Reproductive ecology and breeding system of Lomatia silaifolia (Proteaceae) following a fire

2000 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Denham ◽  
Robert J. Whelan
Keyword(s):  
Breeding System ◽  
New South ◽  
Flowering Phenology ◽  
Fruit Production ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Fire Environment ◽  
Viable Seeds ◽  
High Level ◽  
Flower Position ◽  
Insect Visitors

Lomatia silaifolia (Smith) R.Br. (Proteaceae) is a common shrub in southeastern Australian bushland that generally flowers only once after each fire. However, little is known of the details of this post-fire flowering. Lomatia silaifolia has flowers well-spaced along its conflorescence axis, unlike many other Proteaceae species, thus allowing close examination of the influence of flower position, mate choice and flowering sequence on fruit production. We examined breeding system, flowering phenology and spatial patterns of fruit set in the species, after a fire in September 1992 at Bulli Tops, New South Wales. Flowering occurred in December–January, but only in the first and second summers after the fire. The species is partially self-compatible: only 25% of self-pollinated conflorescences initiated fruits compared with 100% of cross-pollinated conflorescences. Fewer flowers initiated fruits after hand self-pollination (3.0%) than after cross-pollination (35.4%). Self-pollinated flowers produced fewer viable seeds (22.2% viable) than cross-pollinated flowers (62.9% viable). Pollen tubes were found in 72% of the self-pollinated flowers examined, suggesting that there is no early stylar self-incompatibility in the species. There was a high level of herbivory on flowering and fruiting branches, with 69% of unbagged branches completely destroyed. This may significantly affect recruitment in the species, given the limited opportunities for reproduction in the post-fire environment. In this study, fruits were evenly distributed along the conflorescence axis unlike some other species in the Proteaceae with more compressed, spike-like flowering structures where fruits are typically concentrated in some parts of the conflorescence axis (e.g. Telopea and some Banksia spp.). No bird visitors to flowers were observed, but a variety of insect visitors were identified.

Habitat preference, diet and demography of the smoky mouse, Pseudomys fumeus (Rodentia : Muridae), in south-eastern New South Wales

2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred Ford ◽  
Andrew Cockburn ◽  
Linda Broome
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Preference ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Habitat Choice ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Dietary Preference ◽  
Winter Diet ◽  
South Wales ◽  
High Level

The smoky mouse, Pseudomys fumeus, is an endangered rodent for which ecological information is lacking across much of its range. This paper provides the first detailed study of the local diet and habitat preference of P. fumeus since 1980, conducted on the recently discovered Nullica population in New South Wales. Diet and trap-revealed movements were examined in conjunction with 18 characteristics of habitat to determine the factors influencing habitat choice. Multiple logistic regression of habitat variables and capture locations revealed a floristically determined preference for heath habitat characterised by Epacris impressa, Monotoca scoparia, Leptospermum trinervium, Xanthorrhoea spp. and a variety of legumes. Hypogeal fungi and seeds were the most common food items in the diet of P. fumeus. Fungi were most abundant in winter diet, while seeds and fruit became dominant in late spring and summer. The spring and summer preference for ridge-top heath habitats observed in this study is probably the result of this dietary preference. Resident females constituted 71% of the population in early spring. However, there was a severe decline in numbers of female mice during early spring, and resident males also disappeared from the population. Causes of the decline were unclear. Five of eleven males captured during this study were transient, while no transient females were caught. The sudden decline in the study population, combined with the patchy distribution of suitable habitat and high level of male transience, suggests that P. fumeus form a metapopulation in the Nullica region.

Use of fauna road-crossing structures in north-eastern New South Wales

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian F. Hayes ◽  
Ross L. Goldingay
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Road Mortality ◽  
Road Kill ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Crossing Structures ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Level Of Use ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
High Level

The vast network of roads around the world has had a significant effect on wildlife and ecosystems through habitat fragmentation, reduced dispersal and mortality by collision with vehicles. Road agencies worldwide now frequently install dedicated structures to facilitate the safe crossing of roads by wildlife. We conducted surveys to determine the use of dedicated wildlife overpasses and nearby underpasses at two locations on the Pacific Highway in north-eastern New South Wales. Road-kill surveys were conducted to provide some understanding of the species commonly killed and whether the rate of road-kill was lower at one location where crossing-structures were located. Use of the crossing-structures by wildlife was monitored with sand-transects. The most frequent users were macropods, bandicoots and rodents. Macropods made greater use of overpasses (n = 104 tracks) than underpasses (n = 36), whereas underpasses were used more by bandicoots (n = 87) and rodents (n = 82) than were overpasses (n = 28, n = 15, respectively). We identified 78 road-kills of 21 species on two sections of the Pacific Highway over a 7-week period. Bandicoots (n = 16) and macropods (n = 9) were the most frequently observed victims. The mortality of wildlife was lower along the highway section with the crossing-structures (0.04 road-kills km–1) than it was along the highway section without structures (0.15 road-kills km–1). The lack of replication precludes any firm conclusion that the crossing-structures reduced road mortality but the high level of use of the crossing-structures by species that were common victims of road-kill suggests an influence.

