The Dasyurid species Sarcophilus harrisii, Dasyurus maculatus, and Dasyurus viverrinus, occupying diverse ecological niches and forming a guild structure in Tasmania, provide a basis for examining the roles of various forelimb muscle groups in prey capture and locomotion. Muscle fiber architecture is a key contributor to muscle force and can indicate specialized, repeated forelimb engagement. We performed wet dissections and virtual dissections via computed tomography to provide the first modern descriptions for the three species. We also quantified intrinsic forelimb muscles and compared normalized physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA) across species for individual and grouped muscles. The topology and muscle PCSAs are similar across species with select functional groups showing slight deviations. Overall proportions and ratios between antagonistic muscle groups reveal that D. viverrinus shows an overall reduction in muscle PCSA, whereas S. harrisii and D. maculatus appear to show an emphasis on muscle groups engaging in specialized behaviors for prey processing and arboreal locomotion, respectively. The results support the known trend of conserved forelimb musculature in marsupials. Nevertheless, muscle PCSA remains an important biomechanical indicator for specialized forelimb use in dasyurids.

Ribgrass mosaic virus (RMV) and related viruses of the genus Tobamovirus (family Virgaviridae) are cruciferous plant pathogens that represent a threat to global horticultural systems. In Australia, they are considered exotic biosecurity threats, and an incursion of these viruses would require rapid and strict control efforts. However, current surveillance methods for these viruses are limited. We examined whether RMV and related tobamoviruses could be detected through the analysis of mammalian gut metatranscriptomes. Accordingly, we identified five different tobamoviruses in one or more gut metatranscriptomes of the Eastern grey kangaroo, fallow deer, domestic dog, spotted-tailed quoll, feral cat, and the Tasmanian devil. One of the tobamoviruses was also detected in a tick metatranscriptome. The five tobamoviruses detected were: (i) RMV, (ii) a novel relative of RMV, (iii and iv) two highly diverse novel tobamoviruses, and (v) the plant pathogen tobacco mild green mosaic virus (TMGMV) already known to be present in Australia. Subsequent phylogenetic analysis provided information on their origin and spread through Australia. RMV was detected at multiple sites in both the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Tasmania, two regions separated by ~700 km of land and 200 km of water. The novel relative of RMV was detected in the ACT and New South Wales (NSW), the highly divergent novel tobamoviruses were each detected in a single state (NSW and Queensland, QLD), while TMGMV was detected in QLD. This work highlights the potential utility of metatranscriptomic sequencing of wild animal gut samples for the surveillance of biosecurity threats to native and agricultural plant species and for studying their evolution in new environments.

Human landscape modification is amongst the greatest drivers of biodiversity loss. Measuring faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) in wildlife is of great value to measure the impact of human activities on local biodiversity because FGM offer a non-invasive way of measuring an animal's response to changes in its environment in the form of adrenocortical activity. Here, we measure the concentration of FGM in three native Australian mammal species belonging to different trophic levels: the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) and the spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus), both carnivores, and an omnivore that is primarily an arboreal folivore, the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), and compare the FGM concentrations across three major land uses: agricultural, plantation and National Parks. We find that land use influences the FGM concentration in all three species and that general patterns emerge in FGM concentrations across multiple species and trophic levels in relation to land use. Specifically, plantation landscapes are associated with the lowest median and range of variation of FGM concentration in all species with several plausible explanations depending on the species. Our results suggest that measuring FGM in multiple species can offer a time- and cost-efficient snapshot of how different animals experience the same environment, potentially simplifying FGM interpretation. This study is the first to apply a community approach to understand how multiple species of different trophic levels respond collectively, and separately, to different land use types.

ABSTRACT Physaloptera sarcophili Johnston & Mawson, 1940 (Nematoda: Spirurida), originally described from the Tasmania devil, Sarcophilus harrisii (Boitard), is redescribed based on additional material from this host species. Physaloptera dasyuri sp. nov. is described from quolls, Dasyurus maculatus (Kerr) from Tasmania, Dasyurus hallucatus Gould from the Northern Territory and the Kimberly District of Western Australia and Dasyurus albopunctatus Schlegel from New Guinea. The two nematode species are distinguished by measurements, with values of those of P. sarcophili being approximately twice as large as those of P. dasyuri sp. nov. and by differences in the ratio of right to left spicule lengths. Limited morphological variation in the distribution of the papillae on the caudal bursa is described. Both species are differentiated from congeners in Australian mammals by the presence of four sessile post-cloacal papillae arranged in a single row, the arrangement of the three pairs of post-cloacal sessile papillae and spicule measurements. The differentiation of both species from congeners in South American marsupials and eutherian carnivores is also discussed.

