eLibrary AUSTRALIA Version 1 (August 2022)
The purpose of this eLibrary is to introduce Australia’s State of the Environment Report in July 2022. The environment minister described it as a ‘shocking document’ that told ‘a story of crisis and decline in Australia’s environment, and of a decade of government inaction and wilful ignorance’. Every reason for us to build an eLibrary, focussing on the last five years of research.
Government Reports
18 JULY 2022 Commonwealth of Australia (2022) Australia. State of the Environment. 2021. No single pdf available but ‘guided’ individually through each of the twelve chapters and five subsections. It is all a bit cluncky but here it is https://soe.dcceew.gov.au/ Good summary in Guardian
Commonwealth of Australia (2020) Australia’s Sixth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity 2014‒2018 (166pp)
Commonwealth of Australia (2020) Australia’s Strategy for Nature, 2019-2030 (38pp)
Commonwealth of Australia (2016) Australia. State of the Environment. 2016 Biodiversity (209pp)
Commonwealth of Australia (2016) Report on the Review of the first five years of Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy, 2010-2030 (65pp)
Commonwealth of Australia (2014) Australia’s Fifth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity 2014‒2018 (87pp)
Commonwealth of Australia (2011) Australia. State of the Environment. 2011 (940pp)
Commonwealth of Australia (2010) National Koala Conservation and Management Strategy 2009-2014: First Implementation Report to the Natural Resources Management Ministerial Council (30pp)
Commonwealth of Australia (2009) Assessment of Australia’s Terrestrial Biodiversity. 2008 (316pp)
Commonwealth of Australia (2009) Australia’s Fourth National Report to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (148pp)
Commonwealth of Australia (2006) Australia. State of the Environment. 2006 (141pp)
Commonwealth of Australia (2005) Australia’s Third National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (246pp)
Commonwealth of Australia (2001) Australia. State of the Environment. 2001 (135pp)
2022
Goolmeer, T., Skroblin, A. and Wintle, B.A. ‘Getting our Act together to improve Indigenous leadership and recognition in biodiversity management’, Ecological Management & Restoration, 23, 2022, 33-42.
Yong, C. e.a. ‘The costs of abating threats to Australia’s biodiversity’ EcoEvoRxiv 2022 PrePrint
2021
Abram N.J., e.a. ‘Connections of climate change and variability to large and extreme forest fires in southeast Australia’, Communications Earth and Environment 2, 8, 2021,
Bergstrom D.M., e.a. ‘Combating ecosystem collapse from the tropics to the Antarctic’, Global Change Biology, 27, 9, 2021, 1692–1703.
Brundrett, M.C. ‘One biodiversity hotspot to rule them all: southwestern Australia—an extraordinary evolutionary centre for plant functional and taxonomic diversity’, Journal of the Royal Society for Western Australia, 104, 2021, 91-122.
Carroll A.G. et al. Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs, Lord Howe Marine Park, post survey report, prepared for the National Environmental Science Program, Marine Diversity Hub, Geoscience Australia, Canberra, 2021
Chapple, D.J. e.a. ‘Correlates of extinction risk in Australian squamate reptiles’ Journal of Biogeography, 48, 9, 2021, 2144-2152.
Condie S.A., e.a. ‘Large-scale interventions may delay decline of the Great Barrier Reef’ Royal Society Open Science 8, 4, 2021, 201296.
Dickman, C.R., 2021. ‘Ecological consequences of Australia’s “Black Summer” bushfires: Managing for recovery’, Integrated environmental assessment and management, 17, 6, 2021, 1162-1167.
Future Earth Australia Sustainable oceans and coasts national strategy 2021–2030 (43pp) Australian Academy of Science, Canberra, 2021
Gallagher, R.V., e.a ‘High fire frequency and the impact of the 2019–2020 megafires on Australian plant diversity’, Diversity and Distributions, 27, 7, 2021, 1166-1179.
Gervais C.R., Champion C. and Pecl G.T. ‘Species on the move around the Australian coastline: a continental‐scale review of climate‐driven species redistribution in marine systems’, Global Change Biology 27,14, 2001, 3200–3217.
