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Ben Wagner

@gliderhabitat.bsky.social
423 followers 353 following 33 posts

Research Fellow @unimelb. Studying arboreal mammal habitat in mixed species eucalypt forests and forest resilience and adaptation in the Australian alps.

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Reposted by Ben Wagner
Tom Fairman @itsnotfairman.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Excellent work on a dire situation facing Alpine Ash in Australia. Also great to have some explaining of what Resist Accept Direct could look like. theconversation.com/can-we-keep-...
theconversation.com
Can we keep Australia’s endangered alpine ash on the map? New modelling shows where to focus our efforts
A hotter, drier and more fire-prone future is putting these unique trees at risk.
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Reposted by Ben Wagner
The Conversation AUNZ @aunz.theconversation.com · 30/06/2026
A hotter, drier and more fire-prone future is putting these unique trees at risk.
theconversation.com
Can we keep Australia’s endangered alpine ash on the map? New modelling shows where to focus our efforts
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Find a summary of our findings in @theconversation.com: theconversation.com/can-we-keep-...
theconversation.com
Can we keep Australia’s endangered alpine ash on the map? New modelling shows where to focus our efforts
A hotter, drier and more fire-prone future is putting these unique trees at risk.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Current, already warmer and drier, climate and more frequent and severe fires were drivers of its decline, while reproductive maturity was the main factor ensuring its survival. Its crucial to direct management actions like sowing to medium risk areas, while directing or accepting change elsewhere.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
In our landscape simulation study, led by the talented Kaitie Hammond, and Craig Nitschke, we tracked the fate of the recently declared endangered alpine ash, showing that even without further climate warming, we may lose up to 65% of its current mainland distribution due to altered fire regimes.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Happy to share our new research, out in @springernature.com Landscape Ecology today: link.springer.com/article/10.1... .Reproductive maturity drives persistence of an endangered obligate seeder under future fire regimes irrespective of climate change, while targeted reseeding may enhance recovery.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
As drones become more widely used in research and management, we need to ensure they’re not just effective—but also less invasive. Evidence like our paper is critical for maintaining high ethical standards and supporting responsible wildlife monitoring.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Spotlighting told different story. Animals were over 19× more likely to show vigilance compared to drone observation. Some species (e.g. gliders) were more sensitive than generalists like possums, but still far less reactive to drones. We also saw seasonal effects, with higher vigilance in autumn.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Using 900+ drone recordings from eucalypt forests in south-eastern Australia, we assessed how nocturnal arboreal mammals respond behaviourally to these survey methods. The result: minimal disturbance from drones. Only 17% of animals noticed them, 11% showed vigilance, and none initiated flight.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Drones are on a strong trajectory to becoming standard tools in wildlife monitoring, improving survey coverage and detection of hard-to-observe species like arboreal mammals. But a key question remains: do they disturb wildlife?
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Our new paper is out this week, assessing the potential behavioural impacts of drone surveys on nocturnal arboreal mammals. An invited contribution to @csiropublishing.bsky.social Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria: connectsci.au/rs/article/d... With: @enviroadventure.bsky.social
connectsci.au
Drone-based wildlife surveys elicit minimal vigilance in nocturnal arboreal mammals: evidence from comparisons with ground-based detection methods
Drones are transforming how scientists monitor wildlife, offering new ways to observe animals safely and efficiently. We compared drone-based and tradition
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Reposted by Ben Wagner
Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson @hilaryrosed.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Twenty-three years of potoroo poo shows that these mycophagists are eating different ectomycorrhizal #truffles under #ClimateChange. #OpenAccess article: doi.org/10.1002/ecog.08410 🧪 #mycology #ecology #WildOz
A ten panel figure showing how five truffle genera (Mesophellia, Hysterangium, Arcangeliella, Thaxterogaster, and Austrogautieria) change in presence and abundance in potoroo scat based on climate variables such as weekly max temp and quarterly min temp.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Our findings highlight that post-fire management that removes resprouting trees can unintentionally strip away critical food and shelter, and that tree composition (not just diversity) is key when assessing habitat quality for folivores before and after fire.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
However, this is not true everywhere: forests dominated by a few low-protein or non-resprouting species may offer poor-quality habitat after fire.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
In many mixed-species forests, #epicormic foliage can still provide enough protein and acceptable levels of defensive chemicals to support specialist leaf-eaters like koalas and greater gliders, helping surviving populations persist and recover.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
After the 2019–20 Black Summer #fires, vast areas of eucalypt forest shifted from mature foliage to epicormic regrowth – the fresh shoots that emerge after fire. We analysed the chemistry of this regrowth and found it differs from mature #leaves in ways that depend on #eucalypt species and subgenus.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Excited to have our research on impacts of post-fire on nutritional quality in eucalypt forests for species such as the endangered southern #greaterglider and koala out this week in @elsevierconnect.bsky.social's Forest ecology and Management. Find the open access paper here: go.unimelb.edu.au/qjr2
go.unimelb.edu.au
Chemical composition of post-fire epicormic foliage affects nutritional quality for folivores
Forest fires can cause major changes in stand structure and habitat suitability for forest wildlife. For species that browse on foliage, the tree’s fi…
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Dean Nicolle @deannicolle1.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
After decades of research, our new book on the eucalypts of WA's goldfields has finally arrived! Designed, compiled and printed in Australia. Looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks of this one. For more information, sample pages and to order: www.dn.com.au/Eucalypts_of...
