Sheep coats can economically improve the style of western fine wools

2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 53 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Hatcher ◽  
K. D. Atkins ◽  
K. J. Thornberry
Keyword(s):  
Least Squares ◽  
New South ◽  
Fibre Diameter ◽  
Major Effect ◽  
Economic Returns ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Subjective Assessments ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Staple Strength

Wethers from a mixed bloodline flock in western New South Wales were coated for 12 months between August 1998 and August 1999. The coated and a similar number of uncoated control wethers from each of the 11�bloodlines (2 medium, 3 fine and 6 superfine) were grazed together as part of a larger mob. Dye bands were placed in the fleeces of each wether before fitting of the coats and were removed before shearing when a mid-side sample was taken and a number of subjective assessments made of each fleece. The major effect of the sheep coats was to improve the style of the coated wool by about 1 style grade. This was largely the result of the coated fleeces being whiter, with less tip weathering and lower levels of dust and vegetable matter. There was no significant difference between the 2 treatment groups in wool production, fibre diameter, staple strength or resistance to compression. A partial budgeting approach was used to evaluate the economic returns from using sheep coats based on the observed differences in wool quality. Clean prices and wool values per head for the coated and uncoated sheep from each of the 11 bloodlines were calculated using NSW Agriculture's wether trial software and the flock least squares means for each wool trait. The analysis established it would be economically viable to coat all the sheep except the medium-wool sheep. Even allowing for 20% improvement in the price differential for medium wool, coating them was not economically viable.

Phenotypic variance of fibre diameter along wool staples and its relationship with other raw wool characters

1990 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 463 ◽  
Author(s):  
GD Denney
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Fibre Diameter ◽  
Phenotypic Correlation ◽  
Phenotypic Variance ◽  
Merino Sheep ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Grazing Sheep ◽  
Staple Strength

The variance of fibre diameter along the staple was estimated in a flock of 198 two-year-old Merino sheep, whose management and nutrition were typical of grazing sheep in central-western New South Wales. In a subgroup of this flock, it was found that the estimated variance of fibre diameter along the staple was highly repeatable between duplicate staples sampled from the same sheep, and variation in fibre diameter along the mid-side sample was representative of that variation in the whole fleece. In the main flock, variance of fibre diameter along the staple varied from 0.74 to 6.98 �m2 between sheep, but there were no differences between castrated males and ewes. Differences were found between sire groups in their susceptibility to environmental change. Phenotypic correlation between variance of fibre diameter along the staple and staple strength was -0.30 (P<0.001), but correlations with other raw wool characteristics were not different from zero (P>0.05).

scholarly journals Subtle Changes or Dramatic Perceptions of Air Pollution in Sydney during COVID-19

Environments ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Peter Brimblecombe ◽  
Yonghang Lai
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
New South ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Physical Reality ◽  
Social Perceptions ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Significant Difference

The COVID-19 pandemic made it critical to limit the spread of the disease by enforcing human isolation, restricting travel and reducing social activities. Dramatic improvements to air quality, especially NO2, have often characterised places under COVID-19 restrictions. Air pollution measurements in Sydney in April 2019 and during the lockdown period in April 2020 show reduced daily averaged NO2 concentrations: 8.52 ± 1.92 and 7.85 ± 2.92 ppb, though not significantly so (p1~0.15) and PM2.5 8.91 ± 4.94 and 7.95 ± 2.64 µg m−3, again a non-significant difference (p1~0.18). Satellite imagery suggests changes that parallel those at ground level, but the column densities averaged over space and time, in false-colour, are more dramatic. Changed human mobility could be traced in increasing times spent at home, assessed from Google Mobility Reports and mirrored in decreased traffic flow on a major road, suggesting compliance with the restrictions. Electricity demand for the State of New South Wales was low under lockdown in early April 2020, but it recovered rapidly. Analysis of the uses of search terms: bushfires, air quality, haze and air pollution using Google Trends showed strong links between bushfires and pollution-related terms. The smoke from bushfires in late 2019 may well have added to the general impression of improved air quality during lockdown, despite only modest changes in the ground level measurements. This gives hints that successful regulation of air quality requires maintaining a delicate balance between our social perceptions and the physical reality.

