Paluma Rain Forest Site

The Town

The town and surrounding forest are all within the Wet Tropics World Heritage Zone boundary. To the west, on the road from Paluma to the township of Hidden Valley, is a wide ecotone to dry sclerophyll forest (road part unsealed, semi-all-weather). The major stream study site of Birthday Ck is about 10 km from Paluma.
Temperatures are typically 5-10 C cooler than the coastal plain. Evening mists make the habitat akin to cloud forest.

The town was once the site of tin mining. The narrow access road with its stone bridges was built by hand during the depression of the 1930s.

The Field Station

The Paluma field station is sited in the middle of Paluma township. It comprises the old police station, station house, and the cell block.

A new dormitory block sleeps about 16. Power and water are reticulated and the station is well-furnished

Access by booking:

External to the School of Marine and Tropical Biology. please contact Savita Francis for information and bookings.

Internal school bookings: a booking sheet available from the TRC, Information Counter.

Research

Research at Paluma can be divided into three major areas: freshwater associated work (Pearson group (stream processes and community ecology), Alford group (anuran communities, reptiles), Rowe (dragonfly larval behaviour)); terrestrial insect communities; and terrestrial vertebrate work.

Zoological researchers maintain a close liaison with the botanists and hydrologists conducting complementary research programs in the area.
Freshwater research focusses on the Birthday Ck catchment which has been intensively investigated and extensively gauged at an order 2 site in the forest. A series of controlled-flow, artificial stream channels are emplaced in the rainforest at this site for long-term work and shorter term experiments.

Other facilities are maintained at the field station. Manipulative work is concentrated on Birthday Ck about 2 km downstream of this site, with further comparative studies being carried out on other streams within the watershed.

The ecotone zone inland from Paluma is notable for a large number of Eucalyptus grandis. To understand why they are grandis check the object at the arrow at the bottom of this picture - a 1.75m measure.

Recent Paluma-derived papers and theses

Papers:

• Rosser, Z.C. & R.G. Pearson, 1995. Responses of rock fauna to physical disturbance in two Australian tropical rainforest streams. J. N. Am. Benth. Soc. 14: 183-196.

• Rowe, R.J. 1994. Agonistic behaviour in final-instar larvae of the damselfly Neosticta fraseri (Odonata: Isostictidae) Australian Journal of Zoology 42: 733-43.

• Theischinger, G., Watson, J.A.L., Rowe, R.J. 1993. Larvae of the Australian Synlestidae (Odonata). Journal of the Australian entomological Society 32: 113-119.

• Rowe, R.J. 1993. Agonistic behaviour in full-grown larvae of the damselfly Diphlebia euphoeoides (Odonata: Amphipterygidae). Journal of Zoology (London) 229: 1-15.

• Nolen, J.A. and R.G. Pearson, 1993. Processing of litter from an Australian tropical stream by Anisocentropus kirramus Neboiss (Trichoptera: Calamoceratidae). Freshwater Biology 29: 469-479.

Theses

PhD
Duff, G.A. 1987. Physiological ecology and vegetation dynamics of North Queensland upland rainforest-open forest ecotones
Watt, A-M, 1991. The ecology of three species of Antechinus (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae) in upland rainforests of north-east Queensland.
Moore, G.J. 1991 The role of animals in seed dispersal and seedling survival of rainforest trees, with particular reference to bowerbirds and cassowaries.
Jackson, R. 1995. Insect herbivores of pioneer rainforest trees
Clayton, P.D. 1995. The ecology and significance of perennial waterfalls in upland rainforest streams
Rosser, Z. 1998. Effects of disturbance on rainforest stream communities
Benson, L. 2000. Dynamics of organic detritus in a rainforest stream

Masters
Conroy, S.D.S. 1994. Lizard assemblage response to an abrupt vegetation discontinuity.
Cermak, M. 1996. Population structure, population dynamics and dispersal of the pebble-mound mouse Pseudomys patrius.

Honours

Trennary M. 1988 The ecology of tadpoles in a tropical rainforest stream
Nolen, J. 1988 Aspects of the life history and trophic ecology of Anisocentropus kirramus (Trichoptera: Calamoceratidae), in a tropical rainforest stream
Charlton, L. 1989. The ecology of dragonflies (Odonata) in a tropical Australian stream
Coughlan, J, 1990 Population and trophic ecology of the freshwater crayfish Cherax depressus (Crustacea: Parastacidae) in a North Queensland tropical rainforest stream. Williams, S. 1990 The interactive relationship between vegetation and the small mammal community of the rainforest ecotone in North Queensland
Rosser, Z. 1991 The role of physical disturbance as a structuring force of invertebrate communities in two tropical forest streams
Comport, S. 1993 Home range, behaviour and food tree use in a high density tropical population of greater gliders
Gray, M. 1993 Are dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) bioindicators? Bradfield, K. 1995 Do the ecological requirements of tadpoles always determine their distributions among habitats? Smith, W. 1996 Acoustic signalling and sexual selection in the mating system of Litoria xanthomera
Brooke, P.N. 1996 Display dynamics in male aggregations of the microhylid frog, Cophixalus ornatus Cheshire, K. 1997 The trophic relationships of the aquatic macroinvertebrates of a tropical upland rainforest stream
Burdon, J. 1998 The role of predation in structuring invertebrate communities in tropical streams
Felton, A. 1999 Determinants of male mating success in the microhylid frog Cophixalus ornatus
Gilroy, G.A. 1999 The influence of habitat on bird assemblage structure in tropical forests
Wulf, P. 1999 stream communities

Current degree projects based at Paluma,

PhD:

Richards, S. Ecology, distribution and habitat requirements of rainforest frogs

Torr, G. Ecology of Boyd's forest dragon Hypsilurus boydii

Christidis, S. A cladistic analysis of Austrophlebioides and related genera (Leptophlebiidae: Atalophlebiinae)

McKie, B. ... taxonomy of chironomid midges

Cook, S. ... aspects ecophysiology and microhabitat use in skinks