Please email Paul if unable to secure a reprint of any desired articles listed below. For a full list of publications please also see here.

 

 

 

2024

Dickson EJ, Monk JE, Lee C, McDonald PG, Narayan E, Campbell DL (2024) Loss of a grooming enrichment impacts physical, behavioural, and physiological measures of welfare in grazing beef cattle. Animal, 18(3), 101091.   Website

 

Hämäläinen L, Binns GE, Hart NS, Mappes J, McDonald PG, O’Neill LG, Rowland HM, Umbers KDL, Herberstein ME (2024) Predator selection on multicomponent warning signals in an aposematic moth. Behavioral Ecology, 35, arad097.   Website

 

Kern JM, McDonald PG (2024) Location and caller familiarity influence mobbing behaviour and the likely ecological impact of noisy miners around colony edges. Journal of Avian Biology, e03231.   Website

 

Teixeira D, Roe P, van Rensburg BJ, Linke S, McDonald PG, Tucker D, Fuller S (2024) Effective ecological monitoring using passive acoustic sensors: Recommendations for conservation practitioners. Conservation Science and Practice, e13132.   Website

 

 

 

2023

Allen-Ankins S, McKnight DT, Nordberg EJ, Hoefer S, Roe P, Watson DM, McDonald PG, Fuller RA, Schwarzkopf L. (2023) Effectiveness of acoustic indices as indicators of vertebrate biodiversity. Ecological Indicators, 147, p.109937.   Website

 

Etezadifar F, Major RE, McDonald PG (2023) Morphometric and physiological development confirm skull ossification level as a reliable indicator of age in a passerine bird, the Noisy Miner. Journal of Ornithology, 164, 455-465. DOI: 10.1007/s10336-022-02027-7. .  Website

 

Crates R, McDonald PG, Melton CB, Maron M, Ingwersen D, Mowat E, Breckenridge M, Murphy L, Heinsohn R. (2023) Towards effective management of an overabundant native bird: the noisy miner. Conservation Science and Practice, 5(2), p.e12875.   Website

 

Hu H, Wang Y, Fabbri M, O'Connor JK, McDonald PG, Wroe S, Yin X, Zheng X, Zhou Z, Benson RBJ (2023) Cranial osteology and palaeobiology of the Early Cretaceous bird Jeholornis prima (Aves: Jeholornithiformes). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 198(1), 93-112.   Website

 

Hughes GN, Streeting LM, Burns A, McDonald PG (2023) Towards a diagnostic tool for turtle ootaxonomy: Investigation of microstructural differences in the eggshells of Australian freshwater turtles. Ichthyology & Herpetology, 111(1), 138-148.   Website

 

Schwarzkopf L, Roe P, McDonald PG, Watson DM, Fuller RA, Allen‐Ankins S (2023) Can an acoustic observatory contribute to the conservation of threatened species? Austral Ecology, 48, 1230–1237. DOI:10.1111/aec.13398   Website

 

Streeting LM, Dillon ML, Nesbitt J, Nesbitt B, Baker L, Spark PH, Chessman BC, McKnight DT, McDonald PG, Bower DS (2023) A shocking result—Electric fences protect western saw‐shelled turtle (Myuchelys bellii) nests from depredation by foxes. Austral Ecology, 48, 1571-1587. DOI: 10.1111/aec.13385.   Website

 

 

 

2022

Dickson EJ, Campbell DL, Lee C, Lea JM, McDonald PG, Monk JE. (2022) Beef cattle preference and usage of environmental enrichments provided simultaneously in a pasture-based environment. Animals, 12(24), 3544.   Website (open access)

 

Etezadifar F, Vickers JAT, French K, McDonald PG, Barati A, Andrew RL, Major RE (2022) Repeated experimental removals unveil sex and age-specific dispersal strategies in a social passerine bird. Wildlife Research, 50(2), 141-151.   Website

 

Fountain J, McDonald PG (2022) Do differences in the availability of anthropogenic food resources influence the observed levels of agonistic behaviour in Noisy Miners (Manorina melanocephala)? Emu, 122(1), 61-70.  Website

