ORCID Profile
0000-0002-5328-7741
Current Organisation
Flinders University
Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the Feedback Form.
Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Environmental Science and Management | Ecological Impacts of Climate Change | Conservation and Biodiversity | Life Histories (Incl. Population Ecology) | Population, Ecological and Evolutionary Genetics | Speciation and Extinction | Genetics | Evolutionary Biology | Marine And Estuarine Ecology (Incl. Marine Ichthyology) | Conservation And Biodiversity | Wildlife and Habitat Management | Archaeology | Ecology | Biological Mathematics | Archaeological Science | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Archaeology | Environmental Management And Rehabilitation | Wildlife And Habitat Management | Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology) | Stochastic Analysis And Modelling | Palaeoecology | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history | Genome Structure and Regulation | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander archaeology | Genomics | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture language and history | Environmental Management | Invertebrate Biology | Photonics, Optoelectronics and Optical Communications | Quaternary Environments | Ecological Applications | Epidemiology | Fisheries Sciences | Environment And Resource Economics | Veterinary Sciences | Epidemiology | Archaeological science | Evaluation Of Management Strategies | Information and Computing Sciences not elsewhere classified | Global Change Biology | Evolutionary Impacts of Climate Change | Quaternary environments | Theoretical and Applied Mechanics | Ecosystem Function | Other Biological Sciences | Carbon Sequestration Science | Bioinformatics | Particle Physics | Nuclear Physics | Biogeography and Phylogeography |
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Ecosystem Adaptation to Climate Change | Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity at Regional or Larger Scales | Effects of Climate Change and Variability on Australia (excl. Social Impacts) | Living resources (incl. impacts of fishing on non-target species) | Forest and Woodlands Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity | Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Forest and Woodlands Environments | Expanding Knowledge in the Environmental Sciences | Environmental health | Integrated (ecosystem) assessment and management | Living resources (flora and fauna) | Control of pests and exotic species | Climate change | Oceanic processes (excl. climate related) | Fisheries - Wild Caught not elsewhere classified | Cancer and Related Disorders | Marine Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity | Fisheries—commercial | Climate Change Mitigation Strategies | Climate Change Adaptation Measures | Climate Change Models | Ecosystem Assessment and Management at Regional or Larger Scales | Understanding Australia's Past | Control of pests and exotic species | Living resources (flora and fauna) | Integrated (ecosystem) assessment and management | Rehabilitation/reafforestation | Expanding Knowledge in Technology | Rehabilitation of Degraded Forest and Woodlands Environments | Energy Conservation and Efficiency in Transport | Control of pests and exotic species | Information Processing Services (incl. Data Entry and Capture) | Expanding Knowledge in the Earth Sciences | Expanding Knowledge in the Physical Sciences | Disease distribution and transmission | Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences | Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Marine Environments | Fish products
Related Links
Publications
Primary forests are irreplaceable for sustaining tropical biodiversity
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-09-2011
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE10425
Abstract: Human-driven land-use changes increasingly threaten bio ersity, particularly in tropical forests where both species ersity and human pressures on natural environments are high. The rapid conversion of tropical forests for agriculture, timber production and other uses has generated vast, human-dominated landscapes with potentially dire consequences for tropical bio ersity. Today, few truly undisturbed tropical forests exist, whereas those degraded by repeated logging and fires, as well as secondary and plantation forests, are rapidly expanding. Here we provide a global assessment of the impact of disturbance and land conversion on bio ersity in tropical forests using a meta-analysis of 138 studies. We analysed 2,220 pairwise comparisons of bio ersity values in primary forests (with little or no human disturbance) and disturbed forests. We found that bio ersity values were substantially lower in degraded forests, but that this varied considerably by geographic region, taxonomic group, ecological metric and disturbance type. Even after partly accounting for confounding colonization and succession effects due to the composition of surrounding habitats, isolation and time since disturbance, we find that most forms of forest degradation have an overwhelmingly detrimental effect on tropical bio ersity. Our results clearly indicate that when it comes to maintaining tropical bio ersity, there is no substitute for primary forests.
Evidence of sensory-driven behavior in the Ediacaran organism Parvancorina: Implications and autecological interpretations
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2018
Dispersal of female southern elephant seals and their prey consumption during the austral summer: Relevance to management and oceanographic zones
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-07-2003
Species Distribution Models of Tropical Deep-Sea Snappers
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 06-2015
Surface reconstruction with spherical harmonics and its application for single particle crushing simulations
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2022
Association of Body Mass Index with DNA Methylation and Gene Expression in Blood Cells and Relations to Cardiometabolic Disease: A Mendelian Randomization Approach
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 17-01-2017
Low genetic diversity in the bottlenecked population of endangered non-native banteng in northern Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-06-2007
Synergistic roles of climate warming and human occupation in Patagonian megafaunal extinctions during the Last Deglaciation
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 03-06-2016
Abstract: Patagonian megafaunal extinctions reveal synergistic roles of climate change and human impacts.
Branding can be justified in vital conservation research
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 2006
DOI: 10.1038/439392C
Future extinction risk of wetland plants is higher from individual patch loss than total area reduction
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2017
Similar life history traits in bull (Carcharhinus leucas) and pig-eye (C. amboinensis) sharks
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2011
DOI: 10.1071/MF10271
Abstract: Appropriate management strategies for coastal regions require an understanding of how ecological similarities and differences among species shape ecosystem processes. Here, we tested whether morphological similarity equated to similar age and growth patterns in two common coastal sharks in northern Australia. Vertebrae of 199 pig-eye (Carcharhinus amboinensis) and 94 bull (C. leucas) sharks were sourced principally from commercial fisheries operating along the Northern Territory coastline during 2007–2009. We sectioned vertebrae to provide estimates of age of these animals. Model averaging results indicated female pig-eye sharks matured at 13 years and lived years. Theoretical asymptotic length (L∞) (±s.e.) was estimated to be 2672 (±11.94) mm with a growth coefficient (k) of 0.145 year–1. Male pig-eye sharks matured slightly earlier than females (12 years) and survived years. Theoretical asymptotic length for males (L∞) (±s.e.) was also smaller (2540 ± 13.056) mm and they grew faster (k = 0.161 year–1) than females. Bull sharks matured at 9.5 years and reached a maximum theoretical size (L∞) (±s.e.) of 3119 mm (±9.803) with a similar growth coefficient (k = 0.158 year–1) to pig-eye sharks. Longevity of bull sharks was estimated to be more than 27 years. Our results indicate that these patterns of high longevity and slow growth are indicative of low resilience and high susceptibility to over-exploitation of these coastal sharks.
Sahul's megafauna were vulnerable to plant‐community changes due to their position in the trophic network
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-12-2021
DOI: 10.1111/ECOG.06089
Abstract: Extinctions stemming from environmental change often trigger trophic cascades and coextinctions. Bottom–up cascades occur when changes in the primary producers in a network elicit flow‐on effects to higher trophic levels. However, it remains unclear what determines a species' vulnerability to bottom–up cascades and whether such cascades were a large contributor to the megafauna extinctions that swept across several continents in the Late Pleistocene. The pathways to megafauna extinctions are particularly unclear for Sahul (landmass comprising Australia and New Guinea), where extinctions happened earlier than on other continents. We investigated the potential role of bottom–up trophic cascades in the megafauna extinctions in Late Pleistocene Sahul by first developing synthetic networks that varied in topology to identify how network position (trophic level, diet breadth, basal connections) influences vulnerability to bottom–up cascades. We then constructed pre‐extinction (~80 ka) network models of the ecological community of Naracoorte, south‐eastern Sahul, to assess whether the observed megafauna extinctions could be explained by bottom–up cascades. Synthetic networks showed that node vulnerability to bottom–up cascades decreased with increasing trophic level, diet breadth and basal connections. Extinct species in the Naracoorte community were more vulnerable overall to these cascades than were species that survived. The position of extinct species in the network – tending to be of low trophic level and therefore having relatively narrow diet breadths and fewer connections to plants – made them vulnerable. However, these species also tended to have few or no predators, a network‐position attribute that suggests they might have been particularly vulnerable to new predators. Together, these results suggest that trophic cascades and naivety to predators could have contributed to the megafauna extinction event in Sahul.
