Research Reports

Native grassland at Safety Beach, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

Steve Sinclair

Abstract
Small patches of remnant vegetation at Safety Beach, on the Mornington Peninsula, are described. Floristic and historical evidence are examined, in an attempt to reconstruct the vegetation of this area before colonisation. There is strong evidence that the plains between the slopes of Mt Martha and Arthurs Seat once supported patches of seasonally ‘boggy’ natural grassland sparsely timbered with Blackwood Acacia melanoxylon. The plain also supported patches of Swamp Paperbark Melaleuca ericifolia scrub, and numerous wetlands. Previous mapping exercises have not identified grasslands on the Mornington Peninsula. The observations presented here add to a growing awareness that patches of grassland were once scattered through low-lying areas of South Gippsland. The ecology of these areas is discussed, along with the prospects for their conservation on the Mornington Peninsula. This paper records the presence of several significant plant taxa, including Golden Cowslips Diuris behrii (vulnerable in Victoria) and Purple Blown-grass Lachnagrostis punicea subsp. punicea (rare in Victoria). (The Victorian Naturalist 124 (3), 2007, 132-149)
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Use by birds and mammals of habitats of different complexity in remnant
and revegetated sites in the Wannon Catchment, Western Victoria

Anne M Wallis , Daniel Jamieson and Robert L Wallis

Abstract
Extensive land clearing in western Victoria has lead to land degradation, loss of natural habitat and poor water quality. Tree planting has been used to combat these problems and improve biodiversity, but whether these programs are meeting their nature conservation objectives is equivocal. Here we examined the presence of birds and mammals in 12 revegetated sites of different ages and habitat complexity and four remnant habitat sites. We found remnant sites had the greatest abundance in species richness of both birds and mammals, and that use of revegetated sites increased as the sites aged and became more structurally complex. (The Victorian Naturalist 124 (3), 2007, 149-156)
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Contributions

How Aboriginal studies ceased to be part of natural history

Gary Presland

Abstract
It was once common to include studies of Aboriginal culture and history within the purview of natural history studies. This perspective changed in Victoria from the early 1970s, with the concurrent development of a number of avenues for professional fieldwork and publication related to studying the Aboriginal past. These developments are detailed here along with the long-term impacts they had for the involvement of the FNCV in Aboriginal studies. (The Victorian Naturalist 124 (3), 2007, 157 -162)
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Dietary preferences of captive Eastern Long-necked Turtles Chelodina longicollis

Catherine E Meathrel and Sharon Reid

Abstract
Fifteen adult Eastern Long-necked Turtles Chelodina longicollis (13 males, 2 females) were removed from billabongs located within the Ovens River floodplain, Victoria, during the summer of 1997/98 to examine their feeding preference in captivity, away from competitors, in a controlled environment. Four prey items were presented to the captive turtles: naucorids (Family Naucoridae), corixids (Family Corixidae), gudgeons (Hypseleotris klunzingeri) and caddisfly larvae (Family Leptoceridae). In total, 12.9% of prey was consumed without any dietary preference shown by turtles. It was concluded that turtles in captivity fed passively and opportunistically. Clearly, this may differ from their foraging strategy in the wild where the anti-predator behaviour of prey can differ greatly in the presence of refugia in a much larger and more complex habitat. (The Victorian Naturalist 124 (3), 2007, 163-166)
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Observations of diurnal activity in the Striped Legless Lizard Delma impar

Grant S Turner

Abstract
Five separate observations of diurnal activity of adult Striped Legless Lizard Delmar impar are described. Snout-tovent length, tail length and mass were recorded. As well, another five sightings of active/basking D. impar on rocks or perched on the peduncles of Kangaroo Grass Themeda triandra tussocks were recorded. (The Victorian Naturalist 124 (3), 2007, 167-169)
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