ProfessorMenna Jones

Project Total: $10,000; Background The eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) was once present throughout south-eastern Australia, but today occurs only in predator-proof sanctuaries and the island of Tasmania. Even within Tasmania, however, the species has undergone significant declines, with a 60% reduction in detections between population peaks in the 1990s and 2020 (Cunningham et al. 2022; Fancourt et al. 2013). The proposal is part of a larger, ongoing research project which aims to investigate the drivers behind eastern quoll declines in central and eastern Tasmania. The research involves replicated translocations of captive-bred eastern quolls across sites with contrasting characteristics. By monitoring the survival, condition and movements of translocated quolls at each site we can start to understand which factors are most important in determining the persistence and recovery of eastern quoll populations in these regions. A key aspect of this research is investigating the diet of translocated and resident wild quolls at each site, and comparing this to prey availability at each site. The availability of preferred invertebrate prey, particularly in key periods of energetic demand, has been suggested as a possible mechanism behind eastern quoll population declines (Fancourt et al. 2018). However, evidence is limited to correlations between quoll diet and abundance at only a few sites, and regional differences in patterns of decline and recovery in suggest multiple factors are likely to have contributed both to the initial declines and lack or otherwise of recovery (Cunningham et al. 2022). This project The project funding will be used for analyses of eastern quoll diet, in support of ongoing research into the conservation of Tasmanian eastern quolls. Quoll diet will be analysed across multiple translocation sites in central and eastern Tasmania where declines have been most severe, to: Determine whether availability of preferred prey is a limiting factor in eastern quoll population persistence, as suggested by previous researchDescribe differences in diet between wild and translocated captive-bred eastern quolls, as well as changes in diet with time since translocation, to determine how quickly translocated quolls are able to develop hunting skills and adapt to local conditions. This will support research into the feasibility of targeted translocations as a management technique for recovering and re-establishing populations. Analyses will include stable isotope analysis of whisker samples as well as environmental DNA (eDNA) analyses and manual hard parts analysis of scat samples collected during translocation fieldwork and ongoing monitoring. Funded by: Harris Estate Charitable Foundation ($10,000); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $0; Pedigrees constructed for populations of wild animals, such as the long-term devil study on the Freycinet Peninsula, offer the rare opportunity to reveal the processes by which disease-caused population decline alters reproductive success, life history and behaviour to influence population persistence and genetics. Our proposed study will provide information critical for strategic devil management. Funded by: University of Tasmania Foundation Inc - Grant-Dr Eric Guiler Tasmanian Devil Research Gran; University of Tasmania ($50,000).

Project Total: $8,500; The project aims to use experimental translocations of the eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) to the East Coast and Midlands regions of Tasmania to establish evidence-based translocation protocol and identifying of drivers of decline. The project will focus on the impact of individual characteristics, release methods and genetic management on dispersal, survival, and breeding success. This will contribute to the creation of a decision-making framework to inform future translocations of threatened marsupials in Australia. Funded by: Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment - Grant ($25,500); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $580,000; The project aims to experimentally test whether targeted removal of rabbit warrens will allow vegetation to recover and reduce cat presence, expanding and connecting habitat for entire communities of wildlife at large landscape scale. High rabbit densities support high cat densities causing broad-scale environmental degradation and species declines. Project outcomes include the delivery of evidence-based guidelines for implementing an efficient and low technology method for ecosystem restoration at large scale, well-suited to a broad range of land managers. The method offers a significant advance in effective methods for restoration and conservation in unfenced landscapes Funded by: Australian Research Council - Grant-Linkage Projects ($581,202); Foundation for Rabbit Free Australia ($54,545); Department for Environment and Water South Australia ($50,000); SA Arid Lands Landscape Board ($39,900); Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary ($15,000); Arkaba Conservancy ($10,000); University of Tasmania ($100,219).

Project Total: $221,188; To achieve the best outcomes for biodiversity we need to understand what social and ecological factors contribute to the success of restoration programs. By looking at past and present successes around Australia, we can make recommendations to improve future programs. To inform restoration program decision-making, this program is answering 2 fundamental questions: How are changes in biodiversity during restoration activities measured by key proponents of restoration in Australia (e.g. policy makers, restoration practitioners, landholders, research users, researchers)? Have restoration investments aimed at improving biodiversity been successful, and what factors (e.g. restoration practices, landholder characteristics, social context, socioeconomic attributes, Indigenous land management) are associated with intermediate outcomes, such as landholder participation and positive outcomes for biodiversity? This is being achieved through a series of activities involving stakeholder engagement, examination of existing restoration monitoring and evaluation methods, and evaluation of biodiversity outcomes from existing projects. Funded by: Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - Grant; University of Western Australia; University of Tasmania ($25,994).

