Dear everyone,

A fabulous opportunity exists for a suitably qualified PhD student. The
project is to establish what are the population level determinants of range
limits in M. antilopinus (antilopine wallaroo) in order to better forecast
range contraction or expansion under climate and land use change.
Generalities from this research could then be tested using other macropod
species.

The project is fully funded by the ARC as part of a larger project being run
by Damien Fordham and Barry Brook from the University of Adelaide (see
synopsis below).

Project Synopsis:
Distributional range margins, for the majority of species, end at seemingly
arbitrary boundaries. We will: (i) develop a generalised demographic
framework to characterise the dynamics of the edge of the range, in terms of
species' changing vital rates across gradients and by examining combinations
of extrinsic factors thought to limit geographic extent; (ii) use a systems
approach to determine the interplay between vital rates at the edge of the
range under scenarios of future climate and environmental change; and(iii)
incorporate this new information into spatially explicit metapopulation
models. By adding more realistic structural information on range margin
dynamics, this method should improve predictions of species' distributional
shifts and persistence under global change. The methods will exploit
advanced statistical and computational approaches and on-ground monitoring
for model verification, to integrate multiple lines of information on the
drivers of environmental and biodiversity change. The results will also
provide generalisations on how geographic range size and structure change
through time in response to global change and deliver a new toolbox for
exploring trade-offs inherent in conservation planning.

The student involved would need to apply for an APA in the coming round. The
project will involve extensive field work in Northern Australia and good
skills in GIS and statistics would be advantageous. The student will be
co-supervised by Damien Fordham, Barry Brook, Chris Johnson (J.C.U.) and
Euan Ritchie (J.C.U.), and the work will be based out of both the University
of Adelaide and James Cook University (Townsville). Ideally, the student
would spend the first two years in Townsville conducting field work and the
final analysis and writing up year in Adelaide.

Could interested potential students contact Damien
damien.fordham@... and Euan euan.ritchie@... with a cv as
soon as possible, as the project is set to begin in 2010. Please feel free
to forward this message to any interested people.

Regards,
Euan

Dr. Euan G. Ritchie
ARC Postdoctoral Research Associate
School of Marine and Tropical Biology
James Cook University
Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
ph: +61 7 4781 4133
fax: +61 7 4725 1570
Room123, Old Biological Sciences Building
http://www.jcu.edu.au/mtb/disciplines/zte/staff/JCUPRD_039657.html

Gday everyone

Just have a question regarding when you can trust a Squirrel Glider/Sugar Glider
ID.

I am currently conducting a survey of the distribution of threatened species in
the NSW River Red Gum forests, with a particular focus on the squirrel glider. I
am spotlighting for them, and only call them if I get good views and I can tick
each of the following points:
1) Fur at tail base fluffed out to within 1cm width of body width
2) No white dot at end of tail
3) Dark line across back
4) Squirrel Glider size AND/OR Squirrel glider face
5) White underparts
I take photos where I can. There have been some interesting results so far and
want to write a paper from this work.

Now, do you think this enough? Would you trust ID based on this? Is there
anything else I should add to make this ID more objective and reliable (e.g.
benchmark myself against someone else)? I have seen plenty of both Squirrel and
Sugar Gliders to personally be  comfortable telling them apart, but I just want
to make sure I know where most other people sit on this issue. Also, I still
have time to change my methodology if anyone can spot a major flaw in what I've
done.

If anyone wants a copy of the final report, let me know.

Cheers,
Hugh McGregor

Dear everyone,

Does anybody have reliable gps locations (with dates preferably) for
spectacled hare wallabies and northern nailtail wallabies that they would be
willing to send me please? You would of course be appropriately
acknowledged.

Many thanks in advance,
Euan

Dr. Euan G. Ritchie
ARC Postdoctoral Research Associate
School of Marine and Tropical Biology
James Cook University
Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
ph: +61 7 4781 4133
fax: +61 7 4725 1570
Room123, Old Biological Sciences Building
http://www.jcu.edu.au/mtb/disciplines/zte/staff/JCUPRD_039657.html

What I probably neglected to add is that long hours in the bush at night is they
key!  I've had most success detecting Feathertail Gliders in surveys in tall
wet/moist forest in hilly country, such as in the Otway Ranges in SW Victoria,
but at a _very_ low encounter rate compared to their probable abundance. 
Usually seen while looking for something else ...

L.


