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As many of you are likely aware, 2025 saw various organisational changes implemented within the department across a number of business areas. While a number these changes are still being bedded down, I want to assure readers that ARI is committed to continuing to deliver science excellence to inform policy and better management of Victoria’s environment for the benefit of the Victorian community.
In this eNews, we share some research highlights from 2025. Read on to find out more about our wildlife research informing policy decisions in the renewables energy sector, our investigations into the spread of an infectious parasite in dairy farms, and what we have been doing to help the recovery of the critically endangered Mount Cole Grevillea and endangered Watson’s Tree Frog.
Best wishes
James Todd
Chief Biodiversity Officer and Director of the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research (DEECA)
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| Wildlife research to inform renewable energy policy |
Over the past two years, we have led a series of research projects to help protect wildlife while supporting Victoria’s clean energy transition. The projects involved researchers across ARI, drawing upon their expertise in species ecology, wildlife tracking techniques, expert elicitation approaches and modelling.
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| Understanding the spread of an infectious parasite |
In collaboration with the University of Melbourne and Herd Solutions, we investigated how the parasite, Neospara caninum, spreads in Victorian dairy farms. Neospora can significantly reduce the reproductive performance and long-term productivity of dairy herds. Our study found that Neospora can remain in the herd for long periods of time. Our models show testing for infected cows, making informed breeding and culling decisions, and effective biosecurity practices can help reduce the spread of Neospora.
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| Recovery of Mount Cole Grevillea after fire |
In early 2024, the entire population of the critically endangered shrub, Mount Cole Grevillea, was burnt by bushfire. The population has regenerated from seeds stored in the soil and is now made up of thousands of young plants. In partnership with several organisations, we are monitoring the population’s recovery to inform ongoing recovery actions.
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| Protecting the endangered Watson’s Tree Frog |
The Victorian population of the nationally endangered Watson’s Tree Frog has been declining due to a range of threats such as the infectious Chytrid fungus, habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, and erosion of genetic diversity. To support recovery of this species, ARI is monitoring occupancy using acoustic recordings and our in-house AI call recognisers, updating genetic diversity estimates, monitoring Chytrid prevalence, and developing an eDNA tool to detect this rare frog.
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| Quarterly research updates |
Did you miss our Quarterly Updates from last year? Check them out here:
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Interested in receiving these directly? All are welcome to sign up!
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Recent journal articles (link to abstract) and reports (link to PDF) include: |
Baudraz, M., Moore, J. & 78 co-authors (2025). Several candidate size metrics explain vital rates across multiple populations throughout a widespread species’ range. Journal of Ecology, 131, 3159-3176
Higgisson, W., Liu, R., Tschierschke, A., Cobb, A., Jones, C.S., Vivian, L. and Bridgewater, P. (2025). Integrating drone and deep learning technology to monitor floodplain changes in response to environmental flows. Hydrobiologia 1-17.
Griffioen, P., Lumsden, L., Durkin, L. & Francis, L. (2025). Versatile ecoacoustic AI recognisers created with 1-D CNNs and varied sampling strategies. Acoustics 2025 Conference Proceedings, 12
Grover, S., Moore, J.L., Minasny, B., Auricht, C., Moss, P., Robertson, H., Kidd, D., Natera, G., Beer, F., Horwitz, P., Grundy, S. & Prebble, M. (2025). Peatlands of Oceania: ecology and opportunities. Ecology society of Australia, 50, e70140
Keller, A.B., Borer, E.T., Buyarski, C.R., Cleland, E.E., Gill, A., MacDougall, A.S., Moore, J.L., Morgan, J.W., McCulley, R.L., Risch, A.C. & Seabloom, E.W. (2025). Effects of elevated nutrient supply on litter decomposition are robust to impacts of mammalian herbivores across diverse grasslands. Oecologia 207, 1-11.
Robert, K. A., Dimovski, A. M., Contos, P., Khwaja, N. & Griffiths, S. R. (2025). Divergent responses of insectivorous bats and flying insects to experimental LED illumination of spectra. Ecosphere, 16, e70291
Wu, N.C., Sloggett, B., Lumsden, L., Welbergen, J.A. & Turbill, C. (2025). Winter torpor and body mass patterns of a cave‑roosting bat in cool and warm climates. Oecologia, 207, 193.
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ARI Seminar Series (online) |
We are preparing an exciting schedule of presenters for 2026! In the meantime, you can watch recordings of seminars from previous years on the ARI Seminar webpage.
To receive ARI Seminar alerts by email, sign up for ARI Updates
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Compiled by Raras Santosa
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