Foraging behaviour of mulga birds in Western Australia. II. Community structure and conservation

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry F. Recher
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Species Abundances ◽  
Foraging Guilds ◽  
Acacia Aneura ◽  
Western Australian ◽  
Arid And Semiarid

Mulga (Acacia aneura) woodlands dominate much of arid and semiarid Australia. Although mulga woodlands are floristically and structurally diverse, the composition of the mulga avifauna is consistent across the continent, with 50–70% of bird species shared between sites and a high proportion of migratory and nomadic species. A comparison of avian foraging guilds in mulga woodlands in the Murchison and Gascoyne Bioregions of Western Australia with those in the Northern Territory identified nine guilds. All guilds occurred at the three locations studied during wet years. The number of bird species, species’ abundances, and the number of guilds declined on the Western Australian sites when there was less rain. Despite the commonality of guilds and species between sites, there were differences between sites and years in the grouping of species, with many species best associated with two or more guilds. These differences reflected differences between locations and wet and dry years in the food resources available to birds, which affected how species foraged. Particularly noticeable were the differences between sites and years in migratory and nomadic birds, which in Western Australia and the Northern Territory were the most abundant birds during wet conditions, but largely absent when conditions were drier.

The first assessment, using a rangeland monitoring system, of change in shrub and tree populations across the arid shrublands of Western Australia

2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. W. Watson ◽  
P. W. E. Thomas ◽  
W. J. Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Monitoring System ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Rangeland Monitoring ◽  
Canopy Area ◽  
Arid Shrublands ◽  
Acacia Aneura ◽  
First Time ◽  
Western Australian

For the first time, a region-wide assessment of vegetation change across the southern shrublands of Western Australia is reported, using information from 965 shrubland sites of the Western Australian Rangeland Monitoring System (WARMS). The majority of sites were installed between December 1993 and November 1999, and were reassessed between July 1999 and November 2005, with an average interval of just over 5 years. Shrub and tree species density, canopy area and species richness remained the same or increased on the majority of sites. The results were similar when considered at a species level, with most species showing an increase in density, canopy area and the number of sites on which they were found. Recruitment of new individuals to the population was commonplace on virtually all sites and for virtually all species. High rates of recruitment, on many sites, were observed for long-lived species such as Acacia aneura Benth., A. papyrocarpa Benth., Eremophila forrestii F.Muell. and Maireana sedifolia (F.Muell.) Paul G.Wilson. Increases in density, i.e. where recruitment was higher than mortality, were observed for many shorter lived species which are known to decrease in response to excessive grazing (i.e. decreaser species) such as Ptilotus obovatus (Gaudich.) F.Muell., Atriplex vesicaria Benth., A. bunburyana F.Muell. and Maireana georgei (Diels) Paul G.Wilson. However, this result should be tempered by the understanding that acute degradation processes may still be occurring, especially within and surrounding drainage lines, which are away from where the WARMS sites are typically located. Grazing was implicated in decreased density on some sites, particularly those which had experienced below average seasonal conditions. On these sites, decreaser species were particularly affected.

scholarly journals A newly recognised species of Cryptes Maskell 1892 (Hemiptera: Coccidae) from Western Australia

Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4508 (1) ◽  
pp. 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
YEN-PO LIN ◽  
TAKUMASA KONDO ◽  
TAKUMASA KONDO ◽  
PENNY J. GULLAN ◽  
LYN G. COOK
Keyword(s):  
Adult Female ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Species Complex ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Australian Species ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Nuclear Loci ◽  
Acacia Aneura ◽  
Western Australian

Cryptes utzoni Lin, Kondo & Cook sp. n. (Hemiptera: Coccidae) is described based on adult female morphology and DNA sequences from mitochondrial and nuclear loci. This Australian endemic species was found on the stem of Acacia aneura (Fabaceae) in Western Australia. All phylogenetic analyses of three independent DNA loci show that C. utzoni is closely related to C. baccatus (Maskell), the type and only species of Cryptes Maskell, 1892. The adult female of C. utzoni is described and illustrated and a table is provided of the characters that differ among adult females of the two species of Cryptes now recognised (C. baccatus and C. utzoni) and a morphologically similar Western Australian species, Austrolichtensia hakearum (Fuller). There is deep genetic divergence in COI among samples of C. baccatus, suggesting the possibility of a species complex in this taxon. 

