Aerial operations to remove invasive species are increasingly common and can be highly effective towards reducing damage and disease threats to anthropogenic resources and native biota. This study compared a variety of shotshells used during aerial operations to optimize lethality and overall effectiveness of removal efforts. We recommend maximizing the number of pellets delivered downrange within limited distances at which sufficient energy is retained to maximize penetration and lethality. Photograph by Michael Lavelle.

Understanding the drivers and trends of plant and animal populations is an essential part of conservation management. This study assessed the effects of fire, rainfall and vegetation condition on the long-term trends of a threatened lizard in the central and western deserts of Australia. Our results showed contrasting trends in populations, with fire extent and frequency a major driver of population change. Photograph by Rachel Paltridge.

Understanding and accurately describing species distributions is an ongoing challenge. We used the citizen science website iNaturalist.org to locate geographically anomalous records of Australian skinks. Our study provides a novel and versatile method for locating populations undocumented in the literature. Photograph by Jules E. Farquhar.

Habitat use by wildlife may depend on health, food availability, and predation threat. We found that an arboreal snake used microhabitat, as measured by estimated height of detection, based on size, individual condition, and prey counts. Snakes had lower detection heights when prey was less available or their condition scores were lower, and as their size increased. Arboreality as measured by detection height was a plastic behavior that changed in response to prey availability, individual condition, and snake size. Image by Scott Goetz and Melia Nafus.