Dr David Hamilton

Dr David Hamilton

@drdevildave.bsky.social

Conservation Equollogist | Lutruwita, Tasmania | Tasmanian devil advocate & accidental quoll scientist, posting mainly science & quoll puns

2.8K followers460 following107 posts

Dr David Hamilton reposted

Peter Santema
@petersantema.bsky.social

New #ornithology paper out in @royalsocietypublishing.org! We show that female dotterels can move across large distances within a single breeding season in search of mating opportunities, visiting up to five different sites (median: 3) and travelling up to 1000 km between sites (median: 71 km). 1/n

Dr David Hamilton
@drdevildave.bsky.social

Fully appreciate a sustained feral cat suppression program, but this seems like a case of correlation rather than causation… I suspect devil numbers are rebounding due to lower DFTD prevalence, which will also help suppress cat populations - so still good news! www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06...

abc.net.auTasmanian devils the winner from feral cat trapping effortA successful feral cat trapping effort in northern Tasmania leads to a spike in the devil population.
Dr David Hamilton
@drdevildave.bsky.social

Paper pun goals! "I knew you were truffle when I walked in" is a magnificent title for a paper about baiting for mycophagous (fungi-eating🍄) mammals (like this long-nosed potoroo!)

Dr Meg Edwards@alittlebitmeg.bsky.social

Truffle oil is where it’s at if you want to increase detection duration at camera traps! Well done to Georgia for getting her first publication out, completed as part of her undergraduate studies! #australianmammalogy #wildlife @ausmammals.bsky.social connectsci.au/am/article/4...

connectsci.auI knew you were truffle when I walked in: truffle oil bait improves surveys of mycophagous mammals on camera trapsThis study aimed to determine a bait preference for opportunistic mycophagous mammals, using camera traps and four different bait types. Overall, mycophago
Dr David Hamilton
@drdevildave.bsky.social

The model was tested against the field estimates of an expert devil researcher*, with agreement in 95% of age estimates. Personally, I view this as a win for both the model & my own field skills 🤓 * Me!

Dr David Hamilton
@drdevildave.bsky.social

Happy Tasmanian Devil Average Birthday, to all those who celebrate! 🥳 Devils have an annual mating season, which goes from late Feb until late April. That means, on average, devil joeys are born on 1st April. So if you wish a devil Happy Birthday today, you’ve got a good chance of being correct!

Dr David Hamilton
@drdevildave.bsky.social

Random Delightful Fact of the Day - Eastern quolls go grey as they get older! A juvenile (~6 mths old) on the L, & a 4 yr old on the R (Worth noting that 4 yrs old is oooooold for an eastern quoll)

Dr David Hamilton reposted

Calum Cunningham
@calxcunningham.bsky.social

Replying to @analyticaledge.bsky.social

It's bizarre. I can think of at least 3 scientific publications that predict (i.e., model) the uncontrolled explosion of deer across Tas. None of them were referred to in the report. weirdddd

Dr David Hamilton
@drdevildave.bsky.social

“Not anticipated”, if you’ve been living under a rock for the past 5 years… www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10... Feral deer are a huuuuge problem in Tasmania that’s only getting worse. Legislation catching up with reality would be a good start - incredibly, they’re still a partly protected species…

abc.net.au'Not anticipated': New survey shows deer population boom in TasmaniaThe first survey for feral deer in Tasmania in five years reveals an unanticipated increase of nearly 20,000 to the population.

Dr David Hamilton reposted

Jack Ashby
@jackdashby.bsky.social

The measure for how excellent a city is should be how quickly you can see something wonderful. It took less than an hour after arriving in #Hobart for @drdevildave.bsky.social and me to see a #platypus, which is of course the most wonderful thing there is. #Tasmania #MammalWatching #WildOz

