Bettongs, Potoroos and the Musky Rat-kangaroo

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Claridge ◽  
John Seebeck ◽  
Randy Rose
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Functional Role ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Potorous Tridactylus

Rat-kangaroos have not coped well with the impact of European settlement in Australia. Of the 11 species present in 1788, two are extinct, two are either mostly or totally restricted to offshore islands and the range of all other species has been much reduced. Habitat alienation, altered fire regimes, grazing, predation by introduced carnivores, competition from rabbits and timber harvesting have variously taken their toll on these little-seen animals. The rat-kangaroo was one of the first Australian marsupials to be seen alive in Europe. Collected close to the settlement at Sydney Cove, a pair of them were exhibited in London in 1789. These animals were called by the local Aboriginal people 'Pot-o-roo', and by the European settlers, 'Kangooroo rat'. They were the Long-nosed Potoroo, Potorous tridactylus, the first of what we now call 'Rat-kangaroos' to be discovered. Bettongs, Potoroos and the Musky Rat-kangaroo provides an extraordinary glimpse into the secretive lives of these unusual marsupials. It also reveals little-known facts about the critical functional role these creatures play in maintaining the forest and woodland habitats in which they live. Winner of the 2008 Whitley Award for Natural History.

Responses of Australian Mammals to Disturbance: A Review.

1999 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
B.A. Wilson ◽  
G.R. Friend
Keyword(s):  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Critical Elements ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Mammal Fauna ◽  
Introduced Predators ◽  
Adaptive Challenges

The Australian native mammal fauna has evolved in an environment where 'natural' or endogenous disturbance is ongoing and widespread, be it fire, flood, drought or cyclones. Since European settlement, however, the type, scale, frequency and intensity of disturbance has changed and added a new suite of exogenous impacts including introduced predators and herbivores, vegetation clearance, habitat fragmentation, altered fire regimes, grazing and timber harvesting. This has presented novel and significant adaptive challenges to native mammals over a compressed time-scale, resulting in major extinctions, population declines and disruption to community structure. In this paper we examine the ecology of Australian mammals in the context of these new disturbances, and compare the response patterns observed, and assess the processes operating. In general, Australian mammalian successional patterns are closely tied to vegetation regeneration, which is related to the degree of disruption. Disturbances such as predation do not fall within this pattern. Mammalian successional states vary between different disturbance types within an ecosystem, depending on the critical elements of vegetation structure and composition. Landscape and climatic factors also affect successional patterns and need to be further investigated.

Australian Bustard

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Ziembicki
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Major Study

The Australian bustard is Australia's heaviest flying bird. It is an icon of the Australian outback where it is more commonly known as the bush or plains turkey. It is also culturally and spiritually significant to Aboriginal people, who prize it as a favourite bush tucker. This book provides the first complete overview of the biology of the Australian bustard, based on the first major study of the species. The author explores the bustard's ecology and behaviour, its drastic decline since European settlement, and the conservation issues affecting it and its environment. Colour photographs of juvenile and adult birds complement the text as well as showcase particular behaviours, such as the spectacular display routines of males when mating. Australian Bustard is the perfect book for natural history enthusiasts.

Carlisle Museum's Natural History Record Bureau, 1902–1912: Britain's first local environmental records centre

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Robin M. Sellers ◽  
Stephen Hewitt
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Falco Peregrinus ◽  
Corvus Corax ◽  
Buteo Buteo ◽  
Local Newspaper ◽  
History Record ◽  
Economic Ornithology ◽  
The Impact

Carlisle Museum's Natural History Record Bureau, Britain's first local environmental records centre, collected and collated records, mainly of birds but including also mammals and fishes, from amateur naturalists. It initially covered an area of 80 kilometres around Carlisle, and later from Cumberland, Westmorland and the detached portion of Lancashire north of Morecambe Bay: in effect the modern-day county of Cumbria. At the end of each year, those records which had been accepted were logged in a special “Record Book”, and a summary published. For the first eight years of its ten-year existence (1902–1912), these were printed in the local newspaper, The Carlisle Journal, but from 1908 they also appeared in The Zoologist. Alongside the Record Bureau, the Museum undertook a number of other activities, including a short-lived attempt to establish a bird-ringing project, an investigation into the impact of black-headed gulls ( Chroicocephalus ridibundus) on farming and fisheries interests (an early example of economic ornithology), the setting up of Kingmoor Nature Reserve and the protection of nesting peregrines ( Falco peregrinus), buzzards ( Buteo buteo) and ravens ( Corvus corax). The effectiveness of the Natural History Record Bureau and the reasons for its demise are briefly discussed.

