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Home , Atherton Tableland, Common ringtail possum, Common spotted cuscus, Cuscus, Dactylopsila, Feathertail glider

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

Declining of the savannas No. 75 October 2002

The uncommon brushtail Notes from the possum The common (Trichosurus Editor vulpecula) has, generally, earned its name. It In Tropical Topics 73 we looked at is the most frequently seen possum and is the problems facing seed-eating considered almost as a pest in some urban areas in the savannas and the fact that where it has a tendency to bed down in house roofs. In many of them were in trouble. New Zealand, where it has been introduced, it definitely is Unfortunately they are not the only a pest – 70 million of the are steadily chomping group in difficulty. It has through the native vegetation without any natural controls. become apparent that many savanna mammals have suffered serious In several parts of , however, survive in refuges. These declines in recent decades. The the has areas may naturally collect reasons are unknown – several been disappearing. It has largely moisture and perhaps have factors may be involved. vanished from central Australia, from better soil fertility. However, if many places in Cape York and along cattle are also attracted to these Researchers are eager to gain as much the east coast, west of the divide. For areas, the possums may suffer from information as possible and would example, back in the early 1980s, competition. appreciate any help they can get. For surveys between and many mammals records are poor and Mapoon found an average of 12 Grazing and other land management surveys are few and far between. So common brushtails within a 23km practices may be causing vegetation they would like to appeal to you – stretch. In 1990, not a single one could changes which affect native animals. Tropical Topics readers – to get in be found in the same area. The At the end of the dry season, touch with any relevant sightings. surveys were repeated several more become too desiccated for the times to 1997 – without any success. possums to eat so they come down to Please see page 4 for contact details. the ground to feed on understorey The same story has been recorded . If the composition of this I would like to thank John from a number of places – the Embley resource has changed, the possums Woinarski, Department of Range, near Laura and, further south, could be in trouble at a critical time of Infrastructure, Planning & the Greenvale and Mt Surprise . Environment, Northern , districts. However, just to confuse the John Winter, Peter Latch, Scott issue, numbers of these puzzling Introduced predators, in the form of Burnett and Peter Johnson, QPWS, animals have been increasing within cats and foxes, are likely to play a part. and Euan Ritchie, JCU, for their about a 5km radius of Coen. Common The majority of mammals which have valuable help with this issue. brushtails are not the only mammals in disappeared from the savanna region decline. Common ringtail possums, weigh between 300g and 5kg – an ideal brushtail phascogales, northern quolls size for these predators to tackle. Please note and many other mammals across the Diseases spread by dogs, cats, rats that you are welcome to photocopy savanna region have also been and so on may also be significant. Tropical Topics. However, if the disappearing (see pages 2 –5). text is reproduced separately it must Mammal experts are concerned. Mammal expert,Dr John Winter, has not be altered and must received a Cape York Natural History acknowledge the Environmental Theories may outnumber the possums, Trust grant to help him investigate this Protection Agency as the source. and it is likely that a number of factors mystery. He is keen to hear from Illustrations must not be reused are contributing. anyone who might be able to give him separately without permission. relevant information – please see page Please contact the editor (details Drought may be a factor. During hard 4 for contact details. on the back page) if in doubt. times it is possible that the possums ’s disappearing mammals: a major conservation problem by John Woinarski

