Large-Scale lenticles in the lower crust under an intra-continental basin in eastern Australia

Riverine fish in New South Wales were studied to examine longitudinal trends in species richness and to identify fish communities on a large spatial scale. Five replicate rivers of four types (montane, slopes, regulated lowland and unregulated lowland) were selected from North Coast, South Coast, Murray and Darling regions. Fishwere sampled during summer and winter in two consecutive years with standardized gear that maximized the range of species caught. The composition of fish communities varied among regions and river types, with little temporal variation. Distinct regional communities converged in montane reaches and diverged downstream. The fish fauna can be classified into North Coast, South Coast, Murray and Darling communities, with a distinct montane community at high elevations irrespective of the drainage division. Species richness increased downstream in both North Coast and South Coast regions by both replacement and the addition of new species. In contrast, species richness in the Darling and Murray regions reached a maximum in the slopes reaches and then declined, reflecting a loss of species in lowland reaches. The small number of species is typical of the freshwater fish faunas of similar climatic regions world-wide. Fish communities identified in this study form logical entities for fisheries management consistent with the ecosystem-focused, catchment-based approach to river management and water reform being adopted in Australia.

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Out in the wash: spatial ecology of a temperate marine shallow rocky-reef species derived using acoustic telemetry

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf14182 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 66 (6) ◽

pp. 559 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jerom R. Stocks ◽

Charles A. Gray ◽

Matthew D. Taylor

Keyword(s):

Spatial Ecology ◽

Large Scale ◽

Spatial Information ◽

Activity Space ◽

Rocky Reef ◽

Temperate Reef ◽

Detection Frequency ◽

Detection Depth ◽

Eastern Australia ◽

Temperate Reef Fish

Characterising the movement and habitat affinities of fish is a fundamental component in understanding the functioning of marine ecosystems. A comprehensive array of acoustic receivers was deployed at two near-shore coastal sites in south-eastern Australia, to examine the movements, activity-space size and residency of a temperate rocky-reef, herbivorous species Girella elevata. Twenty-four G. elevata individuals were internally tagged with pressure-sensing acoustic transmitters across these two arrays and monitored for up to 550 days. An existing network of coastal receivers was used to examine large-scale movement patterns. Individuals exhibited varying residency, but all had small activity-space sizes within the arrays. The species utilised shallow rocky-reef habitat, displaying unimodal or bimodal patterns in depth use. A positive correlation was observed between wind speed and the detection depth of fish, with fish being likely to move to deeper water to escape periods of adverse conditions. Detection frequency data, corrected using sentinel tags, generally illustrated diurnal behaviour. Patterns of habitat usage, residency and spatial utilisation highlighted the susceptibility of G. elevata to recreational fishing pressure. The results from the present study will further contribute to the spatial information required in the zoning of effective marine protected areas, and our understanding of temperate reef fish ecology.

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Fungi and fire in Australian ecosystems: a review of current knowledge, management implications and future directions

Australian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1071/bt10059 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 59 (1) ◽

pp. 70 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

Sapphire J. M. McMullan-Fisher ◽

Tom W. May ◽

Richard M. Robinson ◽

Tina L. Bell ◽

Teresa Lebel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fungal Community ◽

Large Scale ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Vegetation Type ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

Trophic Group ◽

Fire Intensity ◽

Specific Information ◽

Eastern Australia ◽

Essential Components

Fungi are essential components of all ecosystems in roles including symbiotic partners, decomposers and nutrient cyclers and as a source of food for vertebrates and invertebrates. Fire changes the environment in which fungi live by affecting soil structure, nutrient availability, organic and inorganic substrates and other biotic components with which fungi interact, particularly mycophagous animals. We review the literature on fire and fungi in Australia, collating studies that include sites with different time since fire or different fire regimes. The studies used a variety of methods for survey and identification of fungi and focussed on different groups of fungi, with an emphasis on fruit-bodies of epigeal macrofungi and a lack of studies on microfungi in soil or plant tissues. There was a lack of replication of fire treatment effects in some studies. Nevertheless, most studies reported some consequence of fire on the fungal community. Studies on fire and fungi were concentrated in eucalypt forest in south-west and south-eastern Australia, and were lacking for ecosystems such as grasslands and tropical savannahs. The effects of fire on fungi are highly variable and depend on factors such as soil and vegetation type and variation in fire intensity and history, including the length of time between fires. There is a post-fire flush of fruit-bodies of pyrophilous macrofungi, but there are also fungi that prefer long unburnt vegetation. The few studies that tested the effect of fire regimes in relation to the intervals between burns did not yield consistent results. The functional roles of fungi in ecosystems and the interactions of fire with these functions are explained and discussed. Responses of fungi to fire are reviewed for each fungal trophic group, and also in relation to interactions between fungi and vertebrates and invertebrates. Recommendations are made to include monitoring of fungi in large-scale fire management research programs and to integrate the use of morphological and molecular methods of identification. Preliminary results suggest that fire mosaics promote heterogeneity in the fungal community. Management of substrates could assist in preserving fungal diversity in the absence of specific information on fungi.

