,.. .J. - ,,, EDITED BY: Anne Taylor, June '85 ILLUSTRATIONS BY: Ross Goldingay (front cover) Sue Patrick {p5,6,7,10) Margaret Pieroni {p9) Greg Keighery (p13) Betty Rymer (p12) Eastern pygmy possum on ~ · paludosa ENQUIRIES TO: Banksia Atlas , W. A. Wildlife Research Centre, P . O. Box 51, Wanneroo W.A. 6065 1 ' REPORT ON BANKSIA ATLAS , JAN - JUN ' 85 by Anne Taylor This third newsletter see s me back in Perth after extensive travels through New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland (hence t he news let ter's delay). As a result of these trips, numbers of volunteers i n e ach of these States has more than doubled. At time of writing (mid June 1985) numbers for each State are as follows: A. C.T. (50), N.S . W. (171) , Tasmania (30) , South Australia (10 ) , Queensland (88), Vi ctoria (53), W.A . (418) , Northern Territory (5). The total number of vol unteers is now 825. Welcome to the first fi ve volunteers from the Northern Territory. Now B. dentata can rest assured that it should be represented on the distribution maps! Many thanks t o Alf Salki n and Les Gray, the State c oor dinators of Victoria and South Australia, whose untiring efforts at publicising t he Banksia Atlas are paying off. A memorable and very· enjoyable part of my travels was meeting and sometimes staying with existing volunteers. Two mon t hs o f s t ay ing in motels would have been very disspiriti ng, so a big thank-you to t hose who provided accommodation and sustenance en route. Your hospitality was very much appreciated. As well as 1 9 i llustrated talks, there were also field trips whenever possible, e nabling volunteers to familiarize t hemse lve s with their local banksias and to practise filling i n the record sheets. I've happy memories of banksia hunting with so many inte r e sting and enthusiastic people - sometimes almost too many! The Blue Mountains field trip l ooked more like a car rally than a wildf lower excurs ion as 24 cars . proceeded slowly up the winding dirt road to Newnes Plateau. As for banksias , I ' m now well aware of the problems facing you east ern states volunteers! There is far more variation in e aste r n state s banksias than in W. A. ones. The eastern states have more di verse habitats and it' s suggested that banksias are still evolving to f ill certain ecological niches. The B. spinulosa and B. integrifolia complexes are certainly working hard at it! Not only d oes each spe cies have 3 known varietie s, but each variety can also va ry quite considerably, and intermediates between varieties are also r e cognised. Du r ing my prolonged absence s from Perth, the project has been kept going by the staunch efforts of Sally Wi lson, Karen Palme r and Scott Wilson. My thanks to these 3 people cannot be o vers tated. Comple t e d record sheets have bee n coming in at a fas t rate. At time of writing (e nd June ' 85), another 1 810 record sheets have bee n received from the following 178 pe ople <including 117 n ew contributors). J oan & Lauri e Adams ( 2 0) NSW Mary Bremner <12> WA John Adams ( 4) WA Reg & Ru t h Brian-Davis (5) WA Nor ma Ali ( 6) TAS Cli ve Brownsea ( 7 ) VIC J e nnie Allen ( 22) WA Dick Burns ( 2 1 ) TAS Eric Ande rson ( 4) QLD Neil Burrows (3) WA Beth Atk ins (7) WA Clem Campbell ( 2) OLD Ge of f & Be ryl Aus tin ( 2 0 ) WA J a son Campbell ( 1 ) NSW Gary Backhouse (11) VI C., Racquel Cavallaro (2) WA Dianne Bake r (2) WA I an Chamber lain (1) OLD Greg Barrett ( 9) WA Br uce Champion (33) TAS Tony Bean (7 ) QLD John Chilver s (15) WA Jeff Beard ( 5 ) WA Mrs H. Ch i nchen ( 1) NSW Don & Barbara Bell air s ( 2) WA Desr ae & Wayne Cl ark (1) WA David Bennett (2 ) WA Lynn Clarke ( 2) w~ Elsie Bishop ( 4) WA Jeanette ~loss ( 3) TAS Jo Benyon ( 10) ACT Diana Cor di ner (1) NSW Doug Coughr an Doris & Vic B l amp ~y ( 23 ) WA (3) WA John Boyle ( 1 2) WA Gay Crowley ( 3) QLD Keith Br adby ( 3 7) WA Eil een Croxford (20) WA 2 Rosemary Cugley ( 3) WA Mr & Mrs Alan Moore (12) WA Alan Danks (10) WA Noel Moore c 2) NSW Denmark Wildflower Group (1) WA Gary Muir ( 9) WA Doreen Davidson ClOl WA R.W. Mumford C6) WA Jenny Davies (2) WA Anna Napie"r (19 ) WA Steve Dawson ( 4) WA Clive & Wendy Napier ( 7) WA Peter Donan ( 2) QLD National Parks & Wildlife