Potential threats and habitat of the night parrot on the Ngururrpa Indigenous Protected Area

Context Night parrots (Pezoporus occidentalis) are one of Australia’s most endangered birds, and there is evidence suggesting feral cats (Felis catus) are a major cause of decline. However, because night parrots currently have a restricted distribution, little is known of the ecology of feral cats around their remaining populations. This limits the development of effective management strategies. Aims The aims of this study were to understand feral cat movement and habitat selection around night parrots, and to then estimate the effectiveness of possible management actions. Methods Research was conducted around the only confirmed night parrot population in eastern Australia. In 2019 and 2020, we obtained GPS data from nine feral cats, and used step selection functions to assess preferred habitats. Management options were then simulated based on cat movement data, including altering trap numbers and layout, and changing routes for night spotlight shooting (using existing roads, random walking or creating new roads in preferred habitats). Key results Feral cats preferred alluvial and riparian habitats and avoided rocky woodlands and roads. Simulated control efforts were more successful if traps are placed at ‘pinch points’ where drainage lines converged, and if new roads were created near to creek lines and alluvial habitats. Conclusions Feral cats move around the last known population of night parrots in eastern Australia, travelling through and using many shared habitats. Targeting creek lines and alluvial areas in cat control operations would improve effectiveness and potentially reduce predation impacts on night parrots. Implications Conservation of endangered birds like night parrots can be enhanced through understanding the ecology of threats such as feral cats to develop locally tailored control operations.

Feral cats (Felis catus) are a significant predator of native birds in Australia, and a recognised predator for the endangered night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis). We examined camera trapping data from 2014 to 2020 collected at the Pullen Pullen (night parrot) reserve in south-western Queensland to investigate the spatial and temporal patterns of feral cat activity. These data were collected from two discrete periods, with slightly different foci, and we undertook careful data exploration and refinement to identify a consistent data set. We modelled the relationship between the camera detections and a range of environmental, spatial, and temporal parameters, using logistic regression and two selection criteria (Akaike’s and Bayesian). The final parsimonious model identified that feral cat detection probability decreased with increasing ruggedness and increased as distance to creek lines decreased. Feral cat detection probability also declined over time from camera deployment. In each model the variance component estimates suggested that some influences on cat detection probability remain unexplained. Regardless, our results provide further data on feral cat activity, and therefore information to focus and improve the management of this threat to the night parrot and other significant species on this conservation reserve.

Indigenous people and the land they manage are integral to biodiversity conservation worldwide, with threatened species projects in Australia increasingly using a two-way collaborative approach between Indigenous people and scientists. There is increasing interest in the nature of these relationships and how Indigenous culture, people and knowledge can be prioritised better, while increasing conservation outcomes. One example is the recent successful surveys of endangered night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) populations by Aboriginal rangers across Australia’s desert areas. This perspective article documents our collaborative effort, between Aboriginal rangers and scientists, to survey night parrot in Western Australia, from 2017 to 2023, the results, and the nature of our two-way scientific relationships. Night parrot working groups and workshops allowed rangers to learn from scientific and ranger experts, to build capacity and plan for surveys on their countries through two-way partnerships with supportive scientific organisations. This resulted in 13 ranger groups from Western Australia leading standardised night parrot acoustic surveys, with recordings analysed for unique calls by scientific experts. Over the 6 years, the rangers conducted 8613 surveys, at 75 sites, with 22 new night parrot sites being found on five different Native Title areas (Ngurra Kayanta, Ngururrpa, Martu, Birriliburu and Kiwirrkurra). As of August 2024, these sites represent an estimated 54% of known night parrot sites in Australia, and 75% of those found outside of Queensland. Our results have greatly expanded our knowledge of night parrot distribution and ecology in Australia. Key to this success was our respectful two-way scientific relationships that prioritised Aboriginal peoples, culture and leadership, regionally building momentum and collaboration through workshops and networks, while ensuring good scientific practice. Our work provides another important example of how respectful two-way science relationships can create significant conservation outcomes while supporting Indigenous knowledge, leadership and cultural practice.

ABSTRACTSouth-western Queensland supports a suite of threatened native species, including Night Parrots. We investigated why this species has persisted in the region and discovered low prevalence of the typical factors that are thought to explain fauna attrition elsewhere in central Australia. Foxes appear to be completely absent. Feral cats were recorded relatively infrequently and showed a significant preference for habitats less commonly used by Night Parrots, a partition that may be driven by the presence of dogs that were detected twice as frequently as cats. Our study area has had a long history of moderate grazing pressure, which is concentrated mostly in productive alluvial habitats. We detected very few herbivores, and dog scat analyses suggest that macropod populations are regulated by predation. Archival imagery shows that large fires are not a feature of this landscape, resulting in the long-term, stable availability of patchy Triodia habitats separated by natural no-fuel areas. Based on these empirical data, we postulate that low non-native predator pressure, long-term stable availability of Triodia cover and a productive landscape that has had only moderate grazing pressure are the interacting factors that may explain why Night Parrots have persisted in south-western Queensland. We present practical management actions that could enhance the suitability of this landscape for Night Parrots.

