Tropical Topics A n i n t e r p r e t i v e n e w s l e t t e r f o r t h e t o u r i s m i n d u s t r y

Wet Tropic Webs II Vol 1 No. 17 December 1993

Notes from the A tale of toxic birdwings Editor

Tourists poisoned in rainforest This may be a newspaper headline in the not too distant future. In fact some tourists recently fell violently ill for 36 hours after sampling seeds which their tour guide had told them had a pleasant taste and were used by Aborigines as a cure for constipation. The guide didn’t know the name of the tree and was, presumably, unaware of its strong purgative properties. cannot flee when attacked by but also uses them for its own predators but they have one strong protection. The caterpillars store the Many foods eaten by Aborigines are defensive tactic up their sleeves - toxins in their bodies and in prominent first processed to remove poisons. poison. The rainforest is full of toxic fleshy orange-red spines on their Others are never touched. Although plants - but not all animals are equally backs. Should a bird ignore the bitterness can be a guide to toxicity it affected. Birds can be seen feasting on obvious warning these represent, it is is not a sure sign; one local botanist fruit which poison humans. Green unlikely to repeat its mistake. and enthusiast was rushed possums munch happily on stinging tree leaves which other possums (and But that is not the end of the toxic tale. to hospital after sampling an extremely Aristolochia small piece of a pleasant-tasting kernel. wise humans) avoid. It seems that in vines have intriguing the course of evolution different flowers which have earned them their common name, Dutchman’s pipe. (See The diversity of rainforest plants has animal species have developed particular methods for dealing with Tropical Topics 13 for their interesting not only led to a huge range of toxins certain toxins - abilities which pollination story.) A South American (many with useful medicinal properties) determine the diet of each species. species, Aristolochia elegans, but also makes identification produces particularly large and very difficult. Given the potential for The female birdwing butterfly (of both attractive flowers and has been mistakes there is a need to treat the Australian species) lays her eggs on introduced to Australia as an fashion for bush tucker with extreme the leaves of Aristolochia vines. She ornamental plant. Unfortunately the caution. manages to locate the correct plants female birdwing butterfly receives the by ‘tasting’ various leaves with correct chemical cues and is fooled chemical receptors in her forelegs, into laying her eggs on it - but her searching for chemical cues. She also caterpillars are eventually poisoned by This Tropical Topics follows on from uses sense organs at the end of her the toxins of this particular vine. Sadly the Wet Tropic Webs issue, number abdomen to find tender young leaves this plant is spreading from gardens 13, looking at yet more intriguing plant/ suitable for caterpillar food. into the natural environment and, animal relationships which bind along with habitat destruction, is together elements in the ecosystem. Aristolochia vines are poisonous. For endangering the future of the beautiful many newly-hatched caterpillars the birdwings. toxins would be deadly but the birdwing can not only cope with them Illustration courtesy Queensland Museum Spreading the seeds Two of the most intriguing and important interactions to have evolved between plants and animals are pollination (dealt with in Tropical Topics 13) and seed dispersal. Mechanical means of seed dispersal Other plants aim to attract the more (such as winged seeds or exploding stable but more discriminating pods) have a limited success in closed specialist market. Animals which eat forests so fruit-eating animals are the nothing but fruit are rarer but are more main distribution agents. These reliable, visiting a suitable fruiting tree include many birds and mammals, repeatedly until the crop is finished. such as possums and bats, as well as Eating nothing else, they require fruit some reptiles and fish. which provide a balanced diet - one including oil, protein and fat. High There are two main fruit-eaters - those quality fruits are 'expensive' for the which depend entirely on fruit for plant to produce and are therefore not food and those which also eat insects grown in abundant quantities. and/or leaves. Plants tend to target However, the risks are fewer, since either type of fruit-eater. specialist fruit-eaters (such as the The sticky bean tree (Pisonia) cassowary) generally do not have employs rather heavy-handed Some plants, like the lilly pillies grinding stomachs and the large seeds methods to persuade animals to (Syzygium species), produce large pass through unharmed to be disperse its seeds mechanically. This crops of small fruits high in water and deposited some distance from the small shrubby tree is a common species sugars. Cheap to produce in large parent tree in a convenient pile of on coral cays and islands, such as quantities these appeal to the large compost. Alternatively the seed is Heron Island. To get there - and to opportunistic market, including many regurgitated (for example, by bats). If eventually move its species on further birds. The fruits are likely to be well well packaged in firm flesh, which - it relies on noddies, seabirds which distributed but these plants run a few takes time to consume, the seed will be nest in trees. Pisonia seeds are covered risks. If the consumer is also an carried some distance before it is with a sticky gum which adheres readily insect-eater the seed may be discarded. to the plumage of the nesting birds. destroyed in the grinding gizzard. If While a few seeds would not affect the there is an alternative source of fruit Mistletoe plants and mistletoe birds bird too badly, often they become so or insects the tree may find its fruit is have an interesting relationship. The entangled in seeds they cannot fly and ignored and left to rot. bird eats insects so has a grinding fall to the ground to starve. It has been gizzard but is able, when consuming a suggested that the dead bird provides mistletoe berry, to close the gizzard a useful source of fertiliser for the The rotting-meat smell of the bridal and shunt the soft (and quite toxic) germinating seedlings. Gruesome as veil fungi is one of the less pleasant seed quickly through its digestive tract. the system seems it is an important aspects of the forest. Flies find it Within 25 minutes the sticky seed is part of the revegetation of cays and irresistible - and then fly off carrying voided and if deposited on a suitable islands - and the noddies in turn rely a load of fungi spores for dispersal. tree can germinate. heavily on the Pisonia for nest sites.

