scholarly journals Time to adjust: changes in the diet of a reintroduced marsupial after release

Oryx ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Hannah Bannister ◽  
Adam Croxford ◽  
Robert Brandle ◽  
David C. Paton ◽  
Katherine Moseby
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Release Site ◽  
Drought Period ◽  
Dietary Preferences ◽  
Local Plant ◽  
Vegetation Surveys ◽  
Dry Climates ◽  
Movement Parameters ◽  
Acclimatization Period

Abstract An important component of reintroduction is acclimatization to the release site. Movement parameters and breeding are common metrics used to infer the end of the acclimatization period, but the time taken to locate preferred food items is another important measure. We studied the diet of a reintroduced population of brushtail possums Trichosurus vulpecula in semi-arid South Australia over a 12 month period, investigating changes over time as well as the general diet. We used next-generation DNA sequencing to determine the contents of 253 scat samples, after creating a local plant reference library. Vegetation surveys were conducted monthly to account for availability. Dietary diversity and richness decreased significantly with time since release after availability was accounted for. We used Jacob's Index to assess selectivity; just 13.4% of available plant genera were significantly preferred overall, relative to availability. The mean proportion of preferred plant genera contained within individual samples increased significantly with time since release, but the frequency of occurrence of preferred plants did not. Five genera (Eucalyptus, Petalostylis, Maireana, Zygophyllum and Callitris) were present in more than half of samples. There was no difference in dietary preferences between sexes (Pianka overlap = 0.73). Our results suggest that acclimatization periods may be longer than those estimated via reproduction, changes in mass and movement parameters, but that under suitable conditions a changeable diet should not negatively affect reintroduction outcomes. Reintroduction projects should aim to extend post-release monitoring beyond the dietary acclimatization period and, for dry climates, diet should be monitored through a drought period.

Are mesic communities less drought-resistant? A study on moisture relationships in dry sclerophyll forest at Inglewood, South Australia

1962 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 106 ◽  
Author(s):  
HA Martin ◽  
RL Specht
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Seedling Stage ◽  
The Other ◽  
Drought Period ◽  
Available Water ◽  
Sclerophyll Forest ◽  
Characteristic Species ◽  
Drought Resistant ◽  
Soil Moisture Reserves

Soil moisture changes under two adjacent forest associations (Eucalyptus obliqua association in the more mesic environment, E. elaeophora association in the more xeric sites) were recorded in the Inglewood area of the Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia. The evidence indicated that the E. obliqua association had a higher index of evapotranspiration (Itr = Etr/Ew0.75) over most of the range of available water (soil moisture + rainfall) than the E. elaeophora association. The more mesic association consequently completely exhausted the stored soil moisture during periods of low rainfall and had to survive a drought period every year. The other association did not deplete the soil moisture reserves and in an average year, no drought occurred. Characteristic species of the more mesic association must be able to survive this drought period especially during the seedling stage.

scholarly journals The contribution of small-scale, privately owned tropical aquaculture to food security and dietary diversity in Bolivia

Food Security ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Irwin ◽  
Mark S. Flaherty ◽  
Joachim Carolsfeld
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Fish Consumption ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Dietary Preferences ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Tropical Aquaculture ◽  
The Impact

Abstract New aquaculture systems are emerging in new contexts around the world in part due to aquaculture’s perceived development benefits. However, linkages between aquaculture and food security in these systems are unclear. This study investigated the impact of emerging small-scale, business-oriented fish culture in central Bolivia on the food security and dietary diversity of aquaculture producers (n = 40) and workers (n = 26) in the value chain and compared them to local non-aquaculture farmers (n = 40). Three pathways were investigated: fish consumption, household income, and women’s participation. Food insecurity was widespread and did not vary in a statistically significant way between groups, but a trend toward greater food security amongst aquaculture producers was observed. Dietary diversity was highly homogenous, with the notable exception of high fish consumption amongst producers. Aquaculture was related to higher income, and income has a modest positive effect on food security for aquaculturists and non-aquaculture farmers, but not aquaculture value chain workers. Income did not have an effect on dietary diversity. Women’s involvement in aquaculture was correlated positively to productivity, profitability, and size of operation, while male-only aquaculture was negatively correlated to these. The value chain generated employment, especially for women, but average wages were higher for men. The research provides important insight into aquaculture-food security linkages by showing that the introduction of small-scale business-oriented aquaculture systems can provide nutritious products for regional consumption and can have positive effects on food security but is not sufficient to change local dietary preferences more broadly.

