Lee, E, Croft, DB & Ramp, D 2010, 'Flight response as a causative factor in kangaroo-vehicle collisions' in Coulson, G & Eldridge, M (eds), Macropods: The Biology of Kangaroos, Wallabies and Rat-kangaroos, CSIRO PUBLISHING, Collingwood, Australia, pp. 301-311.
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The reactions of large animals to vehicles approaching along roads and the role these reactions play in the likelihood of collisions with vehicles are not well understood. This study examined the flight responses of kangaroos (Macropus spp.) to an approa
Ramp, D 2010, 'Roads as drivers of change for macropodids' in Coulson, G & Eldridge, M (eds), Macropods: The Biology of Kangaroos, Wallabies and Rat-kangaroos, CSIRO PUBLISHING, Collingwood, Australia, pp. 279-291.
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As an iconic and predominantly endemic Australian family of mammals, the Macropodidae are synonymous with Australia's faunal identity. Of the 53 species known prior to European settlement, six have since gone extinct and many more have suffered significa
Tacon, PS, Chapple, RS, Merson, JA, Ramp, D, Brennan, W, King, G & Tasire, A 2010, 'Aboriginal rock art depictions of fauna: What can they tell us about the natural history of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area?' in Lunney, D, Hutchings, P & Hochuli, D (eds), The Natural History of Sydney, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Australia, pp. 58-73.
Garvey, N, Ben-Ami, D, Ramp, D & Croft, DB 2010, 'Survival behaviour of swamp wallabies during prescribed burning and wildfire', WILDLIFE RESEARCH, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 1-12.
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Context. Prescribed (or controlled) burning is frequently advocated as a means of reducing fuel loads in peri-urban forests to minimise the risk of high-intensity wildfires. An important consideration in prescribed burns is the impact on native wildlife. Aims. An opportunity arose to follow the movements of radio-collared peri-urban swamp wallabies during a prescribed burn and after an unexpected wildfire in the same location a short time later. Movement data was used to assess the relative impacts of the prescribed burn and wildfire on mortality, emigration and habitat use; the behavioural responses and methods of avoidance used by swamp wallabies in response to an oncoming fire front; and the management implications for wildlife that inhabit fire-prone habitats in proximity to human settlement where wildfire mitigation is necessary. Methods. Here we report on the movements of radio-collared swamp wallabies, Wallabia bicolor, before, during and after a prescribed fire and after a wildfire on the same site 6 months later. Key results. No radio-collared swamp wallabies were killed during the prescribed burn and only one wallaby was observed to emigrate from the area post-fire. This contrasted to the wildfire where one wallaby died during or just after the fire and another perished in the post-fire environment a few months later. The wildfire also increased emigration post-fire. Conclusions. We demonstrate that wallabies can avoid fire fronts and that this avoidance behaviour may be more successful during cooler fires. The prescribed burn provided a suitable habitat for wallabies but did not result in a shift in habitat preference. Implications. Mitigation of the impact of prescribed burns on swamp wallabies may be achieved by allowing sufficient time for habitat complexity to re-establish between burns. © CSIRO 2010.
Riley, S & Li, G 2010, 'Bridging the Language Divide: An Innovative Teaching Project to Help International Students from China in Learning Business Law Subjects', International Journal of Law and Education, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 109-124.
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Thomson, FJ, Moles, AT, Auld, TD, Ramp, D, Ren, S & Kingsford, RT 2010, 'Chasing the unknown: predicting seed dispersal mechanisms from plant traits', JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, vol. 98, no. 6, pp. 1310-1318.
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The dispersal capabilities of most plant species remain unknown. However, gaining basic dispersal information is a critical step for understanding species' geographical distributions and for predicting the likely impacts of future climate change. Dispersal mechanisms can indicate short- or long-distance dispersers, and highlight important biological interactions. To predict dispersal mechanisms for species where information is limited, we used generalized linear mixed models with basic life-history and ecological traits. Sets of models were created (using Australian species) for six dispersal categories: wind, unassisted, water, ant, vertebrate-ingestion and vertebrate-attachment dispersal mechanisms. We validated our models on the dispersal mechanisms of 50 Australian, 30 Californian, 30 Swiss plant species and a global compilation of 70 species. Growth form, seed mass and vegetation type were the main predictor variables. Our models predicted dispersal mechanisms for Australian and Californian plant species equally well (c. 70% correct) and to a lesser extent for the Swiss flora (c. 50% correct). Our models predicted observed dispersal mechanisms (c. 50% correct) equally well to inferred dispersal mechanisms (based on seed morphology). Synthesis. Our approach of using easily obtainable traits for predicting dispersal mechanisms of species allows dispersal information to be predicted for species where little is known. From here, the application of realistic dispersal curves to the predicted dispersal mechanisms will further understanding on the dispersal capabilities of species. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 British Ecological Society.
Ben-Ami, D, Croft, DB, Ramp, D & Boom, K Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS 2010, Advocating kangaroo meat: towards ecological benefit or plunder?, Sydney, Australia.