Most of us think of northern Australia as a vast unspoilt land, full of abundant wildlife and mercifully free of the environmental problems that characterise more developed areas interstate or in other countries. But this perception is a little moonlight walk one would misleading – not all is well in our generally expect to see this little outback environments. One of ”. This is now the most unmistakeable restricted, on the Northern symptoms is the loss of many Territory mainland, to fewer than mammal species from central five sites (Jabiru, Litchfield, near Australia. Sometime in the last Cooinda and Cobourg Peninsula). 150 , 15 species have It is sparsely distributed in other become extinct in central states – see p5. Australia, most of them throughout their entire former We can be reasonably sure that range (see p6). Until the early the current status of these 1900s many of these were Golden bandicoot, captured in north-east Arnhem Land. species doesn’t fit the accounts extremely abundant and our of 100 or so years ago, but it is country is poorer for their loss. C not entirely clear over what period A the decline has occurred. There is some evidence Scientists had assumed that the losses that the decline is still occurring. Re-sampling of were largely a phenomenon of arid and B Former mammal fauna in even large national parks in semi-arid Australia, tied up partly with range the Top End of the has the spread of foxes. We had assumed shown a marked reduction for many species that northern Australia was secure, that Former over the last 10-20 years. it alone offered protection for an intact range mammal fauna. The extent and timing of loss is difficult to pinpoint. This is partly because many of these Map showing the golden However, recent evidence suggests that bandicoot's former (dotted line) mammals are unhelpfully inconspicuous; most not all is well in the mammal fauna of and current (A,B and C) range. are nocturnal, secretive and rarely seen. Few northern Australia. Surveys in the last two human residents of northern Australia appreciate decades have reported absences or declines of many what moves in their surrounds after dark, few appreciate species, in south-west, north and south-east Kimberley, in how fascinating some of this fauna is, few realise when that the River District and the Gulf regions, in Cape York fauna goes missing and few seem to care about it being lost. Peninsula and even in Arnhem Land. Disturbingly, the species that appear to be declining in We can get some idea of the scale of this loss by comparing northern Australia are from the same groups of species as our current assessment of status with historical records. those that proved most likely to become extinct elsewhere in Knut Dahl, an early zoologist/explorer, wrote of his Australia: the bandicoots, possums, smaller , experiences in the south-east Kimberley and Arnhem Land quolls and larger rodents. in 1897. His accounts give some idea of how things have changed: Most of the losses in central Australia happened before we generally accepted responsibility for the state of our lands. • The burrowing (near Broome): “… the ground Many disappeared before we even knew they were in was nearly everywhere and in all directions excavated by trouble. Many disappeared remarkably quickly – within a the burrows of this little macropod … all the scrubs, and decade or two, they went from being exceedingly abundant especially the slopes … are inhabited by countless to completely absent. We should heed well the warnings numbers”. This species is now extinct in northern Australia. from this vanished fauna, and try to ensure that we can maintain what we have in northern Australia. • The golden bandicoot: “very numerous in the coast country around Roebuck Bay … great numbers being The warnings are clear enough, but how should we deal brought to me”. It now occurs in only two or three small with the problem? Unfortunately, we can’t yet be sure of areas of the Kimberley mainland, one island off Arnhem what is going wrong. This is a detective story, a race Land, and two islands off the Western Australian coast (see against time to find the culprits before all our charges are map, above). dead. There are some clues. We know that not only mammals but also birds are declining (see Tropical Topics • The golden-backed tree-rat: “the houses of settlers … are 73). We know that many of the declining mammals have always tenanted by (this species)”. Again, it now occurs been lost across much of the north Australian mainland, but only in a few small areas of the Kimberley, with no Northern remain abundant on some islands. We know that many Territory records since 1967. species appear to have declined across lands of all tenures and uses, including Aboriginal lands, pastoral lands and • The brush-tailed -rat: “in Arnhem Land is even national parks. Perversely, many of the declining everywhere common in the vicinity of water”, and species (such as the brushtail possum, black-footed tree-rat “numerous all over Arnhem Land, and in great numbers on and northern brown bandicoot) remain common around the rivers on the lowlands”. This species is now known major human population centres. It is a complicated story. from the Northern Territory mainland only on the Cobourg Peninsula and one small area within Kakadu. We have suspicions. Feral cats may be involved, because many of the declining species are meal-sized for wild cats, • The brush-tailed phascogale: “on the rivers Mary and and because some of the islands that have retained good Katherine it was frequently observed. In fact, nearly numbers of native mammals are cat-free. Changed fire everywhere inland it was very constant, and on a continued on page 3