Context Camera traps have become a crucial tool for monitoring predators and are frequently deployed with lures to boost detection. Feral cats, a problematic invasive species in Australia, are commonly monitored using camera traps with lures. Despite the additional effort required for lure deployment, it remains unclear which lures are effective for monitoring feral cats. Aims Our study aimed to address this knowledge gap and assess the impact of various lure treatments on feral cat detection and activity. We also examined the response of other predators, such as Tasmanian devils and spotted-tailed quolls, to the lures and explored how their activity influenced feral cat visitation. Methods We deployed food, olfactory and visual lures, along with a null treatment across four grids of 16 camera traps over a period of 4 months in south-eastern Tasmania. Key results We observed increased feral cat detection with food (odds ratio = 3.69, 97.5% CI = 1.04, 13.2) and visual lures (odds ratio = 5.95, CI = 1.75, 20.2), but not olfactory lures (odds ratio = 1.88, CI = 0.55, 6.51). Examining only sites where cats were detected, food (odds ratio = 3.35, CI = 1.27, 8.9), visual (odds ratio = 3.39, CI = 1.41, 8.1) and olfactory (odds ratio = 2.7, CI = 1.02, 7.1) lures all increased feral cat visitation to the camera traps. Tasmanian devil and spotted-tailed quoll activity increased 4.85-fold (CI = 2.89, 8.1) and 4.94-fold (CI = 2.92, 8.4) when using the food lure, and 4.24-fold (CI = 2.5, 7.2) and 3.49-fold (CI = 2.03, 6.0) when using the olfactory lure. Whereas a positive relationship existed between devil and cat activity overall (β = 0.49, s.e. = 0.15, P ≤ 0.001), negative associations were found between devil and cat activity in the presence of food (β = −0.36, s.e. = 0.19, P = 0.057) and olfactory (β = −0.42, s.e. = 0.20, P = 0.026) lures. Conclusions Our findings demonstrated the effectiveness of lures in temperate environments for feral cat monitoring but highlighted potential interspecific interactions that reduce feral cat visitation. Implications We recommend a thoughtful consideration of the environment and resident species to ensure effective lure use and to minimise unintended negative influences on the capture of target species.

We found evidence of a broad-toothed rat (Mastacomys fuscus) in a spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) scat collected within a fragmented site in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. The nearest known population of M. fuscus is located 50 km away in the Barrington Tops, where the population is listed as endangered. This is a potentially significant discovery for the conservation of this species and suggests that it may exist in a fragmented landscape outside its current distribution. We recommend further research is undertaken to determine if a population does exist near to where the sample was collected.

Top predator declines are pervasive and often have dramatic effects on ecological communities via changes in food web dynamics, but their evolutionary consequences are virtually unknown. Tasmania's top terrestrial predator, the Tasmanian devil, is declining due to a lethal transmissible cancer. Spotted-tailed quolls benefit via mesopredator release, and they alter their behaviour and resource use concomitant with devil declines and increased disease duration. Here, using a landscape community genomics framework to identify environmental drivers of population genomic structure and signatures of selection, we show that these biotic factors are consistently among the top variables explaining genomic structure of the quoll. Landscape resistance negatively correlates with devil density, suggesting that devil declines will increase quoll genetic subdivision over time, despite no change in quoll densities detected by camera trap studies. Devil density also contributes to signatures of selection in the quoll genome, including genes associated with muscle development and locomotion. Our results provide some of the first evidence of the evolutionary impacts of competition between a top predator and a mesopredator species in the context of a trophic cascade. As top predator declines are increasing globally, our framework can serve as a model for future studies of evolutionary impacts of altered ecological interactions.

