Evolutionary relationships among blue- and black-plumaged populations of the white-winged fairy-wren (Malurus leucopterus)

2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy C. Driskell ◽  
Stephen Pruett-Jones ◽  
Keith A. Tarvin ◽  
Sarah Hagevik
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Differentiation ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Evolutionary Relationships ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Base Pairs ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Unique Character ◽  
Western Australian ◽  
A Current ◽  
Bright Blue

The white-winged fairy-wren (Malurus leucopterus) exhibits striking plumage colour variation between the Australian mainland and two islands (Dirk Hartog Island and Barrow Island) off the coast of Western Australia. Adult males on the mainland are bright blue with white wings and adult males on the two islands are black with white wings. To examine evolutionary relationships within this species, we sequenced 980 base pairs of two mitochondrial genes from 34 individuals from both islands and five mainland sites. Birds on Barrow Island were the most genetically distinct. Specimens from Dirk Hartog shared a unique character with, and were most similar to, birds from the Western Australian mainland. The black-and- white-plumaged subspecies from the two islands were not each other's closest relatives. Mapping of plumage evolution produced two equally parsimonious hypotheses: (1) black plumage arose from blue plumage convergently on the two islands, or (2) black plumage arose from blue plumage once and was followed by a re-evolution of blue plumage in mainland Western Australia birds. Levels of genetic differentiation in this species were low but genetic differentiation was discovered between morphologically identical eastern and western populations of the mainland subspecies, which is evidence for a current barrier to gene flow on mainland Australia.

The life history of Trichosurus vulpecula hypoleucus (Phalangeridae) in the jarrah forest of south-western Australia

2005 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 265 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. Wayne ◽  
C. G. Ward ◽  
J. F. Rooney ◽  
C. V. Vellios ◽  
D. B. Lindenmayer
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
The Body ◽  
Summer Drought ◽  
Testis Size ◽  
Trichosurus Vulpecula ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Eucalyptus Marginata ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Western Australian

The common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) is noted for its morphological, biological and ecological variability across its range. Despite having suffered substantial population declines since European settlement, relatively little has been published on the south-western Australian subspecies, the koomal (T. v. hypoleucus). This study reports morphological, reproductive and general life-history data from an 18-month study of a population in the southern jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest at Chariup (part of Perup), near Manjimup, in south-western Australia. As one of the smallest subspecies, adult males of T. v. hypoleucus averaged 1616 g and females averaged 1470 g. Sexual dimorphism also occurred with head length and pes length, but not tail length. A single autumn breeding season occurred in both 2002 and 2003, in which all adult females bred and produced a single young between February and May. The onset of autumn births was associated with the end of the summer drought. Unlike many other Trichosurus populations, no spring breeding pulse or ‘double-breeding’ events were observed. At least 83% of pouch young survived to pouch emergence. The growth rate of offspring was initially linear, but became curvilinear and approached an asymptote after ~5 months. Most females bred for the first time when they were 1 year old. On the basis of testis size, males also matured at 1 year old. The body condition of adult males, but not adult females, changed significantly over time and followed an apparently seasonal pattern in which their condition was poorest in winter and best in summer. While many of the life-history traits of the Chariup population were similar to those of other south-western Australian populations of T. v. hypoleucus, the most striking variations included age at maturity, extent of spring breeding pulse and female fecundity. Further comparisons with conspecifics elsewhere in Australia and New Zealand also highlight the variability exhibited by T. vulpecula across its range. Some aspects of the biology of T. v. hypoleucus were particularly similar to those observed for T. v. arnhemensis in northern Australia.

scholarly journals Microsatellite and Minisatellite Analysis of Leptosphaeria maculans in Australia Reveals Regional Genetic Differentiation

2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (7) ◽  
pp. 879-887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen L. Hayden ◽  
Anton J. Cozijnsen ◽  
Barbara J. Howlett
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Differentiation ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Leptosphaeria Maculans ◽  
Genotypic Diversity ◽  
Factorial Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Breeding Lines ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
High Gene ◽  
Arid Desert ◽  
Western Australian

The population genetic structure of the fungal pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans was determined in Australia using six microsatellite and two minisatellite markers. Ascospores were sampled from Brassica napus stubble in disease nurseries and commercial fields in different sites over 2 years. The 13 subpopulations of L. maculans exhibited high gene (H = 0.393 to 0.563) and genotypic diversity, with 357 haplotypes identified among 513 isolates. Although the majority of genetic variation was distributed within subpopulations (85%), 10% occurred between the regions of eastern and Western Australia, and 5% within regions. FST analysis of subpopulation pairs also showed the east-west genetic differentiation, whereas factorial correspondence analysis separated Western Australian subpopulations from eastern ones. Bayesian model-based population structure analyses of multilocus haplotypes inferred three distinct populations, one in Western Australia and an admixture of two in eastern Australia. These two regions are separated by 1,200 km of arid desert that may act as a natural barrier to gene flow, resulting in differentiation by random genetic drift. The genetic differentiation of L. maculans isolates between eastern and Western Australia means that these regions can be treated as different management units, and reinforces the need for widespread disease nurseries in each region to screen breeding lines against a range of genetic and pathogenic populations of L. maculans.