Helping the birdwings If you want to help the birdwing butterflies, try planting Aristolochia tagala or Pararistolochia deltantha, between Cooktown and Mackay (for the Cairns birdwing) or A. praevenosa in the Brisbane area (for the local Richmond birdwing). Your reward may be the marvellous sight of their mating flights.

Two caterpillar-killing vines to avoid, or pull out of your garden, are Aristolochia elegans and A. ringens. The latter vine has appeared in the Wet Tropics more recently. You can tell these South American species from the native ones by their heart-shaped leaves which are as wide, or wider, than they are long. Their flowers are much bigger and more rounded than the native ones. Those of A. elegans reach 5cm in diameter while those of A. ringens grow to 14cm. Their seed pods are long and thin with straight parallel sides.

In contrast to these exotic vines, the native A. tagala (left) has more elongated leaves, much smaller flowers and rounded fruits.

Aristolochia illustration courtesy Queensland Museum Bad relations A weed is a plant which grows where it is not wanted - and all too often one person’s garden glory is another person’s headache - particularly when the latter is a national park manager. On the page one we saw how the of the North introduction of a South American Sanchezia Johnstone River vine is threatening one of our most in the Palmerston spectacular butterflies. Plants can area were choked also turn nasty on each other. A with Sanchezia - notorious example is the rubber vine, perhaps originating introduced from Madagascar in the from one garden 1870s for its pretty flower, which has specimen carelessly invaded some 350 000ha of tossed in upstream. Queensland, totally smothering native vegetation in moister sites. There are coffee plants, dispersed by birds, and African tulip tree (Spathodea A similarly aggressive vine is grasses introduced by campanulata) is grown widely for its Thunbergia grandiflora. Illustrated graziers which, while less attractive scarlet flowers (above) with glossy pictures of gorgeous spectacularly destructive than the but this tree’s windblown seeds are blooms in many gardening books, vines, can destroy an ecosystem just rapidly spreading the species ‘escapees’ are doing enormous as thoroughly. The catalogue of weeds throughout the wet tropics. damage to rainforest in the Cairns is extensive. area. It is very difficult to destroy. Back home, in their native Good relations Then there is Sanchezia (below), environment, these plants have natural In your garden, especially if you are grown for its yellow-veined leaves checks such as insects and diseases. (above, right). Easily spread by rivers involved with accommodation for Freed from these restraints they can tourists, consider the advantages of and floods, even rapidly invade new areas. small fragments can growing local native plants. While avoiding introducing weeds which sprout into new The balance of powers in an plants. The banks may endanger the very resource ecosystem, particularly in a rainforest, which is the basis of the tourism has been finely tuned over a long industry of the region, you can attract period of evolution. The introduction native birds and butterflies to your of an exotic plant or a feral animal can property. cause an imbalance which has far- reaching consequences for the whole Tourists attracted by the natural system; meddle with some of the attributes of the area are almost certain strands and a whole web may collapse. to be more interested in unusual local We hear much of the destruction species than in the hibiscus, wrought by feral pigs and cane toads bougainvillaea, etc., which are the but exotic plants may actually be one humdrum hallmark of every tropical Sanchezia of the greatest threats facing resort the world over. rainforests. Croc nesting season With the onset of the wet season humidity will rise and there