Long term impacts of Phytophthora cinnamomi infestation on heathy woodland in the Great Otway National Park in south-eastern Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (8) ◽  
pp. 542
Author(s):  
B. A. Wilson ◽  
K. Annett ◽  
W. S. Laidlaw ◽  
D. M. Cahill ◽  
M. J. Garkaklis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Phytophthora Cinnamomi ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Percentage Cover ◽  
Tea Tree ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Disease Extension

The significant impacts of the introduced plant pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi on native Australian vegetation have been well documented, but there is less knowledge of long-term effects. We assessed long-term (26 years) disease progression and impacts on vegetation floristics and structure at a heathy woodland site in the Great Otway National Park, eastern section. Disease progressed dramatically between 1989 and 2005 and by 2015 only 0.08% of the site was non-diseased. There were significant declines in plant species richness and numbers of susceptible species; and increases in percentage cover of resistant sedges and grasses overall, and in cover of Leptospermum continentale (prickly tea-tree) in post-disease areas. There were significant declines of Xanthorrhoea australis (Austral grass-tree), a keystone species that contributes greatly to vegetation structure and fauna habitat. There is an urgent need to map the distribution of P. cinnamomi affected vegetation and identify floristically important non-diseased vegetation in the national park. It is imperative that quarantine of non-infested areas, phosphite application, track closures and vehicle wash-downs be implemented to reduce disease extension and protect the significant biodiversity of the region including species rich heathlands and nationally listed threatened plant and fauna species and their habitats.

scholarly journals Spatial variation in the structure of fish assemblages in the Vaalbos National Park, South Africa

Koedoe ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
I.A. Russell
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Variation ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Assemblage Structure ◽  
Length Frequency Distribution ◽  
Length Frequency ◽  
Percentage Cover ◽  
Successful Recruitment

Fish assemblages were sampled at nine sites in the lower Vaal River in the Vaalbos National Park and adjacent properties. A total of 1543 fish from 10 species was recorded. Ordination revealed spatial variation in assemblage structure, with the distinction primarily between communities in rapids and deep pools. Flow velocity, depth and percentage cover were important determinants offish assemblage structure. The length frequency distribution of abundant species indicated successful recruitment. Several differences in the species compliment compared to earlier studies were evident, including high abundance of Barbus paludinosus and Austro^lanis sclateri, and the absence of Barbus anoplus. The length-mass relationships of large cyprmids indicated long-term declines in the physical condition of fish.

scholarly journals Ten-Years Later: Long-Term Analyses of the Abundance and Biomass of the Non-Native New Zealand Mud Snail and Native Invertebrate Communities in the Greater Yellowstone Area

2011 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 147-150
Author(s):  
Teresa Tibbets
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
National Park ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Community ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Mud Snail ◽  
Greater Yellowstone Area ◽  
Greater Yellowstone ◽  
New Zealand Mud Snail

Invasive species are one of the top two threats to native biodiversity worldwide (Mack et al. 2000). A primary goal of invasion biology is to predict which introduced species become invasive, or reach pest status, and which systems are susceptible to invasion (Heger and Trepl 2003). In order to complete this goal, it is vital to understand long-term dynamics of invasive species populations and their interactions with native communities in their introduced range. Most studies of invasions by non-native species are not extensive enough to determine long-term effects on the native systems (Strayer 2010). The first objective of this study is to determine the long-term abundance and biomass of the New Zealand mud snail, (Potamopyrgus antipodarum), in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). The second objective is to analyze the long-term effects of P. antipodarum on the biomass, abundance, and taxon diversity of native benthic invertebrate assemblages in the GYA. The ten-year span of data available for P. antipodarum and the native macroinvertebrate communities at Lower Polecat Creek in Grand Teton National Park and the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers in Yellowstone National Park provide a unique opportunity to study the macroinvertebrate community succession over time. Data from the proposed macroinvertebrate community survey in the summer of 2011 will be compiled with previous surveys from 2001-2009 to evaluate the long-term changes in the macroinvertebrate community at Polecat Creek and the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers.

scholarly journals Long-term effects of fire frequency and season on herbaceous vegetation in savannas of the Kruger National Park, South Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda D. Smith ◽  
Brian W. van Wilgen ◽  
Catherine E. Burns ◽  
Navashni Govender ◽  
Andre L. F. Potgieter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Herbaceous Vegetation

Factors Affecting the Population Density of Phytophthora cinnamomi in Native Forests of the Brisbane Ranges, Victoria.

1975 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 77 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Weste ◽  
P Ruppin
Keyword(s):  
Phytophthora Cinnamomi ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Wood Production ◽  
Population Densities ◽  
Pathogen Population ◽  
Recent Infection ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Disease Extension ◽  
Open Woodland

Population densities of Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands were measured at 10-day intervals during a period of 13 months at three sites in the Brisbane Ranges. Statistical analyses of results and of simultaneous metereological measurements demonstrated that both low temperatures and dry soils were correlated with a significant decrease in pathogen population. Disease extension occurred uphill on a slope of 4" at 6 . 6 m per year, but only from recent infection. Population densities of older sites were significantly less than that of the new site and no measurable disease extension occurred uphill from them. Disease caused an immediate and continuing reduction in understorey in both the number of species and the ground cover and, in the long term, a reduction in both wood production and the number of trees as the dense dry sclerophyll shrubby forest was changed to an open woodland.

Can a common snake provide conservation insights?

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 279
Author(s):  
Ross L. Goldingay
Keyword(s):  
Threatened Species ◽  
National Park ◽  
Habitat Restoration ◽  
Rock Outcrops ◽  
Limited Availability ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Site Use ◽  
Habitat Generalist ◽  
Term Data

The small-eyed snake (Cryptophis nigrescens) is a common non-threatened species in eastern Australia. It coexists with the threatened broad-headed snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides), a species adversely affected by habitat disturbance and subject to poaching. The small-eyed snake is a habitat generalist and not subject to poaching. It may prey on other snakes, including the broad-headed snake, and, like the broad-headed snake, may shelter under thermally favourable loose rocks during the cooler months of the year. This may lead to interactions between these species due to the limited availability of such rocks, and possibly exacerbate other threats to the broad-headed snake, such as poaching and the loss of thermally favourable rocks. I conducted repeat surveys for snakes at 64 rock outcrops in Royal National Park over a 16-year period. I predicted that site use by the small-eyed snake would not be influenced by a disturbance variable previously documented to influence site use by the broad-headed snake. Observations were consistent with this prediction, confirming the unique vulnerability of the broad-headed snake. I used my long-term data to analyse the co-occurrence of the two species. The broad-headed snake was detected as frequently at sites with and without the small-eyed snake, suggesting that these species occupy outcrops independently of each other. Therefore, interactions with the small-eyed snake will not reduce the effectiveness of habitat restoration for the broad-headed snake in Royal National Park.

Long-term effects of repeated fuel-reduction burning and logging on bats in south-eastern Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 1013-1024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley Law ◽  
Amrit Kathuria ◽  
Mark Chidel ◽  
Traecey Brassil
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Reduction ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
South Eastern Australia
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