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Tiah Louise Bampton
19/04/2024
Meet PhD student Tiah from the University of Adelaide, and the 2023 recipient of the Adolph Bolliger Award
What is your current area of research?
I am in the final stages of my PhD at the University of Adelaide working at the Naracoorte Caves World Heritage Area in South Australia. I work in the realms of palaeontology and stable isotope geochemistry, pairing the two fields to gain a greater understanding of the environment and fauna of the Quaternary. Using these methods I reconstruct the climate and environment of the past directly derived from the fauna living within the environment, and the palaeoecology of extinct fauna, namely rodents, that have little to no ecological records. In particular, I use stable isotopes of carbon and oxygen to determine the diet and water source of rodents to try and understand the drivers of extinction of Australian rodents.
Tell us about your background; what made you interested in research?
As a child, my parents always encouraged my love of rocks and especially fossils. I always wanted to be a geologist until I had a family trip to the Naracoorte Caves and found out what a palaeontologist is and that was it for me, being a palaeontologist became my dream job and Naracoorte my dream field site. My passion for the field only got stronger through school and especially through university. I double majored in geology and evolutionary biology, so I could have the best of both worlds. I started my honours in geology with a focus on applying stable isotope geochemistry on fossils to reconstruct climate and environment in Blanche Cave at the Naracoorte Caves World Heritage Area. Once I had my foot in the door at Naracoorte there was no turning back for me. I formed a little niche with isotopes at Naracoorte and began broadening the application to also look at palaeoecology and had the pleasure of leading a palaeontological excavation in one of the tourist caves.
What are some of the highlights from following this career path?
There are many highlights so far but there are definitely some that standout. I have been interviewed for ABC interviews and an article for my palaeontological dig in Alexandra Cave. And of course, leading the first systematic palaeontological dig of Alexandra Cave has been a massive highlight. Another was being a panel member on the opening night of ‘A Curious Thing: The story of Mary Anning’, where we discussed women in palaeontology.
What do you consider are some of your best achievements?
I have been very fortunate to present at some brilliant conferences. I presented a talk at the International Union for Quaternary Research 2023 XXI INQUA Roma congress – ‘Time For Change’, where I represented my research group and our wonderful field site. I have also received awards at other conferences such as the Adolph Bolliger Award for Best spoken presentation by a student at the 69th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian Mammal Society and the Geological Society of Australia (Victoria Division) CAVEPS 2023 Student Prize for excellence in research on the geologic context of vertebrate fossils at the18th Conference on Australasian Vertebrate Evolution, Palaeontology & Systematics.
What is your favourite activity in mammal research?
Obviously, Fieldwork and outreach are the best parts! Exploring caves I'm always on the lookout for fossils and beautiful stratigraphic sequences and seeing pure and untouched cave formations makes the bruises and squeezes worth it.
Being able to share the passion and love I have for my field with fellow scientists and with anyone who will listen is the most important part of my job. Inspiring others, especially kids, to consider the fantastic field of palaeontology and geology, just as I received as a kid, is what keeps the wheels of our field turning. You never know when you will be shaping the future of our field.
Do you have an interesting mammal anecdote?
As my field sites are tourist caves with daily tours I am always coming across tours while doing research. One of my favourite interactions with a tour was when a school group came into Alexandra Cave. The tour guide knew I was in a small tunnel and decided not to bring the tour over. I had finished my work for the day and could hear them nearby. For fun, I popped out of the small entrance tunnel from my excavation site and accidentally frightened the school group and the guide. After assuring them I was a person and not a cave goblin I was able to have a great chat with the group.
Do you have any advice for other students interested in mammalogy?
Always follow your passion and the field you like, but never turn down an opportunity to pursue another field that interests you. I always wanted to be a palaeontologist and geologist but never considered geochemistry. After reading an honours project proposal focusing on geochemistry on fossils I decided to give it a go. You never know when you will find your niche in your dream field.
Dr Linette Umbrello
02/02/2024
Meet Linette, the 2023 recipient of the President’s ECR Award, and Assistant Secretary/Newsletter Editor for AMS
Measuring northern quoll skulls during my PhD
What is your job?
Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Queensland University of Technology
Tell us about your background:
I was born in Perth and grew up in the historic wheatbelt town of York where at the age of eight my family moved to a 100 acre “hobby farm” about 20 kms from town in an area known as Quellington. Among the paddocks of wheat and sheep were patches of remnant bush where wildflowers bloomed in winter and evidence of echidnas and possums could be found if you knew where to look. After school I’d go horse riding or walking through the bush with the dog and my cat, who was a brilliant mouser and brought home a fat-tailed dunnart one night—my first close encounter with a dasyurid. I became obsessed with snakes at about age 10 at which point I was determined to become a zoologist so I could study them.
What interesting research/projects have you worked on?
During my PhD studies and beyond my research has focussed on the evolution of small dasyurid marsupials in arid environments. I like working on small, lesser-known species that don’t receive much research attention, it amazes me that they have and continue to persist throughout altered landscapes where so many other marsupial species have recently gone extinct. They are also absolutely ferocious, despite being tiny and I admire their tenacity.
What are your current projects?
I’m currently working on two different projects. The first is tackling undescribed diversity in some of Australia’s smallest marsupials, the planigales and stripe-faced dunnarts. I use genetic and morphological data to delimit species in these two groups and examine specimens to write species descriptions. The other project has a more direct conservation focus and involves using genetic and spatial data to help understand the movement and habitat suitability of threatened bats in the Pilbara.
Examining the remains of a stick-nest rat nest at Mt Bruce 2015
What do you consider are some of your best achievements?
My favourite achievement happened last year which was publishing the description of two new species of Planigale from the Pilbara region in Western Australia. When I started working as a Technical Officer at the WA Museum in 2011, I became aware of two undescribed species of planigale while undertaking an audit of the dry mammal collection. I was surprised to learn that there were new species of mammals in Australia that were undescribed and not known to the general public (beginners naïveté!). The manuscript names for the two species, now published (Planigale kendricki and P. tealei), were burning a hole in my brain ever since as I understood the urgency to publish the descriptions given the huge amount of survey work being routinely undertaken in the Pilbara. So, I am glad that is done!
What is your favourite activity in mammalogy?
I will list my three top mammal activities. First is working with live mammals in the field, nothing compares to peering into a pitfall trap and seeing a black-eyed pointy-nosed dasyurid staring back at you. The second is the first time analysing new molecular data, it is like opening your presents on Christmas morning, you don’t know what surprises you will have (hopefully not all contaminated with human DNA!). The third would be working with specimens, I know this can be seen as iky to some, but as someone who often collected bits of dead things (skulls) or shed things (feathers and snake skins) as a kid, being able to work with preserved museum specimens is such a special experience. Every specimen contains multitudes of information enabling us to understand the natural world, from where they live to what they look like, what they eat to who they are related to, how they reproduce etc. For the unfortunate extinct species, museum specimens are often all we have left, reminding us of what was and a warning for the future.
Releasing a northern brown bandicoot at Yampi Peninsula 2022
Do you have an interesting “mammal anecdote”?
The first field trip I went on as a museum staff member was a survey of the reptile fauna of the Abrolhos Islands off the coast of WA near Geraldton. There are two native mammals on the islands, the bush rat and the tammar wallaby. Historically there were no tammars on North Island (the northern-most island of the Abrolhos) but they were supposedly introduced by cray fishers as a food source. We surveyed the islands in the off season (for cray fishing) and all of the houses and buildings on the islands were empty giving the appearance of ghost towns. The tammars were not particularly wary of us, being an island population with no real predators. While searching for skinks on North Island I noticed a tammar hop into a small concrete yard attached to a shanty. Quietly I crept behind and closed the gate behind me so that it could not escape, it was then as simple as waiting for it to hop over to a corner, whereby I gabbed it by the tail and took it back to show my very surprised supervisor! An ear sample was taken for genetic analysis and the wallaby released unharmed.
Holly Raudino
05/04/2023
Meet the council: Holly Raudino, AMS secretary
Holly collecting photo-identification data (individual dorsal fin photos) for the catalogue of humpback dolphins (Sousa sahulensis) in Dampier Archipelago.
What is your job?
I’m a Senior Research Scientist with the Marine Science Program of DBCA
Tell us about your history
I grew up living close to the coast in Perth's northern suburbs and became curious about the ocean animals with this piquing around 10 during fishing trips with my Dad and I was a bookworm fuelled by the books my Mum got me on marine animals. I started volunteering at the local aquarium as a teenager and did a lot of work experience at places like Monkey Mia and Bunbury mainly centred around dolphins and their behaviour. This led to me doing an Independent Study Contract in Bunbury in the final year of my undergraduate degree at Murdoch University and then an honours project investigating risky interactions between dolphins and people in Monkey Mia. I then went on to work on other marine mammals including blue whales with Centre for Whale Research and then seals on Kangaroo Island, SA and dolphins in Port Stephens, NSW and I did a six-week expedition in Bass Strait mitigating impacts on marine mammals between Victoria and Tasmania from seismic surveys. I returned to WA after a year of working and travelling interstate and did a lot of training with Perth Zoo, CSIRO and guided on whale watch boats as well as working in the Nearer to Nature Program with DBCA (formerly CALM) educating school kids on marine invertebrates and completed a graduate recruitment training from 2003-2006. I worked for about 10 years initially on wetlands and other terrestrial projects as a Zoologist before completing my PhD studying the Bunbury dolphin population between 2007-2012. I then made a successful transition to the Marine Science Program where I’ve worked on marine fauna since, mainly marine mammals (dolphins, dugongs, whales and sea lions). I finally got permanency and a promotion (Senior Research Scientist) last year after almost 20 years on contract with DBCA, 10 of these in the Marine Science Program.
What interesting research/projects have you worked on?
I have been lucky enough to help tag blue whales when I worked with the Centre for Whale Research. They are a particularly challenging species to work on as they feed in deep water the Rottnest Canyon (or Perth Basin) is thousands of metres deep and they surface for a couple of minutes before diving for half an hour at a time. In the few minutes they are on the surface the team is trying to collect photo-ID the unique pigmentation on the lateral side, behaviour, group composition, biopsy and sometimes attach a satellite tag. There is a lot going on in a short period of time.
Snubfin dolphin calf (Orcaella heinsohni)
I studied the bottlenose dolphin population during my PhD almost year round for three years and the dorsal fins that we use to identity individuals became as familiar as friends faces during this time. I modelled the first abundance estimates for this population of ~150-200 individuals. More recently I’ve led research on dolphins in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions on the Australian humpback and snubfin dolphins that are less abundant than bottlenose dolphins. These regions can be really challenging to work in because of weather and the distance i.e. the Montebello Islands is ~80km from the mainland coast but they are some of the most spectacular study sites and it has been thrilling to work on new species. One of the most rewarding aspects is working with Traditional Owners and rangers in their sea country under joint management arrangements in the Kimberley marine parks.
What are your current projects?
