Observations on breeding Night Parrots (<i>Pezoporus occidentalis</i>) in western Queensland

Murphy, Stephen; Austin, Jeremy J.; Murphy, Rachel; Silcock, Jennifer; Joseph, Leo; Garnett, Stephen T.; Leseberg, Nicholas P.; Watson, James; Burbidge, Allan H.

doi:10.1080/01584197.2017.1292404

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…() that night parrots can be found in a wide range of habitats, but highlight here for the first time the importance of feeding areas in proximity to dense ground layer vegetation for roosting and nesting (Murphy et al . ). It is likely that the species needs access to free‐standing water, at least during hot conditions (Kearney et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Movements and habitat use of the night parrot Pezoporus occidentalis in south‐western Queensland

et al. 2017

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The nocturnal, cryptic and geographically remote nature of night parrots, combined with their apparent rapid decline, means that very little is known of their biology or ecology. The discovery of a resident population in south-western Queensland in 2013 provides the first opportunity to undertake detailed studies on this most enigmatic of birds. We attached a radio tag to a bird for 20 days in April 2015 and a GPS tag to another bird for 5 days in May 2016 to study movement patterns and habitat use. Both birds displayed similar behaviour but the GPS-tagging provided a much finer resolution of spatial data. They called at dusk from their diurnal roosts amongst spinifex hummocks and then flew to more floristically diverse habitats dominated by large-seeded species to feed. We conducted floristic surveys to describe the feeding grounds of the GPS-tagged bird and make dietary inferences. This individual spent most of its time in highly diverse but ephemeral habitats, including seasonally inundated plains and depressions associated with the outer Diamantina floodplain and gilgais on ironstone plains. Prolifically seeding ephemeral species, most notably the annual grass Uranthoecium truncatum, dominate these feeding grounds. This work suggests that the habitat mosaic containing roost sites in close proximity to feeding grounds with key seed-producing species is an important factor, rather than an association with spinifex or samphire alone. Further work is needed to examine movement patterns and habitat use in more typical dry seasons and the impact of cattle grazing on night parrot feeding areas, particularly with regard to seed production. The information presented here is vital for both in situ conservation of the Pullen-Pullen-Mt Windsor-Diamantina population and for setting future research and survey priorities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Movements and habitat use of the night parrot Pezoporus occidentalis in south‐western Queensland

et al. 2017

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“…It is likely that a number of other parameters could be incorporated to further improve results. As Night Parrots call more frequently in response to local rain events (Murphy, Austin, et al, 2017), a variable quantifying antecedent rainfall could be an obvious inclusion. An emerging question in Night Parrot research is the merit of acoustic surveys at water points and likely feeding sites, compared to current protocols that focus solely on roosting habitat.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using intrinsic and contextual information associated with automated signal detections to improve call recognizer performance: A case study using the cryptic and critically endangered Night Parrot Pezoporus occidentalis

et al. 2020

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1. Rapid expansion in the collection of large acoustic datasets to answer ecological questions has generated a parallel requirement for techniques that streamline analysis of these datasets. In many cases, automated signal recognition algorithms, often termed 'call recognizers', are the only feasible option for doing this. To date, most research has focused on what types of recognizers perform best, and how to train these recognizers to optimize performance. 2. We demonstrate that once recognizer construction is complete and the data processed, further improvements are possible using intrinsic and contextual information associated with each detection. We initially construct a call recognizer for the Night Parrot Pezoporus occidentalis using the r package monitor, and scan a test dataset. We then examine a number of intrinsic variables associated with each detection generated by the recognizer, and several contextual variables associated with the species' environment and ecology, to determine if they might help predict whether a given detection is a true positive (target signal) or false positive (nontarget signal). We test several logistic regression models incorporating different combinations of intrinsic and contextual variables, selecting the best-performing model for application. We train the model, using it to calculate the probability each detection is a true or false positive. 3. Substituting this model-derived probability for raw recognizer score improved the recognizer's performance, reducing the number of detections requiring proofing by 60% to achieve a recall of 90%, and by 76% to achieve a recall of 75%. 4. This technique is applicable to any recognizer output, regardless of the underlying algorithm. Application requires an understanding of how the recognizer algorithm determines matches, and knowledge of a species' ecology and environment. Because advanced programming skills and expertise are not required to apply this technique, it will be particularly relevant to field ecologists for whom building and operating call recognizers is an element of their research toolbox, but not necessarily a focus. | 1521 Methods in Ecology and Evoluঞon LESEBERG Et aL. How to cite this article: Leseberg NP, Venables WN, Murphy SA, Watson JEM. Using intrinsic and contextual information associated with automated signal detections to improve call recognizer performance: A case study using the cryptic and critically endangered Night Parrot Pezoporus occidentalis.

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“…Regarding species behaviour, we found that the WBH has a high call density during breeding season. A study on Australia's endangered night parrot ( Pezoporus occidentalis ) observed species vocalisations during nesting and later detected 631 vocalisations from an active nest using sound recorders (Murphy et al., ). So far, we have found that WBH do not use the common call type ( ock ock ock…urrr ) at roosting and feeding sites; however, this warrants further investigation through long‐term monitoring.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acoustic detection and acoustic habitat characterisation of the critically endangered white‐bellied heron (Ardea insignis) in Bhutan

Dema

Towsey

Sherub³

et al. 2018

Freshwater Biology

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Growing developmental activities, such as hydropower construction, farm roads, and other human activities, are affecting the critically endangered white‐bellied heron (WBH). Out of a known global population of 60, 28 individuals inhabit the river basin area and freshwater lakes and ponds of Bhutan. Several constraints impede continuous monitoring of endangered species, such as the isolated and cryptic nature of the species and the remoteness of its habitat; to date, there are no long‐term reference data or techniques implemented for continuous monitoring of this species. In this study, we designed acoustic detection and habitat characterisation methods using long‐duration recordings from three habitat areas in Bhutan. Acoustic indices were extracted and used to implement a species‐specific call detector and to generate habitat soundscape representations. Using WBH calls annotated in month‐long recordings from a known site, a novel indices‐based detector was implemented and tested. A total of 960 hr of continuous audio recordings from three habitats in Bhutan were analysed. We found that a species call detector implemented using a combination of acoustic indices (that includes measures of spectral and temporal entropy and different angles of spectral ridges) has a correct detection rate of 81%. Additionally, visual inspection of the species’ acoustic habitat using long‐duration false‐colour spectrograms enabled qualitative assessment of acoustic habitat structure and other dominant acoustic events. This study proposes a combined approach of species acoustic detection and habitat soundscape analysis for holistic acoustic monitoring of endangered species. As a direct outcome of this work, we documented acoustic reference data on the critically endangered WBH from multiple habitat areas and have analysed its temporal vocalisation patterns across sites.

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Observations on breeding Night Parrots (Pezoporus occidentalis) in western Queensland

Cited by 17 publications

References 12 publications

Movements and habitat use of the night parrot Pezoporus occidentalis in south‐western Queensland

Movements and habitat use of the night parrot Pezoporus occidentalis in south‐western Queensland

Using intrinsic and contextual information associated with automated signal detections to improve call recognizer performance: A case study using the cryptic and critically endangered Night Parrot Pezoporus occidentalis

Acoustic detection and acoustic habitat characterisation of the critically endangered white‐bellied heron (Ardea insignis) in Bhutan

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