Variation in algal assemblages on wave-exposed rocky shores in New South Wales

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 241 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Underwood ◽  
M. G. Chapman

Data were collected in New South Wales from replicate sites on five wave-exposed shores separated by hundreds of kilometres at three-monthly intervals for four years, to examine large and small spatial and temporal patterns in low-shore algal assemblages. These data were used to test hypotheses from the models that algal assemblages show large-scale, predictable changes in structure or, alternatively, that variation from time to time is small-scale and differs from shore to shore or site to site on a shore. There was considerable variation at all scales examined — among replicate quadrats within sites, between sites on a shore and among shores. Similarly, assemblages differed from one sampling period to the next and changes in the assemblages over time periods of three months were as great as from year to year. These changes were interactive, with no two sites or shores showing similar temporal patterns. Thus, understanding diversity along a coast-line requires detailed understanding of local processes. Without adequate spatial and temporal replication in sampling designs and without explanatory models, the large and complex variability in intertidal assemblages at different scales cannot be documented and understood.

1995 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
D.P. Woodside ◽  
G.H. Pyke

We captured Queensland Blossom Bats (Syconycteris australis) feeding at the flowers of Banksia integrifolia during the night and several honeyeater species feeding at the same flowers during the day. Nearby were flowering Melaleuca quinquenervia and various forested areas including littoral rainforest. Honeyeaters appear to be more frequent visitors to the Banksia flowers than Blossom Bats but less effective at transporting pollen. When they are feeding at Banksia flowers both birds and bats carry pollen on the parts of their bodies that contact successive inflorescences. Hence, both honeyeaters and bats are likely to be pollinators of B. integrifolia in our study area. However, the flowers produce nectar and dehisce pollen primarily at night, suggesting that Blossom Bats are more important than honeyeaters as pollinators of this plant. Banksia pollen was the most common item in the diet of the Blossom Bats during our study and the bats were able to digest the contents of this pollen. Interestingly, the diet of these animals also included relatively small amounts of Melaleuca pollen, fruit and arthropods. The spatial and temporal patterns of capture of the Blossom Bats suggested that Blossom Bats prefer to forage at Banksia flowers that are near to the forested areas and that adult bats may influence where and when younger bats feed. Banksia integrifolia appears to produce nectar mostly during the night and/or early morning in two different locations, one coastal and one on the tablelands, but shows different daily patterns of pollen anthesis in these locations.


1994 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 635 ◽  
Author(s):  
MG Chapman

Within-shore and among-shore patterns of distribution, abundance and size structure of Littorina unifasciata Gray were identified on a number of shores in New South Wales. There was significant patchiness in distribution, abundance and size of L. unifasciata among patches of shore only a few metres apart, at different heights on the shore and from shore to shore. On a particular shore, the sizes of snails were strongly correlated with densities. In contrast, differences in densities at different heights from one shore to another were not correlated with mean size of snails. Density and size were each strongly correlated with the height on the shore at which snails were found. At any one height, differences in densities and size were also correlated with the distribution of particular microhabitat variables, such as the slope of the rock surface, the presence of pits and shallow pools and the presence of barnacles. Densities were also negatively correlated with densities of the large microalgae-grazing limpet Cellana tramoserica but were independent of other littorinids. A number of alternative models have been proposed to account for these patterns of distribution, abundance and size. Although processes that might account for these patterns were not investigated here, quantification of such patterns at a number of spatial scales is necessary before potential factors that might affect small-scale spatial variation in densities and sizes of L. unifasciata can be identified and investigated.


