Context. Education programs concerning wildlife conservation and safety typically include the biology of the wildlife species and public safety information. Information retention using traditional means such as signs, pamphlets and static presentations have been shown to be minimally effective at changing attitudes and behaviour when it comes to human–wildlife interactions.

Aims. An experiential education program with interactive modules was designed to support information retention in participants. On the basis of previous research, a targeted experiential education program focusing on perceptions of risk and preventative behaviours was produced to increase people’s comfort level when in coyote habitat.

Methods. Pre-, post- and retention-test questionnaires were used to study differences in attitudes and risk perception instantly following (post-test) as well as 1 year after participating in the program (retention test).

Key results. Overall, the program had significant positive effects on participants’ attitudes, and significant decreases in their overall perception of risk in terms of potential interaction with coyotes. These positive effects were observed instantly and 1 year after participants were surveyed.

Conclusions. Targeted and interactive educative experiences can have impacts on participants’ perceptions over the long term. This technique might be useful when dealing with human–wildlife interactions.

Implications. Designing targeted educative experiences for people may also support lasting positive change in human–wildlife interactions.

Context. Camera trapping is a widely used monitoring tool for a broad range of species across most habitat types. Camera trapping has some major advantages over other trapping methods, such as pitfall traps, because cameras can be left in the field for extended periods of time. However, there is still a need to compare traditional trapping methods with newer techniques.

Aims. To compare trap rates, species richness and community composition of small mammals and reptiles by using passive, unbaited camera traps and pitfall traps.

Methods. We directly compared pitfall trapping (20-L buried buckets) with downward-facing infrared-camera traps (Reconyx) to survey small reptiles and mammals at 16 sites within a forested habitat in south-western Australia. We compared species captured using each method, as well as the costs associated with each.

Key results. Overall, we recorded 228 reptiles, 16 mammals and 1 frog across 640 pitfall trap-nights (38.3 animal captures per 100 trap-nights) compared to 271 reptiles and 265 mammals (for species likely to be captured in pitfall traps) across 2572 camera trap nights (20.8 animal captures per 100 trap-nights). When trap effort is taken into account, camera trapping was only 23% as efficient as pitfall trapping for small reptiles (mostly Scincidae), but was five times more efficient for surveying small mammals (Dasyuridae). Comparing only those species that were likely to be captured in pitfall traps, 13 species were recorded by camera trapping compared with 20 species recorded from pitfall trapping; however, we found significant (P < 0.001) differences in community composition between the methods. In terms of cost efficacy, camera trapping was the more expensive method for our short, 4-month survey when taking the cost of cameras into consideration.

Conclusions. Applicability of camera trapping is dependent on the specific aims of the intended research. Camera trapping is beneficial where community responses to ecosystem disturbance are being tested. Live capture of small reptiles via pitfall trapping allows for positive species identification, morphological assessment, and collection of reference photos to help identify species from camera photos.

Implications. As stand-alone techniques, both survey methods under-represent the available species present in a region. The use of more than one survey method improves the scope of fauna community assessments.

Context. Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) are a valued game resource that can cause environmental harm, requiring control of tahr populations below policy-prescribed thresholds. Effective game management requires understanding of the benefits to hunters of game resources and how hunter behaviours change in response to changes in hunt attributes, including game-animal densities, hunt duration, presence of other hunters and travel distance.

Aims. To identify the value of recreational Himalayan tahr hunting and how that value is affected by changes in hunt attributes for different types of hunter, thereby identifying the value of tahr as a recreational resource and opportunities for enhancing recreational hunting experiences.

Methods. Hunter differences were explored through factor analysis and cluster analysis, which identified three different groups of hunters on the basis of motivations and hunting activity. Preferences for hunt attributes were explored with a choice experiment that used a pivot design around actual travel distances to measure the relative importance of hunt-related attributes. Latent class analysis of choice experiment responses identified three discrete groups of hunters who sought different activity settings.

Key results. Results showed the high value of recreational tahr hunting for all three groups of tahr hunters. Tahr hunters were uniformly focussed on trophy bull tahr, and reduced probabilities of securing a trophy would diminish recreational hunting effort significantly. Hunting activity was not affected by adult female tahr populations. These results suggest that managing tahr to low densities, but improving trophy potential, can provide concurrent environmental and recreational benefits.

