Joe Fontaine

Advanced sequencing technologies require strict standards for DNA input and integrity. This study addresses the challenge of extracting high-quality, endogenous DNA from smaller arthropods with mixed DNA sources (arthropod, host, and microbiome), using Amblyomma triguttatum as a model organism. We evaluated three tissue types (Whole, Bisected, and Legs), three disruption methods (Undisrupted, Sliced, and liquid nitrogen bead Homogenisation), and two extraction kits (Qiagen DNeasy Blood & Tissue and MagAttract HMW) to optimise DNA yield, quality, and composition. The Qiagen MagAttract High Molecular Weight Kit significantly increased the proportion of large DNA fragments (20-48.5 kbp) by 11-fold compared to the Qiagen DNeasy Blood & Tissue Kit. Aggressive homogenisation methods produced the highest proportion of short fragments (97%, 1-10 kbp). Whole-Homogenised specimens yielded the highest DNA concentration (198 ng µL⁻¹), whereas Bisected-Undisrupted specimens achieved 146 ng µL⁻¹ with a greater proportion of large fragments (3.15%). Bacterial DNA content remained consistent across treatments. Our findings highlight the importance of selecting appropriate extraction methods to ensure optimal DNA quality for advanced sequencing applications. These results provide useful guidelines for optimising DNA extractions from smaller-bodied arthropods (~ 10-20 mg) and establish a framework for future studies to consider DNA quantity, quality, and composition.

The ability of restored sites to recover from subsequent disturbances is a key component of restoration success. Resilience is achieved when a restored site returns to its pre‐disturbance state, rather than shifts to a different one. In restored fire‐prone ecosystems, the drivers of post‐fire plant responses and resilience of plant assemblages to fire are underexplored. Exploration of these responses is used to predict and measure the resilience of restored ecosystems to disturbance, including whether the disturbance response was desirable or not. We implemented fine‐scale experimental fires in a post‐mining restoration chronosequence 14–27 years of age in Banksia woodlands, Western Australia. We sought to understand the effects of restoration age, fire impact, and soil conditions on post‐fire regeneration and survival of restored Banksia woodland plant assemblages. To assess early‐stage resilience to fire, we calculated four descriptors of ecosystem state: plant species density, species diversity, rarefied richness and functional redundancy, and compared how these changed following fire across the restoration ages and in comparison to nearby reference Banksia woodland. Ordinations and indicator species analyses were used to compare restored and reference sites. In restoration sites, restoration age, fire impact and soil conditions had little effect on plant regeneration and survival. Changes in diversity, rarefied richness and functional redundancy pre‐ to post‐fire in restored sites were typically similar to or less than that observed in reference sites. Broadly, our findings demonstrate the incomplete resilience of restored Banksia woodland to fire. Resprouters typically demonstrated poor resilience, through significant decreases in diversity and rarefied richness following fire in restored sites. They were under‐represented in restored Banksia woodlands, so further investigations into the establishment of resprouters in restored environments are required. Our findings also highlight the importance of utilising reference data and a broad range of descriptors to fully understand responses of restored plant assemblages to fire.

Globally, fire regimes are changing with more frequent fires, longer fire seasons, and burning in places and times where fire was once rare. To mediate fire risk, prescribed burning is often used to reduce fuel but in some ecosystems increasing fire frequency has been implicated with negative ecological outcomes. Here, we investigate interactions of fire frequency and basal hollow development, a precursor to structural failure, on a giant tree species (red tingle, Eucalyptus jacksonii) in southwestern Australia. We stratified sampling (n = 622 large trees) by fire history data (1953–2021) to create 1-ha areas of red tingle forest by number of times burnt: long unburnt (LUB; 0); low (1−3), moderate (4−6); high (7 +). For each area we quantified: large tree (>100 cm diameter at breast-height) density, tree diameter, and basal hollows (proportion and extent) across and between stands. Mean large tree density across all stands was 15.7 ha−1 with the lowest density in high fire frequency stands (14.0 ± 0.8). For our smallest size class trees (100 cm DBH), high fire frequency stands were more likely to have basal hollows (31 % of trees) compared to LUB (20 %); low (17 %); and moderate (21 %). Our work shows a positive association between fire frequency and the frequency, size, and initial development of basal hollows. The implication of this research is that increased fire frequency may be resulting in losses of large individuals, potentially leading to a demographic squeeze. Future climate and fire scenarios will require transparently weighing up ecological impacts alongside fire risk to inform best practice land management.
•High fire frequency stands had the lowest density of large red tingle trees.•Basal hollows in our smallest diameter size classes were more prevalent in high fire frequency stands.•We developed a new, and easily executable monitoring protocol for assessing tree structural vulnerabilities to disturbances.•Increases in fire frequency may be leading to losses of large individuals and a demographic squeeze in the population.

