Dr Steve Johnston

A UQ scientist is to establish the world’s largest echidna research centre with the help of a UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award.

Dr Steve Johnston, senior lecturer and reproductive biologist in the School of Animal Sciences, was awarded $60,000 to set up a national research centre on Queensland’s Gold Coast.

“This is exciting because the research grant will allow scientists from Australia and overseas to study the animals in a way that has never been possible before,” Dr Johnston said.

“Echidnas are ubiquitous in the sense that you’ll find them everywhere from Kosciusko National Park to the desert.

“The problem is that they are very unpredictable, so it is very difficult indeed to observe them in the wild.

“This has been an issue in the past, and why it is so good to have a dedicated facility with a decent number of animals to observe.”

Dr Johnston said the UQ Echidna Study Program would attract overseas interest because echidnas held a key to understanding the evolutionary process of animals.

“Echidnas are primitive mammals and they can teach us a lot about evolutionary biology,” he said.

“They will also help us to understand the reproductive physiology of animals including other mammals, reptiles and even birds.

“We expect the research will enable us to learn more about the reproduction of animals such as those in the endangered monotreme group, which includes the platypus, and the short and long-beaked echidnas.”

• Dr Steve Johnston www.uq.edu.au/uqresearchers/researcher/johnstonsd.html

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