30 January 2025
Dr Kate Dutton-Regester, a wildlife scientist and Wildlife Queensland’s EchidnaWatch Project Officer, is leading groundbreaking echidna research. Her work spans identifying echidna diggings, assessing the impacts of fire ants, training detection dogs, and uncovering the secrets of their habitats.
Distinguishing echidna and bandicoot diggings
This ‘Echidna Digs’ Project explores whether the diggings of short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) and bandicoots (family Peramelidae) can be distinguished by measurable traits.
Echidnas and bandicoots leave similar foraging marks, such as ‘nose pokes’ and foreleg diggings, making it tricky to identify which species created them. By carefully measuring individual diggings and analysing their spatial patterns, Dr Kate’s study aims to uncover unique, identifiable traits for each species.
The findings will help landowners, field naturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts accurately identify echidna and bandicoot diggings in the wild. This improved understanding will enhance ecological observations and species monitoring efforts.
In time, the research could lead to the development of an AI-based identification tool. Users could upload photos of diggings and receive automated species identification, empowering citizen science initiatives and contributing to conservation efforts for echidnas and bandicoots across their habitats.
An echidna and digging, showing scale.
How you can become involved
Dr Kate Dutton-Regester needs your help to build a digital library of echidna diggings as part of the Echidna Digs Project. Your photos and measurements will help differentiate echidna diggings from those of bandicoots and will support conservation efforts.
Here’s how to contribute:
- Take a photo of the digging.
- Measure the length (L), width (W), and depth (D) of the digging.
- Upload your images and measurements.
TIP: If you don’t have a measuring tool, use your phone’s ‘Measure’ app, or place a recognisable object (like a coin or pen) next to the digging for a scale.
Dr Kate adds, “By contributing, you’ll play a vital role in supporting the research, conservation, and ecological understanding of these unique species.”
How fire ants influence echidna behaviour and habitat use
Another project Dr Kate is working on investigates whether native Australian wildlife, including echidnas, avoid areas infested with red imported fire ants.
Using a combination of camera traps and acoustic monitoring, the study aims to determine whether fire-ant-infested areas act as ‘landscapes of fear’, where wildlife adjust their movement patterns based on perceived predation threats.
Additionally, the project will explore whether echidnas can consume fire ants, drawing parallels with other ant-eating species, such as armadillos, which have been observed feeding on fire ants in their native habitats.
Detection dogs transforming echidna research and conservation
Can dogs help detect female echidnas’ reproductive cycles? This project aims to find out, focusing on training detection dogs to assist in echidna research. The first aspect involves training dogs to detect when female echidnas are in oestrus (on heat), which could provide new opportunities for studying echidna reproductive behaviours in captivity and the wild.
The second component aims to deploy detection dogs to locate echidnas in their natural habitat, improving field survey efficiency and accuracy. These methods could significantly advance echidna conservation efforts by providing a non-invasive and highly effective approach to tracking individuals across diverse landscapes.
Understanding echidna habitat preferences
Currently in the analysis stage, yet another project examines the soil and landscape preferences of echidnas in South East Queensland. By analysing habitat characteristics such as soil type, vegetation cover, and terrain features in tandem with echidna observations, the study aims to identify key environmental factors that influence echidna distribution and habitat selection.
The findings will provide valuable insights into habitat suitability and inform conservation planning efforts to protect echidna populations in the region.
What you can do
- Learn more about Wildlife Queensland’s EchidnaWatch program
- Report an echidna sighting
- Download a copy of Wildlife Queensland’s short-beaked echidna information booklet.
- Subscribe to our eBulletin Talking Wildlife to learn more about your local wildlife, plus Wildlife Queensland’s latest news, offers and events.