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The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service is implementing a major recovery program to help save the Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat. The
Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat Recovery
Plan 2004-2008 |
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Research |
Management |
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Reproductive
studies Population monitoring Behavioural studies Dietary studies Trapping studies |
Predator
control Fire management Pasture improvement Establish new populations Education and information |
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The Wombat Foundation is assisting with the recovery program through its funding of research activities and management actions. Hair Census The Wombat Foundation recently funded the analysis of DNA from last year's hair census. The hair census is an ingeniously simple way of estimating the number (and sex) of northern hairy-nosed wombats. Basically, a piece of double-sided sticky tape is placed at every known burrow entrance on the park. Every morning for nine days, volunteers and QPWS staff walk the park collecting the tape and replacing it with fresh pieces. The tape that is collected then goes to the lab for analysis. By analysing the hairs that are stuck to the tape, geneticists are able to determine the number of distinct individuals counted and what sex they are. From this they can then estimate the current size of the population. |
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2005 Hair census collection crew |
A DNA catching, sticky tape booby trap, planted at a NHwombat burrow entrance. |
Birgita Hansen and Donna Treby at work analysing the DNA-clad hair follicles, collected in the census. |
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