A review of the current status of the Polydora-complex (Polychaeta: Spionidae) in Australia and a checklist of recorded species

Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2751 (1) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
LEXIE M WALKER

In 1885 Australia’s first recorded marine pest, a mudworm of the Polydora-complex (Spionidae), was identified on Hunter River, New South Wales, oysters (Saccostrea glomerata Gould, 1850). Mudworm is still a serious pest of cultured molluscs in Australia but, although of great concern to many, relatively little progress has been made in resolving the problem. One hundred and thirty years later the identity and life history of this pest remains unclear. The longevity of this problem in Australia is largely due to unaddressed issues of basic taxonomy. This review addresses these issues by presenting the information currently available on the Polydora-complex species in Australia, including taxonomy; history of discovery in the natural environment and in commercial aquaculture facilities; and ecological information. An updated checklist of Polydora-complex species from Australia is also included. It is hoped that by being explicit about the knowledge gaps and problems they can be addressed, ultimately providing a solid taxonomic background for further research into the Polydora-complex species and resolution of the mudworm problem in Australia.

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1964 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 805-805
Author(s):  
CLEMENT A. SMITH

For the pediatrician curious enough to pursue the life history of his patient into its prenatal phase or the obstetrician interested in more than one of his two patients, this small book will be of great usefulness. Of the twenty-one chapters, twelve are by Australian or New Zealand workers, the Editor, a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of New South Wales, among them. The international flavor is augmented by Swedish, German, and Scottish contributors.


1979 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 265 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Paxton

Australian beachworms, recognized by specialists as one species Onuphis teres (Ehlers 1868), and by fishermen as a number of forms, were studied to determine whether more than one species was involved. Monthly sampling at a study site (Narrabeen, New South Wales) and collections from other localities were undertaken to study the morphology of beachworms, electrophoretic mobility of glucosephosphate isomerase and aspects of their life history. Three forms of beachworms-slimy, stumpy and kingworm-occur at the study site. Stumpies were found to be young kingworms, while slimy represents a separate species. The two species belong to Americonuphis Orensanz, 1974; the name is preoccupied and is replaced with Australonuphis. The holotype of A. teres is a kingworm and the closely related slimy is described as A. Parateres, sp. nov. Four other forms of beachworms were collected from northern New South Wales and Queensland: stripey, giant, wiry and white-headed wiry. These forms are referred to Onuphis. Stripey and giant are morphologically distinct and are described as O. taeniata, sp. nov., and O. gygis, sp. nov., respectively. Wiry and white-headed wiry belong to a polymorphic species described as O, mariahirsuta, sp. nov.


2016 ◽  
Vol 67 (10) ◽  
pp. 1546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra L. Rigby ◽  
Ross K. Daley ◽  
Colin A. Simpfendorfer

Deep-water sharks have low biological productivity and are vulnerable to exploitation with species-specific regional life history required to enable effective management. The present study describes the life history of two squalids collected from Australia: (1) the piked spurdog (Squalus megalops) from the tropical Great Barrier Reef; and (2) the Philippine spurdog (S. montalbani) from New South Wales. Maximum observed ages for males and females were 18 and 25 years for S. megalops and 28 and 27 years for S. montalbani. Multiple growth models were all well supported and indicated very slow growth rates for both species. The tropical S. megalops population was smaller and older at maturity than previously reported temperate populations. Males were mature at 352-mm stretched total length (LST) and 12.6 years, whereas females were mature at 422mm LST and 19.1 years. Squalus montalbani males were mature at 700mm LST and 21.8 years, whereas females were mature at 800mm LST and 26 years. Fecundity was lower for S. megalops than S. montalbani with two to three compared with nine to 16 embryos. Both species have a conservative life history, although in the event of overfishing the longer-lived, later-maturing and deeper-dwelling S. montalbani is likely to take longer to recover than S. megalops.


