Review

Project Pages

September - December 1999

How to GerminateNative Seeds

Backyard Wildlife

Creature Feature

The HarmlessBlue-tongue

Leichhardt’sGrasshopper

The Great Desert SkinkThe Great Desert Skink

Skinks are a common sight inAustralian gardens, scurryingacross paths and up walls. They aremostly small, skinny creatures,compared to their impressive desertcousin Egernia kintorei.The Great Desert Skink is a creatureof the spinifex-covered sand plainsof outback Australia. Mature adultslive in complex burrows with youngimmature lizards. They emerge atnight to hunt termites, ants, beetlesand cockroaches. During the coolermonths they hibernate rather thanventure out on freezing winter nights.Sadly the Great Desert Skink is aspecies in decline. It is now onlyknown in a single conservation reserve:Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park.Many have fallen prey to feral catsand foxes who see them as a tastymeal, too tempting to resist.However, the breakdown oftraditional Aboriginal burningpractices has probably been themost significant reason fortheir decline.

On The Brink

TheGreatDesertSkink

includes representatives ofgovernment organisations, communitygroups and Aboriginal people.Thanks to Colleen O’Malley from theThreatened Species Network forproviding the illustration andinformation for this article. If youwould like to know how you can helpsave endangered species, you cancontact Colleen at:PO Box 2796 Alice Springs NT 0871.Phone: 08 8952 1541Fax: 08 8953 2988

The Great Desert Skinkcan grow to 40cm long.

For thousands ofyears Aboriginal peoplecreated a rich habitatfor Australia’s desertwildlife by regularlyburning small patchesof the spinifexgrasslands. But thisceased in many partsof the desert when thepeople moved intopermanent settlements.The traditional owners and rangersof Uluru have implemented a recoveryplan to save the Great Desert Skinkson their land. This involves monitoringlizard populations, controlling foxesand cats, and developing a firemanagement strategy that willbenefit the surviving lizards.In March 1999 a National RecoveryTeam was formed to co-ordinateresearch and management planningacross state borders. The team

Across1. The common, large goanna of eastern Australia.7. Australia’s largest goanna.9. Prickly grass of inland areas.10. Fleshy muscular organ in a lizard’s mouth.13. Precious metal; Also the colour of the Common Water

Skink of eastern and southeastern Australia.14. Australia’s most widespread gecko: Gehyra variegata.15. Colour of the inside of a blue-tongue’s mouth.16. Not alive.18. ________-tailed Gecko: Nephrurus levis.20. Giving birth to live young, rather than laying eggs.21. Move slowly on all fours with the body close to

the ground.23. Found on the feet.24. Not closed.25. Most numerous family of Australian lizards.26. Number of legs on Lerista bipes.27. A Thorny Devil’s dinner.30. Nocturnal bird.32. Thin plates covering a reptile’s body.34. Colour of Tiliqua’s tongue.35. A type of tree She-_________.37. A genus of Gecko.39. A favourite location of small garden skinks and geckoes.40. Goanna genus.

Reptile Crossword

Down2. Predator of lizards in suburban gardens.3. Place where eggs are laid.4. Solar-powered, scaly-skinned, egg-laying animal.5. Slow-moving inoffensive lizard with prominent

pine-coned shaped scales.6. Colour of the tip of a Sand Goanna’s tail.8. Spherical objects made by female reptiles.11. Feeding on both plants and animals.12. Genus of slender, diurnal lizards.16. Family of diurnal lizards with rough skin and well

developed limbs.17. Active during the daytime.19. Stinging insect.20. Anal opening.22. Two-_____ Dragon Diporiphora bilineata; common

in Top End gardens.25. The feel of a skink’s skin.28. Genus to which blue-tongue’s belong.29. Thorny ___________ Moloch horridus.30. The genus to which the Velvet Gecko belongs.31. __________-nosed Water Dragon. Lophognathus

longirostris.33. Pointed fingernail or toenail.36. Rodent.38. Edible starchy tuber.

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Why do they have a blue tongue?These harmless, slow-moving creatures rely on blufftactics to discourage their enemies: a whole lot of huffand puff. They hiss loudly, inflate their body and stickout their impressive blue tongue. This contrasts incolour with their mouth.

What are their enemies?They have to keep an eye out for eagles and falcons,goannas, snakes, cats and dogs. In cities, many fallvictim to snail bait, car wheels and lawn mowers.

