Kark group updates

Some members of the Kark Group had a great time at the NESP islands workshop on Monday the 4th of July and Tuesday the 5th. We were also fortunate enough for some members to attend the SCBO (Society for Conservation Biology) conference on the 6th – 8th Of July.
Congratulations to all members and speakers on the presentations given and the posters displayed.

Media Article (Flickr paper)

Download (PDF, 778KB)


New paper: Effects of Ecotones on Biodiversity

This paper is currently in press but will be available on our webpage soon!

Kark, S. 2016. Effects of Ecotones on Biodiversity. In: Reference Module in Life Sciences, Science Direct, 02290, Oxford.


New paper: Night lights ad Flickr photos can be used for conservation

The end of 2015 saw another great article published. This article, published by Noam Levin, Salit Kark and David Crandall assesses human presence beyond populated areas through the use of social media.

Complete reference: Levin, N, Kark, S & Crandall, D 2015, ‘Where have all the people gone? Enhancing global conservation using night lights and social media’, Ecological Applications, vol. 25, no. 8, pp. 2153-67.

Download (PDF, 2.15MB)


Decision Point articles

The end of last week saw an important conversation being held by our associate professor Salit Kark through Decision point. It was about conservation in a time of oil and gas development.

Download (PDF, 362KB)

Tessa Mazor also had some of her work published on Decision Point about ‘Tracking turtles in the Mediterranean’

Download (PDF, 411KB)

 

 


End of honours for Emma Lee and Carly Martin

This week saw the end of a very stressful year for both honours students Emma Lee and Carly Martin. These girls both worked extremely hard on their projects and just this morning, presented their final talks in front of a crowd of students, teachers and friends. We would like to say well done girls, you have both done an excellent job and we look forward to seeing what the future holds!


Summer Research Interning with Rebecca Turk

I am born and raised in Brisbane, currently studying a Bachelor of Applied Science majoring in Wildlife at UQ Gatton Campus. While I was on holiday in Japan a fellow student mentioned a Summer Research Project they thought I would be interested in, more specifically a chance to work on the South-East Queensland Invasive Bird Project with the Biodiversity Research Team. Seeking to develop some new skills and eager to gain more practical experience I sought some more information and sent in my application, and was ecstatic to get accepted!

The experience so far has been greatly rewarding and enjoyable with all of the Team being incredibly helpful and informative. My main responsibilities include travelling to our Cavity Nesting Species Project sites with Andrew and Carla to assist in checking our nest boxes and collecting data, in addition to also sorting through and cataloguing the camera trap data we have obtained in order to gain a better insight into cavity nesting species behaviour and their interactions with other species.

Additionally, other skills I have learned during my time here include how to use a GPS, improved bird identification skills through both visuals and calls, becoming more knowledgeable of my surroundings such as which trees are more likely to have cavities and what species may inhabit them, as well as gaining a better understanding and appreciation of how research is carried out and completed.

I’d like to thank Salit and the Team for allowing me this great opportunity, as working on this project has reinforced my interest in birds as well as invasive species, and granted me a better idea of what I would like to do after completing my degree.

Here are some photos from the camera trap project I have been working on.

Stay tuned for an update on nesting attempts in our Project Boxes!

Salit
Squirrel Glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) inspecting project nest box
Salit
Barn Owl (Tyto alba) perching on top of project nest box
Salit
Southern Boobook Owl (Ninox boobook) perching on top of project nest box
Salit
Juvenile Collared Sparrowhawk (Accipiter cirrocephalus) attempting to hunt an Indian Myna
Salit
Common Brush-tail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) investigating the inside of a project nest box


Carla Archibald’s Experience in Peru working with Macaws at the Tambopata Research Center

Earlier this year in January Carla traveled over to Peru to work with Macaws at the Tambopata Research Center. The Tambopata Research Centre (TRC) is nestled on the banks of the Tambopata River in the Madre De Dios Department of Peru, 6 hours by boat from civilisation. A Peruvian architect, Eduardo Nycander founded the research centre in 1989 just a 5 minute boat ride from the Collpa Colorado, the largest and most biodiverse known avian clay-lick in South America, and arguably the world. Close to 20 parrot species, including 6 macaw species consume this clay, normally right after sunrise. In 1999 Professor Donald Brightsmith, an ornithologist from Texas A&M University, became the director and expanded the centre’s focus to include how the macaws interact with their environment ecologically and physiologically.

