Multiple mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences reveal substantial genetic variation within the dasyurid marsupial genus Planigale, suggesting greater taxonomic diversity than is currently recognised. To further investigate planigale relationships 116 new mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences, including 16 new specimens, were added to our database. We confirm the presence of an unrecognised species (Planigale ‘species 1’) limited to the Pilbara region of Western Australia and suggest that the ‘Mt Tom Price’ animals may be closely related to Planigale ingrami subtilissima. We also confirm that at least four distinct genetic lineages make up what is currently recognised as P. maculata. This complex of closely related taxa represents a radiation of sibling species rather than a single, genetically diverse one. Three of these lineages (M1   M2, M3 and M4) are distributed sympatrically across the Top End of Australia and one (M5 = P. maculata sensu stricto) is localised to the eastern coast of Australia. Within the Planigale ingrami complex, Planigale ‘Mt Tom Price’ (lineage Ing. 1) occurs in the Pilbara in sympatry with Planigale ‘species 1’ and lineage Ing. 2 is found in the Northern Territory in sympatry with species of the P. maculata complex. There is thus a plethora of northern Australian planigales, many of which are formally undescribed and whose geographic ranges require careful re-evaluation.

We investigated bird habitat relationships in extensive eucalypt forest in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, in 1986–87, assessing the importance of fire regime variables compared with other habitat variables. Our study sites encompassed a wide range of postfire ages, fire frequencies and fire severity, but we found no major bird community differences corresponding to differences in fire regime. The more common forest bird species appeared well adapted to fire regime variation in the 1980s. Tree canopy height was a far greater influence, with more species and more birds in taller forests (interpreted as a result of higher soil fertility leading to higher productivity of bird foods and greater structural complexity in taller forests). Other trends were fewer birds where there was a rainforest understorey under the eucalypts (reflecting the general scarcity of rainforest birds in the Blue Mountains), and more birds where nectar-rich flowers were more abundant (reflecting the abundance of nectarivorous birds in the Blue Mountains, especially over winter). The climate has changed since the 1980s and fires threaten to become much more severe, extensive and frequent. How these changes will impact on forest birds, and what management responses are required, is a critical area for further study.

Conservation of small mammal species relies on an understanding of their habitat use. We used trapping surveys and telemetry to examine habitat selection and use by the broad-toothed rat (Mastacomys fuscus mordicus) and the bush rat (Rattus fuscipes) in an alpine resort in Victoria. M. fuscus occurred at low numbers, nesting in subalpine wet heathland and foraging in that habitat as well as small patches of disturbed woodland. In contrast, R. fuscipes was more common and nested in woodlands. Although foraging primarily in woodlands, R. fuscipes also foraged in all other available habitats. Both species showed strong selection for woodland fragments within ski runs. Although highly disturbed, these habitats may provide important habitat and connectivity between less disturbed and larger habitat patches.

One lineage of squamates, the Egernia group, has received particular study due to stable aggregations identified in many of the species. Egernia rugosa is a large, terrestrial, viviparous skink and has been reported living communally. To investigate whether this species lives in social aggregations, we examined life-history characteristics in one population within the Mulga Lands bioregion of south-west Queensland. We found this skink used both active and inactive rabbit burrows. Parturition occurred in January/February and took several days to complete, with a mean litter size of 2.4 and a mean snout–vent length (SVL) of 84.5 mm. Six subadult age cohorts were identified. Juveniles took at least five years to reach sexual maturity and lizards had a life expectancy of >12 years. Lizards were found clustered in aggregations of up to 21 individuals (mean = 7.21) of multiple ages. An average of 50% (range = 31–67%) of all individuals within each of the age cohorts were located at their original location for two or more seasons. Dispersal was recorded for older subadult lizards. These characteristics support the hypothesis that E. rugosa aggregations comprise long-term family units; however, genetic analysis would be needed to confirm kin-based associations.

