Lorna’s camera traps captured many priceless images of quoll presence and absence, as well as of introduced predators (such as cats) and other co-existing mammals, birds, and insects.
In June 2015, I had the fortunate opportunity to volunteer on a field research project that seeks a better understanding of endangered Northern Quoll ecology in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
We used live traps to determine local population status in two different locations. There was a high percentage of repeat visitors which seemed to indicate the quolls didn’t seem to mind being trapped if they could indulge in a free snack.
Lorna Hernandez-Santin’s PhD research with the University of Queensland is looking into why Northern Quolls appear to be declining in grasslands and retreating into rocky habitats in the Pilbara. Quoll populations are in decline across Australia, and we need to figure out why before it’s too late. It was my job to help Lorna collect the measurements she need for her PhD research.
It’s known that poisonous (introduced) cane toads are a big threat to quolls. Being carnivorous marsupials, toads are a tempting meal for a quoll. However, one dose of cane toad is lethal. The range of cane toads has spread from Queensland, where they were introduced, across Australia. However, they have not (yet) reached the Pilbara, which is the Northern Quolls last remaining stronghold. Investigations in the Pilbara for what other complicating factors are resulting in quolls disappearing across the continent is a next step to unravelling the mystery.
After we recorded measurements, we released the quolls to go about their business.
Lorna is examining the effects of introduced predators, such as cats, and habitat quality on local quoll populations at two sites: the beautiful Milstream-Chichester National Park and at Indee Station where Betty and Colin kindly welcomed us to the property they manage.
This year, before I arrived on the project, there was dry wet season and a wet dry season. During my visit, the landscape appeared to have lots of green vegetation with lovely blooming Mulla Mulla. There were many welcoming pools of standing water. But the dry wet season may have adversely affected the quolls. Population numbers seemed to be down, though I felt lucky to meet the quolls that I did.
The quolls went quickly about their daily activity, which always involved a sprint to a safe retreat. Quolls are most active in the cloak of darkness between 6 pm and 6 am and so we only opened the traps right before darkness fell in the evening, and checked for quolls first thing in the morning so they could be released as close to dawn as possible.
Lorna’s preliminary results indicate a large temporal overlap in cat and quoll activity, and that accessible rocky habitats with close proximity to water sources may be required for quoll persistence in the Pilbara. Hopefully, her research will contribute to a better understanding of quoll needs that will assist in decreasing further declines in quoll populations.
Nancy Auerbach 