Mitochondrial DNA and morphology reveal three geographically distinct lineages of the large bentwing bat (Miniopterus schreibersii) in Australia

2000 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. R. Cardinal ◽  
L. Christidis
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Morphological Analysis ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Mitochondrial Genes ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Skull Morphology ◽  
Central Victoria ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
History Of ◽  
Western Victoria

A combined molecular and morphological analysis was undertaken to resolve the systematics of the Miniopterus schreibersii complex in Australia. The study of skull morphology and sequence analysis of two mitochondrial genes, nicotinamine dehydrogenase subunit 2 and cytochrome-b, revealed three distinct Australian forms of M. schreibersii which are treated as subspecies. M. s. orianae occurs in northern Australia, M. s. oceanensis occurs in eastern Australia from Queensland through to central Victoria and M. s. bassanii, sp. nov. occurs in Western Victoria and eastern South Australia. The biogeographical history of the complex in Australia is discussed in the light of this new revision.

Crop production on duplex soils in south-eastern Australia

1992 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 915 ◽  
Author(s):  
WK Gardner ◽  
RG Fawcett ◽  
GR Steed ◽  
JE Pratley ◽  
DM Whitfield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
North Central ◽  
Nitrogen Levels ◽  
Stubble Retention ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
History Of ◽  
Western Victoria

The environment, duplex soil types and trends in crop production in South Australia, southern New South Wales, north-eastern and north-central Victoria, the southern Wimmera and the Victorian Western District are reviewed. In the latter 2 regions, pastoral industries dominate and crop production is curtailed by regular and severe soil waterlogging, except for limited areas of lower rainfall. Subsurface drainage can eliminate waterlogging, but is feasible only for the Western District where subsoils are sufficiently stable. The other regions all have a long history of soil degradation due to cropping practices, but these effects can now be minimised with the use of direct drilling and stubble retention cropping methods. A vigorous pasture ley phase is still considered necessary to maintain nitrogen levels and to restore soil structure to adequate levels for sustainable farming. Future productivity improvements will require increased root growth in the subsoils. Deep ripping, 'slotting' of gypsum, and crop species capable of opening up subsoils are techniques which may hold promise in this regard. The inclusion of lucerne, a perennial species, in annual pastures and intercropping at intervals is a technique being pioneered in north-central and western Victoria and may provide the best opportunity to crop duplex soils successfully without associated land degradation.

Morphological analysis of the Grevillea ilicifolia complex (Proteaceae) and recognition of taxa

2004 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trisha L. Downing ◽  
Marco F. Duretto ◽  
Pauline Y. Ladiges
Keyword(s):  
Arid Regions ◽  
Morphological Analysis ◽  
Spanning Trees ◽  
New South ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Minimum Spanning Trees ◽  
Leaf Form ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
Lobed Leaf

A morphological study of herbarium and field-collected specimens, using phenetic techniques of agglomerative classification, ordination and minimum spanning trees, and covering the geographic range of the Holly Grevillea, G.�ilicifolia (R.Br.) R.Br. sensu lato, has resulted in the recognition of three species and four subspecies. The taxa are based on leaf form, noted by previous authors to be highly variable between populations. The taxa recognised here are G.�ilicifolia, G.�ilicifolia subsp. ilicifolia (typical, kite-shaped leaf form), G.�ilicifolia subsp. lobata (F.Muell.) T.L.Downing comb. et stat. nov. (oak-shaped leaf form), G.�dilatata (R.Br.) T.L.Downing comb. et stat. nov. (fan-shaped leaf form), G.�angustiloba (F.Muell.) T.L.Downing comb. et stat. nov., G.�angustiloba subsp. angustiloba (narrow-lobed leaf form) and G.�angustiloba subsp. wirregaensis T.L.Downing subsp. nov. (very narrow-lobed leaf form). The rank of subspecies is used where there are some intermediate plants between forms. Grevillea ilicifolia subsp. ilicifolia is the most widespread taxon and occurs in South Australia, western Victoria and in two localities in New South Wales. Grevillea angustiloba subsp. wirregaensis has the most restricted range, occurring in semi-arid regions near Wirrega in South Australia. Grevillea dilatata is largely endemic to Kangaroo Island, South Australia.

