Bush Blitz TeachLive
Victoria Bonaparte Bioregion, NT
May 6th -13th 2017
Bush Blitz is a national partnership to discover,
document and describe the unique flora and fauna
of Australia. It is the world’s first continent-scale
biodiversity survey, providing the knowledge needed
to help us protect Australia’s biodiversity for
generations to come.
A dunnart (genus Sminthopsis) found by teachers and scientists on the 2016 Bush Blitz
TeachLive expedition to the Simpson Desert
Photo: Andrea Haas
Front cover: Victoria River
© Michael Schwab
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Bush Blitz: Northern Territory, May 2017
Background
It is estimated that as much as 75% of species
living in Australia - its unique plants, animals and
other organisms - have yet to be documented.
In 2009 BHP Billiton, Earthwatch and the Australian
government - through the Australian Biological
Resources Study - embarked on an ambitious journey
of scientific discovery to help fill these gaps in our
biodiversity knowledge.
Results to date
In the six years since the program began,
Bush Blitz has conducted 31 expeditions
to more than 70 national parks, reserves
and other properties throughout
Australia.
In addition to discovering new species, Bush
Blitz increases our knowledge of species that
are already known to science. Through Bush
Blitz, scientists have:
ÎÎ Extended the known ranges of over
250 species
Bush Blitz scientists - assisted by teachers and
BHP Billiton employees working as research
assistants in the field - have discovered over
1,100 new species, including:
ÎÎ Generated records of more than 300
ÎÎ 92 bee species
ÎÎ Generated records of over 900
species listed as threatened,
vulnerable or endangered
pest species.
ÎÎ 201 species of spider
The information uncovered by Bush Blitz
assists local land managers to protect species
and ecosystems in their reserves. It also
assists higher level conservation planning by
increasing the knowledge of both threatened
species and pest species.
ÎÎ 136 species of moth
ÎÎ 26 species of lichen
For example Bush Blitz expeditions have
discovered over 350 species of true bug.
By studying these species and their host
plants, scientists hope to improve our
understanding of these relationships knowledge which can assist in managing the
many true bugs that are pests of crops such
as wheat and corn.
So far Bush Blitz scientists have generated
more than 35,000 individual records of plants
and animals around Australia, providing vital
information for scientists and land managers
- this is summed up in the Bush Blitz catch
phrase ‘if you don’t know what you have, you
can’t protect it’.
Burrowing frog found by scientists and teachers on
Kimberley Bush Blitz
© Rob Whyte
Bush Blitz: Northern Territory, May 2017
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Bruce Mills (Rollingstone State School) collecting true bugs,
Bruny Island Bush Blitz TeachLive expedition
Photo: Bruce Paton
Why Bush Blitz?
Biodiversity underpins every aspect of
our daily lives; the planet’s animals and
their ecosystems form a complex living
system on which our lives and livelihoods
depend.
Bush Blitz is helping to identify and protect
this living diversity for future generations.
Australia’s largest species discovery project,
Bush Blitz increases our knowledge of
ecosystems by:
ÎÎ Discovering and documenting new
species
ÎÎ Rediscovering species that were
thought to be extinct
ÎÎ Finding new locations of threatened
species
ÎÎ Recording species range extensions
to understand their spread and
migration
ÎÎ Increasing knowledge of weed and
Wallabies grazing near Victoria River
Photo: Bruce Paton
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Bush Blitz: Northern Territory, May 2017
pest species and their invasive
potential
Scientists in the field, Coral Sea Bush Blitz TeachLive expedition
Bush Blitz focuses on ten target taxonomic
groups. These groups represent some of
the most abundant, yet least understood,
organisms in Australia as well as some of the
most important for conservation planning.
The target groups are:
ÎÎ Vascular plants (plants with tissues for
conducting water and minerals)
ÎÎ Reptiles
ÎÎ Amphibians
ÎÎ Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)
ÎÎ Hemiptera (true bugs)
ÎÎ Spiders
ÎÎ Ants
In additon to these groups, Bush Blitz also
studies a range of priority taxa relevant to
the survey location. These often include
mammals, butterflies, bees and non-vascular
plants (mosses and liverworts).
