Kara Nicole Youngentob

• PhD, MSc, BSc
• Fellow at Australian National University

Aim Highly productive areas have long been hypothesized to support a greater abundance and diversity of animals than less productive areas. However, evidence for this is equivocal and, until recently, has been difficult to test at a landscape level. For the first time, we use imaging spectroscopy to investigate the relationship between plant produc...

Successful discrimination of a variety of natural and urban landscape components has been achieved with remote sensing data using multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis (MESMA). MESMA is a spectral matching algorithm that addresses spectral variability by allowing multiple reference spectra (i.e., endmembers) to represent each material class....

1. Integrated measures of foliage nutritional quality that consider the influence of fibre and tannins on the digestibility of nitrogen (N) may provide a more meaningful estimate of forage quality than total foliar N for many herbivorous species. The ability to estimate available nitrogen (AvailN) on a landscape scale could have important applicati...

The chemical quality of forage may determine landscape use and habitat quality for some herbivorous species. However, studies that investigate the relationship between foliar chemistry and foraging choices in wild vertebrates are rare. Petauroides volans (the greater glider) is unique among Australian marsupial folivores because it glides. It also...

Climate change is a major driver of global biodiversity loss, yet the precise mechanisms linking climate change to population declines remain poorly understood. We developed a novel, broadly applicable framework that integrates biophysical, nutritional, and population modeling to capture fundamental physiological constraints on mammalian herbivores...

Background Wildfires can have complex effects on wildlife populations. Understanding how post-fire conditions affect the movement ecology of threatened species can assist in better conservation and management, including informing the release of rescued and rehabilitated animals. The 2019–2020 megafires in Australia resulted in thousands of animals...

Herbivore–plant interactions are fundamental processes shaping ecosystems, yet their study is challenged by their complex connections within broader ecosystem processes, requiring a nuanced understanding of ecosystem dynamics. This study investigated the relationship between nutrient availability and insect herbivory in the Australian Wet Tropics....

Climate change has altered the frequency and severity of extreme weather, which can affect vegetation condition and habitat quality for wildlife. Declines in vegetation productivity during droughts and heatwaves can negatively impact animals that depend on vegetation for water and nutrition. We used the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI)...

Climate change has altered the frequency and severity of extreme weather, which can affect vegetation condition and habitat quality for wildlife. Declines in vegetation productivity during droughts and heatwaves can negatively impact animals that depend on vegetation for water and nutrition. The ability to detect such effects on habitat suitability...

Most forests and woodlands of south-eastern Australia are fire prone. These landscapes are typically dominated by tree species of the genus Eucalyptus, and many of these are proficient epicormic resprouters after fire. Several marsupial folivores rely on Eucalyptus foliage, including the koala. Little is known about the nutritional composition of e...

Remotely sensed measures of vegetation structure have been shown to explain patterns in the occurrence and diversity of several animal taxa, including birds, mammals, and invertebrates. However, very little research in this area has focused on reptiles and amphibians (herpetofauna). Moreover, most remote sensing studies on animal–habitat associatio...

Knowledge of the spatial requirements of a species is fundamental to understanding its environmental requirements. However, this can be challenging as the size of a species’ home range can be influenced by ecological factors such as diet and size-dependent metabolic demands, as well as factors related to the quality of their habitat such as the den...

In wild bird populations, the structure of vegetation around nest‐sites can influence the risk of predation of dependent offspring, generating selection for nest‐sites with vegetation characteristics associated with lower predation rates. However, vegetation structure can be difficult to quantify objectively in the field, which might explain why th...

In wild bird populations, the structure of vegetation around nest-sites can influence the risk of predation of dependent young offspring, generating selection for breeding birds to choose nest-sites with vegetation characteristics associated with lower predation rates. However, for researchers, vegetation structure can be difficult to quantify obje...

Vegetation structure influences landscape use and habitat quality for many bird species. Owing to the difficulties associated with collecting structural data from traditional field measurements, numerous studies have investigated the utility of Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) for providing landscape-scale structural information that may be usef...

Nest boxes are often deployed in an attempt to offset the loss of natural tree hollows following landscape disturbance (e.g., land clearing, logging and wildfire). However, nest boxes can experience more variable and extreme microclimates than natural hollows, which could harm animals that use them. In this study, we tested the thermal performance...

Quantifying the factors associated with the presence and abundance of species is critical for conservation. Here, we quantify the factors associated with the occurrence of the Southern Greater Glider in the forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria, south-eastern Australia. We gathered counts of animals along transects and constructed models of...

Quantifying spatio-temporal variation in forest microclimate is important to understand the habitat associations of some species, identify potential refugia, and manage forests in a changing climate. We quantified relationships between microclimatic conditions and stand age using a detailed case study of the Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) forest...

Coarse woody debris (CWD), or fallen logs, is known to be an essential habitat element for many organisms. CWD also supports ecosystem functioning through soil formation, nutrient cycling, and carbon storage. For these reasons, accurate assessments of CWD across landscapes are of interest to many ecologists and landscape managers, but traditional f...

The ability to measure and monitor wildlife populations is important for species management and conservation. The use of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to rapidly detect physiological traits from wildlife scat and other body materials could play an important role in the conservation of species. Previous research has demonstrated the potential fo...