Marsh, J., e.a. Assessment of the impacts of the 2019-20 wildfires of southern and eastern Australia on invertebrate species Final Report (206pp) 2001
NMSC (National Marine Science Committee) National Marine Science Plan 2015–2025: the midway point, (28pp) NMSC, Australia, 2021
Roycroft, E., e.a. ‘Museum genomics reveals the rapid decline and extinction of Australian rodents since European settlement’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118, 27, 2001, p.e2021390118.
Ryan A., Colloff M.J. and Pittock J. ‘Flow to nowhere: the disconnect between environmental watering and the conservation of threatened species in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia’, Marine and Freshwater Research, 72, 10, 2021, 1408–1429.
Thompson A, e.a. Marine monitoring program annual report for inshore coral reef monitoring: 2018–19, report for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, 2021
Ward M. e.a , ‘A national-scale dataset for threats impacting Australia’s imperiled flora and fauna’ Ecology and Evolution 11, 17, 2021, 11749–1176
2020
AIMS (Australian Institute of Marine Science) Annual summary report on coral reef condition for 2019/20, AIMS, Townsville, 2000
Babcock R.C., e.a. ‘Recurrent coral bleaching in north-western Australia and associated declines in coral cover’, Marine and Freshwater Research 72, 5, 2020, 620–632.
Barrett J, e.a. ‘Microplastic pollution in deep-sea sediments from the Great Australian Bight’, Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, 2020, 576170.
Bureau of Meteorology and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation State of the climate (24pp) 2020.
Chen Y, e.a. ‘A trickle, not a flood: environmental watering in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia’, Marine and Freshwater Research, 72, 5, 2020, 601–619.
Colloff M., e.a. Assessment of river flows in the Murray–Darling Basin: observed versus expected flows under the Basin Plan 2012–2019, (32pp) Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, Sydney, 2020.
N. Cook, e.a. Great Barrier Reef Season summary Report 2019-2020 (89pp) Reef Check Foundation, 2020.
Davies H.F., Maier S.W. and Murphy B.P.’Feral cats are more abundant under severe disturbance regimes in an Australian tropical savanna’, Wildlife Research 47, 8, 2020, 624–632.
Edgar G.J., e.a. Reef Life Survey assessment of coral reef biodiversity in the North-west Marine Parks Network, (88pp) report prepared for Parks Australia & Australian Government Department of the Environment, Reef Life Survey Foundation, Hobart. 2020
Fensham, R.J., Carnegie, A.J., Laffineur, B., Makinson, R.O., Pegg, G.S. and Wills, J., 2020. ‘Imminent extinction of Australian Myrtaceae by fungal disease.’,Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 35(7), pp.554-557.
Fuller R.A., e.a. ‘Collect, connect, upscale: towards coordinated monitoring of migratory shorebirds in the Asia-Pacific’, Australian Zoologist 41, 2, 2020, 205–213.
Geyle H.M., e.a. ‘Reptiles on the brink: identifying the Australian terrestrial snake and lizard species most at risk of extinction’. Pacific Conservation Biology 27, 1, 2020, 3–12.
Gillies C.L. e.a. , ‘Conservation status of the oyster reef ecosystem of southern and eastern Australia’, Global Ecology and Conservation 22, 2020 :e00988
Gillespie G.R., e.a. ‘Status and priority conservation actions for Australian frog species’, Biological Conservation 247, 2020, 108543.
Goode S.L., e.a. ‘Resilience of seamount benthic communities to trawling disturbance’, Marine Environmental Research 161, 2020, 105086.
Gore-Birch C, e.a. A case for culturally significant species, (9pp) submission to the 2020 independent review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Canberra.
Hoey A., Pratchett, M, and Harrison H, Coral reef health in the Coral Sea Marine Park: report on reef surveys, April 2018 to March 2020, (171pp) report prepared for Parks Australia, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, 2020
Hradsky B.A. ‘Conserving Australia’s threatened native mammals in predator-invaded, fire-prone landscapes’ Wildlife Research 47, 1, 2020, 1–15.
