Over the last couple of years the ALA has been working with the Yugul Mangi Rangers and Macquarie University ecologists to build cross-cultural biodiversity knowledge of SE Arnhem Land. Additionally the collaboration has helped develop Indigenous content in the ALA website and raise awareness nationally, about Indigenous science and biodiversity management. The team has just published a paper called “Putting Indigenous Conservation Policy into practice delivers biodiversity and cultural benefits“.

In July 2016, the team held a regional woman’s biodiversity and cultural knowledge sharing workshop at Ngilipitji in eastern Arnhem Land. Thirty five women attended from the three ranger groups in the region (Yugul Mangi Rangers from Ngukurr, Yirralka Rangers from Yirrkala and Numbirindi Rangers from Numbulwar) as well as the Ngukurr Yangbala (Young) Rangers. Ngilipitji was chosen as a mid-way point for the groups and because it lies close to the border of the Laynhapuy Indigenous Protected Area (managed by the Yirralka Rangers) and the proposed SE Arnhem Land Indigenous Protected Area (managed by the Yugul Mangi and Numbirindi Rangers under the Northern Land Council) and is considered a “shared management” zone.

Cultural knowledge sharing workshops were held in Ngilipitji, Arnhem Land.

The team conducted biodiversity surveys over three days and nights in an area that according to ALA data, had not been surveyed in the past. We set up 70 Elliot, 15 Cage, 6 Pitfall, 15 Funnel and 12 camera traps over three sites (Rocky hill, Bottom spring, Top spring) to detect mammals and reptiles. We conducted one night search around the outstation for geckoes, did plenty of fishing and made opportunistic sightings of species. Despite the remoteness of this Country, surprisingly we only found 4 skinks (Carlia munda, Cryptoblepharus metallicus), 5 geckoes (Gehyra australis, Heteronotia binoei), 2 water rats (Hydromys chrysogaster), 2 dingoes (Canis lupus dingo), 3 crows (Corvus orru), 8 Black Bream (Hephaestus fluiginosus) and freshwater crocodile’s (Crocodylus johnsoni) eyes shining at night in the creek. One feral cat, 2 cane toads and evidence of feral buffalo and pig were also seen. We found no frogs, small mammals, large reptiles or turtles. The lack of animal sightings was suggested as due to the weather being cold and at times windy and raining. However the presence of feral animals and possibility of past damaging late dry season wild fires were also discussed as possible causes.

At each site we did plant collections, pressed specimens and are still processing and identifying the species. However about 50 species were recorded, all were commonly known. Some lively knowledge exchange occurred around the plant species. The common medicinal plant Eucalyptus tetrodonta was called bambuja by the SE Arnhem mob and gadayka by the NE Arnhem ladies. All grasses were called wiji in Marra, mulmu in Yolngu matha and notho in Ngandi languages. The large Acacias (Acacia auriculiformis and A. aulacocarpa) were described as dukul in Ngandi, Ritharrngu and Ngalakan (SE Arnhem languages) and dhurrtji in Yolngu matha (NE Arnhem). Despite being relatively close in proximity, there were clear differences in language words for plants between SE and NE Arnhem Land.

In addition to exchange of language names and uses knowledge, senior Ngandi woman Cherry Wulumirr Daniels also facilitated cultural leadership and kinship discussions throughout the camp with her usual passion and command of everyone’s attention. On the last night, the Yirralka Rangers shared with everyone a cultural song and dance (manikay) about Ngilipitji that was recorded by their family members. They also taught the group a range of other songs and dances that often had environmental themes. This was followed by cultural performances and lessons from the Numbirindi Rangers and Ngukurr mob.

After the camp the Yirralka Rangers came to Ngukurr, many for the first time, and participated in an ALA workshop led by Rebecca Pirzl with input from Julie Roy, Yugul Mangi senior woman ranger. We downloaded the camera trap photos and shared all photos and videos with each other.

All the ladies had a fantastic time learning from each other and experiencing Country that many had never been to before. Although we only found a few animal species and common plant species, they were all significant records due to the lack of surveys in this area in the past. The knowledge exchange was deemed a success with annual exchanges and the need for more cross-cultural biodiversity surveys discussed.

Banbai nation people at Wattleridge Indigenous Protected Area in northern New South Wales are working with Michelle McKemey at the University of New England to develop season and fire calendars.