Top carnivores can influence the structure of ecological communities, primarily through competition and predation; however, communities are also influenced by bottom-up forces such as anthropogenic habitat disturbance. Top carnivore declines will likely alter competitive dynamics within and amongst sympatric carnivore species. Increasing intraspecific competition is generally predicted to drive niche expansion and/or individual specialisation, while interspecific competition tends to constrain niches. Using stable isotope analysis of whiskers, we studied the effects of Tasmanian devil Sarcophilus harrisii declines upon the population- and individual-level isotopic niches of Tasmanian devils and sympatric spotted-tailed quolls Dasyurus maculatus subsp. maculatus. We investigated whether time since the onset of devil decline (a proxy for severity of decline) and landscape characteristics affected the isotopic niche breadth and overlap of devil and quoll populations. We quantified individual isotopic niche breadth for a subset of Tasmanian devils and spotted-tailed quolls and assessed whether between-site population niche variation was driven by individual-level specialisation. Tasmanian devils and spotted-tailed quolls demonstrated smaller population-level isotopic niche breadths with increasing human-modified habitat, while time since the onset of devil decline had no effect on population-level niche breadth or interspecific niche overlap. Individual isotopic niche breadths of Tasmanian devils and spotted-tailed quolls were narrower in human-modified landscapes, likely driving population isotopic niche contraction, however, the degree of individuals’ specialisation relative to one another remained constant. Our results suggest that across varied landscapes, mammalian carnivore niches can be more sensitive to the bottom-up forces of anthropogenic habitat disturbance than to the top-down effects of top carnivore decline.

Abstract Accurate estimates of distribution and population density are critical for the management of threatened species. This is particularly pertinent for mammalian predators, whose generally low population density, elusive nature, and large home range requirements make it difficult to detect declines. We aimed to refine population estimates of the northern spotted‐tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus gracilis) in the Wet Tropics bioregion, to estimate the total number of adults, the likely size of subpopulations across the known distribution of the subspecies, and its associated conservation status. We performed targeted upland camera‐trapping surveys from June 2017 to May 2019. To calculate population densities, we used a combination of the number of individuals identified from each survey and the mean maximum distance moved from three life history stages. We then extrapolated these estimates to modelled suitable habitat areas, refined by the camera‐trapping surveys. Population sizes for the six defined subpopulations were estimated, and ranged from approximately 5 to 105 individuals. The total population was estimated to be 221 individuals. This total population estimate, and the estimates for each of the subpopulations, are lower than previous published estimates and are cause for concern. Given the low population estimates presented here and unresolved threats driving declines in some subpopulations, we suggest elevation of this subspecies to Critically Endangered under the EPBC Act.

Abstract Australia's national environmental legislation, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) has been criticized for failing to mitigate the national extinction crisis. Under the EPBC Act, projects anticipated to have a significant impact on protected matters must be referred to the Australian Government for assessment. Actions deemed unlikely to have a significant impact are granted permission to proceed, while actions expected to have a significant impact must undergo further assessment. We spatially analyzed potential habitat loss deemed either significant or non‐significant in Queensland and New South Wales for threatened species, migratory species, and threatened ecological communities between 2000 and 2015. Impact scores were developed to quantify and compare the value of woody vegetation cleared under each referral determination. We found no statistically significant difference between median impact scores for vegetation removed under significant and non‐significant determinations. Over half (63%) of all scored losses occurred under actions deemed non‐significant, with certain species disproportionately impacted. The tiger quoll ( Dasyurus maculatus maculatus ) and grey‐headed flying‐fox ( Pteropus poliocephalus ) lost 82% and 72% of their total referred potential habitat under non‐significant actions, respectively. Our results indicate that the application of the EPBC Act is failing to adequately conserve the protected matters of this investigation.

The spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) is an endangered mesopredator endemic to Australia. It is generally considered a forest-dependent species associated with large, intact forested habitats. In Australia’s mainland, quoll research has typically been conducted in contiguous forest, and consequently, the species’ presumed forest-dependency might reflect sampling bias rather than preferred habitat niche. Recent studies have revealed that quolls also persist in fragmented agricultural landscapes, raising questions about their true habitat requirements and preferences. In this study, we investigated quoll habitat use within a fragmented agricultural landscape in mainland Australia. We deployed 42 lured camera traps to determine quoll habitat preferences across four broad vegetation types (open grassland, grassy woodland, dry sclerophyll forest, and wet sclerophyll forest) based on quoll activity and occupancy. Quolls were detected in all vegetation types, and quoll activity indicated a preference for dry sclerophyll forest and grassy woodlands, although this preference varied depending on the time of year. Our results suggest that quoll habitat use in mainland Australia is more flexible than previously assumed, and we recommend further research on factors that may influence habitat preference such as prey availability and seasonal behavior. Understanding the factors that drive habitat use by quolls outside of contiguous forested landscapes will inform and improve conservation and management strategies to ensure critical habitat for the species is protected and retained in an increasingly fragmented landscape.

Context The Felixer grooming device (‘Felixer’) is a lethal method of feral cat control designed to be cost-effective and target specific. Aims This study aims to test the target specificity of the Felixer in Tasmania, with a particular focus on Tasmanian devil and quoll species due to the overlap in size, habitats and behaviour between these native carnivores and feral cats. Methods Our study deployed Felixer devices set in a non-lethal mode in nine field sites in Tasmania, one field site in New South Wales and two Tasmanian wildlife sanctuaries. Key results Our study recorded 4376 passes by identifiable vertebrate species including 528 Tasmanian devil passes, 507 spotted-tailed quoll passes and 154 eastern quoll passes. Our data showed that the Felixer can successfully differentiate quoll species from feral cats with spotted-tailed quolls and eastern quolls targeted in 0.19% and 0% of passes, respectively. However, Tasmanian devils and common wombats were targeted in 23.10% and 12% of passes, respectively, although sample size was low for common wombats (n = 25). Conclusions The Felixer could not reliably identify Tasmanian devils and possibly common wombats as non-target species. Further data is needed to confirm the potential for impacts on the common wombat and other potential non-target species in Tasmania, and the likelihood of the toxin being ingested by falsely targeted individuals. Implications Our study suggest that the Felixer device is safe for use in the presence of two species of conservation concern, the eastern and spotted-tailed quoll. It also supports evidence from previous studies that the Felixer is unlikely to impact bettongs and potoroos. Use of Felixer devices across much of Tasmania would have to balance the conservation or economic benefits of cat control against potential impacts on Tasmanian devils. We suggest that active Felixer deployments be preceded by surveys to establish the range of species present at the control site, and the season of control considered carefully to minimise potential impacts on more susceptible juvenile animals. In addition, modifications to the Felixer device such as the proposed incorporation of AI technology should be tested against the Tasmanian devil and other non-target species.

Native predators are increasingly exposed to habitat loss and fragmentation globally. When developing conservation and management strategies, it is important to determine whether fragmented landscapes can still support similar predator densities to intact areas, and thereby constitute important habitat for these species. The spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) is an endangered Australian mesopredator that is often considered to be forest-dependent. While quolls are known to occur in some fragmented forest landscapes, it is unclear whether these areas represent sub-optimal habitat where quolls merely persist, or whether quolls can still occur at densities similar to those observed in intact forest landscapes. We used camera traps to detect quolls in both a fragmented and intact forested site, over three years. We used each quoll’s unique pelage pattern to identify individual quolls and estimate population density at each site. We were able to assign more than 94% of quoll image sequences across both sites to identify 173 individuals during the study. Density estimates of 0.13–0.66 quolls per km2 at the fragmented site were comparable to estimates of 0.28–0.48 quolls per km2 at the intact site. Our results highlight the importance of retaining and protecting forest fragments for the conservation of endangered quoll populations.

The spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) is an endangered marsupial carnivore that is often surveyed using camera traps. Camera trap surveys targeting quolls typically use meat-based lures and specific camera setups tailored to increase the probability of quoll detection. However, where quolls occur, they can also be incidentally detected as non-target species in camera surveys targeting small to medium-sized herbivorous or omnivorous mammals (‘prey’ surveys). We investigated whether quoll detectability using traditional ‘prey’ camera surveys could sufficiently approximate quoll detectability using targeted ‘quoll’ surveys, potentially enabling quoll data from prey surveys to be used in lieu of undertaking additional quoll-specific surveys. We used 50 Reconyx HC600 cameras to quantify and compare quoll detectability between prey and quoll surveys at each of two different sites. The number of quoll detections, number of individual quolls detected and the probability of quoll detection at both sites were significantly higher in quoll surveys than in prey surveys. Our findings suggest that prey surveys substantially underestimate quoll detectability, resulting in incomplete datasets. We therefore caution against using quoll detection data from prey camera trap surveys for anything other than incidental presence observations, to avoid misleading survey and management outcomes.