Kearney S.G. A novel threat-abatement framework confirms an urgent need to limit habitat loss and improve management of invasive species and inappropriate fire regimes for Australia’s threatened species. Preprints: 2020 2020100372.
Koehn J.D.,e.a. What is needed to restore native fishes in Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin? Marine and Freshwater Research, 71, 11, 2020, 1464–1468.
Koehn J.D., e.a., ‘What is needed to restore native fishes in Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin?’ Marine and Freshwater Research 71, 11, 2020,1464–1468.
Koehn J.D., e.a. ‘A compendium of ecological knowledge for restoration of freshwater fishes in Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin’, Marine and Freshwater Research, 71, 11, 2020, 1391–1463.
Legge S., e.a. ‘Cat ecology, impacts and management in Australia’, Wildlife Research, 47, 8, 2020, i–vi.
Lintermans M, e.a.(2020). ‘Big trouble for little fish: identifying Australian freshwater fishes in imminent risk of extinction’, Pacific Conservation Biology 26, 4, 2020, 365–377.
Murray–Darling Basin Authority, The Basin Plan 2020 evaluation, MDBA, Canberra, 2020
Park, G. and Roberts, A.INFFER analysis – Koala Conservation (49pp) 2020
Read, J.L., e.a. ‘Ranking buffel: Comparative risk and mitigation costs of key environmental and socio‐cultural threats in central Australia’, Ecology and Evolution, 10, 23, 2020, 12745-12763.
Schoepf V.,’Thermally Variable, Macrotidal Reef Habitats Promote Rapid Recovery From Mass Coral Bleaching’, Frontiers in Marine Science 7, 2020.
Silcock J.L., e.a. ‘To name those lost: assessing extinction likelihood in the Australian vascular flora’, Oryx 54, 2, 2020, 167–177.
Simmonds J.S., e.a. ‘Vulnerable species and ecosystems are falling through the cracks of environmental impact assessments’, Conservation Letters 13, 3, 2020, :e12694.
Silva L.G.M.,e.a. ‘Mortality events resulting from Australia’s catastrophic fires threaten aquatic biota’, Global Change Biology 26, 10, 2020, 5345–5350.
Taxonomy Australia, New Australian species 2020, Australian Academy of Science, Canberra, https://www.taxonomyaustralia.org.au/species-2020
Williams A., e.a. ‘The fate of deep-sea coral reefs on seamounts in a fishery-seascape: what are the impacts, what remains, and what is protected?’, Frontiers in Marine Science 7, 2020:567002.
2019
Babcock R.C., e.a. ‘Severe continental-scale impacts of climate change are happening now: extreme climate events impact marine habitat forming communities along 45% of Australia’s coast’, Frontiers in Marine Science 6, 2019, 411
Bennett J.M., e.a. ‘Soil security for Australia’, Sustainability 11,12, 2019, 3416.
Braby M.F. ‘Are insects and other invertebrates in decline in Australia?’ Austral Entomology 58, 3, 2019, 471–477.
Geary, W.L., e.a. (2019) ‘Threat webs: Reframing the co‐occurrence and interactions of threats to biodiversity’, Journal of Applied Ecology, 2019
GBRMPA (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority) Great Barrier Reef outlook report 2019, (374pp) GBRMPA, Townsville, 2019
Harris S. and Lucas C ‘Understanding the variability of Australian fire weather between 1973 and 2017’, PLOS ONE 14, 9, 2019 e0222328.
Hoffmann A.A. ,e.a. ’Impacts of recent climate change on terrestrial flora and fauna: some emerging Australian examples. Austral Ecology 44, 1, 2019, 3–27.
Hughes L. e.a , This is what climate change looks like (48pp) Climate Council of Australia, 2019
Kim, S.W., e.a. ‘Refugia under threat: Mass bleaching of coral assemblages in high‐latitude eastern Australia’, Global change biology, 25, 11, 2019, 3918-3931.