Pragmalinguistic challenges for trainee interpreters in achieving accuracy

Interpreting ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-116
Author(s):  
Xin Liu
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Illocutionary Force ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Institutional Setting ◽  
Reported Speech ◽  
South Wales ◽  
High Level ◽  
The University ◽  
The Way

Abstract In cross-examination, questions are used by counsel as powerful tools to control witness testimonies. In bilingual courtrooms, conveying the subtlety in the use of questions from one language to another is crucial for all participants. However, achieving a high level of accuracy is extremely demanding due to the intricacy of courtroom discourse and the complexity of interpreting in such an institutional setting. Drawing on a moot court exercise at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, this study investigates the most common pragmalinguistic challenges for trainee interpreters in achieving accuracy when interpreting cross-examination questions from English to Mandarin. Findings show that it can be challenging to produce pragmatically accurate renditions: Mandarin interpretations have an overall weakened illocutionary force compared to the original English questions. In particular, declaratives, reported speech declaratives, modal interrogatives, and tag questions are found to be difficult to interpret into Mandarin. This paper also explores the way the illocutionary force of the interpreted questions deviates from the original and the possible causes for this shift. Findings point to the need to enhance pragmatic competence among trainee interpreters, which in turn will require specialised training for interpreters working in legal settings.

scholarly journals Cosmology on the Internet: Distance Education for the Gifted and Talented

2000 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H. McKinnon ◽  
C. J. Patrick Nolan
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Comparative Literature ◽  
Gifted And Talented ◽  
New South ◽  
Interactive Design ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Internet ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Talented Students ◽  
High Level

AbstractIn 1994, the New South Wales Board of Studies, Australia, introduced three high level Distinction Courses for gifted and talented students: Comparative Literature, Cosmology, and Philosophy. All are offered by distance education but the cosmology course employs an interactive design model and an extensive communication system that differentiates it from the other two. This paper explains the model and the way it is used in practice to organise, sequence and deliver the course. A discussion addresses ways in which the model might be used to design a wider range of courses in science for gifted and talented students.

Dispersal of seeds of giant Sporobolus spp. after ingestion by grazing cattle

1995 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 353 ◽  
Author(s):  
TS Andrews
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Heavy Rain ◽  
North Coast ◽  
The North ◽  
Fresh Manure ◽  
Grazing Cattle ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Cattle Faeces ◽  
Viable Seeds ◽  
Number Of Seeds

Samples of fresh cattle faeces were taken from 2 grazing paddocks on the North Coast of New South Wales. One paddock was heavily infested with giant Parramatta grass (GPG, Sporobolus indicus var. major) and the other paddock had a medium-light infestation. Fifty-two and 14 viable GPG seeds/kg were recovered from the dung samples collected in May from these paddocks, respectively. Seeds of GPG and giant rat's tail grass (GRTG, S. pyramidalis) were fed to caged Friesian heifers in 2 experiments, and the time taken for all of the seeds to be excreted was measured: 4 days in experiment 1 and 7 days in experiment 2. Consequently, a 7-day withholding period is suggested for cattle grazing pastures infested with giant sporobolus. The number of viable seeds excreted was estimated as a proportion of seeds fed to each heifer using average viability of seeds recovered, concentration of viable seeds collected daily, and daily manure weights. Based on this, the number of seeds ingested by gazing stock was estimated to be 8300 and 2200 seeds/head.day for the paddocks with heavy and medium-light infestation, respectively. Manure collected 2 and 3 days after feeding had the highest concentrations of viable seeds. This manure was placed outdoors in styrofoam boxes and left for 7 months. No GPG seedlings or plants were present in the manure after this time, and further subsampling of the manure indicated that no viable seeds remained. Processes that disperse fresh manure, such as heavy rain or the hosing down of transport vehicles, may allow successful germination and emergence of giant sporobolus seeds. However, where dung pats are left intact for some months, establishment of giant sporobolus plants is unlikely. Adhesion to machinery and the hair of stock are likely to be more important causes of dispersal of giant sporobolus than ingestion by stock.

Pyrethroid and carbamate resistance in Australian Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from 2008 to 2015: what has changed since the introduction of Bt cotton?