1982 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 461 ◽  
Author(s):  
JA Friend

Descriptions of two new genera including five new species of Australian landhoppers are presented. Two new species are recorded from south-west Western Australia (Austrotroides pectinalis and A. occidentalis) and one each from the Adelaide area (A. crenatus), southern Victoria (Agilestia hyperocha) and southern Queensland-northern New South Wales (A. hylaea). Notes on the life history of Austrotoides crenatus are provided.


1985 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 807 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Martens ◽  
P Deckker ◽  
TG Marples

The life history of the halobiont ostracod M. henricae was studied over a 2.5-year period in Lake Bathurst, a slightly saline lake in New South Wales. Samples were collected monthly or bimonthly between March 1981 and May 1982 and weekly between August 1982 and June 1983. Relative abundance of all nine life stages (eight larval stages and one adult stage) in the samples was determined. Furthermore, in 10 selected monthly samples, sex-ratio, relative abundance of three female maturity stages and number of eggs in uteri of ovigerous females were monitored. Nearly all life stages were present throughout the year and M. henricae is thus a perennial form in Lake Bathurst. Relative abundance of life stages suggests that M. henricae produces three successive generations per year. The spring generation, hatched from eggs laid during winter, matures around November-December. Its larval development takes between 4 and 5 months. The summer generation matures after a larval development of 2.5 months; this short period is ascribed to more favourable temperatures. The autumn generation takes about 4 months to mature.


2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 530-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa J Green ◽  
Stacy Tzoumakis ◽  
Kristin R Laurens ◽  
Kimberlie Dean ◽  
Maina Kariuki ◽  
...  

Objective: Detecting the early emergence of childhood risk for adult mental disorders may lead to interventions for reducing subsequent burden of these disorders. We set out to determine classes of children who may be at risk for later mental disorder on the basis of early patterns of development in a population cohort, and associated exposures gleaned from linked administrative records obtained within the New South Wales Child Development Study. Methods: Intergenerational records from government departments of health, education, justice and child protection were linked with the Australian Early Development Census for a state population cohort of 67,353 children approximately 5 years of age. We used binary data from 16 subdomains of the Australian Early Development Census to determine classes of children with shared patterns of Australian Early Development Census–defined vulnerability using latent class analysis. Covariates, which included demographic features (sex, socioeconomic status) and exposure to child maltreatment, parental mental illness, parental criminal offending and perinatal adversities (i.e. birth complications, smoking during pregnancy, low birth weight), were examined hierarchically within latent class analysis models. Results: Four classes were identified, reflecting putative risk states for mental disorders: (1) disrespectful and aggressive/hyperactive behaviour, labelled ‘misconduct risk’ ( N = 4368; 6.5%); (2) ‘pervasive risk’ ( N = 2668; 4.0%); (3) ‘mild generalised risk’ ( N = 7822; 11.6%); and (4) ‘no risk’ ( N = 52,495; 77.9%). The odds of membership in putative risk groups (relative to the no risk group) were greater among children from backgrounds of child maltreatment, parental history of mental illness, parental history of criminal offending, socioeconomic disadvantage and perinatal adversities, with distinguishable patterns of association for some covariates. Conclusion: Patterns of early childhood developmental vulnerabilities may provide useful indicators for particular mental disorder outcomes in later life, although their predictive utility in this respect remains to be established in longitudinal follow-up of the cohort.


2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee C. Moerman ◽  
Sandra L. van der Laan

This paper documents the history of paternalistic state policies and the effects of asbestos mining on the Indigenous community at Baryulgil in northern New South Wales. Despite the lack of profitability, the asbestos operations continued for over 30 years leaving a legacy of asbestos-related health and environmental issues. The shift of responsibility for Indigenous welfare from the State to a corporate entity is evidenced in this historical study using the lens of historical institutionalism. The Baryulgil case is instructive in a number of ways: it demonstrates the subtlety with which human rights abuses can occur in an environment where paternalistic attitudes towards Indigenous peoples prevail; it demonstrates the clash between pursuit of corporate objectives and human rights; and finally it demonstrates the lack of corporate accountability in the asbestos industry.


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