Another male has since DRAGONSOF hatched20 eggs,which will THE SEAS alsobe monitored. Seadragonshave no teeth, sokeeping them in captivityis The collection of a 'pregnant' difficult.However, Underwater male seadragonby World aims to care for the A tuo-ueek-old common diversfrom UnderwaterWorld dragonsthrough a complete seadragon (Phyllopteryx lastSeptember provided a rare life cycleand eventuallyrelease taeniolatus./that recentlg chanceto studyseadragons in them into the ocean. hatched at Underuater World. captivity. Littleis known aboutthem The leaf! seadragon Seadragonsare found only but it is hoped that constant in southernAustralian waters fPhycoduruseques) urhr'ci care,observation and research looks incrediblg like a piece of and hang almost motionless will increaseour understanding seagrass, is a close lelatioe of in the water,tiny fins fluttering of theseamazing fish. the common seadragon. to give stabilityand balance. Photos - Van Worlega Splashesof yellow, red and purplecover their bodies. They are slow swimmers, but their fragile leafy appendagesprovide perfect camouflageamong seagrass beds.Although quite common along our coast,they are rarely seen/ even by experienced divers.Only the rollingoftheir swivelling eyes betrays them to predators. Seadragons mate from Septemberto December.The femaleproduces 100 to 250 eggs,which she wipes against a wrinkled area of skin underneaththe male'stail. The eggs adhere to this patch, which forms cup-likemoulds aroundthe eggs.The oxygen- rich blood vesselsin the tissue keep the egg oxygenated during the eight-week incubationperiod. Themale seadragon caught by Underwater World had about 80 eggs, which were pink and coveredin a green/ brown algae. When they hatched,the young seadragons emergedtail first and swam freelyafter a few minutes.The yolk sacstill attached to their bodies provided the young with two days' sustenance. After 50 days the young seadragonshad grown 90 millimetreslong. They will not reachtheir full adultsize of 40 to 45 centimetresfor at least two years. After a year the animalswill be 20 centimetres long and sexuallymature. ,^oscoru 9 DSCOPE DESERTDREAMING NEILBURRoWS AND CAROLV! THOMSON ...........................10 SWA MPEDWITH BIRDS JIMIANE WHERETHE SHORE MEETS THESEA Rock-wallabiesthrat down the gauntlet BARRYWILSON to scimtists trging to tlap them for research- Who mded up uinning the SEASONEDWITH FIRE -i cat ch-me f-U ou-can contes t ? Scientistswill usemodem technologgto NEILBUBBOWS Seepage 35. restore tuo rare and endangered mammak to an areain the GibsonDese from which theg haue become extinct. TRAPPINGSOF SUCCESS JACKKINNEAR Shells,tw uabs and sundry Seepage 10. other creatulesare surc to BACKFROM THE BRINK please the curious ALANDANKS 41 naturalkt uho inuades the intertidal zoneat ISLANDOF BUSH,SEA OF lou tide. Erplore the place where the WHEAT FRIEND shore meels the GORDON sea on page 23. UNDERFIRE TANYIAMAXTED 49 A QUESTIONOF BREEDING JOHNBARTLE, TBEVOR BUTCHER ANDRICHARD MAZANEC IN PERSPECTIVE It's the buming question! Is prestibed BUSHTELEGRAPH buming in sping or autumn better for the jarrah forat? Or is there another Watefiirds flock to the Vasse-WonneruDaltematiue? Seepage 28. ENDANGERED uetlqnds in their tensof thousands,some OCEANFEBN traoelling ooer 10 000 kilometres from summer breedingsgrounds in northern China and Siberia. Tum to page 17. URBANANTICS 54 anlglngEdltor: non Kawafla* Edftor:Caolyn Thomson DoalgnoF:Louise Burdtnobyn Mundy Prodrrcdon:Karen Addison Adv6rdtln!:Tim Langfod€rnih t (09)3698014 Far: (09)38S 82€6 llluatrallons:'Swamp€d Wilh tlirds' ' lanDi*inson 'S€asonedWilh Fi€' ' Y€onH6€ l(m ColourSoparation by Prep{ess PdntedinW6sl€m AuslrBlia bv fqlgidoscoDg @ISSN0815-4,165 AImalodal coprigt'l No pen ol !'s conr€nbolt'€ Frblcaton may be romducedwitrul $6 con$nl ol f's oublishss Publishedby DrS Shea,Executive Direclor Depanmentol Conservation and Land Manag€msnt, 50Hayman Road, Como, Westem Australia 6152. , ono"r 3.