the 2016 “vulnerable” listing, central and southern greater gliders have been nationally listed as endangered. </p>
<h2>Controllable threats continue</h2>
<p>Climate change also poses a considerable threat to the greater glider, in terms of both the increasing risk of fire and rising temperatures, particularly in <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.825142517358920">NSW</a> and <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecs2.3262">Victoria</a>. </p>
<p>While the impacts of these threats will be ongoing and are challenging to mitigate, they can be addressed by urgently and significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. </p>
<p>Cutting down forests, however, is a threat that could be stopped immediately. </p>
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<p>Unfortunately, native forest logging continues in NSW and Victoria. And in Queensland, a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-05-20/olive-downs-coking-coal-mine-gains-environmental-approval/12262464">new coal mine</a> will <a href="https://eisdocs.dsdip.qld.gov.au/Olive%20Downs/cger/olive-downs-project-coordinator-general-evaluation-report.pdf">destroy</a> thousands of hectares of greater glider and koala habitat.</p>
<p>It’s clear the EPBC Act is <a href="https://epbcactreview.environment.gov.au/resources/interim-report/executive-summary">ineffective</a> at protecting forest-dwelling species. One reason is due to so-called “<a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/agriculture-land/forestry/policies/rfa">regional forest agreements</a>” established in the mid-1990s as a compromise <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/20/regional-forest-agreement-renewals-spark-fresh-forest-wars">between warring</a> environmentalists and the forestry industry. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/native-forest-protections-are-deeply-flawed-yet-may-be-in-place-for-another-20-years-93004">Native forest protections are deeply flawed, yet may be in place for another 20 years</a>
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<p>Under <a href="https://theconversation.com/native-forest-protections-are-deeply-flawed-yet-may-be-in-place-for-another-20-years-93004">these agreements</a>, a range of logging operations around Australia are exempt from federal environment laws. They need only comply with state regulations, removing a layer of potential protection for threatened species.</p>
<p>Failure to implement legislation that protects our biodiversity is incredibly shortsighted. </p>
<p>Not only does it mean many <a href="https://theconversation.com/existential-threat-to-our-survival-see-the-19-australian-ecosystems-already-collapsing-154077">essential ecological processes</a> on which we depend will be irreversibly disrupted, but the joy of encountering unique wildlife - shaped by millions of years of evolution - may be lost forever too. </p>
<h2>What needs to change?</h2>
<p>Being listed as endangered does nothing to boost protection for Australian species unless meaningful policies and legislated protection measures are actually implemented in response.</p>
<p>The failure of state governments to act appropriately on the recommendations of the 2016 vulnerable listing is evidence of this. </p>
<p>Often, attempts to conserve greater gliders and other forest mammals take the form of artificial hollow provisioning (including nest boxes) or reforestation. While these measures can be valuable, <a href="https://theconversation.com/artificial-refuges-are-a-popular-stopgap-for-habitat-destruction-but-the-science-isnt-up-to-scratch-164401">they are far from silver bullets</a>.</p>
<p>It’s not possible to provide nest boxes across the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/PC20077">5 million hectares</a> of greater glider habitat that burned in the Black Summer fires. Nor can they replace the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/PC20077">thousands of hectares of habitat logged each year</a>. </p>
<p>At best, nest boxes are a localised stopgap. At worst, they can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-plan-to-protect-wildlife-displaced-by-the-hume-highway-has-failed-78087">completely ineffective</a>, and can even be used to greenwash environmentally destructive projects or delay appropriate action. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/artificial-refuges-are-a-popular-stopgap-for-habitat-destruction-but-the-science-isnt-up-to-scratch-164401">Artificial refuges are a popular stopgap for habitat destruction, but the science isn't up to scratch</a>
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<p>Similarly, reforestation will do little in the short term for a species that depends on old-growth forest. It can take well over 100 years for trees to <a href="https://theconversation.com/diy-habitat-my-photos-show-chainsaw-carved-tree-hollows-make-perfect-new-homes-for-this-mysterious-marsupial-159639">form hollows</a> in which greater gliders can shelter.</p>
<p>Rather than band-aid solutions that don’t address the cause of decline, meaningful legislated change is required to protect our biodiversity. Australia must <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-fix-australias-environment-laws-wildlife-experts-call-for-these-4-changes-all-are-crucial-154273">strengthen its environment laws</a> and transition towards a timber supply from certified plantations.</p>
<p>Western Australia has already committed to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-08/logging-of-wa-native-forests-to-be-banned-in-state-budget-plan/100443070">end native forestry by 2024</a>. The Victorian and NSW governments must do better, and end native forest logging immediately, or see more greater gliders, koalas and other endangered forest mammals perish. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-fix-australias-environment-laws-wildlife-experts-call-for-these-4-changes-all-are-crucial-154273">To fix Australia's environment laws, wildlife experts call for these 4 changes — all are crucial</a>
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<p>We cannot wait until they’re listed as critically endangered to take serious action. </p>
<p>We’ve been lucky enough to share peaceful, cool nights in an ancient forest, surrounded by greater gliders, their bright yellow eyes shining, before they launch into the night and glide out of view. We want future generations to experience this too.</p>
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<p><em>The authors are grateful for the contributions of Kita Ashman, an ecologist at the World Wildlife Fund, to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186469/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Darcy Watchorn receives funding from the Hermon Slade Foundation, Parks Victoria, the Conservation and Wildlife Research Trust, the Ecological Society of Australia, the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council, and the Geelong Naturalists Field Club. He is a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and the Society for Conservation Biology Oceania.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke Emerson has previously received funding from the University of New England to perform research on greater gliders and other arboreal marsupials. He was formerly employed by the The Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research to conduct arboreal marsupial surveys, which included the greater glider.</span></em></p>Greater gliders are fluffy, cat-sized possums with large ears. State governments have failed them at every turn, and continue to raze their habitat.Darcy Watchorn, PhD Candidate, Deakin UniversityLuke Emerson, PhD Candidate, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1816172022-05-08T19:58:16Z2022-05-08T19:58:16ZMeet the territorial females and matriarchs in Australia’s backyard<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461797/original/file-20220506-22-5xkyt0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=84%2C32%2C4229%2C2839&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Linda Reinhold/Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions WA</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Social structure is an important aspect of species’ biology. Having a pecking order and male or female territoriality can help species thrive. </p>
<p>For instance, this can prevent inbreeding, by ensuring males or females leave their family territory to reproduce. It can also help with passing important knowledge and resources down through family lines. </p>
<p>Many Australian species, such as the kangaroo, have a male-dominated social structure. However, recent research into lesser-known native animals has found it’s actually girls who run these worlds.</p>
<h2>The houseproud greater stick-nest rat</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=137">greater stick-nest rat</a> (<em>Leporillus conditor</em>) is a native rodent about the size of a guinea pig. It was once widespread across the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/WR97056">southern half of mainland Australia</a>. But by the 1930s, grazing, changes in land use and introduced predators reduced its range down to a single island off the coast of South Australia.</p>
<p>Now, thanks to some fantastic conservation efforts, it persists in multiple safe havens across the country. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461798/original/file-20220506-20-w7swvh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Stick-nest rat" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461798/original/file-20220506-20-w7swvh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461798/original/file-20220506-20-w7swvh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461798/original/file-20220506-20-w7swvh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461798/original/file-20220506-20-w7swvh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461798/original/file-20220506-20-w7swvh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461798/original/file-20220506-20-w7swvh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461798/original/file-20220506-20-w7swvh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Stick-nest rats are a vulnerable species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">April Reside</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>This species builds nests out of sticks and dry grass, bonded together with special sticky urine. The nests can reach huge sizes and are surprisingly complex – with multiple burrows, chambers and even levels that keep the inhabitants safe from predators and extreme heat and cold.</p>
<p>The construction is so advanced that nests can last for thousands of years, when protected from the elements by caves or rock <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200057155">overhangs</a>. </p>
<p>These stick nests are communal and used over many generations. For a long time, however, there was little understanding of how the nests are passed down. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13100">A study</a> published last year by myself and my colleagues used trapping data and genetic samples taken over many years to investigate this. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461256/original/file-20220504-21-3vghd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Researcher Isabelle Onley kneels down behind a large greater stick-nest rat nest, made of many long twigs and sticks, in the outback" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461256/original/file-20220504-21-3vghd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461256/original/file-20220504-21-3vghd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461256/original/file-20220504-21-3vghd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461256/original/file-20220504-21-3vghd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461256/original/file-20220504-21-3vghd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461256/original/file-20220504-21-3vghd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461256/original/file-20220504-21-3vghd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Greater stick-nest rat nests can grow to large sizes as they are passed down and maintained over many generations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Georgina Neave/Arid Recovery</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>We found females were more closely related to each other over shorter distances, while males were not. Also, females that were caught in consecutive months and years were typically found in the same nest (or one next door), while males were not.</p>
<p>The evidence pointed to one thing: female greater stick-nest rats typically remain in, or near, the nest they were born in – while males leave and disperse across the landscape. </p>
<p>This strategy has two major benefits. First, it helps prevent inbreeding within populations. </p>
<p>Second, since the nests are a huge energy investment for a little rat, passing them down through the female line improves the likelihood of breeding success for future generations, by giving descendants protection from predators and extreme temperatures. </p>
<p>Researchers of greater stick-nest rats have also observed dominant behaviour in females and, occasionally, aggression towards males that come near their nest. Males have even been seen presenting flowers to a resident female, as if attempting courtship!</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fierce-female-moles-have-male-like-hormones-and-genitals-we-now-know-how-this-happens-149174">Fierce female moles have male-like hormones and genitals. We now know how this happens.</a>
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<h2>Female dominance in Australian species</h2>
<p>The greater stick-nest rat isn’t the only Australian rodent with females that rule the roost. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/WR9930405">broad-toothed rat</a>, a sub-alpine species found in south-eastern Australia, demonstrates female territoriality in the summer months while the males roam across larger home ranges. But when the cold winters set in, and snow covers the landscape, males and females can be found huddling together in shared nests.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1976.tb00930.x">ash grey mouse</a>, a native rodent from the biodiversity hotspot of southwest Western Australia, forms groups of multiple females that share a burrow and raise their young together. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461473/original/file-20220505-26-mcq5lm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An ash-grey mouse wrapped up, with its head peaking out" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461473/original/file-20220505-26-mcq5lm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461473/original/file-20220505-26-mcq5lm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461473/original/file-20220505-26-mcq5lm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461473/original/file-20220505-26-mcq5lm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461473/original/file-20220505-26-mcq5lm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461473/original/file-20220505-26-mcq5lm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461473/original/file-20220505-26-mcq5lm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ash-grey mice face many threats including loss of habitat, competition and predation from introduced species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:1067f58c-b822-412d-bb6e-07a9b8416a52">Questa Game/Atlas of Living Australia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Female social dominance can also be found in marsupials, such as the thumb-sized <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/AJZS121">honey possum</a>, which is also native to southwest Western Australia. Females of this species are larger than males and are sexually promiscuous. They mate with multiple males to produce tiny babies, no bigger than a grain of rice. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1995.tb02769.x">brush-tailed phascogale</a>, another small marsupial species, has females which settle and occupy territories that are sometimes surrendered in part to their daughters when they reach adulthood.</p>
<p>The males, meanwhile, move more freely over large home ranges that overlap with other individuals. A key factor in the marking of brush-tailed phascogale territories is believed to be a kind of scent marking, by way of faeces left in prominent positions around the home range boundaries and nesting sites. </p>
<p>Other native species exhibit similarly variable and complex social structures. But with so many of our fauna threatened, endangered or difficult to find and study in the wild, we have much to learn about how they interact. </p>
<h2>The science of sociality</h2>
<p>While the complexities of these social hierarchies are fascinating, they’re often hard to determine. Previously, such knowledge could only be gained through long-term studies in the field or in captivity. This is difficult when the species is shy, or tiny like the honey possum. </p>
<p>Thankfully, advances in genetic and animal tracking technology are providing experts deeper insight into the dynamics of these species, with much less cost and effort. With tracking devices becoming more lightweight, powerful and durable, researchers can now remotely monitor the movement and dispersal of species across their home ranges. </p>
<p>In addition, DNA from tissue, skin or hair samples can be sequenced to provide high-quality data to inform on how individuals in an area are related. This can show us how family groupings coexist. </p>
<p>Yet even with these improvements, there is still much we don’t know about the secret lives of Australia’s animals. With the combined pressures of habitat loss, feral predators and climate change, researchers are racing against the clock to better understand our wildlife and hopefully preserve it. </p>
<p>Wildlife reserves such as the <a href="https://aridrecovery.org.au">Arid Recovery Reserve</a>, where our study on greater stick-nest rats was conducted, combine research with hands-on management to inform conservation efforts – and are taking steps to safeguard our precious native species’ place in the future. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-australian-birds-can-teach-us-about-choosing-a-partner-and-making-it-last-125734">What Australian birds can teach us about choosing a partner and making it last</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181617/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Isabelle Onley receives funding from the following sources: the University of Adelaide, Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship, Nature Foundation South Australia, Biological Society South Australia/Nature Conservation Society of South Australia, and the Field Naturalists Society of South Australia.</span></em></p>Researchers are in a race against time to learn about the female-oriented social structures of Australia’s small native rodents and marsupials.Isabelle Onley, PhD Candidate, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1820442022-05-02T20:43:48Z2022-05-02T20:43:48ZFind out what threatened plants and animals live in your electorate (and what your MP can do about it)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460737/original/file-20220502-16-riyox4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Gouldian finch</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than 1,800 Australian plants and animals are <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/sprat.pl">considered at-risk</a> of extinction, and yet protecting threatened species is almost entirely absent from the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/25/worst-its-ever-been-a-threatened-species-alarm-sounds-during-the-election-campaign-and-is-ignored">current election campaign</a>.</p>
<p>We’ve developed a <a href="https://www.threatened.org.au/">web app</a>, which launches today, that lets Australians learn which threatened plants and animals live in their federal <a href="https://www.aec.gov.au/electorates/maps.htm">electorate</a>. </p>
<p>For example, we found the electorate with the most threatened species is Durack in Western Australia, held currently by the Liberal party’s Melissa Price. Some 61 threatened animals and 198 threatened plants live or used to live within its boundaries, such as the Numbat, Gouldian finch and the Western underground orchid.</p>
<p>Our goal is to help users engage with their elected representatives and put imperilled species on the political agenda this election and beyond. We urgently need to convince federal politicians to act, for they hold the keys to saving these species. So what can they do to help their plight?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460733/original/file-20220502-24-z00gtz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="black-breasted buttonquail" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460733/original/file-20220502-24-z00gtz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460733/original/file-20220502-24-z00gtz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460733/original/file-20220502-24-z00gtz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460733/original/file-20220502-24-z00gtz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460733/original/file-20220502-24-z00gtz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=697&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460733/original/file-20220502-24-z00gtz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=697&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460733/original/file-20220502-24-z00gtz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=697&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The black-breasted buttonquail is an endangered and declining species found in southern Queensland. It used to be found in northern NSW. To be saved from extinction it needs members from around 29 electorates to work together and champion its recovery.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Patrick Webster</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Threatened species in your neighbourhood</h2>
<p>Our new app, called Threatened Australians, uses <a href="https://www.awe.gov.au/environment/environmental-information-data/databases-applications/snes">federal government data</a> to introduce you to the threatened species living in your neighbourhood.</p>
<p>By entering a post code, users can learn what the species looks like, where they can be found (in relation to their electorate), and what’s threatening them. Importantly, users can learn about their incumbent elected representative, and the democratic actions that work towards making a difference.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fail-our-report-card-on-the-governments-handling-of-australias-extinction-crisis-181786">Fail: our report card on the government's handling of Australia's extinction crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For example, entering the postcode 2060 – the seat of North Sydney, held currently by the Liberal Party’s Trent Zimmerman – tells us there are 23 threatened animals and 14 threatened plants that live or used to live there. </p>
<p>This includes the <a href="https://www.wwf.org.au/ArticleDocuments/353/Koala%20habitat%20clearing%20in%20Qld%20and%20NSW%202004-2018.pdf.aspx?OverrideExpiry=Y">koala</a> which, among many others, have seen devastating losses in their populations in recent decades due to <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/csp2.117">habitat destruction</a>.</p>
<p>We’ve also put together data dividing the number of threatened species that live or used to live across each party’s electorates, as shown in the chart below. Labor-held seats are home to 775 of the 1,800-plus threatened species, while Liberal-held seats have 1,168.</p>
<hr>
<iframe src="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/9760441/embed" title="Interactive or visual content" class="flourish-embed-iframe" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width:100%;height:600px;" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<div style="width:100%!;margin-top:4px!important;text-align:right!important;"><a class="flourish-credit" href="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/9760441/?utm_source=embed&utm_campaign=visualisation/9760441" target="_top"><img alt="Made with Flourish" src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/made_with_flourish.svg"> </a></div>
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<h2>A seriously neglected issue</h2>
<p>The good news is we know how to avert the extinction crisis. Innumerable reports and peer-reviewed studies have detailed <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.7920">why the crisis is occurring</a>, including a major independent review of Australia’s environment laws which outlined the necessary <a href="https://epbcactreview.environment.gov.au/resources/final-report">federal reforms for changing this trajectory</a>.</p>
<p>The bad news is these comprehensive reforms, like almost all the previous calls to action on the threatened species crisis, <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-threatened-species-plan-has-failed-on-several-counts-without-change-more-extinctions-are-assured-163434">have been largely ignored</a>. </p>
<p>Predictions show the situation <a href="https://invasives.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Averting-extinctions-The-case-for-strengthening-Australias-threat-abatement-system-April-2022.pdf">will drastically worsen</a> for threatened species over the next two decades if nothing changes.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460735/original/file-20220502-92559-avz6ka.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="golden shouldered parrot" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460735/original/file-20220502-92559-avz6ka.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460735/original/file-20220502-92559-avz6ka.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460735/original/file-20220502-92559-avz6ka.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460735/original/file-20220502-92559-avz6ka.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460735/original/file-20220502-92559-avz6ka.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460735/original/file-20220502-92559-avz6ka.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460735/original/file-20220502-92559-avz6ka.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The golden shouldered parrot is only found in Queensland. Its entire population is found in the seat of Leichardt and its population has been declining dramatically over the past two decades. The long-term MP for Leichhardt is the Hon Warren Entsch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Patrick Webster</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet, environmental issues rarely <a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/franklin-dam-and-the-greens">play key roles in federal elections</a>, despite the <a href="https://www.wwf.org.au/ArticleDocuments/353/pub-backyard-barometer-australian-attitudes-to-nature-05jun18.pdf">connection Australians share</a> with the environment and our wildlife. </p>
<p>The health of the environment continually ranks among the <a href="https://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/2762080/mapping-social-cohesion-national-report-2021.pdf">top issues</a> Australians <a href="https://www.jwsresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/JWS-Research-True-Issues-26-November-2021.pdf">care about</a>, and <a href="https://conservationgeography.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/pub-building-natures-safety-net-2014-18nov14.pdf">nature tourists in Australia spend over $23 billion per year</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/just-ten-mps-represent-more-than-600-threatened-species-in-their-electorates-83500">Just ten MPs represent more than 600 threatened species in their electorates</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>So how can we address this mismatch of widespread public desire for environmental action yet political candidates are focused on other issues?</p>
<h2>What can local MPs actually do about it?</h2>
<p>For change to occur, communities must effectively persuade elected representatives to act. There are a few ways they can exercise their democratic powers to make a difference.</p>
<p>Federal MPs often champion and advocate important issues such as developing new hospitals, schools and car parks in their electorate. By speaking out and advocating for their electorate in parliament and with the media, they can garner the support, such as funding and reform, to deliver change for their electorate.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460736/original/file-20220502-22-4a2dwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="numbat" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460736/original/file-20220502-22-4a2dwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460736/original/file-20220502-22-4a2dwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460736/original/file-20220502-22-4a2dwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460736/original/file-20220502-22-4a2dwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460736/original/file-20220502-22-4a2dwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460736/original/file-20220502-22-4a2dwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460736/original/file-20220502-22-4a2dwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The numbat has disappeared across much of the continent in the last two hundred years. Now over 80% of its range now occurs in the electorate of O'Connor in Western Australia. The MP for O’Connor is Mr Rick Wilson.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Local MPs can help protect threatened species by instigating and voting for improved policy.</p>
<p>Let’s say, for instance, legislation for approving a new mine was before parliament, and the development overlapped with the habitat of a threatened animal.
