Kylie A Robert

• BSc (HI), PhD; Usyd
• La Trobe University

Natural light–dark cycles are responsible for synchronizing an animal’s circadian clock with environmental conditions. Consequently, the endocrine system is vulnerable to changes in the external light environment, particularly short-wavelength blue light. Artificial light at night drastically changes the night-time environment by masking natural li...

Context Knowledge of species’ distribution and habitat associations is fundamental for conservation planning and management, especially in the context of range-restricted taxa. The Critically Endangered Kaputar rock skink (Egernia roomi) is a high elevation species that is restricted to the Nandewar Ranges (New South Wales, Australia). The species...

Conservation translocations are an important tool in the prevention of species loss, but the translocation process is associated with numerous stressors. Non-invasively monitoring stress physiology via faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs) can provide valuable insights into factors impacting translocation success and how to mitigate negative imp...

Obtaining a suitable mate is an integral part of reproduction, with sexual selection processes such as female mate choice resulting in both direct and/or indirect benefits. Here, we investigated whether olfactory driven female mate choice influenced reproductive success in captive fat-tailed dunnarts (Sminthopsis crassicaudata). Although females sp...

Natural light-dark cycles synchronize an animal's internal clock with environmental conditions. The introduction of artificial light into the night-time environment masks natural light cues and has the potential to disrupt this well-established biological rhythm. Nocturnal animal species, such as bats, are adapted to low light conditions and are th...

Terrestrial, marine and freshwater realms are inherently linked through ecological, biogeochemical and/or physical processes. An understanding of these connections is critical to optimise management strategies and ensure the ongoing resilience of ecosystems. Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a global stressor that can profoundly affect a wide ran...

Interest in carving cavities directly into trees to provide habitat for hollow‐dependent wildlife is rapidly growing amongst researchers, conservation practitioners, community groups and land managers. Monitoring programs have shown that some of the designs and approaches used to create these structures encourages uptake by fauna. However, evidence...

Terrestrial, marine, and freshwater realms are inherently linked through ecological, biogeochemical and/or physical processes. An understanding of these connections is critical to optimise management strategies and ensure the ongoing resilience of ecosystems. Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a global stressor that can profoundly affect a wide ra...

Context Supplementary shelters for hollow-dependent fauna, such as timber or plywood nest boxes, have much drier and less thermally insulated cavity microclimates than do natural tree hollows. Hollow-dependent endotherms can experience hyperthermia and dehydration when occupying poorly insulated nest boxes during extreme heat. Aims We investigated...

Terrestrial, marine, and freshwater realms are inherently linked through ecological, biogeochemical and/or physical processes. An understanding of these connections is critical to optimise management strategies and ensure the ongoing resilience of ecosystems. Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a global stressor that can profoundly affect a wide ra...

The trait-based approach to ecology promises greater generality in our understanding of how species assemblages are structured. The value of this approach depends on linking traits with ecological functions, but no studies have tested the proposed functional values of many commonly used and easily measured traits. We used a cross-species comparison...

Although variation in meal size is known to have an impact on digestive energetics, there is limited information on how it influences metabolic rate and energy assimilation in insectivorous bats. We investigated the influence of meal size, representing 10% or 20% of an individual’s weight, on the digestive energetics of Gould’s wattled bat, Chalino...

Body composition (the total amount of fat mass, lean mass, minerals and water that constitute the body) is an important measure for understanding an animal’s physiology, ecology and behaviour. Traditional measures of body composition require the animal to either be placed under anaesthetic, which is invasive and can be high-risk, or be euthanised,...

Nest boxes are often used to provide supplementary roosts for cavity-dependent wildlife, but little is known about if they influence faunal community composition. Long-term monitoring of bat boxes in south-eastern Australia indicated that their use was dominated by one generalist species (Chalinolobus gouldii), causing concern that installing bat b...

