Glowing geckos show trees vital to farm biodiversity

Researchers at ANU have used glow-in-the-dark geckos to help shed light on the mysteries of animal navigation and to help improve biodiversity in farming landscapes. The study reveals the small navigating reptiles rely on certain cues to find their way, and can benefit from easy and cost-effective changes in landscape management, such as leaving isolated trees and planning the direction of sown crops. Lead researcher Geoffrey Kay from the ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society said the discovery is important because land clearing and habitat fragmentation is the leading cause of biodiversity decline globally, and continues to threaten Australian biodiversity. "Large old scattered trees have been shown to have immense ecological, social and economic value. Our work also shows that they are useful as visual flagpoles for native fauna navigating across the countryside," Mr Kay said. "Importantly, we've also discovered that movements between habitat patches are heavily influenced by the height of pasture, and the direction of sown crops in agricultural fields." The study used the nocturnal Marbled Gecko, common across southern Australia and to the woodlands near Canberra. "By releasing geckos dusted with fluorescent powder into fields, and returning to track the glowing trails at night, we were able to map fine-scaled movements that have previously not been possible with traditional tracking techniques," Mr Kay said.