Transformation of free tetrachloroguaiacol to bound compounds by fungi isolated from Lake Bonney, south-eastern South Australia

1997 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 551 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. van Leeuwen ◽  
B. C. Nicholson ◽  
G. Levay ◽  
K.P. Hayes ◽  
D. E. Mulcahy
Keyword(s):  
Lake Water ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Pulp Mill ◽  
Mucor Circinelloides ◽  
Penicillium Expansum ◽  
Free Form ◽  
Mineral Salts ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Chlorine Bleaching

Chlorophenolic compounds have persisted in water and sediments of Lake Bonney, south- eastern South Australia, following discontinuation of chlorine bleaching at a sulfite-based pulp mill that discharges effluent into the lake. During assessment of the persistence of chlorophenolics, several species of fungi isolated from lake water and from a drain that discharges mill effluent into the lake were studied for their capacities to degrade these compounds. Epicoccum sp., Mucor circinelloides and Penicillium expansum decreased concentrations of the free form of tetrachloroguaiacol in a mineral-salts medium. This was due not to degradation of the compound but to conversion to bound forms. These bound forms of tetrachloroguaiacol were resistant to degradation by a T. harzianum isolate that had previously been found capable of degrading free tetrachloroguaiacol.

Resistance of bound chloroguaiacols and AOX from pulp mill effluent to degradation by Trichoderma harzianum isolated from Lake Bonney, south-eastern South Australia

1996 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. 961 ◽  
Author(s):  
JA Van Leeuwen ◽  
BC Nicholson ◽  
KP Hayes ◽  
DE Mulcahy
Keyword(s):  
Trichoderma Harzianum ◽  
Culture Medium ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Pulp Mill ◽  
Pulp Mill Effluent ◽  
Mineral Salts ◽  
Halogenated Organic Compounds ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Chlorine Bleaching ◽  
Sulfite Pulp

Previous studies have shown that chlorophenolic compounds persisted in water and sediments of Lake Bonney, south-eastern South Australia, following discontinuation of chlorine bleaching at a sulfite pulp mill that discharged effluent into the lake. Although free and bound chlorophenolics were detected in the lake after discontinuation of chlorine bleaching, the predominant forms were found to be bound compounds. In assessing the persistence of chlorophenolics in the lake, fungi were isolated from the lake water and studied for their capacities to degrade these compounds. One fungus, Trichoderma harzianum, was found to be capable of reducing concentrations of spiked (free) 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, 4,5-dichloroguaiacol, 3,4,5-trichloroguaiacol and tetrachloroguaiacol in a mineral salts culture medium and concentrations of adsorbable halogenated organic compounds (AOX) attributable to the spiked compounds. This fungus was also found to be capable of dehalogenating free tetrachloroguaiacol in a mineral salts medium. Degradation of bound chloroguaiacols present in chlorination-stage effluent from the mill by Trichoderma harzianum was not detected in this study. The inability of this fungus to degrade bound chlorophenolics demonstrates the resistance of these compounds in bound form to biodegradation and may explain the persistence of some chlorophenolics in Lake Bonney.

Persistence of chlorophenolic compounds from pulp and paper mill discharges in Lake Bonney, south-eastern South Australia

1996 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 929 ◽  
Author(s):  
JA Van Leeuwen ◽  
BC Nicholson ◽  
KP Hayes ◽  
DE Mulcahy
Keyword(s):  
Lake Water ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Pulp Mill ◽  
Paper Mill ◽  
Free Form ◽  
Pulp And Paper Mill ◽  
Sediment Samples ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Water And Sediment ◽  
Water And Sediment Samples