Animal pests notoriously cause billions of dollars of damage by spoiling crops, damaging infrastructure and spreading disease. Pest control companies try to mitigate this damage by implementing pest management approaches to respond to and prevent infestations. However, these approaches are labour intensive, as pest control technicians must regularl...

A species’ life history is a strong determinant of its risk of extinction; traits such as body size, growth rate, age at maturity and fecundity influence population viability and persistence, as well as capacity for dispersal and colonisation of new habitats. Yet, despite the potential for substantial geographic variation in life history, most cons...

Anthropogenic climate change is causing a world‐wide reduction of alpine habitat, leaving many high‐elevation species restricted to sky‐islands and vulnerable to extinction. Understanding the genetic parameters of these populations provides key insight into species diversity, dispersal capacity and vulnerability to disturbance. We examined the impa...

Sex ratio biases are often inconsistent, both among and within species and populations. While some of these inconsistencies may be due to experimental design, much of the variation remains inexplicable. Recent research suggests that an exclusive focus on mothers may account for some of the inconsistency, with an increasing number of studies showing...

Many ideas have been put forward for the adaptive value of the cassowary casque; and yet, its purpose remains speculative. Homeothermic animals elevate body temperature through metabolic heat production. Heat gain must be offset by heat loss to maintain internal temperatures within a range for optimal performance. Living in a tropical climate, cass...

Bat boxes are often used to provide supplementary roosting habitats; however, little is known of their impacts on community composition. Data collected from a 25-year box-monitoring and 31-year harp trapping case study provides preliminary evidence that the installation of boxes may have contributed to one species, Gould’s wattled bat (Chalinolobus...

The focus of sustainable lighting tends to be on reduced CO2 emissions and cost savings, but not on the wider environmental effects. Ironically, the introduction of energy‐efficient lighting, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), may be having a great impact on the health of wildlife. These white LEDs are generated with a high content of short‐wave...

A species' diet and feeding strategy directly affect fitness and environmental interactions. Understanding spatial and temporal variation in diets can identify key resources, inform trophic relationships, and assist in managing threatened species. The nationally endangered Guthega skink, Liopholis guthega, is restricted to two isolated Australian a...

The creation of supplementary habitats that effectively mimic the physical and thermal characteristics of natural tree hollows should be a key priority for landscape restoration and biodiversity offset programs. Here, we compare the thermal profiles of natural tree hollows with three types of artificial hollows designed for small marsupial gliders...

Colorful plumage ornaments may evolve because they play a role in mate choice or in intrasexual competition, acting as signals of species identity or of individual quality. The zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) is a model organism for the study of mate choice and its colorful plumage ornaments are thought to be used in both of these contexts. Numer...

Context Cryptic (i.e. secretive, elusive or well camouflaged) species are often very challenging to accurately survey. Because many cryptic species are threatened, the development of robust and efficient survey methods to detect them is critically important for conservation management. The swamp skink (Lissolepis coventryi) is an example of an elus...

Nest boxes are often promoted as substitute structures for hollow-dependent fauna, but are they generally effective? In a long-term bat-box monitoring project in south-eastern Australia, box occupancy was dominated by one common and widespread urban-adapted species, Gould's wattled bat Chalinolobus gouldii. In contrast, the 13 other bat species in...

Like all vertebrates, marsupials respond to stressors with the activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. However, peptides operating at the higher regulatory levels of this hormonal system, i.e. corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), have not been investigated in marsupials. Here we report the mole...

Thermal properties of tree hollows play a major role in survival and reproduction of hollow-dependent fauna. Artificial hollows (nest boxes) are increasingly being used to supplement the loss of natural hollows; however, the factors that drive nest box thermal profiles have received surprisingly little attention. We investigated how differences in...