Project Total: $8,500; Eastern quolls (Dasyurus viverrinus) are an endangered carnivorious marsupial once common throughout southeastern Australia now restricted to Tasmania. Quolls have been declining in Tasmania since the early 2000s. Understanding and reversing factors contributing to decline is essential to protect quolls in their last wild stronghold. During my PhD, I will be conducting a series of replicated translocations to gather empirical evidence as to what factors limit the distribution of the eastern quoll in Tasmania and inform management efforts aimed at the species recovery. This year (summer 2024-25), we will be conducting the first two translocations in parellel at properties in the Tasmanian Midlands. This translocation will test many factors such as the impacts of habitat, prey availability, and age of translocated indiviudals. Specifically, I will be considering how adult and juvenile quolls and wild and captive-bred individuals use the habitat differently. Funded by: Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment - Grant ($8,500); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $50,000; Using experimental releases of eastern quolls (Dasyurus viverrinus) to identify the influence of translocation protocol and individual attributes on translocation success. Funded by: Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment - Grant-National Environmental Science Prgm (NESP); University of Western Australia ($50,000); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $80,000; The eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) is a nationally endangered marsupial, and one of the Australian Governments 110 priority species under the Threatened species action plan 20222032. This project aims to understand the causes of observed declines of the eastern quoll in Tasmania and develop tools to safeguard this species in their last wild stronghold. Our innovative approach will undertake a series of experimental translocations at an early stage of population decline. This will provide concurrent information on the causes of observed declines while testing the effectiveness of translocations of captive-bred animals as a management tool for the species. It will also develop evidence-based protocols for undertaking captive-bred translocations to improve the outcomes of recovery efforts for the eastern quoll, as well as promoting early intervention for other declining species. This applied knowledge will be widely applicable to the conservation of other threatened species Australia-wide Funded by: Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment - Grant-National Environmental Science Prgm (NESP); University of Western Australia ($80,000); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $24,586,664; This research centre will be one of three delivering forestry and forest products industry focussed research under the AFWI grant Funded by: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Grant ($24,586,664); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $7,440; This project aims to understand mammal responses to forestry disturbances at local and landscape scales, with the Tasmanian wet-forest landscape as a case study. At a landscape scale, we will investigate what landscape configuration of forest reserves, extensive and intensive forestry is least harmful to native mammals while maintaining timber yield targets. At a local scale, we will determine how different forestry management systems and wildfire disturbances affect mammal abundances, community composition and species interactions. In particular we will assess whether more intensive forestry systems facilitate invasive cats and black rats, with detrimental impacts on native mammals species. Funded by: Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment - Grant ($15,936); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $210,000; The project aims to identify the ecological processes that provide the conditions that create situations of greater safety or risk for mammalian wildlife within large, unfenced landscapes in different biomes across Australia. We will use elicitation, literature inspection and experimental translocations of a declining species, the eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus), to identify and describe the intersection of habitat elements and ecological interactions (predation, competition, herbivory), both natural and human, that allow threatened wildlife species to persist in the landscape. We will experimentally test one ecologically based management lever, using removal of rabbit warrens to reduce predation risk from cats, and create safer patches in a large landscape, specifically for the western quoll (D. geoffroyi). We will produce a resource, accessible to diverse end-users on how to diagnose the problem and design solutions at local scale to create safer situations for wildlife within large, unfenced landscapes. Funded by: Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - Grant; University of Western Australia; Tasmanian Land Conservancy; University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $979,778; The project aims to understand the causes of observed declines of the eastern quoll in Tasmania, and develop tools to safeguard this species in their last wild stronghold. The project will test the innovative approach of undertaking a series of experimental translocations at an early stage of a population decline. This approach will provide reliable information on the causes of observed declines, while simultaneously testing the effectiveness of translocations of captive-bred animals as a management tool for the species. It will also develop evidence-based protocols for undertaking captive-bred translocations, to improve the outcomes of eastern quoll recovery efforts as well as promoting early intervention for other declining species. Funded by: Australian Research Council - Grant-Linkage Projects ($1,087,796); World Wide Fund for Nature Australia ($225,000); Tasmanian Land Conservancy ($211,722); University of Tasmania ($104,521).

Project Total: $1,500,000; Applied research. The project will help to understand how wildlife species respond and adapt to disease threats in natural environments, by evaluating the genetic and phenotypic changes in response to two transmissible cancers, devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) and devil facial tumour 2 (DFT2). All animal ethics and veterinary procedures and requirements will be met and adhered too. Funded by: National Science Foundation - Grant; Washington State University; University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $489,000; How to meet human needs for timber while limiting harm to biodiversity is an urgent scientific goal. The project will quantify the impacts of forestry systems and wildfire on mammal species. Novel network modelling of interactions among plants, animals and environmental variables will establish cost-effective management improvements to maximise biodiversity values. A systematic conservation planning approach will deliver spatially and temporally explicit solutions to balancing trade-offs between production and conservation. Model scenarios will include various production targets and climate change impacts on fire regimes. Outcomes will provide a foundation for policy changes to put theoretical solutions into practice. Funded by: Australian Research Council - Grant-Discovery Projects ($489,000); University of Tasmania ($88,791).

