The particular hollow behaviours we are asking you to record, help us in determining whether it is a likely nest tree. Gang-gangs are frequently checking out hollows at any time of the year.

Such events can lead to chicks dying in a hollow from heat exhaustion or hollows being flooded. other climate change factors such as increased temperature during nesting or increased intensity of summer rains.increased fire reducing suitable feeding and nesting habitat and.possum predation of eggs and chicks, particularly within and close to urban areas where Brushtail Possums are common.competition for remaining hollows from other hollow nesters, particularly the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo.reduction in tree hollows from clearing and forestry practices.Factors implicated in possible decline include: The breeding success rate can be compared to the distribution of environmental factors that may be influencing the decline. Once known, breeding trees can be better protected and comparisons can be made of breeding success across the birds range. This project seeks your help in finding more. The locations of very few nesting hollows are known. It nests in eucalypt tree hollows and pairs appear to prefer to nest near each other in breeding clusters. Despite it being an iconic easily recognisable Cockatoo, the ecology is poorly understood. Some populations appear stable while others may be near extinction. Locating nest hollows allows comparison of breeding success and testing of potential causes (hollow competition, possum predation, climate change).Īcross the Gangs-gangs national distribution there has been a 69% decline in its reporting rate within the last three decades.

Genetic information extracted from Gang-gang feathers may also provide insights into their habitat use, mating systems and conservation status across their range. Knowing the population size of a species, and monitoring changes to this over time, can directly inform planning and implementing conservation actions. They provide insights into the biology and ecology of birds that are otherwise challenging to sample, and in a way that is not intrusive.īy learning about the genetic variability of Gang-gangs, we can estimate their ‘effective population size’.

This project aims to better understand the population genetics of Gang-gang Cockatoos iacross their range through feather collection.įeathers contain genetic information unique to an individual.

Gang gang cockatoo size