This information was requested by the pro-bat scientists at the famous Jan 24th Meeting, but has not been forthcoming. We believe much of the damage to trees in Fern Gully has not been caused by flying-foxes alone. As we outline in our solutions section , much of the responsibility for damage lies with the Gardens management fo failing to mitigate the damage to individual trees. In contrast, the Sydney Botanic Gardens manage their trees through regular pruning and fertilising. Given that most of the trees in Fern Gully are not growing in their natural habitat, they need more care, not less, than specimens in the Botanic Gardens of Sydney and Brisbane where there are also GHFF colonies.
Healthy trees can withstand more stress than damaged and neglected trees.
For example, flying foxes play an important role in pollination and seed dispersal inside and outside the Gardens. We also believe that opening up the tree canopy in patches is beneficial to forests, as it allows light to penetrate down to the understorey whichs promotes germination and new growth. Flying foxes can also capable of bringing back seed from a 50km or more radius around the colony site, thus increasing the biodiversity of the plant species found in the understorey. Example of contrasting signage in the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens. The bats settled in the Gardens many years ago, probably because much of their natural habitat along the coast of New South Wales has been cleared for timber, agriculture and urban development.