will be less fluctuation in ambient temperatures - conditions which will encourage estuarine crocodiles to nest. The process of egg-production begins which inhibits development of the Sex is determined, in the egg, by the up to five months beforehand, embryos until the eggs have been laid. nest temperature, 32oC producing over depending on various factors - the It also acts as a shock absorber when 80% male hatchlings, higher and lower female croc’s age, the amount of they are dropped into the nest temperatures resulting in females. physical stress she experienced in the chamber but then evaporates from the previous nesting season and food egg shells allowing the embryos to During incubation the mother stays in availability since then. It is even commence growth. This gel is the vicinity of the nest to protect the thought that she has some ability to important because when the embryo eggs. (It is therefore particularly predict the weather - but croc starts to develop it attaches itself to important to avoid potential nesting behaviour is not a reliable indicator of the top of the egg. If the egg is then sites at this time.) If some eggs begin the degree of wet season. turned the embryo drowns. It is to rot the smell may attract goannas therefore vital that development is but otherwise should not be obvious Mating occurs in the water about two delayed until the eggs are safely to predators. The greatest danger is months prior to laying. Nests are settled in the nest. from flooding which destroys 30-50% constructed of grass and dirt raked of all nests. At the optimum 32oC eggs with the legs into a mound about half a Each egg is about the size of a goose hatch in 80-84 days. metre in height to avoid flooding. It is egg. The clutch, numbering 50 on usually situated within 30m of water. average, is deposited in a chamber at Contributed by Geoff McClure of the top of the mound. Research Hartley’s Creek Crocodile Humidity of over 95 percent is required indicates that the optimum temperature Farm for optimal embryo development so for embryo development is nearly laying often occurs with the approach 32oC. This is maintained by the rotting or onset of wet weather. Because of vegetation in the nest (not this many females will actually lay on by the female adjusting or close to the same day. The eggs are the nesting material or surrounded with a transparent gel urinating on the nest). Mixed relations Most plants and animals participate in some sort of interaction with other organisms. Here we look at some of the more curious relationships which contribute to the webs of life in the Wet Tropics.

Spiders are well-known for their ability to prey on insects (and even birds). Some ambush from under trapdoors or burrows. Others camouflage themselves as parts of flowers and leap on unsuspecting prey. However, spiders are characterised by their webs. Net-throwing spiders spin tiny, elastic webs which they fling over prey which comes close enough. On the other end of the scale golden orb weavers (Nephila) construct huge webs between trees and even telegraph poles while 20 to 30 corroboree or community spiders (Cyrtophora moluccensis) (left) build their webs together so they form huge Spiders sheets. don’t have it all their own way; some become kindergarten food for the larvae of Some spiders obtain their food from mud-dauber wasps. These wasps build others’ webs. Tiny dew drop spiders clay cells from damp mud. Before closing (Argyrodes) (left, below) live on the each pot the female wasp hunts down a edges of the giant webs and feed on spider, paralyses it and carries or drags it insects which are too small for their hosts. to the nest. After laying an egg on the The larger spiders benefit by having their spider the mother seals the cell and webs cleaned up for them. leaves. The larva hatches to find a ready food supply in the form of a fresh, live, but helpless spider.

