Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Executive Summary...............................................................................................2
Introduction................................................................................................................4
Progress & milestones..........................................................................................6
Future activities.....................................................................................................13
Individual project reports..................................................................................15
Budget.......................................................................................................................30
Project participants.............................................................................................33
Project Advisory Committee. ..........................................................................35
Our supporters......................................................................................................36
Volunteers................................................................................................................37
Acknowledgments. ..............................................................................................38
Scientific implications.
Budgetary implications.
The project has completed several major biodiversity field surveys, convened
two scientific workshops, hosted an end-user forum, and supported a public seminar
series. We have conducted 26 different projects involving 48 scientific participants
and 71 volunteers. In addition, there has been student participation in each of the
major surveys and the education programme has been developed. The scientific
objectives of the project have been, or will be, completed on schedule (details on
pages 6-12).
Project outcomes.
Early results have already been presented at the 2007 Ecological Society of
Australia conference (November 2007, Perth) and the Invertebrate Biodiversity and
Conservation conference (December 2007, Brisbane). The first comprehensive
reports of the project!s scientific results will appear in a special edition of the Memoirs
of the Queensland Museum in late 2008 or early 2009. The education programme is
in the final stages of preparation.
Benefits to Queensland.
The Queensland Government and Griffith University are the main financial
supporters of this project. Other grants of cash and in-kind contributions have come
from the Global Canopy Programme, the Queensland Museum, Queensland
Herbarium, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the National Parks
Association of Queensland, SEQ Catchments and the Heritage Assessment Branch
of the Federal Department of the Environment and Water Resources. Many
participating scientists independently obtained support from their national granting
bodies. The project has also received considerable logistic assistance from O!Reilly!s
Rainforest Retreat, Cainbable Mountain Lodge and the Green Mountains Natural
History Association.
The 20 permanent research plots were established in August 2006 and three
major field surveys have now been completed. Details on the progress made towards
the overall goals of the project and of the individual sub-projects are provided in the
following pages.
We take this opportunity to thank our supporting organizations for making this
research possible. We also thank our participating scientists and dedicated
volunteers for ensuring the project!s success.
Roger Kitching
Project Director
Griffith University.
The IBISCA Queensland project took its first major steps in July 2006 when
two full-time staff members were appointed - David Putland (Senior Research
Assistant) and Heather Christensen (Administrative Assistant).
The first meeting of the Project!s Advisory Committee was held on August 25,
2006. A second meeting was held at O!Reilly!s Rainforest Retreat during the first
survey period on October 29, 2006.
A full-scale field survey was repeated in March/April 2007. Once again, about
30 scientists from 8 countries joined forces with about 40 volunteers to complete a
detailed survey of the invertebrate biodiversity of the region. Over 1300 samples
were collected during the 4-week survey. This survey period also incorporated a
scientific workshop, end-user!s forum and a seminar series (details below).
Sorting work.
Climbing course.
Vegetation workshop.
Publicity.
Milestone deliverables.
We have reached the milestone dates for the first three deliverables specified
in schedule 2 of the Financial Assistance Agreement. Deliverable #1 (executed
Collaborative Agreement) was submitted on time in June 2007. Deliverable #2 (the
first Progress Report) was submitted on time before the end November 2007. In
addition, a preliminary progress report was delivered to the partner organizations well
ahead of schedule in July 2007. Deliverable #3 (this progress report) was also
submitted on time in April 2008.
Some field projects are still in progress and are mostly being conducted by
postgraduate research students at Griffith University. The projects currently
underway include:
• Temporal and geographic variations in pollination systems (Sarah Boulter).
• Structure and dynamics of herbivore assemblages along an altitudinal
gradient: indicators of climate change? (Darren Bito).
• Moth assemblages along a fine-scale altitudinal gradient (Louise Ashton).
• Soil fauna along an altitudinal gradient (Sarah Maunsell).
• An assessment of decaying timber biomass.
More IBISCAs.
A fourth IBISCA project is in the works. Following from the existing IBISCA
projects in Panama, Vanuatu and Queensland, a new project will be conducted in
France in May-June 2008. This highlights the value of the IBISCA concept for
biodiversity research and the importance placed on it by researchers internationally.
IBISCA Auvergne is being organised by Bruno Corbara (Université Blaise Pascal,
France), a key international participant in IBISCA Queensland. IBISCA Auvergne will
involve many of the participants from IBISCA Queensland and will further enhance
international collaborations.
There are also plans to conduct an IBISCA project in Mozambique, Africa, but
this is still in the early stages of preparation.
One of the discussion topics at the Forum in April was the feasibility of
establishing a permanent research station in Lamington National Park. Conducting
the IBISCA Queensland project has highlighted the lack of any existing research
facilities capable of supporting this kind of research anywhere in Queensland. Forum
attendees agreed that a suitably-equipped facility would attract international
researchers, be a valuable asset for educational institutions, and would extract
enormous long-term benefits from the research plots established by the IBISCA
Queensland project. Lamington National Park represents a unique opportunity to
establish a world-leading research facility with direct access to World Heritage forests
within two hours from several universities and an international airport. There is
potential for such a facility to be part of a strategic global network of “Whole Forest
Observatories” backed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and
the Global Canopy Programme (GCP).