Population ranges of Miniopterus schreibersii (Chiroptera) in south-eastern Australia

1969 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 665 ◽  
Author(s):  
PD Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Australia ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Navigational Cues ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
South Eastern Australia

In south-eastern Australia banding of M. schreibersii has been concentrated in four areas: north-eastern New South Wales, south-eastern New South Wales, south-eastern Victoria, and south-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. The present paper analyses 2083 reported movements. Only 17 of these are from one of the four areas to another with the longest movement being 810 miles. Biologically and geographically separate populations of M. schreibersii are recognized in both north-eastern and south-eastern New South Wales. Each population has its basis in dependence upon a specific nursery site which is used annually by nearly all adult females in that population. Boundaries of population ranges in New South Wales are considered to be prominent features of physiography (i.e. divides). Bats move between population ranges less often than they move within population ranges. This cannot be explained solely in terms of the distances separating roosts. Available movement records from Victoria and South Australia are consistent with the pattern described for New South Wales. Two biologically recognizable populations (i.e, different birth periods) occur in south-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia but these may have overlapping ranges. Only one nursery colony of M. schreibersii is known from south-eastern Victoria. On present evidence it remains possible that the apparent integrity of the population associated with this nursery is merely a consequence of distance from other areas of banding activity. Detailed analyses of movements in bats may provide direct evidence as to the kinds of cues by which a given species navigates. Thus the physiographic basis described for population ranges in New South Wales is consistent with the view that M. schreibersii may orientate to waterways or divides or both. The probability that there are area differences in the subtlety or nature of navigational cues is implied by the different physiographic circumstances of south-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. It is suggested that knowledge of population range boundaries may aid planning of meaningful homing experiments.

The effects of grazing management on perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) herbage mass and persistence in south-eastern Australia

2000 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 207 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Graham ◽  
T. Prance ◽  
R. P. Thompson ◽  
D. Borg ◽  
P. Ball ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lolium Perenne ◽  
Perennial Ryegrass ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Lolium Perenne L ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
Positive Effect

The effect of various grazing management treatments on newly sown and degraded perennial ryegrass pastures was studied at 6 different locations in the temperate high rainfall zone of southern Australia, as part of the Temperate Pasture Sustainability Key Program. The sites were located at Hamilton (2 sites, 1 grazed by cattle, 1 grazed by sheep) and Cavendish, western Victoria, Victor Harbor (Delamere), South Australia, and Ross and Parattah in Tasmania. Grazing management treatments significantly influenced the ryegrass mass and persistence of the pasture, but effects were not always consistent across sites. Autumn closure increased the perennial ryegrass content at Cavendish and Ross, as did the winter and summer closures at Ross. Spring closure increased the perennialryegrass content at Hamilton, Cavendish and Ross, but decreased it at Parattah, as did the summer closures at Parattah and Delamere. Fodder conservation decreased the ryegrass only at Parattah. At the Hamilton sheep site, and at Ross, mob stocking increased the ryegrass content, as did increased superphosphate treatments at Hamilton. Rotational grazing at Cavendish and Delamere increased the ryegrass content, as did the late spring or a late summer closure with a short autumn deferment at Cavendish and Ross, but both these treatments decreased ryegrass at Parattah. The treatments that had a negative effect at Parattah may have had a positive effect on cocksfoot at that site, creating competition for, and decreasing the ryegrass content. At most sites, treatments that included some spelling during spring to foster seed shedding, and spelling again in the following autumn to encourage germination seem to have been of benefit to the perennial ryegrass.

Geographical variation in Eucalyptus baxteri s.l. and the recognition of a new species, E. arenacea

1988 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 151 ◽  
Author(s):  
JC Marginson ◽  
PY Ladiges
Keyword(s):  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Flower Buds ◽  
Seedling Morphology ◽  
Desert Sand ◽  
History Of ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
North Western ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Different Soils

Morphological variation in Eucalyptus baxteri (Benth.) Maiden & Blakely ex Black is described throughout its range. There are two geographical forms, the principal differences between which are seedling morphology and the time of transition from juvenile to intermediate growth phase. The forms are hereby recognised as two species. E. baxteri s.str. has adult leaves broad near the apex, warty flower buds, often large fruits, and an early transition to intermediate foliage. It occurs in South Australia on Kangaroo Island, Fleurieu Peninsula, Barossa Range and near Wandilo, and in Victoria on the Grampian Ranges, Great Dividing Range and coastal areas, E. arenacea sp. nov. has tapering adult leaves, generally more slender, non-warty flower buds with longer, narrower pedicels and peduncles. Fruits are generally smaller with the disc less raised. Seedlings typically show a later transition to the intermediate foliage. It occurs on Mt Stapylton in the Grampian Ranges and the desert sand country of north-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. It is parapatric with E. baxteri on Kangaroo Island and Fleurieu Peninsula, and is restricted to sand deposits. A previous cladistic analysis suggested that E. baxteri s.l. is paraphyletic, E. arenacea sp. nov. being the sister taxon to E. baxteri s.str. and E. akina (an endemic of the Grampian Ranges). A sequence of evolutionary events is hypothesised by using the cladogram, the distribution of the taxa on different soils, and the geological history of the region.

