Large-scale and long-term wildlife research and monitoring using camera traps: a continental synthesis.

Camera traps are widely used in wildlife research and monitoring, so it is imperative to understand their strengths, limitations, and potential for increasing impact. We investigated a decade of use of wildlife cameras (2012-2022) with a case study on Australian terrestrial vertebrates using a multifaceted approach. We (i) synthesised information from a literature review; (ii) conducted an online questionnaire of 132 professionals; (iii) hosted an in-person workshop of 28 leading experts representing academia, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and government; and (iv) mapped camera trap usage based on all sources.

Effects of mitochondrial DNA rate variation on reconstruction of Pleistocene demographic history in a social avian species, Pomatostomus superciliosus.

Mitochondrial sequence data is often used to reconstruct the demographic history of Pleistocene populations in an effort to understand how species have responded to past climate change events. However, departures from neutral equilibrium conditions can confound evolutionary inference in species with structured populations or those that have experienced periods of population expansion or decline. Selection can affect patterns of mitochondrial DNA variation and variable mutation rates among mitochondrial genes can compromise inferences drawn from single markers.

The absence of sex-biased dispersal in the cooperatively breeding grey-crowned babbler.

1. Cooperatively breeding birds are thought to be especially vulnerable to habitat fragmentation, in part because dispersal is typically restricted for one sex, increasing the likelihood of inbreeding. Knowledge of dispersal is essential to conservation efforts, but is often hampered by our inability to measure its frequency and distance when dispersal is infrequent and difficult to observe.