Restoration plantings can provide habitat for declining woodland bird communities, but do they actually support resident, breeding populations of woodland birds in fragmented agricultural landscapes? We reviewed current knowledge on woodland bird responses to restoration plantings, and found that there is still much to learn about population processes such as breeding success. We suggest future research directions that focus on addressing this knowledge gap, with the aim of improving our ability to assess whether restoration plantings are achieving conservation goals.

River otters (Lontra canadensis) have been reintroduced across large parts of their range in North America. We found that the river otter population in Ohio, USA, had the potential to grow rapidly following reintroduction. This population is now harvested, but the effect of the restricted harvest on population abundance is unclear. A more robust, long-term monitoring effort is necessary to more precisely monitor the population.

Dogs are often used to find rare or cryptic species, but designing an optimal search requires knowledge of the distance at which dogs can smell target animals. We used trained rodent-detector dogs to search for dead rats, and estimated probability of detection at distances of 0–100 m. This information will help optimise search patterns using wildlife detector dogs.

Increasing the probability of detection is desirable for parameter estimation in camera-trapping studies. We quantified the efficacy of scent and bait attractants to increase the detection probability of Iberian mesocarnivores. The combination valerian extract and lynx urine increased the detection of the whole mesocarnivore community. Attractant selection must be supported by quantitative assessment of the detection probability.

Hisstory^® feral cats baits were designed to reduce the impact on non-target species by encapsulating the toxin within a hard-shelled delivery vehicle (HSDV) and placing it within a meat attractant. We evaluated the efficacy of these baits on two native mammal species in the Northern Territory and found that, although native species removed all confirmed bait takes, only one northern brown bandicoot accessed the contents of the HSDV. Our findings suggest that baits containing the HSDV reduce the risk of baiting to certain native mammal species in this region.

Despite on-going control, wild dogs continue to be a problem to livestock production systems in many parts of Australia. We investigated bait uptake by wild dogs and non-target species. Results indicated low bait uptake by wild-dog pups and high non-target species interference. Future trials should include lures, alternate bait types and targeted baiting efforts.

Climate change may disrupt interactions between species across trophic levels in complex ways, especially where species migrate or hibernate seasonally. The sensitivity of the endangered mountain pygmy possum to climatic influences on their major food resources, including the migratory Bogong moth, were investigated through faecal analysis of a long-term data record. Strong seasonal and climatic influences were detected, indicating the mountain pygmy possum may be susceptible to climate change through impacts on food resources.

Population estimation and monitoring are important tools to support programs and actions of conservation for most wildlife species. We analyzed the population of Penelope superciliaris and we concluded that P. superciliaris is active diurnally, prefers areas near water sources in denser forests, and tends to avoid areas with intense poaching activity. Our data highlight the impact of poaching on the species and can be useful as a baseline for future studies and Cracid conservation plans.

About 20 Near Threatened Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroos are killed on the road each year in north-eastern Australia. This mortality has not been reduced by warning signs, rope bridges and underpasses. Road-kill incidence is influenced by population density, road conditions, traffic volume and poor visibility along the road and inadequate speed limits. Along with the species’ semi-arboreal habit and unpredictable dispersal patterns, these factors indicate that reduced traffic speed and road-verge maintenance are the most effective mitigation options for reducing vehicle-strike incidence in Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo.