Northern Quoll project #quollpatrol
- Aug 7, 2016
- 1 min read
G'day from the Pilbara!
These projects were the first live-away (and fully funded) trips I did as a conservation biologist (graduated !! wooo) which made it super exciting :)
The first was looking at feral cat (Felis catus) control in the Pilbara (Western Australia) and the effect of widespread 'Eradi-cat' baiting on the endangered Northern Quoll (Dasyurus halluctus) following intensive trials. This involved setting motion-sensor camera traps to survey feral cats as well as a mark-recapture program to better understand population demographics (distribution and abundance of quolls throughout the Pilbara sites). The results of baited sites (Yarraloola) and unbaited sites (Red Hill) could then be compared to understand the impacts of 'Eradi-cat'.
This video shows my experiences at Red Hill:
The second #quollpatrol project was involved tagging and trapping Northern Quolls throughout the West Australian Pilbara and Kimberley regions to gage population abundance and distribution. This dataset will be collected over a 10year period to improve longer-term research toward better understanding quoll population dynamics.
In this way, threatening processes can be identified, and their influence quantified to improve and direct conservation efforts in order to protect these endangered species.
This video will hopefully provide you with a bit more info (and also cute quoll pics!!)
If you want to GET INVOLVED in this project (or similar ones), check out the DPaW volunteering page HERE and sign up for any/all advertised projects that might be of interest to you! :) ALSO check out their volunteer newsletter as that often lists some opportunities
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