Journal articles on the topic 'Frogs – Australia; Animal sounds – Australia'
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1
Rowley, Jodi J. L., and Corey T. Callaghan. "The FrogID dataset: expert-validated occurrence records of Australia’s frogs collected by citizen scientists." ZooKeys 912 (February 17, 2020): 139–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.912.38253.
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This dataset represents expert-validated occurrence records of calling frogs across Australia collected via the national citizen science project FrogID (http://www.frogid.net.au). FrogID relies on participants recording calling frogs using smartphone technology, after which point the frogs are identified by expert validators, resulting in a database of georeferenced frog species records. This dataset represents one full year of the project (10 November 2017–9 November 2018), including 54,864 records of 172 species, 71% of the known frog species in Australia. This is the first instalment of the dataset, and we anticipate providing updated datasets on an annual basis.
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Tyler, Michael J. "Hylid frogs from the mid-Miocene Camfield beds of Northern Australia." Beagle : Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 11 (November 1994): 141–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.5962/p.264030.
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Weitzman, Chava L., Karen Gibb, and Keith Christian. "Skin bacterial diversity is higher on lizards than sympatric frogs in tropical Australia." PeerJ 6 (November 14, 2018): e5960. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5960.
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Animal skin acts as a barrier between the organism and its environment and provides the first line of defense against invading pathogens. Thus, skin surfaces harbor communities of microbes that are interacting with both the host and its environment. Amphibian skin bacteria form distinct communities closely tied to their host species, but few studies have compared bacterial communities between amphibians and other, non-amphibian sympatric animals. Notably, skin microbes on reptiles have gained little attention. We used next-generation sequencing technology to describe bacterial communities on the skin of three lizard species and compared them to bacteria on six cohabiting frog species in the Northern Territory of Australia. We found bacterial communities had higher richness and diversity on lizards than frogs, with different community composition between reptiles and amphibians and among species. Core bacteria on the three lizard species overlapped by over 100 operational taxonomic units. The bacterial communities were similar within species of frogs and lizards, but the communities tended to be more similar between lizard species than between frog species and when comparing lizards with frogs. The diverse bacteria found on lizards invites further questions on how and how well reptiles interact with microorganisms through their scaly skin.
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Hoskin, Conrad J., Harry B. Hines, Rebecca J. Webb, Lee F. Skerratt, and Lee Berger. "Naïve rainforest frogs on Cape York, Australia, are at risk of the introduction of amphibian chytridiomycosis disease." Australian Journal of Zoology 66, no. 3 (2018): 174. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo18041.
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Amphibian chytridiomycosis disease has caused widespread declines and extinctions of frogs in cool, wet habitats in eastern Australia. Screening suggests that the disease does not yet occupy all areas modelled to be environmentally suitable, including rainforests on Cape York Peninsula. Cape Melville is an area of rainforest with several endemic frogs, including the stream-associated Melville Range treefrog (Litoria andiirrmalin), which is deemed at particular risk of disease impacts. We tested 40 L. andiirrmalin for chytrid infection by PCR and found them all to be negative. In conjunction with previous testing at another high-risk location, McIlwraith Range, this suggests that endemic rainforest frogs on Cape York have been spared the introduction of chytridiomycosis. We discuss how the disease could get to these areas, what can be done to reduce the risk, and suggest an emergency procedure should it be introduced.
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Inglis, W. Grant. "Allopatric speciation in the nematode parasites of frogs in southern Western Australia." Journal of Zoology 156, no. 4 (August 20, 2009): 405–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1968.tb04362.x.
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Tracy, Christopher R., and Keith A. Christian. "Preferred Temperature Correlates with Evaporative Water Loss in Hylid Frogs from Northern Australia." Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 78, no. 5 (September 2005): 839–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/432151.
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Obladen, Michael. "Cats, Frogs, and Snakes." Journal of Child Neurology 26, no. 11 (July 5, 2011): 1452–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0883073811411191.
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Disturbed neurulation fascinated scientists of all times. In Egypt, anencephalic infants were venerated as animal-headed gods. Roman law required them to be killed. The medieval world held the mother responsible, either because of assumed imagination or “miswatching,” or because of suspected intercourse with animals or devils. Modern embryology and teratology began with the use of the microscope by Malpighi in 1672. Details of neural tube closure were described by Koelliker in 1861 and by His in 1874. From 1822, genetic disease and familial recurrence due to insufficient nutrition were discerned and lower social class identified as a risk factor. It took a century to define the malnutrition as insufficient folate intake. The mandatory supplementation of folate in staple foods successfully reduced the incidence of neural tube defects in the United States, Australia, Canada, and Chile, but it was not adopted by most European countries.
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Oliver, Paul M., Eric N. Rittmeyer, Janne Torkkola, Stephen C. Donnellan, Chris Dahl, and Stephen J. Richards. "Multiple trans-Torres Strait colonisations by tree frogs in the Litoria caerulea group, with the description of a new species from New Guinea." Australian Journal of Zoology 68, no. 1 (2020): 25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo20071.
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Australia and New Guinea (together referred to as Sahul) were linked by land for much of the late Tertiary and share many biotic elements. However, New Guinea is dominated by rainforest, and northern Australia by savannah. Resolving patterns of biotic interchange between these two regions is critical to understanding the expansion and contraction of both habitat types. The green tree frog (Litoria caerulea) has a vast range across northern and eastern Australia and New Guinea. An assessment of mitochondrial and morphological diversity in this nominal taxon in New Guinea reveals two taxa. True Litoria caerulea occurs in disjunct savannahs of the Trans-Fly, Central Province and across northern Australia, with very low genetic divergence, implying late Pleistocene connectivity. A previously unrecognised taxon is endemic to New Guinea and widespread in lowland swampy rainforest. Date estimates for the divergence of the new species suggest Pliocene connectivity across lowland tropical habitats of northern Australia and New Guinea. In contrast, the new species shows shallow phylogeographic structuring across the central mountains of New Guinea, implying recent dispersal between the northern and southern lowlands. These results emphasise that the extent and connectivity of lowland rainforest and savannah environments across northern Australia and southern New Guinea have undergone profound shifts since the late Pliocene. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A577A415-0B71-4663-B4C1-7271B97298CD
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Lima, Albertina P., William E. Magnusson, and David G. Williams. "Differences in Diet among Frogs and Lizards Coexisting in Subtropical Forests of Australia." Journal of Herpetology 34, no. 1 (March 2000): 40. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1565236.
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WEBSTER, GRANT N., and IAN BOOL. "A new genus for four myobatrachid frogs from the South Western Australian Ecoregion." Zootaxa 5154, no. 2 (June 14, 2022): 127–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5154.2.2.
