Characterisation and comparative genomics of three new Varanus-associated Borrelia spp. from Indonesia and Australia.

Background: Borrelia are important disease-causing tick- and louse-borne spirochaetes than can infect a wide variety of vertebrates, including humans and reptiles. Reptile-associated (REP) Borrelia, once considered a peculiarity, are now recognised as a distinct and important evolutionary lineage, and are increasingly being discovered worldwide in association with novel hosts. Numerous novel Borrelia spp.

The koala gut microbiome is largely unaffected by host translocation but rather influences host diet.

Introduction: Translocation is a valuable and increasingly used strategy for the management of both threatened and overabundant wildlife populations. However, in some instances the translocated animals fail to thrive. Differences in diet between the source and destination areas may contribute to poor translocation outcomes, which could conceivably be exacerbated if the animals' microbiomes are unsuited to the new diet and cannot adapt.

Diving in Nose First: The Influence of Unfamiliar Search Scale and Environmental Context on the Search Performance of Volunteer Conservation Detection Dog-Handler Teams.

Conservation detection dogs (CDDs) are trained to locate biological material from plants and animals of interest to conservation efforts and are often more effective and economical than other detection methods. However, the financial costs of developing and appropriately caring for CDDs can nonetheless prohibit their use, particularly by smaller conservation organizations. Training skilled volunteers to work with suitable pet dogs may help address this constraint.

Faecal inoculations alter the gastrointestinal microbiome and allow dietary expansion in a wild specialist herbivore, the koala.

Background: Differences between individuals in their gastrointestinal microbiomes can lead to variation in their ability to persist on particular diets. Koalas are dietary specialists, feeding almost exclusively on Eucalyptus foliage but many individuals will not feed on particular Eucalyptus species that are adequate food for other individuals, even when facing starvation. We undertook a faecal inoculation experiment to test whether a koala's gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome influences their diet.