The nesting season has already begun with the projects boxes becoming hot property for many species.  We have had the first successful nest of White-throated Treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaea) in one of our project boxes which is very exiting for our bird loving team! Bring on the 2015 breeding season! (Photo Credit: Andrew Rogers).

Looks like the Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus moluccanus) are ready to settle in …

… or maybe the Pale-headed Rosellas (Platycercus adscitus) have decided to take over! …

… wait a second, you’re not a bird! (Common Brush-tail Possum, Trichosurus vulpecula)

Community outreach is an important component of our teams focus and we encourage our group to get involved in as many ways as possible. Carla Archibald and Andrew Rogers, members of our Urban Birds project, had the opportunity to work with the Museum of Brisbane on an educational children’s workshop earlier this month. The workshop complimented an exhibition currently on show at Museum of Brisbane titled Navigating Norman Creek. Navigating Norman Creek features films by historian and creek resident Trish FitzSimons focusing on the history and ecological importance of Norman Creek. The workshop was held at Moorhen Flats along the bank of Norman Creek and a bright group of children plus parents joined Carla and Andrew for a leisurely stroll to celebrate the important role of Norman Creek for wildlife in Brisbane. The session was filled with exciting animals, as we were able to see and hear many of the resident birds that call Norman Creek home. We also learnt about mangrove ecology as well as observed some native wildlife in the Biodiversity Research Group’s nest boxes in Norman Park.

This was a great opportunity for our researchers to get involved with the community and projects outside of the University. If you would like further information about the exhibit please visit the website or pop into the Museum:

Opening Dates: 19 Jun – 11 Oct 2015
Website: www.museumofbrisbane.com.au/whats-on/navigating-norman-creek/

Photo Credit: Museum of Brisbane

Congratulations to lab member Dr Tessa Mazor and fellow CEED PhD graduates on the completion of their respective projects. A PhD project can take many years to complete and is full of challenging problems that need innovative and comprehensive solutions. Tessa’s project focused on advancing conservation planning in the Mediterranean Sea, advancing the theory of systematic conservation planning and developing solutions with implications for the Mediterranean region. She has since started a postdoc at the CSIRO in Brisbane working on fisheries management and is soon expecting her first child. Well done Tessa! Good luck and all the best for your future endeavors, you have a bright future ahead of you!

Hats off to the 2015 Graduates!

A warm welcome to some new group members that are starting projects with us:

• Maggie Mckeown is starting a Masters project.
• Carly Martin and Emma Lee are both starting their Honours projects and,
• Matt McKinney has been working with us for over a year as a research assistant but is now transitioning into his PhD.

Image: Matt McKinney working on some coding (Photo taken by Carla Archibald)

Don’t forget we have a lot of fantastic photos from our invasive species research, taken by local photographer Steve Gray or Biodiversity Research Group lab members.

With the help of UQ’s Property and Facilities Division, the Biodiversity Research Group has set up a few nesting boxes for our invasive species project at the Gatton and St Lucia campuses. The boxes have been popular with the new residents, which you can read about in UQ’s Sustainability News.

The National Environmental Research Program (NERP) Environmental Decisions Hub has featured a media release on our research, with an interview from Salit Kark and Professor David Lindenmayer from ANU.

Read the release here or visit NERP Environmental Decisions Hub.

It’s the end of 2014 and Kark Group has had a huge year. Here’s a summary of all the things we got up to over the last 12 months.