The calendars represent annual seasonal changes as well as biocultural factors that indicate the right, and wrong, time to burn. They are developed using results of ecological experiments, literature reviews, observations and cultural knowledge gathered through interviews. For more information read WINBA = FIRE, the Wattleridge IPA Fire and Seasons Calendar. The development of the WINBA = FIRE, Wattleridge Fire and Seasons calendar has been supported by the Firesticks Project.

The ALA is working with Michelle and her Indigenous collaborators to test an ALA prototype for an online interactive Indigenous seasonal calendar. This online platform will visualise and reflect the Indigenous knowledge contained within seasonal calendars and the context for which they were developed. The project will also create some opportunities for two-way sharing by linking to other biodiversity information contained in the ALA.

This work is part ALA’s Indigenous Ecological Knowledge plan which is exploring the role of various information management platforms in bridging the boundaries between traditional Indigenous knowledge and western science.

Traditional land management practices and Indigenous knowledge about plants, animals and the environment are connected with people, place and culture. This knowledge has developed over thousands of years and offers critical insights for managing the environment today. The ALA is exploring the role of information management platforms in bridging the boundaries between traditional Indigenous knowledge and western science.

The ALA’s IEK program of work recognises the essential nature of a participatory approach, and aims to provide tools to enable greater Indigenous participation in biodiversity information management and assessment, and to support other aspirations of Indigenous people related to ecological or biodiversity knowledge. We currently partner in two IEK projects, one in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory and one in Cape York, Queensland. Both projects are exploring two-way knowledge sharing and learning between traditional land custodians and the ALA.

This week the ALA is conducting a sprint (a software development work phase) to install the following improvements to the ALA’s website in response to feedback from the Olkola (Cape York) and Ngukurr (Arnhem Land) community users.

1. Introduction of specific spatial layers into the ALA’s mapping and analysis tools.
2. Modifications to the Species Profiles app to upload multi-media files and to improve useability.
3. Addition of a tab and other modifications on ALA Species pages to enable Indigenous stories, Indigenous language names and multimedia to be displayed.

The ALA hopes to collaborate with more Indigenous communities across Australia to foster two-way engagement in biodiversity knowledge.

For more information on the ALA’s IEK work, visit our blogs on the Yugul Mangi Rangers and the Olkola People.

** This blog post has been produced with the Olkola Aboriginal Corporation **

In the first week of June, CSIRO researchers, Olkola elders and rangers, and Gerry Turpin from TIEC met on Olkola country together, at Killarney station, recording knowledge, sharing knowledge, mapping plants and animals and beginning to discuss what sharing information about country might look like.  The group was based at the Killarney station homestead where we camped and travelled from daily to visit story places on Olkola country identified by the rangers and the knowledge holders.

On the first day of our camp we talked about the pilot project.  CSIRO researchers introduced the Olkola rangers and knowledge holders to the ALA, and talked about how we would work together during the week.  Afterward we travelled to a nearby lagoon and to Maryanne Yard, where Brian and John Ross told us about some of the uses and preparations of cultural plants on their country.  The CSIRO researchers were introduced to Olkola traditional uses of the quinine tree, kurragong and the fine leaf tea tree.  The next morning we gathered together at the camp to reflect on what we saw and heard.  We talked about the plants and animals at each place, and discussed what knowledge sharing might mean, and what the risks and benefits for Olkola would be.  We repeated this exercise every morning before each trip out to visit places on country and record knowledge.

Some of the animals we were introduced to by Olkola elders included: freshwater crocodiles, a yellow spotted monitor, and many birds including the black breasted buzzard, the endangered golden shouldered parrots, white-bellied cuckoo shrike as well as the feral pigs.  Some of the birds and insects we saw were at sites where the rangers were burning on country.

On this visit, a few of the Olkola Traditional Owners were returning to their country after more than 20 years.  John, who was on the camp, was last in Killarney mustering for the station owner in the 1980s, when he was in his teen years;  he had not been to parts of Killarney previously.  He described his return as “real comfortable… this country belongs to my ancestors.   Now it’s all given back to us,  make(s) me happy here”.

Two more meetings are planned where CSIRO researchers will present their findings to the larger Olkola community, and a third meeting where Olkola people will decide what will be shared and if so, how they would like to represent their country.

