Habitat requirements of the spectacled hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes conspicillatus) in the Northern Territory and Western Australia

1992 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 721 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Ingleby ◽  
M Westoby
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Diet Selection ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Species Range ◽  
Habitat Requirements ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Percentage Cover ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Dry Seasons

Fourteen sites occupied by Lagorchestes conspicillatus in the Northern Territory were examined from July to September 1986. The abundance of possible food items at each site was estimated by measuring the percentage cover of herbs, grasses and shrubs with foliage below one metre. Also recorded was the abundance of potential shelters, including grass tussocks, spinifex hummocks (Plectrachne and Triodia spp.) and low shrubs and trees. All sites possessed trees (more than 10 per ha) and shrubs (more than 5 per ha) together with more than 0.5% cover of green grass foliage. A model of suitable habitat was constructed using the 1986 results, and this was tested within the species' range in the Pilbara, Western Australia, and near Daly Waters in the Northern Territory in 1987. The abundance of L. conspicillatus was scored at control sites (sites with all features considered essential on the basis of 1986 data) and test sites (sites lacking 1-2 'essential' features). These data indicated that L, conspicillatus can occur at sites with as little as 0.2% cover of green grass provided there is more than 1.5% herb cover. Sites with no green grass (less than 0.2%) were usually not occupied. All sites occupied by L. conspicillatus had potentially suitable shelters, either shrubs, grass tussocks or spinifex hummocks within 50m of the feeding areas. Diet selection by L. conspicillatus during the 1986 and 1987 dry seasons was as follows: (a) herbs were eaten in preference to other food items except certain seeds; (b) grass formed at least 10% of faecal contents irrespective of herb cover; and (c) at sites with less than 0.5% herb cover the levels of grass in the faeces increased to compensate for the low availability of herbs.

scholarly journals Predictions of watertable depth and soil salinity levels for land capability assessment using site indicator species

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 285
Author(s):  
Sarita Jane Bennett ◽  
E. G. Barrett-Lennard
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Soil Salinity ◽  
Indicator Species ◽  
Habitat Requirements ◽  
Annual Ryegrass ◽  
Lolium Rigidum ◽  
Percentage Cover ◽  
Land Capability ◽  
Salinity Levels ◽  
Species Preferences

Salt-affected land varies spatially and seasonally in terms of soil salinity and depth to the watertable. This paper asks whether native and naturalised species growing on saltland can be used as ‘indicators’ of saltland capability. The percentage cover of native and naturalised species was recorded in spring 2004 and 2005 across saltland transects on three sites in Western Australia. The presence of these plants was related to average soil salinity (ECe) at depth (25–50 cm), and depth to the watertable in spring. Eight naturalised species occurred with ≥40% cover on the sites. Species preferences varied, with some such as samphire (Tecticornia pergranulata) and puccinellia (Puccinellia ciliata) only occurring with shallow watertables (<0.7 m deep) and with ECe values >16 dS/m. Other species such as capeweed (Arctotheca calendula) and annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) were dominant where watertables were deeper (>1.3 m) and salinity levels lower (ECe values 2–8 and 4–16 dS/m, respectively). Our data suggest that some of the species recorded can be used as indicators of saltland capability and, further, can predict the most productive species to sow in that area. Other species were found not to be good indicators as they displayed more opportunistic habitat requirements.

Black-tailed deer feeding bouts: dynamic events

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (6) ◽  
pp. 1353-1362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Gillingham ◽  
Fred L. Bunnell
Keyword(s):  
Food Preference ◽  
Odocoileus Hemionus ◽  
Diet Selection ◽  
Odocoileus Hemionus Columbianus ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Dynamic Events ◽  
Feeding Station ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Preferred Foods ◽  
First Time

