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1
Jakes, Kathryn Anne. "Morphology and molecular phylogeny of selected haemoprotozoan parasites of Australian wildlife /." St. Lucia, Qld, 2004. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe17828.pdf.
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Watson, Jeanette Esther, and mikewood@deakin edu au. "Studies on Australian hydroids the genus eudendrium and the fauna of the seagrass amphibolis." Deakin University. School of Science, 1990. http://tux.lib.deakin.edu.au./adt-VDU/public/adt-VDU20050825.121035.
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An important Athecate genus, Eudendrium, and a group of species of the Thecata, the latter ecologically related by life on a common substrate, are reviewed.
Eudendrium, hitherto poorly known in Australia, comprises 17 species, including 10 undescribed species with 71% Australian, and high provincial endemicity. Eudendrium may be a shelf genus avoiding turbulent oceanic waters. Species of Eudendrium are predominantly epizoic and some gregariously settling colonies may live for five years. Identification of sterile material is refined by using the cnidome in a key to classification.
The species and population dynamics of hydroid epiphytes of the endemic southern Australian marine angiosperm Amphibolis were investigated with revision of historically vexatious taxa. In contrast with the northern hemisphere, no Athecata are associated with southern Australian seagrasses. Seventeen species from eight thecate families are associated with the two species of Amphibolis, including one undescribed species, H&lecium amphibolum, and one new record for Australia, Aglaophenia postdentata. The Lineolariidae is revised and a new genus, Millardaria, erected for a species from seagrass in Madagascar. The high endemicity (58%) and host-specificity of hydroids to Amphibolis is an evolutionary consequence of isolation of the seagrass dating from break-up of the Tethyan Sea.
Hydroids occur throughout the year in the Amphibolis leaf canopy with a mean annual epiphytism of 44% on A. antarctica in the eastern continent and 86% in the western continent; epiphytism is 52% on A. griffithii in the western continent. Half of the eight important species are dominant epiphytes across the southern continent but the species and order of abundance varies regionally. Most are pioneer colonists with short, repetetive life-cycles lasting from weeks to a few months.
Three species epiphytise the seagrass stems but only one is a leaf-canopy dominant. The canopy community comprises small, fast-growing species or dwarfed variants of species larger in other habitats: these ecomorphically constant forms are associated only with seagrass. Strategies for survival in the harsh Amphibolis environment include adnate colonies and gonothecae adnate or recumbent to the substrate, marked strengthening of the hydrorhiza, various hydrodynamic adaptations of the hydrotheca, early maturation and production of numerous small ova.
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Schmidt, Susanne I. "Surface water, groundwater interactions and their association with sediment fauna in a Western Australian catchment /." Marburg : Tectum-Verl, 2005. http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?id=2660074&prov=M&dok_var=1&dok_ext=htm.
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au, Padams@central murdoch edu, and Peter John Adams. "Parasites of Feral Cats and Native Fauna from Western Australia: The Application of Molecular Techniques for the Study of Parasitic Infections in Australian Wildlife." Murdoch University, 2003. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20040730.142034.
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A survey of gastro-intestinal parasites was conducted on faecal samples collected from 379 feral cats and 851 native fauna from 16 locations throughout Western Australia. The prevalence of each parasite species detected varied depending upon the sampling location. Common helminth parasites detected in feral cats included Ancylostoma spp. (29.8%), Oncicola pomatostomi (25.6%), Spirometra erinaceieuropaei (14%), Taenia taeniaeformis (4.7%), Physaloptera praeputialis (3.7%) and Toxocara cati (2.6%). The most common protozoan parasites detected in feral cats were Isospora rivolta (16.9%) and I. felis (4.5%). The native mammals were predominately infected with unidentified nematodes of the order Strongylida (59.1%), with members of the orders Rhabditida, Spirurida and Oxyurida also common. Oxyuroid nematodes were most common in the rodents (47.9%) and western grey kangaroos (27.8%). Several species of Eimeria were detected in the marsupials whilst unidentified species of Entamoeba and coccidia were common in most of the native fauna.
Primers anchored in the first and second internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) were used to develop a polymerase chain reaction-linked restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique to differentiate the species of Ancylostoma detected in feral cats. Amplification of the ITS+ region (ITS1, ITS2 and 5.8S gene) followed by digestion with the endonuclease RsaI produced characteristic patterns for A. tubaeforme, A. ceylanicum and A. caninum, which were detected in 26.6%, 4.7% and 0% of feral cats respectively. Giardia was detected in a cat, dingo, quenda and two native rodents. Sequence analysis at the small subunit rDNA gene (SSU-rDNA) identified the cat and dingo as harbouring G.duodenalis infections belonging to the genetic assemblages A and D respectively.
Subsequent analysis of the SSU-rDNA and elongation factor 1 alpha (ef1á) identified a novel species of Giardia occurring in the quenda. Attempts to genetically characterise the Giardia in the two native rodents were unsuccessful.
Serological detection of Toxoplasma gondii was compared to a one tube hemi-nested PCR protocol to evaluate its sensitivity. PCR was comparable to serology in detecting T. gondii infections, although PCR was a much more definitive and robust technique than serology for large numbers of samples. Amplification of T. gondii DNA detected infections in 4.9% of feral cats and 6.5% of native mammals. The distribution of T. gondii does not appear to be restricted by environmental factors, which implies that vertical transmission is important for the persistence of T. gondii infections in Western Australia.
These results demonstrate that cats carry a wide range of parasitic organisms, many of which may influence the survival and reproduction of native mammals. As such, the large-scale conservation and reintroduction of native fauna in Western Australia must not disregard the potential influence parasites can have on these populations.
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Adams, John Peter. "Parasites of feral cats and native fauna from Western Australia the application of molecular techniques for the study of parasitic infections in Australian wildlife /." Connect to this title online, 2003. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20040730.142034.
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Adams, Peter John. "Parasites of feral cats and native fauna from Western Australia: the application of molecular techniques for the study of parasitic infections in Australian wildlife." Thesis, Adams, Peter John (2003) Parasites of feral cats and native fauna from Western Australia: the application of molecular techniques for the study of parasitic infections in Australian wildlife. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2003. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/29/.
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A survey of gastro-intestinal parasites was conducted on faecal samples collected from 379 feral cats and 851 native fauna from 16 locations throughout Western Australia. The prevalence of each parasite species detected varied depending upon the sampling location. Common helminth parasites detected in feral cats included Ancylostoma spp. (29.8%), Oncicola pomatostomi (25.6%), Spirometra erinaceieuropaei (14%), Taenia taeniaeformis (4.7%), Physaloptera praeputialis (3.7%) and Toxocara cati (2.6%). The most common protozoan parasites detected in feral cats were Isospora rivolta (16.9%) and I. felis (4.5%). The native mammals were predominately infected with unidentified nematodes of the order Strongylida (59.1%), with members of the orders Rhabditida, Spirurida and Oxyurida also common. Oxyuroid nematodes were most common in the rodents (47.9%) and western grey kangaroos (27.8%). Several species of Eimeria were detected in the marsupials whilst unidentified species of Entamoeba and coccidia were common in most of the native fauna.
Primers anchored in the first and second internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) were used to develop a polymerase chain reaction-linked restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique to differentiate the species of Ancylostoma detected in feral cats. Amplification of the ITS+ region (ITS1, ITS2 and 5.8S gene) followed by digestion with the endonuclease RsaI produced characteristic patterns for A. tubaeforme, A. ceylanicum and A. caninum, which were detected in 26.6%, 4.7% and 0% of feral cats respectively. Giardia was detected in a cat, dingo, quenda and two native rodents. Sequence analysis at the small subunit rDNA gene (SSU-rDNA) identified the cat and dingo as harbouring G.duodenalis infections belonging to the genetic assemblages A and D respectively.
Subsequent analysis of the SSU-rDNA and elongation factor 1 alpha (ef1[alpha]) identified a novel species of Giardia occurring in the quenda. Attempts to genetically characterise the Giardia in the two native rodents were unsuccessful.
Serological detection of Toxoplasma gondii was compared to a one tube hemi-nested PCR protocol to evaluate its sensitivity. PCR was comparable to serology in detecting T. gondii infections, although PCR was a much more definitive and robust technique than serology for large numbers of samples. Amplification of T. gondii DNA detected infections in 4.9% of feral cats and 6.5% of native mammals. The distribution of T. gondii does not appear to be restricted by environmental factors, which implies that vertical transmission is important for the persistence of T. gondii infections in Western Australia.
These results demonstrate that cats carry a wide range of parasitic organisms, many of which may influence the survival and reproduction of native mammals. As such, the large-scale conservation and reintroduction of native fauna in Western Australia must not disregard the potential influence parasites can have on these populations.
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Adams, Peter John. "Parasites of feral cats and native fauna from Western Australia : the application of molecular techniques for the study of parasitic infections in Australian wildlife /." Adams, Peter John (2003) Parasites of feral cats and native fauna from Western Australia: the application of molecular techniques for the study of parasitic infections in Australian wildlife. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2003. http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/29/.
Full textAbstract:
A survey of gastro-intestinal parasites was conducted on faecal samples collected from 379 feral cats and 851 native fauna from 16 locations throughout Western Australia. The prevalence of each parasite species detected varied depending upon the sampling location. Common helminth parasites detected in feral cats included Ancylostoma spp. (29.8%), Oncicola pomatostomi (25.6%), Spirometra erinaceieuropaei (14%), Taenia taeniaeformis (4.7%), Physaloptera praeputialis (3.7%) and Toxocara cati (2.6%). The most common protozoan parasites detected in feral cats were Isospora rivolta (16.9%) and I. felis (4.5%). The native mammals were predominately infected with unidentified nematodes of the order Strongylida (59.1%), with members of the orders Rhabditida, Spirurida and Oxyurida also common. Oxyuroid nematodes were most common in the rodents (47.9%) and western grey kangaroos (27.8%). Several species of Eimeria were detected in the marsupials whilst unidentified species of Entamoeba and coccidia were common in most of the native fauna.
Primers anchored in the first and second internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) were used to develop a polymerase chain reaction-linked restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique to differentiate the species of Ancylostoma detected in feral cats. Amplification of the ITS+ region (ITS1, ITS2 and 5.8S gene) followed by digestion with the endonuclease RsaI produced characteristic patterns for A. tubaeforme, A. ceylanicum and A. caninum, which were detected in 26.6%, 4.7% and 0% of feral cats respectively. Giardia was detected in a cat, dingo, quenda and two native rodents. Sequence analysis at the small subunit rDNA gene (SSU-rDNA) identified the cat and dingo as harbouring G.duodenalis infections belonging to the genetic assemblages A and D respectively.
Subsequent analysis of the SSU-rDNA and elongation factor 1 alpha (ef1[alpha]) identified a novel species of Giardia occurring in the quenda. Attempts to genetically characterise the Giardia in the two native rodents were unsuccessful.
Serological detection of Toxoplasma gondii was compared to a one tube hemi-nested PCR protocol to evaluate its sensitivity. PCR was comparable to serology in detecting T. gondii infections, although PCR was a much more definitive and robust technique than serology for large numbers of samples. Amplification of T. gondii DNA detected infections in 4.9% of feral cats and 6.5% of native mammals. The distribution of T. gondii does not appear to be restricted by environmental factors, which implies that vertical transmission is important for the persistence of T. gondii infections in Western Australia.
These results demonstrate that cats carry a wide range of parasitic organisms, many of which may influence the survival and reproduction of native mammals. As such, the large-scale conservation and reintroduction of native fauna in Western Australia must not disregard the potential influence parasites can have on these populations.
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Drayson, Nick English Australian Defence Force Academy UNSW. "Early developments in the literature of Australian natural history : together with a select bibliography of Australian natural history writing, printed in English, from 1697 to the present." Awarded by:University of New South Wales - Australian Defence Force Academy. School of English, 1997. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/38674.
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Early nineteenth-century Eurocentric perceptions of natural history led to the flora and fauna of Australia being thought of as deficient and inferior compared with those of other lands. By the 1820s, Australia had become known as ???the land of contrarieties???. This, and Eurocentric attitudes to nature in general, influenced the expectations and perceptions of immigrants throughout the century. Yet at the same time there was developing an aesthetic appreciation of the natural history of Australia. This thesis examines the tension between these two perceptions in the popular natural history writing of the nineteenth century, mainly through the writing of five authors ??? George Bennett (1804-1893), Louisa Anne Meredith (1812-1895), Samuel Hannaford (1937-1874), Horace Wheelwright (1815-1865) and Donald Macdonald (1859?-1932). George Bennett was a scientist, who saw Australian plants and animals more as scientific specimens than objects of beauty. Louisa Meredith perceived them in the familiar language of English romantic poetry. Samuel Hannaford used another language, that of popular British natural history writers of the mid-nineteenth century. To Horace Wheelwright, Australian animals were equally valuable to the sportsman???s gun as to the naturalist???s pen. Donald Macdonald was the only one of these major writers to have been born in Australia. Although proud of his British heritage, he rejoiced in the beauty of his native land. His writing demonstrates his joy, and his novel attitude to Australian natural history continued and developed in the present century.
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Young, Glen Christopher. "The fish fauna of two south-western Australian estuaries: Influence of an artificial entrance channel and of hypersalinity and prolonged closure." Thesis, Young, Glen Christopher (2000) The fish fauna of two south-western Australian estuaries: Influence of an artificial entrance channel and of hypersalinity and prolonged closure. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2000. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/52019/.