Dr David Hamilton reposted

Cameron Dodd
@kultarrcam.bsky.social

The kultarr is officially three species! So proud of this work and a big thanks to Australia's amazing museum network and my great supervisor team @kennytravouillon.bsky.social @reneecatullo.bsky.social @planigale.bsky.social bakerecologylab.wordpress.com onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

onlinelibrary.wiley.comCryptic Kultarr: Integrative Taxonomy Reveals Unrecognized Species of Carnivorous Marsupial (Dasyuridae: Antechinomys) in Arid AustraliaConservation is impossible if we have not described all of the species we aim to conserve. This paper reviews the taxonomy of the kultarr (Antechinomys laniger) a small arid-zone specialist native to....
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Dr David Hamilton
@drdevildave.bsky.social

However, genetic analysis of the next generation found no evidence that any of them had a captive-bred parent! While we may have missed some juveniles in our sampling, this (at the least) indicates that the captive-bred quolls had lower breeding success than their wild counterparts

Dr David Hamilton
@drdevildave.bsky.social

Useful lessons to be learned from this for future translocations of this species, with a key one being around releasing reproductively naive adult quolls. They were able to survive well in the environment, but may not have been able to translate that to breeding success.

Dr David Hamilton
@drdevildave.bsky.social

We also wanted to examine the genetic effects of the supplementation, so sampled the next generation of quolls post-release. This was a key part of an Honour's project by Jessica Morrison, who's the lead author on the study

Dr David Hamilton reposted

Erin Thomas
@erinbthomas.bsky.social

Come chat about quolls, puns, and finding any excuse to draw animals for science at my poster at #ICCB2025 Monday at 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM in Great Hall 3 & 4 See you there!

Society for Conservation Biology Oceania@scboceania.org

Who else is presenting at #ICCB2025 ? So many exciting talks and posters in the program! Repost this slide and let us know when / where to find you!

Dr David Hamilton reposted

Cat Young
@catmyoung.bsky.social

Chat GPT tells me - If an echidna were casting a vote in the 2025 Australian election—motivated by instincts to protect its habitat, ensure clean air and water, and avoid human-caused extinction—it would most likely lean toward the Greens. Make good choices today Australia! #auspol

Dr David Hamilton@drdevildave.bsky.social

Has anyone asked the echidnas their views on this election? 🎤

Dr David Hamilton reposted

Anna MacDonald
@annamac.bsky.social

Quoll AND devil alert! I’ve got better phone reception so can upload #CameraTrap videos. Video 1/6 is a spotted tailed quoll. Dasyurus maculatus is listed as Near Threatened by IUCN Red list and in Australia the population in #Tasmania #Lutruwita is Vulnerable #marsupial #WildOz #quollity

Dr David Hamilton reposted

Professor Euan Ritchie FAMS
@euanritchie.bsky.social

Science & knowledge advance by collecting evidence to challenge ideas. Conservation may improve, in turn. Challenges to key ideas are crucial, but if not done in a robust way they can be reckless, promote nonsense, & have real world consequences. Example 👉 theconversation.com/extinctions-...

theconversation.comExtinctions of Australian mammals have long been blamed on foxes and cats – but where’s the evidence?Dozens of Australian mammal species have declined and gone extinct since European colonisation – and introduced predators are often blamed. But evidence is lacking.

Dr David Hamilton reposted

Dr swift parrot
@teamswiftparrot.bsky.social

We just published some new #science on forest habitat loss in Tasmania! here's a quick thread! Swift parrots are Critically Endangered because of habitat loss. Until now, nobody has quantified the amount and trends of forest loss and degradation! 1/8 🧵 🦜🧪

Dr David Hamilton
@drdevildave.bsky.social

Happy Tasmanian Devil Average Birthday! 🥳 Tasmanian devils breed annually during late Feb/Mar, & have a very short gestation (~21 days). This means the average birth date for devils is 1st April So wish any devils you know a Happy Birthday! &, on average, you’ll be right on the money 🥳

Dr David Hamilton reposted

Tasmanian Land Conservancy
@tasland.bsky.social

This gorgeous video was shared by our new #LandforWildlife members, Laurie Goldsworthy & Kristina Nicklason at Western Creek. Our Dr Dave Hamilton believes this is likely a litter of #easternquolls playing together. Eastern quolls can have up to 6 in a litter, so their #mum has done brilliantly!