Genetic and phenotypic parameters for pre-weaning growth and weaning conformation of Angus cattle

1978 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 373
Author(s):  
R Barlow ◽  
EB Dettmann
Keyword(s):  
Least Squares ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Genetic Correlations ◽  
Components Of Variance ◽  
Weaning Weight ◽  
Environmental Correlations ◽  
Angus Cattle ◽  
South Wales

Weaning weight (WW) and conformation score (CS) records on Angus calves from four New South Wales herds were analysed by least-squares procedures. Paternal half-sib components of variance and covariance were used to obtain estimates of heritabilities of various measures of growth and cs, as well as genetic, phenotypic and environmental correlations. Estimates of the heritabilities of measures of growth ranged from 0.20 (all data) to 0.24 when derived from heifer data only. The heritability of cs was 0.24 when the data were adjusted for ww, and 0.19 when no covariate was included in the analysis. All correlations among different measures of growth were positive and close to unity. There were small positive phenotypic and environmental correlations (0.19 to 0.36) and small negative genetic correlations between ww and cs (–0.02 to –0.41).

Staple strength of fine, medium and strong wool Merino wethers under drought conditions

2006 ◽  
Vol 46 (9) ◽  
pp. 1123
Author(s):  
M. A. Friend ◽  
G. E. Robards
Keyword(s):  
Coefficient Of Variation ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Fibre Diameter ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Arid Environment ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Effect Of Treatment ◽  
Staple Strength

Fine, medium and strong wool Merino wethers (n = 72, 4 years old) were grazed together on drought-affected pastures in a semi-arid environment. In order to examine the hypothesis that restricting liveweight gains at the break of drought would improve staple strength, sheep were allocated to restricted grazing in a 5-ha paddock (drought group), or unrestricted grazing in a 20-ha paddock (drought-break group) when it was judged that the drought had broken in the region. Wool staples from all sheep broke at a point coinciding with summer rainfall events before allocation to treatment groups, and staple strength did not differ between treatments. Medium wool sheep (22.0 ± 1.6 N/ktex) produced wool of lower (P<0.001) staple strength than fine (30.0 ± 1.6 N/ktex) or strong (30.2 ± 1.6 N/ktex) wool sheep. Restricting the measurement of staple strength to the period when treatments were applied revealed no effect of treatment on staple strength, despite the fact that wethers in the drought-break group experienced a greater (P<0.001) liveweight gain (6.62 ± 0.37 kg) after allocation to their treatment than those in the drought group (–3.24 ± 0.37 kg). Staple strength was most strongly correlated with coefficient of variation of fibre diameter (r = –0.65; P<0.001); a result that was observed for all strains and treatment groups. The results indicate that coefficient of variation of fibre diameter is correlated with staple strength regardless of strain, and that management strategies designed to limit fibre diameter variability during a drought need to be applied not only at the break of a drought.

Effect of fitting sheep covers and injection of a mineral supplement on the brightness, clean colour and photostability of wool grown by grazing Merino sheep

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
S. Hatcher ◽  
J. W. V. Preston
Keyword(s):  
Factorial Design ◽  
Genetic Resource ◽  
New South ◽  
Genetic Selection ◽  
Combined Effect ◽  
Mineral Supplement ◽  
Merino Sheep ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Selection For

Wethers sourced from a Merino genetic resource flock, selected on the basis of their measured wool clean colour at 2 years of age, were stratified on the basis of clean colour and allocated to one of four treatment groups in a 2 × 2 factorial design. The aim was to investigate the effect of coating the fleece and administration of a commercial mineral supplement on brightness, clean colour and photostability over a 12-month period when run on the Central Tablelands of New South Wales. Coating the fleece significantly improved both the brightness and clean colour of the fleece (P<0.001, by 4 and 0.5 T units, respectively), but had no effect on the photostability of the two traits. The mineral supplement had no significant impact on the colour or photostability traits and there was no evidence of an interaction between coating the fleece and the mineral supplement. Although the improvements in brightness and colour arising from coating the fleece complemented the predicted responses to genetic selection for these two traits, the combined effect would not be sufficient to replace the routine use of oxidative bleaching during processing.