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The work undertaken for this thesis had the following two broad aims. The first was to determine the characteristics of the fish fauna of the Peel-Harvey Estuary in the mid 1990s, soon after the construction of a large artificial channel, the Dawesville Channel, into this estuary, and to compare these characteristics with those recorded in the early 1980s and thus prior to the construction of that channel. The second was to determine the characteristics of the ichthyofauna of the normally closed Wellstead Estuary, focusing in particular on elucidating the influence of both the extremely high salinities that are found in this system and the opening of the estuary mouth which occurs when freshwater discharge is sufficiently strong to breach the large sand bar at that mouth.
The fish larvae on flood and ebb tides in the artificial Dawesville channel and the original Mandurah Channel of the Peel-Harvey Estuary were sampled at monthly intervals during 1997 using bongo nets. Postlarval, juvenile and adult fish in the Mandurah Channel and two regions in each of the large basins (Peel Inlet and Harvey Estuary) were sampled at regular intervals between the end of 1995 and end of 1997 using seine nets that were 5.5, 21.5 and 102.5 m in length. Nearshore, shallow and offshore, deeper waters of Wellstead Estuary were sampled at eight-weekly intervals between July 1996 and May 1998 using a 41.5 m seine net and composite gill nets, respectively.
The number of fish species caught as larvae was far greater in the Dawesville Channel (49) than in the Mandurah Channel (34), a difference that was mainly due to a far greater number of marine stragglers, and often reef-associated species, in the former channel. The difference in number of species is presumably related to the presence of a better developed reef system just outside the Dawesville Channel and the fact that the velocity and volume of tidal water that is exchanged through this channel is much greater than through the Mandurah Channel. The number of fish larvae caught on flood tides was greater than on ebb tides in both channels, which suggests some individuals of marine species settle in the shallow and slower flowing regions in the channels or just inside the basins. Favonigobius lateralis and Atherinosoma elongata, which spawn in the estuary, tend to be transported out as preflexion larvae on ebb tides and inwards as postflexion larvae on flood tides. The species composition of the ichthyoplankton on both the flood and ebb tides in both channels underwent pronounced and consistent cyclical changes throughout the year, which was clearly related to differences in the spawning times of the various species within and outside the estuary.
The catches of postlarval and early 0+ juvenile fish provide very strong evidence that the majority of marine species, that were caught as larvae on flood and ebb tides in the Mandurah and Dawesville channels, do not become established in the basins of the Peel-Harvey Estuary. However, the catch and length-frequency data for Hyperlophas vittatus indicated that large numbers of this clupeid enter this estuary as postlarvae, settle soon after they enter the estuary and then subsequently slowly penetrate into the basins.
The use of Classification and Multidimensional scaling ordination demonstrated that the species composition of the fish fauna of nearshore, shallow waters in the large basins of the Peel-Harvey Estuary during the 1980s was influenced more by region within the estuary than by time of year, whereas the reverse pertained in the mid-1990s. The shift to a strong seasonal influence on species composition in the latter period is presumably related to the far greater tidal water movement that now occurs in the basin regions as a result of the constmction of the Dawesville Channel. This seasonality in the basins is attributable, in part, to differences in the patterns of immigration and emigration exhibited by the juveniles of marine species. The number of species and overall density of fish were positively correlated with salinity and inversely correlated with distance from estuary mouth. This trend was followed by all species except Leptatherina wallacei, which is known typically to occupy the upper reaches of estuaries where salinities are reduced.
Since the construction of the Dawesville Channel, the density of fish in Peel Inlet has declined, presumably due to the reduction in the amount of macroalgae. Prior to the construction of the Dawesville Channel, when the basins, and in particular Peel Inlet, contained massive growths of macroalgae, the fauna of these regions was dominated by three weed-associated species, namely Relates sexlineatus, Apogon rueppellii and Genes sub fascial us. Although these species thus contributed nearly 60% to the total number of fish caught in the early 1980s, they contributed only about 8% in the mid 1990s after the construction of the Dawesville Channel, when, as a result of increased Hushing, there was a reduction in macroalgae.
The construction of the Dawesville Channel has resulted in the Harvey Estuary becoming (1) directly connected with the ocean at its northern and seaward end, (2) better flushed and (3) far less susceptible to the development of blue-green algal blooms in the spring and early summer, which had previously been shown to have a deleterious effect on fish abundance. These changes account for the greater number of fish species and greater densities of fish that were recorded in the post- Dawesville period than pre- Dawesville period.
Wellstead Estuary remained closed between October 1993 and September 1997 and then opened for just under a month, before once again becoming closed until the end of April 1998 when it opened and remained so until the end of the 24 month sampling period in May 1998. During the study period, mean monthly salinities underwent massive seasonal variations and sometimes varied markedly between regions. For example, mean monthly salinities in the lower estuary rose from 52.9%c in July 1996 to 111.7%c in the following March, before declining precipitously to 14.3%c in September 1997. In March 1997, they ranged greatly from 63.0%c in the upper estuary to 111.7%o in the lower estuary. A total of only 20 species were caught using seine and gill nets throughout this estuary. Not surprisingly, the fish fauna in nearshore, shallow waters was dominated by species which spawn in the estuary, with these species contributing over 98% of all fish caught. In contrast, marine species contributed approximately 58% of the fish caught in offshore, deeper waters. These species were larger teleosts which live for a number of years and moved in and out of the estuary when the bar at the estuary mouth was breached. The species composition in nearshore, shallow waters changed progressively and significantly between the lower, middle and upper estuary, reflecting in part the greater densities of Atherinosoma elongata and Aldrichetta forsteri towards the lower end of the estuary and of Acanthopagrus butcheri, Leptatherina presbyteroides. Pseudogobius olorum and Leptatherina wallacei towards the upper end. Since the fish typically found in nearshore, shallow waters represented species that complete their life cycles within estuaries, it is not surprising that the species composition did not change when the estuary mouth opened. In contrast, the species composition in offshore, deeper waters did not vary among regions but did change after the estuary mouth became open. This change in composition was due to the emigration of Mugil cephalus and Aldrichetta forsteri and the immigration of Arripis georgiana, Arripis truttaceus and Pomatomus saltatrix.
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Williams, Patrick. "Range retraction and the habitat selection of the western Partridge Pigeon (Geophaps smithii blaauwi) in the north-western Kimberley region, Western Australia." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2022. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2613.
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The northern savannas are one of the largest biomes in Australia, extending across northern and north-eastern Australia, and its vegetation has been extensively altered as a result of pastoralism and inappropriate fire regimes following the loss of indigenous fire management (Fraser, 2001; Legge et al., 2019). Small-medium sized mammals and granivorous birds are the most at-risk taxonomic groups (Franklin, 1999; Franklin et al., 2005; Murphy et al., 2010; Woinarski et al., 2010; Woinarski et al., 2013), and this has largely been attributed to unsuitable fire management, predation by feral cats, grazing by introduced herbivores, cane toads and invasive grasses (Fraser, 2001; Legge et al., 2019; Woinarski et al., 2010). The Partridge Pigeon (Geophaps smithii) is a granivorous bird species endemic to the northern savannas of Australia and has faced major declines disappearing from half of its pre-European distribution (Davies et al., 2019; Franklin, 1999; Fraser et al., 2003), largely due to changes in burning regimes, grazing by exotic herbivores and predation by feral cats. As a result, the Partridge Pigeon is an excellent model species for examining savanna management practices (Davies et al., 2019; Fraser et al., 2003). The aims of this study were: 1) to quantify the changes in the distribution of G. s. blaauwi over time; 2) to assess these changes against IUCN criteria to re-evaluate the species’ current conservation status; 3) to determine the land tenure across the species’ current distribution to evaluate the importance of Indigenous owned and managed lands in the protection of this species; 4) to understand habitat selection of G. s. blaauwi and the influence of fire regimes on habitat selection at landscape scales; 5) and lastly to understand the influence of fine-scale variables on G. s. blaauwi habitat selection.
Following my analysis of the changes of G. s. blaauwi range over time I determined that it should still be classed as Vulnerable based on IUCN criteria but recommended that more surveys be undertaken to better assess the poorly surveyed areas of their distribution. Analysis of land tenure indicated that this species mostly occurs on Native Title land (93%) and in areas under Indigenous Protected Areas management (49%). I highlight the importance of Indigenous owned and managed lands for protection of G. s. blaauwi and emphasises the critical role IPA and conservation areas may play in the protection of biodiversity and threatened species in Australia. Next, I was able to determine that the most important geological and vegetation structures for G. s. blaauwi are woodland and open woodland areas that occur on alluvium and colluvium. This allowed me to develop a clear conceptual model of what habitats and fire management practices are required to support G. s. blaauwi populations. Lastly, my investigations of fine-scale habitat variables found none of the assessed variables influenced G. s. blaauwi site occupancy.
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Dunlop, Judy. "The ecology and host parasite dynamics of a fauna translocation in Australia." Thesis, Dunlop, Judy (2015) The ecology and host parasite dynamics of a fauna translocation in Australia. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2015. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/29146/.
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Despite the frequency of fauna translocations as a technique to improve the conservation status of threatened species, new populations frequently fail to establish. Translocations often lack experimental manipulation to determine ‘best practice’ methods to improve success. One poorly understood element of translocation science is the impact of parasites and disease-‐causing pathogens on the animals moved and the ecosystem they are moved into. Of 58 published Australian translocations in the last 40 years, only 20 (35%) employed any level of parasite management, despite potential contribution of disease to initial fauna declines.
I closely investigated a translocation of boodies (Bettongia lesueur) from Barrow Island and Dryandra to Lorna Glen, and ‘island dwarf’ golden bandicoots (Isoodon auratus) from Barrow Island to Lorna Glen and Hermite Island. Bandicoots born into the new populations showed an increased skeletal size and body mass (males) and reproductive output in the number and average size of young (females). These changes occurred within 18 months of release, suggesting that responses were due to phenotypic plasticity, rather than selective pressure occurring over many generations. I conclude that the small size of bandicoots on Barrow Island is a response to resource limitation, rather than true island dwarfism.
I determined the impact on parasite load and survivorship of translocated animals by treating half the population with a topical antiparasitic. Despite frequent trapping (six-‐ weekly) and very high recapture rate (64–99%), repeated dosage did not significantly impact ectoparasite or haemoparasite infection, or survival of the marsupials. I observed transmission of parasites between animals of different origin and to offspring, and a decline in species diversity present in the translocated population due to the failure of some species to persist.
This thesis identified knowledge gaps in the translocation literature and addressed some key concepts of species ecology, population dynamics and parasitology via post-translocation monitoring.
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Baverstock, P. R. "Studies in the adaptation and evolution of the Australasian fauna : a collection /." Title page, introduction and index only, 1987. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09SD/09sdb353.pdf.
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Thesis (D. Sc.)--University of Adelaide, 1988.Collection of previously published articles. Includes Allozyme electrophoresis / B.J. Richardson, P.R. Baverstock and M. Adams (1986). Includes bibliographical references.
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Goodsell, Paris Justine. "Consequences of disturbance for subtidal floral and faunal diversity /." Title page, abstract and table of contents only, 2004. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phg6555.pdf.
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Gartner, Adam. "Trophic implications of light reductions for Amphibolis Griffithii seagrass fauna." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2010. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/134.
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The ongoing threat of seagrass loss from reduced light availability, coupled with our lack of knowledge of associated trophic responses has motivated this characterization of the flow-on effects of light reductions to Amphibolis griffithii seagrass fauna. Recently, field manipulations of varying light reductions, induced disturbances in a A. griffithii seagrass meadow that have been shown to effect potential food resources and the structural complexity of seagrass habitats for macroinvertebrates. This offered the opportunity to assess the flow-on effects to seagrass for fauna, a topic that has seldom been examined. This study investigated the effects of different light reduction intensity (high: ~92% reduction; moderate: ~84% reduction), duration (3, 6 and 9 mo) and timing (post-winter and post-summer) on the density, biomass and community composition of macroinvertebrate epifauna within an A. griffithii seagrass ecosystem (Western Australia). Shade structures, placed within a healthy A. griffithii meadow, were used to create the light reduction treatments. Following shading, there were significant interactions between all three light reduction factors, and generally there was decline in the density and biomass of fauna (between 38% and 89% in density) and the number of families with increasing duration and intensity of light reduction (between 11 and 53% fewer families in light reduction treatments). There was also an effect of time, with taxa abundance and family composition Post-summer differing to Post-winter.
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Martinez, Sandrine. "Palaeoecology of the Mount Etna bat fauna, coastal Eastern Queensland." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2010. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/40979/1/Sandrine_Martinez_Thesis.pdf.
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Global warming is already threatening many animal and plant communities worldwide, however, the effect of climate change on bat populations is poorly known. Understanding the factors influencing the survival of bats is crucial to their conservation, and this cannot be achieved solely by modern ecological studies. Palaeoecological investigations provide a perspective over a much longer temporal scale, allowing the understanding of the dynamic patterns that shaped the distribution of modern taxa. In this study twelve microchiropteran fossil assemblages from Mount Etna, central-eastern Queensland, ranging in age from more than 500,000 years to the present day, were investigated. The aim was to assess the responses of insectivorous bats to Quaternary environmental changes, including climatic fluctuations and recent anthropogenic impacts. In particular, this investigation focussed on the effects of increasing late Pleistocene aridity, the subsequent retraction of rainforest habitat, and the impact of cave mining following European settlement at Mount Etna. A thorough examination of the dental morphology of all available extant Australian bat taxa was conducted in order to identify the fossil taxa prior to their analysis in term of species richness and composition. This detailed odontological work provided new diagnostic dental characters for eighteen species and one genus. It also provided additional useful dental characters for three species and seven genera. This odontological analysis allowed the identification of fifteen fossil bat taxa from the Mount Etna deposits, all being representatives of extant bats, and included ten taxa identified to the species level (i.e., Macroderma gigas, Hipposideros semoni, Rhinolophus megaphyllus, Miniopterus schreibersii, Miniopterus australis, Scoteanax rueppellii, Chalinolobus gouldii, Chalinolobus dwyeri, Chalinolobus nigrogriseus and Vespadelus troughtoni) and five taxa identified to the generic level (i.e., Mormopterus, Taphozous, Nyctophilus, Scotorepens and Vespadelus). Palaeoecological analysis of the fossil taxa revealed that, unlike the non-volant mammal taxa, bats have remained essentially stable in terms of species diversity and community membership between the mid-Pleistocene rainforest habitat and the mesic habitat that occurs today in the region. The single major exception is Hipposideros semoni, which went locally extinct at Mount Etna. Additionally, while intensive mining operations resulted in the abandonment of at least one cave that served as a maternity roost in the recent past, the diversity of the Mount Etna bat fauna has not declined since European colonisation. The overall resilience through time of the bat species discussed herein is perhaps due to their unique ecological, behavioural, and physiological characteristics as well as their ability to fly, which have allowed them to successfully adapt to their changing environment. This study highlights the importance of palaeoecological analyses as a tool to gain an understanding of how bats have responded to environmental change in the past and provides valuable information for the conservation of threatened modern species, such as H. semoni.
