Changing the way research is driven

Cissy Gore-Birch is a member of the Threatened Species Recovery Hub’s steering committee and the Chair of its Indigenous Reference Group. A few months ago Cissy attended the Species of the Desert Festival on the Paruku Indigenous Protected Area, where she spoke about both threatened and culturally important species, and increasing the voice of Indigenous people in environmental policies and research.

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Karajarri Rangers lead research on fire and biodiversity 

Karajarri Rangers are leading a project to investigate how different fire management approaches affect biodiversity. Field trips in April and October this year, undertook wildlife monitoring and bush tucker surveys in ares with different fire ages and histories. 

To learn more about the PROJECT you can watch this VIDEO or listen to an ABC Off Track PODCAST recorded during the heat of their October field trip; or read a MAGAZINE ARTICLE or FINDINGS FACTSHEET; or check out the species they are finding during their wildlife surveys in this SPECIES GUIDE.
 

Patchy early dry season fires important for Gouldian finches

New research has highlighted the importance of good fire regimes for Gouldian Finches. The Endangered birds only feed on grass seed in the tropical savannas of northern Australia. Not enough fire and there won't be enough sorghum grass seed during the breeding season (Mar to Oct). Too much fire and there won't be enough perennial grass seed during the non-breeding season. Too hot fire (late dry season fires) and the heat kills seeds on or close to the surface of the soil reducing grass and seed in the following seasons. Low intensity patchy fires in the early dry season are the best to create enough seed all year for this Endangered species.

Find out more about the research findings in this FACTSHEET.

Monitoring threatened species and ecological communities 

Monitoring is integral to guiding the recovery of threatened species. The Threatened Species Recovery Hub conducted the first national assessment of threatened species and ecological community monitoring in Australia. This FACTSHEET provides a summary of the results of the assessment, and principles and a framework that can be used to guide the development of effective national monitoring programs for threatened biodiversity. 

A new PROJECT will build on this work to develop plans for monitoring programs for key groups of threatened species, plus costed pathways for their implementation. It will also prioritise those species for which new or enhanced monitoring is most critical. 

We are at ESA

This year's Ecological Society of Australia conference is happening in Launceston this week.  If you are at ESA come by to say hello at our promotional stand, pick up some free hub magazines and check out our range of factsheets and reports. You will find us on a table together with the Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub. 

Native birds in South-eastern Australia worst affected by habitat loss

New hub research has found that habitat loss is a major concern for hundreds of Australian bird species, and south-eastern Australia has been the worst affected. The study found that half of all native bird species have each lost almost two-thirds of their natural habitat across Victoria, parts of South Australia and New South Wales. 

Read more in this hub ARTICLE, in THE CONVERSATION or listen to this ABC news INTERVIEW. 

People of the hub: Bradley Moggridge

I am a proud Murri from the Kamilaroi Nation in north-west New South Wales. I grew up in western Sydney on Darug land and now live in Canberra on Ngunnawal land. I completed a Bachelor of Science (Environmental Science) and a Masters of Science (Hydrogeology and Groundwater Management). As a scientist, my expertise is in water. Water is always going to be a key topic for Australia as it is the driest inhabited continent on earth. But much of our water policy was developed without consultation with Indigenous people or our Traditional Knowledge. 

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