BSSA Field Research Grant • New Committee Members Goes To

Issue 27: May 2006 This issue: And our first • BSSA Grant

• President Speaks • Notices BSSA Field Research Grant • New Committee Members goes to:

• Feature Scientist: Chris Hannocks Diane Colombelli-Négrel • Volunteering at Adelaide Zoo

• Life of a Zoo Keeper • Volunteering at Pinkawillinie CP • Echidna • Fieldwork Oppor- tunities

Photo: DCP lab Superb Fairy-wren Do you need volunteers? For her project on: Email: biologysociety @esc.net.au Predator recognition in a cooperative

breeding bird, the Superb Fairy-wren

What would you like (Malurus cyaneus ). to see in future BSSA newsletters? Diane is a PhD Candidate at Flinders University. Email janet.newell@ We wish Diane all the best with her project. adelaide.edu.au with suggestions.

Biology Society of South Australia, c/o Department of Environmental Biology DP312, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005. Website: http://users.esc.net.au/~biologysociety E-mail: [email protected] The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Biology Society of South Australia, Inc. PAGE 2 BIOLOGY SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA ISSUE 27 The President Speaks!

I’d like to first thank all our sponsors from the 2005 quiz night and congratulate Diane on being our first BSSA Field Research Grant awardee. We hope that she will be keeping us up-to-date on her project and look forward to her presentation.

There is a lot of enthusiasm this year for getting the Biology Society more active. We have two new officers on the committee that you’ll meet in this issue. Hopefully you also are being overwhelmed with research opportunities and are getting out there and volunteering! If you have volunteered already, we’d love to hear from you, just email us about your experience and we’ll feature your story in the next newsletter.

I hope you find this issue interesting. It features a lot of Zoo experiences, from being the Director to the life of a Zoo Keeper, but best of all, shows that you can gain a career from volunteering! In another great article, Janet tells about volunteering at Pinkawillinie CP and did return with some bandaged digits, but it was well worth it for the cute little furries she saw.

What’s next for us? We are working on planning the October quiz night, busily thinking of questions and getting sponsors for some more great prizes this year. We hope to dou- ble our efforts from last year so that we can offer two grants in 2007!

That’s all from me. Enjoy this newsletter and we hope to see you at our next meeting. Dr Rob Morrison, OAM, (aka the curiosity show man) will be giving quite an interesting talk on Extinction. Tina Bentz

The BSSA Committee - 2006 Interested in becoming more involved in BSSA? We need an Activities Officer - so let Tina know if you are interested.

Position Name Contact Details President Tina Bentz [email protected] Vice-President/Acting Treasurer Craig Gillespie [email protected] Secretary Sof Wells [email protected] Membership Officer Jill Woodhouse [email protected] Activities Officer This could be U!!! Publicity Officer Joshua Griffiths [email protected] Web Site Coordinator Grace Chan [email protected] Newsletter Editor Janet Newell [email protected] DWLBC Contact Ron Sinclair [email protected] DEH Contact Piers Brissenden [email protected] ISSUE 27 BIOLOGY SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA PAGE 3 NOTICES ! Our Next Annual BSSA Meeting General Meeting

When: 10 August 2006, 5:30pm Where: Tea room, Benham When: 14 September 2006, 5:30pm Building, University of Adelaide Where: Tea room, Benham Building, University of Adelaide Speaker: Dr Rob Morrison, OAM Speaker:

President of the RZSSA Dr Sabine Dittman

(a.k.a the Curiosity Show man) Flinders University

‘Extinction as a fashion statement’ Coorong waders and benthic diversity

Annual Quiz Night Reminder that our annual Quiz Night is on Friday 13th October!!

Come and help us raise funds for next years field research grant!!!

