WildCountry Research Projects

1. In 2004 the Commonwealth Government awarded a substantial Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant to the ANU, in partnership with the Wilderness Society. This grant funds a three year program investigating WildCountry research questions.

The three main research themes addressed by the project were:

1. Dispersive fauna;

2. Faunal declines in extensive country; and

3. The role of dingos in trophic regulation.

The eight subprojects spanned these three themes and addressed:

1. Space/time variability in biomass production;

2. The ecology and conservation of Flock Bronzewing;

3. Avifauna conservation in the woodlands of south west Australia;

4. A continental analysis of dispersive avifauna;

5. The conservation effectiveness of protected areas in Northern Australia;

6. Charting Aboriginal Knowledge of Mammal Declines in Northern Australia;

7. Trophic regulation by strongly interactive species expert workshops;

8. The ecological role of the dingo.

View the 'WildCountry Science Report: ARC Linkage Grant LP0455163 for Research on Connectivity Conservation' (12.2MB pdf)

2. The Wilderness Society has coordinated the production of two major scientific reports on the natural values, threats to and conservation status of two significant natural areas in Australia:

• Northern Australia (Kimberley - Top End - Gulf Country - Cape York Peninsula) and
  
• SW Western Australia's Great Western Woodlands. 
  

These reports have been written by Wilderness Society staff ecologists and WildCountry Science Council members. The 'Nature of Northern Australia' was launched in September 2007 and The Extraordinary Nature of the Great Western Woodlands (7.9MB pdf) was launched in 2008.

3. Conservation management for Kimberley wildlife is the focus of a current project. The Kimberley is critically important for many species of native fauna that are either restricted to the region, or have declined across other parts of northern Australia.   

In collaboration with CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, the WildCountry Science Council and many other expert contributors, we are investigating the management actions required to protect Kimberley wildlife from some of the major threats it currently faces; inappropriate fire regimes, grazing by non-native herbivores, predation by feral animals (particularly cats) and weed invasion.  

We are considering what the necessary investments are in management activities, their feasibility and how they might be prioritised for maximum benefits to wildlife. 

The report on this project will be launched later in 2010.