Luke D Einoder

Australian Government | ABARES · Department of Agriculture Water and Environment

The choice of particular nesting sites can be important for seabirds breeding in colonies exposed to harsh environments. For polar seabirds of small to medium body size, cavity nesting provides shelter from predators as well as from harsh weather, but cavities may also accumulate snow, which is detrimental to breeding. We studied these relative inf...

To understand how animals cope with environmental variability it is necessary to identify the degree of flexibility in a species' diet and foraging mode and the consequences of this flexibility for reproduction. We examined rates of feeding and energy delivery to chicks by a long-lived pelagic seabird, the Short-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus tenuiros...

Identifying the primary foraging grounds of abundant top predators is of importance in marine management to identify areas of high biological significance, and to assess the extent of competition with fisheries. We studied the search effort and habitat selection of the highly abundant short-tailed shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris to assess the sear...

We quantified the extent of adaptive radiation in the evolution of the hindlimb in the bird-of-prey community on Tasmania. Assessments of the ecological capabilities of raptor species are often based on a visual inspection of their hindlimb structure, with little recourse to direct biornechanical or functional evidence. We examined the links betwee...

This paper reviews the use of seabirds in fisheries management around the world, and provides a comprehensive overview of the many factors that should be considered in order to identify the most appropriate species and parameters. There are a growing number of examples where seabird monitoring programs are providing valuable information on the heal...

• Public aquaria globally display numerous threatened fish species captured from wild populations. Potential impacts of harvests are rarely evaluated despite the need for improved management and conservation practices. • Sawfishes (Family Pristiidae) are one of the world's most at‐risk fish families. Most commonly displayed (30+ wild caught individ...

Aim An interaction between reduced habitat structural complexity and predation by feral cats (Felis catus) has been hypothesized as the primary driver of mammal decline in northern Australia. However, we have a limited understanding of the drivers of the distribution and abundance of feral cats at a landscape scale, including whether the occurrence...

In recent decades severe mammal declines have occurred in the vast and uncleared tropical savannas of northern Australia. Mounting evidence suggests that feral cats (Felis catus), large feral herbivores and increased frequency of high-severity fires, are all contributing to declines; however, the respective influence of each threat remains unclear....

A major rehabilitation program is underway at Ranger Uranium Mine in the Northern Territory, where mining ceased in 2012. To meet national and international standards of ecosystem restoration the rehabilitation area must support a diversity of characteristic flora and fauna species, with high similarity to adjacent areas of lowland woodland in Kaka...

Here, we estimate snow petrel breeding and non-breeding population size, and additionally the number of potential nest sites, at an archipelago in East Antarctica by applying a stratified random sampling quadrat survey, and accounting for various forms of perception and availability bias.

Abstract Invertebrates are commonly ignored in conservation planning due to their vast diversity, difficulties with species identification, a poor understanding of their spatial patterns, and the impracticability of carrying out comprehensive sampling. Conservation planning for fauna is therefore often based on patterns of diversity and distributio...

Assessing the statistical power to detect changes in wildlife populations is a crucial yet often overlooked step when designing and evaluating monitoring programs. Here, we developed a simulation framework to perform spatially explicit statistical power analysis of biological monitoring programs for detecting temporal trends in occupancy for multip...

The Alligator Rivers yellow chat is a small, bright yellow insectivorous subspecies of bird living on the floodplains of several major rivers in the ‘Top End’ of the Northern Territory including within and nearby Kakadu National Park. Despite its listing as Endangered, little research has been conducted on the bird and its habitat requirements and...

The Alligator Rivers yellow chat is endangered. It lives on floodplains in and near Kakadu National Park. We don’t know much about why it is so rare or the best ways to look after it. The floodplains where the bird lives are also important to Traditional Owners. This project is about learning more about the bird and the best ways to look after it a...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203304.].

Understanding where species occur and how difficult they are to detect during surveys is crucial for designing and evaluating monitoring programs, and has broader applications for conservation planning and management. In this study, we modelled occupancy and the effectiveness of six sampling methods at detecting vertebrates across the Top End of no...

