Article
Ecology
Katelyn Hamilton, Celine T. Goulet, Emily M. Drummond, Anna F. Senior, Mellesa Schroder, Michael G. Gardner, Geoffrey M. While, David G. Chapple
Summary: This study investigated lizard distribution in different elevational zones of the Australian alps, finding that skink diversity and abundance decreased with increasing elevation, with significantly lower diversity and abundance in the alpine zone. Habitat use varied among elevations and species, with significantly reduced ectoparasite prevalence in the alpine zone.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Anna F. Senior, Nick Clemann, Michael G. Gardner, Katherine A. Harrisson, Geoffrey M. While, David G. Chapple
Summary: The threatened swamp skink (Lissolepis coventryi) has experienced significant habitat loss in the last 150 years, leading to the separation of populations into distinct lineages. Populations in the Melbourne metropolitan area showed signs of limited genetic diversity, likely due to geological and climate influences causing isolation of populations. Management strategies such as translocations, habitat restoration, and protection are important for the conservation of L. coventryi.
CONSERVATION GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Marcus Michelangeli, Eric Payne, Orr Spiegel, David L. Sinn, Stephan T. Leu, Michael G. Gardner, Andrew Sih
Summary: Individual variation in movement patterns is important for understanding the dynamics of populations and communities. This study on sleepy lizards found consistent differences in movement traits among individuals, which were influenced by internal traits, environmental factors, and habitat type. These differences reflect variation in life-history tactics and have implications for ecological and evolutionary processes.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Katja E. Boysen, Susan L. Perkins, Sumitha Hunjan, Paul Oliver, Michael G. Gardner, Shandiya Balasubramaniam, Jane Melville
Summary: This study conducted a preliminary assessment of the haemosporidian and hemogregarine diversity in lizards across northern tropical Australia. The research revealed five lineages of Australian lizard hemogregarines within heteroxenous adeleids, and showed that the Australian Haemosporida belong to the Haemoproteidae but were not supported as a monophyletic Glade.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Alfie J. Lem, Craig Liddicoat, Andrew Bissett, Christian Cando-Dumancela, Michael G. Gardner, Shawn D. Peddle, Carl D. Watson, Martin F. Breed
Summary: The global biodiversity and land degradation crises have created an urgent demand for restoration actions. However, current restoration practices are often not effective enough, indicating a need for improvement. This study focuses on the role of soil microbiota in restoration and examines their response to native plant revegetation. The findings suggest some recovery of soil microbiota, but contrary to expectations, there was not additional recovery after a 6-year period. Factors such as soil chemistry, barriers, seasonal differences, and variability among reference sites may contribute to this lack of additional recovery. More detailed longitudinal and experimental studies are needed to investigate the cause-effect relationships.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Gerrut Norval, Robert D. Sharrad, Michael G. Gardner
Summary: This study examined the parasitism of Ornithodoros gurneyi on Tiliqua rugosa and found that T. rugosa is a competent host for O. gurneyi, suggesting that kangaroos are not their only hosts. This finding raises questions about the role of T. rugosa and other lizards in the dispersal of these ticks.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Nahid Shokri Bousjein, Simon M. Tierney, Michael G. Gardner, Michael P. Schwarz
Summary: Adaptive evolutionary theory proposes that organisms with larger population sizes have an advantage in evolutionary races. However, in some cases, species with smaller populations can also survive for a long time. This study compared the molecular evolution rates between hosts and parasites and found no significant differences, suggesting other factors may weaken the relationship between population size and evolutionary rates.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
E. Payne, O. Spiegel, D. L. Sinn, S. T. Leu, M. G. Gardner, S. S. Godfrey, C. Wohlfeil, A. Sih
Summary: Home ranges, the regions where animals interact with their environment, are influenced by various factors. This study used GPS tracking data of sleepy lizards to investigate home range size and fidelity, and found consistent differences among individuals. Individual traits, social conditions, and environmental characteristics all played a role in determining home range size and fidelity.
ECOLOGICAL MONOGRAPHS
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Kimberly A. Morrissey, Jordan M. Sampson, Megan Rivera, Lijing Bu, Victoria L. Hansen, Neil J. Gemmell, Michael G. Gardner, Terry Bertozzi, Robert D. Miller
Summary: This study investigated the loss of gamma delta T cells in squamate reptiles and found that it is likely caused by large genomic deletions. The tuatara, a close relative of squamates, was identified as the only squamate reptile that retains gamma delta T cells.
JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Shawn D. Peddle, Andrew Bissett, Ryan J. Borrett, Paul Bullock, Michael G. Gardner, Craig Liddicoat, Mark Tibbett, Martin F. Breed, Siegfried L. Krauss
Summary: Mining activities have a significant impact on soil microbial communities. The restoration of these communities is often overlooked. By sequencing soil DNA, it is possible to accurately assess the composition and diversity of soil bacteria and determine the effects of mining and restoration activities. The results show that bacterial communities gradually recover towards the reference states as the restoration time increases.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Carl D. Watson, Michael G. Gardner, Riley J. Hodgson, Craig Liddicoat, Shawn D. Peddle, Martin F. Breed
Summary: Research shows that native plant revegetation can promote the recovery of soil microbiota, but a restoration gap still exists. Bacteria have better recovery than fungi, and revegetation does not generally affect soil microbial richness.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Beth A. Reinke, Hugo Cayuela, Fredric J. Janzen, Jean-Francois Lemaitre, Jean-Michel Gaillard, A. Michelle Lawing, John B. Iverson, Ditte G. Christiansen, Inigo Martinez-Solano, Gregorio Sanchez-Montes, Jorge Gutierrez-Rodriguez, Francis L. Rose, Nicola Nelson, Susan Keall, Alain J. Crivelli, Theodoros Nazirides, Annegret Grimm-Seyfarth, Klaus Henle, Emiliano Mori, Gaetan Guiller, Rebecca Homan, Anthony Olivier, Erin Muths, Blake R. Hossack, Xavier Bonnet, David S. Pilliod, Marieke Lettink, Tony Whitaker, Benedikt R. Schmidt, Michael G. Gardner, Marc Cheylan, Francoise Poitevin, Ana Golubovic, Ljiljana Tomovic, Dragan Arsovski, Richard A. Griffiths, Jan W. Arntzen, Jean-Pierre Baron, Jean-Francois Le Galliard, Thomas Tully, Luca Luiselli, Massimo Capula, Lorenzo Rugiero, Rebecca McCaffery, Lisa A. Eby, Venetia Briggs-Gonzalez, Frank Mazzotti, David Pearson, Brad A. Lambert, David M. Green, Nathalie Jreidini, Claudio Angelini, Graham Pyke, Jean-Marc Thirion, Pierre Joly, Jean-Paul Lena, Anton D. Tucker, Col Limpus, Pauline Priol, Aurelien Besnard, Pauline Bernard, Kristin Stanford, Richard King, Justin Garwood, Jaime Bosch, Franco L. Souza, Jaime Bertoluci, Shirley Famelli, Kurt Grossenbacher, Omar Lenzi, Kathleen Matthews, Sylvain Boitaud, Deanna H. Olson, Tim S. Jessop, Graeme R. Gillespie, Jean Clobert, Murielle Richard, Andres Valenzuela-Sanchez, Gary M. Fellers, Patrick M. Kleeman, Brian J. Halstead, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Phillip G. Byrne, Thierry Fretey, Bernard Le Garff, Pauline Levionnois, John C. Maerz, Julian Pichenot, Kurtulus Olgun, Nazan Uzum, Aziz Avci, Claude Miaud, Johan Elmberg, Gregory P. Brown, Richard Shine, Nathan F. Bendik, Lisa O'Donnell, Courtney L. Davis, Michael J. Lannoo, Rochelle M. Stiles, Robert M. Cox, Aaron M. Reedy, Daniel A. Warner, Eric Bonnaire, Kristine Grayson, Roberto Ramos-Targarona, Eyup Baskale, David Munoz, John Measey, F. Andre de Villiers, Will Selman, Victor Ronget, Anne M. Bronikowski, David A. W. Miller
Summary: This study investigates the aging rates and longevity of wild ectothermic tetrapods, showing that they exhibit higher diversity of aging rates compared to endotherms and provide evidence of negligible aging. Protective phenotypes and life-history strategies explain the macroevolutionary patterns of aging.
Article
Ecology
Kimberley H. Michael, Michael G. Gardner
Summary: The study found that the endangered grassland skink, the pygmy bluetongue, adapts by staying submerged in rain-induced flooded artificial burrows to avoid detection.
Article
Zoology
Bridgette Barnden, Amy L. Slender, Robert D. Sharrad, Michael G. Gardner
Summary: Anthropogenic stressors such as climate change and diminishing habitats have caused disturbances in species distributions, which is particularly important for parasites like ticks that rely on host distributions. In this study, we investigated two parapatric reptile tick species and found that they were genomically distinct but had undergone hybridization. Our findings suggest a potential shift in tick distribution and the need for more distinctive morphological features to identify these species. Hybridization could also lead to increased host exposure to different pathogens.
AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Kailah M. Thorn, Diana A. Fusco, Mark N. Hutchinson, Michael G. Gardner, Jessica L. Clayton, Gavin J. Prideaux, Michael S. Y. Lee
Summary: This article describes a gigantic Pleistocene skink from Australia, based on extensive material, which expands the knowledge of the ecomorphological diversity of squamates. With its broad skull, squat limbs, and heavy body armor, Tiliqua frangens was more than double the mass of any living skink. It likely occupied the armored herbivore niche that land tortoises occupy on other continents.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)