Chlorophenolic compounds were determined in water and sediment samples from Lake Bonney, south-eastern South Australia, following discontinuation of chlorine bleaching at the Apcel pulp mill (Kimberly-Clark Australia Pty Ltd) in September 1991. Concentrations of chlorophenolics in samples collected between July 1991 and January 1992 have already been reported. Free chlorophenolic compounds had declined rapidly in lake water by January 1992, but reductions in total concentrations (free and bound) in sediment samples were not observed. Further analyses were conducted between February 1992 and November 1993 and are reported in this paper. Both free and bound chlorophenolic compounds were detected in water and sediment samples during this period. Low concentrations (40 ng L-1) of the free form of chloroguaiacols were detected in lake water up to September 1992, whereas in March 1993 free chloroguaiacols were detected only in a drain that connects the mill to the lake and near the effluent discharge point to the lake. Most chloroguaiacols and chlorocatechols were bound and these declined in both sediments and waters during the study period.

The Status of the School Shark Fishery in South-Eastern Australian Waters

1959 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 150 ◽  
Author(s):  
AM Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Maximum Yield ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Slow Growth Rate ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Pregnant Females ◽  
The Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
Annual Total ◽  
The Mean

The maximum yield of the school shark fishery in south-eastern Australian waters was 4.09 million lb in 1949. The catch has fluctuated since then about a declining trend to 3.18 million lb in 1956. In 1944, 7.3 hooks were required to catch a shark of mean weight 14.7 lb. In 1956 the number of hooks required was almost doubled: 13.6 hooks were needed to catch sharks of mean weight 13.7 lb; the catch per hook dropped from 2.01 to 0.99 lb. Whereas the catch per boat-month remained relatively stable at 4765 lb for 1944 and 4643 for 1956, the number of hooks used per boat-month increased from 2366 to 4668 hooks in 12 years. Throughout this period the mean weight of sharks in eastern Bass Strait remained fairly steady (11-13 lb) whereas there was a drop of 3 lb from a mean weight of 17-20 lb in the predominantly mature portion of the stock in western Bass Strait. Fishermen in South Australia have reported a comparable drop in the mean weight of sharks in their catches. During the period 1941-46 there was unrestricted inshore fishing of juveniles and pregnant females with a consequent severe drop in the inshore population. The subsequent decline in the annual total catch is believed to be due not only to a too intensive offshore fishery but also to the resultant reduced recruitment and depressed reproductive potential caused by the earlier destruction of juveniles and pregnant females. In the data presented in this paper there is evidence that the school shark fishery, which is operating on a single stock of sharks with a slow growth rate, a late sexual maturity, and a low fecundity, shows trends which are suggestive of depletion. Because similar trends in the soupfin shark fishery of California and in the dogfish fishery of British Columbia were followed by depletion, it has been inferred that regulations to protect the vulnerable phases of the life history of the school shark of Australia may be required. Measures for conservation are discussed.

Swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) distribution has dramatically increased following sustained biological control of rabbits

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 321
Author(s):  
B. D. Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Cumulative Effects ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
High Rainfall ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
Swamp Wallaby ◽  
Tiny Part

Swamp wallabies have dramatically extended their distribution through western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia over the last 40 years. Newspaper reports from 1875 onwards show that on European settlement, wallaby populations were confined to eastern Victoria, including the ranges around Melbourne, the Otway Ranges and Portland District of south-western Victoria, and a tiny part of south-eastern South Australia. Populations contracted further with intense hunting for the fur trade until the 1930s. In the late 1970s, however, wallabies began spreading into drier habitats than those initially recorded. Possible causes underlying this change in distribution are discussed; some seem unlikely but, because wallabies began spreading soon after the introduction of European rabbit fleas as vectors of myxomatosis, the cumulative effects of releases of biological agents to control rabbits appear important. A caution is given on assuming that thick vegetation in high-rainfall areas provides the only habitat suitable for swamp wallabies, but, most importantly, the study shows how native mammals may benefit if rabbit abundance is reduced.

Survival and biomass of exotic earthworms, Aporrectodea spp. (Lumbricidae), when introduced to pastures in south-eastern Australia

1999 ◽  
Vol 50 (7) ◽  
pp. 1233 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. H. Baker ◽  
P. J. Carter ◽  
V. J. Barrett
Keyword(s):  
South Australia ◽  
Clay Content ◽  
Total Biomass ◽  
Soil P ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Inoculation Density ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Exotic Earthworms ◽  
Soil Clay Content ◽  
South Eastern Australia

The earthworm fauna of pastures in south-eastern Australia is dominated by exotic lumbricid earthworms, in particular the endogeic species, Aporrectodea caliginosa and A. trapezoides. Anecic species such as A. longa are very rare. All 3 species were introduced within cages in 10 pastures on a range of soil types within the region. Five months later, A. longa had generally survived the best and A. trapezoides the worst. The survivals and weights of individual worms varied between sites for all 3 species. The survivals of A. caliginosa and A. longa, and to a lesser extent A. trapezoides, were positively correlated with soil clay content. The weights of A. caliginosa and A. longa, but not A. trapezoides, were positively correlated with soil P content. The survivals and weights of A. longa and A. trapezoides and the weights only of A. caliginosa decreased with increasing inoculation density, suggesting increased intraspecific competition for resources, particularly in the first two species. A. longa reduced the abundance and biomass of the exotic acanthodrilid earthworm, Microscolex dubius, at one site, and the total biomass of 3 native megascolecid species at another, when these latter species occurred as contaminants in A. longa cages. The addition of lime had no effect on the survivals and weights of A. caliginosa, A. longa, and A. trapezoides, although the soils were acid at the sites tested. The addition of sheep dung increased the survival and weights of some species at some sites. Mechanical disturbance of the soil within cages reduced the survivals of A. longa and A. trapezoides. A. longa was released without being caged at 25 sites within one pasture in South Australia. Four years later, it was recovered at all release points. A. longa has the potential to colonise pastures widely throughout the higher rainfall regions of south-eastern Australia.

Distribution of chlorophenolic compounds, from a pulp mill, in Lake Bonney, South Australia

1993 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 825 ◽  
Author(s):  
JA Van Leeuwen ◽  
BC Nicholson ◽  
KP Hayes
Keyword(s):  
South Australia ◽  
Pulp Mill ◽  
Molecular Chlorine ◽  
Sample Collection ◽  
Sediment Samples ◽  
Discharge Point ◽  
Water And Sediment ◽  
Chlorinated Guaiacols ◽  
Effluent Discharge ◽  
Chlorinated Catechols

Water and sediment samples from Lake Bonney (south-eastern South Australia) were collected at various distances from the effluent discharge point of a sulfite-based pulp mill and analysed for chlorophenolic compounds. The period of sample collection (July 1991 to January 1992) occurred during a time when bleaching process of the mill was being converted from using molecular chlorine to using hydrogen peroxide. In water samples, the major chlorophenolic compounds detected were 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, tetrachlorocatechol and chlorinated guaiacols. In sediment samples, the major chlorophenolic compounds detected were chlorinated guaiacols and chlorinated catechols. The concentrations of these compounds in lake water generally decreased over the sampling period, corresponding to the decrease in use of molecular chlorine. Concentrations in sediment decreased with increasing distance from the discharge point. The presence of chlorinated guaiacols in water and sediment at a site 17 km from the effluent discharge point indicated that these compounds degrade slowly in the lake. The presence of the chlorinated catechols in sediments at localities where these compounds were not detected in the water suggests that de-0-methylation of adsorbed chlorinated guaiacols occurs and/or that there is preferential adsorption of chlorinated catechols to sediment.