Prediction of oil quality of sunflower from temperature probabilities in eastern Australia

1980 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 477 ◽  
Author(s):  
HC Harris ◽  
JR McWilliam ◽  
VJ Bofinger
Keyword(s):  
Linoleic Acid ◽  
Oil Quality ◽  
South Australia ◽  
High Quality ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Cropping Season ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Market Requirements ◽  
Western Victoria

The probability of the occurrence of temperatures suited to the production of high quality sunflower oil has been examined for 37 locations in eastern Australia. The results indicate that temperatures suited to development of oil with =62% linoleic acid occur throughout the potential cropping season with a probability =0.6 in Tasmania, south-western Victoria, south-eastern South Australia and the highlands of New South Wales. In most established cropping regions probabilities of this level are reached only in the later third or half of the sunflower growing season. The probability of temperature suited to production of oil with = 72 % linoleic acid is less than 0.6 in all regions for much of the season, and in any environment only very late-sown crops can be expected to yield oil of this quality. The results are discussed in the light of factors controlling the distribution of sunflower production, and it is concluded that, with existing genotypes, adequate supplies of high quality oil to meet market requirements will not be reliably available from the Australian crop.

A revision of the Australian taxa previously attributed to Assiminea buccinoides (Quoy & Gaimard) and Assiminea tasmanica Tenison-Woods (Mollusca:Gastropoda:Caenogastropoda:Assimineidae)

2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Fukuda ◽  
Winston F. Ponder
Keyword(s):  
New Genus ◽  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Species Groups ◽  
Western Victoria

A new genus, Cryptassiminea, is introduced for the taxon previously known as Assiminea buccinoides (Quoy & Gaimard). These small gastropods are abundant in mangrove and salt marsh habitats in south-eastern and subtropical eastern Australia. Seven species (five new) are recognised using morphological characters in the complex previously treated as a single species. Five taxa have rather narrow ranges while the other two are widespread and often sympatric. Two groups of species are recognised. One contains Cryptassiminea buccinoides, widespread in south-east and east Australia, and two closely related allopatric taxa from South Australia and south-eastern Tasmania (C. adelaidensis, sp. nov. and C. kershawi, sp. nov.). A second group of species is typified by Cryptassiminea tasmanica (Tenison-Woods), also widespread in east and south-east Australia and often sympatric with C. buccinoides. Allied to C. tasmanica, are two closely related taxa from western Victoria: C. glenelgensis, sp. nov. from the Glenelg River estuary and C. surryensis, sp. nov. from the Surry River estuary and Western Port, in the vicinity of Geelong. A distinctive species, Cryptassiminea insolata, sp. nov. from the east coast of Queensland, also has similarities with C. tasmanica. A cladistic analysis using morphological characters of the Cryptassiminea taxa and three other genera of Assimininae, with an omphalotropidine as the outgroup, resulted in a single tree. The new genus has rather poor support, possibly because many of its characters appear to be plesiomorphic within Assimineinae. Cryptassiminea is defined by a unique combination of characters but lacks any obvious synapomorphy. Two clades within Cryptassiminea are well supported, each containing the species-groups referred to above.

scholarly journals Phylogeny of the holly grevilleas (Proteaceae) based on nuclear ribosomal and chloroplast DNA

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gareth D. Holmes ◽  
Trisha L. Downing ◽  
Elizabeth A. James ◽  
Mark J. Blacket ◽  
Ary A. Hoffmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Australia ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Lineage Sorting ◽  
Intergenic Spacers ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Molecular Phylogenetic ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Western Victoria

The holly grevilleas are an informal grouping of 15 species (19 taxa) of woody shrubs from south-eastern Australia, with a centre of distribution in central to western Victoria. Many of the species are narrowly endemic. The present study is the first molecular-phylogenetic analysis of the group, with the aim of providing an evolutionary framework for assessing species-level taxonomy and conservation priorities. Analyses using the nrDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions were complicated by the presence of divergent paralogues, including inferred pseudogenes; analyses restricted to presumed orthologous, functional ITS sequences were uninformative. Combined analyses of three chloroplast intergenic spacers (trnQ–5′rps16, trnL–trnF and rpoB–trnC) strongly support the monophyly of a core group of 16 taxa (the ‘southern holly grevilleas’) from Victoria and South Australia. However, nodes outside this group are poorly resolved and poorly supported, and the relationships of taxa from New South Wales and eastern Victoria (the ‘northern holly grevilleas’) are unclear. Among the southern holly grevilleas, the following four distinct and partly sympatric cpDNA clades are identified: the ‘Grevillea ilicifolia’, ‘G. aquifolium’, ‘G. dryophylla’ and ‘G. repens’ clades, among which the earliest and most strongly supported divergence is that of the western-most ‘G. ilicifolia’ clade. Variation in cpDNA is incongruent with current species-level taxonomy, especially for G. aquifolium (polyphyletic), G. montis-cole (polyphyletic, but the two subspecies each monophyletic) and G. microstegia (nested in G. aquifolium). The effects of incomplete chloroplast lineage sorting, gene flow through hybridisation or introgression, and inappropriate taxonomy are possible explanations for this incongruence. The formal conservation listing for some species within the holly grevillea group requires re-evaluation.

