Anthony D Griffiths

• PhD
• Fellow at Charles Darwin University

This study records and documents the most severe and notable instance ever reported of sudden and widespread dieback of mangrove vegetation. Between late 2015 and early 2016, extensive areas of mangrove tidal wetland vegetation died back along 1000 km of the shoreline of Australia’s remote Gulf of Carpentaria. The cause is not fully explained, but...

Context Translocation is widely used to help avoid extinction of species from threatening processes. A fundamental objective of translocation is to establish self-sustaining populations; estimating demographic parameters is critical to assessing success of these programs and can also be used to support future management actions. Aims We estimated...

Fire is a natural disturbance that exerts an important influence on global ecosystems, affecting vegetation distribution and structure, the carbon cycle and climate. However, human-induced changes to fire regimes may affect at-risk species groups such as small mammals. We examine the effect of fire on small mammals and evaluate the relative sensiti...

Australia’s recent mammal declines have been most severe in the arid regions, with at least 14 species extinctions occurring therein. The common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) is a semi-arboreal marsupial that historically occurred widely across arid Australia but has disappeared from much of this region. We surveyed the last known sites...

This report focusses on the coastal and marine environment of the Northern Territory coastal waters (i.e., waters within three nautical miles from the coastline). Due to the inter-related and broad scale nature of the marine environment, many of the values covered in this report also extend or apply to adjacent Commonwealth waters. This report is c...

Monitoring variation in populations of coastal dolphins presents a range of challenges. Many species occur at low local population levels, are cryptic and appear to range over larger areas than presumed. Here we present the results of a three and half year intensive monitoring study undertaken in Darwin Harbor and two neighboring sites (1086 km²)....

Flatback turtles Natator depressus are endemic to Australia and Papua New Guinea's tropical oceans and, although the species has an extensive distribution around northern Australia, there are few published long-term abundance trends of nesting populations. We conducted a longterm capture-mark-recapture program on nesting flatback turtles on Field I...

The seasonal climate drivers of the carbon cycle in tropical forests remain poorly known, although these forests account for more carbon assimilation and storage than any other terrestrial ecosystem. Based on a unique combination of seasonal pan-tropical data sets from 89 experimental sites (68 include aboveground wood productivity measurements and...

The seasonal climate drivers of the carbon cycle in tropical forests remain poorly known, although these forests account for more carbon assimilation and storage than any other terrestrial ecosystem. Based on a unique combination of seasonal pan-tropical data sets from 89 experimental sites (68 include aboveground wood productivity measurements and...

We thank Russell-Smith et al. (this volume) for their critical reflection on our study (Griffiths et al., 2015). Their key argument is that the experimental compartments at Kapalga thatwe used in the population viability analysis were unrepresentative in relation to fire size and intensity across the mesic savannas of northern Australia. Specifical...

The frequency and spatial patterning of fire for optimal biodiversity conservation is often poorly understood by managers, in part due to a lack of understanding of the mechanisms responsible for altering population dynamics of individual species. We investigated changes in the vital rates (survival and recruitment) of four small mammal species (th...

Introduction: Recent studies at sites in northern Australia have reported severe and rapid decline of several native mammal species, notwithstanding an environmental context (small human population size, limited habitat loss, substantial reservation extent) that should provide relative conservation security. All of the more speciose taxonomic group...

Introduction: Recent studies at sites in northern Australia have reported severe and rapid decline of several native mammal species, notwithstanding an environmental context (small human population size, limited habitat loss, substantial reservation extent) that should provide relative conservation security. All of the more speciose taxonomic group...

Context Failure to acknowledge potential bias from imperfect detection of cryptic organisms such as frogs may compromise survey and monitoring programmes targeting these species. Aims The aims of the present study were to identify proximate factors influencing detection probabilities of a range of frog species in monsoonal northern Australia, and...

We describe the population ecology of two tropical deciduous trees, Bombax ceiba leiocarpum A. Robyns and Brachychiton diversifolius R. Br., which are in high demand for Indigenous sculpture production in Arnhem Land, Australia. We monitored tagged populations of both species at two locations for 2 years to examine their reproduction, growth, and s...

Context A previous study reported major declines for native mammal species from Kakadu National Park, over the period 2001–09. The extent to which this result may be symptomatic of more pervasive biodiversity decline was unknown. Aims Our primary aim was to describe trends in the abundance of birds in Kakadu over the period 2001–09. We assessed wh...

Participation in the Indigenous visual arts sector provides one of few market opportunities for Indigenous Australians resident on remote Aboriginal lands. In this article we examine the economic factors that influence this market engagement as they relate to woodcarving in the Maningrida region of Arnhem Land. In particular, we look at the factors...

Plant resources are used, managed and conserved by local communities in many parts of the world. However, very few studies have examined the site-specific factors and mechanisms that affect resource extraction. We apply methodology from the social and biological sciences to examine the cultural and socio-economic factors that influence the harvest...

