1. Samantha Fox, James Cook University

Supervisors: Drs David Blair, Michelle Waycott and Jon Luly from (JCU), Dr David Westcott from CSIRO in early 2006.

Sam completed her PhDHer supervisors from JCU were ; as well as . The project, involving the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, Queensland Fruit and Vegetable Growers, the Tolga Bat Hospital and JCU used genetic fingerprinting to attempt to trace the movements of the spectacled flying-fox. Microsatellite and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) genetic markers were used to identify individual flying-foxes killed by tick paralysis. Some wild-caught bats were also used in the study. All had a small wing sample taken.

The project also involved determining the age structure of SFFs from the Tolga colony dying as a result of tick paralysis. Canine teeth were taken from all dead bats over 2 tick paralysis seasons, and a cross-sectional analysis performed on the layers of cementum in the root of the tooth. The research is based on a paper published by Dr Simon Cool from the University of Queensland in 1994, Age Estimation of Pteropid Bats (Megachiroptera) from Hard Tissue Parameters.

Further information is available at the website http://www.tesag.jcu.edu.au/genetics/sff/

5 mm hole punch. We carefully avoided all blood vessels in the wing while obtaining the sample. However while nearly all holes healed very readily, some remained and therefore grew as the wing grew. We wonder whether samples are best obtained from a piece of wing at the end of a blood vessel. The bats rarely seemed worried by the wing punch procedure.

2. Alexandra Coghlan, Department of Toursim, James Cook University

Supervisors: Primary Supervisor: Professor Philip Pearce, Secondary Supervisor: Dr. Laurie Murphy

A researcher with a strong interest in wildlife conservation, Ali had completed a B.Sc. in environmental and marine biology at St-Andrews University, with an honours degree in ecotourism. Two years working as a guide for a whale-watching operation, followed by a third year working as a research assistant in the whale-watching industry prompted her to undertake a PhD degree in tourism in an effort to link the two areas. By combining tourism and wildlife conservation, she believes that is possible to gain public support for conservation and increase the personal relevance of wildlife protection for the general public.

The aim of her research was be to understand the expectations of volunteers, and the benefits they receive for their efforts. This understanding may help organisations build higher levels of volunteer involvement, satisfaction and commitment by matching the volunteer's expected benefits and benefits that they provide. This will, in turn, hopefully lead to a more sustained on-site conservation effort from volunteer tourists.

Research on volunteer tourism is a relatively new area and includes few studies on the profile of volunteer tourists and the typology of volunteer tourism conservation organisations. Little is known about how volunteer tourists perceive their experience and how satisfaction with their experience affects their involvement with, and commitment to, conservation efforts. Understanding these elements is important as volunteers form the backbone of such organisations. By giving their time, energy and funds, volunteer tourists enable vital conservation projects to be carried out. In return, the tourists participate in a unique experience, develop new skills, discover a new way of life, and learn about themselves.

Ali used our volunteers for her pilot study, and came back a few months later to use us again for part of the main research. A number of other well-known volunteering conservation organisations around the world were included in the research project.

The aim of this study is to apply previous research of tourist and volunteer behaviour to the field of volunteer tourism in order to understand the expectations of volunteer tourists as well as the benefits they seek, and receive, for their efforts.

The results of this research will help generate an even more sustained conservation effort from each conservation volunteer and a higher level of overall productivity, benefiting your organisation and conservation efforts in general.

The data obtained through this study will form the basis of my PhD thesis, and any ensuing publications, and will also present you with many benefits, such as:

•  Provide you with a new and interesting piece of market research;

•  Allow you to gain a better understanding of the expectations and requirements of your volunteers;

•  Increase the effectiveness of promotional material;

•  Raise the profile of volunteer tourism by highlighting its social and environmental benefits as well as its links between tourism and conservation;

•  Help to promote the efforts of conservation organisations, such a IVA.