Work-related poor mental health is a common but largely unrecognised phenomenon among conservation biologists and ecologists. Among a suite of possible solutions, one way of managing poor mental health is for scientists to reposition their experiences within an historical framework that sees them as part of a long tradition of struggle to protect the natural environment by people from many walks of life. A serviceable guide to the recommended approach is Pablo Casals’ declaration ‘The situation is hopeless. We must take the next step’.

Long-term citizen science programs offer important insights for new and emerging projects by virtue of their persistence, reputation and impact. Developing a clear vision, effective knowledge management, relationship building, meaningful volunteer engagement, and adapting to change will help programs measure environmental change while building motivated, informed and connected communities.

We investigated the effects of a large-scale drought-induced canopy collapse on bird community assemblages. Overall, the pooled (±s.d.) reporting rates for drought-affected plots (13.84 ± 0.60 individuals/survey) were significantly less than the reporting rates for healthy plots (34.44 ± 1.03 individuals/survey). Foliage-searching birds were the most abundant guild across all plots and were reported less often in drought-affected plots. Overall, the drought-affected forest provides less favourable habitat for bird assemblages compared to healthy forest.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding shows great promise as a novel tool for fish biomonitoring programs in tropical freshwater habitats. It is sensitive, non-invasive and cost-effective. However, our results highlight that eDNA metabarcoding cannot be routinely applied without further research into sampling design, marker choice, seasonal data, and an improved reference database to reduce false negative detections. Despite this, eDNA metabarcoding will play an important role in the future characterisation of the fish community in tropical river systems.

This contribution documents a breeding range extension of the Indo-Pacific Little Tern Sternula albifrons sinensis in Western Australia, following a pattern documented in other tern and noddy species. It also discusses the overlap and relationship with the closely related Australian Fairy Tern Sternula nereis nereis and relevant conservation implications.