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Professor Euan Ritchie FAMS @euanritchie.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
I recently gave a talk about Wilkerr (dingoes) at #ESA2025 (ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...). Many call them 'wild dogs' in S.A. Below the dingo fence they are to be _eradicated_, by law. But the only true wild dog I knew of was the legendary dachshund, Valerie. #DadJokes @ecolsocaus.bsky.social
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Very happy to have my #drone photo of East Gippsland’s beautiful lowland mixed species eucalypt forests printed alongside other amazing photographers and ecologists in the new @csiropublishing.bsky.social ,Ecology Matters’. Launched at this year’s @ecolsocaus.bsky.social #ESA2025 conference!
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
Big thanks to @deannicolle1.bsky.social for generously showing us around his Currency Creek Arboretum this morning. What a wonderful and unique place to explore all the wonderful Eucalypts that are out there! Great way to wrap up @ecolsocaus.bsky.social #ESA2025 in #adelaide.
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Jeremy Johnson @enviroadventure.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Grateful that I got to present some of my fire research on beautiful #KaurnaCountry at #ESA2025 Big thanks to the Gulbali Collaboration Kickstarter award for getting me here. #EcologicalSocietyOfAustralia #EcologyAustralia #BiodiversityOnTheBrink #Adelaide
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Also, see the other talks from current and former members of our research group, such as @enviroadventure.bsky.social @mandaloca2.bsky.social, Emily McIntyre and Anu Singh. See times below:
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Join us tomorrow (Wednesday 26.11) in the Gilbert Suite for three jam-packed sessions exploring and celebrating Australian Landscape Ecology at #ESA2025, starting at 10:30am!
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Thermal drones are a promising tool for monitoring nocturnal arboreal wildlife, including elusive endangered species. They matched ground survey detection while covering more areas, greatly expanding our survey abilities. Read more: #unimelb Pursuit article: pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/The...
pursuit.unimelb.edu.au
Thermal drones are helping to monitor some of Australia’s most elusive wildlife
Thermal camera-equipped drones are revolutionising wildlife surveys in Victoria’s native forests, say University of Melbourne experts.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Drone-derived densities for surveyed areas of 100–200 ha were significantly lower than those extrapolated from 10-ha ground survey results, indicating that ground survey transect placement, accessibility, vegetation density and habitat surveyed significantly drive resulting population estimates.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Drones achieved high detection rates for targeted wildlife and consistently recorded more species and individuals than ground-based surveys. Ground surveys often missed specialist species like the endangered southern #greaterglider when populations had low densities.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
We compared survey results from spotlighting on foot (4-10ha) with drones (up to 200 ha) that used thermal cameras to detect animals’ heat signatures and a zoom camera and floodlight to identify species. All target species were found and >1000 observations made: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TjR...
youtube.com
Forest wildlife detected via thermal drone survey in Victoria, Australia
YouTube video by Dr. Ben Wagner
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Wildlife #surveys are vital for endangered species like the #greaterglider, which are usually counted on foot via #spotlighting, which is accurate but restricted in area. Drone tech enables larger scale surveys but had not been tested for arboreal fauna in native forests: youtu.be/xwKcCEbrFEA?...
youtu.be
Thermal drone survey for southern greater gliders in Victoria, Australia
YouTube video by Dr. Ben Wagner
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Happy to be able to share that our work investigating the efficacy of thermal #drones for nocturnal #wildlife surveys is finally published in @esajournals.bsky.social Ecological applications: doi.org/10.1002/eap..... Find a summary in @theconversation.com here: theconversation.com/drones-with-...
theconversation.com
Drones with thermal cameras are revealing the secrets of elusive Australian forest wildlife
The new technology will help scientists monitor and protect some of Australia’s most iconic and threatened forest species.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
@mandaloca2.bsky.social showing us that #dingoes have social networks too. Great talk on social interactions and drivers of population density of vulnerable Victorian dingoes at #iccb2025
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
At #ICCB2025? If you’re interested in #drones, arboreal #mammals and their recovery patterns in state #forests, I’d be keen to walk you through my poster! See me Monday at 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM in Great Hall 3 & 4 - Poster Board 32. Looking forward to catch up with friends and colleagues soon!
