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Much biodiversity lives on lands to which Indigenous people retain strong legal and management rights. However this is rarely quantified. Here we provide the first quantitative overview of the importance of Indigenous land for a critical and vulnerable part of biodiversity, threatened species, using the continent of Australia as a case study. We find that three quarters of Australia's 272 terrestrial or freshwater vertebrate species listed as threatened under national legislation have projected ranges that overlap Indigenous lands. On average this overlap represents 45% of the range of each threatened species while Indigenous land is 52% of the country. Hotspots where multiple threatened species ranges overlap occur predominantly in coastal Northern Australia. Our analysis quantifies the vast potential of Indigenous land in Australia for contributing to national level conservation goals, and identifies the main land management arrangements available to Indigenous people which may enable them to deliver those goals should they choose to do so.

This study used a reef-up approach to map coral reef benthos, substrates and bathymetry, with high spatial resolution hyperspectral image data. It investigated a physics-based inversion method for mapping coral reef benthos and substrates using readily available software: Hydrolight and ENVI. Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) data were acquired over Heron Reef in July 2002. The spectral reflectance of coral reef benthos and substrate types were measured in-situ, and using the HydroLight 4.2 radiative transfer model a spectral reflectance library of subsurface reflectance was simulated using water column depths from 0.5–10.0 m at 0.5 m intervals. Using the Spectral Angle Mapper algorithm, sediment, benthic micro-algae, algal turf, crustose coralline algae, macro-algae, and live coral were mapped with an overall accuracy of 65% to a depth of around 8.0 m; in waters deeper than 8.0 m the match between the classified image and field validation data was poor. Qualitative validation of the maps showed accurate mapping of areas dominated by sediment, benthic micro-algae, algal turf, live coral, and macro-algae. A bathymetric map was produced for water column depths 0.5–10.0 m, at 0.5 m intervals, and showed high correspondence with in-situ sonar data (R2 value of 0.93).

Subspecies are often less well-defined than species but have become one of the basic units for legal protection. Evidence for the erection or synonymy of subspecies therefore needs to be founded on the best science available. Here we show that there is clear genetic disjunction in the Sarus Crane Antigone antigone, where previously the variation had appeared to be clinal. Based on a total sample of 76 individuals, analysis of 10 microsatellite loci from 67 samples and 49 sequences from the mitochondrial control region, this research establishes that the Australian Sarus Crane A. a. gillae differs significantly from both A. a. antigone (South Asia) and A. a. sharpii (Myanmar and Indochina). A single sample from the extinct Philippine subspecies A. a luzonica clustered with A. a. gillae, hinting at the potential for a more recent separation between them than from A. a. antigone and A. a. sharpii, even though A. a. sharpii is closer geographically. The results demonstrate that failure to detect subspecies through initial genetic profiling does not mean discontinuities are absent and has significance for other cases where subspecies are dismissed based on partial genetic evidence. It could also be potentially important for sourcing birds for reintroduction to the Philippines.

The spatial extent of terrestrial vegetation types reliant on groundwater in arid Australia is poorly known, largely because they are located in remote areas that are expensive to survey. In previous attempts, the use of traditional remote sensing approaches failed to discriminate vegetation using groundwater from surrounding vegetation. Difficulties in discerning vegetation groundwater use by remote sensing may be exacerbated by the unpredictable rainfall patterns and lack of annual wet and dry seasons common in arid Australia. This study presents a novel approach to mapping terrestrial groundwater‐dependent ecosystems (GDEs) by applying singular value decomposition (SVD) to time‐series of vegetation indices derived from Landsat‐8 data, to isolate the temporal and spatial sources of variation associated with groundwater use. In‐situ data from 442 sites were used to supervise and validate logistic regression models and neural networks, to determine whether sites could be correctly classified as GDEs using components obtained from the SVD. These results were used to produce a probability map of GDE occurrence across a 557 000 ha study area. Overall accuracy of the final classification map was 79%, with 72% of sites correctly identified as GDEs (true positives) and 16% incorrectly classified as GDEs (false positives). The approach is broadly applicable in arid regions globally, and is easily validated if general background knowledge of regional vegetation exists. Globally, and going forward, increased water extraction is expected to severely limit water available for GDEs. Successfully mapping GDEs in arid environments is a critical step towards their sustainable management, and the human and natural systems reliant upon them. The spatial extent of terrestrial vegetation types reliant on groundwater in arid regions is poorly known, which is problematic given that the global demand for groundwater continues to grow and in arid regions, groundwater extraction already exceeds recharge. This study presents a novel approach to map terrestrial groundwater‐dependent ecosystems (GDEs) by applying singular value decomposition to time‐series of vegetation indices derived from Landsat‐8 data, which isolates the temporal and spatial sources of variation associated with groundwater use. The final GDE classification map correctly classified 72% of ground‐truthed sites as GDEs (true positives) and 16% incorrectly (false positives), and this approach is broadly applicable to arid regions worldwide.

