Enthusiastic volunteers are required to assist our research on the post-fire ecology of the Mountain Brushtail possum in the Victorian Central Highlands. We will use a landscape study to investigate the mechanisms which allow this species to persist within extensively burnt landscapes. We will use GPS telemetry to compare possum habitat use and dispersal habit between landscapes which were burnt to different degrees by the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires.
Volunteers are primarily needed to help deploy, retrieve and clean traps. This work will be strenuous and will involved clambering through dense re-growth vegetation and ascending/ descending steep slopes with heavy loads (and possums!). Other tasks will potentially include safely handling animals during trapping and processing, radio-tracking, vegetation surveys and spotlighting. Due to the demanding nature of the landscape, you must be physically fit and prepared to work in all conditions. Trapping will begin early in the morning and work will continue throughout the day concluding at dusk. Volunteers must be passionate about wildlife conservation and available for at least one whole week. The work will all be conducted around the Cambarville Area. Food and accommodation in Healesville will be provided. If interested please contact me and I will send you an information pack including the dates for each trapping session.
laurence.berry@anu.edu.au
Fire Ecology in the Victorian Central Highlands 