Scientists have discovered that an endangered Australian rock wallaby loves home so much, it rarely ventures more than a few hundred metres away. The brush-tailed rock wallaby lives in remote pockets of The Great Dividing Range, through Victoria up to Queensland.
University of Queensland PhD student Stephanie Hazlitt, from UQ's School of Integrative Biology, has found that brush-tailed rock wallabies rarely move to other colonies even when neighbours are linked by suitable habitat.
Ms Hazlitt said female brush-tailed rock wallabies moved no more than a few hundred metres away from their homes among the boulders and scrub of the cliff face.
During the study of two wallaby colonies at Killarney and Crows Nest, between Warwick and Toowoomba, female wallabies strayed less than 200 metres and were creating their own families in their mum's backyard.
“It's unexpected for the brush-tailed rock wallaby to show such restricted movement over their lifetime,” Ms Hazlitt said.
“Other rock wallaby species are known to travel up to three kilometres in one day for water.”
The brush-tailed rock wallaby is endangered in New South Wales, critically endangered in Victoria and vulnerable in Queensland.
Ms Hazlitt said her research showed that the best way to conserve the rock wallaby was to protect habitats of current colonies and control feral pests.
“When you're trying to manage this species they're not going anywhere,” she said.
“Unfortunately this means that as soon as you fragment their habitat or introduce predators, you isolate colonies which make them highly susceptible to problems with inbreeding and even local extinction.”
Ms Hazlitt has been studying the brush-tailed rock-wallaby since 2002, when she came to Australia from Canada on an International Post Graduate Research Scholarship.
She has tracked, weighed, observed and recorded a range of vital statistics of the brush-tailed rock wallaby and used radio collars to track them and taken tissue samples to record their DNA and study gene flow.
The 33-year-old from West End is returning to Canada in July to pursue post-doctoral studies.
Her supervisor, UQ Associate Professor Anne Goldizen, started the detailed study of brush-tailed rock wallabies in 2000 which has been added to by her research students along the way.
Ms Hazlitt said it was vital for the brush-tailed rock wallabies to intimately know their environment to avoid predators such as wedge-tailed eagles, foxes and cats.
She said the rock wallabies should be monitored and conserved in Queensland, as they were in fairly healthy numbers compared to New South Wales and Victoria.
Source: University of Queensland
Related stories:
Species extinction threat underestimated due to math glitch, says study
Extinction risks for natural populations of endangered species are likely being underestimated by as much as 100-fold because of a mathematical "misdiagnosis," according to a new study led by a University of Colorado at Boulder researcher.
Judge restores protection for Rockies wolves
(AP) -- A federal judge has restored endangered species protections for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies, derailing plans by three states to hold public wolf hunts this fall.
iPhones hot even in places Apple has yet to reach
(AP) -- In the Soviet days, Russians asked their American friends to bring blue jeans, rock records and other Western goods into the country. Today Russians can buy almost anything they want here - but they are still begging for one item: Apple Inc.'s slick iPhone.
A single boulder may prove that Antarctica and North America were once connected
A lone granite boulder found against all odds high atop a glacier in Antarctica may provide additional key evidence to support a theory that parts of the southernmost continent once were connected to North America hundreds of millions of years ago.
Big 3 mimic each other at E3: more, more and more
(AP) -- One word sums up the announcements made by the Big Three gaming companies at the E3 this week: more. During their flashy news conferences, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony all announced plans for more games, more sequels, more exclusives, more connectivity and more ways for gamers to use their systems for stuff other than gaming.
PC shipments grew faster than expected in 2Q
(AP) -- Computer shipments rose faster than expected in the second quarter, fueled by exceptional demand in emerging markets and a decline in prices in the U.S. and Western Europe, a research group said Wednesday.
Video game industry tries to broaden its appeal
(AP) -- A tough little blob must splash color over a town wallowing in gray. Bug-eyed rabbits do a dance routine. And then there's the "perfect equine farm" of wild horses for little girls to tame and train.
NIU engineers make micro-milling affordable
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Northern Illinois University College of Engineering and Engineering Technology has created a new micro-milling machine that could open doors for small machine shops looking to manufacture the tiny parts demanded in the medical, military and aerospace fields.
