Animal use" is a contentious topic that refers to practices involving the utilization of non-human animals by human beings. These practices often evoke strong and emotional reactions from opposing parties, and individuals can hold incongruent views concerning different ways in which animals are used. Yet previous research in this area has tended to portray attitudes toward animal use as uni-dimensional (rather than distinguishing between different types of use), and the field has been dominated by quantitative approaches that focus on participant characteristics such as gender, age, and so on, in order to explain variance in people's views on this topic. The present study assumed that attitudes are not uni-dimensional and applied Grounded Theory Methodology in order to determine psychological factors that underlie people's views concerning animal use issues. Eight participant-led interviews explored the factors that people consider when rationalizing their attitudes toward the use of animals, and interview transcripts were analyzed with an aim to understanding why attitudes vary depending upon the type of animal use in question. Three key themes were identified, labelled as "type of animal used," "purpose of animal use," and "knowledge of animal use." These represent beliefs concerning animals and animal use, and help explain why people can support some animal use practices whilst opposing others. We conclude that taking a psychological approach in order to further examine the beliefs that underlie attitudes provides a way forward for future research.

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Lord Howe Island (LHI) is a remote oceanic island in the south-west Pacific that is World Heritage listed due to its diverse, and largely endemic, biota. A suite of introduced species have colonised the island, resulting in the widespread population declines of many native species. The delicate skink (Lampropholis delicata DeVis) was accidentally introduced to LHI from mainland eastern Australia, but there has been no detailed investigation of its biology on the island, or its potential impact on the native biota. We conducted a detailed study of the distribution and biology of the delicate skink on LHI over a six-year period (2007–12). The delicate skink was introduced to LHI in the 1980s, and rapidly spread across the island. It presently occurs in all 21 low-elevation vegetation communities on LHI. The delicate skink is diurnal on LHI, and displays seasonal variation in activity with a peak in November–December. The delicate skink exhibits sexual dimorphism with females having larger body and abdomen sizes and males having longer and broader heads, although the degree of genetic admixture may influence morphology on LHI. Females reproduce in spring and summer (September–February), with a positive relationship between body size and clutch size. Clutch size ranges from 1 to 7 (mean 3.4) and communal egg nests (11–200+ eggs) are common. Tail loss is common on LHI (55%), but is more frequent in adults and females. We conclude that, based on its distribution and abundance, the delicate skink has the potential to impact the diverse and endemic invertebrate fauna on LHI.

Species interactions can determine range limits, and parasitism is the most intimate of such interactions. Intriguingly, the very conditions on range edges likely change host-parasite dynamics in nontrivial ways. Range edges are often associated with clines in host density and with environmental transitions, both of which may affect parasite transmission. On advancing range edges, founder events and fitness/dispersal costs of parasitism may also cause parasites to be lost on range edges. Here we examine the prevalence of three species of parasite across the range edge of an invasive gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus, in northeastern Australia. The gecko's range edge spans the urban-woodland interface at the edge of urban areas. Across this edge, gecko abundance shows a steep decline, being lower in the woodland. Two parasite species (a mite and a pentastome) are coevolved with H. frenatus, and these species become less prevalent as the geckos become less abundant. A third species of parasite (another pentastome) is native to Australia and has no coevolutionary history with H. frenatus. This species became more prevalent as the geckos become less abundant. These dramatic shifts in parasitism (occurring over 3.5 km) confirm that host-parasite dynamics can vary substantially across the range edge of this gecko host.