The Night Parrot is a critically endangered nocturnal bird of Australia's arid zone. The species was "lost" for most of the 20th century until its rediscovery in 1990. Extant populations are now known in eastern and western Australia, but the species has been extirpated from much of its historical range. Here we estimate critically needed Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) for the Night Parrot from historical and opportunistically collected contemporary samples. We find little population structure across the species' range and evidence of recent connectivity between extant populations ~2000 km apart. Most eastern individuals show significant kinship with one another, as did two from an extinct population in southern Australia. Heterozygosity is similarly low in all extant populations but ten-fold lower in the extinct population sampled. Coalescent modelling of effective population size (Ne) suggests that Night Parrot numbers were reasonably high until around 90 years ago when Ne crashed from ~10,000 to ~100. Current Ne is now at its lowest in the past several million years. Our findings will help guide the ongoing management of one of Australia's most threatened birds.

SummaryCross‐cultural collaboration between Yawuru Country Managers (Rangers) and WWF‐Australia ecologists led to new detections of the Spectacled Hare‐wallaby (SHW), (Lagorchestes conspicillatus) in the west Kimberley region of Western Australia where it was presumed to be locally extirpated. This collaboration relied on the expertise of the Yawuru Country Managers to select specific locations for targeted field surveys and resulted in the confirmation of SHW on the Yawuru IPA for the first time in a decade. Subsequent remote camera trap surveys over a larger area included collaboration with two additional neighbouring Indigenous ranger groups, Karrajarri and Nyikina Mangala. These surveys investigated the spatial and temporal relationship between SHW and other mammals which may threaten (e.g., feral Cat [Felis catus], Dingo [Canis familiaris dingo]) or compete (e.g., Agile Wallaby [Macropus agilis]; Cattle [Bos taurus]) with them. We found a negative relationship between SHW and cat activity, suggesting that cats may limit the activity or abundance of SHW. Temporal portioning was evident between SHW and both Cattle and Agile Wallaby suggesting that SHW may avoid times when these species are most active. Further, we found a negative relationship between SHW occurrence and distance to fire scar edge burnt in current or previous fire season. This edge habitat is likely important to SHW because they may require recently burnt areas to forage and dense unburnt areas to shelter. This project highlights the benefits of cross‐cultural research and monitoring partnerships with Indigenous rangers as active observers and managers of their traditional lands.

The combined records of two 20th-century observers (Martin Bourgoin and Julian Ford) of Night Parrots Pezoporus occidentalis at permanent springs on the Ethel River amount to more published records of this elusive bird over a longer timespan (1912–1964) than anywhere else in Western Australia. Likely Night Parrot habitats persisting in the Ethel River area in 2019–2020 include extensive areas of mature Limestone Spinifex Triodia wiseana with other native perennial grasses, hard spinifex on sandplains, patchy perennial tussock grasses on minor floodplains and chenopod shrublands including perennial saltbush. We evaluate these habitats for their past uses and likely continuing changes that might have affected Night Parrots. With a mine under construction upstream in the sub-catchment headwaters and indications that the species is not extinct in the district, there is an urgent need to raise awareness of a uniquely important area and to survey the area for the species. Monitoring and coordinating protective measures across intersecting land uses is likely to improve the future of rare permanent springs and sensitive habitats.

An evidence-based approach to the conservation management of a species requires knowledge of that species’ status, distribution, ecology, and threats. Coupled with budgets for specific conservation strategies, this knowledge allows prioritisation of funding toward activities that maximise benefit for the species. However, many threatened species are poorly known, and determining which conservation strategies will achieve this is difficult. Such cases require approaches that allow decision-making under uncertainty. Here we used structured expert elicitation to estimate the likely benefit of potential management strategies for the Critically Endangered and, until recently, poorly known Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis). Experts considered cat management the single most effective management strategy for the Night Parrot. However, a combination of protecting and actively managing existing intact Night Parrot habitat through management of grazing, controlling feral cats, and managing fire specifically to maintain Night Parrot habitat was thought to result in the greatest conservation gains. The most cost-effective strategies were thought to be fire management to maintain Night Parrot habitat, and intensive cat management using control methods that exploit local knowledge of cat movements and ecology. Protecting and restoring potentially suitable, but degraded, Night Parrot habitat was considered the least effective and least cost-effective strategy. These expert judgements provide an informed starting point for land managers implementing on-ground programs targeting the Night Parrot, and those developing policy aimed at the species’ longer-term conservation. As a set of hypotheses, they should be implemented, assessed, and improved within an adaptive management framework that also considers the likely co-benefits of these strategies for other species and ecosystems. The broader methodology is applicable to conservation planning for the management and conservation of other poorly known threatened species.

