Frog Honours Research Assistance
In 2021, I reached out to an Associate Professor to see if there was research I could assist with and he mentioned there was a student doing her honours which I could assist with. She was completing her honours in frog ecology and during the surveying component, I assisted by assisting with pitfall trapping and checking PVC pipes.
I assisted in the initial setup by opening the pitfalls after not being used for a while and scooped out water, wiped down the bottom to soak up the water, replaced broken float devices and hides and reported if lids were damaged or broken.
During the surveying stage, I would assist the student and other volunteer and would check traps. If there was a frog in the trap, I would place on rubber gloves, take the frog out of the trap, and place them in glass petri dishes and place the dish on grid paper. I would then take a picture of the dish on the graph paper from the top and then place the grid paper on top of the dish and take an image from underneath the dish. Animals were all released back to their environment.
Larger frogs, toads, reptiles or mammals that were caught were measured using rulers and weight bags. Snout-Vent/Snout-anus length, tail, foot (third toe to base of foot), tympanum, thigh length (frogs), and other visible characteristics were recorded. I assisted with this for roughly 10 days or more.
Trapping & Surveying
For our bachelor’s, we did a number of courses in the field;
- Bird Watching – we walked through Hiddenvale around a Billabong and along a sloped hill through to open grasslands (Same property, two different sites). We then did a comparison of the two sites and discussed the differences of biodiversity. We used binoculars and notepads and field guides to help us ID books. We also listened for sounds in the environment and identified bird calls.
- Assisting surveying the Hiddenvale property at the “Ridge” site and the “Billabong” site. We learnt to use pitfall traps, Elliot trap, small cage traps and large cage traps. We learnt to set them up with baits (peanut butter balls and peanut butter and jam sandwiches) as well as setting them up in relation to possible habitats where animals may be found. We were taught how to check to make sure the traps were working and being triggered effectively.
- A part of our pracs also had an identification component, where we learnt to look at bones, faeces, scales, footprint molds, horns/antlers and other remains to identify species based on the characteristics. We used guides such as books and images to correlate the specimens.
- In our third year, we went to a conservation park and assisted with setting up Cameras to monitor species in the area. The area had issues with feral dogs, pigs and cats so or images were used for assisting in surveying. We then went through all the images and sorted them and identified species and number of images of species to provide a summary and graph for assessments.
In my holidays, I would often assist with surveys and trapping. In 2021, I also assisted ANU who had come to Hiddenvale to survey Eastern Chestnut Mice (Pseudomys gracilicaudatus) as part of their reintroduction program into ACT. I set up a number of pitfall lines and Elliot traps in known habitats and then assisted in processing the animals caught. After the surveying, I would go back to the Wildlife Centre and assist cleaning the traps and sweeping or mopping the floors after volunteers walked through with dirty or muddy shoes.
Raptor Road Survey
When I had time off, or a free morning or day period, I would assist a friend, colleague and PhD in the same space as my honours with his road surveys for identification of raptors. He would provide a meeting spot and he would take me to the start of the survey point. His car was open top, allowing us to look for raptors. At the start, safety was done by placing the logo for the survey on the car, safety lights and I would set up the camera and set up the equipment needed and ensure they were all within reach. When conducting the survey, we look on power lines, along tree lines, on agriculture equipment and in trees to search for raptors. When these were found, we pulled over and I would take a snap of images and write down the species in a provided diary. My colleague would take distance measurements from where the vehicle was from the spotted individual. He would also take compass bearings and confirm the species. These surveys were done in the morning (7:30 to 12) and afternoon periods (12 – 4).
PhD Supervisor Assistance
Throughout my Honours, I will be doing Honours as a smaller project underneath a wider project. My secondary supervisor, Dr. Jon-Paul Emery, is conducting his research in the same space but on a wider scale. To learn about the research I will be doing, I accompany JP when I can on trips to various sites and assist with either setting up surveys or assisting him in checking them. We get to the sites where he checks the ambient temperature. I will lift up artificial refuges and we will both scan underneath to find individuals. If there are some, we catch them and they g
