A baseline terrestrial vertebrate fauna survey of Pullen Pullen; a significant conservation reserve in south-west Queensland

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.G. Kearney ◽  
P.L. Kern ◽  
A.S. Kutt
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Management ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Short Paper ◽  
Important Reserve ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrate ◽  
South West ◽  
Reptile Species ◽  
Sminthopsis Macroura ◽  
Surrounding Landscape ◽  
Grassland Habitats

Arid and desert landscapes are characterised as boom-bust systems, and sometimes its fauna can remain cryptic or hidden. This short paper reports the results of baseline monitoring of the terrestrial fauna in the Bush Heritage Pullen Pullen reserve in south-west Queensland, most notable for the presence of the night parrot Pezoporus occidentalis. We conducted two fauna surveys over 22 sites representing Spinifex grasslands, and Mitchell and Chenopod grassland habitats in 2018 and 2019, using pitfall, funnel and Elliott traps, and active searching. A total of eight mammal and 28 reptile species comprising 730 records were documented, as well as eight additional incidental species. Frequently recorded species were Ctentous lateralis, Ctenotus pantherinus, Gehyra versicolor, Tachyglossus aculeatus, Sminthopsis macroura, Pseudomys desertor. Fourteen of the species recorded were highly variable in abundance from one survey to the next. The fauna of the Spinifex grasslands, and Mitchell and Chenopod grassland sites was compositionally very different, and the extent of ground cover or Triodia in the surrounding landscape predicted the abundance of some mammals (i.e. Pseudomys desertor) and reptiles ( Delma nasuta, Ctenotus pulchellus, Cyclodomorphus melanops). These data provide a baseline for future monitoring on this important reserve, and an opportunity to enhance or increase the survey scope via additional sites and a future more adaptive management and question-driven approach.

scholarly journals A Viking-age inhumation from Crow Taing, Sanday, Orkney

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-99
Author(s):  
Lindsay Dunbar ◽  
Mike Roy
Keyword(s):  
New Record ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
The Body ◽  
Viking Age ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
South West ◽  
Surrounding Landscape ◽  
Burial Rite

The islands of Orkney have long been associated with examples of Viking-age activity and often yield unique and well preserved records from the Viking and Late Norse periods. Investigations on the island of Sanday in Orkney, as part of a call off contract for human remains between Historic Environment Scotland and AOC Archaeology Group, have revealed the presence of an inhumation in association with an iron knife. Further investigation reveals that the burial is that of an adolescent skeleton (12–17 years). The north-east/south-west alignment of the body, in a flexed position, and its association with an iron knife indicates a pre-Christian burial rite, in line with a 9th or 10th century AD date, which corresponds with radiocarbon dating carried out on the skeletal remains. This burial contributes a new record to the wealth of evidence from around this period within the surrounding landscape on the island of Sanday.

scholarly journals The Influence of Prey Availability and Vegetation Characteristics on Scent Station Visitation Rates of Coyotes, Canis latrans, in a Heterogeneous Environment

2004 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynda A. Randa ◽  
John A. Yunger
Keyword(s):  
Canis Latrans ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Heterogeneous Environment ◽  
Visitation Rates ◽  
Foliage Density ◽  
Grassland Habitats ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Habitat Variables

We investigated the effects of local prey fluctuations and habitat variables on the scent station visitation rates of the Coyote (Canis latrans) in northern Illinois within a heterogeneous environment. Availability of small mammalian prey was assessed by monthly mark-recapture sampling and visual counts conducted along three, 192-m transects in each of seven habitats that ranged from grassland to wooded sites. Habitat metrics, which included foliage density, ground cover, and canopy cover, were also collected for the same seven habitats. Visitation rates of Coyotes were determined from scent station lines parallel to the small mammal trapping transects. A multiple regression analysis indicated that Coyote visitation rates across the study site were influenced positively by vole (Microtus spp.) abundance and negatively by canopy cover. When Coyote visitation rates were regressed on vole abundance for only the habitats in which voles occurred, the relationship was not significant. This may be attributed to the general avoidance of wooded areas by Coyotes. Coyotes did, however, respond to experimentallyinduced abundant patches of Peromyscus. These findings suggest Coyotes selectively use grassland habitats within a heterogeneous environment and may modify their use according to prey availability.