Warning This article may contain images, names of or references to deceased Aboriginal people. The Nyangumarta people are the Traditional Owners of more than 33,000 km2 of land and sea in north-western Australia, encompassing Pirra Country (The Great Sandy Desert) and nearby coastal areas. They are also the custodians and managers of the Nyangumarta Warrarn Indigenous Protected Area (IPA). The wartaji (or dingo) holds immense cultural significance for the Nyangumarta people and is a vital part of a healthy Country. This inspired the community and rangers to focus on the wartaji as a key part of the management objectives of the IPA. We detail the development of the resulting collaborative research project between the IPA rangers and university-based scientists. The project not only presented an opportunity for the Nyangumarta community to deepen their understanding of wartaji residing on their Country, but also upskilled the Nyangumarta rangers in wartaji monitoring and management. This project is a testament to the importance of First Nations groups developing and addressing their research priorities. IPA-managed lands and associated ranger programs offer the perfect opportunity, funding and support to make these conservation-related decisions and implement actions. The collaboration with academic and non-academic researchers promises to enhance this conservation effort through mutual learning.

The Night Parrot Pezoporus occidentalis is a poorly known, nationally endangered species that historically occurred throughout semi-arid and arid Australia, including Western Australia where the type specimen was collected during the 19th century. Despite recent sightings in Western Australia, no evidence has been provided to definitively prove the existence of an extant population in the state. In March 2017, we discovered living Night Parrots in the East Murchison biogeographic subregion of Western Australia, and documented an active nest, associated calling behaviour including previously undescribed duets, and roosting habitat of a pair of this species at the site.

The Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) is an enigmatic species thought possibly to be extinct until the recent recoveries of two dead specimens from Queensland. The type specimen and many early sightings, however, came from Western Australia. We describe a new sighting of the Night Parrot from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, on 12 April 2005, at a well near the Fortescue Marshes. We provide details of our sighting and review the behaviour observed in the context of historical and contemporary records from the north-west of Western Australia.

Little is known about reproduction and den site selection by free-ranging dingoes. We present observations of den sites used by dingoes inhabiting a large-scale mining operation located in the Great Sandy Desert, Western Australia. We observed 24 dens concentrated within a 1-km radius. Den sites were generally situated in elevated positions overlooking the surrounding area, were a short distance from food and water resources, required vegetation (particularly spinifex grass) to provide a firm foundation and stable ceiling in the soft sand, and had single den openings that faced away from the rising and daytime sun. Distance to human structures or activity did not appear to influence site selection. Four of the dens were active, containing a total of 37 pups aged between two and four weeks of age. One den contained 18 pups of different ages, indicating that communal denning was also occurring. The high number of breeding females within close proximity suggests that multiple family groups are able to share resources and live in close proximity. Our findings highlight the importance of human-modified areas and abundance of resources in the reproduction and breeding site selection of dingoes.

This study provides insight into the attitudes and perceptions of people who live alongside dingoes in a remote Australian mining town. A mixed-methods, self-administered questionnaire was circulated, targeting employees across 11 departments (n = 160). Overall, employees saw dingoes favourably (60.5%), and believed that humans and dingoes should be able to coexist (75.8%). Dingoes were not considered to be causing unacceptable damage or to be overabundant, despite being seen almost daily at both the village and work sites. A total of 31.4% of employees had felt threatened or scared because of a dingo on more than one occasion, and 16.5% had experienced a dingo being aggressive towards them at least once. Yet, only 21.0% of employees considered dingoes dangerous to people, and few worried about their safety at the village or work site (9.5% and 11.4% respectively), or the safety of others in general (21.6%). There was a dichotomy of views regarding the dingo’s presence: employees were supportive of dingoes living in close proximity at the mine, as long as they were not directly being problematic (i.e. representing a personal threat, or causing property damage). Half of the employees surveyed (50.4%) felt that management decisions relating to dingoes were personally important to them, highlighting the need to ensure that employees are consulted, and that dingo management strategies are well communicated. These findings have implications for improving the success rates of management approaches to human–carnivore conflict at mine sites and other situations where predators are perceived to threaten human safety.

To identify and gain an understanding of the influenza viruses circulating in wild birds in Australia. A total of 16,303 swabs and 3782 blood samples were collected and analysed for avian influenza (AI) viruses from 16,420 wild birds in Australia between July 2005 and June 2007. Anseriformes and Charadriiformes were primarily targeted. Cloacal, oropharyngeal and faecal (environmental) swabs were tested using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the AI type A matrix gene. Positive samples underwent virus culture and subtyping. Serum samples were analysed using a blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for influenza A virus nucleoprotein. No highly pathogenic AI viruses were identified. However, 164 PCR tests were positive for the AI type A matrix gene, 46 of which were identified to subtype. A total of five viruses were isolated, three of which had a corresponding positive PCR and subtype identification (H3N8, H4N6, H7N6). Low pathogenic AI H5 and/or H7 was present in wild birds in New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. Antibodies to influenza A were also detected in 15.0% of the birds sampled. Although low pathogenic AI virus subtypes are currently circulating in Australia, their prevalence is low (1.0% positive PCR). Surveillance activities for AI in wild birds should be continued to provide further epidemiological information about circulating viruses and to identify any changes in subtype prevalence.

Satellite observed seasonal and inter-annual variation of vegetation over the Kalahari, The Great Victoria Desert, and The Great Sandy Desert: 1979–1984