Polyploidy and possible implications for the evolutionary history of some Australian Danthonieae

2010 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Waters ◽  
B. G. Murray ◽  
G. Melville ◽  
D. Coates ◽  
A. Young ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
New South ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Rapid Speciation ◽  
South Wales ◽  
History Of

Polyploidy is a widespread feature of some plants that allows for rapid speciation and occurs widely in Poaceae. However, there have been few studies of Australian native grasses reporting the distribution patterns of cytotypes and examining the potential role of different cytotypes in adaptation. We determined chromosome number for 48, 113, 8, 43 and 33 plants of Austrodanthonia bipartita (Link) H.P.Linder, A. caespitosa (Gaudich.) H.P.Linder, A. eriantha (Lindl.) H.P.Linder, A. fulva (Vickery) H.P.Linder and A. setacea (R.Br.) H.P.Linder, respectively, representing 28 wild populations collected in central western New South Wales. A widespread distribution is reported for tetraploids (2n = 48), whereas diploids (2n = 24) and a limited number of hexaploids (2n = 72) appear to be associated with northern and western populations. In all populations, coexistent cytotypes were found, although tetraploids were the most widespread cytotype for the most commonly occurring species, A. caespitosa. The occurrence of low frequencies of putative intermediate cytotypes, particularly triploids, in all five species provides evidence for inter-specific hybridisation and/or intra-specific crossing between cytotypes. The lack of common ecological factors (climate, edaphic or micro-site) that clearly distinguish diploid from tetraploid A. caespitosa plants provides further evidence for hybridisation between cytological races of this species.

scholarly journals Role of masks, testing and contact tracing in preventing COVID-19 resurgences: a case study from New South Wales, Australia

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. e045941
Author(s):  
Robyn M Stuart ◽  
Romesh G Abeysuriya ◽  
Cliff C Kerr ◽  
Dina Mistry ◽  
Dan J Klein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
High Mobility ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Testing Rate ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Australian State ◽  
History Of

ObjectivesThe early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic illustrated that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease, has the potential to spread exponentially. Therefore, as long as a substantial proportion of the population remains susceptible to infection, the potential for new epidemic waves persists even in settings with low numbers of active COVID-19 infections, unless sufficient countermeasures are in place. We aim to quantify vulnerability to resurgences in COVID-19 transmission under variations in the levels of testing, tracing and mask usage.SettingThe Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), a setting with prolonged low transmission, high mobility, non-universal mask usage and a well-functioning test-and-trace system.ParticipantsNone (simulation study).ResultsWe find that the relative impact of masks is greatest when testing and tracing rates are lower and vice versa. Scenarios with very high testing rates (90% of people with symptoms, plus 90% of people with a known history of contact with a confirmed case) were estimated to lead to a robustly controlled epidemic. However, across comparable levels of mask uptake and contact tracing, the number of infections over this period was projected to be 2–3 times higher if the testing rate was 80% instead of 90%, 8–12 times higher if the testing rate was 65% or 30–50 times higher with a 50% testing rate. In reality, NSW diagnosed 254 locally acquired cases over this period, an outcome that had a moderate probability in the model (10%–18%) assuming low mask uptake (0%–25%), even in the presence of extremely high testing (90%) and near-perfect community contact tracing (75%–100%), and a considerably higher probability if testing or tracing were at lower levels.ConclusionsOur work suggests that testing, tracing and masks can all be effective means of controlling transmission. A multifaceted strategy that combines all three, alongside continued hygiene and distancing protocols, is likely to be the most robust means of controlling transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

The Potential Role of Context-Related Exposure in Explaining Differences in Water Safety Cue Utilization

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 825-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark W. Wiggins ◽  
Barbara Griffin ◽  
Sue Brouwers
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Cue Utilization ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Disproportionate Number

Objective: To examine whether differences in water safety–related cue utilization might be associated with differences in exposure to water-related recreational contexts. Background: A disproportionate number of incidents of drowning were attributable to recent visitors to New South Wales in the 2016–2017 summer swimming season. This was due to their assumed lack of exposure to the water-related recreational settings in which Australians engage and therefore, the absence of cues that are associated with danger. Method: In Study 1, the water safety cue utilization of 101 Australian residents and 328 recent visitors to the country was compared using the Expert Intensive Skills Evaluation (EXPERTise 2.0) program. Accounting for differences between the samples, Australian residents demonstrated significantly superior water safety cue utilization. In Study 2, the water safety cue utilization of a sample of 219 Australian residents was examined, the outcomes of which indicated that those participants who learned to swim before the age of 11 years demonstrated superior water safety cue utilization to participants who learned to swim at a later age. Results: Overall, the results suggest that there are individual differences in water safety cue utilization that are explained, in part, by differences in country of residence and the age at which participants first learned to swim. Conclusion: Water safety cue utilization is likely to be dependent upon exposure to water-related activities. Identifying individual differences enables the development of more targeted, drowning-prevention strategies.