Rising global temperatures will have profound impacts on species and ecosystem functioning. Species existing near their thermal thresholds will be particularly vulnerable to these changes, and those species that rely on, or preferentially use, artificial structures may face pronounced effects. Gaining insights into the anticipated climate changes, both present and future, is crucial for informing conservation practices and the utilisation of artificial structures in conservation efforts. Using three years of data, we quantified and compared temperature of artificial nest boxes installed between 1986 and 2006 and natural nest burrows of a fringing population of little penguins existing at the northwestern limit of their range. Nest boxes were ineffective at replicating conditions of natural nests, exhibiting consistently higher daily maximum temperature (~ 2˚C) and exceeded upper thermoneutral limits for longer than natural nests. Fine scale biotic and abiotic nest characteristics influenced maximum nest temperature and time exposed to temperatures ≥ 35˚C. Simulated temperature increase of 2˚C predicted an increase in the number of days exceeding thermally stressful conditions (≥ 35°C) by up to 49%. Such increases will expose penguins to potentially fatal thermal conditions, particularly during the late breeding and moulting phases of their annual cycle. This study revealed that current and future thermal environments of little penguin terrestrial habitat on Penguin Island can exceed physiological limits for this species. Intervention to improve artificial nests and better quantify consequences is urgently needed given recent estimates of a declining population and increasing risk of local extinction.

Ticks are ectoparasites of major medical, veterinary and ecological importance, transmitting a wide range of pathogens to humans, companion animals and livestock. Understanding the population structure of ticks is essential for uncovering patterns of pathogen transmission, and population genetics provides a powerful method for this purpose. Tick population studies are uniquely challenging as their biology is shaped by complex interactions between hosts, microbiome and environmental factors. The choice of population genetic tools is crucial, as different methods offer varying levels of cost, throughput, resolution and accessibility, which can significantly influence the quality and scope of results. This review traces the evolution of molecular tools in tick population genetics, from early allozyme electrophoresis in the 1970s to advanced whole genome sequencing (WGS) technologies. It critically evaluates key methodologies, including allozyme electrophoresis, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), microsatellites (STRs), amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP), sequence typing, restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) and WGS, highlighting their strengths, limitations and applications. By offering a practical guide to these tools, this review helps researchers select the most appropriate methods for their studies and allows interpretation of results from older tools in the context of modern research. Sequence typing and RADseq currently provide the best balance of cost and practicality, while WGS has great potential once sequencing costs decline. This resource empowers researchers to make informed decisions, maximise the impact of their work and gain deeper insights into disease vector population structure.

We are pleased to report that the recently released 2024 journal metrics highlight a positive trajectory with regards to the Australasian Journal of Environmental Management (AJEM)’s visibility and scholarly impact. AJEM’s Impact Factor has increased to 1.5, up from 1.1 in 2023. The Journal Citation Indicator has also improved from 0.25 to 0.33, reflecting growing recognition of the journal’s influence in environmental research. Meanwhile, AJEM’s CiteScore has risen to 2.9 (from 2.6 in 2023), placing the journal in the Q2 quartile for Geography, Planning and Development. In percentile terms, AJEM now ranks 60th among 841 journals in Geography, Planning and Development and 46th among 406 journals in Management-related categories. These advancements reflect the high-quality contributions from our authors, the rigour of our reviewers and the ongoing support from our editorial board and readership. We thank you all for your continued commitment to strengthening the Journal’s standing and relevance.

In this editorial, we take the opportunity to bring together a group of interdisciplinary contributors to reflect on one of the most complex issues in environmental management in Australia and New Zealand, prescribed burning. This special focus features insights from fire ecologists, forestry and biodiversity specialists as well as and experts in environmental policy and governance. By engaging with these varied perspectives, we aim to deepen the conversation around the ecological, social and governance dimensions of prescribed burning and to move beyond disciplinary silos towards more integrated, informed and context-sensitive approaches to fire management. We invite you to explore the perspectives presented in this issue and to join us in advancing thoughtful, evidence-based and collaborative environmental management across Australasia and beyond.

Context
Invasive plants are one of the most significant threats to woodlands globally. Methods of invasive plant control include manual removal and herbicide application. While the impacts of control methods on invasive and off-target native plant species are often explored, the impacts on below-ground organisms, such as fungi, are less well understood.

Aims
We conducted a glasshouse trial to investigate the responses of soil fungal communities to herbicides and manual removal that are used to control common invasive plant species in Banksia woodland in south-western Australia.