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The southern Australian endemic genus Geocrinia Blake 1973 (Anura: Myobatrachidae) currently contains seven species, with five restricted to Western Australia and two in the south-eastern states covering parts of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. All species have a modified life history with at least some or all of the larval stage being completed terrestrially. Four of the Western Australian species have terrestrial, non-feeding tadpoles nourished by yolk until metamorphosis. The remaining species have a biphasic development with embryos developing on land followed by an aquatic tadpole stage. The presence of species groups within the Geocrinia has been recognised since the 1970s, with all relevant subsequent studies supporting a model of two groups within the genus, recovered as reciprocally monophyletic in phylogenetic analyses. We examined character traits of the seven recognised Geocrinia species, concluding that distinction of the two monophyletic groups is supported by differences in life history strategy, larval morphology, adult morphology, call structure, breeding season and geographic distribution. The differences between the two groups correspond to phylogenetic structuring for all traits except distribution. Given reciprocal monophyly, and greater variation in traits than present within other myobatrachid genera, we conclude that the two groups should be given generic distinction. We therefore describe a new genus, Anstisia gen. nov., for four Western Australian Geocrinia species, retaining three species in Geocrinia. This increases the number of recognised myobatrachid genera to 14: five are endemic to south-western Australia.
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Roberts, J. D. "Geographic Variation in Calls of Males and Determination of Species Boundaries in Tetraploid Frogs of the Australian Genus Neobatrachus (Myobatrachidae)." Australian Journal of Zoology 45, no. 2 (1997): 95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo96006.
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I analysed geographic variation in advertisement call of tetraploid forms of Neobatrachus. Comparing five regional samples spanning the range of N. kunapalari, there was significant geographic variation in pulses per call but not in dominant frequency, pulse rate, pulse duration or percentage rise time. The call of N. kunapalari was significantly different from four other samples covering the geographic range of tetraploid forms across Australia in all but percentage rise time. Calls of frogs from Mt Magnet in Western Australia (WA) differed from calls from Port Hedland (WA) in pulse duration and in multivariate descriptions but were similar in pulse rate. Pulse rates of calls from N. centralis on Eyre Peninsula in South Australia (SA) were distinct from all other populations sampled but in multivariate space these calls were similar to calls of N. sudellifrom eastern Australia. There may be an eastwest cline in call from N. sudelli to calls of N. aquilonius and N. centralis in WA. Call data support the recognition of two tetraploid species: N. kunapalari and N. sudelli. N. sudelli exhibits geographic variation in call, but the status of N. aquilonius and N. centralis as possible synonyms of N. sudelli was not resolved.
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Borkin, Leo J., and Kraig Adler. "Michael James Tyler, AO (1937–2020): Specialist on the Frogs of Australia and New Guinea." Amphibia-Reptilia 41, no. 4 (July 23, 2020): 421–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685381-2020ob01.
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Menzies, J. I., S. J. Richards, and M. J. Tyler. "Systematics of the Australo-Papuan tree frogs known as Litoria bicolor (Anura:Hylidae) in the Papuan region." Australian Journal of Zoology 56, no. 4 (2008): 257. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo07068.
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We examined differences in morphology and advertisement calls of a large sample of frogs from the Australo-Papuan Region that resemble Litoria bicolor, and compared them with examples of that species from Australia. Consistent differences in body size, body proportions, and advertisement call structure among populations demonstrate that at least seven distinct species occur in the Australo-Papuan region, and that only the population represented by the holotype from the Northern Territory of Australia is Litoria bicolor s.s. Herein we describe four new species from the Papuan Region and comment on the origin and evolution of the Papuan members of the Litoria bicolor complex in the region.
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Shoo, L. P., and Y. Williams. "Altitudinal distribution and abundance of microhylid frogs (Cophixalus and Austrochaperina) of north-eastern Australia: baseline data for detecting biological responses to future climate change." Australian Journal of Zoology 52, no. 6 (2004): 667. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo04023.
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Extensive abundance surveys of microhylid frogs across altitudinal gradients within the Wet Tropics rainforests of north-eastern Australia were undertaken. Detailed patterns of abundance were resolved for nine microhylid species exhibiting differing associations within the altitudinal gradient. The position of altitudinal range boundaries was found to be largely consistent with previous accounts in the literature, providing confidence in established limits to species distributions. Microhylid frogs, in particular those species restricted to mountaintops, are considered among other endemic rainforest vertebrates within the region to be one of the groups most immediately threatened by climate change. The combined results establish important baseline data for assessing the impacts of climate change, including altitudinal shifts in distribution and localised declines in abundance, on microhylid frogs in the region.
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Taylor, Christine M., Gunnar Keppel, Shaun O'Sullivan, Stefan Peters, Gregory D. Kerr, and Craig R. Williams. "Indiscriminate feeding by an alien population of the spotted-thighed frog (Litoria cyclorhyncha) in southern Australia and potential impacts on native biodiversity." Australian Journal of Zoology 67, no. 2 (2019): 59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo19042.
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Litoria cyclorhyncha (Hylidae) is native to southern Western Australia, but a naturalised population has established on the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. We investigated the diet of this exotic population to assess potential impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems. Seventy-six frogs were collected from three different habitats and their diet items assigned to parataxonomic units (PU) within orders. Stomach contents were diverse, containing 467 prey items from 19 orders and 135 PU, with extrapolation suggesting a diet of ~200 PU. Shannon diversity estimates of prey items consumed produced different rankings for the three habitats at the PU and order level. Therefore, estimates at the order level may not be representative of the actual diversity of prey items. L. cyclorhyncha consumed mainly arthropods and low numbers of conspecific young frogs, geckos and a juvenile house mouse. This generalist, indiscriminate predatory diet is similar to that of other hylids and implies that the species poses a risk to native biodiversity and ecosystem processes by predation and competition. Therefore, further spread of this species needs to be prevented. Our findings can inform effective policies and management actions to mitigate future impacts of L. cyclorhyncha.
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Gollmann, Günter. "Michael J. Tyler. (1989): Australian Frogs. Viking O'Neil, Ringwood, Victoria, Australia. xii + 220 p. $45.00 Aus." Amphibia-Reptilia 12, no. 1 (1991): 117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853891x00392.
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Tyler, Michael J., Dirk Megirian, and Lester Russell. "Additional Frogs from the mid-Miocene Camfield Beds of Camfield Station, Northern Territory, Australia." Beagle : Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 19 (December 2003): 137–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.5962/p.286318.
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ANSTIS, MARION, FRED PARKER, TIM HAWKES, IAN MORRIS, and STEPHEN J. RICHARDS. "Direct development in some Australopapuan microhylid frogs of the genera Austrochaperina, Cophixalus and Oreophryne (Anura: Microhylidae) from northern Australia and Papua New Guinea." Zootaxa 3052, no. 1 (October 7, 2011): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3052.1.1.
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Embryonic development in fifteen Australopapuan microhylid frogs of the genera Austrochaperina, Cophixalus and Oreophryne is described. These frogs have direct development during which the embryo develops to a minute froglet within the jelly capsule. Development of the operculum, presence of external gills, tail structure, gut development and timing of forelimb emergence are described and compared with the direct-developing eleutherodactylid Eleutherodactylus coqui from Puerto Rico and three Australian myobatrachid genera with direct development (Arenophryne, Metacrinia and Myobatrachus). We comment on those differences that likely reflect examples of convergent and divergent evolution and heterochrony.
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Delvinquier, BLJ. "Myxidium-Immersum (Protozoa, Myxosporea) of the Cane Toad, Bufo-Marinus, in Australian Anura, With a Synopsis of the Genus in Amphibians." Australian Journal of Zoology 34, no. 6 (1986): 843. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo9860843.