--- In mammals-aus@yahoogroups.com, Lawrie Conole <lconole@...> wrote:
>
> I'll second that.  Falling leaves, particularly those that change direction
> in windless conditions, often turn out to be parachuting Feathertail
> Gliders.

Hello everyone
I am just curious, does anyone have any tips for detecting Feathertail Gliders?
I heard a story ages ago of some old hands in Victoria who got really good at
it. But the only times i have ever seen them, they have literally ran into my
spotlight beam by random chance.
Any tips or tricks anyone can recommended?
Cheers, Hugh McGregor

Hi everyone,

We are urgently looking for volunteers for two field trips scheduled
for ~13th-30th of October (NE of Alice Springs) and ~9th-18th November
(lower Cape York). We require only one volunteer for the first trip and 2-3
for the second trip.

The work will involve deploying cameras traps to survey for dingoes, cats
and foxes, as well as conducting kangaroo and vegetation surveys.

This work is part of an ARC-funded project looking at the functional role of
dingoes in maintaining biodiversity through mesopredator suppression.

All food, accommodation and transport is supplied, you just have to get to
Townsville! Please be aware the work will require a good level of fitness,
with some very long days and often very hot and/or humid conditions.
Volunteers will also need a current drivers licence and first aid training
and/or 4wd experience would also be beneficial.

If anyone is interested can you please contact me asap with a brief cv and I
will provide you with further details.

Many thanks,
Euan


Dr. Euan G. Ritchie
ARC Postdoctoral Research Associate
School of Marine and Tropical Biology
James Cook University
Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
ph: +61 7 4781 4133
fax: +61 7 4725 1570
Room123, Old Biological Sciences Building
http://www.jcu.edu.au/mtb/disciplines/zte/staff/JCUPRD_039657.html

Hi everyone,

We are urgently looking for one or two volunteers for a field trip scheduled
for 4th-19/20th of August, to two properties SW of Longreach. The work will
involve deploying cameras traps to survey for dingoes, cats and foxes, as
well as kangaroo and vegetation surveys.

This work is part of an ARC-funded project looking at the functional role of
dingoes in maintaining biodiversity through mesopredator suppression.

All food, accommodation and transport is supplied, you just have to get to
Townsville! The work will require a reasonable level of fitness, current
drivers licence and first aid training and/or 4wd experience would also be
beneficial.

If anyone is interested can you please contact laura.mitchell@...
asap and she can provide you with further details.

Many thanks,
Euan

Dr. Euan G. Ritchie
ARC Postdoctoral Research Associate
School of Marine and Tropical Biology
James Cook University
Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
ph: +61 7 4781 4133
fax: +61 7 4725 1570
Room123, Old Biological Sciences Building
http://www.jcu.edu.au/mtb/disciplines/zte/staff/JCUPRD_039657.html

Gday. My name is Hugh McGregor. This is my first post on the forum.
Im heading down to Tasmania in a few days for some mammal twitching. I hope to
collect and prepare skulls of any roadkill i see down there. However, I'm not
quite sure on the legality of doing this, or if I will be able to take them back
on the plane. Anyone know what the rules for this are? Or should i donate them
to a museum?

Cheers.

In May there were 7 reliable, or very plausible, reports of Echidnas in the
City of Bayside (Beaumaris to Brighton on the east of Port Phillip Bay).

Despite my extensive networks (including staff of our golf courses which
include the Royal Melbourne) I know of no other records in the City for
about 20 years.

The nearest population is at Braeside Park, about 10km south but there is no
really connected land nearer than 20km away (in the Dandenong Valley and
Churchill National Park).

Couple of questions:

- is anyone aware of other recent records in suburban Melbourne?

- is it likely that they are unaided fire refugees (nearest extensive fire
was Bunyip, 60km away)?

Many thanks

Michael Norris

37° 59' S  145° 0' E
9521 6879      0400 178 199

Hi again John and all, here are a couple of crops of the bat's face,
don't know if they will help. Cheers, Duncan.

Thanks very much Storm and John, I'm in Maffra, Victoria by the way. The
little fellow/lady must have roosted there during the day, and when I
switched the light on this evening it must have thought that daytime had
come again!  I wasn't getting any moths in so switched the light off,
and when I checked ten minutes later it had gone, I hope I didn't upset
its body clock. I'll be installing 25 bat boxes in two reserves I manage
in the near future, be interesting to see how soon they get occupants.
All the best, Duncan

G'day all, put my moth light out last night, then looked up to see this
little bat hanging from a brick joint. It was just a little over 50 mm
body length. I know nothing about bats and would appreciate an
identification please. Cheers, Duncan.

