ORCID Profile
0000-0002-0355-0070
Current Organisation
UNSW Sydney
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Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-06-2015
DOI: 10.1111/JVS.12312
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-04-2021
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.7392
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2014
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 27-05-2019
DOI: 10.1093/JPE/RTZ031
Abstract: Organisms on islands are thought to escape biotic pressure and lose defensive capabilities. However, broadscale, evidence-based tests of this idea are rare. In this study, we asked: (i) whether the proportion of spinescent plant species differed between islands and mainlands and (ii) whether the proportion of spinescent species increased with increasing island area and with decreasing island distance to mainland. We compiled species lists for 18 island–mainland pairs around Australia. We classified 1129 plant species as spinescent or non-spinescent using published species descriptions. There was no significant difference between the proportion of spinescent species found on islands and on mainlands. Proportions of spinescent species were not significantly related to island area or distance to mainland. Our results suggest that spinescence is just as important to island plants as it is to mainland plants, even for plants inhabiting small or distal islands. This is unexpected, given prevailing thought and previous work on island–mainland comparisons. Our study demonstrates the importance of testing well-accepted yet untested ideas.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-2014
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE13842
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2003
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-09-2017
DOI: 10.1111/GEB.12636
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-02-2017
DOI: 10.1111/AVSC.12295
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 30-12-2019
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-09-2015
DOI: 10.1111/GEB.12368
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2019.01.235
Abstract: Trace and major element composition of selected plant species and parts may be used to map geochemical dispersion from mineral deposits and contaminated areas. This study examines the application of field-portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (fpXRF) in obtaining real-time biogeochemical data. In situ analysis of parts of black and silver wattle (Acacia mearnsii De Wild. and Acacia dealbata Link) was conducted to map the extent of contamination surrounding the former Woodlawn base metal mine. High levels of ore-related elements were detected in the bark of these species in a zone extending up to 1 km down-drainage from the tailing ponds. Major elements are more elevated in bark on the side of the trees facing the tailings ponds and correlations between trace and major elements indicate dust contamination. The penetration distance for X-rays is dependent on the energy of the secondary X-rays measured, with the maximum depth of penetration in bark and leaf material <30 mm. There was a close correlation for most elements between the fpXRF and laboratory-based XRF analysis but with element-dependent attenuation by the organic matrix. Providing there is consistency in s ling and analytical methodology, in situ fpXRF analysis of vegetation is an effective method in both contamination surveys and biogeochemical mineral exploration for a range of trace and major elements.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-05-2014
DOI: 10.1111/JVS.12190
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-2015
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE14371
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-01-2018
DOI: 10.1002/ECM.1287
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 13-06-2018
DOI: 10.3897/BISS.2.25991
Abstract: Relocating a natural history collection is a daunting prospect. Underpinning successful relocation is getting the fundamentals right. From the moment the seed of an idea for a new facility is planted, a raft of detailed planning and preparation issues emerge. Meticulous planning and management is essential, from initial design through to the last specimen being housed in its new location. Herbaria are complex organisms each with a core collection of specimen sheets and associated infrastructure to house them ancillary collections such as ‘spirit’ and ‘DNA’, a library, databasing, mounting, materials, imaging, loans and exchange, facilities for environmental control, biosecurity, space for staff, volunteers, research students, and class or public access and outreach. All these elements require careful consideration for relocation regardless of the size of the collection. Timelines for relocations from initial decisions to commencement of the move vary widely. Early involvement of core herbarium staff is critical to managing risks to the integrity of the collection during a move. Success of the operation can be gauged immediately after the move and again, much later, based on feedback on the operation of the facility and whether planned expansion will meet future needs. All these considerations are important and essentially the same, irrespective of distance of relocation or size of the collection. We will discuss the fundamental issues of herbarium relocation based on two recent case studies.The Western Australian Herbarium moved from its 1970s home to a modern, purpose-built, best practice facility incorporating innovative design features in 2011 with c. 800,000 specimens. The John T. Waterhouse Herbarium at UNSW Sydney (The University of New South Wales) moved c. 66,000 specimens in October 2017 from within a 1962 departmental building, to a modern, purpose-built facility, incorporating significant improvements, as part of a much larger relocation of its School. We will provide a guide to assist future relocations, both imminent (such as the N.C.W. Beadle Herbarium at the University of New England (& ,000 specmens), and the National Herbarium of New South Wales, & ,400,000 specimens) and for those yet to be considered. This will be a presentation on behalf of the Managers of Australasian Herbarium Collections (MAHC), a network of herbarium Collection Managers in Australia and New Zealand.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-03-2017
DOI: 10.1002/AQC.2749
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-2009
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2012
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-12-2014
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE12872
Abstract: Early flowering plants are thought to have been woody species restricted to warm habitats. This lineage has since radiated into almost every climate, with manifold growth forms. As angiosperms spread and climate changed, they evolved mechanisms to cope with episodic freezing. To explore the evolution of traits underpinning the ability to persist in freezing conditions, we assembled a large species-level database of growth habit (woody or herbaceous 49,064 species), as well as leaf phenology (evergreen or deciduous), diameter of hydraulic conduits (that is, xylem vessels and tracheids) and climate occupancies (exposure to freezing). To model the evolution of species' traits and climate occupancies, we combined these data with an unparalleled dated molecular phylogeny (32,223 species) for land plants. Here we show that woody clades successfully moved into freezing-prone environments by either possessing transport networks of small safe conduits and/or shutting down hydraulic function by dropping leaves during freezing. Herbaceous species largely avoided freezing periods by senescing cheaply constructed aboveground tissue. Growth habit has long been considered labile, but we find that growth habit was less labile than climate occupancy. Additionally, freezing environments were largely filled by lineages that had already become herbs or, when remaining woody, already had small conduits (that is, the trait evolved before the climate occupancy). By contrast, most deciduous woody lineages had an evolutionary shift to seasonally shedding their leaves only after exposure to freezing (that is, the climate occupancy evolved before the trait). For angiosperms to inhabit novel cold environments they had to gain new structural and functional trait solutions our results suggest that many of these solutions were probably acquired before their foray into the cold.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-07-2020
DOI: 10.1111/NPH.16737
Abstract: There is a wealth of research on the way interactions with pollinators shape flower traits. However, we have much more to learn about influences of the abiotic environment on flower colour. We combine quantitative flower colour data for 339 species from a broad spatial range covering tropical, temperate, arid, montane and coastal environments from 9.25ºS to 43.75ºS with 11 environmental variables to test hypotheses about how macroecological patterns in flower colouration relate to biotic and abiotic conditions. Both biotic community and abiotic conditions are important in explaining variation of flower colour traits on a broad scale. The ersity of pollinating insects and the plant community have the highest predictive power for flower colouration, followed by mean annual precipitation and solar radiation. On average, flower colours are more chromatic where there are fewer pollinators, solar radiation is high, precipitation and net primary production are low, and growing seasons are short, providing support for the hypothesis that higher chromatic contrast of flower colours may be related to stressful conditions. To fully understand the ecology and evolution of flower colour, we should incorporate the broad selective context that plants experience into research, rather than focusing primarily on effects of plant–pollinator interactions.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-10-2013
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.824
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-12-2011
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-2015
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE14394
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-03-2019
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12719
No related grants have been discovered for Frank Hemmings.