Peter Menkhorst

Peter Menkhorst

About

149
Publications
113,320
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4,134
Citations
Introduction
Retired after >45 years in Victorian Government wildlife agencies. Experience in fauna survey, ecological studies of mammals and birds, management of threatened species, over-abundant Koalas, monitoring and management of waterbirds and wetlands. Honorary Research Fellow, School of Life Sciences La Trobe University, Honorary Associate in Terrestrial Zoology, Museums Victoria. Primary author of field guides to both the mammals and the birds of Australia.
Additional affiliations
September 2016 - October 2024
Museums Victoria
Position
  • Honorary Associate

Publications

Publications (149)
Article
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Wilhelm Blandowski was the first zoologist employed by the Victorian Government, being appointed Officer of the Museum of Natural History by Governor La Trobe on 1 April 1854. Although he remained in this position for less than four years he left an important legacy by beginning the documentation of Victoria's mammalian fauna before the full impact...
Article
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In response to a paper advocating large-scale, multi-species 'fauna-rescue' programs when habitat is being destroyed, we urge caution by highlighting the lack of evidence of success in such programs. We argue that any benefits are likely to be outweighed by ecological and animal welfare risks, and that any conservation gains are likely to be illusi...
Article
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Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are typically considered detrimental to wetland values, but waterfowl can be numerous on nutrient-rich wetlands. Waterfowl were counted three to six times per year on nine treatment lagoons and associated wetlands (2,025 ha) at the Western Treatment Plant (south-east Australia) from 2000, to help maintain e...
Article
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The Glossy Black-Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus lathami eats only unripened seeds extracted from green cones of Allocasuarina and Casuarina trees. This specialised feeding habit results in Glossy Black-Cockatoos leaving unique evidence of having fed in a tree (i.e. feeding sign). The frequency of feeding sign beneath Black Sheoak Allocasuarina littoralis...
Article
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Context Many Australian terrestrial mammal species occupy relictual distributions that represent only a small proportion of their original distribution and habitat breadth. Aim To illustrate how examination of the historical records of a taxon, and their interpretation in an ecological context, can benefit conservation programs by counteracting th...
Article
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There are many impediments to conserving threatened birds. Some can be overcome through concerted action across multiple species while others require species-specific research and intensive management. We assess the feasibility of managing 202 threats identified in the Action Plan for Australian Birds across 217 Australian threatened bird taxa agai...
Article
Catastrophic megafires can increase extinction risks; identifying species priorities for management and policy support is critical for preparing and responding to future fires. However, empirical data on population loss and recovery post-fire, especially megafire, are limited and taxonomically biased. These gaps could be bridged if species' morphol...
Article
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The use of correct taxonomy to describe and name the earth's biodiversity is fundamental to conservation and management. However, there are issues that need to be overcome to ensure that the described taxa and their scientific names are both appropriate and widely adopted. Obstacles to this include the use of different species definitions, taxonomi...
Book
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As part of the 50th Anniversary celebration for the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, People Passion Science chronicles the people, workplace and projects over the last 50 years. The passion and achievements of everyone who has contributed are evident from the fond memories, anecdotes and reflections shared in this book – all of wh...
Article
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Aim After environmental disasters, species with large population losses may need urgent protection to prevent extinction and support recovery. Following the 2019–2020 Australian megafires, we estimated population losses and recovery in fire‐affected fauna, to inform conservation status assessments and management. Location Temperate and subtropical...
Article
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Threatened species managers are often required to make swift decisions in the face of considerable uncertainty. We tested a structured approach for evaluating conservation options for the critically endangered orange‐bellied parrot. The Orange‐bellied Parrot Recovery Team provides advice to government agencies to inform the allocation of a limited...
Technical Report
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Aims: 1. To identify the strengths and weaknesses of Wilsons Promontory, Victoria, Australia to act as a haven for threatened fauna, including assessment of current risks, identifying candidate species and identifying specific interventions to maintain or establish viable populations; and 2. To assess the requirements for successful implementation...
Technical Report
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Aims: 1. To identify the strengths and weaknesses of French Island to act as a haven for threatened fauna, including assessment of current risks, identifying candidate species and identifying specific interventions to maintain or establish viable populations; and 2. To assess the requirements for successful implementation of management actions for...
