A new low-cost hairtube design for the detection of the spotted-tailed quoll Dasyurus maculatus in south-eastern Australia.

2005 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
AJ Murray
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Fragmented Distribution ◽  
Carnivorous Marsupial ◽  
South Eastern Australia

THE spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) is the largest carnivorous marsupial extant on mainland Australia, where it has a fragmented distribution in forested habitats in the eastern part of the continent. This species is also found in Tasmania. D. maculatus have been found in a wide variety of forest types from sea level to over 1400 m above sea level, in areas generally receiving in excess of 600 mm of rainfall (Mansergh 1983). The distribution of D. maculatus is believed to have declined by over 50% following European settlement (Mansergh 1983).

The El Nino-Southern Oscillation in south-eastern Australian waters

1991 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 263 ◽  
Author(s):  
WW Hsieh ◽  
BV Hamon
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Coastal Upwelling ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Geostrophic Wind ◽  
Air Pressure ◽  
Ekman Transport ◽  
Hydrographic Data ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Using four decades of hydrographic data collected off the coast near Sydney, New South Wales, and sea-level data at Sydney, we studied the interannual variability in south-eastern Australian shelf waters. The first two empirical orthogonal function (EOF) modes of the band-pass-filtered 50-m-depth hydrographic data (temperature, T; salinity, S; nitrate, N; inorganic phosphate, P; and oxygen, O) and the sea level (SL) and adjusted sea level (ASL) data accounted respectively for 51 and 27% of the total variance. Both modes were significantly correlated with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). The first mode, with T, S, O and ASL varying in opposition to N and P, represented the internal or baroclinic response, associated with vertical displacements of the isopycnals. The second mode, with large in-phase fluctuations in SL and ASL but small changes in the hydrographic variables, represented mainly the external or barotropic response during the El Niiio-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Three-year composites centred around seven ENSO warm episodes revealed that T, S, O and ASL were generally low and N, P, SL and SO1 were high in the year before each ENSO warm episode, but the former group rose while the latter group dropped in the year of the warm episode. The changes in the hydrographic variables at 50 m depth were consistent with relatively shallow isopycnals in the year before the ENSO warm episode, followed by a deepening of the isopycnals during the warm episode. Estimates of this downward displacement of isopycnals, as determined from T, N, P and O, were in the range 7-10 m. The geostrophic wind arising from the pressure fluctuations during ENSO is proposed as a probable cause for the vertical displacement of the isopycnals. In the year before the warm episode, the low air pressure over Australia would produce a clockwise geostrophic wind around south-eastern Australia, generating offshore Ekman transport and coastal upwelling. During the warm episode, air pressure over Australia rises, the geostrophic wind reverses, and downward movement of the isopycnals would occur off south-eastern Australia.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Spectral Indices for Assessing Fire Severity in Australian Temperate Forests

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bang Tran ◽  
Mihai Tanase ◽  
Lauren Bennett ◽  
Cristina Aponte
Keyword(s):  
Forest Type ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Spectral Indices ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Severity Classification ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Regeneration Strategies ◽  
Open Forests ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Spectral indices derived from optical remote sensing data have been widely used for fire-severity classification in forests from local to global scales. However, comparative analyses of multiple indices across diverse forest types are few. This represents an information gap for fire management agencies in areas like temperate south-eastern Australia, which is characterised by a diversity of natural forests that vary in structure, and in the fire-regeneration strategies of the dominant trees. We evaluate 10 spectral indices across eight areas burnt by wildfires in 1998, 2006, 2007, and 2009 in south-eastern Australia. These wildfire areas encompass 13 forest types, which represent 86% of the 7.9M ha region’s forest area. Forest types were aggregated into six forest groups based on their fire-regeneration strategies (seeders, resprouters) and structure (tree height and canopy cover). Index performance was evaluated for each forest type and forest group by examining its sensitivity to four fire-severity classes (unburnt, low, moderate, high) using three independent methods (anova, separability, and optimality). For the best-performing indices, we calculated index-specific thresholds (by forest types and groups) to separate between the four severity classes, and evaluated the accuracy of fire-severity classification on independent samples. Our results indicated that the best-performing indices of fire severity varied with forest type and group. Overall accuracy for the best-performing indices ranged from 0.50 to 0.78, and kappa values ranged from 0.33 (fair agreement) to 0.77 (substantial agreement), depending on the forest group and index. Fire severity in resprouter open forests and woodlands was most accurately mapped using the delta Normalised Burnt ratio (dNBR). In contrast, dNDVI (delta Normalised difference vegetation index) performed best for open forests with mixed fire responses (resprouters and seeders), and dNDWI (delta Normalised difference water index) was the most accurate for obligate seeder closed forests. Our analysis highlighted the low sensitivity of all indices to fire impacts in Rainforest. We conclude that the optimal spectral index for quantifying fire severity varies with forest type, but that there is scope to group forests by structure and fire-regeneration strategy to simplify fire-severity classification in heterogeneous forest landscapes.