Mapped climatic, topographic and fire covariates used to model species occupancy and detectability. Covariates (scaled) at 1 km resolution used to model occupancy and detectability of 242 birds, mammals and reptiles recorded at 333 sites across the Top End of northern Australia. (TIF)

Number of covariates included in occupancy and detectability models for 136 species. Proportion of models per animal group with 1–8 covariates included in the best model. Note, maximum covariate count for detectability models is 3, and method was included in detectability models for species with multiple methods of detection, but was not included i...

Sampled environmental domains across the Top End of northern Australia. Frequency histograms of covariate values occurring within the truncated (i.e., not the full extent of the Top End) mapping region, showing the representativeness of sampling sites for birds (red), mammals (blue), and reptiles (orange) in comparison to the spectrum of environmen...

Model coefficients for the occupancy component of the reptile models. Model coefficients for the occupancy component of the reptile models. Note, species containing only dashes were recorded during surveys but were unable to be modelled. (PDF)

Model coefficients for the occupancy component of the mammal models. Note, species containing only dashes were recorded during surveys but were unable to be modelled. (PDF)

Estimates of occupancy and detectability for each mammal species with alternative sampling methods. Occupancy and detectability for 20 mammals modelled using live trapping and spotlighting averaged across 326 sites, and camera trapping averaged across 168 sites in northern Australia. Detectability estimates for live trapping and spotlighting is ove...

Reptile occupancy maps across the Top End of northern Australia. Occupancy maps for reptiles with covariates in the best model. Occupancy maps for reptiles with covariates in the best model. Light grey represents zero occupancy, while blue represents an occupancy probability of 1. (PDF)

Bird occupancy maps across the Top End of northern Australia. Occupancy maps for birds with covariates in the best model. Occupancy maps for birds with covariates in the best model. Light grey represents zero occupancy, while blue represents an occupancy probability of 1. (PDF)

Sampling methods applied at monitoring sites across the eight conservation reserves. Summary of the method of detection pooled to generate detection histories per animal group per location: Djelk Indigenous Protected Area (DIPA); Fish River Station (FRS); Garig Gunak Barlu National Park (GGBNP); Gregory National Park (GNP); Kakadu National Park (KN...

Mammal occupancy maps across the Top End of northern Australia. Occupancy maps for mammals with covariates in the best model. Light grey represents zero occupancy, while blue represents an occupancy probability of 1. (TIFF)

Estimates of occupancy and detectability for each bird species. Occupancy and detectability estimates (over one day/night) for 83 birds modelled using diurnal active searches and spotlighting averaged across monitoring sites. (PDF)

Estimates of occupancy and detectability for each reptile species. Occupancy and detectability (over one day/night) estimates for 33 reptiles modelled using pitfall trapping and/or spotlighting data averaged across monitoring sites. (PDF)

Pairwise correlation matrix for candidate predictor variable. Covariates with a Spearman’s correlation coefficient greater than 0.7 are shown in bold, with one of a pair excluded from the analysis. (PDF)

Model coefficients for the occupancy component of the bird models. Note, species containing only dashes were recorded during surveys but were unable to be modelled. (PDF)

Model coefficients for the detection component of the reptile models. Note, species containing only dashes were recorded during surveys but were unable to be modelled. (PDF)

Model coefficients for the detectability component of the bird models. Note, species containing only dashes were recorded during surveys but were unable to be modelled. (PDF)

Model coefficients for the detectability component of the mammal models. Note, species containing only dashes were recorded during surveys but were unable to be modelled. (PDF)

The Derwent estuary, in south east Tasmania, is highly contaminated with heavy metals, mainly due to past industrial pollution. This study sought to determine the extent of contamination, bioaccumulation, and biomagnification in the resident bird community and therefore to infer the potential for adverse effects in birds. Thirteen metals were measu...

The extent of increasing anthropogenic impacts on large marine vertebrates partly depends on the animals' movement patterns. Effective conservation requires identification of the key drivers of movement including intrinsic properties and extrinsic constraints associated with the dynamic nature of the environments the animals inhabit. However, the r...