A comprehensive database of quality-rated fossil ages for Sahul’s Quaternary vertebrates
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-07-2016
Abstract: The study of palaeo-chronologies using fossil data provides evidence for past ecological and evolutionary processes, and is therefore useful for predicting patterns and impacts of future environmental change. However, the robustness of inferences made from fossil ages relies heavily on both the quantity and quality of available data. We compiled Quaternary non-human vertebrate fossil ages from Sahul published up to 2013. This, the FosSahul database, includes 9,302 fossil records from 363 deposits, for a total of 478 species within 215 genera, of which 27 are from extinct and extant megafaunal species (2,559 records). We also provide a rating of reliability of in idual absolute age based on the dating protocols and association between the dated materials and the fossil remains. Our proposed rating system identified 2,422 records with high-quality ages (i.e., a reduction of 74%). There are many applications of the database, including disentangling the confounding influences of hypothetical extinction drivers, better spatial distribution estimates of species relative to palaeo-climates, and potentially identifying new areas for fossil discovery.
Dismantling the poachernomics of the illegal wildlife trade
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2022
In situ measures of foraging success and prey encounter reveal marine habitat‐dependent search strategies
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-2011
DOI: 10.1890/09-1299.1
Abstract: Predators are thought to reduce travel speed and increase turning rate in areas where resources are relatively more abundant, a behavior termed "area-restricted search." However, evidence for this is rare, and few empirical data exist for large predators. Animals exhibiting foraging site fidelity could also be spatially aware of suitable feeding areas based on prior experience changes in movement patterns might therefore arise from the anticipation of higher prey density. We tested the hypothesis that regions of area-restricted search were associated with a higher number of daily speed spikes (a proxy for potential prey encounter rate) and foraging success in southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina), a species exhibiting both area-restricted searches and high interannual foraging site fidelity. We used onshore morphological measurements and ing data from archival tags deployed during winter foraging trips. Foraging success was inferred from in situ changes in relative lipid content derived from measured changes in buoyancy, and first-passage time analysis was used to identify area-restricted search behavior. Seals exhibited relatively direct southerly movement on average, with intensive search behavior predominantly located at the distal end of tracks. The probability of being in search mode was positively related to changes in relative lipid content thus, intensively searched areas were associated with the highest foraging success. However, there was high foraging success during the outward transit even though seals moved through quickly without slowing down and increasing turning rate to exploit these areas. In addition, the probability of being in search mode was negatively related to the number of daily speed spikes. These results suggest that movement patterns represent a response to prior expectation of the location of predictable and profitable resources. Shelf habitat was 4-9 times more profitable than the other habitats, emphasizing the importance of the East Antarctic shelf for this and other predators in the region. We have provided rare empirical data with which to investigate the relationship between predator foraging strategy and prey encounter/ foraging success, underlining the importance of inferring the timing and spatial arrangement of successful food acquisition for interpreting foraging strategies correctly.
Opportunities to improve the future of South Australia’s terrestrial biodiversity
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 09-04-2019
DOI: 10.3897/RETHINKINGECOLOGY.4.32570
Abstract: It is unequivocal that the poor condition of South Australia’s terrestrial bio ersity is continuing to decline overall – much like elsewhere in Australia. This decline is mainly due to the legacy of vegetation clearing and habitat modification since European colonisation, the destructive influence of invasive species (especially predators like cats and foxes) on its native fauna and flora, and impotent or broken legislation to prevent further damage. The struggle to maintain our remaining bio ersity, and our intentions to restore once-healthy ecosystems, are rendered even more difficult by the added influence of rapid climate disruption. Despite the pessimistic outlook, South Australians have successfully employed several effective conservation mechanisms, including increasing the coverage of our network of protected areas, doing ecological restoration projects, reducing the densities of feral animals across landscapes, encouraging private landholders to protect their bio ersity assets, releasing environmental water flows to rivers and wetlands, and bringing more people in touch with nature. While these strategies are certainly stepping in the right direction, our policies and conservation targets have been h ered by arbitrary baselines, a lack of cohesion among projects and associated legislation, unrepresentative protected areas, and inappropriate spatial and time scales of intervention. While the challenges are many, there are several tractable and affordable actions that can be taken immediately to improve the prospect of the State’s bio ersity into the near future. These include coordinating existing and promoting broader-scale ecological restoration projects, establishing strategic and evidence-based control of invasive species, planning more representative protected-area networks that are managed effectively for conservation outcomes, fixing broken environmental legislation, avoiding or severely limiting bio ersity-offset incentives, expanding conservation covenants on private land, coordinating a state-wide monitoring network and protocol that tells the South Australian community how effective we are with our policies and actions, expanding existing conservation investment and tapping into different funding schemes, and coordinating better communication and interaction among government and non-governmental environment agencies. Having a more transparent and defensible link between specific conservation actions and targeted outcomes will also likely improve confidence that conservation investments are well-spent. With just a little more effort, coordination, funding, and foresight, South Australia has the opportunity to become a pillar of bio ersity conservation.
Adult height and the risk of cause-specific death and vascular morbidity in 1 million people: individual participant meta-analysis
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 23-07-2012
DOI: 10.1093/IJE/DYS086
Predicting the timing and magnitude of tropical mosquito population peaks for maximizing control efficiency
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 24-02-2009
Complexities of coastal shark movements and their implications for management
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 03-06-2010
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS08581
Generalizing the use of geographical weights in biodiversity modelling
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-07-2014
DOI: 10.1111/GEB.12203
Comparative population genomics confirms little population structure in two commercially targeted carcharhinid sharks
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-01-2019
Principles for scientists working at the river science‐policy interface
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-02-2022
DOI: 10.1002/RRA.3951
Abstract: In the face of mounting environmental and political challenges in river management, accurate and timely scientific information is required to inform policy development and guide effective management of waterways. The Murray–Darling Basin is Australia's largest river system by area and is the subject of a heavily contested series of water reforms relying comprehensively on river science. River scientists have specialised knowledge that is an important input into evidence‐based decision‐making for the management of the Murray–Darling Basin, but despite extensive literature on the interface between science and policy, there is little guidance on achieving policy relevance for practicing scientists. Here, we provide a set of important discussion points for water scientists to consider when engaging with policy‐makers and environmental water managers. We place our considerations in the context of a broader literature discussing the role of natural‐resource scientists engaging with policy and management. We then discuss the different roles for river scientists when engaging in this space, and the advantages and pitfalls of each. We illustrate the breadth of modes of engagement at the science‐policy‐management interface using the Murray–Darling Basin as an ex le. We emphasise the need for effective governance arrangements and data practices to protect scientists from accusations of operating as advocates when working to inform management and policy.
Wetland conservation and sustainable use under global change: a tropical Australian case study using magpie geese
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2010
Quantifying movement patterns for shark conservation at remote coral atolls in the Indian Ocean
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-12-2011
Satellite tracking reveals unusual diving characteristics for a marine reptile, the olive ridley turtle Lepidochelys olivacea
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 11-01-2007
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS329239
Addendum: FosSahul 2.0, an updated database for the Late Quaternary fossil records of Sahul
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 13-05-2021
Complex interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of long-term survival trends in southern elephant seals
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-03-2007
Abstract: Determining the relative contribution of intrinsic and extrinsic factors to fluctuations in population size, trends and demographic composition is analytically complex. It is often only possible to examine the combined effects of these factors through measurements made over long periods, spanning an array of population densities or levels of food availability. Using age-structured mark-recapture models and datasets spanning five decades (1950–1999), and two periods of differing relative population density, we estimated age-specific probabilities of survival and examined the combined effects of population density and environmental conditions on juvenile survival of southern elephant seals at Macquarie Island. First-year survival decreased with density during the period of highest population size, and survival increased during years when the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) anomaly (deviation from a 50-year mean) during the mother's previous foraging trip to sea was positive (i.e., El Niño). However, when environmental stochasticity and density were considered together, the effect of density on first-year survival effectively disappeared. Ignoring density effects also leads to models placing too much emphasis on the environmental conditions prevailing during the naïve pup's first year at sea. Our analyses revealed that both the state of the environment and population density combine to modify juvenile survival, but that the degree to which these processes contributed to the variation observed was interactive and complex. This underlines the importance of evaluating the relative contribution of both the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that regulate animal populations because false conclusions regarding the importance of population regulation may be reached if they are examined in isolation.
Momentum drives the crash: Mass extinction in the tropics
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-04-2006
Brave new green world - Consequences of a carbon economy for the conservation of Australian biodiversity
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2013
Eye on the Taiga: Removing Global Policy Impediments to Safeguard the Boreal Forest
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-04-2014
DOI: 10.1111/CONL.12098
Importance of endogenous feedback controlling the long-term abundance of tropical mosquito species
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-04-2008
Restricted movements of juvenile rays in the lagoon of Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia – evidence for the existence of a nursery
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-08-2013
Author Correction: High and rising economic costs of biological invasions worldwide.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-08-2022
Winter habitat use and foraging behavior of crabeater seals along the Western Antarctic Peninsula
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-0008
Future habitat loss and the conservation of plant biodiversity
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2010
An introduction to women in STEM careers: International perspectives on increasing workforce participation, advancement and leadership
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Date: 31-10-2014
Predicting potential future reduction in shark bites on people
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 03-2021
DOI: 10.1098/RSOS.201197
Abstract: Despite the low chance of a person being bitten by a shark, there are serious associated costs. Electronic deterrents are currently the only types of personal deterrent with empirical evidence of a substantial reduction in the probability of being bitten by a shark. We aimed to predict the number of people who could potentially avoid being bitten by sharks in Australia if they wear personal electronic deterrents. We used the Australian Shark Attack File from 1900 to 2020 to develop sinusoidal time-series models of per capita incidents, and then stochastically projected these to 2066. We predicted that up to 1063 people (range: 185–2118) could potentially avoid being bitten across Australia by 2066 if all people used the devices. Avoiding death and injury of people over the next half-century is of course highly desirable, especially when considering the additional costs associated with the loss of recreational, commercial and tourism revenue potentially in the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars following clusters of shark-bite events.
Predictors of contraction and expansion of area of occupancy for British birds
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 07-07-2014
Abstract: Geographical range dynamics are driven by the joint effects of abiotic factors, human ecosystem modifications, biotic interactions and the intrinsic organismal responses to these. However, the relative contribution of each component remains largely unknown. Here, we compare the contribution of life-history attributes, broad-scale gradients in climate and geographical context of species’ historical ranges, as predictors of recent changes in area of occupancy for 116 terrestrial British breeding birds (74 contractors, 42 expanders) between the early 1970s and late 1990s. Regional threat classifications demonstrated that the species of highest conservation concern showed both the largest contractions and the smallest expansions. Species responded differently to climate depending on geographical distribution—northern species changed their area of occupancy (expansion or contraction) more in warmer and drier regions, whereas southern species changed more in colder and wetter environments. Species with slow life history (larger body size) tended to have a lower probability of changing their area of occupancy than species with faster life history, whereas species with greater natal dispersal capacity resisted contraction and, counterintuitively, expansion. Higher geographical fragmentation of species' range also increased expansion probability, possibly indicating a release from a previously limiting condition, for ex le through agricultural abandonment since the 1970s. After accounting statistically for the complexity and nonlinearity of the data, our results demonstrate two key aspects of changing area of occupancy for British birds: (i) climate is the dominant driver of change, but direction of effect depends on geographical context, and (ii) all of our predictors generally had a similar effect regardless of the direction of the change (contraction versus expansion). Although we caution applying results from Britain's highly modified and well-studied bird community to other biogeographic regions, our results do indicate that a species' propensity to change area of occupancy over decadal scales can be explained partially by a combination of simple allometric predictors of life-history pace, average climate conditions and geographical context.
A spatially explicit and mechanistic model for exploring coral reef dynamics
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 14-04-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.04.11.036913
Abstract: The complexity of coral-reef ecosystems makes it challenging to predict their dynamics and resilience under future disturbance regimes. Models for coral-reef dynamics do not adequately accounts for the high functional ersity exhibited by corals. Models that are ecologically and mechanistically detailed are therefore required to simulate the ecological processes driving coral reef dynamics. Here we describe a novel model that includes processes at different spatial scales, and the contribution of species’ functional ersity to benthic-community dynamics. We calibrated and validated the model to reproduce observed dynamics using empirical data from Caribbean reefs. The model exhibits realistic community dynamics, and in idual population dynamics are ecologically plausible. A global sensitivity analysis revealed that the number of larvae produced locally, and interaction-induced reductions in growth rate are the parameters with the largest influence on community dynamics. The model provides a platform for virtual experiments to explore ersity-functioning relationships in coral reefs.
An FDEM study of particle breakage under rotational point loading
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2019
New Zealand sea lion predation on New Zealand fur seals
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-1998
Differential developmental rates and demographics in Red Kangaroo (Osphranter rufus) populations separated by the dingo barrier fence
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 31-05-2023
Abstract: Decommissioning the dingo barrier fence has been suggested to reduce destructive dingo control and encourage a free transfer of biota between environments in Australia. Yet the potential impacts that over a century of predator exclusion might have had on the population dynamics and developmental biology of prey populations has not been assessed. We here combine demographic data and both linear and geometric morphometrics to assess differences in populations among 166 red kangaroos (Osphranter rufus)—a primary prey species of the dingo—from two isolated populations on either side of the fence. We also quantified the differences in aboveground vegetation biomass for the last 10 years on either side of the fence. We found that the age structure and growth patterns, but not cranial shape, differed between the two kangaroo populations. In the population living with a higher density of dingoes, there were relatively fewer females and juveniles. These in iduals were larger for a given age, despite what seems to be lower vegetation biomass. However, how much of this biomass represented kangaroo forage is uncertain and requires further on-site assessments. We also identified unexpected differences in the ontogenetic trajectories in relative pes length between the sexes for the whole s le, possibly associated with male competition or differential weight-bearing mechanics. We discuss potential mechanisms behind our findings and suggest that the impacts of contrasting predation pressures across the fence, for red kangaroos and other species, merit further investigation.