All original data. Biophysical model and POSEM trial data. (CSV)

Daytime maximum, mean and minimum (± SD) ambient temperature (°C). Data were recorded at: (a) five bat box sites in Melbourne, Australia, from 10 February to 15 April 2015, and at the La Trobe University Zoology Reserve (the glider and possum box site) during (b) summer (7–29 January 2015) and (c) winter (10 July to 1 August 2015). (PPTX)

All original data. Glider and possum box temperature data. (CSV)

All original data. Bat box temperature data. (CSV)

The hormone fluctuations that an animal experiences during ovulation can have lifelong effects on developing offspring. These hormones may act as an adaptive mechanism, allowing offspring to be ‘pre-programmed’ to survive in an unstable environment. Here, we used a transgenerational approach to examine the effects of elevated maternal corticosteron...

Sex allocation theory assumes that offspring sex (son vs. daughter) has consequences for maternal fitness. The most compelling experiment to test this theory would involve manipulating offspring sex and measuring the fitness consequences of having the "wrong" sex. Unfortunately, the logistical challenges of such an experiment limit its application....

Supporting data for Tammar wallaby cross-fostering study. Table A, Cross-fostering experiment: An excel spreadsheet of data from the cross-fostering experiment, including offspring and maternal traits. Table B, Experimental metadata: An excel spreadsheet explaining column meanings. Table C, Raw mass and size data: An excel spreadsheet of mass and p...

All organisms are exposed to a variety of physical, environmental and psychological challenges throughout their lives. We administered repeated oral doses of the stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) to ovulating Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia guttata) in order to mimic a disruptive environment, and investigated the effect on their reproductive output a...

A trait-based approach to ecology is essential for understanding the structure of species assemblages, and predicting assemblage responses to environmental change. We investigated the potential functions of pilosity (the density of upright setae, or ‘hairs’) and sculpturing (depressions and ridges on the integument) in ants, using a cross-species...

Change in day length is an important cue for reproductive activation in seasonally breeding animals to ensure that the timing of greatest maternal investment (e.g. lactation in mammals) coincides with favourable environmental conditions (e.g. peak productivity). However, artificial light at night has the potential to interfere with the perception o...

Many mammals have been reported to significantly bias their offspring sex ratios, but these deviations from equality have been difficult to understand and are often inconsistent even within the same species. Evolutionary theory predicts a number of scenarios where females should bias their investment to one sex over the other; when fitness returns...

Species' tolerance of and response to fire varies. Environments that experience frequent fires will contain fire-tolerant fauna, whereas fauna that occur in environments that burn infrequently may lack strategies to cope with fire. In 2003, intense summer wildfires in southeastern Australia's alpine region burned more than 1.3 million ha. The Guthe...

Offspring sex ratios in mammals vary in potentially adaptive yet unpredictable ways. An integrative approach that simultaneously examines proximate and ultimate explanations of mammalian sex ratios would greatly advance the field. We examined the importance of maternal glucose and stress hor-mones for offspring sex (male or female) as mechanisms as...

Population differences in body condition, parasitic burden, hematology, and serum biochemistry of free-living tammar wallabies (Macropus eugenii) are presented and compared to studies reporting values in captive tammar wallabies. The nutritional distinction in the composition and quality of the available vegetation on Garden Island produces 3 sub-p...

Recent research has found empirical evidence in support of the Trivers-Willard Hypothesis that offspring sex allocation is correlated with maternal investment. Tammar wallabies birthing sons have higher investment ability; however a mechanism for sex specific differential allocation of maternal resources in wallabies remains elusive. In metatherian...

Reproduction may be influenced by major environmental changes experienced by an entire population as well as variation within a population in maternal resource availability or quality. We examined relationships between body condition and reproductive traits in two wild populations of the seasonally breeding tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) on Gard...

The behaviour of the Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus was monitored over a 3-month period (August–October 1995) to determine the daily activity budgets at a man-made wetland in Cronulla, New South Wales. Data were collected on the proportion of the time-budgets devoted to performing behaviours (preening, roosting, foraging, and other). T...