The Siting of Prehistoric Rock Art in Galloway, South-west Scotland

1993 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 269-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Bradley ◽  
Jan Harding ◽  
Margaret Mathews
Keyword(s):  
Rock Art ◽  
Landscape Archaeology ◽  
Surrounding Area ◽  
South West ◽  
Field Of Vision ◽  
Special Character ◽  
Local Topography ◽  
Intractable Problems ◽  
Surrounding Landscape ◽  
Source Of Information

The interpretation of prehistoric rock art has posed some intractable problems, but recent studies have sought to integrate it within a more broadly based landscape archaeology. They emphasise the special character of this material, not only as a system of distinctive motifs, but also as a source of information employed by people engaged in a mobile pattern of settlement. This paper investigates the character of the rock art of south-west Scotland, comparing the positions of the petroglyphs with two series of control samples in the surrounding landscape. The carvings seem to have been situated at viewpoints. They may have been directed towards the coastline and the Galloway hills and commanded a significantly wider field of vision than locations in the surrounding area. There is some evidence that differences in the size and complexity of the motifs are related to their placing in the local topography, with the simpler carvings around the edges of lowland ‘territories’ near to the shoreline, and the more complex compositions in upland areas, especially around shallow basins and waterholes. The changing character of the designs may reflect differences in the composition of the audience who viewed them.

Production and persistence of subtropical grasses in environments with Mediterranean climates

2014 ◽  
Vol 65 (8) ◽  
pp. 798 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Moore ◽  
T. O. Albertsen ◽  
P. Ramankutty ◽  
P. G. H. Nichols ◽  
J. W. Titterington ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Perennial Grass ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
South Coast ◽  
The South ◽  
Rhodes Grass ◽  
Agricultural Region ◽  
Feed Quality ◽  
South West ◽  
Increase Productivity ◽  
Chloris Gayana

The agricultural region of south-west Western Australia (WA) has a Mediterranean climate, characterised by a winter-dominant rainfall pattern. Perennial subtropical grasses are increasingly being grown to increase productivity and reduce erosion on infertile sandy soils in the northern agricultural region (NAR) of WA, an area with mild winters and dry, hot summers. However, little information exists on the persistence of different species or their expected seasonal production and feed quality. On the south coast of WA, an area with dry, warm summers and a maritime influence, kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum) has been widely sown, but there is little information on the potential of other subtropical grasses. To address these issues, five trials were established across the agricultural area of south-west WA to measure the seasonal production, feed quality and persistence of the main, commercially available subtropical grasses over 3–4 years. This study demonstrates that subtropical grasses have a long-term role in the NAR in areas with mild winters and/or where the rainfall is >400 mm. The best performing subtropical grasses across a range of sites were panic grass (Megathyrsus maximus) and Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana). These species can be expected to have a water-use efficiency of ~10 kg ha–1 mm–1 over a 12-month period, provided there is a good perennial grass density. On the south coast, panic grass, Rhodes grass and setaria (Setaria sphacelata) persisted well and produced significantly more biomass than kikuyu. These grasses could complement kikuyu by increasing out-of-season production. At Kojonup, a more inland site, most of the subtropical grasses died over winter from a combination of occasional frosts and cold, wet soils. However, kikuyu re-grew from rhizomes in spring and maintained >90% ground cover 4 years after sowing. The results from these experiments are likely to be applicable to other regions across the globe with Mediterranean climates and similar soil types.

