Seasonal effects on body temperature of the endangered grassland earless dragon, Tympanocryptis pinguicolla, from populations at two elevations

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyn S. Nelson ◽  
Paul D. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
New South ◽  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Seasonal Effects ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Native Grassland ◽  
Thermal Preferences ◽  
Operative Temperatures ◽  
Do So

The endangered grassland earless dragon, Tympanocryptis pinguicolla, is present in two geographic locations in Australia: the Australian Capital Territory and adjacent New South Wales (NSW) near Canberra (~580 m above sea level) and Monaro Plains, NSW, near Cooma (~950 m above sea level). The lizards live in native grassland, an endangered ecological community, and although the population ecology of the animal has been examined, the importance of habitat for thermoregulatory patterns is unknown. We studied whether lizards from the two locations differ in their seasonal patterns of thermoregulation by measuring skin and chest temperatures using both radio-telemetry and temperature measurement in the field, as well as thermal preferences in a laboratory thermal gradient. These results are compared with the operative temperatures (Te) in various microhabitats in the two regions to determine to what extent lizards are thermoregulating. We demonstrate that these lizards do not maintain a constant body temperature, but allow Tb to vary between 13 and 39°C when active in the field, although the grand mean for 50% basking temperatures ranged between 32 and 36°C in the laboratory gradient. Temperatures in the various microhabitats can exceed 40°C, but lizards appeared to avoid those temperatures by seeking shelter in either burrows or the base of grass tussocks. Lizards could choose microhabitats that would permit maintenance of body temperatures above 30°C in most seasons, but did not do so. As high body temperature is not selected in field conditions for either population, other processes (e.g. predation) may be more important for determining Tb maintenance.

scholarly journals Further history of a quartz thread gravity balance

1933 ◽  
Vol 231 (694-706) ◽  
pp. 55-73 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
New South ◽  
Maximum Difference ◽  
Observation Station ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Physical Laboratory ◽  
History Of ◽  
Association Meeting ◽  
The University ◽  
Do So

A former paper* by one of the present authors and JAMES ARTHUR POLLOCK contains an account of the construction of a quartz thread gravity balance which was made at the University of Sydney during the time R. THRELFALL was Professor of Physics there. This work extended from 1889 up to the time of publication, and included an account of a good many gravimetric observations at Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, and at various places in New South Wales. Final tests were made by taking the balance to and fro between Sydney and Hornsby, which is near Sydney but is 592 feet above sea-level, the University of Sydney, which was the Sydney observation station, being only slightly above sea-level (120 feet). As the result of several such journeys we finally felt entitled to say that “ We have therefore determined the value of g at Hornsby relatively to that at Sydney in three journeys with a maximum difference of 0.4 sextant minutes, or to less than 1 part in 500,000 in the value of g ." It had been intended to embark on a series of observations on the Australian coast, but, unfortunately, R. THRELFALL returned to England in 1898 and arrangements for carrying on the work had to be considered. J. A. POLLOCK succeeded R. THRELFALL as Professor of Physics at the Sydney University, and it was arranged that the balance, which, by the way, had been exhibited at the British Association Meeting at Dover, should be in J. A. POLLOCK’s charge and that he should continue the work in so far as his new duties as Professor of Physics enabled him to do so. Unfortunately, an opportunity never occurred and the balance was stored in one of the cellars of the Physical Laboratory of the University till 1923. Meanwhile Professor POLLOCK died.

Evidence of High Sea Level during Isotope Stage 5c in Queensland, Australia

1985 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Pickett ◽  
C. H. Thompson ◽  
R. A. Kelley ◽  
D. Roman
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
New South ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Coastal Dunes ◽  
Intertidal Sediments ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Maximum Period ◽  
High Dune