The Atlas of Living Australia currently supports two Indigenous Ecological Knowledge pilot projects, learn more about their story from previous articles:

Indigenous Ecological Knowledge: The Olkola People

First ALA records of elusive Leichhardt’s Grasshopper in Arnhem Land

Returning to the Remote Country of the Ngandi People

The National Reserve System forms a network of more than 9000 properties, covering more than 11 per cent of the continent, including national parks run by all levels of government, lands managed by Indigenous owners and non-profit organisations, and parts of working properties managed for conservation by farmers.

Bush Blitz began in 2010 and has conducted expeditions to diverse areas including Flinders Island in Bass Strait, Queensland’s wet tropics, the Gawler Ranges in South Australia and now to the stunning Judbarra/ Gregory National Park. Over the last five years these expeditions have found more than 900 new species, located 250 threatened species, and recorded 12,000 types of plants and animals in new localities. The latest expedition at Judbarra/ Gregory discovered at least seven new species of spider, including a previously unknown genus of tarantula. Other highlights included a record of one of Australia’s rarest fish, the Neil’s Grunter (Scortum neili) and the first record of the swamp eel from the Victoria River catchment.

While conducting a survey in the field might be the most exciting part of a Bush Blitz, a lot of the work takes place afterwards, as scientists return to museums and herbaria to identify, document and preserve the specimens and data collected, and work towards making new information available to land managers, government agencies and the public. These new specimens and sightings add to more than 30 million records held by museums and herbaria across the country. Museums and other collections play a vital role in preserving these specimens for the use of scientists and the general public, and preserving this invaluable record of our nation’s biodiversity for the future.

Collections are particularly important in species discovery and taxonomy, as type specimens of newly discovered species are lodged in public collections such as museums, so that they are preserved indefinitely, and always accessible for review. Types are the individual specimen whose characteristics are described in the scientific paper naming the new species. Preservation and accessibility of these specimens ensures that future generations of taxonomists can verify identifications and expand our knowledge of the world around us. There are often new species to describe from the trips, either as complete new finds, or key material that contributes to broader detective work that helps uncover how many species are actually present.

Upon their return to the museum, staff prepare each specimen for long term storage, which can include fixing tissues of mammals, fish and reptiles, pinning and drying insects, identifying species,and carefully labelling each specimen.

Once the specimen is safely preserved, museum staff record information such as the identification, location and date of capture in databases, so those data can be used for all sorts of research, including large and small scale ecology, genetic analysis and land management.

This process takes considerable time, but data resulting from the Judbarra/ Gregory National Park Bush Blitz expedition will eventually be published online through the Atlas of Living Australia, for the information of the research community and general public. Bush Blitz records will add to more than 10 million collections-sourced records that form an invaluable resource in our quest to better understand Australia’s biodiversity.

Aboriginal people manage some of Australia’s most remote and difficult to access parts of Australia. Limited access by people can mean that environmental threats such as intense wildfire and invasive species take hold. Thanks to funding and support from the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), Australian National University (ANU)  Centre for Biodiversity Analysis (CBA) and the Foundation and Friend of the Botnaic Gardens (FFBG), in April 2015 the Yugul Mangi Rangers, Mingirringi (Traditional Owners) and Jungayi (Traditional Managers) were able to travel to remote Ngandi Country in the proposed SE Arnhem Land Indigenous Protected Area. Ecologists from Macquarie University in Sydney (Emilie Ens and Mitchell Scott), the Acting Collections Manager at the National Herbarium of New South Wales (Gillian Towler) and Ngukurr Language Centre Linguist (Salome Harris) who have all been working with the Rangers were fortunate enough to join the trip and assist with cross-cultural biodiversity surveys and cultural knowledge recordings.

FAMILY AND CULTURE

Ngandi Country is some of the most remote Country managed by the Yugul Mangi Rangers and represents a significant part of the proposed SE Arnhem Land Indigenous Protected Area (IPA). Very few Ngandi Traditional Owners have been to this area due to geographical, access and resource limitation issues. Through this project we were able to get enough resources, including hiring a helicopter, to take people out there at the request of Cherry Daniels, Ngandi Traditional Owner and IPA cultural advisor.

Cherry Daniels thought she may never return to her Country as she is now 70 years old. She had only been there twice in her life – once in 2004 and once when she was in her fifty’s. Her daughter Marjorie had never been there. But an opportunity created by the Rangers, Traditional Owners, Emilie Ens, and Gill Towler with support from the ALA, CBA and FFBG, led to 30 community members, including 4 generations of Ngandi people, making a return to their Country.