Conclusions. Changes in hunt attributes, such as trophy potential and presence of other hunters, have significant effects on hunt benefits, site choice and the amount of recreational tahr hunting.

Implications. The present study identified potential gains from active management of Himalayan tahr and tahr hunters.

Context. Visual encounter surveying is a standard animal inventory method, modifications of which (e.g. distance sampling and repeated count surveys) are used for modelling population density. However, a variety of factors may bias visual survey counts.

Aims. The aim of the present study was to evaluate three observer-related biases: (1) whether fatigue compromises detection rate as a survey occasion progresses; (2) whether long-term fatigue or boredom compromise detection rates over the course of a survey period; and (3) whether observers exhibit biases in detection rates of different animal taxa.

Methods. We analysed >2.3 × 10⁴ observations of lizards and small mammals from nocturnal pedestrian visual encounter surveys, each 4 h in duration, conducted by a pool of 29 observers, each of whom surveyed for up to 31 nights.

Key results. Detections of sleeping (diurnal) emerald tree skinks (Lamprolepis smaragdina) exhibited a small but statistically verified decline as the evening progressed, whereas detections of sleeping (diurnal) green anoles (Anolis carolinensis) increased as the evening progressed. Detections of nocturnal geckos (several species pooled) showed a weak and non-significant declining trend. Small mammal sightings (rats, shrews and mice pooled) declined strongly over the course of an evening. The participants saw greater or equal numbers of animals the more nights they surveyed. Most participants exhibited statistically significant, and often strong, taxonomic detection bias compared with the pool of peer observers. The skills of some observers appeared to be consistently above average; others consistently below average.

Conclusions. Data on sleeping lizards suggest that neither short-term nor long-term observer fatigue is of much concern for 4-h visual searches. On the contrary, differences among observers in taxonomic bias and overall detection skills pose a problem for data interpretation.

Implications. By comparing temporal detection patterns of immobile (e.g. sleeping) with actively moving animal taxa, sampling biases attributable to searcher fatigue versus the animals’ circadian rhythm can be disentangled and, if need be, statistically corrected for. Observer skill differences and observer-specific taxonomic biases may hamper efforts to statistically evaluate survey results, unless explicitly included as covariates in population models.

Context. As top predators, marine mammals play a key role consuming in different trophic levels and the trophic niche characterization may help to understand how species utilize and share resources . On the coast of the Río de la Plata and the South-west Atlantic, the South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens) and the franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei) are two important predators.

Aims. The present study investigated potential trophic overlap of both species by measuring stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotopes over two periods: historical (1959–79) and recent (2002–15) on the Uruguayan coast.

Methods. Bone samples of P. blainvillei and O. flavescens were used to determine the isotopic niche using the Stable Isotope Bayesian Ellipses in R (SIBER) analysis.

Key results. The isotopic niche did not overlap between species in any period. δ¹⁵N was higher in O. flavescens in both periods (20.29‰ ± 0.73 in the historical and 19.95‰ ± 1.0 in the recent period), indicating that it feeds at a higher trophic level than P. blainvillei. The δ¹³C was also significantly higher in O. flavescens than in P. blainvillei during the two periods (O. flavescens: –11.43 ± 0.6‰ historic, –12.72 ± 0.4‰ recent, and P. blainvillei: –12.69 ± 1.1‰ historic, –13.84 ± 1.3‰ recent). The isotopic niche areas of P. blainvillei in recent and historic periods confirmed they forage in 2 distinct environments, marine and estuarine, with low isotopic overlap. This overlap was higher in the recent period.

Conclusions and Implications.O. flavescens and both P. blainvillei groups were segregated in both periods, with a higher overlap in the recent. These species appear to reduce competition by using different resources in the same coastal habitat. O. flavescens preferentially feeds on benthic fish and showed wider trophic amplitude in both periods, whereas P. blainvillei has a more coastal–pelagic diet and included a greater variability of resources in its diet. The differences between species trophic niches can still be detected after both marine mammals species abundance has declined and after the development of fisheries.