David Putland is leading the push to develop the research station. O!Reilly!s
Rainforest Retreat has agreed to provide land that would be an ideal location for the
station. Discussions are continuing with Universities and other research institutions to
further develop the proposal.
Microclimate monitoring.
Assemblages of predatory
arthropods along an altitudinal
gradient in subtropical rainforest.
In October 2006, only gardenia was
sampled and only at the two altitudes Kyran Staunton, Roger Kitching,
at which it was present (1100 m and Christy Fellows, Geoff Monteith, Chris
900 m). In March/April 2007, gardenia Burwell, Robert Raven.
was resampled at those altitudes, and
steelwood at 1100, 900, 700 and 500 The variability within a predatory guild
m. The maximum of 10 plants/plot along a subtropical rainforest altitudinal
was realized for gardenia at almost all gradient was examined. Pitfall traps
plots, but steelwood proved to be rare were set within sites, at least 400 m
at the 1100 plots and fewer than 40 apart to survey epigaeic ants, beetles
leaves were collected for this altitude. and spiders. Ants, predatory beetles
Mites from the 80 gardenia leaves and spiders were combined to
collected in October 2006 sampling represent a predatory guild. Patterns
have been counted and identified to displayed by this guild along the
family or genus. There were 829 mites gradient were compared to those of a
from 11 taxa: (from most to least non-predatory beetle dataset. The
common) Tydeidae, Oribatulidae, predatory guild was also divided into
Scapheremaeus, Winterschmidtiidae, ant, predatory beetle and spider
Phytoseiidae, Agistemus, assemblages and subsequent trends
Fungitarsonemus, Oudemansicheyla, were investigated.
Phylleremus, Eriophyidae, Nasobates,
The Smithsonian Institution has withdrawn from the project but, as their
contribution was in-kind only, it has no impact on the project!s cash budget. Pro-
Natura International has also withdrawn from the project, removing their contributions
of $150,000 (cash) and $50,000 (in-kind). The Global Canopy Programme has joined
the project as our major international partner with an additional cash contribution of
just over $32,000 in addition to their original in-kind contribution of $8,000. A new
Funding Agreement between Griffith University and the Global Canopy Programme
has been prepared.
The change of project partners has had no negative impact on the scientific
outcomes of the project. Pro-Natura International!s cash contributions were
committed to supporting the canopy glider and were not required in the glider!s
absence. We were able to save an additional $40,000 that was committed to support
glider-related activities. We were also able to redirect funds that were earmarked for
other activities to support the altered research programme. The most significant
savings were made in the areas of accommodation and international airfares thanks
to the contributions of individual participants.
The revised scientific programme with an additional field survey and new
canopy access techniques added significant costs that were not described in the
original budget estimates. However, with the savings described above and the
additional cash contribution from the Global Canopy Programme, we have been able
to deliver the project on budget.
BALANCE $ 31,759.00
The Global Canopy Programme is now our major international partner with a
cash contribution of $32,500. In addition, many of our international participants have
made significant cash contributions to the project. These participants are not
members of partner organisations listed in the Funding Agreement, but are heavily
involved in the project and have covered their own costs of participation (to varying
degrees). All of these scientists have made significant in-kind contributions (approx.
$73,000) and most have also contributed in cash terms (approx $93,000). These are
costs explicitly related to participation in the IBISCA Queensland project. The
combined total of cash contributions from international sources ($126,000)
comfortably exceeds the required amount (approx. $89,000). The individual
contributions are summarised in the following table.
The first three Milestone Deliverables have been completed as required and
the scientific programme is progressing on schedule (please refer to the section
“Progress and milestones” on pages 6-12 for further details).
Griffith University.
http://www.griffith.edu.au/
Queensland Museum.
http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/
Queensland Herbarium.
http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/nature_conservation/plants/queensland_herbarium
SEQ Catchments.
http://www.seqcatchments.com.au/
I!d like to thank a number of people for specific contributions: Heather Christensen
(Administration Assistant, IBISCA Queensland), Roger Kitching (Griffith University),
Sarah Boulter (Griffith University), Melinda Laidlaw (Queensland Herbarium),
Rosemary Niehus (Queensland Herbarium), Jake Bryant (photography), Christine
Lambkin (Queensland Museum) and all of the participants that provided individual
project reports.
All photographs by Jake Bryant unless otherwise noted. Cover photographs by David
Putland, Torsten Bittner, Jake Bryant and Jane Ogilvie. The IBISCA Queensland
graphic was designed by Danielle Cavanagh.
IBISCA | Queensland
Centre for Innovative Conservation Strategies
The Griffith School of Environment
Griffith University
Nathan QLD 4111
Australia
P: 61-7-3735-7962
M: 0439 668 094
F: 61-7-3735-5014
E: IBISCAQueensland@griffith.edu.au
W: www.griffith.edu.au/ibisca/