I am currently focusing on the population size of the endangered Australian sea lions in the Perth metropolitan area through a Westport-funded project. We will try and estimate absolute abundance for the male portion of the population that uses the metropolitan waters and islands to haul out and recuperate between foraging trips and when not up north breeding. I will also assist in satellite tagging to look at movements and habitat use in this area when at sea and potentially moving up to the breeding colonies in Jurien Bay depending on when we deploy the satellite tags and how long they are retained for (before being moulted off).
Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) uplisted to Endangered under National legislation (EPBC Act) in December 2020. This bull pictured is hauled out on Carnac Island one of the six haul out sites in the metropolitan area where they rest between foraging bouts and 18 month breeding cycle. We are estimating abundance and will be investigating habitat use through satellite tagging in 2022/23.
What do you consider are some of your best achievements?
Mapping humpback dolphin abundance across the Pilbara region and snubfin dolphin distribution across the Kimberley. Both prior to that were species with limited survey effort and data in WA. This has been important in understanding their population status and will help inform their national conservation status.
What is your favourite activity in mammalogy?
Studying behavioural ecology in the field, being on boats in remote areas with Traditional owners and rangers and learning about new species and places.
Do you have an interesting “mammal anecdote”?
I discovered that bottlenose dolphins feed on giant cuttlefish seasonally using a process to ‘handle’ this complex prey and they tear off their head before wearing the cuttlefish body on their rostrum (beak) and popping the cuttlefish bone out and consuming the flesh (more detail in this paper published in my maiden name)
Smith, HC, Sprogis, KR (2016) Seasonal feeding on giant cuttlefish (Sepia apama) by Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in south-western Australia. Aust J Zool 64, 8-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ZO15075
Natasha Tay
05/04/2023
Meet the council: Natasha Tay, AMS communications officer
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What is your current area of research?
I study comparative anatomy and my PhD project investigates how hindlimb morphology influences locomotion and escape behaviour in critical weight range marsupials.
Tell us about your background; what made you interested in research?
Coming from a big city like Singapore, I always thought the only way I could work with animals meant becoming a veterinarian. But after doing a couple of clinic placements, I realised I'd much rather work out bush with wildlife. I completed my undergraduate degree in Zoology and Conservation Biology at UWA and spent a lot of time volunteering on projects with research students and WA Parks and Wildlife.
What are some of the highlights from following this career path?
I regularly took time out of study to participate in cool projects. While this means I am at risk of becoming an eternal university student, I have been able to see and work with many different species and ecosystems both in Australia and abroad. I spent some time as a research assistant in South Africa studying leopards. We had a BBC film crew come out to film honey badgers but unfortunately during the week of filming all the honey badgers seemed to have disappeared, typical! The research team had to go into overdrive to find the promised badgers, and so ensued many long days setting up carcasses and scent trails to entice the illusive film stars to make an appearance. I even had to put an impala up a tree! It was a real experience working behind the scenes of a documentary helping set up shots for the filmmakers and despite the overall lack of sleep, it was a really enjoyable and memorable time.
What do you consider are some of your best achievements?
It’s difficult to really pinpoint any big achievements so early in your career, but I am pretty proud of presenting my research to the general public through presentations, news articles and interviews. As someone who has never been fond of public speaking, I am really passionate about encouraging new students to get their work out there. Most recently, I am proud to have organised last year’s SciComm workshop for the AMS conference.
What is your favourite activity in mammal research?
Despite the early mornings and late nights, I really enjoyed cage trapping and measuring of animals in hand. Now that my current research project is mostly lab-based, I don’t spend as much time in the field but I still enjoy helping other research students when I can and taking every opportunity to see our Australian mammals in the wild.
Do you have any advice for other students interested in mammalogy?
In the early days during undergrad and even honours, take every opportunity given to you. It’s so important to work with different people and organisations to learn a variety of methods and topics. But once you’ve embarked on your PhD journey, it’s okay to be more selective when saying “yes”. ????
Dr Brenton von Takach
14/10/2022
Meet Brenton, the 2022 recipient of the President’s ECR Award
What is your job?
I am primarily a Research Associate and Forrest Prospect Fellow at Curtin University, but also do a touch of part-time work with the WA Government as a Research Scientist in the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
Tell us about your history
I’ve always had the mind of a scientist. Much of my formative years were spent wandering the edges of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park in northern Sydney, and by the end of my undergraduate degree in 2008 I had learned the names of probably all species of plant and (vertebrate) animal one could hope to encounter in the bushland of that area – including far too many pea flowers (Pultenaea, anyone?). After some travel, another degree (MConBio), some time as a bush-regenerator, and a bit of research assistant work at UNSW (under the auspices of the knowledgeable Mike Letnic), I took a job at an environmental consultancy as a botanist/ecologist. Here, I rapidly soaked up more knowledge about the plants, animals and ecosystems that once dominated NSW, working with some of the region’s most wonderful and expert ecologists. As many do, I rapidly tired of the consulting industry, and moved to Canberra to start a PhD (in 2015) at the Fenner School with Sam Banks and David Lindenmayer. And so I spent three wonderful years touring the mountain ash forests of Victoria and Tasmania, measuring bits, collecting bobs, and trying to wrap my head around linear regression and population genetics. Towards the end of my project, Sam took a Professorship at Charles Darwin University, so I moved up to Darwin to write my thesis amongst the tropical birdlife. Six months turned into three years, mostly working as a postdoc at CDU, but also doing a bit of helicoptering around Kakadu National Park with the Flora and Fauna Division of the NT Government. Eventually, the climate got the better of me, and in 2020 I moved down to Perth with a 4WD full of hopes, dreams, and some other junk. I was awarded a Forrest Prospect Fellowship in 2021, and thankfully have been able to keep working on native species ecology and population genetics.
What interesting research/projects have you worked on?
My research broadly investigates the ecological and genomic impacts that anthropogenic systems and disturbances have on biodiversity and wildlife, covering a range of taxa from flowering plants, birds, mammals, frogs and reptiles. More generally, I have been involved in many aspects of ecological monitoring and research for about 15 years, studying best practices for management of ecosystem processes and species conservation. During this time, I have collaborated with many universities and government agencies, conducting a range of ecological research projects and wildlife surveys. As a specialist ecological consultant, I have written impact assessments and informed the management strategies for more than 50 development projects of varying sizes, in over 40 different ecological communities. Some of the most interesting projects I’ve been involved with include:
- Assessing and monitoring the impacts that large wind farms have on birds and bats
- Investigating the impacts of the dingo barrier fence on mammal populations
- Studying the reproductive development of obligate seeding eucalypts
- Conducting vertebrate monitoring on long-term plots in Kakadu and Nitmiluk national parks
- Catching and banding woodland birds, including regent honeyeaters, in NSW
- Quantifying the distribution and structuring of genomic diversity in mammals of northern Australia
- Investigating the influence of toxic cane toads on the population genetic diversity of northern quolls
What are your current projects?
My current research focuses on the biogeography of declining Australian wildlife and the importance of understanding the spatial distribution of genomic diversity for conservation. The primary aim of my Fellowship is to understand the environmental, geographic, and genomic processes involved in the decline and extinction of native species and ecosystems. While focussing predominantly on the declining mammal fauna of northern Australia (the Kimberley and Top End regions, including the occasional dolphin), this work extends to projects in southern Australia, including mulgara (Dasycercus spp.) and chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii), as well as various reptile taxa, such as the highly threatened Arnhem Land Gorges Skink (Bellatorias obiri) and the snake fauna (23 species!) of the Darwin region. I also currently lead a large monitoring and research program in the Great Victoria Desert, which involves long field trips into some of the remotest areas of the country to survey mammals and reptiles.
What do you consider are some of your best achievements?
Being at the beginning of my research career, I feel that many achievements are still to come, and I’m only scratching the surface of what I’d like to achieve. I am extremely grateful for the many opportunities I’ve had and the many collaborations that I’ve forged over the past 10 years, including working with some of Australia’s most experienced and hard-working ecologists. I like to think I’ve contributed meaningfully to practical conservation efforts through work in consulting and collaborations with land management agencies (e.g. Territory Natural Resource Management, NT Government, WA Government, and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy). I also hope that my published research does more than simply collect citations, helping us to understand and better manage our unique wildlife.
What is your favourite activity in mammalogy?
Spotlighting, for sure. So much easier than flipping rocks for reptiles or wading through swamps to identify frogs. Almost as easy as birding!
Do you have an interesting “mammal anecdote”?
I was once doing a quiet bird survey on a peaceful riverside monitoring plot in Kakadu National Park. Without warning, half a dozen agile wallabies bolted through my plot, being chased by a dingo at full pelt. The wallabies split up and headed off in two different directions, but I stood and watched as one of them went to ground under a shrub not three metres from my feet. The dingo came to a stop, maybe 10 metres away, as it decided which wallaby to follow, and looked around a little. I was sure it was going to see me and charge in its agitated state. I briefly wondered whether it would be better to take my chances with a hungry dingo or jump into the nearby crocodile-filled river. Nevertheless, there was a quiet moment of contemplative thought for all three of us: this wallaby, dingo and I, as we all stayed motionless amongst the riparian grass tussocks. Thankfully, the dingo didn’t seem to notice either the hidden wallaby or myself, and chased off after one of the still-bounding wallabies. Soon their combined crashing through the grass and shrubs faded, and the wallaby at my feet decided it was safe to move again. Ignoring me completely, it headed back in the direction from whence it had come, away from the predator it had narrowly avoided.
Tenaya Duncan
12/04/2022
Meet PhD student Tenaya, who is working to reduce feral cat predation on native animals
What is your current area of research?
I’m currently a PhD student at Murdoch University working in partnership with Bush Heritage Australia using artificial refuges for native terrestrial species in disturbed landscapes to reduce feral cat predation. I am working on two Bush Heritage reserves (Eurardy: Nhanda country, Hamelin: Malgana country) to replace natural refuges that have been lost due to clearing or grazing and attract native species back into the areas Bush Heritage are restoring.
Tell us about your background; what made you interested in research?
I have always wanted to work with animals and be a zookeeper for a large part of my childhood, wanting to work with elephants. When I volunteered at a wildlife park in Perth, that’s where it all changed. I worked with dingoes which sparked my interest in Australian predators, and pursued university and research. From there, I completed my undergraduate degree in Conservation Biology and Zoology at the University of Western Australia and my certificate III in captive animal management at Perth Zoo. I became more interested in pursuing research on Australian predators during my studies. I then completed my honours degree at Murdoch University, looking at the dingo diet in the West Kimberley and a dasyurid captive management course in Tasmania. After honours, I jumped into the workforce and worked at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development as a contractor to eradicate the Queensland Fruitfly. This caused a slight shift in my interest area into invasive species management. This led me to start my PhD on feral cats, a good combination of invasive species and predators. Throughout my studies and career, I have also continued to work with many bird species through rehabilitation, ranging from honeyeaters, black cockatoos to birds of prey.
What are some of the highlights from following this career path?
