Wildlands Studies: The Tasmania Project : Wildlife Management and Ecology

Join us on one of the remarkable island ecosystems on the planet, Tasmania! Often described in superlatives—spectacular, magnificent, striking—and one of the last regions in the world to contain areas which may be deemed as “true wilderness,” “Tassie” is indeed a special place. WS-Tasmania-Tasmanian-DevilLong isolated from the Australian mainland, Tasmania’s diversity is as staggering as it is contrasting. It offers glaciated alpine landscapes with volcanic dolerite peaks to deep limestone cave systems; towering ancient rainforests with the world’s tallest flowering plants to native grasslands, meadowlands, and heathlands; storm-battered mountains in the southwest to serene stretches of sandy beaches in the northeast; pristine waters and authentic wilderness to valleys and plains under stress from human activity. Tasmania is perhaps most notable for its abundant wildlife which has remained relatively intact and protected from non-native species. Charismatic terrestrial marsupials such as pademelons (similar to a tiny kangaroo), quolls (small carnivorous marsupial), platypus and wombats, coastal fauna such as penguins and seals, and the enigmatic yet threatened Tasmanian Devil all still find a home on the island.

Winter 2017: January 20 - March 4, 2017