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The use of correct taxonomy to describe and name the earth's biodiversity is fundamental to conservation and management. However, there are issues that need to be overcome to ensure that the described taxa and their scientific names are both appropriate and widely adopted. Obstacles to this include the use of different species definitions, taxonomic instability due to accumulation of additional specimens in analyses and the progression of science that allows better resolution of species boundaries, and the inappropriate description and naming of new taxa without adequate scientific basis in self-published journals (known as 'taxonomic vandalism'). In an effort to manage taxonomic instability, the Australasian Mammal Taxonomy Consortium (AMTC), an affiliated body of the Australian Mammal Society, has developed several tools that include: (1) a standardised list of Australian mammal common and scientific names; (2) recommendations for information that should be included in published species descriptions; and (3) support for the publication of aspidonyms (i.e. a scientifically acceptable name proposed to overwrite a pre-existing unscientific name). This review discusses these issues, reaffirms the foundations for appropriate taxonomic research, and provides guidelines for those publishing taxonomic research on Australian mammals.

AIM: Comprehensive, global information on species' occurrences is an essential biodiversity variable and central to a range of applications in ecology, evolution, biogeography and conservation. Expert range maps often represent a species' only available distributional information and play an increasing role in conservation assessments and macroecology. We provide global range maps for the native ranges of all extant mammal species harmonised to the taxonomy of the Mammal Diversity Database (MDD) mobilised from two sources, the Handbook of the Mammals of the World (HMW) and the Illustrated Checklist of the Mammals of the World (CMW). LOCATION: Global. TAXON: All extant mammal species. METHODS: Range maps were digitally interpreted, georeferenced, error-checked and subsequently taxonomically aligned between the HMW (6253 species), the CMW (6431 species) and the MDD taxonomies (6362 species). RESULTS: Range maps can be evaluated and visualised in an online map browser at Map of Life (mol.org) and accessed for individual or batch download for non-commercial use. MAIN CONCLUSION: Expert maps of species' global distributions are limited in their spatial detail and temporal specificity, but form a useful basis for broad-scale characterizations and model-based integration with other data. We provide georeferenced range maps for the native ranges of all extant mammal species as shapefiles, with species-level metadata and source information packaged together in geodatabase format. Across the three taxonomic sources our maps entail, there are 1784 taxonomic name differences compared to the maps currently available on the IUCN Red List website. The expert maps provided here are harmonised to the MDD taxonomic authority and linked to a community of online tools that will enable transparent future updates and version control.

Mammal declines across northern Australia are one of the major biodiversity loss events occurring globally. There has been no regional assessment of the implications of these species declines for genomic diversity. To address this, we conducted a species-wide assessment of genomic diversity in the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus), an Endangered marsupial carnivore. We used next generation sequencing methods to genotype 10,191 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 352 individuals from across a 3220-km length of the continent, investigating patterns of population genomic structure and diversity, and identifying loci showing signals of putative selection. We found strong heterogeneity in the distribution of genomic diversity across the continent, characterized by (i) biogeographical barriers driving hierarchical population structure through long-term isolation, and (ii) severe reductions in diversity resulting from population declines, exacerbated by the spread of introduced toxic cane toads (Rhinella marina). These results warn of a large ongoing loss of genomic diversity and associated adaptive capacity as mammals decline across northern Australia. Encouragingly, populations of the northern quoll established on toad-free islands by translocations appear to have maintained most of the initial genomic diversity after 16 years. By mapping patterns of genomic diversity within and among populations, and investigating these patterns in the context of population declines, we can provide conservation managers with data critical to informed decision-making. This includes the identification of populations that are candidates for genetic management, the importance of remnant island and insurance/translocated populations for the conservation of genetic diversity, and the characterization of putative evolutionarily significant units.

The koala, the only extant species of the marsupial family Phascolarctidae, is classified as ‘vulnerable’ due to habitat loss and widespread disease. We sequenced the koala genome, producing a complete and contiguous marsupial reference genome, including centromeres. We reveal that the koala’s ability to detoxify eucalypt foliage may be due to expansions within a cytochrome P450 gene family, and its ability to smell, taste and moderate ingestion of plant secondary metabolites may be due to expansions in the vomeronasal and taste receptors. We characterized novel lactation proteins that protect young in the pouch and annotated immune genes important for response to chlamydial disease. Historical demography showed a substantial population crash coincident with the decline of Australian megafauna, while contemporary populations had biogeographic boundaries and increased inbreeding in populations affected by historic translocations. We identified genetically diverse populations that require habitat corridors and instituting of translocation programs to aid the koala’s survival in the wild.

The koala, the only extant species of the marsupial family Phascolarctidae, is classified as 'vulnerable' due to habitat loss and widespread disease. We sequenced the koala genome, producing a complete and contiguous marsupial reference genome, including centromeres. We reveal that the koala's ability to detoxify eucalypt foliage may be due to expansions within a cytochrome P450 gene family, and its ability to smell, taste and moderate ingestion of plant secondary metabolites may be due to expansions in the vomeronasal and taste receptors. We characterized novel lactation proteins that protect young in the pouch and annotated immune genes important for response to chlamydial disease. Historical demography showed a substantial population crash coincident with the decline of Australian megafauna, while contemporary populations had biogeographic boundaries and increased inbreeding in populations affected by historic translocations. We identified genetically diverse populations that require habitat corridors and instituting of translocation programs to aid the koala's survival in the wild.