There’s been a few, but I can honestly say being able to work with some amazing animals. Some highlights include working with Tasmanian Devils, releasing rehabilitated black cockatoos, trapping and monitoring Woylies. And, of course, being able to meet and work with some amazing mentors, researchers and ecologists.
What do you consider are some of your best achievements?
Graduating from university was a big achievement, personally. I was the first in my family to attend university and consider it a big achievement. I would also say publishing my first paper from my honours in Australian Mammalogy. It was a lot of hard work, particularly during COVID, but it was a great experience.
[You can check out Tenaya's paper here]
What is your favourite activity in mammal research?
This is a hard one. As gross as it sounds, I’d have to say scat analysis, I found it very interesting analysing predator diets and working out what they eat. I would also say that as monotonous as it is, I enjoy camera traps, reviewing the photos and seeing all the cool critters.
Do you have an interesting mammal anecdote?
I have a few, I am someone who is prone to be bitten. I have had nerve damage from a redtail black cockatoo who decided to have a chew on my index finger. While learning how to grab and hold a Tasmanian Devil, one had given me a little bite on my ankle. However, my top anecdote would have to be when I was studying at Perth Zoo and a white-cheeked gibbon I had been working with decided to come up to the fence and show me her 1-week old baby as I was walking past.
Do you have any advice for other students interested in mammalogy?
Believe in yourself! At times it will be hard, and you may have self-doubt, but push through and pursue your interests. I would also say, say yes to all opportunities given to you, you never know what you might see or whom you may meet along the way.
Melissa Taylor
13/12/2021
Meet Mel Taylor, AMS student rep for the Perth Council and PhD student extraordinaire
What is your current area of research?
I’m currently a PhD student at Murdoch University working in collaboration with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions developing a species-specific surveying method for the chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii). I’m using lured camera traps to get individual identity to be used with spatially-explicit capture recapture. The aim is to use individual movement to optimise camera spacing and placement within the environment.
Tell us about your background; what made you interested in research?
I’ve always had an interest in animals, growing up I loved going to the zoo (still do!) and learning about wildlife. After moving to Australia from Germany I became fascinated by marsupials. I studied Zoology and Conservation Biology at UWA, I had the opportunity to do a unit on human-wildlife conflict in Sri Lanka in my last semester which made me realise that I wanted to take an active role in conserving species and influencing policy. I did my honours at Murdoch University on bandicoot and bilby ear morphology, solidifying my choice in pursuing research. Since starting my PhD I’ve had amazing opportunities to work out in nature and learn a new set of skills.
What are some of the highlights from following this career path?
There’s been a few, and I’m sure there’s many more in my future! The trip to Sri Lanka has been one of the highlights, getting to see a beautiful country and talk to people there is something I will never forget. I’ve also had the opportunity to work at the Western Australian Museum between honours and PhD. And of course, I’ve been able to meet and work with amazing people who I’ve learned so much from.
What do you consider are some of your best achievements?
Publishing my first paper from my honours research in Current Zoology has to be one of the highest achievements to date. It was a lot of hours of work, but a great learning experience for me. Other than that, being able to stand before a room of academics and talk about my research without too many ‘umms’ and visible shaking is something I’m quite proud of.
What is your favourite activity in mammal research?
Probably cage trapping. Despite not being a morning person I love being out in the bush and being able to handle animals.
Do you have an interesting mammal anecdote?
While in Sri Lanka I had the opportunity to talk with some local Navy officers who were rescuing and relocating wildlife from a newly created dam. While we were talking, a mongoose in a cage trap reached out to chew on my hiking boot, the little rascal.
Do you have any advice for other students interested in mammalogy?
Follow your interests! It may feel like obvious advice, but never feel like you need to stick to a particular field or animal. It will broaden your knowledge and could lead to some amazing opportunities.
James Rule
11/12/2020
What is your current area of research?
I am currently located at Monash University and Museums Victoria, studying the evolution and palaeobiology of seals. Specifically, I am researching their evolutionary history, biogeography, and the evolution of extreme underwater adaptations. Seal fossils are rare, especially in Australasia, so any new discoveries have the potential to rewrite what we thought we knew about how they evolved. As such, I spend a lot of time describing new fossil discoveries. My research does extend beyond seals, as I am also studying marsupials (especially dasyurids), cetaceans, and even turtles!
Tell us about your background; what made you interested in research?
Dinosaurs! I have been fascinated with them since I was 4 years old, and I have always known that I wanted to study palaeontology. They were my gateway into the natural world, and my fascination quickly expanded animals both living and extinct. During high school, my teachers encouraged me to pursue science, and made me realise that being interested in the natural world could be more than a dream! Studying science at Monash renewed my interest in evolution and palaeobiology, as I got to do everything from going on fossil expeditions, to fieldtrips to places such as Heron Island. Volunteering at Museums Victoria got me interested in mammals (especially marine mammals) and opened up research opportunities for me. My PhD has really solidified research as a career for me, and getting to visit museums around the world has been a real treat!
What are some of the highlights from following this career path?
There are so many, I cannot list them all! The ability to fulfill my dream of being a palaeontologist stands out, and getting to work in museums with fossils almost every day is something that will never get old. I have helped to discover fossils all over Victoria and New Zealand. The opportunity to name a new species of seal was something truly special! I have also been able to travel all over the world to visit sites and museums, including in places such as New Zealand, Europe, and America. Lastly, I had the opportunity in 2018 to see a Leopard seal at Beaumaris, literally a few meters from where the oldest seal fossils in Australia had been discovered! If that wasn’t a sign of things to come, I don’t know what is.
What do you consider are some of your best achievements?
I would have to say my paper describing the first southern monk seal (Eomonachus belegaerensis) in Proceedings B is the one that stands out. I spent most of my PhD researching this seal; discovering what type of seal it was and how it fit into the evolution of true seals took a lot of work. The moment it ‘clicked’ that the New Zealand fossils were monk seals is probably one of the most exciting moments of my life!
My PhD research also allowed me to improve my abilities as a science communicator. During my PhD I went from struggling to communicate scientific concepts, to being able to translate my work into a form the general public can understand. As someone who used to be terrified presenting to my fellow classmates in undergrad, the ability to clearly and confidently communicate my research to complete strangers is something I am especially proud of!
What is your favourite activity in mammal research?
My favourite activity is studying mammal bones and fossils, especially when using 3D scan data. Bones and fossils contain so much information, the possibilities are endless with them. I especially love studying the bony ear (temporal) region, as this complicated area contains can inform us about hearing, locomotion, and even diving. And playing with 3D scan data on high-end computers is a lot of fun! 
Do you have an interesting mammal anecdote?
One time, whilst moving some whale skeletal specimens, I had a Blue whale mandibleolled onto my ring finger! As it is the largest bone in the animal kingdom it hurt, but surprisingly my finger was fine. We like to joke that I am one of the few people that has been “bitten” by a blue whale.
Do you have any advice for other students interested in mammalogy?
Do not take science communication for granted! It is a valuable skill no matter what career you move into. My SciComm skills have helped me with conference presentations, with media interviews, as well as with writing and talking about my science to the general public. It also helps you realise what is the most exciting aspect of your research, and so will help with writing papers. Improving your SciComm skills will help hone your elevator pitch, and with selling your science to funders. But most importantly, being confident in your communication skills can help with stage fright and turns presentations from something terrifying into something fun!
Kath Handasyde
27/05/2020
After decades of working on wild populations of different native mammal species, it is interesting to think about what has contributed to my most significant insights into their biology.
One of the most fascinating and insightful things I have learnt on my 40 year journey has been afforded from working on some species for a very long time, often monitoring individuals for nearly their whole lifetime. For these, where it was possible to monitor multiple individuals in a population over time (largely because it was possible to recapture them on a regular basis) this provided critical basic data on how rapidly animals grew to full body size, when they reached reproductive maturity, whether or not they exhibited juvenile dispersal, how often they bred, whether all of their young survived to reproduce, age at reproductive senescence, whether or not they exhibited lifelong site fidelity, whether their diet changed seasonally, disease status and so on. Such data are key to our understanding of population dynamics and for population management. In addition, I have always found that the variation between individuals, for many of these aspects of their biology was considerable and this reminds us of how important it is to collect data on as many individuals as we can – often more easily said than done! The other significant factor was, wherever possible, working at multiple field sites and if possible, across the species geographic range – every new field site provided new insights and reminded me that to even approach a comprehensive understanding of the biology of wild species we must try to understand variation in that biology across space and time. I so often tested ideas and formed opinions that had to be revised, sometimes substantially, when I commenced working on a different population of my study species. This takes an enormous amount of field time and effort, but for me, has provided a much more thorough understanding of what drives wild populations. All of this said, for some species, data collection such as this is just not possible, partly because these animals cannot be easily or safely recaptured or monitored.
Another key insight for me, when working on wild populations, was understanding how critically important it was to try and think very broadly across different aspects of a species biology. I rapidly learned about the huge advantages of a multidisciplinary thinking framework and saw how easy it was to become so focussed on a single aspect of biology that important interplays between different components of an animals biology could be missed, resulting in possible misinterpretation of data. While working on diet and habitat use, I came to understand that I also needed to have an understanding of how things like social systems, physiology, energetic constraints, disease, weather patterns and predator impacts influenced dietary patterns and requirements. Achieving this often involved engaging with researchers whose expertise was very different to my own – microbiologists, wildlife veterinarians, botanists etc. but also the different ideas and thinking of my amazing colleagues and graduate students – everyone brings different skills and insights to a team, and the value of this should never be underestimated. Different training, perspectives and insights on a question were so often different to mine, and this led to much discussion, refinement of questions and approaches, collection of additional data and thus a more thorough and wholistic understanding of the species’ biology. For example, when you are investigating the habitat requirements of wild populations you need to think of things like diet, shelter requirements and social systems together, as these can all have profound impacts on habitat requirements and habitat use. In the face of ongoing habitat loss and degradation, plus the increasing impacts of climate change, more and more often we will need to actively manage wild populations for conservation and the maintenance of biodiversity. Without a thorough understanding of a range of critical aspects of the biology of wild populations, we will not manage wildlife as well as we might.
Vivianna Miritis
13/01/2020
What is your current area of research?
I currently work as the Leadbeater’s Possum Field Officer for Zoos Victoria where I conduct monitoring surveys for Leadbeater’s possums in the wild, in particular the genetically distinct lowland population in Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve. Leadbeater’s possums are restricted to a 70 x 90km area in Victoria’s Central Highlands, with exception to the Yellingbo population, which is the only lowland population left in the wild. With less than 40 individuals left in Yellingbo, we are in the process of undertaking a bold plan to translocate the population to a new locality to combat their continuing decline due to the degrading quality of their habitat.
Tell us about your background; what made you interested in research?
I was born in Australia but spent five years of my childhood in Greece. My aunty had a small boat and we would spend most of the summer exploring the islands and snorkelling. I have always felt a close affinity with the ocean and animals, but didn’t really think of conservation biology as a profession until my early 20s.