Melville J, e.a. ‘Taxonomy and conservation of grassland earless dragons: new species and an assessment of the first possible extinction of a reptile on mainland Australia’. Royal Society Open Science 6, 5, 2019, 190233.
Mokany K., e.a. ‘Riddles in the dark: assessing diversity patterns for cryptic subterranean fauna of the Pilbara’, Diversity and Distributions 25, 2, 2019, 240–254.
Murphy, B.P., e.a. ‘Introduced cats (Felis catus) eating a continental fauna: the number of mammals killed in Australia’, Biological Conservation, 237, 2019, .28-40.
Prober S.M.. ‘Recent climate-driven ecological change across a continent as perceived through local ecological knowledge’, PLOS ONE 14,11, 2019 e0224625.
Riley, S. ‘The Changing Legal Status of Cats in Australia: From Friend of the Settlers, to Enemy of the Rabbit, and Now a Threat to Biodiversity and Biosecurity Risk’, Frontiers of Vestiary Science, 5, 2019
Smale D,A., e.a. Marine heatwaves threaten global biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services. Nature Climate Change 9, 4, 2019, 306–312.Publisher preview
Somaweera R, e.a. ‘Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence: knowledge shortfalls threaten the effective conservation of freshwater crocodiles’, Global Ecology and Conservation 20, 2019,e00773.
Stuart-Smith R.D., e.a. Lord Howe Island ecological assessment report 2019, (69pp) report to the Lord Howe Island Marine Park, Department of Primary Industries, New South Wales, Reef Life Survey Foundation, Hobart. 2019
Tingley R, e.a. (2019). Geographic and taxonomic patterns of extinction risk in Australian squamates. Biological Conservation 238, 2019, 108203.(pre-press copy)
Trotter J.A., e.a. ‘First ROV exploration of the Perth Canyon: canyon setting, faunal observations, and anthropogenic impacts’, Frontiers in Marine Science 6, 173, 2019
Vertessy R., e.a., Independent assessment of the 2018–19 fish deaths in the lower Darling (99pp) Murray–Darling Basin Authority, Canberra, 2019
Ward, M.S., e.a ‘Lots of loss with little scrutiny: The attrition of habitat critical for threatened species in Australia’, Conservation Science and Practice, 1, 11, 2029 p.e117.
Wintle, B.A., e.a. ‘Spending to save: What will it cost to halt Australia’s extinction crisis?’, Conservation Letters, 12, 6, 2019, p.e12682.
2018
Braby, M.F. ‘Threatened species conservation of invertebrates in Australia: an overview’, Austral Entomology 57, 2, 2018, 173-181.
C.J.A. Bradshaw (2018) Better Prospects for the Future of South Australia’s Biodiversity, (24pp) Flinders University
Burgess M,G. e.a. ‘Protecting marine mammals, turtles, and birds by rebuilding global fisheries’, Science 359, 6381, 2018, 1255–1258.
Dyke J.U. van, Ferronato, B.D.O. and Spencer, R.J. ‘Current conservation status of Australian freshwater turtles’, Australian Journal of Zoology 66, 1, 2018, 1–3.
Freudenberger, D., ‘Matching effort to threat: Strategies to increase the scale and effectiveness of revegetation in southern Australia’, Ecological Management & Restoration, 19, 2018, 6-10.
Geyle H.M.,e.a. , ‘Quantifying extinction risk and forecasting the number of impending Australian bird and mammal extinctions’, Pacific Conservation Biology 24, 2, 2018, 157–167.
Kearney S.G., e.a. ‘The threats to Australia’s imperilled species and implications for a national conservation response’, Pacific Conservation Biology 25, 3, 2018, 231–244.
Kearney S.G., e.a. ‘Estimating the benefit of well-managed protected areas for threatened species conservation’, Oryx 54, 2, 2018, 76–284.
Ortiz J.C., e.a.‘Impaired recovery of the Great Barrier Reef under cumulative stress’, Science Advances 4, 7, 2018, eaar6127.