Rapid megafaunal extinction following human arrival throughout the New World
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2013
Physical Activity Attenuates the Influence of FTO Variants on Obesity Risk: A Meta-Analysis of 218,166 Adults and 19,268 Children
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 11-2011
Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 13-01-2021
DOI: 10.3389/FCOSC.2020.615419
Abstract: We report three major and confronting environmental issues that have received little attention and require urgent action. First, we review the evidence that future environmental conditions will be far more dangerous than currently believed. The scale of the threats to the biosphere and all its lifeforms—including humanity—is in fact so great that it is difficult to grasp for even well-informed experts. Second, we ask what political or economic system, or leadership, is prepared to handle the predicted disasters, or even capable of such action. Third, this dire situation places an extraordinary responsibility on scientists to speak out candidly and accurately when engaging with government, business, and the public. We especially draw attention to the lack of appreciation of the enormous challenges to creating a sustainable future. The added stresses to human health, wealth, and well-being will perversely diminish our political capacity to mitigate the erosion of ecosystem services on which society depends. The science underlying these issues is strong, but awareness is weak. Without fully appreciating and broadcasting the scale of the problems and the enormity of the solutions required, society will fail to achieve even modest sustainability goals.
Study on the effect of particle morphology on single particle breakage using a combined finite-discrete element method
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2020
Little left to lose: deforestation and forest degradation in Australia since European colonization
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 12-01-2012
DOI: 10.1093/JPE/RTR038
Global economic costs of alien birds
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 18-10-2023
Abrupt warming events drove Late Pleistocene Holarctic megafaunal turnover
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 07-08-2015
Abstract: The causes of the Pleistocene extinctions of large numbers of megafaunal species in the Northern Hemisphere remain unclear. A range of evidence points to human hunting, climate change, or a combination of both. Using ancient DNA and detailed paleoclimate data, Cooper et al. report a close relationship between Pleistocene megafaunal extinction events and rapid warming events at the start of interstadial periods. Their analysis strengthens the case for climate change as the key driver of megafaunal extinctions, with human impacts playing a secondary role. Science , this issue p. 602
Natural and anthropogenic climate variability shape assemblages of range‐extending coral‐reef fishes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-02-2021
DOI: 10.1111/JBI.14058
Opposing life stage‐specific effects of ocean warming at source and sink populations of range‐shifting coral‐reef fishes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-12-2021
Having your water and drinking it too: resource limitation modifies density regulation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-11-2008
Global estimates of boreal forest carbon stocks and flux
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2015
Nuclear power can reduce emissions and maintain a strong economy: Rating Australia's optimal future electricity-generation mix by technologies and policies
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2014
Minimum founding populations for the first peopling of Sahul
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-06-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41559-019-0902-6
Abstract: The timing, context and nature of the first people to enter Sahul is still poorly understood owing to a fragmented archaeological record. However, quantifying the plausible demographic context of this founding population is essential to determine how and why the initial peopling of Sahul occurred. We developed a stochastic, age-structured model using demographic rates from hunter-gatherer societies, and relative carrying capacity hindcasted with LOVECLIM's net primary productivity for northern Sahul. We projected these populations to determine the resilience and minimum sizes required to avoid extinction. A census founding population of between 1,300 and 1,550 in iduals was necessary to maintain a quasi-extinction threshold of ≲0.1. This minimum founding population could have arrived at a single point in time, or through multiple voyages of ≥130 people over ~700-900 years. This result shows that substantial population amalgamation in Sunda and Wallacea in Marine Isotope Stages 3-4 provided the conditions for the successful, large-scale and probably planned peopling of Sahul.
Guarding against oversimplifying the fundamental drivers of southern elephant seal population dynamics
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-08-2008
Quantifying the drivers of larval density patterns in two tropical mosquito species to maximize control efficiency
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 08-2009
DOI: 10.1603/022.038.0408
Abstract: Understanding the contributions of environmental variation and density feedbacks to changes in vector populations is essential for designing effective vector control. We analyzed monitoring datasets describing larval densities over 7 yr of the two dominant mosquito species, Aedes vigilax (Skuse) and Culex annulirostris (Skuse), of the greater Darwin area (Northern Territory, Australia). Using generalized linear and linear mixed-effects models, we tested hypotheses regarding the environmental determinants of spatio-temporal patterns in relative larval abundance in both species. The most important spatial drivers of Ae. vigilax and Cx. annulirostris larval densities were elevation and water presence. Ae. vigilax density correlates negatively with elevation, whereas there was a positive relationship between Cx. annulirostris density and elevation. These results show how larval habitats used by the saltwater-influenced breeder Ae. vigilax and the obligate freshwater breeder Cx. annulirostris are separated in a tidally influenced sw . The models examining temporal drivers of larval density also identified this discrimination between freshwater and saltwater habitats. Ae. vigilax larval densities were positively related to maximum tide height and high tide frequency, whereas Cx. annulirostris larval densities were positively related to elevation and rainfall. Adult abundance in the previous month was the most important temporal driver of larval densities in both species, providing a clear dynamical link between the two main life phases in mosquito development. This study shows the importance of considering both spatial and temporal drivers, and intrinsic population dynamics, when planning vector control strategies to reduce larval density, adult population density, and disease transmission effectively.
Genetics in conservation management: Revised recommendations for the 50/500 rules, Red List criteria and population viability analyses
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2014
Vertebral chemistry demonstrates movement and population structure of bronze whaler
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 08-09-2016
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS11840
Combining agent-based, trait-based and demographic approaches to model coral-community dynamics
Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Date: 23-07-2020
DOI: 10.7554/ELIFE.55993
Abstract: The complexity of coral-reef ecosystems makes it challenging to predict their dynamics and resilience under future disturbance regimes. Models for coral-reef dynamics do not adequately account for the high functional ersity exhibited by corals. Models that are ecologically and mechanistically detailed are therefore required to simulate the ecological processes driving coral reef dynamics. Here, we describe a novel model that includes processes at different spatial scales, and the contribution of species’ functional ersity to benthic-community dynamics. We calibrated and validated the model to reproduce observed dynamics using empirical data from Caribbean reefs. The model exhibits realistic community dynamics, and in idual population dynamics are ecologically plausible. A global sensitivity analysis revealed that the number of larvae produced locally, and interaction-induced reductions in growth rate are the parameters with the largest influence on community dynamics. The model provides a platform for virtual experiments to explore ersity-functioning relationships in coral reefs.
