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13 0th the 1999 and '.2000* collections of flat .\'a111re A11s1mlia poster, are now available for the discounted price of S 12.00 (including postage & handling and GST). These posters do not have any folds and are f mailed to you in a rigid cardboard 111,1iling tube. ! yo11 111011/d like 10 p11rchasc 011e or lwr/1 of1/1ese pos1er wl/caio11s, )11s1.fill 0111 rhe fon11 i11 rhe bark ef this iss11e.

SPECIAL NATURE AUSTRALIA FLAT POSTER COLLECTIONS I Nature ustralia up trout SPRING 2001 VOLUME 27 NUMBER 2 Published by the Australian Museum Trust 6 College Street. Sydney, NSW 20 I 0. Phone: (02) 9320 6000 Fax: (02) 9320 6073 \Veb: http://www.amonline.net.au Trust President: Brian herman when you graduate with your degree in hand and start working in Museum Director: Michael Archer scientific research you often end up doing all sorts of unsavoury jobs. One of .\la11agi11g Editor mine was to dissect and weigh the poison glands from hundreds of JENNIFER SAUNDERS, B.Sc. c1nail: [email protected] formaldehyde-soaked Cane Toads. Unfortunately, even after years 111 Scie111ific Editor preservative, the toads' glands were still full of their creamy-coloured, pus-like GEORGINA HICKEY, B.Sc. email: [email protected] poison that often oozed out as l inserted the scalpel. Sometimes when Photo Editor pushed too hard l'd end up wearing the KATE LOWE offensive exudate. Not a pleasant experience email: [email protected] Desig11 & Prod11ciio11 let me assure you. However, after reading WATCH THIS! DESIGN Douglas Fudge's article in this issue, I've Adver1isi11g Phone: (02) 9320 6178 decided it could have been worse-at least I S11bscrip1io11s wasn't put in charge of a hagatorium. A LEONORA DALTRY hagatorium is the laboratory home of what Phone: (02) 9320 61 19 ToU-free (1800) 028 558 many people believe are the most disgusting Fax: (02) 9320 6073 email: [email protected] species on the planet. lt's where deep-sea hagfishes are kept, and these fishes and their Annual subscription (4 issues) Within Australia SA36.30 Other countries SA45 slime glands are definitely not for the An Atlantic Hagfish (Myxine Two-year subscription (8 issues) uninitiated or faint-hearted. So what 1s it Within Australia SA69.30 Other countries SA83 glutinosa). Three-year subscription (12 issues) about hagfishes that convinced Doug to Within Australia SA97.90 Other countries SA 116 spend his days pondering slime? In "Hagfishes: Champions of Slime", you'll Prices include GST where applicable. find theanswer and a lot more. lt's a mix of the unusual, with more than just a Proudly printed in Australia by Mockridgc Bulmer 1 New subscnpnons can be made by creda card on the J\ATURE touch of the grotesque. AL.STR.AUA toll-free hotline (1800) 028 558 or use the form m Moving up the water column, we enter the intriguing world of Dugongs. this magazme. If It has been removed, send cheque, money order or credit card authornauon to the address above, made payable to Dugongs appear to be defenceless herbivores, yet they manage to survive in the 'Australian Museum' m Australian currency. the shark-infested waters of Shark Bay, Western Australia. GeoffTaylor threw All material appearrflg i11 i\.'..-lTL'RE AUSTRALIA is copyright. Reprod11ctio11 m part or whole is 11ot permwed without writteti caution to the wind and entered these dangerous waters in a rubber dinghy in amliorisation from 1/ie Editor. order to investigate one particular Dugong. What he discovered might not XATUR.E AUSTRALIA welcomes articles on the natural and cultural heritage of the Australian Region. Opm1ons expressed have been pretty but it gave an insight into how Dugongs manage to coexist by the authors are their own and do not necessarily represent the pohc1es or views of the Australian Museum. with predators like the Tiger Shark. All articles m NATURE AUSTRALIA arc pecr-rcv,cwcd . Malleefowl are unusual birds even by megapode standards, not because they .\.'ATUREAUSTRALIA 1s pm1ted on arch1val-quahty paper smtable for library collecnons. choose to incubate their eggs in enormous mounds of leaf litter but because

Published 2001 ISSN-1324-2598 they choose to do it in the arid interior of Australia. This choice of habitat means that, once the eggs are laid, the male Mallefowl must work tirelessly for NATURE AUSTRALIA is proud winner of the 1987, '88, '89, over two months in order to keep his mound at just the right temperature for '90, '91, '92, '93, '99 & 2000 Whitley the chicks. The work, dedication and skill involved is quite amazing. Awards for Best Periodical, and the 1988 & '90 Australian Heritage Award,. Unfortunately, once the chicks manage to dig their way out of the mound, they are on their own, and since the introduction of Foxes they are not doing FI\.ONT COVER too well. Scientists are now faced with the challenge of saving these wonderful A male l"l...cd-cyed Tree Frog (Litol'i" birds from extinction. c/1/oris) inflates his throat There's also plenty more for you in this issue as we meet the elusive Giant pouch. Photo by Ken 13urrowing Frog, take a look at how fire has shaped Australia, discover the Griffiths. perceptions of lizards and the secrets of slaters, and admire a cool gallery of reptiles and frogs. -JENNIFER. SAU NDEl

NATUR.E AUS1 RALIA SJ'RINC 2001 1 • contents

Digging up the Dirt on Giant Burrowing Frogs It may be one of Australia's oldest known frogs, but the Giant Burrowing Frog is still one of our most elusive and least understood. BY FRANK LEMCKERT 26

The Ougong Enigma Malleelowl: Mounds ol Difference How does the seenungly defenceless Malleefowl chicks face more than a life Dugong survive in a place like Shark on their own when they emerge from Bay with its thriving population of their mound. sharks? BY DAVID PRIDDEL & ROBERT BY GEOFF TAYLOR WHEELER. 34 42

Pure State of Nature The nature of Australia before Europeans arrived was \'ery different ro how it is cod,1y. Does it rnarcer and what docs it 111c,111 for our (utur ? l3Y DAVII) HOil.TO 52

NA I URI (; 'lltll 2 '\U\ I Ri\l i'\ \l'RI Hagfishes: Champions of Slime Hagfishes would have to be one of the mo t disgusting species on Earth. R.AR.E & E DANGER.ED PHOTOAR.T You've been warned-this story is not Brush-Tailed Phascogale Croaks and Daggers for the queamish. They may look alike, but it seems Intimate portraits of some cool BY DOUGLAS FUDGE there's more than one species of brush­ characters. tailed phascogale around. Being able to BY KEN GRIFFITH 60 tell them apart is essential for their 10 conservation. BY PETER SPENCER THE LAST WORD THE BACKYARD ATUR.ALIST 22 Past Sets limits for the Future Slater Peccadillos Unless we change our ways, Australia They look like tiny armadiUos or WILD TI-II GS won't have the resource to feed its own World War l tanks and they live in your To Catch a lizard population within the next 20 years. backyard. Meet the slaters. ... requires thinking like one. BY MARY WHITE STEVE VA DYCK BY TIM LOW 84 20 24 COlUMNS

3 Upfront

4 Leners

6 Nature strips News of the latest discoveries of our natural world. 76 Reviews 80 Societv page Clubs and societies around Australia.

82 Q&A Your questions answered.

NATURE AUSTRALIA SPRING 2001 3 letters

Once Exotic, Alwavs Exotic the individual species them­ Stressed Mole designed to protect our Letter-writer Paul De Barro selves but also for the pat­ No way will inform wildlife from it. We should (Sa111re /:l 11s1. 2000-200 I) terns of interactions between Thompson, Withers and not accept it from a team of wonders what constitutes a chem chat have arisen as a Seymour about sightings of scientists. naci,·e species and whether it result of 3.2 billion years of marsupial moles (Nat11re What did they learn of matters any way, especially if evolution in the absence of A 11s/. ummer 2000-2001). I normal marsupial-mole eh non-naci,·e species 1s human influence. Further, do not want to see more of physiology and behaviour "innocuous". no exotic species is "innocu­ them subjected to stress and from a single specimen in a My own view is that a ous". They all have a disrup­ starvation at the hands of lab? That its faeces were "a species is non-native (exotic) tive effect on the species people who know next to very wa tcry green paste" if it reached the place where interactions that developed nothing about chem and sugge cs not that it lacked the it now occurs as a re ulc of in the pre-human environ­ who plan to "experiment ability to conserve water, but human agency or influence. ment, even though chat with a range of possible food chat it had diarrhoea induced Hence, species like the wild effect may be below the level items" next time around. by tress and wrong diet, and dog (aka Dingo) brought of human ken or concern. le is not good enough co probably died of dehydra­ r fom South-Ease Asia a few The level of concern is the use one's scientific colJeccor's tion. Aboriginal people thousand years ago are nub of this and all other con­ permit to pluck a specimen familiar with these animals 11011-nanve in A uscralja, as servation issue . lf you don't from its desert habitat, fly it celJ me that normal marsupi­ are Koalas on Kangaroo subscribe to the view of no, to Perch, stick it in a sand­ al-mole faeces are small, Island and Laughing Kook­ or at worst only the most box, offer it various local solid, elongated pelJecs the aburra 111 south-western minimal, human impact on foods and be sorry when it colour of sand. A uscralia. nature, then where exactly dies. Such treatment might Thompson et al. might r And what difference does do you draw the line? be expected fom a well­ begin their studies of marsu­ 1 it make A lot, if your inter­ -ALLE E. GR.EER meaning but ignorant ama­ pial moles by asbng desert est in nature is not only for AUSTl<.ALIA MUSEUM teur, and legislation 1s people about chem. Then they might observe them in the field-not as easy as fly­ ing one home with you, but more informative and much better for the animals them­ sclve -PAT LOWE BROO !E. WA

11 c 11'011/d ,,ery 11111ch like re> s111 dy 11111rs11pial moles i11 1hci1 1111111ml e1111iro11111c111 b111 ,,!/ <>111' �[fons 10 .find a s11irablc s111dy site hr111c /1cc11 in ,,ai11. I Ii· spc11 £

_{cJ11r d11ys dr i11i11y, 10 ,1 rc111c>ff A bon:{!i111 1I co1111111111i1y 10 lc,11// > r1bo11 1 11111r.rnpi11/-111<>h ccolcY.)' 1111d 11,H11 ml hisrory. 011r pc>SICI Oil 1/////'SIIJJitll lllOics bn111,{!ilf 11·' > in ro111,1a 111i1/, 11 1111111ba ,f pc, ­ > plc i11c/11di11.I! A bor�i:111cs "'/,, Ill we spoke ,,,irh re> c11s11rc ll'I' /.!11cll' CIJ/'l')'f/,i11{! //,CIC ll'ilS I<' As far as Allen Greer is concerned, the Dingo (Canis lupus dingo) is non-native in Australia. !.!11011, ,il,0111 1/11:sc ,1111111,ds. 11 i·

'll(ll 4 NA I URI AU, I ItAI IA \PIU (, also 111ade every �[fiirr 10 read all 1/,a1 /,ad been 111ritte11 about 111arsupial 1110/es b�fore u,e mu,f!/11olle. J Te don't 1hi11k 011r capti11e aniillal '., 111a1ery ,f!ree11 faeces i11dim1ed diarrhoea. Our captive a11i111al 111ailltai11ed, a11d a, ti111es illcreased, its body mass ji,r over four 111eeks 11!/1ile producing this 1ype ciffaeces. Dm1id Ho111e also reporred t/,ar the apparelltly /,ea/i/,y otoryctes typhlops /,e held ill cap1i11i1y produced sill1ilar faeces (Aust. Mammal. /: 361-365; 1975). We are appreciati11e ef your i,!fomwtiou oil 111arsupial-1110/e faeces beillg An Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard ( Tiliquascincoides) with its young. solid, elollgated, saud-coloured pe/lers and u,e 111ould 111elco111e 1/,e opporru11ity ro Jo/10111 this up shrikes. However, he cites showed it to be shghtly small­ After a Jew hours, it's likely //,at with all)' Aborigines 111ith first­ long-time butcherbird ob­ er and flatter, and creamy­ these 111e1l1bra11es 1110111d /,ave halld knowledge about their server Dariel Larkins who coloured and smooth- dried out a bit and become more habi1s. has never witnessed this kinned. The underside had a papery and opaque. Further Fro111 our studies, u,e 110111 behaviour and who is there­ darker tan dot a bit less than a e11ha11cillg tl,e creaminess of the k110111 111ore about their basic fore convinced that the trait centimetre wide where it had 'shell' 111ould l,a11e been the pale physiology esse11tial to /111s­ is a myth. been resting. Like ail unenvi­ yolk stuck to the inside of tl,e ba11dry (for example their i11abil­ We!J, I have seen butcher- ronn1entaJ boys of the time, I me111bra11es. Tl,e dark spot 111as ity to thermoreg11/ate}; that they birds hooking prey. [n opened the egg up and inside probably tl,e bl11e-to11gue itself, are 1101 true sa11d-s111i111111ers, ovember 2000, I handfed a was an unmistakable tiny pressed against the 11le111bralles whicl, affects the type ef soil they male Grey Butcherbird from blue-tongue, three or four 011 one side over a small area. require for husbandry; //,at, even my sundeck at Bateau Bay. centimetres long with a dark The dark pigmentation seen 011 without access to free 111ate1; they He immediately flew up to a mask over its face, and a yolk tl,e Jetus 1vhe11 the egg 111as do not ha11e a 111afer-balance bough above my head and sac and a fair amount of fluid. opened indicates it 11ms fully problem; and that tl,e only prac­ impaled the meat on a In your article on blue­ de11eloped and ready 10 be bom, tical 111ethod to census them thorn-like twig. He then tongues ( Tature Aust. Sum­ as this pigll1e11tario11 is about rhe might be to use geopl,011es. A proceeded to tear pieces mer 1998-99), Glenn Shea last thing to be de11eloped. more detailed account of what we from the meat and feed them telJs us that blue-tongues do -GLE SHEA learnt is available in Witl,ers et to a baby in a nearby nest. A not lay eggs but give birth to UNIVERSITY OF YD EY al. {Aust. J. Zoo!. 48: friend who also lives in live young. If this wasn't a 241-258; 2000). Bateau Bay told me he had blue-tongue egg, what was it ? -G.G. THOMPSO (EDITH regularly seen the birds using -JIM WILLIAMS NalllrBAustralia requests letters be COWAN U IVER.SITY), the spikes on a barbed-wire EDEN, NSW PC. WITl--!ER.S fence for the same purpose. limited to 250 words and typed If (U IVER.SITY OF -Eis. Dow ES Blue-tougues def,11itely dou 't lay WESTEls. AUSTls.ALIA) BATEAU 13AY, NSW eg{!s ! Tl,ey've been bred i1111u11l­ possible. Please supply a davttme 1 & R. EYMOUR erable times in capti1 ity and telephone number and type or print (UNIVER.SITY OF ADELAIDE) Blue-tongue Egg? always give birth to li11e yo1111,f!. 1 suspect 111/,at your reader found In 1966 when I was 111 fifth your name and address clearly on True Hookers class at Manly Vale Public 1/Jas a feta/ b/11e-/011gue, bom a Steve Van Dyck, in his article School, it was the boys' fe111 /,ours bqfore, whicl, /,ad11 '1 the letter. The best letter in this "The Happy Hooker'" weekly job to empty the bins 111auaged to free itse[f _(,-0111 its (Nature Aust. Summer 2000- and burn off the rubbish. In 111e111bra11es (1111/ike f/,e otl,ers in Issue wlll receive a copy of Natural 2001 ), tells us that butcher­ the undergrowth, resting on its /itte,; 111/,ic/1 111011/d l,a,,e birds got their name from the ground under some bush already dispersed). 71,e young gain. The winner this Issue Is Ern their supposed practice of near the incinerator I saw are bom eucased i11 111e1l1bra11es, impaling their prey on a twig what thought was a golf 111/1ic/1 for111 a ro1111ded bu1 _f1at­ Downes. or thorn, like the true ball. loser inspection te11ed sac about xo[f-ba/1 size.

Al UIU: AUS I RA! IA ',l'i\.lNC 2001 5 nature strips COMPILED BY GEORGINA HICKEY

To Row or to Flap? turtles and many fish. row. Most row at slow any aquatic and semi­ Rowing, on the other hand, speeds (and adopt an M aquatic vertebrates 'fly' was shown to provide more undulating gait for speed), through water by jlappi11g thrust at low speeds, whereas some fish chat swim their fins, limbs or wings up indicating it should be a at 'cruising speeds', such as and down. Others move by better option for animals the parrotfishes and wrasses, ro111i11g their appendages back needing to make tight flap their pectoral fins, as and forth. manoeuvres through water predicted by the model. To investigate why some such as repeated stops , stares And, among mammals, it DA 11ELLE CLODE, RICHARD and turns, and short, rapidly seems that only those chat FULLAGAR,. KAI"tl A animals flap while others accelerating darts. make long ocean-going HOLDE , MI HAEL LEE, row, Jefl"i-ey Walker and JASON MAJOR, KARE. Mark Westneat from the Walker and Wescneac migrations, such as fur seals McGHEE, R.ACHEL ULLIVAN Chicago Field Museum of found support for their and sea lions, flap their 111 AND ABI3IE THOMA AIU Natural History used findings real-world flippers. JUGULAR CONTRIBUTORS computer modelling to asse s observations in the scientific -K.McG. TO NATURE STRJPS. these two methods of literature. For example, Log­ aquatic locomotion. gerhead (Care/ta caret/a) and Sex in the Sun? They found flapping co be Green Turtles (Cl,e/onia hat determines the a more efficient way of 111ydas), which use their colour of our skin1 We moving at all speeds, sug­ forelimbs co flap and their Wknow skin colour depend gesting it should be the hind limbs co row, flap when primarily on melanin, which preferred mode of travel for trave!Jing long distances and blocks UV light and reduces animals needing co conserve row over shorter distances. the chance of skin cancer. energy, such as migrating Fishes, though, either flap or But whether skin colour

Green Turtlesflap their forelimbs when travelling over long distances.