Richards, Z.T. and Day, J.C. ‘Biodiversity of the Great Barrier Reef—how adequately is it protected?’, PeerJ, 2018, 1-16
Sands D.P.A ‘Important issues facing insect conservation in Australia: now and into the future’, Austral Entomology 57, 2, 2018, 150–172
Silcock J.L. and Fensham R.J. ‘Using evidence of decline and extinction risk to identify priority regions, habitats and threats for plant conservation in Australia’. Australian Journal of Botany 66, 7, 2018, 541–555
Taylor G.S, e.a. ‘Strategic national approach for improving the conservation management of insects and allied invertebrates in Australia’. Austral Entomology 57, 2 2018, 124–149.
2017
L. Broadhurst and D. Coates ‘Plant conservation in Australia: Current directions and future challenges’, Plant Diversity, 39, 6, 2017, 348-356.
Capon S., e.a. ‘National climate change adaptation research plan for freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity’, (49pp) update 2017, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast.
Cosier P, e.a. (2017). Review of water reform in the Murray–Darling Basin, (318pp) Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, Sydney, 2017
Davies, H.F., e.a. ‘Top‐down control of species distributions: feral cats driving the regional extinction of a threatened rodent in northern Australia’, Diversity and Distributions, 23, 3, 2017, 272-283.
Duke N.C. e.a. ‘Large-scale dieback of mangroves in Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria: a severe ecosystem response, coincidental with an unusually extreme weather event’, Marine and Freshwater Research 68, 10, 2017, 1816–1829.
Finlayson C.M., e.a. ‘Policy considerations for managing wetlands under a changing climate’, Marine and Freshwater Research 68, 10, 2017, 1803–1815.
Gellie N.J.C., e.a. ‘Revegetation rewilds the soil bacterial microbiome of an old field’, Molecular Ecology 26, 11, 2017, 2895–2904.
James C.S., e.a ‘Sink or swim? Potential for high faunal turnover in Australian rivers under climate change’, Journal of Biogeography 44, 3, 2017, 489–501.
Mella, V.S., e.a. ‘Foxes in trees: a threat for Australian arboreal fauna?’ Australian Mammalogy, 40, 1, 2017, 103-105, pre-publication copy
Morrant D.S., e.a. ‘Prey use by dingoes in a contested landscape: Ecosystem service provider or biodiversity threat?’, Ecology and Evolution, 7, 2017
Rix M.G., e.a. ‘Where have all the spiders gone? The decline of a poorly known invertebrate fauna in the agricultural and arid zones of southern Australia’. Austral Entomology 56, 1, 2017, 14–22.
Yessoufou, K., e.a. ‘Integrating biogeography, threat and evolutionary data to explore extinction crisis in the taxonomic group of cycads’, Ecology and Evolution, 7, 8, 2017, 2735-2746.
Not free-online
Most of the articles would be available from university libraries. Some can be requested (after registration) from ResearchGate.net or Academia.edu
Allek A, Assis AS, Eiras N, Amaral TP, Williams B, Butt N, Renwick AR, Bennett JR & Beyer HL (2018). The threats endangering Australia’s at-risk fauna. Biological Conservation 222:172–179.
Castaño-Sánchez A, Hose GC & Reboleira ASPS (2020). Ecotoxicological effects of anthropogenic stressors in subterranean organisms: a review. Chemosphere 244:125422
Ens EJ, Walsh F & Clarke PA (2017). Aboriginal people and Australia’s vegetation: past and current interactions. In: Keith DA (ed), Australian vegetation, 3rd edn, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 89–112.
Evans RD, Wilson SK, Fisher R, Ryan NM, Babcock R, Blakeway D, Bond T, Dorji P, Dufois F, Fearns P, Lowe RJ, Stoddart J & Thomson DP (2020b). Early recovery dynamics of turbid coral reefs after recurring bleaching events. Journal of Environmental Management 268:110666.
Fensham RJ, Laffineur B, Collingwood TD, Beech E, Bell S, Hopper SD, Phillips G, Rivers MC, Walsh N & White M (2020b). Rarity or decline: key concepts for the Red List of Australian eucalypts. Biological Conservation 243:108455.
