Breeding and longevity in captive Australian sea lions Neophoca cinerea at zoos and aquaria in Australia: 1965-2003.

2006 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. K. Ling ◽  
C. Atkin ◽  
A. Barnes ◽  
A. Fischer ◽  
M. Guy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Embryonic Diapause ◽  
Birth Intervals ◽  
Sea Lions ◽  
Neophoca Cinerea ◽  
South Wales ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
The Mean

Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) are known to have been kept in aquaria and zoos in Australia since 1965. During that time at least 41 births were recorded, of which 19 were in Adelaide, 15 at Adelaide Zoo and 4 at Marineland of South Australia. The mean interval between successive births in Adelaide was 538.9 � 9.5 days (18.0 months; n = 10) and the mean assumed pregnancy period, including embryonic diapause, was 536.0 � 11.4 days (17.9 months; n = 9). The mean interval between parturition and presumed successful mating was 8.4 � 1.6 days (n = 5). Births occurred in all months except January, June, August and December. Figures for New South Wales and Queensland establishments are too small and scattered over time for any pregnancy periods or birth intervals to be determined. Likewise, latitudinal differences, if any, were not evident, because of the paucity of data from these more northerly places. One female at the Adelaide Zoo produced 8 pups between 1986 and 1997; she is still alive after 22 years in captivity. The youngest known-age (captive-born) female was 4 years, 8 months old when she gave birth to her first pup; and the oldest female in captivity to give birth to a pup was aged approximately 21 years, 8 months. The longest recorded captive period for a female was more than 25 years by 31 December 2003, and for a male it was 21 years, 11 months. A captive-bred female was still alive after 18 years, 2 months, 24 days; another such female died aged 18 years, 2 months, 18 days. These life spans appear to be similar to those that meagre data suggest for tagged N. cinerea in the wild.

Pedigree Dorset Horn sheep in Australia. 1. Breed expansion and other vital statistics

1978 ◽  
Vol 18 (91) ◽  
pp. 165 ◽  
Author(s):  
NM Fogarty
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Vital Statistics ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Western Region ◽  
Flock Size ◽  
South Wales ◽  
The Mean

The Dorset Horn in Australia is maintained almost exclusively for producing rams for crossbreeding in the prime lamb industry. Flock Book records have been used to assess the expansion and other statistics of the breed. Dorset Horn sheep were first imported in 1895 with the first flock registered in 1920. The number of pedigree flocks increased to 1298 in 1958 and total ewes to 11 3,762 in 1968. Flocks declined to 61 4 and ewes to 60,801 in 1973, during which there was a rapid expansion in Poll Dorset flocks and ewes. Early expansion of the Dorset Horn occurred in South Australia and Victoria but over 85 per cent of flocks and ewes were located in New South Wales and Victoria in 1973. In 1973,40 per cent of flocks contained less than 51 ewes with only 2.8 per cent having more than 400 ewes. The mean age of studs in 1973 was 15.3 years, with 22 per cent established for 0 to 5 years, compared with 7.1 years and 62 per cent respectively in 1958. Stud dispersals have increased dramatically in recent years to 19.7 per cent of extant studs in 1973. Examination of flocks present in 1969 but dispersed prior to 1974, showed the proportion of dispersed flocks decreased with increasing flock size and increasing stud age, up to 40 years. Migration of sires between all regions was low, but of the migrant sires, South Australia supplied 76 per cent in 1954 and the central western region of New South Wales 57 per cent in 1974. Approximately half of the rams sampled had sires bred in the same stud.

Observations on the behaviour of the smoky mouse Pseudomys fumeus (Rodentia: Muridae).

2000 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
RE Woods ◽  
FD Ford
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Wild Population ◽  
New South ◽  
Post Partum ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
South Wales ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild

This study examined aspects of behaviour in a captive colony of smoky mice, Pseudomys fumeus, over a two year period. Wherever possible behaviours observed in the captive population are compared to data collected in a study of a wild population in south-eastern New South Wales. This paper provides the first recorded observations of behavior in this species. Both captive and wild populations of P. fumeus display strictly nocturnal circadian activity rhythms. In the captive study, P. fumeus were found to exhibit social interactions similar to some previously studied Pseudomys species. However, in the wild, the species was found to communally nest during the breeding season, behaviour not observed in other Pseudomys from similar habitats. P. fumeus in captivity can have more than two litters in one breeding season which suggests that their reproductive parameters are more flexible than previous studies of wild populations have shown. Field data indicate that post-partum oestrus can occur in this species, and that gestation lasts for approximately 30 days, although these observations are based on a small sample.

