Urban Possum: Friend or Foe?

In the future, Hill will track possums with Global Positioning System (GPS) collars to determine the extent of their movement into urban areas. She also hopes to find out how dependent these animals are on human resources of food and shelter. Although possums seem to be at home in urban areas, there is still ground to cover to ensure they survive in the long term.  ‘We need to limit the interaction of domestic pets and native fauna by restricting the ranging behaviour of pets at night and doubling our efforts to control feral cat and dog populations,’ Hill says.

About the author:

As part of the World-Wide Day in Science Project 2006, the author, Daniela Binder, an undergraduate in zoology at the University of New South Wales, spent a day with doctoral student Nichola Hill. Binder followed Hill as she trapped and collected data and samples from urban possums living in the grounds of Sydney’s Taronga Zoo.

To read Daniela's first-hand account of the day, on which this article is based, go to:
http://www.adayinscience.net/zoology03.html

World-Wide Day in Science 2007

You are invited to take part in this year’s World-Wide Day in Science, which is on April 18, 2007. As a student, scientist, or other science-based professional make note of the high points of your day on April 18 and take some photographs. Stories are due by May 18 for the June 1 launch of the hundreds of stories capturing the World-Wide Day in Science 2007.

Information and submission of stories are at: http://www.dayinscience.unsw.edu.au