Hi,

We have just had 10 days in Broome, primarily to see the waders in breeding
plumage, but also at all other things.

We were a little surprised at how few a number of species there were to see
in this area and how little we saw, however we enjoyed what we saw.

Agile wallabies were in many places around Broome, but not a single one in 3
days on the Dampier Peninsular.  In fact we didn't see anything at all
mammal wise between Broome and Cape Leveque except 3 donkeys.

The highlight of the trip were a couple of Northern Nailtails on the plains
behind the bird observatory.  [I am not sure if there is public access onto
this cattle property or it has to be arranged through the observatory.  In
our case the warden took us out there on a tour.]

There was a colony of Black Flying Fox roosting in the mangroves at
Streeters Jetty, which is apparently quite common. And that's all we saw up
there.  We missed the snub-nose dolphins despite spending hours everyday at
the water's edge around Roebuck bay at high tide.

On the last afternoon we decided we would try the Dampier Plains road to
look for more inland things.  We found the turn off OK, but there was a gate
and then soft deep sand disappearing over the rise, which hadn't been driven
on for a long time (no tyre marks), so we decided we had better not try that
without suitable gear.  It didn't look like they were using that road to get
to the property.  Quite disappointed at not getting into the interior a bit
and not being able to try for the Bilby which Jon Hall had reported some
years ago.  [One guy we met, a local naturalist, said that over the years he
had found a few road kill Bilby round Broome, including near the
Observatory.]

John Goldie and Kathy Walter,
Canberra

Hi everyone,

We are looking for volunteers for four field trips scheduled for this year
(each one roughly two weeks) that will be going to various parts of Qld and
deploying cameras traps to survey for dingoes, cats, foxes, thylacine and
bunyip (ok, the last two are wishful). This work is part of an ARC-funded
project looking at the functional role of dingoes in maintaining
biodiversity through mesopredator suppression. The work will also involve
vegetation and large macropod surveys. All food, accommodation and transport
is supplied, you just have to get to Townsville! The work will often be in
relatively warm and sometimes humid conditions and requires a reasonable
level of fitness. If you are first aid trained and or have 4wd experience
that would also be beneficial.

The dates and locations are as follows:

May 7 - May 20: Southwest Qld channel country

June 23 - July 6: Southwest Qld channel country

September 4 - 17: Northern Cape York (including Piccaninny Plains (AWC) and
maybe Iron Range)

October 13 - 26: Lower Cape York

It's a great opportunity to see some amazing country, get skills in
carnivore related work and see some cool critters, with possibilities
including womas, golden-shouldered parrots, palm cockatoo, green pythons,
cuscus, grey falcon, to name but a few!

If anyone is interested can you please contact me soon and I can provide you
with further details.

Many thanks,
Euan

Dr. Euan G. Ritchie
ARC Postdoctoral Research Associate
School of Marine and Tropical Biology
James Cook University
Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
ph: +61 7 4781 4133
fax: +61 7 4725 1570
Room123, Old Biological Sciences Building
http://www.jcu.edu.au/mtb/disciplines/zte/staff/JCUPRD_039657.html

Nice ones Rohan, lovely animal, pity they are such a menace to native
wildlife. Cheers, Duncan.

Last week-end we spent a few days at the light house cottages at Green Cape
in Ben Boyd National Park.

Green Cape is a magnificently scenic spot halfway between Eden and the Vic
border on the NSW far south coast.  It turns out it is OK for mammal
watching too, on top of the good birds.

After tea we took a torch out onto the lawns around the cottages and the
bush edges and saw 6 species:

Wombat, Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Swamp Wallaby, Long-nosed Bandicoots, Common
Ringtails and 3 Bush Rats.  So great fun searching these things out and
there was the lure of even more.  The ranger said Southern Brown Bandicoot
and 2 species of Antechinus (Brown and Dusky) were also quite possible.

Seeing marine mammals is also about as easy as it gets for watching from the
land.  Sit on the verandah to see, Bottlenose Dolphins, Humpbacks, usually
Fur Seals (but absent on this occasion) and on our last visit a huge pod of
Common Dolphins.

John Goldie and Kathy Walter

Watson, ACT

"Forensic testing of fox scats found in Tasmania has revealed DNA from
five different foxes.

The University of Western Australia has analysed 30 scats, but only five
came up with conclusive results.

The tests found that three of the foxes were male and one was
female. Tests are still underway on the fifth specimen. ..."

More at:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/11/2513623.htm

Andrew