In additon to these groups, Bush Blitz also
studies a range of priority taxa relevant to
the survey location. These often include
mammals, fish, butterflies, bees and
nonvascular plants (mosses and liverworts).
During the 2014 Bush Blitz TeachLive
expedition, for example, scientists assisted
by teachers collected a chrome awl butterfly
(Hasora chromus), which had previously
only been recorded in Queensland and the
Northern Territory. This was the first new
record of a butterfly species in Western
Australia in ten years.
ÎÎ Moths
ÎÎ Carabid beetles (ground beetles)
ÎÎ Stygofauna (groundwater animals)
Bush Blitz: Northern Territory, May 2017
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Chris Greene (St Mary’s Primary School, Vic) and Darren Crayn (James Cook University) collecting
plant samples
Olkola Bush Blitz TeachLive expedition
Photo: Bruce Paton
What is Bush Blitz TeachLive?
Bush Blitz TeachLive is an innovative
educational program developed by
Earthwatch Australia. It gives teachers
the opportunity to conduct research with
scientists in the field while teaching ‘live’ to
their classrooms via the Bush Blitz TeachLive
website,
http://bushblitz.teachlive.org.au.
What does the fieldwork involve?
Taking part in Bush Blitz provides a unique
opportunity to work with scientists in the
field. No special skills are required. All research
techniques will be taught on site, and the
scientists and project staff will be with you if
you have any questions.
Some of specific methods you may have the
opportunity to use include:
ÎÎ Using nets and traps to collect flying
insects
ÎÎ Setting and retrieving traps for
reptiles and small mammals
ÎÎ Using equipment to remove thrips,
true bugs and other insects from
their host plants
ÎÎ Conducting surveys of spiders, snails
and other invertebrates
Glider collected by scientists on the Judbarra/Gregory National
Park Bush Blitz expedition
ÎÎ Collecting and preserving native plants
© Jeremy Monaghan
ÎÎ Identifying a wide variety of both plant
and animal species
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Bush Blitz: Northern Territory, May 2017
Keith Martin-Smith (The Hutchin’s School, Tas) Skyping with his students.
Coral Sea Bush Blitz TeachLive expedition
Communicating with students
Long-term benefits for schools
Website management training will be
provided to teachers prior to the expedition.
They will then use Web2 technologies to
communicate with their students from the
field, through:
Bush Blitz TeachLive is a unique professional
development opportunity, where teachers
can learn about science from world-class
scientists, improve their research skills to
a scientific standard and gain knowledge
about Australia’s unique plants, animals and
ecosystems.
ÎÎ Posting lesson plans for the week they
are in the field (to be conducted by
teachers back at their school)
ÎÎ Posting daily diaries and blogs
ÎÎ Sharing photographs and videos
ÎÎ Holding online forums
ÎÎ Video conferencing using external
platforms such as Skype
Through seeing their teachers conduct
world-class scientific research - and engaging
directly with scientists via Skype sessions
and online forums - students gain a new
perspective on science and build their
core skills in science, geography and other
subjects.
It is also a tremendously motivating
experience, and teachers return to their
schools with newfound enthusiasm for
teaching science, and for sharing their new
knowledge and skills with their school
community.
Teachers involved in past Bush Blitz
TeachLive expeditions have gone on run
neighbourhood ‘mini Bush Blitz’s’ with their
students, partner with local environmental
organisations to collect data that helps to
protect native species and conduct other
innovative educational programs.
Bush Blitz: Northern Territory, May 2017
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The Victoria - Bonaparte Bioregion
Kimberley rock monitors (Varanus glauerti) such as this one - photographed on the Kimberley Bush Blitz TeachLive expedition are one of many reptile species which are found in the study area.
Photo: Bruce Paton
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Bush Blitz: Northern Territory, May 2017
The Victoria-Bonaparte Bioregion is located
at the far southwest corner of the ‘Top End’.
approximately 600km by road from Darwin
and 3 hours’ drive from Kununurra, an area
that lies at the boundary of the seasonally
wet tropics of northern Australia and the arid
centre of the continent.
