Charophyte Flora of South-eastern South Australia and South-western Victoria, Australia: Systematics, Distribution and Ecology

1999 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana García
Keyword(s):  
South Australia ◽  
Identification Key ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Ecological Requirements ◽  
Chara Globularis ◽  
First Approximation ◽  
Floristic Analysis ◽  
Distribution And Ecology ◽  
Western Victoria

The charophytes (Charales, Charophyta) from south-eastern South Australia and south-western Victoria were studied on the basis of collections from 56 waterbodies, 39 of which included charophytes. Chara globularis var. globularis (Thuillier) Wood, C. globularis var. virgata (KÜtzing) Wood, C. fibrosa var. fibrosa (Agardh ex Bruzelius) Wood, C. fibrosa var. acanthopitys (Braun) Wood, C. hookeri Braun, C. preissii (Braun) Wood, Lamprothamnium macropogon (Braun) Ophel, Nitella ignescens García, N. ungula García, N. lhotzkyi (Braun) Braun, N. aff. lhotzkyi, and N. congesta (Brown) Braun were recognised. An identification key for these species makes determination possible. A brief characterisation of the environment where the charophytes were found is provided, as a first approximation of the ecological requirements of Australian charophytes. At this stage their distribution can be mainly related to salinity, with charophytes living in fresh to hypersaline conditions (0.0–58.0 g L–1). Special attention is put on L. macropogon, a euryhaline calcifying species, which has the broadest distribution in the area. The floristic analysis shows endemism, dioecism and a high diversification of non-calcifying taxa as the main characteristics of the charophyte flora analysed.

Swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) distribution has dramatically increased following sustained biological control of rabbits

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 321
Author(s):  
B. D. Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Cumulative Effects ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
High Rainfall ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
Swamp Wallaby ◽  
Tiny Part

Swamp wallabies have dramatically extended their distribution through western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia over the last 40 years. Newspaper reports from 1875 onwards show that on European settlement, wallaby populations were confined to eastern Victoria, including the ranges around Melbourne, the Otway Ranges and Portland District of south-western Victoria, and a tiny part of south-eastern South Australia. Populations contracted further with intense hunting for the fur trade until the 1930s. In the late 1970s, however, wallabies began spreading into drier habitats than those initially recorded. Possible causes underlying this change in distribution are discussed; some seem unlikely but, because wallabies began spreading soon after the introduction of European rabbit fleas as vectors of myxomatosis, the cumulative effects of releases of biological agents to control rabbits appear important. A caution is given on assuming that thick vegetation in high-rainfall areas provides the only habitat suitable for swamp wallabies, but, most importantly, the study shows how native mammals may benefit if rabbit abundance is reduced.

Population ranges of Miniopterus schreibersii (Chiroptera) in south-eastern Australia

1969 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 665 ◽  
Author(s):  
PD Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Australia ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Navigational Cues ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
South Eastern Australia

In south-eastern Australia banding of M. schreibersii has been concentrated in four areas: north-eastern New South Wales, south-eastern New South Wales, south-eastern Victoria, and south-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. The present paper analyses 2083 reported movements. Only 17 of these are from one of the four areas to another with the longest movement being 810 miles. Biologically and geographically separate populations of M. schreibersii are recognized in both north-eastern and south-eastern New South Wales. Each population has its basis in dependence upon a specific nursery site which is used annually by nearly all adult females in that population. Boundaries of population ranges in New South Wales are considered to be prominent features of physiography (i.e. divides). Bats move between population ranges less often than they move within population ranges. This cannot be explained solely in terms of the distances separating roosts. Available movement records from Victoria and South Australia are consistent with the pattern described for New South Wales. Two biologically recognizable populations (i.e, different birth periods) occur in south-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia but these may have overlapping ranges. Only one nursery colony of M. schreibersii is known from south-eastern Victoria. On present evidence it remains possible that the apparent integrity of the population associated with this nursery is merely a consequence of distance from other areas of banding activity. Detailed analyses of movements in bats may provide direct evidence as to the kinds of cues by which a given species navigates. Thus the physiographic basis described for population ranges in New South Wales is consistent with the view that M. schreibersii may orientate to waterways or divides or both. The probability that there are area differences in the subtlety or nature of navigational cues is implied by the different physiographic circumstances of south-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. It is suggested that knowledge of population range boundaries may aid planning of meaningful homing experiments.