Offshore Energy and Marine Spatial Planning
Publisher: Routledge
Date: 29-03-2018
Seasonal oscillation in shore attendance and transience of New Zealand fur seals
Publisher: Canadian Science Publishing
Date: 10-1999
DOI: 10.1139/Z99-033
Abstract: The New Zealand fur seal (Arctocephalus forsteri) appears to show regular shore attendance in the form of seasonal oscillations. This phenomenon should be quantified to properly interpret counts of fur seals year old (i.e., non-pups). Here we test the predictability of peaks in the annual shore-attendance oscillation on Otago Peninsula using an autoregressive sine model and years of intensive survey data. We predicted that the peak in fur seal numbers ashore would lie between 14 January - 4 April (1996) and 8 January - 2 April (1997), although this low predictability is undesirable when attempts are made to monitor population trends. Estimating population size from counts of non-pups also requires knowledge of the rate of turnover of in iduals. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that tagged animals from other colonies are immigrants to Otago Peninsula. With sightings on Otago Peninsula of fur seals tagged elsewhere in New Zealand, we used a Monte Carlo approach to simulate the expected frequency of single and multiple sightings of in iduals. We found that the observed frequency of multiple sightings was significantly less than predicted by the model (P 0.0001), indicating that tagged animals were transients. We also discovered that the sex ratio of tagged animals varied with breeding colony of origin (G 1 = 52.07, P 0.0001), suggesting that the impetus for emigration differs among colonies. We concur with the view that counting pups is the only way to estimate the relative abundance of New Zealand fur seals. In addition, we showed that counts of non-pups cannot be used to estimate population size because an unknown proportion of in iduals is transient. However, counting of pups does not address the issue of estimating relative abundance for locations with large numbers of nonbreeding in iduals and few or no breeders. With few or no pups it is impossible to estimate relative abundance using counts of pups.
Effects of Petroleum Exploration on Woodland Caribou in Northeastern Alberta
Publisher: JSTOR
Date: 10-1997
DOI: 10.2307/3802110
Coextinctions dominate future vertebrate losses from climate and land use change
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 16-12-2022
Abstract: Although theory identifies coextinctions as a main driver of bio ersity loss, their role at the planetary scale has yet to be estimated. We subjected a global model of interconnected terrestrial vertebrate food webs to future (2020–2100) climate and land-use changes. We predict a 17.6% (± 0.16% SE) average reduction of local vertebrate ersity globally by 2100, with coextinctions increasing the effect of primary extinctions by 184.2% (± 10.9% SE) on average under an intermediate emissions scenario. Communities will lose up to a half of ecological interactions, thus reducing trophic complexity, network connectance, and community resilience. The model reveals that the extreme toll of global change for vertebrate ersity might be of secondary importance compared to the damages to ecological network structure.
Evaluating options for sustainable energy mixes in South Korea using scenario analysis
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2013
Modeling the effects of water regulation on the population viability of a threatened amphibian
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2023
DOI: 10.1002/ECS2.4379
Abstract: The regulation of river systems alters hydrodynamics and often reduces lateral connectivity between river channels and floodplains. For taxa such as frogs that rely on floodplain wetlands to complete their life cycle, decreasing inundation frequency can reduce recruitment and increase the probability of local extinction. We virtually reconstructed the inundation patterns of wetlands under natural and regulated flow conditions and built stochastic population models to quantify the probability of local extinction under different inundation scenarios. Specifically, we explored the interplay of habitat size, inundation frequency, and successive dry years on the local extinction probability of the threatened southern bell frog Litoria raniformis in the Murray River floodplains of South Australia. We hypothesized that the changes to wetland inundation resulting from river regulation are driving L. raniformis declines in this semiarid system. Regulation has reduced the inundation frequency of essential habitats below critical thresholds for the persistence of many fresh water‐dependent species. Successive dry years raise the probability of local extinction, and these effects are strongest in smaller wetlands. Larger wetlands and those with more frequent average inundation are less susceptible to these effects. Elucidating these trends informs the prioritization of intervention sites and the frequency of conservation interventions. Environmental water provision (through pumping or the operation of flow‐regulating structures) is a promising tool to reduce the probability of breeding failure and local extinction. Our modeling approach can be used to prioritize the delivery of environmental water to L. raniformis and potentially many other frog species.
High and rising economic costs of biological invasions worldwide.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 31-03-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41586-021-03405-6
Abstract: Biological invasions are responsible for substantial bio ersity declines as well as high economic losses to society and monetary expenditures associated with the management of these invasions
Expectations for population growth at new breeding locations for the vulnerable New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) using a simulation model
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2003
Flooding Policy Makers with Evidence to Save Forests
Publisher: Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Date: 03-2009
Pragmatic population viability targets in a rapidly changing world
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2010
Decoupling of component and ensemble density feedbacks in birds and mammals
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-2012
DOI: 10.1890/11-1415.1
Abstract: A component density feedback represents the effect of change in population size on single demographic rates, whereas an ensemble density feedback captures that effect on the overall growth rate of a population. Given that a population's growth rate is a synthesis of the interplay of all demographic rates operating in a population, we test the hypothesis that the strength of ensemble density feedback must augment with increasing strength of component density feedback, using long‐term censuses of population size, fertility, and survival rates of 109 bird and mammal populations (97 species). We found that compensatory and depensatory component feedbacks were common (each detected in ∼50% of the demographic rates). However, component feedback strength only explained % of the variation in ensemble feedback strength. To explain why, we illustrate the different sources of decoupling between component and ensemble feedbacks. We argue that the management of anthropogenic impacts on populations using component feedbacks alone is ill‐advised, just as managing on the basis of ensemble feedbacks without a mechanistic understanding of the contributions made by its components and environmental variability can lead to suboptimal decisions.
Feast or famine: evidence for mixed capital--income breeding strategies in Weddell seals
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-11-2008
Conservation management and sustainable harvest quotas are sensitive to choice of climate modelling approach for two marine gastropods
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-05-2013
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.12092
Predicting predator-prey interactions in terrestrial endotherms using random forest
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 05-09-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.09.02.506446
Abstract: Species interactions play a fundamental role in ecosystems. However, few ecological communities have complete data describing such interactions, which is an obstacle to understanding how ecosystems function and respond to perturbations. Because it is often impractical to collect empirical data for all interactions in a community, various methods have been developed to infer interactions. Machine learning is increasingly being used for making interaction predictions, with random forest being one of the most frequently used of these methods. However, performance of random forest in inferring predator-prey interactions in terrestrial vertebrates and its sensitivity to training data quality remain untested. We examined predator-prey interactions in two erse, primarily terrestrial vertebrate classes: birds and mammals. Combining data from a global interaction dataset and a specific community (Simpson Desert, Australia), we tested how well random forest predicted predator-prey interactions for mammals and birds using species’ ecomorphological and phylogenetic traits. We also tested how variation in training data quality—manipulated by removing records and switching interaction records to non-interactions—affected model performance. We found that random forest could predict predator-prey interactions for birds and mammals using ecomorphological or phylogenetic traits, correctly predicting up to 88% and 67% of interactions and non-interactions in the global and community-specific datasets, respectively. These predictions were accurate even when there were no records in the training data for focal species. In contrast, false non-interactions for focal predators in training data strongly degraded model performance. Our results demonstrate that random forest can identify predator-prey interactions for birds and mammals that have few or no interaction records. Furthermore, our study provides guidance on how to prepare training data to optimise machine-learning classifiers for predicting species interactions, which could help ecologists ( i ) address knowledge gaps and explore network-related questions in data-poor situations, and ( ii ) predict interactions for range-expanding species.
Uncertainties in dating constrain model choice for inferring extinction time from fossil records
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2015
Ecological and economic benefits to cattle rangelands of restoring an apex predator
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-12-2015
Satellite telemetry and seasonal movements of Magpie Geese (Anseranas semipalmata) in tropical northern Australia
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 06-2010
DOI: 10.1071/MU09098
Heat-seeking sharks: support for behavioural thermoregulation in reef sharks
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 30-08-2012
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS09864
Genetic insights into biological mechanisms governing human ovarian ageing
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-08-2021
Banning trophy hunting will exacerbate biodiversity loss
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.TREE.2015.12.006
Abstract: International pressure to ban trophy hunting is increasing. However, we argue that trophy hunting can be an important conservation tool, provided it can be done in a controlled manner to benefit bio ersity conservation and local people. Where political and governance structures are adequate, trophy hunting can help address the ongoing loss of species.