More details on our website

MEET O UR N EW C OMMITTEE M EMBERS

Join with us in welcoming our two new BSSA committee members.:

Joshua Griffiths Jill Woodhouse Publicity Officer Membership Officer

Hi everyone. I'm a PhD candidate supervised by Sue Hi, I'm Jill, an Environmental Management graduate from Carthew and Greg Johnston at Adelaide Uni. Despite my WA. All things environmental, natural and beautiful are my picture, I actually really like little big interests in life, so I'm keen to furry (or scaly/feathery) Australian promote conservation and get my critters and am passionate about hands dirty too! I'm really looking their conservation. I am currently forward to being involved in BSSA investigating the ecology of to meet to whole lot of interesting reintroduced bilbies in arid and people, find out more about the semi-arid South Australia. I also issues in SA and do something enjoy doing a bit of amateur about them! Other interests wildlife photography when I find include bellydancing, basketball, the time. baking and exploring. PAGE 4 BIOLOGY SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA ISSUE 27

Our Feature Scientist: Chris Hannocks Director of Monarto Zoological Park

When I was 6 years old, my English father and South African mother decided to leave the UK and settle in Cape Town, South Africa. My father, as an immigrant to a beautiful yet strange country, decided in his wisdom, to enrol me into an Afrikaans (Dutch) boarding school, in a small country town called Villiersdorp, some one hundred miles out of Cape Town. If you have read the book “Power of One “ by Bryce Courtney, the main character PK is a dead ringer for the lifestyle that I, as a small English boy, was subjected to. I was personally held responsible for everything that ailed Afrikaanerdom in those dark days, from losing the Boer War to the their inability to beat the English at rugby or cricket. Life was hell on earth with constant beatings for being the only ‘rooi neck”, “engelsman” in a very Afrikaaner society. Life was interesting in those days and brings meaning to the expression “survival of the fittest”. Photo: Rotary Club Website Chris Hannocks Life was little different during my National Service being in a Commando outfit consisting of mainly Afrikaaners and Germans. However, working in the wilderness areas of the Caprivi Strip, Angola Mozambique, Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) and Botswana during my National Service added to my love of all things wildlife, the African bush and its people.

In retrospect it was the manner of my upbringing and character making that has taught me the rights and wrongs of life, tolerance of things different and a respect for the Afrikaaner Nation and its journey of life in Africa, as an exile population from Holland on religious and other grounds. Attempting to carve out an existence in a foreign land bedevilled by insurmountable problems of drought, disease, wild animals, strange people (the Brits) and warring tribes of Zulus and Shangaans, from the north. It couldn’t of been much fun pincered by the “Red Coats” in the south and the “Zulu Impis” in the North.

My love of wildlife and mountains developed in the “Berge” of this Cape upbringing, looking for baboons, leopards, snakes and birds and an introduction to the black people of Africa. Nelson Mandela (a Xhosa), who saved South Africa from total anarchy and destruction, is one of the worlds greatest leaders, and is a role model that has influenced me. I have great respect for him. In his biography he says not one derogatory word about his captors who locked him away on Robben Island for twenty three years, despite the abuse he suffered from his captors and political foes. That says something about his strength of character and personality!

It makes me wonder what life would have dished up if I had remained in the UK - perhaps robins, hedgerows and Sherwood Forest? Do I thank my father in his British wisdom for dropping me on my head in a strange country and saying swim or sink? Of course I do - I would have it no other way.

Growing up in the Cape of Good Hope and later in Natal bought me into close contact to the sea and my first thoughts of a career was in marine biology. But when push comes to shove as a young man who was not very scholastic, I had to earn a living and so started my working life off as an insurance broker and ending up some years later as a qualified broker. However, there was still a yearning to do something with animals and the bush.

So, with a never say die attitude I approached the Natal Parks Board for a game ranger position and after many rounds of interviews and assessments, I was eventually given a position as Ranger in the Coastal Fisheries Division, in Durban and promoted over several years to Senior Ranger and Zone ISSUE 27 BIOLOGY SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA PAGE 5

Officer running many Game & Marine Reserves in Natal. The princely wage in those days was R99.00 per month. It was a wonderful life in the water, in the bush working with the most wonderful people, mainly Zulus conserving wildlife. The love and experience I developed for game capture and relocation for large mammals such as Rhino, still live with me today, in my work at Monarto Zoological Park.

