Impact of Red Kangaroos on the Pasture Layer in the Western Australian Arid Zone.

1993 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
GL Norbury ◽  
DC Norbury ◽  
RB Hacker

We studied the impact of grazing by red kangaroos (Macropus rufus) on pasture biomass and species diversity over a 32-month period in destocked open shrubland in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. Grazing significantly impeded the accumulation of annual and perennial grass biomass in a degraded perennial shrub community (Pc0.001 and P<0.05) and on denuded sites that were cultivated and reseeded with native shrubs (P<0.01 and Pc0.01). The accumulation of annual and perennial forb biomass was unaffected by kangaroo grazing. After 12 months, pasture species diversity was significantly greater on degraded perennial sites protected from kangaroo grazing (P<0.05). Commercial kangaroo shooting did not alleviate the impact of kangaroo grazing on grass accumulation (P<0.01). Unless more effective methods of kangaroo control are integrated with stock reductions, the recovery of degraded rangeland pastures is likely to be severely limited.

1993 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
GL Norbury ◽  
DC Norbury

Pastoralists frequently claim that attempts at range regeneration in arid and semi-arid areas are thwarted by kangaroos. This paper examines the possibility that the impact of kangaroo grazing is exacerbated by an influx of kangaroos onto regeneration sites. The amount of kangaroo dung in a 7500 ha paddock in arid Western Australia increased six-fold over a 15-month period following the removal of sheep. A similar influx was apparent in another destocked paddock that provided unusually high offtake of kangaroos by a commercial shooter. The amount of kangaroo dung remained relatively stable in a control paddock that was stocked. Some areas subject to cultivation and reseeding with native shrubs also showed increased amounts of kangaroo dung, indicating relatively intense kangaroo grazing. Radio-tracking of 46 kangaroos showed them to be mostly sedentary, suggesting that 'invading' kangaroos emerge from the local area. This conclusion is contrary to the widespread view that kangaroos migrate from distant locations. Thus, kangaroo control programs on sensitive areas are likely to be long-lasting because incursions are predominantly from local populations.


2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
DL Alpers ◽  
G Gaikhorst ◽  
C Lambert ◽  
T Fletcher ◽  
P.B.S. Spencer

THE desert mouse Pseudomys desertor is a medium sized rodent (15 – 30 g) which has a widespread distribution throughout the arid zone of Australia (Menkhorst and Knight 2001). It is considered locally abundant in habitats containing samphire, sedge, nitrebush or mature spinifex grasslands. A tolerance to disturbed habitat (from mining or grazing) has also been noted (Read et al. 1999). The distribution of the species once extended from the Murray-Darling through the Flinders Ranges to the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts, to the west coast and onto Bernier Island (Read et al. 1999; Menkhorst and Knight 2001). Since European colonisation there has been a contraction of the species’ range to the central deserts (Kerle 1995; Read et al. 1999). In Western Australia, the most southerly historical or contemporary record, is from the Wanjarri Nature Reserve (near Mount Keith), 370 km north of Kalgoorlie (D. Pearson pers. comm.; Western Australian Museum fauna database: http://203.30.234.168/). Recently, however, a suspected P. desertor was caught north-west of Queen Victoria Springs (QVS) in the Great Victoria Desert (GPS 30o 03’ 56’’S; 122o 55’ 28’’E), approximately 350 km to the south-east of its most southern known locality. The specimen had the distinctive buff-orange eye ring, size and general features of P. desertor described in Kerle (1995) and Menkhorst and Knight (2001). Prior to release of the specimen, an ear biopsy was obtained for DNA investigation and genomic DNA was extracted from the biopsy via a variation on the salting out procedure of Miller et al. (1988).


2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet M. Beilby ◽  
Michelle L. Byrnes ◽  
J. Scott Yaruss

In this study, we examined the impact of a stuttering disorder on children (n=50) and adolescents (n=45) living in Western Australia. We compared the reactions and experiences of children and adolescents who stutter to children and adolescents who do not stutter. We compared the participants who stuttered and the fluent participants using adapted versions of the Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering (OASES). We also examined the relationship between biopsychosocial impact and stuttered speech frequency. We saw higher levels of adverse impact in young people who stuttered compared to their fluent peers. In addition, we found moderate correlations between OASES scores and stuttered speech frequency in children. These findings provided a baseline for establishing the degree of negative impact that a stuttering disorder may bring about in children and adolescents. The experiences of young people who stuttered were significantly different from the experiences of young people who were typically fluent. These findings reinforce the notion that stuttering is a disorder that can lead to negative impact for young people.


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leanda Denise Mason ◽  
Grant Wardell-Johnson ◽  
Barbara York Main

Urban remnant vegetation is subject to varying degrees of disturbance that may or may not be proportional to the size of the patch. The impact of disturbance within patches on species with low mobility and dispersal capabilities was investigated in a survey targeting nemesiid species of the mygalomorph spider clade in the Perth metropolitan area, south-western Australia. Nemesiid presence was not influenced by patch size, but presence did negatively correlate with higher degrees of invasive grass and rabbit disturbance. Further, patch size was significantly positively correlated with degree of disturbance caused by rabbits. Compared with quadrats, patches were not as effective as sample units in determining the impact of disturbance on nemesiid presence.