If protecting a certain plant or animal was on an MPs agenda thanks to the efforts of their community, it would help determine whether the MP votes for such legislation.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/frozen-sperm-and-assisted-reproduction-time-to-pull-out-all-stops-to-save-the-endangered-koala-179368">Frozen sperm and assisted reproduction: time to pull out all stops to save the endangered koala</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This has broader applications, too. Making the threatened species crisis a priority for an MP would determine the lengths they would go to for conservation in their electorate and Australia wide. </p>
<p>Threatened species desperately need the <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/conl.12682">required funding</a> alongside the appropriate <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320714004558">policy and legislative reform</a>. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/environment-laws-have-failed-to-tackle-the-extinction-emergency-heres-the-proof-122936">current policies</a> are responsible for the threats causing many species to go endangered in the first place.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460732/original/file-20220502-98897-4gkxcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460732/original/file-20220502-98897-4gkxcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460732/original/file-20220502-98897-4gkxcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460732/original/file-20220502-98897-4gkxcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460732/original/file-20220502-98897-4gkxcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460732/original/file-20220502-98897-4gkxcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460732/original/file-20220502-98897-4gkxcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460732/original/file-20220502-98897-4gkxcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The app in action.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Threatened Australia</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our app can help users engage with the current sitting MP in their electorate with the click of a button, as it helps users write an email to them. It’s time federal representatives were asked about their policies on threatened species and what they plan to do for them in their electoral backyards.</p>
<p>While climate change has, for decades, unfathomably been the subject of fierce debate in the Australian parliament, threatened species can be a cause of unity across the political divide.</p>
<p>We need an honest and urgent dialogue between local communities and their representatives about how to deal with the challenge these species face and what each prospective candidate intends to do about it. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/1-7-million-foxes-300-million-native-animals-killed-every-year-now-we-know-the-damage-foxes-wreak-177832">1.7 million foxes, 300 million native animals killed every year: now we know the damage foxes wreak</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182044/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gareth Kindler receives funding from a Research Training Program scholarship and has received funding from the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Watson has received funding from the Australian Research Council and National Environmental Science Program. He serves on scientific committees for Bush Heritage Australia and BirdLife Australia and has a long-term scientific relationship with Wildlife Conservation Society. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Kelly has received funding for other work from the Australian Research Council and the Queensland Department of Education.
</span></em></p>The goal of our new web app is to help users engage with their elected representatives and put imperilled species on the political agenda this election and beyond.Gareth Kindler, PhD Candidate, The University of QueenslandJames Watson, Professor, The University of QueenslandNick Kelly, Senior Lecturer in Interaction Design, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1775052022-04-12T12:14:50Z2022-04-12T12:14:50ZRaising cattle on native grasses in the eastern U.S. benefits farmers, wildlife and the soil<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455415/original/file-20220331-18-we7ab1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C2297%2C1714&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Native grasses, long overlooked, have been shown to benefit cattle and diverse native animals. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Patrick Keyser</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Early on a cool June morning, heavy dew lies on the grass of rolling farm country somewhere in Tennessee, or Missouri, or Pennsylvania. Small patches of fog hang in low lying pockets of these fields. In the distance, hardworking farmers are starting their day. Farm equipment clangs, tractors roar to life and voices lining out the day’s work drift on the air.</p>
<p>This pastoral scene is repeated thousands of times each morning across rural America. But something is missing: the exuberant “Bob bob white!” call of the bobwhite quail that for generations was the soundtrack to summer mornings. Once abundant across the eastern U.S., bobwhite populations <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Bobwhite/lifehistory">have declined by 85%</a>. <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/eesc/science/north-american-breeding-bird-survey#data">Calculations</a> suggest that the remaining population could be cut in half within the next decade.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="360" src="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/63289481/embed/640" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" style="width:640px;"></iframe>
<p>Many other grassland birds, such as <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/grasshopper_sparrow">grasshopper sparrows</a> and <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Meadowlark/id">eastern meadowlarks</a>, also are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw1313">disappearing at an alarming rate</a>. Taken together, grassland birds have experienced the worst population declines among all North American birds.</p>
<p>Why is this happening? In a word, habitat. Native grasslands in the U.S., especially those east of the Great Plains, which once covered millions of acres, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/efforts-afoot-souths-disappearing-grasslands-rcna128">have almost completely disappeared</a>. Some have been converted to croplands. Others have been allowed to grow back up into forests, where shade from the tree canopy prevents the growth of these grasses. </p>
<p>Still others have been planted with grasses that are native to Europe, Africa or Asia. These introduced grasses tend to be shorter than our tall, native species and grow in dense, solid mats that cover the ground. Native species, on the other hand, are <a href="https://workbasedlearning.pnnl.gov/pals/resource/cards/bunchgrass.stm">bunchgrasses</a>: They grow in clumps, with spaces between plants that benefit many of these nesting birds, especially the bobwhite.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455418/original/file-20220331-18-pw0015.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455418/original/file-20220331-18-pw0015.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455418/original/file-20220331-18-pw0015.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455418/original/file-20220331-18-pw0015.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455418/original/file-20220331-18-pw0015.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455418/original/file-20220331-18-pw0015.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455418/original/file-20220331-18-pw0015.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A bobwhite quail nest nestles in a bunch of switchgrass, a native grass species also valuable for cattle forage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Peters</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Native grasses for birds, and cattle</h2>
<p>One solution to these declines draws on the concept of working lands conservation – making agricultural lands productive not only for cattle, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.1000">also for declining species such as grassland birds</a>. One compelling opportunity for such an approach is using some of the native grasses that have been lost from the eastern U.S. to provide pasture for cattle. Reintroducing these grasses to farms could benefit cattle farmers as well as birds. My new book, “<a href="https://nativegrasses.tennessee.edu/native-grass-forages/">"Native Grass Forages for the Eastern U.S.</a>,” explains why and how these grasses can fit into working farms. </p>
<p>I have combined my research on native grasses over the past 15 years at the <a href="https://utia.tennessee.edu/">University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture</a> with the work of many other scientists that has accumulated over the past 100 years. Collectively, this research suggests that native grasses can not only be brought back but can play a strategic role on our farms today.</p>
<p>Growing forages requires fertilizer, diesel and seed, all of which are becoming more expensive. At the same time, climate change is making <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/25/climate/nyt-climate-newsletter-drought-floods.html">some parts of the U.S. wetter and other parts drier</a>. </p>
<p>In the face of these stresses, I see native grasses like <a href="https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/factsheet/pdf/fs_ange.pdf">big bluestem</a> as a promising solution. These grasses, which have grown in North America for millennia, are naturally well adapted to the eastern U.S., and I believe they can once again benefit family farms.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zOopOzbXGYk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Patrick Keyser interviews Brad Black of Color Wheel Farm in Monroe County, Tennessee, on his experience planting a native grass, switchgrass.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As I show in my book, these grasses have roots that can extend as much as 8 to 10 feet deep into the soil. They are remarkably drought tolerant and can grow and thrive in soils with low fertility and high acidity. </p>
<p>Their large root systems also help to increase the organic matter in soils, which makes the soil healthier and more productive. Building up organic matter, which consists mostly of carbon, stores carbon in the soil rather than the atmosphere. </p>
<p>But what about the cattle? Numerous studies show that forage yields are high for these species. <a href="https://doi.org/10.15232/S1080-7446(15)30251-5">Cattle readily consume them</a>, and this diet produces strong gains on the growing animals. This combination of high yields, strong gains and low input requirements means that these forages <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20032">can be produced profitably</a>.</p>
<p>A recent study conducted here in Tennessee resulted in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20426">strong animal performance for beef steers and heifers</a>, with the cost of feed for the animals coming in at only $0.29 per pound. This is a very good bargain: Cost ranges for many nonnative forages can be $0.80-0.90 per pound, and purchased feed can run <a href="https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2015-9475">well over $2.00 per pound of weight gain</a>.</p>
<p>In that same study, we monitored the nesting success of two at-risk species associated with eastern pastures: grasshopper sparrows and field sparrows. We found that compared to pastures growing a nonnative grass species called tall fescue, the native grass pastures produced between two and six times more fledgling birds per acre. This is the outcome that working lands conservation seeks to deliver: more beef and more birds, all at a fair price.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455416/original/file-20220331-21-urolii.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455416/original/file-20220331-21-urolii.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455416/original/file-20220331-21-urolii.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455416/original/file-20220331-21-urolii.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455416/original/file-20220331-21-urolii.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455416/original/file-20220331-21-urolii.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455416/original/file-20220331-21-urolii.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455416/original/file-20220331-21-urolii.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Scientists track the movements of this male bobwhite quail, here about to be released into the wild, through a radio transmitter covered by a tuft of feathers beneath the bird’s chin.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ross Ketron</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Making the switch</h2>
<p>The biggest challenge of cultivating native grasses is getting the grasses established. Converting existing pastures to native grasses requires completely renovating the fields, and lots of patience as the native grass seedlings develop. These species are slow starters. </p>
<p>Once they get a good root system under them, they can grow quite rapidly, but until then they are vulnerable to weed pressure. And converting fields is not cheap, due particularly to seed costs. However, farmers can receive financial support for planting native grasses from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s <a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/">Natural Resources Conservation Service</a>. </p>
<p>[<em>Over 150,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-150ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>As the world’s population grows, it will be a struggle to produce enough nutrient-dense proteins to feed everyone. Grasslands can produce high-quality dietary protein cost-effectively, while also reducing atmospheric carbon and supporting North American grassland birds and other wild species. </p>
<p>As King Solomon said long ago, <a href="http://web.mit.edu/jywang/www/cef/Bible/NIV/NIV_Bible/ECC+1.html#:%7E:text=The%20eye%20never%20has%20enough,nothing%20new%20under%20the%20sun.">there is nothing new under the sun</a>. Native grasses are not new, but today I see them as a modern solution to some of our planet’s most pressing challenges.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177505/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick Keyser has received funding from the US Department of Agriculture, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, private donors, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
</span></em></p>Growing native grasses as cattle forage is an example of working lands conservation – balancing human use of the land with conservation goals.Patrick Keyser, Professor of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries and Director, Center for Native Grasslands Management, University of TennesseeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1727562021-12-05T19:11:20Z2021-12-05T19:11:20ZWhy dingoes should be considered native to mainland Australia – even though humans introduced them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435481/original/file-20211203-27-dx7620.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C31%2C5168%2C3197&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Dingoes are <a href="https://academic.oup.com/cz/article-abstract/57/5/668/5004458">often demonised</a> as a danger to livestock, while many consider them a natural and essential part of the environment. But is our most controversial wild species actually native to Australia? </p>
<p>Dingoes were brought to Australia by humans from Southeast Asia some 4,000 years ago. Technically, this means they are an introduced species, and an “alien” species by <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article-abstract/68/7/496/5050532">classic ecological definitions </a>. By contrast, most legal definitions consider dingoes native, because they were here before Europeans arrived. </p>
<p>Though it sounds academic, the controversy has real consequences for this ancient dog lineage. In 2018, the Western Australian government declared dingoes <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-wa-government-is-wrong-to-play-identity-politics-with-dingoes-102344">were not native fauna</a> due to crossbreeding with domestic dogs. This potentially makes it easier to control their numbers.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/australian-zoologist/article-abstract/41/3/358/472935/An-eco-evolutionary-rationale-to-distinguish-alien">new research paper</a>, I find dingoes do indeed fit the bill as an Australian native species, using three new criteria I propose. These criteria can help us answer questions over whether alien species can ever be considered native, and if so, over what time frame.</p>
<h2>Why does alien or native status matter?</h2>
<p>Humans have been moving animal species around for millennia. Thousands of years ago, neolithic settlers <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2907.1992.tb00129.x">moved rabbits</a> to Mediterranean islands, traders unwittingly took black rats from India to Europe and Indigenous Southeast Asian people took pigs to Papua New Guinea. </p>
<p>The rate of species introductions has ramped up with the movement and spread of people, with many recent arrivals posing a major threat to biodiversity.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435486/original/file-20211203-25-eianud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435486/original/file-20211203-25-eianud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435486/original/file-20211203-25-eianud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435486/original/file-20211203-25-eianud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435486/original/file-20211203-25-eianud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435486/original/file-20211203-25-eianud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435486/original/file-20211203-25-eianud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435486/original/file-20211203-25-eianud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pigs were introduced to Papua New Guinea by Indigenous people thousands of years ago. Does that make them native?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Researchers often distinguish between alien and native using the year the species was introduced. There are obvious problems with this, given the dates used can be arbitrary and the fact perceptions of nativeness can be based on how much <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0309132507079499">humans like the species</a>, rather than its ecological impact. For example, there has been strong opposition to killing “friendly” hedgehogs in areas of Scotland where they are introduced, but less cute animals like American mink get no such consideration.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-dingo-fence-from-space-satellite-images-show-how-these-top-predators-alter-the-desert-155642">The dingo fence from space: satellite images show how these top predators alter the desert</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For conservationists, alien status certainly matters. <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rspb.2006.0444">Alien species act differently</a> to native species in their new environments, which can give them an advantage over locals in terms of competition for food, predation and spreading new diseases. This can cause native population declines and extinctions.</p>
<p>As a result, species considered alien in their ecosystems are often targets for control and eradication. But species considered native are usually protected even if they have extended their range significantly, like eastern water dragons or the Australian white ibis. </p>
<p>Native status is, of course, a human construct. Past definitions of nativeness have not directly considered the ecological reasons for concern about alien species. </p>
<p>This is what <a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/australian-zoologist/article-abstract/41/3/358/472935/An-eco-evolutionary-rationale-to-distinguish-alien">my new research</a> seeks to address. </p>
<h2>An ecological definition of nativeness</h2>
<p>What I propose are three staged criteria to determine when an introduced species becomes native:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>has the introduced species evolved in its new environment? </p></li>
<li><p>do native species recognise and respond to the introduced species as they do other local species? </p></li>
<li><p>are the interactions between introduced and established native species similar to interactions between native species (that is, their impacts on local species are not negative and exaggerated)?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>For dingoes on mainland Australia, the answer is yes for all three criteria. We should consider them native. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435474/original/file-20211203-23-1o19jql.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435474/original/file-20211203-23-1o19jql.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435474/original/file-20211203-23-1o19jql.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435474/original/file-20211203-23-1o19jql.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435474/original/file-20211203-23-1o19jql.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435474/original/file-20211203-23-1o19jql.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435474/original/file-20211203-23-1o19jql.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435474/original/file-20211203-23-1o19jql.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dingoes on mainland Australia meet the criteria for native status.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Banks</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Firstly, dingoes are not the same dogs first brought here. Dingoes are now <a href="https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4564.1.6">quite different</a> to their close ancestors in Southeast Asia, in terms of behaviour, how they reproduce and how they look. These <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-14515-6">differences have a genetic basis</a>, suggesting they have evolved since their arrival in Australia. Their heads are now shaped differently, they breed less often and have better problem solving skills than other close dog relatives. </p>
<p>Second, it is well established that native prey species on mainland Australia <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rspb.2018.0857">recognise and respond to dingoes</a> as dangerous predators – which they are.</p>