Foraging bouts of captive black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus Richardson) were investigated to examine how searching for food affects diet selection. We determined food preference for three types of food under ad libitum conditions and then studied the foraging of two deer in a 0.5-ha, vegetation-free pen in which we controlled food availability and distribution of the same three types of food. Our hypotheses included the following: (i) clumping of preferred food into patches would enable animals to better exploit food distributions; (ii) the switch from preferred to lower-ranked food would be gradual as preferred food was less frequently encountered; and (iii) deer would respond to a lower abundance of preferred foods by eating more of lower-ranked food items at each feeding location. Searching for food alone did not alter diet selection from ad libitum conditions. Deer nearly exhausted their highly preferred food item before switching to lower-ranked ones. Amount of preferred food already eaten during a trial was positively correlated with the time that animals continued searching before switching to lower-ranked food items. Switching was related to amount and type of food encountered and not to amount of food in the pen. Clumping of the preferred food had no significant effect on the amount of food eaten, but did significantly influence types of food encountered by one deer. When preferred food was abundant, it was not always completely eaten the first time a feeding platform was visited. Increases in the intake rates of nonpreferred food items resulted from deer visiting more feeding stations containing nonpreferred food items and not from deer eating more food at each feeding station.

scholarly journals The northern river shark Glyphis sp. C (Carcharhinidae) discovered in Western Australia

Zootaxa ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 685 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
DEAN C. THORBURN ◽  
DAVID L. MORGAN
Keyword(s):  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Gene Pool ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Pectoral Fins ◽  
Northern River ◽  
Count Range ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Mean Diameter ◽  
The Town

Seven specimens of Glyphis sp. C were collected from macrotidal mangrove systems near the town of Derby in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, which represents the first capture in this state. The five males and two females ranged in length from 906 to 1418 mm TL, weighed between 5150 and 18640 g and had a vertebral count range outside that previously reported for the species, i.e. 140 151 cf 147 148. The unusually high incidence of fused vertebrae and spinal deformation may suggest a small gene pool in this population. Previous occurrences of this species were restricted to rivers in the Northern Territory (Australia) and Papua New Guinea. The presence of a small eye (mean diameter 0.87% of total length), large dorsal and pectoral fins, and well defined sensory ampullae may be reflective of living in an environment subjected to extreme turbidity and flows.

The Ecology of Northern Australian Dacinae (Diptera:Tephritidae) I. Host Phenology and Utilization of Opilia amentacea Roxb. (Opiliaceae) by Dacus (Bactrocera) opiliae Drew & Hardy, with notes on some other species.

1981 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 691 ◽  
Author(s):  
GP Fitt
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Oriental Fruit Fly ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Host Phenology ◽  
Fruit Growing ◽  
Host Relations

A newly discovered species of tephritid, Dacus (Bactrocera) opiliae Drew & Hardy, is almost indistinguishable morphologically from the Oriental fruit fly, Dacus dorsalis. and was originally believed to represent an invading population of that species. Breeding by D. opiliae is virtually restricted to the fruit of the native vine Opilia amentacea throughout coastal areas of the Northern Territory and the Kimberleys region of Western Australia. The phenology of the host and aspects of its utilization by D. opiliae are described. Fruit suitable for oviposition is available only for a short period each year from late November to early January. It is shown that D, opiliae is effectively univoltine. Although it was able to infest various cultivated fruits in the laboratory, no evidence of such infestations by natural populations of D. opiliae was recorded during this study and the species seem to present no threat to Australia's fruit-growing industries. Information on host relations of D. jarvisi (Tryon), D. aquilonis (May) and D. tenuifascia (May) is also presented.

Benefits of Community Involvement at the School Level

2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Community Involvement ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
National Average ◽  
School Level ◽  
Student Enrollment ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Indigenous Students ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Indigenous Student

I would like to begin by providing a context that can be used to place my discussion about experiences at a remote school in the Northern Territory (NT) into perspective.In the NT 53% of schools are located in remote areas and these cater for up to 23% of NT students (Combe, 2000). The NT has the highest proportion of Indigenous students enrolled in schools with 35.2% of the overall student population identifying as Indigenous Australian (Collins, 1999). The next closest state is Western Australia with an Indigenous student enrollment average of 5.1 %, this is compared with a national average of 3.2%.

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