Volunteers track koalas for science Liz Bell liz@baysidenews.com.au
KELLY Smith is researching koala populations and their spread across the Mornington Peninsula and Gippsland to understand more about their genetic diversity and health.
EVERY Monday until the end of May, volunteers around the Mornington Peninsula are being asked to search for little black nuggets - the poo equivalent of searching for gold. The volunteers are part of a study led by Kelly Smith, of Dromana, from Federation University, which is gathering information on the movement and health of koala populations around the peninsula and Gippsland. There have been plenty of Eureka moments for Smith and her volunteers, with every find contributing to a bank of evidence and data about presence of disease, genetic diversity, ancestral origin and gender. Smith says the genetic sampling of koala scats (poo) is an ethical method of research because researchers are not bothering the koala, and the cost of research is minimal. “It’s amazing what you can find out by analysing koala scats, so on every Monday for the rest of this month I will be calling on volunteers to help me visit certain areas and look for scats,” she said. “It’s a great way to help understand the koalas that we have left and work on ways we can help them.” The Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation group is involved in the citizen science project, but more people are needed to find koala scats across the Gippsland plain - which includes the Strzelecki and Wilsons Promontory bioregions, and the Mornington Peninsula, Cardinia, and Bass Coast areas. “It’s really important to find volunteers who can help with this project because more than 70 per cent of koala habitat is on private property, and therefore most koalas are located on private land and difficult to access without permission,” Smith said. “It’s helping us to determine where
the koalas that are here came from, whether they are part of the koalas from French Island, or from around the Gippsland plain bioregion.” Before European settlement koalas were interconnected across the entire Gippsland plain but are now separated by agricultural land. Koalas were hunted for their fur in the 1800s and trees were cleared, restricting the movement of koalas. With koala numbers and genetic diversity low, a breeding program was started on French Island to reintroduce healthy koalas to the mainland using just a handful of koalas. However, researchers soon discovered that due to inbreeding low genetic diversity and a high incidence of chlamydia was threatening their survival. “There is one koala population in the Strzelecki Ranges which has been found to be a remnant koala population of special significance with high genetic diversity,” Smith said. “There is evidence suggesting some koalas from the original population may still remain in areas such as the Mornington Peninsula, Tooradin, Cranbourne, Koo Wee Rup, and Grantville.,” she said. “If this is the case, then it will be important to protect the genetic integrity of koalas in these regions, and conserve them as an insurance population. Individuals could be used for genetic rescue of populations where genetic diversity is low.” Anyone with koalas visiting their property or who regularly sees koalas and would like to be a part of the project should phone Smith on 0432 530 443 for a scat collection kit. Volunteers are being asked to look for koalas and use toothpicks to collect fresh scats from under the trees. The group volunteering days on Mondays at 1pm will be held around Mount Martha, Mount Eliza and Frankston. Interested people can join the Mornington Peninsula Koala Project Facebook page.
SUE Scholey from the Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation group, which is already heavily involved in the citizen science project.
WHAT’S NEW...
Fish Creek Tea Cosy Festival
The biggest tea cosy ever AT approximately five metres high and 20 metres in circumference, it will be very difficult to miss the World Record attempt for the Biggest Tea Cosy ever at the Fish Creek Tea Cosy Festival, Saturday 14 May at 1.30pm. The Tea Cosy Festival Committee is thrilled to be hosting Knit-a-Row-and-Go’s attempt for the World’s Biggest Tea Cosy. Knit-a-Row-and-Go (KARAG) is a charity group from Melbourne’s bayside suburbs of Frankston and Chelsea; it was established several years ago with the purpose of knitting scarves and rugs for the homeless. KARAG convenor Di MacDonald is a teacher. Di and two of the students in her kids knitting group decided they needed a challenge and thought they’d attempt a Guinness World Record. Di and her mum attended the 2018 Tea Cosy Festival, with knitting needles and wool in hand. As they wandered around the Tea Cosy Exhibition they were knitting rows towards the giant tea cosy. Support for the Record attempt snowballed
and knitters of all ages throughout the Frankston community, regional Victoria, other states and even New Zealand have been knitting furiously to create this tea cosy on steroids. Friends and Frankston businesses have assisted in the design and construction of a tea pot that will be transported to Fish Creek for the official measuring to take place on Saturday 14 May from 1.30pm. After the World Record has been confirmed, KARAG members will deconstruct the giant cosy into rugs to be distributed by charitable groups to the vulnerable in bayside communities. The Tea Cosy Festival runs for nine days from 14 to 22 May and features the Tea Cosy Competition and Exhibition, Cabaret, High Tea, Devonshire Teas, craft workshops and the ever-popular Bendigo Bank Market Day with craft stalls, food, music and a magician for kids of all ages. Full details available at www.teacosyfestival. com.au More info – KARAG Facebook Group
14 - 22 May
• Tea Cosy Exhibition • Biggest Tea Cosy World Record attempt • Bendigo Bank Market Day • Cabaret, theatre performances & music • Craft workshops • Tea tastings & talks • High Tea & more
See website for full program:
www.teacosyfestival.com.au Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News
4 May 2022
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