2018 ◽  
Vol 108 (6) ◽  
pp. 781-791 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.J. Bird
Keyword(s):  
Helicoverpa Armigera ◽  
Pyrethroid Resistance ◽  
New South ◽  
Resistance Management ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Bt Cotton ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Helicoverpa Armígera ◽  
High Level ◽  
Lepidoptera Noctuidae

AbstractPyrethroid and carbamate resistance was evaluated in Helicoverpa armigera from 2008 to 2015. Insects were collected as eggs primarily from cultivated hosts in the major cropping areas of New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. Larvae reared from eggs were tested for resistance to fenvalerate, bifenthrin or methomyl in the F0 generation using a topical application of a discriminating dose of insecticide. In 2008–2009, resistance to fenvalerate was 71% and no resistance to bifenthrin was recorded. In the following two seasons, resistance to pyrethroids was relatively stable with fenvalerate resistance ranging from 63% to 67% and bifenthrin resistance ranging from 5.6% and 6.4% in 2009–2010 and 2010–2011, respectively. However, in 2011–2012, pyrethroid resistance had increased to 91% and 36% for fenvalerate and bifenthrin, respectively. Resistance remained above 90% for fenvalerate and above 35% for bifenthrin in the following three seasons from 2012 to 2015. In 2008–2009, methomyl resistance was 33% and declined to 22% and 15% in 2009–2010 and 2010–2011, respectively. Methomyl resistance remained at moderate levels from 2011–12 to 2014–15, ranging from 21% to 40%. Factors that influenced selection pressure of pyrethroid and carbamate insecticides and impacted resistance frequency in H. armigera may have been associated with changes in the composition of the cropping landscape. The rapid expansion of the pulse industry and the commensurate increased use of insecticide may have played a role in reselection of high-level pyrethroid resistance, and highlights the need for an urgent and strategic response to insecticide resistance management in the Australian grains industry.

Effect of nitrogen fertilizer on a kangaroo grass (Themeda australis) grassland

1974 ◽  
Vol 14 (69) ◽  
pp. 526 ◽  
Author(s):  
HJ Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fertilizer ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
New South ◽  
Perennial Grass ◽  
Low Fertility ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Nitrogen Rate ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Cutting Frequency ◽  
High Level

Three rates of nitrogen fertilizer and a standard superphosphate dressing were applied to a Themeda australis grassland with and without broadcast seed of Dactylis glomerata. Two cutting frequencies were imposed and dry matter yields and botanical composition were measured. T. australis responded to nitrogen, but the response was not sufficient for it to predominate over other species, particularly Poa labillardieri, as it had done under low fertility conditions. P. labillardieri yields increased markedly with increasing nitrogen rate. D. glomerata, which established only where nitrogen fertilizer was applied, substantially reduced the increase in P. labillardieri at the high level of nitrogen. Cutting frequency affected botanical composition in degree but not in kind. Both P. labillardieri and D. glomerata yielded less, but T. australis yielded more under more frequent cutting. For pasture improvement in wetter parts of the southern tablelands of New South Wales, it is important to establish a perennial grass at the beginning of the programme to reduce the growth of the undesirable tussock. P. labillardieri.

The Relationship Between Early-Phase Substance-Use Trajectories and Drug Court Outcomes

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 913-933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig G.A. Jones ◽  
Richard I. Kemp
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Early Phase ◽  
Drug Court ◽  
New South ◽  
Positive Test ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Membership Probability ◽  
South Wales ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Relationship

This study sought to identify patterns of substance use among 1,019 participants of the New South Wales Drug Court program (Sydney, Australia) between 2003 and 2009. Group-based trajectory modeling identified five groups of participants: compliant participants (24.4%), who had a near-zero probability of returning a positive urine test at each occasion; responding participants (25.3%), for whom the probability of returning a positive test decreased; relapsing participants (14.1%), for whom the probability of returning a positive test increased; mid-level chronic participants (26.0%), who had a one in two chance of returning a positive test at each episode; and a high-level chronic group (10.2%), who had a very high probability of returning a positive test at each episode. Group membership probability was found to be a good predictor of treatment and criminal justice outcomes. The challenge for future research is to identify the characteristics that explain these early-phase substance use trajectories.

Population structure, seed loads and flowering phenology in three common (Melaleuca styphelioides, M. thymifolia, M. nodosa) and one rare (M. deanei) Melaleuca (Myrtaceae) species of the Sydney region

2014 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Hewitt ◽  
Paul Holford ◽  
Adrian Renshaw ◽  
Anthony Haigh ◽  
E. Charles Morris
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Seedling Recruitment ◽  
Flowering Phenology ◽  
Individual Plant ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Protection Legislation ◽  
Low Incidence ◽  
Plant Level ◽  
Viable Seeds ◽  
The Individual

Melaleuca deanei F.Muell. is listed under state and national protection legislation occurring as small, disjunct populations restricted to the Central Coast botanical district of New South Wales. This paper reports on the population structure, reproductive output and phenology of large and small field populations of M. deanei, compared with three common congeneric species in the area, namely, Melaleuca nodosa (Sol. ex Gaertn.) Sm., Melaleuca thymifolia Sm. and Melaleuca styphelioides Sm. Both M. deanei and M. styphelioides had few seedlings per population at the sites studied. Results indicated that seedling recruitment is rare and would appear to require specific conditions. In addition, M. deanei had a low incidence of flowering within the small populations, significantly fewer fruiting plants per population and significantly lower numbers of viable seeds per square metre, most likely compounding its limited recruitment. Flowering, when it occurred in M. deanei, was from mid to late October through to late November–early December with increased flowering in response to fire and along road edges. Further study is needed to determine reproductive success at the individual-plant level, the breeding system and recruitment requirements of these species.

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