International Year of Biodiversity

Galapagos Islands and Darwin’s (en)tangled bank

vgregory — Mon, 02 May 2011 01:45:16 +0000

At the Climate Change Conference of the NTEU held in Melbourne on 28th and 29th April, 2011, I ran a workshop on the vulnerability of islands and the reduction in biodiversity. (land or sea). participants were encouraged to consider introducing “Tangled banks into their gardens to replace a part of their manicured lawn to increase the number of plants animals, insects, birds, reptiles butterflies etc If many people did this there would be corridors of biodiversity in the cities and suburbs.

North Head – one of Sydney’s special places

admin — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 23:32:38 +0000

North Head is a unique place. Used by the Aboriginals for healing and burial ceremonies, it still feels like a very special place on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. The views out to the ocean, across the harbour and to the city take your breath away. But it’s not only the lookouts that are extraordinary: North Head is also home to endangered plants and animals. Most famous is the long-nosed bandicoot, which is locally endangered.

Our team at the North Head Sanctuary Foundation is trying to do all we can to help the little creature. In February we planted the first bandicoot nesting tunnel and added another one ten months later. We also grow special plants for the bandicoots and have to protect the growing plants with plastic bags from wild rabbits. At the recent “Alive Biodiversity Exhibition” at the Australian Museum we joined a group organised by the Manly Environment Centre and put up a large display about the ins and outs of a bandicoot’s life. School children had fun using a magnifying glass to examine ants and grubs, the bandicoot’s favourite foods.

Another community that needs our protection is the ‘Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub’ (ESBS). It is a group of heathland plants that grow on ancient, nutrient-poor, windblown sands (called Aeolian sands) in coastal Sydney. Although first recognised in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, the largest remaining patches of ESBS are now found at North Head.

Last but not least North Head is a real haven for wildflowers. Many visitors to the museum were surprised that so many beautiful flowers grow so close to the city. Some even thought this should be advertised on Sydney’s tourism websites. Our display of the North Head wildflowers was a big hit with the visitors. And while some older locals were still able to recognise the daisy-like, star-shaped, cream flower, most school children didn’t know that it was the flannel flower.

To support endangered plant species, the North Head Sanctuary Foundation Inc has started a ‘Nursery Group’, led by Sue Halmagyi, which is growing seedlings for planting back on North Head. You’re welcome to stop by and find out more about our plants, even though we can’t sell them to the public.

For locals and tourists we have produced three walking maps and an Aboriginal Use of Plants brochure. These maps and the brochure were very popular with visitors at the museum and we hope to see many of you up here, exploring North Head. You can visit us and collect more brochures at our Education Centre. We are open every weekend, from 10am to 4pm in Building 21 in the North Head Sanctuary. Walk past the Parade Ground, continue along the road until you see our banner and then follow the footprints from our gate. You might even be interested in volunteering with us – we’d love to tell you all about it.
We also produce a monthly e-newsletter. Please email northead@fastmail.fm if you would like a copy or check out http://www.northheadsanctuaryfoundation.org.au/newsletters/index.htm. Also available on our website are some great cards by local botanical artist, Julie Nettleton.

dinosaurs to dunnarts

vgregory — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:32:11 +0000

We’re not just about Dinosaurs here, we also care about our environment and its biodiversity. The Jump-Up is an extraordinary place for flora and fauna, all specially adapted to this harsh and arid environment.

The Council of Australian Museum Directors funded our new Dinosaurs to Dunnarts project to build a comprehensive database of the diverse flora and fauna of The Jump-Up. Due to launch early November, Dinosaurs to Dunnarts will allow visitors to directly contribute by sending us their favorite photos of the plants, animals and views they take while on the Jump-Up. We’ll send them onto our team of specialists for identification and comment. Simple, fun and another way to get involved in the science out here! Here’s a sneak peak of some photos we have already:

A female Gilberts Dragon searching for a suitable place to lay her eggs. These little reptiles are inquistive and extremely fast, so capturing this lizard was certainly a cool moment. She was very busy digging this hole and soon posed for the camera’s.

The gorgeous landscapes are breathetaking and this Western Ghost Gum found the perfect spot to grow, right in a waterhole! Most of the trees up here are stunted due to lack of water and nutrients. The root systems follow cracks in the rock to find what they need to survive this arid area.

This is the beginning of a notorious succulent plant called ‘Mistletoe’. It grows a beautiful little red flower, and it’s not the kissing kind of Mistletoe, this one will unfortunately kill the tree it was deposited in. A little bird called the ‘Mistletoe Bird’ is the culprit for spreading these succulents around the place.