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Myxidium immersum (Lutz, 1889), a gall-bladder protozoan parasite from South American Anura, is described for the first time in some Australian Anura. The cane toad, Bufo marinus, one of its natural hosts in South America, was introduced into Australia in 1935, and this led to the infection of native Australian frogs including: Hylidae, 12 species of Litoria; Myobatrachidae, four species of Limnodynastes, one each of Mixophyes, Ranidella and Uperoleia. Scanning electron microscope observations on the spore are reported. A synopsis of the Myxidium species in amphibians is presented. In explaining the present distribution of M. immersum in Australia, it is suggested that the life cycle of Myxidium species in amphibians involves an intermediate host which may become infected by swallowing trophozoites and spores; the tadpole may become infected by feeding on the intermediate host.
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DOUGHTY, PAUL, and J. DALE ROBERTS. "A new species of Uperoleia (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the northwest Kimberley, Western Australia." Zootaxa 1939, no. 1 (November 21, 2008): 10–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1939.1.2.
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Uperoleia is a large genus of small-bodied terrestrial frogs that occur in Australia and southern New Guinea. With nine species, the Kimberley region in northern Western Australia is the most diverse. Recent surveys of the northwest coast of the Kimberley have revealed a tenth species of Uperoleia. The new species is characterized by a combination of small body size, dark and slightly tubercular dorsal skin, basal webbing between the toes, outer metatarsal tubercle spatulate and oriented perpendicular to the foot, possession of maxillary teeth, a broadly exposed frontoparietal fontanelle and the advertisement call is a high-pitched rasp. All specimens collected have been associated with sandstone boulders or escarpments with flowing water or rock pools. The northwest Kimberley is an isolated region of high rainfall and rugged terrain that possesses high biodiversity for many plant and animal groups and is therefore worthy of special conservation attention.
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Schultz, Kenneth W., and Peter J. Corkeron. "Interspecific differences in whistles produced by inshore dolphins in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia." Canadian Journal of Zoology 72, no. 6 (June 1, 1994): 1061–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z94-143.
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The sounds produced by bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, Sousa chinensis, were recorded on 11 days from 3 April to 13 August 1990 in Moreton Bay, eastern Australia. Twelve hours and 34 minutes of sound were recorded. The physical structure of whistles was described using a variable for duration and seven variables for frequency. Data were subjected to principal components analysis (PCA) and canonical discriminant analysis (CDA). PCA demonstrated the range of whistle contours recorded. CDA demonstrated differences in the whistles between species. Humpback dolphin whistles differed in shape (frequency modulation) and were generally of shorter duration and higher overall frequency than those of bottlenose dolphin whistles.
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ROWLEY, J. J. L., M. J. MAHONY, H. B. HINES, S. MYERS, L. C. PRICE, G. M. SHEA, and S. C. DONNELLAN. "Two new frog species from the Litoria rubella species group from eastern Australia." Zootaxa 5071, no. 1 (November 22, 2021): 1–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5071.1.1.
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The bleating tree frog (Litoria dentata) is one of the more prominent pelodryadid frogs of eastern Australia by virtue of its extremely loud, piercing, male advertisement call. A member of the Litoria rubella species group, L. dentata has a broad latitudinal distribution and is widespread from coastal and subcoastal lowlands through to montane areas. A recent mitochondrial DNA analysis showed a deep phylogeographic break between populations of L. dentata on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. Here we extended the mitochondrial survey with more geographically comprehensive sampling and tested the systematic implications of our findings with nuclear genome wide single-nucleotide polymorphism, morphological and male advertisement call datasets. While similar in appearance and in male advertisement call, our integrative analysis demonstrates the presence of three species which replace each other in a north-south series. We redescribe Litoria dentata, which is restricted to coastal north-eastern New South Wales, and formally describe Litoria balatus sp. nov., from south-eastern Queensland, and Litoria quiritatus sp. nov., from the mid-coast of New South Wales to north-eastern Victoria.
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Mahony, Michael, Francis Lemckert, Andrew Haywood, and Traecey Brassil. "Correlations between frogs and pond attributes in central New South Wales, Australia: What makes a good pond?" Applied Herpetology 3, no. 1 (2006): 67–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157075406775247012.
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Mann, Reinier, Michael Tyler, and Joseph Bidwell. "Toxicity of herbicide formulations to frogs and the implications for product registration: A case study from Western Australia." Applied Herpetology 1, no. 1-2 (2003): 13–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157075403766451199.
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Anderson, S., and LF Marcus. "Aerography of Australian Tetrapods." Australian Journal of Zoology 40, no. 6 (1992): 627. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo9920627.
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The sizes of geographic ranges of species of Australian tetrapod groups form 'hollow curve' frequency distributions, with most species having small ranges. Geometric means for range size (in 10(5) km2 units) are 1.2 for frogs and toads, 1.7 for turtles, 2.2 for lizards, 3.2 for snakes, 6.6 for birds, 2.6 for marsupials, 5.1 for bats and 2.1 for rodents. Species' densities are compared for different groups. A map of superimposed species boundaries for mammals demonstrates some relatively homogeneous faunal areas separated by distinct and narrow faunal boundaries but this is not the general pattern. The principal axes of species ranges for many groups are oriented parallel to and near coasts. Species centred on the interior tend to have larger ranges. Estimates or measurements of range size tend to be better if there are more published records, specimens, known localities of occurrence, and ecological data. Australia, in proportion to its area, has more anurans, lizards (and other reptiles), and marsupials, and it has fewer rodents and bats than North America. The ranking of groups for mean range size is the same in both continents except that Anura have smaller ranges than lizards in Australia.
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Fearn, S., and D. F. Trembath. "Body size, food habits, reproduction and growth in a population of black whip snakes (Demansia vestigiata) (Serpentes:Elapidae) in tropical Australia." Australian Journal of Zoology 57, no. 1 (2009): 49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo08078.
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Two species of large black whip snakes (Demansia vestigiata and D. papuensis) are morphologically and ecologically similar and have broadly overlapping distributions. A long history of taxonomic difficulties has meant that most previous taxonomic and ecological studies comprise composite samples of both taxa. Here, we provide ecological data (body sizes, food habits, reproduction and inferred growth rates) collected from captured and road-killed specimens from a tropical population of D. vestigiata at Townsville, north-eastern Queensland, Australia. Males attain larger body sizes and have longer tails than females. All food items were ectotherms (lizards and frogs). Female reproductive cycles were strongly seasonal. Clutch size is significantly positively related to maternal body size. Egg dimensions, clutch mass and neonatal size are reported. Inferred growth rates indicate that sexual maturation is attained at ~21 months for females.
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Roberts, J. Dale. "Natural Hybrid between the Frogs Crinia pseudinsignifera and Crinia subinsignifera (Myobatrachidae) from Southwestern Australia Defined by Allozyme Phenotype and Call." Journal of Herpetology 44, no. 4 (December 2010): 654–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1670/09-053.1.
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Osborne, WS, and JA Norman. "Conservation Genetics of Corroboree Frogs, Pseudophryne-Corroboree Moore (Anura, Myobatrachidae) - Population Subdivision and Genetic-Divergence." Australian Journal of Zoology 39, no. 3 (1991): 285. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo9910285.
