The Science.

PUBLICATIONS

  • Marshall BM, Strine CT, Gore ML, Eskew EA, Stringham OC, Cardoso P, Chekunov S, Watters F, Fukushima C, Garcı´a-Dı´az P, Sinclair JS, Tlusty MF, Almeida RJ, Valdez JW, Hughes AC (2025) Mapping the global dimensions of US wildlife imports. Current Biology , in press: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.07.012.

  • Watters F, Cassey P (2025) Strengthening Global Trade Regulation Through Targeted Listings on CITES Appendix III. bioRxiv, preprint: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.05.06.652200.

  • Daniel WM, Sofaer HR, Jarnevich CS, Erickson RA, DeGregorio BA, Engelstad PS, Freedman J, Canavan S, Dean EM, Adams MJ, Anderson CL, Barnett M, Brey MK, Brumm KJ, Bunting MS, Caffrey E, Cardador L, Carter J, Cassey P, et al. (2025) Vertebrates in trade that pose high invasion risk to the United States. Biological Conservation 302: 110887, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110887.

  • Deliveyne N, Benyamin TK, Austin JJ, Sanders K, Cassey P (2025) Practical considerations for trace DNA recovery and detection of an invasive reptile across different deposition scenarios. Conservation Genetics Resources, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-025-01391-9.

  • Hill KGW, Delean S, Hall T, Tyler JJ, Stringham OC, Cassey P (2025) Feather forensics: tracing the origins of parrots in wildlife trade with stable isotopes and citizen science. Animal Conservation, https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.13007.

  • Lassaline CR, Toomes A, Fagan-Jeffries E, Cassey P (2025) From forest floor to market door: The global terrestrial invertebrate trade. Biological Conservation 308: 111266, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111266.

  • Lingard J, Reis-Santos P, Cassey P, Gillanders BM (2025) Transnational shark trade: personal baggage and postal seizures in Australia and New Zealand. Pacific Conservation Biology 31: PC25006, https://doi.org/10.1071/PC25006.

  • Michael Marshall B, Alamshah AL, Cardoso P, Cassey P, Chekunov S, Eskew EA, Fukushima CS, García-Díaz P, Gore ML, Lockwood JL (2025) The magnitude of legal wildlife trade and implications for species survival. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 122: e2410774121, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2410774121.

  • Onley IR, Cassey P, McGeoch MA (2025) Biodiversity data sharing platforms are vital for the management and prevention of biological invasions. Biodiversity and Conservation, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10531-025-03058-1.

  • Toomes A, Stringham OC, Moncayo S, Hill KGW, Maher J, Watters F, Chekunov S, García-Díaz P, Mitchell L, Ross JV, Cassey P (2025) The pet trade of native species outside of their natural distributions within Australia is a biosecurity risk. Conservation Science and Practice 7: e13298, https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.13298.

  • Chekunov S, Stringham O, Toomes A, Prowse T, Cassey P (2024) Scale of unregulated international trade in Australian reptiles and amphibians. Conservation Biology 38: e14355, https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14355.

  • Deliveyne N, Austin Jeremy J, Sanders K, Cassey P (2024) Rapid and Portable Presumptive Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assays for the Detection of the Invasive Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus). Environmental DNA 6: e595, https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.595.

  • Maher J, Virtue J, Stringham OC, Cassey P (2024) Discrepancies in Australian jurisdiction-based regulation of invasive plants. Invasive Plant Science and Management 17: 267-280, https://doi.org/10.1017/inp.2024.26.

  • Omrow D, Anagnostou M, Cassey P, Cooke SJ, Jordan S, Kirkwood AE, MacNeill T, Mirrlees T, Pedersen I, Stoett P (2024) Compliance and enforcement in a brave new (green) world: best practices and technologies for green governance. FACETS 9: 1-8, https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2023-0105.

  • Pili AN, Leroy B, Measey JG, Farquhar JE, Toomes A, Cassey P, Chekunov S, Grenié M, van Winkel D, Maria L, Diesmos MLL, Diesmos AC, Zurell D, Courchamp F, Chapple DG (2024) Forecasting potential invaders to prevent future biological invasions worldwide. Global Change Biology 30: e17399, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17399.

  • Roy HE, Pauchard A, Stoett PJ, Renard Truong T, Meyerson LA, Bacher S, Galil BS, Hulme PE, Ikeda T, Kavileveettil S, McGeoch MA, Nuñez MA, Ordonez A, Rahlao SJ, Schwindt E, Seebens H, Sheppard AW, Vandvik V, Aleksanyan A, Ansong M, August T, Blanchard R, Brugnoli E, Bukombe JK, Bwalya B, Byun C, Camacho-Cervantes M, Cassey P, et al. (2024) Curbing the major and growing threats from invasive alien species is urgent and achievable. Nature Ecology & Evolution 8: 1216-1223, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02412-w.