Extended maternal care is considered a prerequisite for the evolution of permanent family grouping and eusociality in invertebrates. In spiders, the essential evolutionary transitions to permanent sociality along this ‘subsocial route’ include the extension of care beyond hatching, the persistence of offspring groups to maturation and the elimination of premating dispersal. Subsocial Australian crab spiders (Thomisidae) present a suitable system to identify the selective agents prolonging group cohesion. Particularly, the recent discovery of independently evolved subsociality in the thomisid Xysticus bimaculatus provides new potential for comparative studies to expand the limited understanding of group cohesion beyond the offspring’s potential independence and despite socially exploitative behaviour. Providing fundamental knowledge, the present study investigated maternal care and offspring interactions in X. bimaculatus for the first time. Nest dissections revealed that mothers produce exceptionally small clutches, potentially reflecting a limit in the number of juveniles they can successfully care for. A laboratory experiment demonstrated crucial benefits for offspring in receiving maternal care beyond nutritional independence, mediated by extensive maternal food provisioning. However, prey-sharing also occurred between juveniles irrespective of maternal presence, which marks this species’ predisposition for exploitative feeding behaviour. I therefore suggest X. bimaculatus as a suitable model for investigating the regulation of communal feeding in group-living spiders.

Australia has undergone significant climate change, both today and in the past. Koalas, due to their restricted diet of predominantly eucalyptus leaves and limited drinking behaviour may serve as model organisms for assessing past climate change via stable isotopes of tooth enamel. Here, we assess whether stable carbon and oxygen isotopes from tooth enamel record known climate variables, including proxies of relative aridity (e.g. mean annual precipitation, mean annual maximum temperature, and relative humidity). The results demonstrate significant negative relationships between oxygen isotope values and both relative humidity and mean annual precipitation, proxies for relative aridity. The best model for predicting enamel oxygen isotope values incorporates mean annual precipitation and modelled oxygen isotope values of local precipitation. These data and the absence of any relationship between modelled oxygen isotope precipitation values, independently, suggest that koalas do not track local precipitation values but instead record relative aridity. The lack of significant relationships between carbon isotopes and climate variables suggests that koalas may instead be tracking the density of forests and/or their location in the canopy. Collectively, these data suggest that koalas are model organisms for assessing relative aridity over time – much like kangaroos.

Dispersal reduces the likelihood of inbreeding and maintains gene flow among populations. Many polygynous mammals exhibit male-biased dispersal with female philopatry. Previous observational studies of eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) suggested female philopatry while genetic studies showed weak structuring. We tested for sex-biased dispersal using two Queensland populations of kangaroos: one in Sundown National Park and the second at Elanda Point, Australia. Samples from 25 females and 23 males were collected from Sundown National Park, and analysed for partial mtDNA control region sequences (n = 47) and genotypes based on 12 microsatellite loci (n = 41). Samples from 18 males and 22 females from Elanda Point were genotyped at 8 loci and a subset sequenced for mtDNA (n = 19). Analyses showed higher mtDNA haplotype and nucleotide diversity in males than females within both populations, genetic relatedness based on microsatellite data was significantly higher among females, and microsatellite allelic richness was higher in males, suggesting that females are more likely to be philopatric and males more likely to disperse. These findings reinforce the value of including multiple types of genetic markers in dispersal analyses as mtDNA results showed higher male diversity (suggesting male dispersal) but males also contributed microsatellite alleles to the local population, masking differentiation between the sexes and confounding analyses.

Environmental flows (e-flows) are a common management tool to improve the health of flow-regulated river systems and their biota. The effect of e-flows on fish, waterbirds and vegetation has been assessed in Australia, but their influence on turtles remains largely unstudied. We opportunistically examined the effect of e-flows on the eastern long-necked turtle (Chelodina longicollis), a species that occupies ephemeral aquatic habitats, by measuring an index of abundance (catch per unit effort) and body condition before and after an environmental watering event that replenished a severely contracted creek in the mid-Murray region. We found that average body condition increased after watering. Abundance decreased markedly after watering, but the change was not statistically significant. While the causal inference of our study was limited by the opportunistic nature of our before-after experimental design, this study provides preliminary evidence that environmental flows may improve the health of turtles occupying ephemeral floodplain habitats. We encourage further research into the effect of e-flows on turtles to confirm the hypothesis that the increase in average body condition recorded in the current study was a function of e-flows.