2 communities Quolls and toads ( cinereus) There is strong evidence that northern were once more widespread than quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus) (as well as they are now, covering a large area various monitor lizard species) decline in the east of the country. Shooting rapidly in numbers when cane toads arrive in (before they were protected), fire and their patch. Quolls are active hunters. They deforestation are thought to have led include frogs in their diets and swallow prey to a decline in numbers, particularly eagerly. in where, in 1927, 10 000 licensed trappers collected 600 000 koala In early 1983 northern quolls were a common skins. A survey conducted in widely feature of Iron Range, on the . scattered parts of the state in 1967 found Several individuals could be seen each night, that koalas had disappeared from 37 scavenging around camps. Toads arrived in mid-1983 and percent of sites surveyed. Natural recovery of reduced by late 1983 no live quolls were seen – just their carcasses. populations is probably slow due to slow breeding and Between 1983 and 1986, not a single quoll could be found. dispersal and discontinuity of suitable habitats. One or two have been seen since this – but the decline has been dramatic. Koalas were probably never very numerous in the west and north of Queensland, due to a lack of suitable food . From 1986 to February 1994, resident naturalists at Pajinka, However, there are historical records of koalas from at the tip of the Cape York Peninsula, reported northern Cooktown and they are definitely found west of Ravenshoe. quolls regularly scavenging around the lodge and providing There have been sightings around , Herberton, regular sightings for tourist night walks. Toads arrived at Mt Surprise and so on – they seem to be found just west of Pajinka in February 1994 and within three months all live the . It is thought there may be quite a quolls had disappeared. large number of koalas spread out over a large area. If you Carcasses were found, but no see any, Dr Andrew Krockenberger at James Cook live quolls have been seen University would be very interested to hear about your since then. sighting. You can contact him on e-mail: [email protected] or on Ph: (07) 4042 1208.

continued from page 2 regimes are likely to be involved. For many mammals, areas burnt every year in large fires are less suitable than areas exposed to fine-scale infrequent Monitoring macropods fires, partly because frequent fires destroy the dense shrub layer of fruit- Rock wallabies may not have suffered as badly as smaller mammals. Peter allied bearing native plants. Disease may be Johnson, QPWS, has been resurveying sites in Queensland where the implicated, possibly spread by wild rock- (Petrogale assimilis) was recorded 25-30 years ago. This animal is dogs, feral cats and/or black rats. found from Mt Spec south to the Burdekin and Bowen Rivers and east to Porcupine Gorge and north-west to Croydon. So far, out of about 15 sites Until we can find the cause of the studied, all but two still have resident populations – and new sites have been problem, and then take management found. It is extremely difficult to count rock-wallabies which makes a decline hard actions to remedy it, we are in danger to gauge. of watching over the unfolding of a tragedy. We may keep the bush and Other species of rock-wallabies in more restricted areas may be more vulnerable the illusion of environmental well- by virtue of their small isolated populations. However, rock-wallabies, in general, being, but our wildlife heritage will be are quite well protected by their preference for rocky habitats which shelter them much diminished. from most feral predators – although cats in Queensland and foxes in are known to kill them. Although they are not affected by cattle grazing, The problem of a disappearing mammal goats are a problem – but thousands of goats throughout Queensland have been fauna is being considered now by removed recently and sold for meat. Nonetheless, there is concern that young wildlife agencies across northern animals, dispersing from one rocky area to another, may run into trouble if the Australia, partly through an extensive intervening landscape has been detrimentally altered. collaborative project supported by the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC)for A PhD student at James Cook University, Euan Ritchie, is Tropical Savannas Management. This embarking on a three-year study of the antilopine project includes detailed studies of the ( antilopinus). Found in the Cape York Peninsula and ecology of, and threats to, some across the northern savannas of Australia, it is the only representative species, and a program species limited in distribution to the tropics and its ecology of re-sampling some landmark wildlife remains poorly understood. It was observed that although surveys, in order to better delineate numbers were good in the 1980s the species then went through and assess the extent of biodiversity a marked decline, especially in the southern part of its range. loss and its possible causes. However, kangaroo numbers do tend to fluctuate with rainfall. In addition to describing the antilopine wallaroo’s ecology in For more information: contact John Queensland, Euan will try to ascertain the extent of the Woinarski, Department of reported decline and what factors (for example, climate and Infrastructure, Planning & land practices) are responsible. Environment, PO Box 496, Palmerston, Northern Territory 0831, or, in For more information, contact Euan Ritchie at the School of Queensland, Peter Latch, QPWS, on Tropical Biology, JCU Townsville, Ph: (07) 4781 5715 or e-mail (07) 4091 7751. [email protected]