When the ‘native cat’ would ‘plague’: historical hyperabundance in the quoll (Marsupialia : Dasyuridae) and an assessment of the role of disease, cats and foxes in its curtailment

2014 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 294 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Peacock ◽  
Ian Abbott
Keyword(s):  
South Australia ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Canis Lupus Familiaris ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Introduced Predators ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Since the European settlement of Australia in 1788, 25 mainland terrestrial mammal species have become extinct, more than on any other continent during this period. To determine if the causal factors are still active, it is necessary to better understand the species and their status preceding these regional extirpations or extinctions, and examine the historical record for clues to the cause(s) of these declines. From an extensive review of historical material, primarily newspaper accounts, we collated >2700 accounts of quolls. We discovered 36 accounts that demonstrate the propensity for quolls to become hyperabundant. The geographical distribution of accounts implies that most refer to Dasyurus viverrinus, but an account from Normanton district (Queensland) likely applies to D. hallucatus. More than 110 accounts demonstrate that disease/parasite epizootics occurred in south-eastern Australia, commencing on mainland Australia possibly in the goldfields region of Victoria in the 1850s, or in south-eastern South Australia and south-western Victoria in the mid to late 1860s, and implicate these as the initial primary factor in the regional extirpation of Australia’s quolls. The loss of D. viverrinus populations in south-eastern Australia was reportedly from population abundances and densities that were sporadically extraordinarily high, hence their loss appears more pronounced than previously suspected. Accounts describing the widespread, rapid and major loss of quolls suggest the possible involvement of several pathogens. Ectoparasites such as Uropsylla tasmanica and ticks appear to be described in detail in some accounts. A few others state comortality of Felis catus and Canis lupus familiaris, suggestive of a disease of either or both of these species, such as Canine Distemper Virus, a morbillivirus with a propensity to be non-host specific, that may have caused the decline of the quolls, perhaps vectored by the reported ectoparasites. We also collated 23 presumed independent accounts of cats negatively impacting quolls, two of which describe significant mortality, and three presumed independent accounts of fox predation. These highlight the capacity of both of these introduced predators to have reduced quoll distribution and abundance.

A revision of Cassinia (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae) in Australia. 7. Cassinia subgenus Achromolaena

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 337
Author(s):  
A. E. Orchard
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Sister Species ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
New Name ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Western Victoria

The present paper completes a revision of the endemic Australian genus Cassinia R.Br. Cassinia subgenus Achromolaena comprises two sections, namely, section Achromolaena of seven species (C. laevis, C. arcuata, C. uncata, C. tenuifolia, C. collina, C. subtropica, and C. quinquefaria), and Cassinia section Siftonia, which contains two species (C. sifton and C. theodorii). Cassinia laevis is divided into western (C. laevis subsp. laevis) and eastern (C. laevis subsp. rosmarinifolia (A.Cunn.) Orchard, comb. et stat. nov.) taxa. Examination of the type of C. arcuata showed that this name is synonymous with C. paniculata, and applies to a relatively rare taxon with whitish capitula arranged in short erect compact panicles, and found in Western Australia, the midlands of South Australia, western Victoria and (formerly) south-western New South Wales. Furthermore, it belongs to section Achromolaena. The taxon with red to brown capitula, widespread throughout south-eastern Australia, which until now has been (incorrectly) known as C. arcuata (Sifton bush) is distinct, but lacks a published name. The name Cassinia sifton Orchard, sp. nov. is here proposed for this taxon. An unfortunate outcome of this discovery is that the sectional name Cassinia section Arcuatae, with C. arcuata as type, becomes synonymous with section Achromolaena. The new name Cassinia section Siftonia is proposed to accommodate Sifton bush (C. sifton) and its narrowly endemic sister species C. theodorii. A summary of the whole genus is provided, with keys to all taxa. Three former subspecies of C. macrocephala are raised to species rank (C. petrapendula (Orchard) Orchard, C. storyi (Orchard) Orchard, C. tenuis (Orchard) Orchard), and it is suggested that C. furtiva Orchard may be conspecific with C. straminea (Benth.) Orchard.

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