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‘Spotting’ a fire: Quoll Survey 2009
by Jesse Rowland & May-Le Ng
Setting traps
photo:Don BaxterWhen we received an email from Quoll Seekers Network (QSN) in October asking for volunteers to participate in fieldwork in North Queensland, we just couldn’t say no.
We, Jesse Rowland and May-Le Ng, two intrepid volunteers and members of QSN, travelled to Crediton State Forest (approximately 70km west of Mackay) to assist with the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) survey of northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) between 30 November and 11 December 2009.
Northern quolls (herein referred to as ‘quolls’) are listed nationally as Endangered and are declining in Queensland and many other parts of their range. The main threats to this voracious marsupial include habitat loss and fragmentation, competition and predation by introduced species such as foxes and cats, and inappropriate fire regimes. Poisoning by cane toads (Rhinella marina) has also been identified as a serious threat, particularly in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Radio tracking for Quollsl
photo: Don BaxterThe purpose of the survey was to study one of those key threats: the effects of prescribed burning on the local quoll population. More specifically, data collected about the survivorship and movement of quolls living within Crediton State Forest in areas proposed for burning will be compared with data obtained from quolls living in the nearby area known as Quoll Camp, which will not be burnt.
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Two female quolls had been trapped and radio-tracked for two months prior to the survey commencing. Expectations were high at the beginning of the survey at the thought of capturing new quolls. We are happy to report that a new male and two new female quolls were trapped and collared over the fortnight of trapping. The new quolls generated much excitement amongst the team, even though we were short of reaching our target of having seven quolls collared. The male and one of the females were captured in the area that will not be burnt while the other female was caught in the area marked for prescribed burning.
Each collared animal was tracked to its den daily where they were found to be utilising crevices in rocky outcrops, root systems of old tree stumps, hollow logs and small holes in the ground. Two point centre quarter vegetation surveys were also completed each day in the vicinity of trapping sites to gain an insight into the habitat quality of these areas.
The two females that were collared prior to this survey appeared to have stopped moving in the first three days of the second week of the survey. One was tracked to a den in rocky soil on a slope close to a creek. The den was excavated and the collar was found and retrieved near some nesting material within a large hollow tree root. The marsupial was not recaptured and it is suspected that she has since died as one of the newly trapped females has been using her dens.
Team leader John Augusteyn holding the
infamous Black-headed Python just
after it had been dug from underneath the rock
photo: May-le NgThe second quoll whose signal indicated that she had stopped moving was another story altogether. A few days earlier, when she was still roaming around her territory, team members found a black-headed python (Aspidites melanocephalus) outside a hollow log where she was denning for the day. Having frightened the snake away by our presence (some of us more frightened by presence of the snake!), we thought we had saved the quoll, we were wrong… The signal was later tracked to a large rock in a creek bank. Initial investigations lead us to determine the entrance to the den where a black-headed python (we suspect it was the same python seen a few days before) was discovered curled up under the rock. After much deliberation, digging in soaring temperatures and nearly giving up half a dozen or so times, the python was finally excavated from underneath the rock and the collar was subsequently found, lodged in its abdomen. Unbeknown to the snake, it was the most expensive meal it had ever consumed not to mention the fact that this particular quoll was in the area flagged for burning which meant that it was very important for the project in terms of getting decent pre and post-burn data. The unlucky python was taken to a vet in Mackay to have the collar surgically removed to prevent any harm to the reptile and was released a few days later. Unfortunately, another female quoll captured earlier on in the year was not recaptured and is also believed to have died.
It was not only quolls that couldn’t resist the delicious bait mixture of rolled oats and sardines. Other native animals captured included common brushtailed possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), fawn-footed melomys (Melomys cervinipes), yellow-footed antechinus (Antechinus flavipes), eastern chestnut mouse (Pseudomys gracilicaudatus), an inquisitive small-eyed snake (Cryptophis nigrescens), and a very unhappy rufous bettong (Aepyprymnus rufescens). Two harp traps were also set up and over 20 bats belonging to three different species (Miniopterus australis, Vespadelus troughtoni and Nyctophilus geoffroyi) were captured.
In total, eight DERM staff and eleven volunteers participated in the survey over the two weeks. It is with great pleasure that the survey has been deemed to be a success, despite not catching the target number of quolls. Nevertheless, having the rare opportunity to see this endangered marsupial carnivore up close in the wild was definitely a source of inspiration for everyone involved. Both of us hope to volunteer on the next quoll survey and strongly encourage others to get involved in these worthwhile projects – you’ll be amazed at what you see and more importantly, what you learn!
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