You are currently viewing No sh*t country at Munibung Hill – story of the Glossy Black Cockatoo

No sh*t country at Munibung Hill – story of the Glossy Black Cockatoo

There is no sh*t country at Munibung Hill
Symbiosis is something these birds knew about long before we came on the scene. And it is not where you would most likely expect it to be, making it all the more important that we reframe what is of value at Munibung Hill.

THERE IS A PHRASE that makes the rounds when we get into conversations about what is or what isn’t of value.

‘Oh, that’s just shit country,’ or ‘goat country’‘crappy soil’ or other derogatory words intended to convey the notion that, a portion of land is not worth caring about, at least from a western monetary perspective.  This research puts paid to such statements that have little basis in fact. In geological* terms all country has it’s place within the larger scheme of a rich biodiverse landscape. (*See end note)

We have been reporting on sightings of the black cockatoo over the last couple of issues of MMM. This story helps deepen our understanding of their feeding behaviour adding weight to the findings of Gavin Ord – see Observology story.

In: Research shows that glossy black-cockatoos prefer to feed from trees growing in acidic soils, Johnny van Einem, University of Adelaide, Phys.Org, 9 August 2024, reports on new research by Dr. Gay Crowley, from the University of Adelaide’s School of Social Sciences.
 
Glossy black-cockatoos are seed-eating birds that feed almost exclusively on the cones of drooping sheoak trees. However, counter-intuitively, they select trees that grow on the poorest soils found on ancient sedimentary rocks, writes van Einem.
 
“Sheoaks gain their nutrition through fungal associations, rather than from the soil, and their associated fungi thrive on poor soils,” says Dr. Crowley, whose research is published in the journal PLOS ONE.
 
“Many iconic Australian animals, such as bilbies, potoroos, bettongs and bandicoots, feed directly on soil fungi – including native truffles. The same pathways are likely to be responsible for their distribution in the environment.”

“Conservation efforts often prioritize the richest, most fertile parts of the landscape. This is because many rare animals, such as greater gliders and powerful owls, are most abundant in forests growing on rich soils derived from basalt or limestone,” says Dr. Crowley.

“However, many other animals, such as potoroos, bandicoots, and glossy black-cockatoos may be best protected by preserving habitats on infertile soils.”

End Note: Gabriel M. Crowley et al, Geology controls the distribution of a seed-eating bird: Feeding-tree selection by the glossy black-cockatoo Calyptorhynchus lathami, PLOS ONE (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308323

   … From MMM Issue #46, Oct-Nov. 2024