It definitely took me a while to find my feet coming out of high school. I initially enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts/Science with a double major in psychology and biology. I spent a lot of this time feeling quite lost and ended up graduating with a Bachelor of Science thinking I wanted to be a vet. During this time, I also started working in customer service at Werribee Open Range Zoo (one of Zoos Victoria’s three properties). Zoos Victoria really opened my eyes to conservation work, and it wasn’t until I graduated that I started really exploring wildlife research through volunteering for the zoo’s conservation projects.
I decided to go back to university to undertake a Bachelor of Environmental Science (Wildlife & Conservation Biology), which I completed at Deakin University. This time it felt different, I finally knew exactly what I wanted my career to look like and I made the most out of my degree. I volunteered for dozens of environmental organisations, I completed two overseas placements in South Africa and the Amazon in Peru, and by my third year I felt confident enough to go for an interview for a Research Assistant role at the zoo focusing on herps. Unfortunately, I am terrible at herps, I spent most days sending my herp friend pictures of “frog eggs” only to find out they were in fact condensation or slug eggs. However, they were really impressed with how I interviewed and instead offered me a Research Assistant role focusing on eastern barred bandicoots.
During this role I got to be a part of the eastern barred bandicoot release to Phillip Island, which established a new population of mainland eastern barred bandicoots. Then I took on the French Island cat monitoring, which eventually led to my honours research looking at feral cats and their spatial and temporal interactions with long-nosed potoroos. I’ll have a paper coming out in early 2020 in the Wildlife Research Special Issue, which focuses on how this native species is persisting in the presence of a feral predator and what this means for the future management of threatened mammals.
What are some of the highlights from following this career path?
The greatest highlight by far has to be the places I have been able to visit through study and work. Going overseas for my tertiary placements was one of the best experiences I’ve had so far but also currently working in Victoria’s Central Highlands often makes me catch my breath—mostly, because the work is physically demanding but also because it really is breathtaking. The towering mountain ash, the colourful bark of snow gum, the intricate leaves of myrtle beach, the smell of southern sassafras, the endless creeks, and of course the wildlife, are some of my favourite things about the Central Highlands.
My second highlight was releasing eastern barred bandicoots on to French Island in October this year. This was the first main release of a breeding EBB population to the island and has been in the planning for 12 years. The release was led by one of my mentors, Dr Amy Coetsee from Zoos Victoria, and involved many other people including industry partners and the French Island community. After two years of French Island ferry trips as a Research Assistant and honours student it was amazing to be a part of the release
What do you consider are some of your best achievements?
I am proud of how far I have come—in the last three-and-half years I have completed a second degree with honours, I represented Deakin University as their student ambassador, I landed a job as Research Assistant while still in undergrad, I won the Adolph Bolliger award at the 2019 Australian Mammal Society conference as an honours student, I have my first paper coming out, and I have been accepted to start a PhD in February 2020. I still have a long way to go, there are so many amazing people within the ecology community that inspire me
Out of everything I listed above, my favourite achievement by far has been landing my current Leadbeater’s Possum Field Officer role. I was following Leadbeater’s possums through the forest long before this role. I would volunteer hours surveying for them and catching even a glimpse of them through the canopy felt really special. Now I work full-time researching them and it often feels quite surreal.
What is your favourite activity in mammal research?
Some of my favourite activities are going out at night and doing spotlight surveys—the forest comes alive at night and I love seeing some of favourite mammals including greater gliders, yellow-bellied gliders, feathertail gliders, brush-tailed phascogales, Leadbeater’s possums… basically anything arboreal.
My second love is visiting arid Australia. I love the red soil, standing barefoot on the warm sand at night and watching the night sky, but I also love desert mammals especially marsupial moles which I hope to one day see in real life.
Do you have an interesting mammal anecdote?
Despite being the size of an apple, Leadbeater’s possums can be very territorial. We often rely on cameras to survey for them, but sometimes during spotlight surveys we try to call them in by mimicking their call. One night we were at a site that hadn’t had any LBP recordings since the Black Saturday fires in 2009. We were using a thermal camera and I started mimicking the LBP call, and there amongst darkness started to appear flashes of heat running up and down the canopy. It was Leadbeater’s possums and they were really drawn to my voice, so much that they were coming down to eye level less than a metre away.
I was trying to contain the smile on my face while trying to continue to call, then out of nowhere I felt this weight on my head, an LBP had launched itself on to my beanie. As quickly as they appeared, they vanished into the night, and we had witnessed the first colony in that area since the 2009 fires.
Do you have any advice for other students interested in mammalogy?
It is a competitive career path but also a really important one, now more than ever we need people who care about our planet and our amazing native wildlife. If you are thinking of going to university to study in this field, then I highly recommend you do. If you are studying, make the most of it, university can only give you the right tools but it’s up to you to gain experience that will set you apart from everyone else. One thing that I don’t regret is volunteering; I have gained so many different skills, made some great connections, and gained experiences that I have been able to talk about in interviews, but most of all I find it incredibly rewarding
What are your plans for the future?
In February 2020 I am starting a PhD at the University of Sydney looking at conserving threatened species in post-fire landscapes on NSW’s South Coast—which unfortunately has become very relevant in the past few weeks. In general, I am interested in research that looks at alternative ways of managing threatened species outside of predator exclusion areas, but mostly I am interested in research that takes into account the aspirations and knowledge of Traditional Owners. The main objectives of my PhD will be to see how refuges, natural and artificial, can be used as a conservation tool for terrestrial mammals post-fire; and to investigate whether the impacts of fire on terrestrial mammals differ between Aboriginal cultural burns and the current conventional hazard reduction burns performed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Kiwirrkurra Indigenous Protected Area Management Team and Kate Crossing
19/04/2017
The Australian Mammal Society is keen to highlight the wonderful work that people and organisations outside of academia are doing in remote areas of Australia. Accordingly, our newest Featured Member isn’t just a single person, but the Kiwirrkurra Indigenous Protected Area Management Team and Kate Crossing.
Kate Crossing is the Land Management Project Leader at Kiwirrkurra. Her role is to provide support to the IPA team and the Kiwirrkurra Rangers, and she has outlined some of the great work carried out in the area in this Featured Member article. Kiwirrkurra IPA is located within the Gibson and Great Sandy deserts in central and southern WA.
What is your job?
Kiwirrkurra traditional owners dedicated their country as an Indigenous Protected Area in September 2014. The 4.2 million hectare Kiwirrkurra IPA is managed for both environmental and cultural values, in accordance with International Union for the Conservation of Nature guidelines and the Kiwirrkurra IPA Plan for Country
My role is to support Kiwirrkurra Rangers and the IPA Management Team to implement their Plan, which can include activities as diverse as threatened species monitoring, bush tucker research, protecting water places, feral animal and weed control and fire management. I also help engage with partners who can support the Kiwirrkurra people to achieve their vision for looking after people, culture and country.
Tell us about your history
Kiwirrkurra people only encountered white people less than a century ago. People started to move to settlements including Papunya near Alice Springs in the 1960’s. With the advent of the outstation movement in the late 70’s they began the journey west back to their own country. In 1984 they finally realised this dream, with Kiwirrkurra community being set up. In the same year a group of nine Pintupi people still living a traditional life in the area made contact for the first time. Three of those nine are key members of the Kiwirrkurra IPA today, along with many other family members who grew up in the bush. Their deep knowledge of country forms the backbone of the IPA.
I (Kate) grew up on a farm in south-west Western Australia. After studying and working in the geological sciences for a few years, I moved through GIS into Indigenous land management, where I have stayed for the last decade. I am honoured to have learnt so much from the Indigenous people that I’ve worked with, and the staff and scientists who have partnered with them so effectively.
What are your current projects?
We have recently developed a Science and Monitoring Plan which details some of our core strategies and priorities for looking after country, within the broader aims of the IPA Plan. The Science Plan is available here. We are very proud that Kiwirrkurra country hosts a number of healthy Bilby populations, and conserving this iconic species is one of our key priorities. As with all our strategies, we use a “two-way” approach in which traditional knowledge and methods are complemented with scientific knowledge and technologies.
Our approach includes:
- Documenting the beneficial impacts of traditional hunting and burning on Bilby populations near Kiwirrkurra community, and extending similar burning regimes to more remote populations.
- Reducing predation through targeted feral cat control. Expert traditional hunting skills are being passed on to younger generations, and combined with trials of modern technologies.
- Monitoring bilby and predator activity using track-plot monitoring, camera trapping and scat analysis.
What do you consider are some of your best achievements?
Last year, the Kiwirrkurra IPA hosted the first ever Ninu (Bilby) Festival, bringing together over 120 
Indigenous Rangers, scientists, conservation organisations, and other partners to share knowledge and ideas about protecting this iconic species. Pulling off such a big event in the most remote community in Australia made us all feel very proud, as did sharing our knowledge and skills with other groups, and with scientists. From visiting an important bilby tjukurrpa (dreaming) site, to learning about how different groups manage threats such as fire and cats, to demonstrations of drones, DNA analysis techniques and innovative cat traps, the three days were a whirlwind of sharing, learning and laughing together. An exciting moment was seeing on a map just how vital Indigenous Rangers are to protecting the bilby: over 75% of the land that bilbies still live on is owned or managed by Indigenous people. But what made us feel especially happy, is that every participant went home feeling invigorated, part of a supportive network, and proud of the work they do to save the bilby.
You can see a video of the event below or click here.
Do you have an interesting mammal anecdote?
In June last year we were driving back from Lake Mackay, on a rough track which meant we were driving nice and slowly. Suddenly this little golden shape ran across the track in front of us. As I slammed on the brakes, Yalti Napangarti jumped out of the passenger seat calling “Kakarratul”. We clustered round as Yalti held the beautiful creature carefully in her hands, its powerful front feet trying to dig to safety. Kakarratul is the Pintupi name for the elusive marsupial mole (Notorcytes sp.). Walimpirri told us how he'd last seen one many years ago near Kiwirrkurra, and some of the Rangers said they'd never seen one. The ladies pointed out the blind face, and told us they eat scorpions and centipedes amongst other things. After a few minutes of wonder we gently put it down away from the road and watched in awe as it dug straight down and disappeared. We all knew we’d seen something very special. It’s seems the rest of the world thought so too. Within a few weeks of putting the video on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/kiwirrkurra), over 3000 people had liked the video, over 200,000 had viewed it, and we’d had requests for interviews from as far afield as America and the UK.
Advice for people interested in Australian mammology
We’re not mammologists but we are passionate about the animals on Kiwirrkurra country. Our advice would be to make connections with the Indigenous custodians of the regions you work in, learn from them and share your own knowledge and passion: there’s so much to gain from two-way partnerships.
Meet Paul Meek
19/04/2016
One of the tasks that I have as a Membership Officer of the Australian Mammal Society is to nominate people who have contributed to Australasian mammal research and conservation and include them as featured members in our AMS website. It is with great pleasure that I introduce our new featured member, Paul Meek, and highlight the wonderful work he has done and is currently doing. I leave you with Paul and best wishes to you all.
Rodrigo Hamede, Membership Officer AMS.
Meet our new featured member, Paul Meek.
