Mathew Crowther

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Verified

Mathew verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

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• PhD
• Professor at The University of Sydney

Background/Objectives: Dribbling is a fundamental skill in soccer, but assessing the performance of youth players in this skill is complicated by the confounded effects of age and physical development. In this study, our aim was to quantify the interactive effects of age, height, and mass on the dribbling performance of 180 players between 10 and 2...

Context Urban areas are rapidly expanding, increasing anthropogenic pressure on global biodiversity. There are many threats associated with urbanisation, such as habitat loss and the spread of invasive species. Thus, to effectively manage urban greenspaces for native species, we need to understand species assemblages, and the factors that influence...

Apex scavengers can perform an important ecosystem service by rapidly removing carrion, in turn regulating nutrient cycling linked to carcass decomposition. Yet, our understanding of the biotic and abiotic factors that influence rates of apex scavenging and their behaviour around carrion remains limited, in part because of the absence of replicated...

Brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) are becoming increasingly recognized as key members of local scavenger guilds in Australia. Yet, our understanding of the spatiotemporal scavenging dynamics of this mainly herbivorous marsupial species remains limited. We investigated abiotic and biotic factors influencing possum carcass use across an alpin...

Scavenging on carrion is critical and often fiercely competitive for a range of vertebrate species, from native apex predators to invasive species and even reptiles. Within Australia, a notable reptilian scavenger is the lace monitor (Varanus varius). In this study, we quantified lace monitor activity at carcasses and compared their use of the reso...

Context The protection of threatened species in fenced safe havens has become a vital component of conservation management in Australia. However, despite their success, fenced safe havens face several ecological and economic constraints. There is a need to explore additional approaches to restore species beyond the fence. Aims To explore naturally...

Genetic management is a critical component of threatened species conservation. Understanding spatial patterns of genetic diversity is essential for evaluating the resilience of fragmented populations to accelerating anthropogenic threats. Nowhere is this more relevant than on the Australian continent, which is experiencing an ongoing loss of biodiv...

Scavenging dynamics are influenced by many abiotic and biotic factors, but there is little knowledge of how scavengers respond to extreme weather events. As carrion is a major driver of the organisation and structure of food webs within ecological communities, understanding the response of scavengers to extreme weather events is critical in a world...

To overcome shortcomings in discriminating Chlamydia pecorum strains infecting the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) at the local level, we developed a novel genotyping scheme for this pathogen to inform koala management at a fine-scale subpopulation level. We applied this scheme to two geographically distinct koala populations in New South Wales, Aus...

External signs of disease are frequently used as indicators of disease susceptibility. However, immune profiling can be a more effective indicator to understand how host responses to infection may be shaped by host, pathogen and environmental factors. To better inform wildlife health assessment and research directions, we investigated the utility o...

Megafires can have a devastating effect on koala populations. With climate change increasing habitat vulnerability to wildfires, understanding how to efficiently measure the impact of these events on koalas is essential. We analysed the relationship between the 2019-2020 megafires and the probability of koala occurrence in Mid North Coast NSW. We f...

Genetic management is a critical component of threatened species conservation. Understanding spatial patterns of genetic diversity is essential for evaluating the resilience of fragmented populations to accelerating anthropogenic threats. Nowhere is this more relevant than on the Australian continent, which is experiencing an ongoing loss of biodiv...

In many youth sports, selection into elite training academies is dominated by athletes born earlier in the year. Previous research suggests this is partly due to these athletes being more physically developed than their younger peers. How athletes born later in the year survive in elite academies is less understood. Here, we tested the hypothesis t...

In ruminants infected with Chlamydia pecorum, shorter lengths of coding tandem repeats (CTR) within two genes, the inclusion membrane protein (incA) and Type III secretor protein (ORF663), have been previously associated with pathogenic outcomes. In other chlamydial species, the presence of a chlamydial plasmid has been linked to heightened virulen...

Chlamydiosis is a significant disease affecting Eastern Australian koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations, impacting individual animal welfare and fecundity and therefore influencing population dynamics. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a synthetic peptide vaccine based on 4 components of the Chlamydia pecorum major outer...

Antechinus is an intriguing genus of small-medium-sized dasyurid insectivorous marsupials known for their highly synchronized semelparous reproduction. In recent years, advances in molecular sequencing have paved the way for a taxonomic reappraisal, which has revealed that the genus is comprised of at least 15 species, some of which have limited di...