The variable climate - which includes the
summer monsoon from October to April,
the dry season from May to September
and periods of transition in between - has
combined with other factors such as geology
to produce an amazing variety of habitats.
These include tropical woodland, grassland,
mangrove forest and monsoon rainforest.
This diversity in habitats has lead to a similar
diversity of flora and fauna. National or
territory-listed threatened species we may
encounter include the critically endangered
northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) and
the endangered gouldian finch (Erythrura
gouldiae), as well as the vulnerable masked
owl (Tyto novaehollandiae kimberli),
freshwater sawfish (Pristis microdon),
mertens water monitor (Varanus mertensi)
partridge pidgeon (Geophaps smithii smithii)
and purple-crowned fairy wren (Malurus
coronatus coronatus).
In addition to its significance for biodiversity,
the study area is extremely important for
cultural heritage. The Jaminjung people and
other Indigenous communities have deep
and ongoing connections with the land.
Prior to European settlement, the survey
area was a major transit route for people
travelling between the Victoria River in the
south and the Daly River area north of the
Fitzmaurice River, as well as being the home
of abundant natural resources and significant
cultural sites.
This long history of Aboriginal occupation is
testified to by numerous archaeological sites.
These include significant galleries of rock
art, surface scatters, stone tools and blades,
ochre quarries, burial sites, old earth ovens,
stone arrangements, stone bird-hunting
hides, fish traps and rock shelters.
If survey teams encounter cultural sites or
artifacts in the field they will be instructed to
respect them and leave them undisturbed.
The area is also home to a wide variety of
more common, but still signifi cant animals
including rock wallabies, water monitors,
crocodiles, tree frogs and wedge-tailed
eagles, which make the area a mecca for
visitors from around the world.
The number and diversity of terrestrial
invertebrates is likely to be even higher, and
given the smaller amount of surveying that
has been undertaken on these organisms it
is very likely that the Bush Blitz expedition
will encounter species previously unknown
to science; Bush Blitz expeditions to nearby
regions such as the East Kimberley in 2014
and Judbarra/Gregory National Park in
2015 were very successful in this regard,
discovering a wealth of new species of true
bug, spider and other invertebrates.
Purple-crowned fairy wren (Malurus coronatus coronatus)
© Graham Winterflood
Bush Blitz: Northern Territory, May 2017
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Louise Hoey (St Stephens School, Qld) collecting invertebrates
Bruny Island Bush Blitz TeachLive expedition
Photo: Bruce Paton
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Bush Blitz: Northern Territory, May 2017
Other important information
What is provided?
Successful applicants will recieve a fully funded place on a Bush Blitz expedition, including
food and accommodation in the field and travel to and from the survey site. Accommodation is
likely to be in tents, with some possibility of staying in basic accommodation such as cabins or
huts.Toilets and showers will be available on site.
How do I get there?
Earthwatch will purchase your plane tickets (and, if necessary, accommodation) to and
from the nearest airport, from which you will be driven to the research site. During the
expedition participants will be allocated to scientific teams, which will travel between
survey sites using four-wheel drives driven by Bush Blitz staff and expedition scientists.
Communication
Mobile phone reception will be very limited and participants must be prepared to be out of
contact from friends, family and work. (Bush Blitz staff will have satellite phones and UHF
radios for emergencies).
The Bush Blitz expedition will supply an internet connection, so that teachers can
communicate with their students and update the Bush Blitz TeachLive website.
How do I register my interest?
To apply for a place on the Bush Blitz TeachLive expedition please fill in an application
form on the Australian Science Teachers Association website:
http://asta.edu.au/programs/bush_blitz_teachlive
Applications will open 1 February 2017 and close on 26 February 2017.
If you would like to receive news about future opportunities to participate in Bush Blitz,
click on this link:
http://bushblitz.teachlive.org.au/index.php/18-slider/429-register-your-interest-inparticipating
If you have any questions please contact Bruce Paton on (03) 9016 7590 or email
[email protected].
Scientists in field lab, Olkola Bush Blitz TeachLive expedition
Photo: Bruce Paton
Bush Blitz: Northern Territory, May 2017
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