Marjorie Daniels said of the trip:

“Well for me I reckon it was really good to go out there…look all the different place, look all the different plants and different animals. That environment is a bit different to where we stay in the community [Ngukurr]. It was cool out there, not hot. It was lovely to sit down under the shady tree and cook…fishing…I just liked looking at that whole place. It reminds me of…well that area it belongs to my husband…that river…it reminds me of my husband. His daddy used to tell him stories about that area long time ago. And I been want him to see that place really badly…so I’ve seen it now and I am happy I’ve been out there with my son [Scott Dingul].

It’s a great experience for kids. For little kids like my little daughter now, my niece [Petria Lingiari] and the two little boys of [my sister] Annette [Matthew and Kelvin Lingiari]. All that mob it’s all been really good for that mob so they can learn. Learn about both ways – blekbala way and munanga [white fella] way.

When we took the kids [out bush on a school trip after this] they couldn’t stop talking about Warrpani [billabong in Ngandi Country]. They told the rest of the kids how Warrpani was like to them. They felt they were home with their grandmother [Cherry]. Their real home. It was sad going away from there for me and mum…and the kids. We couldn’t stop talking about it when we came back down at Ngukurr.

To me it was really good going out. I love travelling out. It was a really great experience to me ‘cause I never been in that area since I was born. Now I’m 49 years of age, nearly 50, that’s the time I went out to see my mum’s area. You know. She hasn’t been taking us there for a long, long time. Only when she was getting old now she asked my brother if she could take some families out you know. And it was ok for her. They let her do that now.”

When visiting Country it is important that the right people give consent and the right people are present. Both Cherry Daniels and Winston Thompson are senior Ngandi Traditional Owners and they directed who came and where we would camp and conduct surveys. The men set up their own camp for a couple nights and did surveys in a different area to the women. Ernest Daniels and Kelvin Rogers are Jungayi for that area (Jungayi are the Traditional land managers, as opposed to owners). Their job is to ensure the Traditional Owners and all visitors are doing the right thing on Country.

DOCUMENTING SPECIES SO WE KNOW WHAT NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED

Remote areas where people don’t often go are at risk from intense wildfires and invasive species including feral cats and cane toads. These threats have caused significant declines in goannas, snakes, quolls and small mammals in this region. Also, remote areas that have not experienced or been allowed access to scientists can often harbour species of plants and animals that haven’t been adequately described by Western science. On this trip, we wanted to find out what animals and plants were out on Ngandi Country. We caught and recorded animals and plants at three survey areas and used CyberTracker to electronically record data.

One remote area of the Parsons Range was crawling with bandayamah (Ngandi for gecko). Whilst spotlighting at night, we found many Marbled Velvet Geckos (Oedura marmorata). As biginini (kriol for children), the gecko has strongly coloured yellow bands. When it grows into an adult, the bands disperse and it becomes light purple. We collected tissue samples (tail tips) from all lizards we caught and their DNA will be sequenced by the CBA. Some plant specimens were also taken to the NSW Herbarium for further identification. We hope that through this collaboration we can work together to describe some new species to science.

We collected plant specimens at sites on the Parsons Range and near billabong and creek areas. We pressed the plants and took them back to Ngukurr where we will identify them using Aboriginal language and scientific names and add them to the Yugul Mangi Herbarium. For species we can’t identify, Gill Towler will take them back to the NSW Herbarium for comparison with other known species and then bring that information back. Gill Towler received a scholarship from the Foundation and Friends of the Botanic Gardens to participate in this project.

Thanks to the ALA, CBA, FFBG, Northern Land Council, Macquarie University and Ngukurr Language Centre for supporting this culturally and biologically valuable trip. Now that the families have returned to Ngukurr Community, they are keen to do trips out this way more often, to look after this unique Country and its biocultural resources.