Project Total: $7,890; Student: Kawinwit Kittipalawattanapol Management of black rats at large scale in unconfined landscapes will require ecological methods as lethal control is not feasible. Development of new ecologically based methods is hindered by lack of knowledge of the ecological interactions of black rats, specifically how competition and food resources influence black rat abundance. I aim to address these knowledge gaps using a study system in Tasmania where invasive black rats and similar-sized native swamp rats occur: 1. What is the mechanism of competition between black rats and swamp rats and can swamp rats prevent reinvasion of black rats? I will experimentally remove black rats and track changes for 3 years in populations, demography, and body condition of swamp rats and determine whether reinvasion occurs. 2. As black rats are effective scavengers, is there a shift in food resource utilisation by black rats and swamp rats in areas with top scavenger, the Tasmanian devil, decline? I will use environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis of scats collected to compare diets of black rats and swamp rats across a gradient of decline of the Tasmanian devil. The project is significant because it will reveal the impact of the super-invasive black rat on native small mammals. The experiment will inform whether communities can be made reinvasion resistant by the temporary removal of invasive species and harnessing ecological levers (e.g., interspecific competition). The diet study will reveal the role of carrion in black rat invasion and provide additional management levers for control of the populations and impacts of black rats at large landscape scale. All ethical requirements and veterinary competencies will be met. Funded by: Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment - Grant ($7,890); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $58,138; The project will generate new data based on a novel framework for understanding ecological feedbacks consequent to the decline of a top predator from infectious disease onto scavengers and decomposers and to soil biogeochemical cycling. The proposal is to be submitted to the National Science Foundation - Ecosystems program. The project involves field collection of invertebrate and soil samples in Tasmania as a collaboration and interacting with my other research projects (specifically recently awarded NSF BEE). These data and samples will be used for analyses to be undertaken at University of Idaho (UI) and Washington State University (US). The budget is based entirely at UI. Benefits of collaboration on the grant to UTAS: The grant will directly support 1-2 Honours students at UTAS. The collaboration will result in a significant number of co-authored papers that are expected to be in high-impact international journals (based on the novelty of the project and the track record of the project team). Funded by: National Science Foundation - Grant; University of Idaho; University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $2,556,029; The University of Tasmania hosts one of eight Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs established across Australia under the Commonwealth's Future Drought Fund. Hubs are intended to be enduring institutions. The current proposal is about the Commonwealth's call to expand the Hubs' remit to service four priority areas under the National Agricultural Innovation Agenda. If funded, the Hub in Tasmania will need to operate under two agreements: the current agreement for the 'Drought Hub' and a new agreement that is about developing the Hub's pathway to expansion, while continuing to deliver to the 'Drought Hub' under the current agreement. This proposal presents the Hub's Statement of Claims on its ability and commitment to deliver practical activities and a business case that supports the National Agricultural Innovation Agenda Funded by: Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment - Agricultural Innovation Hubs Program ($2,499,999); Optimum Standard (Aus) Pty Ltd ($56,030); University of Tasmania ($100,000).