Well that’s a little idea about the new project. To see some more great photos, please check out our Dinosaurs to Dunnarts webpage

Until next time…

A Year of Wonder in the Island Arc

vgregory — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 02:32:25 +0000

TMAG zoologist Ruth Mollison helping deliver An Island Ark: the Unique Animals and Plants of Tasmania. The 90 minute sessions helped primary school students better understand the unique fauna of Tasmania. Students were able to closely examine teaching specimens as well as study the TMAG faunal collection on display in the Zoology Gallery.

Ruth Mollison leading one of the Island Ark sessions

Finlay Rossiter-Hill was one of the hundreds of kids who enjoyed the September School Holiday Program at TMAG. This year TMAG focused on biodiversity-related activities as part of its commitment to 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity. Here Finlay has just finished his Survivors activity, which allowed participants to think about what living things need to survive by creating miniature environments filled with plants, animals and landforms.

Finlay Rossiter-Hill with his diaroma for Survivors

Visitors from WA Kelsey and Molly Quick receiving a free Biodiversity sticker from TMAG Visitor Services Officer Kim Portlock. The sticker features the Bornemissza’s Stag Beetle (Hoplogonus bornemisszai, a critically endangered species from Northern Tasmania. Beetles are the group of insects with the largest known number of species, around 40% of insects who in turn amount to around 25% of all known life forms. The TMAG beetle collection is largely the efforts of Dr Bornemissza who has donated over 70 drawers of beetles from around the world.. Dr Bornemissza hopes that his donation to TMAG will enable the public to appreciate biodiversity and the need for habitat protection.

Molly and Kelsey Quick receiving a Biodiversity sticker

TMAG produced a 7 minute video documenting the work done by our scientists and volunteers in leading the Bush Blitz project in Tasmania. The Australian Biological Resources Survey provided funding to allow researchers to undertake surveys of the fauna and flora in newly proclaimed reserves in Tasmania that had been previously recognised as having high conservation values. The video was produced and displayed during TMAG Threatened Species Week activities. It was also uploaded online to the TMAG website and YouTUbe channel as a resource for all to share.
See video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VbDOnEJOgc

Vodcast: TMAG Biodiversity scientists at work
The Bush Blitz program preliminary results indicate that in just over 2 weeks, over 80 new species of spiders, moths, land snails, beetles, bugs and plants have been identified from the State. The surveys also provided new information on the distribution of some mammals in these reserves and over 1000 new records of flora and fauna.
http://www.tmag.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=8042

Murray Darling Biodiversity Photographic Exhibition

vgregory — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 00:23:37 +0000

Here are the two photos from the exhibitionand along with their stories

Goanna: I was giving my son driving lessons when I thought he should have some practice on dirt roads. As we drove down this road, we saw this strange ball moving in the distance and we slowed down. As we got closer I realised it was two goannas having a fight.
Goannas are at the top of the food chain in our local ecosystems and are therefore often an indicator of healthy woodland. Finding these two animals behaving like this is extremely rare.
What stunned me most was that this battle was silent. You might expect lots of hissing and scratching but it was very quiet. It involved the two lizards trying to wrestle the other to the ground over several minutes. Suddenly it was over, and they both ran their separate ways.

D Spennemann

This is a photo of a Green Diving Beetle (Onychohydrus scutellaris) swimming away with the body of a Carp gudgeon (Hypseleotris spp.) that it has captured. On the day it was taken we received a new camera (Canon 450D) and macro lens (Canon 60mm) at work and I thought it would be a good idea to have a bit of a play to get used to it. At work we have a number of fish tanks so that was a good as place as any to take a few photos. I saw the beetle with the fish and before it swum away to hide I was able to get a few shots with both the camera and lens set to Automatic. This shot was just one of those lucky moments where everything came together just right. It shows the many instances smaller and less complex species will prey on higher forms of life that may be larger, stronger and/or faster than themselves.

David Wood La Trobe University

Sapphire coast students mix art and science

vgregory — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:08:57 +0000

The Sapphire Coast Marine Discovery Centre hosted students from Years 9, 10 & 11 from schools across the Shire last week as part of a 2011 Year of Biodiversity Project. This is an initiative of the Council of Australian Museum Directors, and is funded with assistance from the Science Connections Program within the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

The Grant enabled 19 students to work alongside professional potter Alexander Dalton and 3rd Year University student Heather Hampton, to create models and electronic displays of several species of whale and dophin familiar to our region: Killer Whale, Humpback Whale, Sperm Whale, Blue Whale, Southern Right Whale and Common Dolphin. The models are now painted and once they dry naturally for a while, will be fired in the kiln and displayed in the Discovery Centre.

SCMDC Marine Teacher Steve White gave the students an overview of the difference between the species as well as their known habits and migration routes. Part of the week’s activities included a trip to the Eden Killer Whale Museum to learn more about the history of whaling in the area and to inspect some of the fantastic specimens and models the museum houses.