6 A I UIU AU, I R1\I lo\ ,l'IUr'sl, .:!Olli evolved as an adaptation to Ouch! The lacerating penis of the bean weavil Callosobruchus environmental conditions maculatus. (such as UV exposure in different areas of the world) 1s debated. kin cancer, the breakdown of folate by which normally develops UV But when they mjgrated later in life, hardly affects the into higher latitudes where ability to reproduce, and so UV levels were lower, their cannot have any bearing on dark skin prohibited ade­ evolution. quate production of vitamin ina Jablonski and George D3 and evolution selected haplin (California Acad­ for lighter-skinned indi­ emy of Sciences), however, viduals. have recently reviewed the So, we have a plausible evolution of human skin evolutionary scenario for colour. They point out that variation in skin colour. But melanin levels (and thus UV is skin colour really linked to absorption) are linked to two regional differences in UV important. but conflicting, radiation? For the first time, processes that directly affect the researchers were able to reproductive success. UV compare the skin colours of light, besides causing po­ hundreds of different indi­ tentially lethal skin cancers, genous groups with direct also breaks down folate, an measurements of UV radia­ important biochemical ob­ tion from across the globe. tained through the diet and The UV measurements came essential for normal em­ from 15 years of satellite data bryonic development of the obtained from the NASA nervous system and adult Total Ozone Mapping Spec­ sperm production. UV light, trometer. The results were on the other hand, timulates unambiguous. UV radiation production of vitamin D3, 1s highly correlated with which 1s necessary for indigenous skin colour­ skeletal development and areas receiving low UV levels healthy immune systems, have indigenous populations especially during pregnancy of light-skinned people, and and lactation. (This might vice versa. also explain why females Although skin colour is tend to have paler skin than one of the obvious features their male counterparts.) that distinguish different Consequently, regulating racial groups, Jablonski and melanin levels in response to Chaplin's research has con­ different UV exposures is a firmed that skin-colour critical process for successful differences are simply an reproduction. The skin must evolutionary adaptation to absorb just enough UV to regional differences in UV generate adequate amounts levels and cannot be used to of vitamin D3, but not too understand the deeper evo­ much that it destroys dietary lutionary relationships of /us arc taking the battle of copulating pair of weevils. folate. Skin colour can thus human races. Skin colour, it the sexes to a new level. the researchers showed these be thought of as a seems, is only skin deep. Helen rudgington and spines inflict severe damage compromise solution to two -R.. F Mike Siva-Jothy from the to the genital tract of the conflicting physiological re­ University of hcffield female. quirements. Love Hurts found that the head of the l3ut evolution has not left The researchers propose rmed with a penis bean weevil's penis bears the female completely de­ that, when human ancestors Aresembling a medieval strongly sclerotised sp111es fenceless against these males. lived around the tropics, dark mace, males of the bean that inflate during copu­ he female is equipped with skin was necessary to prevent weevil Cnlloso/Jmc/11,s 111nwln- lation. l3y snap-freezing a strong kicking legs chat she

NA 1 U R E AUS 1 R A I I A S I' IU N C 2 0 0 I 1 The Tawny Frogmouth shuts down when things get tough.

uses to actively discourage that may later mate with the things get cough. On cold winter nights, core males from copulating long­ ame female. Alternatively, Now Gerhard Kortner body temperature dropped er than necessary and to save the female may perceive the and colleagues from the to as low as 29''C. The birds her from excessive damage. genital damage as a threat to University of ew England warmed up at unrise and. Females that were able to her survival, which may have discovered that the after flying to their day shorten copulation time by induce her to lay her eggs large (500-gram) Tawny Frog­ roost, often entered a kicking had significantly less immediately (being possibly mouth (Pod(l/g11s srr({!oides) econd, albeit shorter (three­ damage to their genital tract the last chance she'll get). also uses torpor to help hour) bout of torpor. and, it is suspected, also led a -J.M. survive seasonal prey fluctu­ Korcner er al. say char rhe longer life. Certainly, female ations. use of torpor allows rhe weevils that mated only once The resea re hers Tawny Frogmouth ro sur- Big Chill for Big Bird used _ lived far longer than those o survive winter's big temperature-sensitive trans­ vive in a wide \'ar iety of that mated twice or more. T chill, many small 111a111- mitters to measure skin and habitats and renum seden- 13ut why opt for genital 111als, unable to maintain core body temperatures of tary all year, lfr,pite ltS wounding in the first place? high rnetabolic rates in the wild frogmouths every ten dependence on sc,1sonally How could this benefit the face of dwindling resource , mmutes from autumn fluctuating ,irthropod popu­ ? male It takes a female bean enter a state of torpor, through to summer. They lations. They sugge,t rh,H weevil 16 hours to recover during which they lower found that in winter the torpor amon<> birds 1� from the damage inflicted by their body te111perature to seven birds they measured probably much"'more \\'ide­ the 111ale's penis. This conserve energy. A few small entered torpor for about sprcad th,lll prenou,ly recovery time could work to birds (weighing less than 80 seven hours after a brief thought-it's just th,ir fr,, the male's advantage by gra111s) arc aim known to period of activity each borh­ ni

(, 'till 8 NA I UIU \U\I R \II\ ,J>IU Impalpable Passions The female comb-footed spider twisting offone of Tidarren cuneolatumconsumes her magine dwarf mate after sex. Iyour testicles and eating it. Biologically, one repro­ ductive organ is enough-at producing two of these large least for the tiny comb­ organs is a bit wasteful in a footed spider Tidarre11 w11eo­ species that never has the lat11111 from Yemen. Barbara opportunity to use the Knotlach (University of second palp. ln the race to Innsbruck in Austria) and moult into sexual maturity Antonius van Harten (Gen­ and mate, the superfluous eral Department of Plant palp may be a critical extra Protection in Yemen) found meal for the spiders. They that the male spiders, just might seem to have an easy before they moult mto life, but male comb-footed adulthood, hook one pedi­ spiders need all the energy palp (the modified leg they they can get. So demanding use to insert sperm) onto the species, it 1s common for than wait for an opportunity is their coital interlude that female's web, twist it off and males to only manage one to mate. Living as parasites many males die from sex­ eat it. palpal insertion before either on the female's web, males induced exhaustion even AJJ female comb-footed fleeing or being eaten. The compete only in the speed before the female eats them. spiders have a pair of Tidarre11 cu11eolat11111 male is with which they can mate -D.C. reproductive openings, each always eaten by his much with the female. Every non­ of which 1s in erninated larger mate after just a single reproductive part of their Foul Proof of Foul Plav separately. While the males 1nsernon. body has shrunk, leaving o-one doubts that have two pedipalps, they are Like many close relatives, only their out-sized pedi­ N humans occa ionally eat usually inserted alternately. male Tidarren wneolatum palps to max1m1se their other humans, but the Among cannibalistic spider have little to do in life, other chances of insemination. But circumstances are widely

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NATURE AUST RA LI A SPIU NG 200 I 9 What's the secret to the Tokay Gecko's powerful grip? debated, and abhorrence of well-preserved pit-house coprolite. There were no a ceiling with just one toe. cannibalism, like the practice floor, suggest they had been traces of plant material; only The secret to its acrobatic itself, is rooted in cultural butchered and cooked. This meat. Myoglobin is found abilities lie, like that of other traditions. is supported by study of the only in heart and skeletal climbing gecko species, in Archaeological evidence of stone tools, which tested muscle tissue, and its the microscopic structure of cannibalism is often indirect, positive for human blood. chemical composition differs its enlarged toe pads. Each through study of the bones But the big breakthrough between species. This rules foot typically bears nearly (see, for example, " eander­ came with the discovery of a out the possibility that the 500,000 hairs or setae abour thal Cannibals", Nature Aust. broken cooking pot and­ protein in the coprolite was a tenth the diameter of a Summer 2000-2001). How­ here comes the best part-a sloughed off from the gut, human hair. Each seta, in ever, Richard Marlar (Uni­ human coprolite (ancient or came fro111 another prey turn, supports hundreds versity of Colorado School human poo) that had been animal. more projections thar are of Medicine) and colleagues rudely parked in the cold It is said that the proof of flattened at their ends like have found the first direct ashes of the last fire. the pudding is in the eating, spatulas. evidence of cannibalism in Using a bioche111ical tech­ but in this case it seems that Kellar Autumn (Le\\'iS and an archaeological deposit­ nique that enables recog­ the proof of the eating is in Clark College, Oregon) and r ranford proof that human flesh was nition of distinctive proteins the pudding! colleao-ues::, , fom - actually ingested. of particular species, the -It.F University and University of The research team analy­ researchers . hawed that California at Berkeley h,ive sr sed 850-year-old fossils fro111 human myoglobin, a protein Grip of the Gecko recently taken the fir rhe an abandoned Pueblo vil­ found in heart and skeletal he Tokay Gecko (Cckko me,1surements e\'er ot lage, along Cowboy Wash in 111uscle cells, had been ,{!ccko) see111ingly defies 1Cor cc exerte cl t1y .1 \'I,11' ,.., 7Je T rh,H south-western Colorado, absorbed inside the pottery gravity as it scuttles up, gecko-seca. They, found rilllCS USA. Like a few other wall during cooking. Most down and acrms smooth a single sec.1 is ren er · '' Oil archaeological cri111e scenes, significantly, they found the vertical and overhe,1d rnr­ more 'c ,,ectI\T .H I 1.111g1·11 ,.., l tL', 11 l'L't human bones, scattered on a same hu111an protein in the faces. It can even h,rng from t 1,111 prC\'IOLIS CStllll,l· I · 'llll I I' ll '- (' 10 t\ I U Ill •\ U \ I R •\ I I \ '- on whole geckos. One seta The co111bined adhesive poiver a diet of tough land plants. is capable of lifting an ant. At the time, it appeared to And the combined adhesive in the feet of one gecko could be a small, although in­ power in the feet of one triguing, side branch of gecko could theoretically theoretically support a weight crocodilian evolution. Sub­ support a weight of over -+O sequent studies, however, kilograms, which 1s the of tu;o s111all children. have revealed that there was equivalent of two small actually a large and diverse children. the e forces. Fossil relatives include giant radiation of herbivorous The researchers· work If the structure of the ocean-going forms with terrestrial crocodilians, the confirms the view that the gecko footpads can one day flippers, and long-limbed most recent discovery cumulative action of weak be copied, we will have a terrestrial forms that ran coming from rocks of similar powers of attraction super adhesive that will work down prey and perhaps even age but on the other side of between molecules, known in a vacuum, under water, climbed trees. R.ecent finds the world (Madagascar). as van der Waal forces, and on perfectly smooth now reveal that crocodilians Gregory Buckley (Roosevelt makes the actions of gecko surfaces-in other words, once exploited yet another University) and colleagues setae so effective. The one one that would far outrival niche. named it i111ornch11s (from bilJion or so microscopic any commercial fastener Several years ago, a small the Greek si1110 mea111ng ·spatulas· covering a gecko's currently available. crocodile from the Creta­ pug-nosed and so11clllfs croc­ feet would provide enough -K.McG. ceous of China was named odile) because of its short, surface area for van der Chi111aems11c/111s on account square snout. Its teeth are Waals forces to contribute Vegetarian Croes of its bizarre teeth, con­ semicircular, with scalloped significantly to adherence. he few living species of sisting of blunt, chunky, edges, very much like those The unusual way that T crocodilians (crocodiles mammal-like molars rather in plant-eating dinosaurs and geckos peel and uncurl their and alligators) are al1 senu­ than the usual crocodilian lizards (iguanas). Given the toes during movement also aquatic ambush predators, array of sharp fangs. This abundance of large meat­ probably assists m the but these reptiles were far grinding dentition, and a eating reptiles during the formation and breaking of more diverse in the past. short heavy snout, suggested Cretaceous, it IS not

The pug-nosed crocodile Simosuchus had a taste for greens.

NA I U R. I AUST R. A I I A S I' JU N C 2 0 0 I 11 been experimentally proven, surprising that this small Queensland , a team of and �o can offer females it just goes co show vegetarian croc had strategies researchers led by Andrew better territory. and that not always the largest to avoid being devoured by 13almford (University of Cam­ Although a shorter tail it's and dinosaurs or even its carni­ bridge) and Milton Lewis increases speed, this proves loucle. t that gees the girl. vorous cousins. The shovel­ (while at James Cook to be a problem during the -K.H. like snout and large insertion University) artificially birds' slow -speed foraging areas for neck muscles lengthened and shortened flight. In an experiment in Opossums Grip and Grope suggest that Si111os11c/111s could the tail feathers of 36 adult which birds with mani­ here is a common myth burrow headfirst. It was also males. Males with the short­ pulated tail lengths had to T about American opossums: heavily armoured, with thick est tails were by far the most negotiate their way through they have 'nasal sex' (that is, up plates over its back and belly, successful breeders, attracting a maze of vertical strings the nose) and the females and even bony nodules the greatest number of (simulating dense vegetation), 'sneeze' the babies into their around its eyelids. females. Short-tails had short-tailed males hit sig­ pouch. Thjs fancifi1l tale -M.L. twice as many fledgling nificantly more strings than probably derives from the fact chicks as the control group, long-tailed males. In this that males have a forked penis When Less Means More and six times as many chicks way the cisticola's short tail is and, shortly before birth, exual selection often as the long-tails. still a classic example of mother opossums poke their S leads to elaborate traits, Why do females prefer sexual selection. The de­ nout into their pouch to clean such as the Peacock's train short tails? The researchers sirable trait is energetically it out. and the excessive feathered suggest that shorter tails costly, thereby indicating the But for some of the South coronets of some of the birds create Jes drag and facilitate male's ability to invest 111 American mouse opossums, of paradise. But can sexual greater flight speed. This future offspring despite his sex is not o much due to a selection also lead to the allows short-tailed males to sexy impediment. nose job as to a ilick of the red11aio11 of a trait? Yes, spend more time performing In 187.J- Charles Darwin wrist. The discovery was made according to a study on aerial displays to impress proposed that sexual se­ by Darrin Lunde and William Australian Golden-headed females. hort-tailed males lection could potentialJy Schutt while curating opossum isticolas (Cisticola exilis). are also better at 6ghting off cause trait reduction. This is specimens in the American [n 6eld scudie based in rivals in high-speed chases the first time his theory has Museum of Natural History. They found that, in some species of these tiny mar­ supials, the adult males have a bony protuberance that ex­ tends from the wrist, almost like a si,xth finger. Giant Panda of both exes also have a bony wn c extension, the so-calJed Panda's 'thumb', which en­ ables them to grapple with bamboo (see Nature .,-l11sr. Winter 200 l). However. the researcher suggest chat. because only male opossums have the bony extension, it might be there to grasp che female during copulation. This precarious act involves the male clinging to the female's front and back limbs from behind, while both ,min1als are suspended from a branch only by the 111,1le's tail. The bony wrist ex­ tensions of che male fir snugly lllto the fenule·s elbows ,111d rnight thus secure the male's grip (,111d Short tails are de rigueurlor male Golden-headed Cisticolas. grope).

12 A I UIU AU, I ll 1\I 11\ ',l'IUNC 'lllll Only one other 111a111111al those that forecast an in­ 111ay have had a similar crease in the distribution of adaptation: an extinct whale insect-borne diseases. lt's found in -l-'.2-111i1Jion-year­ often prophesied, for ex­ oid Egyptian deposits (see ample, that rises in global f\!afllre A11si. Spring 1991). temperatures are likely to 8asilosa11r11s had small hind lead to the penetration of li111bs, possibly to help malaria into places where position the animal during presently it's not encount­ copulation, although it is ered, including large sections not known if these limbs of North America and occurred only in males. central and northern Ancient whales gettmg Europe. their leg over aside, the Now work by David mouse opossums are the Rogers and Sarah only known 111an11nals Randolph, from the \Yhere the males have an University of Oxford, casts extra digit likely to have doubt on the dire warnings evolved exclusively for sex. about malaria in a warmer -A.T. world. They believe I previous models on the Malaria in a Warmer World mong the many dis­ Will the distribution of malarial A turbing predictions linked mosquitoes (Anopheles sp.) change to global climate change are J.- in a warmer world?

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NA'! Ulll: AUS I RAI IA SPI\.INC 2001 13 .,.

When the hive gets sick, the temperature rises.

map of the disease. Bue although the disease will re111a1n more or less restricted to zones equivalent to the present-day tropics, the distribution within those zones will shift. -K.McG.

A Social fever ost people have suffered M from a fever at some stage of their l ives-confined to bed with a flaming temp­ erature, often ly ing in a swamp of sweat. It's a normal bodily response when the immune system fights infection (see l\'at11re Aust. pring 1991). But Cornell University biologists have now di covered that Honey

Bees (Apis mellifera) can produce a collective fever when their hives get sick. Hives are susceptible co 'chalk brood', a di ease caused by the fungus Asco­

sphaem apis, which infest the brood and mumrn.ifie the larvae so chat they dry inco white chalky lumps. In response co this infection, the bees band together co produce a fever. Philip tarks

and colleao-ues:::, measured the temperature shifts inside beehives and recorded rises of up to 20 per cent in infected hives. The Honey Bees increase the temper­ ature by huddling cogerher and shivering (see ,\'arurc future spread of the disease 111 1110 qu itoes, but there caused by the parasite A11s1. Autumn 1995). The have been too simplistic, might not be enough rainfall Plns1110r/i11111_fr,lcipan1111. As well increase in temperature ap­ focusing on anticipated rises to create mass-breeding con­ as telllperature, their predic­ pears to be enough to in temperature ranges. How­ ditions for the mosquitoes, tions take into account kill the ce111peracure-sen iti\'e ever, outbreaks of malaria which are necessary for the anti ipated changes in rain­ fungus and protect the brood occur only when a range of disea e to spread. fall patterns and humidity. fro111 the mouldy 111\'ader. factors (from environmental R.ogers and l<--andolph After crunching all the I nterestino·ly ft,ycr occur, and climatic to biological) have devised what they relevant data, l<--ogers and before any"'l,;n·,11 morr,ihry. come into play. Temper­ believe to be a lllore P. andolph... 's predicted global rb,ir T he rese,ircher, s "'esr"' atures might be right, for accurate colllputer model for distribution lllap of malaria larv,1e 111.iy �er t � \\'orker example, for the develop­ the future distribution of the for 2050 is surprisingly bees into ,1ction by con1- ment of the malarial parasites most deadly form of malaria, n . imilar to the current glob,11 rnunic,iting ,1n .i err " he

14 o I N A I U R I A U \ I I\. I I A , \. I t, ,o

..J chev first ingest fungal spores Slip, slop, slap. Extra virgin olive oil cha� have , penetrated the after sun exposure reduces skin cancers in mice. colony. Alcernacively, worker 111 bees ay be the first to took an extra six weeks co recognise the fungus. Eicher appear. way. fever appears to be a The researchers speculate preventative response co the that the oil inhibits the illness before symptoms cake formation of UV-induced hold of the hive. free radicals, which are -K.H. responsible for gene muta­ tion and triggering abnor­ Oiling Up Against Skin mal cell growth. However, Cancer they caution chat olive oil is M any Australians can not a sunscreen and that, remember coating them­ while rubbing extra virgin selves in oil and spending olive oil on after sun long hoe summer days lying exposure might protect skin in the sun. They are paying from UV damage, for now che price now in the form of it's safer to cover up if you're

skin cancers but, ironically. a in the sun. team of Japanese derma­ -R.S. tologi cs has found chat Ancient Nit-Pickers liberal application of oil after very few months a note sun exposure actually re­ comes home from school duces the formation of skin Ewarn111g parents about cancers-at lease if you're a another outbreak of Head mouse and che oil is extra Vffg111. A range of antioxidants has been found co prevent skin cancers. including green tea polyphenol which is effect­ ive both a an ointment and when con tuned. Olive oil is no one else known to have similar diet­ Willis's Walkabouts is the only Northern Terri­ ary antioxidant effects, and tory tour operator who offers trips that take co test whether it could also you far beyond the vehicle tracks into a wilderness where no vehicle will ever go. be effective against sun dam­ No one else offers such a selection: age, Masamicsu lchihashi 35 different bushwalking holidays in the NT, (Kobe University School of 20 in the Kimberley and Pilbara. Medicine) and colleagues Why go overseas? subjected speciaUy bred hair­ In northern Australia you have less mice co UV radiation • No worries about the collapsing Aussie dollar three times per week. • Spectacular scenery & predictable weather. • Clear tropical pools, perfect for sw1mm1ng, Five m111uces before or pure enough to drink. straight after the radiation • Aboriginal rock art. treatment, the mice were • True wilderness where you can walk for days or weeks without seeing a soul. painted with either regular you'd like a different kind of nature-based holi- or extra virgin olive If oil. Oil­ check out our website or ask day, ,-:,WALl( ,,A free control mice developed for our bmch,,e aod f,cd o,t tumours after 18 weeks and why our clients come back again :!i:i's' -,-� ""' �v> and again, year after year ;,. · those treated with regular ,_,it � g-$:' olive oil fared little better. � � (tj Willis's Walkabouts .ftoccNW-t� But mice painted with extra 12 Carrington St Millner NT 0810 virgin oil immediately after Email [email protected] their sun-baking session not www.bushwalkingholidays.com.au only had smaller, less potent 2355 tumours, but the tumours