Monitoring and evaluating patterns of change in biodiversity are essential to inform land managers, policy-makers and planners about the condition of biodiversity and ecological responses to management and environmental change. Over the past 24 years the Northern Territory Government, in conjunction with Parks Australia and traditional owners, has...

Abstract of manuscript in preparation on research conducted during my contract with Derwent Estuary Program.

Manuscript in progress on data collected in 2006 during my PhD.

The Derwent estuary supports a wide variety of habitats, such as saltmarshes, and wetlands, tidal flats and seagrasses, rocky reefs and subtidal soft sediments. The Derwent foreshore retains 49% of its native vegetation, including 12 state-listed threatened vegetation communities and two EPBC-listed communities. There has been good progress during...

We used the Ecopath with Ecosim software to develop a trophic mass-balance model of the eastern Great Australian Bight ecosystem, off southern Australia. Results provide an ecosystem perspective of Australia's largest fishery, the South Australian sardine fishery, by placing its establishment and growth in the context of other dynamic changes in th...

The Derwent Conservation Action Plan was revisited in 2012 in a second iteration to focus on the tail end of the planning process, being strategy development, prioritisation, and action planning. This document captures the outcomes of this process as at September 2012. Strategies have been structured around five major conservation objectives, and r...

The Spotted Handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus) is a small, benthic fish whose current known distribution is limited to a number of discrete locations in the Derwent Estuary, south eastern Tasmania. It is listed as ‘critically endangered’ by the IUCN and is considered vulnerable to extinction due to habitat loss and modification and invasive specie...

When estimating the size of seabird populations, count data may be biased due to various factors such as detection probability. Failing to account for detection probability in surveys may lead to an underestimate of population size and may compromise the ability to monitor trends if detection probability varies among surveys. Here, we use the doubl...

Sooty (Puffinus griseus) and short-tailed (P. tenuirostris) shearwaters are abundant seabirds that range widely across global oceans. Understanding the foraging ecology of these species in the Southern Ocean is important for monitoring and ecosystem conservation and management. Tracking data from sooty and short-tailed shearwaters from three region...

The short-tailed shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris is one of the world’s most abundant seabirds, with a population of around 23 million breeding birds. Despite this abundance we have a limited understanding of their role in the marine ecosystem. This is largely due to the many uncertainties surrounding the trophic interactions, resource requirements...

To improve methods for sexing live birds in field studies, we assessed sexual size dimorphism in the Short-tailed Shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris and produced a sex-discriminating function. Despite a degree of overlap in body size, males were significantly larger than females. A stepwise discriminant function analysis of five morphometric characte...

This study provides evidence of morphological differences in support of the current phylogenetic division of the owls into two familes (Strigidae, Tytonidae), with respect to the digital tendon locking mechanism (TLM). This mechanism consists of modified surfaces on the flexor tendons in the digits, which, when engaged form a lock that holds the di...

We quantified the extent of adaptive radiation in the evolution of the hindlimb in the bird-of-prey community on Tasmania. Assessments of the ecological capabilities of raptor species are often based on a visual inspection of their hindlimb structure, with little recourse to direct biomechanical or functional evidence. We examined the links between...

Foxes, wild dogs, feral cats, rabbits, feral pigs and feral goats are believed to have deleterious impacts on native biodiversity in Australia. However, although considerable resources have been expended controlling these six species, little is known about national patterns and costs of control and monitoring. We therefore conducted a survey of pes...

Extensive adaptive radiation in hindlimb design among raptors is well known. However, the degree of variation in the structure and expression of the digital tendon locking mechanism (TLM) and its adaptive significance have received little attention. This comparative morphological study of 12 raptor and three non-raptor species revealed a distinct r...

The at-sea movement and habitat use of the short-tailed shearwater, Puffinus tenuirostris, were examined using satellite transmitters fixed dorsally to five parents provisioning chicks on Althorpe I., South Australia. Only foraging trips of short duration were targeted by this study, and a range of flight parameters including trip duration, foragin...