Paul trapping Melomys burtonii on Sunday Island, Kimberley.
What is your job?
My current position in NSW Dept Primary Industries has two components; I am a State-wide Invasive Species Officer for vertebrate pest management, primarily focused on the management of wild dogs/dingoes, foxes and feral cats. This position involves a policy role and a research role under the banner of the Vertebrate Pest Research Unit. I also have the task of running training courses for practitioners in vertebrate pest management, predator trapping, and monitoring courses such as camera trapping and sand padding. I am Project Leader for Wild Dog Alert, a research project funded by the Commonwealth, Australian Wool Innovation and Meat and Livestock Australia. This project aims to develop Smart Technology that remotely identifies wild dogs (or foxes and feral cats) from camera trap locations and initiates an early warning system.
Tell us about your history
I was born in Adelaide but the influential parts of growing up were on the Murray River at Blanchetown where I developed my passion for the bush and wildlife. My family were poor and my parents were forced to leave school early to work and support their families. Despite this my Father was driven to learn and encouraged me to work hard and pursue my dreams. I was brought up watching Harry Butler, The Leyland Brothers and Malcom Douglas as they explored our country and introduced me to our amazing wildlife. By the end of primary school I wanted to be a biologist. I followed the tradition of Charles Darwin (I also wasn’t very good at high school, too interested in sport, surfing etc) and didn’t make the grade for University. After a few year of working to earn money and realising I should have worked harder at school, I studied horticulture and picked up a few subjects at night school so I could apply for a mature entry to University. In 1984 I was offered a BAppSc. After graduating I moved to West Aust with the Ag Protection Board before starting a job in Canberra in 1989 with the Bureau of Rural Resources working on feral pigs. In 1990 I moved to Jervis Bay studying parasites of community dogs and then started a Masters on foxes, free roaming dogs and cats in Booderee NP. In 1993-4 together with Nick Dexter I started the fox control program on Beecroft Peninsula that has since spread to Booderee where we recently reintroduced Potoroo. In 1995 I was appointed Natural Resources Manager on Christmas Island, a life changing role. Between 1999-2006 I was the Ecologist for State Forests in Coffs Harbour, thereafter ran a Bell Miner Dieback Project, I was Ecologist for NSW NPWS. In 2011 I was granted a Churchill Fellowship to study camera traps. From 2012 to the present I have been part of the wild canid demonstration project in NSW.
What interesting research/projects have you worked on?
I have worked on many interesting research projects in my career but to pick a hand full of most significant ones, I would say
1. Booderee and Beecroft Peninsula vertebrate pest management programs, both projects have led to a long term dramatic reduction in fox abundance, recently Potoroos were introduced to Booderee and plans are underway for other species in the future.
2. Studying coastal foxes, free roaming dogs and domestic cats in Jervis Bay.
3. Eradicating black rats from Bowen Island.
4. Determining if the Christmas Island shrew was extant.
5. Studying the ecology of the Hastings River Mouse and the role of disturbance in its life history.
6. The interactions between wild dogs, foxes and feral cats in NSW.
7. Refining the use of camera trapping in monitoring and research.
A dingo playing an April Fool’s Day trick on Paul during a trapping research project in the desert.
What are your current projects?
1. Wild Dog Alert, including the integration of camera trapping and smart technology
2. Refinement of camera trapping as a survey tool
3. The interactions between wild dogs, foxes and feral cats in NSW
4. Peri urban predators in the Coffs Coast and their interactions
5. Refinement of a humane lethal trap device for predator trapping
What do you consider are some of your best achievements?
· In 1987 I ran an under-graduate rabbit eradication program on Torrens Island in South Australia that was subsequently continued by another student, we successfully eradicated the population that was devastating the coastal habitat.
· I instigated a program that successfully eradicated black rats Bowen Island, Jervis Bay, the island remains rat free.
· My research on coastal foxes, free roaming dogs and cats in Jervis Bay NP led to the implementation of two fox removal programs that have continued till this day. Recently potoroos were reintroduced.
· On Christmas Island I conducted the first scientific investigation on the shrew, instigated the reptile surveys and Pipistrelle bat surveys that led to the realisation that these species were at risk. A pinnacle moment was sitting with Harold Cogger, Ross Sadlier and Lindy Lumsden at a Chinese restaurant at Poon Saan when we all realised that our sites were inundated with ants; this point in time was the first scientific detection of yellow crazy ants on the Island that subsequently led to further surveys and a long term project to eradicate ants from CI.
· Unravelling some of the apparent mysteries of the ecology of the Hastings River Mouse, with minimal funds and time, my ecology team radio tracked, spool tracked and assessed vegetation and responses to disturbance. This research helped change the perceived belief that the species did not benefit from disturbance.
· Together with our research team over the last 6 years I have endeavoured to research how camera traps work and how they are used in research and monitoring so that we practitioners can optimise their use in science and management. In 2012 we held the first ever camera trapping conference that resulted in the publishing of a book that aims to disseminate contemporary knowledge, and I have been able to share the knowledge we have gleaned across Australia in camera trap training courses for practitioners.
Fitting a radio collar to a wild dog in the Coffs Coast Peri Urban Predator project
What is your favourite activity in mammalogy?
Putting in a big effort to trap and radio collar lots of predators to look at interactions between sympatric wild dogs/dingoes, foxes and feral cats, getting GPS fixes on their locations and then retrieving a collar and seeing the points on a map.
Do you have an interesting “mammal anecdote”
In 2004, my wife and I went to Costa Rica to see the wildlife, on a walk in Corcovado NP my wife noticed two white tips on an animal laying down. We cautiously but ignorantly approached the animal then realised it was a Baird’s Tapir. We were so excited and walked even closer to get some photos. The animal was in a deep rest and seemed unconcerned by our presence. Years later a colleague posted a message asking for images of Baird’s, I sent one to him and upon discovering what we had done, he told me that many people are killed by approaching tapir and we were extremely lucky we were not attacked.
When I was doing my Masters radio tracking foxes in the middle of the night at Jervis Bay, unbeknown to me the nearby Navy Base was conducting night manoeuvres. I was walking around the bush with ear phones on (in those days we had to work HARD for our VHF data) and a head lamp, all of a sudden like a scene from Mr Bean, this bright light lit up the whole area. I realised I had attracted the interest of a helicopter; they were scanning the area trying to find me so I turned off my lamp and ran to a nearby tree and hid. The spotlight went off. So I ran to another tree and BOOM on came the spotlight again, at this point I realised that I could have a little fun, so I waited until they turned it off and ran to another tree with my lamp on, BOOM, on came the light again, I hid with lamp turned off. When I pulled my ear phones off I heard very quiet wave splashing on the beach beside me and realised they had sent in a ground crew. At this point I realised it could get serious very quickly so I ran to my car and drove off. In the morning the people who live in the village were all complaining about the helicopters, lights and shenanigans on the beach – I quietly slipped home to bed.
Setting up a camera trap to detect dingoes in the Cooper basin, SA
What advice do you have for people interested in Australasian mammalogy?
Persistence pays off, research can be very challenging, when you hit a brick wall, find a way around it because in most cases the answers are not easily obtained.
In this current world of smart technology, don’t forget you need to understand the animal you are studying, do the hard yards, spend lots of time at your site at all times of day and night and weather conditions. Time on the ground makes all the difference; good mammal science can’t be done without feeling the site and the species.
If you really want to understand your species, think like your species.
Let the data speak for itself; don’t let preconceived ideas influence your interpretation.
Tony Griffiths
29/04/2015
Tony Griffiths of the Wet and Dry
Each time I contact an AMS member for the purpose of a feature, I try to choose someone with a different job or activity, and working in a different place. This time we feature at last someone from the Northern Territory, but whose surprising background and life adventure may only be surprising to the non-initiated. I am detecting a pattern… it seems to me that every AMS member is utterly surprising, and that’s what all AMS members have in common! Tony Griffiths naturally started off at a horse stud, and after a brief delay learning to be a teacher, of course became a postman before picking up his kelpie and surfboard for a tour of Australia. Nothing unusual there. Tony, however, is the only AMS member I know of who was savaged and torn to pieces (at least two large ones) by a quoll without asking for it. It is no wonder he is now focusing on marine mammals. Enjoy Tony’s story.
Topa Petit, Membership Officer
Below: Tony and nuts (photo: Stuart Young)
Current job
I currently work for the NT Department of Land Resource Management to conduct research and monitoring programs to support the management of native species, in particular marine megafauna and their habitats. I manage a small team of scientists who work in partnership with Aboriginal ranger groups, oil/gas/mining companies, universities and other government research agencies. The work is mainly focused in the Top End of the NT but occasionally extends to central Australia. In addition to this I’m leading the development of a data management system that will make our work more accessible and secure.
History
I grew up in Ballarat where my mother ran a small horse stud and my father was a doctor. I had visions of following in his footsteps until I realised that you need to be really smart (I wasn’t) and you had to work all the time (I didn’t). Animals were a big part of our lives ˗ looking after many orphaned animals (native and domestic), five dogs, cats, sheep, cows, horses, goats, chooks, rabbits, mice etc. I think this may have influenced on me later on.
It took me quite a while to settle on science as a profession, mainly through a process of trial and error. Firstly, I enrolled in a Bachelor of Rural Science at UNE and lasted 10 weeks before dropping out to work on a farm for a year. Next I completed a Bachelor of Education and after graduating worked as a postman because teaching wasn’t my thing. I then decided to leave Melbourne/Victoria and embark on the classic around Australia trip with my Holden ute (WB), kelpie and surfboard in search of something different. This led me to Darwin and a very wet wet-season forced me to stop for a few weeks and I ended up staying for 25 years (note this is a typical story for many Darwinites). Here I started to develop my interest in ecology and was lucky enough to volunteer on a survey in Kakadu run by John Woinarski and Alaric Fisher. This was a game changer as I suddenly discovered an absolutely amazing fauna and landscape. This led to me completing a Masters on frillneck lizards and eventually a PhD on small mammals (both at CDU). Prior to working with the NT Govt. I spent eight years as a lecturer at Charles Darwin University and two years with CSIRO. I’ve spent my entire professional career in the wet-dry tropics (and therefore probably have a pretty skewed view of the world).
Above: Tony fishing (photo: Teagan Calnan)
Interesting research/projects
The Northern Territory is a wonderful place to work on native wildlife and being a small team it’s not realistic to specialise on one group such as mammals (sorry AMS). Some of the highlights include the working on the northern quoll translocation from the mainland to two remote islands off the Arnhem Land coast, the first biological surveys of Litchfield and Limmen National Parks and the Kapalga Fire Experiment in Kakadu.
Current projects
My current role is focused on marine environments and current projects involve coastal dolphin population dynamics (capture-mark-recapture), dugong distribution and abundance (aerial survey), seagrass mapping and monitoring (occupancy modelling), habitat mapping (multibeam and video surveys), marine turtle population dynamics (capture-mark-recapture). I’ve recently helped out on an aerial survey of buffalo in Arnhem Land and modelling central rock-rat habitat, rare plant species distribution on the Tiwi Islands and feral cat occupancy. In reality I spend much of my time managing people and crunching numbers but try to get out in the field as much as possible.