Gilmour JP, Cook KL, Ryan NM, Puotinen ML, Green RH, Shedrawi G et al. (2019). The state of Western Australia’s coral reefs. Coral Reefs 38(4):651–667.
Greenville AC, Burns E, Dickman CR, Keith DA, Lindenmayer DB, Morgan JW et al. (2018). Biodiversity responds to increasing climatic extremes in a biome-specific manner. Science of the Total Environment 634:382–393.
Halse S (2018). Conservation and impact assessment of subterranean fauna in Australia. In: Moldovan OT, Kováč Ľ & Halse S (eds), Ecological studies, vol 235, Cave ecology, Springer, Cham, Switzerland, 479–494
Heatwole H & Rowley JJL (eds) (2018). Status of conservation and decline of amphibians: Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Islands, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne
Hoeppner JM & Hughes L (2019) ‘Climate readiness of recovery plans for threatened Australian species’, Conservation Biology 33(3):534–542.
Humphreys WF (2018). Where angels fear to tread: developments in cave ecology. In: Moldovan OT, Kováč Ľ & Halse S (eds), Ecological studies, vol 235, Cave ecology, Springer, Cham, Switzerland, 497–532
Hyde J, Cooper SJB, Humphreys WF, Austin AD & Munguia P (2017). Diversity patterns of subterranean invertebrate fauna in calcretes of the Yilgarn Region, Western Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 69(1):114–121.
Hose GC & Stumpp C (2019). Architects of the underworld: bioturbation by groundwater invertebrates influences aquifer hydraulic properties. Aquatic Sciences 81:20.
Legge S. e.a. (2017) ‘Enumerating a continental-scale threat: How many feral cats are in Australia?’, Biological Conservation, 206, 293-303.
Moir ML (2020). Coextinction of Pseudococcus markharveyi (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae): a case study in the modern insect extinction crisis. Austral Entomology 60(1):89–97.
Osborne K, Thompson AA, Cheal AJ, Emslie MJ, Johns KA, Jonker MJ, Logan M, Miller IR & Sweatman HPA (2017). Delayed coral recovery in a warming ocean. Global Change Biology 23(9):3869–3881.
Russell S, Ens E & Ngukurr Yangbala Rangers (2021). ‘Now it’s not a billabong’: eco-cultural assessment of billabong condition in remote northern Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 72(7):925–941.
Spencer RJ, Van Dyke J, Petrov K, Ferronato B, McDougall F, Austin M, Keitel C & Georges A (2018). Profiling a possible rapid extinction event in a long-lived species. Biological Conservation 221:190–197.
Stobo-Wilson AM, Brandle R, Johnson CN & Jones ME (2020). Management of invasive mesopredators in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia: effectiveness and implications. Wildlife Research 47(7–8):720–730.
Stuart-Smith RD, Brown CJ, Ceccarelli DM & Edgar GJ (2018). Ecosystem restructuring along the Great Barrier Reef following mass coral bleaching. Nature 560(7716):92–96.
Ward, M., Tulloch, A.I., Radford, J.Q., Williams, B.A., Reside, A.E., Macdonald, S.L., Mayfield, H.J., Maron, M., Possingham, H.P., Vine, S.J. and O’Connor, J.L., 2020. Impact of 2019–2020 mega-fires on Australian fauna habitat. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 4(10), pp.1321-1326.
Whitehead, T., Vernes, K., Goosem, M. and Abell, S.E., 2018. ‘Invasive predators represent the greatest extinction threat to the endangered northern bettong (Bettongia tropica)’,Wildlife Research, 45(3), pp.208-219.
Woinarski JCZ, Braby MF, Burbidge AA, Coates D, Garnett ST, Fensham RJ, Legge SM, McKenzie NL, Silcock JL & Murphy BP (2019). Reading the black book: the number, timing, distribution and causes of listed extinctions in Australia. Biological Conservation 239:108261
Wraith J & Pickering C (2019). A continental scale analysis of threats to orchids. Biological Conservation 234:7–17
