Influence of pit-trap type on the interpretation of fauna diversity

2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott A. Thompson ◽  
Graham G. Thompson ◽  
Philip C. Withers
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Faunal Diversity ◽  
The Common ◽  
Mammal Assemblages

We compare bias in the interpretation of sampled reptile and mammal assemblages caught using 20-L PVC buckets and PVC pipes (150 mm by 600 mm deep) when used as pit-traps. We report on 16 632 pipe- and 16 632 bucket-nights of pit-trap data collected over 11 survey periods spread over 2.5 years around Ora Banda in Western Australia. Buckets caught more reptiles and more of the common ‘small’ and ‘medium’-sized reptiles, whereas pipes caught more mammals and the larger of the small trappable mammals. The trappability of some families of reptiles and some mammal species differs between buckets and pipes. We conclude that different pit-trap types provide a bias in the interpretation of the sampled fauna assemblage. Differences in the interpretation of vertebrate faunal diversity were accentuated by low trapping effort but attenuated by high trapping effort. We recommend that both buckets and pipes be employed as pit-traps during fauna surveys (as well as alternatives such as funnel traps) to more fully document fauna assemblages being surveyed.

Falling apart? Insights and lessons from three recent studies documenting rapid and severe decline in terrestrial mammal assemblages of northern, south-eastern and south-western Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 114 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. Wayne ◽  
B. A. Wilson ◽  
J. C. Z. Woinarski
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
National Park ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Causal Factors ◽  
Terrestrial Mammal ◽  
Monitoring Programs ◽  
Long Term Monitoring ◽  
Mammal Assemblages ◽  
Term Monitoring

Context Since European settlement in 1788, much of the Australian terrestrial mammal fauna has declined or become extinct. The pattern of, and reason for, that decline was little documented, and is now difficult to decipher. Many mammal species are still declining, providing (an unfortunate) opportunity to better document the process, identify the causal factors and attempt to redress the problem. Aim We compare trends in mammal abundance reported in three recent longitudinal studies in conservation reserves in Australia. The studies were not established with the intention of documenting mammal decline, but marked simultaneous decline of co-existing species was the most striking feature of their results. Methods Long-term monitoring in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory (2001–04 and 2007–09), the Upper Warren region of Western Australia (since 1974) and the Great Otway National Park, Victoria (since 1975) principally relied on trapping, but also some spotlighting and sand plots, to document changes and trends in abundance in their respective mammal assemblages. Key results Decline was reported in most mammal species, across taxonomic groups, diets and size classes, but mostly involved species <5500g. The studies differed in their monitoring protocols and varied in the degree to which potential causal factors were monitored, thereby constraining interpretation of the drivers of declines. Inappropriate fire regimes and predation by feral cats are likely contributing factors in at least two study areas, and periods of markedly below-average rainfall are implicated in two areas. Conclusions We conclude the following: (1) conservation reserves in Australia may be failing to maintain at least some elements of the biodiversity that they were established to protect, and substantially enhanced management is required to redress this problem; (2) with current threats, mammal assemblages in Australia may be highly unstable; (3) substantial increase in effective long-term biodiversity monitoring programs in an adaptive management framework is needed; and (4) such monitoring programs will be more insightful if they also monitor factors driving population change. Implications Native mammal species declines and community disassembly may be occurring elsewhere. Long-term monitoring is critical for assessing trends in biodiversity and if done well, it can guide more effective and efficient management to deliver better conservation outcomes.

Admissibility of confession evidence: Principles of hearsay and the rule of voluntariness

2021 ◽  
pp. 136571272110022
Author(s):  
Jennifer Porter
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Common Law ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Judicial Discretion ◽  
Trial Judge ◽  
Important Policy ◽  
Oral Testimony ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Law ◽  
Confession Evidence

The common law test of voluntariness has come to be associated with important policy rationales including the privilege against self-incrimination. However, when the test originated more than a century ago, it was a test concerned specifically with the truthfulness of confession evidence; which evidence was at that time adduced in the form of indirect oral testimony, that is, as hearsay. Given that, a century later, confession evidence is now mostly adduced in the form of an audiovisual recording that can be observed directly by the trial judge, rather than as indirect oral testimony, there may be capacity for a different emphasis regarding the question of admissibility. This article considers the law currently operating in Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia to see whether or not, in the form of an audiovisual recording, the exercise of judicial discretion as to the question of the admissibility of confession evidence might be supported if the common law test of voluntariness was not a strict test of exclusion.