Vegetation history and water fluctuations at Lake Leake, south-eastern South Australia. 1. 10,000 B.P. to present

1974 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 719 ◽  
Author(s):  
JR Dodson
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Pollen Analysis ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Lower South ◽  
Western Victoria

The stratigraphy and detailed pollen analysis of the top 4 m of sediment in Lake Leake were used to describe the vegetation history and past changes in the water level in the lake basin. Some of the changes described have climatic significance. Six radiocarbon dates are used to place a chronology on these events and the results are used to compare previous work carried out in western Victoria. It is suggested that in south-eastern South Australia, immediately prior to 10,000 B.P., conditions were drier than at present and that after this time conditions became wetter, the wettest period of the last 10,000 years occurring between 6900 and 5000 B.P. After this time conditions became drier, marginally wetter again between 2000 and 1300 B.P., then relatively dry until the present day. Keys to aid in the identification of pollen of the Casuarinaceae, Myriophyllum and the Myrtaceae for species growing in the Lower South-East of South Australia are given.

Is Geographic Range Correlated with Climatic Range in Australian Spyridium Taxa?

1999 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Coates ◽  
J. B. Kirkpatrick
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
Geographic Ranges ◽  
Climatic Oscillations ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Suitable Habitats ◽  
Climatic Range ◽  
Western Victoria

The major centres of local endemism and richness at the species level and below in Spyridium Fenzl are located on the southern coast of Western Australia and in south-eastern South Australia. There are only a few Spyridium taxa with ranges that transgress the boundaries of the following four regions: south- western Western Australia; south-eastern South Australia and western Victoria; eastern Victoria, New South Wales and southern Queensland; Tasmania. Synthetic climatic variables were generated for all recorded populations of Spyridium taxa. Variabilities in these were related to the maximum geographic ranges of taxa in Australia as a whole, and within the regions, in order to test the hypothesis that narrow endemism is explained by climatic restriction since the last glacial. In Australia as a whole, local endemics are both narrowly and widely distributed climatically, as are more widespread Spyridiumtaxa, and there were no significant relationships between the climatic and geographic ranges of taxa confined to the Australian mainland regions. However, Tasmanian taxa exhibited a strong positive relationship. Restriction of range as a result of climate change is an unlikely explanation for local endemism in Spyridium in mainland Australia, where topographic and climatic gradients are generally subdued, and which apparently experienced less severe climatic oscillations during the Quaternary. However, this hypothesis cannot be rejected for Tasmania, which experienced more extreme Quaternary climatic fluctuations than the present-day areas of mediterranean climate, and hence more severe fluctuations in the area and location of climatically suitable habitats.

The Abundance of Kangaroos in Suboptimal Habitats: Wheat, Intensive Pastoral, and Mallee

1982 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 221 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Short ◽  
GC Grigg
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Aerial Survey ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Western Victoria

The densities of red and grey kangaroos in western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia were assessed by aerial survey. Much of the 133000-km2 area surveyed was farmed intensively for wheat and sheep but a significant proportion was largely unaltered mallee woodland or mallee heath. Of the total area, 85% had a density of less than one kangaroo per square kilometre, and 32% had a density of less than 0.01 km-2, values considerably lower than those reported for pastoral areas in New South Wales and South Australia. Low densities in settled areas are attributed to intensive agricultural practices, small landholdings and lack of tree cover. Low densities in mallee may be due to the lack of palatable grasses and the absence of permanent watering points.

A revision of the Australian taxa previously attributed to Assiminea buccinoides (Quoy & Gaimard) and Assiminea tasmanica Tenison-Woods (Mollusca:Gastropoda:Caenogastropoda:Assimineidae)

2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Fukuda ◽  
Winston F. Ponder
Keyword(s):  
New Genus ◽  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Species Groups ◽  
Western Victoria

