This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: New research on the brolga, an iconic Australian crane species, has shown important genetic differences between northern and southeastern populations, with evidence that those in western Victoria are at increased risk, likely heightened by the loss of wetlands. The Macquarie University–led research analyzed DNA from feathers collected by citizen scientists and collaborators between 2009 and 2023.
Two genetic "clusters" were identified: one representing Victorian brolgas and the other comprising individuals from New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory. This genetic divergence reflects reduced "gene flow" between Victorian brolgas and those living farther north, the researchers say in the study, published in the journal Conservation Genetics. Opportunities for genetic mixing in the species are limited by breeding seasons that are "out of sync" because of differences in the timing of wet seasons in tropical and temperate regions.
Brolgas arrive to nest and breed after rainfall inundates wetlands—winter and spring in the temperate south versus summer and fall in the tropical north. Recent surveys suggest there are fewer than 1,000 adult brolgas in the southern population, compared with an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 in the northern range across Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The researchers' simulations of future brolga population genetics under different "bottleneck" scenarios suggested the smaller southern cluster—located mainly in western Victoria—is at a higher risk of losing genetic diversity.
However, the researchers noted their assessment of genetic diversity suggests even the larger northern brolga population is vulnerable to ongoing threats such as habitat degradation. Brolgas depend on wetlands for nesting and roosting during the breeding and nonbreeding seasons, and they forage in wetland and nonwetland habitats. Urban expansion, agriculture and climate change are driving widespread wetland degradation and loss in Australia and around the world.
Field observations and tracking studies in Victoria have shown that brolgas tend to use the same wetlands for breeding and flocking over the years. "The tendency of brolgas to return to the same wetlands to breed highlights the importance of protecting and restoring those wetlands and maintaining connectivity between them to help preserve genetic diversity in the species," said Ph.D. candidate Abby Bryce, lead author of the study. "Further loss of wetlands could have lasting consequences for the brolgas of western Victoria." Abby L E Bryce et al., Conservation genetics of the Brolga (Antigone rubicunda) across eastern Australia reveals genetic structure and potential loss of adaptive capacity, Conservation Genetics (2026).
DOI: 10.1007/s10592-026-01813-7 Journal information: Conservation Genetics Swati Mestri holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space. Full profile → Master's in physics with research experience.
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