The Greater Bilby By Sofia and Jake

Contents Slide 2- Contents Slide 3- Introduction Slide 4-5 Adaptations Slide 6- Behavioural Adaptations Slide 7- Behaviour Slide 8-9 Habitat Slide 10- Diet Slide 11- Features Slide 12- Predators & Threats Slide 13-14 What We Will Do In Our Experiment Slide 15- Experiment Results Slide 16- Experiment Reflection Slide 17-Fun Facts Slide18-19 Glossary Slide 20-21 Bibliography Slide 22- Thanks For Watching

Introduction The Greater Bilby has many adaptions including its large ears to help it regulate quicker The Bilby now lives in a variety of habitats in arid desert regions of Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland. They are about 29-55 cm in length. Here is what it looks like Large ears to help it regulate quicker

Adaptations Structural Adaptations: Large Ears- Bilbies have large ears for a lot of different purposes. The first and most foremost reason of all is to allow them to regulate their body temperature and to cool down quicker. They have really big ears so they can hear predators when they’re really far away and they can cool off easier because of the large surface area from their ears (Their sweat goes down their body from their ears). Blood that flows into their ears does not allow them to become excessively hot or cold. Another reason that Bilbies have large ears is because it allows them to have excellent hearing. That means that they can sense predators quicker.

Adaptions slide- 2 Another adaptation of a Bilby is that it gets most of its water from its food rather than from drinking. They very rarely need to drink. So this means that it can survive in areas without access to standing water. Bilbies have powerful forelimbs and really strong claws for digging holes up to 3 meters deep. They have poor vison but their sense of smell and hearing are acute. The bilbies coat of fur is a greyish-blue to help them camouflage in with the sand. The bilbies also use its sharp claws to dig out roots for its food. They have very long noses and a long and sticky tongue so it is easier to lick insects and bugs out of the ground. This feeding style means the greater bilby eats a lot of sand. In fact, 20-90% of its faecal waste can be sand! 

Behavioural Adaptations A behavioural adaptation of a Bilby is that its nocturnal. Weather conditions like a full moon, heavy rain or even strong wind could result in the Bilby staying in its burrow Bilbies are very sensitive to light this ensures that they remain in their burrows and Bilbies staying in their burrows ensures their survival They can also react quickly to light and go into the darkness to remain un seen by their predators

Behaviour The bilby is semi-fossorial meaning that it digs burrows to live in. The Bilby is very territorial and nocturnal. They are so territorial that they build only one hole for 1  Bilby.  They live a very nocturnal life only coming out to mate and get food. The Bilby keeps to itself

Habitat A Bilby’s survival depends on hot and dry climates where the temperatures reach 30 degrees up to 40 degrees. Bilbies live in places that have very little rainfall. They live in areas that have rocky soil and a small amount of ground with shrub-land and wood-land. They are also known to live in grass lands. But in Australia they are mostly found in the Northern Territory desert. Bilbies eat plants that need fire to germinate The Greater Bilby once ranged over most of the mainland in Australia. However, the arrival of exotic predators has eliminated it from most of its former range. Their close relative, the lesser bilby, is extinct. The Bilby selects grass areas, often with sparse shrubs or low bushes, so that it can move about easily, see or sense any lurking predators, and can always have a clear run back home. The Bilby will dig a new burrow every couple of weeks

Habitat continued Bilbies used to be found in over 70% of Australia's mainland It is believed that now there are less than 10,000 Bilbies left in the wild an that number is actually decreasing There are more Bilbies in places where there are fewer foxes Where the bilby lives now Where the Bilby used to live

Diet The Bilby is an omnivores, they scratch around at night for: seeds, grubs, bulbs, fruit, insects, fungi and very small animals. When looking for food they usually dig deep holes and sniff with their long noses and lick up any insects, seeds etc. that they find. Also, it often eats the exoskeletons of insects, which shine in the light when their scat is broken open. This feeding style means the greater bilby eats a lot of sand. In fact, 20-90% of its faecal waste can be sand!  Bilbies get their food by searching in the sand with there long snouts Like it is said in the previous slide, Bilbies don’t need to drink as they get most of their water from their food.

Features The Greater Bilby has several distinctive features that it uses to help find its prey. It uses its big ears and sharp sense of smell to find food. It has a long and skinny tongue that it uses to lick up seeds from the ground. But this feeding style means that it eats a lot of sand! Like it is said in the previous slide, 20-90% of its faecal can be sand! It has long and blue-grey silky black fur. It also has a black tail with a whit tip. A Bilby’s tail can be up to 50 cm long! Ears and sharp sense of smell to find food. Black tail with a white tip Long and skinny tongue to lick up seeds

Predators and Threats The Greater Bilby has a lot of predators such as: Dingo’s, Wedge- tailed eagles and others such as: feral cats and red foxes. Like mentioned in another slide, Bilbies are able to sense predators quickly because of their large ears and they are able to quickly avoid them. Bilby’s can avoid these predators by digging a hole to avoid them.