 

Hu H, Wang Y, McDonald PG, Wroe S, O'Connor JK, Bjarnason A, Bevitt JJ, Yin X, Zheng X, Zhou Z, Benson RBJ (2022) Earliest evidence for fruit consumption and potential seed dispersal by birds. eLife 11: e74751.    Website

 

Hughes GN, Burns A, McDonald PG (2022) Nesting refuge structures are ineffective at protecting Bell's turtle (Myuchelys bellii) nests from red fox (Vulpes vulpes) depredation. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 21: 98-105.   Website

 

Lambert KTA, Reid N, Loyn RH, McDonald PG (2022) Understanding and managing the role of bell miners (Manorina melanophrys) in forest dieback: a review of the ecological and management evidence. Forest Ecology and Management, 523, 120470.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Doohan S, Eveleigh K (2022) Using referential alarm signals to remotely quantify ‘landscapes of fear’ in fragmented woodland. Bioacoustics 31: 629-645.   Website

 

Mesken J, Beckmann C, McDonald PG (2022) A simple methodology for creating and applying replicable, photo-accurate colouration to 3D-printed models for animal behaviour studies. Ethology 128: 734-741.   Website (open access)

 

Streeting LM, Bower DS, Dillon ML, Spark P, Gough M, Skidmore A, McDonald PG, Delaney H, Burns A, Watson S, Dissanayake DSB, Georges A, McKnight DT (2022) Optimising the hatching success of artificially incubated eggs for use in a conservation program for the western saw-shelled turtle (Myuchelys bellii). Australian Journal of Zoology, 70(2), 74-82.   Website

 

 

 

2021

Barati A, Andrew RL, McDonald PG. (2021). Nestling sex does not influence provisioning effort of parents or helpers in a cooperative bird with a male‑biased helper contingent. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 75: 94-89.   Website

 

Farrow LF, Andronicos NM, McDonald PG, Hamlin AS (2021) Quantitative determination of neuronal size and density using flow cytometry. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 352: 109081.   Website

 

Melton CB, Reside AE, Simmonds JS, McDonald PG, Major RE, Crates R, Catterall CP, Clarke MF, Grey MJ, Davitt G, Ingwersen D (2021) Evaluating the evidence of culling a native species for conservation benefits. Conservation Science and Practice 3: 549.   Website

 

Roe P, Eichinski P, Fuller RA, McDonald PG, Schwarzkopf L, Towsey M, Truskinger A,Tucker D, Watson DM (2021) The Australian Acoustic Observatory. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 12: 1802-1808.   Website

 

 

 

2020

Farrow LF, Barati A, McDonald PG (2020) Cooperative bird discriminates between individuals based purely on their aerial alarm calls. Behavioral Ecology 31: 440-447.   Website

 

Griffin AS, Brown C, Woodworth BK, Ballard G, Blanch S, Campbell HA, Crewe TL, Hansbro PM, Herbert CA, Hosking T, Hoye BJ, Law B, Leigh K, Machovsky-Capuska GE, Rasmussen T, McDonald PG, Roderick M, Slade C, Mackenzie SA, Taylor PD (2020) A large-scale automated radio telemetry network for monitoring movements of terrestrial wildlife in Australia. Australian Zoologist 40: 379-391.   Website

 

Hu H, O’Connor JK, McDonald PG, Wroe S (2020) Cranial osteology of the Early Cretaceous Sapeornis chaoyangensis

(Aves: Pygostylia). Cretaceous Research 113: 104496.  Website

 

Hu H, O’Connor JK, Wang M, Wroe S, McDonald PG (2020) New anatomical information on the bohaiornithid Longusunguis and the presence of a plesiomorphic diapsid skull in Enantiornithes. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 18: 1481-1495.   Website

 

Hughes GN, Curtsdotter A, Lagos P, McDonald PG (2020) Myuchelys bellii (Bell's turtle): Unexpected dietary contents. Herpetological Review 51:579-580.   Website