An experimental translocation of brush-tailed bettongs (Bettongia penicillata) to western New South Wales

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 421 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Priddel ◽  
Robert Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Release Site ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Source Population ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Bettongia Penicillata ◽  
Radio Transmitters ◽  
Low Incidence

A total of 85 brush-tailed bettongs (Bettongia penicillata) from Western Australia and two sites in South Australia were translocated to Yathong Nature Reserve (YNR) in western New South Wales in October 2001. Aerial baiting to control the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes) had been undertaken on YNR since 1996. Thirty-one bettongs were fitted with radio-transmitters at the time of release, and two subsequently. Trapping took place at irregular intervals after the translocation. In all, 73% of telemetered bettongs died within the first six months; all were dead within 13 months. Eight bettongs died within the first eight days immediately following their release, due to causes other than predation. These eight all originated from St Peter Island (SPI), South Australia. A low incidence of breeding on SPI supports the belief that this source population was in poor condition and unsuited for translocation. Overall, 19 of the 33 telemetered bettongs were killed by predators: 14 (74%) by feral house cats (Felis catus), two (11%) by birds, and three (16%) by predators, which, although they could not be fully identified, were not foxes. One month after release, surviving bettongs weighed less than they did at the time of their release (mean decrease in mass = 9.7%, range 2.6–22.4%, n = 11). Within two months of their release most had regained any lost mass (mean change in mass since release = –0.3%, range –5.9 to 10.5%). Food resources on YNR appeared sufficient to sustain adult brush-tailed bettongs, despite a period of severe drought. Small pouch young present at the time of release were subsequently lost. Females gave birth and carried small pouch young (up to 50 mm), but no young-at-foot were recorded. Bettongs did not disperse further than 10 km from their release site. Overall, 50% of aerial-tracking locations were no further than 3.2 km from the release site, and 92% no further than 7.0 km. This experimental translocation of brush-tailed bettongs failed due to predation by cats. It demonstrated that foxes were no longer a threat to wildlife on YNR and identified cats as the major impediment to the restoration of locally extinct fauna.

Chemical curing of annual pastures in Southern Australia for beef cattle and sheep

1971 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 401 ◽  
Author(s):  
AL Pullman ◽  
WG Allden
Keyword(s):  
Beef Cattle ◽  
Nutritive Value ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Indirect Evidence ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrate ◽  
Summer Drought ◽  
Summer Period ◽  
Drought Period ◽  
Cattle And Sheep

A desiccant herbicide (paraquat) was used to kill an annual pasture during the late spring months when the digestibility of the dry matter (DM) was 75%. The nutritive value of this standing herbage during the summer drought period was compared in field and pen studies with pasture allowed to mature naturally in the Mediterranean environment of South Australia. The herbicide treatment resulted in a significant reduction of standing herbage at the beginning of the summer period (5766 v. 2791 kg DM/ha). The DM digestibility by beef cattle of treated and untreated herbage was similar (52.4 v. 53.0% respectively). There was no difference between the paraquat-treated and the naturally matured pasture in the content or the apparent digestibility of organic matter, water-soluble carbohydrate, cellulose, or lignin; but nitrogen content, digestibility, and retention were significantly higher for paraquat-treated herbage. Rainfall between spraying and the beginning of the summer period was 140 mm. Indirect evidence from a separate study indicates that the fall in digestibility of the herbage after paraquat treatment was influenced by both rainfall and the spraying treatment. The productivity of beef cattle and sheep grazing the treated and untreated pastures during the dry summer confirmed the results of the digestibility studies, there being no difference between treatments in weight change or wool production. After the commencement of the autumn rainfall season the proportion of grass . on the sprayed area was greatly reduced, and the growth of cattle was significantly impaired. Thus the overall effect of the paraquat treatment was to reduce cattle growth.

scholarly journals Unusual Sydney dust storm and its mineralogical and organic characteristics

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rupak Aryal ◽  
Dheeraj Kandel ◽  
Durga Acharya ◽  
Meng Nan Chong ◽  
Simon Beecham
Keyword(s):  
Dust Storm ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
New South ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Organic Content ◽  
Drought Period ◽  
Dust Transport ◽  
South Wales