Alas, I was ambitious and the Director of Natal Parks Board, Dr. George Hughes, thought I was good enough to go to University. I reluctantly left my beloved Natal Parks Board and entered the University of Stellenbosch in the Cape as a mature age student, in the Bachelor of Science, Nature Conservation, Biology and Zoology course, the only degree of its type in the country. All tuition was in Afrikaans of course, with German Professor Rudi Bigalke as my supervisor. Since then, my academic education has thus far culminated in a Masters of Science degree from the University of Technology, Sydney, and I am presently half way through a Doctorate in Business Administration in Adelaide. A glutton for punishment I can hear you saying, and yes I agree!

I have worked in Australia, Africa, and Fiji in a wide range of nature conservation positions, from large herbivore and carnivore management including lion, rhino, cheetah, hippo, hyena, leopard and tiger, to Conservation Area and District management and National Park and Reserve management in New South Wales and Tasmania. I also worked on nature conservation projects in the South Pacific for the National Trust of Fiji, and on the development of new tourism and visitor centres in Tasmania.

I had the honour and great pleasure of breeding and hand raising the first white lion cubs in captivity in the world at Johannesburg Zoo, and sadly parted company with them when they reached two years of age. It was either become a white lion myself and enjoyed their rough and tumble and pointed teeth and claws, or move over. I moved over.

I joined the team at Monarto Zoological Park as the Director in 1999. My move from the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service to Monarto Zoological Park has given me the opportunity to use my international conservation expertise and experience, to make Monarto the world’s best conservation experience out of Africa.

I am totally impressed by the staff and volunteers at the Monarto Zoological Park for their professionalism, enthusiasm, dedication and contribution to the development of Monarto as a centre for conservation of endangered species, such as Cheetah or our native Australian Bilbies. It is an honour to work with them and to bring a combination of conservation, tourism, research and eduction to Australians.

R U Interested in Volunteering at Adelaide Zoo or Monarto Zoological Park?

Then become a volunteer for the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia!

Volunteer opportunities with the RZSSA: ♦ Lead guided walks at Adelaide Zoo, interpret the Touch Table items, provide information to visitors about the zoo and its animals, and help in the children’s zoo; ♦ Lead safari bus and walking tours around Monarto Zoological Park; ♦ Build behavioural and environmental enrichment for the zoo animals; ♦ Mallee minders - vegetation management at Monarto Zoological Park; ♦ ZooWatch - help collect animal behaviour data; ♦ Cadaver Corps (conducting post mortems for the touch tables!); ♦ AND MUCH MUCH MORE!! (However, do not expect close contact with the animals as RZSSA volunteers do not assist the Keeping staff with animal husbandry, etc).

For further information go to the RZSSA website (www.adelaidezoo.com.au) or contact the volunteers coordinator on (08) 8267 3255 or [email protected]. PAGE 6 BIOLOGY SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA ISSUE 27 The Life of a Zoo Keeper

Nicky Tomkinson, Specialist Keeper Monarto Zoological Park At a comedy review last Thursday the crowd was asked if anyone ended up doing the job they always wanted to do when they grew up. I was the only one to raise my hand . . .

I always wanted to be a zookeeper and that is what I am. I had always wanted to work with animals, I just didn't know how to get into the industry. Before my current job at Monarto Zoological Park (MZP) I was lucky enough to get my foot in the door of a privately owned wildlife park called Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane, firstly as a volunteer 2 days a week, then I was offered a full time job 2 months later. The volunteer work not only gave me hands-on experience, but also allowed the employer to see what I was like before offering me a job. After 6 years Photo: NickyTomkinson of working there and learning about native Australian Nicky helping hand-raise a cheetah cub at Monarto animals it was time to move on and try the exotics.

Monarto Zoological Park is a 1000 hectare open range zoo that not only displays Australian, Asian and African animals, but also plays a vital roll in many conservation, research and breeding programs. This gives keepers many opportunities to become involved in such things as the Bilby breeding and release program. In the last 10 yrs we have bred over 120 Bilbies and released nearly 80 back into the wild, working in conjunction with the Department of Environment & Heritage. These animals have gone to the Arid Recovery (Roxby Downs), Thistle Island and Venus Bay. The Tammar Wallaby that is gone from mainland South Australia has been recovered from New Zealand and reintroduced back into Innes National Park. These and many other opportunities in both Australia and overseas give keepers the chance to broaden their knowledge in their chosen profession and become involved in real conservation.