 

Larkin C, Jenkins R, McDonald PG, Debus SJS (2020) Breeding habitat, nest-site characteristics and productivity of the little eagle (Hieraaetus morphnoides) near Armidale, New South Wales. Pacific Conservation Biology 26: 258-268.   Website

 

 

 

2019

Garnett S, Butchart S, Baker G, Bayraktarov E, Buchanan K, Burbidge A, Chauvenet A, Christidis L, Ehmke G, Grace M, Hoccom D, Legge S, Leiper I, Lindenmayer D, Loyn R, Maron M, McDonald PG, Menkhorst P, Possingham H, Radford J, Reside A, Watson D, Watson J, Wintle B, Woinarski J, Geyle H. (2019). Metrics of progress in the understanding and management of threats to Australian birds. Conservation Biology 33: 456-468.   Website

 

Hu H, Sansalone G, Wroe S, McDonald PG, O’Connor JK, Li Z, Xu X, Zhou Z (2019) Evolution of the vomer and its implications for cranial kinesis in Paraves. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116: 19571-19578.   Website    In This Issue article

 

McEvoy JF, Hall GP, McDonald PG. (2019). Movements of Australian Wood Ducks (Chenonetta jubata) in an agricultural landscape. Emu 119: 147-156.   Website

 

Tsang LR, McDonald PG. (2019). A comparative study of avian pes morphotypes, and the functional implications of Australian raptor pedal flexibility. Emu 119: 14-23.   Website

 

Tsang LR, Wilson LAB, McDonald PG (2019) Comparing the toepads of Australian diurnal and nocturnal raptors with non-predatory taxa: insights into functional morphology. Journal of Morphology 280: 1682-1692.   Website

 

 

 

2018

Attard MRG, Sherratt E, McDonald PG, Young I, Vidal-García M, Wroe S. (2018). A new, three-dimensional geometric morphometric approach to assess egg shape. PeerJ 6:e5052.   Website

 

Barati A, Andrew RL, Gorrell JC, Etezadifar F, McDonald PG. (2018). Genetic relatedness and sex predict helper provisioning effort in the cooperative noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala). Behavioral Ecology 29: 1380-89.   Website

 

Barati A, Andrew RL, Gorrell JC, McDonald PG. (2018). Extra-pair paternity is not driven by inbreeding avoidance and does not affect provisioning rates in a cooperatively breeding bird, the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala). Behavioral Ecology 29: 244-52.   Website

 

Bauer AL, McDonald PG. (2018). Interactions between Australian Ravens and raptors in a pastoral area of New South Wales: Interspecific aggression and nest-site spacing. Australian Field Ornithology 35: 1-7.   Website

 

Butler NE, McDonald PG, Peters RA. (2018). No evidence of eavesdropping on heterospecific alarm calls by captive zebra finches recently descended from wild birds. Journal of Avian Biology 49: e01752.   Website

 

Davitt G, Maute K, Major RE, McDonald PG, Maron M. (2018). Short‐term response of a declining woodland bird assemblage to the removal of a despotic competitor. Ecology and Evolution 8: 4771-80.   Website

 

Lambert KT, McDonald PG. (2018). How dependent are Bell Miners (Manorina melanophrys) on Lantana (Lantana camara) as part of their habitat? Wildlife Research 44: 613-22.   Website

 

Morton CL, Hinch G, Small A, McDonald PG. (2018). Flawed mothering or infant signaling? The effects of deficient

acoustic cues on ovine maternal response. Developmental Psychobiology 60: 975-988.   Website

 

Perston YL, Andrew NR, McDonald PG. (2018). Implications of climate change on the behaviour and activity patterns of the ubiquitous meat ant, Iridomyrmex purpureus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Smith, 1858). General and Applied Entomology 46: 1-9.   Website

 

Wright P, Lambert KT, McDonald PG. (2018). The role of Lantana camara in areas of bell miner (Manorina melanophrys) associated dieback and its implications for terrestrial mammal and insectivorous bat populations. Australian Mammalogy 41: 49-56.   Website