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Deep phylogenetic structure has conservation implications for ornate rainbowfish (Melanotaeniidae:Rhadinocentrus ornatus) in Queensland, eastern Australia

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf03139 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 55 (2) ◽

pp. 165 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Timothy J. Page ◽

Suman Sharma ◽

Jane M. Hughes

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Mitochondrial Atpase ◽

Isolated Populations ◽

Exotic Fish ◽

Phylogenetic Structure ◽

Bay Area ◽

Conservation Implications ◽

South Wales ◽

Eastern Australia ◽

Atpase Gene

The freshwater fish, Rhadinocentrus ornatus Regan, 1914, has a patchy distribution through coastal drainages of Queensland and New South Wales, eastern Australia. Isolated populations of R. ornatus are found on several islands, as well as in a disjunct northern population 350 km from its nearest conspecific population. Deoxyribonucleic acid was extracted and sequenced for the mitochondrial ATPase gene to describe the geographic and genetic subdivision within the species. Four major clades were identified. These clades diverged between two and seven million years ago and so represent long-term divisions and possible units of conservation. There are conservation implications in that the narrow and localised distribution of R. ornatus overlaps with an area of large-scale land clearing, high human population and threats from introduced exotic fish. A particularly high centre of Rhadinocentrus diversity in the Tin Can Bay area of Queensland presents some interesting questions about the evolution of the genus Rhadinocentrus.

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What is underneath the juvenile Ordovician Macquarie Arc (eastern Australia)? A question resolved using Silurian intrusions to sample the lower crust

Gondwana Research ◽

10.1016/j.gr.2019.11.018 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 81 ◽

pp. 362-377

Author(s):

Qing Zhang ◽

Allen Nutman ◽

Solomon Buckman ◽

Vickie C. Bennett

Keyword(s):

Lower Crust ◽

Eastern Australia

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Salvage harvesting – past lessons and future issues

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc82048-1 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 82 (1) ◽

pp. 48-53 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

David Lindenmayer

Keyword(s):

Environmental Impacts ◽

Large Scale ◽

Natural Disturbance ◽

Forest Planning ◽

Salvage Logging ◽

Eastern Australia ◽

Wide Range ◽

Natural Resource Managers ◽

Salvage Harvesting

The increasing prevalence and/or increasing intensity of large-scale natural disturbance events in forests means that post-disturbance salvage logging is becoming more widespread. Salvage logging can have a wide range of environmental impacts, but some of these are not well known or not well understood by policy makers and natural resource managers. Some of these impacts are briefly summarized in this paper. Improved long-term forest planning needs to be embraced that takes into account the not only the environmental but also the social and environmental impacts of salvage harvesting. Past mistakes and future opportunities associated with salvage harvesting are illustrated by a case study from the Lower Cotter Catchment in south-eastern Australia. Key words: salvage harvesting, natural disturbance, environmental impacts, ecologically sustainable forestry, forest planning, long-term forest sustainability

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Effects of large fires on biodiversity in south-eastern Australia: disaster or template for diversity?

International Journal of Wildland Fire ◽

10.1071/wf07153 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 17 (6) ◽

pp. 809 ◽

Cited By ~ 80

Author(s):

Ross A. Bradstock

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

Ecological Communities ◽

South Eastern ◽

Habitat Variation ◽

Eastern Australia ◽

Rate Adaptive ◽

Large Fires ◽

South Eastern Australia

Large fires coincident with drought occurred in south-eastern Australia during 2001–2007. Perceptions of large, intense fires as being ecologically ‘disastrous’ are common. These are summarised by four hypotheses characterising large fires as: (i) homogenous in extent and intensity; (ii) causing large-scale extinction due to perceived lack of survival and regeneration capacity among biota; (iii) degrading due to erosion and related edaphic effects; (iv) unnatural, as a consequence of contemporary land management. These hypotheses are examined using available evidence and shown to inadequately account for effects of large fires on biodiversity. Large fires do not burn homogeneously, though they may produce intensely burnt patches and areas. The bulk of biota are resilient through a variety of in situ persistence mechanisms that are reinforced by landscape factors. Severe erosive episodes following fire tend to be local and uncertain rather than global and inevitable. Redistribution of soil and nutrients may reinforce habitat variation in some cases. Signals of fire are highly variable over prehistoric and historic eras, and, in some cases, contemporary and pre-European signal levels are equivalent. The most important effects of large fires in these diverse ecological communities and landscapes stem from their recurrence rate. Adaptive management of fire regimes rather than fire events is required, based on an understanding of risks posed by particular regimes to biota.

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