Thirty-nine species of scleractinian corals have been recovered from under a high dune on the western (mainland) side of North Stradbroke Island, eastern Australia. The corals are associated with thin intertidal sediments and their good condition implies burial in situ and preservation in a saturated zone. Most likely this occurred as the coast prograded and a large dune advanced into the littoral zone, burying intertidal sediments and coral. The species assemblage indicates a sheltered environment but one open to the ocean without wide fluctuations in salinity. Three species yielded a mean 230Th/234U age of 105,000 yr B.P. which is significantly younger than the nearest Pleistocene corals at Evans Head, New South Wales. The corals provide evidence of a sea stand near present sea level during isotope Stage 5c, which is considerably higher than previously suggested for this period. Their good condition implies that the overlying parabolic dune is of comparable age and formed during that high stand of sea level. Also, the isotope age provides a maximum period for the development of giant podzols in the podzol chronosequences on coastal dunes in southern Queensland.

scholarly journals Did We Forget Something? Fathering Supports and Programs in Prisons in Victoria, Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (8) ◽  
pp. 1465-1481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tess S. Bartlett ◽  
Christopher J. Trotter
Keyword(s):  
Support Services ◽  
Research Council ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Parenting Support ◽  
Current State ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Incarcerated Fathers ◽  
Primary Carer ◽  
Do So

This article draws from data gathered for an Australian Research Council–funded study conducted in Victoria and New South Wales between 2011 and 2015, which examined how dependent children are responded to when their primary carer is imprisoned. In particular, this article specifically addresses a gap in knowledge by examining the current state of fathering programs in prison in Victoria. To do so, the views of 39 primary carer fathers incarcerated in Victoria are analysed. We argue that there is a distinct lack of support for fathers in prison, acting as a barrier towards maintaining father–child relationships. Findings indicate that 79% of the fathers in this study were never offered any parenting support services or programs. By clearly highlighting the state of fathering programs in prisons in Victoria, this article offers suggestions as to how best to facilitate the connection between incarcerated fathers and their children.

Broad-toothed rat, Mastacomys fuscus (Rodentia, Muridae), found in alpine heathland in Tasmania.

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 163 ◽  
Author(s):  
MM Driessen
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
New South ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
The State ◽  
Pine Plantation ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eucalypt Woodlands ◽  
Sclerophyll Forests

THE broad-toothed rat Mastacomys fuscus is a native, herbivorous rodent that occurs in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. On the Australian mainland the species has been recorded in several habitats at altitudes ranging from sea level to 1800 m. In alpine and sub-alpine areas of New South Wales and Victoria it has been recorded in heathlands, open eucalypt woodlands and wet sedgelands (Calaby and Wimbush 1964; Dixon 1971; Seebeck 1971; Bubela et al. 1991). At lower altitudes in Victoria, it has been recorded in wet sclerophyll forests with a dense undergrowth, coastal heathland, coastal grassland and in a pine plantation (Seebeck 1971; Wallis et al. 1982; Warneke 1960). In Tasmania, M. fuscus has been previously recorded only in buttongrass moorlands of western Tasmania at altitudes ranging from sea level to 900 m (Finlayson 1933; Andrews 1968; Green 1968, 1984; Hocking and Guiler 1983; Driessen and Comfort 1991; Slater 1992; Driessen 1998). Buttongrass moorland (also referred to as sedgeland) is a treeless vegetation typically dominated by Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus (buttongrass) that covers more than a million hectares in Tasmania, predominantly in the western part of the State (Jarman et al. 1988). Buttongrass moorland is a very variable vegetation group and not all communities recognised within buttongrass moorland provide habitat for M. fuscus (Driessen and Comfort 1991; Slater 1992; Driessen 1998). The purpose of this note is to report the results of a survey for M. fuscus in alpine heathland, a habitat in which the species has not been previously recorded in Tasmania. This finding has significant implications for the conservation status of this species.

Effect of surface-sown pod:seed mixtures on serradella establishment and persistence on rangelands in central New South Wales

2002 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
D. L. Michalk ◽  
M. H. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Acid Soil ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Native Grassland ◽  
Ornithopus Compressus ◽  
Improved Pasture ◽  
Effect Of Surface

Aerial sowing is the only option for introducing improved pasture species into much of the non-arable, acid soil rangelands in central New South Wales. However, low germination of seeds in serradella pods is a major problem causing poor establishment. Sowing different combinations of pod and seed was investigated as a means of improving germination and subsequent persistence in an experiment between 1993 and 1997. Results indicated that a pod:seed mixture of 75:25 was the most suitable ratio for establishing yellow serradella (Ornithopus compressus) when broadcast into native grassland on hardsetting, non-arable, acidic hill country. Nodulation failure observed at this cold tablelands site confirmed the need for a more winter-active inoculant for yellow serradella.

scholarly journals Men procuring sexual services from women: everyman or peculiar man?

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Birch ◽  
Jane Ireland
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
New South ◽  
Criminal History ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sex Worker ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Thrill Seeking ◽  
Sexual Services ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Do So

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore characteristics of men procuring sexual services from women. Design/methodology/approach – This is a quantitative study using questionnaires and purposive sampling. The sample was from New South Wales, Australia, and included brothels and outreach organisations where sex work is decriminalised. The participants were 309 men who reported procuring sexual services with women. Findings – Primary motivations for procurement included thrill/excitement and attractiveness of the sex worker. Cluster analysis identified five groups, the most frequent being those with a drive for exciting, thrill-seeking sex with an attractive partner and those with the same drive but not wanting investment. High proportions of men were married, in professional employment and did not present with a criminal history. Sexual experiences procured were conventional. Procurement presented as an enduring behaviour maintained across decades, commencing at a young age. Involvement in procurement preceded decriminalisation. Practical implications – The results do not support men's procurement as primarily “deviant”. Professionals may need to explicitly enquire about such behaviour where relevant to do so (e.g. in discussing sexual health) and in doing so ensure procurement is discussed as normative and not as unusual behaviour. Originality/value – Challenges any conceptualisation of procurement as deviant, extending the research base further by capturing users of such services as opposed to attitudes towards procurement.

Thermal relations of the malle fragon Amphibolurus fordi (Lacertilia : Agamidae)

1974 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 319 ◽  
Author(s):  
HG Cogger
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Field Study ◽  
New South ◽  
Close Association ◽  
The Body ◽  
Total Effect ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Thermal Relations

A field study of the thermal relationships of the small agamid lizard A. fordi has been carried out in two areas of mallee in central western New South Wales, where this lizard occurs only in close association with the grass Triodia scariosa. The body temperatures characteristic of various phases in this lizard's die1 cycle have been determined. The behavioural techniques employed to regulate temperature are described; they are similar to those used by a wide range of diurnal heliothermic lizards in other regions. The total effect of these thermoregulatory responses is to maintain an internal thermal environ- ment approaching homoiothermy while the lizard is active. For A. fordi the eccritic body temperature determined from animals in the field is 36.9+-0.16C. Lowering of activity thermal levels occurs in winter, and can be induced at any time by even mild starvation.

scholarly journals Activity patterns and roosting of the eastern blossom-bat (Syconycteris australis)

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Drury ◽  
Fritz Geiser
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Behavioural Thermoregulation ◽  
Roost Selection ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Sclerophyll Forest ◽  
Open Ground ◽  
Foraging Site ◽  
Cabbage Palm

We quantified activity patterns, foraging times and roost selection in the eastern blossom-bat (Syconycteris australis) (body mass 17.6 g) in coastal northern New South Wales in winter using radio-telemetry. Bats roosted either in rainforest near their foraging site of flowering coast banksia (Banksia integrifolia) and commuted only 0.3 ± 0.1 km (n = 8), whereas others roosted 2.0 ± 0.2 km (n = 4) away in wet sclerophyll forest. Most bats roosted in rainforest foliage, but in the wet sclerophyll forest cabbage palm leaves (Livistonia australis) were preferred roosts, which likely reflects behavioural thermoregulation by bats. Foraging commenced 44 ± 22 min after sunset in rainforest-roosting bats, whereas bats that roosted further away and likely flew over canopies/open ground to reach their foraging site left later, especially a female roosting with her likely young (~4 h after sunset). Bats returned to their roosts 64 ± 12 min before sunrise. Our study shows that S. australis is capable of commuting considerable distances between appropriate roost and foraging sites when nectar is abundant. Bats appear to vary foraging times appropriately to minimise exposure to predators and to undertake parental care.

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