NERP Northern Australia Hub

What would Kalan wetlands look like without feral pigs? That’s the question Hub researcher Justin Perry from the CSIRO and the Kalan rangers are asking. The Rangers are setting up an experiment to compare fenced wetlands, which have been protected from threats, to unfenced sites.

In this video the Warddeken Rangers explain how to set up a camera trap methodology. Camera traps are a simple and effective way to understand what animals are on country.

Feral cats are eating native Australian animals. Indigenous rangers and Traditional Owners from the Warddeken Indigenous Protected Area have been working with scientists to monitor native mammal numbers and the impact of feral cats on their country.

Twenty-nine mammal species have become extinct since European settlement – more than 10% of Australia’s endemic mammal fauna.

Native mammals have been in broad scale decline across northern Australia, however the mammal populations on Bathurst Island near Darwin in the Northern Territory appear to be in relatively good condition. In this video Stuart Young and Willie Rioli from the Tiwi Land Rangers talk about the mammal populations on the Tiwi Islands.

The Tiwi Islands are 80 km north of Darwin. They consist of 11 islands in total with Melville and Bathurst islands being the two largest.

Doing field work on the floodplains of Kakadu isn’t always easy. Watch the story of Dominic and Francisco’s encounter with a crocodile on the Yellow Water floodplain, while they were conducting field work a Northern Australia Hub biodiversity research project.

Peter Novak explains his research findings on freshwater prawns (Cherabin)

Largetooth Sawfish are a threatened species. Historically overfishing and loss of habitat have contributed to the decline of the species. In September 2012 Rita Pirak discovered nine small sawfish stranded in an isolated floodplain waterhole. Rita knew the sawfish were uncommon because she had been helping Charles Darwin University scientist Peter Kyne with his field work, monitoring the movements of sawfish in the Northern Territory’s largest perennial river, the Daly river. This short video documents the rescue.

Thomas Schroeder explains how remote sensing is used to monitor the Van Diemen Gulf.

How well do we know the aquatic plants and animals of northern rivers, wetlands and estuaries?

Some species of fish that look the same are actually different species and new species are still being discovered. Scientist Mark Kennard explains that the Daly River has a high biodiversity value with an array of different fish species. Understanding these different aquatic plants and animals is important in order to effectively manage for long-term resilience.

What is under the surface of tropical floodplains in Kakadu National Park? Tiffanie Nelson explains.