Distribution and Aspects of the Biology of the Parma Wallaby, Macropus parma, in New South Wales

1977 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 109 ◽  
Author(s):  
GM Maynes
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Embryonic Diapause ◽  
Body Measurements ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Limited Data ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Sclerophyll Forest ◽  
The Mean

M. pauma, which was formerly thought to be extinct in Australia, has been found in the Great Dividing Range of coastal New South Wales between 29D 28' and 32D 23's. The optimum habitat appears to be areas of wet sclerophyll forest with a thick shrubby understorey in association with grassy areas. Although the species may be locally common, its present status is best defined as rare; it has a limited distribution and normally occurs at a low density throughout its range. Limited data indicate that most young are born between February and June. Two of six females examined were probably in embryonic diapause. Females may mature sexually as early as 12 months old, and at a weight of 2.6-2.8 kg. Adult females in Australia were significantly heavier than those in New Zealand (Kawau I.), and larger in seven external body measurements. In contrast, adult males were significantly larger in Australia than Kawau I. in ear length only. The species is mainly nocturnal and the mean group size is 1.34 animals, i.e. it is usually single individuals that are encountered.

Feeding Ecology of the Barn Owl, Tyto Alba, in Arid Southern Australia.

1979 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 191 ◽  
Author(s):  
SR Morton ◽  
AA Martin
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Ecology ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Barn Owl ◽  
Tyto Alba ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Barn Owls ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Study Sites

In arid parts of Australia the barn owl appears to feed largely on rodents which form irruptions or plagues, i.e. undergo marked changes in abundance. Barn owls became common at the height of an irruption of house mice, Mus musculus, in western New South Wales, but were comparatively scarce after the mice decreased in numbers. There was some evidence that the owls' diet, determined by analysis of pellets, was more varied immediately after the numbers of mice decreased, but its major part still consisted of M. musculus. The mean number of prey units represented in each pellet rose during the irruption and then declined to the original level. At a variety of sites in arid New South Wales and South Australia, barn owls' diet consisted almost entirely of small mammals. The most common prey species were rodents that fluctuate widely in abundance, and the mean amount of prey per pellet differed greatly among the study sites. The feeding ecology of barn owls in arid Australian environments is essentially similar to that described for more mesic habitats; hence, a greatly increased variation in the abundance of mammalian prey has not led to an increase in breadth of food niche.

Restriction Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA from the Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby, Petrogale xanthopus: Implications for Management

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 289 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. B. Eldridge
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
New South ◽  
Restriction Analysis ◽  
Sequence Divergence ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Unique Haplotype ◽  
South Wales ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Average Sequence Divergence ◽  
Average Sequence

The extent of mitochondrial DNA divergence between populations of the vulnerable yellow-footed rock- wallaby, Petrogale xanthopus, was assessed by restriction analysis. Of the 15 restriction endonucleases, five were informative, with a single unique haplotype identified in P. x. celeris from Queensland (Qld) (n = 8) and a further two unique haplotypes in three sampled populations of P. x. xanthopus from New South Wales (NSW) (n = 1) and South Australia (SA) (n = 9). The two subspecies of P. xanthopus were found to be genetically distinct (average sequence divergence = 0·72%). As this divergence is greater than that found between some Petrogale species, it is recommended that populations of P. x. xanthopus and P. x. celeris be managed independently both in captivity and the wild. The NSW population of P. x. xanthopus appears genetically similar to those in SA, although these data are limited.

. Predation on Australian sea lions Neophoca cinerea by white sharks Carcharodon carcharias in South Australia

2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 69 ◽  
Author(s):  
PD, Shaughnessy ◽  
M Berris ◽  
T. E. Dennis
Keyword(s):  
South Australia ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
White Shark ◽  
Carcharodon Carcharias ◽  
Sea Lions ◽  
Neophoca Cinerea ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Gill Net ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Pass Through

From January 1988 to December 2002, 182 Australian sea lions Neophoca cinerea with injuries attributable to white sharks Carcharodon carcharias were recorded in the N. cinerea colony at Seal Bay, Kangaroo Island. The mean number per month was 1.0 (s.d. 1.3), and the number per calendar year varied from 5 to 25 (mean 12.1, s.d. 6.1). The incidence was highest in summer (December to February) and autumn (March to May). The month with the greatest incidence of injured sea lions was January, when it was 17% of the total. This coincides with the higher proportion of white shark records around Kangaroo Island in summer and autumn than in other seasons (Bruce 1992). Adult female and juvenile sea lions were attacked most frequently, with 38% and 26%, respectively. Adult females pass through the waters near the colony more frequently than other sea lions, which makes them more susceptible than other age-sex groups to attacks by white sharks. Most (42%) injuries were to the head and central parts of the sea lions' bodies and 39% were to the rear of their bodies ('rear trunk' and 'hind flippers' areas). The stomach contents of a white shark caught in a bottom-set monofilament gill-net at Cape Gantheaume, Kangaroo Island in April 1992 included two N. cinerea pups aged 10-12 months. They formed about 75% of the shark?s stomach contents.