Adaptive adjustments in offspring sex ratios in mammals have long been reported, but the conditions and mechanisms that prompt shifts in the proportion of sons and daughters born are still unclear. Empirical evidence indicates that offspring sex in mammals can be related to a diversity of environmental and maternal traits. However, the underlying a...

Evolutionary theories of aging are linked to life-history theory in that age-specific schedules of reproduction and survival determine the trajectory of age-specific mutation/selection balances across the life span and thus the rate of senescence. This is predicted to manifest at the organismal level in the evolution of energy allocation strategies...

Despite decades of interest, adaptive explanations for biased offspring sex ratios in mammals remain contentious, largely because direct tests of the underlying fitness assumptions of adaptive hypotheses are rarely conducted. These tests are complicated by the difficulty of manipulating offspring sex prior to significant maternal investment owing t...

Although temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) has been a 'hot topic' for well over 30 years, the discovery of TSD in viviparous taxa is recent. Viviparity and TSD was regarded unlikely on theoretical grounds as viviparity allows for high stable developmental temperatures through maternal basking. However, pregnant squamates of many species...

Chemoreception is a common mechanism used by many species to detect the presence of a potential predator and subsequently respond to it. The perceived risk of predation may force retreat to suboptimal conditions, forcing a trade-off between the risk of predation and the ability to acquire resources. Responses to chemical cues of predators vary as a...

Background/Question/Methods Maternal control of offspring sex is a rich yet controversial topic in evolutionary ecology. The success of sex allocation theory has been largely limited to invertebrates. Sex allocation in birds and mammals has proven more difficult to understand, and remain the next, great challenge. Despite decades of research on t...

During embryonic development, viviparous offspring are exposed to maternally circulating hormones. Maternal stress increases offspring exposure to corticosterone and this hormonal exposure has the potential to influence developmental, morphological and behavioral traits of the resulting offspring. We treated pregnant female garter snakes (Thamnophi...

We test the 'free radical theory of aging' using six species of colubrid snakes (numerous, widely distributed, non-venomous snakes of the family Colubridae) that exhibit long (> 15 years) or short (< 10 years) lifespans. Because the 'rate of living theory' predicts metabolic rates to be correlated with rates of aging and oxidative damage results fr...

1.Eulamprus tytmpanum can attain mean selected temperatures achieved in the laboratory under field conditions, but the proportion of time at that temperature is restricted under natural conditions.2.Females actively thermoregulate in the field, although the efficiency of thermoregulation is restricted by environmental constraints.3.Gravid females i...

Recent developments in small electronic temperature recorders designed for use in the food industry have the potential to revolutionise the collection of thermal data in small animals. Collecting temperature data in small reptiles is most often restricted to laboratory studies in thermal gradients (Greenberg 1976;Licht et al. 1966; Sievet and Hutch...

Females of the Australian scincid lizard Eulamprus tympanum can manipulate the sex of their offspring in response to gender imbalances in the population using temperature-dependent sex determination. Here we show that when adult males are scarce females produced male-biased litters and when adult males were common females produced female-biased lit...

No one suspected that temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), whereby the sex of embryos depends on the temperature at which they develop, might occur in viviparous (live-bearing) reptiles, because thermoregulation in the mother results in relatively stable, raised gestation temperatures. But here we show that developing embryos of the activ...

Energy consumption during development has been measured in many oviparous lizards, but not in viviparous lizards in utero. It has always been assumed that energy consumption by embryos of viviparous lizards during development is similar to that of oviparous species. Estimation of energy consumption of viviparous lizards in vivo are confounded by th...

We measured the increase in metabolic rate following feeding, or the specific dynamic action (SDA) of feeding, in the lizard Eulamprus tympanum that feeds op- portunistically and frequently. The SDA of most reptiles studied to date is pro- nounced in relation to other vertebrates, but most species for which data are avail- able consume large meals...