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Yes! PhD student Jasmine conducting fieldwork in Betong. Photo courtesy of the University of the Sunshine Coast.
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PhD student Jasmine conducting fieldwork in Betong. Photo courtesy of the University of the Sunshine Coast.
It's a uniquely Australian problem involving wild kangaroos jumping from bushland onto highways full of moving vehicles, with potentially deadly consequences.
To prevent such collisions from injuring wildlife and humans, researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast have begun measuring the hopping movements of a small native kangaroo called the betong with unprecedented biomechanical precision.
And preliminary results from tracking data from this new high-tech collar are promising, showing the ability to distinguish between five behaviors when the animals are moving around undisturbed.
“We need to understand exactly why and how different kangaroo species hop so that we can better predict their movements in different habitats,” said Associate Professor Christopher Clemente from UniSC, who led the international study launched a year ago.
On-site work
The team is working at a wildlife sanctuary southwest of Brisbane, attaching custom-made collars to the necks of betting kangaroos, also known as rat kangaroos.
The operation involves capturing the rabbit-sized marsupials, moving them around in a pouch and fitting them with collars – which may require anesthesia – which are then removed and collected after a month.
UniSC science PhD student Jasmine Annett said the thin leather collar was an improved version of one designed by WildSpy for UniSC's koala tracking study, and was GPS and VHS compatible, with a new accelerometer which sensed vibration and speed.
“Kangaroos have been collared with movement trackers for geospatial studies, but our 3D accelerometry data will provide the first detailed understanding of the animals' behaviour in relation to habitat preferences,” Annett said.
“Combining this data will help us understand how kangaroos of different body masses hop in different habitats.
“For example, we know that eastern grey kangaroos are widespread in rural and coastal urban areas, but what factors in these areas influence their movements and how quickly do they move?”
She said the collar already identifies five behaviors to analyze: feeding, grooming, jumping at different speeds, resting and nesting.
The movements of the mahogany flying squirrel are also useful for research. Photo courtesy of the University of the Sunshine Coast.
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The movements of the mahogany flying squirrel are also useful for research. Photo courtesy of the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Helping kangaroos and people
An NRMA report published in late 2022 estimates that 10 million animals are killed each year on Australian roads in collisions with vehicles, with wallabies and kangaroos most likely to be affected by fatal collisions.
Annett said the research ultimately aims to improve safety for both wildlife and road users.
“The project is designed to understand the biomechanical constraints of kangaroo movement in natural and man-made landscapes to better protect kangaroos and prevent collisions with vehicles,” she said.
Dr Clemente, an expert in evolutionary biomechanics, said there was still a lot we didn't know about Australia's iconic kangaroo species, including how this unique animal moves, lives and evolves in Australia's changing landscape.
Glider takes off into the sky
Annett said her PhD was an exciting follow-up to her UniSC Science honours research, in which she worked to collar gliding marsupials at the Hidden Vale Research Centre, also co-founded by Queen's University and the Turner Family Foundation.
The study, conducted under Dr Clemente's supervision and published in a recent paper in the Journal of Zoology, compared the behaviour of mahogany flying squirrels and brushtail possums by using machine learning algorithms to analyse accelerometer data.
“The study distinguished 12 flying squirrel behaviours from 10 possum behaviours, such as walking on ropes and shade sails,” said Annette, a Chancellor State University graduate and past chair of Mooloolah River Landcare Waterwatch.
The findings suggest that gliders may have evolved to spend more time in the air to avoid dangers on the ground.
Further information: JR Annett et al. “Comparative analysis of the behavioral repertoires of mahogany flying squirrels and brushtail possums using accelerometer loggers and machine learning algorithms.” Journal of Zoology (2023). DOI: 10.1111/jzo.13125
Journal information: Journal of Zoology