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Iqbal, Muhammad. "Systematics and phylogeny of the Baeini (Hymenoptera : Scelionidae), with special reference to Australasian fauna /." Title page, contents and summary only, 1998. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phi64.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Applied and Molecular Ecology, 1999.Addendum pasted onto verso of back end paper. Copy of author's previously published article inserted. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 220-236).
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Shotbolt, Timothy. "Unwanted lighting effects at night in Australia." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2016. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/94241/1/Timothy_Shotbolt_Thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis brings together different scientific and engineering disciplines, as well as current legislation, on the subject of unwanted night-time lighting effects on humans and the biosphere. The assessment criteria of Australian Standard AS4282-1997 Control of the obtrusive effects of outdoor lighting are reviewed and criteria incorporating the quantity, quality, spectral composition of light, and exposure time, are proposed to improve light engineering practice. The immediate direct concerns of humans are considered as well as the effects on biota generally in the environment, particularly as outdoor artificial lighting proliferation has the potential to change the environment for human habitation in the longer term.
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King, Justin. "The fish fauna of two mangrove systems in the Eastern Gulf of Shark BY, Western Australia." Thesis, King, Justin (2003) The fish fauna of two mangrove systems in the Eastern Gulf of Shark BY, Western Australia. Honours thesis, Murdoch University, 2003. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/41120/.
Full textAbstract:
Mangrove habitats are widely regarded as important fish nurseries and feeding grounds for a wide variety of species, particularly in subtropical conditions. While the fish communities in subtropical mangrove systems along the eastern coast of Australia have been extensively studied, those of subtropical mangrove habitats in Western Australia have received little attention.
The fish assemblages in subtropical mangrove habitats in Shark Bay, located at ca 26°S on the coast of Western Australia, were sampled bimonthly between May 2001 and August 2002. The aims of this study were to describe the fish fauna of these mangrove habitats, and examine variations in the fish assemblages between areas, sites, tidal phases, and months. Furthermore, the nursery functions of these mangrove areas were investigated in relation to commercially and recreationally important species.
Sampling was undertaken in two relatively small mangrove areas, namely Herald Bight and Dubaut Creek, located in the eastern gulf of Shark Bay. A salinity gradient along the eastern gulf resulted in consistently greater salinities at Dubaut Creek than at Herald Bight. A 21 .5 m seine net was used to sample the creeks on high and low tides, and on the flats on high tides. Composite gill nets were employed at Herald Bight on the flats and in the creeks on high tides, as well as opportunistically from low to high tides, and high to low tides. Gill netting was not undertaken at Dubaut Creek due to the high prevalence of turtles.
A total of 55,781 fish, comprising 42 species representing 22 families, were caught using the 21.5 m seine net. The most abundant species were Craterocephalus pauciradiatus and Gerres subfasciatus, which contributed 52.5 and 15.0%, respectively, to the total number of fish. Amniataba caudovittatus, Acanthopagrus talus, and Atherinomorus ogilbyi contributed most to the biomass of fish, specifically 18.5, 16.6, and 15.2%, respectively. The fish assemblages were dominated by tropical species (59.5% of the number of species and 61 .2% of the total abundance), resident species (35.7% of the number of species and 58.6% of the total abundance), and a relatively small number of highly abundant zooplanktivorous species (11 .9% of the number of species and 59.0% of the total abundance). Circum-Australian species, benthic invertivores, and juvenile or juvenile-transient adult species also contributed significantly to the abundance of fish, i.e. ca 24.6, 24.9 and 37.5%, respectively.
A total of 740 fish, comprising 12 species representing 7 families, were caught using gill nets. The most abundant species were Amniataba caudavittatus, Mugil cephalus, and Va/amugil buchanani, which contributed 57 .8, 15.8, and 14. 7%, respectively, to the total number of fish. Tropical species (81 .2%), resident species (63.8%), and benthic invertivores (63.9%) dominated the abundance of fish caught by gill nets.
Analyses of the mean number of species, mean densities and mean biomasses of fish collected by the 21 .5 m seine net indicated that the fish assemblages were influenced strongly by site, followed by region and tide. Multivariate analyses indicated that site was more influential than tide on fish assemblages, and that regional differences in fish assemblages occurred in the creeks, but not on the flats.
The greater variety and number of species in the creeks, than on the flats, reflected the greater variety of substrates, shelter, food sources and water depth in the creeks. The greater biomass of fish, lower densities of fish, and differences in species composition at Dubaut Creek, compared to Herald Bight, reflected the differences in the structures of the creeks in each region, particularly the presence of rocky reef and sponges, and the greater depth of Dubaut Creek. However, the greater ease of capture of small fish at Herald Bight and large fish at Dubaut Creek may have exaggerated these differences.
The movements of fish in relation to tide, both within the mangrove areas and between mangroves and other habitats, resulted in differences in the fish assemblages on low and high tides. Small juvenile fish, such as Mugil cephalus, occurred in the creeks on low tides, but the absence of these fish on high tides suggested movement out from the creeks into the shallow, vegetated areas on high tides to avoid predation. Conversely, relatively large and transient species occurred in the creeks on high tides, but moved out from the mangroves into other habitats on low tides, except in Dubaut Creek, which remained relatively deep on low tides. However, certain long term transient species, such as sub-adult Acanthopagrus latus, remained in the creeks on low tides and were subsequently caught in higher densities than on high tides, due to the greater ease of capture of fast-swimming fish on low tides.
The fish assemblages in mangrove habitats underwent progressive seasonal changes. MOS ordinations revealed that the fish assemblages in the creeks and on the flats underwent cyclical changes over a 12 monthly period, and that these changes were most evident on low tides, due to the prevalence of small juvenile fish, and least evident in the creeks on high tides, due to the greater abundances of transient species. Seasonal change in the fish assemblages was driven by the recruitment of small juvenile fish and the subsequent migration of nursery species. The duration of residency of juvenile fish in the mangroves varied from months, e.g. Mugil cephalus, to years, e.g. SilIago schomburgkii.
The fish communities of mangrove habitats were distinctly different to those in sand or seagrass habitats in Shark Bay, indicating that the mangrove areas in Shark Bay provide a unique and important fish habitat. The mangrove areas were nursery grounds for commercially and recreationally important fish species, including Mugil cephalus, SilIago schomburgkii, Acanthopagrus latus, and Rhabdosargus sarba. Juveniles of the commercially fished SilIago analis also occurred solely in the mangrove habitat, where it completes its lifecycle. Furthermore, the compositions of nursery species in mangrove areas were distinctly different to those in other nearshore and shallow-water habitats in Shark Bay, indicating that the mangroves were unique nursery habitats.
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Tweedley, James. "Relationships between faunal assemblages and habitat types in Broke Inlet, Western Australia." Thesis, Tweedley, James ORCID: 0000-0002-2749-1060 (2010) Relationships between faunal assemblages and habitat types in Broke Inlet, Western Australia. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2010. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/9363/.
Full textAbstract:
The work for this thesis was undertaken in Broke Inlet, a seasonally-open estuary on the south coast of Western Australia and the only estuary in that region which is regarded as “near-pristine” (Commonwealth of Australia, 2002). The only previous seasonal studies of the environmental and biotic characteristics of this estuary involved broad-based descriptions of the trends in salinity, temperature and ichthyofaunal characteristics at a limited number of sites. Furthermore, no attempt has been made to identify statistically the range of habitats present in the nearshore and offshore waters of this system, and the extents to which the characteristics of the fish and benthic invertebrate faunas are related to habitat type. These types of data provide not only reliable inventories of the habitat and faunal characteristics of Broke Inlet, but also a potential basis for predicting the likely impact of anthropogenic and climatic changes in Broke Inlet in the future.
The main aims of this thesis were as follows. (1) To use the method of Valesini et al. (2010), which employs enduring environmental characteristics, to identify quantitatively the range of habitats present throughout the nearshore and offshore waters of Broke Inlet. The enduring environmental characteristics represent three broad categories, i.e. the location of any site in terms of its proximity to marine and freshwater sources, the degree of exposure to wave activity and the type of substrate and/or submerged vegetation. (2) To test the hypothesis that the species richness, density, diversity and species compositions of the fish and benthic macroinvertebrate faunas differ among habitat types, seasons and, in the case of the fish fauna, also years. (3) To test the hypothesis that the pattern of relative differences among habitat types, as exhibited by their faunal compositions, is correlated with that defined by their (i) enduring environmental characteristics and (ii) non-enduring environmental characteristics (water physico-chemical variables and sediment characteristics).
A high resolution satellite image and a digital elevation model of Broke Inlet were used to measure the enduring environmental characteristics at 104 and 36 widely-distributed sites in nearshore and offshore waters, respectively. These data were used to construct separate Manhattan distance matrices for nearshore and offshore waters, which were then subjected to the CLUSTER and SIMPROF routines in PRIMER v6 to identify the various groups of sites that did not differ significantly in their environmental characteristics and which were thus considered to represent habitat types. Twelve and four distinct habitat types were identified in nearshore and offshore waters, respectively.
The ichthyofaunas at sites representing 11 nearshore (A-K) and three offshore (A-C) habitat types were sampled seasonally for two consecutive years using seine and gill nets, respectively. A total of 83,047 fish was collected from nearshore waters, representing 27 species from 19 families, with 99.6% of those fish belonging to six species which represent the Atherinidae (Atherinosoma elongata, Leptatherina wallacei and Leptatherina presbyteroides) or Gobiidae (Afurcagobius suppositus, Pseudogobius olorum and Favonigobius lateralis) and complete their life cycles within the estuary. Each of these species were found at each nearshore habitat type, except for P. olorum, which was not caught at habitat A.
The species richness, density and diversity of the nearshore fish fauna differed significantly among habitats, seasons and years, with habitat being the most influential factor. Generally, mean species richness and density were greatest at habitat types located in the entrance channel (B, G and H) and/or on the southern shore of the basin (C and G), while the fish assemblages were most depauperate at habitats near freshwater sources (A and J).
The nearshore ichthyofaunal composition of Broke Inlet differed significantly among habitats, seasons and years, with the first again being the most influential. However, the extents of the overall differences in composition during each sampling occasion were moderate. The lack of very pronounced ichthyofaunal differences among the various habitat types reflects the widespread distributions and high abundances of the above atherinid and gobiid species, and particularly of A. elongata and L. wallacei, which typified the fish fauna of each habitat type on almost all sampling occasions. The most distinctive of the faunas were those at habitat types in the entrance channel, where L. presbyteroides and F. lateralis, which are typically found in higher salinities, were in their greatest densities, and where several marine straggler species, such as the labrids Notolabrus parilus and Achoerodus gouldii, were occasionally caught. Seasonal and inter-annual changes in ichthyofaunal composition were small and often not consistent across habitats.
The pattern of relative differences among nearshore habitats in terms of their ichthyofaunal composition was correlated at a moderate level with that defined by their enduring environmental characteristics in all but one of the eight seasons. Such indicate that the ichthyofaunal composition likely to be found at any site in the nearshore waters of Broke Inlet at any time of year can be predicted, simply by assigning that site to its most appropriate habitat type on the basis of its enduring environmental characteristics. Differences in ichthyofaunal composition among habitat types were also correlated, but to a slightly greater extent, with those among the suite of non-enduring water physico-chemical variables, with salinity and the biomass of macrophytes being particularly relevant.
Gill netting in the three offshore habitats yielded 1,050 fish representing 31 species. Species richness, catch rates and diversity all varied significantly among habitats, with the values for each of these biotic characteristics always being greatest at habitat A in the entrance channel and lowest at habitat B near the Shannon River mouth. These biotic variables did not always vary, however, among seasons and/or years. In contrast to the situation in nearshore waters, the offshore ichthyofauna comprised mainly marine estuarine-opportunists and marine stragglers, which contributed 84% to the number of species and 80% to the total number of fishes. The contribution of individuals belonging to the marine straggler guild was only 5% and no estuarine resident species were caught.
Ichthyofaunal composition in offshore waters differed significantly among habitats, seasons and years, with habitat being the most influential factor. Faunal composition only differed among habitats in spring and autumn, and even then the extent of those differences was low. During those seasons, habitat B contained the most distinct and depauperate fauna, which was typified mainly by Mugil cephalus and Aldrichetta forsteri. In contrast, the fish assemblages at habitats A and C were also typified by Arripis georgianus, Arripis truttaceus, Rhabdosargus sarba, Pagrus auratus, Pseudocaranx dentex and Engraulis australis.
The pattern of relative differences among offshore sites in terms of their ichthyofaunal composition was significantly correlated with that defined by their enduring environmental characteristics only in autumn, but was moderately correlated with that exhibited by the suite of non-enduring water physico-chemical variables in each season except summer.
Seasonal sampling of benthic macroinvertebrates at six of the nearshore habitat types (A, C, D, F, H and K) for a year yielded 7,485 individuals representing 28 species and seven phyla and, at the three offshore habitat types (A-C), 2,459 individuals representing 26 species and eight phyla. Polychaetes (64 and 57%) and crustaceans (24 and 34%) were the most abundant taxa in nearshore and offshore waters, respectively. The mean density of invertebrates in the nearshore waters did not differ significantly among habitats, but did vary significantly among seasons, and was greatest in summer. The mean densities of invertebrates in offshore waters did not differ significantly, however, among habitats or seasons.
The compositions of nearshore benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages differed significantly among habitats and, less conspicuously, seasons. Comparisons between the faunal compositions in each pair of habitats in spring and summer were almost invariably significantly different and to a moderate extent. However, such pairwise comparisons were rarely significant in autumn and winter. Habitats A and K contained the most distinct and depauperate invertebrate fauna, comprising mainly the polychaete Capitella capitata and amphipod Corophium minor, whereas the other habitats also contained large numbers of the polychaete Ceratonereis aequisetis. In offshore waters, the composition of the benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages differed to a low to moderate degree among habitats, with habitat B containing the most distinct fauna due to large densities of C. minor. The extent of seasonal differences in these faunal compositions was small.
The pattern of relative differences among nearshore habitats in terms of their benthic macroinvertebrate composition was highly correlated with that defined by both their (i) enduring environmental characteristics and (ii) non-enduring water physico-chemical and sediment characteristics in spring and/or summer. Although the faunal and enduring environmental data were not correlated at offshore sites, the fauna and non-enduring environmental variables at those sites were correlated to a moderate extent.
In summary, the composition of the nearshore fish fauna at any site in Broke Inlet at any time of year can now be predicted by allocating that site to a particular habitat type on the basis of its enduring environmental characteristics. The less consistent spatial correlations between the compositions of the offshore fish fauna and benthic macroinvertebrate faunas and the enduring environmental variables largely reflected the ubiquitous nature of the majority of the abundant species representing those faunas, i.e. they are typically at least moderately abundant in all habitats and thus have no strong preferences for a particular habitat type.
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Weaver, Haylee Jade, and haylee weaver@anu edu au. "BIODIVERSITY OF THE PARASITE FAUNA OF THE RODENT GENERA ZYZOMYS THOMAS, 1909 AND PSEUDOMYS GRAY, 1832 FROM NORTHERN AUSTRALIA." Central Queensland University. Dept. Molecular and Life Sciences, 2008. http://library-resources.cqu.edu.au./thesis/adt-QCQU/public/adt-QCQU20081005.153246.
Full textAbstract:
This study of the parasite fauna of five Australian rodents (Muridae:
Hydromyinae: Conilurini) was undertaken to increase the knowledge of
Australian parasite biodiversity.
Trapping for Zyzomys argurus (Thomas, 1889), Pseudomys delicatulus (Gould,
1842), P. desertor Troughton, 1932, P. gracilicaudatus (Gould, 1845) and P.
hermannsburgensis (Waite, 1896) (Rodentia: Muridae) was carried out at 16
locations in Queensland between 2004 to 2006. A total of 51 rats were captured
and examined for parasites. In addition, 119 rats, from collections in the
Queensland Museum and the University of Sydney, were examined. Finally, 57
samples of parasites collected from the above hosts and deposited at the
Australian National Wildlife Collection (CSIRO) were identified.
From these five rodent species, 15 species of ectoparasites and 17 species of
endoparasites were recorded. Fifteen new host records and 14 new locality
records were found. The ectoparasites comprised four species of Laelaps Koch,
1836 (Parasitiformes: Laelapidae), four species of chiggers (Acariformes:
Trombiculidae), two species of fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae, Pygiospyllidae)
and two species of ticks (Parasitiformes: Ixodidae). Three new species of lice
(Anoplura: Hoplopleuridae) were discovered.
The 17 endoparasites, all helminths, comprised fourteen species of nematode and
three species of cestode. There were 11 species of oxyurids (Nematoda:
Oxyuridae, Heteroxynematidae), including 10 new species of Syphacia, two
species of Odilia (Nematoda: Heligmonellidae), and one species of
Nippostrongylus (Nematoda: Heligmonellidae). Three species of cestodes
(Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae, Taeniidae, Davaineidae) were collected. There
were no trematodes or acanthocephalans found in any of the rodents examined.
No protistan parasites were found in tissue and blood samples taken from the
rodents.
The mean species diversity of parasites for each host rodent species was
consistently low, with values of Simpsons Reciprocal Index ranging from 1.00
1.53. Possible factors contributing to this low diversity include habitat
preferences, dietary ecology and social structure. There was no significant
relationship found between host body weight and abundance of ectoparasites, or
host body weight and species richness of helminths. The index of discrepancy
(D) was used to evaluate the distribution of parasite species across host
populations. Most parasites were found to have aggregated distributions within
the host populations. The exception to this was two of the four species of laelapid
mite, with values <5, indicating that they were common across host populations.
The phylogenetic relationships of the Syphacia species occurring in the
Australian bioregion were investigated using morphological characters.
Relatively low resolution of the trees produced indicated that there may be a high
degree of similarity between species. Two main clades were identified- a clade of
genera of Syphaciini from Borneo was shown to be basal to the clade of species
of Syphacia examined. Within the clade of the genus Syphacia, the new species
identified in this study formed a single cluster on trees. There was no evidence,
however, for strict coevolution of these worms and their hosts.
Overall, the research presented here adds considerable knowledge to the previous
paucity of information of the parasites of Australian native rodent species. This
was achieved by contributing new host records, locality records and identifying
and describing several new species. The relationships between conilurin rodents
and their parasites suggests that coevolution plays a large part in the speciation of
parasites, and that minimal host switching has occurred in the helminths of the
conilurins of northern Australia.
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Krispyn, Kurt N. "The fish faunas of estuaries in the Albany region of south-western Australia." Thesis, Krispyn, Kurt N. (2021) The fish faunas of estuaries in the Albany region of south-western Australia. Honours thesis, Murdoch University, 2021. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/65015/.
Full textAbstract:
Estuaries are amongst the most productive ecosystems and act as important nurseries and habitats for aquatic fauna. Microtidal estuaries (tidal range <2 m) are particularly prone to climate change, the effects of which on fish communities and future predictions on their state under climate change are not well understood, especially for small estuaries (<1 km2). This study quantitatively determined the fish fauna in the nearshore and offshore waters of eight microtidal estuaries (including six <1 km2) with varying extents of connectivity to the ocean in the Albany region of south-western Australia. It investigated whether fish faunas were influenced by region, season, “bar status” (i.e., open or closed), and physico-chemical variables. Nearshore waters (<1.5 m) were sampled with four replicate 21.5 m seine nets in each region (lower, basin and upper) in each estuary over four seasons in 2020. Offshore waters (>1.5 m) were sampled using four 160 m composite gill nets set throughout each estuary in the same four seasons. Conductivity and temperature loggers were used to detect any breaches of the sand bar that occurred between sampling occasions. Fish faunas in nearshore and offshore waters were m different among estuaries, and across seasons and regions in shallower waters, although all estuaries were dominated by the same suite of core species. Diversity and faunal composition were highly influenced by salinity and the duration of ocean connectivity. Diversity increased with salinity due to the immigration of marine species up until hypersaline conditions (>50) occurred, however, when salinities exceeded 100 for a protracted period, only a single highly euryhaline estuarine species survived. Permanently-open estuaries, i.e., Oyster Harbour and Waychinicup Estuary, contained the greatest number of species, but lower densities (nearshore) and catch rates (offshore) than those estuaries that open at least once a year, i.e., Torbay, Taylor, Normans and Cheyne inlets and Cordinup River. The normally-closed and extremely hypersaline Beaufort Inlet was depauperate and, after autumn, no fish were recorded in offshore waters with only a single atherinid species occurring in nearshore waters. This study provides baseline information for these data-poor estuaries and identified one system of high conservation significance. It also provides insights on how estuaries and their fish fauna may change due to reduced rainfall and river flow associated with climate change, and become more like Beaufort Inlet.
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Reels, Graham Thomas. "Management strategies for the reed Phragmites australis (CAV.) Steud. at Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve, Hong Kong, with observations on the associated insect Fauna /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1994. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B20665799.
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Liang, Weiguang, University of Western Sydney, of Science Technology and Environment College, and of Science Food and Horticulture School. "Impact of horticultural mineral oil and synthetic pesticides on arboreal and soil fauna biodiversity within citrus orchard ecosystems." THESIS_CSTE_SFH_Liang_W.xml, 2002. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/121.
Full textAbstract:
The results of the 3-year project successfully indicated that petroleum-derived spray oils can be used for effective control of a range of citrus pests including citrus leafminer, Asiatic citrus psyllid, chaff scale, red scale, citrus red mite. The results suggested that it should be possible, through use of horticultural and agricultural mineral oils and enhanced natural enemy activity, to reduce the number of pesticide sprays applied annually in China from 14-16 sprays to significantly fewer sprays in most regions. The results are also valuable as references for the implementation of citrus integrated pest management programs in Australia and other citrus-growing countries. However, despite extensive use of PDSOs in citrus and other crops since the late 1800s, few studies have been undertaken to determine their disruptive effects on orchard ecosystems or to compare their effects with those of synthetic pesticides, and these studies are limited in their scDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)
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Reels, Graham Thomas. "Management strategies for the reed Phragmites australis (CAV.) Steud. at Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve, Hong Kong, with observations on theassociated insect Fauna." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1994. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31211835.
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McHenry, B. J. "A palaeoenvironmental analysis of the ostrocod fauna of the Early Middle Miocene Morgan Limestone and Cadell Marl, Murray Basin, South Australia /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1996. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09SM/09smm149.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, 1997?Australian National Grid reference : SI/54 Renmark Street 1:250000. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 155-161).
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Linke, Thea. "Trophic interactions among abundant members of the fish fauna in a permanently-open and a seasonally-open estuary in South-western Australia." Thesis, Linke, Thea (2011) Trophic interactions among abundant members of the fish fauna in a permanently-open and a seasonally-open estuary in South-western Australia. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2011. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/12662/.
Full textAbstract:
Three complementary, quantitative approaches, i.e. gut content analyses, stable isotope analyses (δ15N; δ13C) and fatty acid composition, were employed to investigate the extent to which the diets of four abundant species of teleost occupying different feeding niches, i.e. Leptatherina wallacei (pelagic feeder), Acanthopagrus butcheri (bentho-pelagic feeder), Pseudogobius olorum and Favonigobius punctatus (benthic feeders) differed within and among species and within species on temporal and spatial scales in a permanently-open (the Swan-Canning estuary) and a seasonally-open estuary (Wilson Inlet) in south-western Australia. The stable isotope analyses and analyses of fatty acid composition were used to elucidate the origin of energy and the possible pathways of nutrient transfer from potential prey items to these four species of fish.
Multivariate methods (non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination and associated tests, such as PERMANOVA, ANOSIM and SIMPER) were used to detect any significant differences in the dietary and biochemical compositions of the fish. Stomach content data for each species demonstrated size-related changes in diet and that the dietary compositions of each species varied among estuaries. Each species was classed as opportunistic and omnivorous, consuming fauna as well as flora, but to differing extents. Leptatherina wallacei fed in the water column as well as on the benthos, while P. olorum almost exclusively consumed benthic prey.
The baseline δ15N values of primary producers were higher, in general, in the Swan-Canning estuary than in Wilson Inlet, and the δ15N values in the former system were also higher in each prey and fish species. This fact provided evidence to suggest that anthropogenically introduced nitrogen was present at the system level. The δ13C values showed a higher influence of terrestrially derived carbon and a lesser influence of marine derived carbon in the diet of each prey and fish species in the Swan-Canning estuary than in the aquatic macrophyte fuelled (Ruppia megacarpa) Wilson Inlet. The docosahexaenoic : eicosapentaenoic (DHA:EPA) fatty acid ratio was highest in the pelagic feeder (L. wallacei), lowest in the benthic feeder (P. olorum) and intermediate in the bentho-pelagic feeder (A. butcheri) in both the Upper Swan River and Wilson Inlet, and it was higher in pelagic (e.g. seston, calanoid and cyclopoid copepods, mysids) than in benthic (e.g. annelids, molluscs, harpacticoid copepods) prey in both estuaries, indicating that L. wallacei fed, to a certain extent, on pelagic prey, while P. olorum fed on benthic prey. Therefore, the DHA:EPA ratio may provide a useful indicator of the respective feeding niches occupied by estuarine fish species.
The findings from these studies suggest that (1) the food resources are partitioned within and among species and among estuaries, (2) both terrestrial and aquatic sources of organic material support food chains in two estuaries, (3) the DHA:EPA ratio can be a useful indicator of feeding mode and (4) the food resources and the pathways of material transfer from primary producers to consumers differ among these species.
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Rule, Beau Brenton. "Ediacaran biodiversity : palaeoecological assessment of successive latest Proterozoic (Neoproterozoic) faunal assemblages in the Western Flinders Ranges, South Australia /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2000. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09SB/09sbr9352.pdf.
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McElhinny, Chris, and chris mcelhinny@anu edu au. "Quantifying stand structural complexity in woodland and dry Sclerophyll Forest, South-Eastern Australia." The Australian National University. Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, 2005. http://thesis.anu.edu.au./public/adt-ANU20060322.133914.