What We Will Do In Our Experiment What are we trying to find out? Whether digging with sharp claws will help the Bilby dig their burrow What is our question for the investigation: What happens to the amount of sand we dig when we change the tool that we are digging with What do we predict will happen and why? We predict that the sharp “claws” will dig up more sand because they are sharp and Bilbies dig more sand because of their sharp claws. To make the test fair, what things (variables) are you going to do: Change? Measure/Observe Keep the same? The tool we are digging with. Weigh the amount of sand we dig up. The same amount of sand Once with no pegs and again with pegs With pegs and without pegs Same person digging

What we will do in our experiment- Continued What equipment will we need? Pegs x3 Scale x1 Jake x1 Finger protectors x3 Sand- enough to fill the bucket Sofia x1 Timer x1 Bucket x1 Tub x1 What are we going to do? Sofia will first dig with one hand in a bucket scooping out sand for 30 seconds. Jake will be timing. The sand that she scoops out will be caught in tub. Jake will then way the tub and record how much it weighs. Then we will empty the sand in the tub and put it back in the bucket. Then Sofia will repeat the process expect with pegs on her hands. Jake will also repeat the process.

Experiment Results

Experiment Observations Our Prediction: We predict that the sharp “claws” will dig up more sand because they are sharp and Bilbies dig more sand because of their sharp claws. Our observations were that digging with claws did help the Bilby dig up more sand. Here are the results in a table: Without Claws 2546 grams of sand With Claws 3344 grams of sand

Fun Facts A Bilbies ears can also move in circles. Each individual Bilby turns over around 20 tonnes of soil each year! There used to be 2 types of Bilbies: The lesser Bilby (which is now believed to be extinct) the Greater Bilby A Bilby lives for about 6 or 7 years Bilbies are very shy creatures The Male Bilby can grow up to 2.5kg The females are smaller and grow up to 1.5g The females pouches are in between her legs and facing backwards so that the dirt that she digs sand doesn’t go in the pouch.

Glossary Regulate- to fix or adjust the time, amount, degree, or rate of Adaptation- A change to a plant or animal that has happened over time and helps it survive in its environment Foremost- ranking above all others Excessively- to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits Acute- extremely sharp or intense Germinate- begin to grow and put out shoots after a period of dormancy Distinctive- of a feature that helps to distinguish a person or thing Ensures- to make certain of Omnivores- an animal or person that eats a variety of food of both plant and animal origin. Faecal- of or relating to feces. Feces- solid excretory product evacuated from the bowels.

Glossary Continued Decreasing- make or become smaller or fewer in size, amount, intensity, or degree. Ensures- make certain that (something) will occur or be the case. Arid- of land or a climate having little or no rain; too dry or barren to support vegetation. Vegetation- plants considered collectively, especially those found in a particular area or habitat. Semi-fossorial- digs burrows to live in.

Bibliography http://www.australianwildlife.org/wildlife/greater-bilby.aspx http://ausadaptations.weebly.com/greater-bilby.html http://bioadaptations.weebly.com/greater-bilby.html http://www.alicespringsdesertpark.com.au/kids/nature/mammals/bilby.shtm l https://australianmuseum.net.au/greater-bilby http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2006/04/06/2042654.htm http://members.optusnet.com.au/bilbies/Bilby_Society_Fact_Sheet.pdf  http://savethebilbyfund.com/110448%20SAVE%20THE%20BILBY_A4%20Fact%2 0sheet.pdf https://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/threatened- species/endangered/endangered-animals/bilby.html https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/bilby?gclid=COuS9tmLrtQCFRYKKgo d29YPRg

Bibliography Continued http://www.aws.org.au/pdf/bilby/AWS_Project_Bilby.pdf http://reptilepark.com.au/animals/mammals/greater-bilby/  https://sites.google.com/a/leopold.vic.edu.au/australian-greater-bilby- 6ml/apperence/habitat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_bilby http://www.walkaboutpark.com.au/index.php/mammals/bilby http://greaterbilbymacrotislagotis.weebly.com/behaviour.html

Thanks for watching We hope you liked it and we also hope that you learnt something about a bilby. Thanks for watching our presentation