The Australian continent exhibits complex biogeographic patterns but studies of the impacts of Pleistocene climatic oscillation on the mesic environments of the Southern Hemisphere are limited. The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), one of Australia's most iconic species, was historically widely distributed throughout much of eastern Australia but currently represents a complex conservation challenge. To better understand the challenges to koala genetic health, we assessed the phylogeographic history of the koala. Variation in the maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Control Region (CR) was examined in 662 koalas sampled throughout their distribution. In addition, koala CR haplotypes accessioned to Genbank were evaluated and consolidated. A total of 53 unique CR haplotypes have been isolated from koalas to date (including 15 haplotypes novel to this study). The relationships among koala CR haplotypes were indicative of a single Evolutionary Significant Unit and do not support the recognition of subspecies, but were separated into four weakly differentiated lineages which correspond to three geographic clusters: a central lineage, a southern lineage and two northern lineages co-occurring north of Brisbane. The three geographic clusters were separated by known Pleistocene biogeographic barriers: the Brisbane River Valley and Clarence River Valley, although there was evidence of mixing amongst clusters. While there is evidence for historical connectivity, current koala populations exhibit greater structure, suggesting habitat fragmentation may have restricted female-mediated gene flow. Since mtDNA data informs conservation planning, we provide a summary of existing CR haplotypes, standardise nomenclature and make recommendations for future studies to harmonise existing datasets. This holistic approach is critical to ensuring management is effective and small scale local population studies can be integrated into a wider species context.

Aim: Many species are susceptible to climatic extremes, yet few fine-scale studies consider the factors that determine the distribution of extreme temperatures at landscape and regional scales. These factors include cold air drainage, canopy cover and topographical exposure to winds and radiation. We used the brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) to test whether innovative topoclimatic grids of extreme temperatures are an important predictor of regional-scale species distributions. Location: Hunter Valley region, New South Wales, Australia (31.2-33.4° S, 148.6-153.0° E). Methods: We modelled the regional distributions of rock-wallaby observations and colonies using topoclimatic, macroclimatic, topographical and habitat factors. We employed a randomization procedure to reduce spatial clustering of records and divide the data into 10 different training and testing datasets. Models were assessed using the Akaike information criterion (AIC) on the training datasets, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) on the test datasets, and the consistency of the response curves. We compared multiple univariate and multivariate models, rather than producing one 'true' model, to examine the evidence that different environmental factors consistently influenced the distribution of rock-wallabies. Results: The environmental factors that were consistently strongest at explaining the distribution of rock-wallabies were the topoclimatic estimate of extreme cold, the macroclimatic estimate of annual precipitation, and the amount of cleared land within 1600 m. Rock-wallaby colonies were in areas where minimum temperatures were high, rainfall was low, and there was a low proportion of cleared land. Topographical surrogates performed well in univariate models but poorly in multivariate models. Main conclusions: We have shown that topoclimatic maps of extreme conditions have the potential to model the regional distributions of at least some species better

Aim: Many species are susceptible to climatic extremes, yet few fine-scale studies consider the factors that determine the distribution of extreme temperatures at landscape and regional scales. These factors include cold air drainage, canopy cover and topographical exposure to winds and radiation. We used the brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) to test whether innovative topoclimatic grids of extreme temperatures are an important predictor of regional-scale species distributions. Location: Hunter Valley region, New South Wales, Australia (31.2-33.4° S, 148.6-153.0° E). Methods: We modelled the regional distributions of rock-wallaby observations and colonies using topoclimatic, macroclimatic, topographical and habitat factors. We employed a randomization procedure to reduce spatial clustering of records and divide the data into 10 different training and testing datasets. Models were assessed using the Akaike information criterion (AIC) on the training datasets, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) on the test datasets, and the consistency of the response curves. We compared multiple univariate and multivariate models, rather than producing one 'true' model, to examine the evidence that different environmental factors consistently influenced the distribution of rock-wallabies. Results: The environmental factors that were consistently strongest at explaining the distribution of rock-wallabies were the topoclimatic estimate of extreme cold, the macroclimatic estimate of annual precipitation, and the amount of cleared land within 1600 m. Rock-wallaby colonies were in areas where minimum temperatures were high, rainfall was low, and there was a low proportion of cleared land. Topographical surrogates performed well in univariate models but poorly in multivariate models. Main conclusions: We have shown that topoclimatic maps of extreme conditions have the potential to model the regional distributions of at least some species better

Translocations are being increasingly proposed as a way of conserving biodiversity, particularly in the management of threatened and keystone species, with the aims of maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function under the combined pressures of habitat fragmentation and climate change. Evolutionary genetic considerations should be an important part of translocation strategies, but there is often confusion about concepts and goals. Here, we provide a classification of translocations based on specific genetic goals for both threatened species and ecological restoration, separating targets based on 'genetic rescue' of current population fitness from those focused on maintaining adaptive potential. We then provide a framework for assessing the genetic benefits and risks associated with translocations and provide guidelines for managers focused on conserving biodiversity and evolutionary processes. Case studies are developed to illustrate the framework.