Effect of prolonged undernutrition on the recovery and reproductive performance of maiden Merino ewes

1967 ◽  
Vol 7 (24) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
P McInnes ◽  
TJ Grainger ◽  
MD Smith
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
The Other ◽  
First Year ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Feeding Trials ◽  
The Mean

Data are presented on the recovery and reproductive performance of 2 1/2-year-old maiden Merino ewes after a prolonged period of undernutrition. The 217 sheep had been hand-fed on a submaintenance ration in pen feeding trials at Glenfield, New South Wales. During the seven months of the trials they had lost 6 kg (28 to 22 kg) body weight. They were transported to Condobolin in south-western New South Wales, divided into two treatment groups and run on good quality pastures. One group was joined immediately (May 1959) and again ten months later, and the other group was mated after six months at Condobolin (in October 1959) and again 12 months later. The ewes recovered rapidly. The mean weight of both groups had reached 30 kg within six weeks and 40 kg within six months. In the first year 73 of the 100 May-mated ewes bore lambs, but only 38 of these lambs were weaned. Ewes bearing lambs had a higher body weight at the start of joining and gained more during joining than the barren ewes. At the other three joinings (October 1959, May 1960, October 1960) lambing percentage was from 86-89 and weaning percentage from 62-69-both normal for the district. The proportion of twin lambs (3-6 per cent) was low. Wool weight in 1959 was not affected by time of mating or by pregnancy.

Temporal and spatial variability of the sediments budget of the subaerial beach at Warilla, New South Wales

1982 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 945 ◽  
Author(s):  
IG Eliot ◽  
DJ Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Least Squares ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Eof Analysis ◽  
Sediment Volume ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Periodic Fluctuations ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
Phase Differences

A 5-year set of profile data from Warilla Beach, N.S.W., measured fortnightly, has been statistically analysed by using Fourier transform, least-squares, and empirical orthogonal function (eigenfunction or EOF) techniques to identify characteristic patterns of temporal and spatial variation in the sediment volume of the subaerial beach. Least-squares analysis enabled separation of the variation in the subaerial beach at Warilla into a 5-year trend, periodic fluctuations and aperiodic events. The periodic fluctuations are dominated by biennial and annual components. The biennial component accounts for 40% of the sediment budget of the subaerial beach, the annual component 30%, 13% is due to the long-term trend over the 5 years, and about 20% is estimated as aperiodic fluctuations mainly related to changes in the wave regime. Phase differences were identified for periodic oscillations on adjacent beach segments and a chronology of change in sediment volume deduced from the phase differences. The results show that variation in the sediment volume of the subaerial beach is determined by interaction between the biennial and seasonal exchanges although the resulting pattern of exchange may be obscured by higher-frequency beach changes. In alternate years the focus of onshore-offshore sediment exchange shifts from the centre of the beach to the exposed, northern sector. The major depositional zone associated with this exchange is located on the southern+entral sector of the beach and the major erosion zone is on the northern part of the beach. The pattern of alongshore sediment exchange was more closely investigated by EOF analysis. The method facilitated separation of onshore-offshore and alongshore modes of sediment transfer and identification of the patterns of alongshore sediment exchange. The first four EOF's for the data on the subaerial beach at Warilla contain 95.3% of the total variance. The fundamental pattern of sediment movement identified in the EOF analysis involves an onshore-offshore transfer of sediment in biennial, seasonal and 6-monthly cycles. The transfer accounts for 61.7% of the variance for the sediment store of the subaerial beach. The amplitude spectrum of the associated time series for this eigenfunction mode shows that the biennial component is dominant. This result supports the results from the least-squares analysis. It could not have been anticipated from previous studies of beach change from New South Wales or elsewhere and is the subject of ongoing investigation. Subsequent eigenfunction modes identify alongshore movements, with three patterns accounting for a further 33.8% of the remaining variance. They are associated with the prevailing system of inshore water circulation and identify major, recurrent rip and bar locations. Time series associated with the eigenfunction modes confirm the dominance of biennial, annual, and biannual sediment transfers occurring on Warilla Beach.

Effects of variable-intensity logging and the influence of habitat variables on the distribution of the Greater Glider Petauroides volans in montane forest, southeastern New South Wales

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney P. Kavanagh ◽  
Rodney P. Kavanagh
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Environmental Variable ◽  
Variable Intensity ◽  
Usual Practice ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Arboreal Marsupials ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Before And After