NAJUJll AUSlllAIIA Sl'lllNG 2001 15 songbirds (Pitohu1) · Lice (Pedim/11s h11111a1111s . eq. u1PPed S0111,e societies actually put live lice with a barrage capiris)-chose pesky insects . . of toxic chemJCals tn their chat lay their eggs (nits) at ski 11 anct back into hair so they have a reason feathers-the first the base of human hair. The 6.1 rds known to be equip Lee hatch within a week or to pick nits out at a later date. ped With such a defence . so to feed on our blood, and mecha n1sn1 (see Nature Aust. it is little consolation to Aue u11111 J 994). But now, parents or children chat they age reported for the (grooming) is socially im­ just when you thought it prefer clean hair. The Brazilian nit will hopefully portant-so important that safe to back in the forest o problem does not seem to allow an assessment of louse some ocieties, as reported , the sa111eg scienti evolution, through DNA by David Trigger from the sts have found· anoch go away and indeed has been . er studies of different Pediw/11s University of Western three toxic bird species-tw around for thousands of o years, as suggested by Karl species. Australia, actually put live more pitohuis and the Reinhard (University of Most people in the world lice back into hair so they smaller, unrelated Blue- capped ebraska-Lincoln) and col­ have dealt with the nit have a reason to pick nits lfrita (Jfrita kowaldi). league who have recently problem by doing each out at a later date. In this Each species carries a discovered the world's oldest other's hair, or grooming. social context, therefore, nits cocktail of b a trac h otoxins known human-louse as­ Nits were (and still are) can be good for you. Tell which are among the 11105; sociation-a nit on a human picked with a special tool that to your parents and powe1fuJ neurotoxins known. hair from a 10,000-year-old and crushed. Some people teachers next time the Just handling the birds may archaeological site in Brazil. even ate them to prevent newsletter comes around! cause sneezing and upper Head Lice have been them finding another host, -R.F. respiratory irritation. Prev­ reported before from various as evidenced by nits found in iously these toxins were archaeological sites around ancient American coprolites Toxic Birds known only from neo­ the world. Previously the (desiccated human faeces). n 1992, scientists working tropical poison dart frogs oldest nits had been found While l personally don't I deep in the wet cloud from Colombia. on an Egyptian mummy, recommend eating them, the forests of Papua New Guinea The levels of bacracho­ dating to 3,000 BC, but the act of removmg them discovered three species of toxins vary greatly between

Head Lice have had a long association with humans, and picking them land their eggs! out is a socially important pastime. ]{llll IC, 16 A I U R 1:-. AU \ I IU\ I I A S I' Ill different populations of the The taste of Blue-capped lfrita birds, which suggests that makes hot chilli pale in comparison. che birds, rather than producing the toxins from nakes and rodents. themselves, obtain them The batrachotoxins may also from some as yet unknown act to ward off lice and other component of their diet. parasites. And what use 1s this -J.M. chemical arsenal? Well, 1c certainly deters the local Decov Bee Cells villagers from eating them. T he solitary bee Chelosto111n They claim that eating the jloriso11111e lays her eggs in Blue-capped [frica, which brood chambers inside they know a the 'bitter hollow plant stems. he then bird·, makes hot chilli pale packs 111 some po!Jen and 111 comparison. The effect seals up the chambers. But could ace as a similar deter­ often she goes to con­ rent to other potential siderable effort to seal up predators. However, the re­ empty chambers between searchers showed that the those containing eggs. breast and belly feathers had Mikael Mi,inscer-Swendsen che highest concentration of and Isabel Calabuig from the toxins. The birds might rub University of Copenhagen these feathers against their wondered if the empty eggs to provide protection chambers act as a decoy

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NATURE AUSTRALIA SPRING 2001 1l prey . . • . s,m,• -1 ar to that produced by their zooplankton . This Paddlefish takes a strike at a pair of silver wires dellvenng an electric current

dernic to the Mississippi against the parasitic wasp Paddlefish have ive-irdflattened snouts l<...iver and its tributaries, the Sapyga clavicomis. fish once travelled long The researchers studied that detect the faint electrical fields distances to spawn. ow solitary bees (and their wasp they congregate in large parasites) that had built their by their food. emitted numbers below the steel nest in the thatched roofs of gate of locks and dams, two Danish buildings. They refusing to pass through the found that each brood (9.5 per cent) was actually only detected, but violently electrosensory barrier unless chamber is separated from lost to the wasp. avoided (to the point of the gate are lifted free of other chambers by a thin -A.T. jumping out of the pool) the the water. One way to wail made of saliva n1.ixed aluminium rods from up to 111 111 with nectar and loam. While 30 centimetres away. mi ise thi barrier to a bee was away gathering Paddlefish Shun Metal Encountering the natural migration may be to coat the gates in plastic. pollen, a wasp would use the addlefish (Poly odon spa- electric fields of plankton opportunity to sneak in and P1/,11/a) have weird flat­ induces a feeding response in -R.S. lay eggs in the brood cell. tened electrosensitive snouts Paddlefish, so why the The bee combated this by that detect the faint startled reaction to the Spinning to Order vigorously cleaning out the electrical fields emitted by aluminium poles, which any parasites, not wasp eggs when she re­ their zooplankton food. emit a signal 100 times M content with 'sucking turned. Bue the wasp had They are the only fish stronger? the sap' out of their hosts. another strategy-she could known to use their passive The researchers explain force them into doing also penetrate a newly sealed electric sense to detect that the weak localised things they would not wall with the tip of her plankton. Craig Gurgens electric fields of plankton normally do. Often these abdomen and lay an egg and colleagues from the activate the electrosensors involve subtle changes to inside the adjacent chamber University of Missouri-St. sequentially as the Paddlefish the host's behaviour, such as where the bee couldn't Louis wondered whether swims, but the powerful eating more, sleeping less. reach. such heightened sensitivity electric source of the poles or movino-::, to a new habitat But 111 a case of double might also be used 111 activates all receptors simul­ (see Ta111re .r111sr. Spring one-upmanship, the presence navigation. taneously, much like 1995), but others involve of the empty decoy cells They tested the responses running into an electric Herculean feats just before meant that the wasp would of 30 juvenile Paddlefish to fence would. The unfam­ their final death knoll. 111 often lay her eggs an aluminium, plastic and plastic­ iliarity of the object, and the William Eberhard (Smith­ empty cell, where they coated aluminium rods sus­ fact that a metal pole's sonian Tropical Research would hatch and then die of pended in a pool lit only by electrical signature may Institute and Universidad de starvation. infra-red light (invi ible to resemble a large fi h, turtle Costa l<...ica) recently de­ The researchers calculated fish). Using a computerised or other predator's sig­ scribed one such case for that, if the bee did not create tracking system to record the nature, would explain such the tropical ichneurnonid empty brood cells, 26 per movements of each animal, dramatic avoidance behav- wasp (l-ly111enoepi111cri., p.) cent of the eggs would have the researchers found that, IOUr. der r and its orb-we,wing-spi been parasitised. But with while the fish collided fe­ These results have host ( Plcsio111er,1 ,11:i:yrc1). empty decoy cells present, quently with the plastic and important Sf' implications for When .1 female \\'.l only about a third of this plastic-coated rods, they not Paddlefish ,i- migration. 11_ locates ,1 spider. . he p,ir

18 tllil NA I URI AU\ I RAI IA �Pill t; 2 Iyses it with her sting. and Ba/11iford, A., Le111is, J\lj., I: S45- 50. jlyi11g. Proc . R.. Soc. Lond. B lays an egg on the surface of Brooke, J\ I. de L., Tho111as, 267: 1875-188 /. its abdo111en. The spider A.L.R. & Johnson, CN., Ja/J/011ski, . C. & Chaplin, soon recovers and, appar­ 2000. Exµeri111eutal analyses C., 2000. 77,e e110!11tio11 of ently unaware of the

A"I URL AU',"J RAJ JA \Pill G 2001 19 T H E 13 A C K YA 11.. D N AT U 11..A L I S T Porcellio scaber is an introduced slater commonly found in Australian backyards. The back half of this individual has recently moulted while the front half is yet to moult, which is why.it is darker in colour.

emulating that Argentinean effort was grappling with the armaclilJos under Slater peccadillos our garbage bin by the back doo r. [f yo" aren 'r in Ol(f/, A111eriw, slaters are as rlose to an11adillos Well, the grappling was more poking as yo" w11 J1_ei. them with a stick and, not to stretc h the point, they were not so much armadillos as ... slaters. If you aren't in South America, slaters are as close to armadillos as you can get. Everybody has seen slaters. Under a doormat, among decaying grass clippings, in crevices among rock walls. Unmistakably dry-looking and grey, jelly-bean-sized, hardish-shelled, banded into lots of segments, with seven pairs of scratchy legs underneath a body that may fold up when prodded. A three-way cross between one of those impossible-to-remove limpets on a seashore rock, a trilobite in a fossil book, and an armadillo on a small TV. There are two things I find most fascinating about slaters (sometimes called 'sowbugs' or ' woodlice'). One is that most of us really don't know too much about them, and the second is that for some strange reason they don't elicit the immediate 'squash' response demanded by, say. a cockroach. On the topic of what \\·e squash. \Ye humans are innately discerning E HAVE A 95-YEAll-OLD is now. I remember revering him at a crushers. Just a split second before \Ye relative who persists in ask­ time when he was a wiry, pipe­ squash we usually make a taxonomic ing our 16-year-old what smoking animal-wrestler, sailing to judgment. omecirne we have to go W on a gut feeling. In the case of slaters. she was doing at the time President every corner of the world to put every Kennedy was assassinated. As I was known type of animal in a wooden squashing them just doesn't seem righr. about 12 then, and her mother eight, crate to send back to a British zoo. And why;, Because slaters are our daughter's answer "I can't remem­ These were the Zoo Quest clays, when crustaceans. We might boil crusuceans ber" seems tactful enough. While that wildlife shows were still a novelty and alive, dismember their arms and legs. question was once a great ice-breaker, animal ethics committees mere then cat them: but \\'e don't go around l've come up with a new, more con­ bureaucratic eye-twitches. For me, the squashing them! temporary question for the old man to episode that deified him forever was Many of the world's 55,000 species ask that will again embrace every living where he was in Argentina thrashing of crustaceans live in the se,1 and individual on the planet: "When did around 111 the dust with a Giant include things like b,1rnacles att.iched the face of David Attenborough first Armadillo, trying, as he always did with to rocks, microscopic water fle.1s ,1nd appear on your TV screen?" My everything, to get it into a bag. krill th,1t whales swallow t y the onne. answer: "About the same time President There is no doubt I wanted to be like to the more celebrated ,md ident1fi,1bk Kennedy was shot". him. I wanted to wrestle with things like crabs, lobsters and cr,1ys. Attenborough then was not the armadillos. But in spite of all the Within the ,rustacea, sL1ters bel rng ro hoary, puffing omniscient luminary he aspiration, the closest I ever came to the order lsopoda (,1bout �.ooo species), and many of the yorkh isopods also li\'e in \\'.Her. Tht ·e rhe\ BY STEVE VAN DYCK might be t()Und .1s free -rn 11111111µ

20 1'>\IUIU \U\IR\11\ '-.l'R C 2tll11 sca\·enging 'sea lice' that sometimes bite surfers, or parasitic 'fish lice' living inside mouths and gi!J covers, or they Slaters, Pillbugs might be sand skaters or sea centipedes. Some isopods bravely took to the Classification land somewhere around 70 mi!Jion Order lsopoda, suborder Oniscidea (terrestrial isopods = slaters, pillbugs), years ago, living in the moist leaf litter 4,100 species worldwide, 130 described from Aust. 0( ferns and horsetails. For an aquatic Identification animal already Battened from top to Look like miniature armadillos or WWI tanks. Semi-flattened, oval body to 12 bottom and with lots of legs under­ r mm long, with overlapping armour plates; 7 pairs of legs; long, bent, forever­ neath for support, the transition fom twitching antennae. Usually grey-brown, sometimes with dusty white 'bloom'. r; water co land muse have been a piece of 0, Da1winian cake for chem. Bue the Distribution sun·i\·al of the world's -1-, 100 species of Worldwide, from deserts to seashore, tropics to cool temperate climates. In terrestrial isopods ('slaters' and leaf litter, under logs, rocks. Must have humid hiding place during day. 'pi!Jbugs·) is credited co five magni­ ficent evolutionary innovations: a Food cough calcium-impregnated skin Detritus, fungi, living or dead plants and animals, paper, their own faecal (cuticle) chat resisted drying out, a pellets (prefer fresh faeces to dried or decayed). Occasionally cannibalistic. moist pouch (mar upium) for their Rely on gut bacteria to digest decomposed leaves. Themselves eaten by smalJ litter of babies co grow and feed centipedes, spiders, frogs etc.

Breeding Varies according to species, but usually throughout the year with an increase WE MIGHT BOil in spring. Carry 10-200 eggs in brood pouch. Eggs hatch in 3-7 weeks. Young crustaceans alive, stay in pouch 6-8 weeks. On leaving pouch young known as 'mancas'. disniernber and then eat them but we world. Australian bat taxonomist and to six broods (each of 25-30 eggs) per conservationist Harry Parnaby has year. don't go around more time for slaters than he has for Unfortunately for me, looking down many humans. ln preparing a bat for on a handful of slaters will always be like squashing them! identification, Harry wilJ only entrust melancholic inspiration for a Leunig the precious raw material co the cartoon ... "he remembered wanting to discerningjaws of his esteemed slaters. grapple with giant armadillos and look 111, gills that became lungs-of-sorts Within a few days a bat's head can be at him now l "_ It's fine co have heroes, (pseudocracheae), the wherewithal to reduced to a skulJ tenderly picked but l think my chances o( shooting co absorb water vapour through their down to elements literally as fine as a the top would have been substantially body, and the trick of excreting toxic hair's breadth. improved had wildlife movie-makers like ammonia as a gas (without losing water The only thing that goes against their Atcenborough not kept me rooted to with it). Excreting amJnonia en 111asse record as champion bone-exposers is base camp and glued co the TV for the comes with a price, however, and the their slow reproductive rate. Harry's last -1-0 years! Better grappling with the Dutch word for slacers, pissebede11, attempts to speed up the recruitment remote control and slaccrs under the bin might allude co the bouquet that hovers process in his skeleton-picking slaters than nothing, I say! over a huddle of slaters alJ powdering foundered even after feeding his adults their noses at the same time. However, an old copy of Playboy magazine. Harry FURTHER READING an alternative interpretation links put this failure down co the face that his Warbn,g, 1\l., 1993. Evolutionary biolo­ pissebeden with the disconcerting colony was composed entirely of gy of land isopods. Spri11,{!er- Verlag: consequence of drinking a nightcap of Sydney slacers, which presumably had Berlin. diuretic tea made from steeped slacers. seen and eaten it all before ! 1 For all this biotechnology most slaters But slaters, by nature, arc fairly short­ Hopkin, S., I 991. JI key to 1/,e 11 oodlire c!f" are just as content to graze on decaying lived (less than five years) and Great Britain and Ireland. Field tudies 7: vegetation or a dead mouse's head as conservative breeders. The ubiquitous 599-650. they are to nibble on one another's Garden or Delicate Slater (Porrellionides faecal pellets or those of the family pminosis), introduced to Australia via Dll.. STEVE VA DYCK IS A SENIOR Dog. But it is the astonishingly delicate shipping from Europe, produces more Ull..ATOR OF VEIHEl3RATES AT TI IE way they dine that endears them to broods than most other slaccrs, but even QUEENSLA D MUSEU \ WI IEll..E HE HAS many museum researchers around the its reproductive turnover is only three WOll..KED SI CE 1975.

ATUl�E AUS I RALIA SPRING 2001 21 just how big this ll A l 1:-, &. r D A G E R E I) idea of differenc e IS the Southern and Northern H ·airy- Wombats (Lasiorhinus latif,· nosed rans and L. kreffti,) show about four p . er cent divergence-a sequence nd no-one d.IS- Brush-tailed puteS they are different species. ation based lnform on our data and i combination with morphological analy� Phascogale sis strongly suggests that the genus J 1 J P/,ascogale comprises four Bmsl,-tniled Pl,ascognles 111ny l,nJ e di11C1;(!ed s1!fficie1 tly oJ er ti111e _ (not two) ro become d!ffere11r species. highly divergent specicies: P calura (Red-tailed Phascogale), P tapoataja (Brush-tailed Phascogale or Tu an) from south-eastern Australia, P pirata YO E WHO HAS SEEN A native fauna, because much of the past ('north­ ern' Phascogale) from nothe Brush-tailed Phascogale (P/,ns­ history (evolution) is recorded and con­ rn Aus­ tralia, and P/,ascogale sp. nov. CO(!nle rnpontnfn) in the wild tained in the genes. Together with col­ from south A leagues from Murdoch and Macquarie western Australia. The new species is should consider themselves lucky. These being forma!Jy small carnivorous marsupials (dasyurids) Universities, we used mitochondrial currently described and at are notoriously difficult to see, let alone DNA (mtDNA) to examine the Brush­ named by staff the WesternAustra lian study. Phascogales are about 40 cen­ tailed Phascogale's taxonomy. This par­ Museum. timetres long with a dark dorsal surface, ticular portion of DNA is invaluable This work will have considerable cream belly and a conspicuous black because it is only passed down from the conservation ramifications. The Brush­ 'bottle-brush' tail. They are generally maternal side of the family. Regardless tailed Phascogale is currently listed as a solitary,arboreal and very agile. Females of whether an animal is a male or lower risk/near threatened species but it occupy a large home range of up to 80 female, only the mtDNA from the will now need to be reassessed to deter- hectares, and males nearly twice this mother, and her mother (grandmoth­ 1nine whether it should be listed under size. Like a number of other carnivorous er), great grandmother etc. will be another IUCN category, for example as marsupials, after the breeding season all retained throughout time. [n theory, threatened or endangered. This is likely males die, and the entire population is phascogales should still be carrying the for the northern and new western made up of females. They produce six mtDNA of the phascogale equivalent of species, which are lower in number to eight young and these are deposited 'Eve'. Fortunately, however, mtD A than the eastern species. The main in a nest (usua!Jy a ho!Jow in a mature or changes at a relatively constant rate threats to all phascogales continue to be dead tree) until they disperse during the because of mutations, and this allows Cats (both feral and pet), Foxes, and the summer. researchers to compare different popu­ further fragmentation of their habitat. This delightful dasyurid was first lations and to estimate the time since Clearly, knowing how many species described from specimens collected in their separation. there are is important for working out 1793 in ew South Wales and is now We compared the sequences of the their conservation. known from three distinct areas. They mtDNA of the eastern, northern and occur in eastern Australia (from Victoria western Australian populations of the FURTHER READING through into the northern regions of Brush-tailed Phascogale with chose of Scn,ff, FR., Rl,i11d, S. G. & Bradley, J.S., J Queensland), in a pocket in south-west­ its closest relative, the R.ed-tailed I 998. Dier n11d foraging be/,nJ io11r EllATIYE species. between the various l3rush-tails and the AT P1-.1n 11 Zoo ,, D 11IL coo1 DNA analysis is becoming an increas­ !led-tailed Phascogalc and l3rown RbSFARCI I ,I I Ill I OR 11 IE ENT ingly important tool in work on our Antechinus, respecti vely. To give some Co sI-IwA110 A1 n M \• N ,,c;E t RE TS OF MAllSUl'IAI ',,\\I ll)SI I"- I l Alli· I CO SI !WA I 10 \l'sil BY PETER SPENCER IOI !'CUI Al� I n )I l )(;\. c ,oo' 22 I '.J ' - A I U It I •\ U, I ll \ I I \ 'I'll

1

Unusual among geckoes, Western Spiny-tails WILi) TIIINGS perch by day on exposed stems. If harassed, th squirt from their tails a fluid that is though t to d:� er their enemies.

