Publications by authors named "Alan Stenhouse"
Article Synopsis
- The gut microbiome is crucial for animal health, and research is focusing on its variations in both wild and captive echidna populations to enhance conservation and welfare.
- This study utilized citizen science to collect echidna feces from across Australia, becoming the largest investigation into the gut microbiome of this native species.
- Results showed significant differences in microbiome composition based on diet and habitat, with wild echidnas having more diverse microbes compared to those in captivity, suggesting diet's critical role in gut health.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has imposed restrictions on people's movement, work and access to places at multiple international, national and sub-national scales. We need a better understanding of how the varied restrictions have impacted wildlife monitoring as gaps in data continuity caused by these disruptions may limit future data use and analysis. To assess the effect of different levels of COVID-19 restrictions on both citizen science and traditional wildlife monitoring, we analyse observational records of a widespread and iconic monotreme, the Australian short-beaked echidna (), in three states of Australia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEchidnaCSI: Engaging the public in research and conservation of the short-beaked echidna.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
February 2022
The short-beaked echidna is an iconic Australian animal and the most-widespread native mammal, inhabiting diverse environments. The cryptic nature of echidnas has limited research into their ecology in most areas; however, from the well-researched and endangered Kangaroo Island echidna population, we understand that the threats include habitat loss, roads, and invasive species. To obtain more information about echidnas Australia-wide, we established the Echidna Conservation Science Initiative (EchidnaCSI) citizen science project.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF