Wildlife Carers Dictionary
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Encouraging Possums
Encouraging Possums Keywords: possums, mammals, habitat, management, nest boxes Location: southwest Author: Emma Bramwell Possums are delightful and appealing creatures, with THE SEVEN SPECIES their soft downy fur and large innocent eyes. Some may be as small as a mouse while others are the size of a domestic • Honeypossum Tarsipes rostratus cat. The honey possum is the smallest of the Western The western ringtail and common brushtail possums are Australian possums, and is endemic to (occurring only in) two of the most commonly seen native animals around urban the lower southwest, in heaths with a rich diversity of areas in the southwest of Western Australia. The common nectar-producing plants. brushtail possum in particular has adapted to urban Mainly nocturnal, the honey possum sleeps during the development, and readily takes up residence in human day in hollow stems or abandoned bird nests, emerging at dwellings. With careful planning and management, people night to feed on the nectar and pollen that exclusively make can live harmoniously with these creatures and enjoy the up its diet, probing flowers with its long, pointed snout and close proximity of wildlife. brush-tipped tongue. In colder weather the honey possum becomes torpid (semi-hibernates). The honey possum has no obvious breeding season. WHAT IS A POSSUM? Most young are produced when pollen and nectar are most abundant, and females usually raise two or three young at a A number of small to medium-sized, tree-climbing time. Australian marsupial species have been given the common Provided large areas of habitat are retained, the honey name of possum. -
Project Deliverance the Response of ‘Critical-Weight-Range’ Mammals to Effective Fox Control in Mesic Forest Habitats in Far East Gippsland, Victoria
Project Deliverance The response of ‘critical-weight-range’ mammals to effective fox control in mesic forest habitats in far East Gippsland, Victoria A Victorian Government Initiative Project Deliverance: the response of ‘critical-weight-range’ mammals to effective fox control in mesic forest habitats in far East Gippsland, Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment Project Deliverance The response of ‘critical-weight-range’ mammals to effective fox control in mesic forest habitats in far East Gippsland, Victoria A Victorian Government Initiative Publisher/Further information - Department of Sustainability and Environment, PO Box 500, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3002. Web: http://www.dse.vic.gov.au First published 2006. © The State of Victoria, Department of Sustainability and Environment, 2006 All rights reserved. This document is subject to the Copyright Act 1968. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Copyright in photographs remains with the photographers mentioned in the text. ISBN 1 74152 343 5 Disclaimer—This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purpose and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. Citation— Murray, A.J., Poore, R.N. and Dexter, N. (2006). Project Deliverance—the response of ‘critical weight range’ mammals to effective fox control in mesic forest habitats in far East Gippsland, Victoria. -
Halloween Icon Bats
Grey-headed flying fox. Photo: Andrew Mercer Bats- A Halloween Icon J. Morton Galetto, CU Maurice River Bats are the only mammals that can fly. Flying squirrels would more properly be called gliders since they can’t perform a sustained flight, but rather simply float from one place to another using a cape of sorts to soar. Over the years bats have been misunderstood and their history is shrouded in false legends, from transformations into vampires to attacking people’s hair. Yes, I’m in the Halloween spirit and it’s time to get ghoulish. In Australia I was fascinated by fruit bats (pteropus), the world’s largest member of their species. Since the face is fox-like they are commonly referred to as flying foxes. They become active before dusk and look like raptors with their 3-foot wing span, while their bodies are about 16” long. Their lifespan is 15-23 years. As dusk approached my amazement at seeing hundreds of flying foxes wheeling in the air seemed ridiculous to the Aussies. But come on, to an outsider it was incredible! Flying fox do not rely on echolocation as our bats do, but rather use their large eyes to find food. I witnessed the urban bat camps in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney that could house hundreds of thousands of these creatures. Because of their large colonies they have a number of detractors. But large numbers in only a few congregations often make a species more vulnerable to extinction. Loss of habitat, slow reproduction, and high juvenile mortality are factors as well. -
Platypus Collins, L.R
AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS BIOLOGY AND CAPTIVE MANAGEMENT Stephen Jackson © CSIRO 2003 All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, duplicating or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Contact CSIRO PUBLISHING for all permission requests. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Jackson, Stephen M. Australian mammals: Biology and captive management Bibliography. ISBN 0 643 06635 7. 1. Mammals – Australia. 2. Captive mammals. I. Title. 599.0994 Available from CSIRO PUBLISHING 150 Oxford Street (PO Box 1139) Collingwood VIC 3066 Australia Telephone: +61 3 9662 7666 Local call: 1300 788 000 (Australia only) Fax: +61 3 9662 7555 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.publish.csiro.au Cover photos courtesy Stephen Jackson, Esther Beaton and Nick Alexander Set in Minion and Optima Cover and text design by James Kelly Typeset by Desktop Concepts Pty Ltd Printed in Australia by Ligare REFERENCES reserved. Chapter 1 – Platypus Collins, L.R. (1973) Monotremes and Marsupials: A Reference for Zoological Institutions. Smithsonian Institution Press, rights Austin, M.A. (1997) A Practical Guide to the Successful Washington. All Handrearing of Tasmanian Marsupials. Regal Publications, Collins, G.H., Whittington, R.J. & Canfield, P.J. (1986) Melbourne. Theileria ornithorhynchi Mackerras, 1959 in the platypus, 2003. Beaven, M. (1997) Hand rearing of a juvenile platypus. Ornithorhynchus anatinus (Shaw). Journal of Wildlife Proceedings of the ASZK/ARAZPA Conference. 16–20 March. -
Reproductionreview
REPRODUCTIONREVIEW Wombat reproduction (Marsupialia; Vombatidae): an update and future directions for the development of artificial breeding technology Lindsay A Hogan1, Tina Janssen2 and Stephen D Johnston1,2 1Wildlife Biology Unit, Faculty of Science, School of Agricultural and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton 4343, Queensland, Australia and 2Australian Animals Care and Education, Mt Larcom 4695, Queensland, Australia Correspondence should be addressed to L A Hogan; Email: [email protected] Abstract This review provides an update on what is currently known about wombat reproductive biology and reports on attempts made to manipulate and/or enhance wombat reproduction as part of the development of artificial reproductive technology (ART) in this taxon. Over the last decade, the logistical difficulties associated with monitoring a nocturnal and semi-fossorial species have largely been overcome, enabling new features of wombat physiology and behaviour to be elucidated. Despite this progress, captive propagation rates are still poor and there are areas of wombat reproductive biology that still require attention, e.g. further characterisation of the oestrous cycle and oestrus. Numerous advances in the use of ART have also been recently developed in the Vombatidae but despite this research, practical methods of manipulating wombat reproduction for the purposes of obtaining research material or for artificial breeding are not yet available. Improvement of the propagation, genetic diversity and management of wombat populations requires a thorough understanding of Vombatidae reproduction. While semen collection and cryopreservation in wombats is fairly straightforward there is currently an inability to detect, induce or synchronise oestrus/ovulation and this is an impeding progress in the development of artificial insemination in this taxon. -
Wildlife Parasitology in Australia: Past, Present and Future
CSIRO PUBLISHING Australian Journal of Zoology, 2018, 66, 286–305 Review https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO19017 Wildlife parasitology in Australia: past, present and future David M. Spratt A,C and Ian Beveridge B AAustralian National Wildlife Collection, National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO, GPO Box 1700, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. BVeterinary Clinical Centre, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Werribee, Vic. 3030, Australia. CCorresponding author. Email: [email protected] Abstract. Wildlife parasitology is a highly diverse area of research encompassing many fields including taxonomy, ecology, pathology and epidemiology, and with participants from extremely disparate scientific fields. In addition, the organisms studied are highly dissimilar, ranging from platyhelminths, nematodes and acanthocephalans to insects, arachnids, crustaceans and protists. This review of the parasites of wildlife in Australia highlights the advances made to date, focussing on the work, interests and major findings of researchers over the years and identifies current significant gaps that exist in our understanding. The review is divided into three sections covering protist, helminth and arthropod parasites. The challenge to document the diversity of parasites in Australia continues at a traditional level but the advent of molecular methods has heightened the significance of this issue. Modern methods are providing an avenue for major advances in documenting and restructuring the phylogeny of protistan parasites in particular, while facilitating the recognition of species complexes in helminth taxa previously defined by traditional morphological methods. The life cycles, ecology and general biology of most parasites of wildlife in Australia are extremely poorly understood. While the phylogenetic origins of the Australian vertebrate fauna are complex, so too are the likely origins of their parasites, which do not necessarily mirror those of their hosts. -