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Reproductive compatibility and population genetic structure were examined in the corroboree frog, Pseudophryne corroboree, a species restricted to montane and subalpine environments in south-eastern Australia. The species comprises three geographic populations, represented by two morphological forms. Hybridisation experiments showed that the allopatric populations are interfertile, although crosses between the Snowy Mountains population (southern form) and each of the two northern populations (northern form) resulted in a significantly higher number of tadpoles with growth abnormalities. An electrophoretic examination of metamorphlings indicated that there was considerable genetic divergence between the two forms, with several loci approaching fixation of alternate alleles. The Snowy Mountains population also had substantially reduced levels of genetic variation compared to the two northern populations. Although genetic distances generally correlate with geographic distance, the genetic differences between the northern and southern populations form a pronounced step, not explicable by geographic distance alone. These findings have taxonomic implications which should be taken into account when considering the conservation management of this uncommon species.
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Hutchinson, MN, and LR Maxson. "Phylogenetic-Relationships Among Australian Tree Frogs (Anura, Hylidae, Pelodryadinae) - an Immunological Approach." Australian Journal of Zoology 35, no. 1 (1987): 61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo9870061.
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Phylogenetic relationships among hylid frogs of the Australian region were studied by micro-complement fixation comparisons of serum albumin. Although our data support current species-group arrangements, we do not find good agreement between our phylogenetic hypotheses and those derived from morphological and karyological studies. Immunological analyses provide data which allow the construction of a phylogeny for the Australian radiation of the speciose genus Litoria, and suggest dividing the species of Litoria examined into five major species-assemblages, each of which is probably monophyletic. The sister- group relationship between the Litoria aurea group and Cyclorana is confirmed, and the diphyletic origin of the terrestrial hylids is supported. The radiation of Australian hylids is monophyletic with respect to the outgroup taxon (Hyla) used in this study, and the origin of diversification within the genus correlates well with estimates of the final separation of Australia from Antarctica-South America. Preliminary data suggest that the endemic New Guinean taxa (Nyctimystes and the montane Litoria) are closely related to the Australian 'freycineti' assemblage within Litoria. Albumin from Litoria infrafrenata cross-reacted poorly with all available Australian antisera, suggesting that this species may have originated independently of the rest of the Australian hylids. Our data support the classification of Australian tree frogs as hylids, rather than as leptodactyloid offshoots.
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Fearn, S., and D. F. Trembath. "Natural history of the common tree snake, Dendrelaphis punctulatus (Serpentes:Colubridae), in the wet - dry tropics of north Queensland." Australian Journal of Zoology 58, no. 6 (2010): 384. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo10059.
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Common tree snakes, Dendrelaphis punctulatus, are medium to large colubrid snakes that are relatively common in the eastern and northern parts of tropical Australia. The only previous study on this species involved museum specimens from across the taxon’s range. During a seven-year period we collected data on 131 field-caught specimens from a melanotic population in the Townsville district of north Queensland. Dendrelaphis punctulatus was found to be primarily diurnal, with a peak in activity centred around the reproductive period during the transition from dry to wet seasons. Females were larger than males with respect to all measured parameters, including mass and head size. Reproduction in females was strongly seasonal and clutch size was related to maternal body size. Prey items consisted of frogs, lizards and locusts.
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HOSKIN, CONRAD J., and KIERAN ALAND. "Two new frog species (Microhylidae: Cophixalus) from boulder habitats on Cape York Peninsula, north-east Australia." Zootaxa 3027, no. 1 (September 15, 2011): 39. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3027.1.5.
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Australia has a highly localised but diverse radiation of microhylid frogs. 18 species are described from north-east Queensland (14 Cophixalus and 4 Austrochaperina), most with highly localised montane distributions. While most species are small (10-25 mm) rainforest species, two differ dramatically in ecology and morphology. Cophixalus saxatilis and C. zweifeli inhabit isolated areas of jumbled boulder-pile habitat and are considerably larger than all other species (30-45 mm). Here we describe two new species of large, boulder dwelling Cophixalus from the Pascoe River region of Cape York Peninsula. Cophixalus kulakula sp. nov. occurs in piled boulder habitat amongst rainforest in the Tozer Range area, while Cophixalus pakayakulangun sp. nov. occurs in similar habitat in the Kennedy Hills region north of the Pascoe River. These are the most northerly sites for Cophixalus in Australia and both occur in rainforest areas not occupied by other species of Cophixalus. Both species are large (snout-vent length > 40 mm) and of similar morphology to the other two boulder-dwelling species. Cophixalus kulakula sp. nov. and C. pakayakulangun sp. nov. differ from each other and from all other described Cophixalus genetically and in aspects of colour pattern and morphology. The call of C. kulakula sp. nov. is also unique, but the call of C. pakayakulangun sp. nov. remains unknown. The two new species are each others closest relatives (albeit with approximately 8% genetic divergence for 12S and 16S mtDNA) and are allied to C. ornatus. The diet of both species consists primarily of ants. Both species have highly localised distributions but are abundant within these and are probably secure.
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Knowles, Ross, Michael Mahony, Jan Armstrong, and Stephen Donnellan. "Systematics of sphagnum frogs of the genus Philoria (Anura: Myobatrachidae) in eastern Australia, with the description of two new species." Records of the Australian Museum 56, no. 1 (April 7, 2004): 57–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.3853/j.0067-1975.56.2004.1391.
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Bradshaw, Don, Aubret Fabien, Stéphanie Maumelat, Terry Schwaner, and Xavier Bonnet. "Diet divergence, jaw size and scale counts in two neighbouring populations of tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus)." Amphibia-Reptilia 25, no. 1 (2004): 9–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853804322992797.
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AbstractLarge snakes usually possess a higher number of scales to cover their larger bodies and their larger heads. It has been suggested that a diet based on large prey items also favours the development of scale number because the skin would be more extensible and would enable easier swallowing of voluminous prey. A recent study, however, suggested that although body size positively influences scale count in snakes, diet is probably unimportant (Shine, 2002). We took advantage of a natural experiment that separated two neighbouring and genetically indistinguishable populations of tiger snakes in the vicinity of Perth, Western Australia. In one population, situated on a small coastal Island (Carnac Island), snakes feed primarily on seagull chicks (large prey). In the second population, located on the mainland (Herdsman Lake), snakes feed mostly on frogs (small prey). Carnac Island snakes possess more scales (labial and mid-body rows) and larger relative jaw lengths compared with Herdsman Lake snakes. Although preliminary, these data suggest that tiger snakes, whose many populations show contrasted feeding habits, are suitable models to test the "dietary habits / scale count" hypothesis.
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Corkeron, Peter J., and Sofie M. Van Parijs. "Vocalizations of eastern Australian Risso's dolphins, Grampus griseus." Canadian Journal of Zoology 79, no. 1 (January 1, 2001): 160–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z00-180.
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Recordings were made from a group of Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus) off the coast of Newcastle, Australia, between 30 Hz and 22 kHz. Risso's dolphins exhibited seven separate vocalisation types: broadband clicks, barks, buzzes, grunts, chirps, whistles, and simultaneous whistle + burst-pulse sounds. Broadband clicks were highly variable in duration, with a frequency range of 6 to >22 kHz. Bark vocalisations consisted of highly variable burst pulses, with durations ranging from 0.2 to 7.4 s and a frequency range of 2-20 kHz. Buzz vocalisations were clearly stereotyped, consisting of a short burst pulse of around 2 s and a frequency range of 2.1 to >22 kHz. Low frequency narrowband grunt vocalisations (0.40.8 kHz) were short in duration. Chirp vocalisations were slightly higher in frequency than the grunt vocalisations, ranging in frequency from 2 to 4 kHz. There were at least five different whistle types, ranging in frequency from 4 to 22 kHz. We recorded a combined tonal and burst-pulse vocalisation. The rising whistles ranged from 6 to 18 kHz, while the burst-pulse sounds ranged between 3 and 21 kHz. This combined whistle + burst pulse sound appears to be unique to Risso's dolphins.