Article
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Not all conservation interventions are successful at correcting threatening processes and the odds of failure increase with uncertainty concerning the true threats to a population. Failure of conservation actions to improve demographic rates might be evidence of their ineffectiveness, or that other unaddressed threats nullify the potential benefits...
Article
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The Night Parrot Pezoporus occidentalis is one of the least known and most threatened of Australia’s bird species. In recent decades, breeding has been confirmed at only two remote regions in inland Australia. Consequently, reports of its presence in new locations have important conservation implications and elicit intense public interest. Between...
Article
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This study examines the occurrence and concentration of per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) measured in game ducks (13 compounds), water, sediment, and soils (33 compounds) in waterways in Victoria, Australia. The study aimed to identify potential ecological and human health risks from measured PFAS concentrations. Four species of duck, samp...
Article
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Context At some sites in southern Victoria, browsing pressure caused by high-density koala populations can result in defoliation of preferred browse trees. In extreme cases, this over-browsing can lead to widespread tree death and starvation of koalas. To reduce the potential for mortality of trees and koalas, a management strategy that includes fe...
Article
Reduced fitness as a result of inbreeding is a major threat facing many species of conservation concern [1-4]. However, few case studies for assessing the magnitude of inbreeding depression in the wild means that its relative importance as a risk factor for population persistence remains under-appreciated [5]. The increasing availability and afford...
Technical Report
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Maintaining mammal populations on havens – whether they are naturally occurring or translocated – has helped to prevent further mammal extinctions, and consolidated protection for other species. These havens fall under the management of many organisations, ranging from local councils, community groups and small private organisations to large non-go...
Technical Report
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Many Australian mammal species are highly susceptible to predation by introduced cats and foxes. At least 34 Australian endemic mammal species have been made extinct since 1788, about 10% of Australia's terrestrial fauna, and predation by cats and foxes was a major contribution to most of those extinctions. Maintaining mammal populations on havens...
Article
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In the last 30 years, islands and fenced exclosures free of introduced predators (collectively, havens) have become an increasingly used option for protecting Australian mammals imperiled by predation by introduced cats (Felis catus) and foxes (Vulpes vulpes). However, Australia's network of havens is not expanding in a manner that maximizes repres...
Article
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Although evidence‐based approaches have become commonplace for determining the success of conservation measures for the management of threatened taxa, there are no standard metrics for assessing progress in research or management. We developed 5 metrics to meet this need for threatened taxa and to quantify the need for further action and effective...
Article
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A critical step towards reducing the incidence of extinction is to identify and rank the species at highest risk, while implementing protective measures to reduce the risk of extinction to such species. Existing global processes provide a graded categorisation of extinction risk. Here we seek to extend and complement those processes to focus more n...
Article
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Context Many Australian mammal species are highly susceptible to predation by introduced domestic cats (Felis catus) and European red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). These predators have caused many extinctions and have driven large distributional and population declines for many more species. The serendipitous occurrence of, and deliberate translocations o...
Article
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Context Over the last 230 years, the Australian terrestrial mammal fauna has suffered a very high rate of decline and extinction relative to other continents. Predation by the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and feral cat (Felis catus) is implicated in many of these extinctions, and in the ongoing decline of many extant species. Aims To assess...
Technical Report
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Summary Background The Western Treatment Plant (WTP), managed by Melbourne Water, is Melbourne’s major processor of wastewater. Its 10,500 ha of lagoons, paddocks and other environments, attract tens of thousands of birds, contributing to its recognition under the Ramsar convention of wetlands of international significance. Consequently, and in lin...
Article
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The most southerly of the six described subspecies of the Pied Currawong, Strepera graculina ashbyi , is perhaps the least known and most controversial. Because it has reduced areas of white at the bases of the primaries and at the bases of the rectrices, its appearance is superficially similar to the Grey Currawong S. versicolor , and this has cau...
Article