Much of the annual cycle of threatened migratory shorebirds is spent in non‐breeding areas, but there have been few studies on how that habitat is used at fine‐scale. Tracking data from 13 endangered far eastern curlews at three Australian non‐breeding locations revealed that home range size and maximum daily displacement varied substantially among study areas and between years. Home range overlap also varied with tidal cycle, generally being lower at low than high tide, though there was considerable variability across time and between sites. Variation in site fidelity may indicate behavioral flexibility but may also suggest that resources critical to survival vary between years. If the latter is the case, protection of what appears to be critical habitat in 1 year may not be adequate in subsequent years, necessitating a precautionary approach to the conservation of habitat extent over the long term. For species like the far eastern curlew, which are exceptionally hard to capture and highly threatened, tracking data should be analyzed from as many perspectives as possible to justify the cost to both researchers and birds. In this study, use of tracking data previously analyzed to reveal migration routes has yielded important insights into their ecology and optimal management. Tracking data from 13 endangered far eastern curlews at three Australian non‐breeding locations revealed that home range size varied substantially among study areas and between years, home range overlap varied with tidal cycle, and variation in site fidelity may indicate behavioral flexibility but may also suggest that resources critical to survival vary between years. For species like the far eastern curlew, which are exceptionally hard to capture and highly threatened, tracking data should be analyzed from as many perspectives as possible to justify the cost to both researchers and birds. In this study, use of tracking data previously analyzed to reveal migration routes has yielded important insights into their ecology and optimal management.

Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs) are critical strongholds for the environmental services that they provide, not least for their role in climate protection. On the basis of information about the distributions of IFLs and Indigenous Peoples’ lands, we examined the importance of these areas for conserving the world’s remaining intact forests. We determined that at least 36% of IFLs are within Indigenous Peoples’ lands, making these areas crucial to the mitigation action needed to avoid catastrophic climate change. We also provide evidence that IFL loss rates have been considerably lower on Indigenous Peoples’ lands than on other lands, although these forests are still vulnerable to clearing and other threats. World governments must recognize Indigenous Peoples’ rights, including land tenure rights, to ensure that Indigenous Peoples play active roles in decision-making processes that affect IFLs on their lands. Such recognition is critical given the urgent need to reduce deforestation rates in the face of escalating climate change and global biodiversity loss.