The distribution and biology of the genus Coptotermes (Isoptera) in Western Australia.

1956 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
JH Calaby ◽  
FJ Gay
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Biological Data ◽  
The State ◽  
Fourth Species ◽  
First Time ◽  
Western Australian ◽  
Wide Zone

Knowledge of the distribution and biology in Western Australia of species of Coptotermes has been very incomplete and in some respects erroneous, due partly to a lack of collecting and partly to the fact that the genus is notoriously difficult taxonomically. This genus, which includes the most destructive Australian termites, is represented in the State by four species and one subspecies. The form raffrayi previously thought to be a good species occurring sympatrically with acinaciformis is shown to be a subspecies of the latter form intergrading with it through a wide zone of intermediate forms and replacing it geographically in the wetter south-western corner of the State. C. michaelseni is restricted to south-western Australia and previous records from South Australia, Victoria, and Queensland are shown or considered to be misidentifications of C. frenchi. C. frenchi is definitely recorded from Western Australia for the first time. The separation of these two species by microscopical measurements is discussed. The fourth species is the recently discovered and described C. brunneus. The known Western Australian distributions of all species except C. brunneus are given. New biological data for all species are recorded, particularly on tree species attacked, dispersal of alates, and construction of mounds. C. acinaciformis builds symmetrical domed mounds in parts of southern Western Australia. Mound nests had not previously been recorded in 'the State and they differ considerably in construction from those recorded from the Northern Territory and north Queensland. C. frenchi is here definitely recorded as a mound builder. The mound-building habit erroneously attributed in the literature to C. michaelseni is shown to be due to the confusion of this species with frenchi. Photographs of mounds of C. acinaciformis raffrayi, C. frenchi, and C. brunneus are published for the first time.

scholarly journals Do bird species richness and community structure vary with mistletoe flowering and fruiting in Western Australia?

2014 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn R. Napier ◽  
Suzanne H. Mather ◽  
Todd J. McWhorter ◽  
Patricia A. Fleming
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Species Richness

Morphological and genetic relationships among populations of Scotorepens sanbomi (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from Papua, New Guinea, Australia and Indonesia.

1994 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
D.J. Kitchener ◽  
M. Adams
Keyword(s):  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Genetic Relationships ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Wing Loading ◽  
The West ◽  
West Timor ◽  
Western Australian ◽  
Discriminant Function Analyses

Skull and external morphology and the genetic relationships of Scotorepens sanbomi individuals were studied for populations in Papua New Guinea, Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia and West Timor (a recently discovered population). Discriminant function analyses showed that animals from West Timor were large and similar in size and shape to those from Papua New Guinea and Queensland; their skull dimensions were closer to Queensland animals whereas their external dimensions were closer to Papua New Guinea animals. The West Timor, Papua New Guinea and Queensland animals were considerably larger in skull', external and baculum measurements than the Western Australian animals. The Northern Territory animals were intermediate, but closer to the Western Australian animals. The latter also showed some proportional (shape) differences from animals in these other populations. The largest animals (West Timor) had a relatively high wing loading and higher aspect ratio than the smallest (Western Australia) animals. This suggests that on West Timor the species forage in less cluttered airspace, probably higher above the vegetation, than their counterparts from Western Australia. Allozyme electrophoresis of 3lloci revealed considerable genetic heterogeneity between the populations (Nei Ds range 0.023- 0.158). The West Timor population was genetically most similar to the Western Australia and Northern Territory populations and most divergent from both the Queensland and New Guinea populations.

