Dragons of Sydney

Dragons of Sydney Wrap Up

Posted by NPA NSWon August 31, 2018in Spring 2018Leave a comment

^{Stephanie Clark, Citizen Science Officer}

Citizen scientists from all over Sydney have been collecting data on the charismatic Eastern Water Dragon with ROARING success! Water Dragons are an impressive semi-aquatic lizard found near fresh water and patches of bushland along the eastern coast of Australia. Full of character, and found at sizes up to a metre long, they are a much loved native species and perfect candidate to study the effect of urbanisation on native species. The ‘Dragons of Sydney’ project aimed to inspire, educate and increase community involvement in the conservation of Eastern Water Dragons.

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Citizen Science and Community Projects Update

Posted by NPA NSWon June 1, 2018June 1, 2018in Citizen science & Community Engagment, Nature NSW, Winter 2018Leave a comment

Margot Law and Stephanie Clark, Citizen Science Officers.

The ‘Dragons of Sydney’ project conducted a Sydney-wide Water Dragon backyard survey. This survey aimed to uncover the features of people’s backyards that led to the presence or absence of water dragons; things like water features, vegetation, presence of pets, and personal uses of backyard space.

Citizen science update

Posted by NPA NSWon March 1, 2018March 1, 2018in Autumn 2018, Citizen science & Community Engagment, Nature NSWLeave a comment

^{Stephanie Clark and Margot Law, NPA Citizen Science Officers}
NPA’s citizen science team has just got back from the 2018 Citizen Science Conference in Adelaide. NPA showcased its citizen science projects and won a highly commended award for our poster “Landholders ask: Who’s living on my land?” The conference filled us with enthusiasm and ideas for more citizen science activities and community based programs. Autumn is going to be a jam-packed season of citizen science activities – keep an eye on our Facebook and website for updates!

The Dragons Among Us

Posted by NPA NSWon June 16, 2016October 13, 2017in UncategorisedLeave a comment

Contributed by: James Baxter-Gilbert (PhD Student from Macquarie University, NSW)

The Australian Water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii) is a large lizard species common along the eastern coast of Australian ranging from Queensland to Victoria. There are two subspecies described: the Eastern Water Dragon (Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii) living in the northern extent of the range, and the Gippsland Water Dragon (Intellagama lesueurii howittii) living in the south¹. The males of this species are larger in size and will defend a territory, displaying a bright red chest coupled with head-bobbing and arm-waving to communicate to other males to stay away. Females will regularly mate with multiple males to ensure genetic diversity of her eggs; a single clutch of eggs may have 2-3 different fathers² divided between 6-18 eggs.