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
High deforestation risk were consistently forecasted in lowland regions across four deforestation scenarios. This highlights the importance of protecting high diversity lowlands from future deforestation.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Out now: Our paper on deforestation risks across #newguinea led by Christoph Parsch with @biogeokreft.bsky.social and Bill Laurence. Another output of our fruitful collab between #unimelb and #unigoettingen doi.org/10.1016/j.sc...
sciencedirect.com
Forecasting deforestation and carbon loss across New Guinea using machine learning and cellular automata
The island of New Guinea harbors some of the world's most biologically diverse and highly endemic tropical ecosystems. Nevertheless, progressing land-…
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
I submitted some photos to this year’s #VicBioCon25 photo competition. If you like them, consider giving them a vote :) forms.gle/vzxiEycxEtwS...
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Reposted by Ben Wagner
Tom Fairman @itsnotfairman.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Was great to talk about our research in windthrow yesterday at the Ecological Society of Australia conference and have some great chats with people about their own observations across Australia.
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Dr Christina N. Zdenek @cnzdenek.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Dr Tom @itsnotfairman.bsky.social boldly convinces us that severe wind is an under-appreciated disturbance in SE Qld. He urges us to consider extreme wind events as opportunities to do conservation mngmt like thin woody thickening, restore habitats, and reintroduce cultural burns. #ESA2024
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Robbi Bishop-Taylor 🛰️🌏 @satellitesci.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Hey #ESAus2024, if you're looking for more Aussie ecologists to follow here, there's some great people on the #WildOz starter pack below! 🦘🐨🌿🪲 Please suggest anyone else who's missing! 🙏 go.bsky.app/5hG9bGW
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
New #greaterglider research out, led by ARI’s talented Justin Cally. We looked into the effects of the large scale storm calamity in the wombat state forest in Victoria’s west on greater glider habitat: doi.org/10.1016/j.fo...
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
Guess who’s finally on Bluesky! Welcome Tom
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VicBioCon @vicbiocon.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
Hello Bluesky!🦋 We'll be posting all our updates for #VicBioCon25 here, as well as continuing to post on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter- here's a behind the scenes shot of one of our social media team members hard at work!
Photo of a Tasmanian Devil holding a phone in its mouth.
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Thanks! Would like to be added please :)
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Ecological Society of Australia @ecolsocaus.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Here for the koalaty content 🐨
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Don A. Driscoll @dadriscoll.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
The Ecological Society of Australia is here. Such a relief to have a platform for scientists to communicate with each other and the world more generally. @ecolsocaus.bsky.social
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Julian Schrader @julianschrader.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
Our paper on global endemism in island plants is highlighted by @mongabay.bsky.social - many thanks for featuring this story! news.mongabay.com/short-articl... link to paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41... #ecology #PlantScience #nature #plants #biology #science #research #conservation #island
news.mongabay.com
More than 20% of Earth’s plants grow only on islands, global study finds
More than a fifth of the Earth’s plant species are found only on islands, making them one of the largest biodiversity hotspots, a breakthrough global study has found. This conclusion has pushed the sc...
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Ben Wagner @gliderhabitat.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
A bit late to the game, but I participated in this collaboration of over 100 Australian ecologists, led by the amazing @dadriscoll.bsky.social on Biodiversity impacts of the 2019–2020 Australian megafires that was recently published in @natureportfolio.bsky.social: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Biodiversity impacts of the 2019–2020 Australian megafires - Nature
Data collected from more than 2,000 taxa provide an unparalleled opportunity to quantify how extreme wildfires affect biodiversity, revealing that the largest effects on plants and animals were in are...
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Don A. Driscoll @dadriscoll.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
Biodiversity impacts of the 2019–2020 Australian megafires. In this massive collaboration, >100 Australian ecologists put a novel spin on meta-analysis to discover how fire frequency, interval, unburnt area, pre-fire drought and protected areas modify fire impacts.🌏 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Biodiversity impacts of the 2019–2020 Australian megafires - Nature
Data collected from more than 2,000 taxa provide an unparalleled opportunity to quantify how extreme wildfires affect biodiversity, revealing that the largest effects on plants and animals were in are...
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Professor Euan Ritchie FAMS @euanritchie.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
‘Catastrophic declines’: massive data haul reveals why so many plants and animals suffer after fire theconversation.com/catastrophic... Based on @dadriscoll.bsky.social et al.'s paper out now in Nature www.nature.com/articles/s41...
theconversation.com
‘Catastrophic declines’: massive data haul reveals why so many plants and animals suffer after fire
Frequent fuel-reduction burning appears to prime ecosystems for major disruption when the next wildfire hits.
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Don A. Driscoll @dadriscoll.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
The condition of sites affected how severe impacts of the 2019-20 fires were. Most important was the number of preceding fires, with implications for prescribed burning🌏 The conversation theconversation.com/catastrophic... The paper www.nature.com/articles/s41... The video youtu.be/kCPjowmxH3Q
theconversation.com
‘Catastrophic declines’: massive data haul reveals why so many plants and animals suffer after fire
Frequent fuel-reduction burning appears to prime ecosystems for major disruption when the next wildfire hits.
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