Project Total: $10,000; This project will assess lead exposure in Tasmanian devils inhabiting forestry plantations, a land use heavily reliant on macropod culling. This will involve a two-pronged approach: 1) assessment of the effect of seasonal culling events on short-term exposure using blood lead levels, and 2) estimate long-term exposure in the same animals, using hair samples and an innovative lead analysis tool, x-ray fluorescence. This project is done in accordance with AEC permit number 23211. Evie Jones was competency assessed in all veterinary procedures by Dr Alex Kreiss in August 2021 and will be re-assessed in August 2022. Funded by: Paddy Pallin Foundation - Grant-Science ($10,000); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $70,000; The funding provided by NRM North will support ecological research done by two PhD students that will support the recovery efforts for bandicoots being undertaken by NRM North. The two project will establish the distribution and drivers of distribution of eastern barred bandicoots in northern Tasmania, how bandicoots use habitat at fine-scale, at what stage they use revegetated areas, and the risks to bandicoots from cats both behaviourally and in terms of infection with cat-borne diseases. Prior to starting the project all students will be competency trained and tested for vet procedures if/when required. Funded by: The Northern Tasmanian Natural Resource Management Assoc Inc. ($70,000); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $11,640; This project will focus on the interactions between eastern barred bandicoots and cats in Tasmania. We are interested in whether bandicoots can recognise cats as a predator by assessing their naivety in an experimental approach. We will also investigate how a cat parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, influences the populations of highly susceptible bandicoots. Lastly, we will employ landscape genetics to identify which feature promote or inhibit geneflow. This project requires the following veterinary procedures to be conducted on Tasmanian native mammals: microchipping, blood collection and ear biopsies. Menna Jones has been competency assessed for said procedures by University Veterinarian Alex Kreiss. Bridgette Barnden is currently undergoing training in these procedures with David Hamilton and will be assessed prior to commencing the fieldwork described. Funded by: Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment - Grant ($11,640); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $25,000; The aim of this project is to gain a better understanding of the spatial epidemiology of DFTD by investigating how landscape scale movement of Tasmanian devils maps onto the social contacts between individuals leading to disease transmission. Tasmanian devils are threatened by a transmissible cancer known as the devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), which is spread from one host to the next via injurious contact, typically biting. The direct mechanism by which DFTD is transmitted has enabled the construction of contact networks for modelling the spread of disease. Contact networks are designed to analyse social interactions with the aim of elucidating disease parameters and identifying individuals that account for disproportionately high amounts of transmission. Whilst these networks have advanced our understanding of DFTD transmission in relation to variables such as season, sex and age, the influence of individual movement patterns on contact network structure remains unclear. We plan to fit the adult devil population on the Freycinet Peninsula (East Coast Tasmania) with new radio tracking collars that are equipped with both GPS for recording location and proximity loggers that record when devils come into contact with one another. The data collected from these collars in conjunction with disease status, bite wound, and general health data collected during regular trapping activity will allow us to construct spatial contact network models. These models will be used to investigate how devils utilise and move through natural and human modified landscapes, the social structure of wild devil populations, the influence of DFTD on devil behaviour, and how devil movement and contact patterns influence DFTD transmission. Funded by: University of Tasmania Foundation Inc - Grant-Dr Eric Guiler Tasmanian Devil Research Gran; University of Tasmania ($25,000).

Project Total: $15,000; The Tasmanian devil has been decimated in the wild due to the transmissible cancer known as Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD). The main aim of this project is the development of an early diagnostic test based on extracellular vesicle approaches to detect infected devils with DFTD before clinical presentation of tumours. Funded by: University of Tasmania Foundation Inc - Grant-Dr Eric Guiler Tasmanian Devil Research Gran; University of Tasmania ($15,000).

Project Total: $25,000; This is a field and laboratory study that will assess the risk for Tasmanian devils of disease spillover from invasive and domestic animals in landscapes altered for agricultural and forestry production. Faecal samples collected in intact, agricultural and forestry landscapes across Tasmania will be analysed for diet and pathogens using eDNA and RNA sequencing. Funded by: University of Tasmania Foundation Inc - Grant-Dr Eric Guiler Tasmanian Devil Research Gran; University of Tasmania ($25,000).

Project Total: $16,037,500; Water is a major asset for Tasmania linked to livelihoods, energy production, irrigated and rainfed agriculture, environmental management and conservation. Competing demands for water intensify during droughts and as hot and dry years increase in number. Wise and fair water management requires a multi-stakeholder partnership to innovate for drought resilience, optimal water management and self-reliance. Our Hub will enable drought preparedness in Tasmania through collective and co-designed actions that sustain Tasmania's high-value, clean, green international brand. We will engage with local knowledge and land stewardship through a deliberate and negotiated process and uphold the rights of Tasmanian Aboriginal people to benefit from innovations they enable. The Hub, for the first time, brings together the major players - farmers, land and water managers, researchers, and indigenous knowledge owners - who, together can reduce the risks associated with drought in Tasmania. Funded by: Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment - Future Drought Fund ($16,384,300); The Northern Tasmanian Natural Resource Management Assoc Inc. ($513,000); Private Forests Tasmania ($50,000); The Derwent Catchment Project Inc ($50,000); East Coast Primary Producers Association ($3,000); Landcare Tasmania ($1,000); University of Tasmania ($1,324,683).

Project Total: $47,082,640; The Resilient Landscapes Solutions (RLS) consortium Hub will work collaboratively with the Department of Agriculture Water and Environment to co-design and deliver critical research solutions to maintain, strengthen and restore landscape resilience, including a special focus on the conservation of nationally threatened species, ecological communities and migratory species. The RLS Hub's vision is to provide a truly national approach that underpins the adaptive management of terrestrial and freshwater habitats that strengthens whole-of-landscape recovery from major change such as wildfire and invasive species. The RLS Hub will catalyse action through a participatory Solutions Science? approach which empowers users with the knowledge and tools to implement solutions to environmental challenges. Funded by: Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment - Grant-National Environmental Science Prgm (NESP); Central Queensland University; University of Western Australia; Flinders University; Curtin University; La Trobe University; Charles Darwin University; Queensland University of Technology; Macquarie University; University of New England; University of Southern Queensland; CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation; Bush Heritage Australia; University of Nottingham; University of Tasmania ($851,621).