Some species of wasps, instead of building mud pots, attack funnel-web or trapdoor spiders in their homes, leaving an egg with each paralysed host in a ready-made nest. Another species simply lays an egg on a spider which continues Fruit-piercing moths are a common sight on the rainforest edge and in as normal until the developing larva orchards where they pierce fruit skins with a ‘drill bit’ on the end of the gradually eats it alive! proboscis and pulp the interior. Their larvae feed on the vines of the Menispermaceae family. CSIRO scientists were puzzled at the tendency of native moths to lay on certain native vines (Stephania bancroftii) in this family which are actually toxic to the Because it produces no chlorophyll the caterpillars. plant, Balanophora fungosa, is unable to produce its own food from sunlight so it Their research came to the notice of a Chinese lives as a parasite on certain roots. In immunobiologist who was looking at the medicinal winter its strange flowers are a common qualities of a similar vine (S. tetrandra) used in sight on the rainforest floor as they push, traditional Chinese medicine for reducing mushroom-like, through the leaf litter. inflammation. It was also discovered that Despite its characteristics and appearance Australian Aborigines traditionally wrap the leaves and its common name — fungus root — of another related vine (Tinospora smilacina — Balanophora is not actually a fungus. illustrated here) around swollen joints to reduce inflammation. The creamy-brown knob at the tip of the flower is a mass of female flowers. These By looking at how caterpillars are surrounded, at the base, by a ring of concentrate the alkaloid toxins white male flowers. Below these are a few in their bodies the scientists scale-like leaves. Although they are were able to extract alkaloids unusual pollinators, early in the with immunosuppressant morning ants can be seen in large qualities. It is hoped these, or numbers around the female head — similar compounds, may be useful ‘like cattle at a pond’ — feeding on in the fight against abnormalities of small pools of liquid, their the immune system such as silicosis, inducement for pollination asbestosis, arthritis, cancer and AIDS. services. It is thought that native rats, which eat the male flowers, may also

Geoff Thompson, Queensland Museum carry pollen. Some moths are distasteful and advertise this Epiphytic ferns are fact with a warning coloration. a common feature After dark, however, when this of rainforests. visual signal is useless they emit While, unlike parasitic ultrasonic clicks which can be picked up by insectivorous bats. plants such as This may simply warn the bats of the moths’ unsuitability as mistletoes, epiphytes dinner or may even serve to jam the bats’ sonar system. perch but do not steal nutrients from their hosts, sometimes the hosts feed on the epiphytes! Roots have been found growing from the tree branch into the epiphytes. This is similar to the marcotting process, used to propagate trees by covering a treated branch with moss and plastic until a root system develops.

Danaid eggfly Lesser wanderer On the undersides of many leaves there are little growths called domatia. Visible at some Red for danger is a common signal in the animal world. Bold junctions of major veins, these can take the combinations of red, yellow, orange, black and white frequently form of tiny pits, pouches, pockets or hair indicate that an animal is distasteful or poisonous. This is the tufts — and provide perfect homes for mites! case with the orange, black and white lesser wanderer butterfly Studies of the mites found in domatia have (Danaus chrysippus). The female of the danaid eggfly shown that they are usually species which (Hypolimnas misippus) looks almost identical — but it is an feed on fungi and on leaf parasites — in other imposter. Unlike the wanderer it would make a tasty meal for a words, mites which benefit the plant. bird but undoubtedly benefits from its similar appearance when the predator is reminded of a previous unpleasant experience. It seems that the plant provides the domatia as havens where the Domatia Mimicry such as this, when a harmless species mimics a harmful mites can shelter and reproduce, one, is common in the insect world. Beetles, flies and other while the mites pay rent by keeping the eaf courtesy CSIRO insects mimic stinging wasps, even flicking their wings in the leaf surface clear of destructive invaders. same way. Mimicry can also disguise a predator. This beneficial mite-plant association appears to be ancient,