Short-term logging and burning impacts on species richness, abundance and community structure of birds in open eucalypt forest in Western Australia

2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Abbott ◽  
Amanda Mellican ◽  
Michael D. Craig ◽  
Matthew Williams ◽  
Graeme Liddelow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
The Other ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Eucalyptus Marginata ◽  
External Reference ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Impact

In 1985 new silvicultural prescriptions for managing jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest in south-west Western Australia came into operation. The most extreme logging treatment (gap release) involved removal of most of the overstorey from patches no larger than 10 ha, followed by a regeneration fire. In the other logging treatment (shelterwood), less wood was removed from a larger area, also followed by a fire. This study examined the impact of these disturbances on the avifauna by monitoring species richness and abundance of birds one year before logging, one year before burning, and for five years after burning. Although 68 bird species were recorded during the seven years of the study, 29 of these were detected fewer than 15 times. Of the other 39 bird species recorded, only two (Gerygone fusca and Acanthiza apicalis) showed a statistically significant treatment effect over time on their abundance. The abundance of G. fusca initially declined in the disturbed treatments and by Year 7 of the study (5 years post-fire) in the gap-release treatment had not recovered its original abundance. A. apicalis increased its abundance in both shelterwood and gap-release treatments. By Year 7, both species in the logged treatments had abundances similar to those in the unlogged treatments. Total abundance of all species varied little across treatments. Species richness was highest by Year 7 in the shelterwood and lowest in the gap-release treatment. In some years community structure varied more at the external-reference sites (not recently logged or burnt) than at the gap-release sites. In particular, there was little overlap in community structure in the external-reference treatment between the first and final years, whereas the pre-logging and final year in the gap-release treatment showed a high degree of overlap. These differences are suggestive of overriding short-term annual variation in broad-scale factors rather than local factors. Yearly variation in rainfall and temperature was documented; during low rainfall periods, populations of foliage arthropods may have been reduced.

Factors that contribute to urban–rural gradients in risk of schizophrenia: Comparing Danish and Western Australian registers

2021 ◽  
pp. 000486742110096
Author(s):  
Oleguer Plana-Ripoll ◽  
Patsy Di Prinzio ◽  
John J McGrath ◽  
Preben B Mortensen ◽  
Vera A Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Proportional Hazards ◽  
Cox Proportional Hazards ◽  
Hazard Ratio ◽  
Indigenous Status ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Western Australian

Introduction: An association between schizophrenia and urbanicity has long been observed, with studies in many countries, including several from Denmark, reporting that individuals born/raised in densely populated urban settings have an increased risk of developing schizophrenia compared to those born/raised in rural settings. However, these findings have not been replicated in all studies. In particular, a Western Australian study showed a gradient in the opposite direction which disappeared after adjustment for covariates. Given the different findings for Denmark and Western Australia, our aim was to investigate the relationship between schizophrenia and urbanicity in these two regions to determine which factors may be influencing the relationship. Methods: We used population-based cohorts of children born alive between 1980 and 2001 in Western Australia ( N = 428,784) and Denmark ( N = 1,357,874). Children were categorised according to the level of urbanicity of their mother’s residence at time of birth and followed-up through to 30 June 2015. Linkage to State-based registers provided information on schizophrenia diagnosis and a range of covariates. Rates of being diagnosed with schizophrenia for each category of urbanicity were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for covariates. Results: During follow-up, 1618 (0.4%) children in Western Australia and 11,875 (0.9%) children in Denmark were diagnosed with schizophrenia. In Western Australia, those born in the most remote areas did not experience lower rates of schizophrenia than those born in the most urban areas (hazard ratio = 1.02 [95% confidence interval: 0.81, 1.29]), unlike their Danish counterparts (hazard ratio = 0.62 [95% confidence interval: 0.58, 0.66]). However, when the Western Australian cohort was restricted to children of non-Aboriginal Indigenous status, results were consistent with Danish findings (hazard ratio = 0.46 [95% confidence interval: 0.29, 0.72]). Discussion: Our study highlights the potential for disadvantaged subgroups to mask the contribution of urban-related risk factors to risk of schizophrenia and the importance of stratified analysis in such cases.

Tree Species Preferences of Foraging Birds in Jarrah Forest in Western Australia.

1985 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 461 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Abbott ◽  
PV Heurck
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Selective Logging ◽  
Jarrah Forest ◽  
Eucalyptus Marginata ◽  
Silvicultural Treatments ◽  
Species Preferences

A study of foraging by 10 bird species suggests that selective logging of large Eucalyptus marginata will only have affected Melithreptus lunatus, but that proposed silvicultural treatments, including removal of Banksia grandis, may affect several other bird species.

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