they are slower to sec me as dangerou s. To catch a lizard r also found that appr Burge oaching a lizard at an angle with averted g J hm1e often .fc)()/erl /i;::arrls by apµroac/1in,Q 111ith 011e eye closer/. aze works better than a direct approach or r f/irho11r the t1110 dark spots rhey are s/011ier to sec 111e as rla11gero11s. a direct stare. A dragon perched on a log or rock may think it hasn't been seen if your actions arc unsuspicious. It wilJ lower its head as you pass, or retreat around the corner, to offer less of a visual cue. You can often get close by pretending you haven't seen it, by mainta1nmg a trajectory that appears innocent. During cold weather lizards remain sluggish and this should be the best time to catch them, but not necessarily. One study, also in Costa Rica, found that anoles (Ano/is li11eatop11s) flee from a greater distance during cool weather. to compensate for their slower speed. Lizards wilJ habituate to regular human traffic. Alongside national park trails where people pose little threat, they often become blase. ln the Kalahari in Africa I once caught a Spotted De err Lizard (,\Jeroles s11borbitalis) that was far coo confidenc. It was excavating a burrow in the ntiddle of a busy dirt road-a doomed enterprise. o indifferent was it to my driving that I was able to stop che car, O CATCH A LIZARD, THI K LIKE (Menetia ti111/01111), a cute little lizard I open the door and grab it. Had I one. They don't perceive things was fortunate to have named after me. approached on foot it would have fled as we do. Stand stock-still and a Lizard hunting has taught me about from far away. T about lizard probably won't notice you. Move reptile perception, and it's not Catchina0 lizards . teaches me and it will flee. Movement stirs them. information I've encountered in my own perceptions. Once 111 When their prey items (grasshoppers, books. The best data I've seen came mountains near Mackay in Queens­ moths and the like) sit still they seldom from some studies conducted in Costa land, I was searching at night for t t see them. To approach, avoid jerky Rica on the Black Iguana (Ctenosa11m leaftail geckoes (Phyl/11n1s nepthys). b '. motions. By offering a lizard's brain no si111ilis), a large lizard often hunted by they were so well disguised I couldn t sudden stimulus, you can often come humans for food. find any. But while returning along rbe sy close. Only when it tenses ready to Joanna Burger of the State track I finally spotted one on a mos il sprint hould you make a sudden dash University of New Jersey found that tree, then noticed a second leafta lld or strike. you can get closer than usual to a right beside it. I retraced my seeps a 1 These suggestions I offer after 30 Black Iguana if you drape a wig over found many more leaftails on trees t' years of lizard catching. Doing your face. You can't get close at all if had already searched. f needed ro s � re, fieldwork as a biologist, I 'vc caught you wear a mask with over-sized eyes. one first to get a proper se,HL h or P , many hundreds of lizards in all shapes Iguanas evidently recognise human ·image to work from; t1enI 1t· \\',1 s ea' sv,· I 1 work and sizes. Some were rare and some faces, or at least eyes. I have often assume that many predator, 1 so . Just were new. I was the first naturalist ever fooled lizards by approaching with one firorn prey images rather t1 1,1n to pounce on a Dwarf Littcr-skink eye closed. Without the two dark spot looking for the unexpected 1 Biases can also gee in rhe "·· Y· > Western Spiny-railed Geck ,, (Dip/c · usrr,1li,1 BY TIM LOW rlacty/11s spi111:'(cl'lls) in Wcsrc1

24 NA I U IU AU� I IU\ I I A '> I offer a striking exception to the rule chat geckoes hide by day. When l first found one perching in bright sunshine on expo d wood, I disregarded this as unusual and continued searching in more protected places, without success. Only when I shed my prejudices and lt refined my search-to low wattle stems exposed to full sunshine-could I find them easily. In most cases, however, prejudices and gut feelings work well. By \\"riting these words I'm not seriously advocating char reader go out after lizards. l"l...eptiles can die from

I WAS THE FIRST naturalist ever to pounce on a Dwa,fLitter-skink

rough handling and you need permits to catch them. My aim is realJy to touch on the ways in which lizards and people see each other. Lizard behaviour is studied so rarely that insights gained during fieldwork can be useful. Once I was lifting logs on a cold winter's morning on the Atherton Tableland and found myself amazed by how quickly the lizards, mainly Prickly Forest Skinks ( C11ypetosci11ws q11ee11s­ la11diae), fled. l"l...eptiles hiding under B111;ee1; j., Coclifeld, lvl. & J\/urmy, B. C., A young frilled Lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingi11 perched on a tree will freeze to avoid detection logs in cold weather are usua!Jy very I 991. Role ef a predator's eye-si:::e i11 risk from humans and other predators. slow. Could this reaction be a leftover perceptio11 by baski11R, black (e11a11a, response to some recently extinct, log­ Ctenosaura sin1ilis. Anim. Behav. 42: rolling predator? The wet fertile 47 /-476. Atherton Tableland may well have been a last refuge for Pleistocene megafauna. B11rJ.!e1; J., Coclifeld, M. & M11rmy, B. C., Does lizard behaviour offer clues about I 992. Risk rliscri111i11a1io11 C!f eye co11tac1 the past? It's a thought that tantalises and rlirect11ess rif approach i11 /Jlack (e11n1111s me as I scan the understorey for (Ctenosaura simili ). J. ornp. Psycho!. patterned prey. 106(/): 97-101.

FURTHER READING TIM Low IS A BRISBANE-13ASJ:.I) 8111:r,:e,; J. & Cocl,jeld, M., 1993. T11e 1:. VlllONME TAL CO SULIA r A I) i1nporta11ce of t/1e l111111a11 face i11 risk NA I UllAI 1ST, WI 10 I IAS CO ·1 lllllU J L:I) perceptio11 by black iR,11a11as, Ctenosaura I O 'I I IE l)ISCOVEI\..Y 01· SEVEI\..Al NEW similis. J. Herpetol. 27(4): 426-430. Cl:Cl

NA I URL AU� I RAI JA \l'RINC 2001 25 A Giant Burrowing Frog living up to its name. This species uses hardened areas on its feet to § 'corkscrew· backwards into the ground. They c. "' usually dig just deep enough to cover th,mselves.

uld have T WAS A WAR.M, DRIZZLY NICHT and you'd think scientists wo this and I was driving along one of spent more time finding out what rou docs for a living. However, this the dirt roads chat cut through f b ' the least Eden's forests. There, sitting in amphibian remains one of the middle of the road, was a known of all the frogs in south-eastern Giant Burrowing Frog (Hclciopor11s m1s- Australia. The reason for this is simple. I You just about never sec or hear a Giant 1mliarns). l hopped out of the car, keep­ ing the frog in the centre of my head­ Burrowing Frog on your normal wan­ lamp beam. lr was only as I picked it up derings. Giant Burrowing Frogs arc, that I remembered the large. black however, found in forests subject to log­ spine males have on their thumbs. Too ging and [ was curious to know late1 The frog thrust out its arms and I whether this disturbance to their envi­ yelped in surprise. This time it only ronment affects them-hence the rea­ managed to scrape the skin of my son for me driving along wet forest thu111b. but other male Giant Burrow­ roads at night. ing Frogs (and occasionally researchers) are not always so lucky. The odd hole in F YOU HA l)LE Giant Burrowing the hand. though, is a small price to pay I Frogs, one of the first things you will for learning about these elusive and notice is their array of defensive strate­ beautiful animals. gies. Individuals first make che111sclves A fist-sized, blue-grey. warty-looking look bigger than they really arc by frog with yellow spots and jewel green drawing air into their lungs and puffing eye would seem to be the sore of frog themselves up. They also turn the111- chat would be easily noticed; indeed, in selves side-on to the threat and stand on 1793 the Giant Burrowing Frog became cippy-toes to heighten this effect. the second Australian frog to be official­ Hopefully, the predator will chink the ly described. Add the intriguing pres­ frog too big to ear and leave it alone. If ence of the spines on the hands and a that doesn't work, individuals can pro­ range of calls you don't quickly forget, duce a sticky, white secretion from the

glands on their skin ("'hich gives chem their \\'arty look). This ,ubsc,mce h,1s the texture of \\'OOd\\'orking glue and is presumably toxic, ,1lthough no rem have been done to confirm this. If rhe predator tries to birc the frog. it m,1y be discouraged \\'hen it t,1,te, rhis liquid. I-IO\\'C\'l'r, if that ,11,o C111', ,1, ,1 fin.ii option a Ciant 13urro,, lllg Frog c.m produce the rnost am,1zlllg .. 1l111osr clcc­ tronic-,oumling call like ,1 ,, hining Cir. although much loudn. llm c.111 ,hould

When threatened, a Giant Burrowing Frog will usually stand on its tippy-toes and present the broadest com·,ncc mo,r prcd.iror, rn le.1,-e rhc side towards its attacker. This will hopefully make the predator think the frog is too big to eat and so frog , 1l011c. I hrm, 111 rhe ,p111t''· .111d leave it alone. you h,1vc ,1 fi·og th,ir ,111\ prcd.1tor ,lwuld

28 ;\ I U IU \ L \ Ill \ 11 \ \ I' IU 'tll I think twice about before trying to eat it. Owl Frog). Females are drawn to the The Giant Burrowing Frog has rather warty skin, calling 111ales and, if they like what they which gives it a somewhat toad-like appearance. Breeding is a potentially hazardous Indeed, people in western Sydney who are lucky affair for the males. They arrive at their find, will lay their eggs in the burrow enough to find one often mistake it for a Cane Toad. local breeding stream to find a site from or in vegetation adjacent to the stream. which to call and attract a mate. This This is all straightforward enough, but calling site can be amongst vegetation there appears to be a premium for good or debris by the water or, more usually, calling sites, and 111ales arc willing to a burrow in the banks of the stream. fight to get the best ones. Males may call at any time in response Observations of 111ale Giant 13urrow­ to rainfall, although summer and ing rogs indicate that they follow sim­ autumn appear to be the favoured sea­ ilar rules to most other frogs when it sons. The call is an owl-like hoo-hoo­ comes co occupying territor ies. If a hoo-hoo-hoo repeated on a regular male wants to 111ovc into an alrc,Kiy basis (and is the reason why the species occupied site, he will call in rcspomc to is also somcti111cs known as the astern the resident male's call. Larger m ales

NA"fUR! AU'illtAIIA ',l'itlNG 2001 29 ,.

a diet of just about any invertebrate they have deeper calls, and this should be THE SCARS can catch, including spiders, centipe enough for most males to decide who des and bulldog ants. would win a physical encounter. If nei­ on the sides Morphological and genetic work on ther male is willing to back down, indi­ als from various parts viduals might issue a territorial call, efcaptured frogs individu of the Burrowing Frog's range which is a drawn-out and rising Giant indicates whoooop. If this is still not enough to indicate that rnales there arc distinct northern and southern convince one male to leave, a fight can rake the spines populations that are probably two dif­ break out. Fights for calling sites occur ferent species. The northern form is in many speci ,s of frogs and they are along their opponents associated with sandy soils from the almost always relatively harmless bouts forests near Cosford, north of Sydney, of wrestling where the opponents try to and slice into to the Narooma area, while the south­ tire each other out. However. fights ern form extends down into Victoria between male Giant Burrowing Frogs the skin. on soils derived from metamorphic appear to be much more serious. Those rocks. More importantly, while the large spines can be used to good effect. northern form has a number of popula­ The scars on the sides of captured frogs to grey-blue. The eggs might be laid tions in national parks and nature indicate chat males rake the spines along into a burrow, but the tadpoles are reserves, the southern frog has rarely their opponents and slice into the skin. washed into the stream when rainfall been recorded in any sore of conser va­ The loser may possibly lose his life as raises the water level and they end up in tion reserve. Rather, the majority of welJ as the breeding site. uch a evere whatever pools remain. These tadpoles southern Giant Burrowing Frog records penalty for contesting a calling site is grow slowly on a diet of algae, and the are from lands subject co human distur­ rare in frogs around the world and pools need co be nearly permanent as bances, particularly forestry operations. unknown in other Australian frogs. the tadpoles cake between three and ·1 I My work on the southern frogs com­ The tadpoles too are guice spectacu­ months to grow from the egg stage to menced in 1998 and has involved surgi­ lar. l call them big blue bombs. They the point where they metamorphose cally implanting radio-transmitters into grow to about the size ofa man's thumb into a fully fledged froglet. They then some of the frogs we find in the forests with a thick tail, and are coloured grey head offinto the forest and grow up on near Eden, in southern ew ouch

Tadpoles of the Giant Burrowing Frog g row s 1 owly. This metamorphosing frog let has probably taken a year to reach this stage. 30 N-\lURI •\L\IR ·\11\ \l'lU l, 'tllll When searching for Giant Burrowing Frogs on the road, the best feature to look out for is their white tummy.

\Vales. Tracking individuals with a telemetry receiver through the forest after they have been released has pro­ vided me with information to assess ho\\· forestry-related activities might affect this frog and to decide what pro­ tective measures might be implemented co reduce any possible negative effects. ·ia Ic O1 TRARY TO the commonly per­ 1e Cceived image of frogs, Giant Bur­ l­ rowing Frogs do not spend much time :e near \\·acer. In face, except when breed­ y ing. just about none at all. Previously, 1- these frogs had been found hundreds of >f metres from obvious water sources, but b this wa always when it was raining and there was no indication chat they did not head back to a stream when it start­ ed co dry out. I have now followed Giant Burrowing Frog ouchern Giant Burrowing Frogs Heleioporus australiacus through long dry spells and they have shm\·n no inclination to return to the Classification moist streamside areas. They are equal­ Family Myobatrachidae. One of 6 species. of Heleioporus. Also known as ly as likely to be found on the driest­ Eastern Owl Frog. looking ridge-top as an)'\vhere else. Frogs l have tracked for several months Identification all exhibit a imilar pattern of activity. Adults grow to 100 mm, with males, on average, being slightly larger than For many weeks they wander around in females. Stocky body and warty skin, with warts capped by tiny black spines. an area of only a few hundred square Males have enlarged forearms with spines on fingers and 1 very large spine at metres, then over about one week they base of each thumb. Blue-grey to brown on top and white or cream underneath, move several hundred metres, in a rela­ with varying degrees of yellow spotting on sides and back of legs. Tadpoles tively craight line, to a new patch of reach 80 mm and are grey or blue-grey in colour. Tadpoles take 3-11 months to forest where they again settle down. reach metamorphosis. Hence, any given area appears to be used as a residence for onJy a !inured Distribution Found along coast and adjacent ranges from Gosford area of NSW down to period of time, although it is possible eastern Vic. that individuals might eventually return co a previously used site as the seasons Habitiat pass. Native vegetation including heathland, dry open woodlands and dry sclerophyll Males may use deep burrows in the forests. Also found in wetter forests in southern NSW and Vic. Found in areas banks of streams during the breeding with loose soils suitable for burrowing. season, but at any other time individu­ als will just corkscrew straight down Reproduction into loose soil where they sit and hide Main breeding season Sept-Apr. but males may call year-round. Males call only one or two centimetres below the from burrows (usually) to attract females. Clutch size 750-1,200 eggs. Calling surface, ready to emerge for the next and breeding usually occur around ephemeral streams, but ponds and night's hunting. They can be seen sit­ permanent streams also used. Eggs laid into burrows or vegetation adjacent to ting at the entrance of these temporary water. burrows at the start of the evening. If conditions become too dry to emerge, Status If southern population declared as they burrow deeper and deeper to get Listed as 'Vulnerable' in both Vic. and NSW. away from the dry top layers of soil. So separate species, status may be reviewed. far we have found them to a depth of

NATURJ AU',I RAJ.IA Sl'IUN(, 2001 31 ,

23-30 centimetre , but it seems likely The male Giant Burrowing Frog (left) can be GIANT BURROWING FROGS distinguished from the female by its relatively they will go deeper if there is a pro­ larger forearms and the obvious black spines. longed dry pell. often move into When I started radio-tracking, I was­ r n't sure how frogs would use the land­ logged areas) sightings of this fog, but again the effec­ scape after logging operations had taken tiveness of this conservation measure for place. Around Eden, about 30-50 per even very recently this particular species remains to be test­ cent of any logged area i left undi - ed. Also unknown is whether retaining curbed. This may be in the form of logged forest patches. large undisturbed patches of forest is retained streamside corridors to protect essential for the survival of the Giant water qualiry, as occasional between­ Burrowing Frog in fore try areas. Indi­ catchment connection corridors, or as into logged patches is another subject viduals are willing to move into the patches specificaLly for wildlife to u e. ripe for research. logged forest patches and this suggests Tracked frogs might have remained The information gained so far has that may be they can survive well almost exclusively within the retained posed interesting questions in regard to enough in a mosaic of logged areas vegetated areas. However, it turns out the conservation of Giant Burrowing intersper�cd with smaller unlogged that Giant Burrowing Frogs often move Frogs in the forestry environment. Tra­ patches connected by unlogged corri­ into the logged areas, even very recent­ ditionally, conservation of frogs is dors. ly logged forest patches where regener­ achieved by leaving the breeding Giant Burrowing Frogs need to be

ation of the vegetation has barely start­ streams and ponds, and their bordering followed for even lono·er::, period, in ed. Maybe the e frogs can stay in logged vegetation, undisturbed. 11... ctaining such logged areas to see just how well they habitat because they can just burrow 'buffer zones' to protect breeding habi­ fare comp,lred to frogs living in undis­ down into the ground when they need tat remains very important for the con­ turbed forest patches. Other frog species shelter. Other species of frogs that hide servation of all frog species, but just also need to be i11vestig,1ted to sec ho\\' in vegetation will probably not venture how effective it would be for Giant they cope with forestry di�rurb,111cc·s. far, or often, into the disturbed areas L3urrowing Frogs, which spend most of After all, protection mea�ure, n 1t1�t b<' > 1- until more advanced regeneration pro­ their life away from water, is unknown. adequ,1te for all �pecie, in the ,1re,1. 1 Lu r vides them with shelter sites. How long Currently 200-hectare undim1rbed pro­ 11111g for these �tudie� i, ,1lrc,1d\' unde rc·d these other frogs wait before they move tection 7ones arc set in place around any way. I 11 the mc,111ti111c, \\'C 're d�ligh

32 r chat this elusive fog can still be stum­ rll..ANI< Li-:MCKEls.'1 IS A R.ESl:All..C:I I bled upon in the forests around Eden, Ol+IC'Ell.. Ar rl IE fo1usr n.. 1:-. �l:-.All..CI I and che aim for biologists like myself is AND D1:-.v1:1 0PME T D1v1s10 , S·1ATE co keep it chat way. f0ll..ESTS 01- NEW S0UTI I WAI ES. HE IIAS 13EE SI Ul)YI (; 11I E BIOi 0CY OF FURTHER READING 1-ROCS SI CE 1986 ANI) I 1995 A rare sight! A male Giant Burrowing Frog in the Barker, J., Cr(e,g, G.C . 7J1le1; J\l J., S IAll..TED RESEAl1..CI I I TO TI llo IMPACTS r water. This usually happens only when males are / 995. A field guide co Australian f ogs. 01- FOll..ESTll..Y ACTIVITIES 0 Fll..0CS. looking for or defending a calling site.

Surrey Bealfy & Sons: Sydney.

Daly, C., I 996. Obsen,arions c!f rl,e east­ em 01111 _f,-c�f! Heleioporus auscraliacus

(.�11um: .\Jyobarmc/1irlae) in sonrhem 1\·e1,, oilfh l ["ales. Herpecofauna 26: 33--12.

Le111rkerr, FL., Brassil, T & .HcCmy, K., / 998. Remlf records c!f rl,e y_ianr burro111i11g (,,of! (Heleioporus auscraliacus) Jro111 tl,e ·ra,: sollfh [()(IS( of \' l V Herpecofauna 28: 32-39.

J<..ecsei, j., I 996. The easrem 01111 frog, Heleioporus au traliacus. Pp. 55-6-1 in Threatened frogs of ew South Wales: habitats, status and conservation, er/. by

H. El,111a1111. Frog and Tar/pole Study

Croup of 1\· r V· yrlney.

Giant Burrowing Frogs have beautiful jewel-green eyes that can only he fully appreciated when they are seen up close.

NAI URL AU\TRAI IA \I'll! C, 2001 33

l distance to p ace ourselves upwi11 V e o f a seagrass d T \ AS GETT! G LATE I I 111· deeper \\later on the e dg . � the disturbance, and then slowl r offshore from y d r·c.i1t ed afternoon, and we were so111e­ bank so111e 300 met es rowed cowards the 'hum ' r o eagle-eyed and p O what f ustrated because we the island. Suddenly ur ur ement increased as _ l 'hump' in excit we real;s e d had l r skipper spotted an unusua It n't been ab e to fil111 ou ng, and e island , was a Dugo very much a1· quarry under water. I was \Vith the shallo,v \\later, c lose to th . 1ve Was it a Every so often It would lift its tail a Japanese film crew on a 12- several hundred metres away. cl ear r. The wind ong' As we of the wate was pushi rnetre catamaran, searching for the elu­ turtle or perhaps a dead Dug ng us closer and we were no more ti1 d saw that every now and an ten sive Dugong (D11go11g r/11go11). We had \\latche , we r ould metres f om the Dugong when a motored and sailed up the east coast of again there was some splashing. . h uge oppor­ black shape launched itself clear Dirk Hartog Island on the west side of it be Dugongs mating? What an of the e of \Vile! water , s111k111g its teeth into the Shark Bay, off Western Australia, and tunity-high-quality footag tlesh 0f never been the animal. In no time at all more h had come across a herd of J 2 Dugongs. Dugongs mating had . . uge r black shapes were 111vesng We managed to photograph them fom obtained. ating 0 ur V ding· h " Iy. k S 1ar s, sharks!" the the cro\V's nest, looking do\ n into the The draught of our vessel prevented cry went up, and there was panic water, but underwater visibility \Vas us from approaching closer than 200 aboard our pint-sized vessel as the only a couple of metres and filming \Vas metres, so five of us clambered into the fin of a LIc0 Ur- Tiger hark ( impossible. small intlatable dinghy, clutching our metre Caleocerdo cuvier) its The herd \Vas moving no rth in the camera equipment. We motored a short scythed way cowards us and under

The Tiger Shark is a formidable predator and feeds on a wide variety of items incl er shM kS ' u d.mg crabs, gastropods, jelly fishes, bony fishes, turtles, rnys, oth and, of course, marine mammals.