Movement and mortality of Australian pelicans (Pelecanus conspicillatus) banded at inland and coastal breeding sites in South Australia

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory R. Johnston ◽  
Maxwell H. Waterman ◽  
Clare E. Manning
Keyword(s):  
South Australia ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Causes Of Mortality ◽  
Conservation Concern ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Globally, pelican populations have decreased, with three species being of conservation concern. Australian pelicans (Pelecanus conspicillatus) are not regarded as endangered, but have declined across south-eastern Australia. Information on their movements and causes of mortality are required to interpret the importance of these regional declines to the species’ global population. We explored patterns of movement and causes of mortality by analysing recoveries from 14 615 Australian pelicans banded over 37 years between 1969 and 2006. Data from 243 leg band recoveries showed that Australian pelicans move distances of up to 3206 km, and travel across the species’ entire geographic range, within a year of fledging. We found little evidence for the popular notion that these birds move en masse from the coast to inland areas in response to flooding rains. Maximum recorded age of a banded Australian pelican was 15 years. The banding data suggest that the regional pelican declines could reflect long-distance movements rather than an overall population response. However, a concentration of band returns from south-eastern Australia where the declines have been recorded, and the high incidence of human-induced deaths (16.4%) suggest otherwise. Accurate assessment of population trends in long-lived, long-distance nomads such as Australian pelicans requires assessment at a continental scale. Our results emphasise the importance of knowledge about fundamental aspects of a species’ biology for accurate interpretation of regional population declines.

Population ranges of Miniopterus schreibersii (Chiroptera) in south-eastern Australia

1969 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 665 ◽  
Author(s):  
PD Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Australia ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Navigational Cues ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
South Eastern Australia

In south-eastern Australia banding of M. schreibersii has been concentrated in four areas: north-eastern New South Wales, south-eastern New South Wales, south-eastern Victoria, and south-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. The present paper analyses 2083 reported movements. Only 17 of these are from one of the four areas to another with the longest movement being 810 miles. Biologically and geographically separate populations of M. schreibersii are recognized in both north-eastern and south-eastern New South Wales. Each population has its basis in dependence upon a specific nursery site which is used annually by nearly all adult females in that population. Boundaries of population ranges in New South Wales are considered to be prominent features of physiography (i.e. divides). Bats move between population ranges less often than they move within population ranges. This cannot be explained solely in terms of the distances separating roosts. Available movement records from Victoria and South Australia are consistent with the pattern described for New South Wales. Two biologically recognizable populations (i.e, different birth periods) occur in south-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia but these may have overlapping ranges. Only one nursery colony of M. schreibersii is known from south-eastern Victoria. On present evidence it remains possible that the apparent integrity of the population associated with this nursery is merely a consequence of distance from other areas of banding activity. Detailed analyses of movements in bats may provide direct evidence as to the kinds of cues by which a given species navigates. Thus the physiographic basis described for population ranges in New South Wales is consistent with the view that M. schreibersii may orientate to waterways or divides or both. The probability that there are area differences in the subtlety or nature of navigational cues is implied by the different physiographic circumstances of south-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. It is suggested that knowledge of population range boundaries may aid planning of meaningful homing experiments.

A Parapatric Boundary between Ranidella signifera and R. riparia (Anura: Leptodactylidae) in South Australia

1982 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
FJ Odendaal ◽  
CM Bull
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Close Association ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
The North ◽  
Flinders Ranges ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Overlap Area

Ranidella signifera has a wide distribution in south-eastern Australia; R. riparia is endemic to the Flin- ders Ranges in South Australia. The ranges of the two species are largely allopatric, but they contact and overlap in a zone about 10 km wide, in the southern Flinders Ranges. The nature of the creeks changes across this zone. Immediately to the south and east, where only R. signifera is found, the creeks are slow-flowing and heavily vegetated, with mud or sand substrates. To the north and west the creeks are swift-flowing, and have rocky substrates and little vegetation; only R. riparia is found in these. In the sympatric overlap zone creeks are heterogeneous, with both habitat types represented. The close association between species and creek habitat is lost in populations not immediately adjacent to the overlap zone. This implies that each species can survive in both creek habitats but that R. riparia has a competitive advantage in swift, rocky creeks and R, signifera has an advantage in slow, vegetated creeks. This prevents either species from expanding its distribution beyond the narrow overlap area.

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