A new species of velvet gecko (Diplodactylidae: Oedura) from north-east Queensland, Australia

Zootaxa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1788 (1) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
CONRAD J. HOSKIN ◽  
MEGAN HIGGIE
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Multivariate Analyses ◽  
Colour Pattern ◽  
Species Boundaries ◽  
North East ◽  
South West ◽  
Reptile Species ◽  
The Town ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Grey Body

We describe a new species of velvet gecko (Diplodactylidae: Oedura) from north-east Queensland, Australia. Oedura jowalbinna sp. nov. is a robust, medium-sized (SVL 60–69 mm) gecko that is readily distinguished from its congeners by its distinctive dorsal colour pattern. The dorsum is grey with faint freckling and a pale, dark-edged band across the neck and another across the base of the tail. The combination of a yellow tail and a grey body is also distinctive. Oedura jowalbinna sp. nov. also differs significantly from the most similar congener, O. coggeri, in a multivariate analysis of morphology and scalation, primarily due to its smaller body size, higher interorbital, supralabial and infralabial scale counts, and lower subdigital lamellae scale count. These traits are generally non-overlapping between O. jowalbinna sp. nov. and O. coggeri, however, more individuals of O. jowalbinna sp. nov. need to be assessed to accurately determine variation within the new species. All O. jowalbinna sp. nov. were found at night on overhangs in dissected sandstone escarpment south-west of the town of Laura. Surveys are required to determine the distribution of O. jowalbinna sp. nov. across the sandstone escarpments of the Laura region. This species is the third reptile species (along with the skinks Ctenotus quinkan and C. nullum) described that has a highly localised range centred on the sandstone escarpments of the Laura region. Additionally, included herein is a comparison of O. coggeri and O. monilis. Typical dorsal colour pattern differs between these two species but the large amount of variation (particularly in O. coggeri) merges these differences. Oedura coggeri and O. monilis could not be distinguished in multivariate analyses of morphology and scalation. Genetic data and further analyses of colour pattern, morphology and scalation are required to resolve species boundaries within and between these two species.

Towards a social geography of cultivation and plant use in an early farming community: Vaihingen an der Enz, south-west Germany

Antiquity ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 85 (328) ◽  
pp. 395-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Bogaard ◽  
Rüdiger Krause ◽  
Hans-Christoph Strien
Keyword(s):  
Social Geography ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Integrated Analysis ◽  
Plant Use ◽  
Farming Community ◽  
South West ◽  
Spatial Configurations ◽  
Early Farming ◽  
Surrounding Landscape ◽  
Social Geographies

Through integrated analysis of archaeobotanical and artefactual distributions across a settlement, the authors discover ‘neighbourhoods’ using different cultivation areas in the surrounding landscape. Differences between groups also emerge over the life of the settlement in the use of special plants, such as opium poppy and feathergrass. Spatial configurations of cultivation and plant use map out the shifting social geographies of a Neolithic community.

scholarly journals Native reptiles alter their foraging in the presence of the olfactory cues of invasive mammalian predators

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. 180136 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Webster ◽  
M. Massaro ◽  
D. R. Michael ◽  
D. Bambrick ◽  
J. L. Riley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Recognition System ◽  
Extinction Rate ◽  
Feral Cat ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrate ◽  
Invasive Predators ◽  
Y Maze ◽  
Grey Kangaroo ◽  
Reptile Species ◽  
Mammalian Predators

Invasive mammalian predators are linked to terrestrial vertebrate extinctions worldwide. Prey naïveté may explain the large impact invasive predators have on native prey; prey may fail to detect and react appropriately to the cues of novel predators, which results in high levels of depredation. In Australia, the feral cat ( Felis catus ) and the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) are implicated in more than 30 animal extinctions and the naïveté of native prey is often used to explain this high extinction rate. Reptiles are one group of animals that are heavily preyed upon by F. catus and V. vulpes . However, very few studies have examined whether reptiles are naive to their cues. In this study, we examine the ability of two native reptile species ( Morethia boulengeri and Christinus marmoratus ) to detect and distinguish between the chemical cues of two invasive predators ( V. vulpes and F. catus ) and three native predators (spotted-tailed quoll, Dasyurus maculatus; dingo, Canis lupus dingo ; eastern brown snake, Pseudonaja textilis ), as well as two non-predator controls (eastern grey kangaroo, Macropus giganteus and water). We conducted experiments to quantify the effects of predator scents on lizard foraging (the amount of food eaten) during 1 h trials within Y-maze arenas. We found both study species reduced the amount they consumed when exposed to predator scents—both native and invasive—indicating that these species are not naive to invasive predators. An evolved generalized predator-recognition system, rapid evolution or learned behaviour could each explain the lack of naïveté in some native Australian reptiles towards invasive predators.