,l)l 'I'll I' t' 36 N \ I U IU \ l \ Ill \ I I \ -

(Top Right) A Tiger Shark attacks the Dugong in the shallows of Shark Bay. (Middle Right) The Tiger Shark rolls belly up as it feeds on the Dugong carcass. (Bottom Right) Caught in the light of the setting sun, the Tiger Shark carves another feed from the Dugong carcass.

the dinghy. This was coo close for com­ fort-especially since the water we \\'ere inwas only a metre deep. However, the sharks circled back to their prey. and again launched them­ u, seh·es at the poor ] ugong. Witnessing this f rightening spectacle only a few metres away, I was overcome with a sense of awe. As we contemplated the danger of our own situation, l won­ dered if my companions could really appreciate their incredible good for­ tune.

HE NA !\E HARK BAY is attributed Tco the English explorer William Dampier who. having arrived here in 16 , wrote "The ea-fish that we saw here are chiefly sharks. There are abun­ dance of them in this particular Sound, that I therefore give it the name of Shark� Bay." His crew caught and ate many of the sharks. About one particu­ lar shark he noted "Its Maw [ tomach] was bke a leather sack in which we found the Head and Bones of a Hip­ popotamus; the hairy lips of which were still sound and not putrefied, and the jaw was also firm out of which we pluckt a great many teeth, 2 of them 8 inches long." What he was describing of course was the head of a Du gong, with its distinctive tusks. And the shark would have been a Tiger Shark, as these are really the only sharks found in the shallow waters of the north-west that would be big enough co consume a Dugong. So Dampier and his crew were the first European explorers to document the eating of a J ugong by a Tiger Shark in hark Bay. lt seems quite extraordinary that this huge embay 111ent, full of shoals, na111ed because of its huge nu111bers of sharks, should also be ho111e co a large popula­ tion of seemingly defenceless Dugongs. How do these gentle herbivores survive and raise their calves in an environment where sharks abound? The Dugong is indeed an enigma, the subject of myth and legend. It is best known to many as the animal that gave

NAfURJ AUSIRAI IA SPIUNG 2001 37 DURING MM D1 1go11os co11J1,regate in eastern Shark Bay to feast on the lush growth of seagrasses. This is the only area that mating behaviour !,as been observed.

rise co the mermaid myth. One can vides winter grazing for the Dugong. only surmise that the vision of mariners On the eastern coast of the bay is the in day s of old was distorted by scurvy, 111assive Wooramcl seagrass bank, cover­ dehydration. or the demon drink, for ing an area of 1,000 square kilo111ecrcs. them co have conceived the l)ugong as The bank supports tropical seagrasses a 111aiden in disguise. Granted, the including the Dugong' favourite salad naked hide of the Dugong is virtually ite111-l la!or/11/c 1111i11enl/·s. Dugongs hairless, giving it a certain hu111an qual­ don 'c just cat the leaves of these sca­ ity. But as we were soon to discover, grasscs; they rear out the whole plane their skin is far cougher than human from the seabed, consuming the nutri­ flesh. tious roots and rhizomes as well. When hark Bay lie in a transition zone feeding in this way, the Dugongs leave a bern·een ce111peratc and tropical waters. trail of silt drifting away on the tide, le is at the northern limit of the com­ which gives away their presence. mon wire weed ;l,111p/,ibolis a11ramica, a During the summer months, cold-\\·acer specie chat grows prolifical­ Dugongs congregate in eastern hark ly throughout much ofche bay and pro- Bay co feast on the lush growth of ea-

DugongOugong dugon

Classification Order Sirenia, family Dugongidae.

Identification Rotund grey mammal with horizontal tail fluke, growing to 2.4-3 m in length. Large hairy muzzle, with nostrils on top of head. Sizeable tusks (up to 15-20 cm long), which erupt in adult males but only occasionally in females. Paddle­ like pectoral fins. Female's mammary glands located in the 'armpits' and large gr,1,,e,. Thi, i, the only ,ll'eJ chat nuring teats protrude. beha\'iour h,1s been obser\'ed. Ai autumn approache,, the ,C,l\\'ater rem­ Distribution peracure fall, drarn.itically in the bay, ,111d Indian Ocean (east and west coasts, including Arabian Gulf, Red Sea and East the l)ugong, mm-c in 1e,11'ch of warmer Africa) and Western Pacific Ocean. Found throughout northern Aust. waters water. 13y mid-\\'Illter, l.1rgc number, ot' from Shark Bay in the west, to the waters of the Great Barrier Reef, and as far Dugo11g1 gr.1zc on rhe . l111p/,ib<>lis it'.1- south as Moreton Bay in the east. gr,w, bed1 co the c,1,t ot- Dirk I l.1rrog !,land. Thi, \\'c,tern 11dc ofShJrk L3,1y i1 Biology \\'an11ed b) the influ, of oce,rnic \\,ll'Ill Underwater herbivore that feeds primarily on seagrasses. Produces one calf \\ acer brought 1outh h\ rhc rrnp1c.il about every 3 years or so. Thought to give birth mainly in second half of year. l tTll \\ 111 current. Life span up to 70 years. ly orly t',pent'Ilet'1 \\ 1rh Dugon�"' all occurred J20 ktlo111t·rre1 ro the 1wrrh Status or Sh,1rk 13,1\, 111 the \\ .Her, ,l!'t)lllld Reduced to small populations throughout much of its range. Listed as orrh \ t'1t C.1pt· .111d the tll\\ 11 <11 'Vulnerable' by IUCN. Northern Aust. is its stronghold. I:,111011th. h fir,t t'llt<)Ut1tn \\.1, .t me111or.1hk 011e. l .lte ()!le \\ 111tcr ,1trn

38 N \ I l R I \l \ I ll \ I I \ ''1'1' <, '

NAJURJ AUSl!tAIIA Sl'IUNG 2001 39 'i

The Dugong uses its bristly upper lip to find , Select and dig up seagrasses in the muddy beds.

Exmouth Gulf wa. often a problem ' bUt I soon found Dugongs in the 111011 unexpected places, such as outside the reef on the west coast of N orth-\V,we11 Cape in crystal clear water over the coral. There arc no seagrasses here and 11 truly the home of large is predaton sharks. It wa5 here that 1 succeede; eventually in photographing a mothe· and calf at close quarters. The importance of the west-coai• Dugong population becomes ever more apparent. Throughout most of its range r from east Af ica to Vanuatu, the Dugong is now rare. The problem with the Dugong is its low fecundity, giving birth only once every three years on average The Du gong calf swims with its mother until it is almost as large as she is, wher. it is finalJy weaned and replaced b1 another newborn. The species struggle< to maintain its numbers even in the best circumstance , and cannot cope wit h pressures such as overkill or habitat loss. Even though Dugong are protected.

From the air. Dugongs in Shark Bay can easily be spotted feeding on seagrasses.

'(I ,pit! (, U'> Ill 1\1 Ii\ 40 N I Ulll I ,� Once the tail was removed by the Tiger Shark, the Ougong was an easy target and was soon decapitated.

there has been a dramatic decline in l their numbers on the urban coast of Queensland. This has been attributed to a range of factors including overkill from Indigenous hunting, animals being accidentally drowned in commercial gill nets and shark nets, and habitat loss. '� The combination of torrential cyclonic rains and excessive land clearance for agriculture has resulted in increased sil­ tation of the seagrass beds. In areas like Hervey Bay. emaciated carcasses of starved animals have washed up on shore. There is the potential for the same disasters to occur in Shark Bay. The waters of the Wooramel seagrass bank ar in the estuary of the Wooramel River, which flows through station the tail of the animal in an attempt co a remarkable day it had been, and how country that has been degraded by immobilise it. In response, the Dugong privileged we had been to witness such cyclical drought and overgraz111g. lifted its tail high out of the water. The an extraordinary event; an event chat r Thankfully. cyclonic rains are infe­ shark could then onJy attack the torso had also given us some answers to the quent. Farther north in Exmouth Gulf, of the anin1al, but it found it difficult co enigma of the Dugong. when Cyclone Vance (the most power­ get its mouth around such a bulky ful Australian cyclone on record) hit in object. The Dugong then did 'barrel FURTHER READING 1999. heavily silted waters caused ma - rolls', spinning its body around using its J\llarsh, H., I 997. Going, going, D11gong. sive coral destruction and it is likely chat pectoral fins, so the shark lost its grip. acure Aust. 25(9): 50-57. eagrasse were also destroyed. We had no idea how long the attacks had been going on for, but remarkably iVlarsli, H.K., Eros, C., Corkero11, P & o WHAT BECAME of our shark-attack the body of the Dugong was still intact Bree11, B., I 999. A co11senl(lfio11 strategy Svictim off Dirk Hartog Island? The and, although covered in deep scratch­ for r/11go11gs: i111plicatio11s of A11srralia11 harks continued their assaults for sever­ es, the skin had not been penetrated to research. lar. Freshw. R.es. 50: al minutes but then our proximity any depth, a testimony to the toughnes 979-990. seemed to frighten chem away. The of its hide. presence of nipples below the pectoral As the sun sank towards the horizon, Pree11, A. & J\farsli, H., I 995. Respo11se finsrevealed that this was a female and a it was not long before the sharks of r/11gongs to lm;f.?e-scale loss �f seagrass fro111 very sick one. She had a bloated gut, returned. They continued their attack Her11ey Bay, Q11eenslanrl, A11srralia. which was possibly caused by a bowel on the Dugong's tail and eventually suc­ Wildl. Res. 22: 507-5 I 9. obstruction. The Dugong headed for ceeded in removing it. Once it was deeper water, but all attempts to dive immobliscd they went in for the kill, fVillia111so11, J. (ed.), 1939. A voyage to were hopeless, as her balloon-like gut attacking the throat. The feeding frenzy New Holland by William Dampier. kept bringing her straight back co the continued, but the large sharks still had A1go11a11i Press: Lo11r/011. surface. Studies by Mike Heichau. trouble getting a purchase with their (Canada's Simon Fraser University) on teeth on the rotund torso of the DR. CEO! r TAY! OR IS A \X/LSTER 1 the behaviour of sharks and dolphins in Dugong. Thrusting their heads frolll AUSTRALIA MLl)ICAL l'RAC1 !TIO ER Shark Bay have shown that the shallow side to side, they slowly carved up the WI 10 I !AS \ADF TI IE STUDY 01 MARI E waters are the main hunting grounds for remaining carcass. I 1ALS A MAJ0ll.. PART or I IIS urc. Tiger Sharks and the main feeding What we had witnes ed was euthana­ 1-'[E IS l3ES'I K OWN FOil.. 111'> grounds for the dolphins and turtles on sia in action. In the wild, there is no RESFARCI I INTO TI IE WI 1/\1 r I IA!l..KS which they regularly prey. Perhaps the place for the infirlll. If an animal docs A I N!NCAI 00 R.LI F (SEE ,\'In R/ Dugong thought there might be safety not recover quickly from illness, it will AUST. Au I I\IN I 990). W111 OT in deeper water. be destroyed. This e nsures the survival l'Ull..SUI C WI !Al E SI !ARK'>, 1 ll Our observations gave us an insight of the fittest, the young and the strong. SFARCI IVi I Oil.. l)uco CS AND I IAS into how the Dugong defends itself. As we motored south that night to seek CAl'TUIUD U IQUL IDL0 A D > The initial shark attack was directed at a safe anchorage, we reOected on what l'I !OTO IMA(;I.S 01 130-111 SJ ICII.S.

NAJ URI AU'>TRAI JA Sl'RING 2001 41

or tropical mangrove forests of Australa­ vores for food, altered fire regimes, and 1 sia ,rnd the outh Pacific, where copious predation by Foxes ( 1111/pes 1 /t!pes). We amounts of moisture and leaf litter have been studying Malleefowl in an Cn-our the use of incubation mounds. attempt to find a way of saving chem

The Malleefowl (Leipoa ore//a1a), how­ from extinction. One very disconcert­ e,·er. inhabits the arid interior of Aus­ ing finding of our research is that Foxes tralia. The use of incubation mounds in kill most Malleefowl chicks within their such a dry environ111enc requires this first few weeks of life. species to play a far more active role in the maintenance of its complex and HE MALLEEF0WL IS a chicken-sized intricate nest-a do111e-shaped structure Tbird weighing about two kilo­ usually about three metres wide and a grams. Pair bonds form at about two metre high. years of age and are maintained for life, The Malleefowl has undergone a sub- often over 12 years. During this time, a cancial decline since European settle­ pair 111ay produce more than 150 chicks. ment and the species is now seriously Much of what we know about threatened. Land clearance has been the Malleefowl nesting habits comes from main cause of the Malleefowl's demise, land111ark studies undertaken during the but other contributing threats include 1950s by Harry Frith (while at the competition from stock and feral herbi- IRO). More recent studies, particu-

larly those undertaken by Roger ey- 111our (Univcr�iry of delaide) .111d h1\ co-workers, h,we re\'ealed the physio­ logical intric,1cies that ,1llow the Malleefowl to ,1chieve its rem,irk,1bk feats. The ne�ting se,1son begins in ,rntt1n1n of ,111 when the 111,11c diet\::-, out the centre old mound to t<)rm ,1 cr,1ter ,1bout on' metre deep. I le, or ,111orhcr p.1ir. 111,11 have used thi\ mound rhe pre,·t0t1\ ,c.1- �on, or it 111.1y not h.1n' been u,ed lt)f decide,. Only r,irely "ill ,1 111.1lc lt.1r�l' renovating ,111 L',i\ting 111nund in 1:1n)\II Malleefowl, both young and adults, roost in the outer foliage of tall shrubs and trees. Males often roost in of corn,tructing .1 Ill'\\ one. trees within ten metres of their mound. Over the ne,t Ii..'\\ 11wnrh, rhc 111,tk 44 1 AI LIIU All\ lit \II\ \l'Rl"-l• '111 l

and his partner crape leaves, rwigs and The next stage in nest construction is The male Malleefowl has shaped the mound into a dome to insulate the eggs from the intense solar small fallen branches, from within a 50- the formation of an egg chamber. In heat of a summer's day. The eggs were located in metre radius of the mound, into spring, the male hollows out a pit in the an egg chamber about 70 centimetres below the windrows. This material, totalling centre of the compacted litter. He then summit. Leaf litter around the mound is scarce as much of it was raked into the mound during its approximately one cubic metre vol­ in fills this hole with a mixture of earth construction in the winter months. ume, is laboriously raked into the and litter, and covers the whole struc­ crater, providing the fuel needed to heat ture with soil. the interior of the mound. Egg laying usually begins in spring, Rainfall throughout winter is critical and continues until late December or, for the incubation mound to operate with good rains, even February. In these successfully. After each reasonable wetter years, a female may produce over shower the male turns over the litter, 25 large-yolked eggs (35 eggs is the aerating it and distributing moisture most laid by a female in one se,1son). through it. This repeated turning accel­ his prolific production of eggs is erates the process of decomposition, remarkable given that the size of the and aids compaction. egg is eight co ten per cent of the

NATURF AUS I RAJ JA SPRING 2001 45 female's body weight. Within a four­ month period, a Malleefowl may pro­ duce more than twice her body weight in eggs-an astonishing feat, consider­ ing the harshness and aridity of the environment in which she lives. To sus­ tain this level of egg production, the female spends much of her day either searching for food or resting to con­ serve energy. The n,ale, on the other hand, devotes a large proportion of his energy to working the mound, for he has chief responsibility for maintaining the egg chamber at the optimal temperature of 34° C. During spring, heat from the decomposing organic matter is exces­

A pair of Malleefowl opening the mound in preparation for egg laying. sive and eggs left unattended in the chamber would overheat and die. On most fine mornings in spring and early Malleetowl sU1nmer, however, the male lets excess Leipoa ocellata heat escape by digging out the mound almost down to the level of the nest Classification chamber. He then quickly reforms the Order Galliformes, family Megapodiidae. structure before too much heat is lost. In late summer and autumn, the male Identification adopts a completely different approach. Adults 2 kg, stand 440 cm high on robust, powerful legs. Sexes similar. With little or no heat generated from Back, tail and wings a mottled brown, black, grey and white; cream body; within the mound, the bird must now grey head, neck and breast; rufous chin. Dark head crest, raised when use the sun to warm the eggs. In the alarmed. morning, the male Battens out the mound, increasing its surface area and Distribution and Habitat exposing much of it to the sun's rays. Broken distribution across southern mainland Aust. from coastal WA Periodically throughout the day, he through SA and north-western Vic. to central NSW. Semi-arid and arid scrapes the warmed surface layer of soil shrublands dominated by mallee eucalypts; also Eucalyptus and Callitris back into the centre of the nest, so that woodland and, in WA, coastal heaths. by late afternoon the eggs are once again blanketed by a mound of warm Breeding soil. Mates for life. Builds and maintains an incubation mound. Eggs laid in Usually by mid autumn, when it has spring and summer at intervals of 4-17 days. Clutch size dependent on rain­ become too cold for the male to main­ fall. Typically, females lay 9-21 eggs per season. Eggs weigh 170-210 g. tain the mound at the appropriate tem­ Incubation about 62 days, 50-80% of eggs hatch. Chicks highly precocial perature, he abandons it, often digging and live completely independently of their parents. Life span may exceed out the deco111posed litter and discard- . . 15 yrs. mg any re111a1n111g eggs. So determined is the male to proper­ Diet ly regulate the mound's temperature Generalist feeder, eating seeds, shoots, flowers, buds, invertebrates, lerps that he will not open it on cold or rainy and fungi. days, even if the fe111ale wishes to lay. S0111eti111es he even has to chase his Status partner fro111 the 111ound. Much of our Vulnerable nationally and also in Vic., SA and WA. Endangered in NSW. research has involved excavating Near extinct in NT. Estimated population size in NSW < 300 pairs. Malleefowl mounds to monitor the

Threats NPWS officers collecting Malleefowl eggs from an Clearing for cropping or pastoralism; grazing by stock, Goats and Rabbits; island of mallee vegetation isolated in a sea of frequent burning; predation agricultural land. The eggs were later artificially by Foxes. incubated and the young formed the basis of a captive-breeding colony.

