Wildlife Australia - Spring 2006 - South Australia

Home to powerful geography- hot, arid inland meets chilly Southern Ocean - South Australia has also developed some inexpected environmental alliances. at Roxby Downs, where human settlement is sparse, feral animals are legion and mining as the major industry and funding source, Adam Bester draws on his experience with island populations to manage the Arid Recovery Project.

We also look at the change from single species as a conservation focus in 'Group therapy'; an astonishing range of species at the far fringes of their distribution in 'Marches to malle', and visions of the past and future in 'Walking on Eyre' are all part of this edition of Wildlife Australia.

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Contents...

Group Therapy: the changing face of species recovery.

By Peter Cale, Leanne Miadovan, Mark Schultz and Claire Treilibs.

A nearly inaudible buzz, a flash of blue, some rustling amongst the spinifex - a typical sighting of the mallee emu-wren. This tiny wren inhabits malle and heaths across a shrinking range of the Murray in South Australia and Victoria, and like many fellow inhabitants it is a struggle for survival.

But what do you save? The most endangered? The most likely to succeed? The most appealing? The queue of threatened species is now far too long for a one-at-a-time approach; it's time to start asking new questions!

 

Strangely familiar: Australia's Borneo connection.

By Tim Low

Both have dense, diverse, leech-infested rainforests, but look up - is that a tree-kangaroo, or an orang-utan? Then there are the bird links: migrants, colonisers, visitors and unusual relatives.

Amongst the hornbills, orang-utans and dense rainforest, an Australian observer catches the occasional glimpse of friends and family.

 

Beyond the feral fence: Roxby Downs Arid Recovery

By Adam Bester

This dry, delicate landscape once supported at least 27 species of native mammals. Sixty percent are gone. Is restoration possible?

On land managed for the extraction of copper, uranium, gold and silver, a unique program between industry, government, education and community aims to restore an area of degraded land in South Australia's arid region.

 

Marshes to mallee: the wealth of threatened wildlife surviving in South Austalia's sout-east corner.

By Dan Harley

Stretching from Coorong to the Victorian border, from the coast to Highway 8 and the Western and Dukes Highway between Melbourne and Adelaide, the south east corner of South Australia is one of the state's most diverse regions for natural history.

Malleefown typically occur in medium-low densities throughout large blocks of semi-arid mallee. At a couple of sites in the south east, the situation is quite different...

 

To your health, Banrock style!

An interview with Tony Sharley

How many bottles of wine have been opened and quaffed with a toast 'to your heath'? Banrock Station takes it a step further. The South Australian wine label is well known for its connection to wetlands and environmental support. WAM talks to Banrock Station's environmental manager about how they balance the budget, the vintage, the visitor experience, corridors of vines for the benefit of the native wildlife.

 

Walking on Eyre

By Lee K. Curtis

What would travellers on the Eyre Penninsula have seen 160 years ago? A variety of open scrub...

We can't revisit the past, but we can draw on past knowledge, as Ark on Eyre, part of the state East meets West environmental progam demonstrates.

 

Lesson from a wild man: a Steve Irwin experience

By Zali Brooks

Celebrity, media star, zoo director - but first and foremost, a passionate advocate for wild animals - Steve Irwin touched a lot of lives.

Steve's enthusiasm extended across the whole range of animals; he once said, 'my job is to make the animal look good'. You're not likely to forget your first perentie, whether its in the wild or, in Zali's case, sitting on your desk in the classroom.

Wildlife Australia CyberJungle

• Frogs of Australia
• Frogs Australia
• Wikipedia
• Arid recovery
• Banrock Station
• Gluepot Reserve
• Fauna Rescue

Also in this edition:

Editorial, City Animal, NatureWatch, Books Reviews, Spring Skies, Young and Wild, Scratchings and Rustlings, WPSQ in Action, Letters, Swamp Cartoon and our regular environmental crossword.

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