From Silent Spring to The Frog of War

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David K. Skelly
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Rachel Carson ◽  
Chemical Agents ◽  
Silent Spring ◽  
The World ◽  
History Information ◽  
Wildlife Populations ◽  
The Impact

This chapter presents two examples to demonstrate that natural history is the necessary basis of any reliable understanding of the world. More than a half century ago, Rachel Carson revolutionized the public’s view of pesticides. The foundation of her success was the careful use of natural history data, collated from across North America. The examples she assembled left little doubt that DDT and other pesticides were causing a widespread decline in birds. More recently, the case for the impact of atrazine on wildlife was based on laboratory experiments, without the advantage of natural history observations. For atrazine, natural history observations now suggest that other chemical agents are more likely to be responsible for feminization of wildlife populations. Developing expectations for scientists to collect natural history information can help to avoid over-extrapolating lab results to wild populations, a tendency often seen when those lab results conform to preconceptions about chemicals in the environment.

scholarly journals Natural History of NAFLD

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1161
Author(s):  
Raluca Pais ◽  
Thomas Maurel
Keyword(s):  
Liver Disease ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Disease Progression ◽  
Specific Treatment ◽  
Alcoholic Fatty Liver ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

The epidemiology and the current burden of chronic liver disease are changing globally, with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) becoming the most frequent cause of liver disease in close relationship with the global epidemics of obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. The clinical phenotypes of NAFLD are very heterogeneous in relationship with multiple pathways involved in the disease progression. In the absence of a specific treatment for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), it is important to understand the natural history of the disease, to identify and to optimize the control of factors that are involved in disease progression. In this paper we propose a critical analysis of factors that are involved in the progression of the liver damage and the occurrence of extra-hepatic complications (cardiovascular diseases, extra hepatic cancer) in patients with NAFLD. We also briefly discuss the impact of the heterogeneity of the clinical phenotype of NAFLD on the clinical practice globally and at the individual level.

scholarly journals S19 The impact of clotting abnormalities on the natural history of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: an extended follow up of a population based cohort

Thorax ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 71 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A13.1-A13
Author(s):  
V Navaratnam ◽  
AW Fogarty ◽  
T McKeever ◽  
N Thompson ◽  
G Jenkins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis ◽  
Pulmonary Fibrosis ◽  
Population Based ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Response of simulated burned area to historical changes in environmental and anthropogenic factors: a comparison of seven fire models

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (19) ◽  
pp. 3883-3910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lina Teckentrup ◽  
Sandy P. Harrison ◽  
Stijn Hantson ◽  
Angelika Heil ◽  
Joe R. Melton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Atmospheric Co2 ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Atmospheric Co2 Concentration ◽  
Fire Models ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Understanding how fire regimes change over time is of major importance for understanding their future impact on the Earth system, including society. Large differences in simulated burned area between fire models show that there is substantial uncertainty associated with modelling global change impacts on fire regimes. We draw here on sensitivity simulations made by seven global dynamic vegetation models participating in the Fire Model Intercomparison Project (FireMIP) to understand how differences in models translate into differences in fire regime projections. The sensitivity experiments isolate the impact of the individual drivers on simulated burned area, which are prescribed in the simulations. Specifically these drivers are atmospheric CO2 concentration, population density, land-use change, lightning and climate. The seven models capture spatial patterns in burned area. However, they show considerable differences in the burned area trends since 1921. We analyse the trajectories of differences between the sensitivity and reference simulation to improve our understanding of what drives the global trends in burned area. Where it is possible, we link the inter-model differences to model assumptions. Overall, these analyses reveal that the largest uncertainties in simulating global historical burned area are related to the representation of anthropogenic ignitions and suppression and effects of land use on vegetation and fire. In line with previous studies this highlights the need to improve our understanding and model representation of the relationship between human activities and fire to improve our abilities to model fire within Earth system model applications. Only two models show a strong response to atmospheric CO2 concentration. The effects of changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration on fire are complex and quantitative information of how fuel loads and how flammability changes due to this factor is missing. The response to lightning on global scale is low. The response of burned area to climate is spatially heterogeneous and has a strong inter-annual variation. Climate is therefore likely more important than the other factors for short-term variations and extremes in burned area. This study provides a basis to understand the uncertainties in global fire modelling. Both improvements in process understanding and observational constraints reduce uncertainties in modelling burned area trends.

