Lisa Cawthen

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!

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