scholarly journals Diverging Effects of Landscape Factors and Inter-Row Management on the Abundance of Beneficial and Herbivorous Arthropods in Andalusian Vineyards (Spain)

Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 320
Author(s):  
Judt ◽  
Guzmán ◽  
Gómez ◽  
Cabezas ◽  
Entrenas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pest Control ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Beneficial Arthropods ◽  
Likelihood Methods ◽  
Landscape Elements ◽  
Surrounding Landscape ◽  
Natural Pest Control ◽  
Agricultural Areas

Land use at landscape and field scales can increase the diversity and abundance of natural enemies for pest control. In this study, we investigated interactions between landscape elements (semi-natural vegetation, olive orchards, vineyards, other agricultural areas) and inter-row management (vegetation cover vs. bare soil) in relation to arthropod populations in Andalusian vineyards. Arthropods were collected from grapevine foliage in 15 vineyards using suction sampling. Landscape structure was analyzed within a 750 m radius surrounding the studied vineyards. Arthropods were categorized into functional groups (predators, parasitoids, herbivores), and their responses to the most influencing factors were analyzed by likelihood methods and model selection. Of the total of 650 arthropods collected, 48% were predators, 33% herbivores and 19% parasitoids. Numbers of predatory aeolothrips, parasitoids and herbivorous cicadas in the study vineyards decreased with an increased proportion of vineyards in the surroundings. Spider populations in vineyards increased with increasing proportions of other agricultural fields (non-flowering crops) in the surroundings. Semi-natural elements and olive orchards had no influence on the abundance of collected arthropods. We observed synergistic effects between landscape elements and inter-row management. The total numbers of arthropods, herbivores and parasitoids in vineyards benefitted from inter-row vegetation, while spiders benefitted from bare soil. Our findings underline the importance of both surrounding landscape elements and vineyard ground cover management to promote beneficial arthropods for potential natural pest control.

The promises and perfidy of cryomicroscopy and analysis

1994 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 382-383
Author(s):  
Patrick Echlin
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperature ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Short Paper ◽  
List Type ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Energy Beam ◽  
Cellular Analysis ◽  
Dissolved Ions ◽  
Embedding Medium ◽  
Low Temperature Microscopy

The unusual title of this short paper and its accompanying tutorial is deliberate, because the intent is to investigate the effectiveness of low temperature microscopy and analysis as one of the more significant elements of the less interventionist procedures we can use to prepare, examine and analyse hydrated and organic materials in high energy beam instruments. The promises offered by all these procedures are well rehearsed and the litany of petitions and responses may be enunciated in the following mantra.Vitrified water can form the perfect embedding medium for bio-organic samples.Frozen samples provide an important, but not exclusive, milieu for the in situ sub-cellular analysis of the dissolved ions and electrolytes whose activities are central to living processes.The rapid conversion of liquids to solids provides a means of arresting dynamic processes and permits resolution of the time resolved interactions between water and suspended and dissolved materials.The low temperature environment necessary for cryomicroscopy and analysis, diminish, but alas do not prevent, the deleterious side effects of ionizing radiation.Sample contamination is virtually eliminated.

Abstract #614 Pattern of Thyroid Disorders in Sagamu, South-West Nigeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 317
Author(s):  
Ayotunde Ale ◽  
Opeyemi Aloro ◽  
Ayanbola Adepoju
Keyword(s):  
Thyroid Disorders ◽  
South West
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