Greg Drake c 2) NSW Service, NSW c 4 ) NSW Jennifer Duwing (13) WA Flora Nichols c 4 ) WA Lynn Dyason c 3) QLD Michael & Karin Palmer Cl4> WA Graham Edwards Cl4l WA Rodney & Rae Papenf us c 4 ) WA Barbara & Margaret Evans C7l WA Marlene Paterson C6) WA Peter Engler (6) WA Tony Phillips c 3) VIC Lalage & John Falconer ( 4) WA Mr E. Pickering c 9) ACT Ian & Gwynneth Fardon Cl) NSW Pat Plozza Cl > WA . Lee Fernie (6) WA Jammes Plummer ( 3) SA Howard & Dorrie Gibbs c2) WA Lois Prictor (17) VIC Anne Giblin ( 2) NSW Grace Gibson C6) NSW Beryl Rainer ClJ OLD Lloyd Gibson {10) Martin Roberts c 9) WA ACT William Roberts Brendon Gill Cll NSW C6) NSW Victor Roberton c 4) Ross Goldingay C3) NSW OLD Peter Golos Jim & Pearl Rogers ( 5) WA (6) WA Alf Salkin Chris Goodsell (19) WA C201) VIC Pam Sanderson ( 3) WA Mal Graham c 5) WA Les Gray Paulette Savage Cl l WA C77l SA Mr R.K. Shoosmith Richard Gregory Smith C3) ACT C5J WA Lois Grover ( 3) Dave Sieber C49 ) WA WA Ed Smidt ( 3) Murray Baby (50) vic·· WA Mr & Mrs B.B. Smith (9) WA Mr & Mrs Hackling c 5) WA Margaret Smith Cl) NSW Roger Ball ( 7) WA Ralph Smith (3) WA Annette Ballpike C81) VIC Andrew & Lois Scurry (7) NSW ·arenda Hammersley C8) WA Mick & Belen Statham C5l TAS David eandscombe Cll VIC Jim Steenson Cl ) NSW Janet Hauser C2) QLD Trevor Stoneman (2) WA Jan Bay c 2) WA Philip Strong C6) NSW Grant Hewett Cl5l WA Donna Summers C5) WA Roger Bnatiuk (11) ACT Tim & Elizabeth Swainson (6 ) WA Harald Hoffman Cl8) WA Janet Tallon C2J OLD (6) John Boward NSW Anne Tayl'br (30) Bert & Alice Humphreys WA Cl l WA Paul Taylor ClOl OLD David Hutchison (8) WA Belen Taylor c 9) WA David James (6) WA Neville & Rosemary Thorn Cll WA Rhoda & Harry Jeavons (2) NSW Ron Tompson c 4 ) NSW Lawrence Johnson (18) NSW Doug Twaits c 45) VIC Brendon Johnstone (1) WA· R. vallak C7) NSW Pat Jordan (4) NSW eonor Venning C8J WA Wendy Kappelle C9l WA Brian Walters C8) NSW Ian Kealley C27l WA Mrs & Mrs B. Ward (6) NSW R. Kefford C5l NSW Peter & Carolyn Wardle c 4 ) WA Margaret Kelly Cl) QLD Ross Weaver ( 4) WA Linda King ( 1) NSW Rawleigh We bb ( 9) WA Matthew Kirwan c 5) VIC Stan Webster C5l WA Maryanne IJarkin c 34) NSW Bob Weston C5) ACT Stephen & Meg Le Fanu c 4) WA A. Wheeler ( 5) NSW Pattie Leighton C7) WA B. Whelan c 2) NSW Malcolm Lewis c 4) WA Don & Joy Williams ClO l WA Noni Hammatt C2l WA Keith Williams '(4) WA Michael Marmach ( 7) VIC Eric Williamson (9) OLD Family Harrie Cl l QLD Mae Willmot (1) NSW Cyril Marshall ( 4) NSW Scott & Carolyn Wilson ( 4) WA Bill Martin · (7) QLD Bob Wiltshire C2l WA Peter Mawson Cl7l WA Meri Wood ~ c2) NSW Marjorie May (13J ACT Jack & Maxine Woodhouse ( 4) WA Ross & Bev Mcguiness ( 9) WA Tony Woolford ( 34 ) TAS Donna McDuff Cll QLD Robert McLure ( 3) VIC Observer CBA C27l NSW Graham Mee Cl) NSW (person unknown as using M. Melkman (2) QLD wrong code - please let us Michael Merrony C6) ACT know who you are! )· Kevin Mills Cll3J NSW Irene Morcombe ClJ WA The total number of contributors (people who have sent in at least one record sheet) now stands at 204. There is not an enormous amount of time left for filling in sheets. The project is funded until Feb. 1987 but the last 5-6 months will be needed to produce the final publication. The last date for record sheets to be received at wanneroo will be set at 1st Sept. 1986, so there is only just over a year left for filling in record sheets. 3 INTERIM DISTRIBUTION MAPS A complete set of Banksia Interim Distribution Maps has now been printed. It represents records received at wanneroo before Mar. 1st 1985. The complete set is being sent to all contributors (volunteers who've sent in at least one record sheet) . For the rest of you who haven't yet cracked the 1st record sheet barrier, a sample of the distribution maps is shown below. The plotter currently in use is to be replaced very soon by an improved model. Future maps will have much better clarity and can also be printed in colour. They should also be more up to date! In the last few months we have experienced numerous teething problems on the computer side of things. Hopefully, these have now all been overcome. The first interim analysis of habitat and biological information from the sheets should be available towards Dec.