In A Fix: Fixed-Term Parliaments in the Australian States

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-298
Author(s):  
Peter Congdon
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Constitutional Amendments ◽  
South Wales

Constitutional systems of Westminster heritage are increasingly moving towards fixed-term parliaments to, amongst other things, prevent the Premier or Prime Minister opportunistically calling a ‘snap election’. Amongst the Australian states, qualified fixed-term parliaments currently exist in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia have also deliberated over whether to establish similar fixed-term parliaments. However, manner and form provisions in those states' constitutions entrench the Parliament's duration, Governor's Office and dissolution power. In Western Australia and Queensland, unlike Tasmania, such provisions are doubly entrenched. This article considers whether these entrenching provisions present legal obstacles to constitutional amendments establishing fixed-term parliaments in those two states. This involves examining whether laws fixing parliamentary terms fall within section 6 of the Australia Acts 1986 (Cth) & (UK). The article concludes by examining recent amendments to the Electoral Act 1907 (WA) designed to enable fixed election dates in Western Australia without requiring a successful referendum.

The Relation Between the Food of the Australian Barracouta, Thyrsites atun (Euphrasen), and Recent Fluctuations in the Fisheries

1957 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Blackburn
Keyword(s):  
Population Distribution ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Downward Trend ◽  
Small Fish ◽  
Fish Diet ◽  
Upward Trend ◽  
Independent Evidence ◽  
South Wales

The diet of surface-swimming Australian barracouta was studied from over 10,000 stomachs. The principal prey organisms in Bass Strait are the euphausiid Nyctiphanes australis Sars, the anchovy Engraulis australis (White), and young barracouta, in that order; and in eastern Tasmania Nyctiphanes, Engraulis, and the sprat Clupea bassensis McCulloch, in that order. The pilchard Sardinops neopilchardus (Steindachner) is not an important item of the diet in these regions although it is so in New South Wales, South Australia, and Western Australia. The jack mackerel Trachurus declivis Jenyns is a significant item in eastern Tasmania and New South Wales but not in Bass Strait. These and other features of the fish diet of the barracouta reflect actual availability of the various small fish species in the waters. Barracouta eat Nyctiphanes by herding them into dense masses (or finding them already concentrated) and swallowing them. The movements of the anchovy make it unavailable to Bass Strait and eastern Tasmanian barracouta for much of the summer and autumn period, when the barracouta are thus dependent upon Nyctiphanes for the bulk of their food. A close positive relationship between the availability of barracouta and Nyctiphanes might therefore be expected at those seasons. There is evidence of such a relationship between mean availability (catch per boat-month) of barracouta and mean percentage of barracouta stomachs containing Nyctiphanes, at those seasons, from year to year. For southern Victorian coastal waters both show a downward trend from 1948-49 to 1950-51 and then an upward trend to 1953-54; for eastern Tasmania both show a downward trend (for autumn only) from 1949-50 through 1952-53. The records of catch per boat-month furnish independent evidence that the main variations in this index were effects of availability (population distribution or behaviour) rather than abundance (population size), at least for southern Victoria. It is therefore considered that when scarcity of barracouta occurs in summer and autumn in the coastal fishing areas it may be due to scarcity of Nyctiphanes, forcing the fish to go offshore for this food which is known to be available there. This would take the fish out of range of the fishermen.

Mycosphaerella linicola. [Distribution map].

1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
South Dakota ◽  
Linum Usitatissimum ◽  
New South ◽  
Russian Far East ◽  
Far East ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Rio Grande Do Sul ◽  
Distribution Map ◽  
South Wales ◽  
New Distribution

Abstract A new distribution map is provided for Mycosphaerella linicola Naumov. Hosts: Flax (Linum usitatissimum) and other (Linum) spp. Information is given on the geographical distribution in Argentina, Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Bulgaria, Canada, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Russia (European), Russian Far East, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, UK, Scotland, USA, Arizona, California, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, Ukraine, Uruguay, Yugoslavia (former).

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