This article provides a context to, attempts an explanation for, and proposes a response to the recent demonstration of rapid and severe decline of the native mammal fauna of Kakadu National Park. This decline is consistent with, but might be more accentuated than, declines reported elsewhere in northern Australia; however, such a comparison is con...

The population dynamics of varanids (large monitor lizards) is poorly understood. We report on the most detailed study to date of a population of one of Australia’s largest semi-aquatic varanids, Varanus mertensi. Survival of V. mertensi was derived from known-fate modelling of radio-tracked individuals over two and a half years. We demonstrate emp...

Context. Australia has a lamentable history of mammal extinctions. Until recently, the mammal fauna of northern Australia was presumed to have been spared such loss, and to be relatively intact and stable. However, several recent studies have suggested that this mammal fauna may be undergoing some decline, so a targeted monitoring program was estab...

Export Date: 26 November 2013, Source: Scopus

By living in close proximity to waterbodies, semi-aquatic varanids may be able to sustain activity and maintain relatively smaller home ranges than their terrestrial counterparts because of access to important resources (food and water) that are less abundant in terrestrial systems during dry seasons. The factors influencing home range and movement...

Varanid lizards are difficult to sex in the field because commonly used techniques are not completely reliable and definitive techniques are not logistically or economically feasible for many field-based applications. Previous work has shown that variation in morphometric variables can be used to determine sex in some species of varanid. Here we bu...

Lophognathus temporalis is an arboreal lizard from the wet–dry tropics of Australia. During the wet season the field metabolic rate (FMR) of the lizards was 209 kJ kg−1 d−1, but during the dry season FMR was only 62 kJ kg−1 d−1. Similarly, water flux decreased from 73.6 mL kg−1 d−1 in the wet season to 18.5 mL kg−1 d−1 in the dry season. Body tempe...

Context. World-wide, primary forest is in decline. This places increasing importance on understanding the use by biodiversity of regrowth (secondary) forest, and on the management of such regrowth. Aims. This study aimed to compare the terrestrial vertebrate assemblages in tropical eucalypt forests, regrowth in these forests (following clearing for...

A high diversity of rock-dwelling macropod species inhabit the tropics of the Northern Territory, Australia. Within this region, individual species have varied distributions, with ranges variously being widespread, restricted, or geographically disjunct with variable levels of sympatry between them. The cause of these patterns is unknown and little...

Abstract The impact of dry deposition of SO2 emissions on ant abundance, diversity and composition was investigated at Mount Isa in the semiarid tropics of northern Australia. Forty plots were sampled, stratified at two levels: sulfur deposition zones (high, medium, low, and two control zones) and habitat (Ridge and Plain). The two habitats support...

Throughout the world, there are imperatives and opportunities to develop sustainable enterprises based on plants and animals to alleviate poverty. This is true for indigenous people across northern Australia, although to date there has been very limited commercial use of wildlife within indigenous Australian communities. In this study, we examine f...

Introduced into Australia in 1935, the cane toad (Chaunus [Bufo] marinus) threatens native vertebrate predators. However, there have been few rigorous quantitative studies on species threatened by this toxic invasive species. This study examines the changes in abundance and proportion of sites occupied by Merten’s water monitor (Varanus mertensi) a...

The growth of the Aboriginal Arts Industry in Australia over the last few decades has seen an increase in the number of indigenous communities producing woodcarvings. The timber used for carving is derived from locally available tree species. Whilst the practice relies on the continued supply of timber from native forests, very little is known abou...

The indigenous people of Australia have a long and well documented history of using native plants as an essential component of their customary economy. However, few have engaged successfully in commerce based on native plant use. Recently there has been an increasing interest in exploring options for use of native plants for food, food additives, b...

Abstract A population of frillneck lizards, Chlamydosaurus kingii, was monitored by radio telemetry and mark-recapture techniques between April 1991 and April 1994, as part of a landscape-scale fire experiment, in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory. The study aimed to investigate both the short- and longer-term effects of fire on a lizard spe...

It is widely recognised that the use of fixed diurnal shelters by rock-wallabies greatly affects their ecology. However, the details of how shelters and surrounding habitats are used, and how similar these characteristics are across rock-wallaby species, remain scarcely understood. The dry season home range, and use of habitats and den sites, of th...

The rock-dwelling macropod species of the tropics of the Northern Territory, Australia, are behaviourally elusive and difficult to observe in their rugged habitats. Hence, little is understood about their ecology. We evaluated the potential of using scats (faecal pellets) as a survey tool for this faunal assemblage by: (1) developing a key to the s...

A diverse small mammal fauna inhabits the tropical savannas of Kakadu National Park in northern Australia. A detailed long-term capture–mark–recapture study was conducted to estimate body growth parameters in relation to intrinsic and extrinsic factors that may influence them. Three non-linear growth increment functions were compared to determine w...

An experimental wild harvest of Cycas arnhemica K.D. Hill, an understorey plant in tropical eucalypt savannas, was conducted in central Arnhem Land, Australia. Replicated harvest treatments were monitored over 2 years with tagged individuals. A range of a priori candidate statistical models were compared to determine the effect of wild harvest and...