Above: Tony and kangaroo mural (photo: Alistair Stewart)
Achievements
I recently completed my PhD, which was very satisfying. It was particularly rewarding because a lot of the data I used had been collected over 25 years ago as part of a landscape-scale fire experiment and hadn’t been fully analysed. Given the reduction in funding levels and small mammals in northern Australia it is unlikely that this work will be repeated and, therefore, the data were very valuable. I’ve just published all the chapters from the thesis and hope this can contribute to understanding and mitigating the decline of small mammals in northern Australia.
Favourite activity in mammalogy
It’s a bit nerdy but I actually enjoy analysing data the most. Being able to discover something new and tell a story with a bunch of numbers can be quite exciting. Like a lot of other people I got into ecology partly through my passion for the bush and the animals in it, but over the years I’ve seen a lot of data collected and stuck in the filing cabinet, never to be used and therefore wasted.
Mammal anecdote
The small mammal fauna of northern Australia is currently experiencing a dramatic decline and it is not uncommon to not catch anything at all in Elliott and cage traps. Things used to be different. On my first fauna survey I was camped out at Gimbat homestead in Kakadu – a swag and an old-style mozzie net – when a very feisty northern quoll decided I was fair game and jumped on my face. This was a big shock for me (and probably the quoll) and I fell asleep thinking that my face was lacerated, only to wake up in the morning and see a tiny scratch across my nose.
Advice for people interested in Australasian mammalogy
Finding a mentor who is passionate can make a big difference and don’t be afraid of maths.
Judy Dunlop
01/12/2014
Judy Dunop rivals Indiana Jones
Judy Dunlop is an adventurer with a tender heart. Her family had to leave a circus show when she was 4 because she yelled with great emotion at the lion tamer to stop teasing the lion. It was a sign of things to come: courage and determination have got her through some tough adventures. Her breadth of experience with many animal species and environments is remarkable. Judy not only tames lion tamers, she also traps, tracks, translocates, and studies many species of wildlife. Poor Indiana Jones now looks like a wimp. Enjoy meeting Judy.
Topa Petit, Membership Officer
Below: Judy with golden bandicoot (photo: Brent Johnson)
History
I grew up in a farming family and have always been surrounded by animals. My parents and I hand-raised animals, put out water for the wild ones, looked after injured ones, and buried any that didn't make it in the garden. I tended 4 aquariums in my room through high school. It seemed a natural progression to study Zoology at uni!
Doing volunteer work within the UWA Zoology Department, and what was then the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) WA, solidified my interest in terrestrial wildlife research. I'm very fond of the arid zone and am constantly amazed at the abundance of life that hangs on through such tough conditions out there. Although I've done a fair bit of work in the forests in SW WA, I feel much more at home in the arid zone.
Above: cuppa at Lorna Glen (photo Judy Dunlop)
Interesting research/projects
My PhD (nearly submitted!) was examining translocated golden bandicoots and boodies. I looked at some parasite impacts, as well as the ecology and survivorship of the translocated populations. It was a fortuitous study because both species are peanut butter addicts so I had incredible recapture rates and trap success (~80% for both). It was interesting to make the connection between collecting in the field, taking samples to the lab and combing results from both to gain a greater insight into ecological processes.
My first roles were as a general field dogsbody. I helped on wetland botanical projects, let mulgara bite me while they had radio-collars put on, searched for snakes in wetlands and on islands, trapped heath mice, possums, chuditch and did plenty of data entry. One of my first paid jobs was crowbarring and dynamiting pits in for the Pilbara biological survey, thinking "if I can do this, I can do anything".
I am lucky enough to have spent a lot of time working on fauna translocation projects with the Department of Parks and Wildlife, so have had the privilege of working with many threatened mammals: bilbies, mulgara, chuditch, brushtail possums, mala, golden bandicoots, boodies and now northern quolls.
Two career highlights of this work
After reintroducing 107 bilbies at Lorna Glen (put your finger in the centre of a map of WA - that's Lorna Glen) and spending an awful lot of time radiotracking them, or picking up their carcasses bearing signs of cat predation, we finally caught our first "cleanskin" subadult. This was an animal born onsite and surviving independently of its mother. It signified the hope we can have of native animals persisting in the wild with cat control rather than behind fences. The local Martu ladies called me "grandma bilby" for this moment!
Another highlight was our work on boodies (burrowing bettongs, photo below is by Judy Dunlop). The boodie has been extinct on mainland WA for about 
60 years. European settlers described boodies as pretty annoying neighbours. They ate crops of peas and beans, consumed cellar stores of flour, sugar, pork, candles and even soap. Their centralised warrens made them very easy to find, so became easy targets for shooting, poisoning, trapping or killing with farm dogs. Cats and foxes would have been able to stake out a warren each night until no boodie remained. Their warrens, previously inhabited by thousands of generations of boodies, still dot the landscape, now inhabited by rabbits, goannas and even echidnas. Warrens in calcrete country are visible from satellite imagery. During this project, we released more than 160 boodies into old calcrete boodie warrens that had been empty since the 1960s. It was just awesome to see them take so quickly to these warrens, and a few weeks later it looked like explosions had been set off with all the huge spoil heaps around the place.
A few other highlights
- being part of a rat eradication program on the Cocos Islands, enabling birds such as boobies, rails and frigates to nest 
successfully again (photo by Judy Dunlop; rats travel among islands using ferries, so those are also baited)
- helping with captures of wedge-tailed eagles to put satellite backpacks on them
- fauna surveys in a number of WA's most remote nature reserves - e.g. Karijini NP, Dundas NR, Lake Magenta NR
- being involved in community outreach "voluntourism" trips, where members of the public tag along with scientists to learn about the natural environment
Current projects
Currently I'm working on the endangered northern quoll in the Pilbara. We are trying to quantify the population dynamics of this species throughout the Pilbara region in the face of threats such as feral cats, habitat alteration due to grazing and changed fire regimes, and loss of habitat through mining of rocky areas, particularly iron ore. The Pilbara is a bit different to the rest of Australia for the northern quoll population because cane toads are not yet a threat there. My workmate and I joke that it is us two vs an area the size of Germany.
Above: quoll habitat in Pilbara (photo by Judy Dunlop)
Advice for people interested in Australasian mammalogy
Volunteer on other people's work! After my degree I spent a solid 8 months doing volunteer work for scientists in government and at universities before getting my first part-time casual position. This helped me to figure out what kind of work interested me, as well as meet a lot of people in the industry and learn some field skills. It's invaluable to learn how other people go about things - even parallel projects in different states have a lot to learn from each other. It's great to go and help others out and see a project through someone else's eyes. I still take volunteers on almost every trip and enjoy the variety and knowledge they have to share!
Foxes in Tasmania - Update
18/10/2014
The issue of foxes in Tasmania is one that has remained high on the Australian Mammal Society’s radar for many years now….and understandably for good reason! The Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment has been managing the eradication program through their Invasive Species Unit, and Dr Stephen Harris has provided us with the following information on the projects progress.
· No physical evidence of fox presence in Tasmania has been collected or noted since 2011. We are hopeful about what this might mean but are conducting a methodical approach to determine absence/presence on the basis of several techniques.
1. The first is landscape scale monitoring using detector dogs to systematically survey the extent of “core fox habitat”. So far over 470 K ha has been monitored (about a third of core fox habitat) and no positive detection has occurred.
2. Secondly, an extensive sampling program for predator scats carried out across eastern Tasmania was completed recently. DNA from the scats will be determined to identify the predator and its prey items as part of an inter-connected series of studies which include determining whether fox is detected. Processing of these scats in the laboratory is likely to take some months. (posters on this work are being presented at the Society conference: see Campbell et al. and Modave et al. in the conference list of presentations).
3. The third approach is mathematical modelling (Spread Model and Detection) using a Bayesian approach to produce an extinction probability curve for the incursion. Naturally the data set is small but preliminary indications support our hope (Caley and Barry, 2014) about fox status.
· The Department is embarking on stage 3 of the fox program which has field monitoring as a major component of its effort. We are also committed to developing a long term strategy for future fox incursions in the State. The work detailed above will clearly contribute to the first decision point in developing a decision management framework that guides how effort and resources are best divided (e.g. surveillance, monitoring, quarantine) in the future.
· Gonçalves et al. published a letter in Forensic Science International Genetics regarding the issue of false negatives and false positives and a response has been submitted to the same journal (Sarre, McDonald, Berry, Barclay, Saunders and Ramsey).
Caley, P. And Berry, S.C. (2014) Quantifying extinction probabilities from sighting records: inference and uncertainties. PLoS ONE 9(4):e95857.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0095857
Gonçalves, J., Marks, C.A., Obendorf, D., and Pereira, A.F.F. (2014) The risks of using “species-specific” PCR assays in wildlife research: The case of red fox (Vulpes vulpes) identification in Tasmania. Forensic Science International Genetics. 2014:e1-e3.
Sarre, S.D., McDonald, A.J., Berry, O.F., Barclay, C., Saunders, G.R. and Ramsey, D.S.L. (submitted) Defining specificity in DNA detection of wildlife: Response to Gonçalves et al. “The risks of using “species-specific” PCR assays in wildlife research: The case of red fox (Vulpes vulpes) identification in Tasmania. submitted to Forensic Science International Genetics.
Robert Close
15/09/2014
CLOSE FOR COMFORT: ROBERT CLOSE
George Madani warmly nominated Rob Close for this feature. George admires Rob, not for his multiple awards as an AMS limericist, but for his humility, his great knowledge, his paramount involvement in Petrogale taxonomy, his mentoring of students, and his conservation work with the community. Indeed Rob has been using successfully for decades what is now known as Citizen Science and touted as a new avenue for research. George says that “Rob is one of our great links to the mammalogists of old.” He studied with Sharman and Lyne, founding members of our Society, who were themselves influenced by TT Flynn (yep, Errol’s dad) and Wood Jones, which makes Rob proper mammalian nobility. However, I have a difficult time putting “Rob” and “old” in the same sentence, since I see a young skin-diving sheep farmer leaving the farm to work on mammalian genetics before guiding tourists in Central and South America, and returning to research, conservation, and teaching. Rob has been modern all his life, and there is nothing age can do about that. If you have not yet had the pleasure, enjoy meeting Rob.
