Welcome to HabiChat, a podcast miniseries exploring ecosystems and the animals which live in them. Join Cosmos journalists as they talk to experts about the who’s who, and where’s where, of mammals in Australia.
Episode 1: Kultarr
In this episode, Cosmos journalists Matthew Ward Agius and Jacinta Bowler talk to Cameron Dodd, a PhD student at the University of Western Australia and the Western Australian Museum, about the kultarr.
They discuss the arid environments these little-known mammals live in, the difficulties of studying such tiny, fast, and aggressive predators in the wild, a gruesome story from out in the field in the Simpson Desert, and more.
Episode 2: Southern greater glider
In episode 2, Cosmos journalists Imma Perfetto and Matthew Ward Agius talk to Dr Kita Ashman, a threatened species and climate adaptation ecologist for WWF Australia.
Kita speaks about wet forest and temperate rainforest environments and the organisms that call them home, including one very special mammal that can silently glide distances of up to 100 metres – the southern greater glider.
Episode 3: Brush-tailed bettong
Cosmos journalists Jacinta Bowler and Matthew Ward Agius talk to Natasha Harrison, a conservation biologist and behavioural ecologist in her final PhD year at the University of Western Australia.
They join her in a woodland soundscape and talk about the furry little t-rex of the mammal world – the brush-tailed bettong – and the threats facing them.
All three mammals highlighted are competing in 2023’s Australian Mammal of the Year competition, you can still vote for them here.
Originally published by Cosmos as HabiChat: a podcast about Australia’s animals and ecosystems
Matthew Ward Agius
Matthew Agius is a science writer for Cosmos Magazine.
Jacinta Bowler
Jacinta Bowler is a science journalist at Cosmos.
They were published in the Best Australian Science Writing 2023.
Imma Perfetto
Imma Perfetto is a science journalist at Cosmos. She has a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Science Communication from the University of Adelaide.
Cameron Dodd
I am a PhD student working at the University of Western Australia and the Western Australian Museum, I am investigating the taxonomy and evolution of kultarr as well as wider evolutionary questions within Dasyuridae.
Kita Ashman
Dr Kita Ashman works as a Threatened Species & Climate Adaptation Ecologist for WWF Australia. Kita is passionate about finding real world, practical solutions to conservation problems, as well as fungi, fantasy novels and sourdough.
Natasha Harrison
Natasha is a conservation biologist and behavioural ecologist in her final PhD year, working to understand the loss of anti-predator traits from havened Australian mammals.
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