Reply to ‘Questionable survey methods generate a questionable list of recommended articles’
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-07-2018
Variation in Stem Xylem Traits is Related to Differentiation of Upper Limits of Tree Species along an Elevational Gradient
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 20-03-2020
DOI: 10.3390/F11030349
Abstract: The distribution limits of many plants are dictated by environmental conditions and species’ functional traits. While many studies have evaluated how plant distribution is driven by environmental conditions, there are not many studies investigating xylem vessel properties with altitude, and whether these traits correlate with altitudinal distribution of tree. Here, we investigated the upper limits of distribution for ten deciduous broadleaf tree species from three temperate montane forest communities along a large elevational gradient on the north-facing slope of Changbai Mountain in Northeast China. We measured stem xylem traits associated with a species’ ability to transport water and resist freezing-induced cavitation that theoretically represent important adaptations to changes in climatic conditions along the elevational gradient. Hydraulically weighted vessel diameter (Dh) was negatively correlated with with the upper limit across the ten studied tree species however, the correlation seems to be driven by the large differences between ring- and diffuse-porous tree species groups. The ring-porous tree species (e.g., Fraxinus mandshurica Rupr., Maackia amurensis Rupr. et Maxim., and Phellodendron amurense Rupr.) had considerably wider vessels than the diffuse-porous species and were all limited to low-elevation communities. The coefficient of variation (CV) for Dh was 0.53 among the 10 studied species, while the intraspecific analysis showed that the highest CV was only 0.22 among the 10 species. We found no evidence of a relationship between Dh and the upper limits across the seven diffuse-porous species. In contrast to elevation, hydraulic-related xylem traits had no clear patterns of change with precipitation, indicating that hydraulic functionality was largely decoupled from the influences of precipitation in the study area. This finding suggests that xylem traits are associated with altitudinal limits of species distribution, which is mostly evidenced by the contrasts between ring- and diffuse-porous species in xylem anatomy and their altitudinal distributions.
Unveiling the hidden economic toll of biological invasions in the European Union
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-06-2023
DOI: 10.1186/S12302-023-00750-3
Abstract: Biological invasions threaten the functioning of ecosystems, bio ersity, and human well-being by degrading ecosystem services and eliciting massive economic costs. The European Union has historically been a hub for cultural development and global trade, and thus, has extensive opportunities for the introduction and spread of alien species. While reported costs of biological invasions to some member states have been recently assessed, ongoing knowledge gaps in taxonomic and spatio-temporal data suggest that these costs were considerably underestimated. We used the latest available cost data in InvaCost (v4.1)—the most comprehensive database on the costs of biological invasions—to assess the magnitude of this underestimation within the European Union via projections of current and future invasion costs. We used macroeconomic scaling and temporal modelling approaches to project available cost information over gaps in taxa, space, and time, thereby producing a more complete estimate for the European Union economy. We identified that only 259 out of 13,331 (~ 1%) known invasive alien species have reported costs in the European Union. Using a conservative subset of highly reliable, observed, country-level cost entries from 49 species (totalling US$4.7 billion 2017 value), combined with the establishment data of alien species within European Union member states, we projected unreported cost data for all member states. Our corrected estimate of observed costs was potentially 501% higher (US$28.0 billion) than currently recorded. Using future projections of current estimates, we also identified a substantial increase in costs and costly species (US$148.2 billion) by 2040. We urge that cost reporting be improved to clarify the economic impacts of greatest concern, concomitant with coordinated international action to prevent and mitigate the impacts of invasive alien species in the European Union and globally.
National emphasis on high-level protection reduces risk of biodiversity decline in tropical forest reserves
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2015
Dingoes can help conserve wildlife and our methods can tell
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-01-2015
Genome-wide association study of sexual maturation in males and females highlights a role for body mass and menarche loci in male puberty
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 25-04-2014
DOI: 10.1093/HMG/DDU150
Compensatory density feedback of Oncomelania hupensis populations in two different environmental settings in China
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 13-07-2011
Key role for nuclear energy in global biodiversity conservation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-12-2015
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.12433
Abstract: Modern society uses massive amounts of energy. Usage rises as population and affluence increase, and energy production and use often have an impact on bio ersity or natural areas. To avoid a business-as-usual dependence on coal, oil, and gas over the coming decades, society must map out a future energy mix that incorporates alternative sources. This exercise can lead to radically different opinions on what a sustainable energy portfolio might entail, so an objective assessment of the relative costs and benefits of different energy sources is required. We evaluated the land use, emissions, climate, and cost implications of 3 published but ergent storylines for future energy production, none of which was optimal for all environmental and economic indicators. Using multicriteria decision-making analysis, we ranked 7 major electricity-generation sources (coal, gas, nuclear, biomass, hydro, wind, and solar) based on costs and benefits and tested the sensitivity of the rankings to biases stemming from contrasting philosophical ideals. Irrespective of weightings, nuclear and wind energy had the highest benefit-to-cost ratio. Although the environmental movement has historically rejected the nuclear energy option, new-generation reactor technologies that fully recycle waste and incorporate passive safety systems might resolve their concerns and ought to be more widely understood. Because there is no perfect energy source however, conservation professionals ultimately need to take an evidence-based approach to consider carefully the integrated effects of energy mixes on bio ersity conservation. Trade-offs and compromises are inevitable and require advocating energy mixes that minimize net environmental damage. Society cannot afford to risk wholesale failure to address energy-related bio ersity impacts because of preconceived notions and ideals.
Obliquity-driven expansion of North Atlantic sea ice during the last glacial
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 10-12-2015
DOI: 10.1002/2015GL066344
Diet of juvenile southern elephant seals reappraised by stable isotopes in whiskers
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 03-2011
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS08769
An experimental investigation on cemented sand particles using different loading paths: Failure modes and fabric quantifications
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2020
Exogenous and endogenous determinants of spatial aggregation patterns in Tibetan Plateau meadow vegetation
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 07-12-2012
DOI: 10.1093/JPE/RTS041
Loyalty pays: Potential life history consequences of fidelity to marine foraging regions by southern elephant seals
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2004
N-dimensional animal energetic niches clarify behavioural options in a variable marine environment
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 15-02-2011
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.044859
Abstract: Animals respond to environmental variation by exhibiting a number of different behaviours and/or rates of activity, which result in corresponding variation in energy expenditure. Successful animals generally maximize efficiency or rate of energy gain through foraging. Quantification of all features that modulate energy expenditure can theoretically be modelled as an animal energetic niche or power envelope with total power being represented by the vertical axis and n-dimensional horizontal axes representing extents of processes that affect energy expenditure. Such an energetic niche could be used to assess the energetic consequences of animals adopting particular behaviours under various environmental conditions. This value of this approach was tested by constructing a simple mechanistic energetics model based on data collected from recording devices deployed on 41 free-living Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus), foraging from four different colonies in Argentina and consequently catching four different types of prey. Energy expenditure was calculated as a function of total distance swum underwater (horizontal axis 1) and maximum depth reached (horizontal axis 2). The resultant power envelope was invariant, irrespective of colony location, but penguins from the different colonies tended to use different areas of the envelope. The different colony solutions appeared to represent particular behavioural options for exploiting the available prey and demonstrate how penguins respond to environmental circumstance (prey distribution), the energetic consequences that this has for them, and how this affects the balance of energy acquisition through foraging and expenditure strategy.