<p>Finally, dingo impacts on prey species <a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/australian-zoologist/article-abstract/41/3/338/447847/Introgression-does-not-influence-the-positive?redirectedFrom=fulltext">are not devastating</a> like those of alien predators such as feral cats and foxes. While hunting by dingoes does suppress prey numbers, they don’t keep them as low (and at greater risk of extinction) as do foxes and cats.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-dingo-is-a-true-blue-native-australian-species-111538">The dingo is a true-blue, native Australian species</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Of course, dingo impacts were unlikely to have always been so benign. Dingoes are <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1191/0959683603hl682fa">linked to the extinction</a> of Tasmanian tigers (Thylacines), Tasmanian devils and the Tasmanian flightless hen, which disappeared from mainland Australia soon after the dingo arrived. </p>
<p>In my paper, I argue such impacts no longer occur because of evolutionary change in both dingoes and their prey. We can see this in Tasmania, which dingoes never reached. There, prey species like bandicoots still show <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0161447">naiveté towards dogs</a>. That means we should not consider dingoes to be native to Tasmania.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435484/original/file-20211203-23-101r65w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435484/original/file-20211203-23-101r65w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435484/original/file-20211203-23-101r65w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435484/original/file-20211203-23-101r65w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435484/original/file-20211203-23-101r65w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435484/original/file-20211203-23-101r65w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435484/original/file-20211203-23-101r65w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435484/original/file-20211203-23-101r65w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Native prey species on the mainland recognise and respond to dingoes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Alien today, native tomorrow?</h2>
<p>This idea challenges the dogma alien species remain alien forever. This is an unsettling concept for ecologists dealing with the major and ongoing damage done by newer arrivals. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article-abstract/62/3/217/358332">Some argue</a> we should never embrace alien species into natural ecosystems. </p>
<p>This makes no sense for long-established introduced species, which might now be playing a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-dingo-fence-from-space-satellite-images-show-how-these-top-predators-alter-the-desert-155642">positive role</a> in ecosystems. But it’s a different story for recently introduced species like cats, given not enough time has passed to get past the exaggerated impacts on local species. </p>
<p>These ideas are not about considering all species present in an ecosystem to be native. Introduced species should still be considered alien until proven native.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435482/original/file-20211203-27-1atm2p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Cat sitting in the outback" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435482/original/file-20211203-27-1atm2p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435482/original/file-20211203-27-1atm2p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435482/original/file-20211203-27-1atm2p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435482/original/file-20211203-27-1atm2p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435482/original/file-20211203-27-1atm2p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435482/original/file-20211203-27-1atm2p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435482/original/file-20211203-27-1atm2p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cats are a bigger threat to Australian wildlife than dingoes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This approach suggests ways of classifying species which might be native to a country but have moved to new places within the country through mechanisms like climate change or re-wilding. For example, we can’t simply assume returning Tasmanian devils to <a href="https://theconversation.com/bringing-devils-back-to-the-mainland-could-help-wildlife-conservation-43121">mainland Australia</a> more than 3,000 years after dingoes drove them extinct there would count as reintroducing a native species. </p>
<p>Defining nativeness in this ecological way will help resolve some of the heated and long-running debates over how to distinguish alien and native species. </p>
<p>How? Because it targets the key reason conservationists were worried about alien species in the first place – the damage they can do.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172756/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Banks receives funding from the Australian Research Council and The Hermon Slade Foundation </span></em></p>Dingoes have evolved under Australian conditions. That’s just one step in the path the iconic dog has taken to become native.Peter Banks, Professor of Conservation Biology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1711952021-11-22T19:07:51Z2021-11-22T19:07:51ZWhy it’s time to reconsider the ecological contribution of introduced species – even in New Zealand<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433006/original/file-20211121-17-9hhzdd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C69%2C5129%2C3228&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/rfranca</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The loss of biodiversity is one of the most catastrophic developments of our time. The impacts will possibly <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/461472a">outpace those of global warming</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A fantail" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433029/original/file-20211122-15-tb7265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433029/original/file-20211122-15-tb7265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=790&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433029/original/file-20211122-15-tb7265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=790&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433029/original/file-20211122-15-tb7265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=790&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433029/original/file-20211122-15-tb7265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=992&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433029/original/file-20211122-15-tb7265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=992&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433029/original/file-20211122-15-tb7265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=992&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New Zealand’s pīwakawaka: conservation often focuses on saving native species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Imogen Warren</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Growing evidence that humans have triggered a <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/24/13596">sixth global mass extinction</a> means the protection of remaining species is a <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">priority beyond dispute</a> to secure ecological services such carbon cycling, clean water and air, and healthy oceans.</p>
<p>The key drivers of species loss are climate change, habitat degradation, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11148?report=reader">pollution</a>, and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-018-1595-x">exotic species that become invasive</a>. This has led conservation ecologists to follow the simple rule of “protect natives, fight exotics”. </p>
<p>If we had an unlimited budget, I would hardly challenge this view. But in a world where natural ecosystems face many other global changes apart from species loss, I argue we should reconsider the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.758413/full">ecological role exotic species play</a>.</p>
<h2>Ecosystem function over species mix</h2>
<p>One could argue ecosystems are inherently so complex that we can never appreciate the exact contribution of an individual species, and therefore native species need to be protected at all cost. </p>
<p>But this argument can be turned around. In many cases, exotic species are not detrimental to the resident species communities. It is not until an exotic species becomes invasive that <a href="https://rewilding.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IUCN-GISP.pdf">substantial harm happens</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/eco-fusion-is-the-new-normal-as-native-and-non-native-species-mix-together-154454">Eco-fusion is the new normal, as native and non-native species mix together</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The deliberate spread of species has been an integral part of human evolution for thousands of years. Many economically important plant species are exotics in most places, but they make it possible to feed our growing population. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="New world cacti and succulents in Greece." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433030/original/file-20211122-25-khff1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433030/original/file-20211122-25-khff1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433030/original/file-20211122-25-khff1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433030/original/file-20211122-25-khff1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433030/original/file-20211122-25-khff1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433030/original/file-20211122-25-khff1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433030/original/file-20211122-25-khff1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New worlld cacti and succulents have become part of the Mediterranean landscape.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Anna Holyph</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a physically highly connected world, unintentional relocation of both terrestrial and marine species has now also become unavoidable. </p>
<p>In some cases, introduced species can even complement native ecosystems. New world succulents are now very much part of the Mediterranean landscape, without <a href="https://www.presentica.com/doc/11177197/the-role-of-new-world-biodiversity-in-the-transformation-of-document">harming the local flora</a>. </p>
<p>Sometimes, introduced species perform ecological functions similar to those that are (or were) performed by natives. For instance, European gorse stabilises coastal slopes in New Zealand, providing a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19644109">nursery for local plants</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Gorse covering a hill in New Zealand." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433003/original/file-20211121-27-ccesaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433003/original/file-20211121-27-ccesaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433003/original/file-20211121-27-ccesaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433003/original/file-20211121-27-ccesaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433003/original/file-20211121-27-ccesaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433003/original/file-20211121-27-ccesaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433003/original/file-20211121-27-ccesaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gorse can act as a nursery plant for New Zealand’s native plant species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Filip Fuxa</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In one particularly spectacular case, extinct tortoises were intentionally replaced with an exotic species through “assisted colonisation”. It seems to have <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23773124/">worked</a>. </p>
<p>However, earlier and much less scientifically informed attempts of assisted colonisation, such as the deliberate introduction of cane toads in Australia’s tropical north-east, <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2009.00319.x">went terribly wrong</a>.</p>
<h2>The bias of human perception</h2>
<p>There are many ecosystem services humanity depends on: clean water, carbon cycling, removal of pollutants and excessive nutrient loads, mitigation of global warming through land-based and marine carbon sequestration, erosion prevention, just to name a few. </p>
<p>The preservation of native species is one way of ensuring those services for future generations. An approach focused on ecological function weighs the cost of protecting natives and combating exotics against the role of new species assemblages shaped by human interference. </p>
<p>At approximately equal cost, should the addition of a breeding pair of a rare bird be prioritised over the reforestation of several hectares of land? Such decisions are often difficult and must be based on the available science.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/birds-we-studied-4-000-alien-introductions-to-find-out-why-some-were-successful-119034">Birds: we studied 4,000 'alien introductions' to find out why some were successful</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Clearly, there may be other reasons — cultural or aesthetic values for example — to protect native species, beyond the provisioning of ecosystem services. But people seem biased by what they are used to. </p>
<p>For example, Switzerland provides <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42731932">generous subsidies</a> to farmers for maintaining picturesque alpine meadows, even though the native vegetation before human intervention was a much less biologically diverse alpine forest. </p>
<p>In Central Europe, the recently introduced Tree of Heaven (<em>Ailanthus altissima</em>) triggered substantial efforts to eradicate it, while the European chestnut (<em>Castanea sativa</em>), introduced by the Greeks and Romans some 2000 years ago, is highly valued and enjoys <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00334-004-0038-7">protection and even reforestation programmes</a>.</p>
<p>The above examples illustrate why we may need a more sober approach centred on ecological function to effectively protect our remaining natural treasures and the ecosystem services they provide. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.711556/abstract">milestones in the evolution of life</a> did not depend on individual species or species assemblages, but on the emergence of new functional traits such as photosynthesis, predation or flight. Similarly, humankind ultimately relies on functioning ecosystems, regardless of which species provide them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171195/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sebastian Leuzinger receives funding from The Royal Society. </span></em></p>Introduced species that become invasive are clearly destructive, but many exotic species are not detrimental to the existing ecosystem – some become complementary or take on lost ecological roles.Sebastian Leuzinger, Professor, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1609292021-06-30T04:29:50Z2021-06-30T04:29:50ZMeet the broad-toothed rat: a chubby-cheeked and inquisitive Australian rodent that needs our help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409037/original/file-20210630-15-1biiaye.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C5%2C1908%2C1072&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christine Wacker</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/am-i-not-pretty-enough-106740">Am I not pretty enough?</a></strong> This article is part of The Conversation’s series introducing you to unloved Australian animals that need our help.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>When people think of rodents, they usually think of introduced species such as the black rat and house mouse. But Australia actually has around <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/3999050">54 native rodent species</a>, which live in a vast range of habitats across the continent, from the <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/am/am12001">ocean</a> to <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/AM/AM04153">spinifex-dotted deserts</a>. </p>
<p>My research focuses on the broad-toothed rat, a vulnerable, chubby-cheeked rodent that lives in parts of Tasmania and pockets of southern Victoria. It even thrives beneath the snow in the Australian Alps and in Barrington Tops in New South Wales. </p>
<p>You may have already heard of the broad-toothed rat from <a href="https://theconversation.com/victorias-new-feral-horse-plan-could-actually-protect-the-high-country-nsws-method-remains-cruel-and-ineffective-158317">articles about</a> the damage feral horses do in Kosciuszko National Park, or as one of the species living near the highly photogenic mountain pygmy possum. </p>
<p>But I don’t want to turn this into a debate about feral horses or a popularity contest with the pygmy possum. As the broad-toothed rat rarely, if ever, gets its own story, I want to introduce you properly to this fascinating, unique, and beautiful species, focusing on those that live in Kosciuszko National Park.</p>
<h2>A very special rodent</h2>
<p>The broad-toothed rat (<em>Mastacomys fuscus</em>) is often referred to by wildlife scientists as Australia’s guinea pig. However, it belongs to a very different group of rodents.</p>
<p>Weighing <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/wr/CWR9640123">approximately 150 grams</a> — about the same size as the introduced black rat — the broad-toothed rat looks like any typical rodent at first glance. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409038/original/file-20210630-27-7ally.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409038/original/file-20210630-27-7ally.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409038/original/file-20210630-27-7ally.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=970&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409038/original/file-20210630-27-7ally.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=970&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409038/original/file-20210630-27-7ally.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=970&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409038/original/file-20210630-27-7ally.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1219&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409038/original/file-20210630-27-7ally.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1219&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409038/original/file-20210630-27-7ally.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1219&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The broad-toothed rat has a trusting and inquisitive nature.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rhi Wilson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But with its chocolate coloured coat, long, soft, almost luxurious fur, little to no musky smell, chubby face, and calm and inquisitive nature, it bears little resemblance to any introduced species. </p>
<p>The broad-toothed rat gets its name from its wider-than-usual molar teeth, which <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/ielapa.889380167265348">help it chew</a> the stalks of sedges and grasses. It also nests in these grasses, and moves unseen through an elaborate network of tunnel-like runways. The broad-toothed rat <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/WR/WR9910039">shares these runways</a> with other small mammal species, such as the bush rat and the dusky antechinus. </p>
<p>In winter, low shrubs hold the snow off the ground, creating a subnivean space (the area between snow and terrain). This creates a relatively cosy environment, keeping the temperature of the runways above zero, even when the air above this space is much colder. </p>
<p>When most of the snow has melted in October, the broad-toothed rat’s <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/ZO/ZO15033">breeding season is triggered</a> and generally lasts until March the next year. They have on average only two to three young, and these are unusual because they’re <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/wr/CWR9640123">partially furry at birth</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409039/original/file-20210630-25-16y1lm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Tunnels in tufts of grass" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409039/original/file-20210630-25-16y1lm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409039/original/file-20210630-25-16y1lm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409039/original/file-20210630-25-16y1lm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409039/original/file-20210630-25-16y1lm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409039/original/file-20210630-25-16y1lm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409039/original/file-20210630-25-16y1lm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409039/original/file-20210630-25-16y1lm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Broad-toothed rat runways, shared by other small mammals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Chris Wacker</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why native rodents matter</h2>
<p>Native rodents are essential in many ecosystems. They disperse seeds by forming seed caches. This is when rats keep seeds in storage to eat, and when they vacate their burrow, the uneaten seeds can germinate.</p>
<p>They often have the role of <a href="https://cc4d3dc4-a-d6d9d6da-s-sites.googlegroups.com/a/irri.org/rodent-management/resources/journal-articles/books-and-book-chapters/ecologicallybasedrodentmanagement/05Dickman.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7crnVRN_xN_ZH6VRYxxNoyWo-4b8ekt1FiwbkrLJqSS-bPkPBP4824PeZffWuc6JRL-lrDirIxwEuRH_pCd05qj8qjPl-7h9bcxA4dg24hdta9Ixp3gLgeIvn37d2YPzBywP3i8Rk4ErC6LEd0jYbmT9NqP-uQS6CyMl6KK9hS5_zXLYph-EWKNkWigrcROfib_oTxd0OAH2jWpEA8zOTTYkz17wNzIHrLW8MZikS9NjISzZEyBDMtZUpqh99uupvnPopEG1EhNsgwQOrvkjGv28sd03lORQ4oSEppC4Ggemv5v5FncS9Fd5iBxOBbt7tA-KP2VSlPbq7hu0kM8vXzTJGLJltg%3D%3D&attredirects=0">ecosystem engineers</a>, providing burrows and runways for small mammals that cannot dig their own. This is particularly common for desert rodent species that dig burrows, which are then used by small marsupials.</p>
<p>Native rodents may also be early indicators of <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/wr/wr16178">local environmental change</a>, like furry canaries in a coal mine. When their populations decline, populations of other native species, such as small marsupials, also decline soon after because whatever affects the rodents, will affect other small mammals.</p>
<h2>But broad-toothed rats are in danger</h2>
<p>Of the 54 species of native rodent, <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/3999050">16 are vulnerable or endangered</a>. Their biggest threats include introduced rodents who compete for resources, predation by cats and foxes, and general human activity such as land clearing.</p>
<p>While the damage feral horses do to the vegetation in the Australian Alps is a well-known problem, the broad-toothed rat also has many other threats. </p>
