Australian Bioscience News & Views

More on Bufo beater

The same water loving snake that can eat cane toads and live to eat more, is also good at finding its way home. Female keelbacks (Tropidonophis mairii) return to the place where they hatched from an egg, to lay their own eggs when the time comes.

If you're interested in reptiles of the Sydney region, check out these fantastic images, and watch this space.

Lizard hunting

Even the indignities of the common cold can provide the occasional benefit. Trying not to feel too useless, I decided that mid morning might be the ideal moment to take out some rubbish, and feed the worm farm with the left overs of last night's salad. A patch of dappled sunlight, and a certain lack of energy, encouraged me to sit for while in our pleasant, sheltered courtyard.

Sitting quietly, I watched a little garden skink running across the paving, a flapping moth between its jaws. At a convenient shelter between fallen leaves, the lizard knocked the wings off the moth, and went further into the leaf litter to munch it down. Ants quickly came to pick up the wings. It would have been macabre but the sun was reflecting dazzlingly off the weedy leaves, the greying gum litter, quartz in the paving stones, and of course the energetic, irridescent little reptile.

It's not often one gets to see one of these cautious beasts have a meal. I was careful to stay still, and was rewarded by that hunt, but also the precise flight path of a small native bee, searching for some nectar.

Bufo beater

The story of the cane toad (Bufo marinus) in Australia, is a sad tale of biological control gone very wrong. One of the most disheartening aspects of the warty invasion is that most native animals find cane toads lethally poisonous. Of course no toad causes warts, but cane toads look like they have a bad case of them!

Today I heard something cheering though, an unassuming waterloving native snake, the Keelback (Tropidonophis mairii) can munch on cane toads like a delicious meaty snack. The Keelback lives from south eastern Queensland to The Top End of the Northern Territory, so I hope this rainbow serpent protects Kakadu. Go Keelbacks!

Snakes in the bushes

Today, some poor guy holidaying up at Wiseman’s Ferry was bitten by a death adder (Acanthophis antarcticus), five bites apparently. Luckily he is not dead, recovering in hospital, but I can’t help wondering whether he did indeed pick it up mistakenly believing it to be a lizard, as newspapers are saying. I’m aware that some adders vary their colour with the seasons, but I don’t believe any of them grow legs …

Luckily there is an antivenom for the neurotoxic agents in the bite, which varies in effectiveness depending on the subspecies of antarcticus death adder that did the deed. I’m no expert on Elapidae, but have stumbled across references to quite a number of subspecies, the Barkly Tableland Acanthophis antarcticus from Victoria, the Southern death adder from New South Wales, and of course the common death adder in South Australia. Think about those last two names, and then try to say Australians have no sense of irony. They’re all close cousins to the rather more famous Pilbara death adder (Acanthophis wellsi), reputed to be the second most venomous snake on earth.

It’s been rumoured that the common death adder antivenom can possibly be used to manage bardick snake (Notechis curtus) bites, though I don’t know how effective it would be. Sadly though, there have been reports of fox and feral cat baits killing death adders and other snakes, so it appears Homo sapiens more than get their own back on the scaly ones.

In my first year at uni I remember reading a paper about anticholinesterase being used to save death addered rats. This is apparently the opposite of the usual situation, where anticholinesterases are the active agents in other bites and stings. On the pro side for anticholinesterases, they are also used to treat pesticide poisoning by organophosphates and carbamates.

So, while there are snakes in the bushes, and people pick them up in the dark, there will always be interesting topics to ponder. Not unlike surfers who like to enjoy sun set from behind the breakers …

Political tuna

The politics of whale hunting is no doubt the reason that Sydney Morning Herald made the effort to publish an article about Richard McLoughlin's seminar At ANU on the 1st August. You may find the presentation by the managing director of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority interesting listening. Is there anyone else out there like me, who uses their MP3 player (mobile phone in my case) to listen to more than just music? The growth of sites dedicated to podcasting regular programmes, and the various media outlets providing material in different file formats, I would guess there must be a few ...

One thing that does puzzle me about this new miniaturised, portable MP3 player culture that's developing, is the amazing willingness of so many to have the music they purchase "restricted" to a particular device, file format, number of copies, or CD burn limits, etc ad nauseum. I guess I should have been warned there was something odd about this particular consumer space when the shuffle was marketed as a good thing! Any digital device without a screen is unlikely to be worth its salt.

Large music production companies can be likened to the tunas of the ocean of music. Lean, big, fast, and out to get you. Hence all the 'restrictions' inflicted on us by retailers of music files and digital music players. My personal view is that they're pushing themselves to market extinction.  Independent artists and their medium sized promoters are already taking the lead in this household, sellings files as .wav and other techno-musician friendly formats, no restrictions on how they are burned, and often far more reasonably priced, I guess because they do not have the enormous advertising and distribution overheads of the 'idolmakers'.