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VÖRÖS, JUDIT, SKYE WASSENS, LUKE PRICE, DAVID HUNTER, STEVEN MYERS, KYLE ARMSTRONG, MICHAEL J. MAHONY, and STEPHEN DONNELLAN. "Molecular systematic analysis demonstrates that the threatened southern bell frog, Litoria raniformis (Anura: Pelodryadidae) of eastern Australia, comprises two sub-species." Zootaxa 5228, no. 1 (January 11, 2023): 1–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5228.1.1.
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In south-eastern Australia, the pelodryadid Litoria aurea Group (sensu Tyler & Davies 1978) comprises three species: Litoria aurea (Lesson, 1829), Litoria raniformis (Keferstein, 1867), and Litoria castanea (Steindachner, 1867). All three species have been subject to declines over recent decades and taxonomic uncertainty persists among populations on the tablelands in New South Wales. We address the systematics of the Group by analysing mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences to assess divergence in the Litoria raniformis from across its current range in New South Wales (NSW), Victoria, South Australia (SA) and Tasmania. We also included samples of Litoria castanea from a recently rediscovered population in the southern tablelands of NSW. Our phylogenetic and population genetic analyses show that Litoria raniformis comprises northern and southern lineages, showing deep mitochondrial DNA sequence divergence (7% net average sequence divergence) and can be diagnosed by fixed allelic differences at more than 4,000 SNP loci. Samples of the northern lineage were collected from the Murray-Darling Basin while those of the southern lineage were collected from south-eastern South Australia, southern and south-eastern Victoria and Tasmania. Analysis of the morphology and bioacoustics did not unequivocally delineate the two lineages. The presence of a hybrid backcross individual in western Victoria at the northern margin of the southern lineage, leads us to assign sub-species status to the two lineages, L. r. raniformis for the northern lineage and L. r. major for the southern lineage. Our data do not unequivocally resolve the taxonomic status of L. castanea which will require molecular genetic analyses of museum vouchers from those parts of the range where L. castanea and L. raniformis are no longer extant. Our data also suggest that human mediated movement of frogs may have occurred over the past 50 years. Our genotyping of vouchers collected in the 1970s from the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia detected mitochondrial haplotypes of both sub-species and SNP analysis showed that a single Tasmanian specimen was a backcross with L. r. raniformis ancestry. Movement of L. r. raniformis into Tasmania and both sub-species into the Mount Lofty Ranges are not likely due to passive movements of animals through agricultural commerce, but due to the attractiveness of the species as pets and subsequent escapes or releases, potentially of the larval life stage.
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Connolly, Joanne H. "A review of mucormycosis in the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus)." Australian Journal of Zoology 57, no. 4 (2009): 235. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo09043.
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Many infectious agents and parasites have been reported from the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), but most do not cause serious disease. The fungus, Mucor amphibiorum, is the only disease agent known to cause significant morbidity and mortality in the free-living platypus in Tasmania. Infection has also been reported in free-ranging cane toads and green tree frogs from mainland Australia, but not confirmed in platypuses from the mainland. This paper reviews mucormycosis in the platypus and includes the epidemiology, clinical features, mycology, pathology as well as possible surveillance, treatment and/or control modalities. The emergence and geographical spread of mucormycosis as a disease entity in Tasmanian platypuses from 1982 till 2005 are discussed. The host, agent and environment factors of the traditional epidemiological paradigm are discussed as they contribute to the conditions that lead to the selection or emergence of Mucor amphibiorum as a pathogen in a population of platypuses.
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MAHONY, MICHAEL, BEDE MOSES, STEPHEN V. MAHONY, FRANK L. LEMCKERT, and STEPHEN DONNELLAN. "A new species of frog in the Litoria ewingii species group (Anura: Pelodryadidae) from south-eastern Australia." Zootaxa 4858, no. 2 (September 30, 2020): 201–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4858.2.3.
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Population declines and range contractions among Australian frogs that commenced in the early 1980s continue in some species that were once widespread. The generality of this pattern has been difficult to discern, especially for those species that are encountered rarely because they have restricted periods of calling activity with poorly defined habitat preferences, and are not common. Several lines of evidence indicate that Litoria littlejohni is such a species. This frog was once known from mid-eastern New South Wales to eastern Victoria, and evidence from wildlife atlas databases and targeted searches indicate that it has declined in large portions of its former range, leaving several populations that are isolated, in some cases restricted in distribution, and of small size. We investigated the relationships among populations using mitochondrial ND4 nucleotide sequences and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the nuclear genome. We found that northern and southern populations form two highly divergent genetic groups whose distributions abut at the southern margin of the Sydney Basin Bioregion and these genetic groups also show divergence in morphology and male advertisement calls. Here we describe the populations to the south of the Sydney Basin Bioregion as a new species and provide information on its distribution and ecology. In light of the apparent isolation and small size of known populations of the new species and the consequent restriction of the range of L. littlejohni, we assessed the conservation status of both species.
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KORSUNOVSKAYA, OLGA, MIKHAIL BEREZIN, KLAUS-GERHARD HELLER, ELENA TKACHEVA, TATIANA KOMPANTSEVA, and RUSTEM ZHANTIEV. "Biology, sounds and vibratory signals of hooded katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Phyllophorinae)." Zootaxa 4852, no. 3 (September 16, 2020): 309–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4852.3.3.
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The tettigoniid subfamily Phyllophorinae, distributed in Southeast Asia and Australia, is poorly known. Our study of the biology of Giant Katydid Siliquofera grandis (Blanchard, 1853) from a laboratory culture has shown that these insects mate more than once, the females lay a total of up to 400 eggs during their life, and these hatch after 2–2.5 months. The life cycle from egg to death takes longer than one year. In the laboratory, the insects fed mainly on leaves of various Rosaceae, Ficus, and lettuce, and on fruits. It is known that the males of hooded katydids lack the tegminal stridulatory apparatus typical for Tettigoniidae, but are capable of producing protest sounds using their coxosternal sound-producing organs for stridulation. Here, protest stridulation of the males and females and the sound-producing organs used to produce it have been analyzed in Phyllophorina kotoshoensis Shiraki, 1930 and S. grandis. In addition, nymphal protest sounds produced by friction of the metafemur against the edge of the pronotum and adult protest signals produced with the wings are described. In S. grandis, vibratory signals have been described and studied for the first time: territorial, protest, drumming and rhythmic low-amplitude vibrations emitted by adults and nymphs and pre- and postcopulatory vibrations of the males and females. The territorial signals not accompanied with visible movements of the body may be produced by contracting the antagonist muscles of the thorax and possibly of the legs. Using their coxosternal sound-producing organs males of S. grandis produced also an audible courtship song lasting for several seconds. Acoustic signals may thus both regulate intrapopulation relations and serve for interspecific communication (protest signals). The acoustic communication in Phyllophorinae is probably especially important during mating behavior.
