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Taronga Zoo

@tarongazoo

21 Aug

As Taronga’s Research & #Conservation Coordinator, & a marine biologist specializing in #ConservationGenetics, Dr Jo Day, wears many hats – & most are waterproof! Jo’s work covers many areas & species, including the little-known Port Jackson #shark... #MarineScience #ScienceWeek

Data from GPS and accelerometer tags fitted to Taronga zoo-based Port Jackson #sharks allowed the team to identify resting & active swimming, as well as feeding behaviour.

Using fine and broad scale #MovementEcology data from these Port Jackson #sharks, #MachineLearning models allowed the team to identify these key behaviours in this elusive #marine #shark species. mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/2…

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Taronga Zoo

@tarongazoo

21 Aug

@PitcherBen

Getting lost in the crowd can be a problem when you’re an #endangered sea lion pup. Taronga behavioural ecologist @PitcherBen & collaborators are decoding #Australian #sealion communication to understand how mothers and pups recognise each other in a busy colony #ScienceWeek

@RSocPublishing

Australian sea lions use a combination of sound, sight and smell to communicate and recognise their pups. Mothers can use the size and colour patterns in pup coats to help located their offspring in a colony royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.109… @RSocPublishing #AnimalCommunication

Smell is critical to recognition. Mums will smell pups they encounter while searching the colony to confirm which pup is their own offspring. Each sea lion has a unique smell and mums learn the odour of their pup sciencedirect.com/science/articl… #AnimalCommunication

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Taronga Zoo

@tarongazoo

20 Aug

Taronga is also reminding #RegentHoneyeaters how to tweet! Their song has been changing, perhaps due to small fragmented populations &reduced opportunity to learn from adults. Taronga keepers began playing songs to juvenile birds to teach them the right ones to sing. #ScienceWeek

Results are showing that #RegentHoneyeaters that were tutored to sing, either directly by adult birds or by virtual tutoring, had a better chance of surviving in the wild.

We’re now working with researchers at ANU to understand how best to teach birds to sing and why song is important to survival theguardian.com/australia-news…

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Taronga Zoo

@tarongazoo

20 Aug

The #RegentHoneyeater is one of Australia’s most #CriticallyEndangered birds. There are <350 birds left in the wild. For >20y, Taronga has been #ConservationBreeding an insurance population. Since 2008, >300 birds have been released to bolster wild populations. #ScienceWeek

#RegentHoneyeaters are in decline due to threats from #habitatloss and degradation. #Drought, #bushfire, competition, and now even the precariously small size of the remaining population all pose risks to the species’ survival.

Our team of #RegentHoneyeater keepers are experts in #ConservationBreeding these amazing birds. Here specialist keeper Kara Stevens explains our progress at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo.

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Taronga Zoo

@tarongazoo

20 Aug

Another flagship and large collaborative #ConservationBreeding project that Taronga is involved in concerns the #CriticallyEndangered #PlainsWanderer, a bird that few people have probably heard of and even fewer have seen. #ScienceWeek

@EDGEofExistence

The #PlainsWanderer has no living close relative, which places it top of the @EDGEofExistence list. Remnant populations of this small ground-dwelling bird are mostly in Victoria, eastern South Australia and in the western Riverina region of NSW.

@ZoosVictoria

Though excellently camouflaged, #PlainsWanderer are just the right size to be eaten by invasive foxes. Taronga is working with @ZoosVictoria to establish an insurance population & recently built a #ConservationBreeing facility at Taronga Western Plains Zoo #sanctuary, #Dubbo.

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Taronga Zoo

@tarongazoo

20 Aug

A fantastic moment in Taronga’s #bilby #conservation program was releasing #bilbies to SturtNP Western #NSW as part of the Wild Deserts Project. This large collaboration centres on #reintroduction of locally #extinct species. #SavingOurSpecies #ScienceWeek

The #bilbies are a key part of the Wild Deserts project in #SturtNP and, as ecosystem engineers, are paving the way to #HabitatRestoration across thousands of hectares in #NSW. #SavingOurSpecies PC: Bobby-Jo Vial

The #reintroduction of #bilbies to the wild as part of the Wild Deserts project with UNSW, DPIE and the region’s Traditional Owners, the Wongkumara and Maljangata people, was a great step forward in restoring this western corner of NSW. PC: Bobby-Jo Vial

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