40-million-year-old fossils having been Elaeocarpus l found in New South Wales and in Victoria. Domatia are particularly common Termite mounds, on the ground and in trees, make good nesting on leaves of quandongs (Elaeocarpus Cross-section of magnified pouch spots and are used for this purpose by many species of species). domatia kingfishers and some parrots. Kingfishers begin their Lace monitors nest in termite mounds in trees. In this case the excavations by flying at the termites fill the hole made by the mother, cementing in the eggs mounds, missile style, with their and repairing the mound so that there is almost no beaks held out straight ahead trace of the lizard’s nest. Inside, the (and sometimes die from the constant temperature impact). They then peck out a maintained by the nesting chamber which is later termites helps the eggs sealed off on the inside by the to incubate. It is thought that termites. (The termites may eventually the mother returns to the nest at benefit from this invasion of their the time of hatching. territory by feeding on nutrients left behind by nesting birds.) Buff-breasted paradise kingfishers nest in termite mounds on the ground. Facts and stats Questions & Answers on relationships Q How do shells get their mother-of-pearl or nacre. The Lichens consist of two shapes and how do they grow? mantle may also expand and separate plants — an alga deposit over the existing shell. and a fungus, whose A The shell shape is determined Many are able to repair small filamentous roots are woven in a holes or cracks in the shell. tough skin surrounding the alga. The by the species of mollusc to fungus draws up water and minerals which it belongs. It is an external while the alga uses its chlorophyll skeleton, created from calcium The growth of the shell is not a (green matter) to manufacture food. carbonate taken from seawater continuous process. Slow periods The fungus also produces an acid and secreted by membranous of growth are visible as thick which eats into bare rock, providing a tissue called the mantle. This is a ridges and, sometimes, dark foothold (it can produce 1cm of smooth lining which covers the bands. The ornaments, such as topsoil in about 2000 years!). internal organs, inside the shell, knobs, are formed by the mantle and is sometimes seen extended dividing into branches, or by an Acacias have small nectar- outside, covering the exterior of increased rate of shell formation. producing glands, (extra- floral nectaries) on their shells such as cowries. branches. These attract ants which Q What are the dark hairy serve to protect the trees from insect The shell first forms during the caterpillars seen on the attack. development of the egg or the ground in the rainforest first larval stage. It then grows in moving in line, head to tail, Different species of parasites one direction only, being and also bunched up in a web live on the skins of different continually added to as the animal on tree trunks? Are they a species of animals and can grows. Most gastropod (snail) pest and damage trees? help in identification of their hosts. shells are coiled and the The discovery of a 100-million-year- embryonic shell is usually visible A They are the larvae of the old fossil of a type of flea which is as the first few whorls at the top today only found on marsupials bagmoth or boree moth, suggests that marsupials have existed of the shell. Growth occurs sometimes called processionary for at least that period of time. around the opening of the shell, caterpillars. From time to time which forms a coil, wrapping they leave the tree they are on - Mammals of the dasyurid continually around the existing perhaps when it has become (carnivorous marsupial) shell (as in cowries and cone defoliated or when they wish to group — which includes shells) or below it (as in volutes pupate on another tree. They then antechinuses, quolls, and others — and tritons). This process can be follow each other along a trail of have a reputation as the meanest on appreciated by comparing silk laid by the leader. Gregarious, the planet. With cat-like eye teeth sections of shells (a good thing to they feed and pupate together. and carnivorous appetites if they are show to tourists). In bivalves The caterpillars are covered with attacked by snakes they are just as likely to counterattack. The presence (oysters, clams, mussels, etc.) hairs which can be very irritating of many dasyurids in Australia has new material is simply to human skin. They pupate been put forward as a possible added around the within the bags casting off their explanation for the high number of perimeter of each larval skins so disturbing these venomous snakes (19 of the world’s valve. In many bags can release a cloud of top 23). Quick-acting venoms are the species secondary irritating hairs. Even people snakes' only defence against a prey growth occurs camping under trees where they which is likely to consume them! also over the inner are present may be affected. surface of the They are not a particular pest Found in tropical freshwater shell. When although they can defoliate trees and mangroves is a fish with dark stripes known as the iridescent this is to some extent. archer, or more appropriately, commonly known as the rifle fish. A combination of a Illustration courtesy Queensland Museum ridged tongue and a groove in the roof of its mouth enables it to squirt Tourist talk water above the water surface to bring down resting or flying insects. To do ENGLISH GERMAN JAPANESE so accurately it is able to compensate for the visual effects caused by the butterfly Schmetterling cho way light bends as it passes from spider Spinne kumo water to air. wasp Wespe suzume bachi insect Insekt konchu A certain fungus, Cordyceps, weed Unkraut za so parasitises insects! Spores toxin Gift doku so from the fungus germinate if vine Kletterpslanze tsuru they come into contact with fruit Frucht kajutsu certain butterfly larvae which live seed Samen ta ne underground. The fungus then invades the caterpillar’s body, and termite Termitenhügel shiro ari no mound tsuka digests it. Nature notes A diary of natural events creates a pleasing journal which grows richer with the passage of time. Watching for the recurrence of an event after noting it in a previous year, and trying to understand what could have caused changes in timing, is intriguing.

