Stephen G. Kearney’s research while affiliated with The University of Queensland and other places

Many of the proposed solutions to the global biodiversity crisis rely on national governments to act. The conservation movement needs to motivate governments or face an ongoing extinction crisis. Here we explore how linking biodiversity to electoral systems may assist in motivating government action. Using Australia as a case study, we analyze the intersection of 151 electoral districts and 1651 threatened species. We show all districts contain at least 14 threatened species. Half of the species analyzed (n = 801, 49%) are confined to one district (n = 44), with 1345 (81%) species intersecting with less than five. This geographical information shows that alongside local social and economic issues, the threatened species crisis can be made relevant to all Australian elected representatives. Locally relevant information can encourage integration of species needs into the scope of political representation. As such, linking biodiversity to political geography offers a potential pathway to creating transformative change.

Feral cats (Felis catus) are a significant predator of native birds in Australia, and a recognised predator for the endangered night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis). We examined camera trapping data from 2014 to 2020 collected at the Pullen Pullen (night parrot) reserve in southwestern Queensland to investigate the spatial and temporal patterns of feral cat activity. These data were collected from two discrete periods, with slightly different foci, and we undertook careful data exploration and refinement to identify a consistent data set. We modelled the relationship between the camera detections and a range of environmental, spatial, and temporal parameters, using logistic regression and two selection criteria (Akaike's and Bayesian). The final parsimonious model identified that feral cat detection probability decreased with increasing ruggedness and increased as distance to creek lines decreased. Feral cat detection probability also declined over time from camera deployment. In each model the variance component estimates suggested that some influences on cat detection probability remain unexplained. Regardless, our results provide further data on feral cat activity, and therefore information to focus and improve the management of this threat to the night parrot and other significant species on this conservation reserve.

Mining companies increasingly commit to a net positive impact on biodiversity. However, assessing the industry's progress toward achieving this goal is limited by knowledge of current mining threats to biodiversity and the relevant opportunities available for them to improve conservation outcomes. Here, we investigate the global exposure of terrestrial mammal habitat to mining activities, revealing the 136 species with >30% of their habitat within 10 km of a mining property or exploration site. One third (n = 42) of these species are already threatened with extinction according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), suggesting projected increased demand for minerals may push some species beyond critical thresholds. Moreover, 28% (n = 33) of species are Data Deficient, illustrating tangible ways for industry to fill current knowledge gaps. However, large discrepancies between our results and the species currently listed as threatened by mining in the IUCN Red List, suggest other species may be at risk and that conservation tools and analyses based on these data may underestimate the benefits of averting such threats. We recommend ways to better capture mining threats to species within IUCN Red List assessments and discuss how these changes could improve conservation outcomes in mineral‐rich areas. Mining companies can help provide the knowledge and resources needed to conserve threatened species in mineral‐rich regions.

A core objective of the conservation movement is to motivate government decision-makers into delivering critical policy changes to abate the global species extinction crisis. Using Australia as a case study, we showcase a way of highlighting the intersection between a nation’s elected representatives and extant threatened species. We analyse the relationship between Australia’s 151 Commonwealth Electoral Divisions (CEDs) and the distributions of 1,651 nationally listed threatened species. We show all CEDs contain at least 14 threatened species and nearly half of the species analysed (n=801, 49%) are confined to just one CED (n=44), with 1345 (81%) species intersecting with < five CEDs. These findings demonstrate the importance of enumerating the crisis to better understand the responsibility elected representatives have to their local region and constituents. Linking species distributions to political geography creates data that can be used by the conservation movement to motivate environmental accountability and leadership.

The main effort to secure threatened species globally is to set aside land and sea for their conservation via governance arrangements such as protected areas. But not even the biggest protected area estate will cover enough area to halt most species declines. Consequently, there is a need for assessments of how species habitats are distributed across the tenure landscape, to guide policy and conservation opportunities. Using Australia as a case study, we assess the relationship between land tenure coverage and the distributions of nationally listed threatened species. We discover that on average, nearly half (48%) of Australian threatened species' distributions occur on privately owned (freehold) lands, despite this tenure covering only 29% of the continent. In contrast, leasehold lands, which cover 38% of Australia, overlap with only 6% of species' distributions while protected area lands (which cover 20%) have an average of 35% of species' distributions. We found the majority (75%; n = 1199) of species occur across multiple land tenures, and those species that are confined to a single tenure were mostly on freehold lands (13%; n = 201) and protected areas (9%; n = 139). Our findings display the opportunity to reverse the current trend of species decline with increased coordination of threat management across land tenures. We quantify the overlap of threatened species with land tenure across Australia. On average, half of threatened species' distributions occur on freehold lands and three‐quarter of the species occur across multiple land tenures.

Predator diet can provide important data to inform management actions as well as an enhanced understanding of the fauna of a region. The diet of dingo (Canis lupus dingo), feral cat (Felis catus) and eastern barn owl (Tyto delicatula) were compared using scat, stomach and pellets from a significant conservation reserve in southwest Queensland. Dingo diet was dominated by macropods, while the diet of feral cat and barn owl was dominated by small mammals. We found no remains of threatened species but recommend continued monitoring of predator diet as a tool to assist management.