Full textAbstract:
In this thesis I present and test a methodology for developing a stand scale index of structural complexity. If properly designed such an index can act as a summary variable for a larger set of stand structural attributes, providing a means of ranking stands in terms of their structural complexity, and by association, their biodiversity and vegetation condition. This type of index can also facilitate the use of alternative policy instruments for biodiversity conservation, such as mitigation banking, auctions and offsets, that rely on a common currency the index value that can be compared or traded between sites. My intention was to establish a clear and documentable methodology for developing a stand scale index of structural complexity, and to test this methodology using data from real stands.¶
As a starting point, I reviewed the literature concerning forest and woodland structure and found there was no clear definition of stand structural complexity, or definitive suite of structural attributes for characterising it. To address this issue, I defined stand structural complexity as a combined measure of the number of different structural attributes present in a stand, and the relative abundance of each of these attributes. This was analogous to approaches that have quantified diversity in terms of the abundance and richness of elements. It was also concluded from the review, that stand structural complexity should be viewed as a relative, rather than absolute concept, because the potential levels of different structural attributes are bound within certain limits determined by the inherent characteristics of the site in question, and the biota of the particular community will have evolved to reflect this range of variation. This implied that vegetation communities with naturally simple structures should have the potential to achieve high scores on an index of structural complexity.¶
I proposed the following five-stage methodology for developing an index of stand structural complexity:
1. Establish a comprehensive suite of stand structural attributes as a starting point for developing the index, by reviewing studies in which there is an established relationship between elements of biodiversity and structural attributes.
2. Develop a measurement system for quantifying the different attributes included in the comprehensive suite.
3. Use this measurement system to collect data from a representative set of stands across the range of vegetation condition (highly modified to unmodified) and developmental stages (regrowth to oldgrowth) occurring in the vegetation communities in which the index is intended to operate.
4. Identify a core set of structural attributes from an analysis of these data.
5. Combine the core attributes in a simple additive index, in which attributes are scored relative to their observed levels in each vegetation community.¶
Stage one of this methodology was addressed by reviewing a representative sample of the literature concerning fauna habitat relationships in temperate Australian forests and woodlands. This review identified fifty-five studies in south-east and south-west Australia, in which the presence or abundance of different fauna were significantly (p<0.05) associated with vegetation structural attributes. The majority of these studies concerned bird, arboreal mammal, and ground mammal habitat requirements, with relatively fewer studies addressing the habitat requirements of reptiles, invertebrates, bats or amphibians. Thirty four key structural attributes were identified from these fifty-five studies, by grouping similar attributes, and then representing each group with a single generic attribute. This set, in combination with structural attributes identified in the earlier review, provided the basis for developing an operational set of stand level attributes for the collection of data from study sites.¶
To address stages two and three of the methodology, data were collected from one woodland community Yellow Box-Red Gum (E. melliodora-E. Blakelyi ) and two dry sclerophyll forest communities Broadleaved Peppermint-Brittle Gum (E. dives-E. mannifera ), Scribbly Gum-Red Stringybark (E. rossii E. macrorhyncha ) in a 15,000 km2 study area in the South eastern Highlands Bioregion of Australia. A representative set of 48 sites was established within this study area, by identifying 24 strata, on the basis of the three vegetation communities, two catchments, two levels of rainfall and two levels of condition, and then locating two sites (replicates) within each stratum. At each site, three plots were systematically established, to provide an unbiased estimate of stand level means for 75 different structural attributes.¶
I applied a three-stage analysis to identify a core set of attributes from these data. The first stage a preliminary analysis indicated that the 48 study sites represented a broad range of condition, and that the two dry sclerophyll communities could be treated as a single community, which was structurally distinct from the woodland community. In the second stage of the analysis, thirteen core attributes were dentified using the criteria that a core attribute should:¶
1. Be either, evenly or approximately normally distributed amongst study sites;
2. Distinguish between woodland and dry sclerophyll communities;
3. Function as a surrogate for other attributes;
4. Be efficient to measure in the field.
The core attributes were: Vegetation cover <0.5m Vegetation cover 0.5-6.0m; Perennial species richness; Lifeform richness; Stand basal area of live trees; Quadratic mean diameter of live stems; ln(number of regenerating stems per ha+1); ln(number of hollow bearing trees per ha+1);ln(number of dead trees per ha+1);sqrt(number of live stems per ha >40cm dbh); sqrt(total log length per ha); sqrt(total largelog length per ha); Litter dry weight per ha. This analysis also demonstrated that the thirteen core attributes could be modelled as continuous variables, and that these variables were indicative of the scale at which the different attributes operated.¶
In the third and final stage of the analysis, Principal Components Analysis was used to test for redundancy amongst the core attributes. Although this analysis highlighted six groupings, within which attributes were correlated to some degree, these relationships were not considered sufficiently robust to justify reducing the number of core attributes.¶
The thirteen core attributes were combined in a simple additive index, in which, each attribute accounted for 10 points in a total index value of 130. Attributes were rescaled as a score from 0-10, using equations that modelled attribute score as a function of the raw attribute data. This maintained a high correlation (r > 0.97, p< 0.0001) between attribute scores and the original attribute data. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the index was not sensitive to attribute weightings, and on this basis attributes carried equal weight. In this form my index was straightforward to apply, and approximately normally distributed amongst study sites.¶
I demonstrated the practical application of the index in a user-friendly spreadsheet, designed to allow landowners and managers to assess the condition of their vegetation, and to identify management options. This spreadsheet calculated an index score from field data, and then used this score to rank the site relative to a set of reference sites. This added a regional context to the operation of the index, and is a potentially useful tool for identifying sites of high conservation value, or for identifying sites where management actions have maintained vegetation quality. The spreadsheet also incorporated the option of calculating an index score using a subset of attributes, and provided a measure of the uncertainty associated with this score.¶
I compared the proposed index with five prominent indices used to quantify vegetation condition or habitat value in temperate Australian ecosystems. These were: Newsome and Catlings (1979) Habitat Complexity Score, Watson et al.s (2001) Habitat Complexity Score, the Site Condition Score component of the Habitat Hectares Index of Parkes et al. (2003), the Vegetation Condition Score component of the Biodiversity Benefits Index of Oliver and Parkes (2003), and the Vegetation Condition Score component of the BioMetric Assessment Tool of Gibbons et al. (2004). I found that my index differentiated between study sites better than each of these indices. However, resource and time constraints precluded the use of a new and independent data set for this testing, so that the superior performance of my index must be interpreted cautiously.¶
As a group, the five indices I tested contained attributes describing compositional diversity, coarse woody debris, regeneration, large trees and hollow trees these were attributes that I also identified as core ones. However, unlike these indices, I quantified weeds indirectly through their effect on indigenous plant diversity, I included the contribution of non-indigenous species to vegetation cover and did not apply a discount to this contribution, I limited the direct assessment of regeneration to long-lived overstorey species, I used stand basal area as a surrogate for canopy cover, I quantified litter in terms of biomass (dry weight) rather than cover, and I included the additional attributes of quadratic mean diameter and the number of dead trees.¶
I also concluded that Parkes et al. (2003), Oliver and Parkes (2003), and Gibbons et al. (2004), misapplied the concept of benchmarking, by characterising attributes in terms of a benchmark range or average level. This ignored processes that underpin variation at the stand level, such as the increased development of some attributes at particular successional stages, and the fact that attributes can respond differently to disturbance agents. It also produced indices that were not particularly sensitive to the differences in attribute levels occurring between stands. I suggested that a more appropriate application of benchmarking would be at the overarching level of stand structural complexity, using a metric such as the index developed in this thesis. These benchmarks could reflect observed levels of structural complexity in unmodified natural stands at different successional stages, or thresholds for structural complexity at which a wide range of biota are present, and would define useful goals for guiding on-ground management.
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Catalano, Sarah Roseann. "Dicyemid parasite fauna of Southern Australian cephalopod species." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/83799.
Full textAbstract:
The dicyemid mesozoans (Dicyemida Van Beneden 1882) are a poorly-understood group of marine organisms that are found with high intensities in the renal appendages of benthic cephalopods. The majority of the research focusing on this group is from the northern hemisphere, with very few studies examining the dicyemid fauna of southern hemisphere cephalopod species. Confusion also exists in the literature on the validity of certain families, genera and species within this phylum, and the phylogenetic framework for the dicyemids is scarce. The few studies that have examined dicyemid molecular genetics focus only on single taxon or sole aspects of genome organisation. Furthermore, key parts of the life cycle of dicyemid parasites are unresolved and their position in the Tree of Life is uncertain. My thesis highlights the taxonomic confusion in the literature that surrounds the Dicyemida, and presents a comprehensive list of all dicyemid species currently described to date (Chapter 2). Ten cephalopods species from Australian waters were collected and examined for dicyemids parasites, resulting in new dicyemid species descriptions (Chapters 3, 4 and 5). Host eggs and filtered seawater samples were collected from the cuttlefish mass breeding aggregation at Upper Spencer Gulf, South Australia, Australia, to assess the unknown host life cycle stage where new infection by the dispersive dicyemid embryo occurs. No dicyemid DNA was detected in any host egg or environmental samples, suggesting new infection occurs after the host embryo hatches rather than at the egg stage (Chapter 6). Patterns of infections, prevalence, species richness, co-infection and co-occurrence of dicyemids among infected cephalopods species were explored (Chapter 7). Host size in general did not influence patterns of infection, however where dicyemid species co-occurred, restriction to discrete host sizes was observed, suggesting competition between species may be an important factor leading to niche separation. Calotte shape was found to vary between dicyemid species that co-occurred within a single host individual. Additionally, dicyemid fauna composition was found to vary with host geographical collection locality, alluding to the potential use of dicyemid parasites as biological tags (Chapter 7). The complete cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) minicircle molecule, including the COI gene plus a non-coding region, was sequenced from nine dicyemid species, and comparisons in sequence composition and size were made between and within species (Chapter 8). The first phylogeny of dicyemids including multiple taxa from the two genera that combined contain over 90% of the nominal described species was estimated from Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood analyses. Monotypic species clades were observed, however the paraphyly to the genera suggests classification based on morphological traits may need revision (Chapter 8). The hypothesis that parasite genetics of infected cephalopods will allow for a deeper insight into population structuring compared to that gained with complementary methods was tested, with dicyemid mesozoans infecting giant Australian cuttlefish (Sepia apama) as the chosen system (Chapter 9). The population structure of S. apama previously inferred from host morphology, behaviour and genetics was supported from dicyemid parasite mitochondrial haplotype phylogeography, with an analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) providing an alternative insight into structuring of this cuttlefish species. This result suggests that in the future, a holistic approach that incorporates parasite and host data (morphology and genetics) should be used to assess cephalopod population boundaries. An invited review article on the use of parasites as biological tags to assess the population structure of marine organisms is presented as the final data chapter (Chapter 10). Comments are made on the guidelines for selecting a parasite species as a reliable tag candidate, the need to incorporate parasite genetic information and the benefits of a multidisciplinary approach. The direct outcomes of my study include the description of the first dicyemid species from Australian waters, insights into the unknowns in the dicyemid life cycle, presentation of the first dicyemid phylogeny allowing taxa classification to be assessed outside of the sole morphological approach and analysis of the use of dicyemid parasites as biological tags, supporting the integration of dicyemid parasite genetics alongside other complementary methods to assess cephalopod population structure. In summary, my study has significantly contributed to the field of dicyemid research, increasing both fundamental and applied knowledge on this enigmatic group of organisms.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2014
30
Reid, Christoper Athol McEwan. "Systematics of the Australian Cryptocephalinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)." Phd thesis, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/12539.
Full textAbstract:
The morphology of the larvae, pupae and adults of Camptosomata (Cryptocephalinae and sister-group Lamprosomatinae) is reviewed, with special reference to the Australian fauna. Terminology for the larval structures is redefined and a special study is made of the adult female oviposition structures. The morphological data base is studied with the phylogenetic analysis program PAUP and the variation of characters and taxa examined further with the program MACCLADE. The morphological data and the phylogenetic analyses based on these data are applied to the redefinition of the Camptosomata and constituent taxa using a cladistic methodology. The Camptosomata are redefmed and their possible sister-groups discussed. The Camptosomata are shown to be a monophyletic group and to exclude both Megascelidini (a tribe ofEumolpinae) and Synetinae. The Camptosomata comprise two subfamilies, Lamprosomatinae and Cryptocephalinae. Four tribes of Cryptocephalinae are recognised and redefined. One of these, the Cryptocephalini, with a high proportion of Australian taxa, is divided into five subtribes of 1, 3, 3, 5 and 11 genera. The following nomenclatural changes are proposed (ignoring changes of rank):
Platycolaspina subtribe nov., Coenobiina subtribe nov., Ditropidina subtribe nov. and synonymy of Monachina (a homonym) and Cryptocephalina. New genera or
subgenera proposed are : Semelvillea (in Platycolaspina), Ditropidella (in Ditropidina)and M elatia (in Cryptocephalina), and the subgenera Aorocarpon and Cadnwides in Cadmus Erichson (Cryptocephalina). The following generic synonymy is proposed
(senior synonym first) : Leasia Jacoby(= Agetinella Jacoby); Aprionota Maulik (=
Cephalocryptus Gressitt, Pycnophthalma Maulik); Ditropidus Erichson (= Bucharis
Baly, Elaphodes Suffrian, Euditropidus Lea, Pleonwrphus Chapuis, Polyachus
Chapuis, Prasonotus Suffrian, Tappesia Baly); Scaphodius Chapuis (=Nyetra Baly); Cryptocephalus Geoffroy(= Jaxartiolus Jacobsen andBassareus Haldeman); Aporocera Saunders(= Chariderma Baly, Chloroplisma Saunders, Cyphodera Baly, Loxopleurus Suffrian, Melinobius Jacoby, Rhombosternus Suffrian, Schizosternus Chapuis). New combinations of genera in tribes and subtribes are Mylassa Stal reinstated as a valid genus in Pachybrachini, Platycolaspis Jacoby andLeasia Jacoby in
Cryptocephalini (Platycolaspina) and Arnomus Sharp and Atenesus Weise in
Platycolaspina. As a result of the above new generic synonymy, several new species
combinations are made. The new genus Semelvillea ,with eight species, is mono graphed. Types of three-quarters of the described species of New Zealand and Australian Cryptocephalinae were examined and the following new species synonymy is made (senior synonym first): Chlamisus aterrimus (Lea)(= C. australis Bryant); Arnomus curtipes Broun (=A. impressus Broun, =A. viridicollis Broun); Arnomus signatus · Broun ( = A. fulvus Broun, =A. vicinus Broun); Ditropidus anthracinus Erichsen ( =
D. punctivarius Lea); Ditropidus aurichalceus Suffiian (=D. oblongipennis Lea); Ditropidus carbonarius Baly (=D. subsimilis Lea); Ditropidus festivus (Suffrian) (=D. suffriani Chapuis); Ditropidus maculicollis Chapuis (=D. erythroderes (Lea), =D. niger (Lea), =D. maculicollis (Weise)); Ditropidus ornatus Baly (=D. alphabeticus Lea); Ditropidus pallidipennis Chapuis (=D. dolichognathus (Lea)); Ditropidus
ruficollis Saunders (=D. elegantulus Baly, =D. rufipes Saunders); Ditropidus
saundersi (Baly) (=D. multimaculatus (Lea)); Ditropidus variiceps Lea (=D.