3 Mammals in the woodland trees What is that animal in the tree? Here is a guide to tree-dwelling mammals of the savanna woodlands. Records of sightings – or lack of them – would be appreciated (see below for details). Common brushtail possum ( (Trichosurus vulpecula) peregrinus) Look out for a possum the size of a Look out for a possum the size of a small large cat with large pointy ears and a cat, with small, rounded ears and a black, slightly bushy tail which is furred tapering tail which is usually white to the tip, although naked underneath at at the end for about two-thirds of the end. The owner is able to curl its tail, its length. The lies flat on the tail to some extent, around branches. Its body – it is not bushy – and it can be is grey with a creamy coloured belly. It is coiled up tightly or used as a fifth often vocal, chattering and screeching. limb to help its owner climb and carry nesting material. It has a light to dark grey body with The common brushtail lives in eucalypt woodland, tan coloured limbs and a whitish belly, and is known to where it feeds on leaves and fruit. It is found make a -like twittering call at night. right across the savanna region, although, as mentioned on page 1, it is much less The common ringtail possum feeds mainly on leaves common in some areas than it used to be. Its although it will also eat flower and is notorious for distribution was probably always patchy, attacking rose buds. It frequents eucalypt woodlands and river- possibly preferring woodlands where tree hollows are side vegetation where it makes its den in a tree hollow or, more plentiful. For example, suitable shelter sites seem to occasionally, in a football-sized stick nest. It is found on the Cape be scarce in Darwin York Peninsula and down the stringybark trees, which east coast, inland to just west of dominate woodlands right Wanted –reports the Great Dividing Range, but across the savannas. Patterns Have these tree-dwelling animals increased, decreased or appears to have recently of fire and soil fertility may stayed the same in numbers in your area? Or perhaps you disappeared from many areas also dictate patchy have never seen them? Although looking primarily at such as Cooktown. In recent distributions. On the other common brushtail and common ringtail possums, Dr John years, on the Cape York , common brushtails are Winter is interested in sightings of all tree-dwelling Peninsula, it has fond of semi-urban areas mammals. Please contact him at PO Box 151, been recorded where they often spend their Ravenshoe, QLD 4872; Ph/Fax: (07) 4097 0048 or e-mail: only from the days in tree hollows or in Jardine River house ceilings. [email protected]. area and Coen.

Sugar glider ( glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) breviceps) Look out for a glider which is very similar in Look out for a fairly small appearance to the , but possum (shorter in body larger - closer in body length to the length than the average black average black rat. Its tail is fluffier rat) with a gliding membrane down the side of its at the base than that of the sugar body. It is light grey with a dark stripe down the middle glider and lacks the white tip. of its forehead and along its back. There are also black stripes along the limbs. The tail is well furred and of a more Living in eucalypt woodland, with a or less uniform thickness, often with a white tip. As with all similar diet, the is much gliders, the tail is not prehensile – it cannot curl it. (Tails are rarer than the sugar glider. It lives only in often discarded by and worn in ringer’s hats!) It calls eastern Australia. In with a yapping bark. Queensland, it is found inland of the coastal ranges, north The sugar glider lives in a wide range of habitats, from to about Weipa, and monsoon forest patches to eucalypt possibly as far west as woodland, feeding on nectar, , tree Normanton. sap and gum, insects, small arboreal mammals and possibly birds eggs. It spends the day in a tree hollow, sometimes with others. It is found throughout the tropical savanna region. (Petauroides volans) Look out for a large glider, with (Acrobates roughly the same body size pygmaeus) and weight as a rabbit. It has Look out for a tiny, house a very long, furry, pendulous mouse-sized glider with a tail and large, rounded, well-furred ears. Overall, it is distinctive feather-like tail. It is an generally grey with darker limbs and a lighter belly. energetic little creature which lives in eucalypt woodland feeding on The greater glider lives in tall, eucalypt woodland insects, nectar and pollen and spending the days in a tree hollow. Like sleeping in tree hollows by day. koalas, but unlike other gliders, it feeds Its range extends down the exclusively on eucalypt leaves. It is found east coast of Australia. In only in eastern Australia; in Queensland it is found from the east Queensland it is present inland of the coast to about the Great Dividing coastal ranges and west to Mt Range and in the Cape York Peninsula. Surprise and the Gregory Range.