How long do they live?Over 20 years, if they are lucky!

Can I keep one as a pet?Yes, provided you buy it from a licenced dealer. Youcannot take one from the bush.

What do they eat?They are omnivorous. They eat a wide variety of plantand animal materials, especially fleshy leaves, flowersand fruit and insects such as beetles, and snails.

Backyard WildifeTheharmlessBlue-tongue

When are they active?They are diurnal rather than nocturnal. They are mostactive in the early morning and late afternoon.

Where do they hide?They shelter in leaf litter or under logs or overhangingrocks.

How many eggs do they lay?They don’t lay any! They are viviparous, not oviparous.Eastern Blue-tongues give birth to as many as 18 liveyoung but Centralian Blue-tongues only produce 3 or 4.Mums don’t stick around to look after the babies. Sothere’s a high mortality rate.

Blue-tongue Fact File• Blue-tongues were the first Australian

reptiles ever to receive a scientificname. One was sent to London fromSydney in 1790.

• The Northern Blue-tongue is Tiliquascincoides intermedia. It is bigger andhas darker bands on its body than itsCentralian cousin Tiliqua multifasciata.

• You wouldn’t think so at first glancebut blue-tongues belong to theskink family.

• Blue-tongues are found in mostof Australia, from the coasts tothe highest mountains and fromrainforests to the deserts.

Plant Profile

GrevilleasGrevilleas are named in honour of EnglishmanCharles Greville (1749 - 1809). He was a founderof the London Horticultural Society who took akeen interest in Australian plants. He cultivatedmany from seeds shipped to England from thenew colony of New South Wales.

Individual Grevillea flowers aresmall and lack petals. The femalepart of the flower, called thestyle, is long and protrudes fromthe rest of the flower parts.

The Fern-leaved Grevillea Grevillea pteridifolia is asmall tree which grows along the banks of creeksand swamps in the Top End.

The honeyeater’s brush-tippedtongue sucks up the nectar likea paint brush.

Grevillea seed pods split down one side to releasetwo winged seeds. At the tip of each pod are theremains of the style.

Grevillea pteridifolia

Grevillea flowers are rich in nectar.Honeyeaters push their long beakinside to get this sweet liquid. Pollenis deposited on the bird’s beak andface. It transfers this pollen fromflower to flower as it feeds.

stylepollen

Desert GrevilleaGrevilleaeriostachya

brightorangeflowers

Grevillea pteridifolia

Project Pages

How to germinate Many native Australian plants have a built-inmechanism to delay germination. So they needspecial treatment if you want to grow them fromseed. As a general rule, seeds with hard, shiny coats(e.g. Acacias) need to have their coat cracked. Themethods that can be used include:• scratching or filing the coat• acid treatment• boiling water treatmentThese treatments, called scarification, replacenatural processes such as being cracked by fire,passing through a bird’s gut or long periods in thehot sun.

Boiling water treatment• Place seeds in a dish and pour boiling water overthem.• Leave them to soak overnight.• Adding vinegar to the boiling water helps if thecoats are particularly tough.

Your seed trayYou’ll need a shallow, plastic tray, with holes punchedin the bottom. Sterilize it with a bleach solution tokill fungi and bacteria (mix 10 ml of bleach in a litreof water).

Buy some peat from a garden shop and soak it in abucket with water. (This is important because peatis difficult to moisten once it’s in a container withdrainage holes.) Then mix the wet peat with an equalquantity of coarse sand. Peat holds moisture andsand ensures good drainage. So combining the twowill give a mix that is not too wet or too dry.Fill your tray to just below the top with the mix.Gently bump it on a hard surface to settle it. Don’tpack the mix in tightly because the young roots willhave trouble pushing through it.

SowingSprinkle the seeds on the surface and cover them withmore mix to a depth equal to their thickness. Seeds sowntoo deep will not germinate. Seeds sown too shallow maydry out and die.Place the tray in a spot that receives filtered sunlightand use a spray bottle to keep them moist.

GerminationSome seeds germinate within days but others may take months.The first pair of leaves are actually food stores, calledcotyledons. Once the seedling has its true leaves and is about2 cm tall, it is ready for pricking out. You will need:• recycled potting tubes washed with bleach solution to make them sterile• potting mix from a garden shop• an icy pole stick• Osmocote native plant fertiliser

Fill the tubes with moist potting mix, making a hole inthe centre big enough for the seedling.