marginipennis Lea); Aporocera albogularis (Chapuis) (=A. coccineus (Chapuis), =A. delicatulus (Lea)); Aporocera apicalis Saunders(= A. bicolor Saunders); Aporocera argentata (Chapuis) (= A.fasciata (Weise)); Aporocera aurantiaca (Chapuis) (=A. monticola (Blackburn)); Aporocera australis (Saunders) (=A. erosa (Saunders), =A.
larinus (Lea)); Aporocera cicatricosa (Chapuis) (=A. calomeloides (Lea)); Aporocera gibba (Chapuis) (=A.lugubris (Lea)); Aporocera iridipennis (Chapuis) (=A. decens
(Weise)); Aporocera libertina (Suffrian) (=A. castor (Lea)); Aporocera nigrolineata (Chapuis) (=A. castigatus (Lea)); Aporocera parenthetica (Suffrian) (=A. melanopa (Lea)); Aporocera paupercula (Germar) (=A. rufescens (Boheman)); Aporocera ring ens (Chapuis) (=A. clypealis (Lea)); Aporocera tasmanica (Saunders) (=A.
impressicollis (Boheman)); Aporocera viridipennis (Saunders)(= A. t-nigrum (Lea));Aporocera viridis (Saunders)(= A. aereus (Suffrian)); Aporocera analis (Chapuis) (= A.foveiventris (Lea)); Cadmus crucicollis (Boisduval) (=C. canaliculatus Chapuis, = C. rugosus Suffrian); Cadmus litigiosus Boheman (=C. vibrans Suffrian); Cadmus cariosus Chapuis (=C. minor (Blackburn)); Cadmus pauxillus Chapuis (=C. perlatus Lea); Cadmus braccatus (Klug) (=C. saundersi Baly); Cadmus breweri(Baly)(= C. duboulai Baly). Representation of Cryptocephalinae in Australia is shown to be as follows (number of genera in brackets) : Chlamisini (1), Clytrini (1), Pachybrachini (1, introduced), Platycolaspina (4), Coenobiina (1), Ditropidina (2) and Cryptocephalina
(4). Larvae and adults of the genera and subgenera in Australia and the south-western Pacific are diagnosed and keys are provided for the identification of these taxa at both life stages. The entire Camptosomatan fauna of Australia and the south-western Pacific is catalogued.
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Sanecki, Glenn M. "The distribution and behaviour of small mammals in relation to natural and modified snow in the Australian Alps." Phd thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/12625.
Full textAbstract:
Snow is an important factor in the lives of flora and fauna in those regions where it occurs. Despite this, there is a relative lack of information about the ecological
role of snow. In addition, on a global scale the majority of the research on snow ecology has been based in the boreal regions of North America and Eurasia. Insights from these areas may not extrapolate well to Australia. The distribution and physical characteristics of snow are highly variable both temporally and spatially. Its occurrence is affected by a range of factors acting at multiple scales. Working in snow covered areas, however, presents considerable
practical problems, particularly for researchers attempting to sample organisms
in the subnivean space between the base of the snowpack and the ground surface. As a result, most research has focused on small-scale projects because of logistical and animal-welfare issues. A technique was developed for this study for sampling small mammals beneath the snow using hairtubes fitted with bait and a removable adhesive surface that could be inserted into the subnivean space through a vertical PVC pipe. The technique provided a 39% detection rate with only 0.2% of tubes visited but not
collecting hair samples. Using. this technique, it was possible to expand systematic sampling of small mammals in the subnivean space to larger scales at which snow cover can vary spatially and temporally particularly at the landscape scale. The main part of this research was conducted over two winters (2002-2003) at sites established in a series of valleys close to the Summit Road in Kosciuszko National Park, south-eastern Australia. Selection of sites was based on factors considered important in influencing the distribution of snow in the landscape and representative of the key vegetation types occurring in the subalpine zone. The resulting design consisted of 72 sites stratified by elevation (1501-1600 m, 1601-1700 m, 1701-1800 m), aspect (accumulating, ablating) and vegetation type
(woodland, wet heath, dry heath, grassland) with each combination replicated three times. Each site consisted of three hairtube plots approximately 10 metres apart, at which small mammals were sampled. In addition, a range of biotic and abiotic factors including snow cover characteristics were measured throughout the winter at these same sites. In January 2003, a major bushfire burned 70% of the subalpine area of
Kosciuszko National Park and damaged 83% of the sites established in 2002. As a result sampling during winter 2003 was limited to high elevation sites, along with a fifth habitat type (boulderfields). The snow cover that occurs in the main alpine and subalpine region of the· Snowy Mountains is primarily maritime in areas where there is sufficient accumulation, and ephemeral at lower elevations and ort higher ablating aspects. Maritime snow is generally deep (> lOOcm), with a density >0.30gcm-3, as a result of destructive metamorphism throughout the winter. The formation of depth hoar, which is considered to be important in acilitating the development of the subnivean space, does not occur under these conditions. Ephemeral snow is characterised by warm shallow snow that often melts before new snow is deposited. When snow was present, detections of dusky antechinus, Antechinus swainsonii and the bush rat, Rattus fuscipes were negatively correlated with snow depth and
duration, and positively correlated with the complexity of structures and microtopography. At high elevations, detections were largely confined to
boulderfields, and at mid- and low elevations, small mammals were detected
primarily in habitats where the subnivean space was most extensive. Antechinus
swainsonii and R. fuscipes responded differently to snow cover with the latter
seeming better able to overwinter where snow cover was shallow and patchy. In contrast, A. swainsonii occurrence was correlated with the size of the subnivean space. The development of the subnivean space in the Snowy Mountains is dependent on the presence of structures such as shrubs, boulders and microtopographic features that are capable of supporting a snow layer above ground level. The temperature in the subnivean space was virtually constant beneath the
snowpack, ranging between 0 and + 1 °C. When snow was patchy or absent, temperatures at ground level were highly variable with a minimum as low s -13°C and maximum as high as +47.5°C. Antechinus swainsonii and R. fuscipes were detected more regularly at sites that were thermally variable. At sites with deep and persistent snow cover (maritime snow), subnivean temperatures were
stable, but small mammals were detected at low frequencies. At high elevations,
boulderfields were favoured by small mammals during the nival period but were no different thermally from other habitats.
The limitations imposed by snow cover on small mammals were further verified by a radio tracking study conducted during 2003 at Perisher Creek. That study investigated the home range size and activity patterns of R. fuscipes and A. swainsonii in relation to snow cover. Once continuous snow cover became
established, the home range of both species contracted dramatically and there was an increase in home range overlap. Neither species showed any change in diurnal activity patterns. Rattus fascipes showed signs of social interaction during both seasons in contrast to A. swainsonii, which appeared to remain solitary. In winter, R. fuscipes nested communally at a single location, while during autumn the species appeared to use a number of nest sites. There was no significant change in daily activity patterns between autumn and winter in either species. R. fuscipes remained primarily nocturnal during both pre-nival and nival periods while A. swainsonii continued to be active throughout the diel cycle, although there was a slight shift in its peak activity time. Human activities can, have significant effects on the subnivean space and its residents. The physical characteristics of a range of modified snow types were investigated in the vicinity of several ski resorts in Kosciuszko National Park. Human activities associated with snow-based recreation, such as the creation of ski pistes, surface ski lifts and over-snow routes, involve compression of the snowpack and resulted in small or absent subnivean spaces and high snow cover densities compared to unmodified snow cover. To test the effects of the loss of the subnivean space on small mammals, the
snowpack was experimentally compressed in high quality subnivean habitats. Detections of R. fascipes and A. swainsonii declined by 75-80%. Burnt sites from the 2002 study were used in 2003 to investigate the effect of removing vegetation on the subnivean space, to simulate the loss of structure associated
with ski slope preparation. There was a significant reduction (p<0.0001) in the size of the subnivean space compared to unburnt sites regardless of habitat type. The key conclusions of the work reported in this thesis are listed below: • Snow conditions in the Australian Alps are markedly different from those of higher northern latitudes and altitudes. As a result, conclusions about snow/fauna interactions based on research in regions with particular snow cover types need to be carefully considered before attempting to extrapolate generalisations to other parts of the world.
• The subnivean space can be formed either by passive or active processes. The former occurs when there are sufficient competent structures to permit the support of the snow pack above the ground surface, while the
latter refers to the ability of small mammals to actively tunnel through relatively low density snow (depth hoar) and thus create their own subnivean space. In Australia the passive process dominates.
• The widely held assumption that small mammals are dependent on the thermally stable conditions in the subnivean space was not confirmed. Rattus fascipes and A. swainsonii survive in the Australian Alps because they are able to exploit thermally variable environments. • Management of human activities in nival areas should focus on avoiding disturbance in areas where a subnivean space forms, particularly in high
quality winter habitats such as boulderfields. • Global warming resulting from climate change is likely to provide
conditions in the Australian Alps that favour an expansion of the distribution and population of R. fuscipes and A. swainsonii, but nival endemics such as Burramys parvus and possibly Mastacomys fuscus may
be at a disadvantage. • The extent of alpine and subalpine environments in Australia will decrease in future, imposing greater pressure on a shrinking resource and raising the possibility of conflict between user groups and conservation imperatives.
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Keaney, Benedict. "Bogong Moth Aestivation Sites as an Archive for Understanding the Floral, Faunal and Indigenous History of the Northern Australian Alps." Phd thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/119187.
Full textAbstract:
The research detailed in this dissertation focuses on plant and
faunal remains preserved in the accumulating sediments at
aestivation sites of the Bogong Moth (Agrotis infusa), in the
crevices of granite tors in the northern Australian Alps.
Analyses have confirmed the preservation of a diverse range of
fossil material, including bird feathers, hairs of small
marsupials occupying the rock crevice niche, fossil pollen and
spores derived from the summit vegetation, and charcoal from
fires in the immediate vicinity of the aestivation sites.
The fieldwork focused on the sampling of deposits at various
aestivation sites representative of different biogeographical
areas to ascertain the sedimentary characteristics of each
region. Three aestivation study areas were located and sampled
for the study, the Brindabella Ranges, the Bogong Peaks and the
Tinderry Range in NSW. The Tinderry Range sites represent the
most easterly geographical region, while the Bogong Peaks site
and Brindabella Ranges sites represent, respectively, the western
and central aestivation site regions of the northern Australian
Alps area. Since preservation of organic material typically
occurs in a stable low oxygen environment, investigation into the
depositional environment is an important aspect of the study to
taphonomically contextualise the environmental proxies.
The palynological preparation of material from the three regions
revealed abundant pollen derived from local vegetation. A rich
assemblage of mammal hair was found in the Bogong Peaks and Mt
Gingera sediments. This record provides a unique faunal proxy of
sub-alpine ecosystems. Levels of charcoal in the sediments
reflect past fire frequency, and are presented in both micro- and
macro-charcoal graphs.
Aestivation site deposits are a unique terrestrial archive
recording ecological change in the montane and sub-alpine
environments for over 1000 years. Despite some chronometric
difficulties, they provide an excellent record of the effects of
local disturbance, such as fires, on the biome and provide
insights into the impact of European settlement, on both
vegetation structure and faunal biodiversity. The study provides
evidence of massive cultural, ecological and climatic upheaval at
sub-alpine elevations in the northern Australian Alps from the
late Holocene up to the present, and illustrates the great value
that aestivation sites hold as terrestrial archives, signalling a
need for further utilisation and investigation in light of rapid
human induced climate change.
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Baverstock, P. R. (Peter Raymond) 1948. "Studies in the adaptation and evolution of the Australasian fauna : a collection / by P.R. Baverstock." 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/38478.
Full textAbstract:
Collection of previously published articlesIncludes Allozyme electrophoresis / B.J. Richardson, P.R. Baverstock and M. Adams (1986)
Includes bibliographies
2 v. :
Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library.