<p>It’s currently classified as vulnerable or near threatened in much of its range. While the exact number of individuals is difficult to determine, it’s clear the rat’s range <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/WR/WR19077">is getting smaller</a>, in part due to climate change-induced reduction in snow cover. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409041/original/file-20210630-21-1dtpu2h.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409041/original/file-20210630-21-1dtpu2h.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409041/original/file-20210630-21-1dtpu2h.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409041/original/file-20210630-21-1dtpu2h.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409041/original/file-20210630-21-1dtpu2h.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409041/original/file-20210630-21-1dtpu2h.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409041/original/file-20210630-21-1dtpu2h.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409041/original/file-20210630-21-1dtpu2h.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The typical habitat of the broad-toothed rat habitat in the Australian Alps.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Chris Wacker</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since their <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/283503">reproductive behaviours</a> are triggered by the environment, changes in temperature and snow cover can be catastrophic. Reduced snow cover also means less protection during the colder months.</p>
<p>Another reason these rats are unusual among native Australian rodents is they’re <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/ielapa.889380167265348">entirely herbivorous</a>. Any variation in temperature, rainfall, snow melt, or drainage alters the types of vegetation that grows. And changes in available grasses reduce the food and nesting material the rats have access to.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/victorias-new-feral-horse-plan-could-actually-protect-the-high-country-nsws-method-remains-cruel-and-ineffective-158317">Victoria’s new feral horse plan could actually protect the high country. NSW's method remains cruel and ineffective</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In the Australian Alps, broad-toothed rats have very few native predators. But a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1442-9993.2002.01187.x?casa_token=v70RTMXSPK8AAAAA%3APkb0XKDxUcAmtGh4fwOMTfjZOxmRJzOiDpmkdC6iSLNHAiPgzcQWAovNc5qIenC8xz-Tw30GPEcnovdn">2002 study</a> found foxes, and perhaps feral cats, prefer eating broad-toothed rats over other small mammal species. Whether this is due to the rats being easier to catch or because they’re tastier is unclear.</p>
<p>Because the broad-toothed rat lives in Kosciuszko National Park, it also lives side-by-side with the ski industry, and will even inhabit the <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/wr/wr16102">disturbed areas</a> alongside ski runs. But <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/mountain-research-and-development/volume-23/issue-3/0276-4741(2003)023%5b0247:EIOTOT%5d2.0.CO;2/Environmental-Impacts-of-Tourism-on-the-Australian-Alps-Protected-Areas/10.1659/0276-4741(2003)023%5b0247:EIOTOT%5d2.0.CO;2.full">ski resorts change</a> drainage patterns, groundwater and surface water, changing the type of vegetation that grows. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409034/original/file-20210630-23-8zdz4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409034/original/file-20210630-23-8zdz4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409034/original/file-20210630-23-8zdz4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409034/original/file-20210630-23-8zdz4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409034/original/file-20210630-23-8zdz4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409034/original/file-20210630-23-8zdz4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409034/original/file-20210630-23-8zdz4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409034/original/file-20210630-23-8zdz4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The ski industry in the Australian Alps threatens the broad-toothed rat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With the continued reduction in natural snow from climate change, and heavier reliance on artificial snow for tourism, the impact on the fragile alpine ecosystem will need to be closely monitored so we can protect the broad-toothed rat.</p>
<h2>Three ways you can help</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, just having “rat” in its name can turn people away from caring about this species, as rats are typically seen as destructive and diseased. </p>
<p>But does an animal have to be cute and endearing to gain public and political sympathy? Well, unfortunately, yes. </p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mam.12066?casa_token=-wbJKEofkW8AAAAA%3A47dMSxddPNUR0UKX4GPowzVT8WKYziISrNyZrb8gPGU-41kohMeE7laVKy6urMkt1ExgkGWDo0epw3TU">Research from 2016 shows</a> native rodents are the least cared about and researched of all animals, and they gain the least amount of funding. </p>
<p>So, what can the average person do? </p>
<p>First and foremost, learn about what species live where you live, and make sure you can correctly identify a native rodent from an introduced species. </p>
<p>Second, when you hear people complain about all rodents, tell them about our natives, and even show them a photo. Most people have a change of heart once they see one. </p>
<p>Finally, appreciate that our native rodents are just as important as our marsupials, monotremes, bats, amphibians, reptiles and birds, and are just as affected by our activities as any other animal group.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-adorable-mouse-was-considered-extinct-for-over-100-years-until-we-found-it-hiding-in-plain-sight-160930">This adorable mouse was considered extinct for over 100 years — until we found it hiding in plain sight</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160929/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Wacker receives funding from Australian Geographic. </span></em></p>The broad-toothed rat rarely, if ever, gets its own story, so I want to introduce you properly to this fascinating, unique and beautiful species. It really needs our help.Chris Wacker, Postdoctoral Research Fellow - School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New EnglandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1609302021-06-28T19:52:17Z2021-06-28T19:52:17ZThis adorable mouse was considered extinct for over 100 years — until we found it hiding in plain sight<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408572/original/file-20210628-19-mrfon.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C2000%2C1317&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wayne Lawler/Australian Wildlife Conservancy</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia has the world’s <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/112/15/4531">worst track record</a> for wiping out mammals, with <a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-re-counted-australias-extinct-species-and-the-result-is-devastating-127611">34 species declared extinct</a> since European colonisation. Many of these are <a href="https://www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au/news-and-media/latest-news/a-review-of-listed-extinctions-in-australia">humble native rodents</a>, who’ve suffered the highest extinction rate of any mammal group. </p>
<p>But today, we bring some good news: one rodent species, Gould’s mouse (<em>Pseudomys gouldii</em>), is set to be crossed off Australia’s extinct species list. This means the number of Australia’s extinct mammals will drop from 34 to 33. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2021390118">new research</a> compared genome sequences across Australia’s rodents, including eight extinct species and their 42 living relatives. In a case of historical mistaken identity, we found the Gould’s mouse was genetically indistinguishable from another living species, the Shark Bay mouse (<em>Pseudomys fieldi</em>), also known by the Indigenous name “Djoongari” from the Pintupi and Luritja languages.</p>
<p>But it’s not all good news. A lack of genetic diversity in remaining populations means Djoongari are less resilient to changing environments, including from climate change. We can’t let this species die out — this time, there’d be no coming back. </p>
<h2>Back from the dead</h2>
<p>When Europeans colonised Australia, they rapidly and catastrophically changed the environments in which native species thrived. The <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/112/15/4531">introduction of</a> feral cats, foxes and other invasive species, agricultural land clearing, inappropriate fire management, and new diseases decimated native rodent populations. </p>
<p>Along with many other native mammals, some rodent species were also intensely <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/75/2/288/836242">hunted for bounty</a> in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408574/original/file-20210628-19-1o31u9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408574/original/file-20210628-19-1o31u9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408574/original/file-20210628-19-1o31u9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408574/original/file-20210628-19-1o31u9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408574/original/file-20210628-19-1o31u9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408574/original/file-20210628-19-1o31u9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408574/original/file-20210628-19-1o31u9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408574/original/file-20210628-19-1o31u9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">DNA from this specimen of Gould’s mouse, collected in 1837 from the Hunter Valley of NSW, reveals the species should no longer be considered extinct.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London Photographer: C. Ching</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 1837, a Gould’s mouse specimen was collected for the Natural History Museum, London, from the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. The last verified time it was seen alive was in 1857, near the border of Victoria and NSW. </p>
<p>After <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2021390118">genomic analysis</a> of these specimens, we found the species has been hiding in plain sight for more than 100 years, under a different name, thousands of kilometres away in Western Australia. Djoongari will now be reclassified under the scientific name <em>Pseudomys gouldii</em>.</p>
<p>Djoongari is a shaggy-coated mouse weighing 45 grams on average, making it twice the size of the invasive house mouse. It’s omnivorous, and feeds on a variety of flowers, leaves, fungi, insects and spiders. It also build tunnels and runways to travel at night, and uses above-ground nests as refuges during the day. </p>
<h2>Not safe yet</h2>
<p>The resurrection of the Gould’s mouse is positive news given Australia’s alarming rate of recent extinctions, but the species remains at risk. </p>
<p>Once occurring across mainland Australia, it now survives only on predator-free islands in Shark Bay, WA. Islands have been an important refuge for the species, protecting them from cats, foxes, diseases and other threats on the mainland. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408580/original/file-20210628-19-wqm095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408580/original/file-20210628-19-wqm095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408580/original/file-20210628-19-wqm095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408580/original/file-20210628-19-wqm095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408580/original/file-20210628-19-wqm095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408580/original/file-20210628-19-wqm095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408580/original/file-20210628-19-wqm095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408580/original/file-20210628-19-wqm095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Feral and pet cats are huge threats to small native animals. If you own a cat, make sure you keep it indoors to protect Australia’s wildlife.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Conservation efforts are underway to protect the mouse in Shark Bay, with insurance populations established on other nearby islands. </p>
<p>Now we know Djoongari once roamed as far east as the Hunter Valley in NSW, there’s greater scope to reintroduce the species to predator-proof protected areas on the mainland. This would mean more insurance populations, but also contribute towards restoring natural ecosystems on mainland Australia — also known as “rewilding”.</p>
<p>However, remnant populations of this once widespread species contain only a fraction of its original genetic diversity. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hundreds-of-australian-lizard-species-are-barely-known-to-science-many-may-face-extinction-161572">Hundreds of Australian lizard species are barely known to science. Many may face extinction</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Genetic diversity is often used as a proxy for estimating the resilience of a species to threats and its potential to adapt to changes in its environment. When species have low genetic diversity, or are inbred, they are more susceptible to disease, and more likely to accumulate harmful genetic mutations.</p>
<h2>Other eye-opening revelations</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2021390118">Our study</a> also examined the genomes of seven other rodent species lost to extinction: the white-footed rabbit rat, lesser stick-nest rat, Bramble Cay melomys, short-tailed hopping mouse, long-tailed hopping mouse, big-eared hopping mouse and long-eared mouse.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408578/original/file-20210628-13-rw4gnl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Brown rodent" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408578/original/file-20210628-13-rw4gnl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408578/original/file-20210628-13-rw4gnl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408578/original/file-20210628-13-rw4gnl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408578/original/file-20210628-13-rw4gnl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408578/original/file-20210628-13-rw4gnl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408578/original/file-20210628-13-rw4gnl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408578/original/file-20210628-13-rw4gnl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bramble cay melomys were declared extinct in 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ian Bell, EHP, State of Queensland</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In most cases, we found these now-extinct native rodents had relatively high genetic diversity immediately before they became extinct. High genetic diversity usually means large population sizes, suggesting native rodent populations were stable before European invasion. </p>
<p>This puts an end to any suggestion that these species were already on their way out prior to the arrival of Europeans. </p>
<p>Reports from early naturalists back up our findings. In 1846, John Cotton referred to the now-extinct white-footed rabbit rat as “the common rat of the country”. And in 1866, Gerard Krefft described the now-extinct lesser stick-nest rat as occurring in “great numbers”.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/one-cat-one-year-110-native-animals-lock-up-your-pet-its-a-killing-machine-138412">One cat, one year, 110 native animals: lock up your pet, it's a killing machine</a>
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<p>These species went from common to extinct in less than 150 years. That’s alarmingly fast by any standard.</p>
<p>It shows even though genetic diversity in now-extinct rodents was high prior to colonisation, it wasn’t enough. The environment and threats changed so dramatically and rapidly, these species didn’t have the chance to adapt. </p>
<h2>There’s a clear lesson in all this</h2>
<p>The threats to native wildlife brought by Europeans — including feral cat predation and land clearing — are ongoing. And under climate change, the environment as we know it is set to change further, dramatically. </p>
<p>It’s not enough to only establish insurance populations to save species. We need to control feral predators, protect and restore habitats, and curb emissions, so more species don’t endure a rapid wipe out.</p>
<p>In total, we’ve lost almost <a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-re-counted-australias-extinct-species-and-the-result-is-devastating-127611">100 species</a> to extinction since 1788, and that’s just those we know about. In native rodents alone, in less than 150 years, the equivalent of more than 10 million years of unique evolutionary history has been lost forever.</p>
<p>Extinction doesn’t usually offer second chances, but we’ve now got another shot to protect Gould’s mouse. We need to act now, before it’s too late.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-re-counted-australias-extinct-species-and-the-result-is-devastating-127611">Scientists re-counted Australia's extinct species, and the result is devastating</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160930/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Roycroft receives funding from the Australian Government Research Training Program, the Dame Margaret Blackwood Soroptimist Scholarship, the Alfred Nicholas Fellowship (University of Melbourne), and the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment. This project received funding from Bioplatforms Australia through the Australian Government National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, via the Oz Mammals Genomics Initiative.</span></em></p>The remaining populations are threatened by a lack of genetic diversity, which makes them less likely to bounce back from new pressures such as climate change.Emily Roycroft, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1516552021-01-19T13:07:47Z2021-01-19T13:07:47ZFigs show that nonnative species can invade ecosystems by forming unexpected partnerships<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378718/original/file-20210114-20-cfyoun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=460%2C586%2C2837%2C1669&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A tiny wasp explores the surface of a fig different than the one it evolved to pollinate.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jared Bernard</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>While surveying the Hawaiian island of Kauai in search of <a href="https://www.kauaiisc.org/">invasive plants</a> in 2017, botanist <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kelsey_Brock">Kelsey Brock</a> spotted something unusal: a few nonnative species of figs seemed to be settling in.</p>
<p>As people traverse the planet for trade or travel, they bring a slew of species with them, many of which <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14910">establish a foothold in a new place</a> and may eventually <a href="https://doi.org/10.1890/080216">replace the local native species</a>. But because of a quirk of fig biology, my colleagues <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jared_Bernard2">and I</a> wondered how these figs could be reproducing to form new populations on Kauai.</p>
<p>Fig pollinators have long been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/sys068">famous for being limited to single fig species</a>. Yet our investigation into Kauai’s establishing fig species upends a long-held belief about figs, because <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.564653">we found</a> that one fig pollinator is pairing with multiple fig species that it never pollinated before.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374572/original/file-20201212-18-18ifr7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Fig growing on forest floor." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374572/original/file-20201212-18-18ifr7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374572/original/file-20201212-18-18ifr7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374572/original/file-20201212-18-18ifr7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374572/original/file-20201212-18-18ifr7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374572/original/file-20201212-18-18ifr7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374572/original/file-20201212-18-18ifr7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374572/original/file-20201212-18-18ifr7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This Port Jackson fig (<em>Ficus rubiginosa</em>), native to eastern Australia, is flourishing deep in a forest reserve on Kauai along with its specific pollinator wasp (<em>Pleistodontes imperialis</em>).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jared Bernard</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The strangeness of figs</h2>
<p>What’s commonly regarded as a fig’s fruit is actually a closed capsule with flowers inside – technically an inside-out inflorescence. A fig tree therefore has a logistical problem: how to get its enclosed flowers pollinated so it can produce seeds that can grow into new trees.</p>
<p>The solution is that a fig attracts a specific wasp species by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00049-010-0043-5">emitting a special aroma</a>. Once drawn to that scent, the wasp must wriggle its way through a nearly microscopic keyhole-like opening to get inside the fig. The wasp then tries to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.47.091201.145213">insert an egg</a> into each flower. As they develop, baby wasps rely on the fig’s reproductive cells as food.</p>
<p>But the stalks leading to some of the flowers’ reproductive cells are too long for the wasp. Instead of getting an egg laid inside, these flowers end up pollinated during the wasp’s attempts. They go on to develop into fig seeds.</p>
<p>The few pollinators that enter the fig never leave. In fact, when you eat a fig, you could be eating wasps too. The fig’s opening seals as the pollinated fig matures and the wasps die inside.</p>
<p>When the young wasps emerge from their eggs, the males come first. They’re wingless and scrawny, but they chew through the fig’s outer wall to free their sisters, whom they also impregnate. The males never exist outside of the fig.</p>
<p>The fig and wasp therefore completely depend on each other for survival. Over time, they become better adapted to the partnership. They evolve together, so new fig species are accompanied by new wasp species. Rarely do fig species share a pollinator, and then only between figs that are very closely related and live together.</p>
<p>So how could figs become established on Kauai without their unique pollinators? Did their pollinators also arrive, or was something else going on?</p>
<p>[<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=experts">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get expert takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em>]</p>
<h2>An unusual assortment of figs</h2>
<p>Kauai has no native figs. But the island is host to a mix of dozens of nonnative fig species from all over the world, which mostly don’t coexist back in their native ecosystems. A century ago, foresters on Kauai intentionally introduced a few figs, each with its respective pollinator.</p>
