Fowlers Gap Research Station
Fowlers Gap is the only research station in the arid zone of NSW. Located 112 kilometres north of Broken Hill, the 39,000-hectare property was established in 1966 and has been extensively used by researchers from UNSW and other institutions in Australia and overseas.
Some areas of the site have been continuously monitored for more than 30 years, providing a unique, long-term ecological record that earned the Station a place on the Register of the National Estate in 1996. A wide range of research on the birds, kangaroos, reptiles and other flora and fauna has been carried out as well as projects in areas including management of the arid zone, soil conservation, solar energy and astronomy.
Fowlers Gap is an important site for teaching, with regular field excursions by students from both UNSW Science and the College of Fine Arts. The remote Station, with its impressive landscape, eco-trails and wildlife-viewing platforms, attracts artists as well as local and international visitors. UNSW holds a lease in perpetuity on the property, which is a working farm with more than 5000 sheep.
Arid Zone Research Station
The Research Station has an outstanding national and international reputation for research about the arid lands from a range of disciplines in the physical and natural sciences, as well as the built environment, arts and humanities.
The latest research conducted at Fowlers Gap
- Singing and breeding behaviour of wild zebra finches - Captive zebra finches are the key model system for studying the development and function of bird song.
- Behavioural ecology of the short-beaked echidna in the arid zone of Fowlers Gap - This research investigated the behavioural ecology of the Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), particularly the relationship between resource selection/habitat preference and their movement patterns at Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station.
- The Australian Acoustic Observatory - The Australian Acoustic Observatory (A2O) is a continental-scale acoustic sensor network, recording for a five-year period across multiple Australian ecosystems.