Ba3444 MAMMAL BOOKLET FINAL.Indd
Intot Obliv i The disappearing native mammals of northern Australia Compiled by James Fitzsimons Sarah Legge Barry Traill John Woinarski Into Oblivion? The disappearing native mammals of northern Australia 1 SUMMARY Since European settlement, the deepest loss of Australian biodiversity has been the spate of extinctions of endemic mammals. Historically, these losses occurred mostly in inland and in temperate parts of the country, and largely between 1890 and 1950. A new wave of extinctions is now threatening Australian mammals, this time in northern Australia. Many mammal species are in sharp decline across the north, even in extensive natural areas managed primarily for conservation. The main evidence of this decline comes consistently from two contrasting sources: robust scientifi c monitoring programs and more broad-scale Indigenous knowledge. The main drivers of the mammal decline in northern Australia include inappropriate fi re regimes (too much fi re) and predation by feral cats. Cane Toads are also implicated, particularly to the recent catastrophic decline of the Northern Quoll. Furthermore, some impacts are due to vegetation changes associated with the pastoral industry. Disease could also be a factor, but to date there is little evidence for or against it. Based on current trends, many native mammals will become extinct in northern Australia in the next 10-20 years, and even the largest and most iconic national parks in northern Australia will lose native mammal species. This problem needs to be solved. The fi rst step towards a solution is to recognise the problem, and this publication seeks to alert the Australian community and decision makers to this urgent issue. -
Teacher Notes and Parent Support Material Learning Activities
TEACHER NOTES AND PARENT SUPPORT MATERIAL LEARNING ACTIVITIES © Queensland Museum 2011; Author Donna Dyson. ANIMALS of Australia Teacher Notes and Parent Support Material Learning Activities PAGES TEACHING LEARNING Cover and title page Text prediction from title 1. Children discuss the possum on the cover and predict where possums lives and which country it is from. Discuss how students can check their knowledge and ideas. 2. Children discuss if there are any animals which they may have as pets. 3. Children discuss different types of animals habitats All pages • Excursion. Children visit each animal species in this book. Mammals are found on level three of Queensland Museum. All pages Make a list Australian Mammals in both 1. Listing information this book and an extensional list. 2. Researching for further information 3. Presenting findings All pages Onomatopoeia and alliteration Children learn some words sound like the actions (onomatopoeia). Children discover every action word is of the same letter (alliteration) and that they all start with “S”. All pages Students collate the S words as a list and Students make a list of more S words which may describe extend their vocabulary by thinking up an action or a sound. new S words. All pages Graphs and Statistics -Chance and Data Using the table below, children vote on their favourite animal Mathematics in the book. Class counts the votes for each bird and discovers which bird is the most popular in the class. All pages Music Download the music for this book and learn it as a lullaby/ waltz. All pages Science: Australian Animals and Endan- Educational Audience: ages 6-8 yrs gered Species: Yr 3 All pages Science: Habitat, Ecology and Environ- Educational Audience: ages 6-8 yrs mental Sciences Yr.2-3 © Queensland Museum 2011; Author Donna Dyson. -
Bara-Boodie.Pdf
ENGAGE E EXPLOR Bara EXPLAIN Boodie, the burrowing bettong ELABORATE E EVALUAT By Alwyn Evans Illustrated by Paul Ricketts ENDICES P AP PAGE 7 PART 1: LEARNING THROUGH STORY / BARA BOODIE, THE BURROWING BETTONG ENGAGE EXPLORE EXPLAIN ELABORATE long, long time ago, boodies lived contentedly all over Australia, in all A sorts of places: from shady woodlands with grasses and shrubs, to wide sandy deserts. EVALUAT Actually my friend, they lived in almost any place they fancied. Bara Boodie and her family’s home was the Australian Western Desert, in E Martu people’s country. They lived in a large cosy nest under a quandong tree, with many friends and neighbours nearby. Actually my friend, boodies loved to make friends with everyone. AP P Bara Boodie, the burrowing bettong ENDICES PART 1: LEARNING THROUGH STORY / BARA BOODIE, THE BURROWING BETTONG PAGE 8 ENGAGE o make their nests snug, Bara’s dad, mum and aunties collected bundles T of spinifex and grasses. Scampering on all fours, they carried their bundles with their fat, prehensile tails, back to their nests. E Actually my friend, they used any soft EXPLOR things they found. As they were small animals, all the family fitted cosily into their nest. Bara was only about 28 centimetres long, and her two brothers weren’t much more. Her mother and aunties were shorter than her father who was 40 centimetres long. At night they slept, curled EXPLAIN up together, with their short-muzzled faces and small rounded ears tucked into their fur. Actually my friend, they looked like one great big, grey, furry ball. -
Mixing Genetically and Morphologically Distinct