First North African record of a melanistic common genet (Genetta genetta Linnaeus, 1758)

Mammalia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mourad Ahmim ◽  
Hafid Aroudj ◽  
Farouk Aroudj ◽  
Saaid Saidi ◽  
Samir Aroudj
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
North African ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Genetta Genetta ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common ◽  
True Occurrence

Abstract The common genet (Genetta genetta Linnaeus, 1758) is a rare and protected mammal species in Algeria. We report the first melanistic individual of this species ever recorded in North Africa. Such animals have only been recorded in Spain and Portugal so far. It is unclear why melanistic common genets seem to be so rare in its African range. More research is needed to determine the true occurrence of melanistic individuals, and what the evolutionary history of melanism is in common genets.

Reproduction in the common sheath-tailed bat, Taphozous georgianus (Thomas) (Microchiroptera : Emballonuridae), in Western Australia

1973 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 375 ◽  
Author(s):  
DJ Kitchener
Keyword(s):  
Corpus Luteum ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Vas Deferens ◽  
Gestation Period ◽  
Early Winter ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Right

The reproductive and associated organs of both male and female T. georgianus are briefly described. In females, only the right ovary is functional and pregnancies occur only in the right horn. They are monovular and the corpus luteum occupies most of the ovary and is deeply embedded in its stroma. Females are monotocous and the gestation period is probably about 4 months, young being born from October to February. They are monestrous and there is an autumn and early winter dioestrousanoestrous period. Spermatozoa are not stored in the reproductive tract of females and copulation appears to coincide with the oestrous condition. In males, spermatogenesis proceeds throughout the year and spermatozoa are present in the epididymis and vas deferens in all months that males were collected (no records for December). Spermatozoa are also found in the ampulla of Henle and vesicula seminalis in most months of the year. The position of the testes varies with season: in summer they descend to the scrota1 sacs; in autumn, winter, and spring they are more abdominal.

scholarly journals Large mammal species richness and late Quaternary precipitation change in south-western Australia

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 760-769 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Tyler Faith ◽  
Joe Dortch ◽  
Chelsea Jones ◽  
James Shulmeister ◽  
Kenny J. Travouillon
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Precipitation Change ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Large Mammal

Seasonal changes in the nutritive value of grass species in Spinifex pastures of Western Australia.

1988 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
AM Holm ◽  
RJ Allen
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
In Vitro Digestibility ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
The Common ◽  
Exmouth Gulf

This study was undertaken to assess whether the nutritional quality of spinifex pasture lands is improved by buming to promote the growth of grasses other than spinifex. We selected two comparable sites in the Exmouth Gulf region of Western Australia; one had been bumt in late 1979 and the other had not been burnt for many years. On these sites we sampled the five grass species present, as well as Triodia pungens (soft spinifex) and Plectrachne >chinzii (Oat eared spinifex) on 10 occasions from March 1980 to April 1982. Plant parts were analysed for nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur content, and in vitro digestibility. None of the common grass species tested was more nutritious or more palatable than soft spinifex. It seems that little is gained from manipulating spinifex pastures through burning if the aim is to encourage alternative grass species. There is a need however for further studies into the importance of woody herbs and forbs in the nutrition of grazing animals on spinifex country and the effect of fire on these species.

scholarly journals Changing Methods of Imaging the Common Bile Duct in the Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Era in Western Australia

2002 ◽  
Vol 235 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel T. Barwood ◽  
Liora J. Valinsky ◽  
Michael S.T. Hobbs ◽  
David R. Fletcher ◽  
Matthew W. Knuiman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy ◽  
Bile Duct ◽  
Common Bile Duct ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
The Common

scholarly journals More cautionary tales: family, generic and species synonymies of recently published taxa of ghost and mud shrimps (Decapoda: Axiidea and Gebiidea)

Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4394 (1) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER C. DWORSCHAK ◽  
GARY C. B. POORE
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Junior Synonym ◽  
Mediterranean Species ◽  
Banc D’Arguin ◽  
The Common ◽  
Cautionary Tales ◽  
Callianassa Subterranea ◽  
Northeastern Atlantic ◽  
Banc D'arguin