Topa Petit, Membership Officer
Below: Rob and koala stare-down
History
My parents were teachers in Adelaide, but my mother had always wanted to breed sheep. So after my father died young and her father died old after founding a new breed of sheep, the Poll Dorset, she inherited ¼ of her father’s mixed farm on the Gawler Plains and fled the classroom for the farm. Although I was under considerable pressure to take over the farm, I was more interested in skin-diving and so took a zoology degree at Adelaide University. For Honours I used electrophoresis to study the genetics of horn growth in sheep. Protein electrophoresis in 1971 was a new and exciting technique and it led me to Macquarie University, where Geoff Sharman’s group was looking at the inactivation of the paternal X-chromosome in marsupials. I studied bandicoots, which go the whole hog and actually lose a sex-chromosome from some cell lines at different ages in the various species. After completing my PhD, I stayed on at Macquarie to use chromosome morphology and protein electrophoresis to study the taxonomy of bandicoots and rock-wallabies. This involved 5 continuous months in the field searching out all the type localities in Queensland for the several named species. I then went to the Galapagos Islands to attend a short course held by the Charles Darwin Research Station to gain a National Park licence and become a tourist guide. Subsequently I worked on tourist boats for a year before travelling through Central America and northern South America for six months. On return to Australia, I studied reproduction of captive kowaris at the Adelaide Institute of Medical and Veterinary Sciences. From there I returned to Macquarie University to continue studies of speciation, distribution, parasites, hybrid zones and hybrid fertility and taxonomy of rock wallabies and pademelons.
On moving to the University of Western Sydney I became involved in a dispute between developers and conservationists over threats to a population of koalas. Neither party knew much about the biology of this population. Twenty-five years later, I’m still collecting data to add to the 3500 community sightings and the 4000 radio-tracking locations. The original disputed area is now a National Park and we now know that koalas are widespread, healthy and expanding in number.
Interesting projects
The rock wallaby and bandicoot studies were exciting in the field, lab and in captivity, while the koala studies provided the chance to work closely with the community.
Current projects
I’ve officially retired but we still have a number of ear-tagged koalas that the community are spotting and adding to our data-base. I’m also recording sightings of other mammals in the Sydney basin such as platypus and water rat.
Some of your best achievements
Working with Geoff Sharman’s team: there were many fantastic days such as the day when Peter Johnson from QNPWS at Townsville pulled a frozen rock wallaby from his freezer and Gerry Maynes and I realised that the animal was a new species, the Proserpine rock wallaby, Petrogale persephone. My most successful venture, however, was generating (with Steven Ward and a stalwart group of volunteers) the community sighting system which allowed us to study the low density koala population at Campbelltown. Writing a weekly column in the local paper for 20 years was an important part of the process and allowed us to publicise other ecological issues besides the koala study.
Favourite activity in mammalogy
Our field work for the rock wallabies took us into some of the most beautiful, isolated places in Queensland. You can’t beat swimming in granite-banked pools where the blackfish are clearly visible at depths greater than two metres and there’s not another soul for 50 km!
“Mammal anecdote(s)”
When we followed up the origin of the frozen P. persephone (see above), we were directed to the property of a leprechaun of a man who had “found” the original wallaby. He’d thought it was a tree kangaroo because he often saw them in trees. When we asked if he could show us where the animals lived, he asked suspiciously “you’re not National Parks people are you?” When we assured him in the negative, he led us to a covered, A-framed guinea-pig hutch about 3 x 2 x 1 m. Lifting a panel he reached in, felt around and pulled out a wallaby (probably a swamp wallaby) by the tail. “o-oh, wrong one” said he, putting it back in the hutch. He reached in again and this time pulled out, to our great delight, a young female Proserpine rock wallaby. Later he showed us the snare that he’d used to catch her: it was a classic bent sapling device with a flat foot-noose and a trip bar. How the wallaby survived its capture unscathed, I’ve no idea. We persuaded our enterprising host to give her to us and sent her to Macquarie, an adventure which she also survived. Her photograph can be seen in the first edition of Ron Strahan’s “Complete Book of Australian Mammals”.
Advice for people interested in Australasian mammalogy
Utilise the human community as much as possible to help with projects. Local papers are a great source for generating interest, collecting sightings and exposing the community to their local fauna and the value of biological studies.
Quolls are in danger...
04/07/2014
A recent article has been featured in The Conversation, highlighting the plight of our quolls.
“With sharp teeth and an attitude to match, quolls are some of Australia’s most impressive hunters. Ranging from around 300g to 5kg, these spectacularly spotted marsupials do an out-sized job of controlling invasive pasture grubs and rodents, as well as cleaning up carcasses. They are even credited with thwarting early attempts to establish the rabbit in Australia.
But our quolls are in trouble. The recent Action Plan for Australian Mammals highlighted their extraordinary decline. Collectively, these species once occurred in high numbers across the country. Now they are all considered threatened, although not all state, federal and international listings reflect these current assessments.” Read more in the full article.
ABC TV has also featured the decline of eastern quolls in Tasmania and the need for establishing an insurance population. Read or watch the full news story.
Graeme Coulson
29/05/2014
THE EYE OF THE KANGAROO: GRAEME COULSON
It’s official! Graeme Coulson is the 2014 recipient of the prestigious Ellis Troughton Memorial Award. He had no idea that he had won this award when I asked him to be our next featured member. I was privileged to read a beautiful nomination letter highlighting not only Graeme’s fabulous research contributions, but also his service to others as a supervisor, office bearer in various organisations, adviser in the context of conservation and management, reviewer, and educator via engagement with the community. The letter did not fail to mention his generosity. And generous he is. With my former students Helen and Damian, I was able to benefit from Graeme’s generosity. We needed some training in kangaroo handling, as one does, and asked Graeme to provide it. Not knowing us from a bar of soap (we smell just as delicious, except maybe for Damian), Graeme did not hesitate to invite us on one of his research trips and train us extensively. It was a memorable day, and yes, Graeme acts like a kangaroo if necessary to serve science.
Modesty is apparent in Graeme's interview. As a young retiree, he plans to serve more and learn more. I only wish he would dedicate some time writing what could be a very funny book of anecdotes, don’t you? Soft and furry, moving in leaps and bounds, his tailor is a kangaroo – here is Graeme.
Topa Petit, Membership Officer
Below: Graeme leans on a poor friend
History
I started at Melbourne Uni intending to be a psychologist, but soon realised that I enjoyed comparative psychology (i.e. animal behaviour) the most. I broke the mould in the Psych Department by doing an Honours project on dominance behaviour in rats, but mine were bush rats, Rattus fuscipes, not the ubiquitous lab rats. I then sat in on some Zoology subject for much-needed background on ecology and evolution, and began a classical ethology project on kangaroos in a walk-though enclosure at the zoo. It just happened to have both eastern and western grey kangaroos, which began my love affair with the two species.
We had a young family so I started teaching science and biology in a suburban high school to help keep us afloat, then moved to a country high school. In spare moments I worked on an external masters in Zoology to follow the interest in kangaroo behaviour. In 1980 we moved to Hobart to do masters in environmental studies at the height of the Franklin River debate. I worked in a dynamic department there, and did a research project on interactions between endemic Pacific gulls and newly-arrived kelp gulls.
We came back to Melbourne two years later and I definitely had the research bug by then, so I started a PhD in Zoology on behavioural ecology of eastern and western greys, what else? I did some work on threatened legless lizards as a research fellow, then started a lecturing position in biology at Melbourne CAE, which later merged with Melbourne Uni, so I transferred to Zoology and taught there until I retired at the end of last year. I still have a desk there.
Retirement? Really?
I have one PhD student and one MSc student still hanging around! It’s going to be a strange feeling when they’ve gone because so much of the research and conservation work has been by, and through, a great bunch of students over the years. I’ve enjoyed that aspect of academia a lot, and I’m glad that I’m still connected with some ex-students on projects that have come up along the way. Still, it’s time to move on I guess. I want to devote more time to recovery teams and advisory bodies that I’m on, and maybe take on some new roles like that. There’s a big digital pile of papers yet to be written, and perhaps a book on grey roos. I’m also involved in two longitudinal studies of eastern greys, an urban one in Anglesea and a more natural one at Wilsons Prom, and they will run for another ten years at least, so there’s plenty to do.
Some of your best achievements
That’s very hard to say. Right from the start I’ve tried to inject good science into management of kangaroos and other species. I’ve also tried to use management actions to probe the theories, which raises new research questions and tells us if our precious assumptions are actually true.
Future mammalogy and mammal conservation for Australia
Mammalogy has a bright future in Australia. We have amazing mammals that are still poorly understood, particularly by our colleagues in other parts of the world. Really basic issues that held things up when I started, like population survey, capture, genetics and tracking, are now pretty much routine. That makes it sound easier than it really is, but the research opportunities are much greater now. What sort of work we will be doing is another question. Clearly, the mammals of the Top End are in serious trouble, and a new wave of extinctions may be coming. There’s heaps of work to be done further south too. I suspect we will be doing mammalogy much less in pristine parks and much more in agricultural and urban areas.
Favourite activity in mammalogy
I really enjoy watching animals just going about their business. Not having an invisibility cloak, we have to resort to telescopes, radio-tracking, camera traps and so on to get these glimpses into their private lives. One of the best parts about working with habituated kangaroos is that they mostly just ignore us. Being close enough to hear soft calls between mother and young, and two big males kicking the wind out of each other, is a privilege and great fun.
“Mammal anecdote(s)”
There are too many really, often involving personal embarrassment. Most of the kangaroo stories come from chasing animals around, usually in the dark: near emasculation by a western grey male in the middle of Murray-Sunset; a tussle with an eastern grey male at Wilsons Prom, which converted my second-best lecturing trousers to shorts; finding a darted eastern grey female in the driveway of a house in Anglesea then carrying her back on their wheelie bin. Wombats have produced many funny moments too: running down the road after one with a net then tripping over a speed-hump; struggling (as quietly as possible) with one in the net under a caravan while a human snored above us; cleaning up after one got out of her bag and smeared shit all over the walls of a room in an historic cottage!
Advice for people interested in Australasian mammalogy
It sounds corny, but just get involved. There are plenty of species of mammals in Australia, plenty of questions to answer and not many mammalogists, so there’s lots of work to do. Working on threatened species is noble but hard, whereas common species have a lot of advantages, and won’t necessarily stay common anyway.
Dr. Bill Holsworth
06/03/2014
Founder of the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment
I had to twist Bill’s arm for him to accept to be our first featured member. I wanted our very first feature to highlight a truly extraordinary member, but you could not tell from Bill’s interview that he is – he spent a lot of time explaining to me that others were much more worthy than himself. So let me tell you that, via his Wildlife Research Endowment, Bill has funded so many research projects on Australian wildlife that his impact is unfathomable. Knowledge on Australian mammals would not have flourished to the extent that it has without Bill, such is the influence of the Wildlife Research Endowment on the research landscape. Over 10 years ago, I asked Bill how he had managed to find money for such an endeavour, considering he did not own diamond or uranium mines (as far as we know). I will never forget his two-fold response: “making money is not difficult; you simply need not to spend it”. He then proceeded to show me his belt, the same one he has had since he was a young man, only with a few extra holes. Alas, as I stare at the many belts in my closet, I know with certainty that there will never be a Topa Petit Wildlife Research Endowment. The second part of his response was just as full of wisdom as the first: “it is not finding money that is difficult, it is giving it away.” Bill has been very successful in finding many deserving applicants. Enjoy our first feature.
