Monitoring indicates greater resilience for birds than for mammals in Kakadu National Park, northern Australia

A study comparing trends in bird and mammal populations in Kakadu National Park, northern Australia, from 2001 to 2009 found that birds exhibited greater resilience than mammals. While native mammal species experienced significant declines during this period, bird richness and total abundance increased, with more species increasing than decreasing. The study also investigated the potential impacts of cane toad invasions and fire regimes on these trends but found limited influence from fire history. However, two threatened bird species, the partridge pigeon and white-throated grass-wren, showed significant declines. This contrasting resilience between birds and mammals underscores the need for comprehensive biodiversity monitoring and targeted conservation efforts, particularly for threatened species that may have been overlooked or already in decline before the study period.

Woinarski, J. C. Z., Fisher, A., Armstrong, M., Brennan, K., Griffiths, A. D., Hill, B., Choy, J. L., Milne, D., Stewart, A., Young, S., Ward, S., Winderlich, S., & Ziembicki, M. (2012). Monitoring indicates greater resilience for birds than for mammals in Kakadu National Park, northern Australia. Wildlife Research, 39(5), 397–407. https://doi.org/10.1071/wr11213