46 NA J'UllE AUSTRALIA SPIU G 2001

The female lays an egg deep inside the mo und while the male looks on. After laying, the female will leave the mound silently, in contrast to the frequent calling she made during the lead-up to laying. The male will then cover the egg and reform the mound.

ea! egg also has an air sac. When the embryo is ready to hatch, it punctures the air sac (internal pipping) and begins to breathe through its lungs for the first tin1e. The chorioallantois, a network of blood vessels and mem­ branes lining the inner surface of the shell and up until now the only means of gaseous exchange, begins to shut down. The changeover from chorioal­ lantoic to pulmonary (lung) respiration usually takes about one day. The chick then chisels its way through the shell with its egg tooth (external pipping), flexes its body, and eventually frees itself from the shell. For buried eggs, like those of the Malleefowl, adequate gas exchange is potentiaJly more difficult. Although the nest chamber is exposed to fresh air when the adults dig into it, the decomposing leaf litter usua!Jy means that the air around the eggs is high in carbon dioxide and low in m..-ygen. The structure of the Malleefowl egg has evolved to cope with the difficul­ ties associated with gas exchange below ground. Pores within the shell of an egg facil­ itate the flow of carbon dioxide and oxygen, but also a!Jow moisture to escape from the egg. Pores need to be narrow to conserve water but this can impede the flow of carbon dioxide and oxygen. Roger Seymour and col­ leagues discovered that pores in the shell of the Malleefowl egg are conical, progress of the eggs inside. On many Keepers at Western Plains Zoo failed to not cylindrical as in most eggs, with occasions we have had to endure sand elicit the same response when they the apex (pointy end) of each cone on being kicked into our faces by a added copious amounts of water to the the inside of the shell. In the early Malleefowl intent on covering the eggs birds' leaf litter, indicating it is not stages of development, the amount of as fast as we attempt to uncover them. water as such that stimulates the birds gaseous exchange needed to sustain Both sexes have temperature sensors into action but something else-per­ the embryo is low, so small pores are located in their mouth, enabling them haps a change in air pressure. adequate. As the Malleefowl embryo to gauge the temperature of the mound grows, its need for m,-ygen incre,1scs, ,is by taking a mouthful of soil from its s DIFFERJ:NT as the Malleefowl nest does its need to excrete carbon dim,­ core. The birds also appear to have Ais to that of conventional birds, so ide. However the original pore siz is some kind of in-built barometer. Dur­ too is the Malleefowl egg. The typical too small to cater for this i11cre,1se in ing winter, on clays immediately before avian egg has a shell perforated by metabolic activity. he Malkefoid and after the onset of rain, many captive cylindrical pores that allow the embryo resolves this problc111 by birds will embark on a flurry of activi­ exchange of gases between the embr yo absorbing calcium from the eggshell ,is ty, raking leaf litter into their moL111ds. and the outside atmosphere. Th is typi- it develops, causing the shell ro rhin

48 NA'IURE AU\TRAII,\ \l'I 11'.l; 'tJlll I\ �e ·a q� 1 ad lg�I\

lie0 lij � g) � '\r lto� lilt of1 lliq 1 1\ n� d :� �

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Malleefowl eggs are buried deep in the sand and eaf litter of the nest chamber. Eggs are laid at regular intervals through spring and summer. The first eggs are _ _ ! laid at the base of the chamber with later eggs being progressively deposited towards the top. Although the Malleefowl is about the same size as a domestic chicken, its eggs are approximately three times the size of chicken eggs.

(and the bones co strengthen). As this TO RUPTURE THE SHELL, rest under a nearby bush. Within nlin­ chinning proceeds, the conical-shaped utes, the chick is able to walk properly pores of the hell are continually trun­ the embryo stretches and peck at seeds and passing inverte­ cated, thereby enlarging the internal brates. A few hours later it can flutter, opening of each and increasing the rate violently by and within a day it will be flying strong­ of gaseous exchange. Although the larg­ ly. Malleefowl chicks Jive completely er-diameter pores have the potential to sfrnultaneously independently of their parents. increase the rate of water lost from the Crocodiles share a sirn.iJar incubation egg, this loss is limited by the high rela­ straightening its back strategy with Ma1Jeefowl (for example, tive humidity (often over 75 per cent) and extending use of incubation mounds, large-yolked within the egg chamber. eggs, precocial young) but the resem­ Malleefowl also differ from typical its legs. blance is superficial and coincidental, birds in their mode of hatching. and is not an indication of a close evo­ Malleefowl eggs do not contain an air lutionary link between reptiles and the sac, so there is no internal pipping. Nor rears up to take its first breath. This is a megapodes. Indeed, evolutionary biolo­ is there any external pipping. Conse­ cr itical time for the embryo. If the lungs gists believe that the megapodes are a quently, the Malleefowl chick must are not functioning sufficiently, the modern family of birds of relatively switch from chorioallantoic to pul­ chick dies. recent origin, and that the methods monary respiration as soon as it breaks nee free of the egg, the chick must they use to incubate their eggs evolved the shell. The Malleefowl embryo dig its way out of the mound through from the typical strategy of using body develops within the egg with its back soil up co a metre deep. This can take heat. arched, its head resting on its chest, and from two hours to as long as two days. its feet tucked up under its body. To The chick pops its head out of the HEIU I OTHI C EASY in the life rupture the shell, the embryo stretches mound and opens its eye for the first Tof a Malleefowl. The adults endure a long and laborious breeding season in violently by simultaneously straighten­ time. It may rest here a while before it some of the harshest environments 111 ing its back and extending its legs. The extricates itself in a puff of dust to wob­ f Australia. Young Malleefowl have it eggshell shatters and the chick's head ble of the mound, often stopping to

ATUR.E AUSTRALIA SPR.ING 2001 49

-

A Malleefowl treats itself to a dust bath while resting during the heat of the day. The bird's plumage mimicks the colours and patterns of its mallee habitat. tough from the moment they hatch. met with limited success in protecting laar, C.S., 1995. The megapodes. Having dug their way up through the Malleefowl. However, baiting from the Oxford University Press: Oxford. mound, the chicks must find food and air in addition to ob round-baitinob has av oid predators totally unaided by their significantly improved the survival rate Priddel, D. & I I/heeler, R., 1997. EJ(iwry parents. Regardless of these hardships, of Mallcefowl in parts of New South c!f fox control in red11cin,Q the ,nortaliry of Malleefowl have survived for millions of Wa les. This ty pe of baiting needs to be released captive-reared 111alle�(

:;: ::, :;: non., ..\_ z �()l'Yl,J.1.i,� ·01�: .VOfl'P./.l,P.-C.11,/,RS f>t' SIii>. :!, l G1·oth·:<, 1•ha:<�<' t•I p;dw d,·11 st111\•t1�·c-� 1h1 Pn1·1�, t1,·bon.

______�L______,

THE PRE-EUROPEAN AUSTRALIAN ENVIRONMENT WAS A NATURAL CONSTRUCT OF A LONG HISTO RY AND THE THINGS WE ARE LOSING NOW WILL NOT BE RE COVE RED. Pl�JR E STATE NATl�JRE BY DAVID HORTON

AMES COOK, REFLECTING ON HIS FIR.ST IMPRESSIONS OF THE AUSTRALIA CO TI E T and the relationship between Aborigines and the environment, wrote, "we see this country in the pure state of nature, the lndu try of man has had nothing to do with

any part of it." He had no scientific evidence for this of course ' no archaeoloo-)'b' no ethnography, no ecology; it was just a gut feeling. After 230 years of accumulating scientific evidence of all kinds, and a debate raging backwards and forwards, it is clear to me that Cook's gut feeling was correct.

!Above) An Aboriginal campfire on the New South Wales coast. Such fires, seen from afar by explorers were sometimes interpreted as evidence of 'fire-stick farming'. (Right) A tree burning after being set alight by lightning ;trike-the cause of large numbers of bushfires in the past and today.

52 A I URF AUS'I RALIA SPRI G 2001

What Cook was seemg was a landscape in which the forests and woodlands and heaths and grasslands and marshes and sand-dune vegetation all occurred pretty much where he expected to see them. His keen eye instinctively analysed mountains and hills and flats. and their exposure to winds, and the kind of geology, and the distance from water, and he didn't sec anything in the vegetation that seemed out of place. othing anomalous that might be the result of human activiry. He couldn't have known anything about the animals and their habitats,

FIRE IN THE EUROPEAN 111ind 111eant people, and they recorded not only the simple presence of s111oke, but also the nu111ber off ires.

but would probably have assumed that, if the vegetation was predictably in place, the animals living 111 that vegetation would be too. [t was also impossible for him to know that the Australian fauna and flora had changed over time, with the country being at times wetter, and at other times drier, than it was when he cruised past, but 1 doubt this would have changed his opinion. Nor should it have. Finally, he popular belief that he was wrong-that tential colcnies in mind. A critical could not have known that in the Australia was not in a "pure state of factor of course was whether there distant past (perhaps up to 20,000 years nature"; that Aborigines caused the were already people living here. They ago) there had been a range of giant extinction of the megafauna, and that couldn't see any obvious signs of animals (megafauna) that were now the vegetation Cook observed was not habitation or other results of human extinct. l don't know how he would 'natural' but had been extensively activity, so they fell b,1ck onto one ot have viewed this information, but modified by Aboriginal use of fire. the most fundame11t,1l signs of all-fire. when others discovered it, much later, l3oth beliefs, 111 my op1rno11, arc Fire in the Europc,1n mind 111e,11H their opinions were divided as to wrong. people, and they recorded not only rhe whether the loss of these animals had simple presence of smoke, but also rhe been due to excessive hunting by I IEN 7 I IE Hit� I Europeans sailed number of fires. -very c,1mpfire rne,uH humans or to climatic change. Walong Australian coam, they a group of people, and the more Two centuries after Cook there is a were making observations with po- campfires the bigger the population.

NA I UIU U\ I RAI IA \l'IUNC 'litll 54 Many of our ideas about the past In fact, lllOSt records (for cxalllplc by Aboriginal use of fire to hunt or clear vegetation in . . central Australia. depend on 111tcrpret1ng t I 1c Cook) arc silllply of carnpfircs. observati·ons of people who saw Other early records that have been Austral1·' a Ill· th e 18th century (or used in highlighting the role of fire in e arlier) an d ear I y 19th century. When llloulding the Australian landscape ,11-c we look at their records we have to those describing the vegetation ,is take into account what they knew colonists and explorers pushed out ab out tl7e wor I cI and about Australia. frolll Sy dney Cove. Some scientists S on,e present-day scientists have have clai rned that these early t h0ught that every time fire 1s observatiom of occ,1sional relatively ll1 entione d 111· these early records it clear areas of bmh ,ire evidence that ll1e Aborigines deliberately med fire to ans bus I1 fiire, and, moreover, b ush. . clear the land. l3ut such records mmt fircs· c aused b y Ab ong111a. I burn1ng. .

NA1u1U AU',fRAI IA '-,l'RINC 2001 55 .,, realise that fire was a they natural part ecology of of the Australia (and had been for millions of years). Some scientists have thought that the observations of clear areas suggest that Aborigines modified the environment extensively by use of fire, to the extent of clearing vast areas and leaving far fewer trees than there are today. I believe this is simply wrong, and that such interpretations can only come from a selective view of the evidence and a misunderstanding of the nature of the observations . In face, of course, today there is only a tiny fraction of the trees remaining chat were present 200 years ago, and one of the great conservation challenges of the 21st century 1s to halt and reverse the destruction of forest and woodland habitats. think there has also been a considerable misinterpretation of the use of fire by Aborigines in the context of the general extent of 6re in the Australian environment. Undoubtedly Aborigines were much more relaxed about fire than we are. Fires were a frequent occurrence anyway because.

(Top) Logging is one of the many activities that are be used very cautiously. The explorers continuing to damage the Australian environment, were expecting co sec 'wilderness', by almost to the point of no return. which they meant thick vegetation, and (Above) 'Control burning' is the deliberate starting they were anxious to find relatively of fires in order to prevent fires later-a useful open areas that would be suitable for safety measure but environmentally damaging. agriculture and put considerable emphasis on it when they did find such an area. They didn't under�tand (as James Cook seems co instinctively have done in a time long before the \Ciencific study of ecology) that there could be considerable variation in the demity of vegetation as a r esult of differences in soil, topography, rainfall etc. Nor did

56 A I U IU AU \ I IU\ I I •\ \ P R I N C 2 llll I time aJinost every there was an reverse. le doesn't much matter extensively, it will result in considerable electrical storm, lightning would strike whether fires were caused by lightnin start bushfires. There g ecological damage. We need to live -es and were no or r en:: . , fire sticks, the f equency, and the within the Australian ecology, not try ennanent structures that could be effect, p were the same. After all, you can to totally dominate it. niaged. no houses that couldn't be da only have fires to the extent that the quickly rebuilt, no livestock, no vegetation in a particular region will Ul)WIC LEICH! IAR.DT WAS one of onnnercial oper,rnons. The people permit. c On average then, over 50,000 the rare explorers who tried to rnselvcs were so mobile that fire years, r L rhe the f i e regime would have been adapt to the Australian ecology rather uld be readily avoided. And areas the same co whether there were human than dominate or ignore it. In 18-1-4, at had been burnt in the recent past rhat beings here or not. We should keep about the time Leichhardt was ded to be ea ier to move through ten this in mind when considering the preparing for his expeditions, fossils later still might provide some and food vexed issue of control burning. were found of giant herbivores unlike They would eventually gro sources. w ln Australia today there arc houses any so far observed. Leichhardt's view \\·hat they had been befor r b,ick to e. and live tock and inf astructure and was that this megafauna no longer lived With these observations 111 mind, commercial operations and human life in eastern Australia becau e of climatic would have felt perfectly at Aborigines to be protected. Burning the bush in a change in the past, but that he would ease casually using fire to flush out controlled way in order to prevent probably find them living in more or to clean up :,'oame , some more serious fires later is probably a tropical inland areas as he headed north impenetrable fore t, or even if the wind necessity where houses and other and west. They weren't bad guesses, blew sparks from their campfires into structures have been allowed close to or but he was a few thousand, perhaps nearby bush. within wooded areas. But while it quite a few thou and, years too late to Bur how many fires could occur in a might be a necessity, it is no more see the giant wombat-like Diprotodo11 particular area 111 a decade would desirable than using a bulldozer to clear vvandering the inland plains. But his depend on the kind of vegetation that a firebreak, and it should only be done first guess, like Cook's, was right, \\·as there. what the topography was very sparingly. lt is not desirable to although opinions about this matter like, the climate, soils and so on. That regularly burn every part of the bush in is. fire (caused by both Aborigines and the mistaken belief that this was done Massive floods are one of the consequences of lightning) in Australia's past was a by Aborigines in the past. It wasn't, the combined effects of increased greenhouse function of vegetation patterns, not the and if control burning 1s done gases and land clearing.

N AJUR! AU',lltAI IA ',l'IUN(, 2001 57 shape, thanks to the light tou have ,1lso fluctuated in the 160 or ,o extinctions of the late Pleistocene were ch of Aboriginal activities. Even years since the fossil<; were found. the result of a change in climate, just as so, that change to a drier climate caused , Thev have fluctuated for a number of climatic change caused all the a large reason� to do with both the nature of extinctions that had occurred in the nu111ber of extinctions, and it will again. The way the evidence (and lack of it), ,111d with millions of years before human arrival. happen Aborigines the scientific and political environment The climate in the late Plcistocene had 111aintained the environ111ent (by at different times. The debate has a become extremely dry-bad news for avoiding activities that would damage long ,111d complicated history, but large animals that need a lot of water. it), with the retention of trees and essemially has centred on the relative The last of the megafaunal extinctions biodiversity, is a greenprint for the dates of human arrival and fauna! occurred not when humans arrived, future. If the effects of Greenhouse extinction; what mechanisms there but many thousands or perhaps tens of arrive when the environment is not could be for either human-induced or thousands of years later, as research at equipped as a result of our lack of e1wiron111e11tally induced extinctions; sites like Lancefield (Victoria) and 111aintenance, then the effects will be and the nature of the archaeological Cuddie Springs (New South Wales) has greatly multiplied. e,,idence for the dates and for the shown. This coincides with about the Some people believe that, for the last mechanisms of extinction. time chat climate deteriorated. 50,000 years, humam have been After many excavations of sites with Does it really matter what caused the constantly manipulating the Australian megafauna, and considering all the extinction of the megafauna? Well, environment, causing vegetation faces before me, I believe that yes-although it happened long ago, it change and extinctions, and that it Aborigines had nothing to do with the has many implications for present-day therefore needs to be constantly extinction of these giants. Extinctions attitudes to the Australian environment interfered with by us through activities \\'ere not caused by excessive hunting and approaches co conservation. such as logging and burning. But the (nor could they have been over a The extinction of the Australian pre-European Australian environment \\'hole continent by hunter-gatherers megafauna, the result of climate was not an artificial construct of human \\'ith spears), nor by the use of fire change, was a very loud early-wake­ making; it was a natural construct of a (which, given the way in which fire up-call. ow it is high noon, have we long history and the things we are patterns are determined by vegetation heard the calP In the late Pleistocene losing now will not be recovered. patterns, was probably little changed the biodiversity of Australia was high As in many areas of political life, and after human occupation). Instead, the and the environment in very good life generally, perception 1s more

Reconstruction of Diprotodon· one Of 1tie grant. marsupials that became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene Period. 58 N \ I L JU \ L , I It \ II \ , I' I' I ){){) l ical excavation at Cuddie Springs, chaeolog Ar s, a site· w 1erI e t h ere 1s· · ev, d ence w South Wale _ Ille overlapped ans and giant marsupials that h Uill intinie.

. nt than substance. ome people unp arra' . . . ' , Abongmes.... caused ,1r

FA CONTE T were held for the n1ost disgusting species ever to live on this Earth, the hagfishes would surely be top contenders. Hagfish­ es are eel-shaped primitive animals that occur in deep, cool ocean waters all over the world. They are so-named because of the less-than-handsome appearance of their anterior end, which would do equally well as the posterior end of a more elegant species, save for the six chemo ensory barbels that surround its puckered m.outh and single nostril. To add to the charm, hagfishes are endowed with two sets of opposing, horny, rasping teeth that they can extrude and retract, Alien-like, from their mouths.

Hagfishes lead relatively sedentary lives, and spend much of their time either curled up on the bottom or in their burrows, depending on the species. HAG FISHES: CHAMPIO S SLI BY DOUGLAS S. FUDGE

61 NA TURr AU�TRAI IA �PRING 2001 h: Offrnsi,·e anatomy aside. hagfishes l3urrowing into and eating rotten possess a suite of beha,·ioural traits that things may seem disgusting, but it is not put most aspiring disgusting species to nearly as alarming as the ability of hag­ shame, and their feeding behaviour is fishes co produce slime. Many fishes can no exception. Their long and slrnder be quite slimy, and slugs certainly have shape and rasping jaws allow them to their slimy side, but hagfishcs arc in a burrow headfirst into carcasses, eating league of their own when it comes to from the inside out whatever expired slime production. When provoked, soul comes their way. While their horny hagfishcs let loose with all 150 or so of 'teeth. are well suited for biting off their slime glands, which line both sides chunks of soft tissue or slurping up of their body, and eject a concrntrated worms (many hagfishes are known to slime solution into the water around rely on annelid worms as a major food chem. When this concentrate hits sea­ source), they have trouble penetrating water, it swells to several hundred times through the cough skin of a fish or its initial volume. In this way, an ,vhale carcass. In these cases, hagfishes annoyed hagfish can produce a cocoon have few reservations about entering of slime that is several times larger than through a ready-made hole such as the its own body. The final trick in the hag­ mouth, gills, or anus of these fortuitous fish's repertoire of repulsive behaviours food-falls. is that they often void their digestive

systems when they slime, which on result in a mass of slime that is ,creaked with the half-digested remains of some­ thing only a hagfish would e,1t.

ou MICI IT SAY I STUDY ha!,?;fishes i11 Yspi1c c!f' their obnoxious qu,1ht1es. but this wouldn't be entireh rrue. because what drew me to rhcm ,1s ,l study animal were their hero1l ,linung abilities. I first encountered h.1gfohcs •1' a lab cechnici,111 ,H the Sho,11, J\Lin ne Laboratory in Maine, USA, "here one of my jobs was to m,1inr,1i11 rhc dre,1dcd Hagfishes lay 20 to 30 large, yolky eggs that tend to aggregate due to the presence of 'hag;irorium' ,1 d.1mp, rdi·1gcr,ircd Velcro-like tufts at either end. room char homed .ibour 200 ArLlllnc

lll 62 NAIUlll AU'>lll•\11<\ '>l'lll"-l• 'tl

r:::111 Hagfish (.\ lyxi11e _R/11ti11osa) for research hagfish slime is. Moreover, the fibres By enveloping itself in slime, a hagfish may make itself less appetising to predators. In this photo, the earned out by hagfish ecologists !tic themselves are fascinating in their con­ fine reinforcing fibres that run throughout the slime Martini and John Heiser. When I began struction, deployment and material are just visible. The parallel white lines on the my Ph.D. a few years ago at the Uni­ properties. In a f reshly produced slime bottom of the aquarium are made up of slime gland versity of British Columbia under the cocoon, these fibres arc very thin and exudate that did not hydrate following ejection from the slime gland. guidance of biornechanics guru John quite astoundingly long for a fibre th,lt Cos 1 ·Ille, who has made a career out of is produced within a single cell. In probing the secrets of spicier silk, slug diameter, the fibresar c about as fine a, ,1 slime and other so-called 'biomaterials', spider silk (about two micrometres), and hagfish slime was a natural choice for yet they arc about I '.2 centimetres long the b1omaterial on which I would when complctely unravelled. To gi\'e focus. you an idea of how long and skinny th,lt What mterests us most about hagfish is, if a piece of two-centimetre diame­ slune 1s that it is fibre-reinforced. No ter rope h,1d the same relative dimen­ Other slune secretion that we know 01 is sions ,1s a hagfish slime fibre, it would be r einforced with fibres in the way LhaL over ,1 kilometre long. Yet when Lhese

NAJL,JU AUSJRAI IA Sl'IUN(, �Oil/ 63 coiled fibres leave the slillle gland, they with no way of removing the slime, the unra\-cl in a split second to their full WHAT COUlD BE fish could eventually suffocate and die. length without tangling. Much of this Sliming doesn't only occur when n1ore unappetising are under attack. remarkable feat can be attributed to the hagfishes They ar e also clever packing of the fibre within the to a predator known to slime when they are feedin cell in which it is manufactured, in on carcasses. This behaviour has bee� addition to the subtle forces exerted by than a moutleful interpreted as a deterrent to potential the lllucous molecules expanding competitors that may have designs on around it. of stringy n1 ucus? the same bit of food. In these cases, a If the kilometre-Jong rope described little bit of slime may go a long way in abm·e had the same material properties warning others to stay away. Evidence as a wet hagfish fibre. it could be for this 'competitor-exclusion' hypoth­ stretched to well over three kilometres esis has come mostly from remotely before breaking, and it would be strong operated vehicle surveys in which baits enough to resi t a force of over 50,000 kilogram car travelling at 75 kilometres are presented at great depths to see newtons, or about the weight of two per hour to a complete stop. which species arrive, in what quantities cars. If a C\Yo-centimetre-diameter rope From a material-science perspective, and in what order. Hagfishes are often had the same properties as a dry slime the slime is interesting stuff But what is one of the first scavengers on the scene, fibre in air. it would not be quite as the function of the slime' How is it use­ and their slime, or perhaps just the extensible. but it would be able to resist ful to the hagfish? The most obvious threat of their slime, seems to give them 160,000 newtons of force, or about the function of the slime is to deter preda­ an advantage when it comes to domi­ \Yeight of a small locomotive, without tors. What could be more unappetising nating food-falls. breaking. Perhaps the most astounding to a predator than a mouthful of stringy The last plausible function of the property of these fibres is their ability to mucus? But the slime may be more than slime is that it plays a role in reproduc- absorb energy. The dry rope described just unappetising; it may be downright abo\·e would be able to absorb 100 dangerous to certain predators, especial­ Slime gland exudate can be collected and megajoules of energy before breaking. stabilised for later study. Here a few milligrams of ly fishes. A fish that attacks a hagfish stabilised slime has been added to a beaker of This is enough energy to bring a 2,500- risks getting lime all over its gills and, seawater.