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Penman, Trent D., Frank L. Lemckert, and Michael J. Mahony. "Spatial ecology of the giant burrowing frog (Heleioporus australiacus): implications for conservation prescriptions." Australian Journal of Zoology 56, no. 3 (2008): 179. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo08077.
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Management of threatened anurans requires an understanding of a species’ behaviour and habitat requirements in both the breeding and non-breeding environments. The giant burrowing frog (Heleioporus australiacus) is a threatened species in south-eastern Australia. Little is known about its habitat requirements, creating difficulties in developing management strategies for the species. We radio-tracked 33 individual H. australiacus in order to determine their habitat use and behaviour. Data from 33 frogs followed for between 5 and 599 days show that individuals spend little time near (<15 m) their breeding sites (mean 4.7 days for males and 6.3 days for females annually). Most time is spent in distinct non-breeding activity areas 20–250 m from the breeding sites. Activity areas of females were further from the breeding site (mean 143 m) than those of males (mean 99 m), but were not significantly different in size (overall mean 500 m2; males 553 m2; females 307 m2). Within activity areas, each frog used 1–14 burrows repeatedly, which we term home burrows. Existing prescriptions are inappropriate for this species and we propose protection of key populations in the landscape as a more appropriate means of protecting this species.
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Aubret, Fabien. "Aquatic locomotion and behaviour in two disjunct populations of Western Australian tiger snakes, Notechis ater occidentalis." Australian Journal of Zoology 52, no. 4 (2004): 357. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo03067.
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Adaptive phenotypic plasticity can be viewed as an evolutionary strategy that enables organisms to match their phenotypes to local conditions. I studied two neighbouring populations of amphibious fresh-water tiger snakes, Notechis ater occidentalis, from Western Australia. One mainland population occurs around a lake, feeds primarily on frogs, and is under strong predation pressure, whereas the second population inhabits a small offshore island with no standing water and no known predators, and feeds primarily on chicks. The availability of water and its use as a habitat differ considerably between the two populations. I compared experimentally the locomotor capacities and behaviour of individuals from both populations in water, treating neonates and adults separately. Sex did not significantly influence any trait in both populations, in either adults or neonates. At birth, the two populations exhibited very little difference in swimming speed, stamina, apnoea capacities or behaviour. However, adult mainland snakes had greater apnoea capacities and faster burst swimming speed than island snakes. Mainland adult snakes also spontaneously swam underwater for longer, and a higher proportion filled their lungs while surface swimming compared with island specimens. This study suggests strong behavioural flexibility in tiger snakes depending on habitats.
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MAHONY, MICHAEL J., TRENT PENMAN, TERRY BERTOZZI, FRANK LEMCKERT, ROHAN BILNEY, and STEPHEN C. DONNELLAN. "Taxonomic revision of south-eastern Australian giant burrowing frogs (Anura: Limnodynastidae: Heleioporus Gray)." Zootaxa 5016, no. 4 (August 9, 2021): 451–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5016.4.1.
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The rarely encountered giant burrowing frog, Heleioporus australiacus, is distributed widely in a variety of sclerophyll forest habitats east of the Great Dividing Range in south-eastern Australia. Analyses of variation in nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial ND4 gene and thousands of nuclear gene SNPs revealed the presence of two deeply divergent lineages. Multivariate morphological comparisons show the two lineages differ in body proportions with > 91% of individuals being correctly classified in DFA. The two lineages differ in the number and size of spots on the lateral surfaces and the degree by which the cloaca is surrounded by colour patches. The mating calls are significantly different in number of pulses in the note. The presence of a F2 hybrid in the area where the distribution of the two taxa come into closest proximity leads us to assign subspecies status to the lineages, as we have not been able to assess the extent of potential genetic introgression. In our sampling, the F2 hybrid sample sits within an otherwise unsampled gap of ~90km between the distributions of the two lineages. The nominate northern sub-species is restricted to the Sydney Basin bioregion, while the newly recognised southern subspecies occurs from south of the Kangaroo Valley in the mid-southern coast of New South Wales to near Walhalla in central Gippsland in Victoria. The habitat of the two subspecies is remarkably similar. Adults spend large portions of their lives on the forest floor where they forage and burrow in a variety of vegetation communities. The southern subspecies occurs most commonly in dry sclerophyll forests with an open understory in the south and in open forest and heath communities with a dense understory in the north of its distribution. The northern subspecies is also found in dry open forests and heaths in association with eroded sandstone landscapes in the Sydney Basin bioregion. Males of both taxa call from both constructed burrows and open positions on small streams, differing from the five Western Australian species of Heleioporus where males call only from constructed burrows. Using the IUCN Red List process, we found that the extent of occupancy and area of occupancy along with evidence of decline for both subspecies are consistent with the criteria for Endangered (A2(c)B2(a)(b)).
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Neckel-Oliveira, Selvino, Selvino Neckel-Oliveira, Ulisses Galatti, Selvino Neckel-Oliveira, Ulisses Galatti, Sarita B. Faveri, Selvino Neckel-Oliveira, et al. "Ecological correlates in Brazilian Amazonian anurans: implications for conservation." Amphibia-Reptilia 34, no. 2 (2013): 217–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685381-00002890.
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The objective of the present study is to identify the ecological characteristics of Amazonian frogs that would make them candidates for endangered species status, and to quantify correlations between body size and geographic distribution. The study included 180 species for which information was available on life history characteristics, including reproductive mode, aquatic larval development, primary larval habitat and adult microhabitat, and activity period. Species with aquatic development were classified in eight ecological groups based on a cluster analysis. Twenty-eight of the aquatic-developing species share a stream-based larval development stage with groups of endangered or vulnerable species from Australia and Central America. The Amazonian species have geographic ranges around five times larger than their Australian and Central American counterparts. The median clutch size and geographic range in aquatic-developing anuran species were 20 percent and 3.3 percent greater, respectively, than those of terrestrial-developing species. For both aquatic- and terrestrial-developing species, body size was positively associated with clutch size. Body size was also correlated with geographic range in aquatic-developing, but not in terrestrial species. Restricted geographic ranges and a lack of populations in protected areas were recorded in both groups. Most of these species occur in the southwestern Brazilian Amazon, which not only has poor coverage of protected areas, but is becoming increasingly threatened by ongoing economic development. The systematic monitoring of the region’s anurans and the creation of new conservation units should thus be of the highest priority.
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MAHONY, MICHAEL J., HARRY B. HINES, TERRY BERTOZZI, STEPHEN V. MAHONY, DAVID A. NEWELL, JOHN M. CLARKE, and STEPHEN C. DONNELLAN. "A new species of Philoria (Anura: Limnodynastidae) from the uplands of the Gondwana Rainforests World Heritage Area of eastern Australia." Zootaxa 5104, no. 2 (February 25, 2022): 209–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5104.2.3.