Environmental context In 2009, at the end of the longest drought period ever recorded in Australia, a major dust storm blanketed the cities of Sydney and Brisbane for more than 24 h. The source of the dust was inner New South Wales and South Australia, where large scale open-cut mining occurs together with agricultural practices. We report results of extensive mineralogical and chemical analyses of the dust, and discuss their significance in terms of the dust origins and potential human health risks. Abstract In a 24-h period from 23 to 24 September 2009, a dust storm passed over Sydney, Australia that produced a red sky and reduced the visibility to a few metres. It was Sydney’s worst dust storm since 1942. During this period, the PM10 (particles measuring 10 μm or less) value jumped from 50 to 11 800 µg m–3. The dust storm was sampled and its mineralogical and organic contents were analysed. Four major particle sizes (0.6, 4.5, 9.3 and 20 µm) were observed in the dust. A multimodal particle distribution indicated a long range of dust transport. Mineralogical analysis showed that the particles were mainly composed of crustal elemental oxides of Al and Si. The ratio of Al/Si was 0.39 and the organic content was 10.6 %, which was found to be enriched with humic-type substances. The high Al/Si ratio (>0.3) indicated that the dust originated from desert land whereas the high organic content indicated that the particles were also derived from eroded agricultural land. A fluorescence spectroscopic study on the organic matter at excitation and emission wavelengths of 245–265 and 330–350 nm indicated that biohazardous substances were unlikely to be present in the dust.

scholarly journals Assessment of Dietary Diversity of Mothers and Children of 6–24 Months from Eastern and Southern Provinces of Zambia

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Oladeji Alamu ◽  
Therese Gondwe ◽  
Toluwalope Emmanuel Eyinla ◽  
Busie Maziya-Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Diet Quality ◽  
Educational Level ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
Depth Information ◽  
Dietary Intakes ◽  
Dietary Preferences ◽  
Mothers And Children ◽  
Household Heads

In-depth information on dietary diversity and food consumption patterns in Zambian households is still scarce. This study, therefore, probed dietary intakes of mothers and their children living in households of two Zambian districts, Chipata and Monze, located in the eastern and southern provinces of Zambia, respectively. After assessing their diet, Dietary Diversity Scores (DDSs) were calculated and classified into low and high categories, while correlations were used to test determinants of DDS. The assessment revealed that the consumption of cereal-based products ranked highest in frequency. Specifically, the consumption of maize-based foods was highest in Chipata (55.43%) and then in Monze (43.56%) households. There was an observed low preference for mixed dishes that were not either maize or groundnut porridges. We also found positive and negative correlations of DDS with the educational level of household heads and age of mothers, respectively. We, therefore, suggest that increased nutrition education may improve dietary preferences, so also further investigation into other factors hindering low choices for mixed recipes will be useful in increasing overall diet quality.

Colonisation of Aphytis melinus DeBach (Hymenoptera, Aphelinidae) in Aonidiella aurantii (Mask.) (Hemiptera, Coccidae) on citrus in South Australia

1976 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 659-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Efficient Method ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Release Site ◽  
Small Populations ◽  
Aonidiella Aurantii ◽  
Late Autumn ◽  
Aphytis Melinus ◽  
Early Autumn ◽  
Citrus Orchards ◽  
Control Tree

AbstractAphytis melinus DeBach was introduced to South Australia, reared in the laboratory, and then released against Aonidiella aurantii (Mask.) on citrus. In tests in nine citrus orchards, 100 adults of Aphytis melinus ensured colonisation during summer and early autumn, 1000 during late autumn, but even that number was insufficient during winter. Colonisation was equally successful whether Aonidiella aurantii was very abundant or very rare. The most efficient method for colonisation was therefore to release 100 adult parasites during summer and early autumn into small populations of A. aurantii. The parasite had dispersed at least three trees from each summer release site after five months, but much less following autumn releases. Ten months after summer release into nine trees of a total of 3330 adults, Aphytis melinus was recovered from 286 out of 354 (80%) trees in one orchard. In a further experiment, numbers of Aonidiella aurantii were reduced from 300–1000 per 150 leaves on five trees to less than 10 per 150 leaves 18 months after the release of Aphytis melinus, whereas on a control tree they increased from 550 to 1450 per 150 leaves over nine of those months.