Article Mixing Genetically and Morphologically Distinct Populations in Translocations: Asymmetrical Introgression in A Newly Established Population of the Boodie (Bettongia lesueur) Rujiporn Thavornkanlapachai 1,*, Harriet R. Mills 2, Kym Ottewell 3, Judy Dunlop 4,5, Colleen Sims 5, Keith Morris 5, Felicity Donaldson 6 and W. Jason Kennington 1 1 School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia; [email protected] 2 Centre for Ecosystem Management, School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia 6027, Australia; [email protected] 3 Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Locked Bag 104, Bentley Delivery Centre, Western Australia 6152, Australia; [email protected] 4 School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, Australia; [email protected] 5 Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, PO Box 51, Wanneroo, Western Australia 6946, Australia [email protected] (C.S.); [email protected] (K.M.) 6 360 Environmental, 10 Bermondsey Street, West Leederville, Western Australia 6007, Australia; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +61 8 9219 9089 Received: 22 August 2019; Accepted: 17 September 2019; Published: 19 September 2019 Abstract: The use of multiple source populations provides a way to maximise genetic variation and reduce the impacts of inbreeding depression in newly established translocated populations. However, there is a risk that individuals from different source populations will not interbreed, leading to population structure and smaller effective population sizes than expected. Here, we investigate the genetic consequences of mixing two isolated, morphologically distinct island populations of boodies (Bettongia lesueur) in a translocation to mainland Australia over three generations. -
Husbandry Guidelines for Feathertail Gliders
Husbandry Guidelines for (Photo: Luke Hogan, 1996) Feathertail Gliders Acrobates frontalis & Acrobates pygmaeus (Mammalia: Acrobatidae) Date By From Version 2012 Tom Patterson WSI Richmond v 1 Husbandry Manual for the Feathertail Glider DISCLAIMER These husbandry guidelines were produced by the compiler/author at TAFE NSW Western Sydney Institute, Richmond College, N.S.W. Australia as part assessment for completion of Certificate III in Captive Animals, Course number 18913. Since the husbandry guidelines are the result of student project work, care should be taken in the interpretation of information therein. In effect, all care taken but no responsibility is assumed for any loss or damage that may result from the use of these guidelines. Care has been taken to acknowledge the correct ownership of work. Should It is offered to the ASZK Husbandry Manuals Register for the benefit of animal welfare and care. Husbandry guidelines are utility documents and are ‘works in progress’, so enhancements to these guidelines are invited. 2 Annual Cycle of Maintenance Breeding Torpor Exhibit Change Replace Scrub Replace Soil Decrease Pest Collect Scrub Leaf nesting Nest (if applicable) food Control Faecal (1) (2) Litter materials Boxes (Torpor) Samples January February March April May June July August September October November December Note: (1) Northern populations – most likely all Acrobates frontalis, (2) Southern populations – most likely all Acrobates pygmaeus. All maintenance cycle should be used as a guide only. These tasks are noted at a minimum, but should be done as required. Record keeping, weights, observations and environmental enrichment should occur all year round OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS OH&S hazards can include anything that may be seen as a potential risk to you as a keeper or a member of the public. -
Annotated Records of the Feathertail Glider, Acrobates Pygmeus, from the Victorian Naturalist
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Research Online University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive) Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health 2006 Annotated records of the feathertail glider, acrobates pygmeus, from the Victorian Naturalist Jamie M. Harris Southern Cross University, [email protected] K Shane Maloney University of Wollongong, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/scipapers Part of the Life Sciences Commons, Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons, and the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Harris, Jamie M. and Maloney, K Shane: Annotated records of the feathertail glider, acrobates pygmeus, from the Victorian Naturalist 2006, 157-165. https://ro.uow.edu.au/scipapers/4842 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Annotated records of the feathertail glider, acrobates pygmeus, from the Victorian Naturalist Abstract The Victorian Naturalist was surveyed for past records of the Feathertail Glider Acrobates pygmaeus. We document many important records of their occurrence, as well as accounts on their feeding and behaviour. This report should be useful to researchers seeking primary source observations of this species. Disciplines Life Sciences | Physical Sciences and Mathematics | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication Details Harris, J. M. & Maloney,