Hagfishes sometimes slime during feeding, which may act as a deterrent to competitors. Here, two hagfish in an aquarium wrangle over the same piece of squid. In the upper left is a small mass of slime that was produced when the two animals came face to face.

64 N\IUlll \L\IR\11\\l'I l, �1lll I

tion. Aubrey Gorbman at the Universi­ ty of Washington in Seattle has proposed that hagfish slime might be useful during the mating process for localising sperm and keeping fertilised eggs together in burrows where they can be guarded from predators. Of course, these three hypotheses regarding the utility of the slime (defence, competitor exclusion and reproduction) are not mutually exclusive, and it is likely that the slime functions in all three roles over the course of a hagfish's life.

AGFISHES Alli GILL 131-UATHERS, so Hwhy doesn't a hagfish, which finds itself smack in the middle of its own slime, suffocate? There are several rea­ sons why this doesn't happen. One is that hagfish gills are discretely tucked away in pouches and posse s none of the rough edges that most fish gills have. Consequently, there is no danger of the slime catching on and coating a hagfish's gills. Physiologically, hagfishes are extremely tolerant of low-oxygen con­ Hagfishes ditions. One reason for this is that the metabolic rate of hagfishes is very low. Classification which means they can get by on very lit­ Family Myxinidae, subfamily Eptatretinae. Currently about 64 spp. known tle oxygen. For hagfish species that rely worldwide, incl. the relatively well-known New Zealand Hagfish on unpredictable food-falls for their sus­ (Eptatretus cirrhatus), Pacific Hagfish (f. stouti) and Atlantic Hagfish tenance, this kind of fuel economy (Myxine glutinosa). Along with lampreys, hagfishes are the only living could mean the difference between sur­ representatives of the jawless fishes. vival to the next food-fail and starvation. But even when o:;,..-ygen is completely Identification absent, many hagfishe are quite capable Long, eel-shaped body with paddle-like tail. Pink to blue-grey in colour, of switching over to anaerobic metabo­ with black and white mottling, depending on species. Eyes vestigial or lism. This capacity has obvious relevance absent. No true fins or jaws. Six barbels around mouth. for an ani111al that must not only tolerate the nearly anoxic conditions inside rot­ Distribution and Habitat ting carcasses, but must also remain Deep, cool ocean waters all over the world. NZ Hagfish found all over NZ active if it is to get its share of the food. coast, as well as off coast of NSW. Eptatretus longipinnis found off So suffocation is probably the List southern coast of Aust. thing on a hagfish's 111ind after it envelops itself in a ball of defcnsi,·e Behaviour sli111e. But after danger passes, the h,1g­ Relatively sedentary. Most likely nocturnal. Graceful, but weak swimmers fish needs co extricate itself from the relative to most fishes. Subsist on carrion as well as invertebrates such as sli111e. Eventually ir would suffoc.1te in polychaete worms. Their most remarkable behaviours are their ability to there and, even if it didn't. it couldn't produce large volumes of defensive slime and to tie their body in a knot. lead the rest of its life shrouded in ,1 thick layer of stringy mucus. So what is ,1 ,elf­ Reproduction slimed hagfish to do? A h,1gfish th,H i, Very little known about hagfish reproduction. In some species, sex ratio fed up with its own slime sirnph ties can be as high as 100:1 in favour of females. In other species, itself in a tinht overhand knot. ,111d p,1,,­ hermaphrodites (possessing both ovaries and testes) not uncommon. es the knot �iown the length of n, body. Females typically lay 20-30 yolky eggs. Development direct, with no larval The effect of such a biz,1r1-c 111.11wcuwc· stage between egg and adult. f is that the slime is wiped of the 1t 111,1l\ skin. As you might i111,1gi11e. h. '.fr,he, 66 NA I U It I AU, I ll \ I I,\ , I'll I '(llll • arc the only animals known to be able predators, although we arc still lacking a co tie themselves in knots. Earthworms complete picture of which species rely may find themselves in knots occasion­ on them as prey. Species that arc cur­ ally. but th,1t has more to do with mis­ rently known to prey upon adult hag­ chie,·ous boys than the wonders of nat­ fishes arc the Harbour Porpoise (Pl,o­ ural selection. An octopus could proba­ coena pl,ococ11a)., outhcrn Giant Octo­ bly tie one of its arms in a knot if it real­ pus (E111c1w101ms 111ag11!fiws), Pcale's Dol­ ly wanted co, but apparently it has bet­ phin (Lai!l'11orl,y11c/111s a11stmlis), ouch gs co do with its time. ter thin Sarne American ea Lion (Otaria byro11ia), ,,·ith elepham trunks. They have all the Blue-eyed Cormorant (Pl,a/acrocomx right muscles and the physical dexterity, albi11c11tcr), Harbour Seal (Pl,oca 11it11/i11a) so it must be motiYation chat is lacking. and the Northern Elephant Seal y Knot-t ing has other uses as well. (,\liro1111ga all,(!IISiirostris). The most strik­ Sometimes there's simply nothing like a ing thing about this list is the complete knot for getting a purchase on a big, absence of fish predators. There is some cough carcass. If you think about it, evidence that bottom fishes such as being long. slender and limbic% is good cods, hakes and halibuts will cat hagfish for burrowing, but not so good for tear­ eggs and juveniles, but there arc no ing chunks from large known stomach-con­ carcasses. Hagfish tent data that suggest teetl1 are not chat any fish regularly sharp, so slicing off a A HAGFISH feeds upon adult hag­ chunk is not usually fishes. This finding an option. Moreover, that is fed up supports the 'fish­ without a leg or other ivith its own slime suffocation' theory of limb co brace one elf slime function, but of against. you might sirnply ties itself in course docs not chink it would be prove 1c. impossible for a hag­ a tight overhand o what is it about fish to p11/I with any the species chat do significant force. But knot) and passes feed upon adult hag­ you'd be wrong. By £ishes 1 How do they tying itself in an over­ the knot down the deal with the slime? hand knot with its length of its With the exception head JUSt sticking of the octopus, all of through the loop, a body. the known adult hag­ hagfish can effectively fish predators are air- brace itself without breachers, which the benefit of a limb. means chat sucking a Knot-tying can also be used as an escape hagfish into one's mouth poses no risk manoeuvre by giving the animal some­ of clogging up the respiratory apparatus. thing to push against as it squirms free It is also possible that these species from a predator's grasp. uch a behav­ employ anti-slime measures that leave iour can only be fully understood by the hagfish defenceless. As remarkable grabbing an unsuspecting hagfish in its as hagfishes are in their ability co pro­ middle and watching (and feeling) in duce vase quantities of slime, ultimately astonishment as it extricates itself in a the slime glands can deliver only so matter of seconds. Whether knot-tying much. If a dolphin or seal or penguin evolved first for feeding, predator could provoke a hagfish until it were es cape, or slime extrication is anyone's positively sli111ed out, it's possible that guess, but it is quite possible chat, along the hagfish could then be sucked out of with sliming, knot-tying is the key to the slime and eaten, relatively sli111e­ how these animals have survived virtu­ frec. Octopuses arc gill-breathers, and ally unchanged on this planet for well over 3 Hagfishes possess remarkable flexibility and ()() million years. _ manoeuvrability. Here, a hagfish begins a series of knot-like manoeuvres that will eventually free IN '>Pi 11 ()J I I IUJl.. formidable slirning it from this mass of slime. About one second defences, hagfishcs do have natural separates each photo in the series.

N Aiu1u AU',JJlAIIASPIU (, 20111 61 are therefore potentially at risk of suffo_ cation if they are slimed by a hagfish However, while a limbless fish that ge� its gills can do little slime on about it , an has eight highly octopus flexible and uvrable arms that manoe it can use to de-slime itself if necessary. No-one has ever witnessed an octopus eat a ha gfish but my bet is that it's a slimy and topo� logicalJy complex affair. Unlike many marine animals, the hagfishes have been blessed with being found generally unfit for human con­ sumption. There are, of course, excep­ tions. Certain regions in Korea and Japan have a history of eating hagfishes, and the Maori are known to have con­ sidered the 'Tuere' or New Zealand Hagfish (Eptatret11s cirrhatus) a delicacy, placing them live into vats of fresh water to exhaust them of their slime before cooking them. Aside from these isolated instances, hagfishes and humans have enjoyed a long period of mutual indifference. In the last few hundred years, however, humans and hagfishes have begun to interact more and more. In some regions, they are considered Although hagfishes will live happily in aquaria for many months at a time, and females will occasionally shed eggs, no-one has ever managed to breed them in captivity. Here the author checks on his own herd pests by gilJ-net fishermen due to their of hagfishes, which are keptin total darkness and provided with clean, cold seawater,and bimonthly habit of burrowing into their catch and meals of squid and herring. sliming up their nets. Initially, the rise of con1J11ercial fishing was a boon for hagfishes, due to the di carded fish and bait that rained down upon them in heavily fished areas. ln the 1960s, ho,,·­ ever, their luck ended and, for the first time, hagfishes were fished commercial­ ly for, strangely enough, the leather trade. In Japan and Korea, hagfish skin is tanned to make a light, high-quality leather (u ually stamped with the mis­ leading, yet marketable, "genuine eel­ skin"). In the last few decades, demand for eel-skin products such a \Yaliers and purses has led to the exploitation of at least seven species of hagfishes around the world. Due to the ease with which they can be caught, as well as their low repro­ ductive rates, hagfish populations are exceptionally vulnerable to fishing pres­ sure. Any container with ho es drilled in it and baited with someth ng rorren will quite effectively catch u 1st of the hagfishes in a given area. i\nd while

d, A hagfish in a bucket of seawater can •f provoke transform the water into a mass of gel inous, stringy slime.

68 l N AT U R C AU \ T ll.. A I I A \ NG 2LHl • Here a hagfish contorts its body into a tight overhand knot-a manoeuvre that can be used during feeding, or as a way to free itself from a mass of slime.

very little is known about hagfish repro­ cant roles in healthy marine communities FURTHER READI G duction, we do know that hagfishes by cleaning up carrion and turning over Crystal/, B., 2000. 1\ /o11stro11s 1111,rns. produce very few eggs compared to substrate with their burrowing. Second, ew ci. 165(2229): 38--11. their bony-fish relatives. lnve ting lots hagfishes may be important food items of energy in relatively few offspring is a for many marine manunals and birds. [t's Jensen, D., I 966. 77,e liagfisli. Sci. reproductive strategy that has obviously possible that very few or even no species Amer. 21-1(2): 82-90. worked for hagfishes over the last few rely heavily on hagfishes as prey, and that hundred mi!Jion years, but as we know they only resort to taking hagfishes when Jorge11sc11, )..\1., Lo111/w/r, J.P, I !Nier, from commercial whaling and shark their preferred prey are not available. If R. E. & J\fa/rc, H. (eds), I 998. The fisheries, these kinds of species are very this is the case, then hagfish populations biology of hagfishes. Cltap111a11 [.,. Hall: slow to recover from overexploitation. may represent an ecological safety valve 1\lelbo11me. I usually cringe when someone wants that we would be foolish to tamper with. to know what a species is 'good for', Lastly, hagfishes may teach us, via their J\ larti11i, F f-1., I 998. Scrrcrs c!f' the slil/lc since the implication is that all species slime, valuable lessons about how to engi­ hae, . Sci. Amer. 279(-1): 70-75. should have to prove their worth in neer biodegradable materials with excep­ ter ms of the human economy in order tional properties. So, although hagfishes Douc1.As Funcc Is A P11. D. to be spared from extinction. Although may be the most disgusting animals ever STUl)ENT AT "I I IF U IVLllSrI Y 1 believe that hagfishes are worth saving to live on thi planet, and while a hagfish OF i31ll I JSI I 01 Ul\llllA I for their intrimic value, there are, for plush toy i unlikely to hit the stores any VA COUVl::R, ANADA, \\ I IFRL th ose who require such justifications, time soon, the world's hagfishes arc cer­ 1 IE DOES llFSFAllCI I O rI IE several practical reasons why we should tainly deserving of our respect and pro­ lllOl\ll·Cl IA JC', or I IACI ISI I value them. First, hagfishes play i111por- tecnon. SI IMF.

NA J UR I AUSlRAI JA ',JJJUNC, 2001 69 .... a: ,a: ....= = r:a.

Green Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea).

10 A I U IU AU \ I R A I I A \ I' R I 2llll I Red-eyed Tree Frog (Litoria chloris).

croaks and daggers BY KEN GRIFFITHS

NA J U JU A US J R A J J A S P JU NG 2 IJ O J 71 a:...... =ci: = i:r..

Lace Monitor ( Varanus varius).

72 - NATURE AUS 1'11..AI IA SPIU C. ]Olli Common Tree Snake (Dendrelaphis punctulata).

N 73 ATUitE AU\1 llAI IA \Pill NG 2001 Peron's Tree Frog (Litoria peroni,l,

Blue Mountains Tree Frog (Litoria citropa).

Ill I 74 '\ I U ll I '\ U , I ll -\ I I \ ' Gree Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea).

I\/Aru1u AU� I llAI IA �l'IUN(, 2001 75 - reviews

Flving Foxes: Fruit and Blossom Bats of Australia By Leslie Hall a11rl Greg Richards. UN W Press, NSW, 2001, 135pp. $32.95rrp.

ITH THEIi"!.. NOCTUL"!..NAL HABITS and the folklore surrounding them, bats are often viewed Was scary creatures. Recent bad press sur rounding Australia's flying-foxes created further mjsconceptions about these important mammals. This timely book does much to dispel the myths. The authors, respected bat researchers, have synthesised their own as weU as a wide range of other biological, behavioural and ecological research to produce an easy-to-read account of the lives of Australia's 13 species of 'megabats'. lt includes lovely colour photographs of these attrac­ tive animals and a selection of instructive illustrations. Opening chapters explain what makes a bat a bat and introduce their classification and evolu- tionary history. All Australian species of fruit- and blossom-bats are described along with where, in Australia and beyond, they are found. The midsection deals with their body structures and systems, particularly the fasci­ nating adaptations they have for their specialised life of flight and feeding on forest fruits and/or flowers. This leads onto the concluding chapters about their ecological importance, ways to ensure their conservation, and caring for injured or orphaned bats. My one criticism is that the chapter on mortabty and disease, with its welJ-balanced presentation of the facts surrounding flying-foxes and pubbc health, seems i!Jogica!Jy placed in the chapter seguence. OveralJ, however, Flyingfoxes is another excel­ lent addition to this informative natural history series. - TRISH McDONALD

Australian Marine Habitats in Temperate Waters By Graham] Edgar. Reed New Holland, N W, 2001, 224pp. $39.95rrp.

Deep Ocean By Tony Rice. CSIRO Publishing, Vic., 2000, 96pp. $29.95np.

GOOD BOOK CAN HAVE A PROFOUND IMPACT. I read C.P Idy!J's Abyss as a teenager, and was Aso fascinated by the strangeness of the ocean deeps that I became a marine biologist. Like the proverbial ancient fish that discovered walbng, I left my 'first career' as a deep-sea biologist and now study, among other things, land-locked crustaceans. Nevertheless, my interest in the oceans is undiminished, so I gleefully jumped into Tony Rice's Deep ocean and Graham Edgar's A11stralia11 rnarine habitats in ternperate waters. Both books are aimed at a general audience, rather than students or researchers. Many gorgeous colour photographs fi]J their page -just flipping pages to look at the pictures was fun. I wondered whether these books had the ability to inspire readers, as Idyll's book did in my youth, so I dove in to see what they had to say. At deep-sea biology conferences f've attended, To ny Rice earned a reputation as a superb raconteur. In Deep ocean, he skilfully portrays the arcane world of deep-sea oceanography as an exciting profession, using a rnixture of diagrams, photographs and accessible explanations . The book starts with the physical and geological background necessary for under tanding the deep sea, and touches on the history of oceanography and its tools. Readers are taken on a swim through the lighted surface waters, realm of plankton and micropredators and down past the strange denizens of the twilight midwaters. Then the reader is shown the vast plains and moun­ tain ridge s of the deep sea, where even stranger creatures like the Tripod Fi h and hydrothermal vent worms dwell. Here, Rice teaches readers about i ook _ biod versity in the deep sea, discussing many odd adaptations and ecological associations. The b ends with concerns about how we humans may damage fragile abyssal ecosystems. Without going into detail, Rice manages to cover currently open questions in deep-sea ecology. In this book, the deep sea becomes a scientific frontier, as much as outer space. Some details got away from Rice: I grinned at a name for an isopod crustacean pecie that ha n't been used for over e 30 �ears, and two fish in one figure (p. 85) aren't Orange R.oughies. Nevertheless, Deep ocean is a fun and 1nforrnativ 1ntroduct1on to blue-water oceanography, especially for young minds. This book just might be another Abyss. lS ill As a companion to his useful identification guide Australian 111ari11e life, Graham Edgar presents Anstmlian 111ari11c /,,1bitd

16 NATURE AUSTRALIA SPRING }Olli arers. ,empera!C w concerning the ecology oft cmpe,ate . ocean wateis · 111· soutIiern A ustralia.· . S1111- co !lice's book, Edoar"' starts in th e open ocean 1,·1a r but then ,11ov cs ms· I iore, I tie deep sea ed over p robably because we know little skipp . . , ab out tieI ab yss around Australia' , · H e covers 1 1 1tats tI 1at t, 1 1e v1s1tor . 1 ajor hab. miaht encounte1 fr10111 seagrass beds "'" ' and mudflats to subtidal' and so fit bottoms Two-paae Enviro ,, . . re efs . . "' nment a1 1 ssues sections d1 cuss serious human' ll cts on partJC. l u ar marine habitats. Unfortun - . i 1pa "ate Y, ! t I 1e copious text reads like a rewrite of tes firom a mar111e. ecology course, . , , . rhe no wares and all - -Tioo many o fhis faces are highly debat- able. and each chapter has outdated food-web . . diagrams , w. I 11c · 1 1 a1e b ase d on assumptions and' data. B ecause l111ks between . - . sketchy 'facts' and chapte1 b'bl'1 1og1ap . 11es1 arc not provided l can't ' . recommend the book as a teaching tool. The oeneral reader . w1·11 fi111 d it- a toug _ :::, h slog coo, smce technical. terms. do not appear 111 the hort , many , oalossa , ry. c·1ven t1 iat Edgar s preface contains . _ . . . . . desire to 1111p1ov. e a v 1s1tor s apprec1at1011 for marine habitats< a · • > al1 d eco1 ogy, 1 can 011 1 y reiter- • r T « ate W t1 unk & E.B. White s command: Use fewer words'". A lei 1oug h t11s1 · b oo k 1 1as many . . _ , acrracnve images, It doesn t meet my 'Idyll' criterion. -G.D.F 'Buz' W1LSON AUSTR.ALIA MUSEUM

Frogs of Australia By Gerry 111a11. New Ho/laud P1 1ulis!ters, N W, 2001, 96pp. I 6.95rrp.