<p>To investigate how new figs were getting established without their original pollinators, we gathered numerous figs, both from the <a href="https://ntbg.org/">National Tropical Botanical Garden</a> and from across the island.</p>
<p>Under a microscope, I pried open each fig to identify wasps and collect any seeds. Most of the figs had none of either, but several species were filled with unexpected tiny wasps and had lots of seeds. Colleagues in <a href="https://cbs.umn.edu/contacts/george-weiblen">George Weiblen’s lab</a> analyzed the DNA of these species to be doubly certain of their identity.</p>
<p>My colleagues <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=70prXcsAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">Seana Walsh</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XIcdUr0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">Dustin Wolkis</a> found that seeds from all the figs with wasps inside could germinate, meaning they’d been successfully pollinated.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374571/original/file-20201212-24-1px94h2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Cross section of a fig with wasps." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374571/original/file-20201212-24-1px94h2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374571/original/file-20201212-24-1px94h2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374571/original/file-20201212-24-1px94h2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374571/original/file-20201212-24-1px94h2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374571/original/file-20201212-24-1px94h2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374571/original/file-20201212-24-1px94h2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374571/original/file-20201212-24-1px94h2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Watkins’ fig (<em>Ficus watkinsiana</em>) teems with newly hatched Port Jackson fig wasps (<em>Pleistodontes imperialis</em>) instead of its normal specialized pollinator species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jared Bernard</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We discovered that a wasp specific to the Port Jackson fig from eastern Australia is interacting with two additional fig species on Kauai: the Watkins’ fig and the red affouche.</p>
<p>The Watkins’ fig is very closely related to the Port Jackson fig, and their distributions in Australia overlap, though <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-6-83">extensive surveys there</a> never found this wasp interacting with the Watkins’ fig back home. In Australia, the Watkins’ fig’s pollinator is probably good at excluding the Port Jackson wasp. On Kauai the former wasp is gone, so the Port Jackson wasp is free to use both fig species.</p>
<p>The red affouche, however, is not closely related to the Port Jackson fig and is from islands near Madagascar. That means being closely related to the Port Jackson fig does not determine which fig species the wasp can pollinate, which is further evident by another close relative of the Port Jackson fig on Kauai that the wasps weren’t using.</p>
<p>We analyzed how the traits of figs – like their size and the shape of their openings – correspond with which species the Port Jackson wasp can pollinate. We found that these wasps can interact with figs that have a particular keyhole-like opening. It’s like learning that your house key is really a master key that can unlock homes in another country.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378734/original/file-20210114-18-96aq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Male fig wasp" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378734/original/file-20210114-18-96aq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378734/original/file-20210114-18-96aq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378734/original/file-20210114-18-96aq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378734/original/file-20210114-18-96aq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378734/original/file-20210114-18-96aq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378734/original/file-20210114-18-96aq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378734/original/file-20210114-18-96aq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A wingless male wasp (<em>Pleistodontes immperialis</em>) adapted to the Port Jackson fig was extracted from the ‘wrong’ fig – a Watkins’ fig (<em>Ficus watkinsiana</em>).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dustin Wolkis</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Who gives a fig about figs?</h2>
<p>In their native ranges, both figs and wasps survive if they can distinguish their specific partner from all other species, so they fine-tune ways to do so. Yet in ecosystems across the world, other figs and wasps end up using the same tricks to find each other. These similarities don’t matter as long as ecosystems remain separate, but the human-mediated shuffle of the world’s species has resulted in unnatural mixes of species.</p>
<p>On Kauai, new combinations of players in the ecosystem have allowed the Port Jackson wasp to interact with different fig species. Its relationship with the Port Jackson fig is also fundamentally changed because its fate is no longer tied to just this one species – it has options. The Watkins’ fig and the red affouche also now have new avenues of survival. </p>
<p>Our work sheds light on how even a nonnative species that relies on a specific partner for survival can gain a foothold if it encounters another species that can pair up. Researchers previously believed that these incredibly close relationships, long honed by evolution, would be difficult to change. We now know that species with such ties can invade an ecosystem by forming new partnerships and distorting existing ones.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151655/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jared Bernard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As invasive species transform the world, frontline agencies take solace that species needing unique partners can’t invade alone. A new study on figs shows they may find new partners to invade anyway.Jared Bernard, Ph.D. Candidate in Entomology, University of HawaiiLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1469242020-11-10T04:43:14Z2020-11-10T04:43:14ZShy rodents may be better at surviving eradications, but do they pass those traits to their offspring?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368459/original/file-20201110-23-axcb4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C14%2C3304%2C2181&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rodents such as house mice (<em>Mus musculus</em>) aren’t just pests at home, they can cause serious damage to native ecosystems.</p>
<p>Lord Howe Island, for example, harboured <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-11/rat-infestation-on-lord-howe-island-splits-residents/11180624?nw=0">up to</a> 150,000 introduced rats and 210,000 introduced mice that wrought havoc on the island’s native wildlife, before an intensive eradication effort was carried out. It was declared a <a href="https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2020/01/win-for-endangered-lord-howe-island-woodhens/">success</a> earlier this year, although monitoring for survivors will continue. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/invasive-predators-are-eating-the-worlds-animals-to-extinction-and-the-worst-is-close-to-home-64741">Invasive predators are eating the world's animals to extinction – and the worst is close to home</a>
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<p>But emerging research suggests the success of eradicating pests may depend on the personality of individual animals within a species. </p>
<p>Bolder, more active, aggressive or social individuals are more likely to interact with baits, traps or <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/28/6/1504/4210926">new objects and foods</a>. As a result, they can be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2008.16567.x?casa_token=azpKp0d5V6QAAAAA%3ABQVuqWz3O2z3mdRDdF1Wnywx_lYNwjVQ5HgIhSzbYBqUFm_EiNnwbGJbSIMh0FRxafMbP6RpVZRP1DazTg">removed quickly</a>.</p>
<p>On the other hand, shyer or less active individuals <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000334721200053X?casa_token=c-6mOegvXv4AAAAA:VxYGj3pXIzKPCzbSkB_WhJ_6rSTfMGgZybqSiZoy6nlwGqkSJQ4nX0QrdlFlkNUUVBwYAHKyAfg">can take longer</a> to be caught.</p>
<p>Why is this so important? Well for starters, animals that actively avoid eradication will breed and repopulate. </p>
<p>If the personality traits of these survivors are reflected in all, or even most, offspring then we could be facing a pest population that is incredibly difficult to remove. This is what <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/eap.2247?casa_token=6xKgF7qKsEoAAAAA:3PuCTo5UHy2NxYISJb1MvG1OexcF33cByxDc4mHGpO1DrJQeaR_jio9M5u-kAov5vf_Vik6Kei5ec2EpHg">our new research</a> aimed to find out. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368474/original/file-20201110-20-10g4b5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Aerial view of Lord Howe Island" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368474/original/file-20201110-20-10g4b5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368474/original/file-20201110-20-10g4b5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368474/original/file-20201110-20-10g4b5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368474/original/file-20201110-20-10g4b5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368474/original/file-20201110-20-10g4b5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368474/original/file-20201110-20-10g4b5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368474/original/file-20201110-20-10g4b5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Islands, such as Lord Howe Island off NSW, are refuges for a range of wildlife often not found anywhere else in the world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>When eradication efforts fail</h2>
<p>Australia is home to more than <a href="https://invasives.org.au/our-work/islands/">8,300 islands</a> that provide refuge for unique species often found nowhere else in the world, including species now extinct on the mainland. </p>
<p>Introduced mammalian pests, particularly rodents, are huge threats to island species, which often evolve without predators. They don’t recognise these introduced mammals as a threat, making them easy targets. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/evidence-of-mouse-attacks-on-albatross-chicks-on-subantarctic-marion-island/FA02807B3011973762C0BFE418CB3B17">a 2010 study</a> observed house mice literally eating albatross chicks alive on Marion Island near Antarctica. Neither the chicks nor parents showed any defensive or escape behaviour. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/feral-animals-are-running-amok-on-australias-islands-heres-how-to-stop-them-64307">Feral animals are running amok on Australia's islands – here's how to stop them</a>
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<p>Eradicating introduced pest species is the ultimate solution if we want to protect native island ecosystems.</p>
<p>But eradication efforts are only effective if every animal in a population is eliminated. While most failed efforts likely go unreported, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mam.12190">on average</a>, 11% of eradication attempts for rodents fail. For house mice in particular, failure rates can be as high as 75%. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368472/original/file-20201110-21-yjd8cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Nesting albatross on Marion Island" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368472/original/file-20201110-21-yjd8cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368472/original/file-20201110-21-yjd8cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368472/original/file-20201110-21-yjd8cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368472/original/file-20201110-21-yjd8cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368472/original/file-20201110-21-yjd8cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368472/original/file-20201110-21-yjd8cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368472/original/file-20201110-21-yjd8cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nesting albatross on Marion Island, where chicks were found to be eaten by introduced house mice.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When efforts fail, pest populations quickly bounce back. <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsos.160110">One study</a> in 2016 found around 50 rats survived an eradication attempt by avoiding baits on Henderson Island in the South Pacific. Within only two years, the population had exploded into roughly 75,000 animals. </p>
<h2>Developing personality traits</h2>
<p>So if animal behaviour influences if an individual enters a trap or takes a bait, how much of the parent personality is reflected in the offspring? </p>
<p>If you’ve thought about the similarity between parents and children — in both human and our animal companions — then you know some offspring behave just like their parents, while others are very different. </p>
<p>Personality traits develop through a combination of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/28/3/732/3007699">experience</a>, <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rsbl.2013.0120">learning from parents</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-185X.2007.00010.x?casa_token=ZpAGu_8jKd8AAAAA:viBLwqpK3Q1uHxxlbsPi3SHIzsAbH-Yn57NLbPwWAMV8uu7SwVFykF3BFY_Jiv3HPvHNjVPA8VKE9pHrVA">genetic inheritance</a>. </p>
<p>Humans have selectively bred domestic animals, including <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159102001211?casa_token=CuqvJSUKeAUAAAAA:aJD_expxE9bjpdOxWCacZnYlvoAKYrQHDxFytlE0NwJKHyIiaykzymbXRamIegzC5ebEzgObA8g">dogs</a>, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jas/article-abstract/73/8/2249/4632873">cattle</a> and <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0735-7036.118.4.434">horses</a> for preferred personality traits, such as docility. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/understanding-dog-personalities-can-help-prevent-attacks-120224">Understanding dog personalities can help prevent attacks</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>And studies on laboratory animals, including <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376635705002330?casa_token=gTgO7AuXJasAAAAA:Lj3ROxHhC0C5K6FxIuFB4yqqE-76mwlTlgQwkTEws4bdqLwTXSflixFPyw5hrFe6JxF2htwpfIM">mice</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01065624">chicks</a>, have found selecting for preferred traits in parents can lead to these traits being strongly expressed in the offspring within a single generation. </p>
<p>However, can this immediate generational response occur in wild populations?</p>
<h2>What our study did</h2>
<p>To begin untangling this web, we used house mice as a model species and mimicked a failed eradication, where residual mice (the would-be survivors) were selected for biased personality traits. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368463/original/file-20201110-13-z8qmre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368463/original/file-20201110-13-z8qmre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368463/original/file-20201110-13-z8qmre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368463/original/file-20201110-13-z8qmre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368463/original/file-20201110-13-z8qmre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368463/original/file-20201110-13-z8qmre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1341&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368463/original/file-20201110-13-z8qmre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1341&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368463/original/file-20201110-13-z8qmre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1341&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A mouse in our study caught in a trap.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kyla Johstone</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After catching wild house mice, we tested for personality traits by filming their behaviour in a modified open-field arena. Mice that moved frequently between compartments and into light compartments (which present a risky scenario to a small nocturnal rodent) were considered to be “high active-bold” individuals. </p>
<p>Based on their behaviour, we then grouped individual mice into populations: high active-bold individuals, low active-bold (shy) individuals and intermediate individuals. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-know-if-were-winning-the-war-on-australias-fire-ant-invasion-and-what-to-do-if-we-arent-121367">How to know if we’re winning the war on Australia’s fire ant invasion, and what to do if we aren't</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>To closely mimic wild conditions, we released the populations into large outdoor yards and left the mice to breed for one generation. After recapturing every single mouse from the yards, we tested the offspring for the same personality traits.</p>
<h2>The good news</h2>
<p>Interestingly, although the parent populations had strong personality biases, there was a broad spectrum of personality among offspring of every population. In other words, bold mice didn’t necessarily produce bold offspring, nor shy mice, shy offspring.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368467/original/file-20201110-15-14yteev.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A juvenile mouse" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368467/original/file-20201110-15-14yteev.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368467/original/file-20201110-15-14yteev.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368467/original/file-20201110-15-14yteev.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368467/original/file-20201110-15-14yteev.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368467/original/file-20201110-15-14yteev.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368467/original/file-20201110-15-14yteev.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368467/original/file-20201110-15-14yteev.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A juvenile mouse from our study. Mice born from shy parents didn’t necessarily have shy personalities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kyla Johnstone</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This was reassuring news. However, demonstrating there’s no generational bias in house mice doesn’t mean it can’t arise elsewhere or in other species. And our study is an important stepping stone to explore this concept in other invasive species and over multiple generations. </p>
<p>Still, for house mouse eradications at least, our findings suggest that, even if all surviving individuals had a similar personality, by the next generation a broad spectrum of personality should emerge again. </p>
<p>This suggests we’re unlikely to be faced with a population that’s impossible to remove, and can focus on improving success rates for these difficult-to-remove individuals and species.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/compassionate-conservation-just-because-we-love-invasive-animals-doesnt-mean-we-should-protect-them-144945">'Compassionate conservation': just because we love invasive animals, doesn't mean we should protect them</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146924/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kyla Johnstone received funding from The Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment and the Paddy Pallin Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Banks receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Northern Beaches Council and Landcare Research, and is a council member of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clare McArthur does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If all, or even most, offspring of the survivors are shy, we could be facing an introduced pest population that is incredibly difficult to remove.Kyla Johnstone, PhD candidate, University of SydneyClare McArthur, Professor, University of SydneyPeter Banks, Professor of Conservation Biology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1485232020-10-29T12:31:12Z2020-10-29T12:31:12ZTo save threatened plants and animals, restore habitat on farms, ranches and other working lands<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365126/original/file-20201022-13-9hsch1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C1988%2C1332&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Planting strips of native prairie grasses on a farm in Iowa provides habitat for pollinators and protects soil and water.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Omar de Kok-Mercado/Iowa State University</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Restoring native habitats to at least 20% of the world’s land currently being used by humans for farming, ranching and forestry is necessary to protect biodiversity and slow species loss, according to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12773">newly published study conducted by a team of environmental scientists</a> including us. Our analysis found that this can be done in ways that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12773">minimize trade-offs</a> and could even <a href="https://www.farmprogress.com/conservation/prairie-strips-interest-strong-and-growing">make farms more productive</a> by helping to control pests, enhancing crop pollination and preventing losses of nutrients and water from soil. These working landscapes can still be grazed, mowed, harvested or burned, as long as these activities sustain or restore native species diversity.</p>
<p>So-called “zero-net-loss policies” would prevent any further destruction or conversion of wild lands on developed property. There are creative and experimental options for the most heavily cultivated regions, such as incorporating strips of prairie plants into <a href="https://www.nrem.iastate.edu/research/STRIPS/">crop fields across the U.S. Midwest</a> or <a href="https://www.agroscope.admin.ch/agroscope/en/home/topics/environment-resources/biodiversity-landscape/functional-ecological-compensation/wild-bees-pollination/flower-strips-promoting-pollination.html">planting flower strips to restore pollinators in Switzerland</a>.</p>
