Monitoring and Research

University of Sydney - Desert Ecology Research

A team of researchers from University of Sydney, led by Professor Chris Dickman, is currently undertaking several projects on Cravens Peak and Ethabuka Reserve.

The projects look at the effects of rainfall and fire on the diversity and abundance on mammals and reptiles in the spinifex grasslands in the Simpson Desert.

One of the more recent projects being undertaken looks at the effect of cattle grazing on small mammals and reptiles, in the hope of improving management of cattle grazing on off-reserve areas.

Professor Chris Dickman and his team have been undertaking long term research in the area for approximately 20 years. The data that they have collected over the years will prove invaluable to the management of Cravens Peak and Ethabuka in the future.  More information about their desert ecology research is available on the website for the Dickman Lab.

Royal Geographic Society of Queensland - Scientific Study of Cravens Peak

In 2007, the Royal Geographic Society of Queensland coordinated a four week field expedition on Cravens Peak Reserve. This field work will contribute to the baseline data required to monitor the change in land condition after the removal of cattle.

Thirty-five scientists and naturalists undertook field work in disciplines ranging across paleontology, entomology, botany and zoology.  Their studies encompassed Ordovician and Devonian fossils, cicada fauna, collembolan and associated fungi diversity, vertebrate fauna assemblages, freshwater flora and fauna, water quality and macro algal diversity, bat fauna, and diversity of moths and butterflies, just to name a few.

For more information, see the RGSQ media release about this scientific study.