4 Black-footed tree-rat (Mesombriomys gouldii) Look out for a dark grey animal with prominent, naked ears and a hairy tail which is mostly black with a white tip for the last third. The size of Brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale topoatafa) a small cat, this animal is one of Australia’s Look out for an animal with a body about the size of a largest rodents. It is more squirrel-like than rat- large black rat, prominent, naked ears, a pointed snout and an like in behaviour. extraordinary tail which looks like a large, black bottle-brush for much of its length. This contrasts with a uniformly grey body The black-footed tree-rat spends the day in which is lighter on the belly. A carnivorous marsupial (dasyurid), tree hollows and feeds at night on seeds, fruit it is an energetic creature, moving with fast, jerky movements. and insects. It is found across northern parts of the savanna region, The brush-tailed phascogale lives in eucalypt woodland, rarely but is not often seen. coming to the ground and feeding mainly on insects, found under Several, however, have bark, and some small . In northern Australia, it has turned up in roof been found on the Cape York Peninsula spaces. (although there were no reports between the 1930s and 1990s) and in northern parts of the Northern Territory and Western Australia but has disappeared from many Scaly-tailed possum places. (See page 3.) Densities are very low. (Wyulda squamicaudata) Look out for a rabbit-sized Rock ringtail possum (Petropseudes dahli) possum with prominent Look out for a stocky possum, the size of a small ears and a tail which, for rabbit, living in rocky terrain. It has small, round two thirds of its length, is ears with white patches below and above the naked and covered with eyes and under the ears. Its tail is short and scales which give it a rough has a thick, furry base but is almost naked for appearance. Its body is greyish the last half. The body fur is grey with a dark brown with a dark strip down the strip down the middle of the back. middle of the back and a lighter belly.