<p>Only 38% of the 82 countries we reviewed have national laws requiring native habitat on working lands. Most were in Europe and required that just 5% be kept wild. In many countries only forest habitats are regulated, while grasslands and other highly threatened landscapes are ignored. These decisions are driven by politics, economics and cultural values, but overall they lack clear scientific guidelines.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365324/original/file-20201024-17-1d6sxco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Ranch land with ponds" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365324/original/file-20201024-17-1d6sxco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365324/original/file-20201024-17-1d6sxco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365324/original/file-20201024-17-1d6sxco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365324/original/file-20201024-17-1d6sxco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365324/original/file-20201024-17-1d6sxco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365324/original/file-20201024-17-1d6sxco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365324/original/file-20201024-17-1d6sxco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Through the establishment of a conservation bank on the Sparling Ranch in California, more than 2,000 acres of valuable habitat for tiger salamanders and red-legged frogs will be protected, including 14 breeding ponds, while the Sparling family continues to raise and graze cattle on their land.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/YexEcs">Steve Rottenborn, USFWS/Flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Restoring habitat creates homes for wildlife, but it also contributes to human well-being and supports all life on Earth. Native vegetation prevents erosion and purifies the water we drink and the air we breathe. It sequesters carbon, mitigating climate change, and acts as a buffer against flooding, landslides and storms. The wildlife species that move in may pollinate crops or control pests.</p>
<p>For more than a century, conservationists have worked to save threatened species by protecting them within large <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/rareandendangered/index.htm">national parks</a> and <a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuges/">refuges</a>. This clearly hasn’t been enough: The Earth is losing plants and animals at more than 100 times the normal rate, in what some scientists believe is the Earth’s <a href="http://dx.doi.org/%2010.1126/sciadv.1400253">sixth mass extinction event</a>. </p>
<p>[<em>The Conversation’s newsletter explains what’s going on with the coronavirus pandemic. <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=coronavirus-going-on">Subscribe now</a>.</em>]</p>
<p>Under the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/">1992 Convention on Biological Diversity</a>, an international treaty ratified by 196 nations, countries have pledged to conserve 17% of the planet’s land area in protected zones by 2020. So far, they have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/15/every-global-target-to-stem-destruction-of-nature-by-2020-missed-un-report-aoe">failed to meet that target</a>. Now many conservationists are proposing an expanded effort that would conserve as much as <a href="https://www.campaignfornature.org/high-ambition-coalition">30% of land by 2030</a>, and as much as <a href="https://www.half-earthproject.org/">half by 2050</a>. Where will all this land come from?</p>
<p>With global land use expanding and becoming more intensive and dominated by monocultures, there is an urgent need to conserve and restore native species outside of protected areas – within landscapes managed for people.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365310/original/file-20201023-21-hzfzpk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map of NYC water supply system" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365310/original/file-20201023-21-hzfzpk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365310/original/file-20201023-21-hzfzpk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=823&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365310/original/file-20201023-21-hzfzpk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=823&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365310/original/file-20201023-21-hzfzpk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=823&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365310/original/file-20201023-21-hzfzpk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1034&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365310/original/file-20201023-21-hzfzpk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1034&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365310/original/file-20201023-21-hzfzpk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1034&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Forests in upstate New York protect and filter New York City’s drinking water supply. The forests are managed and monitored to ensure water quality; they also provide habitat for wildlife and recreation opportunities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/water_pdf/nycsystem.pdf">NYDEC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>Though the benefits are many and there are numerous successful restoration models to draw upon, wild habitats continue to be degraded, razed and eliminated. </p>
<p>Preventing, stopping and reversing the degradation of ecosystems is also an essential strategy for meeting <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/">United Nations Sustainable Development Goals</a> and commitments for the U.N. <a href="https://www.decadeonrestoration.org">Decade on Ecosystem Restoration</a> that launches next year. </p>
<p>Critical policy opportunities are just ahead. Europeans are now deciding how much agricultural land to devote to “landscape and habitat features.” New conservation targets will be part of the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/conferences/post2020">post-2020 global biodiversity framework</a> negotiated at next spring’s <a href="https://www.cbd.int/meetings/COP-15">15th meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity</a>. Its ambitious global vision is nothing less than “living in harmony with nature” by 2050.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148523/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucas Garibaldi receives funding from Universidad Nacional de Río Negro (UNRN), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), y Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (FONCYT).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Kremen receives funding from Investment Agriculture Foundation (BC), World Wildlife Fund ((US), MITACS, NSERC, National Science Foundation (US) and Army Research Office (US), She is affiliated with Center for Climate-Based Solutions, Conservation International and Xerces Society. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erle C. Ellis has received funding from the National Science Foundation and is a Fellow of the Global Land Programme and a Senior Fellow of the Breakthrough Institute.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sandra Díaz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Earth is losing plants and animals at rates not seen in millions of years. Ecologists explain how protecting habitat on working lands – farms, forests and ranches – can help conserve species.Lucas Alejandro Garibaldi, Professor and Director, Institute for Research in Natural Resources, Agroecology and Rural Development, Universidad Nacional de Rio NegroClaire Kremen, Professor of Resources, Environment and Sustainability and Professor of Zoology, University of British ColumbiaErle C. Ellis, Professor of Geography and Environmental Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountySandra Díaz, Professor of Community and Ecosystem Ecology, Universidad de Córdoba (Argentina)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1428072020-07-16T20:02:10Z2020-07-16T20:02:10ZA rare discovery: we found the sugar glider is actually three species, but one is disappearing fast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347859/original/file-20200716-23-yfnbbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C28%2C3755%2C2651&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most Australians are familiar with the cute, nectar-loving sugar glider (<em>Petaurus breviceps</em>), a marsupial denizen of forests in eastern and northern Australia.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa060">our new study</a> shows the sugar glider is actually three genetically and physically distinct species: <em>Petaurus breviceps</em> and two new species, Krefft’s glider (<em>Petaurus notatus</em>) and the savanna glider (<em>Petaurus ariel</em>).</p>
<p>This discovery has meant the distribution of the sugar glider has substantially reduced, and it’s now limited only to coastal regions in southeastern Australia. The devastating bushfires last summer hit this part of Australia hard.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/summer-bushfires-how-are-the-plant-and-animal-survivors-6-months-on-we-mapped-their-recovery-142551">Summer bushfires: how are the plant and animal survivors 6 months on? We mapped their recovery</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our new species from northern Australia, the savanna glider, is particularly at risk, living in a region that’s suffering ongoing <a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-and-national-park-managers-are-failing-northern-australias-vanishing-mammals-10089">small mammal declines</a>. We must urgently assess the conservation status of both the sugar glider and savanna glider before they’re lost.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347856/original/file-20200716-21-1cybnzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347856/original/file-20200716-21-1cybnzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347856/original/file-20200716-21-1cybnzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347856/original/file-20200716-21-1cybnzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347856/original/file-20200716-21-1cybnzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347856/original/file-20200716-21-1cybnzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347856/original/file-20200716-21-1cybnzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347856/original/file-20200716-21-1cybnzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">These gliding abilities likely evolved to adapt to Australia’s open forests.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Nature’s BASE-jumpers</h2>
<p>Our discovery of new Australian mammal species is rare and exciting. That’s because while Australia is filled with hidden and undiscovered animal and plant diversity, our mammal fauna is considered relatively well known, with more than 99% of all species scientifically <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/2ee3f4a1-f130-465b-9c7a-79373680a067/files/nlsaw-2nd-complete.pdf">described</a>. </p>
<p>Perhaps Australia’s most graceful mammals, species of the genus <em>Petaurus</em> (meaning “rope-dancer”) have the unique ability to expand the skin between wrist and ankle to glide from tree to tree – they are nature’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASE_jumping">BASE-jumpers</a>. It’s believed these gliding capabilities evolved as a way to adapt to the open forests of Australia. </p>
<p>The palm-sized sugar glider, named after its insatiable appetite for all things sweet, is the most widely known member of the genus and is commonly kept and bred in captivity <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/6180/?td=tw">around the world</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sZ-PzBRSPsw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>From the Aussie outback to London’s Natural History Museum</h2>
<p>An investigation into <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/zo/zo10016">sugar glider genetics</a> a decade ago highlighted two divergent groups within the species, suggesting sugar gliders may represent more than one species. </p>
<p>In that study, scientists also unexpectedly found that one glider from Melville Island in the Northern Territory was genetically distinct from sugar gliders. Instead, this Melville Island glider showed a close relationship with two larger existing species, the squirrel glider (<em>Petaurus norfolcensis</em>) and mahogany glider (<em>Petaurus gracilis</em>). </p>
<p>Prompted by this unusual finding, we investigated the mysterious glider’s identity. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347854/original/file-20200716-33-1q3aryw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347854/original/file-20200716-33-1q3aryw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347854/original/file-20200716-33-1q3aryw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347854/original/file-20200716-33-1q3aryw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347854/original/file-20200716-33-1q3aryw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347854/original/file-20200716-33-1q3aryw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347854/original/file-20200716-33-1q3aryw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347854/original/file-20200716-33-1q3aryw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We studied more that 300 specimens from museums to the Aussie outback.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Teigan</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From some of the most remote areas of outback Australia to our vast national museum collections, and ultimately the hallowed halls of London’s Natural History Museum, we captured, measured and compared every glider we could find to evaluate their relationships. </p>
<p>Indigenous knowledge of the savanna glider <em>Petaurus ariel</em> and the contributions of local Aboriginal people were also invaluable to our investigation.</p>
<p>The savanna glider is culturally significant and valued across multiple language groups in northern Australia and we are grateful to the Traditional Owners for sharing their knowledge of the species and its habitat.</p>
<p>In the end, we assessed more than 300 live and preserved specimens and established three species where once there was one.</p>
<h2>Meet the new gliders</h2>
<p>The savanna glider lives in the woodland savannas of northern Australia and looks a bit like a squirrel glider with a more pointed nose, but much smaller. The remaining two species look similar to each other and may overlap in some areas of southeastern Australia. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347855/original/file-20200716-33-1x4vq43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347855/original/file-20200716-33-1x4vq43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347855/original/file-20200716-33-1x4vq43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347855/original/file-20200716-33-1x4vq43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347855/original/file-20200716-33-1x4vq43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347855/original/file-20200716-33-1x4vq43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347855/original/file-20200716-33-1x4vq43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347855/original/file-20200716-33-1x4vq43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sugar gliders are restricted to forests East of the Great Dividing Range.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael J Barritt</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Krefft’s glider has a clearly defined dorsal stripe and fluffy tail. It is widespread in eastern Australia and has been introduced to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ddi.12717">Tasmania</a>. </p>
<p>The sugar glider, with a less-defined dorsal stripe, is apparently restricted to forests east of the Great Dividing Range, extending from southeast Queensland to around the border of New South Wales and Victoria.</p>
<h2>What does this mean for sugar gliders?</h2>
<p>Despite ongoing debate about the role of <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/taxonomy-anarchy-hampers-conservation-1.22064">taxonomy</a> (the science of classifying species) in conservation, it is clear from our work that species definitions provide an essential foundation for effective conservation. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347857/original/file-20200716-25-1ea7wf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347857/original/file-20200716-25-1ea7wf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347857/original/file-20200716-25-1ea7wf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347857/original/file-20200716-25-1ea7wf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347857/original/file-20200716-25-1ea7wf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347857/original/file-20200716-25-1ea7wf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347857/original/file-20200716-25-1ea7wf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347857/original/file-20200716-25-1ea7wf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sugar gliders use tree hollows, which makes them vulnerable to intense bushfires.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When considered as one species, sugar gliders were widespread, abundant and officially classified as “<a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/16731/21959798">least concern</a>”. </p>
<p>The distinction of these three species has resulted in a substantially smaller distribution for the sugar glider, making the species vulnerable to large scale habitat destruction, such as the recent bushfires. </p>
<p>And sadly, the bushfires have incinerated a large proportion of the sugar glider’s updated range. Given they are tree hollow users and require a diverse habitat with a variety of foods, the bushfires have most likely had a devastating effect on this much-loved species. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/click-through-the-tragic-stories-of-119-species-still-struggling-after-black-summer-in-this-interactive-and-how-to-help-131025">Click through the tragic stories of 119 species still struggling after Black Summer in this interactive (and how to help)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The savanna glider is disappearing</h2>
<p>Our work has shown urgent intervention is needed to save this important plant pollinator and icon of the Australian bush.</p>
<p>The savanna glider in particular is facing its own conservation concerns in the ongoing northern Australian <a href="https://theconversation.com/pilbara-shows-how-to-save-the-most-species-per-dollar-26971">small mammal declines</a>. Tree-dwelling mammals are among those worst affected there, and it appears the savanna glider is no exception. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347814/original/file-20200716-25-xg5k32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347814/original/file-20200716-25-xg5k32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347814/original/file-20200716-25-xg5k32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347814/original/file-20200716-25-xg5k32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347814/original/file-20200716-25-xg5k32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347814/original/file-20200716-25-xg5k32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347814/original/file-20200716-25-xg5k32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347814/original/file-20200716-25-xg5k32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This is a rare discovery as most Australia’s mammals are considered already known.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>An <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-019-01807-7">earlier study of ours</a> showed the species has undergone a 35% range reduction over the last 30 years, and is slowly disappearing from the inland areas it once inhabited. It’s likely feral cats, changed fire regimes and feral herbivores have played a significant role in the savanna glider’s vanishing range. </p>
<p>It would be a tragedy if this species is lost to the world just as it was discovered, especially with Australia’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/fixing-australias-extinction-crisis-means-thinking-bigger-than-individual-species-115559">appalling track record</a> of human-induced mammal extinctions.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-and-national-park-managers-are-failing-northern-australias-vanishing-mammals-10089">Scientists and national park managers are failing northern Australia’s vanishing mammals</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>More scientific work is urgently needed. We must define the distinct ecology of each species and determine their distribution in more detail. </p>
<p>This will enable us to effectively assess the conservation status of each species and determine what management efforts are required to ensure their protection as they face an uncertain future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142807/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steve Cooper receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alyson Stobo-Wilson, Andrew M. Baker, Sue Carthew, and Teigan Cremona do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The sugar glider is an icon of the Australian bush. But discovering it’s actually three distinct species has big consequences for its conservation.Teigan Cremona, Research Associate, Charles Darwin UniversityAlyson Stobo-Wilson, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Charles Darwin UniversityAndrew M. Baker, Senior Lecturer, Queensland University of TechnologySteve Cooper, Principal Researcher , South Australian MuseumSue Carthew, Provost and Vice President, Charles Darwin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1396652020-07-07T19:52:37Z2020-07-07T19:52:37ZAfter last summer’s fires, the bell tolls for Australia’s endangered mountain bells<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339661/original/file-20200604-130912-1ystm50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C20%2C3489%2C2771&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">_Darwinia nubigena_ also known as the Success Bell or Red Mountain Bell</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">A.T Morphet</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of Flora, Fauna, Fire, a special project by The Conversation that tracks the recovery of Australia’s native plants and animals after last summer’s bushfire tragedy. Explore the project <a href="https://bushfires2020.netlify.app/">here</a> and read more articles <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=%23bushfire+recovery+2020&sort=relevancy&language=en&date=all&date_from=&date_to=">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Hidden in the Stirling Range national park in Western Australia – an area so diverse, so ecologically important, I’ve <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/rn/legacy/features/balancingnature/australia.htm">described</a> it as a “coral reef out of water” – are Australia’s spectacular mountain bells.</p>
<p>When Western botanists encountered these predominantly bird-pollinated plants, they found them so intriguing and so unlike anything they knew (Britain has no bird pollination), they named them <em>Darwinia</em> after Charles Darwin’s grandfather, Erasmus Darwin. </p>
<p>These breathtaking native Australian flowers are now at grave risk from recent fires, with many species listed on the government’s <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/289205b6-83c5-480c-9a7d-3fdf3cde2f68/files/summary-list-plants-requiring-urgent-management-intervention.pdf">provisional list</a> of plants requiring urgent management intervention. The Stirling Ranges were ravaged by this summer’s fires, and three-quarters of this WA national park now experience fire cycles twice as frequent as species recovery rates.</p>