Thesis (D. Sc.)--University of Adelaide, 1988
34
Brawata, Renee Louise. "Is the dingo top dog? : the influence of dingo management on the behaviour of introduced carnivores in arid Australia, with implications for native fauna conservation." Phd thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/132137.
Full textAbstract:
An improved understanding of how ecosystems function is important for effective natural resource management and biodiversity conservation. Recent research suggests that top-order predators have important ecological roles in many ecosystems through controlling populations of smaller predators. This thesis examined how the management of Australia's apex predator, the dingo (Canis lupus dingo), influenced the activity and behaviour of two introduced mesopredators, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and feral cat (Felis catus) and select prey species. The aim was to increase our understanding of the role dingoes may play in the conservation of endangered fauna through the trophic regulation of exotic mesopredators.
The study monitored the activity and behaviour of dingoes, foxes, feral cats and select prey species at five sites in arid Australia. Dingo management varied between the study sites. Sites included areas where dingoes remained uncontrolled, where dingoes were controlled through exclusion fencing and where 1080 poison baiting was conducted. At each site the activity of predators and prey, including macropods, rabbits and small vertebrates was monitored over two summers. Sampling times included prior to, three months post and one year post a significant rainfall event. Transects and scent stations were used to measure activity while behaviour was monitored through direct observation and the use of a thermal imaging camera attached to a remote recording system.
Results showed the management of dingoes to be a key determinant of the activity of foxes and select prey, including macropods, rabbits and small mammals. Feral cat activity showed a positive response to both dingo and fox control through poison baiting. Dingo management also affected the activity of mesopredators around shared resources, particularly in proximity to water resources. Both feral cats and foxes showed an avoidance response to the presence of dingoes around water points, and again feral cats displayed an increased response to the removal of both canids. Habitat use by mesopredators did not appear to be affected by dingo management, and while foxes showed a behavioural avoidance response, limited data was collected on the response of feral cats to dingoes at shared food and water resources so results were inconclusive.
The results of this study supported the presence of top-down regulation occurring in the arid ecosystems under some conditions and that behavioural mechanisms, such as avoidance, are important in the ability of dingoes to regulate smaller predator populations. While arid ecosystems are traditionally viewed as "bottom-up" or productivity driven, evidence from this research showed that while the strength of trophic regulation by dingoes may fluctuate, top-down effects occurred both prior to and post significant rainfall events at the study sites. In particular, strong relationships were found between dingo management, fox activity and fox behaviour at the study sites regardless of rainfall.
In conclusion, it may be that dingoes provide a net benefit to prey populations, particularly medium-sized and small mammals, through reducing predatory impacts of foxes and under some conditions, feral cats. Thus retaining dingo populations in some ecosystems may assist in the management of biodiversity over the long term, including the conservation of native fauna populations susceptible to fox and feral cat predation. While further research into the trophic effects of dingoes in other bioregions is recommended, through improving our understanding of such trophic interactions, results from this research could assist managers in making more ecologically informed decisions about control of top-order carnivores in arid areas.
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Davis, Angela C. "Quaternary mammal faunas and their stratigraphy in the northern Monaro region, southeastern Australia." Phd thesis, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/10775.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis documents the history of Quaternary mammalian faunas from the northern
Monaro region of the southern highlands of Eastern Australia. The area currently has a
cold semi-arid climate and, together with a series of fossil localities of different ages,
provides an opportunity to examine the relationships between faunal changes and
palaeoenvironments in this part of Australia during the Quaternary.
Fossil material from seven localities within the northern Monaro region is described
together with the geology of the sites in which they occur. The localities are Pilot Creek,
Bunyan Siding, South Bunyan, Bulong, Tannery Creek, Ryries Creek and Rock Flat
Creek, all on tributaries of the Murrumbidgee River near Cooma. Detailed stratigraphic
studies, incorporating several dating techniques have been employed at the two major
fossiliferous deposits, Pilot Creek and Bunyan Siding. A stratigraphic sequence 1s
proposed in which the contained faunas are ordered chronologically.
The oldest dated mammal fossil-bearing deposit in the region is at Bunyan Siding. It is
an alluvial deposit and comprises two fossiliferous Quaternary units, which
disconformably overlie Miocene palaeolake sediments of the Bunyan Formation. The
Quaternary units are described as two new formations, the Jilliby Folmation and Nestle
Brae Formation. They are interpreted as having been formed in a fluvial environment
consisting of large and small meandering channels and adjacent floodplains. Dating of
the site using palaeomagnetism and optically stimulated luminescence establishes a
Middle Pleistocene age (120- 780 ka) for both units. Two local faunas are recognised at
Bunyan Siding, the Jilliby Local Fauna and Nestle Brae Local Fauna, each defined and
named after the stratigraphic units that contain them.
The other major locality, Pilot Creek, is a valley-fill sequence comprising a series of
channel cut-and:-fill units and marginal alluvial fans of Late Pleistocene and Holocene
ages. Five stratigraphic units are recognised and described in detail including the
description of two formations, Pilot Creek and Willow Bank. Each unit contains a local
fauna. Fourteen radiocarbon dates enable absolute ages to be placed on some of the
units. The oldest fossiliferous unit in the Pilot Creek sequence is the Pilot Creek
Formation which has been radiometrically dated at circa 25 ka years BP. The next
youngest unit in the sequence is an alluvial fan deposits, QF1 which has been dated at 11
ka. A third unit, the Willow Bank Formation, is a channel-fill unit which truncates both
the Pilot Creek Formation and the QF1 unit. Dates from the Willow Bank Formation
range from 6 ka to 2 ka. A second alluvial fan unit, QF2 inset into the Pilot Creek
Formation, is dated at 4.5 ka. A recent alluvial unit, PESA, is at the top of the sequence.
From the stratigraphy of th~ valley units five local faunas have been defined, providing a
faunal record in the valley spanning the last 25 ka.
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Iqbal, Muhammad. "Systematics and phylogeny of the Baeini (Hymenoptera : Scelionidae), with special reference to Australasian fauna / Muhammad Iqbal." Thesis, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/19375.
Full textAbstract:
Addendum pasted onto verso of back end paper.Copy of author's previously published article inserted.
Bibliography: leaves 220-236.
xiv, 256, [35] leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 30 cm.
This study focused on phylogenetic relationships among genera of Baeini and taxonomy and relationships of Ceratobaeus Ashmead, the largest genus in Australasia.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Applied and Molecular Ecology, 1999
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Fleming, Grant A. "The mesostoma fauna of South Australia, their biology and potential as control agents of mosquitoes in small volume habitats." 1995. http://arrow.unisa.edu.au:8081/1959.8/83023.
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Morrant, Damian Stuart. "Potential for spillover predation on native fauna by dingoes in peri-urban and agricultural landscapes in Australia's lowland Wet Tropics." Thesis, 2015. https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/41168/1/41168-morrant-2015-thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
The lowlands of the Wet Tropics Bioregion (LWT) in north-eastern Queensland, Australia (situated between 18°37' S and 146°09' E, and 16°48'S and 145°41'E) is home to a broad range of threatened and/or endemic fauna species. Dingoes, Canis dingo, in the lowland Wet Tropics (LWT) are perceived to pose a threat to biodiversity conservation because of their predation on species listed as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (QLD) or Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (threatened fauna). These threats are likely to be greatest in periurban areas where dingoes may be subsidised by anthropogenic food resources, enabling them to reach relatively high population densities and thus exert significant predation pressure on threatened fauna.
I investigated three main aspects to determine whether dingoes actually pose a threat to biodiversity conservation in the LWT, and whether public perceptions and attitudes match ecological reality: 1) dingo movement ecology; 2) dingo prey use; and 3) public perceptions and attitudes towards dingoes. My working hypothesis was that, although dingoes may be perceived to pose a threat to fauna populations in the LWT, their patterns of activity, land use and prey selection are more likely to lead them to prey on abundant, generalist mammals rather than on threatened fauna.
I investigated dingo movement patterns in the LWT by GPS tracking nine dingoes to determine whether their temporal and spatial activity patterns suggested that they are likely to interact with threatened fauna, or whether an abundance of anthropogenic food subsidies increases the risk of spillover predation. I generated home ranges using five estimators, two of which have been used by past researchers to quantify dingo home ranges, and three which more-effectively capitalise on the high fix rates possible with modern GPS telemetry. I used two methods to determine the location of rest areas. Subsequent data were analysed using Compositional Analysis of habitat use, and Generalised Additive Models to establish the ways in which dingoes partition their diel activity patterns among human-modified and natural habitats. The results enabled me to make predictions about habitat use, potential prey types, relative prey use, modes of prey acquisition, and the ways in which foraging strategies might respond to changes in prey density. Mean home ranges were similar to those estimated by other studies for dingoes in eastern Australia, and suggest that dingoes in the LWT do not rely on anthropogenic food subsidies. Dingoes were active throughout the day and night but were most active during daylight. When dingoes were most active they were more likely to be in open, disturbed habitats than other habitat types, and when resting they were more likely to be in relatively-dry forests and woodlands, particularly wet sclerophyll. Rainforest was rarely used. It seems that dingoes rest in forested areas, possibly to avoid persecution by humans, and periodically move into open habitats (primarily sugarcane) to hunt. These observations match past suggestions that dingoes, as pursuit predators, are best suited to hunting in open habitats.
I identified the diet of dingoes in the LWT and the potential threat posed to native fauna by using an established predation-risk assessment for threatened fauna, analysing scats and stomach contents, and generating Bayesian stable isotope mixing models using isotope values from the hair of dingoes and potential prey. The predation-risk assessment identified three ground-dwelling bird species that are likely to be threatened by dingo predation. An additional bird species, the estuarine crocodile, and six marine turtles were assessed separately, as their life history characteristics made them unsuitable for the risk assessment. These species may also be threatened by dingoes, and most are known to be susceptible to dingo and dog depredation. However, diet analysis did not identify any threatened species, and the primary prey of dingoes in the LWT was common, open-dwelling mammals. Separate Bayesian mixing models were generated using isotopic values from dingo hair, and four prey groups (agile wallabies; northern brown bandicoots & canefield rats; two melomys species; and green ringtail possums), and three habitat categories (primarily C3 vegetation – 'forest'; primarily C4 vegetation – 'open', and mixed C3 and C4 – 'mixed'). The models support the results of dietary analyses and identified that the most likely set of prey came from 'open' and 'mixed' habitats; 'forest' habitats were not an important source of prey.
I gauged the knowledge and perceptions of WT residents toward the economic, social and ecological costs and benefits of dingoes, free-roaming domestic dogs and dingo × dog hybrids (wild dogs) in general, and their attitudes toward dingoes in particular, via a survey of WT households. A sub-component of this investigation focussed on costs and benefits to native fauna. An attitude typology was developed, and analysed using Principal Component Analysis and Generalised Linear Mixed Models. Descriptive statistics were generated from questions about wild-dog, dingo/human conflict, and public knowledge and perceptions of. Most WT residents believed that 'wild dogs' were a problem and were supportive of a number of methods of managing wild dogs There was strong support for a suite of potential management options for controlling free-roaming domestic dogs and limiting hybridisation, including desexing of domestic dogs in areas where there are wild dog problems, increased powers for council officers to penalise pet owners who allow their animals to roam unrestrained, and fitting pig dogs with tracking collars to allow relocation by their owners should they escape. Respondents perceived a range of costs of wild dogs but their primary concerns were predation livestock and threatened fauna, and disease transmission. However, almost one third of respondents believed that wild dogs provide social, economic, and/or environmental benefits, and the most-commonly cited benefit related to the dingo's role as a trophic regulator. Men and cattle farmers generally held the most negative attitudes toward dingoes; however, cattle farmers showed a strong desire to learn about them.
I synthesised the results of my data chapters to determine whether dingoes actually pose a threat to threatened fauna and whether public perceptions and attitudes toward dingoes match ecological reality. My results suggest that dingoes in the LWT hunt abundant mammals in open habitats and are generally unlikely encounter threatened taxa. Thus, rather than posing a threat to native fauna populations, dingo predatory behaviour may represent an important ecological service. If dingoes do pose a threat to biodiversity conservation in the region it is likely to be in natural areas where remnant vegetation provides habitat for rare and threatened species; however, current dingo management practices tend to focus on areas where dingoes come into conflict with humans, primarily on agricultural holdings.
However, some members of the public perceive that dingoes pose a threat to native fauna. The attitudes and beliefs of the public drive management decisions, and it is important that public perception of wildlife is informed by tangible evidence. Given the knowledge gaps in relation to the trophic effects of the dingo, and the potential implications of such knowledge gaps for biodiversity conservation, management decisions relating to dingoes in the LWT must be based on scientific evidence rather than anecdote. Management should focus on maintaining stable dingo packs in areas where they may be beneficial, unless shown to be otherwise, whilst concurrently aiming to quantify their impacts at targeted sites in natural habitats where they may not be.
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McElhinny, Chris. "Quantifying stand structural complexity in woodland and dry sclerophyll forest, South-Eastern Australia." Phd thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/47854.
Full textAbstract:
In this thesis I present and test a methodology for developing a stand scale index of structural complexity. If properly designed such an index can act as a summary variable for a larger set of stand structural attributes, providing a means of ranking stands in terms of their structural complexity, and by association, their biodiversity and vegetation condition. This type of index can also facilitate the use of alternative policy instruments for biodiversity conservation, such as mitigation banking, auctions and offsets, that rely on a common currency – the index value – that can be compared or traded between sites. My intention was to establish a clear and documentable methodology for developing a stand scale index of structural complexity, and to test this methodology using data from real stands.¶ ...