Context. Locating cryptic animals is an important aspect of many wildlife management programs and research studies. However, this process can be inefficient, time-consuming and expensive. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) or drones fitted with a camera are increasingly being used for counting and monitoring wildlife; however, these are often not suitable for cryptic species. Very high-frequency (VHF) radio-tracking is commonplace; however, single-channel VHF receivers mean that animals must be tracked individually, or scanning receivers must be used; but this raises the possibility of signals being missed.

Aims. We aimed to test the effectiveness of aerial VHF tracking using a multi-channel receiver for locating wildlife.

Methods. We tracked wildlife fitted with VHF transmitters operating on individual frequencies, by means of a UAV with a multi-channel VHF receiver to simultaneously monitor all frequencies. This offered distinct advantages over traditional single-channel scanning receivers. To test and compare this novel method, yellow-eyed penguins (Megadyptes antipodes) were located on nests hidden under vegetation on Enderby Island in the New Zealand subantarctic, using manual ground searching, unassisted ground VHF tracking, as well as using location flights by the UAV Drone Ranger system.

Key results. The UAV system allowed for faster nest location than did all other methods, with a higher cumulative success (number of nests found each day) and lower search effort required (person hours per nest).

Conclusions. Aerial VHF tracking can greatly extend the search range and minimise search effort compared with ground VHF tracking or manual searching.

Implications. This technology has applications for locating and tracking a wide range of wildlife, particularly cryptic species that may be difficult to find using other methods.

Context. Evaluating predator management efficacy is difficult, especially when resources are limited. Carefully designing monitoring programs in advance is critical for data collection that is sufficient to evaluate management success and to inform decisions.

Aims. The aim was to investigate how the design of camera trap studies can affect the ability to reliably detect changes in red fox (Vulpes vulpes) activity over space and time. Specifically, to examine the effect of study duration, camera cost and detection zone under various environmental and management scenarios, including different fox densities, management impacts, monitoring budgets and levels of spatial and temporal variation.

Methods. A generalised linear mixed model was used to analyse simulated datasets from control sites and sites with predator management actions implemented, following a before–after or control–impact sampling design. Statistical power analyses were conducted to evaluate whether a change in fox abundance could be detected across various environmental and management scenarios.

Key results. Results showed that a before–after sampling design is less sensitive than a control–impact sampling design to the number of cameras used for monitoring. However, a before–after sampling design requires a longer monitoring period to achieve a satisfactory level of power, due to higher sensitivity to study duration. Given a fixed budget, there can be a trade-off between purchasing a small number of high quality cameras with large detection zones, or a larger number of cameras with smaller detection zones. In a control-impact design we found that if spatial heterogeneity was high, a larger number of cameras with smaller detection zones provided more power to detect a difference in fox abundance.

Conclusion. This simulation-based approach demonstrates the importance of exploring various monitoring designs to detect the effect of predator management across plausible environmental and budgetary scenarios.

Implications. The present study informs the monitoring design of an adaptive management program that aims to understand the role of managing fox predation on malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata), a threatened Australian bird. Furthermore, this approach provides a useful guide for developing cost-effective camera trap monitoring studies to assess efficacy of conservation management programs. Power analyses are an essential step for designing efficient monitoring, and indicate the strength of ecological signals that can realistically be detected through the noise of spatial and temporal heterogeneity under various budgetary constraints.

Context. Projecting the population trajectory of endangered species using models requires conservation practitioners to evaluate how variations in life history parameters may change a population’s viability. This is particularly important for species that occur as fragmented populations and whose densities are naturally low. Simulations may be used to identify conservation actions that have a higher likelihood of reducing a species’ extinction risk.

Aims. The aim was to apply population viability models to the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) under alternative scenarios.

Methods. The current (baseline) northern quoll demographic trajectories were evaluated using field-collected data derived from monitoring programs. The impact of alternative scenarios of mortality (for example, due to increased predation by introduced predators) and population supplementation (either from populations elsewhere or from captive breeding) on the viability of a northern quoll population was then determined.

