Stephen Jackson

• PhD
• Editor Publications and Compliance at Australian Museum

Ex situ (‘off-site’) management refers to keeping species in artificial conditions away from their natural habitat and includes captive breeding facilities, botanical gardens and seed banks. There is scope for ex situ programmes to be more commonly used for supplementing or establishing wild populations. However, undertaking ex situ management come...

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...

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...

The consumption of fungi by animals is a significant trophic interaction in most terrestrial ecosystems, yet the role mammals play in these associations has been incompletely studied. In this review, we compile 1 154 references published over the last 146 years and provide the first comprehensive global review of mammal species known to eat fungi (...

Context Of the six species of non-native deer present in Australia, the sambar deer is the largest and has been identified as a major threat to high-elevation peatlands in south-eastern Australia. However, little is known about sambar deer activity in high-elevation peatlands. Aims The aims of this study were to quantify sambar deer activity (incl...

Aim: Comprehensive, global information on species' occurrences is an essential biodiversity variable and central to a range of applications in ecology, evolution, biogeography and conservation. Expert range maps often represent a species' only available distributional information and play an increasing role in conservation assessments and macroeco...

We describe our experiences collecting blood from Australian Rattus. We found uniform anatomy of the external jugular vein between Australian and exotic Rattus species. Understanding where the maxillary and linguofacial veins join to form the external jugular vein is critical to venepuncture. After locating this union, we consistently achieved succ...

The desert rat-kangaroo or ‘ngudlukanta’ (Caloprymnus campestris) was once sparsely distributed in the Lake Eyre Basin of north-eastern South Australia and adjacent parts of Queensland, but has not been collected since the 1930s. However, numerous reported sightings, including some recent, provide some hope that it may still be extant. In 2018 and...

The expedition commanded by the Frenchman Nicolas Thomas Baudin aboard the ships Le Géographe and Le Naturaliste (and Le Casuarina for the return journey) to the southern hemisphere between 1800-1804 collected specimens from numerous locations including the Canary Islands (Tenerife), Île de France (Mauritius), Cape Town (South Africa), Australia an...

The flying squirrels (Pteromyini, Rodentia) are the most diverse and widely distributed group of gliding mammals. Taxonomic boundaries and relationships within flying squirrels remain an area of active research in mammalogy. The discovery of new specimens of Pteromys ( Hylopetes) leonardi Thomas, 1921 previously considered a synonym of Hylopetes al...

The woolly flying squirrel, Eupetaurus cinereus, is among the rarest and least studied mammals in the world. For much of the 20th century it was thought to be extinct, until it was rediscovered in 1994 in northern Pakistan. This study outlines the first taxonomic and biogeographical review of the genus Eupetaurus, which until now has contained only...

Koonchera Dune is a prominent sand ridge fringed by a complex of ephemeral swamps and open plains on the edge of Sturt Stony Desert, northeastern South Australia. In 1931 mammalogist Hedley Herbert Finlayson rediscovered the desert rat-kangaroo or ngudlukanta (Caloprymnus campestris) here, and also captured lesser bilby or yallara (Macrotis leucura...

Taxonomy is the science of the classification of living things and comprises two main processes, defining taxa and naming them. In relation to the taxonomy of the Dingo, the scientific name has been unstable for many years. It has been referred to as Canis familiaris, Canis familiaris dingo, Canis lupus familiaris, Canis lupus dingo or Canis dingo....

We studied diets of feral cats (Felis catus), dingoes (Canis familiaris) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in desert environments in north-eastern South Australia by analysing prey remains in opportunistically-collected scats. Four major landscapes were sampled (Simpson Desert, Sturt Stony Desert, Strzelecki Desert – Cooper Creek and Diamantina River)...

The fossil record provides important information about changes in species diversity, distribution, habitat and abundance through time. As we understand more about these changes, it becomes possible to envisage a wider range of options for translocations in a world where sustainability of habitats is under increasing threat. The Critically Endangere...

The flying squirrels of the tribe Pteromyini (Family Sciuridae) currently include 15 genera of which the genus Biswamoyopterus comprises two recognized species, B. biswasi Saha, 1981 and B. laoensis Sanamxay et al., 2013. These two species were each described from only one specimen that are separated from each other by 1,250 kilometres in southern...