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The six species of mountain frogs (Philoria: Limnodynastidae: Anura) are endemic to south-eastern Australia. Five species occur in headwater systems in mountainous north-eastern New South Wales (NSW) and south-eastern Queensland (Qld), centred on the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area. A previous molecular genetic analysis identified divergent genetic lineages in the central and western McPherson Ranges region of Qld and NSW, but sampling was inadequate to test the species status of these lineages. With more comprehensive geographic sampling and examination of the nuclear genome using SNP analysis, we show that an undescribed species, P. knowlesi sp. nov., occurs in the central and western McPherson Ranges (Levers Plateau and Mount Barney complex). The new species is not phylogenetically closely related to P. loveridgei in the nuclear data but is related to one of two divergent lineages within P. loveridgei in the mtDNA data. We postulate that the discordance between the nuclear and mtDNA outcomes is due to ancient introgression of the mtDNA genome from P. loveridgei into the new species. Male advertisement calls and multivariate morphological analyses do not reliably distinguish P. knowlesi sp. nov. from any of the Philoria species in northeast NSW and southeast Qld. The genetic comparisons also enable us to define further the distributions of P. loveridgei and P. kundagungan. Samples from the Lamington Plateau, Springbrook Plateau, Wollumbin (Mt Warning National Park), and the Nightcap Range, are all P. loveridgei, and its distribution is now defined as the eastern McPherson Ranges and Tweed caldera. Philoria kundagungan is distributed from the Mistake Mountains in south-eastern Qld to the Tooloom Scrub on the Koreelah Range, southwest of Woodenbong, in NSW, with two subpopulations identified by SNP analysis. We therefore assessed the IUCN threat category of P. loveridgei and P. kundagungan and undertook new assessments for each of its two subpopulations and for the new taxon P. knowlesi sp. nov., using IUCN Red List criteria. Philoria loveridgei, P. kundagungan (entire range and northern subpopulation separately) and P. knowlesi sp. nov. each meet criteria for “Endangered” (EN B2(a)(b)[i, iii]). The southern subpopulation of P. kundagungan, in the Koreelah Range, meets criteria for “Critically Endangered” (CE B2(a)(b)[i, iii]). These taxa are all highly threatened due to the small number of known locations, the restricted nature of their breeding habitat, and direct and indirect threats from climate change, and the potential impact of the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis. Feral pigs are an emerging threat, with significant impacts now observed in Philoria breeding habitat in the Mistake Mountains.
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Smolker, Rachel A., and Richard C. Connor. "'Pop' Goes the Dolphin: a Vocalization Male Bottlenose Dolphins Produce During Consortships." Behaviour 133, no. 9-10 (1996): 643–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853996x00404.
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AbstractStudies of dolphin communication have been hindered by the difficulty of localizing sounds underwater and thus identifying vocalizing individuals. Male bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.; speckled form) in Shark Bay, Western Australia produce a vocalization we call 'pops'. Pops are narrow-band, low frequency pulses with peak energy between 300 and 3000 Hz and are typically produced in trains of 3-30 pops at rates of 6-12 pops/s. Observations on the pop vocalization and associated behavior were made as part of a long-term study of bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay. During 1987-88 seven dolphins, including three males, frequented a shallow water area where they were daily provisioned with fish by tourists and fishermen. The three males often produced pops when accompanied by single female consorts into the shallows. Fortuitously, the males often remained at the surface where pops were audible in air, enabling us to identify the popping individual. All 12 of the female consorts in the study turned in towards males at a higher rate when the males were popping than when they were not popping. All 19 occurrences of one form of aggression, 'head-jerks', were associated with pops. We conclude that pops are a threat vocalization which induces the female to remain close to the popping male during consortships.
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Shroff, Farah M., and David Jung. "Here's to sound action on global hearing health through public health approaches." International Journal of Health Governance 25, no. 3 (July 31, 2020): 235–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijhg-01-2020-0004.
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PurposeA global pandemic, non-occupational noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a completely preventable public health problem, which receives limited air time. This study has dual purposes: to contribute to scholarly literature that puts non-occupational NIHL on the global priority map and to effect change in the City of Vancouver's policies toward noise.Design/methodology/approachExperts in public health and hearing health were contacted in addition to a scoping literature search on PubMed. Information pertaining to both developed and developing countries was obtained, and comparison was made to Canada where possible. The authors met with elected officials at the City of Vancouver to inform them of the win–win aspects of policies that promoted better hearing.FindingsNon-occupational NIHL is an underappreciated issue in Canada and many other countries, as seen by the lack of epidemiological data and public health initiatives. Other countries, such as Australia, have more robust research and public health programs, but most of the world lags behind. Better hearing health is possible through targeted campaigns addressing root causes of non-occupational, recreational noise – positive associations with loud noise. By redefining social norms so that soft to moderate sounds are associated with positive values and loud sounds are negatively attributed, the societies will prevent leisure NIHL. The authors recommend widespread national all-age campaigns that benefit from successful public health campaigns of the past, such as smoking cessation, safety belts and others. Soft Sounds are Healthy (SSH) is a suggested name for a campaign that would take many years, ample resources and sophisticated understanding of behavior change to be effective.Research limitations/implicationsA gap exists in the collection of non-occupational NIHL data. Creating indicators and regularly collecting data is a high priority for most nations. Beyond data collection, prevention of non-occupational NIHL ought to be a high priority. Studies in each region would propel understanding, partly to discern the cultural factors that would predispose the general population to change favorable attitudes toward loud sounds to associations of moderate sounds with positivity. Evaluations of these campaigns would then follow.Practical implicationsEveryday life for many people around the world, particularly in cities, is loud. Traffic, construction, loudspeakers, music and other loud sounds abound. Many people have adapted to these loud soundscapes, and others suffer from the lack of peace and quiet. Changing cultural attitudes toward loud sound will improve human and animal health, lessen the burden on healthcare systems and positively impact the economy.Social implicationsIndustries that create loud technologies and machinery ought to be required to find ways to soften noise. Regulatory mechanisms that are enforced by law and fines ought to be in place. When governments take up the banner of hearing health, they will help to set a new tone toward loud sounds as undesirable, and this will partially address the root causes of the problem of non-occupational NIHL.Originality/valueVery little public health literature addresses NIHL. It is a relatively ignored health problem. This project aims to spurn public health campaigns, offering our own infographic with a possible title of Soft Sounds are Healthy (SSH) or Soft Sounds are Sexy (SSS). The study also aimed to influence city officials in the authors’ home, Vancouver, and they were able to do this.
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Han Ng, Chee, Jedol Dayou, Chong Mun Ho, Sithi V. Muniandy, Abdul Hamid Ahmad, and Mohd Noh Dalimin. "INVESTIGATION ON THE POSSIBILITY OF USING ENTROPY APPROACH FOR CLASSIFICATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF FROG SPECIES." Jurnal Teknologi 75, no. 1 (June 28, 2015). http://dx.doi.org/10.11113/jt.v75.3699.
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Animal species identification based on their sound has received attentions from researchers. This is to establish fast and efficient identification method. Identification of frogs have been one of the examples where research activities have shown some progress. Mel Frequency Cepstrum Coefficient (MFCC) and Linear Predictive Coding (LPC), coupled with k-th Nearest Neighbor (k-NN) or Support Vector Machines (SVM) have been the favorate approachs used by researchers. Quite recently, a new classification and identification method of sound using entropy-based approach for species identification of Australian frogs was proposed. Shannon, Rènyi and Tsallis entropy were used as features of extraction for the purpose of pattern recognition. Result shows that the full entropy-based animal sound identification system has successfully identified most of the frog species used in this study. The overall classification accuracy is as high as 91% with two failures from nine samples at 70% and 40%, respectively. A comparative analysis highlights the advantages of full entropy approach over conventional frequency spectral and hybrid methods. This is shown especially in the running time of a computer that required to complete the species identifications process. The result presented in this paper indicates that full entropy-based method can be used for faster frog species identification.
