Preservation of Australia's smallest and most threatened animal is in the hands of postgraduate student Kristin Donaldson from UQ's School of Biological Sciences.
Ms Donaldson is hoping her work will find a balance between pastoral land use and the future of the Bridled Nailtail wallaby.
Her research will measure the spread of buffel grass into the Park, which is home to the last 100 remaining wallabies in a natural population.
Ms Donaldson said during the past 200 years, Australia had experienced one of the worst mammal extinction rates in the world with almost half of all mammals that have gone extinct were Australian.
"Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) is an imported pasture grass from Africa which is of great economic benefit to Australian pastoral communities who value buffel for its ability to deal with heavy grazing conditions, to withstand disturbance, tolerate droughts and to adapt readily to surrounding areas," she said.
"Unfortunately all these characteristics valued for pasture production are also making this grass a serious invasive weed. Buffel grass is of great concern in many parts of Australia, and in particular to Australia's wildlife."
She said the aim of the study was to examine the effects of vegetation change and experimental reduction of buffel grass.
"I will visit Taunton National Park up to four times to trap wallabies and collect data on body size, body condition, parasite loads, and breeding success," she said.
"The information will be used to assess the effects of buffel grass on the health of wallabies and to measure changes in condition following vegetation manipulations.
"I will conduct experiments to control buffel grass in clearings where Bridled Nailtail Wallabies feed.
"I will test different methods of buffel grass control and analyse the response of the grass and wallabies to the different treatments. This work not only requires close surveying of the vegetation but also regular monitoring of the response of the wallaby population.
"GPS and radio collars will be fitted on the wallabies to investigate habitat use and distribution changes before and after experimental reduction of buffel grass.
"Pasture composition and biomass will be monitored and manipulated, in particular buffel grass, to assess its response to slashing and burning to control buffel grass in a replicated, controlled experiment. We will also monitor wallaby responses using spotlighting and camera traps.
"It is important to find out what is happening and try to find a way to conserve the remaining Bridled Nailtail Wallabies."
If you are interested in the project and want more information or want to volunteer, please contact Kristin Donaldson. Ms Donaldson will be in the field at Taunton National Park during May.
Media: Kristin Donaldson (0435 518 759) or Tracey Franchi, Communications Manager School of Biological Sciences (3365 4831, t.franchi@uq.edu.au).