Thirty new loci for age at menarche identified by a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-11-2010
DOI: 10.1038/NG.714
Where to Dig for Fossils: Combining Climate-Envelope, Taphonomy and Discovery Models
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 30-03-2016
Assessing Hot-Iron and Cryo-Branding for Permanently Marking Southern Elephant Seals
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2006
Climate-human interaction associated with southeast Australian megafauna extinction patterns
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-11-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-019-13277-0
Abstract: The mechanisms leading to megafauna ( kg) extinctions in Late Pleistocene (126,000—12,000 years ago) Australia are highly contested because standard chronological analyses rely on scarce data of varying quality and ignore spatial complexity. Relevant archaeological and palaeontological records are most often also biased by differential preservation resulting in under-representated older events. Chronological analyses have attributed megafaunal extinctions to climate change, humans, or a combination of the two, but rarely consider spatial variation in extinction patterns, initial human appearance trajectories, and palaeoclimate change together. Here we develop a statistical approach to infer spatio-temporal trajectories of megafauna extirpations (local extinctions) and initial human appearance in south-eastern Australia. We identify a combined climate-human effect on regional extirpation patterns suggesting that small, mobile Aboriginal populations potentially needed access to drinkable water to survive arid ecosystems, but were simultaneously constrained by climate-dependent net landscape primary productivity. Thus, the co-drivers of megafauna extirpations were themselves constrained by the spatial distribution of climate-dependent water sources.
Tropical Conservation Biology: response to Lugo's tendentious review
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 03-2009
Birth weight and the risk of atrial fibrillation in whites and African Americans: the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) study
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-05-2014
Stochastic population projections in Sahul refine the human-refugia hypothesis for early Last Glacial Maximum
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 04-07-2022
Abstract: Pleistocene archaeology in Australia has focussed on the survival and behaviour of Indigenous populations across Sahul during the Last Glacial Maximum (28.6 ± 2.8 ka to 17.7 ± 2.2 ka). A long-standing conceptual model proposes people occupied ecological refugia while abandoning drier regions during extreme climatic conditions, with inferred patterns of subsequent recovery essential for describing the evolution of societies in the Holocene. Radiocarbon-derived population estimates partially support the conceptual model while genetic evidence does not, but how human populations were influenced by the Last Glacial Maximum remains untested. To test the refugia hypothesis, we developed a spatial-demographic model of human movement to project population patterns across Sahul from 40,000 years ago (ka) to the mid-Holocene (5 ka). The model predicts little population change in eastern Sahul or New Guinea during the Last Glacial Maximum. However, extensive movement and potential abandonment in the central-western deserts and the north-northwest coastal regions are predicted during the first half of the Last Glacial Maximum (~ 26–20 ka), with some recovery after 15 ka. The demographic implications to societies appear to have extended beyond the Last Glacial Maximum, with increasing populations not evident until the early Holocene in many regions. Our model describes a complex pattern where large areas of Sahul provided refugia that maintained populations throughout the Last Glacial Maximum, providing a possible explanation for the disparity between archaeological and genomic evidence. There was also a correlation between predicted rates of population change and those derived from radiocarbon dates, supporting the realism of applying dates to infer past demography.
Beyond wind: furthering development of clean energy in South Australia
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-01-2015
100 articles every ecologist should read.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 13-11-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41559-017-0370-9
Abstract: Reading scientific articles is a valuable and major part of the activity of scientists. Yet, with the upsurge of currently available articles and the increasing specialization of scientists, it becomes difficult to identify, let alone read, important papers covering topics not directly related to one's own specific field of research, or that are older than a few years. Our objective was to propose a list of seminal papers deemed to be of major importance in ecology, thus providing a general 'must-read' list for any new ecologist, regardless of particular topic or expertise. We generated a list of 544 papers proposed by 147 ecology experts (journal editorial members) and subsequently ranked via random-s le voting by 368 of 665 contacted ecology experts, covering 6 article types, 6 approaches and 17 fields. Most of the recommended papers were not published in the highest-ranking journals, nor did they have the highest number of mean annual citations. The articles proposed through the collective recommendation of several hundred experienced researchers probably do not represent an 'ultimate', invariant list, but they certainly contain many high-quality articles that are undoubtedly worth reading-regardless of the specific field of interest in ecology-to foster the understanding, knowledge and inspiration of early-career scientists.
Thermal aerial culling for the control of vertebrate pest populations
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-06-2023
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-023-37210-0
Abstract: Helicopter-based shooting is an effective management tool for large vertebrate pest animals. However, animals in low-density populations and/or dense habitat can be difficult to locate visually. Thermal-imaging technology can increase detections in these conditions. We used thermal-imaging equipment with a specific helicopter crew configuration to assist in aerial culling for feral pigs ( Sus scrofa ) and fallow deer ( Dama dama ) in South Australia in 2021. Seventy-two percent of pigs and 53% of deer were first detected in dense canopy/tall forest habitat. Median time from the first impact shot to incapacitation was 12 s. The culling rate (animals hour −1 ) doubled compared to visual shoots over the same populations and the wounding rate was zero resulting in a incapacitation efficiency of 100%. The crew configuration gave the shooter a wide field of view and the thermal operator behind the shooter provided essential support to find new and escaping animals, and to confirm species identification and successful removal. The crew configuration allowed for successful target acquisition and tracking, with reduced target escape. The approach can increase the efficiency of aerial culling, has the potential to increase the success of programs where eradication is a viable option, and can improve animal welfare outcomes by reducing wounding rates and the escape of target animals.
Genome-wide meta-analysis of common variant differences between men and women
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 27-07-2012
DOI: 10.1093/HMG/DDS304
No need for disease: Testing extinction hypotheses for the thylacine using multi-species metamodels
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-01-2013
Abstract: Population viability analysis (PVA) is widely used to assess the extinction risk of threatened species and to evaluate different management strategies. However, conventional PVA neglects important biotic interactions and therefore can fail to identify important threatening processes. We designed a new PVA approach that includes species interactions explicitly by networking species models within a single 'metamodel'. We demonstrate the utility of PVA metamodels by employing them to reinterpret the extinction of the carnivorous, marsupial thylacine Thylacinus cynocephalus in Tasmania. In particular, we test the claim that well-documented impacts of European settlement cannot account for this extinction and that an unknown disease must have been an additional and necessary cause. We first constructed a classical, single-species PVA model for thylacines, which was then extended by incorporation within a dynamic predator-herbivore-vegetation metamodel that accounted for the influence of Europeans on the thylacine's prey base. Given obvious parameter uncertainties, we explored both modelling approaches with rigorous sensitivity analyses. Single-species PVA models were unable to recreate the thylacine's extinction unless a high human harvest, small starting population size or low maximum population growth rate was assumed, even if disease effects were included from 1906 to 1909. In contrast, we readily recreated the thylacine's demise using disease-free multi-species metamodels that simulated declines in native prey populations (particularly due to competition with introduced sheep). Dynamic, multi-species metamodels provide a simple, flexible framework for studying current species declines and historical extinctions caused by complex, interacting factors.
