Animals surviving and sometimes thriving
Book Review: Secrets of the Saltmarsh
written by Claire Saxby & illustrated by Alicia Rogerson
Reviewed by Amelia (age 9)
Secrets of the Saltmarsh looks like a fiction book because of its beautiful illustrations and the writing structure, but it is filled with tonnes of bustling facts about the saltmarsh environment!
It was a good book, but I didn’t really enjoy it. The illustrations make up most of the book and give the hint it is for age 9 and below, but because there are a lot of big scientific words that I don’t understand, it would be better to read with an adult who can explain.
Migratory species
This year the United Nations (UN) produced the first ever State of the World’s Migratory Species report. It provides a global overview of the conservation status and population trends of migratory animals including some that spend time in Australia, such as Southern Right Whales the Bar-tailed Godwit (mentioned in the Autumn 2023 Nature Kids).
The report found falling populations in nearly half the 1,189 species tracked by the UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species. Nearly 97% of fish listed under the Convention are at risk of extinction.
Migratory journeys are critical to these animals’ lifecycles – to find food, mates and/or a better climate. But migration – whether by sea, land or air – is getting harder! The two main threats to migratory species are habitat loss/degradation/fragmentation and overexploitation caused by people (eg fishing).
So what can be done? Scientists and researchers say each country needs to actually do what it has already promised, which is to protect and restore migration pathways. We can all play a part in that!
Good news … Growing platypus and bettong populations!
A six-month-old named Gilli is the first-known platypus born in the Royal National Park in more than 50 years! She was named “Gilli” for a Dharawal word meaning “flame”.
Her birth follows a translocation program that rehomed 10 platypuses in the Park in last May (noted in the Spring 2023 Nature Kids).
Meanwhile Brush-tailed Bettongs reintroduced in the Pilliga State Forest doubled their population despite experiencing fires and floods. This species was extinct in NSW before 55 were translocated in 2022 as part of a conservation program. Now invasive species need to be reduced across the Pilliga before the Bettongs can be released beyond the current conservation area.
Find out more Brush-tailed Bettongs
What in the world … acoustic invisibility cloaks and disruptive colouration?!
We all know animals use different tactics to scare off or hide from predators, but have you heard of these?
Quolls are one of the only Australian mammals to have white spots! Exactly why is a mystery, but scientists think this nocturnal animal’s spotty pattern helps break up its shape so it can blend into its environment and avoid detection from predators like dogs, cats and foxes. This is called “disruptive colouration”.
Other forms of defence used by animals include smell and acoustic “invisibility” cloaks!
No laughing matter …
Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay and Wiradjuri people named the “guuguubarra” – the laughing kookaburra – which is native to eastern mainland Australia. Ancestors of this kingfisher family member can be traced back about 16.3 million years according to genetic analysis!
The guuguubarra’s laugh is its way of marking its territory and saying: “This is my space”. But a combination of people-related factors – climate change, bushfires and land clearing – is causing a rapid decline in laughing kookaburra numbers across its range along Australia’s east coast.