  • Tlusty MF, Cassey P, Rhyne AL, Omrow DA, Stoett P (2024) Species-level, digitized wildlife trade data are essential for achieving biodiversity targets. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121: e2306869121, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2306869121.

  • Caley P, Cassey P (2023) Do we need to mine social media data to detect exotic vertebrate-pest introductions? Wildlife Research 50: 869-875, https://doi.org/10.1071/WR22116.

  • Deliveyne N, Young JM, Austin JJ, Cassey P (2023) Shining a LAMP on the applications of isothermal amplification for monitoring environmental biosecurity. NeoBiota 82: 119-144, https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.82.97998.

  • Deliveyne N, Austin JJ, Cassey P (2023) Developing Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) assays for rapid, presumptive DNA detection of an invasive reptile (Boa constrictor). Wildlife Research, https://doi.org/10.1071/WR23053.

  • Fukushima CS, Toomes A, Veríssimo D, Cardoso P (2023) A big and hairy business: Investigating the interplay of species traits and trade dynamics in the tarantula pet market. bioRxiv: 2023.2007.2028.550999, https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.07.28.550999

  • Lassaline CR, Stringham OC, Moncayo S, Toomes A, Cassey P (2023) Untangling the web: dynamics of Australia's online terrestrial invertebrate trade. Austral Entomology 62: 372-387, https://doi.org/10.1111/aen.12662.

  • Maher J, Stringham OC, Moncayo S, Wood L, Lassaline CR, Virtue J, Cassey P (2023) Weed wide web: characterising illegal online trade of invasive plants in Australia. NeoBiota 87: 45-72, https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.87.104472.

  • Stringham OC, Maher J, Lassaline CR, Wood L, Moncayo S, Toomes A, Heinrich S, Watters F, Drake C, Chekunov S, Hill KGW, Decary-Hetu D, Mitchell L, Ross JV, Cassey P (2023) The dark web trades wildlife, but mostly for use as drugs. People and Nature 5: 999-1009, https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10469.

  • Toomes A, Moncayo S, Stringham OC, Lassaline C, Wood L, Millington M, Drake C, Jense C, Allen A, Hill KG, Garcia Diaz P, Mitchell L, Cassey P (2023) A snapshot of online wildlife trade: Australian e-commerce trade of native and non-native pets. Biological Conservation 282: 110040, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110040.

  • Heinrich S, Toomes A, Shepherd CR, Stringham OC, Swan M, Cassey P (2022) Strengthening protection of endemic wildlife threatened by the international pet trade: The case of the Australian shingleback lizard. Animal Conservation 25: 91-100, https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12721.

  • Hill KGW, Delean S, Stringham OC, Moncayo S, Toomes A, Tyler JJ, Cassey P (2022) Who’s a pretty bird? Predicting the abundance of bird species in Australian online pet trade. Biological Invasions, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-023-03221-1.

  • Toomes A, García‐Díaz P, Stringham OC, Ross JV, Mitchell L, Cassey P (2022) Drivers of the Australian native pet trade: The role of species traits, socioeconomic attributes and regulatory systems. Journal of Applied Ecology 59: 1268-1278, https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14138.

  • Watters F, Stringham O, Shepherd CR, Cassey P (2022) The US market for imported wildlife not listed in the CITES multilateral treaty. Conservation Biology 36: e13978, https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13978.

  • Bradshaw CJA, Hoskins AJ, Haubrock PJ, Cuthbert RN, Diagne C, Leroy B, Andrews L, Page B, Cassey P, Sheppard AW (2021) Detailed assessment of the reported economic costs of invasive species in Australia. NeoBiota 67: 511-550, https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.67.58834.

  • Cardoso P, Amponsah-Mensah K, Barreiros JP, Bouhuys J, Cheung H, Davies A, Kumschick S, Longhorn SJ, Martínez-Muñoz CA, Morcatty TQ, Peters G, Ripple WJ, Rivera-Téllez E, Stringham OC, Toomes A, Tricorache P, Fukushima CS (2021) Scientists' warning to humanity on illegal or unsustainable wildlife trade. Biological Conservation 263: 109341, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109341.

  • Cassey P, Gomez L, Heinrich S, García-Díaz P, Stoner S, Shepherd CR (2021) Bearing all Down Under: the role of Australasian countries in the illegal bear trade. Pacific Conservation Biology 28: 472-480, https://doi.org/10.1071/PC21057.

  • Fukushima CS, Tricorache P, Toomes A, Stringham OC, Rivera-Téllez E, Ripple WJ, Peters G, Orenstein RI, Morcatty TQ, Longhorn SJ, Lee C, Kumschick S, de Freitas MA, Duffy RV, Davies A, Cheung H, Cheyne SM, Bouhuys J, Barreiros JP, Amponsah-Mensah K, Cardoso P (2021) Challenges and perspectives on tackling illegal or unsustainable wildlife trade. Biological Conservation 263: 109342, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109342.

