Life under a sandstone overhang: the ecology of the eastern cave bat Vespadelus troughtoni in northern New South Wales.

2005 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 137 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Law ◽  
M Chidel ◽  
A Mong

We studied the eastern cave bat (Vespadelus troughtoni) in northern New South Wales to provide ecological information on roosts and foraging. Radio-tracking of five bats was supplemented with opportunistic visits to roosts over five years. One male was radio-tracked and its roost was within a corrugated iron roof cavity of a dairy. Maternity roosts were located in the overhangs of large sandstone caves usually containing a dome at the rear. Searches of nearby cliff-lines found that small caves, crevices and overhangs were not used as day-roosts. Nor did any radio-tagged bat roost in tree hollows. Colony size of one tight roosting cluster was estimated as 240 individuals. Radio-tagged bats frequently switched roosts, while opportunistic visits over a five-year period often found caves unoccupied. Most movements between roosts were within 1.5 km, although one female moved about 3.75 km between roosts. One radiotagged female shifted roost to beneath the corrugated iron of a farm-shed that supported at least 50 bats, predominantly females with young. Observations of foraging radio-tagged and lighttagged bats were frequent along a stream lined with trees, but surrounded by cleared paddocks. Foraging was observed in the air space above the creek, interspersed with occasional rapid flights across paddocks (> 500 m). We suggest that a key requirement for V. troughtoni in the rural landscape is the presence of native vegetation in close proximity to roosts, although extensive forested areas may not be required. Education of local communities about the sensitivity of these bats at cave roosts would be an important contribution to their conservation.


2006 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 187 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Radford ◽  
J. McKee ◽  
R. L. Goldingay ◽  
R. P. Kavanagh

In 1996, guidelines were produced for capture and radio-tracking protocols for koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) research within New South Wales (NSW). An integrated project commenced in 1998 to examine P. cinereus ecology and health status in Pine Creek State Forest. This project utilised intensive clinical and pathological assessment protocols on captured P. cinereus in combination with radio-tracking and ecological investigations. The methods used in this project were referred to the NSW Koala Research Committee (KRC) for review in mid 1999 due to the political profile of the study area. The KRC assessed the project protocols and reviewed the original guidelines incorporating some of the protocols used in the Pine Creek project. The outcome is a new set of protocols for P. cinereus research within NSW which are more explicit and restrictive than those applied to P. cinereus research elsewhere or to research on other species. In their current form the new guidelines require a substantial investment in time, equipment, personnel and finance; factors that may deter or restrict future, comprehensive ecological research on P. cinereus populations. They inadequately provide for some practices we believe important in minimising the invasiveness of P. cinereus capture. We propose amendments to the guidelines in the areas of personnel required, behavioural assessment, capture methods, processing safety and tracking frequency. We suggest that these amendments will render the guidelines more accessible to a broader range of projects, and easier to apply under field conditions while preserving the intent to maintain P. cinereus welfare and research best practice.





2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura White ◽  
Claudia Catterall ◽  
Kathryn Taffs

Ecological information about threatened species is required to guide strategic management approaches for effective biodiversity conservation in Australia. Arthraxon hispidus (hairy jointgrass) is a listed threatened species in New South Wales (NSW), but there is limited information on its habitat preferences and native vegetation associations, as well as the impact of historical and ongoing anthropogenic disturbance on its distribution and abundance. In the present study, populations of A. hispidus on the north coast of NSW were surveyed to investigate the habitat characteristics associated with various occurrences of the species. Its preferred habitat was found to be dense ground-cover formations in high-moisture, low-canopy conditions. Cover was highest in moisture-associated assemblages in and around wetlands, drainage lines and groundwater seepages, often in association with native grasses, sedges and herbs. These findings suggest that naturally open freshwater wetland communities comprise the most plausible native habitat niches for A. hispidus populations on the north coast of NSW. A. hispidus also occurs widely among introduced pastures and weeds in previously forested areas, demonstrating the species’ potential to exploit derived habitat. Results indicate that, although ongoing disturbance continues to promote A. hispidus in these exotic-dominated landscapes where historical clearing has created potential habitat opportunities, anthropogenic disturbance (slashing or cattle grazing) is not necessary to sustain A. hispidus within native-dominated wetland communities. Findings suggest more scope for integrated management of A. hispidus within broader native vegetation conservation strategies rather than a single species approach.



