Recreational hunting is popular across Australia for native and introduced wildlife species but little is known about long-term trends in harvest. We assessed recreational harvest levels via hunter surveys from three groups of wildlife (deer, ducks and quail) over 11 years in Victoria, Australia. Our study revealed that harvest levels for introduced deer have increased markedly, but there has been little change for native ducks and quail. Changes in hunter numbers, behaviour and efficiency are important to monitor for sustainable wildlife use. Photograph by Steven Wade.

Efficient monitoring of changes in animal populations is essential for effective wildlife management. We compared the statistical power of faecal pellet counts and camera trapping to detect spatial and temporal changes in mammal activity levels. Indices derived from pellet count occurrence data can be used to simultaneously monitor multiple species where detection of medium to large effect sizes is adequate; however, using frequency indices derived from camera trapping maximises the statistical power of monitoring programs to detect changes in populations. Photograph by Matthew Hoskins (Parks Victoria).

Insecticides are applied worldwide as a tool to control both wildlife and/or human diseases but we need to document the impact these chemicals have on non-target animals. We examined and discovered that deltamethrin (an insecticide used to control flea vectors of the plague bacterium) reduced survival of non-target small animals in three different study sites in the western United States. Insecticides are an important tool to conserve species threated by wildlife diseases, but we need to consider and evaluate their effects on non-target animals when making management decisions regarding the best methods to reduce disease prevalence. Photograph by Amanda R. Goldberg.

Increases in wildfire severity in Australia’s temperate forests is a major threat to forest-dependant species. Our study assessed the effect of differing levels of fire severity on the greater glider population density in southern New South Wales and found lowest densities in high fire-severity sites. We highlight the importance of low fire-severity sites as refuges in the short-term after wildfires. Photograph by Monica Knipler.