Marie Murphy

Centre for Phytophthora Science and Management.
School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology,
Murdoch University,
Western Australia, 6150

Qualifications:

• BSc (First Class Hons) Nursing Science, Manchester University
• BSc Major in Zoology, University of Western Australia
• BSc (First Class Hons) Conservation Biology, Murdoch University
  

Awards:

• J. E. Nichols' Prize in Zoology (UWA)
• Myrtle Lamb Honours Scholarship (Murdoch)
• Murdoch Excellence Award
  

Research Interests:

My main areas of interest are native mammal ecology, animal-plant interactions in relation to seed dispersal, seed-caching and plant recruitment and how these impact on ecosystem health and function.

PhD Research Topic:

Seed-caching is an important adaptation in many animals to seasonal or unpredictable food supplies. This subject has been extensively studied in both North and South American ecosystems. However, in Australia seed-caching behaviour has been poorly documented. I am currently studying seed-caching behaviour in the woylie (Bettongia penicillata) to determine the impact this behaviour has on seed dispersal, recruitment and regeneration of a number of native plant species including Western Australian sandalwood (Santalum spicatum), quandong (S. acuminatum), Gastrolobium microcarpum, and Acacia acuminata. My study is being carried out in Dryandra Woodland 165 km south-east of Perth in a mixed wandoo (Eucalyptus wandoo) and powderbark wandoo (E. accedens) open woodland. This study is funded by an ARC Linkage Grant in collaboration with the Forest Products Commission (FPC) of WA.

This study aims to:

• Determine the range of seeds woylies disperse and cache
• Measure the rate of seed-caching
• Determine if woylies preferentially cache large seeds when given a choice
• Measure the rate of recruitment from cached seeds
• Establish how woylies locate their caches eg olfaction, memory, random foraging
• Determine if woylies move cached seeds to secondary or tertiary caches
• Establish if woylie scats infect S. spicatum, G. microcarpum, Acacia acuminata, Allocasurina huegeliana with mycorrhizal spores and what impact this will have on plant biomass

To determine the fate of seeds once woylies have removed them, spool and thread and fluorescent powder have been used to track the seeds. I will also be using a new technique in Australia which will involve labelling the seeds with a radioisotope called scandium-46. The labelled seeds will produce low-level gamma emissions which will allow the buried seeds to be tracked with a Geiger counter.

Another aspect of my study will look at whether other native animals such as rodents, boodies (Bettongia lesseur) and bilbies (Macrotis lagotis) cache seeds.

Honours Project:

Caching of sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) seeds by the woylie (Bettongia penicillata) in Dryandra Woodland: Implications for the development of a sustainable sandalwood industry in Western Australia.
Despite many years of anecdotal reports of woylies burying seeds no experimental evidence existed. This was the first study to show that woylies do indeed cache seeds, and in particular, sandalwood seeds. By using spool and thread to track the fate of sandalwood seeds I located many small caches containing 1 sandalwood seed per cache. This type of behaviour is called scatter hoarding. The caches were approximately 4cm deep and up to 81 m from the source of the seeds. Measurement of recruitment of sandalwood at sites were woylies existed was compared to a site were woylies are extinct. There was very little seed dispersal or regeneration at the site with no woylies. In comparison, the sites with woylies had extensive regeneration. In the absence of other sandalwood dispersers, such as emus, it was concluded that woylies, through seed-caching played a substantial role in the recruitment and regeneration of sandalwood. As a result of these findings, sandalwood management by the FPC has been altered to allow for planting of seeds in patterns and at depths similar to woylie scatter hoards in the hope of increasing natural regeneration of sandalwood.

Hobbies and Interests:

My main hobby (and interest) is consuming large quantities of chocolate on a daily basis!! Oh and watching the cricket when it' s on-which is not as frequent as it should be. And err… did I mention eating chocolate? And last but by no means least WOYLIES, I love them almost as much as I love chocolate!

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