  • García-Díaz P, Cassey P, Norbury G, Lambin X, Montti L, Pizarro JC, Powell PA, Burslem DFRP, Cava M, Damasceno G (2021) Management policies for invasive alien species: addressing the impacts rather than the species. BioScience 71: 174-185, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaa139.

  • Stringham OC, Moncayo S, Thomas E, Heinrich S, Toomes A, Maher J, Hill KGW, Mitchell L, Ross JV, Shepherd CR, Cassey P (2021) Dataset of seized wildlife and their intended uses. Data in Brief 39: 107531, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2021.107531.

  • Stringham OC, Moncayo S, Hill KG, Toomes A, Mitchell L, Ross JV, Cassey P (2021) Text classification to streamline online wildlife trade analyses. PLoS ONE 16: e0254007, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254007.

  • Stringham OC, García‐Díaz P, Toomes A, Mitchell L, Ross JV, Cassey P (2021) Live reptile smuggling is predicted by trends in the legal exotic pet trade. Conservation Letters 14: e12833, https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12833.

  • Thomas EM, Nekaris KA-I, Imron MA, Cassey P, Shepherd CR, Nijman V (2021) Shifts of trade in Javan ferret badgers Melogale orientalis from wildlife markets to online platforms: implications for conservation policy, human health and monitoring. Endangered Species Research 46: 67-78, https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01142.

  • Heinrich S, Toomes A, Gomez L (2020) Valuable stones: The trade in porcupine bezoars. Global Ecology and Conservation 24: e01204, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01204.

  • Heinrich S, Ross JV, Gray TNE, Delean S, Marx N, Cassey P (2020) Plight of the commons: 17 years of wildlife trafficking in Cambodia. Biological Conservation 241: 108379, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108379.

  • Stringham O, Toomes A, Kanishka AM, Mitchell L, Heinrich S, Ross JV, Cassey P (2020) A guide to using the internet to monitor and quantify the wildlife trade. Conservation Biology, https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13675.

  • Toomes A, Stringham OC, Mitchell L, Ross JV, Cassey P (2020) Australia’s wish list of exotic pets: Biosecurity and conservation implications of desired alien and illegal pet species. NeoBiota 60: 43-59, https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.60.51431.

  • Gore ML, Braszak P, Brown J, Cassey P, Duffy R, Fisher J, Graham J, Justo-Hanani R, Kirkwood AE, Lunstrum E, Machalaba C, Massé F, Manguiat M, Omrow D, Stoett P, Wyatt T, White R (2019) Transnational environmental crime threatens sustainable development. Nature Sustainability 2: 784-786, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0363-6.

  • Heinrich S, Ross JV, Cassey P (2019) Of cowboys, fish, and pangolins: US trade in exotic leather. Conservation Science and Practice 1: e75, https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.75.

  • Hill KGW, Nielson KE, Tyler JJ, McInerney FA, Doubleday ZA, Frankham GJ, Johnson RN, Gillanders BM, Delean S, Cassey P (2020) Pet or pest? Stable isotope methods for determining the provenance of an invasive alien species. NeoBiota, https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.59.53671.

  • Toomes A, García-Díaz P, Wittmann TA, Virtue J, Cassey P (2019) New aliens in Australia: 18 years of vertebrate interceptions. Wildlife Research, https://doi.org/10.1071/WR18185.

  • Vall-llosera M, Cassey P (2017) ‘Do you come from a land down under?’ Characteristics of the international trade in Australian endemic parrots. Biological Conservation 207: 38-46, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.01.015.

  • Vall-llosera M, Cassey P (2017) Physical attractiveness, constraints to the trade and handling requirements drive the variation in species availability in the Australian cagebird trade. Ecological Economics 131: 407-413, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.07.015.

  • García‐Díaz P, Ross JV, Woolnough AP, Cassey P (2016) The illegal wildlife trade is a likely source of alien species. Conservation Letters, https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12301.

  • Heinrich S, Wittmann TA, Prowse TAA, Ross JV, Delean S, Shepherd CR, Cassey P (2016) Where did all the pangolins go? International CITES trade in pangolin species. Global Ecology and Conservation 8: 241-253, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2016.09.007.

  • Shepherd CR, Connelly E, Hywood L, Cassey P (2016) Taking a stand against illegal wildlife trade: the Zimbabwean approach to pangolin conservation. Oryx, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605316000119.

  • Su S, Cassey P, Blackburn TM (2016) The wildlife pet trade as a driver of introduction and establishment in alien birds in Taiwan. Biological Invasions 18: 215-229, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-015-1003-3.

  • Cassey P, Hogg CJ (2015) Escaping captivity: the biological invasion risk from vertebrate species in zoos. Biological Conservation 181: 18-26, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2014.10.023.