Chlamydiosis is a significant disease affecting Eastern Australian koala ( Phascolarctos cinereus ) populations, impacting individual animal welfare and fecundity and therefore influencing population dynamics. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a synthetic peptide vaccine based on 4 components of the Chlamydia pecorum Major Oute...

Admixture between species is a cause for concern in wildlife management. Canids are particularly vulnerable to interspecific hybridisation, and genetic admixture has shaped their evolutionary history. Microsatellite DNA testing, relying on a small number of genetic markers and geographically restricted reference populations, has identified extensiv...

Vigilance is an important anti-predator behaviour that can be an indicator of the predation risk faced by potential prey animals. Here, we assess the collective vigilance, or the vigilance level of an entire group, of corvids (Family: Corvidae) at experimentally placed carcasses in a desert environment in Australia. Specifically, we explore the rel...

Expert elicitation can be valuable for informing decision-makers on conservation and wildlife management issues. To date, studies eliciting expert opinions have primarily focused on identifying and building consensus on key issues. Nonetheless , there are drawbacks of a strict focus on consensus, and it is important to understand and emphasize diss...

Context Carrion is a high-energy and nutrient-rich resource that attracts a diverse group of vertebrate scavengers. However, despite the carrion pool being highly seasonal in its availability, there is little understanding of how scavengers utilise carcasses across all four seasons. Aim To assess how season influences carcass-detection times by ve...

With the growing surplus of data available for modelling in soil science, multivariate analyses offer a path to understand the patterns in large datasets with 100s or 1000s of variables. In this chapter, we explore three classes of multivariate techniques and analysis, and a case study using one technique for each class: dimension reduction with pr...

Antechinus is an intriguing genus of small-medium-sized dasyurid insectivorous marsupials known for their highly synchronized semelparous reproduction. In recent years, advances in molecular sequencing have paved the way for a taxonomic reappraisal, which has revealed that the genus is comprised of at least 15 species, some of which have limited di...

Research on use of foraging patches has focused on why herbivores visit or quit patches, yet little is known about visits to patches over time. Food quality, as reflected by higher nutritional quality and lower plant defenses, and physical patch characteristics, which offer protection from predators and weather, affect patch use and hence should in...

Carrion is an ubiquitous resource that drives the dynamics of scavenger populations and shapes the structure and composition of their communities. Corvids (Family: Corvidae) are among the most common scavengers globally, facilitating carcass discovery by other species and contributing to carcass biomass removal. Here, we examine how environmental f...

Cryptococcosis caused by yeasts of the Cryptococcus gattii species complex is an increasingly important mycological disease in humans and other mammals. In Australia, cases of C. gattii-related cryptococcosis are more prevalent in the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) compared to humans and other animals, likely due to the close association that both...

Carrion is a vital resource in terrestrial ecosystems, supporting complex networks of interacting consumer organisms. The insect community attending carrion forms a vital part of this food web, but the functional roles of insects as scavengers can be altered by invasive species via the effects of predation and competition. European wasps (Vespula g...

Hybridisation between wild and domestic canids is a global conservation and management issue. In Australia, dingoes are a distinct lineage of wild-living canid with a controversial domestication status. They are mainland Australia’s apex terrestrial predator. There is ongoing concern that the identity of dingoes has been threatened from breeding wi...

Context It is notoriously difficult to estimate the size of animal populations, especially for cryptic or threatened species that occur in low numbers. Recent advances with acoustic sensors make the detection of animal populations cost effective when coupled with software that can recognise species-specific calls. Aims We assess the potential for...

The impact of hybridisation between dingoes and domestic dogs, and the subsequent introgression of domestic dog genes into dingo populations, remains a topic of significant impact. It has been claimed, but with little evidence or logical argumentation, that dingoes with significant dog introgression have different effects on agriculture and ecosyst...

Public opposition has shaped management of wild animals in Australia, but public interest in dingo control has been minimal. We hypothesised that this is due to lack of awareness of dingo management practices, in part because using the term “wild dogs” to describe management renders “dingoes” invisible, framing the issue as one of control of introd...

We used two survey methods-citizen science for private land and cameras for protected areas-to map the distribution of dingoes/wild dogs and foxes in NSW. Dingo/wild dog records were mostly confined to the east coast and ranges, with scattered locations in western NSW. This contrasts to the distribution of foxes, in which occupancy was high across...