Hold the seedling gently between your thumb andforefinger. Slide the icy pole stick down to the bottomof the tray and carefully lift out the seedling. Youmust not damage the roots.

Pricking out

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Seed capsulesof RiverRed Gum

cotyledon

native seeds

Thanks to Greening Australia (NT) for this informationand illustrations. For more information and assistancecontact: Greening Australia NT GPO Box 1604, DarwinNT 0801. Phone: (08) 8981 344, Fax: (08) 8981 1182.

After one week sprinkle a teaspoon of Osmocoteon top of the soil and water it in.Keep the fertiliser away from the stem.

Continue to water the seedlings daily with a finespray. Store the tubes in a well lit spot but notin full sunlight.

Lower the seedling into thetube making sure the rootshang down and don’t getsquashed up.

Put extra potting mix aroundthe seedling up to the level itwas in the tray.

Gently push the potting mixdown with your finger tips.

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A major pollinator of Australian native plantsChange one letter at a time to make each work inthis puzzle. Then rearrange the 10 letters in theshaded boxes to reveal the answer.

Word Slide

Heat to 100oC

Spiral Shape

Metal Money

Lamb Chop

Lend

Groan

Nasty

Bend Over

Drip Out

Bird’s Jaw

Wild Mammal

Ray of Light

Group of Players

Rip Apart

52 Weeks

Listen

Expensive

Fruit

B O I LC O I L

1. Why is the date 5 February 1877 significant in thehistory of Australian meteorology?a)Australia’s highest ever temperature was recorded.b) Australia’s greatest ever daily rainfall was recorded.c) It was the first time a weather map appeared in an

Australian newspaper.d) It was the first time the Met Bureau got the

weather forecast right.2. Australia’s driest capital city is:

a)Adelaideb) Perthc) Canberrad)Darwin

3. What Australian town holds the record for the highesttemperature ever recorded?a)Alice Springs NTb) Cloncurry QLDc) Oodnadatta SAd)Marble Bar WA

4. What does a pluviograph measure?5. What NT bird is known as the Stormbird or Rainbird?6. What are the colours of the rainbow?7. Extreme heat discomfort is called:

a) hypothermiab) hyperthermia

8. How big were the wind gusts that destroyed Darwinduring Cyclone Tracy in 1974?

9. What does nimbo (or numbus) mean when joined witha cloud’s name (as in nimbostratus and cumulo nimbus).Complete these folk sayings:a)When dew is on the grass.....b) Red sky in the morning.....c) Rain around the moon.....d)Rain before seven.....

Nature Quiz

The Weather(Answers on page 11 of this edition)

Australia’s First Weathermanand Weather Station

Lieutenant William Dawes arrived with theFirst Fleet on HMS Supply. He wasordered to set up an observatory as soonas possible. Governor Phillip wanted himto learn all he could about the climate tohelp the colony’s farmers establish crops.

Weather SatellitesThe first weather satellite waslaunched by the USA on 1 April 1960and named TIROS1 (Television Infra-redObservational Satellite.)The cloud photographs Australians seeon nightly weather reports are takenby the Japanese GeostationaryMeteorological Satellite GMS. It’slocated 37500 km above New Guinea.

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These hidden words go in all directionsand some are written backwards.Colour the boxes as you find each letter.

Air MassCloudCumulusCycloneDesertDewEddiesFireFogHeatHot

HumidityEl NinoFrontFrostHailIceIsobarLandLa NinaLightLow

MonsoonOasisOzoneRadarRaySeaStratosphereSunTroughWetWindy

You should have 10 letters left over. Stringthem together and you’ll get the name of aweather instrument.

• There’s 16 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 litres of water floating around up there in the atmosphere!• Lightning discharges about a million volts, heating the air through which it travels up to 30 000oC!• The tiny droplets of water that make fog are so small that it would take seven thousand million of

them to make a single tablespoon of water!• The largest desert in the world is Antarctica. It only gets about 125 ml of precipitation a year - just

slightly more than the Sahara!• The fastest winds on Earth are inside a tornado funnel: around 500 kph!

Did you know...