These notes are from the author's own notebook, or were offered by researchers and fellow naturalists. Readers will, inevitably, note variations between their observations and those appearing here. If you do not keep a nature diary perhaps this will inspire you to begin one.

When driving through Drivers to Cape Tribulation should Road-users travelling past recently rainforest this month keep a look out for young lace monitor harvested canefields in coastal North visitors may catch sight lizards on the road. These little 30cm Queensland may catch sight of a of flowers on the cobalt blue and yellow striped ‘road handsome migratory bird known as the giant climbing gems’ have been hatching from their oriental pratincole. A flock of 50 or 60 orchid. This termite nests and have been reported birds presents a spectacular sight as orchid gets started in large numbers basking on the warm they pursue insects a metre or so at ground level at the road - unfortunately with limited regard above the ground. Wonderfully base of a decomposing for traffic. streamlined, the brown-winged birds tree trunk, and can fly with swallow-like grace and speed, climb rapidly to heights wheeling and jinking to snatch insects of up to 15m. Almost in the air. Their feeding habits are leafless, it usually suited to plains country where short lives for only two or vegetation provides a home for insects three years before such as grasshoppers, and canefields dying, often due to the covered in trash-blankets subsidence of the host tree. provide a Thousands of creamy-yellow and temporary pink flowers, each about 3cm in attraction. diameter, are carried by this These orchid. This plant (Pseudovanilla Asian- (Galeola) foliata) is said to be the breeders only climbing orchid in Australia, very are dependant on dead trees at a particular seasonally stage of decomposition. common in north- The tar-tree, or native , west Australia but contains potent chemicals to which are not infrequently It is stinger season again, this year’s many people are sensitive. Blistering seen in our region. batch of young box jellyfish having of the skin has been recorded simply migrated down from breeding grounds due to brushing against young foliage in the estuaries to coastal waters. or stems. The name tar-tree describes Irukandji and blue bottles can also be the blackening of patches of the trunk The deliciously acid fruit of ‘wild expected. wherever the sap exudes due to tamarind’ will be ripe about now, wounding. Native cashew is quite an tempting those with an adventurous Stormy weather in December will accurate name for this tree palate. This tree produces a green or encourage mating and egg-laying by a ( australiensis) because it yellow skinned fruit which splits to rainforest lizard known as Boyd’s does belong in the cashew family, and reveal bright orange flesh concealing a forest dragon. Mating attempts have produces a similar fruit. Fruits were black seed. Several rainforest trees are been observed on the forest floor at produced in large quantities along the described as native or wild tamarind, Mossman Gorge, with the larger male Wangetti coast and in other lowland one of which is Diploglottis smithii giving no attention to decorous rainforests last December, and some discussed here. Leaflets on this tree behaviour. Females scratch a trees may follow suit this year, too. are distinctive because of numerous surprisingly shallow hole in soft earth, The fleshy orange section of the fruit close-set lateral veins, about 25 on about 10cm in depth, to deposit three is actually a thickened stem, which each side of the midrib. Native or four eggs. Boyd’s dragon belongs carries a seed. Both parts are ‘tamarinds’ are members of the same to a South-east Asian group of lizards, reportedly edible, but only after careful family as lychee, longan and rambutan but our species (Hypsilurus preparation including baking. (Sapindaceae) but are not related to (Gonocephalus) boydii) is restricted the tamarind of commerce which is in a to the Wet Tropics region of North quite different family (Caesalpinae). Queensland. Fruit of the cordia tree should begin ripening now, producing a fleshy, pinkish, almost translucent berry keenly sought by Torresian imperial pigeons. This cordia (Cordia dichotoma) is botanically related to the handsome orange trumpet tree (Cordia subcordata) but does not produce a showy flower. Bookshelf