This is not to say I even remotely support turning artists into paupers by not paying them for their creations. Rather the opposite, I enjoy a free market in arts, where I can buy from the most obscure as well as the most obvious, without having to visit a dozen tiny CD shops strewn across the greater Sydney basin.

Orang microchip

No, today's title is not a typo, I recently saw some footage of an Orang Utan being microchipped at an animal sanctuary. Evil thoughts ;-) So it can be done to primates!

Sadly, a Blue Mountains herper was bitten by his pet death adder last night. Not good news, but it appears likely he will survive, which is not a certainty after being bitten twice by Acanthophis antarcticus.

Good news for herpetologists fat & thin

There is great news for Melbourne based herpetologists, with the results of the 2005 frog census finding that there are eight frog species that might be found in Melbourne suburbs. Mind you, according to FATS (Frog & Tadpole Study Group NSW Inc), Sydney has 23 frog species. Next time I visit Melbourne I might go herping one evening to replace the usual conference or work travel related late dinners & boozing ;-) I wouldn't mind betting that despite the cooler climate, Melbourne is actually not that much poorer in frog species than Sydney is - because I have spent more than enough nights having my sleep disturbed by frogs in our fine southern sister metropolis ;-)

Speaking of late dinners, two recent genetic research articles say that is not the only reason some regular travellers may find themselves struggling with their weight.

On the opposite end of the body mass index scale, recent changes in the requirements for Australian cheerleading team costumes have been introduced in an attempt to reduce the social cues which may contribute to annorexia. American cheerleaders have already experienced these changes. Personally I feel that this push towards modest costumes is not in the spirit of cheerleading ... but then, the last time I paid for a ticket to a live sports event was over 5 years ago, so maybe the spectators have grown beyond my populist tastes ;-)

Smart inner city pets

Are you looking for a pet that you can keep in a flat, terrace or even a giant property with lots of outdoor space? A quiet animal with a long life span and potentially low care demands? Then why not consider a reptile?

In New South Wales (where I live) you can have reptiles as pets. You need to get a license before getting your pet, but there are plenty of advantages. Being native, you can pick a pet that is well adapted to local temperatures, or a more exotic native that requires a slightly sophisticated home :-) There are plenty of herpetologists (reptile & amphibian fans) all over the country who can provide advice on how to keep a happy herp at home, and where to find a pet (don't buy from thieves). The laws vary a lot between the states & territories, so it's worth doing a little research before choosing a pet and arranging a good enclosure for it. If you live in NSW, you can keep many kinds of native reptiles, and one cute exotic critter too. That would be the Asian House Gecko aka Hemidactylus frenatus.

My personal experience of living with a very placid young Queensland Coastal Carpet Python is entirely positive. It is easy to keep the cage clean, the water bowl refilled, Snakey fed, and the diary updated. This excellent care takes less than 2 hours a week, and I often spend 3 or more hours a week just playing with Snakey or allowing him/her free reign under my watchful eye. It is rewarding and interesting to have such a striking companion at home.

Control issues

Australians do not have the right to choose a dignified, self-administered death, and Americans are losing the right to choose. Cancer patients can't get RU 486 into Australia. I would not recommend suicide or abortion, but I will defend the right to openly discuss and choose them if a person feels it necessary.  Life is complicated, and I don't pretend to know all the answers, so I'm quite negative about denying other people actions they feel are required.

Sydney Harbour Week is coming, but the news reports say that the fish are too toxic to eat. I hope no one has been poisoned, and I dread to think of birds eating those fish. One of my favourite birds came to mind as I watched the news.

Watching world affairs from my  desk, I note that while South America moves to the left politically, the Commonwealth (& former) countries move to the right. We do live in interesting times, and I wonder how they will appear to future historians.

Fun in Centennial Park

I've been considering matters of medical ethics and the nature of 'good work' while reading Federal Bodysnatchers and the New Guinea Virus lately. Taken with a pinch of salt, this book can be a good conversation starter or handy prism to view personal choices. I'd recommend it if you're not feeling too down or pressed for time, it does meander pleasantly down the memory lane of a very interesting man.

While learning some braking & maneuvering skills on our new electric scooter in gloriously hot & sunny Centennial Park, I spied a small group of gorgeous sulphur crested cockatoos.

They were languidly flying between trees, probably eating the Moreton Bay fig fruits and other things. They stayed for 15 minutes, making the occasional call, and then eventually flew away shreeking loudly.

I had my phone with me, and took a snap of the one perching closest to the ground, which was at least 3 metres.