A new genus, Cryptassiminea, is introduced for the taxon previously known as Assiminea buccinoides (Quoy & Gaimard). These small gastropods are abundant in mangrove and salt marsh habitats in south-eastern and subtropical eastern Australia. Seven species (five new) are recognised using morphological characters in the complex previously treated as a single species. Five taxa have rather narrow ranges while the other two are widespread and often sympatric. Two groups of species are recognised. One contains Cryptassiminea buccinoides, widespread in south-east and east Australia, and two closely related allopatric taxa from South Australia and south-eastern Tasmania (C. adelaidensis, sp. nov. and C. kershawi, sp. nov.). A second group of species is typified by Cryptassiminea tasmanica (Tenison-Woods), also widespread in east and south-east Australia and often sympatric with C. buccinoides. Allied to C. tasmanica, are two closely related taxa from western Victoria: C. glenelgensis, sp. nov. from the Glenelg River estuary and C. surryensis, sp. nov. from the Surry River estuary and Western Port, in the vicinity of Geelong. A distinctive species, Cryptassiminea insolata, sp. nov. from the east coast of Queensland, also has similarities with C. tasmanica. A cladistic analysis using morphological characters of the Cryptassiminea taxa and three other genera of Assimininae, with an omphalotropidine as the outgroup, resulted in a single tree. The new genus has rather poor support, possibly because many of its characters appear to be plesiomorphic within Assimineinae. Cryptassiminea is defined by a unique combination of characters but lacks any obvious synapomorphy. Two clades within Cryptassiminea are well supported, each containing the species-groups referred to above.

When the ‘native cat’ would ‘plague’: historical hyperabundance in the quoll (Marsupialia : Dasyuridae) and an assessment of the role of disease, cats and foxes in its curtailment

2014 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 294 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Peacock ◽  
Ian Abbott
Keyword(s):  
South Australia ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Canis Lupus Familiaris ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Introduced Predators ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Since the European settlement of Australia in 1788, 25 mainland terrestrial mammal species have become extinct, more than on any other continent during this period. To determine if the causal factors are still active, it is necessary to better understand the species and their status preceding these regional extirpations or extinctions, and examine the historical record for clues to the cause(s) of these declines. From an extensive review of historical material, primarily newspaper accounts, we collated >2700 accounts of quolls. We discovered 36 accounts that demonstrate the propensity for quolls to become hyperabundant. The geographical distribution of accounts implies that most refer to Dasyurus viverrinus, but an account from Normanton district (Queensland) likely applies to D. hallucatus. More than 110 accounts demonstrate that disease/parasite epizootics occurred in south-eastern Australia, commencing on mainland Australia possibly in the goldfields region of Victoria in the 1850s, or in south-eastern South Australia and south-western Victoria in the mid to late 1860s, and implicate these as the initial primary factor in the regional extirpation of Australia’s quolls. The loss of D. viverrinus populations in south-eastern Australia was reportedly from population abundances and densities that were sporadically extraordinarily high, hence their loss appears more pronounced than previously suspected. Accounts describing the widespread, rapid and major loss of quolls suggest the possible involvement of several pathogens. Ectoparasites such as Uropsylla tasmanica and ticks appear to be described in detail in some accounts. A few others state comortality of Felis catus and Canis lupus familiaris, suggestive of a disease of either or both of these species, such as Canine Distemper Virus, a morbillivirus with a propensity to be non-host specific, that may have caused the decline of the quolls, perhaps vectored by the reported ectoparasites. We also collated 23 presumed independent accounts of cats negatively impacting quolls, two of which describe significant mortality, and three presumed independent accounts of fox predation. These highlight the capacity of both of these introduced predators to have reduced quoll distribution and abundance.

A revision of Cassinia (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae) in Australia. 7. Cassinia subgenus Achromolaena

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 337
Author(s):  
A. E. Orchard
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Sister Species ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
New Name ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Western Victoria

The present paper completes a revision of the endemic Australian genus Cassinia R.Br. Cassinia subgenus Achromolaena comprises two sections, namely, section Achromolaena of seven species (C. laevis, C. arcuata, C. uncata, C. tenuifolia, C. collina, C. subtropica, and C. quinquefaria), and Cassinia section Siftonia, which contains two species (C. sifton and C. theodorii). Cassinia laevis is divided into western (C. laevis subsp. laevis) and eastern (C. laevis subsp. rosmarinifolia (A.Cunn.) Orchard, comb. et stat. nov.) taxa. Examination of the type of C. arcuata showed that this name is synonymous with C. paniculata, and applies to a relatively rare taxon with whitish capitula arranged in short erect compact panicles, and found in Western Australia, the midlands of South Australia, western Victoria and (formerly) south-western New South Wales. Furthermore, it belongs to section Achromolaena. The taxon with red to brown capitula, widespread throughout south-eastern Australia, which until now has been (incorrectly) known as C. arcuata (Sifton bush) is distinct, but lacks a published name. The name Cassinia sifton Orchard, sp. nov. is here proposed for this taxon. An unfortunate outcome of this discovery is that the sectional name Cassinia section Arcuatae, with C. arcuata as type, becomes synonymous with section Achromolaena. The new name Cassinia section Siftonia is proposed to accommodate Sifton bush (C. sifton) and its narrowly endemic sister species C. theodorii. A summary of the whole genus is provided, with keys to all taxa. Three former subspecies of C. macrocephala are raised to species rank (C. petrapendula (Orchard) Orchard, C. storyi (Orchard) Orchard, C. tenuis (Orchard) Orchard), and it is suggested that C. furtiva Orchard may be conspecific with C. straminea (Benth.) Orchard.