Sensitivity to predator-related cues and performance of antipredator behaviors are universal among prey species. Rodents exhibit a diverse suite of antipredator behaviors that have been examined in both field and laboratory studies. However, the results from the laboratory have not always translated to the field. While laboratory studies consistent...

Biological invasions can massively disrupt ecosystems, but evolutionary and ecological adjustments may modify the magnitude of that impact through time. Such post-colonisation shifts can change priorities for management. We quantified the abundance of two species of giant monitor lizards, and of the availability of their mammalian prey, across 45 s...

Shortly after the enactment of restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19, various local government and public health authorities around the world reported an increased sighting of rats. Such reports have yet to be empirically validated. Here we combined data from multi-catch rodent stations (providing data on rodent captures), rodent ba...

How to manage hybridization and introgression in wild animals is controversial. Wildlife managers and researchers may often rely upon phenotypic variables such as coat colour to inform on ground management decisions. In Australia, dingoes are typically believed to be ginger in colour, and unusual coat colours such as brin-dle or sable are widely po...

In addition to feeding on animal remains, many scavengers also function as predators. Carcasses may therefore affect local animal communities by attracting facultative scavengers and increasing predation risk for other species in the vicinity of the carcasses. This risk may be elevated in low productivity environments, especially where humans incre...

Kicking powerfully and accurately is essential in soccer, and players who kick proficiently with both feet are highly sought after. Assessing performance in youth players is often confounded by more physically developed players outperforming their smaller peers. To alleviate such bias, we present a testing protocol and normative data developed with...

Understanding wild animal responses to stressors underpins effective wildlife management. In order for responses to stressors to be correctly interpreted, it is critical that measurements are taken on wild animals using minimally invasive techniques. Studies investigating wild animal responses to stressors often measure either a single physiologica...

Shortly after the enactment of restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19, local governments and public health authorities around the world reported an increased sighting of rats. We combined multi-catch rodent station data, rodent bait stations data, and rodent-related residents’ complaints data to explore the effects that social distan...

Achieving conservation goals, such as coexistence between wildlife and humans, requires an evidence-based understanding of the factors that shape conservation contexts. For addressing conflict between humans and wildlife, this means understanding the barriers and opportunities to changing human behaviors toward wildlife. Here, we develop a Theory o...

Context Precise and accurate estimates of animal numbers are often essential for population and epidemiological models, as well as for guidance for population management and conservation. This is particularly true for threatened species in landscapes facing multiple threats. Estimates can be derived by different methods, but the question remains as...

Pollution and pesticide use have been linked to evolution of chemical resistance and phenotypic shifts in invertebrates, but less so in vertebrates. Here we provide evidence that poisoning directed towards a mammalian carnivore, the dingo (Canis dingo), is linked to an increase in dingo body mass. We compared the skull length of dingoes, a proxy fo...

Pollution and pesticide use have been linked to evolution of chemical resistance and phenotypic shifts in invertebrates, but less so in vertebrates. Here we provide evidence that poisoning directed towards a mammalian carnivore, the dingo (Canis dingo), is linked to an increase in dingo body mass. We compared the skull length of dingoes, a proxy fo...

Human behaviors can determine the success of efforts to restore predators to ecosystems. While behaviors such as lethal predator control may impede predator restoration, other land management practices can facilitate coexistence between predators and humans. Socio‐psychological theories provide useful tools for understanding and improving these hum...

Habitat fragmentation changes landscape patterns and can disrupt many important ecological processes. Movement allows individuals to find resource patches to maintain their fitness and habitat fragmentation can disrupt this process. We explored the ecological impact of habitat fragmentation on movement and space use of a specialist folivore, the ko...

Understanding human attitudes toward wildlife management is critical to implementing effective conservation action and policy. Understanding the factors that shape public attitudes toward different wildlife management actions is limited, however, which can result in unpredictable public responses to interventions. We drew on comparisons between res...

Hybridisation resulting from human-driven shifts in species ranges is a global conservation concern. In Australia, hybridisa-tion between dingoes (Canis dingo) and domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) has been identified as an extinction threat to the dingo, and is thought to be particularly widespread in southeastern Australia. Here, we investigated t...