TGB Osborn (Koonamore) Vegetation Reserve, Kangaroo Activity Data 

The record lists data from surveys conducted to monitor Kangaroo activity in the TGB Osborn (Koonamore) Vegetation Reserve (or Koonamore Vegetation Reserve (KVR)) since 1960s. The kangaroo transect was set up in 1968 by Andrew Smith and Bob Lange to monitor kangaroo numbers on the Reserve and give a qualitative indication how numbers fluctuate from year to year. The transect runs east to west through the sandy dune areas of the southern part of the reserve, where kangaroos tend to congregate (inside), and extends some distance into the paddock to the west of the western boundary (outside). The dataset ranges from 1968 to 2022 and comprises the total number of kangaroo scats, which includes fresh and old scats. Goat and sheep pellets, if present, were later included in the count.

This is version 2.0 of the Koonamore Kangaroo activity data release and supersedes any previous versions. 

We at TERN acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians throughout Australia, New Zealand and all nations. We honour their profound connections to land, water, biodiversity and culture and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. Acknowledgement is due to all the students, staff and researchers who have collected data at the site since its establishment, to those who have entered the data, and to the support of funders and interested parties,  including the University of Adelaide. 

In the mid-1920's Professor Theodore George Bentley Osborn, Professor of Botany in the University of Adelaide, put forward strong scientific arguments concerning the lack of knowledge of the ecology of arid zone vegetation, and the effect of grazing on it. In 1925, a parcel of land of around 390 ha was identified in Koonamore Station in South Australia and fenced to exclude rabbits and other stock, and Mr Wilcox, one of the directors, had a three-roomed house erected to serve as a field laboratory. The area was originally referred to as the Arid Region Flora Reserve but later was named the TGB Osborn Vegetation Reserve after its founder. For simplicity it is commonly referred to as the Koonamore Vegetation Reserve. There have been some unwanted animal incursions over the years, but these have been rare. In 1931, for example, rabbits were able to enter due to fence damage. Kangaroos and emus are not fully excluded. As is clear from the objectives stated by TGB Osborn, the reserve was to provide the basis for systematic measurements of the now-protected vegetation. Osborn and his team (including Prof. J.G. Wood and Mr Terry Paltridge) set up a series of quadrats (square plots) and photopoints within the reserve. A series of transects was later added. All of the foregoing were permanently marked, and observations on species occurrence (presence and abundance) and physical measurements of the plants were made repeatedly, but at varying intervals. 

For detailed metadata and methods, please refer to TGB_Osborn(Koonamore)_VR_Kangaroo_Preview_250620, available on TGB_Osborn(Koonamore)_VR_Kangaroo_metadata_250620