 

 

2017

Barati A, McDonald PG. (2017). Nestlings reduce their predation risk by attending to predator-information encoded within conspecific alarm calls. Scientific Reports 7: 11736.   Website

 

Dorph A, McDonald PG. (2017). The acoustic repertoire and behavioural context of the vocalisations of a nocturnal dasyurid, the eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus). PLoS ONE 12: e0179337.   Website

 

Farrow LF, Doohan SJ, McDonald PG. (2017). Alarm calls of a cooperative bird are referential and elicit context-specific antipredator behavior. Behavioral Ecology 28: 724–31.   Website

 

Holt J, Barati A, McDonald PG. (2017). The complex acoustic repertoire of a highly social species, the Noisy Miner, Manorina melanocephala. Emu 117: 19–30.   Website

 

Lambert KT, Reid N, McDonald PG. (2017). Does the removal of Lantana camara influence eucalypt canopy health, soil nutrients site occupancy of a despotic species? Forest Ecology and Management 394: 104–10.   Website

 

Tsang LR, Rose A, Fuentes EJ, Olsen J, Trost S, McDonald PG. (2017). A comparison of the diets of the Black-shouldered Kite Elanus axillaris and Nankeen Kestrel Falco cenchroides in the Canberra region. Corella 41: 27-31.   Website

 

 

2016

Barati A, Etezadifar F, McDonald PG. (2016). Fragmentation in eucalypt woodlands promotes nest‐tree occupancy by a despotic species, the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala). Austral Ecology 41: 897–905.   Website

 

Beckmann C, McDonald PG. (2016). Placement of re-nests following predation: are birds managing risk? Emu 116: 9–13.   Website

 

Lambert KT, Kumar L, Reid N, McDonald PG. (2016). Habitat selection by a despotic passerine, the Bell Miner (Manorina melanophrys): When restoring habitat through Lantana (Lantana camara) removal is not enough. Ecological Management & Restoration 17: 81–4.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Rollins LA, Godfrey S. (2016). The relative importance of spatial proximity, kin selection and potential “greenbeard” signals on provisioning behavior among helpers in a cooperative bird. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 70: 133–43.   Website

 

McEvoy JF, Hall GP, McDonald PG. (2016). Evaluation of unmanned aerial vehicle shape, flight path and camera type for waterfowl surveys: disturbance effects and species recognition. PeerJ 4: e1831.   Website

 

Wright J, McDonald PG. (2016). Bell miners: Kin-selected helping decisions. Cooperative breeding in vertebrates: Studies of ecology, evolution, and behavior. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, p272–93.   Website

 

 

2015

Leseberg NP, Lambert KT, McDonald PG. (2015). Fine‐scale impacts on avian biodiversity due to a despotic species, the bell miner (Manorina melanophrys). Austral Ecology 40: 245–54.   Website

 

 

2014

Lambert KTA, Andrew NR, McDonald PG. (2014). The influence of avian biodiversity and a weedy understorey on canopy arthropod assembly. Open Journal of Ecology 4: 1003.   Website

 

Lambert KT, McDonald PG. (2014). A low‐cost, yet simple and highly repeatable system for acoustically surveying cryptic species. Austral Ecology 39: 779–85.   Website

 

McDonald PG. (2014). Cooperative breeding beyond kinship: why else do helpers help? Emu 114: 91–6.   Website

 

Warrington MH, McDonald PG, Griffith SC. (2014). Within-group vocal differentiation of individuals in the cooperatively breeding apostlebird. Behavioral Ecology 26: 493–501.   Website

 

Warrington MH, McDonald PG, Rollins L-A, Griffith SC. (2014). All signals are not equal: acoustic signalling of individuality, sex and breeding status in a cooperative breeder. Animal Behaviour 93: 249–60.   Website

 

Warrington MH, McDonald PG, Sager AK, Griffith SC. (2014). The vocal repertoire of the cooperatively breeding Apostlebird (Struthidea cinerea). Emu 114: 206–21.   Website

