Limits of use of social media for monitoring biosecurity events

Open-source intelligence for conservation biology

Open-source intelligence (OSINT) evolved in spy agencies but now is rapidly changing many fields of study, from anthropology to zoology. Despite the fact that OSINT occasionally is used in conservation biology, there is little recognition that some tools and frameworks used by conservation professionals are drawn from this well-established field. In conservation biology, OSINT is sometimes used to evaluate wildlife crime, human-wildlife and human-environment interactions, animal behavior, and questions of distribution and abundance. Recognizing the conceptual foundations of the field would allow expansion of conservation biology, not only in the areas noted above, but also, for example, in study of habitat use, habitat change, and animal behavior. This recognition would also provide frameworks for conceptual advancement, especially in terms of data and privacy management. Failure to recognize the underpinnings of OSINT tools in conservation biology harms the field because it limits how research is framed, thought about, and implemented. Likewise, taking an OSINT perspective to conservation problems, rather than simply thinking in terms of big data, can enrich the field, expand science, and increase knowledge and understanding of biology and biodiversity.

Public health crises in popular media: how viral outbreak films affect the public's health literacy

Infectious disease epidemics are widely recognised as a serious global threat. The need to educate the public regarding health and safety during an epidemic is particularly apparent when considering that behavioural changes can have a profound impact on disease spread. While there is a large body of literature focused on the opportunities and pitfalls of engaging mass news media during an epidemic, given the pervasiveness of popular film in modern society there is a relative lack of research regarding the potential role of fictional media in educating the public about epidemics. There is a growing collection of viral outbreak films that might serve as a source of information about epidemics for popular culture consumers that warrants critical examination. As such, this paper considers the motivating factors behind engaging preventive behaviours during a disease outbreak, and the role news and popular media may have in influencing these behaviours.

Aestivation dynamics of bogong moths (Agrotis infusa) in the Australian Alps and predation by wild pigs (Sus scrofa)

We document predation of aestivating bogong moths (Agrotis infusa) by wild pigs (Sus scrofa) at a location in the Australian Alps. This is the first known record of pigs preying on bogong moths. Wild pigs are recent colonisers of the region, though already the population appears seasonally habituated to foraging on aestivating moths. This is indicative of adaptation of a feral animal undertaking dietary resource switching within what is now a modified ecosystem and food web. The significance of this predation on moth abundance is unclear. Long-term monitoring to compare numbers of moths with historical surveys undertaken before the colonisation by wild pigs will require that they are excluded from aestivation sites. Our surveys in 2014–15 observed bogong moths to arrive about one month earlier compared with a similar survey in 1951–52, though to also depart earlier.