​Developing the Australian Flying-Fox Monitor

While the Australian Flying-Fox Monitor is already functional, work is ongoing to make it more fit for purpose, to fill data gaps, and to optimise monitoring operation and design.​ Accordingly, the work is scheduled to proceed in four stages:

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Stage 1 – Making the monitor fit-for-purpose

• Form a steering group comprising the key state and federal stakeholders and implement their recommendations into the monitor (where possible).
• Further develop the structure of the camp “Report cards” to maximise their utility for stakeholders.

Stage ​2 – Filling data gaps

• Add all data collected at the state level since the NFFMP stopped running in 2022.
• Update the ‘Nationally Important’ status of all camps, accounting for the data collected post-2022.
• Add any additional tracking data, camp locations, available from third parties not already included.

Stage ​3 – Normal monitor operation

• Ingest and display quarterly counts, tracking, and Citizen Science data as received
• Make camp count data downloadable as an ever-growing payload
• Develop a pipeline for data export to the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA)

Stage ​4 – Monitoring optimisation

• Assess the impacts of the timing and frequency of nationwide monitoring on monitoring power. Assess the impacts of taking a sampling approach rather than a brute-force approach on monitoring power.
• Evaluate where best to deploy emerging technologies (drone and radar) for monitoring, and assess the impacts of incorporating these technologies for monitoring power.
• Integrate drone counts obtained through our established workflows (McCarthy et al., 2021; McCarthy et al., 2022).
• Integrate radar counts from our developing Flying-Fox Radar Monitor, obtained through our established workflows (Meade et al., 2019).
• Add spatial predictions from our Flying-Fox Heat Stress Forecaster.
• Evaluate the utility of radar for new/unknown roost discovery.
• Evaluate the utility of having a standing stock of tracked flying-foxes to support new/unknown roost discovery (as recommended by Westcott et al., 2011; Welbergen, Meade et al., 2020).

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All the work to date on the development of the Australian Flying-Fox Monitor has been done in-kind without external funding support.

The timeline for completion—and long-term operation—will depend on securing adequate financial resources.