Formal engagement of indigenous peoples in conservation is increasing globally and leads to multiple benefits to communities while contributing to national and international biodiversity goals and obligations. This and ongoing declines in biodiversity have led to calls to increase opportunities for indigenous people to engage in managing their estates. However, there is no overarching understanding of indigenous peoples' involvement in conservation, which limits the identification of new opportunities. We amalgamated information across governments and large nongovernmental organizations in the megadiverse country of Australia to quantify the involvement of indigenous people in management of threatened species. We identified 153 Australian-based projects undertaken by different indigenous groups around the nation in 2015 and 2016 that included explicit funds for management of threatened species or threatened ecosystems. Most were in remote parts of western and northern Australia. Almost one-quarter of all threatened animals and 2% of threatened plants were the subject of some formal conservation action by indigenous people. Occurrence records for 1574 threatened species showed that 823 (89.2%) of 923 species recorded on indigenous peoples' lands were not listed in management projects. This gap may represent new opportunities for conservation initiatives. Because at least 59.5% of Australia's threatened species occur on indigenous peoples' lands, efforts to build appropriate and effective indigenous conservation alliances are vital. However, it is also important to recognize that threatened species are part of complex social, ecological, economic and cultural systems, and to achieve successful outcomes requires consideration of indigenous peoples'priorities, rights, and obligations and relationships with their traditionally owned land and sea. La participación formal de los pueblos nativos en la conservación está creciendo a nivel global, resultando en beneficios múltiples para las comunidades mientras contribuye a las obligaciones y objetivos nacionales e internacionales de biodiversidad. Esto y las continuas declinaciones en la biodiversidad han llevado a llamadas por el incremento de oportunidades para que los pueblos nativos participen en el manejo de sus tierras. Sin embargo, no existe un entendimiento dominante de la intervención de los pueblos nativos en la conservación, lo que limita la identificación de nuevas oportunidades. Amalgamamos la información de gobiernos y organizaciones no-gubernamentales en el país megadiverso de Australia para cuantificar la intervención de los pueblos nativos en el manejo de especies amenazadas. Identificamos 153 proyectos basados en Australia emprendidos por diferentes grupos indígenas en el país entre 2015 y 2016 que incluían un financiamiento explícito para el manejo de especies o ecosistemas amenazados. La mayoría ocurrieron en las partes remotas del norte y oeste de Australia. Casi un cuarto de todos los animales amenazados y el 2% de las plantas amenazadas eran el objetivo de alguna acción formal de conservación realizada por grupos indígenas. Los registros de ocurrencia para 1574 especies amenazadas mostraron que 823 (89.2%) de las 923 especies registradas en tierras pertenecientes a grupos indígenas no aparecían en las listas de los proyectos de manejo. Este vacío puede representar nuevas oportunidades para las iniciativas de conservación. Ya que al menos el 59.5% de las especies amenazadas de Australia están presentes en tierras de grupos indígenas, son vitales los esfuerzos para construir alianzas de conservación efectivas y apropiadas con los pueblos nativos. Sin embargo, también es importante reconocer que las especies amenazadas son parte de complejos sistemas sociales, ecológicos, económicos y culturales, y para obtener resultados exitosos se requiere la consideración de las prioridades, derechos, y obligaciones de los pueblos nativos y sus relaciones con las tierras y mar de propiedad tradicional. 全球范围内, 原住民正越来越多地正式参与到保护当中，这给社区带来许多好处，还有助于达成国 家及全球生物多祥性保护目标和义务。随着生物多祥性不断下降，人们呼吁増加原住民参与管理其居住地的机 会。然而, 目前对原住民参与保护的了解不够全面, 限制了新机会的发现。我们整合了澳大利亚政府和大型非政 府组织的信息, 定量分析了这个生物多祥性大国的原住民在瀕危物种管理中的参与情况。我们确定了 2015 年 和 2016 年全国各地不同的原住民群体在澳大利亚开展的 153个的项目，它们都明确地为濒危物种或瀕危生态 系统管理设立了基金。这些项目大多建立在澳大利亚偏远的西部和北部。原住民正式保护行动的対象包含了澳 大利亚近四分之一的瀕危动物和百分之ニ的濒危植 物。1574 个瀕危物种的出现记录表明，在原住民的土地上 记录到的 923 个物种中有 823 种(89.2%)未被列入管理项目。这ー差距可能也意味着保护计划有新的机会。 由于澳大利亚瀕危物种中至少 59.5% 在原住民的土地有分布，努力建立合适并有效的原住民保护联盟十分重 要。同时还需要认识到，濒危物种是社会、生态、经济和文化的复杂系统中的一部分，要取得保护成果需要考虑 原住民的优先性、权ヵ和义务，以及与他们向来拥有的土地和海洋的关系。

To investigate the extent of suspected hybridization between the brolga Antigone rubicunda and the Australian sarus crane Antigone antigone gillae , first noted in the 1970s, we analysed the genetic diversity of 389 feathers collected from breeding and flocking areas in north Queensland, Australia. We compared these with 15 samples from birds of known identity, or that were phenotypically typical. Bayesian clustering based on 10 microsatellite loci identified nine admixed birds, confirming that Australian cranes hybridize in the wild. Four of these were backcrosses, also confirming that wild Australian crane hybrids are fertile. Genetic analyses identified 10 times more hybrids than our accompanying visual field observations. Our analyses also provide the first definitive evidence that both brolgas and sarus cranes migrate between the Gulf Plains, the principal breeding area for sarus cranes, and major non-breeding locations on the Atherton Tablelands. We suggest that genetic analysis of shed feathers could potentially offer a cost-effective means to provide ongoing monitoring of this migration. The first observations of hybrids coincided with significantly increased opportunities for interaction between the two species when foraging on agricultural crops, which have developed significantly in the Atherton Tablelands flocking area since the 1960s. As the sarus crane is declining in much of its Asian range, challenges to the genetic integrity of the Australian sarus crane populations have international conservation significance.

Indigenous Peoples' lands cover over one-quarter of the Earth's surface, a significant proportion of which is still free from industrial-level human impacts. As a result, Indigenous Peoples' lands are crucial for the long-term persistence of Earth's biodiversity and ecosystem services. Yet, information on species composition within Indigenous Peoples' lands globally remains unknown. Here, we provide the first comprehensive analysis of terrestrial vertebrate composition across mapped Indigenous lands by using distribution range data for 20,328 IUCN-assessed mammal, bird and amphibian species. We estimate that 12,521 species (62%) have ≥10% of their ranges in Indigenous Peoples' lands, and 3,314 species (16%) have >half of their ranges within these lands. For threatened species assessed, 840 (18% of all threatened mammals, birds and amphibians) occur in Indigenous Peoples' lands. We also find that 3,989 species (of which 418 are threatened) have ≥10% of their range in Indigenous Peoples' lands that have low human pressure. Our results are conservative because not all known Indigenous lands are mapped, and this analysis shows how important Indigenous Peoples' lands are for the successful implementation of international conservation and sustainable development agendas.