Nature Quiz

WeatherWords

R E N N A I Y E N UE W N I E G D I U LH E O N H N D S UP S O L Y T I D I MS Z S E M C W E S UO E N A E O L S O CT R O F M M A E B EA I M R G R N R A AR F R O N T I T R OT T F S E A N A U ES W E T R R A D A R

E D H O T L E S I STROUGHYLAND

ALIAHCYCLONE

O

Explorer Ludwig Leichhardt and his 9companions were the first white peopleto visit Kakadu. They travelledoverland from Queensland. Beforearriving, they struggled for manydays to cross the rugged ArnhemLand plateau.In the stone country they found anamazing, large grasshopper, colouredorange and blue. Leichhardt collectedspecimens but scientists didn’t getto see another one until 1971.Penelope Greenslade and Lyn Lowe areCSIRO scientists who have beenstudying this rare creature. A few

Creature Feature

Leichhardt’sGrasshopper250 000 visitors go to Kakadu National Park eachyear. The first German visited in 1845 but hewasn’t your regular tourist.

years ago they became suspiciousthat our habit of burning speargrassevery dry season might be the reasonthe grasshopper is now endangered.Young, wingless grasshoppers hatchin March, at the end of the wetseason. They climb the stems of ashrub called Pityrodia jamesii tofeed on its leaves. They grow slowlyduring the dry season, going through5 moults before emerging as wingedadults in December.However, this natural cycle, soclosely tuned to the seasons, isupset by dry season burning.

Burning mostly occurs in May orJune when the wingless juveniles arevulnerable. They have troubleescaping the fires. Even if they dofind shelter they may starve whentheir host plants get burnt.If the grasshopper is to avoidextinction, a recovery plan must beput in place. We need to accuratelymap those places where it survivesand protect them from fire.Attempts could also be made tobreed the insects in captivity andreintroduce them to sites withsuitable habitat.

Leichhardt’s Grasshoppers feed on the smelly leavesof Pityroidia jamesii. It only grows in rocky sandstone country. Chemicals in the leaves give thecreature a rotten taste. It has no known predators.

A Short-horned Grasshopper’s chirping is called stridulation. Itrubs part of its fore-wing against toothed ridges on its abdomen.Nearby is a tightly-stretched membrane which acts as an amplifier.It is much like the music a violinist makes by rubbing their bowacross the strings of the violin.

Grasshoppers belong to the orderof insects called Orthoptera. Thismeans ‘straight-winged’ andrefers to the way they fold theirwings lengthwise, along the back.

Grasshopper GossipCreature Feature

Grasshoppers and termites arethe greatest consumers of plantmaterial in the Northern Territory.They eat more than our cattle andkangaroos.

Short-hornedGrasshopperslay their eggs inthe ground.

Where are a Leichhardt’sGrasshopper’s ears? On itsabdomen, just behind thespot where its back legs jointhe body!

In some parts of the worldgrasshoppers are eaten.They’re considered a greatdelicacy.

Long-horned Grasshoppers laytheir eggs on the branches ofshrubs. In America they’re calledkatydids because their callsounds like “Katy did, she did”.

Word SlideCoin, Loin, Loan, Moan, Mean, Lean, Leak,Beak, Bear, Beam, Team, Tear, Year, Hear,Dear, Pear and Honeyeater.

Nature Quiz1. (c)2. (a) Adelaide 528 mm3. (c)The mercury reached 50.7oC in

Ooodnadatta in 1960. A recording of 53oCfor Cloncurry in 1889 has been found to bean error. Marble Bar holds the record forthe most number of consecutive days over100oF: 162 in 1924.

4. Rain

5. Koel6. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet7. (b)8. Gusts reached 217 kph before the wind

gauge at the airport was destroyed.9. Rain10. (a) rain will come to pass.

(b) sailor’s warning.(c) rain before noon.(d) fine before eleven.

Weather WordsAnemometer

Reptile Crossword

Solutions

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DURA

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ONG

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OTH Y R A

K I N

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A K

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LLOW

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We have a block at Dundee in stage 1.It is woodland country. Our shack ismade from bush timber with an iron roof.Woodland horse shoe bats live in theshack, under the roof insulation, in thedoor jam and in a light fitting. Theyare about 10cm long. Every eveningat dusk the bats leave to look for food.If the lights are on they fly around theshack a few times before leaving. Theycome back just before dawn and settleback in to their homes for the day.

Written by Junior RangerRaighne Hearn-Renshaw.