Distribution of C3 and C4 Plants in the Late Pleistocene of South Australia Recorded by Isotope Biogeochemistry of Collagen in Megafauna

1997 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren R. Gröcke
Keyword(s):  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
South Australia ◽  
C4 Plants ◽  
Dental Morphology ◽  
C3 And C4 Plants ◽  
Dietary Preferences ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Response To Environmental Change ◽  
Trees And Shrubs ◽  
Isotope Analyses

Stable carbon-isotope analyses (expressed as a 13C:12C ratio relative to that of a standard: δ13C) on fossilised collagenic material in megafaunal bones can provide information regarding the palaeodiet (e.g. C3 and/or C4 plants) of these animals. Isotope analyses were performed on collagenic material extracted from bones of Sthenurus spp., Diprotodon spp. and Macropus spp. from Cooper Creek, Henschke Cave, Baldina Creek, Dempsey’s Lake and Rocky River in South Australia. The percentage of trees and shrubs estimated from palaeofloral records in south-eastern Australia and the dietary preferences of megafauna were found to be positively correlated. The dietary preferences of megafauna analysed from South Australian localities indicate that megafauna were opportunistic and changed their diet in response to environmental change. This suggests that megafauna diet can not be founded on dental morphology alone. Fossilised collagenic material in vertebrate remains can provide an insight into the broadscale nature of the vegetation. This approach is a good compliment for other palaeoecological data (e.g. sedimentology, spore–pollen, diatoms) by providing evidence for past climates in relation to the proportion of C3 and C4 plants.

History in the Making: The NBN Rollout in Willunga, South Australia

2012 ◽  
Vol 143 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-158
Author(s):  
Melissa Gregg
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Release Site ◽  
Housing Type ◽  
Housing Density ◽  
Rural Town ◽  
Broadband Network ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Roll Out

The 2010 press release announcing the first-release sites for Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN) identified five locations chosen for their contrasting ‘housing density, housing type, geography, climate and local infrastructure’. On these measures, the South Australian town of Willunga was described as a ‘small rural town’ with ‘dispersed housing’. It thus served as a model for the country constituencies crucial to securing support for the federal government's large-scale infrastructure investment. But what else made Willunga an ideal first-release site? Are there local histories that shed light on the decision to grant its residents access to high-speed broadband before the rest of the country? This article shares findings from ethnographic research conducted in Willunga during the 2011 NBN roll-out to answer these questions.

scholarly journals A new species of the basal plesiadapiform Purgatorius (Mammalia, Primates) from the early Paleocene Ravenscrag Formation, Cypress Hills, southwest Saskatchewan, Canada: further taxonomic and dietary diversity in the earliest primates

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig S. Scott ◽  
Richard C. Fox ◽  
Cory M. Redman
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Posterior Lobe ◽  
Dietary Preferences ◽  
The Family ◽  
Early Paleocene ◽  
Additional Support ◽  
Modest Degree ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Lower Molar

The fossil record of the earliest primates, purgatoriid plesiadapiforms, has become increasingly well documented during the past two decades, but their dietary preferences remain poorly understood. While the available evidence, which consists mostly of isolated teeth and incomplete jaws with teeth, suggests that purgatoriids were insectivorous to omnivorous, we describe here a new species of Purgatorius, Purgatorius pinecreeensis sp. nov., that extends the range of purgatoriid dental disparity toward greater omnivory than had been known before. Purgatorius pinecreeensis sp. nov., from the early Paleocene (Puercan) Ravenscrag Formation of southwestern Saskatchewan, differs from other species of Purgatorius in having slightly lower crowned teeth with a lower trigonid relative to talonid, blunter and more swollen major cusps, more transverse lower molar paracristids, and m3 with a more robustly developed posterior lobe. Taken together, these specializations enhanced the capacity for crushing and grinding at the expense of orthal shear, and represent the first instance of a modest degree of bunodonty in the family. The discovery of P. pinecreeensis sp. nov., along with other recently reported basal plesiadapiforms from the Puercan and Torrejonian of the northern Western Interior, lends additional support to the notion of a significant primate radiation soon after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.

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