R E S E A R C H E D U C A T I O N O U T R E A C H

Samford Ecological Research Facility

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

Phone +61 7 3138 9500 | Fax +61 7 3138 4438 | Email ife@qut.edu.au Mail GPO Box 2434, Brisbane QLD 4001

www.serf.qut.edu.au | www.qut.edu.au/ife

© QUT 2014 20600

ifeInstitute for Future Environments

Samford Ecological Research Facility Annual Report 2013Samford Ecological Research Facility Annual Report 2013

The Samford Ecological Research Facility (SERF) is a 51-hectare property in the Samford Valley. The property was generously bequeathed to QUT by renowned Queensland entomologist Dr Elizabeth Nesta Marks AO. Seventy percent of SERF is covered with vegetation providing refuge to native plants and animals under increasing pressure from urbanisation. The vegetation is protected and classified under the Vegetation Management Act 1999.

SERF is managed by the QUT Institute for Future Environments. It is used for research, teaching and learning programs about many subjects, including water

Message from the SERF Management Team............................................ 2

Research ................................................................................................... 4

Education .................................................................................................. 6

Outreach .................................................................................................... 8

Operations and management ................................................................... 10

Dr E. N. Marks Sustainability Award winner ............................................. 12

quality, groundwater systems, soil mapping, air quality, micro-biology, invertebrate and vertebrate biology, plant biology, ecology, experimental design, population management, ecosystem ecology, long term ecological research, geographic information systems, vegetation mapping, sustainable building techniques and ecosystem monitoring.

SERF is also part of the Australian Supersite Network, a facility of the Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Network (TERN), a nationwide Australian Government program of systematic, automated monitoring of ecosystems.

About the Samford Ecological Research Facility

Message from the SERF Management Team

Dear Friends and Neighbours,

We are delighted to share with you our Annual Report for the Samford Ecological Research Facility. In 2013 Dr Juan Cooper, the Distributed Sites Manager for QUT’s Institute for Future Environments (IFE), joined the SERF Management Team as we continued to expand our long-term ecological research programs and undergraduate student programs.

It was another exciting year at SERF – exciting because researchers from around the world and Australia are coming to SERF to learn about the last patch of remaining vegetation in the Samford Valley. The team from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology visited SERF again for several months to continue their research into the red-backed fairy wren and to start studying the variegated fairy wren (see page 8). We farewelled the team leader, Daniel Baldassarre, who has completed his studies. Dan has been a regular at SERF over the last few years and a new team of Cornell researchers will be taking his place later this year.

Dr Matthew Dunbabin, internationally known for his robotics research, joined the IFE in 2013. Dr Dunbabin wasted no time in getting out to SERF and trialling some of his robots for infra-red vegetation surveys. Using a CSIRO invention called Zebedee, he generated a point cloud map of several areas of SERF. Zebedee is a LIDAR (light detection and ranging) device that captures environmental objects in 3D. The point cloud captured of the SERF homestead, inside and out, can be viewed from any angle using 3D software and light rendering tools (see the image on the next page and see page 5 for more information).

SERF is also part of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), a long-term, nationwide ecological monitoring project; at SERF we measure the impacts of peri-urban development on the remnant vegetation and the ecology of the Samford Valley. As part of the Australian Supersite Network (ASN), SERF hosted

Professor David Ellsworth, an expert in ecology and forestry. Together with Professor Peter Grace, further work was undertaken on the core one hectare vegetation plot, focusing on the response of forest to climate change. Professor Grace and Michelle Gane are working with the TERN and the ASN to continue funding for the long-term ecological research program that started in 2009.

QUT’s PhD students are making some impressive progress in their research to understand processes going on during urbanisation and their effects on greenhouse gas emissions. Next year our researchers will continue to delve into the complexities of climate change processes and their influence on forests and pastures, as well as playing (we mean working!) with robots.

QUT’s Dr Susan Fuller and Dr Ian Williamson had another successful undergraduate ecology camp at SERF in 2013, with students learning how to trap, identify and release small mammals, reptiles and frogs. See page 6 for more about the educational field trips to SERF in 2013.