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Peck, Helene. "The application of ecological models and trophic analyses to archaeological marine fauna assemblages: towards improved understanding of prehistoric marine fisheries and ecosystems in tropical Australia." Thesis, 2016. https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/48929/1/48929-peck-2016-thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
This project focuses on the high-resolution analysis of archaeological marine fauna assemblages, using methodologies situated in an evolutionary ecology theoretical framework. These assemblages come from eight Kaiadilt archaeological sites across the South Wellesley Archipelago, which are a valuable dataset to examine not just dietary composition of foragers in the islands but also long-term patterns in the temporal and spatial availability of subsistence resources. This study also represents the first Australian investigation that applies trophic level analysis to archaeological marine fauna assemblages in order to explore anthropogenic effects on prehistoric fisheries (e.g. Bourque et al. 2008; Reitz et al. 2009; Quitmyer and Reitz 2006).
Located in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, in the central north of Australia the study area for this project focuses on Bentinck, Sweers and Fowler Islands, three of the largest islands in the South Wellesley Archipelago and the traditional home of Kaiadilt people. A three phase cultural chronology spanning the past c. 3,500 years is suggested for the study area, based on a comprehensive suite of 128 radiocarbon dates collected from cultural deposits, combined with results from linguistic studies (see Memmott et al. 2016).
This archaeological research undertaken in collaboration with the Kaiadilt Aboriginal community has resulted in the recording of cultural places on their lands. Community engagement has been an integral part of this research and ultimately has contributed to the success of the project. At a regional level this thesis contributes to the discourse about Aboriginal subsistence practices in northern Australia for the late Holocene. The project provides a large dataset similar with those of other studies conducted internationally, and is therefore able to inform other research based within an ecological theory framework.
This research aims to (1) identify evidence for human subsistence strategies, in particular the diversity of marine species types exploited (diet-breadth) and patterns of habitat (patch) exploitation through time; (2) characterise temporal changes in the biomass contribution and population structure of particular species through development of taxa size/age profiles, which identifies, for example, declining efficiencies in marine exploitation and human harvest pressure on resources; and (3) identify and assess changes in marine trophic levels exploited and explore potential evidence of trophic cascades in the local ecosystem in order to determine anthropogenic impacts on local ecologies.
The project addresses these aims using methodologies based within an evolutionary ecology framework including the Diet-Breadth Prey Choice Model (MacArthur and Pianka 1966), the Patch Choice Model (Charnov and Orians 1973) and the Central-Place Forager Model (Metcalfe and Barlow 1992). All data are grouped into chronological units of 250-year intervals. While these units offer a broad temporal resolution that may obscure some fine-grained variances in individual datasets, they provide a method for characterising local assemblages in a way that they can be compared across the region (e.g. Ulm 2006).
Archaeological evidence indicates that marine shellfish, fish and invertebrates substantially contributed to diet in the South Wellesley Islands. A total of 124.3kg of marine faunal remains are examined for this study. People's foraging strategies were broad-based in terms of both range of habitats accessed and diversity of species collected. 62 molluscan taxa were identified in the study. Hiant venus clam (Marcia hiantina), rock oyster (Saccostrea glomerata), turban snails (Lunella cinerea) and longbums (Telescopium telescopium) were the main molluscs consumed. There is evidence for a long-term trend in changing habitat preferences that could reflect changing cultural preferences and/or changing environments affecting resource availability. From two locations on Bentinck Island we have signals that clearly imply changes in diet-breadth c. 500 cal BP, which were likely a response to an environmental event impacting mangrove habitats and therefore changing taxa abundances available for exploitation.
The study characterises the population structure of M. hiantina (the dominant species) through development of the taxon's profile and reviews temporal changes in densities and sizes. Although M. hiantina specimens exhibit some short-term reductions in mean size during seasonal bouts of intensive foraging, temporal patterns indicate that foraging efficiency was not compromised in the long-term.
A minimum of 15 species of fish, 1 species of shark and 1 species of turtle were identified from skeletal remains. There is also evidence throughout most periods at most sites of crustacea being foraged although it is difficult to determine numbers. Based on known habitats for the specimens identified (e.g. catfish, grass sweetlip, rockcod, mullet, longtom, whiting, wrasse) much of the fish would have been obtained from hunting in nearshore waters, either from around rocky/coral reefs, intertidal mangroves, estuaries or in the numerous constructed stonewalled intertidal fishtraps. The Central-Place Forager Model was used to explain disparity between ethnographic reports of fishing and hunting activities and the low quantities of fish and vertebrate bones identified in the analysed materials. I contend it is likely dugong, turtle and some fish were processed and consumed at the beach closer to the location of procurement, rather than returned to residential camps (see Tindale 1960:48, 71).
Trophic level analysis was used to establish the average trophic level for each 250-year period's marine biomass catch. Faunal data suggest that people targeted primarily the low trophic level shellfish during the early periods of occupation, before shifting their economic focus to a broader-based diet-breadth incorporating more fish, which in turn raised the mean trophic level of all site assemblages. A review of temporal changes in the mean trophic level of exploited resources indicates that hunter-gatherers had little long-term impacts on the overall fishery of the South Wellesley Islands.
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Bampton, T. L. "Stable isotopic signatures of fossilised rodent teeth: climate change in south-eastern Australia during the late Quaternary and faunal response." Thesis, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/130470.
Full textAbstract:
This item is only available electronically.The stable carbon (ẟ13C) and oxygen (ẟ18O) isotopic composition of bioapatite from fossilised mammalian tooth material is a well-established proxy for the reconstruction of palaeovegetation and palaeoclimate. The use of small mammals, in particular rodents, has been overlooked in the past for such studies. High abundances of fossilised rodent remains deposited by avian predators in cave deposits, such as Blanche Cave in the Naracoorte Caves World Heritage Area (NCWHA), gives researchers easy access to fossil materials, to which a temporal scale of climate and vegetation change can be reconstructed. ẟ18O and ẟ13C analyses were performed on crushed incisors of three species of Pseudomys (P. auritus, P. australis and P. shortridgei) over the upper 27 layers from Blanche Cave, NCWHA. The relative abundances of the three species were collected from each layer and compiled into climatic-stratigraphic units: pre-glaciation (layers 27-25), early-glaciation (layers 24-20), Last Glacial Maximum (layers 19-15) and deglaciation (layers 13-1). The carbonate-bound component of the bioapatite was analysed for ẟ13C and ẟ18OCO3, as well as the additional analysis of phosphate bound oxygen (ẟ18OPO4) using isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Isotopic signatures from ẟ13C and ẟ18O were used to reconstruct palaeoclimate and palaeovegetation over the four climatic-stratigraphic units, which were compared to existing palaeoclimate studies. As rodents are commonly abundant in fossil deposits, they have the potential of being used to determine climatic and vegetation change associated with extinction events, such as the megafauna extinction in Australia.
Thesis (B.Sc.(Hons)) -- University of Adelaide, School of Physical Sciences, 2018
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Bann, Glen Robert. "Apparent dryland salinity on the uplands of southeastern Australia; quantification of biotic and abiotic indicators, causes, mechanisms, processes and effects." Phd thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/101934.
Full textAbstract:
Secondary dryland salinity in Australia has been a major
environmental concern for a number of decades, yet aspects remain
controversial. These include the processes which induce salinised
soils, the environmental impacts of salinity, and the way in
which it is mapped and managed. Dryland salinity has been almost
universally attributed to rising saline groundwater caused by
excess water accumulation in the landscape following European
settlement and tree clearing. However, there is a body of
evidence that instead suggests increased soil salinisation in SE
Australia is attributable to localized surface water problems
associated with soil and vegetation degradation.
The ‘Rising Groundwater Model’ has been widely accepted as
the paradigm for understanding, mapping and monitoring dryland
salinity. However, little quantitative research has been
undertaken to understand the mechanisms and processes that cause
secondary dryland salinity in the uplands of south eastern
Australia. Further, there is little research that demonstrates
adverse impacts of secondary salinity on terrestrial endemic
biota even though it is listed as a threatening process to
biodiversity. This research tested the applicability of an
alternative ‘Surface Water Model’ to explain outbreaks of
salinity or soil surface degradation in this region.
This research investigated the effects of the joint phenomenon of
soil and vegetation degradation and elevated salinity levels on
soil biotic and abiotic parameters. Field research was conducted
at ten box/gum grassy woodland sites in the agricultural zone of
the Southern Tablelands of NSW. A holistic suite of metrics,
including soil physical, chemical, hydrological and biological
attributes, were assessed in the field and laboratory;
geophysical surveys (EM31/EM38) and various fauna and flora
surveys were performed.
Results indicated that degraded soil surfaces were generally
small in area and localized. These surfaces had highly variable
soil EC levels (often very low), and were associated with in situ
synergistic factors related to in situ soil and vegetation
degradation. Some surfaces had accumulated NaCl, but many also
had other, both toxic and low cation and anion levels
particularly reduced levels of Ca, Fe, N, SOM and SOC. Extreme pH
levels and other soil physical, chemical and biological impacts
were also common. It is concluded that elevated soil salinity
levels are a symptom of soil and vegetation degradation, not the
cause. It was found that the predominant water movement in these
landscapes occurred as overland runoff and surficial lateral
interflow above the clay-dominant B horizon. There was no
biological, pedological, geophysical or hydrological evidence of
groundwater being a major factor for elevated soil surface
salinity levels.
Evidence suggests that these degraded ecosystems are relatively
stable but urgently require nutrient/SOM input. Many endemic
fauna and flora species flourish at highly degraded and salinised
sites; tolerating elevated and fluctuating salinity levels, at
all life cycle stages, which may effectively increase the gamma
biodiversity in these grassy woodlands. No evidence was found to
suggest that biodiversity is suffering from rising saline
groundwater or elevated soil salinity levels per se, or that
elevated salinity levels favour exotic species. It is therefore
problematical to directly link soil salinity per se with
ecological stress, as many other synergistic factors are involved
and are more significant for degraded soils.
Management decisions based on reducing the soil surface
evaporation potential on site is the most coherent approach.
Management activities should focus on stock grazing exclusion,
soil amelioration and revegetation activities using endemic
species, rather than focusing on excess deep landscape water
management with hybrids and exotic plants. The present use of AEM
for mapping dryland salinity in upland environments is therefore
questionable.
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Kirby, Ronald Vernon. "A comparative study of the enforcement of environmental law with regard to the conservation of fauna and flora in the RSA." 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17092.
Full text
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Gould, Susan F. "Does post-mining rehabilitation on the Weipa bauxite plateau restore bird habitat values?" Phd thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/49426.
Full textAbstract:
Rehabilitation is seen as a key strategy for minimising biodiversity losses. Although most rehabilitation strategies aim to provide habitat for fauna, they usually focus entirely on establishing vegetation. Successful vegetation establishment, however, does not necessarily provide habitat to the same species that are threatened by habitat loss. Improved understanding of faunal response to rehabilitation is required if rehabilitation techniques are to be refined and deliver the hoped for biodiversity outcomes. This study aimed to assess to what extent post-mining rehabilitation on the Weipa bauxite plateau has restored the bird habitat values of the pre-mining native forest. Bird assemblages, vegetation, and landscape functionality were compared between: (1) Eucalyptus tetrodonta open forest reference sites representative of the pre-mining native forest; (2) two reference land units of Eucalyptus tetrodonta tall woodland that have previously been nominated as ecologically appropriate analogues for the post-mining landscapes; and (3) a chronosequence of post-mining rehabilitation sites up to 23 years old. Bird species richness and mean bird abundance increased with rehabilitation age. Bird species composition also changed and became more similar to native forest bird assemblages with increasing age. Significant differences remained, however, in mean bird abundance and composition of the bird assemblages between the oldest age class of mine rehabilitation and reference native forest land units. The mean bird species shortfall index in the oldest age class of mine rehabilitation was 63%, compared to a mean species shortfall index of 27% for pre-mining native forest sites. There were also significant differences in vegetation composition and structure between reference native forest land units and post-mining rehabilitation sites. Most importantly, the framework plant species that dominate the native vegetation community occurred at much lower densities in mine rehabilitation than in reference land units. Site detection rates of birds were strongly related to vegetation composition and structure.
It is concluded that mining and post-mining rehabilitation on the Weipa bauxite plateau has so far resulted in habitat conversion rather than habitat restoration. It therefore contributes to the causes of biodiversity decline. Post-mining rehabilitation created new habitat for 18 bird species not sourced from the pre-mining native forest. It also provided partial habitat for many of the generalist native forest bird species recorded, although their presence in the landscape remained dependent on access to native forest. However, rehabilitation did not provide the habitat resources that are required by habitat specialists and foraging specialists. This study found that the native forest bird species most sensitive to habitat loss, and most in need of habitat restoration, may be the last to return to rehabilitation if they return at all. The findings of this study have implications for rehabilitation practices, biodiversity conservation on the Weipa bauxite plateau, as well as broader implications for policies that rely on the assumption that rehabilitation can offset biodiversity losses.ANU Graduate School Scholarship. Rio Tinto Aluminium Weipa
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Wieslaw, Jan Zielinski. "Evaluation of Wastewaters to Provide Optimum Water and Nutrient Products for Growing Turf and Native Plants." Thesis, 2015. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/29727/.
Full textAbstract:
The recent drought in South Eastern Australia and associated water restrictions led to
a significant increase in the use of greywater for the watering of lawn and garden
areas. There was also an emerging trend for sustainable drought resistant landscaping
for which some Australian native plants were suitable. There however was an
uncertainty about whether greywater was a useful source of water for plants or
whether it could be harmful. This study investigated how two varieties of turf Kikuyu (Pennisetum Clandestinum)
and Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea), and two varieties of Australian native flowers
Scaly Buttons (Leptorhynchos squamatus) and Small Vanilla Lilies (Arthropodium
minus) grew when watered with several different types of greywaters sourced from a
bathroom shower and a laundry.