@western_w EB. Backyard bandicoots

Transcription

1 EB Backyard bandicoots Bonnie Beal Richardson Brett Brenchley Natasha Tay Janine Kuehs Monique Smith Bill Dunstan Anna Hopkins Amanda Kristancic Catherine Baudains Trish Fleming Giles Hardy

2 Quenda: Ecosystem engineers Kristancic et al. 2017

3 Digging mammals have been lost from most Australian landscapes Percentage 23/28 Australian digging marsupials fall within the critical weight range they are extremely vulnerable to introduced predators The loss of the digging mammals could be part of why many tuart are in decline 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% No (131 spp)yes (28 spp) Digger? IUCN LC DD NT VU EN CR EX (bandicoots, bettongs, potoroos, and bilbies) Fleming et al. 2014

4 The City of Mandurah is Australia s fastest growing regional city and yet quenda are persisting in some urban reserves

5 Backyard bandicoots: ecosystem engineers engage community in conservation 3 year ARC Linkage project aiming to: Increase community involvement and engagement in the conversation of urban ecosystems. Identify how bandicoots contribute to healthy urban bushland through the dispersal of beneficial root fungi Identify habitat use by quenda, using innovative technology to track and monitor animals, and Identify and mitigate threats to quenda Investment from the City is $25,000 per year for three years, plus in-kind support for community engagement, promotion of activities and technical input (in-kind support is calculated to be approx. $47,000 per year for three years)

6 Why should Local Government partner with Universities? The role of local government Driving innovation Fostering passion and self-actualisation in our community Win-win-win Win for the research institute because they access a local volunteer base, allows them access private property and anecdotes help to drive research questions. E.g. reports suggest studying seasonal differences in quenda activity in gardens Win for local government because it informs our environmental strategies and increases staff knowledge base Win for the community, in particular volunteers, because they are able to actively participate in conservation activities and research

7 Added benefits And a fourth win Win for the quenda! Raising awareness of wildlife helps protect these animals Captured a lot of positive attention from community and the media A number of residents from other local governments have contacted us asking if they can be involved Many responses and comments to the Backyard Bandicoot website ABC Radio (17 August) and Have You Been Paying Attention? (21 August)

8 Why partnerships are valuable Each group bring different expertise/benefits to the project Research institution Scientific rigour to the approach, research skills, expertise, ability to generate research that has direct management application community members often feel more comfortable answering certain questions truthfully (and at all!) when talking to researchers Local government Access to research sites and knowledge of the local area, access to volunteer/community networks, communication channels, necessary permissions/authority, event management/promotion Volunteers/local community Passion, local knowledge, access to private property so researchers can survey in places they would not otherwise have access to, labour

9 Tay et al. In Rev Developing management tools that engage community We have run Fungal Forays with Mandurah community volunteers to identify which truffles quenda eat Building capacity: Community volunteers have helped Many of collect our native samples plant species form (fungi symbiotic and relationships bandicoot with fungi in order to survive scats) on our nutrient-poor soils. These truffles are therefore beneficial for the health of trees.

10 Developing management tools that engage community We are using truffles from quenda digs and quenda scats to inoculate tuart trees with beneficial fungi and record their growth Building capacity: Community volunteers have helped collect samples (fungi and bandicoot scats) Plant labels for seedling trial

11 Developing management tools that engage community We are developing tools to engage people with quenda conservation in their backyards Informing: kids and their parents What a quenda looks like Some basic biology of quenda How we can conserve them

12 Quenda-Friendly Gardens Which garden is better? Photo: Jesse Steele Amanda Kristancic, Janine Kuehs, Catherine Baudains, Giles Hardy, Patricia Fleming

13 Kristancic et al. In Garden surveys Do quenda prefer gardens: where they are given food? Facilitating research: Without working with community, we would not have access to residents backyards that contain more dense vegetation? with lots of mulch? Do quenda avoid gardens: that have less diggable ground? where dogs are present?

14 Can we help quenda thrive in urban areas? City of Mandurah rapidly growing area Urban development is a threat to quenda Can gardens provide habitat for quenda in urban areas? What makes a garden quenda-friendly?

15 Predictions Quenda will prefer gardens: where they are given food that contain more dense vegetation with lots of mulch Quenda will avoid gardens: that have less diggable ground (e.g. lots of paving and fake grass) where dogs are present 2 2 Carthey and Banks 2012 PLoS ONE, 7, e31804

16 Methods 1. Motion sensor cameras to determine which gardens quenda do and do not visit (n=37) Quenda presence (yes/no) Quenda activity (triggers/camera/night) 2. Questionnaire about pets and supplementary feeding Pet dog/s or cat/s? Deliberately feed quenda? Supplementary food available (compost, chicken coop, leftover pet food, bird seed)

17 Methods 3. Vegetation and feature survey Type of ground cover (paving, lawn, pebbles, soil (mulch), vegetation) Density of vegetation, native vs. exotic

18 What did we capture on camera? quen da quen da kangaroo No Yes Quenda present 8 29 quen da possum quen da

19 Preliminary Results Ground cover Other Vegetat ion No significant difference in proportion of ground cover between gardens that quenda visit and do not visit One-way PERMANOVA F=2.12, p=0.098 Decking Lawn Paving vs. n = 8 n = 29 Pebbles Soil Does it matter?

20 Preliminary Results - Vegetation n = 8 n = 29 Dense Mediu No difference in overall % garden covered by vegetation (Mann-Whitney U = 83, n = 37, two-tailed) Similar proportions of each category One-way PERMANOVA F=0.56, p=0.564 m Sparse

21 Preliminary Results - Vegetation n = 8 n = 29 Dense No difference in overall % garden covered by vegetation (Mann-Whitney U = 83, n = 37, two-tailed) n = 8 n = 29 Exoti c Mediu Similar proportions of each category One-way PERMANOVA F=0.56, p=0.564 m Sparse No difference One-way PERMANOVA F=0.46, p=0.502 Nativ e

22 Preliminary Results - Mulch Quenda in mulched garden bed at Murdoch Uni (photo: Narelle Dybing) (Mann-Whitney U = 79, n = 37, p = two-tailed)

23 Future direction for this collaboration Can we attract funding through collaboration to extend this work? We know very little about the fungi that quendas eat How many of these fungi are beneficial to seedling survival, plant growth and long-term health? We have had many people contact us asking if we can extend our work into their local area Wouldn t it be great to have a regional approach or cross-council collaboration to species conservation, funded e.g. through LotteryWest? Can we extend this study to other wildlife species?

24 Future direction for this collaboration Can we engage people in different ways? Gaming/artificial reality

25 Take home messages This project is more than a showcase There are tangible research and management outcomes for urban quenda and bushland conservation Creation of opportunities for volunteers to get involved with unique conservation activities, not just an annual planting/clean-up day. Benefits for community, councils and researchers Participants go away with increased appreciation and knowledge of their environment and in many cases become environmental educators on our behalf, which is very exciting Fantastic example of engaging with community through fauna If you re asked to partner/fund some research... Don t view it as a handout. Instead, ask what is it your Council would like to get out of this process, and have that conversation so you can tailor a project to your local area and needs.

26 For more information Visit Murdoch University Catherine Baudains City of Mandurah Bonnie Beal Richardson /