Aim: After environmental disasters, species with large population losses may need urgent protection to prevent extinction and support recovery. Following the 2019-2020 Australian megafires, we estimated population losses and recovery in fire-affected fauna, to inform conservation status assessments and management.Location: Temperate and subtropical Australia. Time period: 2019-2030 and beyond.Major taxa: Australian terrestrial and freshwater vertebrates; one invertebrate group. Methods:From > 1,050 fire-affected taxa, we selected 173 whose distributions substantially overlapped the fire extent. We estimated the proportion of each taxon's distribution affected by fires, using fire severity and aquatic impact mapping, and new distribution mapping. Using expert elicitation informed by evidence of responses to previous wildfires, we estimated local population responses to fires of varying severity. We combined the spatial and elicitation data to estimate overall population loss and recovery trajectories, and thus indicate potential eligibility for listing as threatened, or uplisting, under Australian legislation. Results:We estimate that the 2019-2020 Australian megafires caused, or contributed to, population declines that make 70-82 taxa eligible for listing as threatened;

In the summer and autumn of 2015, the Bellinger River snapping turtle (Myuchelys georgesi), a narrow‐range endemic of eastern New South Wales, Australia, suffered mass mortality from epidemic disease, apparently caused by a previously unknown virus. Information on the current population size and structure of M. georgesi, and the body condition and growth of the surviving individuals, is needed to support planning of conservation actions. Population estimates are also needed for a sympatric population of the widely distributed Macquarie turtle (Emydura macquarii), which has probably been introduced to the Bellinger River and may threaten the persistence of M. georgesi through hybridization, competition, and disease transmission. Data from five turtle surveys between November 2015 and November 2018 were used to estimate populations of the two species in the Bellinger River by an analysis based on habitat extent and turtle detectability. Changes in the body condition of M. georgesi and the body growth of both species were also assessed. Current populations of ~150 M. georgesi and ~500 E. macquarii are indicated, although the uncertainty of these estimates is high. The estimate for M. georgesi represents a decline of >90% from the historical population. Moreover, about 88% of the surviving M. georgesi are immature, and only about 5% are mature females. However, the body condition of the survivors has improved recently. Growth models suggest that M. georgesi matures later than E. macquarii, which may provide the latter with a competitive advantage. Evidence presented here does not support a previous hypothesis that M. georgesi were predisposed to disease through malnutrition and consequently reduced immune competence caused by high water temperatures and low river flows. Continuing disease, hybridization, and interspecific competition are probably the greatest threats to the persistence of the species.

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The Bellinger River Turtle, Myuchelys georgesi (Family Chelidae), is a turtle of moderate size (carapace length to 240 mm in females, 185 mm in males) with a distribution restricted to the small coastal drainage of Bellinger River in New South Wales, Australia. The species is widely distributed within the drainage basin and has been locally abundant, but with a very restricted range. Its preferred habitat is the deeper pools of the clear-water upstream reaches of the river, where water flows continuously in most months over a bedrock basement and a streambed of boulders, pebbles, and gravel. The species takes advantage of the highly oxygenated water with low particulate load by supplementing its oxygen uptake through cloacal breathing, reducing its obligation to come to the surface to breathe. Myuchelys georgesi is essentially an omnivore, with tendencies leaning toward carnivory. A high proportion of its diet comes from benthic macroinvertebrate communities that are relatively sedentary and live in immediate association with the substratum, but with some terrestrial fruit and aquatic vegetation also eaten. Breeding occurs in the austral spring and early summer. Current threats to its persistence include habitat modification and loss of native riparian vegetation, associated turbidification and sedimentation, predation by the introduced European fox, competition with the recently introduced Emydura macquarii, and a severe recent die-off caused by unknown factors, possibly viral disease, leading to greatly heightened sudden risk of extinction. diStRibution.-Australia. Restricted to the small Bellinger River drainage of northeastern coastal New South Wales. SynonyMy.-Elseya georgesi Cann 1997, Wollumbinia georgesi 1 , Elseya latisternum georgesi, Myuchelys georgesi. SubSpeCieS.-None currently recognized. StatuS.

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