Fate of Australia’s wildlife in the balance Michael Gross  Current Biology  Volume 26, Issue 7, Pages R257-R259 (April 2016) DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.035 Copyright © 2016 Terms and Conditions

Reef life: The Great Barrier Reef is widely known as one of the great wonders of the natural world, but it is exposed to a wide range of threats both from ocean warming and from land-use changes in Queensland. (Photo: LCDR Eric Johnson, NOAA Corps.) Current Biology 2016 26, R257-R259DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.035) Copyright © 2016 Terms and Conditions

Crunch time: The iconic koala is one of many species losing large areas of habitat as deforestation accelerates in the state of Queensland. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons.) Current Biology 2016 26, R257-R259DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.035) Copyright © 2016 Terms and Conditions

Land cleared: A recent weakening of Queensland’s Vegetation Management Act has led to dramatically increased deforestation. The current state government is now aiming to restore the more stringent protection provided by an earlier version of the legislation. While the current political debate is about bushland clearing, the image shows the destruction of mangrove forests on the north Queensland coast. (Photo: Bill Laurance.) Current Biology 2016 26, R257-R259DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.035) Copyright © 2016 Terms and Conditions