Effect of fire regime on the grass community of the humid savanna of Lamto, Ivory Coast

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kouamé Fulgence Koffi ◽  
Aya Brigitte N’Dri ◽  
Jean-Christophe Lata ◽  
Souleymane Konaté ◽  
Tharaniya Srikanthasamy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Ivory Coast ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
The Third ◽  
Humid Savanna ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Tussock Grasses

AbstractThis study assesses the impact of four fire treatments applied yearly over 3 y, i.e. early fire, mid-season fire, late fire and no fire treatments, on the grass communities of Lamto savanna, Ivory Coast. We describe communities of perennial tussock grasses on three replicated 5 × 5-m or 10 × 5-m plots of each fire treatment. Tussock density did not vary with fire treatment. The relative abundance of grass species, the circumference of grass tussocks and the probability of having a tussock with a central die-back, varied with fire treatment. Mid-season fire had the highest proportion of tussocks with a central die-back while the late fire had the smallest tussocks. Tussock density, circumference, relative abundance and probability of having a central die-back varied with species. Andropogon canaliculatus and Hyparrhenia diplandra were the most abundant of the nine grass species. They had the largest tussocks and the highest proportion of tussock with a central die-back. Loudetia simplex was the third most abundant species but was very rare in no fire plots. The distribution of tussock circumferences was right skewed and dominated by small tussocks. The proportion of the tussocks with a central die-back strongly increased with circumference, which could lead to tussock fragmentation. Taken together, this study suggests that fire regimes impact grass demography and that this impact depends on grass species and tussock size.

Fire, people and ecosystem change in Pleistocene Australia

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (8) ◽  
pp. 643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher N. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Ecosystem Change ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
The Past ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Since the 1960s, Australian scientists have speculated on the impact of human arrival on fire regimes in Australia, and on the relationship of landscape fire to extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna of Australia. These speculations have produced a series of contrasting hypotheses that can now be tested using evidence collected over the past two decades. In the present paper, I summarise those hypotheses and review that evidence. The main conclusions of this are that (1) the effects of people on fire regimes in the Pleistocene were modest at the continental scale, and difficult to distinguish from climatic controls on fire, (2) the arrival of people triggered extinction of Australia’s megafauna, but fire had little or no role in the extinction of those animals, which was probably due primarily to hunting and (3) megafaunal extinction is likely to have caused a cascade of changes that included increased fire, but only in some environments. We do not yet understand what environmental factors controlled the strength and nature of cascading effects of megafaunal extinction. This is an important topic for future research.

Syphilis epidemiology and public health interventions in Western Australia from 1991 to 2009

Sexual Health ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kellie S. H. Kwan ◽  
Carolien M. Giele ◽  
Heath S. Greville ◽  
Carole A. Reeve ◽  
P. Heather Lyttle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Congenital Syphilis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
Sex With Men ◽  
Notification Data ◽  
The Impact

Objectives To describe the epidemiology of congenital and infectious syphilis during 1991–2009, examine the impact of public health interventions and discuss the feasibility of syphilis elimination among Aboriginal people in Western Australia (WA). Methods: WA congenital and infectious syphilis notification data in 1991–2009 and national infectious syphilis notification data in 2005–2009 were analysed by Aboriginality, region of residence, and demographic and behavioural characteristics. Syphilis public health interventions in WA from 1991–2009 were also reviewed. Results: During 1991–2009, there were six notifications of congenital syphilis (50% Aboriginal) and 1441 infectious syphilis notifications (61% Aboriginal). During 1991–2005, 88% of notifications were Aboriginal, with several outbreaks identified in remote WA. During 2006–2009, 62% of notifications were non-Aboriginal, with an outbreak in metropolitan men who have sex with men. The Aboriginal : non-Aboriginal rate ratio decreased from 173 : 1 (1991–2005) to 15 : 1 (2006–2009). Conclusions: These data demonstrate that although the epidemiology of syphilis in WA has changed over time, the infection has remained endemic among Aboriginal people in non-metropolitan areas. Given the continued public health interventions targeted at this population, the limited success in eliminating syphilis in the United States and the unique geographical and socioeconomic features of WA, the elimination of syphilis seems unlikely in this state.

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