Ensuring that SERF is a healthy and safe work environment and complying with relevant regulations are of paramount concern for the IFE and QUT. The University Animal Ethics Committee inspected SERF in September 2013 and reported no concerns with the care and use of fauna on the site. The University Risk and Assurance Management Service also performed an internal review of the management of risk at SERF in October. Based on the work performed and the current level of activity at SERF, the review found nothing to suggest that the current system for identifying and managing risks is inadequate. One of the good practices noted was the presence of a full time Site Technician to ensure ongoing monitoring and management of risks.

Facing page: LIDAR point cloud image of the SERF homestead.

Samford Ecological Research Facility Annual Report 2013

The final requirement under the ‘Material Change of Use’ Development Approval from Moreton Bay Regional Council (MBRC) was completed in May. Three metres of frontage along the boundary of Camp Mountain Road was relocated to make way for a multi-use trail. QUT and MBRC once again worked effectively together to minimise the impact to the waterways and vegetation at SERF. A 1.1 km fauna-friendly fence was installed and all affected areas were rehabilitated. Continuing our efforts to provide all-weather access throughout SERF, we upgraded various walking trails in 2013 and constructed a new footbridge (see page 10).

On behalf of the SERF team at QUT, thank you for being part of another great year at SERF.

Michelle Gane and Juan Cooper

Research

SERF is a unique facility that gives QUT researchers and students opportunities to investigate the climate, environment, soil, water, vegetation and wildlife of a peri-urban ecosystem. As shown in the Research Activity table on page 5, many research projects started in previous years carried on through 2013, including studies of greenhouse gas emissions, soil chemistry and water quality at SERF. Several new research projects also started at SERF in 2013, including a study of the Queensland fruit fly and various environmental monitoring and mapping projects.

Insect behaviour research

In November 2012, three insect screenhouses were installed at SERF, giving QUT researchers unprecedented opportunities for studying the behaviour of insects. Because insects are so small, studying them in the field poses severe challenges; on the other hand, studying them in small laboratory cages can produce biologically unrealistic results. The very large screenhouses at SERF offer a great compromise, allowing experimenters to manipulate the insects in ‘semi-field’ conditions.

Throughout 2013 (and into 2014), the screenhouses have been used extensively for experiments on the Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni. The Queensland fruit fly is an endemic pest of Australian horticulture for which non-pesticide-based management tools are

Image above left: Artificial plants in the SERF screenhouses. Image above right: Queensland fruit fly pairs mating in the SERF screenhouses.

desperately needed. QUT is conducting two primary lines of research, the first investigating new attractants for female Queensland fruit flies and the second developing an understanding of the fly’s mating behaviour. The attractant work, co-funded by Horticulture Australia Ltd and the Plant Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre, is investigating novel attractants, based on chemical and visual fruit mimics, for egg-laying female flies. If such an attractant can be developed, horticultural producers could use it to lure females away from the crop to be killed. The chemical component of this project is led by Dr Paul Cunningham and the visual component by Dr Mark Schutze—both Research Fellows within the School of Earth, Environmental and Biological Sciences (EEBS) at QUT. Very rapid advances have been made in this project and the prospects are good.

The mating behaviour project is investigating how male and female Queensland fruit flies find each other to mate. While understanding this aspect of fruit fly behaviour is critical to controlling the insect, it has never been studied before and we do not know where fruit flies mate in the field. In the SERF screenhouses, EEBS PhD student Ms Thilini Ekanayake has demonstrated that plant height is critically important to mating site selection. Importantly, though, males do not call females to them, as previously suspected; rather, a small number of males and females may jointly play a role in creating local mating aggregations.

Samford Ecological Research Facility Annual Report 2013

RESEARCH ACTIVITY AT SERF IN 2012

Project title Lead QUT researcher/s Duration

National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), Terrestrial Ecosystem Network (TERN), South-East Queensland Peri-urban Grassland Supersite

Professor Peter Grace, Dr David Rowlings and Michelle Gane

• Carbon dioxide and water flux (OzFlux Station) Professor Peter Grace, Dr David Rowlings ongoing

• Automated greenhouse gas measurement system Dr David Rowlings and Dr Clemens Scheer ongoing

• Water quality, flow and nutrient dynamics Dr Martin Labadz and Dr David Rowlings ongoing

• Weather monitoring Dr David Rowlings ongoing

• Soil water chemistry Dr David Rowlings ongoing

• Soil water (by depth) Dr David Rowlings ongoing

• Acoustic sensors Jason Wimmer ongoing

• TERN data visualisation Marco Fahmi and Jason Wimmer January 2012 – December 2013

