Rochelle Steven

Acoustic monitoring is a common survey method for echolocating bats. However, differences in equipment, methods of field deployment, and variability in bat calls complicate acoustic analysis. The Australasian Bat Society (ABS), the peak body for bat conservation in the region, published reporting standards (hereafter ‘standards’) as a guide towards consistent and transparent methods in acoustic bat surveys. Here we review how the current standards are integrated into Australian bat acoustic research. Our analysis showed that only 8 of the 107 studies reviewed adhered fully to the standards. While 89% of studies included citation to reference libraries, and 79% of studies described call characteristics of similar species, only 17% of studies adhered to guidelines requiring the inclusion of time versus frequency spectrographs for species identification. Furthermore, only 19% reported on survey effort as a function of detector hours. This review underscores the need for easily accessible and updated standards as well as the sharing of bat call reference libraries to improve the accuracy and comparability of bat acoustic surveys in Australia. Enhancing consistency and transparency in bat acoustic reporting will facilitate more robust studies and enhance the effectiveness of conservation efforts.

Inadequacies in public protected area networks dictates that private land will play an important role in the conservation of biodiversity in the coming decades. Household gardens are a key example of private lands that can serve as refuges for biodiversity, with birds as a popular flagship for garden biodiversity. Discussion has focused heavily on the species of plant a resident might select to attract birds to their garden. In this paper, we describe additional and important factors that should form part of this broader conversation on gardens for birds and biodiversity, with a specific aim of drawing attention to species that are at risk of localised extinctions in modern urban landscapes – urban adaptors. We present our commentary in two themes: (a) mitigating threats to birds in the urban environment and (b) enhancing the habitat value of the urban environment for a broader range of bird species. We provide a synthesis of the research of recent years that has explored the urban environment and its ability to support birds, but importantly, we extend on this by bringing together topics that have been somewhat lacking in the discussion to date. In a new approach to this conversation, this paper brings together key topics that can no longer be considered in isolation if we are to make significant conservation gains in the environments were most Australians now reside.

The ecology of tourism refers to the importance of understanding ecology in the context of tourism. In this case, tourism is referred to as the activity of people traveling to destinations for various reasons. Such travel may involve short- or long-haul flights, car journeys, visits to places of interest, organized tours, and a range of recreational activities. Ecotourism is particularly important to consider where the focus is specific to the natural environment. When managed carefully and coupled with interpretive components, ecotourism is environmentally friendly and sustainable.