Methods
Broad spectrum (glyphosate and pelargonic acid) and grass-specific (fluazifop-p-butyl) herbicides were separately applied to pots containing either Ehrharta calycina, a key invasive grass species or Eucalyptus todtiana, a native woodland tree at the recommended woodland rate. After six weeks, samples of treated soils were subjected to high throughput sequencing to determine fungal community diversity, richness, relative abundance, composition and putative ecosystem function.

Key results
Pelargonic acid induced the widest range of changes including decreased fungal richness and Shannon diversity but all herbicides affected community composition. Within functional groups, fluazifop-p-butyl led to a significant decrease of symbiotrophs in the mycorrhizal species.

Conclusions
We show that invasive species management, in the manner applied, can lead to immediate changes in fungal community composition.

Implications
Observed patterns require further exploration, particularly repeat testing under different environmental conditions, to better determine the impact and mode of action of herbicides on below-ground organisms. The functional changes in the soil fungal community could further disturb the soil fungal community and complicate subsequent management considerations.

Invasive species management is increasingly important for conservation of native ecosystems, particularly for urban reserves, given their high value, visibility and disturbance. Often control methods for invasive weed species do not consider lesser-known facets of ecosystems, such as the soil fungal community. We collected soil samples from areas treated with prescribed burns, herbicide application, and combined prescribed burn and herbicide in two Mediterranean climate-type, urban woodlands in southwestern Australia, and subjected the extracted DNA to high throughput sequencing to describe the fungal communities present. We found that the soil fungal community in the two sites responded similarly and was broadly resistant to the management applications. However, herbicide application was associated with a reduction in relative abundances of some phyla and families, as well as key functional groups, compared to non-treated controls. Fire appeared to offset the negative effects of herbicide application, indicating complex interactions with the soil fungal community. Herbicide application in combination with fire is critical for grassy weed management and promoting native plant species regeneration in this system. Our results highlight the need to further examine herbicide effects on soil fungi and further research is needed to quantify effect duration for all treatments.

Alongside gradual changes in climate, extreme events such as droughts and heatwaves have increased in frequency globally. Together, chronic change and extreme events have been linked to forest die‐off, as well as larger, more severe wildfires. Increased disturbance frequency inevitably increases the likelihood of compounding effects, highlighting the importance of understanding forest responses and recovery. This study investigated physiological characteristics of the dominant canopy tree species, Eucalyptus marginata , on sites affected by a drought/heatwave event (2011) and five years later by a wildfire (2016) in southwestern Australia. Using a factorial design of drought vulnerability (sites with high and low vulnerability to drought), and sites that had experienced moderate and high fire severity, physiological measurements including pre‐dawn leaf water potential, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll fluorescence, leaf temperature, specific leaf area, and live foliar moisture content were quantified to reveal impacts and potential compound effects on tree function. Measurements were taken during a summer heatwave and typical wet‐winter conditions to span periods of high and low stress. High drought vulnerability/ high severity wildfire sites had significantly lower pre‐dawn leaf water potentials, and stomatal conductance. Although E. marginata is known to be drought and fire tolerant, this forest stand had visible tree death and canopy contractions (via leaf drop) between summer and winter measurements, suggesting low plant available water in summer approached E. marginata 's threshold for survival in high severity fire sites. Trees on high drought vulnerability sites experienced significantly more stress, but fire severity effects primarily manifested within these sites, measured via decreased specific leaf area and chlorophyll fluorescence. These results reveal interactive, contingent nature of multiple disturbances and their implications for future forest recovery. Monitoring forest health and function is central to developing predictive capacity of forest dynamics and tree responses as extreme events increase in frequency, severity, and scale.

Fire is a dominant ecosystem process in many Mediterranean climate type ecosystems, and is predicted to increase in severity and frequency, shifting away from previous regimes in many regions. Responses of flora and fauna to fire are relatively well studied, but less is known about the responses of belowground microbiota. We quantified soil fungal dynamics over the first 12–15 months after fire, focusing on attributes of the fire regime (season, interval, severity). Soil samples were collected from three sites in a threatened woodland ecosystem in southwestern Australia, a Mediterranean-type climate region. Fungal taxa were identified via high throughput sequencing of the ITS subregion and taxonomy assigned using reference databases. Richness, diversity, abundance, community composition, and functional groups were quantified. Over the post-fire sampling period, richness and diversity declined and soil fungal community composition changed significantly throughout the sampling period, with family level taxa and functional groupings experiencing the most change. Through the sampling period, an increase in saprotrophic and endophytic fungi was observed, along with a decrease in all pathogenic fungi. We found that the post-fire fungal community is quite dynamic in the first 12–15 months after fire. We found little effect of fire interval or fire season, though our inference was limited. Our work contributes to putting belowground biota into the same conceptual frameworks as aboveground taxa and serves to inform fire managers in fire-prone Mediterranean climate type regions.