Reduced voluntary food intake is a common response of endotherms to warmer temperatures. However, the implications of this are rarely considered for wild animals exposed to higher temperatures caused by climate change. We provide a conceptual model to demonstrate the potential consequences of elevated temperatures on food intake and survival.

The identification and classification of species are essential for effective conservation management. This year, Australia experienced a bushfire season of unprecedented severity, resulting in widespread habitat loss and mortality. As a result, there has been an increased focus on understanding genetic diversity and structure across the range of in...

This study employs LiDAR technology to calculate vegetation structural metrics that may be useful for assessing habitat quality and predicting the presence and abundance of structurally sensitive animal species. We compare outputs from two LiDAR platforms, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (RIEGL miniVUX-1UAV LiDAR; ULS) and a Terrestrial Laser Scanner (T...

Environmentally available sodium tends to decrease with increasing elevation, and sodium resources in these sodium-poor environments are critical for the survival of herbivores. Eucalypt leaves in the subalpine Monaro region of NSW, Australia contain much less sodium than eucalypt leaves at lower elevations, and subalpine koalas obtain this much ne...

Near infrared spectroscopy is widely used to rapidly and cost-effectively collect chemical information from plant samples. Large datasets with hundreds to thousands of spectra and reference values are increasingly becoming more common as researchers accumulate data over many years or across research groups. These datasets potentially contain great...

Mineral micronutrients are critical for basic physiological function, and variable availability of minerals over the landscape can influence foraging decisions. Sodium is essential for nerve function and osmotic balance; however, it can be limiting in some environments, such as those at high elevations. Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) living in sub...

This document is Cir 1429, one of a series of the Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date January 2003. Revised October 2012 and August 2015. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

This document is WEC169, one of a series of the Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date November 2003. Reviewed August 2015. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

Collecting leaves or seeds from tall trees is a difficult task that many plant physiologists, ecologists, geneticists and forest managers encounter repeatedly. Tree branches are often much higher than a cutting pole or saw can reach. When this happens, the most common solutions involve the use of sharp‐shooters, cherry pickers (a.k.a. bucket trucks...

Earth Observation data are regarded as critical and essential information across multiple sectors in most countries around the world. However, for the EO data to be useful, to support decision making and reporting activities, the collection of image and field data sets needs to be accurate, precise and able to be reproduced following appropriate pr...

Earth Observation data are regarded as critical and essential information across multiple sectors in most countries around the world. However, for the EO data to be useful, to support decision making and reporting activities, the collection of image and field data sets needs to be accurate, precise and able to be reproduced following appropriate pr...

Aim Species extinction from habitat fragmentation and loss is a major concern world‐wide. Given the temporal variability inherent in many ecosystems, long‐term studies are important to understand how species respond to landscape change. We revisited a large‐scale, natural experiment, 10 years after initial surveys to investigate the response of arb...

Long-term ecological studies (LTES) are critical for understanding and managing landscapes. To identify important research gaps, facilitate collaborations and communicate results, several countries have estab-lished long-term ecological research networks. A few initiatives to create such a network in Australia have been undertaken, but relatively f...

The development of a new carbon economy has the potential to offer win–win outcomes for environments and economies. Large-scale tree plantations are expected to play a major role in carbon economies but could have negative ecological and economic consequences when key environmental values such as biodiversity conservation are not considered. We dis...

A traditional focus in conservation biology has been on rare species as they are often those most at risk of decline or extinction. However, we argue in this paper that some kinds of currently common species also can be susceptible to decline. Those at particular risk are species that are specialized on widespread environmental conditions. Such spe...

Recent reviews of the conservation literature indicate that significant biases exist in the published literature regarding the regions, ecosystems and species that have been examined by researchers. Despite the global threat of climatic change, similar biases may be occurring within the sub-discipline of climate-change ecology. Here we hope to fost...

Policy-makers and managers in natural resource management (NRM) often complain that researchers are out of touch. Researchers often complain that policy-makers and managers make poorly informed decisions. In this article, we report on a meeting between researchers, policy-makers and managers convened to identify practical solutions to improve engag...

There has been much debate about the relative merits of single-species vs ecosystem-oriented research for conservation. This debate has become increasingly important in recent times as resource managers and policy makers in some jurisdictions focus on ecosystem-level problems. We highlight the potential strengths and limitations of both kinds of re...

There has been much debate about the relative merits of single-species vs ecosystem-oriented research for conservation. This debate has become increasingly important in recent times as resource managers and policy makers in some jurisdictions focus on ecosystem-level problems. We highlight the potential strengths and limitations of both kinds of re...

Although neotraditional architecture largely focuses on promoting sense of community (SOC), it has the potential to influence environmentalism in residents as well. In October 2002, the authors conducted a mail survey of 1,611 middleclass homeowners in Gainesville, Florida, to determine if there were differences in SOC and environmental behaviors,...

This document is Circular 1429, one of a series of the Department of Widlife Ecology and Conservation, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. First published in January 2003. CIR 1429/UW175: Landscaping Backyards for Wildlife: Top Ten Tips for Success (ufl.edu)

This document will focus on how to target and communicate persuasively to your audience. The purpose of this document is to show you how to influence people's attitudes and behaviors. This document will not teach you how or when to use different modes of interpretation. Kiosks, brochures, and public talks are examples of interpretive modes. However...