Courtney Adams (an OFF research grant recipient) presented an illuminating talk on the Numbat. Many people have only heard of this grey, brown marsupial but have very little actual knowledge. It is much smaller than expected, only weighing about 5kg, very cute with increasing stripes toward its tufted tail. Its diet consists solely of termites eating approximatley 20,000 a day and they do not drink. Their numbers have plummeted, being decimated by cats, dogs, etc – the usual culprits.
Courtney’s research focussed on tracking and observing numbats in 2 wildlife sanctuaries in WA and SA, where, as feral animals have been excluded, the numbats are surviving. They exist in grasslands where there are fallen trees. They “nest” under logs, bushes and tree roots and can produce up to 4 young a year. Numbats are active during the day (diurnal) and could therefore be affected by increasing temperatures brought about by climate change. They prefer temperatures between 20 – 32 degrees C, and need enough time to be able to find food. They slow down when temperatures are too high. If they don’t get enough nutrition they lose condition. Courtney used wildlife cameras and tracking collars to collect her vast amount of data. She still has more photos to search through, thus her research is ongoing.
After Courtney’s great presentation she answered many questions from the very appreciative audience. She really knew her subject.
You can view Courtney’s presentation here.
PROMO
OFF research grant recipient, Courtney Adams, will present her research on understanding how extreme heat impacts the behaviour and physiology of some of Australia’s threatened desert mammals, Numbats (Myrmecobius fasciatus). Numbats are the only strictly diurnal Australian marsupial, making them vulnerable to high temperatures. An increase in extreme heat due to climate change may exceed the tolerable limits of numbats and/or reduce foraging time, leading to starvation or loss of body condition.
During the 2023-2024 summer period, accelerometer collars were fitted to numbats within predator free reserves. These collars measured changes in fine-scale behaviours and energy expenditure, and were compared to weather station data to determine how heat influenced activity. Researchers found some changes in daily patterns of activity were unrelated to maximum temperature where numbats expended greater amounts of energy in the morning and afternoon, and used less energy in the middle of the day. However, researchers also found declines in energy expenditure above certain temperature thresholds. The future survival of this species relies on identifying how they are impacted by heat.
Courtney is a second year PhD student, supervised by Katherine Moseby and Richard Kingsford, at the University of New South Wales.
This meeting will be held in the Oatley Uniting Church Hall at 7.30pm and on-line by ZOOM. The ZOOM link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3742141020?omn=86110187560 or open ZOOM & enter meeting ID: 374 214 1020.