The weather is warming and we are embracing spring, which is poorneet (tadpole) season for the Kulin Nations, where ARI is based. At this time of year, our researchers are starting to get out and about more. Many of us are surveying the fauna and flora that are waking up from winter, searching for things that are sprouting and flowering or breeding and calling. We hope you are enjoying the changing of the season, and we hope you enjoy this issue of our eNews.

Below, you can read about how we are collaborating with many different groups to understand and protect Southern Right Whales, learn about our work on the various species of Victorian freshwater crayfish, and find out about our biggest ever survey to support koala conservation!

Keep well,

Fern Hames 

Director | Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research 

Victoria is home to many different species of freshwater crayfish, and nearly half of them are threatened. For many years, ARI researchers have been involved in work to support our native crayfish, including mapping their distributions, assisting in emergency response to extreme events, and describing new species.

Southern Right Whales use areas off the coast of Victoria to raise their calves. ARI researchers have been using aerial imagery to identify individual whales to support their conservation and have helped produce information packs for boaters, which helps reduce the risks to these charismatic marine mammals.  

Our knowledge of our iconic koalas is patchy throughout Victoria. ARI researchers are collaborating with universities to better understand koala population health and distributions, with projects that include surveys and statistical models, genetic studies, health and welfare assessments, and getting the community involved through citizen science.

A recent edition of our Terrestrial Quarterly Update is now available.  

It features information on feral pig and deer monitoring with Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners, modelling to estimate Stubble Quail abundance across the state, and ARI’s invertebrate research.

Interested in receiving these directly? All are welcome to sign up! 

Adams, M., Hammer, M.P., Unmack, P.J., Raadik, T.A., Jense, C., White, R.W.G. and Burridge, C.P. (2023). Multi-gene insights into the taxonomy and conservation of Tasmania’s galaxiid fishes. Marine & Freshwater Research 74 (13), 1113-1128

Akter, H., Rempoulakis, P., Fanson, B., Inskeep, J. and Taylor. P.W. (2023). Raspberry ketone feeding makes Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt), more vulnerable to desiccation but not starvation. Pest Management Science 

Farmilo, B. and Moxham, C. (2023). The effectiveness of weed control in a threatened plant community: a grassland case study. Ecological Engineering 193, 107017 

Farmilo, B., Duncan, D., Moxham, C., Buchan, A., Turner, V., Ballentine, M., White, M. and Schultz, N. (2023). Transient shifts in composition of degraded temperate native grassland following grazing exclusion. Applied Vegetation Science 26 (2), e12731

Fernández-Manjarrés, J.F., Machunter, J. and Zavala, M.A. (2021). Forest management, conflict & social-ecological systems in a changing world. Forests 12 (11)

Khwaja, N., Hassell, C. J., Taylor, M. J., Taylor, J. A., Lewis, J. and Rogers, D. I. (2023). Repeated monitoring suggests shorebirds are disturbed consistently during winter at a globally important roost in tropical Australia. Wader Study 130 (1)

Kitanovic, V., Greet, J., McKendrick, S., and Jones, C.S. (2023). Grasses in riparian zones display unexpected tolerance to cool-season inundation. Wetlands, Ecology & Management 31, 551-564 

Koehn, J. D., Todd, C. R., and Wootton, H. (2023). Cold-water pollution impacts on two ‘warm-water’ riverine fish: interactions of dam size and life-history requirements. Marine & Freshwater Research 74 (13)

Loyn, R., Rogers, D., Swindley, R., Menkhorst, P., Stamation, K., Haynes, S., Graham, H., Hepworth, G. and Steele, W. (2023). Waterfowl populations decline with nutrient reduction and increase with nutrient restoration: 20 years of adaptive management at a Ramsar‑listed wastewater treatment plant. Hydrobiologia 850, 4127-4147

Pavlova, A., Petrovic, S., Harrisson, K.A., Cartwright, K., Dobson, E., Hurley, L.L., Lane, M., Magrath, M.J.L., Miller, K., Quin, B., Winterhoff, M., Yen, J.D.L. and Sunnucks, P. (2023). Benefits of risky genetic rescue of a critically endangered subspecies from another subspecies outweigh risks: results of captive breeding trials. Biological Conservation 284 

Raymond, S., Todd, C., Ryall, J., Fanson, B., Koehn, J., Tonkin, Z., Hackett, G., O’Mahony, J., Berry, K., Lieschke, J., Rourke, M., and Ward, K. (2023). Using density estimates, sex ratios and size structure to assess the status of a threatened Australian freshwater crayfish (Euastacus armatus) population. Hydrobiologia 850, 4181-4194

Regan, T.J., MacHunter, J., Sinclair, S.J., Bruce, M.J., Neil, J., Parker, E. and Nam, B., (2023). Structured decision making to navigate trade-offs between multiple conservation values in threatened grasslands. Conservation Science and Practice 5 (7)

Sinclair, S.J., Liu, C., Batpurev, K., Avirmed, O., Avirmed, B., White, M.D., Ricard, B., Erdengerel, A., Narmandakh, E., Odsuren, D., Kohout, M. and Olson, K. (2023). Metrics to assess the condition of rangeland ecosystems in central Mongolia. ARI Technical Report Number 365

The ARI seminar series showcases the excellent applied ecological research being conducted by scientists at ARI and other organisations, and provides a forum for engagement with our broader community.

Recordings of these seminars are available on our seminars web page.

To receive ARI seminar series email alerts, including webinar (live online viewing) details and follow-up links to recordings, use the ‘Subscribe to ARI’ button on our website, or email us at research.ari@delwp.vic.gov.au 

If you know someone who may like to receive the ARI eNews, feel free to forward this email on to them. If this has been forwarded on to you there is an option to sign-up below, or use the ‘Subscribe’ button on our website, or email research.ari@delwp.vic.gov.au to be added to the ARI eNews mailing list. 

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