R.OGS HAVE BEE HIGH on the animal popularity stakes for Fseveral years now. Coincident with the rise in popularity of frog has been a rise in the production of frog field guides and reference texts. The range available is quite staggering; the meth­ ods of portraying frogs have also been quite varied. With so many frog books about, the production of a new, small book about Australian frogs would seem very ambitious. However, this little book will give some of its more established rivals a lot of competition. The reason it will succeed is simple; it is very user-friendly and is aimed at a general audience. Many books that have preceded Frogs of Australia have been servicing the more advanced naturalists in the population and have tended ro be technical, over-powering in their treatment of species and nomenclarure, and cumbersome in format. The author, Gerry Swan, is a well-known figure in frog and reptile circles in Australia. He r Frogs has clearly twigged co the need to provide a gentler introduction to the world of fogs. peppered of Australia treats various frog species as you would expect in a field guide bur r myths and throughout are question-and-answer segments about many aspects of fog biology, to be read in small facts, the future of frogs and how to look after frogs. The book is meant sample more of the doses, but once you have started reading you will definitely come back to delights inside. there are copious cute, enig­ As if the arrangement of the book wasn't enticing enough, r Australian wildlife photogra­ matic, diagnostic and humorous photographs f om the pick of inside other photos. I cannot phers. The book oozes photos; there are even photo inserts world of frogs, and to be inspired imagine a better way to be introduced into the wonderful peril. to learn more and to help frogs when they are in so much -An.THUil WHITE FllOG AN)) TADPOLE STUl)Y GllOUP OF NSW

Native Bees of the Svdnev Region: A Field Guide Robi11so11 a 11d Bria11 Fa11/k­ By Anue Dolli11, Mic!tael Batlq� Marty11 Ce11/re, NSW, 2000, 70pp. ner. A11stralia11 Native Bee Researc!t $16. 50rrp.

13E SET UP as a popular guide HIS SMALL 13001< IS TI IE FlllST TO Australia's native bees. Being for che identification of some of T or plant yourself is the first step able to find and identify an animal and whetting your appetite for towards appreciating its beauty 11 NATURE AUS'l llALIA SPRING 2001 11 · 1 · i , , than finding something that catches your ey more 1nLor1· c anon. 0n tl e otl ei· l,ai,d there is nothing more frustrating over e and it. With a fauna of well 1, 500 species of that looks interesting but then not being able to find out anything about _ native erage to the Sydney area, from which bees ar bees from which to choose, the authors have been wise to restrict their cov e rel- i be seen by the novice bee hunter. The book is totally prac anve. Iy wel1 known, and to tl ose species that, are , most likely to . . ti- 30 or so spec1es, 111 colour as well as cal. The bulk of it is given over to describing and illustrating the most common _ black more practical guide to size than giv and white. Next to each description is an actual-sized silhouette, which is a much ing a flight patterns and other bee beha measurement in millimetres. There are interesting notes about feeding, nest-building, viour, book you will soon realise that ther and there is a guide to which plants are most attractive to native bees. Using the e is still you could even make your a lot to be learned about them and, with some keen, careful and accurate observations, own con­ many books about tribution. It is a book for using, to help you enjoy and learn about the bees. There are not these days as useful as this one for the price. -COURTE AY SMITHEn..S AUSTRALIA MUSEUM

Svdnev·s Bushland: More than Meets the Eve By Jocelyn Ho111ell & Doug Benson. Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, 2000, 128pp. S27.95rrp.

HEN THE WHITE SETTLERS ESTA13LISHEI) Svo EY IN 1788, little did they know that Wthey were building on one of Australia's botanical hot spots. This latest book by Joce­ lyn Howell and Doug Benson brings together much of what we know of the Sydney Basin flora and highlights how easily accessible it is to the city's residents. The book is broken into three colour-coded parts. The first part concentrates on the geol­ ogy and climate and the main vegetation types found in the Sydney region. The vegetation types are nicely broken down into rainforest, open eucalypt forests, woodlands, heathlands etc. Each main community is illustrated and their general distribution noted. The second part brings together all the ecological studies that have been carried out on the Sydney Basin flora over the last 50 years. This section covers the evolutionary forces that have shaped the flora; the various strategies that plants use to cope with, and survive, the Syd­ r ney environment and its harsh conditions; the effects of £i e and how plant respond to it; common plant-animal interactions; and the invasive effects that weeds have on our bushland and how our remnants can be sustained. The final section has suggestions for trips to get out and enjoy the beauty of Sydney's flora. The suggestions range from half­ day through to full-day and potential overnight trips. Most are accessible by public transport, are ideal for people of all ages and are either free or have a low entrance fee. The strength of this book lies in its easily digestible presentation. It would make a great reference book for school students between Years 6 and 10. It is also presented in such a way that it is informative without being condescending to people with­ out science backgrounds. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing many reprints in the ensuring years. -PETER jOBS0 NATIO AL HERBAl<.IUM OF NSW Watching Wildlife Australia By Lo11ely Planet Publications, Vic., 2000, 352pp. $28.97rrp.

HIS 1300K MAl

18 NATURE AUSTRALIA SPRINC �()()I Spiders �1..� soontrMctvey

he Australian Museum and MacMillan Education Australia

are proud to

announce their latest

series of children's

books: Insects and

11 Spiders.

Written for 9 to 12 You' II never look at year olds by the Australian Museum's an insect or spider in own scientist, quite the same way Dr Shane McEvey, they' re easy to read, again� and packed full of fantastic pictures and Find out how scientists

amazing facts. collect and identify insects and spiders, all

about the life cycle of these animals, where they live, what they eat and much, much more.

You' II never look at an insect or spider in quite the way same again! Get involved! Across Australia there is a network of active societies, large and small, local and national, which exist to further the cause of the subject that 0 hold dear. Whether your special interest is co11serv<1tio11, birds, science, nauonal parks, bush walking or a particular group of arnmals, there's a society for yJ/'

Ph: 08 8252 7800 CONSERVATION ENVIRONMENTAL ANIMAL WELFARE Greening Australia/ Web: www.marsupialsociety. Wildlife Care Network Australian Platypus Earth Keepers org.au Victoria Conservancy Natural Resource Centre Contact: Tim Keynes 2-1-7-251 Flinders Lane PO Box 8-1- 5 Fitzgerald Street Melbourne VfC. 3000 Whittlesea VIC. 3000 • •• Pasadena SA 5042 Membership: $25.00, Ph: 03 9663 921 I Ph: 03 9716 1626 Overseas $40.00 Contact: adia Angeli Web: www.cocalretail. Ph: 08 8372 0120 com/platypus ontact: Sheryn Pitman MUSEUMS Wildlife Carers Network­ Contact: Geoff Williams •• Central West Inc. •••• Membership: .10.00 TAMS The Australian Museum PO Box 787 Membership: $30.00, Mudgee SW 2850 Concession , 20.00 FROGS Society Ph: 02 6358 8277 QLD Frog Society 6 College Street Contact: Joan Hills National Parks PO Box 7017 Sydney SW 2010 •• Association of QLD East Brisbane QLD 4169 Ph: 02 9320 6225 Membership: 20.00 Qoining PO Box 1040 Ph: 07 3366 1868 Web: Fee $5.00) Milton Centre QLD 406-1- Web: W\1/\v.gldfrogs.asn.au ww,v.amonJine.nec.au/cams/ Ph: 07 3367 0878 Contact: Jenny Holdway Contact: Michelle Ball Web: \1/\1/\.Y.npag.org.au WRIN Contact: Leon Misfeld • ••• • ••••••• Wildlife Rescue & Membership: Single $10.00, Membership: Family 80.50, Information Network Inc. ••• Family $15.00, Junior $7.50, Single $6-1-.00. Concession Membership: $45.00, Fam.ily 30 Collins Street Tadpoles •5.00 $-1-8.50 $67.00, Concession 25.00 Kangaroo Flat VIC. 3555 Ph: 03 5-1-413211 GENERAL SCIENCE The Waterhouse Club Contact: Rob Schrieber WIRES The Royal Society of NSW Wildlife Information SA Museum Victoria •• & Rescue Service orchTerrace Membership: $15.00 8 La Trobe Street PO Box 260 Adelaide SA 5000 Melbourne VfC. 3000 Forescvilie NSW 2087 Ph: 08 8203 9 02 ASTRONOMY Ph: 03 9663 5259 Ph: 02 8977 3333 Web: \\'\\'W.,,·aterhouseclub. Western Sydney Amateur Web: www.sciencevictoria. Web: vvww. wires. webcentral. org.auhYhc Astronomy Group org.au au.com Contact: Mary Lou impson PO Box -1-00 Contact: Ondine Sherman Contact: Camilla Van Meo-en::, Kingswood SW 2747 • ••• Membership: Family 90.00. Ph: 02 4739 1528 ••• Membership:. · 135.00, Membership: $33.00 ingle 70.00 Contact: Tony Ellis Concession · J 10.00 •••• EARTH SCIENCES Membership: $30.00 INSECTS Queensland Museum Australian Field Geology Association Inc. 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81 NA! UIU: AUSl RAI IA SPRING 2001 b ARav's Prev Despite what some people may A Je111 days a,(IO while snorke : think, many animals cat mistle­ . _ lling A • 111 the 11etted pool w1th111 Bern,ag toe, including Brushtail Possums, sever­ ,ii Q r I sa111 a sti11gray 111ith and a variety of moths. Harbou a stntggling al butterflies 1 11111llet i11 its 111011tl1. I 11 atcl1ed for TheMistletoebird also helps distribute a Jew 1110111e11fs a11d the11 swan, on. a the mistletoe seeds form tree to tree. When I & d a short while later there q in your tree arc the lar­ returne was the The caterpillars lying 011 the bottom with vae of the giant silk moth Opodipl,tl1em 11111llet a lump out of its side, b11t still lom11tl1i, which belongs to the family take11 .flapping its fins, aturniidae. The adult is a large reddish and no s((?n of the stingray. I ha11e often seen stingrays foraging on t/1e botto/11 for foo brown moth with a spot on each wing d, so that looks like an eye, similar to their it came as a s11rprise to see one as an active 1 relative the Emperor Gum Moth (0. predator on a fi-ee-s11 i111111ing fish. Is this a Mistletoe Munchers eucalypti). The caterpillars arc gregari­ 11or111al li1111ting pattem for rays? Also, stingrays see/// to co111e in a range of I ha11e euclosed 11110 pl,otoi?mpl,s ous and can sometimes be so numerous colours ji-0111 near black to a light yellow-brown. Are Q •. ;l,m I took se11eml 111eeks ago of that they can almost defoliate the these bea11t{f,d creai11res li11i11g a111011i?Si a11d mjstletoe. They typically pupate in a they all the sa/1/e species? Or 111aybe it's an co11s11111i11g 111istletoe lea11es. Ha11i11g bee11 told cluster at the junction of the mistletoe age indicator? so111e1i111e earlier that "11othi11g eats l\llistle- and its host tree. Members of this fam­ -:JOHN CREW 10e"1 I Jo1111d these large (abo11t se11e11 to ily are simjlar in some respects to the BER..MAGUI, SW eigl11 ce11ti111e1res lo11g) caterpillars 1110s1 i11ter­ silkworm moths (family Bombycidae) es1i11g. O11ce 1/,ey 111ere Jidly Jed, they pupat­ and were once collected in the wild for Most of the 117 species of Aus­ ed i11 1/,e b1111 of the /1/istletoe where they still their silk. Interestingly some of the sat­ ·. tralian rays are specialist bot­ are. I 11 1011der if you could tell 111e 111/,at ki11d urniid species in Africa are being tested tom-feeders.A There are some rays that of b111te,jly 1/,ey 111ill become a11d l,0111 lo11g it for their suitability as commercial silk live near the surface and feed on plank­ 111ay 1ake the/// to hate/,. producers under captive condition . ton, with the Manta Ray probably the -JIM MORE -MARTY ROBINSON best known of these. The bottom-feed­ INVERELL,. NSW AUSTR.ALIAN Mu EUM ing species are generally not specialist feeders, but they do have a preference for the prey they will eat. Most of them feed on invertebrate such as crustaceans and marine worm , but they will also eat small fi h. Many pecies are also scavengers. Except for the plankton-feeding species, rays have a relatively small mouth. The luckless mullet that had become prey for the ray was obviously too large for the ray to swallow whole. Once the ray had latched onto the mul­ let, all it could do was take a bite. The mullet managed to swim away. minus some muscle tissue. Despite their bot­ tom-living habit, rays are competent swimmers and arc capable of rapid movements over short distances. This ray was obviously fast enough to cap­ ture the mullet. This sort of hunting behaviour is probably not t\pical of rays, but docs demonstrate that they will cat most suitable prey itttl1S they can catch. olour in r,1ys is one of tht ir diag­ nostic features. Other ch,1r,1cter, mclude size, length and sh,1pc of rhe tat . hor ny ornamentation on the disk, and number ,pines. Giant and arr;mgenwnc of fins and tail silk moth larvae are mindless munchers of mistletoe. There is some vari,llion in colour with-

82 ll - NA I UIU' AU\ I It Al I '>PRINC 2lH ...

The Common Stringaree is often found in the shallow waters of Bermagui Harbour.

in a species that often reflects the habi­ tat they are in or the geographic region r Answers to Quiz in they come f om. But in general, differ­ Nature Strips (page 19) ent-coloured rays from the same area 1. Eros are probably different species. The ray 2. Sperl/I vlll,a/es you saw in Bermagui Harbour was 3. Anno Doniini probably a tingaree (family Urolophi­ (i11 tl,e year of our Lorri) dae) with a tail that is about equal in Sula111esi length with the disk, or a stingray (fam­ 4. ily Da yatididae) with a whip-like tail 5. Snakes that is usually longer than the disk. The 6. Greater Blue 1Vlou11tai11s r Common tingaree (T ygo11optera tes­ 1. Cree11 racea) is a specie that is found in shallow 8. Titafaras waters in the area. 9. Aurora Australis -TOM TRI SKI 10. Tl,e Hague AUSTRALIA MUSEUM

Pie Teaser

Do you recognise this? If you think you know what it is, then send your answer to Pie Teaser, Nature Australia Magazine. Please don't forget to include your name and address. The first correct entry will win a copy of National parks and other wild places of z New Zealand. Autumn's Pie Teaser was a sea spider, class Pycnogonida. u

83 NAJURI AUSlllAIIA Si'lllNC 2001

L milJion years ago. The Pleistocen TIIE LAST wortD e Ice age of the last 2.6 million _ years (in whic_ h we are l1v111g 111 an interglacial) brought extreme dryness and incr 111_ _ eased windmess glacial stages. During th e maximum Past sets limits last glacial 18,000 years a 0 rainfall was half today's amount, agnd more than 80 per cent of tor the future the continent . e e was affected by windblown san . . · e to ap,nr ciat that d. The degmda/1011 1s 111creas111g, on /,as . r To find 011i 111/,y land and 111ater . major dune fields were establish b e 11se is possible. ed, as e l llll,icl, s11stai11a l a11cieut la11d /,as set tl,e pam111et rs 111it ,i11 ;/,is were the gibber plains and deserts. Recovery from that quite horrendous stage, when the Murray basin, for instance, was a salt desert, created the modern continent and its ecosystems to which Europeans came just over 200 USTR.ALIA TOI AY FACES SEl'!..IOUS instance, are now man-made de erts.) It hundred years ago. The ice-age history of norther n problems of soil and water is also the f.lattest and most poorly hemisphere lands from which the set­ degradation. Our current land­ drained, with vast regions, excluding A tlers came was completely differe nt use and agricultural practices are largely the margins, inwardly draining. As a from that of Australia. Great icesheets unsu tainable. The more visible prob­ consequence of its f.latness it has accu­ had ground across the lands, creatin lems of ever-increasing saJinisation of mulated sediment and is a land of vast g oils and rivers in the two major food­ f.loodplains. Its rivers have the most fresh, new, nutrient-rich soils, and then bowl areas-the Western Australian variable £.low patterns of any in the modern climates stabilised with pr e­ Wheatbelt and the Murray Basin-are world, and most of those of the arid and dictable seasons. In contrast, Australia receiving increasing media attention. semi-arid regions that comprise 85 per has an unpredictable climate due to Less publicity is given to acidification of cent of the land surface are ephemeral. ENSO, the El iiio-Southern Oscilla­ soils (resulting in loss of productivity), Floodplains are as much a part of the tion, which creates additional and often and to high levels of nutrients in rivers rivers as are the channels and banks, and devastating problems of drought and (leading to algal blooms and other failure to recognise this has led to wide­ f.lood. The agricultural and land-use imbalances) due to excessive use of fer­ spread degradation. We now know that practices suited to those norther n tilisers and the use of legumes in pas­ the health of the river ecosystems hemisphere conditions were imported tures and crop rotations. Loss of struc­ depends on the patterns of f.lood and into Australia, whose history and envir­ ture and microbiological content of restricted £.low-the very features that onments could not have been more soils, and the hazards posed by the prof­ our management and regulation have different. The introduction of multi­ ligate use of pesticides and herbicides, sought to eEminate. millions of hard-hoofed grazers has had rarely get a mention. The adverse long­ Poor drainage of most of the conti­ disastrous consequences for the grass­ term effects of irrigation, the dams and nent has led to accumulation of salt, and lands, saltbush plains and the range­ water diversions that are profoundly saline watertables underlie much of the lands. affecting, and even killing, some rivers, land. Upsetting the hydrology by The incompatibility of inappropriate are seldom acknowledged. The wide­ removing perennial, deep-rooted vege­ practices and foreign biota with our r spread degradation that results from tation, or by irrigating, causes rising age-old, fagile land are now only roo heavy grazing pressures, in fragile arid saline watertables and salinisation. obvious. We currently feed the equiva­ and marginal lands in particular, is Australia's soils are almo t universaliy lent of 80 million people, and rhe run­ largely ignored. thin, poor and easily eroded, made from down of our basic resources is reaching To find out why land and water deeply weathered e rocks that have had crisis proportions. Unless we chang degradation is increasing inexorably, many nutrients leached set out of them our ways and work within the limits one has to appreciate that this ancient through the ages. Only le six per cent of by the land, we will not have the viab land, because of its geological and evo­ the land surface is s regarded as arable. resources to feed 20 million Ausrrali.in lutionary history, has set the parameters The continent's stab le, mid-plate situa­ in 2020. within which sustainable use is possib le. tion accounts for the absence of wide­ Australia is the driest vegetated conti­ spread volcanic activity MARY P LAEO­ and con equent Dis. E. WI 111 F IS A nent, and arid lands of the world have soil e ichment OR. m . No renewal of soils by E VIRONMENIA' LISI' A )) UTIJ proved to be extremely fragile. (Similar­ glac1anon has occurred since the late HER LATES7 BOOK, O WATER, IS ly arid lands of the Middle East, for Carboniferous ice age of CALL ED C 1)()11 '.\ nearly JOO Rt I,\',\'/,\ (2000).

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