An article outlining some research into fire management in Australia and the attempts to control fire regimes with controlled burning.

Bateman, Brooke L., Abell-Davis, Sandra E., and Johnson, Christopher N. (2012). Climate-driven variation in food availability between the core and range edge of the endangered northern bettong (Bettongia tropica). Australian Journal of Zoology 59, 177–185.

Natusch, Daniel James Deans, and Natusch, David Francis Stewart (2011). Distribution, abundance and demography of green pythons (Morelia viridis) in Cape York Peninsula, Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology 59, 145–155. Author's Abstract: The green python (Morelia viridis) is an iconic snake species highly sought after in the pet trade and is the target of illegal collection. Despite their popularity, some important ecological attributes of green pythons remain unknown, making their effective conservation management difficult. Detection-only surveys were conducted throughout the potential range of the green python in Australia, and intensive mark–recapture surveys were conducted in the areas where there have been previous records. In total, 298 green pythons were located in the Iron, McIlwraith and Kawadji–Ngaachi ranges of Cape York, distributed over an estimated area of 2289 km2, where they frequented rainforest habitats and adjacent vine thickets. They were not found in the Lockerbie Scrub or Jardine River Catchment, despite anecdotal records. Green python density was estimated to be 540 km–2 in the Iron Range and 200 km–2 in the McIlwraith Range, where the percentages of adults captured were 56% and 83%, respectively. The differences between abundance and population demographics in the Iron and McIlwraith ranges may be due to differences in prey abundance and the impacts of collection. The results of this study provide baseline data to conservation managers and policy makers for the future conservation management of this species in Australia.

This article describes a new research project "Recovery of the Reef", run by EarthWatch Australia and the Australian Institute of Marine Science, which hopes to use volunteer divers to assist with survey and monitoring of coral reef disease.

An article about a result decision by the Queensland Government to declare 1.1 million hectares of western Queensland under the Wild Rivers Act. The declaration will protect the Channel Country and the Lake Eyre Basin from rom large dams and unsustainable industrial development.

An article by Jonathan Webb outlining research into the risk of cane toads to small carnivorous marsupials in northern Australia. The research shows that small dunnarts seem to instinctively know how to avoid being poisoned by cane toads. It is hoped to use the results of this study to 'train' the endangered northern quoll to avoid cane toad poisoning.

This article discusses the outcomes of the recently published third 'Action Plan for Australian Birds', which provides an up-to-date snapshot of the conservation status of every species and subspecies of Australian bird. The study applies the IUCN criteria for threatened species to Australian birds, and was undertaken by a team from Charles Darwin University.