These possums are very sociable, and are Like the rock ringtail, the scaly-tailed possum lives in rock usually seen in family groups of two or three. piles, sleeping in crevices and coming out at night to feed in During the day they shelter in rock crevices the trees on leaves, flowers and fruit. Despite their similar and piles, emerging at night to feed in the trees, habits, however, the two species are not related. The scaly- eating leaves and fruit. They tailed possum is not particularly sociable are found in rock outcrops, and tends to be solitary. It is found particularly sandstone, only in a small part of north-western from Lawn Hill in western Western Australia. Queensland, west to the Kimberley. Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) Look out for a broad face with large, rounded furred ears, no Visitors from the tail and a dumpy, grey-coloured body. It sleeps on a branch These two rainforest dwellers are sometimes seen in the during the day and feeds on eucalypt leaves at night. It can be woodlands of the Cape York Peninsula very vocal, bellowing loudly at times. It is found Common spotted ( only in eastern Australia. In Queensland it is maculatus) more numerous in the south-east, with lower Look out for an animal the size of a numbers to the west. However, it is thought large rabbit with ears so small they are that some scattered populations remain hidden within the fur and naked red unrecorded (see page 3). skin around the eyes. The skin of the nose, paws and tail – which is naked for the last third – is yellow. Males are spotted Rare sightings cream and light brown while females are Golden-backed tree-rat (Mesembriomys macrurus) mostly grey with a lighter belly. Look out for an animal the size of a large black rat with large naked ears and a very long tail tipped with a white brush. It The sleeps on a branch during the day is generally pale grey with a distinctive orange-brown stripe and feeds at night on fruit, flowers, leaves and small vertebrates. along the back. It prefers rainforest but is also found in mangroves and eucalypt woodland. It lives only at the tip of Cape York. Although it forages in trees, it sometimes comes to the ground and has been seen on seashores. Its distribution is ( trivirgata) now very limited (see page2). Look out for the distinctive black and white striped coat of this animal with a pronounced white Y on the face. Longer than a Brush-tailed rabbit-rat (Conilurus penicillatus) black rat in the body, it has a large head, a long body and bushy Look out for a black rat-sized animal with a rabbit-like tail, prominent ears and an elongated fourth finger. appearance. It has large naked ears and a very long brushed tail. It is grey-brown above, paler below. This energetic possum digs for grubs in rotting wood and also eats fruit and flowers. This animal is an active climber and is found in eucalypt Although usually found in rainforest, from woodlands and seashore trees including pandanus, where it the wet tropics to the tip of the Cape York sometimes shelters by day. Its distribution is now very Peninsula, it may venture well into eucalypt limited (see page 2). woodland. 5 Questions & Answers Facts and stats on declining savanna mammals Q Why are there no very large the Arctic islands and just 800-500 animals in the Australian savannas, years ago in New Zealand. In Africa Fifteen mammal species have become like those found in Africa, in a and Asia, however, large animals extinct in central Australia during the similar environment? evolved alongside humans, giving last 150 years. They are the lesser them the opportunity to develop bilby, the central hare-wallaby, the A Huge animals – megafauna – avoidance strategies. This may have mala, the burrowing bettong, the flourished in Australia between been the key to their survival. brush-tailed bettong, the pig-footed about 1.6 million and 40 000 years bandicoot, the western quoll, the ago, and then 85 percent became We have problems deciding what is numbat, the desert bandicoot, the red- extinct. happening to our declining fauna tailed phascogale, the desert rat- now, so we will probably never be kangaroo, the crescent nailtail wallaby, In the of life, large-sized really certain about the past. the long-tailed hopping-mouse, the animals are at a disadvantage. short-tailed hopping-mouse and the Usually their reproductive potential A University of Sydney website lesser stick-nest rat. Most are also is low and population sizes small provides numerous links to extinct throughout their entire former which makes them slow to adapt. fascinating material on megafauna. range. Animals which reproduce rapidly See http://science.uniserve.edu.au/ have a better chance of survival. school/quests/mgfauna.html Common brushtails thrive on the leaves of Cooktown ironwood Debate rages over reasons for (Erythrophleum chlorostachys) which megafauna extinction. Probably Q How long does a carpet snake is really quite extraordinary, several factors contributed. It is live? considering the extremely toxic likely that climate played a part as nature of this tree. Introduced the Australian continent became A Graeme Gow’s Complete Book of domestic animals are readily poisoned much drier and vegetation changed. Australian Snakes (Cornstalk by it – as little as 50g of leaves is Fires, whether lit by people or Edition, 1993) says pythons live enough to kill. (See Tropical Topics nature, may have added to the perhaps 30-40 years. As a rule of 71 page 5.) Rock ringtail possums problems. It has been pointed out smaller animals live shorter also eat leaves from this tree. that those animals which died out lives than bigger ones of the same were browsers of soft vegetation type, so a carpet python is probably From the 1930s to the 1990s, no brush- while grass-eaters, such as at the lower end of this scale. With tailed phascogales were recorded from , emus and , reptiles, average longevities can be the Cape York Peninsula. There was survived – perhaps a successful greatly extended in individual cases, then a spate of sightings around to effects of climate and as reptiles generally grow Cooktown, including three road kills, change. In addition, Australian soils throughout their lives (the rate and a population was found near are notoriously nutrient-poor, which slowing more or less logarithmically), Davies Creek, not far from . may have prevented the an 8.5m long These animals are difficult to trap of large herds of , as (average length 3.5m) may be since they spend so much time in the found in Africa, and the carnivores expected to be very old! trees so information on distribution is to prey on them. limited. Someone working on Morelia bredli Human is often blamed. (no ) in the deserts A mother rock ringtail possum Australia lost about 50 of its largest around Alice Springs, reckons (with sometimes forms a bridge with her animals between 40 000 and 20 000 some evidence) that their lives may body to allow the young to walk across years ago – the generally accepted have been extended to 80 or more her back and reach distant branches. time of arrival of Aboriginal people. years. This is because they spend all This behaviour is unknown in any Indeed, extinctions of megafauna the drought years (seven out of 10 other possum. These possums are throughout the planet coincided below average rainfall) in hibernation, also unusual in that they form long- with the arrival of humans – about and are therefore metabolically term pair bonds, with both parents 11 000 years ago in North and South ‘switched off’ for most of the time. raising the young and – unusually for America, 14 000 -12 000 years ago in Acknowledgements Russell Best, QPWS mammals other than apes – embrace northern Europe, 4000 years ago in their children.

