Biodiversity study in the Strzelecki Desert: A snapshot from the field
Author: Carna Feldtmann, Ecology Consultant
April 30, 2025
News & Insights
Recently, I had the opportunity to step away from my desk and into the red sands of one of Australia’s most remote and underappreciated landscapes – the Strzelecki Desert.
Dingo (Canis familiaris) in the Strzelecki Desert
Undertaken as part of the Niche Professional Development Program, this two-week field trip was more than just an exercise in data collection. It was an immersive, humbling experience in ecological research, personal resilience, and connection to our desert landscape.
Small Mammal Trapping in the Strzelecki Desert
Facilitated by the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the trip involved intensive biodiversity surveys across both sides of the Dingo Fence, a vast predator-exclusion structure that spans over 5,600 km across eastern Australia.
Each day began before sunrise and ended after sunset spent setting and checking traps, vegetation transects, conducting spotlight surveys, and collecting scat samples for DNA analysis. We camped remotely, completely unplugged from the modern world, surrounded by nothing but endless horizons, ancient dunes, and the occasional curious dingo passing through the camp.
Despite the heat, dust, and flies, it was profoundly rewarding. The Strzelecki Desert, though harsh, hosts an astonishing range of biodiversity. Our surveys revealed an impressive array of desert-adapted fauna, including:
- Dusky Hopping Mouse (Notomys fuscus)
- Crest-tailed Mulgara (Dasycercus cristicauda)
- Plains Mouse (Pseudomys australis)
- Ghost Skink, Tessellated Gecko, Curl Snake, and the Painted Dragon
- And striking arid-zone birdlife like the Eyrean Grasswren, Black Falcon, and Bourke’s Parrot
Dusky Hopping Mouse (Notomys fuscus)
I left the desert with blistered hands, a sandy field notebook, and a renewed sense of why I do this work. Beyond the species lists and data points, this experience reinforced the importance of applied ecology – of being out there, observing, questioning, learning from the landscape itself.
I’m grateful to Niche for supporting this opportunity and to the dedicated UNSW field crew for their guidance and grit.