Factors that contribute to urban–rural gradients in risk of schizophrenia: Comparing Danish and Western Australian registers

2021 ◽  
pp. 000486742110096
Author(s):  
Oleguer Plana-Ripoll ◽  
Patsy Di Prinzio ◽  
John J McGrath ◽  
Preben B Mortensen ◽  
Vera A Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Proportional Hazards ◽  
Cox Proportional Hazards ◽  
Hazard Ratio ◽  
Indigenous Status ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Western Australian

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.

scholarly journals Genetic Diversities and Historical Dynamics of Native Ethiopian Horse Populations (Equus caballus) Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA Polymorphisms

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Kefena Effa ◽  
Sonia Rosenbom ◽  
Jianlin Han ◽  
Tadelle Dessie ◽  
Albano Beja-Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Genetic Differentiation ◽  
Sequence Divergence ◽  
Dna Polymorphisms ◽  
Base Pairs ◽  
Feral Horses ◽  
Domestic Horses ◽  
D Loop ◽  
Diversity Estimates

Matrilineal genetic diversity and relationship were investigated among eight morphologically identified native Ethiopian horse populations using polymorphisms in 46 mtDNA D-loop sequences (454 base pairs). The horse populations identified were Abyssinian, Bale, Borana, Horro, Kafa, Kundido feral horses, Ogaden and Selale. Mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequences were characterized by 15 variable sites that defined five different haplotypes. All genetic diversity estimates, including Reynolds’ linearized genetic distance, genetic differentiation (FST) and nucleotide sequence divergence (DA), revealed a low genetic differentiation in native Ethiopian horse populations. However, Kundido feral and Borana domestic horses were slightly diverged from the rest of the Ethiopian horse populations. We also tried to shed some light on the matrilineal genetic root of native Ethiopian horses from a network constructed by combining newly generated haplotypes and reference haplotypes deposited in the GenBank for Eurasian type Turkish Anatolian horses that were used as a genetic conduit between Eurasian and African horse populations. Ninety-two haplotypes were generated from the combined Ethio-Eurasian mtDNA D-loop sequences. A network reconstructed from the combined haplotypes using Median-Joining algorithm showed that haplotypes generated from native Ethiopian horses formed separate clusters. The present result encourages further investigation of the genetic origin of native African horses by retrieving additional mtDNA sequences deposited in the GenBank for African and Eurasian type horses.

Life cycle of the western school prawn, Metapenaeus dalli Racek, in a Western Australian estuary

1986 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
IC Potter ◽  
JW Penn ◽  
KS Brooker
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Second Year Of Life ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Australian Estuary ◽  
Western Australian

The absence of marine records for M. dalli below latitude 31�S., together with data on gonadal stages and spermatophore deposition on females of this species in the Swan estuary, provide very strong indications that the western school prawn typically breeds in estuarine environments in south-western Australia. The 0 + recruits, which first appeared in samples in February, remained in the estuary during the following months and by November had reached a size suitable for exploitation. At this time they were approaching sexual maturity and were starting to move from the shallows to the deeper waters of the estuary where they remained for their second year of life. In contrast to Australian Penaeus species, M. dalli mates during the intermoult period when the shell is hard rather than immediately after moulting.

Aspects of reproduction, and morphology of the penis, of Pseudantechinus woolleyae (Marsupialia : Dasyuridae)

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 357 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Woolley
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Erectile Tissue ◽  
Australian Museum ◽  
Seasonal Breeder ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
One Year ◽  
Western Australian

Woolley’s Pseudantechinus, P. woolleyae, has remained virtually unstudied in the 30 years since its recognition in 1988 as a species distinct from P. macdonnellensis. It has a wide distribution in arid regions of Western Australia. What little is known of its biology comes largely from studies carried out over the years 1988–91 on one wild-caught female and her offspring, and a few specimens held in the collection of the Western Australian Museum. P. woolleyae is a seasonal breeder and young are born from late July to early October. They mature when ~7 months old. Both males and females are potentially capable of breeding in more than one year. Males have accessory erectile tissue that does not form an appendage on the penis.

The Distribution of Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands at Two Sites in Southern Western Australia and at Durras in South-Eastern New South Wales.

