The Australian Flying‑Fox Monitor (AFFM)
The Australian Flying-Fox Monitor is an initiative from Dr Jessica Meade and Prof Justin Welbergen from the Lab of Animal Ecology at Western Sydney University, Australia.
Flying-foxes (Pteropus spp.) are extremely mobile, and therefore require evidence-based, transboundary approaches to their management and conservation (e.g., Welbergen, Meade et al., 2020). The fundamental prerequisite for sound transboundary conservation management of flying-foxes is monitoring of the species across their ranges, as information on the spatial and temporal dynamics of flying-fox populations provides the essential evidence base upon which local, state, and federal agencies can act.
Between 2002 and 2004, flying-fox populations in eastern Australia were monitored under the “National Count of Grey-headed Flying foxes” – run by Dr Peggy Eby on behalf for the Commonwealth government. Between 2012 and 2022, the flying-fox populations in eastern Australia were monitored quarterly by the National Flying-Fox Monitoring Program (NFFMP) – run as a partnership between state and Commonwealth governments and CSIRO.
While extremely valuable for management, limited precision under these programs meant that population trends significant for conservation could only be established after many years of monitoring (Westcott et al., 2012; McCarthy et al., 2022; Vanderduys et al., 2024). Unfortunately, on 25 June 2025, the NFFMP viewer was decommissioned, meaning that there was no longer a publicly facing list of known flying-fox camp locations in Australia. However, all data collected under the “National Count of Grey-headed Flying foxes” and the NFFMP have been made publicly available.
The Australian Flying-Fox Monitor has all the data and functionality of the decommissioned NFFMP viewer, plus a range of additional data and functionalities relevant to flying-fox conservation management in Australia.
The “View data” tab is an interactive map that currently provides information on:
Flying-foxes (Pteropus spp.) are extremely mobile, and therefore require evidence-based, transboundary approaches to their management and conservation (e.g., Welbergen, Meade et al., 2020). The fundamental prerequisite for sound transboundary conservation management of flying-foxes is monitoring of the species across their ranges, as information on the spatial and temporal dynamics of flying-fox populations provides the essential evidence base upon which local, state, and federal agencies can act.
Between 2002 and 2004, flying-fox populations in eastern Australia were monitored under the “National Count of Grey-headed Flying foxes” – run by Dr Peggy Eby on behalf for the Commonwealth government. Between 2012 and 2022, the flying-fox populations in eastern Australia were monitored quarterly by the National Flying-Fox Monitoring Program (NFFMP) – run as a partnership between state and Commonwealth governments and CSIRO.
While extremely valuable for management, limited precision under these programs meant that population trends significant for conservation could only be established after many years of monitoring (Westcott et al., 2012; McCarthy et al., 2022; Vanderduys et al., 2024). Unfortunately, on 25 June 2025, the NFFMP viewer was decommissioned, meaning that there was no longer a publicly facing list of known flying-fox camp locations in Australia. However, all data collected under the “National Count of Grey-headed Flying foxes” and the NFFMP have been made publicly available.
The Australian Flying-Fox Monitor has all the data and functionality of the decommissioned NFFMP viewer, plus a range of additional data and functionalities relevant to flying-fox conservation management in Australia.
The “View data” tab is an interactive map that currently provides information on:
- Distributions of all five Australian species of flying-fox: the Critically Endangered Christmas Island Flying-fox; the Endangered Spectacled Flying-fox; the Vulnerable Grey-headed Flying-fox; as well as the Black Flying-fox and the Little Red Flying-fox.
- Known locations of camps of all five Australian species of flying-fox throughout continental Australia and Christmas Island, identified as ‘Nationally Important’ camps where relevant. Note that here the ‘Nationally Important’ assignments reflect the status of the camps as it was in 2022. These will be updated as new data come in (see Phase 2).
- Count data for all camps surveyed under the “National Count of Grey-headed Flying foxes” run by Peggy Eby and collaborators in 2002, 2003, and 2004 for the Grey-headed Flying-fox, and count data for all camps surveyed under the National Flying-Fox Monitoring Program (NFFMP) for the Spectacled Flying-fox and the Grey-headed Flying-fox. Both programs also provided count data on the Black Flying-fox and the Little Red Flying-fox.
- Count data for camps surveyed under the Christmas Island Flying-Fox Research Program and by Christmas Island National Park.
- Tracking data for the Christmas Island Flying-fox, the Grey-headed Flying-fox, the Black Flying-fox, and the Little Red Flying-fox. Tracking data for the Spectacled Flying-fox is expected to be added shortly.
- Citizen Science data (iNaturalist & Atlas of Living Australia) for all five species of flying-fox.
- Different basemaps and a map of Local Government Areas to aid in locating camps and management by land managers.
- Pop-up “Report cards”, currently displaying a graph showing all count data available for all species counted at a camp. Over time, additional data (e.g., summary data such as maximum and average size of the camp; colony footprints; and radar counts and heat stress forecasts) will be added to the report card, following consultation with stakeholders (see below). The report can be shared via a link in a suitable format so that it can be displayed live on local government websites to provide historical and up-to-date information to local communities about their flying-fox colonies.
- The “Submit data” tab provides various means for stakeholders to upload their camp count data in a standardised fashion, as single observations or in bulk. Submitted data are integrated immediately into the Monitor, and displayed in real-time, while submitters receive an automated confirmation email with a copy of the data they submitted. Initially, submitted camp counts are marked as 'unverified', but after review by State-based representatives from the steering committee (see below), or their delegates, submitted data will be incorporated as 'verified' counts.
- The “Data sources” tab contains information on all (open-access) data sources used for the Australian Flying-Fox Monitor.
- The “Species information” tab will provide authoritative information on the ecology of Australia’s flying-foxes
- The “Conservation & management” tab will provide summary information on the conservation management of the species. It will link to external state and commonwealth websites, camp management policies and codes of practice, and the Referral Guideline for management actions in Grey-headed and Spectacled flying-fox camps.