1995 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
D.P. Woodside ◽  
G.H. Pyke

We captured Queensland Blossom Bats (Syconycteris australis) feeding at the flowers of Banksia integrifolia during the night and several honeyeater species feeding at the same flowers during the day. Nearby were flowering Melaleuca quinquenervia and various forested areas including littoral rainforest. Honeyeaters appear to be more frequent visitors to the Banksia flowers than Blossom Bats but less effective at transporting pollen. When they are feeding at Banksia flowers both birds and bats carry pollen on the parts of their bodies that contact successive inflorescences. Hence, both honeyeaters and bats are likely to be pollinators of B. integrifolia in our study area. However, the flowers produce nectar and dehisce pollen primarily at night, suggesting that Blossom Bats are more important than honeyeaters as pollinators of this plant. Banksia pollen was the most common item in the diet of the Blossom Bats during our study and the bats were able to digest the contents of this pollen. Interestingly, the diet of these animals also included relatively small amounts of Melaleuca pollen, fruit and arthropods. The spatial and temporal patterns of capture of the Blossom Bats suggested that Blossom Bats prefer to forage at Banksia flowers that are near to the forested areas and that adult bats may influence where and when younger bats feed. Banksia integrifolia appears to produce nectar mostly during the night and/or early morning in two different locations, one coastal and one on the tablelands, but shows different daily patterns of pollen anthesis in these locations.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garry Daly

ABSTRACT Aubrey Elliott (1910–1943), a passionate ‘bird-man’, lived in the suburb of Tapitallee on the south coast of New South Wales until 1940. During that period he and his brother, Arthur kept notes on the birds in the local area and devised a hide that was mounted on a utility that enabled them to take close-up photographs. To augment his observations Elliott interviewed local residents and collated information on the status of the area’s birds. In 1985 I purchased the property next to where Elliott lived and was given access to his notes. This paper presents a comparison of avifauna in the Tapitallee area between 1926–40 and 1985–2020. During that time there have been changes in the distribution and abundance of many birds. Fourteen species have become locally extinct while 28 have colonised/recolonised the area. Combining Aubrey’s and our data a total of 194 species of bird have been recorded in the area. Dams have been constructed and native vegetation has regrown on the steeper slopes. These actions have expanded the habitat for aquatic and forest dependant species but disadvantaged those that occupy grasslands. The Red Fox Vulpes vulpes colonised the area in 1907 and is implicated in the local extinction of the Bush Stone Curlew Burhinus grallarius. Wildfire in January 2020 burnt a relatively small portion of the Tapitallee area but these fires burnt an extensive area of southern NSW and Victoria. These fires were likely to be responsible for the decline in the numbers of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters Caligavis chrysops and White-naped Honeyeater Melithreptus lunatus migrating north in the autumn of that year.



1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 463 ◽  
Author(s):  
HJ Spencer ◽  
C Palmer ◽  
K Parry-Jones

Results from a long-term radio-tracking study of pteropodid fruit-bats are reported. Grey-headed fruit bats (Pteropus poliocephalus) captured from seven colonies in eastern New South Wales, Australia, were fitted with collar-mounted radio transmitters to permit their movements to be monitored over the following year. The sheepskin-lined leather collars were well tolerated by the bats over periods of 6-18 months. Bats moved between major colony sites for distances of up to 750 km, with movements occurring in both northerly and southerly directions. One bat from Lismore had a feeding range of 25 km, whereas in Sydney bats flew up to 17 km each night to feeding sites. There was considerable interchange between bats in adjacent colonies.



Taxon ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 1120
Author(s):  
Rudolf Schmid ◽  
David (Andrew) Keith


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