1982 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 139 ◽  
Author(s):  
WM Blowes ◽  
WA Heather ◽  
N Malajczuk ◽  
SR Shea
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Phytophthora Cinnamomi ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Isolation Techniques ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Western Australian

Native forest at Durras in south-eastern New South Wales and Jarrahdale in south-western Western Australia was examined for the presence of Phytophthora cinnamomi by two sampling and isolation techniques. With the lupin seeding baiting technique, randomly selected samples of soil and fine roots collected from the New South Wales site yielded P. cinnamomi when baited, while similar baiting of comparable samples from Western Australia failed. Direct plating of samples of upper roots and root collars of recently dead Banksia grandis from Western Australian sites yielded P. cinnamomi, while this organism was not isolated from comparable samples of chlorotic Macrozamia communis collected at the New South Wales site. The results suggest that the form of occurrence of P. cinnamomi and its association with disease in Australia vary in different situations. Viewing each situation independently might ensure the adoption of control/prevention strategies appropriate to all.

scholarly journals Attributes for effective nurse management within the health services of Western Australia, Singapore and Tanzania

2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan Boldy ◽  
Phillip Della ◽  
Rene Michael ◽  
Mark Jones ◽  
Shelley Gower
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Transactional Leadership ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Nurse Managers ◽  
Healthcare Management ◽  
Personality Characteristics ◽  
Management Effectiveness ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Beliefs And Values ◽  
Western Australian

Objective. To identify the perceptions of nurse managers in Western Australia, Singapore and Tanzania regarding desirable attributes for effective management of their health services, and to identify and discuss the implications for health-management education provided by Australian universities. Methods. Nurse managers completed a questionnaire covering four key dimensions: personality characteristics, knowledge and learning, skills, and beliefs and values. Each of 75 items were rated as to their effect on management effectiveness, according to a 5-point Likert scale. Results. Skills were considered the most important for management effectiveness by each group. Tanzanian respondents rated knowledge and learning almost as highly, and significantly higher than Western Australian respondents. They also rated personality characteristics and beliefs and values significantly higher than Western Australian respondents. No significant differences were found between Singapore and Western Australia. Conclusions. Participants desired a different relative mix of attributes in their nurse managers, with Western Australian respondents most likely to indicate that transformational leadership contributed most to managerial effectiveness. Tanzanian nurse managers were most likely to advocate transactional leadership, whereas Singaporean nurse managers’ views were located somewhere between. Given that these perceptions are valid, the content and curricula of management-development courses need to be cognisant of the cultural backgrounds of participants. What is known about the topic? Views differ as to the extent to which the criteria for management effectiveness are broadly universal or contingent on culture. This applies to the area of nurse management as it does to healthcare management in general. What does this paper add? It is demonstrated that each of the three quite different countries or states considered identified a distinctive combination of attributes as desirable, with the nurse managers of Western Australia most likely to favour a transformational style of leadership, those from Tanzania a transactional leadership style and those from Singapore somewhere in between. What are the implications for practitioners? Given the country- or state-specific desire for a different relative mix of attributes in their nurse managers, management educators in Australia need to ensure that the content and curricula of their courses are cognisant of the cultural backgrounds of their students. There are also important lessons to be taken on board regarding recruitment of nurses into management positions in terms of each of the four dimensions considered, particularly in terms of desirable personality characteristics and beliefs and values.

Cryptic speciation in a biodiversity hotspot: multilocus molecular data reveal new velvet worm species from Western Australia (Onychophora : Peripatopsidae : Kumbadjena)

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shoyo Sato ◽  
Rebecca S. Buckman-Young ◽  
Mark S. Harvey ◽  
Gonzalo Giribet
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
18S Rrna ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
12S Rrna ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Complex Morphology ◽  
Velvet Worm ◽  
Three New Species ◽  
Western Australian

There is a yet uncovered multitude of species to be found among Western Australian Onychophora. Kumbadjena, one of the two genera that reside in this region, has been previously suggested to house an extensive species complex. Morphology alone has not been able to elucidate the diversity in this genus and has instead muddled species delineations. Topologies and species delimitation analyses resulting from the sequences of two mitochondrial ribosomal markers (12S rRNA and 16S rRNA), one nuclear ribosomal marker (18S rRNA), and one mitochondrial protein-coding gene (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) are indicative of several undescribed species. Fixed diagnostic nucleotide changes in the highly conserved sequences of 18S rRNA warrant distinction of three new species of Kumbadjena: K. toolbrunupensis, sp. nov., K. karricola, sp. nov., and K. extrema, sp. nov. The geographic distributions of the proposed species suggest that Kumbadjena is another example of short-range endemism, a common occurrence in the flora and fauna of the region. The extensive biodiversity and endemism in the region necessitates conservation to preserve the species and processes that promote speciation harboured by Western Australia.

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