The Great Thing About Islands

Yes, there are lots of great things about islands ... the sand, the stillness, the fact that if you forget your computer at home you're a ferry-ride away (so there). There's even a phenomenon known as Island Time, whereby the clock sloooooows down appreciably, and punctuality ceases to matter quite so much.

St Bees Island

But what do islands have to do with conservation?

Last week, Robbie, Bill and Sean attended a conference in Canberra focused on the sustainable use and conservation of Australian islands. Islands are important because they harbour many species - like quolls - that aren't doing so well on the mainland ... but also because they often have significant mining interests. And it's easy to destroy them environmentally.

Our crew gave two talks at the conference - one highlighting our work on quolls with the Indigenous rangers on Groote Eylandt, and the other discussing how studying the demographics and behaviour of koalas on St Bees Island enhances conservation of the species.

Key points from the talks?
1. Koala populations differ biologically - so one single conservation plan won't be adequate to protect the species as a whole.

2. Island populations provide a unique opportunity to ask questions about species that are endangered on the mainland.

3. Working with Indigenous rangers and land councils will facilitate conservation of Australian fauna.

And the rest of the conference? It was a great chance for the guys to network! And explore the pubs and restaurants of our nation's capital ...

Death After Sex in the Australian Bush

Charleston wasn't just about pizza and beer, though with any scientific conference that's always a part of it ...

First up, we'll hear about Jaime's poster. Jaime did a 1st class honours degree in the lab, studying the way Rhinella marinus (cane toad) tadpoles respond to the presence of predators in their environment. But that's not what she was presenting here ... Jaime also recently was accepted into the PhD program at UQ to study quolls on Groote Eylandt, and she was keen to get the word out there about her new study system.

Now. More about quolls and sex and the bush, as conveyed by Jaime and her co-authors on the talk, Robbie and Billy {with clarifications from me along the way}

Koala Ecology Now Has a Quoll Page!

We now have a page devoted to our research on the Northern Quoll - check it out here.