<p>If it sounds grim, that’s because it is. There’s hope yet for the mountain bell, though, thanks largely to the efforts of concerned community members. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339371/original/file-20200603-133855-1epuxtr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339371/original/file-20200603-133855-1epuxtr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339371/original/file-20200603-133855-1epuxtr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339371/original/file-20200603-133855-1epuxtr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339371/original/file-20200603-133855-1epuxtr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339371/original/file-20200603-133855-1epuxtr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339371/original/file-20200603-133855-1epuxtr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339371/original/file-20200603-133855-1epuxtr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"><em>Darwinia collina</em>, the yellow mountain bell, is listed as endangered.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">A. T. Morphet</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why are mountain bells so special?</h2>
<p>With an astonishing range of colours, the Stirling Range mountain bells are the glamour plants in WA’s floral bouquet.</p>
<p>Standing up to 60cm tall, these glorious shrubs are a gardener’s dream. They have neat foliage and pendulous, bell-like flowers in colours ranging from yellow, to greens, to striking reds and multicoloured variegated blooms.</p>
<p><em>Darwinia</em> has just 70 species – a modest number compared with some plant genera in Australia.</p>
<p>They occur in southeastern <em>and</em> southwestern Australia. <em>Darwinia</em> split from their ancestral lineage 16 million years ago with the southwest, including the Stirling Ranges – a cradle of the genus. The chance dispersal of seed to southeastern Australia meant the two nodes of diversity were separated by the Nullarbor and central desert, and evolved in splendid isolation. How these heavy-seeded plants managed such an epic journey across the Australian deserts remains a mystery.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-phoenix-factor-what-home-gardeners-can-learn-from-natures-rebirth-after-fire-122620">The phoenix factor: what home gardeners can learn from nature's rebirth after fire</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Nectar-hungry Australian birds found the rewards in the rain-protected, bell-like flowers irresistible. </p>
<p>In what was a blink of evolutionary time, mountain bells capitalised on birds as a better system for pollination than offered by insects, and new species appeared across the peaks of the Stirlings. </p>
<p>Today, there are ten species of mountain bells. All but one are only found in the Stirling Ranges, often on single peaks or in highly restricted locations. And many feature on the provisional <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/289205b6-83c5-480c-9a7d-3fdf3cde2f68/files/summary-list-plants-requiring-urgent-management-intervention.pdf">list</a> of plants requiring urgent management.</p>
<p>Virtually each peak could have its very own mountain bell. I recall my first encounter with the mountain bells years ago. I’d spotted the delicate cherry-coloured blooms of Wittwer’s bell nestled in a small wooded hollow, midway along the main drive through the Stirlings. I eagerly sought out other mountain bell species and, soon enough, realised I had an untreatable case of “bell fever”. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339417/original/file-20200603-130929-1nhwpxz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339417/original/file-20200603-130929-1nhwpxz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339417/original/file-20200603-130929-1nhwpxz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339417/original/file-20200603-130929-1nhwpxz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339417/original/file-20200603-130929-1nhwpxz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339417/original/file-20200603-130929-1nhwpxz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339417/original/file-20200603-130929-1nhwpxz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339417/original/file-20200603-130929-1nhwpxz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A _Darwinia macrostegia or Mondurup Bell on Mondurup Peak.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">A.T Morphet</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A biodiversity hotspot at a crossroads</h2>
<p>Traditional owners revered the Stirling Ranges as sacred land that had endured countless ice ages and climate ravages. But today, the Stirling Ranges are at a crossroads. </p>
<p>The discovery of dieback disease (<em>Phytophthora cinnamomi</em>) in 1974, as well as fires both prescribed and natural, have taken a heavy toll on the plants and animals in the park. </p>
<p>Last summer’s cataclysmic fires <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-07/bushfires-cause-stirling-ranges-biodiversity-to-be-devastated/11844516">scorched</a> half of the Stirling Ranges national park, and the danger the mountain bells now face is emblematic of the broader problem of biodiversity loss. </p>
<p>Many plants and animal species here may never recover. Yes, many Australian plants evolved to cope with bushfire - but not with how frequently these fires are reoccurring. </p>
<p>The Stirling Ranges national park is like no other, with an astonishing 1,500 plant species, eclipsing the flora of the British Isles.</p>
<h2>Threats abound</h2>
<p>Contemporary fire is now one of the single greatest threats to what remains of this extraordinary ecosystem. </p>
<p>The mountain bells need more than 15 years or more to rebuild their soil seed bank, as these plants are killed by even the mildest of fire.</p>
<p>We knew this was coming. Dire predictions by conservation scientists as early as 2015 warned the Stirling Ranges faced a biodiversity meltdown, and that mountain bells were particularly at risk of extinction.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/after-the-bushfires-we-helped-choose-the-animals-and-plants-in-most-need-heres-how-we-did-it-138736">After the bushfires, we helped choose the animals and plants in most need. Here's how we did it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Though the fires have retreated, the once thriving populations of mountain bells are reduced to blackened stems. It is indescribably sad to see.</p>
<p>For some species, the 2020 bushfires came hot on the heels of an out-of-control prescribed burn in 2018, and few species can survive such short interval fire. Scientists are surveying the damage, to see if parts of the soil seed bank survived to grow the next generation of mountain bells. But it may be too late for some species. Time will tell.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339660/original/file-20200604-130929-hoo9oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339660/original/file-20200604-130929-hoo9oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339660/original/file-20200604-130929-hoo9oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339660/original/file-20200604-130929-hoo9oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339660/original/file-20200604-130929-hoo9oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339660/original/file-20200604-130929-hoo9oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339660/original/file-20200604-130929-hoo9oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339660/original/file-20200604-130929-hoo9oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The endemic grass tree <em>Kingia australis</em> absorbs ethylene gas from bushfire to initiate flowering within months.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Keith Bradbury</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Community action</h2>
<p>Is there a future for mountain bells? I like to think so. I have grown them in wildflower gardens from cuttings handed down from wildflower gardeners over decades. Through temperamental and often unpredictable to grow, mountain bells are remarkably easy to propagate. </p>
<p>A key part of saving our mountain bells is, I believe, intimately linked to the community of wildflower enthusiasts. These passionate, committed community members stand ready to help save the last bells. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339672/original/file-20200604-130969-1e2kcbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339672/original/file-20200604-130969-1e2kcbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339672/original/file-20200604-130969-1e2kcbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339672/original/file-20200604-130969-1e2kcbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339672/original/file-20200604-130969-1e2kcbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339672/original/file-20200604-130969-1e2kcbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339672/original/file-20200604-130969-1e2kcbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339672/original/file-20200604-130969-1e2kcbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Stirling Ranges national park in Western Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/trevor_dobson_inefekt69/16749385235/in/photolist-rw5YG4-r7QGFK-2hZrf7X-2ifcq2V-omzcRv-2idG6Y4-2idJoZc-2hZ29jc-omzcdg-28Xc5mi-2icKAub-2icJBX2-pc3qzN-2ifGSnS-2ifcsjq-2ig3qpF-2idJiDH-2ifGRVp-2idKtQi-SdCqeP-rw1jCN-qBvCmk-245Aen1-2ig5PZk-2i98V4M-pHiKNE-2ide7vF-2icJM9o-2idJotn-2i1rjxn-2icdoe2-2ig5Rry-2icgU4W-2idgopU-2hZUPGt-2i98Q34-2i1rf4c-oCRPbN-omzc8M-Si94rg-pc2XLB-oKDb9c-ppXb44-oKD7or-re1HnD-omYqgz-pF8i1Y-2idgnvE-2i9curS-2ifcqkL">Trevor Dobson</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The way we’ve done conservation in the past needs a reboot. For the mountain bells and many other threatened species to have a future, we need to embrace a new way of engaging with community volunteers and particularly our traditional owners. </p>
<p>Everyone I have spoken to is ready to roll up their sleeves and help our plants, and animals struggling to come out of the fires. Such an approach will need trust, training and support - but it may be our only hope. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heat-detecting-drones-are-a-cheaper-more-efficient-way-to-find-koalas-140332">Heat-detecting drones are a cheaper, more efficient way to find koalas</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://bushfires2020.netlify.app"><img src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1103/Explore.gif?1594552012" width="100%"></a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139665/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kingsley Dixon receives funding from the Australian Research Council, primarily for the Centre for Mine Site Restoration. He has received funding in the past from various government and non-government bodies for rare flora research. He is a member of the state and federal Threatened Species Scientific Committee, a member of the Australian Orchid Foundation and a board member of the Society for Ecological Restoration (in Australia and internationally) and partner chapters.</span></em></p>Three quarters of WA’s Stirling Ranges national park now experience fire cycles twice as frequent as species recovery rates.Kingsley Dixon, John Curtin Distinguished Professor, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1394762020-05-31T19:50:55Z2020-05-31T19:50:55ZForget ‘murder hornets’, European wasps in Australia decapitate flies and bully dingoes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338467/original/file-20200529-51471-14a77jx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C12%2C1007%2C666&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/a8pwY9">nutmeg66/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The impacts of invasive mammals such as feral horses and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/15/keep-pet-cats-indoors-say-researchers-who-found-they-kill-230m-native-australian-animals-each-year">feral cats</a> have featured prominently in the media over the years.</p>
<p>But the recent discovery of the infamous “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/asian-giant-hornet-washington.html">murder hornet</a>” (or giant Asian hornet <em>Vespa mandarinia</em>) in the US has shone a spotlight on a similar invasive insect in Australia, the <a href="https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/animals/insects/european-wasp/">European wasp</a> (<em>Vespula germanica</em>).</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/national-parks-are-for-native-wildlife-not-feral-horses-federal-court-138204">National parks are for native wildlife, not feral horses: federal court</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352249620300045">Our recent study</a> showed this aggressive insect swarming decayed corpses, decapitating its prey and picking fights with dingoes. </p>
<p>Invasive plants and animals can have catastrophic impacts on wildlife. And <a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-get-this-straight-habitat-loss-is-the-number-one-threat-to-australias-species-85674">along with habitat loss and overexploitation</a>, they are the greatest threat faced by native Australian species. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338468/original/file-20200529-51509-28uobr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338468/original/file-20200529-51509-28uobr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338468/original/file-20200529-51509-28uobr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338468/original/file-20200529-51509-28uobr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338468/original/file-20200529-51509-28uobr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338468/original/file-20200529-51509-28uobr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338468/original/file-20200529-51509-28uobr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338468/original/file-20200529-51509-28uobr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">European wasps feed on meat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Thomas Bresson/flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The rise of European wasps</h2>
<p>European wasps are native to Europe, Northern Africa and parts of Asia. But hibernating queens stowed unintentionally in ships or trucks can colonise new areas, and this is how they arrived in Australia. </p>
<p>They were first discovered in Tasmania in 1959, and by the 1970s had reached mainland Australia. Today, European wasps are found in every state and territory, and are considered an agricultural, urban and environmental pest. The species is firmly established in the eastern parts of the country, and constant vigilance is required to keep numbers down in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-15/european-wasps-warning-for-wa-as-insect-numbers-rise/10997132">other areas</a>. </p>
<p>European wasps have no predators (other than humans) in Australia. And they tend to forage more efficiently than their native counterparts, such as the common paper wasp <a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:5ee83dca-6b7c-41bc-8a37-4ace3260ea23"><em>Polistes humilis</em></a>. </p>
<p>Although they are typically most active in late summer and autumn, Australia’s warmer climate means not all European wasp queens hibernate over winter as they do in Europe. This allows some wasp colonies to build “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-03/european-wasp-super-nest-found-residents-warned/9498398">super nests</a>” of up to 100,000 individuals. </p>
<p>European wasps are commonly encountered in urban areas and, unlike bees, <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/european-wasp">can sting multiple times</a>. They also release a pheromone when threatened that quickly attracts more wasps. So if you bother a nest, you may have to contend with the whole hive. </p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/423686176" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">European wasps can be found swarming animal carcasses.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Wasps as ruthless scavengers</h2>
<p>Our research looks into the role of European wasps as scavengers. </p>
<p>In Australia, animal carcasses aren’t in short supply. Millions are produced each year due to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-02/camels-culled-by-graziers-in-central-desert-is-meat-an-option/11917682">culling</a>, <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/animal-vehicle-collisions-expected-to-rise-on-australian-roads-in-coming-months/d2f0b100-4092-45e2-a7c2-dbcf0741a021">vehicle collision</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-51191849">drought</a>. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/bushfires-left-millions-of-animals-dead-we-should-use-them-not-just-bury-them-129787">recent bushfires</a> also added to this. </p>
<p>Most carcasses are left to rot and provide perfect “free feed” stations for wasp colonies foraging for protein. For our study, we monitored 20 kangaroo carcasses at <a href="https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/kosciuszko-national-park">Kosciuszko National Park</a> in New South Wales. </p>
<p>Wasps congregated in large numbers around each, and ruthlessly attacked blowflies that attempted to approach. We could sit next to a carcass and watch fly after fly tackled to the ground by wasps. Many flies showed signs of mutilation. To our surprise, some were even missing their heads.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338280/original/file-20200528-51527-1awlktg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338280/original/file-20200528-51527-1awlktg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338280/original/file-20200528-51527-1awlktg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338280/original/file-20200528-51527-1awlktg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338280/original/file-20200528-51527-1awlktg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338280/original/file-20200528-51527-1awlktg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338280/original/file-20200528-51527-1awlktg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338280/original/file-20200528-51527-1awlktg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This unlucky blowfly was decapitated by a European wasp.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Emma Spencer, author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In an effort to protect “their” carcass, the European wasps were decapitating the flies. This may have simply been defensive behaviour, but they could have also been taking bits of flies back to their nest for larvae to feed on. </p>
<p>We also observed the wasps bothering animals much larger than them, and our camera trap images showed dingoes snapping at wasps circling carcasses. Many of these animals retreated without feeding on the resource, presumably because the wasps were stinging them.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338197/original/file-20200528-51516-1w60awv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338197/original/file-20200528-51516-1w60awv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338197/original/file-20200528-51516-1w60awv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338197/original/file-20200528-51516-1w60awv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338197/original/file-20200528-51516-1w60awv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338197/original/file-20200528-51516-1w60awv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338197/original/file-20200528-51516-1w60awv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338197/original/file-20200528-51516-1w60awv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A dingo snaps at European wasps swarming a carcass site.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Emma Spencer, author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>We can’t ignore the flow on effects</h2>
<p>Our recent study is <a href="https://thomasnewsome.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/wasps-overview-2019.pdf">just the start</a> of our investigations into European wasp impacts in Kosciuszko National Park. But it has raised important points about the fate of carcasses dominated by wasps. </p>
<p>For one, it seems the wasps are preventing blowflies and dingoes from doing their job of “cleaning up” carcasses in the landscape. Also, flies are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1442-9993.1988.tb00968.x">major pollinators</a>, and decapitation isn’t helpful for pollen transfer.</p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/423528019" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A European wasp attacks a blowfly.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Moreover, if European wasp numbers are supported by prevalent carcass resources (including those resulting from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/08/victoria-resume-culling-feral-horses-brumbies-alpine-national-parks-court-ruling">culling</a>) this may suggest a need to cull pest species when the wasps are not active, such as during the coldest times of the year.</p>
<h2>Are wasps and ‘murder hornets’ a danger to us?</h2>
<p>Like the European wasp, the “murder hornet” also threatens insect pollinators. The hornets have raised alarms in the US because they decimate honeybee populations, and have a nasty sting. </p>
<p>Similarly in Australia, there has been a focus on the threat European wasps pose to humans. But as is the case in the US, this focus is largely misguided. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-asian-giant-hornets-and-are-they-really-that-dangerous-5-questions-answered-137954">What are Asian giant hornets, and are they really that dangerous? 5 questions answered</a>
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<p>While both insects have painful stings that can result in severe allergic reactions, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/bug-experts-dismiss-worry-us-murder-hornets-hype-70559128">fatalities are rare</a>. And we would do well to redirect our concerns towards the impacts such species have on our ecosystems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139476/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Spencer receives funding from the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment. She is affiliated with the Colong Foundation for Wilderness as a board member. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Barton has received funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Newsome receives funding from the Australian Government, Hermon-Slade Foundation, Australia Pacific Science Foundation, National Geographic, Australian Academy of Science, and the Australian Alps National Parks Cooperative Management Program.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Ripple receives funding from the National Science Foundation in the United States. </span></em></p>The invasive species was likely brought to Australia unintentionally by ship. Now found in every state and territory, the wasps are decimating our ecosystems.Emma Spencer, Ph.D. student, University of SydneyPhilip Barton, Lecturer in Environmental Science, Federation University AustraliaThomas Newsome, Lecturer, University of SydneyWilliam Ripple, Distinguished Professor and Director, Trophic Cascades Program, Oregon State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1382042020-05-08T07:09:54Z2020-05-08T07:09:54ZNational parks are for native wildlife, not feral horses: federal court<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333610/original/file-20200508-49569-l2a48x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C103%2C5288%2C2878&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Today, the federal court <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/environment/conservation/court-decision-clears-way-for-brumby-culls-20200508-p54r2n.html">ruled</a> feral horses can be removed from the Victorian high country. </p>
