It is important to keep airport runways clear of foreign objects; it is especially important to keep them clear of spiky animals waddling around looking for a snack.

Travellers might be surprised to learn there is an unexpected abundance of native flora and fauna surrounding Hobart International Airport at Cambridge.

And it was the echidnas staff had to keep relocating off the runway that spiked the interest of University of Tasmania researchers.

Motion sensor camera have been placed around the airport grounds to see what lives there. ( 936 ABC Hobart: Carol Rääbus )

"Last summer we had an exceptional high number of echidnas," Kirsten Leggett, environment manager at the airport, told Helen Shield on 936 ABC Hobart.

"We noticed on the Tasman Highway there were a lot being run over ... we were concerned that our relocation [off the runway] was causing some impact."

To help the airport work out how to deal with the problematic monotremes, Associate Professor Stewart Nicol from the University of Tasmania joined Ms Leggett to tag and track echidnas.

The echidnas are tracked so staff can work out how best to keep them safe from aircraft. ( Supplied: Stewart Nicol )

"We've got seven out there with radio trackers on them," Associate Professor Nicol said.

"They're all on different radio frequencies so we know who we've got.

"This [project] is to find out where they live and where they're moving around and to get an idea of just how many there are out here."

Female echidnas have their own territory for feeding and will only overlap another echidna's territory a little, while male echidnas roam much wider distances across multiple females' hunting grounds.

The trackers glued to the backs of the echidnas have helped Ms Leggett and Associate Professor Nicol see just how far and wide each tagged echidna will waddle.

Associate Professor Nicol said last year's dry conditions might be why numbers at the airport spiked.

"Possibly last year, because it was so dry, the water run-off off the runway probably meant there was more insects and food right besides it," he said.

One female echidna in particular spent much of last summer right next to the runway.

"She was clearly lactating, so she had a young in a burrow somewhere and she looks like she's bred again this year."

Big brother for native animals

Motion sensor cameras have been placed in areas around the airport to see what animals call it home.

"What we've been able to gain from the camera trapping is a good idea of what other fauna live here, airside particularly," Ms Leggett said.

"We have a range of animals ... the eastern barred bandicoot is plentiful here, we've got [potoroos], pademelons and the Bennett's wallabies and possums.

"They all pop up and say hello."

Caught on camera: A Tasmanian devil snapped by a motion sensor camera at the airport. ( Supplied: Stewart Nicol )

At first glance the land next to the runway looks like an desolate bog, but it is far from empty.

"It's a threatened salt marsh community; we're very lucky to have it here," Ms Leggett said.

"There's very little known about the temperate salt marsh communities in Tasmania so this is a great study site."

University of Tasmania volunteers will be conducting a study at the salt marsh this spring to help the airport work out what is there.

Sheathing yellowstar (hypoxis vaginata), a threatened native plant found at the airport. ( Supplied: Stewart Nicol )

"We've got 13 state listed species that we know of here and we regularly monitor those on an annual basis," Ms Leggett said.

And by tracking the resident echidnas, Ms Leggett can be sure that when they move a stubborn echidna off the runway they place it somewhere appropriate — within its own territory.

"It's quite amazing how they will go through anything to get where they want to go," she said.