1983 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 172-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janette Hartz-Karp

The Western Australian prison system, following trends of other prison systems in the western world, has embarked upon a limited programme of accommodating infants with their prisoner mothers during the mother's term of imprisonment. This research canvasses other mother/infant programmes noted in the literature, pointing to the special nature of the Western Australian situation. The focus of the study is on the impact of infants in prison on institutional life and the management problems so engendered. The data indicate that overall, infants have a positive impact on prison life, muting some of the more debilitating effects of institutionalization. The finding that the impact of the mother/infant prison programme is more peripheral to institutional life than expected is explained in the light of the obduracy of the "total institution". The major concerns expressed by those interviewed: prison staff, prisoner mothers and other prisoners, are, respectively: prisoner management, mother/infant prison facilities and family ties, and concerns of justice. With these issues in mind, problems of the current programme are discussed together with suggested resolutions.


2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 28
Author(s):  
C. Rowland Twidale ◽  
Erland J. Brock

John Thomas Jutson (1874–1959) spent most of his life as a practising solicitor in Melbourne. He studied the Victorian coast as a hobby in his later years, though he became known for his work on the Sydney shoreline and the proposal that different processes have simultaneously generated platforms at various levels. Between 1911 and 1918, however, Jutson had been employed as a field geologist by the Geological Survey of Western Australia. Drawing on the work of colleagues as well as his own brief field experiences, he produced an explanatory account of the Western Australian landscape that was published in 1914 and reprinted in revised form in 1934 and 1950. In his synthesis he discussed hitherto neglected arid zone landforms and processes. He presented evidence and argument pointing to the plateau and high plain that occupies so much of the interior of the State being a two-stage development. He attributed it to what would later be called etching, resulting in double planation at a regional scale. His innovative interpretations brought Jutson international recognition.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (90) ◽  
pp. 92-97
Author(s):  
I.T. Slusar ◽  
V.A. Serbenyuk ◽  
A.N. Gera ◽  
A.P. Solyanik ◽  
A.A. Tarasenko

Research on the impact of the introduction of micro fertilizers and growth promoters on a background of mineral fertilizer and without N90R45К120 spent on old peat in shallow carbonate floodplain r.Supiy, Yahotyn Kyiv region. Power peat horizon about 60-70 cm, 7,4-7,6 pH of the aqueous extract, stupas schedule 56-60%, density 0,49-0,52 assembly soil, total nitrogen content (%) - 1.9; gross forms of phosphorus - 0,4, potassium 0.2, 20% lime. In experiments studying biological rehoplant, radustym, Biolan, emistim, Jets, humisol, plantafol, radyfarm and micronutrients: copper, boric acid, manganese sulphate, zinc sulphate, potassium humates. Treatment drugs conducted in the spring by spraying mixtures. Space research area of 60 m2, three-time repetition. It is established that the use of growth stimulants and micronutrients in the background N90R45К120 provided the highest yield mixtures of years, against making BIOLan - 9.9 t / ha Radyfarmu - 9.6 t / ha Radostymu 9.3 t / ha dry weight. In areas for making other preparations were intermediate yield growth rates - 0.5 - 2.0 t / ha dry weight. Also good gains herbage yields obtained by making all kinds of micronutrients and growth stimulants in the background without making makrodobryv which was within 5.3 - 6.9 t / ha to control without fertilization - 4.5 t / ha dry weight. In deep peat copper fertilizer (25 kg / ha of copper sulphate or 5 kg / ha pirytnoho cinders) in all zones should be making every 3-4 years, and zinc, cobalt and molybdenum advisable to make time for the growing season, spring, by foliar application in such numbers: ammonium molibdenovokyslyy - 0.3 kg / ha; cobalt sulfate - 3 kg / ha zinc sulphate 0.5 kg / ha or placers these salts should be mixed with major fertilizer.


2021 ◽  
pp. 000486742110096
Author(s):  
Oleguer Plana-Ripoll ◽  
Patsy Di Prinzio ◽  
John J McGrath ◽  
Preben B Mortensen ◽  
Vera A Morgan

Introduction: An association between schizophrenia and urbanicity has long been observed, with studies in many countries, including several from Denmark, reporting that individuals born/raised in densely populated urban settings have an increased risk of developing schizophrenia compared to those born/raised in rural settings. However, these findings have not been replicated in all studies. In particular, a Western Australian study showed a gradient in the opposite direction which disappeared after adjustment for covariates. Given the different findings for Denmark and Western Australia, our aim was to investigate the relationship between schizophrenia and urbanicity in these two regions to determine which factors may be influencing the relationship. Methods: We used population-based cohorts of children born alive between 1980 and 2001 in Western Australia ( N = 428,784) and Denmark ( N = 1,357,874). Children were categorised according to the level of urbanicity of their mother’s residence at time of birth and followed-up through to 30 June 2015. Linkage to State-based registers provided information on schizophrenia diagnosis and a range of covariates. Rates of being diagnosed with schizophrenia for each category of urbanicity were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for covariates. Results: During follow-up, 1618 (0.4%) children in Western Australia and 11,875 (0.9%) children in Denmark were diagnosed with schizophrenia. In Western Australia, those born in the most remote areas did not experience lower rates of schizophrenia than those born in the most urban areas (hazard ratio = 1.02 [95% confidence interval: 0.81, 1.29]), unlike their Danish counterparts (hazard ratio = 0.62 [95% confidence interval: 0.58, 0.66]). However, when the Western Australian cohort was restricted to children of non-Aboriginal Indigenous status, results were consistent with Danish findings (hazard ratio = 0.46 [95% confidence interval: 0.29, 0.72]). Discussion: Our study highlights the potential for disadvantaged subgroups to mask the contribution of urban-related risk factors to risk of schizophrenia and the importance of stratified analysis in such cases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 71 ◽  
pp. 101232
Author(s):  
Sam Wilkinson ◽  
Martin J. Maticka ◽  
Yue Liu ◽  
Michele John

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