This post has been produced by the Yugul Mangi Rangers of south-east Arnhem Land, with Emilie Ens and Mitchell Scott (Macquarie University, Sydney). Get in touch at yugulmangi.rangers2@gmail.com emilie.ens@mq.edu.au mitchell.ll.scott@gmail.com

Read more about their Indigenous Ecological Knowledge projects on the ALA blog:

Learning by doing: The ALA is sponsoring Yugul Mangi Rangers and ecologists to conduct two-way biodiversity research in remote Arnhem Land

First ALA records of elusive Leichhardt’s Grasshopper in Arnhem Land

Bringing south-east Arnhem Land stories to south-east Australia mob

The Yugul Mangi Ranger Two-way Biodiversity Project is not just about working in Arnhem Land, but also communicating outcomes to the rest of Australia. For that reason, some of our team recently travelled to Sydney and Canberra for 2 weeks in March 2015. We gave presentations and are writing this blog to teach non-Indigenous people about the great things Indigenous people are doing in remote Australia for our Country and communities. We also want to encourage more cross-cultural collaboration between scientists and Indigenous people and for other Indigenous Ranger groups to get involved in the Atlas of Living Australia.

While down south, we did three presentations: a 3 hour workshop for 2nd year University students at UNSW for the Indigenous Perspectives in Science course; a 20 minute BioSeminar at Macquarie University to academics and Masters students; and a one hour presentation at ANU for our funding partners – the ALA and Australian National University (ANU) Centre for Biodiversity Analysis (CBA). Mostly, Kelvin Rogers (Yugul Mangi Ranger) led the talks, with smaller contributions from two Ngukurr school students (Lester Gumbula and Nehemiah Farrell) and Emilie Ens and Mitchell Scott from Macquarie University. Another aim of the trip was to deliver some animal tissue samples from Arnhem Land to Professor Craig Moritz (CBA, ANU) as he and his lab group are going to help us identify some species and possibly identify new species to science. We are excited about being involved in this process.

The primary aim of our presentation at ANU and our meeting at CSIRO in Canberra was to inform the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) mob about how we’ve been using their website, and how we can best integrate Indigenous content. We are working together to make it easy for everyone, including Aboriginal people, to contribute to this Australian Biodiversity resource. At the meeting we were joined (via video link) by representatives from CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences (Cairns) who are also working on this ALA Indigenous project with the Olkola Rangers (Nth Queensland).

A core aim of this project is also to work with the Ngukurr School and introduce young students to science, Ranger work and land management. We take Ngukurr students out on Yugul Mangi Ranger biodiversity surveys and also sometimes when we travel interstate to contribute to communications about the project. Ngukurr School is the main school in the region and teaches 300 children from the Ngukurr community of 1000.

The school principal selected high school students Lester Gumbula and Nehemiah Farrell to attend this trip as they both had high attendance, are doing well at school, and find ranger work and biodiversity surveys interesting. The students both contributed to the making and presentation of the talks. We hope that by rewarding good students in this way we will encourage other young people in the community to attend school and study hard.

In addition to the presentations, the team also visited numerous science labs and institutions as the Ngukurr School has a limited science education program. We visited the Glasshouses, Museum and Lizard Lab at Macquarie University, the Genetics Lab at ANU, the Australian National Botanic Gardens and Australian National Insect Collection in Canberra.

We also visited the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies in Canberra where staff showed us how to use the computers to search for records of family and friends from Ngukurr. The AIATSIS Perfect Pictures database has over 140,000 photos which is about 20% of the total AIATSIS archives and can only be viewed at AIATSIS in Canberra.

“They got heaps of Ngukurr records, it’s a place where we can put our photos and other people can see them.” – Kelvin Rogers, Yugul Mangi Ranger

We then headed to the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, which has been based beside Old Parliament House in Canberra since 1972. As we were having a look around, we met the official fire-keeper. It was his job to keep the fire burning no matter what, day and night. It made sense to us that just like keeping a fire burning, this Tent Embassy was about maintaining a strong and continuous Indigenous presence in Canberra and in the minds of all Australians and international visitors. Talking to Indigenous and non-indigenous people staying at the Embassy, at the front of everyone’s mind was the closure of remote communities in Western Australia. We want people to know that Indigenous people living on and managing their own Country is key to land management (Remote Indigenous communities are vital for fragile ecosystems – article in The Conversation)

We invited some of members of the Tent Embassy to our talk at ANU and we were really happy that they came along to support us. Thanks!

A trip to Sydney and Canberra wouldn’t be complete without having a look around. We visited Centre Point Tower, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Royal Easter Show, surfed Sydney’s beaches and went to Parliament House (Canberra).

Thanks to the ALA and ANU/ CBA for supporting our trip and all the people who showed us around the science labs and institutions.