Key results. Under current conditions, individual Pilbara populations of northern quoll are projected to persist for over 20 years. However, these populations are sensitive to extinction events. Population growth rate and local extinction risk were most sensitive to changes in juvenile mortality as low as 5% per annum. Increased mortality of the juvenile age cohort above current levels resulted in a projected decline in population size of 22–54%, with a moderate-to-high chance (20–96%) of local extinction within 20 years. Supplementing the population produced a moderate increase in quoll persistence over this time period.

Conclusions. Populations of northern quolls in the Pilbara, and potentially elsewhere in their range, are highly sensitive to even small perturbations in juvenile mortality rates. The continued persistence of quoll populations in fragmented refuges is characteristic of a species that functions as a dynamic metapopulation in the face of high environmental perturbations.

Implications. Increased juvenile mortality above current levels – for example through the spread of cane toads or invasion of feral cats – may have serious implications for the persistence of the current network of northern quoll populations and other mammals that exhibit population fragmentation in arid environments. Estimates of survival rates for the juvenile cohort of quolls would improve diagnosis of a species’ population dynamics as well as inform practitioners of key life-history sensitivities.

Context. The concept of umbrella species has been proposed as a surrogate for the conservation of a wider range of species and ecosystems. This concept has, however, frequently been questioned by researchers because of the lack of empirical evidence to support it.

Aims. The aim of the present study was to test the role of the spectacled bear, Tremarctos ornatus (FG Cuvier, 1825), also known as Andean bear, as a putative umbrella species for the 12 Andean ecoregions it inhabits.

Methods. The number of threatened vertebrates, as well as the total number of vertebrate species (mammals and birds) existing in areas where the spectacled bear is present (distribution range) and absent, were compared within each ecoregion to assess the role of spectacled bear as an umbrella species, using geographical information systems.

Key results. In absolute terms, the spectacled bear could be considered an umbrella species, because 20.6% of the area of the 12 ecoregions was covered by the bear’s distribution range, and the total numbers of both vertebrate species richness and threatened species were higher in areas where the bears were present than in those where they were absent. However, the results showed that the differences with regard to the number of species in areas in which the bears were present and absent depended on the ecoregion and the targeted taxa.

Conclusions. These results suggest that the effectiveness of the spectacled bear as an umbrella species is not widespread, because conserving the areas in which bears are present may not always equate to greater conservation benefits (higher species richness) in all the ecoregions for all the taxa.

Implications. If spectacled bear is used as an umbrella species, it is necessary to consider both the ecoregions and the targeted taxa whose conservation would be improved as a result of the preservation of the spectacled bear’s distribution range.

Context. Introduced herbivores can have a substantial impact on native plants and animals, particularly in ecosystems that do not share a recent evolutionary history with similar herbivore species. The feral horse, Equus caballus, has a widespread but patchy distribution in Australia, with large populations present in national parks in the Australian Alps. There are few peer-reviewed studies of the impacts of feral horses on ecosystems in this region. However, impacts could be substantial, particularly in wetland and riparian environments that are focal points for horse activity and sensitive to trampling and physical disturbance.

Aims. In the present study, we used replicated horse exclosures to investigate the effects of feral horses on breeding habitat of the critically endangered northern corroboree frog, Pseudophryne pengilleyi, in the Australian Alps.

Methods.Pseudophryne pengilleyi constructs nests and lays eggs in dense litter surrounding small, seasonally flooded wetland pools. In 2010, we sampled the litter depth adjacent to pools at eight long-term P. pengilleyi monitoring sites. In 2011, horse exclosures were established at each of the eight sites, such that less than half of the wetland area was inside the exclosure. In 2015, we measured litter depth surrounding pools inside and outside the exclosures, as well as at three additional sites where feral horses were absent.

Key results. We found that the pool-edge litter was 1.9 times deeper in areas without horses (inside horse-exclosure plots and horse-free sites) than in areas accessible to horses (unfenced areas in horse-occupied sites).

Conclusions. Our study has presented experimental evidence that horse grazing and trampling reduce breeding-habitat quality for P. pengilleyi, which could result in reduced reproduction success.

Implications. Ensuring the persistence of high-quality habitat is crucial for the conservation of P. pengilleyi, particularly given the severity of the decline of this species associated with chytrid fungus. Our results have provided direct evidence of a negative feral-horse impact on the habitat of a threatened animal species in the Australian Alps.