 

 

2013

Kopps AM, McDonald PG, Rollins L-A. (2013). Isolation and characterisation of polymorphic microsatellite loci for Noisy Miners Manorina melanocephala, with successful cross-amplification in Bell Miners M. melanophrys. Conservation Genetic Resources 5: 39–41.   Website

 

Kross SM, McDonald PG, Nelson XJ. (2013). New Zealand Falcon nests suffer lower predation in agricultural habitat than in natural habitat. Bird Conservation International 23: 512–9.   Website

 

 

2012

McDonald PG. (2012). Cooperative bird differentiates between the calls of different individuals, even when vocalizations were from completely unfamiliar individuals. Biology Letters 8: 365–8.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Griffith SC. (2012). Feather sampling provides an unreliable source of DNA that may well have significant long‐term impacts: a reply to Katzner et al. Journal of Avian Biology 43: 18–20.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Olsen J, Rose A. (2012). The diet of breeding brown falcons (Falco berigora) in the Canberra region, Australia, with comparisons to other regions. Journal of Raptor Research 46: 394–400.   Website

 

 

2011

McDonald PG, Griffith SC. (2011). To pluck or not to pluck: the hidden ethical and scientific costs of relying on feathers as a primary source of DNA. Journal of Avian Biology 42: 197–203.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Wright J. (2011). Bell miner provisioning calls are more similar among relatives and are used by helpers at the nest to bias their effort towards kin. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 278(1723): 3403–11.   Website

 

 

2010

Haythorpe KM, McDonald PG. (2010). Non‐lethal foraging by bell miners on a herbivorous insect: Potential implications for forest health. Austral Ecology 35: 444–50.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Ewen JG, Wright J. (2010). Brood sex ratio does not affect helper effort in a cooperative bird, despite extreme sex-biased dispersal. Animal Behaviour 79: 243–50.   Website

 

Wilson DR, McDonald PG, Evans CS. (2010). Mechanisms of mate investment in the polygamous fowl, Gallus gallus. Ethology 116: 755–62.   Website

 

Wright J, McDonald PG, Marvelde te L, Kazem AJ, Bishop CM. (2010). Helping effort increases with relatedness in bell miners, but “unrelated” helpers of both sexes still provide substantial care. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 277: 437–45.   Website

 

 

2009

Kennedy RA, Evans CS, McDonald PG. (2009). Individual distinctiveness in the mobbing call of a cooperative bird, the noisy miner Manorina melanocephala. Journal of Avian Biology 40: 481–90.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Kazem AJ, Wright J. (2009). Cooperative provisioning dynamics: fathers and unrelated helpers show similar responses to manipulations of begging. Animal Behaviour 77: 369–76.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Wilson DR, Evans CS. (2009). Nestling begging increases predation risk, regardless of spectral characteristics or avian mobbing. Behavioral Ecology 20: 821–9.   Website

 

te Marvelde L, McDonald PG, Kazem AJ, Wright J. (2009). Do helpers really help? Provisioning biomass and prey type effects on nestling growth in the cooperative bell miner. Animal Behaviour 77: 727–35.   Website

 

 

2008

Dare AJ, McDonald PG, Clarke MF. (2008). The ecological context and consequences of colonisation of a site by bell miners (Manorina melanophrys). Wildlife Research 34: 616–23.   Website

 

Dare AJ, McDonald PG, Clarke MF. (2008). The social and behavioural dynamics of colony expansion in the Bell Miner (Manorina melanophrys). Emu 108: 175–80.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Kazem AJ, Clarke MF, Wright J. (2008). Helping as a signal: does removal of potential audiences alter helper behavior in the bell miner? Behavioral Ecology 19: 1047–55.   Website

 

McDonald PG, te Marvelde L, Kazem AJ, Wright J. (2008). Helping as a signal and the effect of a potential audience during provisioning visits in a cooperative bird. Animal Behaviour 75: 1319–30.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Wright J. (2008). Provisioning vocalizations in cooperative bell miners (Manorina melanophrys): more than a simple stimulus for nestling begging. Auk 125: 670–8.   Website

