Platypuses and Canaries

There's some new research about the effect of our urban environment on platypuses. Does a verge garden in the streets have a role in protecting platypus's creek habitat?

I have a set of A3 laminated posters that I use on stalls. The one with the temperatures gets the most attention, the one showing the pathway view is next.

We’ll have stalls at several events in the next two months. I was planning a new poster to show the connections from the verge garden to the stormwater and then into the creek where we’ll be platy spotting in September. Something along the lines of this post from Platy month last year.

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And then I saw news about this on LinkedIn

Research Paper on Platypuses in Urban Areas

“their distribution acts as a valuable general index for the long-term degradation of freshwater ecosystems and that a critical threshold has been crossed, highlighting their importance as a priority species for monitoring and research in urban rivers.”

It seems that the platypuses in our creeks are a bit like canaries in the coalmines.

The paper is free to access: The impact of a decade of urbanisation on a semi-aquatic mammal in a subtropical freshwater ecosystem

Everything we do: chemicals and weed seeds washed down from suburban gardens, grass clippings washed into drains, and the hard surfaces that stop rainwater soaking in, affects the creek.

And then there’s the effects of the roads and all the pollution that goes with that - not just fuel emissions but from tyres and brakes - and water runoff.

Now, how can I fit that onto a simple A3 poster?

Want to do more?

• Volunteer with your local bushcare - contact your council to find out how.

• If you’re in Brisbane, go along to a Platy Spotting event and find out more.

• See Wildlife Queensland Platypus Watch

• Sign up with the Australian Conservation Foundation Platy Project