During her time working at TRC she was able to apply some of the skills she has acquired while working on the Cavity Nesting Species project with the KARK Group. The opportunity to visit another lab and learn how other groups approach cavity nesting species is a fascinating and excellent experience we encourage all of our students to participate in. If you want to read more about Carla’s Experience in Peru working with Macaws and Tambopata Research Center please follow this link
 
Read More about Carla’s TRC Experience

CARLA

 


Amélie’s Australian Adventure: Her research internship with the KARK Group

I am currently studying Agronomy Engineering  in France. As a part of my studies I had the great opportunity to do an internship with A/ Prof Salit Kark at ARC CEED (Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions) at the University of Queensland from April to August 2015.

During this time, I got the chance to attend Kark group lab meetings and some CEED talks where I learnt a lot about species conservation and invasive species.

For my research, I was in charge of characterizing the vegetation on various sites, which are currently used for the Urban Bird Project. I learnt how to use ArcMap and IDRISI to create a vegetation index and land cover maps (with Matt’s help). I also made a fieldwork analysis conducted with Andrew and Carla, of the Queensland sites in order to characterize these areas and the trees present around the nest boxes. I learnt how to prepare and conduct a fieldwork plan and a lot of things on Australian’s birds and trees.

My time in Brisbane was an incredible one. It helped me in my near future to know what kind of subject I want to work on.

I’d like to thank Salit for the amazing opportunity she gave me, for her time and for her instructions. I’d like to thank as well all the group members that were really welcoming and made my internship an amazing one.

It was really an unforgettable experience; I already miss the people who surrounded me during these few months.

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Je suis actuellement en école d’ingénieur en Agronomie en France et j’ai eu l’opportunité, durant ma deuxième année d’étude, de faire une stage avec Salit Kark au sein du CEED (Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions). J’ai réalisé ce stage dans l’Université du Queensland à Brisbane d’avril à août 2015.

Durant cette période, j’ai eu la chance de participer aux réunions du groupe de Salit et d’assister aux conférences organisées par le CEED, ce qui m’a permis d’approfondir mes connaissances sur la conservation des espèces et la gestion des espèces invasives.

Mon stage consistait à caractériser la végétation et les environnements sur les différents sites où le projet d’étude des oiseaux en ville est mené. J’ai appris à me servir d’ArcMap et d’IDRISI afin de calculer des indices de végétation et de créer des cartes d’occupation des sols (avec l’aide de Matt). J’ai aussi mené une étude de terrain, en coopération avec Andrew et Carla, sur les sites du Queensland, afin de caractériser ces zones et de conduire une étude sur les arbres présents autour des nichoirs. J’ai appris beaucoup d’informations sur les arbres et les oiseaux en Australie, mais aussi à réaliser et à mener une étude de terrain.

Mon expérience à Brisbane fut extraordinaire. Cela m’a aidé pour construire mon projet professionnel et pour découvrir des problématiques qui m’intéressent.

J’aimerais remercier Salit pour l’incroyable opportunité qu’elle m’a donnée, pour son temps et ses instructions. J’aimerais aussi remercier les autres membres du groupe qui m’ont accueilli chaleureusement et qui ont rendu mon stage formidable.

C’est une expérience que je ne suis pas prête d’oublier. Les personnes qui ont partagés mon quotidien pendant ces quelques mois me manquent déjà.

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KARK Group Students Confirm

We have had 3 of our PhD students confirm their PhD candidature in the last month. Congratulations Andrew, Ruben and Hernan on your efforts and hard work in the past year and all the best for the remainder of your studies.
Confirm


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Except where noted, all photos are credited to Salit Kark, Noam Levin and Jeremy Kark.
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