This post has been produced by the Yugul Mangi Rangers of south-east Arnhem Land. Read more about their Indigenous Ecological Knowledge projects on the ALA blog:

Learning by doing: Yugul Mangi Rangers and the Leichhardt’s Grasshopper: Arnhem Land

This pilot project explores questions on the benefits and risks to Traditional Owners of data sharing, and the resource opportunities the ALA offers to them.  At the end of this pilot our group would like to:

• establish and test a model for two-way information exchange between the ALA and Indigenous groups,
• provide a model that could be generalised to provide the framework by which the ALA engages with other Indigenous groups on knowledge exchange,
• help build trust between the ALA and Indigenous groups.

Work on the ground for this project will start in the middle of 2015, toward the end of the wet season.  At this time we would like to introduce ALA users to the Olkola people.

In December 2014, nearly 700,000 hectares of ancestral land was returned to the Olkola people.  Under the handover Olkola National Park, an area covering 269,830 hectares was established and will be jointly managed by the Olkola people and the Queensland government.

Olkola country sits in a unique position along the northern end of the Great Dividing Range with the headwaters of five rivers that flow into both the Coral Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria.  Habitats of extensive wetlands, rare and unique tall open forests, remnant rainforest refugia and intact landscapes of savannah woodlands will be managed by the Olkola people.  Also on Olkola country are nine threatened regional ecosystems, (active Golden Shouldered Parrot nesting sites), two species of plants listed as threatened under the EPBC Act, as well as bora grounds and sites of cultural heritage and significance to the Olkola people.

Five clan groups make up the Olkola people, and each clan group speaks for their respective country and hold special significance and value to story places and animal totems associated with landscape features.  Rock-art, scar trees, burial sites, sacred sites occur across the landscape. Olkola people are returning to their ancestral country and are actively engaged to restore their values for their country and ensure these are properly managed.

The Atlas of Living Australia is currently supporting two Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) pilot projects. These projects are aimed at exploring and encouraging two-way knowledge sharing between traditional land custodians and the Atlas. More information on the Yugul Mangi pilot project can be found here.

Thanks to ALA support, the Yugul Mangi Rangers and ecologists Emilie Ens and Mitchell Scott have entered the first ALA record of the near-threatened Leichhardt’s Grasshopper (Petasida ephippigera) for Arnhem Land. The culturally significant and brightly-coloured species continues to battle against the odds of changing fire regimes and a dietary dependence, to survive in the rugged sandstone escarpment of some of Australia’s most inaccessible country. 

Walking along a dry sandy creek bed, bare feet buried in hot sand, November sun blazing down relentlessly, Rangers and Ecologists are out on Country conducting two-way biodiversity surveys with the support of the ALA. As we traversed the landscape on foot we noticed an unusual shrub amongst the spinifex, from the genus Pityrodia. Our minds were cast to the relationship between this species of plant and a charismatic yet near-threatened grasshopper, well known by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous minds, but today rarely seen by either.

Suddenly, as we were continuing through the scrub, shouts drew us to a Pityrodia shrub, decorated in mottled orange and blues of a very important grasshopper: Leichhardt’s Grasshopper!

Talking amongst our survey team, and later in the SE Arnhem Land Aboriginal community of Ngukurr, most had either never seen this grasshopper before, or had not seen it since they were biginini (kriol for children). Cherry Wulumirr Daniels (70 year old senior Ngandi woman and founder of the Yugul Mangi Rangers) commented that it has cultural significance as when she was young she remembers being told not to touch them, but that the full story and name might be lost (see our first blog)… we will try and find them.

The bininj of western Arnhem Land (to the north of our study area) call it Alyurr or Namarrkon and believe it was created by the lightning spirit Namarrkon. During the build of the wet season, Alyurr is active and looking for Namarrkon. The first Australians of the Arnhem Land plateau knew this species well, and in time, it would be a species that only the most intrepid European explores could catch a glimpse of.

Ludwig Leichhardt was one of Australia’s earliest European adventurers, famous for his expeditions into the Australian outback. He kept detailed field notes, and on his trip in 1845 from Sydney to Port Essington (near Darwin, Northern Territory) he made the first Western scientific record of the species:

“Whilst on this expedition, we observed a great number of grasshoppers, of a bright brick colour dotted with blue: the posterior part of the corselet, and the wings were blue; it was two inches long, and its antennae three quarters of an inch.” – Ludwig Leichhardt, November 17, 1845

In 1848, three years after his initial expedition, Ludwig Leichhardt disappeared into the Australian Outback on what would be his last journey – he and his party were never found. For over one hundred years there were no records of the grasshopper, until a sighting in 1971 by J.H. Calaby. Unfortunately, in recent times it seems that the charismatic Leichhardt’s Grasshopper may be teetering on the edge of extinction, and risks fading into history, just as Ludwig did.

