Domestic Cat Study Shelley Morgan, a Masters student from Lincoln University is continuing her study on domestic cat movements and diet. One hundred cats living within 400m of the wetland are involved in the study, of which 22 cats have been radio collared to track their movements. Results so far have found that while cats mainly use the periphery of the wetland some are not afraid to get wet and dirty to get to the heart of the wetland. Of the 22 cats' radio tracked, nine used Travis with one cat travelling 550 metres into the wetland. Dietary study results indicate that our pets obviously like more variation than just Jelly Meat and Whisketts.
Results show that approximately one third of prey brought home are native species.
More Swamp Housing More housing recently appeared in Travis Swamp but unlike previous developments this housing has been provided free for local residents. The houses have been built by researchers from the Ecology and Entomology Group, Lincoln University and are to house burrow dwelling invertebrates such as weta and spiders. Amongst other things the project aims to test a new method of monitoring populations of burrowing invertebrates for restoration purposes. The chamber has a window covered in clear plastic to allow researchers to observe the inhabitants with minimal disturbance. The window is covered by a blind to keep the chamber as dark as a natural burrow.