Reversing the decline of threatened koala () populations in New South Wales: Using genomics to enhance conservation outcomes.

Genetic management is a critical component of threatened species conservation. Understanding spatial patterns of genetic diversity is essential for evaluating the resilience of fragmented populations to accelerating anthropogenic threats. Nowhere is this more relevant than on the Australian continent, which is experiencing an ongoing loss of biodiversity that exceeds any other developed nation.

Correction to "Insights into the Effects of Violating Statistical Assumptions for Dimensionality Reduction for Chemical "-omics" Data with Multiple Explanatory Variables".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c01613.

Insights into the Effects of Violating Statistical Assumptions for Dimensionality Reduction for Chemical "-omics" Data with Multiple Explanatory Variables.

Biological volatilome analysis is inherently complex due to the considerable number of compounds (i.e., dimensions) and differences in peak areas by orders of magnitude, between and within compounds found within datasets.

A forensically validated genetic toolkit for the species and lineage identification of the highly trafficked shingleback lizard (Tiliqua rugosa).

Shingleback lizards (Tiliqua rugosa) are among the most trafficked native fauna from Australia in the illegal pet trade. There are four morphologically recognised subspecies of shinglebacks, all with differing overseas market values. Shinglebacks from different geographic locales are often trafficked and housed together, which may complicate identifying the State jurisdiction where the poaching event occurred.

Future-proofing the koala: Synergising genomic and environmental data for effective species management.

Climatic and evolutionary processes are inextricably linked to conservation. Avoiding extinction in rapidly changing environments often depends upon a species' capacity to adapt in the face of extreme selective pressures. Here, we employed exon capture and high-throughput next-generation sequencing to investigate the mechanisms underlying population structure and adaptive genetic variation in the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), an iconic Australian marsupial that represents a unique conservation challenge because it is not uniformly threatened across its range.

Correction: Phylogeography of the iconic Australian red-tailed black-cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii) and implications for its conservation.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Phylogeography of the iconic Australian red-tailed black-cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii) and implications for its conservation.

Advances in sequencing technologies have revolutionized wildlife conservation genetics. Analysis of genomic data sets can provide high-resolution estimates of genetic structure, genetic diversity, gene flow, and evolutionary history. These data can be used to characterize conservation units and to effectively manage the genetic health of species in a broad evolutionary context.

Museum specimens provide reliable SNP data for population genomic analysis of a widely distributed but threatened cockatoo species.

Natural history museums harbour a plethora of biological specimens which are of potential use in population and conservation genetic studies. Although technical advancements in museum genomics have enabled genome-wide markers to be generated from aged museum specimens, the suitability of these data for robust biological inference is not well characterized. The aim of this study was to test the utility of museum specimens in population and conservation genomics by assessing the biological and technical validity of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data derived from such samples.

Could do better! A high school market survey of fish labelling in Sydney, Australia, using DNA barcodes.

Background: Processed seafood products are not readily identifiable based on physical characteristics, which leaves the industry vulnerable to high levels of product mislabelling (globally estimated at 5-30% mislabelled). This is both a food safety issue and a consumer protection issue as cheaper species could be substituted for more expensive species. DNA barcoding is proving to be a valuable tool for authentication of fish products.

Correction: A rapid multiplex PCR assay for presumptive species identification of rhinoceros horns and its implementation in Vietnam.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

A rapid multiplex PCR assay for presumptive species identification of rhinoceros horns and its implementation in Vietnam.

Rhinoceros (rhinos) have suffered a dramatic increase in poaching over the past decade due to the growing demand for rhino horn products in Asia. One way to reverse this trend is to enhance enforcement and intelligence gathering tools used for species identification of horns, in particular making them fast, inexpensive and accurate. Traditionally, species identification tests are based on DNA sequence data, which, depending on laboratory resources, can be either time or cost prohibitive.

Unmasking the complexity of species identification in Australasian flying-foxes.

Pteropus (flying-foxes) are a speciose group of non-echolocating large bats, with five extant Australian species and 24 additional species distributed amongst the Pacific Islands. In 2015, an injured flying-fox with unusual facial markings was found in Sydney, Australia, following severe and widespread storms. Based on an initial assessment, the individual belonged to Pteropus but could not be readily identified to species.

An internationally standardized species identification test for use on suspected seized rhinoceros horn in the illegal wildlife trade.

Rhinoceros (rhino) numbers have dwindled substantially over the past century. As a result, three of the five species are now considered to be critically endangered, one species is vulnerable and one species is near-threatened. Poaching has increased dramatically over the past decade due to a growing demand for rhino horn products, primarily in Asia.

A new species of treefrog (Litoria) from Cape York Peninsula, Australia.

We describe a new species of treefrog from northern Australia. Litoria bella sp. nov.

A rapid chemical odour profiling method for the identification of rhinoceros horns.

Illegal poaching causes great harm to species diversity and conservation. A vast amount of money is involved in the trade of illegal or forged animal parts worldwide. In many cases, the suspected animal part is unidentifiable and requires costly and invasive laboratory analysis such as isotopic fingerprinting or DNA testing.

Undiagnosed cryptic diversity in small, microendemic frogs (Leptolalax) from the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

A major obstacle in prioritizing species or habitats for conservation is the degree of unrecognized diversity hidden within complexes of morphologically similar, "cryptic" species. Given that amphibians are one of the most threatened groups of organisms on the planet, our inability to diagnose their true diversity is likely to have significant conservation consequences. This is particularly true in areas undergoing rapid deforestation, such as Southeast Asia.

SNP marker discovery in koala TLR genes.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a crucial role in the early defence against invading pathogens, yet our understanding of TLRs in marsupial immunity is limited. Here, we describe the characterisation of nine TLRs from a koala immune tissue transcriptome and one TLR from a draft sequence of the koala genome and the subsequent development of an assay to study genetic diversity in these genes. We surveyed genetic diversity in 20 koalas from New South Wales, Australia and showed that one gene, TLR10 is monomorphic, while the other nine TLR genes have between two and 12 alleles.

Novel insights into the phylogenetic relationships of the endangered marsupial genus Potorous.

The three extant potoroo species of the marsupial genus Potorous -Potorous tridactylus, P. longipes and P. gilbertii - are all of conservation concern due to introduced predators and habitat loss associated with the European settlement of Australia.