Odour-Mediated Interactions Between an Apex Reptilian Predator and its Mammalian Prey

An important but understudied modality for eavesdropping between predators and prey is olfaction, especially between non-mammalian vertebrate predators and their prey. Here we test three olfactory eavesdropping predictions involving an apex reptilian predator, the sand goanna Varanus gouldii, and several species of its small mammalian prey in arid central Australia: 1) small mammals will recognise and avoid the odour of V. gouldii; 2) V. gouldii will be attracted to the odour of small mammals, especially of species that maximise its energetic returns; and 3) small mammals will be less mobile and will show higher burrow fidelity where V. gouldii is absent compared with where it is present. As expected, we found that small mammals recognised and avoided faecal odour of this goanna, feeding less intensively at food patches where the odour of V. gouldii was present than at patches with no odour or a pungency control odour. Varanus gouldii also was attracted to the odour of small mammals in artificial burrows, and dug more frequently at burrows containing the odour of species that were energetically profitable than at those of species likely to yield diminished returns. Our third prediction received mixed support. Rates of movement of three species of small mammals were no different where V. gouldii was present or absent, but burrow fidelity in two of these species increased as expected where V. gouldii had been removed. We conclude that olfaction plays a key role in the dynamic interaction between V. gouldii and its mammalian prey, with the interactants using olfaction to balance their respective costs of foraging and reducing predation risk. We speculate that the risk of predation from this apex reptilian predator drives the highly unusual burrow-shifting behaviour that characterises many of Australia's small desert mammals.

Very high prevalence of infection with the human T cell leukaemia virus type 1c in remote Australian Aboriginal communities: Results of a large cross-sectional community survey

Infection with the human T cell leukaemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) subtype C is endemic among Aboriginal people in central Australia. To provide insights into the risk factors for transmission, we conducted the first large-scale, community-based prevalence study in seven remote Aboriginal communities. Residents >2 years old were invited to participate in the study between August 2014 and June 2018. HTLV-1 infection was defined as a positive western blot (WB) test or a positive HTLV-1 PCR. 720 community residents participated in the study (children <15 years, 142; adults, 578). Prevalences for children and adults were 3.5% (5/142) and 36.8% (213/578), respectively, reaching 49.3% (106/215) for those older than 45 years. A wide range of proviral loads were measured for both asymptomatic and symptomatic participants with no difference within groups according to age or gender; however, median PVL was 1.34 log10 higher for symptomatic participants. The adult prevalence of HTLV-1 infection in central Australia is the highest reported worldwide. Sexual contact is likely to be the predominant mode of transmission.

“That is Why I am Telling this Story”: Musical Analysis as Insight into the Transmission of Knowledge and Performance Practice of a Wapurtarli Song by Warlpiri Women from Yuendumu, Central Australia

Insights into the knowledge, performance, and transmission of songs are pivotal in ensuring the survival of traditional Aboriginal songs. We present the first in-depth musical analysis of a Wapurtarli yawulyu song set sung by Warlpiri women from Yuendumu, Central Australia, recorded in December 2006 with a solo lead singer accompanied by a small group. Our musical analysis reveals that there are various interlocking parts of a song, and this can make it difficult for current generations to learn songs. The context of musical endangerment and the musical analyses presented in our study show that contemporary spaces for learning yawulyu must consider the complex components that come together for a song set to be properly performed.

A Tricky Start

The earliest encounters between cinema and anthropology occurred while the former was taking its first steps and the latter was trying to better define its disciplinary profile. Among the first to be involved was the Frenchman Félix Regnault, an investigator of many topics and a lifelong supporter of the importance of ethnographic cinema. Racial differences were at the center of his interests, although attempts to highlight them yielded contradictory results. Some years later, the Britain Alfred C. Haddon brought a camera with him on the legendary Cambridge expedition to the Torres Strait (1898) and recorded a few films. The third example discussed here is that of Baldwin Spencer, who, together with Francis Gillen, included the filming of native ceremonies in his studies on the indigenous populations of Central Australia. Not only did technical and logistical problems trouble the start of ethnographic cinema. The theoretical framework of social evolutionism was weakening and anthropology was turning more and more to the study of language, kinship and belief systems. Here the contribution that cinema could make seemed temporarily to be in question.

“What the One Thing Shows Me in the Case of Two Things”: Comparison as Essential to a Proper Academic Study of Religion

Comparison is a fundamental operation in the milieu of the remarkable abilities of human beings to transcend themselves in acts of perception and the accumulation of knowledge. Comparison is holding together things that are at once the same and different. The very possibility of the copresence of same and different, of is and is not, is a gift of human biology and evolution. Humans compare because it is our distinctive nature to do so. Academics have the added responsibility of being self-aware, self-reflective, and articulate when comparing. This article develops a rich theory of comparison in conjunction with detailed reflections on late nineteenth century encounters of European-Australians and Aborigines in Central Australia. The intent is to advance our understanding of comparison and also to articulate in the practical terms of method what is involved in comparison, arguing most generally that comparison is of the fabric of any proper study of religion.