Abstract Context Home-range size and population density characteristics are crucial information in the design of effective wildlife management, whether for conservation or control, but can vary widely among populations of the same species. Aims We investigate the influence of site productivity on home-range size and population density for Australian populations of the native, threatened spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) and the alien and highly successful feral cat (Felis catus). Methods We use live trapping and fine-scale GPS tracking to determine the home-range size and population density for both species across five sites in Tasmania. Using these data, as well as published estimates for both species from across Australia, we model how these parameters change in response to productivity gradients. We also use the telemetry data to examine the energetic costs of increasing home-range size for both species. Key results For both species, decreasing site productivity correlates with lower population density, and in spotted-tailed quolls and female feral cats, it also correlates with larger home-range sizes. However, the relative magnitude of these changes is different. Feral cats show smaller increases in home-range size but larger decreases in population density relative to spotted-tailed quolls. Our results suggest that these differences may be because increases in home-range size are more costly for feral cats, demonstrated by larger increases in nightly movement for the same increase in home-range area. Conclusions We suggest that knowledge of both home-range size and population density is needed to accurately determine how species respond to habitat productivity, and inform effective management across their geographic range. Implications These results have clear management implications; for example, in our low-rainfall sites, an adult female spotted-tailed quoll requires up to five times the amount of habitat expected on the basis of previous studies, thus dramatically increasing the costs of conservation programs for this threatened native species. Conversely, productivity-driven differences of up to four-fold in feral cat population density would influence the resources required for successful control programs of this invasive species.

SummaryTemperate woodlands are amongst the most threatened ecosystems in Australia because the land on which they occur is highly suited to agriculture. Two hundred years of habitat loss and fragmentation in the Midlands agricultural region in Tasmania have led to widespread declines in native vertebrates and landscapes with populations of predators including feral Cat (Felis catus) and the native‐invasive Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala). Ecologists at the University of Tasmania co‐designed mechanistic animal‐centric research on mammals and birds in the Midlands to inform vegetation restoration carried out by Greening Australia that would support the recovery of wildlife species. We used species‐appropriate technologies to assess the decisions made by individual animals to find food and shelter and to disperse across this fragmented landscape, and linked these, together with patterns of occupancy, across multiple spatial and temporal scales. We focussed on a native (Spotted‐tailed Quoll, Dasyurus maculatus) and an invasive (feral Cat, Felis catus) carnivore, a woodland‐specialist herbivore (Eastern Bettong, Bettongia gaimardi) and woodland birds including the native‐invasive Noisy Miner. Our results, which show intense predatory and competitive pressure of cats and populations of Noisy Miner on native fauna, highlight how grounding restoration in the context of ecological interactions is essential to success in managing the impacts of invasive species in restored landscapes. Successful restoration will require innovative approaches in plantings and field experimentation with artificial refuges, to reduce habitat suitability for the Noisy Miner and cats and provide refuges for native mammals and birds to live in the landscape where cats also occur. Our results emphasise the significance of structural complexity of restoration plantings for supporting the recolonisation and persistence of native fauna. At large landscape‐scale, we demonstrate the importance of retaining small habitat elements, including ancient paddock trees, pivot irrigation corners and small, degraded remnants, in facilitating occupancy and dispersal and, therefore, persistence of wild animals across this agricultural region.