2000 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 255 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. L. Andrew ◽  
A. L. O'Neill

Aerial photography was used to estimate the representation of shallow subtidal habitats in New South Wales. Sixty sites, each between 4 and 5 hectares, were mapped with Geographical Information Systems software using ortho-rectified images digitized from 1:8000-scale photographs and ‘ground truthed’ in the field by divers. Barrens habitat covered an estimated 50% (s.e. = 3.9) of nearshore reefs between Port Stephens and Disaster Bay. Coverage of barrens habitat was greatest in Disaster Bay (68%, s.e. = 6.7) and least south of Disaster Bay (1%, s.e. = 0.3). There were clear differences among localities in the area of reef within the mapped sites; those at Cape Howe, Nadgee, and Turingal were significantly smaller in area than all others. There was no clear latitudinal trend in these differences but there was evidence of sand inundation at a site at Nadgee, where the reef was small. Differences in the densities and size-structure of the sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersiiat 27 of the mapped sites provide a basis for testing relationships between the demography of this species and the persistence of the barrens habitat. The extensive coverage of the barrens habitat in New South Wales is likely to limit the productivity of the abalone industry. The development of a sea urchin fishery may have large impacts on habitat representation on nearshore reefs.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Karystianis ◽  
Armita Adily ◽  
Peter Schofield ◽  
Lee Knight ◽  
Clara Galdon ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Vast numbers of domestic violence (DV) incidents are attended by the New South Wales Police Force each year in New South Wales and recorded as both structured quantitative data and unstructured free text in the WebCOPS (Web-based interface for the Computerised Operational Policing System) database regarding the details of the incident, the victim, and person of interest (POI). Although the structured data are used for reporting purposes, the free text remains untapped for DV reporting and surveillance purposes. OBJECTIVE In this paper, we explore whether text mining can automatically identify mental health disorders from this unstructured text. METHODS We used a training set of 200 DV recorded events to design a knowledge-driven approach based on lexical patterns in text suggesting mental health disorders for POIs and victims. RESULTS The precision returned from an evaluation set of 100 DV events was 97.5% and 87.1% for mental health disorders related to POIs and victims, respectively. After applying our approach to a large-scale corpus of almost a half million DV events, we identified 77,995 events (15.83%) that mentioned mental health disorders, with 76.96% (60,032/77,995) of those linked to POIs versus 16.47% (12,852/77,995) for the victims and 6.55% (5111/77,995) for both. Depression was the most common mental health disorder mentioned in both victims (22.30%, 3258) and POIs (18.73%, 8918), followed by alcohol abuse for POIs (12.24%, 5829) and various anxiety disorders (eg, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder) for victims (11.43%, 1671). CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that text mining can automatically extract targeted information from police-recorded DV events to support further public health research into the nexus between mental health disorders and DV.


2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
NR Perkins

A large-scale outbreak of equine influenza (EI) virus in Australia in 2007 resulted in major disruption to horse activities and related industries across the nation and particularly in the two infected states (Queensland and New South Wales). In a major test of animal health response capacity, the outbreak was successfully contained and the EI virus eradicated as a result of a coordinated national response that relied heavily on the cooperation of government and industry stakeholders. Quarantine measures have been strengthened to minimise the risk of future incursions and ensure that Australia remains free of this important and highly contagious disease.


Author(s):  
Fei Liu ◽  
Pengcheng Lin ◽  
Huanzhang Liu ◽  
Jun Wang

The spatial-temporal patterns of fish assemblages in lotic systems can provide useful information in developing effective conservation measures. This study aimed to explore the spatiotemporal changes in fish assemblage and their association with environmental factors in mountain streams of Ren River, southwest China. Filed investigations were conducted at 18 sites during rainy and dry season in 2017. A total of 21 species, belonged to 3 orders, 8 families and 19 genera, were collected. Analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) showed fish assemblages structure varied significantly at the spatial scale, but not at the temporal scale. In low order sites, fish assemblages were mainly dominated by cold water and rheophilic species (e.g. Rhynchocypris oxycephalus, Scaphesthes macrolepis, Metahomaloptera omeiensis and Gnathopogon herzensteini), while those in high order sites were predominated by warm water and eurytopicity or stagnophilic species (e.g. Squalidus argentatus, Hemiculter leucisculus and Zacco platypus). Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed fish assemblages were structured by a combination of large-scale landscape factors (e.g. altitude and C-link) and small-scale habitat features (e.g. channel width, water temperature and depth). Among these factors, landscape factors had the greatest influence on fish assemblage, while local habitat measures played less important roles or just acted in certain season.


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