Populations of arboreal marsupials were assessed in forests before and after logging at different levels of logging intensity to determine the sensitivity of these species to habitat disturbance. The logging treatments imposed were unlogged controls and two intensities of integrated logging for sawlogs and woodchips. The mean basal area of trees retained in logged blocks ranged from 83% to 35% of pre-logging levels. The objective of the study was to develop better methods for managing arboreal marsupials within the wood production forests of southeastern New South Wales. Seven species of arboreal marsupials were recorded during the study, but the Greater Glider Petauroides volans was the only species recorded in sufficient numbers for analysis (86% of all records). No significant differences were observed between the treatments in counts of the Greater Glider before and after logging. However, given the observed trend and an a priori expectation of a decline in numbers of this species following intensive logging, a one-tailed statistical test was applied which resulted in a significant difference at P = 0.08 for the contrast between the unlogged controls and the most intensively logged treatment. The existence of a threshold in logging intensity within the range of 21 % to 39% retention of tree basal area, below which numbers of the Greater Glider suffer a marked decline, was inferred on the basis of comparisons with the results of other studies. Factors other than logging were important in determining the distribution of the Greater Glider. Elevation, in particular, was a significant environmental variable, with Greater Gliders more likely to occur in forests above 845 m a.s.1. The presence and absence of particular tree species also influenced the distribution of the Greater Glider. Forests containing Manna Gum E. viminalis and Mountain Gum E. dalrympleana were highly preferred compared to forests with a high proportion of E. obliqua. The presence of E. cypellocarpa appeared to improve the quality of habitat for the Greater Glider in forests dominated by E. obliqua. This study has shown that Greater Glider populations can be maintained at or near pre-logging levels when at least 40% of the original tree basal area is retained thoughout logged areas and when the usual practice of retaining unlogged forest in riparian strips is applied.

57. GENOTYPING OF UROGENITAL CHLAMYDIA TRACHOMATIS IN REGIONAL NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA

Sexual Health ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 306
Author(s):  
D. Mossman ◽  
C. Ooi ◽  
M. Loewenthal ◽  
M. Boyle
Keyword(s):  
Chlamydia Trachomatis ◽  
Older Patients ◽  
New South ◽  
Genotypic Variation ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Genotype Frequency ◽  
Sexual Networks ◽  
Genotype Analysis ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Significant Difference

Background: Chlamydia Trachomatis is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in Australia and world wide. This study was undertaken to map the frequency of Chlamydia genotypes in regional New South Wales (NSW), Australia, to explore the potential utility of genotype analysis in defining local sexual networks, and to investigate whether patterns of genotype frequency are correlated with demographic factors, including age and gender. Methods: We studied 204 urine samples infected with Chlamydia trachomatis, as determined by PCR analysis using the COBAS Amplicor system. Samples were collected from wide geographic area of regional New South Wales (Hunter, New England, Northern Rivers, South Eastern New South Wales). Sequencing and genotyping were performed after nested PCR of the omp1 gene. Results: Genotype E was found in 42.6% of infections, with genotypes F (23.5%) and G (16.7%) other common causes of infection. Mixed infection occurred in only 3 cases. There was no significant difference in genotype frequency based on gender or geographic location. There was a significant difference in gender frequency based on patient age, with older patients significantly more likely to demonstrate infection with genotype G (mean age (years) 23.7+/-7.29 sd, E: 21.7 +/-5.7 sd; G: 28.9; sd 10.18; p�=�0.022). Conclusions: There was no significant difference in genotype frequency in the various regions of New South Wales, suggesting genotype analysis is of limited use in defining sexual networks in regional NSW. The finding of a higher frequency of genotype G in older patients raises the possibility that genotypic variation may be driven by immune responses to genotypes that occur more frequently at a younger age. These results may have implications for the future design of a chlamydial vaccine.

Moult, Movements, Age and Sex Composition of Mountain Duck, Tadorna tadornoides, Banded at Lake George, N.S.W

1976 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 173 ◽  
Author(s):  
JL McKean ◽  
LW Braithwaite
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Age Structure ◽  
New South ◽  
Sex Composition ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Moult Migration ◽  
Lake George ◽  
Age And Sex

Two samples of mountain ducks totalling 1001 birds were trapped and banded at Lake George,N.S.W. A highly significant difference in age structure between the two samples, taken in January 1965 and in February 1970, may be related to major differences in rainfall for the year preceding each sample. The sex ratio was markedly biased in favour of females. Recoveries of birds were nearly all to the south and west and 300-700 km from the banding site. Fully 99 % of recoveries were in States other than New South Wales. Examination of one sample of 679 mountain ducks for moult of primary and secondary wing feathers showed that approximately one-third of the adults were moulting. It was concluded that the birds were possibly normal residents of the region in which most recoveries occurred, and that they make an annual moult migration to Lake George.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document