Acoustic sensing (vacation research experience scholarship) Dr Susan Fuller, Professor Paul Roe, Dr Ian Williamson and Isabelle de Haviland

November 2012 – February 2013

Airborne data capture Kasper Johansen January 2013 – February 2013

Behavioural studies on the tephritid fruit fly, Bactrocera tyroni Dr Paul Cunningham and Mark Schutze February 2013 – ongoing

The influence of edge effects on ecological condition and biodiversity Dr Susan Fuller May 2013

Aerial robotic mapping of vegetation Dr Matthew Dunbabin August 2013 – ongoing

Experimentation of fallow land Elaine Mitchell September 2013 – ongoing

Studying fruit fly behaviour with plant architecture Darshika Ekanayake November 2013 – ongoing

Acoustic sensing: determining the abundance of bird species Dr Ian Williamson and Dezmond Wells May 2013 – ongoing

IFE – Institute for Future Environments; SEF – Science and Engineering Faculty

Environmental modelling and mapping

Dr Matthew Dunbabin joined QUT as a Principal Research Fellow (Autonomous Systems) in 2013. He is known internationally for his research into field robotics, particularly environmental robots, and their application to large-scale marine habitats and aquatic greenhouse gas monitoring. Since joining QUT, Matt has undertaken a number of new research projects at SERF.

Matt has used an autonomous unmanned aircraft at SERF to create high-resolution three-dimensional maps of the site. The vehicle flies over the site, taking aerial photographs of the land and vegetation; software then stitches the individual images together to generate 3D terrain maps. This technology provides a capability for the rapid and efficient scanning of large areas, allowing repeat surveys over time. The primary goal of this research is to detect change within the environment,

in particular to detect the presence of weeds (such as Lantana) at SERF and determine if they are spreading and to where. Ultimately, having a better understanding of the distribution of Lantana and other weeds at SERF will enable us to better control these weeds across the property.

Matt and colleagues have experimented with using a handheld laser scanning device to measure the volume of wood in trees across large areas at SERF. In the past, the volume of trees has been measured using plot statistics, which is a limited and often inaccurate method of wooded biomass measurement. The development of this research method will enable researchers to accurately determine tree volumes and growth rates over large areas of land. This has significant potential applications for climate change abatement strategies, such as carbon budgeting and offsetting, that depend on accurate estimates of the amount of carbon stored in trees.

Education

QUT students from the Science and Engineering Faculty enjoyed another year at SERF in 2013. They completed assignments on the site’s flora, fauna and ecosystem ecology and they learned and practised a variety of field survey methods. Some of the methods they used included vegetation mapping, scat surveys, visual surveys, spotlighting arboreal mammals and birds, call playback (birds) and animal trapping, which involved live catch and release of small mammals, reptiles and frogs.

In April, ecology students examined bandicoot digging activity at SERF in relation to its distance from forest edges. SERF is an ideal place to study the behaviour of bandicoots, and QUT ecology students have been conducting this experiment for the past five years.

A group of 240 students from the course ‘Design of Environmentally Sustainable Systems’ visited SERF in August to undertake a site appraisal in order to gain

a thorough understanding of site and user needs. The student’s assignment centred on preparing a concept plan for long-term sustainable residential development that will incorporate the natural resource values that underpin SERF.

Over two days in August and September, undergraduate students visited the site to estimate tree density in relation to disturbance and distance from the creek line. The methods used included counting trees in randomly placed 10 x 10 m quadrants. The students also examined the distribution of arboreal termite nests.

In October, vertebrate biology students conducted a series of experimental observations on local vertebrate species (including bush rats and yellow-footed antechinus) and looked at various aspects of the animals’ behaviour.

Above: Vertebrate biology class at SERF in October 2013. Facing page: Aerial view of SERF showing education usage in 2013.

