On Friday last week, we were lucky enough to host Dr Anne Gaskett, who shared her fascinating research on colourful fruits and fruity fungi. Her talk opened a window into how the world looks through the eyes of different animals, and especially, through the eyes of a cassowary.
How animals see colour
We humans tend to think of colour in terms of our own experience, but different animals see the spectrum in very different ways. Some can perceive ultraviolet light invisible to us, while others see fewer colours overall. For cassowaries, colour plays an important role in finding food. The bright hues of rainforest fruits signal ripeness and help guide the birds to the forest floor’s hidden treasures.
Fruity fungi and clever mimicry
One of the most intriguing parts of Dr Gaskett’s talk explored the ways fungi seemingly mimic fruit. Some colourful fungi look strikingly like rainforest fruits, and this may not be an accident. By copying the shape and colours of real fruit, these fungi attract animals to interact with them, showcasing an evolutionary trick that could help spores spread, just as fruits spread their seeds through animals.
Research in action at Mission Beach
This week, Dr Gaskett will be conducting hands-on research right here in Mission Beach. She’ll be measuring the colours of as many native rainforest fruits as possible, building a detailed picture of the visual signals that shape cassowary diets.
If you have native rainforest fruits available — or know of trees fruiting in your garden or on your property — you’re invited to bring samples into the C4 Environment Centre this week so they can be included in her study.
What do cassowaries actually eat?
As part of Dr Gaskett’s research, we’re building a list of all the foods cassowaries actually eat. These don’t have to be just native rainforest fruits as we’re interested in anything you’ve personally seen cassowaries eating, including foods from backyards, farms, or even roadside trees.
If you’ve ever spotted a cassowary tucking into pawpaw, bananas, tomatoes, or other unexpected foods, we’d love to know. Please add your observations to our online form below and we’ll publish the full list once it’s compiled: