Population Maintenance of Lucilia-Cuprina (Wiedemann) in the Arid Zone

1988 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 241 ◽  
Author(s):  
PJ Anderson ◽  
E Shipp ◽  
JME Anderson ◽  
W Dobbie
Keyword(s):  
Arid Zone ◽  
New South ◽  
Lucilia Cuprina ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Merino Sheep ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Arid Zone Research ◽  
Population Maintenance ◽  
The University

For 3 years numbers and species of blowflies breeding in carcasses and on live merino sheep were studied at the University of New South Wales Arid Zone Research Station at Fowlers Gap, to determine which species initiated blowfly strike on sheep and how Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann) maintained its population throughout the year; particularly whether it could complete its life cycle on carcasses. Larvae taken from struck sheep showed L. cuprina to be the dominant species in >87% of strikes. Native calliphorids, Calliphora nociva Hardy, Calliphora augur (Fabr.), and Calliphora stygia (Fabr.) were present in about 7% of strikes sampled, usually in association with L. cuprina. In a regularly inspected small mob (c. 70) of sheep, incidence of covert strike was higher than incidence of overt strike, supporting the view that a grazier's estimate of flystrike in the flock would almost always be an underestimate. On carcasses, the secondary strike native blowfly, Chrysomys rufijacies (Macquart), was produced in very large numbers. Some native primary strike Calliphora spp. were produced from some carcasses in the colder months, but no L. cuprina was produced from either small or large carcasses (sheep, kangaroos, rabbits) at any time. However, larvae of L. cuprina were recovered from live sheep at all times of the year, indicating that L. cuprina is an obligate parasite of live sheep in the arid zone.

Geoarchaeology of Aboriginal Landscapes in Semi-arid Australia

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Holdaway ◽  
Patricia Fanning
Keyword(s):  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
The Past ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Arid Zone Research

This book provides readers with a unique understanding of the ways in which Aboriginal people interacted with their environment in the past at one particular location in western New South Wales. It also provides a statement showing how geoarchaeology should be conducted in a wide range of locations throughout Australia. One of the key difficulties faced by all those interested in the interaction between humans and their environment in the past is the complex array of processes acting over different spatial and temporal scales. The authors take account of this complexity by integrating three key areas of study – geomorphology, geochronology and archaeology – applied at a landscape scale, with the intention of understanding the record of how Australian Aboriginal people interacted with the environment through time and across space. This analysis is based on the results of archaeological research conducted at the University of New South Wales Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station between 1999 and 2002 as part of the Western New South Wales Archaeology Program. The interdisciplinary geoarchaeological program was targeted at expanding the potential offered by archaeological deposits in western New South Wales, Australia. The book contains six chapters: the first two introduce the study area, then three data analysis chapters deal in turn with the geomorphology, geochronology and archaeology of Fowlers Gap Station. A final chapter considers the results in relation to the history of Aboriginal occupation of Fowlers Gap Station, as well as the insights they provide into Aboriginal ways of life more generally. Analyses are well illustrated through the tabulation of results and the use of figures created through Geographic Information System software. Winner of the 2015 Australian Archaeology Association John Mulvaney Book Award

scholarly journals Short-Beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) Home Range at Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station, NSW

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgia J. Badgery ◽  
Jasmin C. Lawes ◽  
Keith E.A. Leggett
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
New South ◽  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Arid Zones ◽  
Research Station ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Arid Zone Research ◽  
Tachyglossus Aculeatus

ABSTRACTEchidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) are found Australian-wide and appear to be remarkably well-adapted to arid zones, yet, nearly all echidna research has been conducted in temperate, tropical and alpine zones. This study investigated the home range and movement of echidnas in western New South Wales. Radio telemetry tracking was used to locate the echidnas daily during the study period (March-May 2019 and August 2019); the home range was 1.47± 1.21 km2. This is over twice the reported home range of temperate environments (>0.65 km2) suggesting that echidnas exhibit larger home ranges in arid zones. This study provides insight into the movement and home range of echidnas in arid zones, revealing that desert echidnas have large home ranges, dependent on the availability of resources.

Rediscovery of the plains mouse (Pseudomys australis) (Rodentia : Muridae) in New South Wales

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith E. A. Leggett ◽  
Thanuri Welaratne ◽  
Michael Letnic ◽  
Steven McLeod ◽  
Terence Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Arid Zone ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Research Station ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Arid Zone Research ◽  
Rare And Endangered

We report the rediscovery of the rare and endangered native rodent, the plains mouse (Pseudomys australis) in New South Wales (NSW). Two plains mice were trapped in the far west of the state at Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station and another in the NSW section of the Strzelecki Desert. Until these captures, the plains mouse was thought to have been extinct in NSW. Subfossil records indicate that these observations are within the pre-European settlement range of the species. It is uncertain whether these captures represent a range expansion from known populations in northern South Australia or reflect a local refuge population. Ensuring the conservation of P. australis in NSW requires further study to determine its distribution and the factors influencing its abundance.

Skin folds and Merino breeding. 4. The susceptibility of rams selected for a high degree of skin wrinkle to heat induced infertility

1966 ◽  
Vol 6 (21) ◽  
pp. 121 ◽  
Author(s):  
DG Fowler ◽  
RB Dun
Keyword(s):  
Heat Treatment ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
New South ◽  
Conception Rate ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Merino Sheep ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Selection Experiments ◽  
High Degree

Three experiments were done to establish whether differences in ram fertility could explain some of the differences in reproductive performance observed between two flocks of Merino sheep, one flock of which had been bred for a high (Folds Plus) and the other for a low (Folds Minus) degree of skin wrinkle at the Trangie Agricultural Research Station. In the first experiment the quality of semen collected from Folds Plus and Folds Minus rams at Glenfield, New South Wales, was examined during the period December 1962 until March 1963. From late January until early March 1963, Folds Plus rams had low quality semen which gave a conception rate of 38.6 per cent. Over the same period, Folds Minus rams had higher quality semen which gave a conception rate of 58.6 per cent. Folds Plus and Folds Minus rams were then subjected to a severe heat treatment in mid winter 1963 (experiment 2) which produced severe seminal degeneration in both Folds Plus and Folds Minus rams. Folds Plus rams were more susceptible to heat than Folds Minus rams since the semen of Folds Plus rams remained degenerate for a longer period than the semen of Folds Minus rams and, in a test mating program, fewer pregnancies were observed in ewes artificially inseminated with the semen of Folds Plus rams than in ewes inseminated with the semen of Folds Minus rams. In a third experiment Folds Plus and Folds Minus rams from two independently established selection experiments at Trangie and at Cunnamulla were subjected to a heat treatment. The heated Folds Plus rams from both selection experiments exhibited marked seminal degeneration, but heated Folds Minus rams from both selection experiments maintained high quality semen throughout the experiment. The heated Folds Plus rams from Cunnamulla were more severely affected than the heated Folds Plus rams from Trangie.

Discrimination of arid vegetation composition with high resolution CASI imagery.

2000 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Resolution ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
High Spectral Resolution ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Mixed Pixel ◽  
Sparse Vegetation ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Arid Zone Research ◽  
Arid Vegetation

CASI (Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager) airborne imagery, with high spectral and spatial resolution, was evaluated for the discrimination of composition and variation in arid vegetation at Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station in western New South Wales. The imagery was calibrated to surface reflectance using field reference spectra collected near the time of the overflight, and analysed in relation to reflectance spectra of plants at Fowlers Gap. Maps showing abundance of total perennial vegetation, chenopod shrubs and trees, were produced using methods that separated the vegetation contribution from mixed-pixel responses. Results of these analyses were compared with field data on percentage ground cover for 85 one hectare sample plots, collected within four weeks of the overflight. In all cases, the cover of vegetation that was discriminated and mapped was less than 25%. The study demonstrates that high-spectral resolution imagery, combined with new approaches to image analysis, offers considerable scope for discrimination of vegetation variation in arid landscapes. It is possible to spectrally discriminate and map the abundance of several functional vegetation components, even in sparse vegetation, and this information is particularly relevant for management applications. As imagery from high-spectral resolution sensors, both air- and satellite-borne, becomes more readily available in Australia, the benefits to be derived from these data will be more widely applied. Key words: arid vegetation, species composition, hyperspectral imagery, remote sensing, vegetation spectra

scholarly journals Can Lanchester's Laws Help Explain Interspecific Dominance in Birds?

The Condor ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 395-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin L. Shelley ◽  
Maile Y. U. Tanaka ◽  
Anna R. Ratnathicam ◽  
Daniel T. Blumstein
Keyword(s):  
Important Determinant ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Australian Birds ◽  
Foraging Decisions ◽  
Interspecific Dominance

AbstractWe studied the applicability of Lanchester's laws of combat to explain interspecific dominance in birds. We focused on 10 species of Australian birds in the arid zone of New South Wales that foraged at an established locust trap. Consistent with the “linear law,” larger species usually dominated smaller species in one-on-one encounters. We found no support for the “N-square law,” which predicted that large numbers of smaller species could dominate larger species when more abundant. Further analysis of the most abundant species revealed that it was less likely to visit the locust trap when larger, more dominant heterospecifics were present. Body size, and not numerical superiority, seems to be an important determinant in interspecific foraging decisions in birds.¿Puede la Ley de Lanchester Ayudar a Explicar la Dominancia Interespecífica en Aves?Resumen. Hemos estudiado la aplicabilidad de las leyes del combate de Lanchester en explicar la dominancia interespecífica en aves. Hemos focalizado este estudio en 10 especies de aves australianas de la zona árida de New South Wales, las cuales se alimentaron en trampas de insectos establecidas para tal fin. Consistente con la “ley lineal,” las especies de mayor tamaño usualmente dominaron a las especies más pequeñas en los encuentros uno a uno. No encontramos evidencia que apoye la “ley cuadrática,” la cual predice que un gran número de especies de pequeño tamaño podrían dominar a especies de tamaño mayor cuando las primeras son más abundantes. Posteriores análisis sobre la especie más abundantes revelaron que la probabilidad de visita a las trampas de insectos es menor cuando individuos heteroespecíficos más grandes y más dominantes están presentes. El tamaño corporal, y no la superioridad numérica, parece ser un importante factor en las decisiones de forrajeo en las aves.

The Roche Research Institute of Marine Pharmacology, 1974 - 1981: Searching for Drug Leads from Australian Marine Organisms

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian D. Rae
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Marine Organisms ◽  
New Drugs ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Lead Compounds ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Pharmacological Potential ◽  
The University ◽  
Drug Leads ◽  
Research Institute

In the late 1960s the Swiss pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche was attracted to the pharmacological potential of extractives from Australian marine organisms. At first the company supported the work of University of Queensland zoologist Robert Endean and work at the Great Barrier Reef Research Station on Heron Island. Within a few years, however, they severed their connection with Endean and established the Roche Research Institute of Marine Pharmacology (RRIMP) at Dee Why, New South Wales. Opened in April 1974, the Institute was led by Dr J. T. Baker, an Australian organic chemist who had researched marine natural products. State-of-the-art pharmacology was introduced with guidance from Professor Michael Rand of the University of Melbourne. The staff that Baker recruited included chemists, pharmacologists, microbiologists and marine biologists. Despite the conjecture, raised in some quarters, that RRIMP was established to mute the Australian Government's criticism of the pricing of Roche's most famous product, Valium, it is argued that the research venture was a genuine attempt to find lead compounds in organisms from Australian waters with a view to the development of new drugs. Before any such success could be achieved by RRIMP scientists, however, sweeping changes in the parent company resulted in the closure of RRIMP in mid-1981 and dispersal of its expert staff, mostly to other Australian laboratories.

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