Weed Assessment in the Wet Geo Vol. 15 No. 4 Nov. 1993-Jan. Tropics World Heritage Area of 1994 north Queensland Settling for a sticky solution Stella Humphries and Peter Stanton (Pisonia trees and noddies) CSIRO and DEH (1992) Terence Lindsey and Rod Morris

Plant Invasions Australian Tropical Rain Forest The incidence of environmental Trees weeds in Australia An Interactive Identification System Kowari 2 B.P.M. Hyland and T. Whiffen ANPWS (1991) CSIRO (1993)

Australian Tropical Rainforests This newly-released package is the Science - Values - Meaning ultimate identification system. It L.J. Webb and J. Kikkawa (eds) consists of a computer-based CSIRO (1990) interactive key for Macintosh or Chapter 7: The Biological Web - IBM PC (3.5 and 5.25" disks) plus Plant/animal Interactions in the three volumes of descriptions and Rainforest illustrations of features and species. R.E. Jones and F. H. Crome One of these is the Leaf Atlas of Australian Tropical Rain Forest This chapter deals partly with fruit- Trees with near life-size illustrations eaters and distributors. of all species included in the key.

Toxic Plants and Animals - A The whole package ($195, or $80 for Guide for Australia the Leaf Atlas alone, + p&p) is Jeanette Covacevich, Peter Davie available from CSIRO Information and John Pearn (eds) Services, PO Box 89, East Queensland Museum (1987) Melbourne, Vic. 3002; Tel: (03) 418 7217 The Australian Naturalist Library and from CSIRO, PO Box 780, - Spiders Atherton, Qld. 4883; Barbara York Main Tel: (07) 4091 1755. William Collins Pty Ltd, Sydney (1987)

Australian Natural History Vol. 23 No. 11 Summer 1991-92 A pocketful of mites (domatia) Dennis J. O’Dowd and Mary F. Wilson

This newsletter was produced by the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage (now The Environmental Protection Agency) with funding from the Wet Tropics Management Authority.

For further information contact... Opinions expressed in Tropical Topics are not necessarily those of Stella Martin Wet Tropics Management Agency the Department of Environment and The Editor Heritage (EPA). (For general infomation on the Wet Tropical Topics Tropics World Heritage Area only.) Environmental Protection Agency PO Box 2050 While all efforts have been made to PO Box 2066 CAIRNS QLD 4870 verify facts, the Department of CAIRNS QLD 4870 Ph: (07) 4052 0555 Environment and Heritage (EPA) Fax: (07) 4031 1364 takes no responsibility for the Ph: (07) 4046 6674 Website: www.wettropics.gov.au accuracy of information supplied in Fax: (07) 4046 6751 Tropical Topics . e-mail: [email protected]