My role at MZP is as a carnivore keeper. I currently look after a pack of 20 African Painted Dogs (just had our third litter born) 6 African Lions, (2 males soon to be introduced to 4 females), a single Spotted Hyena, and whatever else needs doing when time permits. Not bad for a girl who once handled koalas eh!

To be able to work with all these magnificent animals on a daily basis is mind blowing to say the least, not only do you get to learn their personalities, traits and habits, you develop a special bond with them; they are not just animals you work with, they are work mates.

Whenever I am asked about how I got my job, I always say "by starting out with volunteer work". If you are doing something you love you usually put in 100% effort and it is much easier to learn something by being hands-on than it is reading.

I have often heard people say that volunteer work is a wasted effort, but at least in my case it hasn't been, and I know many other keepers wouldn't be here without it. And I am sure that the 87 volunteer guides and Mallee minders that make up our volunteer workforce are doing it Photo: Nicky Tomkinson because they love it too! Nicky with her boys! ISSUE 27 BIOLOGY SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA PAGE 7 Volunteering at Pinkawillinie Conservation Park

Recently I had the opportunity to try out one of BSSA’s newest volunteer opportunities - helping PhD student Joanne Lee with her research on the impacts of mineral exploration roads on the small mammals and reptiles of Pinkawillinie Conservation Park.

Overall we spent 8 days at Pinky, and I think most of Jo’s field trips will be about that long. We camped within the conservation park where Jo has a caravan that is used for storage and cooking. However we were only about 20 minutes from Wudinna so could go there for showers, washing, fresh food and beer!

We mainly did pitfall and Elloitt trappings to compare an area affected by the mineral exploration with an unaffected area. As it is nearly winter, we caught few reptiles, but did catch mammals including house mice (stinkers!!!), and cute ningauis, dunnarts, hopping mice and pygmy possums. We also tried out some methods that Jo is planning to use during subsequent field trips - spooling, chemi-tagging and fluorescent powders, which were both fun and will give Jo lots of interesting data!

Overall I had a fantastic week and hope that you have the opportunity to do likewise. Just don’t forget your warm cloths during winter and hat and sun screen during summer!! Watch our website for more details on Jo’s project soon!

Janet Newell Photos: Janet Newell (sorry about the lack of photos of the cute and fuzzy animals that we caught!! The mallee scrub of Pinky CP (top) and Jo and You will just have to go to Pinky to see them for yourself!!) Matthew (a volunteer) processing an animal (bottom). BSSA Creature Feature Short-Beaked Echidna ( Tachyglossus aculeatus )

The short-beaked echidna is a monotreme, differing from other mammals by laying eggs and lacking teats. This echidna occurs over most of Australia from regions of snow to the deserts, with no particu- lar habitat requirement other than a supply of its favourite foods - ants and termites. Their snout and strong claws are used to break open rotten logs, termite mounds etc, from which they lick up the ants and termites using their long and sticky tongue.

An echidnas spines (modified hairs) provide it with an excellent de- fence. When disturbed, an echidna curls into a spiny ball to protect its soft underside, or quickly digs itself into the soil until only a few spines are still visible. Consequently echidnas have no significant Photo: Kelli Bolton RZSSA website predators, except occasionally dingos, cats and foxes. Young echidna at Adelaide Zoo PAGE 8 BIOLOGY SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA ISSUE 27 Fieldwork opportunities

Interested in gaining some fieldwork experience? Here is a summary of some opportunities to do some fieldwork. If any of these opportunities sound interesting, contact the relevant person to get further details, and then have a fab time. The website is also regularly updated with details of any other fieldwork opportunities, so keep an eye on it.

Project Location Activities Coordinator When?