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Murphy, Michael J. "Annotated checklist of the herpetofauna of the Pilliga Forest in northern inland New South Wales, Australia for the period January 2006–January 2018." Australian Zoologist, May 9, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.7882/az.2022.015.
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ABSTRACT The Pilliga Forest is one of the largest surviving woodland remnants on the New South Wales western slopes in inland eastern Australia. Collation of personal observations by a resident herpetologist working in the Pilliga Forest over a 12-year period identified 18 frog species and 49 reptile species. One additional reptile species was identified from museum specimen records, and unconfirmed reports of another one frog and seven reptile species are also noted. This paper provides the most comprehensive published account of the herpetofauna of the Pilliga Forest to date, and illustrates the value of observations over an extended period. Comparison with other locations across western New South Wales highlights the high species richness of the Pilliga Forest for both frogs and reptiles. This is in part a function of its location in a biogeographic overlap zone between eastern, western and northern faunal assemblages. Species of particular conservation concern found in the Pilliga Forest include the threatened Hoplocephalus bitorquatus, near-threatened Pseudophryne bibronii and declining woodland reptiles such as Ctenotus allotropis, Diporiphora nobbi, Morelia spilota metcalfei, Acanthophis antarcticus, Brachyurophis australis and Vermicella annulata.
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Collins, J., K. M. J. Simpson, G. Bell, D. N. Durrheim, G. A. Hill-Cawthorne, K. Hope, P. Howard, et al. "A One Health investigation of Salmonella enterica serovar Wangata in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, 2016–2017." Epidemiology and Infection 147 (2019). http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0950268819000475.
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AbstractSalmonella enterica serovar Wangata (S. Wangata) is an important cause of endemic salmonellosis in Australia, with human infections occurring from undefined sources. This investigation sought to examine possible environmental and zoonotic sources for human infections with S. Wangata in north-eastern New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The investigation adopted a One Health approach and was comprised of three complimentary components: a case–control study examining human risk factors; environmental and animal sampling; and genomic analysis of human, animal and environmental isolates. Forty-eight human S. Wangata cases were interviewed during a 6-month period from November 2016 to April 2017, together with 55 Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) controls and 130 neighbourhood controls. Indirect contact with bats/flying foxes (S. Typhimurium controls (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.63, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06–6.48)) (neighbourhood controls (aOR 8.33, 95% CI 2.58–26.83)), wild frogs (aOR 3.65, 95% CI 1.32–10.07) and wild birds (aOR 6.93, 95% CI 2.29–21.00) were statistically associated with illness in multivariable analyses. S. Wangata was detected in dog faeces, wildlife scats and a compost specimen collected from the outdoor environments of cases’ residences. In addition, S. Wangata was detected in the faeces of wild birds and sea turtles in the investigation area. Genomic analysis revealed that S. Wangata isolates were relatively clonal. Our findings suggest that S. Wangata is present in the environment and may have a reservoir in wildlife populations in north-eastern NSW. Further investigation is required to better understand the occurrence of Salmonella in wildlife groups and to identify possible transmission pathways for human infections.
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Pyke, Graham H., and Arthur W. White. "Frog Reproduction and Community Structure in relation to Water Attributes: Setting the stage to understand effects of Climatic Variables and Climate Change." Australian Zoologist, October 22, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.7882/az.2021.032.
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ABSTRACT As amphibians have declined more than other vertebrates and are important environmental bio-indicators for aquatic ecosystems, we must understand how attributes of such ecosystems affect individual frogs, populations, and multi-species communities. For aquatic-breeding frogs, pond physical/chemical properties influence all life-stages and therefore populations, species, and communities. However, studies have focussed on tadpoles, considered few water variables, and not considered relationships between water attributes and frog populations or communities. Inter-specific differences in how water attributes affect tadpole populations, and hence possibly adult choice of breeding site, should reflect habitats where different species occur, but has been little investigated. We studied the only frog species on Broughton Island, off the east coast of Australia: the threatened Green and Golden Bell Frog Litoria aurea (GGBF); and the widespread and abundant Striped Marsh Frog Limnodynastes peronii (SMF). Suitability of pond breeding habitat, measured by encounter rates during 57 visits over 17 years with different life stages, depended on depth, salinity, pH and temperature, with responses by the two species in essentially opposite directions. For both species, encounter rates increased with increasing depth and with decreasing salinity. Encounter rates peaked at neutral to alkaline pH for GGBF (i.e., 6.8 to 8.0 or higher) and acidic pH for SMF (i.e., 5.5 to 6.0). As water temperature increased, encounter rates increased for GGBF and decreased for SMF. Frog community structure depended on average pond temperature and how it changed over time. If recorded temperature, averaged over the year, was less than 22°C or declined to below this level, the GGBF population, as indexed by numbers of adults observed and occurrences of earlier life stages, was low or declined, while the SMF population was high or increased. This threshold yearly average temperature translates into a required temperature at onset of spring breeding for the GGBF of about 20°C. The GGBF population on the island has declined since 1998, when our study began, due to increased aquatic vegetation and consequent decline in water temperature in major breeding ponds. As ponds are small, manual vegetation removal should reverse the trend. A comprehensive understanding of the biological effects of climate change, past and future, can now be pursued.
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Taylor, Melissa C., Kenny J. Travouillon, Margaret E. Andrew, Patricia A. Fleming, and Natalie M. Warburton. "Keeping an ear out: size relationship of the tympanic bullae and pinnae in bandicoots and bilbies (Marsupialia: Peramelemorphia)." Current Zoology, July 10, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoab055.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Bandicoots and bilbies (Order Peramelemorphia) occupy a broad range of habitats across Australia and New Guinea, from open, arid deserts to dense forests. This once diverse group has been particularly vulnerable to habitat loss and introduced eutherian predators, and numerous species extinctions and range retractions have occurred. Understanding reasons for this loss requires greater understanding of their biology. Morphology of the pinnae and tympanic bullae varies markedly among species. As hearing is important for both predator avoidance and prey location, the variability in ear morphology could reflect specialization and adaptation to specific environments, and therefore be of conservation relevance. We measured 798 museum specimens representing 29 species of Peramelemorphia. Controlling for phylogenetic relatedness and head length, pinna surface area was weakly negatively correlated with average precipitation (rainfall being our surrogate measure of vegetation productivity/complexity), and there were no environmental correlates with effective diameter (pinna width). Controlling for phylogenetic relatedness and skull length, tympanic bulla volume was negatively correlated with precipitation. Species that inhabited drier habitats, which would be open and allow sound to carry further with less obstruction, had relatively larger pinnae and tympanic bullae. In contrast, species from higher rainfall habitats, where sounds would be attenuated and diffused by dense vegetation, had the smallest pinnae and bullae, suggesting that low-frequency hearing is not as important in these habitats. Associations with temperature did not reach statistical significance. These findings highlight linkages between hearing traits and habitat that can inform conservation and management strategies for threatened species.