Katherine, like most of the NorthernTerritory’s ‘Top End’ has turned green withan early start to the wet season. Thisseason is called Jungalk in the Jawoynpeoples language.The Katherine Junior Rangers arefollowing the Jawoyn Calendar to learnhow the Jawoyn’s knowledge of sixdistinct seasons are incorporated intoour Calendar year. The season ofMalapbar (July, August and September)has been captured in environmental artactivities, collecting seasonal seeds,watching the night sky and a full culturalexperience at Manyallaluk CulturalCentre.In Jungalk (October and November),Junior Rangers will be watching theclouds roll in, in Weather Watch. As therains increase so will a lot of Jawoyn bushfood. Junior Rangers are going to learnabout what is ready to eat in Jungalk,(the build up) and how the Jawoyn peopleuse this food to survive. The rains ofJungalk have also stimulated our wildlife,which now have plenty to eat. JuniorRangers will be finding out howimportant the weather is to us andour bush envirnoment.

Around the Traps

Contributions are welcomeand should be sent to:

The Editor, Junior Ranger Review

PO Box 496

Palmerston NT 0831

The Junior Ranger Review is produced 4 times a year by

the Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern

Territory. This edition was written by Stuart Traynor and

design and layout are by Big Picture Graphic Art. The cover

was designed by Robbie Henderson. Illustrations in this

edition are by Bob Whiteford, Sharon Hillen, Adi Dunlop,

Adrian Salter, Kaye Kessing and Glenda John.

Animals and plants come in all shapesand sizes and the Top End is well knownfor many of its unique flora and fauna.Unfortunately much of our wildlife, manyof which includes our urban wildlife isfound very appealing to people whosmuggle them out of the country to makemoney. Junior Rangers learnt more aboutthis after meeting one of Darwin’sCustom Officers and saw first hand theitems that have been smuggled in andout of the Northern Territory. Many ofthese animals die on the trip out andmany do not survive once they are in anew environment.Junior Rangers learnt how they couldassist Customs by being communitywatchdogs and learnt of signs to lookfor out in the bush of probable smugglingoperations.

Katherine

The Northern Territory supports adiverse range of flora and fauna, and assome of our Junior Rangers recentlydiscovered, it is illegal to sell or takeplants and animals from the Territorywithout a licence.Some species are allowed to be legallytraded, kept and harvested, but onlyunder special permits and licences issuedby the Parks and Wildlife Commission ofthe Northern Territory. Regulations arealso in place to protect animals andplants from unsustainable practices.The Parks and Wildlife Commission worksclosely with many Departments including

Junior Ranger LetterAustralian Customs, Quarantine andFisheries to help catch people who areillegally trading wildlife withoutpermission.Parks and Wildlife Commission of theNorthern Territory and otherDepartments depend on the communityto help report any suspicious activitiesrelating to our wildlife.From our backyards to our NationalParks, all plants and animals deserveprotection and this is something we canall be involved in.Ranger Bill, Assistant DirectorPark Operations.

G’day from Ranger Bill

Alice SpringsThe scientific study into the recentlydiscovered Desert Goliath Stick Insectcontinues with Junior Rangers recordingthe length of their study insects aftermoulting. One stick insect named GumbyJunior Ranger grew 9cm in 15 days. Thisinformation will help scientists who arestudying these insects.Did you know that worms had their ownspecial week this year? October 11thwas National Earthworm Week. Tocelebrate, Junior Rangers learnt aboutworm biology, what they ate and howthey moved through the soil. Afterdigesting this information they puttogether a worm farm, which is nowhoused at the Commission office. Theworm farm consists of approximately1000 worms but in 1 year we shouldhave between 15,000 to 20,000worms, not bad for a load of scraps!Did you know that in India they usepits of worms to eat raw sewerage toproduce clear water products andfertilisers, which are safe for gardens,crops, and the environment!

Darwin

"Sharp eyed readers mayhave noticed that we didnot include the answers tolast editions Nature Quiz,so here they are:"

1 A2 C

3 B4 B

5 B6 A

7 C8 C

9 C10 B

Please note: You are welcome to photocopythe text and illustrations in this bookwithout prior permission for non-profiteducational purposes only. If text isreproduced separately it must not bealtered and must acknowledge Parks andWildlife Commission of the NorthernTerritory as the source. (If you wish to useillustrations, permission must be sought).Please contact the editor if in doubt.