Abstract Habitat fragmentation can have detrimental impacts on native predators globally through the loss of habitat and associated impacts from introduced predators.The endangered spotted‐tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) is the largest marsupial carnivore on mainland Australia and is sympatric with an introduced predator, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Spotted‐tailed quolls are considered a forest‐dependent species and are often associated with large, intact forested habitats where abundance of prey is high and competition with foxes is low. Spotted‐tailed quolls are known to persist in some fragmented habitats in sympatry with foxes; however, the mechanisms facilitating this coexistence are unclear. For 15 months in 2018–19, we used camera traps to investigate whether coexistence between quolls and foxes in a fragmented landscape was facilitated by spatial and/or temporal separation of activity. We found no evidence of spatial separation, with quolls detected on the majority of cameras where foxes were detected. There was considerable temporal overlap between quolls and foxes (Δ1 = 0.71–0.81) and no evidence that fox presence influenced the temporal activity of quolls (Δ1 = 0.76–0.80). Furthermore, there was no evidence of within‐night spatiotemporal avoidance between quolls and foxes (R2 < 0.01). Our findings suggest that quolls do not offset their spatial and temporal activity to avoid foxes in this fragmented landscape. The spatial and temporal sympatry between quolls and foxes is possibly facilitated by low fox density at this site, suggested by low fox detections. The lack of separation between quoll and fox activity could also explain why quolls become locally extinct in other fragmented landscapes because quolls may not modify their activity to avoid foxes. Future research should focus on investigating quoll and fox interactions along a gradient of fox densities and assess if higher fox densities influence spatial and temporal coexistence with quolls in fragmented landscapes.

Ancient DNA from bulk bone reveals past genetic diversity of vertebrate fauna on Kangaroo Island, Australia

Specimens of a pentastomid, identified as a nymphal Linguatula serrata, have previously been reported from the nasal cavity of the endangered Australian marsupial, the spotted-tail quoll, Dasyurus maculatus. These specimens were made available for morphological and molecular characterisation to confirm their species identity. Specimens were examined by light microscopy. Molecular sequencing attempts were unsuccessful. Examination showed that the specimens were adult pentastomes of the genus Linguatula. Morphological differences are reported between these specimens and published measurements of specimens from other hosts collected from the same region. This is the first confirmed report of an adult Linguatula pentastome in a native Australian animal. Due to the small number of specimens and the lack of successful molecular characterisation, the pentastomes have been referred to Linguatula sp. until future work can confirm the species identity. The need for combined molecular and morphological analysis of pentastome specimens is reiterated.

Abstract Context Wildlife detection dogs have been used globally in environmental monitoring. However, their effectiveness in the Australian context has been only minimally researched. Increased understanding of detection dog accuracy and efficacy is required for their inclusion in survey guidelines used by proponents of referred actions potentially impacting Australia’s threatened mammals. Evaluation of new methods is also important for advancing population monitoring, particularly for threatened species. Aims To determine the efficacy of wildlife detection dogs as a survey tool for low-density, cryptic species, using northern (Dasyurus hallucatus) and spotted-tailed (D. maculatus) quolls as subjects. We compared detection dogs, human search effort and camera trapping results, in simulated accuracy and efficacy trials, and field surveys. Methods Two wildlife detection dogs’ scores for sensitivity (ability to identify a target species scat) and specificity (ability to distinguish target from non-target species scats) were calculated during accuracy trials. The dogs were tested using 288 samples, of which 32 were targets, where northern and spotted-tailed quoll scat were the targets in separate trials. Survey efficacy was determined following completing 12 simulated surveys (6 per target species) involving a single, randomly placed scat sample in a 1–1.5 ha search area. During the northern quoll simulated surveys the dogs’ survey efficacy was compared with that of a human surveyor. The dogs also undertook field surveys for both northern and spotted-tailed quolls, in conjunction with camera trapping for comparison. Key results During accuracy trials the dogs had an average sensitivity and specificity respectively of 100% and 98.4% for northern quoll, and 100% and 98% for spotted-tailed quoll. Their average search time in efficacy trials for northern quoll was 11.07 min (significantly faster than the human surveyor), and 2.98 min for spotted-tailed quoll in the 1–1.5 ha search areas. During field surveys, northern quoll scats were detected at sites where camera trapping failed to determine their presence. No spotted-tailed quoll scat was detected by the dogs during field surveys. Conclusions Trained and experienced detection dogs can work very accurately and efficiently, which is vital to their field success. Detection dogs are therefore capable of detecting evidence of species presence where alternative methods may be unsuccessful. Implications Our study supports the future use of highly trained detection dogs for wildlife surveys and monitoring in Australia. Our results demonstrate that detection dogs can be highly accurate and are a beneficial stand-alone or complimentary method.