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Linear clearings associated with roads passing through vegetation communities are known to inhibit movements of many animal species. This can reduce breeding, dispersal and foraging opportunities and lead to population fragmentation, putting further pressure on populations that are small or vulnerable, such as those of threatened species. We tested...
Article
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In a review of knowledge about subspecies of the Pied Currawong in southern Victoria and far south-eastern South Australia, Menkhorst & Morley (2017) hypothesised that the type specimen of Strepera graculina ashbyi Mathews 1913 might be an immature female of the population currently recognized as S. g. nebulosa Schodde and Mason 1999. If this hypot...
Technical Report
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Background The Orange-bellied Parrot Neophema chrysogaster is a small (41-50g), critically endangered, migratory parrot that breeds in south-western Tasmania and spends the non-breeding period (April-October) in coastal areas of south-eastern Australia. During winter, Orange-bellied Parrots inhabit low lying coastal regions of southeast mainland Au...
Technical Report
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On the 16th February 2016, the Urban Sustainability Branch of the City of Melbourne conducted a workshop with a working group of plant, fungi, bird, reptile, frog, mammal, insect and mollusc experts with the objective of identifying appropriate target species for rewilding, monitoring and public engagement in the City of Melbourne. The workshop was...
Article
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Genetic diversity is positively linked to the viability and evolutionary potential of species but is often compromised in threatened taxa. Genetic rescue by gene flow from a more diverse or differentiated source population of the same species can be an effective strategy for alleviating inbreeding depression and boosting evolutionary potential. The...
Article
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Historical records of the Night Parrot Pezoporus occidentalis in north-western Victoria have not always been accepted as valid despite prominent contemporary ornithologists accepting them. We present new supporting information gleaned from newspaper articles written under the pseudonym ‘Mallee Bird’ published in national and local newspapers in the...
Article
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Aim The koala is a widely distributed Australian marsupial with regional populations that are in rapid decline, are stable or have increased in size. This study examined whether it is possible to use expert elicitation to estimate abundance and trends of populations of this species. Diverse opinions exist about estimates of abundance and, consequen...
Article
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Worldwide, local extinctions and severe declines in waterbird densities are being reported from many important waterbird sites. Waterbird sites often exist as a network, collectively providing crucial habitat for different life history stages of different species. Therefore, population changes at one site may strongly influence others. In Australia...
Article
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Museum collections of preserved faunal specimens are immensely valuable resources for understanding the natural world, and such understanding has a crucial role to play during the current biodiversity extinction crisis. Collections of specimens, and the benefits accrued by collections, are not static; new and fresh specimens, or specimens from unco...
Article
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Understanding the evolutionary history of threatened populations can improve their conservation management. Re-establishment of past but recent gene flow could re-invigorate threatened populations and replenish genetic diversity, necessary for population persistence. One of the four nominal subspecies of the common yellow-tufted honeyeater, Licheno...
Technical Report
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Summary Following a series of large bushfires in central Victoria, the Victorian Government initiated the construction of strategic fuelbreaks around Melbourne’s water catchments in 2007. Approval for construction under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999) (EPBC Act) was obtained with the proviso that the completed fu...
Article
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Failure to act quickly on evidence of rapid population decline has led to the first mammal extinction in Australia in the last 50 years, the Christmas Island Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus murrayi). The fate of another iconic species, the migratory Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster), monitored intensively for over 20 years, hangs in the balan...
Technical Report
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Summary A review of information pertaining to the possible presence in Victoria of a wild population of unknown species of ‘big cat(s)’ was undertaken. There are no records of ‘big cats’ in official zoological databases managed by Victorian Government agencies, despite considerable fauna survey, research and monitoring in the State over many decade...
Article
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Extended observations and photography of an Australasian Bittern Botaurus poiciloptilus as it foraged during daylight hours along channel banks indicated that its primary prey species was the Growling Grass Frog Litoria raniformis, a large terrestrial frog associated with permanent waterbodies in southeastern Australia. The Bittern was observed to...
Article
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We collated and analysed records of mammal species (native and introduced) from across 32 Local Government Areas that comprise the Greater Melbourne region. Records of each species were examined for temporal changes in presence or absence. The region has a particularly diverse mammalian fauna with records of 92 species, including 19 marine mammals...