Re-examination of the holotype of Neoaxius nicoyaensis Sakai, 2017 showed that it is conspecific with the axiid Guyanacaris caespitosa Squires, 1979 and thus Neoaxius Sakai, 2017 and Neoaxiidae Sakai, 2017 are respectively subjective junior synonyms of Guyanacaris Sakai, 2011 and Axiidae Huxley, 1879. The types and numerous specimens of the callianassid Trypaea vilavelebita Sakai & Türkay, 2012 are juveniles of the common northeastern Atlantic-Mediterranean species, Callianassa subterranea (Montagu, 1808); the name is therefore a subjective junior synonym. The monotypic callianopsid genera Pleurocalliax Sakai, 2011, Neocallianopsis Sakai, 2011 and Phaetoncalliax Sakai, Türkay, Beuck & Freiwald, 2015 are found not to differ from Callianopsis de Saint Laurent, 1973, the only alleged differences found to be untrue or trivial. Phaetoncalliax mauritana Sakai, Türkay, Beuck & Freiwald, 2015 and Neocallianopsis africana Sakai, Türkay, Beuck & Freiwald, 2015 are thereby transferred to Callianopsis, the latter a subjective junior synonym of the former. Contrary to the assertion of its author, the gourretiid Pseudogourretia portsudanensis Sakai, 2005, the only species in its genus, has no pleurobranchs. The genus Pseudogourretia Sakai, 2005 is therefore synonymised with Gourretia de Saint Laurent, 1973. The respective holotypes of Paracalliax stenophthalmus Sakai, Türkay, Beuck & Freiwald, 2015 and Paracalliax bollorei de Saint Laurent, 1979 were re-examined. Both are from the Banc d’Arguin, off Mauritania, and are identical at the species level. The upogebiid Kuwaitupogebia nithyanandan Sakai, Türkay & Al Aidaroos, 2015 from Kuwait is identical to Upogebia balmaorum Ngoc-Ho, 1990 from the Seychelles, Madagascar and tropical Western Australia. Kuwaitupogebia Sakai, Türkay & Al Aidaroos, 2015 is therefore synonymised with Upogebia Leach, 1814 and Kuwaitupogebiidae Sakai, Türkay & Al Aidaroos, 2015 with Upogebiidae Borradaile, 1903. 

Weather-Dependent Variation in the Winter Diet of Urban Roosting Long-Eared Owls Asio Otus in Pécs (Hungary)

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dávid Szép ◽  
Renáta Bocz ◽  
Jenő J. Purger
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Common Vole ◽  
Wood Mouse ◽  
Field Mouse ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Striped Field Mouse ◽  
Winter Diet ◽  
The Common ◽  
Common Dormouse ◽  
Grassland Habitats

Long-eared Owls (Asio otus) usually winter in groups in settlements, hunt at night and rest in evergreen trees during the day. From prey remnants regurgitated as pellets, one can detect species present in their hunting areas and changes in their abundance. Our aim was to reveal how the ratio of small mammal species in Long-eared Owl prey changes during the winter, since weather can influence hunting success and the availability of prey. There were 40–60 Long-eared Owls wintering in the city of Pécs. From November 2014 to mid-March 2015 we collected 6,328 pellets from which 9,087 prey remains were identified. 97.5% of prey consisted of small mammals belonging to 21 species. The diversity of small mammals in the pellets collected in November was significantly lower in comparison with other months. With the increase of precipitation, the relative abundance of the Common Vole (Microtus arvalis) and Common Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) decreased, while that of the Striped Field Mouse (Apodemus agrarius) and Wood Mouse (A. sylvaticus) increased. In the periods when the area was covered by snow, the ratio of the Common Vole as prey continually decreased, probably because it stayed under the snow. Since the availability of the Common Vole declined, the proportions of the Striped Field Mouse and Lesser White-toothed Shrew (Crocidura suaveolens) as alternative prey grew significantly. In low temperature periods, Brown Rats (Rattus norvegicus) and birds are more often preyed upon. Despite the hunting area being predominantly urban, species preferring open grassland habitats were significantly more common. As winter progressed, the role of forest-dwelling species in the diet continuously increased.

scholarly journals Placenta-Specific Protein 1 Is Conserved throughout the Placentalia under Purifying Selection

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric J. Devor
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Purifying Selection ◽  
Specific Protein ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Crucial Component ◽  
Successful Group ◽  
The Common

Placental mammals (Placentalia) are a very successful group that, today, comprise 94% of all mammalian species. Recent phylogenetic analyses, coupled with new, quite complete fossils, suggest that the crown orders were all established rapidly from a common ancestor just after the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary 65 million years ago. Extensive molecular and morphologic evidence has led to a description of the common ancestor of all Placentalia in which a two-horned uterus and a hemochorial placenta are present. Thus, the process of placentation in which the placenta invades and anchors to the uterine epithelium was already established. One factor that has been suggested as a crucial component of this process is placenta-specific protein 1 (PLAC1). A phylogenetic analysis of the PLAC1 protein in 25 placental mammal species, representing nine of the sixteen crown orders of the Placentalia, suggests that this protein was present in the placental common ancestor in the form we see it today, that it evolved in the Placentalia and has been subject to the effects of purifying selection since its appearance.

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