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| | Welcome
We acknowledge the enormous impacts of COVID-19 on the community, our people and our partners. Our field work has also been affected and we are adjusting many of our projects. We will continue to keep connected with you and share our ongoing work.
The recent bushfires in eastern Victoria also delivered impacts on communities and the environment which will be felt for many years to come. The fires were on a scale and severity that has been hard to comprehend. ARI’s expert knowledge and datasets have proved vital for supporting DELWP’s response to these fires, such as identifying priority species and actions for recovery. Other ways ARI has contributed include visiting fire-affected communities to help locals understand fire impacts on the environment (picture at left shows Michele Kohout at Mallacoota), and ‘rescuing’ aquatic fauna from fire-affected waterways (see one of our featured projects below). Much of this work has built on learnings from previous fires, including 2009, which put us in a good position to respond quickly this time. More about ARI’s involvement in the past Natural Values Recovery Program is below.
A theme that is consistently identified as an important component in helping human recovery is people connecting with nature. Our other projects featured in this issue follow this theme: identifying key behaviours that will help protect nature and encouraging keen birders to help us document birdlife in wetlands. We hope you find these interesting, and if you are currently confined to your home, we encourage you to explore and join the various online communities helping us keep connected to nature.
Regards
Dr Kim Lowe
Research Director
Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research
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| | Behaviours that can make a difference for nature
Our actions can impact nature in many ways, so how we act can be a powerful way to support nature. We have identified five key behaviours that any Victorian can adopt to help nature. All are associated with feeling connected to and/or engaging directly with nature.
Find more about this project on our website
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| | Bushfire response - rescuing aquatic fauna
Macquarie Perch and Murray Cod have been relocated to areas unaffected by fire, while galaxiids and freshwater crayfish and mussels are being temporarily housed at the ARI aquarium. These actions are aimed at helping these species survive the impacts of ash, debris and sediment that can be washed into waterways after fire.
Find more about this project on our website
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| | Help us survey birds for environmental watering study
We are inviting bird observers to become citizen scientists and help us document birdlife in some of Victoria’s key wetlands. This data will complement that being collected by our WetMAP program which is investigating how birds, frogs and vegetation respond to water for the environment.
Find more about this project on our website
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| | 2009 fires: Natural Values Recovery Program
Learnings from the devastating Victorian bushfires of 2009 have informed responses to those in 2019-2020, particularly around biodiversity and community recovery. The program that was established after 2009 resulted in research on impacts on flora, fauna and environments and how they recover, management of pest species and engaging the community. Reports detailing the ARI led-projects are available on our website.
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| | Farewell to Professor Andrew Bennett
Prof Andrew Bennett took up the inaugural ‘Science Leadership & Capability’ role in 2015, a joint ARI and La Trobe University position. For the last five years he has provided outstanding leadership, support and guidance for building capability and enhancing the quality of research at ARI.
We thank Andrew for his valuable contribution to ARI over the years, and wish him all the best as he continues at La Trobe University – we will certainly be keeping in touch and drawing upon his incredible knowledge and experience.
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| | ARI quarterly research updates
In case you missed them, recent editions of our Aquatic and Terrestrial Quarterly Updates are now available.
The aquatic edition features updates on Freshwater Catfish relocation, involvement in the response to the recent bushfires, completion of the Carp biomass estimate project, rediscovery of the Purple-spotted Gudgeon, and staff presentations and publications.
Terrestrial news includes outcomes of a study on Koala translocation, rediscovery of the Winged Peppercress, a new feral pig management project, Victorian wind farms and potential impacts on bird and bats, and staff presentations and publications.
Interested in receiving these directly? All are welcome to sign up!
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| | Recent videos (link to YouTube), fact sheets, poster (link to PDF) and media releases
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| | Recent journal articles (link to abstract) include:
Forbes, J.P., Todd, C.R., Baumgartner, L.J., Watts, R.J., Robinson, W.A., Steffe, A.S., Murphy, J.J., Asmus, M.W., and Thiem, J.D. (2019) Simulation of different fishery regulations to prevent population decline in a large freshwater invertebrate, the Murray crayfish (Euastacus armatus). Marine and Freshwater Research (online early)
Forsyth, D.M., Pople, A., Woodford, L., Brennan, M., Amos, M., Moloney, P.D., Fanson, B. and Story, G. (2019) Landscape-scale effects of homesteads, water, and dingoes on invading chital deer in Australia’s dry tropics. Journal of Mammalogy 100(6): 1954–965
Robley, A., Cockman, L., Donald, S., Hoskins, M., Shiells, A. and Stringer, L. (2019) Assessing the effectiveness of cage trapping to manage feral cats for biodiversity conservation in Victoria: a Biodiversity Response Planning project. Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Technical Report Series No. 306. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Heidelberg
Scroggie, M.P. and Ramsey, D.S.L. (2019) Kangaroo harvest quotas for Victoria, 2020. Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Technical Report Series No. 308. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Heidelberg
Tonkin, Z., Sharley, J., Fanson, B., Raymond, S., Ayres, R., Lyon, J., Balcombe, S. and Bond, N. (2019) Climate variability regulates population dynamics of a threatened freshwater fish. Endangered Species Research 40:257-270
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| © The State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning 2020
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