Samford Ecological Research Facility Annual Report 2013

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AT SERF IN 2014

Course Coordinator Description of Field Trip

NQB502: Field Methods in National Resource Sciences Dr Susan Fuller Students conducted vegetation mapping, scat surveys, visual surveys, spotlighting of mammals and birds and animal trapping

NQB322: Invertebrate Biology Dr Mark Schutze Students learned about invertebrate trapping techniques and collected specimens for their scientific collections

NQB321: Ecology Dr Ian Williamson Practical exercise in ecology – students examined bandicoot digging activity in relation to distance from forest edges

ENB274: Design of Environmentally Sustainable Systems Associate Professor Les Dawes Students prepared concept planning/management options for the long-term sustainable residential development incorporating the natural resource values of SERF

NQB403: Soils and the Environment Dr David Rowlings Practical exercise in soil classification

EVB102: Ecosystems and the Environment Dr Susan Fuller Practical exercise investigating soil survey methods

NQB421: Experimental Design Dr Ian Williamson Students estimated tree density in relation to disturbance and distance and looked at the distribution of arboreal termite nests

NQB403: Soil and the Environment Dr David Rowlings Practical demonstrations at the greenhouse gas shed, flux tower and barracks

NQB622: Conservation Biology Dr Susan Fuller Nest predation study

NQB423: Vertebrate Biology Dr Andrew Baker Vertebrate survey

Outreach

SERF is not just a facility for QUT academics and students. Every year it is visited by a broad range of people, including researchers from other institutions, politicians and public servants. We also hold public information sessions to allow Samford residents and the broader community to learn about the work being done at SERF.

Cornell University researchers

Five researchers from Cornell University, New York, stayed at the SERF barracks from August 2013 to January 2014. They began a large-scale study of the variegated fairy-wren and continued their research into the red-backed fairy-wren, which they have studied during stays at SERF in 2011–12 and 2012–13.

Here is Cornell PhD student Derrick Thrasher’s summary of their findings:

First, we discovered that variegated fairy-wrens are particularly socially complex. This population is composed of groups that average 4-5 individuals, being highly biased toward male individuals. Typically, one or two males per group are dominant breeders and the other males are subordinate auxiliaries. One key discovery was that a large majority of these groups possess multiple breeding females, a unique phenomenon in territorial birds. This finding has raised further questions for us, relating primarily to female competition and the relationship between dominance-signalling traits, social interactions and reproductive success.

Second, we found that variegated fairy-wrens, much like red-backed fairy-wrens, exhibit high rates of extra-pair mating: males outside of the pair bond sired approximately 68 percent of the nestlings that were born in the population. Not surprisingly, males outside of the female’s social group sired approximately 80 percent of these extra-pair young, with the remaining extra-pair young being sired by subordinate auxiliaries within the female’s immediate social group. These patterns of mating are quite exciting, and we will investigate them in greater detail in future field seasons.

Finally, we conducted an extensive investigation of female plumage traits and found that some traits may be directly related to dominance status. Our data suggest that dominant breeding females have more pronounced facial markings between the bill and eye (richer colour and larger area) than subordinate breeding females. Additionally, dominant breeding females tend to possess shorter tails, a trait that has been shown to signal dominance in male red-backed fairy-wrens.

Above: Variegated fairy-wren Facing page: SERF public information session in August 2013

Samford Ecological Research Facility Annual Report 2013

We also continued our long-term monitoring of the red-backed fairy-wren and are enthusiastic about taking our work with this species in a new direction in the coming year. The majority of our work has focused on breeding season dynamics, and we will soon begin an investigation of how non-breeding-season social interactions carry over into the breeding season and affect subsequent reproductive success. As in previous years, we continued to learn critical things about how both species of fairy-wrens interact with the environment. During our coming field season we are excited to conduct an extensive study of nest predation dynamics, and investigate the role of environmental factors on these patterns.

Public information session

On 11 June 2013, QUT held the fifth Annual Information Session at SERF (pictured above). The purpose of the information session is to provide an overview of the university’s activities at the site, present exciting research projects and developments and to answer any questions from local residents and the wider community.

Several QUT staff members and students gave presentations at the information session. SERF Field Technician Marcus Yates provided an update on the site’s maintenance and the upgrades that had been made throughout the year. PhD student Lona Van Delden explained the importance of SERF for research into ecosystem functions in a peri-urban environment and described her own greenhouse gas research at the site. Dr Susan Fuller talked about the educational field trips to SERF and detailed some of the experiments that QUT students have undertaken at SERF, including a nest predation experiment, a four day fauna survey, an assessment of bandicoot digging behaviour on the site and ecological systems research. Finally, Dr Paul Cunningham gave a brief overview of the fruit fly research that had been undertaken in the new insect screenhouses at SERF since they were built in November 2012.

