The Ecological Separation of Deer and Domestic, Feral and Native Mammals in Tropical Northern Australia-A Review.

We explored the ecological and historical factors that led to formation of the unique guild of native and introduced mammalian herbivores between 5 and 1000 kg in northern Australia. Following the disappearance of large native herbivores about 46 kya, and until the arrival of Europeans and their livestock, the only herbivorous mammals were mid-sized endemic marsupial macropods, which continued to utilise the same vegetation as their much larger former neighbours. Only one species of contemporary native herbivore has an adult bodyweight approaching 100 kg, and for the past 150-200 years, the total biomass of introduced domestic and wild vertebrate herbivores has massively exceeded that of native herbivorous species. We conclude that the current guild of native and introduced mammalian herbivores differentially utilises the landscape ecologically. However, climate- and anthropogenically related changes due to fire, drought, flooding, predation and introduced weeds are likely to have significant impacts on the trajectory of their relative ecological roles and populations. Given their differing ecological and dietary characteristics, against this backdrop, it is unclear what the potential impact of the dispersal of deer species could have in northern Australia. We hence focus on whether sufficient knowledge exists against which the potential impacts of the range expansion of three deer species can be adequately assessed and have found a dearth of supporting evidence to inform appropriate sustainable management. We identify suitable research required to fill the identified knowledge gaps.

Subspecies in the Sarus Crane Antigone antigone revisited; with particular reference to the Australian population.

Subspecies are often less well-defined than species but have become one of the basic units for legal protection. Evidence for the erection or synonymy of subspecies therefore needs to be founded on the best science available. Here we show that there is clear genetic disjunction in the Sarus Crane Antigone antigone, where previously the variation had appeared to be clinal. Based on a total sample of 76 individuals, analysis of 10 microsatellite loci from 67 samples and 49 sequences from the mitochondrial control region, this research establishes that the Australian Sarus Crane A. a. gillae differs significantly from both A. a. antigone (South Asia) and A. a. sharpii (Myanmar and Indochina). A single sample from the extinct Philippine subspecies A. a luzonica clustered with A. a. gillae, hinting at the potential for a more recent separation between them than from A. a. antigone and A. a. sharpii, even though A. a. sharpii is closer geographically. The results demonstrate that failure to detect subspecies through initial genetic profiling does not mean discontinuities are absent and has significance for other cases where subspecies are dismissed based on partial genetic evidence. It could also be potentially important for sourcing birds for reintroduction to the Philippines.