This edited volume is a collection of population and metapopulation models for a wide variety of species, including plants, invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Each chapter of the book describes the application of RAMAS GIS 4.0 to one species, with the aim of demonstrating how various life history characteristics of the...

Forty-seven 50 m × 50 m quadrats were sampled systematically for vertebrates at Litchfield National Park, northern Australia, in both 1995–96 and 2001–02. A total of 184 vertebrate species was recorded from this sampling, of which 92 species were recorded from five or more quadrats. There was substantial change in the reported species composition o...

Aboriginal people in remote Australian communities have limited opportunity to participate in the market economy. The Aboriginal arts and craft industry offers an important option to generate cash income and the sustained supply of native plants used in production is vital. We assessed the current harvest of a rainforest tree species commonly used...

More than half of all Australian bandicoot species (family Peramelidae) are listed by the IUCN as extinct or threatened and changed fire regimes in arid and semi‐arid Australia have been identified as an important agent in their decline. The northern brown bandicoot is currently one of Australia's most common bandicoots, but their continued persist...

Cited By (since 1996):43, Export Date: 26 November 2013, Source: Scopus

The Carpentarian rock-rat (Zyzomys palatalis) is a critically endangered endemic rodent known from only four sandstone gorges in the southeast Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory, Australia. These gorges harbour thickets of monsoon rainforest and broadleaf woodland, surrounded by a Eucalypt savanna matrix. The long-term persistence of Z. palata...

The indicator qualities of terrestrial invertebrates are widely recognized in the context of detecting ecological change associated with human land‐use. However, the use of terrestrial invertebrates as bioindicators remains more a topic of scientific discourse than a part of land‐management practice, largely because their inordinate numbers, taxono...

The impact of SO2 dry deposition from mining emissions on cricket abundance, diversity and composition was investigated at Mount Isa in the semiarid tropics of northern Australia. Seventy-one sites were sampled, stratified at two levels: sulphur deposition zones (high, medium, low, and background zones) and habitat (rocky ridge, rocky plain and all...

Cited By (since 1996):11, Export Date: 26 November 2013, Source: Scopus

HABITAT management of wildlife is a fundamental component of most management programs aimed at the conservation of wildlife. Understanding the collection of resources and conditions necessary for a population's occupancy of a particular environment is considered vital (Garshelis 2000). Information on the amount of area required by an individual and...

The impact of dry deposition of SO2 emissions on ant abundance, diversity and composition was investigated at Mount Isa in the semiarid tropics of northern Australia. Forty plots were sampled, stratified at two levels: sulfur deposition zones (high, medium, low, and two control zones) and habitat (Ridge and Plain). The two habitats supported distin...

The demography and home range of a population of frillneck lizards, Chlamydosaurus kingii, were examined from 1992 to 1994, in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia. Lizards were studied using radiotelemetry and mark-recapture techniques. Reproduction occurred between November and April each year, coinciding with monsoonal conditions....

We observed adult-like display behavior in newly hatched frillneck lizards, Chlamydosaurus kingii, including hand waving and erection of the frill. Hatchlings were placed together in groups of four for a week at a time and a measure of dominance was scored with respect to gaining access to a basking site. In most cases, the hatchlings were ordered...

The prevalence and intensity of nematodes from the stomach and the prevalence of nematodes in the oral cavity were recorded in the frillneck lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii, in Kakadu National Park (Australia) between 1991 and 1994, in order to determine whether or not a seasonal pattern was evident. Seven species were recorded; Strongyluris paronai,...

A population of frillneck lizards, Chlamydosaurus kingii, was monitored by mark-recapture and telemetry over a 2 year period in Kakadu National Park. The aims of the study were to document changes in diet, growth, condition and habitat use between the wet and dry seasons of northern Australia, in light of recent research examining seasonal variatio...

The frillneck lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii, is a conspicuous component of the fauna of the wetdry tropics of northern Australia during the wet season, but it is rarely seen in the dry season. Previous studies have demonstrated that during the dry season the field metabolic rate (FMR) is only about one-quarter of the wet-season rate, and one factor...

An analysis of mark-recapture data for Rattus tunneyi in Kakadu National Park from a 7-year period was performed. Capture rates declined 500-fold during this period. The species exhibits a strong preference for riparian vegetation. The diet is primarily herbivorous, with little insect material. High-nutrient plant parts are generally chosen. Reprod...

Large samples of frillneck lizards, Chlamydosaurus kingii, were measured from two sites approximately 150 km apart in the Northern Territory of Australia. Frill size increases linearly with SVL up to a SVL of 103 mm. At larger SVLs frill size continues to increase linearly, but with a greater slope. This inflection point corresponds to the SVL at w...

Mark-recapture studies of northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) were conducted in lowland savanna in Kakadu National Park during two periods: in 1985-87 when total mammal abundance was high, and in 1989-91 when total mammal abundance was low. Population characteristics from these studies are compared with results from a 1977-79 study in sandstone es...