Welcome to the seventh edition of the Wet Tropics e-Bulletin.
This edition features outcomes of student research projects funded by the Wet Tropics Management Authority2015 Student Grant Scheme.
You can also catch up on some of the latest news about rainforest research, policy snapshots and tropical research issues for the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.
Since 2012 the Wet Tropics Management Authority has managed a Student Research Grant Scheme—a competitive funding program that promotes post-graduate research into a wide range of issues relating to the management of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. Successful applicants demonstrate how their projects meet the priorities outlined in Australia’s Wet Tropics: An outstanding learning landscape.
You can Subscribe to the Wet Tropics Management Authority’s Learning Landscapes eBulletin here.
The following stories are included in this eBulletin:
Bettongs Join Forces with Truffles to Promote Tree Health -
Susan Nuske (PhD Candidate with James Cook University): Is the endangered northern Bettong, Bettongia tropica, a keystone ectomycorrhizal fungi disperser?
Read more about Susan’s research findings here.
Blooming deadly: flowers as dispersal platforms for pathogens in bees -
Terence Purkiss (Honours Graduate, James Cook University: Blooming deadly: Inflorescences acting as dispersal platforms for pathogens. This research investigated the susceptibility of native stingless bees to transmission of parasites through flowers.
Read more about Terence’s findings here.
Throw any old log on the fire? -
Fleur King (PhD Candidate, La Trobe University): Investigating firewood strategies and palaeovegetation using charcoal analysis in the rainforest of the Atherton Tableland.
Read more about Fleur’s findings here.
Yellow Crazy Ants Kick Out Native Ants -
Meg Collis (Masters Graduate, James Cook University): The effect of Yellow Crazy Ants on native invertebrates: An analysis of pitfall trap contents from the ‘Wet Tropics Management Authority Yellow Crazy Ant Eradication Campaign.
Read more about Meg’s findings here.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush – resolving landscape connectivity -
Christina Buelow (PhD Candidate, James Cook University: The role of mangrove birds in coastal ecosystem connectivity
Read more about Christina’s findings here.
Northern Bettong: Population, Foraging and Nesting -
Tegan Whitehead (PhD Candidate, James Cook University): Population abundance, microhabitat resource use and ecology of the northern bettong
Read more about Tegan’s findings here.