The Status of the School Shark Fishery in South-Eastern Australian Waters

1959 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 150 ◽  
Author(s):  
AM Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Maximum Yield ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Slow Growth Rate ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Pregnant Females ◽  
The Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
Annual Total ◽  
The Mean

The maximum yield of the school shark fishery in south-eastern Australian waters was 4.09 million lb in 1949. The catch has fluctuated since then about a declining trend to 3.18 million lb in 1956. In 1944, 7.3 hooks were required to catch a shark of mean weight 14.7 lb. In 1956 the number of hooks required was almost doubled: 13.6 hooks were needed to catch sharks of mean weight 13.7 lb; the catch per hook dropped from 2.01 to 0.99 lb. Whereas the catch per boat-month remained relatively stable at 4765 lb for 1944 and 4643 for 1956, the number of hooks used per boat-month increased from 2366 to 4668 hooks in 12 years. Throughout this period the mean weight of sharks in eastern Bass Strait remained fairly steady (11-13 lb) whereas there was a drop of 3 lb from a mean weight of 17-20 lb in the predominantly mature portion of the stock in western Bass Strait. Fishermen in South Australia have reported a comparable drop in the mean weight of sharks in their catches. During the period 1941-46 there was unrestricted inshore fishing of juveniles and pregnant females with a consequent severe drop in the inshore population. The subsequent decline in the annual total catch is believed to be due not only to a too intensive offshore fishery but also to the resultant reduced recruitment and depressed reproductive potential caused by the earlier destruction of juveniles and pregnant females. In the data presented in this paper there is evidence that the school shark fishery, which is operating on a single stock of sharks with a slow growth rate, a late sexual maturity, and a low fecundity, shows trends which are suggestive of depletion. Because similar trends in the soupfin shark fishery of California and in the dogfish fishery of British Columbia were followed by depletion, it has been inferred that regulations to protect the vulnerable phases of the life history of the school shark of Australia may be required. Measures for conservation are discussed.

Distribution of Biomass, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Other Nutrients in Banksia marginata and B. ornata Shoots of Different Ages After Fire.

1986 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 709 ◽  
Author(s):  
RH Groves ◽  
PJ Hocking ◽  
A Mcmahon
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Lateral Roots ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Nutrient Accumulation ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Vegetative Organs ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
Nitrogen Phosphorus

The heathland form of Banksia marginata Cav. regenerates rarely from seed but commonly by resprout- ing from buds on lateral roots, whereas Banksia ornata F. Muell. regenerates only from seed, usually released after fire. The two species co-occur in heath vegetation on nutrient-poor soils in south-eastern South Australia and western Victoria. Shoots were sampled from stands of B. marginata aged from 1 to 25 years and of B. ornata aged from 1 to 50+ years after fire in the Little Desert National Park, western Victoria. B. marginata, the resprouter, distributed a greater proportion of the total shoot dry matter and content of all nutrients to vegetative growth over its shorter life span than B. ornata, the non-sprouter. About 50% of the total phosphorus in B. ornata shoots at 50+ years was present in cones (including seeds) compared with only about 20% in B. marginata shoots at a comparable stage of senescence (25 years). This difference between the species was also true to a lesser degree for nitrogen. There were considerable differences between other nutrients in their distribution patterns in shoots. Nutrients could be grouped together on the basis of distribution in shoots more satisfactorily than on presumed physio- logical roles. Stems were major sites of nutrient accumulation in both species. The content of a particular nutrient in seeds as a proportion of the content in the living parts of the shoot ranged from 0.03% (Na, Mn) to 2.0% (P) in B. marginata, and from 0.3% (Na) to as high as 31% (P) in B. ornata. Concen- trations of all nutrients except sodium were much higher in seeds than in the woody cones or vegetative organs of both species; seeds of B. ornata were particularly rich in calcium and manganese. We conclude that the different patterns of distribution of biomass and nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, within shoots of the two species reflect their different regenerative modes after fire. Introduction Phosphorus and, to a lesser extent, nitrogen limit the growth of sclerophyllous shrubs on nutrient-poor soils in southern Australia

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