Rock ringtail possums often lick mounds – a behaviour not Tourist talk recorded from any other marsupial. ENGLISH GERMAN JAPANESE Perhaps the mounds are a source of mammal Säugetier ho nyu doubutsu minerals to help settle their stomachs. tail Schwanz shiipo A total of 76 species of native ears Ohren mimi mammals was recorded from the Cape York Peninsula by the 1948 Archbold common nicht selten futsu u no Expedition. Eleven of these have not to disappear verschwinden shometsu suru been recorded since. to decline weniger werden gensho suru Please remember that Dr John Winter drought Dürre kanbatsu is very keen to hear about sightings grazing weiden houboku – or lack of sightings – of tree- introduced eingeführt kika dwelling mammals in the savanna region. Contact details on page 4. predators Raubtiere ho shoku doubutsu

6 Out and about

The Tropical Topics survey Birds which visit Thank you to all those who took the Australia for the The time to fill in and return the recent summer months Leichhardt tree reader survey. Of approximately 2200 have been arriving ( orientalis) forms distributed, 176 were returned (8 since August. produces unusual percent). The majority expressed great Dollarbirds are among those flowers throughout enthusiasm and appreciation for the which fly south from New spring and summer. newsletter – thank you very much for Guinea to breed. Arriving about Yellow and white, they your support. mid-October, they can be seen across are clustered in a spiky ball, northern Australia in open woodland about the size of a golf-ball, A number of people asked for an index and rainforest edges, choosing to nest and are lightly perfumed. The fruit is to Tropical Topics. This is available in hollow branches. said to be edible but is very bitter, and is updated with each issue. By far although it is popular with birds and the best way to obtain this is by e-mail Dollarbirds have been named for the flying foxes. This tree grows across which would allow the updated round, pale patches on their wings, the north of Australia. It prefers wet version to be forwarded to you on a reminiscent of silver dollars, which are areas and is particularly common in regular basis (and save paper). To visible in flight. Insect-eaters, they lowland , close to streams, receive this, just send the editor an e- perch high in the tree-tops on the where it can grow to 20m in height. mail request (address on the back lookout for food and, like their close page) and it will be sent as a Word relatives, bee-eaters, they bash their Traditionally, the trunks make good attachment. If you would like a hard catch on a branch before devouring it. and the leaves and bark copy, send a stamped, self-addressed produce a poison which can be put A4 or A5-sized envelope to the editor into water to stun fish. The bark is also (with a note of your request). the source of a bright yellow dye.

Some people requested information on topics which have been covered in The beginning of the wet season in previous issues of Tropical Topics. A the tropics (or spring in southern number of people also had no Australia) triggers development inside knowledge of the compilation the little mud nests created by mud- booklets. Two booklets have so far dauber wasps (left). Larvae within the been produced. One nests have been living in a state of Readers in the wet contains the theme-based arrested development as they tropics are asked information from the first await an end to drought to look out for 12 ‘green’ issues and/or cold. As conditions buff-breasted devoted to Wet Tropics improve, development paradise topics. It includes chapters resumes and within two kingfishers as they return to on: The Gondwana to five weeks, the mature Australia from to connection, Light in the adult wasps chew their nest in Queensland during the rainforest, Wet Tropics webs, way out of their home to summer months. They usually Rainforest possums, feed on nectar and to mate. arrive about the last week in , Bats, Frogs, October. Researcher Sarah Mangrove plants, Mangrove It is then the female’s job to Legge is studying their animals, Fire and Caring for construct nests for the next migration patterns and is keen to country. The other compilation generation. Using numerous pellets of receive records, including dates contains material from the first 12 Great mud, carried in her mouth, she and locations, of birds seen early Barrier Reef issues: Coral growth, Fish chooses any spot protected from sun in the season, from the tip of Cape colours and patterns, Dugongs, and rain. Artificial structures are ideal. York to Mackay. You can contact seagrasses and turtles, Echinoderms, The nest contains up to 50 cells. In her at King Park CMB 52, Cairns Crown-of-thorns starfish, Sharks, Reef each, an egg is provisioned with Mail Centre, QLD 4871; Ph: (07) relationships, Whales and dolphins, spiders which have been paralysed by 4060 7364; or Botany and Zoology, Cyclones and El Nino, Spawning on the mother wasp – the best way to ANU, ACT 0200, Ph: (02) 6125 8434; the Reef, Water quality and Marine keep unrefrigerated food fresh – and e-mail: [email protected] hazards. subdued. Intriguingly, researchers have discovered that in at least one Each booklet sells for $11 (including wasp species the same weight of GST) with reductions for bulk orders spiders (440 milligrams) is added to of 11 or more. They are available from each nest whether it is a small number If you are based in Cairns or the the Queensland Parks and Wildlife of large spiders or more small spiders. Atherton Tableland and deal with Service, Cairns, Ph: (07) 4046 6600. The division of the nest into different enquiries from the public regarding cells is necessary because the wasp local national parks, the Queensland larva will not distinguish between Parks and Wildlife Service would like spider and sibling, once it starts to offer you a folder containing Usually the 'Out and about' section feeding. When the food supply has appears on page 3, but it has been information leaflets. These will be been used up, each larva spins itself a updated on a regular basis. If you suggested that when the newsletter cocoon, within the nest, and waits for is devoted to a theme, it breaks up would like to receive one contact favourable weather conditions to Nickie Stewart on Ph: (07) 4046 6696 the theme-based material and awaken it. causes confusion. Hence its new or e-mail: location. [email protected]

