Birds as surrogates for mammals and reptiles: Are patterns of cross-taxonomic associations stable over time in a human-modified landscape?

•One of few longitudinal studies (∼15 years) examining cross-taxonomic surrogacy (bird, mammal, reptile) in a complex, human-modified landscape consisting of habitat patches (box-gum grassy woodland remnants).•Congruency of species richness and composition between bird, mammal and reptile assemblages in woodland remnants differed between the landscape matrixes and varied over the study period, tending to increase in strength with time post-disturbance.•Temporal turnover of species richness and composition of bird, mammal and reptile assemblages were taxon-specific, with stronger observed shifts for mammals and reptiles. Each of this taxon is correlated with mostly different habitat structural variables, with few shared variables.•Ecologists applying cross-taxonomic surrogates in conservation assessments, monitoring and biodiversity inventories, need to consider natural history differences between the taxa examined, landscape contexts and the effects of community shifts over time, especially in newly disturbed landscapes.