Visit the SERF website at www.serf.qut.edu.au for the latest information on events at SERF. The SERF team is always happy to hear from members of our local community, so please contact us at any time.

Operations and management

The infrastructure and natural habitat at SERF were improved in several ways in 2013. SERF Field Technician Marcus Yates continued to maintain the property by controlling or eradicating a number of dominant species of weeds. Of the 62 weed species identified at SERF, Marcus has focused in particular on controlling Lantana Camara (Lantana), Senna Pendula (Easter Wattle), Asparagus Africanus (Asparagus Vine) and Ochna Serrutata (Mickey Mouse Plant). He has also eradicated two of the five class 2 weeds identified at SERF, Baccaris Hamilifoliar (Groundsel Bush) and Senecio Madagascariensis (Fireweed).

Marcus continued to maintain weed-free zones around various areas of the site, including along the adjoining property boundary fences. He also maintained a clear perimeter around the Slab Hut, the Barracks, walking tracks, firebreaks, site entrances and the car park and surrounds. The continued maintenance of the site’s vegetation and eradication of damaging weeds is crucial for the long-term sustainability of SERF as a peri-urban ecosystem and research site.

There have also been a number of upgrades to SERF’s infrastructure. An 8 foot bridge spanning the south-western gully was constructed in July to allow easy access for visitors to this section of the site, whilst preventing degradation of the gully. Later that month, 1.1 km of fencing was constructed on the eastern boundary of SERF, parallel to Camp and Upper Camp Mountain Road.

In August, an upgrade of the existing south-western walking track (pictured opposite) was completed. The improvements to the track will make it easier for researchers, students and other visitors to traverse this section of the forest, and it will help prevent further erosion in this area.

Facing page: The south-western walking track upgrade

Samford Ecological Research Facility Annual Report 2013

Expense summary 2013 expenditure ($)

Research support 86 223

Land management 19 690

Equipment and IT 41 257

Operations 12 098

Community outreach 2406

Administration 14 960

Total 176 634

Expense Summary

Research support 49%

Land management 11%

Equipment and IT 23%

Operations 7%

Administration 9%

Community outreach 1%

2014 goals

• Upgrade the SERF entrance driveway to allow access for buses.

• Revegetate the SERF entrance with approximately 200 ground cover plants, shrubs and trees.

• Construct a timber boardwalk adjacent to the greenhouse shed to allow access across the seasonal wet zone.

• Continue the weed control program as set out in the SERF Management Plan.

Dr E.N. Marks Sustainability Award winner

Since 2008, the Institute for Future Environments (formerly the Institute for Sustainable Resources) has presented an annual award to recognise outstanding contributions to sustainability made by QUT students working at SERF.

The 2013 Dr E.N. Marks Sustainability Award was won by Isabelle de Haviland (pictured below), a Bachelor of Applied Science graduate who majored in Environmental Science. Isabelle had an outstanding undergraduate record and completed a number of practical components of her undergraduate degree at SERF. Following her graduation, Isabelle commenced a Vacation Research Experience Scholarship project in December 2012, working on a field project at SERF in acoustic monitoring. Her project was titled ‘The influence of vertical microphone placement on acoustic bird species richness estimates: developing a methodology for soundscape recordings’.

The study compared acoustic recordings made at upper canopy and ground height in open forest to determine whether bird species detection differed according to sensor height. The study tested whether differences in bird call frequency, call loudness, size, social behaviour and habitat preference influenced detectability. Isabelle’s findings indicated that both louder and larger species were most likely to be missed by sensors at ground level.

Isabelle’s study on how the properties of birdsong and the positioning of automated birdsong recorders might influence species detectability made a useful contribution to environmental monitoring programs at SERF. The IFE was very pleased to present her with the 2013 Dr E.N. Marks Sustainability Award.

Above: Isabelle holding a baby saw-shelled turtle at SERF

R E S E A R C H E D U C A T I O N O U T R E A C H

Samford Ecological Research Facility

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

Phone +61 7 3138 9500 | Fax +61 7 3138 4438 | Email ife@qut.edu.au Mail GPO Box 2434, Brisbane QLD 4001

www.serf.qut.edu.au | www.qut.edu.au/ife

© QUT 2014 20600

ifeInstitute for Future Environments