7 Bookshelf Complete Book of Australian Australia’s Forest Fauna (pp 113-118) Austral Ecology (2001) 26, 360-370 Mammals Ed D.Lunney Changes in mammal populations in Ronald Strahan Royal Zoological Society of NSW, relatively intact landscapes of Cornstalk Publishing (1991) Mosman (1991) Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia This is the standard reference book The native mammals of Cape York Woinarski, J.C.Z., Milne, D.J. and for Australian mammals. Peninsula – Changes in status since Wanganeen, G. the 1948 Archbold Expedition Spotlight on Possums Winter, J.W. and Allison, F.R. Nature Australia Vol 26 No 8 Rupert Russell In: Contemporary Cape York Peninsula Autumn 2000 University of Queensland Press (pp31-47) Adventures at Possum Rock (1980) Ed N.C.Stevens and A. Bailey (1980) Myfanwy Runcie This delightful book, with excellent Wildlife Australia 5: 100-3 This is an article on rock ringtail line drawings, includes some gliders Report on the koala survey, 1967 possums. along with rainforest possums. Kikkawa, J. and Walter, M. 1968. On the web Northeastern Queensland: some Pacific Conservation Biology 3:65-72 Tropical Topics is now on the conservation issues highlighted by 1997 web.Orange (savanna) issues forest mammals Colonizing Cane Toads cause (nos. 64, 68, 71 & 73)can be found Winter, J.W. population declines in native on the Cooperative Research In: Conservation of predators: reliable anecdotal Centre for Tropical Savanna information and management Management site: implications http://savanna.ntu.edu.au/ Scott Burnett publications/tropical_topics.html

This newsletter is produced by the Environmental Protection Agency with funding from the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Tropical Savannas Management, the Cooperative Research Centre for the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and the Wet Tropics Management Authority. For further information contact... Opinions expressed in Tropical Stella Martin Cooperative Research Centre Topics are not necessarily those of The Editor forTropical Savannas Management the Environmental Protection Tropical Topics Northern Territory University Agency. DARWIN NT 0909 Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Ph: (08) 8946 6834 While all efforts have been made to & Environmental Protection Agency verify facts, the Environmental PO Box 2066 CRC Reef Research Centre Protection Agency takes no (5B Sheridan St) PO Box 772, responsibility for the accuracy of CAIRNS QLD 4870 TOWNSVILLE QLD 4810 information supplied in Tropical Ph: (07) 4729 8400 Topics. Ph: (07) 4046 6674 © The State of Queensland. Wet Tropics Management Authority Environmental Protection Agency Fax: (07) 4046 6751 PO Box 2050 2002 e-mail: [email protected] CAIRNS QLD 4870 Ph: (07) 4052 0555

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