Alexander was impressed with the attention to detail the students put into their work, saying “it was a great week and I enjoyed working with the students. Some of their work was very good and I’m looking forward to seeing how they look after firing”.

From l-r, back: Lauren Blanch, Asha O’brien, Alexander Dalton, Meg McDonald, Jezebel Hitchins, front: Gavin Smith, Bayden McGown

l-r: Mikayla Larkham (Bega High School), Asha Obrien-Grudzinkas (Lumen Christi Catholic College) and Gavin Smith (Lumen Christi Catholic College) with their Humpback whale

l-r: Jade Mathias (Y9 Eden Marine High School), Isabel Kirby (Y9 Eden Marine High School) and Meg McDonald (Y10 Lumen Christi Catholic College) with their Sperm whales

l-r: Micaela Cash and Jodie Love (both y9 Eden Marine High School students) with their Southern Right whale models

l-r: Lauren Blanch, Rory Copas and Bayden McGown (all Y10 Lumen Christi Catholic College students) with their Killer Whale and seascape models

l-r: Caitlyn Lightly (Y10 Lumen Christi Catholic College), Tessa Power (Y11 Bega High School) and Biannca Jade (Y11 Bega High School) with their Common Dolphin models

l-r: Rachelle Boughton (Y9 Eden Marine High School), Kayla Curtis (Y9 Eden Marine High School), Jezebel Hitchens (Y10 Lumen Christi Catholic College) and Margaret Annabel (Y11 Bega High School) with their Blue Whale models

Poetry for the Planet

Teresa Belcher — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 01:22:55 +0000

QUT students invited to bring poems about nature and read them in teh language in which they were written. Tell us about them. Some recitations and discussion on significance. Write a poem yourself!.

Victoria’s Marine Treasures

Teresa Belcher — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 03:19:20 +0000

Did you know that Victoria’s waters are home to some of the world’s most unique species?
85% of fish species and between 90 – 95% of other marine species are not found anywhere else on the planet! Even our “bottlenose dolphins” are a new species to science!
Come along find out more from master storytellers from the Dolphin Research Institute as they take us on an unforgettable journey of discovery as to what lies ‘beneath the waves’ of Victoria’s beautiful coastal marine environment.
Drawing on 20 years of direct immersion in our marine environment, The Dolphin Research Institute is perfectly placed with intimate knowledge of our sea creatures to answer all your questions on habitats, what lives where and why, and also what we as humans can do to help preserve this magnicifent wonderland.
The Dolphin Research Institute is a not for profit conservation organisation set up to better understand our local dolphin population, their marine habitat and the best way forward to conserve and protect our marine environment for future generations.
This event is part of the public programming associated with The Melbourne Reef Exhibition, part of a global community project instigated by Margaret & Christine Werthiem of The Institute For Figuring in Los Angeles.

Margaret Wertheim LIVE !!! at Melbourne Museum (Cancelled)

Teresa Belcher — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 03:07:59 +0000

Unfortunately this event has been cancelled due to ill health.

Join Margaret Wertheim, founder of the global Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project, as she takes us on an unlikely journey through the intersection of higher mathematics, crochet, marine biology and environmental awareness raising. What is a hyperbolic plane? Where does nature use this structure and why? Come along to find out answers to these questions and why crochet is the perfect medium to help us better understand the structure of these living organisms – corals being the main focus.

As an added bonus 50 lucky people get the opportunity to join in a hands on workshop led by Margaret on the finer points of crocheting pure mathematical models and how to crochet your own piece of coral. Beginners welcome.
Bookings essential via Burrinja: (03) 9754 8723

Cost: $18 / $10 conc.

Margaret Werthiem is the Co-Director of the Institute For Figuring in Los Angeles. Margaret has degrees in Mathematics and Physics and is passionate about making this knowledge accessable to everyone.

Wetlands Exhibition launched in Mandurah

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 07:22:35 +0000

On a beautiful spring morning, on the banks of the Harvey Estuary overlooking the Creery Wetlands, the touring exhibition Wetlands: from Bunyip to Beautiful was officially opened. As part of the opening ceremony, we were fortunate to have Annamaria Weldon read one of the poems that inspired the exhibition.

Executive Officer of Museums Australia, Jane King, thanked those who had worked on the exhibition to make it possible, including Dr Jennifer Harris and the Curtin University post-grad Cultural Heritage students, and Gil Field and Shaun Bunting from the Dept of Environment, as well as staff from the WA Museum, South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council, Ted Wilkes, artists Sharyn and James Egan, Annamaria Weldon, and many others who generously offered their support and suggestions.

The exhibition is open until January 7th at Mandurah Community Museum, and then moves to Revolutions at Whiteman Park.
For more information on the exhibition checkout the website at www.mawawetlands.wordpress.com