Adopting the name Canis dingo for the Dingo to explicitly denote a species-level taxon separate from other canids was suggested by Crowther et al. (2014) as a means to eliminate taxonomic instability and contention. However, Jackson et al. (2017), using standard taxonomic and nomenclatural approaches and principles, called instead for continued use...

The growth and development of the endangered Mahogany Glider (Petaurus gracilis) was monitored in a captive population at Burleigh Heads, Queensland, Australia. Video surveillance confirmed that the gestation period for this species was 16 days. Morphometric data and developmental milestones were recorded from 10 Mahogany Gliders from birth to wean...

Key threatening processes to biodiversity include habitat loss and fragmentation, with populations restricted to small fragments of habitat being more prone to extinction. The mahogany glider (Petaurus gracilis) is endemic to sclerophyll woodland forests between Tully and Ingham in north Queensland and is one of Australia’s most endangered arboreal...

Many top-predators are declining and/or threatened. For these reasons, conservation efforts are a management priority for many species, and structured management processes are developed to facilitate their conservation. However , this is not presently the case for the dingo, which is threatened by introgression of genetic material from other and mo...

Many top-predators are declining and/or threatened. For these reasons, conservation efforts are a management priority for many species, and structured management processes are developed to facilitate their conservation. However , this is not presently the case for the dingo, which is threatened by introgression of genetic material from other and mo...

Many top-predators are declining and/or threatened. For these reasons, conservation efforts are a management priority for many species, and structured management processes are developed to facilitate their conservation. However , this is not presently the case for the dingo, which is threatened by introgression of genetic material from other and mo...

The taxonomic identity and status of the Australian Dingo has been unsettled and controversial since its initial description in 1792. Since that time it has been referred to by various names including Canis dingo, Canis lupus dingo, Canis familiaris and Canis familiaris dingo. Of these names C. l. dingo and C. f. dingo have been most often used, bu...

The roles of the 37 species in the family Canidae (the dog family), are of great current interest. The Gray Wolf is the largest canid and their roles in food webs are much researched, as are those of Domestic Dogs, Coyotes and Red Foxes. Much less is known about the other canid species and their ecological roles.Here we describe general food web th...

Taxonomy of Australian Mammals utilises the latest morphometric and genetic research to develop the most up to date and comprehensive revision of the taxonomy of Australian mammals undertaken to date. It proposes significant changes to the higher ranks of a number of groups and recognises several genera and species that have only very recently been...

The endangered Mountain Pygmy-possum Burramys parvus is an alpine-subalpine specialist and the only Australian mammal entirely restricted to areas above the winter snowline. There are three geographically isolated populations of B. parvus: Kosciuszko National Park (South Ramshead - Cabramurra) in New South Wales, and Mt Bogong - Mt Higginbotham and...

This study was undertaken to assess the feasibility of a native animal pet industry, based on the captive breeding of two reproductively diverse native mammals, the marsupial eastern quoll Dasyurus viverrinus and the rodent Mitchell’s hopping mouse Notomys mitchelli, and to make recommendations on the major constraints, opportunities, key people an...

The world's gliding mammals are an extraordinary group of animals that have the ability to glide from tree to tree with seemingly effortless grace. There are more than 60 species of gliding mammals including the flying squirrels from Asia, Europe and North America, the scaly-tailed flying squirrels from central Africa and the gliding possums of Aus...

There are 64 species of extant gliding mammals that are currently recognized, which are divided into six different families. These comprise eight species of gliding marsupials that live within Australasia and include six species of lesser gliding possums of Petaurus (family Petauridae), one species of greater glider of Petauroides (family Pseudoche...

Petaurus gracilis (De Vis, 1883) is a gliding possum commonly known as the mahogany glider. This species is endemic to open sclerophyll woodland between Tully and Ingham in North Queensland, Australia. Within its distribution P. gracilis occurs in forests dominated by trees of the genera Eucalyptus, Corymbia, Melaleuca, and Acacia. This species is...