Benchmark stem densities for forests and woodlands in south-eastern Australia under conditions of relatively little modification by humans since European settlement

2010 ◽  
Vol 260 (12) ◽  
pp. 2125-2133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Gibbons ◽  
S.V. Briggs ◽  
Danielle Y. Murphy ◽  
David B. Lindenmayer ◽  
Chris McElhinny ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Eastern ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
South Eastern Australia

A review of pasture establishment by undersowing with special reference to the mixed farming zone of south-eastern Australia

2014 ◽  
Vol 65 (10) ◽  
pp. 956 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff I. McCormick ◽  
Richard C. Hayes ◽  
Guangdi D. Li ◽  
Mark R. Norton
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Minimal Risk ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Financial Benefit ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Mixed Farming ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Pastures continue to provide essential functions for the mixed-farming zone in south-eastern Australia, where crop and livestock production are integral parts of most farms. Establishment of pastures in this zone needs to be low-cost and preferably with minimal risk. Pastures are typically sown either directly or in combination with a cover-crop (also called undersowing; the practice of sowing pasture seed simultaneously with a crop that is intended for grain production in the first year), so that the establishment cost is offset by income from the sale of grain. The purposes of this review are to: (i) draw together the literature on undersowing pastures, including studies conducted since the previous review in 1965; (ii) understand why there is a discrepancy between research results that generally do not support the practice of undersowing pastures, whereas farmer preference appears to establish pastures under a cover-crop; and (iii) identify critical needs for further research to aid in making decisions about pasture establishment on-farm. Published and unpublished data from the Australian wheatbelt on establishing pastures by undersowing was examined from the 1920s to the present and included seven publications for perennial species from 26 different experiments. Eight publications addressing establishment of annual species were available from 30 experiments. Many trials appear to have been conducted without being analysed or published. A further 16 international publications were reviewed. Generally, cover-crops reduced annual pasture seedset and perennial density even though the pastures established under the cover-cropping were commonly deemed ‘satisfactory’ by the authors. Pasture establishment was improved by reducing the sowing rate of the cover-crop and/or sowing on alternate rows. Technological change during the past 25 years has led to different configurations of seeding machinery, increased use of herbicides and longer cropping phases. Conclusions previously reached may therefore need to be re-assessed. No data published quantified the risks associated with undersowing on a seasonal and regional basis to determine the probability of success, and there are insufficient data to model the complex physiological interactions between crop and pasture, with most experiments focused on basic agronomic parameters. Furthermore, long-term effects of establishment method on total pasture biomass production and subsequent effects on following crops have rarely been demonstrated, because of the short time-frames in which most experiments have been conducted. Farmers in the mixed-farming zone still prefer to establish pastures under a cover-crop because of perceived financial benefit of the practice. This review identifies substantial research gaps to be addressed to improve pasture-establishment decisions.

Origins of Travelling Stock Routes. 1. Connections to Indigenous traditional pathways

2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 329 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Spooner ◽  
M. Firman ◽  
Yalmambirra
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Physical Evidence ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Alternative Perspective ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Historic Development ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Travelling Stock Routes (TSRs) are networks of grazing routes and reserves situated throughout much of south-eastern Australia, and thought to have originated from the informal tracks of early European explorers, pastoralists and settlers. However, the historic development of TSRs has been poorly documented, and mostly confined to the classic pastoral account. An alternative perspective is that many TSRs may have originated from previous Indigenous traditional pathways, which are known to have existed before European settlement. By examining available literature and maps, we found evidence which suggests that several TSRs, which follow the routes of early explorers, settlers or pastoralists, have developed from previous traditional pathways. Adoption of Indigenous pathways into the present-day stock route system has most likely occurred by (1) ‘passing on’ of knowledge of pathways by Indigenous guides and trackers, (2) observations of physical evidence of pathways by early Europeans, and their subsequent adoption, and (3) shared development of some TSRs as a result of Indigenous people working in the pastoral industry. These findings highlight the significant cultural heritage values of the TSR network, and the need to appropriately protect and manage this important national asset.

Redescription of the little-known Australian geometrid moth Palleopa innotata Walker, 1866 (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Ennominae)

2001 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-278
Author(s):  
Catherine J. Young ◽  
Peter B. Mcquillan
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Immature Stages ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Geometrid Moth ◽  
First Time ◽  
South Eastern Australia

AbstractThe previously overlooked geometrid genus Palleopa Walker, which includes one described, widespread species: innotata, is reviewed. The genus has an eastern Bassian distribution, south of latitude 28°S, in the moist forests and woodlands of south eastern Australia from sea level to over 1000m. The distinctive larvae feed on the foliage of Eucalyptus trees. The immature stages are described and the life cycle is illustrated for the first time.

Becoming-Speckled Warbler: Re/creating Australian Natural History Pedagogy

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alistair Stewart
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Education Research ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
Woodland Birds ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
History Of ◽  
South Eastern Australia

AbstractThe speckled warbler and other woodland birds of south-eastern Australia have declined dramatically since European settlement; many species are at risk of becoming locally and/or nationally extinct. Coincidently, Australian environmental education research of the last decade has largely been silent on the development of pedagogy that refects the natural history of this continent (Stewart, 2006). The current circumstances that face the speckled warbler, I argue, is emblematic of both the state of woodland birds of south-eastern Australia, and the condition of natural history pedagogy within Australian environmental education research. In this paper I employ Deleuze and Guattari's (1987) philosophy “becoming-animal” to explore ways that the life and circumstances of the speckled warbler might inform natural history focused Australian environmental education research. The epistemology and ontology ofbecoming-speckled warbleroffers a basis to reconsider and strengthen links between Australian natural history pedagogy and notions of sustainability.

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