Honours, PhD or other research projects can be conducted at Arid Recovery either through the University of Adelaide or any other suitable university or research instititution. Contact the Arid Recovery Research Scientist on info@aridrecovery.com to register your interest in any of these projects. Other external projects may also be supported so if you have an idea for research at Arid Recovery, please contact us to discuss. Depending on project priorities, students may receive free or subsidised accommodation, use of equipment and vehicles, field support, OH&S support and/or supervision.

Honours Projects

The effect of rabbits, cats and foxes on bird distribution, abundance and/or reproductive success.

Initial data suggest that some bird species have benefited from the removal of rabbits, cats and foxes from the Arid Recovery Reserve. This project investigates which bird species have been affected by the removal of introduced species and whether the response is due to the removal of herbivores or predators. This project involves comparing bird abundance and composition inside and outside the Reserve as well as within an area of the Reserve where cats are present but not rabbits.

Reproductive suppression in the Spinifex Hopping Mouse, Notomys alexis; the influence of food resources or overcrowding.

Previous studies at Arid Recovery have suggested that whilst hopping mice numbers are considerably higher inside the Reserve, breeding is considerably lower. Reproductive suppression could be due to limited food resources due to high population size or to overcrowding. This study would involve supplementary feeding at sites inside and outside the Reserve and potentially removal of individuals to determine the influence on reproduction.

Changes in bat abundance, behaviour and species assemblages inside and outside the Arid Recovery reserve.

Using Anabat software and radiotracking, bat density, diversity and habitat use would be compared inside and outside the Arid Recovery Reserve. The increased vegetation condition within Arid Recovery may be facilitating increased insect density thus potentially supporting higher bat numbers within the Reserve. Bat ecology may also be affected by the low predator numbers within the Reserve which may allow bats to roost in different macro or micro habitats.

Habitat preference of the Western Barred Bandicoot.

The Western Barred Bandicoot is a poorly studied marsupial that has been re-introduced to the Arid Recovery Reserve. Although broad habitat data has been collected for the species it is not known what its fine scale habitat preferences are within the Reserve. Information would be used to map suitable habitat and locate suitable sites for future releases within the Reserve.

PhD projects

Can native predators be used to regulate confined populations of reintroduced native species?

This study explores the use of a variety of native predators (e.g, Woma pythons, Western Quoll, Dingo) as a means of regulating reintroduced species such as Burrowing Bettongs etc. Re-introducing animals to confined areas such as islands or fenced reserves can lead to problems of overstocking and vegetation damage. It is not known if native predators can be re-introduced into these confined areas to effectively regulate reintroduced prey species.

Stick-nest Rat nest fidelity and population dynamics.

Stick-nest rats are generally thought to be communal with many individuals inhabiting each stick nest. However, recent work at Arid Recovery suggests stick nests only support one to two individuals and that there is a high turnover of individuals at nest sites. This study would investigate whether related rats inhabit a nest or whether juveniles inherit a nest from their mother. Questions such as do rats defend a nest site or is nest occupation fluid and continually changing would also be investigated by trapping and radiocollaring adult and juvenile rats to determine dispersal etc.

The effects of reintroduced and feral species on invertebrate distribution and abundance.

The effect of rabbits, cats and foxes on the invertebrate species at Arid Recovery is unknown. Increased vegetation cover may be beneficial to some insect species but others may have declined due to the re-introduction of insectivorous marsupials. This project would compare invertebrate abundance and composition at sites inside and outside the Reserve using light traps, pitfalls etc as well as using control sites located in areas where feral and re-introduced species are absent.