<p>The case was brought by the Australian Brumby Alliance against the Victorian Government in 2018. Since then, the <a href="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp.au.prod.app.vic-engage.files/8815/2757/7404/Alpine-NP-Feral-Horse-SAP-2018-21.pdf">strategic management plan</a> for feral horses has been shelved, allowing feral horse numbers to increase without control. </p>
<p>In the northern area of Kosciuszko National Park <a href="https://theconversation.com/double-trouble-as-feral-horse-numbers-gallop-past-25-000-in-the-australian-alps-128852">numbers jumped</a> from an estimated 3,255 in 2014 to 15,687 in 2019, in the absence of any management. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/double-trouble-as-feral-horse-numbers-gallop-past-25-000-in-the-australian-alps-128852">Double trouble as feral horse numbers gallop past 25,000 in the Australian Alps</a>
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<p>Expanding numbers of feral horses roaming the Australian Alps – which are listed as a national heritage site – <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/emr.12357">threaten</a> the alp’s ecosystems, soils and unique species. More feral horses is also an <a href="https://theconversation.com/double-trouble-as-feral-horse-numbers-gallop-past-25-000-in-the-australian-alps-128852">animal welfare issue</a>, as horses face <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-10-08/dead-brumbies-in-snowy-river-spark-debate/10351254">starvation during droughts</a> and have been <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6124188/brumbies-a-threat-to-motorists-in-ski-season/">hit by cars in Kosciuszko</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333585/original/file-20200508-49565-ecfq6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333585/original/file-20200508-49565-ecfq6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333585/original/file-20200508-49565-ecfq6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333585/original/file-20200508-49565-ecfq6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333585/original/file-20200508-49565-ecfq6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333585/original/file-20200508-49565-ecfq6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333585/original/file-20200508-49565-ecfq6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333585/original/file-20200508-49565-ecfq6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Feral horses cause extensive damage to fragile ecosystems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>The ruling is a victory for national parks, which can once again be managed to protect native Australian ecosystems and species. But it stands in stark contrast to the NSW government’s controversial legal protection of <a href="https://theconversation.com/passing-the-brumby-bill-is-a-backward-step-for-environmental-protection-in-australia-97920">feral horses</a>. </p>
<h2>Taken to court</h2>
<p>The Victorian Government’s <a href="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp.au.prod.app.vic-engage.files/8815/2757/7404/Alpine-NP-Feral-Horse-SAP-2018-21.pdf">strategic action plan</a>, released in 2017, was to remove all horses from the Bogong High Plains, where around 100 horses caused cumulative damage to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/emr.12359">sensitive alpine ecosystems</a>. </p>
<p>The plan also aimed to trap horses in the eastern Victorian alps, but at a rate so low <a href="https://theconversation.com/without-culling-victorias-feral-horse-plan-looks-set-to-fail-89753">it was unlikely</a> to make a dent in horse numbers.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1258584822491955201"}"></div></p>
<p>Not satisfied with retaining thousands of horses in the eastern alps, in 2018, the Australian Brumby Alliance took out a <a href="http://www.savethebrumbies.org/wp-content/uploads/ABA-PRESS-RELEASE-Bogong-High-Plains.pdf">court injunction</a> to stop horse removal from the Bogong High Plains and prevent substantial reduction in horse numbers in the eastern alps.</p>
<h2>High stakes</h2>
<p>Twenty-five thousand feral horses in Australia’s alpine parks have damaged peat wetlands listed as threatened under federal and state legislation. Recovery will take <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/emr.12357">decades to centuries</a>. </p>
<p>Feral horses have also eliminated multiple populations of the native <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/emr.12360">broad toothed rat</a> and are a threat to other native species like the <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/WR/WR18093">corroboree frog</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/emr.12357">mountain pygmy possum</a>. </p>
<p>And habitat degradation and loss caused by feral horses is officially listed as a <a href="https://www.environment.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/50241/201612-FFG-Processes-list.pdf">threatening process</a> in Victoria <a href="https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/threatenedspecies/determinations/PDFeralHorsesKTP.pdf">and NSW</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333613/original/file-20200508-49565-zm60y8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333613/original/file-20200508-49565-zm60y8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333613/original/file-20200508-49565-zm60y8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333613/original/file-20200508-49565-zm60y8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333613/original/file-20200508-49565-zm60y8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333613/original/file-20200508-49565-zm60y8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333613/original/file-20200508-49565-zm60y8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333613/original/file-20200508-49565-zm60y8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Feral horse damage to a swampy area as they trample over important wetlands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Meg McKone</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If the court had ruled in favour of the Australian Brumby Alliance’s case, it would have locked in escalating <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/emr.12357">threats to the environment</a>, including threatening already endangered species such as the alpine she-oak skink. </p>
<p>It would also have given at least informal legitimacy to <a href="https://theconversation.com/passing-the-brumby-bill-is-a-backward-step-for-environmental-protection-in-australia-97920">NSW legislation</a> that protects feral horses in Kosciuszko National Park. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/passing-the-brumby-bill-is-a-backward-step-for-environmental-protection-in-australia-97920">Passing the brumby bill is a backward step for environmental protection in Australia</a>
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<p>And possibly most damaging, it could have emboldened claims by brumby groups that feral horses should take priority over conservation in other contentious horse hotspots, such as <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-08/barmah-forest-brumby-cull-plan-released/10980790">Barmah</a>, Oxley Wild Rivers, Blue Mountains, Guy Fawkes and Barrington Tops <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-03/nsw-scientists-propose-brumby-threat-environment/9722800">National Parks</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333612/original/file-20200508-49579-1w0ig94.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333612/original/file-20200508-49579-1w0ig94.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333612/original/file-20200508-49579-1w0ig94.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=272&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333612/original/file-20200508-49579-1w0ig94.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=272&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333612/original/file-20200508-49579-1w0ig94.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=272&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333612/original/file-20200508-49579-1w0ig94.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333612/original/file-20200508-49579-1w0ig94.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333612/original/file-20200508-49579-1w0ig94.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Feral horses have eliminated broad toothed mouse populations in the Alps.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ken Green</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A matter of cultural heritage</h2>
<p>The Australian Brumby Alliance <a href="http://www.savethebrumbies.org/wp-content/uploads/ABA-PRESS-RELEASE-Bogong-High-Plains.pdf">argued</a> removing horses from the alps would compromise its heritage value. <a href="https://vnpa.org.au/feral-horses-end-up-in-court/">They claimed</a> feral horses are part of that heritage, including part of the mountain vistas, the pioneering heritage and myths and legends such as the Man from Snowy River.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://vnpa.org.au/feral-horses-end-up-in-court/">counterpoint</a> from Parks Victoria was that it’s possible to remove horses from the alps while protecting the area’s cultural heritage. </p>
<p>It would be like taking cattle out of the high country, but nevertheless recognising pioneering exploits by preserving <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ethical-and-cultural-case-for-culling-australias-mountain-horses-64602">cattlemen’s huts</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333614/original/file-20200508-49569-12iye4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333614/original/file-20200508-49569-12iye4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333614/original/file-20200508-49569-12iye4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333614/original/file-20200508-49569-12iye4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333614/original/file-20200508-49569-12iye4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333614/original/file-20200508-49569-12iye4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333614/original/file-20200508-49569-12iye4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333614/original/file-20200508-49569-12iye4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">These high plains will now be protected from feral horses.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Don Driscoll</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So what did Judge O'Bryan make of this? In a nutshell, the Australian Brumby Alliance did not have a <a href="https://dondriscoll.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/alpine-2020-horses-federal-court-judgement-australian-brumby-alliance-v-parks-victoria-2020-fca-605-copy.pdf">legal hoof to stand on</a>.</p>
<p>He rejected the Australian Brumby Alliance’s argument the Bogong High Plains horse population was likely to be genetically different from other feral horse populations in a way relevant to the case, and rejected claims feral horses could be beneficial to alpine ecosystems. </p>
<p>Judge O'Bryan also rejected the contention that the brumbies are part of the National Heritage values of the Australian Alps and accepted the evidence that feral horses cause substantial environmental damage.</p>
<p>The ruling acknowledged Parks Victoria’s strategic plan to control feral horses was consistent with legal obligations under the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/convention/">Convention on Biological Diversity</a>, the federal <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/about">EPBC (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation) Act</a> and the state’s <a href="https://www.environment.vic.gov.au/conserving-threatened-species/victorias-framework-for-conserving-threatened-species">Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act</a>. </p>
<h2>National parks for nature</h2>
<p>Laws and the management of protected areas that reduce their integrity are a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333501155_The_uncertain_future_of_protected_lands_and_waters">global concern</a>. A 2017 study found <a href="https://www.academia.edu/31433793/Quantifying_the_extent_of_Protected_Area_Downgrading_Downsizing_and_Degazettement_in_Australia">one-third of Australia’s protected areas</a> had been downgraded, reduced in size or had protection removed to make way for tourism ventures and other developments, like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/mar/28/snowy-hydro-20-will-cost-more-and-deliver-less-than-promised-30-experts-say">Snowy 2.0</a> in Kosciuszko National Park.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1258568913329127425"}"></div></p>
<p>Kosciusko has faced the brunt of recent downgrading, notably where the NSW government voted to <a href="https://theconversation.com/passing-the-brumby-bill-is-a-backward-step-for-environmental-protection-in-australia-97920">legally protect feral horses</a> in 2018. </p>
<p>This unilateral decision has caused substantial concern for <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/nsw-and-victoria-disagree-over-controlling-feral-horses/9833028">Victoria</a> and the <a href="https://aboutregional.com.au/act-government-to-update-brumbies-management-plan-declare-brumbies-pest-animals/">ACT</a> as they face ongoing risks of feral horse incursions from NSW into their own protected areas.</p>
<p>The Australian Brumby Alliance’s court case threatened similar downgrading for Victoria’s alpine parks. However, <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/npa1975159/s17.html">state</a>, <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00275">federal</a> and <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/international/un-convention-biological-diversity">international</a> laws, that place obligations on Australian governments to conserve native species and ecosystems in protected areas, have helped restore sensible park management.</p>
<h2>Protecting natural heritage</h2>
<p>Toyay’s federal court ruling upholds the right of state agencies to carry out their legal obligations. And it meets the general expectations of Australian society that our national parks exist to conserve native Australian ecosystems and species, particularly as extinction rates in Australia continue at unprecedented rates. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/feral-cat-cull-why-the-2-million-target-is-on-scientifically-shaky-ground-111824">Feral cat cull: why the 2 million target is on scientifically shaky ground</a>
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<p>It also reflects the intent of nature conservation laws. National parks are for conserving our natural heritage, the product of millions of years of evolution on this continent. </p>
<p>Brumby advocates concerned about recent European heritage in Australia can protect horses outside of national parks, an approach pioneered successfully in <a href="http://www.coffinbaybrumby.org/">South Australia</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138204/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Don Driscoll receives funding from the Herman Slade Foundation, OEH NSW Environmental Grants program, DELWP Vic, National Geographic, Rufford Foundation, WWF and Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC. He is Past President of the Ecological Society of Australia, Director of the Centre of Integrative Ecology and Director of the TechnEcology Research Network at Deakin University. Don is a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and Society for Conservation Biology.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dick Williams has previously received funding from the Australian Research Council. He is a member of the Victoria National Parks Association, and was chair of the Environment Scientific Advisory Group for Parks Victoria. He also appeared as an expert witness for Parks Victoria in the case discussed in this article. </span></em></p>Expanding numbers of feral horses roaming the Australian Alps threaten the alp’s ecosystems, soils and unique species.Don Driscoll, Professor in Terrestrial Ecology, Deakin UniversityDick Williams, Adjunct Professorial Fellow, Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1019752020-03-11T02:50:48Z2020-03-11T02:50:48ZHow the humble dung beetle engineers better ecosystems in Australia<p>Dung beetles play an important role helping clear up all the dung left by other animals in an environment.</p>
<p>In Australia there are approximately 475 native species of dung beetle.</p>
<p>But there’s a problem. Most of them are adapted to deal with marsupial dung. When British colonisers brought livestock down under, they introduced an entirely new type of dung that the native dung beetles were ill-equipped to handle.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/french-beetles-flown-in-to-clean-up-australias-cattle-dung-30367">French beetles flown in to clean up Australia's cattle dung</a>
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<h2>Not touching <em>that</em> dung</h2>
<p>Cattle dung is wet and bulky. It is very unlike marsupial dung – which is typically small, dry pellets – and so the native dung beetles largely left it alone. As a result, large deposits of cattle dung accumulated in the Australian agricultural landscape.</p>
<p>Besides fouling the land, the dung was an excellent breeding site for bush flies and other nuisance insects, as well as internal parasites that plague the digestive tracts of livestock.</p>
<p>So CSIRO embarked on an ambitious plan to introduce into Australia many dung beetles that were adapted to livestock dung. Starting in 1966, it imported and released 43 species of dung beetles over 25 years.</p>
<p>The beetles came from places such as South Africa, France, Spain and Turkey. The chosen beetles had similar climate requirements and were adapted to wild and domestic livestock, so they could live in Australia and process livestock dung.</p>
<h2>What do dung beetles do?</h2>
<p>When people think of dung beetles, the popular image that comes to mind is that of an industrious beetle labouring to roll a large ball of dung across the landscape.</p>
<p>These little engineers are actually trying to find a suitable spot to situate the ball, on which they will lay an egg. Their offspring will have food and a safe place to grow up, and generate more dung beetles.</p>
<p>Most species of dung beetles actually tunnel beneath piles of dung and drag bits of it into subterranean chambers, where they then lay their eggs.</p>
<p>The larvae develop over the following weeks to months, eventually emerging as adults and crawling to the surface in search of a mate and another pile of dung to colonise.</p>
<h2>The introduced dung beetles</h2>
<p>Of the 43 species introduced to Australia by CSIRO, 23 have become established and many are having a positive impact.</p>
<p>The activities of dung beetles helped remove dung from pastures and with it, the breeding site for nuisance flies and internal parasites.</p>
<p>They also improved pasture fertility. They increased the permeability of pasture soils to rainwater which decreased runoff of rainwater laden with nutrients that can pollute waterways.</p>
<p>But it is not known just how widely each of the introduced species has spread. There might be geographical and seasonal gaps in dung beetle activity that could be filled by other species yet to be introduced to Australia.</p>
<h2>Working with farming</h2>
<p>Dung beetles have been around for tens of millions of years, but their ability to survive in modern agricultural environments may be jeopardised by some farming practices.</p>
<p>Tilling paddocks used in cropping and livestock rotation systems may destroy the developing dung beetle larvae. </p>
<p>Some deworming agents, used by livestock producers to control intestinal parasites, may pass through the livestock and out in their faeces, and might poison the dung beetles colonising the dung.</p>
<p>It should be possible to manage tillage and deworming to minimise harm to the dung beetles, and so maximise their positive impact on the land. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-things-dung-beetles-do-with-a-piece-of-poo-47367">Five things dung beetles do with a piece of poo</a>
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<p>That’s where <a href="https://www.dungbeetles.com.au/">Dung Beetle Ecosystem Engineers</a> (DBEE) comes in.</p>
<p>In this project, a group of research institutions, producer groups, land management groups and dung beetle entrepreneurs are working together. </p>
<p>The project, now in its second year, is supported by Meat and Livestock Australia and funded by the Rural Research and Development for Profit Program of the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Charles Sturt University leads the project, with cooperators at CSIRO, University of Western Australia, University of New England, Mingenew-Irwin Group, Warren Catchment Council, Dung Beetle Solutions International, and LandCare Research NZ.</p>
<p>Dung Beetle Ecosystem Engineers aims to:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>understand the distribution of dung beetle species previously introduced to Australia, and predict their ultimate spread</p></li>
<li><p>evaluate new species of dung beetle for importation and release into Australia</p></li>
<li><p>estimate the economic impact of dung beetles on farming systems</p></li>
<li><p>develop a database of information on dung beetles in Australasia and educational materials for use by a range of users</p></li>
<li><p>work with farming and land management groups to engage landholders in detecting dung beetles and modifying agricultural practices to enhance the success of dung beetles.</p></li>
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<p>At the end of the DBEE project, we will have a better understanding of the role of dung beetles as a farming tool, helping farmers choose agricultural practices that will improve their bottom line.</p>
<p>New dung beetle species will be ready to work for Australia and New Zealand, and a distribution network will enhance their spread to new geographic areas.</p>
<p>DBEE aims bring economic and ecological benefits to the agricultural sector and wider Australian and New Zealand community.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101975/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Dung Beetle Ecosystem Engineers project is supported by Meat and Livestock Australia and funded by the Rural Research and Development for Profit Program of the Australian Department of Agriculture. Charles Sturt University leads the project, with CSIRO, University of Western Australia, University of New England, Mingenew-Irwin Group, Warren Catchment Council, Dung Beetle Solutions International, and LandCare Research NZ.</span></em></p>Wet and bulky cattle dung is very unlike marsupial dung that Australian dung beetles are adapted to deal with, meaning native dung beetles tend to leave it alone. But help from abroad is at hand.Paul Weston, Senior Research Fellow / EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, Charles Sturt UniversityTheo Evans, Associate Professor , The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.