One to Four Days Past, Present & Barker Inlet and Assisting with various Eric Nicholson Various dates Future Ecology of Port Gawler experiments in the [email protected]. throughout 2006 SA Mangroves Mangroves au Fish Larvae Gulf of St Vin- Traweling for fish lar- Benjamin Brunton Various dates Trawling cent, Spencer vae at night Benjamin.Brunton@adelaide. throughout 2006 Gulf, and KI edu.au National Trust Various parks Bush care, weed con- Phil McNamara Various dates Nature Reserves throughout the trol, revegetation, etc pcmcnamara@nationaltrustsa. throughout 2006 state org.au One to Two Weeks Tammar Wallaby Innes National ‘Manning’ radio- Leah Kemp July and Reintroduction Park, Yorke towers (night work) [email protected] September 2006 Peninsula Small Mammals Pinkawillinie Elliott and pitfall Joanne Lee Various dates and Reptiles Conservation trapping [email protected] throughout 2006 Park Short-tailed Althorpe and Catching and tracking Luke Einoder 8 field trips b/n Shearwater Evans Islands Mutton-birds [email protected] 21 Nov 2005 - (Mutton-bird) 12 Apr 2006 Foraging ecology Kangaroo Island Catching fur seals and Al Baylis Various dates be- of New Zealand deploying satellite [email protected] tween March and Fur Seals transmitters October 2006 Wombats in Four locations Spotlighting, catching Elisa Sparrow Various dates South Australia throughout and processing [email protected] throughout 2006 South Australia wombats Mallee Bio- Mallee Pitfall trapping of a Ian Sellar 28 Jan - 7 Feb 06. diversity and Fire wide range of amaz- [email protected] And more next Project ing Mallee Critters summer

Are you a postgraduate needing help in the field or lab? Or are you a community group needing help with conservation projects? Do you need volunteers? Contact us ([email protected]) and we will let our members know and include your project on our website and in this newsletter.

Preference for advertised projects will be given to financial members of the Society. All field trips are carried out under the auspices, supervision and insurance provisions of the organisations offering the work, not the Biology Society. It is your responsibility to check with the organisation the arrangements you need to make for insurance, liability etc. ISSUE 27 BIOLOGY SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA PAGE 9

The Aims of the Biology Society of BSSA Membership Form South Australia are: • To develop and maintain contact between Name: ……………………………………………... Address: …………………………………………... people with an interest in field biology and City, State, Code: …………………………………. the conservation and management of natural Telephone: ………………………………………... resources in South Australia. E-mail: ……………………………………………... • Provide fieldwork opportunities, either di- rectly through the society’s own activities, How would you like to receive your quarterly news- or, more commonly, by advertising requests letter? for assistance by professional ecologists or Electronically conservation organisations. Sent to the address above • Organise field camps to provide additional Sent to the alternate address below (tick one) opportunities for members to assist with field-based biological studies. Alternate Address: • …………………………………………………….. Seek government support for field-based ac- City, State, Code: …………………………………. tivities relevant to the conservation and Telephone: ………………………………………... management of South Australian biota. E-mail: ……………………………………………... • Provide independent comment on proposals that impact the status of biodiversity. Annual Membership $10

Is this a new membership Membership is open to anyone with an interest in or a renewal? field biology and volunteering. (tick one)

General Meetings Please state your main biological interests (certain BSSA meets quarterly at the University of Adelaide. taxa, etc.) Our meetings are on the 2nd Thursday of every ………………………………………………………. March, May, August and September at 5.30 pm. At ………………………………………………………. each meeting there is a guest speaker as well as an ………………………………………………………. opportunity to meet friendly, like minded people in- ………………………………………………………. cluding practicing biologist who work in your field of interest. Please join us for beers and nibbles on these relaxing and educational Thursday evenings. Please send your membership form along with $10 membership fee to: Annual Quiz Night BSSA holds an annual quiz night in October at Burn- side Community Centre. This years will be on Fri- BSSA Membership Officer day 13th October. See our website for further de- C/- Environmental Biology tails. DP312 University of Adelaide Benham Building Enquiries Adelaide, SA 5005 Membership enquiries should be directed to the Membership Officer, Jill Woodhouse at email: Phone: 08 8303 3998 [email protected] Fax: 08 8303 6222 Email: [email protected] Activities suggestions and advertising for volunteers to help with your research should be directed to [email protected]

General enquiries about the society can be made to BSSA President, Tina Bentz at Tel: (08) 8303 3998, Fax: (08) 8303 6222 or email: [email protected]

Sender:

Biology Society of South Australia c/o Environmental Biology DP 312 The University of Adelaide Adelaide 5005