A comparison of species assemblages between drainage systems with and without floodgates: implications for coastal floodplain management

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (11) ◽  
pp. 2400-2417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederieke J Kroon ◽  
Dean H Ansell
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
New South ◽  
Species Assemblages ◽  
Floodplain Management ◽  
Drainage Systems ◽  
River Floodplain ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia

Coastal floodplains provide essential nursery habitat for a large number of fish and prawn species, many of which are commercially and recreationally important. Human activities in coastal floodplains, such as those associated with agriculture and (or) development, can have detrimental impacts on this nursery function. We examined the potential role of flood mitigation structures, in particular tidal floodgates, in depleting estuarine and inshore fisheries stocks in eastern Australia. We compared species assemblages (abundance and biomass) in reference and gated drainage systems in the Clarence River floodplain (New South Wales, Australia) over a 1-year period. We subsequently determined which environmental variables were associated with the observed patterns in species assemblages. Our results show that abundance, biomass, and assemblages of juvenile fishes and invertebrates differed significantly and consistently between drainage systems with and without floodgates. The major environmental variables of concern in systems with floodgates were (i) presence of a floodgate, (ii) elevated concentrations of nutrients, and (iii) abundance of aquatic weeds. We discuss our findings in light of potential strategies to improve coastal floodplain management for fisheries production purposes.

Case Notes Accreditation: Substitute Care Programmes for Children. A Step Forward

1987 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 17-18
Author(s):  
Rick Church
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
New South ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Religious Institutions ◽  
Process Of Change ◽  
Substitute Care ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Government Sector ◽  
History Of

A history of children's welfare services in Australia demonstrates the significant and on-going role of the non-government sector. This is particularly true within New South Wales. Many programmes, frequently under the auspice of mainstream religious institutions, were established early in response to critical social needs. These programmes routinely developed in isolation from each other, often with primary ties only to the auspice body and the local community. Some things are slow to change.Today the non-government sector is an amorphous collective of agencies with highly variable philosophical under pinnings, welfare ideologies, resources and competency levels.We have learned a great deal about the needs of children, the process of change, and competency in service delivery (within a specific statutory umbrella). Our new knowledge is yet to be consistently reflected in practice.

Temperature and extinction in the sea: a physiologist's view

Paleobiology ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Climatic Change ◽  
Temperature Change ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Marine Invertebrates ◽  
Seawater Temperature ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Proximate Cause ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact

Climatic change has long been regarded as an important factor in evolutionary history. In particular, periods of enhanced extinction in marine taxa (especially those from warmer waters) have frequently been linked to decreases in seawater temperature. Studies of the physiology of marine invertebrates and fish alive today have revealed well-developed abilities to cope with temperature change, and there would thus appear to be a dichotomy between the rates of temperature change associated with extinction in geological history and the very much faster rates (by several orders of magnitude) with which many marine organisms can cope today. Nevertheless, evidence from ecology and biogeography indicates that temperature, or some temperature-associated factor, does play a significant role in determining the limits to performance, and hence distribution. The resolution of the dichotomy between the evidence from paleontology and physiology may come through a consideration of the role of the previous evolutionary history of the fauna, the influence of sudden temperature events, or the impact of climatic change on individual competitive ability, community structure, and ecosystem functioning. Studies of the energetics of marine invertebrates in relation to temperature and the evolutionary history of polar faunas indicate that we should beware of anthropocentric judgements in attempting to understand the role of climatic change in evolutionary history, and be critical in distinguishing the role of temperature per se from temperature-associated ecological factors. Present evidence suggests that climatic change in the sea, at least at the rates currently believed to be typical, is unlikely to cause extinction by direct physiological impact. It is more likely that extinction is caused by ecological factors; temperature change is thus only one of several factors that may promote those ecological changes that are currently the best candidates for the proximate cause of extinction in the sea.

Elaborating the role of reflection and individual differences in the study of folk-economic beliefs

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Arceneaux
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
History Of ◽  
Economic Beliefs

AbstractIntuitions guide decision-making, and looking to the evolutionary history of humans illuminates why some behavioral responses are more intuitive than others. Yet a place remains for cognitive processes to second-guess intuitive responses – that is, to be reflective – and individual differences abound in automatic, intuitive processing as well.

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