The current known distribution of the Leichhardt’s Grasshopper is dotted across the Arnhem Land plateau and escarpment, including in Kakadu National Park, Nitmiluk National Park and a single previous record in south-east Arnhem Land (Barrow 2009). It is thought that, like many insects, this grasshopper’s striking colouration is aposematic: meaning its conspicuous colours signal to predators that it is poisonous to eat (although no toxic chemicals have been found in either the animal or its food).

Our spotting of the Pityrodia shrub was a clue to the presence of the grasshopper, because of its special relationship to this plant. Leichhardt’s Grasshopper only eats a few species of Pityrodia which is in the mint family (Lamiaceae). Because they feed only on this daga (kriol for food) their distribution is restricted by the plant’s distribution, and they are both endemic to the Arnhem Land plateau and escarpment. Although they can occur in locally high numbers they are normally found in small groups, are sparsely distributed and have a low dispersal rate. Often they complete their life cycle on just one individual plant!

One last relationship reveals that out on Country, everything is connected. Pityrodia’s distribution is strongly linked to fire. Although this plant cannot tolerate frequent intense fires, it is dependent upon some fire to survive. In the absence of fire it will be outcompeted by other plant species: in some cases mass mortalities have been observed. Therefore it needs frequent low intensity fires.

Modern-day northern Australian fire regimes are characterised by fires that are later in the monsoonal dry season and which Cherry and the Rangers say are more frequent and more intense than traditional burning would have been in this region. Unburnt patches can act as refuges in stony country, a shelter for both plant and animal alike, but these are less likely to be protected during intense fires. Thus, fire impacts grasshoppers directly and by burning their only food source.

Research on Leichhardt’s Grasshopper populations in Kakadu National Park suggested that modern changes in fire regimes have negatively impacted this species. Traditional Aboriginal burning patterns may have been better for them. The Yugul Mangi Rangers want to protect Leichhardt’s Grasshopper, its Pityrodia and the area by making ‘right time fire’ in the cooler months of July to September. The Rangers took some of the grasshoppers to the local Ngukurr school and told these stories to the students, none of whom had ever seen these fascinating animals before.

Whether Leichhardt’s Grasshopper is indeed facing a fragile future depends on our future biodiversity surveys and good land management practices. Perhaps this elusive species is flourishing in the hidden sandstone crevices of the Arnhem Land plateau, as it continues to cycle in and out of Australia’s consciousness.

We are looking forward to learning more about this interesting grasshopper, including its distribution, ecology and cultural significance, as we continue our ALA project in South-East Arnhem Land Indigenous Protected Area (IPA).

Acknowledgements

Yugul Mangi Rangers include: Clarry Rogers (Co-ordinator), Winston Thompson (Senior Ranger), Simon Ponto, Ben Wilfred, Kelvin Rogers, Julie Roy (Senior Ranger), Rose Munur, Carmelina Ngalmi and Pollyanne Ponto. You can contact them at yugulmangi.rangers2@gmail.com.

Emilie Ens (Emilie.ens@mq.edu.au) and Mitchell Scott (Mitchell.scott@mq.edu.au); both are Cross-cultural Ecologists from Macquarie University, Sydney.

References:

Barrow P 2009. The role of fire in the ecology of Leichhardt’s grasshopper (Petasida ephippigera) and its food plants, Pityrodia spp. PhD Thesis, Charles Darwin University, Darwin.

Lowe L 1995. Preliminary investigations of the biology and management of Leichhardt’s grasshopper, Petasida ephippigera (White). Journal of Orthoptera Research 4, 219-21.

Price O, Russell-Smith J & Edwards A 2003. Fine-scale patchiness of different fire intensities in sandstone heath vegetation in northern Australia. International Journal of Wildland Fire 12, 227-36.

Wilson CG, Barrow PH & Michell CR 2003. New locations and host plants for Leichhardt’s grasshopper Petasida ephippigera White (Orthoptera: Pyrgomorphidae) in the Northern Territory. Australian Entomologist 30, 167–76.

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