 

Pacheco ML, McDonald PG, Wright J, Kazem AJ, Clarke MF. (2008). Helper contributions to antiparasite behavior in the cooperatively breeding bell miner. Behavioral Ecology 19: 558–66.   Website

 

 

2007

McDonald PG, Heathcote CF, Clarke MF, Wright J, Kazem AJN. (2007). Provisioning calls of the cooperatively breeding bell miner Manorina melanophrys encode sufficient information for individual discrimination. Journal of Avian Biology 38: 113–21.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Kazem AJ, Wright J. (2007). A critical analysis of “false-feeding” behavior in a cooperatively breeding bird: disturbance effects, satiated nestlings or deception? Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 61: 1623–35.   Website

 

 

2006

McDonald PG, Baker-Gabb D. (2006). The breeding diet of different Brown Falcon (Falco berigora) pairs occupying the same territory over twenty years apart. Journal of Raptor Research 40: 228–31.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Kazem A, Clarke MF, Wright J. (2006). Altruistic acts as indicators of quality in a cooperative breeder: Are helpers-at-the-nest 'showing off'? Journal of Ornithology 147: 9–10.   Website

 

 

2005

McDonald PG, Olsen PD, Cockburn A. (2005). Selection on body size in a raptor with pronounced reversed sexual size dimorphism: are bigger females better? Behavioral Ecology 16: 48–56.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Olsen PD, Cockburn A. (2005). Sex allocation and nestling survival in a dimorphic raptor: does size matter? Behavioral Ecology 16: 922–30.   Website

 

 

2004

McDonald PG. (2004). The breeding ecology and behaviour of a colour-marked population of Brown Falcons (Falco berigora). Emu 104: 1–6.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Olsen PD, Cockburn A. (2004). Weather dictates reproductive success and survival in the Australian brown falcon Falco berigora. Journal of Animal Ecology 73: 683–92.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Williams NP. (2004). Brown falcon Falco berigora pair successfully raise Australian Hobby F. longipennis nestlings. Australian Field Ornithology 21: 40–4.   Website

 

 

2003

McDonald PG. (2003). A successful extra-limital breeding record of the Black Kite Milvus migrans south-west of Melbourne, Victoria. Australian Field Ornithology 20: 17–20.   Website

 

McDonald PG. (2003). Nestling growth and development in the brown falcon Falco berigora: a new method of sex determination and an improved ageing formula. Wildlife Research 30: 411–8.   Website

 

McDonald PG. (2003). Variable plumage and bare part colouration in the Brown Falcon, Falco berigora: the influence of age and sex. Emu 103: 21–8.   Website

 

McDonald PG. (2003). Whistlers, In: Encyclopaedia of Birds (Ed. By Perrins C). Firefly Books, Ltd, New York.

 

McDonald PG, Fonseca CR, Overton J, Westoby M. (2003). Leaf‐size divergence along rainfall and soil‐nutrient gradients: is the method of size reduction common among clades? Functional Ecology 17: 50–7.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Olsen PD, Baker-Gabb DJ. (2003). Territory fidelity, reproductive success and prey choice in the brown falcon, Falco berigora: a flexible bet-hedger? Australian Journal of Zoology 51: 399–414.   Website

 

 

2001

McDonald PG. (2001). The function of vocalisations and aggressive behaviour used by male Rufous Whistlers, Pachycephala rufiventris. Emu 101: 65–72.   Website

 

McDonald PG, Astheimer LB, Buttemer WA. (2001). Gonadal and hormonal phenology in free-living male rufous whistlers, Pachycephala rufiventris (Passeriformes: Pachycephalidae). Australian Journal of Zoology 49: 651–62.  Website

 

McDonald PG, Buttemer WA, Astheimer LB. (2001). The influence of testosterone on territorial defence and parental behavior in male free-living rufous whistlers, Pachycephala rufiventris. Hormones and Behavior 39: 185–94. Website