Despite the establishment of legislation to protect the remaining habitat of the endangered mahogany glider (Petaurus gracilis) there is an urgent need to understand where habitat remains and how it should be managed. Regional ecosystem mapping was used to identify the true extent of habitat loss from clearing and the extent of habitat degradation...

Since the introduction of the Exhibited Animals Protection Act in 1986 there has been a marked improvement in the standard of animal displays in zoos, fauna parks and mobile exhibits within New South Wales. These changes have been assisted by the development of general standards and standards for specific groups of animals including primates, carni...

Captive-management or husbandry manuals for wild animals maintained in captivity are invaluable resources for those working in zoos and aquariums. The more detailed the manuals the more useful they are. These documents should report every known aspect of the focal species and highlight gaps in knowledge. This ensures that successful studies are not...

The timing and duration of activity and foraging behaviour of mahogany gliders Petaurus gracilis was studied every 2 months over 2 years by direct observation. The amount of time spent active each night throughout the year ranged from 8 to 10.1 h (or 63–80% of the dark phase) and did not change significantly between the wet and dry seasons. Althoug...

current scientific findings. Like most other 19 th century expatriate naturalists from the Northern Hemisphere, Verreaux failed to determine that the species laid eggs but he described some intriguing attributes which remain controversial and/or unsubstantiated by the work of more recent naturalists and scientists. Perhaps the most controversial wa...

This volume represents the proceedings of the Possum and Glider symposium held in Brisbane July 2001, convened as part of the 47th annual conference of the Australian Mammal Society.

A study of the growth and development of the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) was undertaken on a litter born at Healesville Sanctuary in Healesville, Victoria, Australia. Measurements of crown–rump length, head length, and head width were recorded every week from birth. Body weight was recorded weekly once the joeys were detached from the te...

This authoritative volume represents a complete and comprehensive guide to the husbandry of Australian marsupials and other mammals. Australian Mammals: Biology and Captive Management dedicates a chapter to each group of animals including the platypus, the echidna, carnivorous marsupials, numbats, bandicoots and bilbies, koalas, wombats, possums an...

The gliding angle of the Mahogany Glider Petaurus gracilis and the Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps was determined from field studies by measuring the height of launch and landing of glides and the distance travelled. This showed no significant difference between these two species in glide ratio, which averaged 1.91 and 1.82 m distance per 1 m loss...

A female platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus was intensively monitored with the use of video equipment in captivity at Healesville Sanctuary, Victoria, Australia to record feeding and behavioural changes that occurred as a result of only the second successful raising of young platypus (twins) in captivity. These results revealed the female to be inac...

The mahogany glider Petaurus gracilis is an endangered species of gliding possum that is only found within a limited distribution in North Queensland, Australia. The foraging behaviour of the mahogany glider was examined to determine how it changes seasonally, by extensive observations of radio-collared animals over a 2-year period. A total of 440...

The home-range of the mahogany glider was estimated, and its social behaviour examined, by following radio-collared animals over a two-year period within an area of continuous habitat and an adjacent area of fragmented habitat. The average home range within the continuous habitat was 19.25 ha for males and 20.34 ha for females, with male and female...

Mahogany gliders, Petaurus gracilis, and sugar gliders, Petaurus breviceps, were trapped in an area of open woodland in north Queensland between 1994 and 1996 to examine their population ecology and life history. This study area contained two smaller areas, one consisting of continuous habitat and the other an area of fragmented habitat adjacent to...

Trapping data of the mahogany glider, Petaurus gracilis, and the sugar glider, Petaurus breviceps, in sympatry, in north Queensland, were analysed with vegetation variables to determine the habitat relationships of these two species. The study area contained a trapping grid (80 traps) within an area of continuous forest and trapping transects withi...

The population viability analysis (PVA) program VORTEX was used to examine the viability of different sized populations of the Mahogany Glider Petaurus gracilis, and to examine the impact of a one in a hundred year catastrophe (each requiring a different reserve size) of different severities on different sized populations. The PVA showed that popul...

Known locality records of the mahogany glider (Petaurus gracilis) and the squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) in Queensland were used to predict the distributional limits of both of these species within Queensland using the computer program BIOCLIM. The mahogany glider was predicted to occur in areas with a higher average mean annual temperatur...