Topa Petit, Membership Officer
Please give us a brief history of your background:
I was born and raised on a farm in central Alberta, Canada, and like other farm boys I went fishing, hunting, trapping, and camping. From our house we could see the Rocky Mountains along the western horizon and 150 km of forested foothills.
My mother, a primary school teacher, was able to encourage my interest in natural history and get Junior Audubon Club information through the school. I have 3 sisters, one was a year older than me, and when she was 8 and I was 7 we created a “ Nature Club” and for several years we collected bird’s eggs and nests, butterflies, moths, skulls of mammals, yellow-jacket wasp nests (abandoned ones, not occupied), etc. We had a copy of “Birds of Canada” and recorded the arrival of spring migrants and kept nest records of robins, wrens, magpies, etc.
During the autumn hunting season my father and uncles hunted for deer, moose and elk in the forests near the mountains west of our farm. I listened to their discussions of how winter snow restricted the animals’ movements and access to food, and how their numbers were declining as more land was being cleared, grazed and cultivated. I wanted to learn more about these large herbivores but no one suggested that I could make a career of it.
What type of interesting research/projects have you conducted during your career and what is your “specialty” research/project?
My scholastic ability and the discovery of large oil fields in Alberta produced an incentive to go to the University of Alberta where I studied Civil Engineering for 2 years, but then I learned that there was a Zoology Department at the University and people studied birds and rabbits and other natural history topics. I was encouraged by the Professor to go to the University of British Columbia which had a much better natural history research program. I completed my B.Sc. (Hons) and M. Sc. with studies on deer, moose, elk, bison and bighorn sheep. In the 4-month summer breaks I worked for the Canadian Wildlife Service on the management of the large herbivores in the National Parks. In 1961 I arrived in Perth to begin research on the population dynamics of the quokka as my Ph. D. research project.
In 1964, with my wife Carol, I returned to Canada to the position of Assistant Professor at the University of Western Ontario. My research and my graduate students mostly studied deer and bison but I had a Ph. D. student study of effects mercury on wildlife. As a result of his work the government was forced to close for about 10 years the commercial and sport fishing in the Great Lakes of Canada.
While at the University of Western Ontario I took leave for over 3 years to work in Africa for the United Nations agency Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), and UNESCO. I was in the Sudan for 4 months, Nigeria for a year and Kenya for 2 years. We left Africa in 1976 and came to Bendigo with our 4 children.
What are some of your achievements?
At the Bendigo College of Advanced Education, I was occupied with teaching until I ‘retired’ in 1986. During those years I was the Assistant Editor of the Journal of Wildlife Management for one year (1977) and served for 4 years on the Government of Victoria’s Land Conservation Council that determined the terms and use of the public land in Victoria. The Council recommended which areas should be set aside as new National and State Parks, Forest Reserves, Streamside Reserves, Uncommitted, etc. Other activities have related to local environmental concerns including fire management.
From 2007 to 2010 I was editor of Australian Mammalogy. I organised the change from the journal being published by the Australian Mammal Society to its current publisher, CSIRO Publishing.
What are some accolades that have pleased you particularly?
Knowing about the achievements of some of the 570 students that I have helped during the past 25 years.
What project(s) are you currently working on?
Expand the coverage of the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment to cover all the Universities in Australia (i.e. by expanding to NSW, QLD and ACT). This will occur in April 2014.
Do you have an interesting “mammal anecdote” you would be willing to share?
A few years ago Carol and I were walking along a bush path in the Toolangi Forest near the Murrindindi Cascades Picnic Area, north-east of Melbourne. I heard a branch break high in a Mountain Ash tree, looked up and saw a greater glider in the open on a dead branch. It paused there for a few seconds and then glided down to another branch where it paused again. Then the most interesting thing happened. It glided down to a small tree about 2 metres from me. It hung on to the small branches for a few seconds and then dropped to the thick ground storey and out of sight. Just then a group of orienteers passed us on their way to the picnic area. When they were out of sight I opened the ground cover, reached down and picked up the, now dead, greater glider. It had a large tear in the skin at the shoulder infested with fly larvae. I carried it back to the car, about 400 m., to the crowded picnic area. Not one of the orienteers looked at me or the possum I was carrying by its tail. The possum is now in the teaching collection of the Bendigo Field Naturalists Club as a museum study skin.
Do you have a piece of advice for people interested in Australasian mammalogy?
To preserve the habitat of the wildlife, we should spend more time exposing our knowledge to the general public. Presenting papers at conferences is not enough. Writing and speaking to the public, especially to the children, is most important.
Lisa Cawthen
06/03/2014
LISA THE TASSIE ANGEL (hmmm...)
A generous and dynamic woman, Lisa Cawthen is already well known in spite of her young age. As she read Bill Holswsorth's feature, she wondered whether she'd ever be featured herself on the AMS web site one day. Lisa is just the woman to follow in Bill's shoes. Her nomination by a somewhat sly Bronwyn is a great opportunity to showcase one of our young researchers. She goes shopping with seals but is in love with bats, here is Lisa.
Topa Petit, Membership Officer
Below: Lisa in awe of possum scats
History
I grew up in northern Tasmania where I spent my childhood catching skinks, building cubby houses, fishing and hunting with my Dad. I have fond memories of my first introduction to mammals – in the spotlight from my Dad’s ute. I was also fortunate to have grown up in a time when it wasn’t uncommon to see or hear Tasmanian devils, and I can still recall the sound of devils outside our shack, one even made it into our bathroom!
If you asked me when I was 12 what I wanted to be, it certainly would not have been a wildlife ecologist. If you told me I would one day be working with Tasmanian devils, I would have told you that you were crazy. I don’t come from a family of naturalists, animal carers or academics. In fact, up until the summer before year 12, I wanted to be a graphic designer, but upon realising I didn’t have much artistic talent, I enrolled in science classes at the last minute. It was the best decision I have ever made!
My interest in zoology and environmental studies was sparked when I went on a field trip to Mount Barrow (Tasmania) with my environmental science class. My science teacher passionately took us on a tour of forest succession up the slopes of Mount Barrow, and upon finding one of his favourite spots logged, was devastated. I think it was this experience that started my pathway into environmental studies. None of it would have been possible if not for my incredible year-12 science teacher, John McQuestin (Macca) who encouraged me to take the plunge, leave Perth (Tasmania) and go to University. It was in my second year, when I saw a talk by Dr Sarah Munks from the Tasmanian Forest Practices Authority on hollow-using fauna and forest management, that I became inspired for a career in wildlife and forest management! A year later I was doing Honours with the Tasmanian Forest Practices Authority, and two years after that my doctorate degree.
Interesting research/projects
As an early career wildlife ecologist, I don’t have a long list of projects that I’ve worked on, but in my opinion they have been incredible so far. The very first project I worked on was researching how brushtail possums used logged and unlogged forest. For months I followed brushtail possums around the forest, despite a bush fire nearly wiping out our study site (I later realised this happens a lot to wildlife researchers).
My first job out of university was working with the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program monitoring wild and translocated populations of Tasmanian devils. Incredible since I grew up hearing how these were mongrel animals!
I once got a job relocating Australian and New Zealand fur seals from fish farm – I gave some petrol station attendants the shock of their life when I pulled up with three seals in a trailer!
My speciality is, however, bats, and I have the Australian Mammal Society’s Darwin conference to thank for that.
It was at the Darwin conference that I was put on the path to my speciality by Rod Kavanagh, who suggested bats as a study species in Tasmania. I went out into the field with Brad Law when he was doing a research project in Tasmania on bats and once I saw my first bat, I was hooked. There is something fascinating and mesmerising about a mammal that can fit in your hand. Since then I’ve done a PhD and several projects on Tasmanian bats and how they are impacted by forestry and wind farms, as well as surveyed bats on off-shore islands around Tasmania.
Some achievements
I’m a fledgling ecologist so for me, my greatest achievement has been raising awareness of bats in Tasmania through community education programs and starting wildlife monitoring in Hobart’s bushland reserves. It has been a tremendous achievement and incredibly satisfying to pass my passion onto members of the community and land managers.
My greatest research achievement, however, has been researching the ecology of the Tasmanian long-eared bat – as the name suggests – Tasmania’s endemic bat. My team of volunteers and I were the first people to ever document the types of roosts and social behaviour of this bat species.
Current projects
I am working on a wildlife monitoring program with the Hobart City Council to inform bushland management. I’m working with an intern at the Forest Practices Authority radio-tracking pygmy possums to investigate how they use nest boxes and surrounding habitat in timber production forests; assisting on a project monitoring bats at wind farms to understand what factors influence bat fatalities at wind farm sites; monitoring Tasmanian bats on off-shore islands.
Favourite activity
My favourite job at the moment is taking night walks as part of the Hobart City Council's bush adventures program. We go to a local reserve with families and spotlight mammals. My absolute favourite part is when the kids think they have seen it all and we spotlight bats. Its magical seeing their faces light up as you tell them these tiny flying mammals can consume 100s of mozzies per night. Not only that, but the next week, when you run into a parent and they tell you how their kids could not stop talking about what they saw! I love it!
“Mammal anecdote”
In 2011 I was radio-tracking bats to their day-time roosts and watched as lesser long-eared bats took their first flights. It was an incredible sight watching the mothers encourage their young to emerge from the safety of their hollow with ‘ chirps ‘ followed by young nervously flapping their wings, some falling to the ground and having to make the climb back up, others flying quite unco around the tree. I will never forget how special that was!
Advice for people interested in Australasian mammalogy
If you're passionate about Australasian mammalogy - follow it, it will take you on an amazing journey!
Discovering New Antechinus
05/02/2014
Over the last few years, my research team has been reviewing the systematics of the dasyurid marsupial genus Antechinus. In the course of this work, we have formally described three new species of antechinus, all from south-east Queensland. There is emerging evidence of several other new species within the genus from southern Australia. The team of scientists includes three PhD students, working on the basic ecology of each of the newly named species. Two of the new species appear to be limited geographically and steps are currently underway to list these animals as threatened under Queensland state legislation.
Hopefully, in the next few years as part of the PhD studies, the team will better understand the distributions of all three species to enable their Federal listing in a threatened category. The research to date could not have been conducted without the generous help of many collectors across Australia enabling a total evidence approach, explicitly linking genetics with morphology. The results beg the question: what other new mammal species are still hiding in our diverse Australian forests? The team seeks ear clips (genetics) and voucher specimens (morphology) from all antechinus species across Australia, in all locations. In particular, dusky antechinus (A. swainsonii) samples are sought from across their distribution in south-east Australia, especially Tasmania.
Scientists or collectors wishing to donate any and all antechinus samples should please contact me ASAP: Andrew Baker (Queensland University of Technology Science and Engineering); phone: 0424 272 051; email: am.baker@qut.edu.au.
Christmas Island Flying Fox now Critically Endangered
28/01/2014
The Christmas Island flying-fox has been listed as Critically Endangered. The decline in the population is alarming, and scientists are fearing a scenario similar to the one that led the Christmas Island pipistrelle to extinction recently. Some of the best flying-fox scientists in Australia are tackling the issue.