Distribution models for koalas in South Australia using citizen science-collected data
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-04-2014
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.1094
Population dynamics can be more important than physiological limits for determining range shifts under climate change
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-09-2013
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.12289
Abstract: Evidence is accumulating that species' responses to climate changes are best predicted by modelling the interaction of physiological limits, biotic processes and the effects of dispersal-limitation. Using commercially harvested blacklip (Haliotis rubra) and greenlip abalone (Haliotis laevigata) as case studies, we determine the relative importance of accounting for interactions among physiology, metapopulation dynamics and exploitation in predictions of range (geographical occupancy) and abundance (spatially explicit density) under various climate change scenarios. Traditional correlative ecological niche models (ENM) predict that climate change will benefit the commercial exploitation of abalone by promoting increased abundances without any reduction in range size. However, models that account simultaneously for demographic processes and physiological responses to climate-related factors result in future (and present) estimates of area of occupancy (AOO) and abundance that differ from those generated by ENMs alone. Range expansion and population growth are unlikely for blacklip abalone because of important interactions between climate-dependent mortality and metapopulation processes in contrast, greenlip abalone should increase in abundance despite a contraction in AOO. The strongly non-linear relationship between abalone population size and AOO has important ramifications for the use of ENM predictions that rely on metrics describing change in habitat area as proxies for extinction risk. These results show that predicting species' responses to climate change often require physiological information to understand climatic range determinants, and a metapopulation model that can make full use of this data to more realistically account for processes such as local extirpation, demographic rescue, source-sink dynamics and dispersal-limitation.
Relative demographic susceptibility does not explain the extinction chronology of Sahul’s megafauna
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 19-10-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.10.16.342303
Abstract: The causes of Sahul’s megafauna extinctions remain uncertain, although multiple, interacting factors were likely responsible. To test hypotheses regarding plausible ecological mechanisms underlying these extinctions, we constructed the first stochastic, age-structured models for 13 extinct megafauna species from five functional/taxonomic groups, as well as 8 extant species within these groups for comparison. Perturbing specific demographic rates in idually, we tested which species were more demographically susceptible to extinction, and then compared these relative sensitivities to the fossil-derived extinction chronology. Here we show that the macropodiformes were the most resilient to extinction, followed by carnivores, monotremes, vombatiform herbivores, and large birds. Five of the eight extant species were as or more susceptible than were the extinct species. There was no clear relationship between extinction susceptibility and the extinction chronology for any perturbation scenario, but body mass and generation length explained much of the variation in relative risk. Our models reveal that the actual mechanisms leading to extinction were unlikely related to variation in demographic susceptibility per se , but were driven instead by finer-scale variation in climate change and/or human prey choice and relative hunting success.
A fairer way to compare researchers at any career stage and in any discipline using open-access citation data
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 10-09-2021
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0257141
Abstract: The pursuit of simple, yet fair, unbiased, and objective measures of researcher performance has occupied bibliometricians and the research community as a whole for decades. However, despite the ersity of available metrics, most are either complex to calculate or not readily applied in the most common assessment exercises (e.g., grant assessment, job applications). The ubiquity of metrics like the h -index ( h papers with at least h citations) and its time-corrected variant, the m -quotient ( h -index ÷ number of years publishing) therefore reflect the ease of use rather than their capacity to differentiate researchers fairly among disciplines, career stage, or gender. We address this problem here by defining an easily calculated index based on publicly available citation data (Google Scholar) that corrects for most biases and allows assessors to compare researchers at any stage of their career and from any discipline on the same scale. Our ε ′-index violates fewer statistical assumptions relative to other metrics when comparing groups of researchers, and can be easily modified to remove inherent gender biases in citation data. We demonstrate the utility of the ε ′-index using a s le of 480 researchers with Google Scholar profiles, stratified evenly into eight disciplines (archaeology, chemistry, ecology, evolution and development, geology, microbiology, ophthalmology, palaeontology), three career stages (early, mid-, late-career), and two genders. We advocate the use of the ε ′-index whenever assessors must compare research performance among researchers of different backgrounds, but emphasize that no single index should be used exclusively to rank researcher capability.
Manipulating water for amphibian conservation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-06-2020
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13501
Relative demographic susceptibility does not explain the extinction chronology of Sahul’s megafauna
Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Date: 30-03-2021
DOI: 10.7554/ELIFE.63870
Abstract: The causes of Sahul’s megafauna extinctions remain uncertain, although several interacting factors were likely responsible. To examine the relative support for hypotheses regarding plausible ecological mechanisms underlying these extinctions, we constructed the first stochastic, age-structured models for 13 extinct megafauna species from five functional/taxonomic groups, as well as 8 extant species within these groups for comparison. Perturbing specific demographic rates in idually, we tested which species were more demographically susceptible to extinction, and then compared these relative sensitivities to the fossil-derived extinction chronology. Our models show that the macropodiformes were the least demographically susceptible to extinction, followed by carnivores, monotremes, vombatiform herbivores, and large birds. Five of the eight extant species were as or more susceptible than the extinct species. There was no clear relationship between extinction susceptibility and the extinction chronology for any perturbation scenario, while body mass and generation length explained much of the variation in relative risk. Our results reveal that the actual mechanisms leading to the observed extinction chronology were unlikely related to variation in demographic susceptibility per se, but were possibly driven instead by finer-scale variation in climate change and/or human prey choice and relative hunting success.
Human population reduction is no quick fix for environmental problems
Publisher: figshare
Date: 2015
Lower infant mortality, higher household size, and more access to contraception reduce fertility in low- and middle-income nations
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 22-02-2023
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0280260
Abstract: Although average contraceptive use has increased globally in recent decades, an estimated 222 million (26%) of women of child-bearing age worldwide face an unmet need for family planning—defined as a discrepancy between fertility preferences and contraception practice, or failing to translate desires to avoid pregnancy into preventative behaviours and practices. While many studies have reported relationships between availability/quality of contraception and family planning, infant mortality, and fertility, these relationships have not been evaluated quantitatively across a broad range of low- and middle-income countries. Using publicly available data from 64 low- and middle-income countries, we collated test and control variables in six themes: ( i ) availability of family planning, ( ii ) quality of family planning, ( iii ) female education, ( iv ) religion, ( v ) mortality, and ( vi ) socio-economic conditions. We predicted that higher nation-level availability/quality of family-planning services and female education reduce average fertility, whereas higher infant mortality, greater household size (a proxy for population density), and religious adherence increase it. Given the s le size, we first constructed general linear models to test for relationships between fertility and the variables from each theme, from which we retained those with the highest explanatory power within a final general linear model set to determine the partial correlation of dominant test variables. We also applied boosted regression trees, generalised least-squares models, and generalised linear mixed-effects models to account for non-linearity and spatial autocorrelation. On average among all countries, we found the strongest associations between fertility and infant mortality, household size, and access to any form of contraception. Higher infant mortality and household size increased fertility, whereas greater access to any form of contraception decreased fertility. Female education, home visitations by health workers, quality of family planning, and religious adherence all had weak, if any, explanatory power. Our models suggest that decreasing infant mortality, ensuring sufficient housing to reduce household size, and increasing access to contraception will have the greatest effect on decreasing global fertility. We thus provide new evidence that progressing the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals for reducing infant mortality can be accelerated by increasing access to family planning.
Resource partitioning through oceanic segregation of foraging juvenile southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-09-2005
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-004-1704-2
Abstract: In highly dynamic and unpredictable environments such as the Southern Ocean, species that have evolved behaviors that reduce the effects of intra-specific competition may have a selective advantage. This is particularly true when juveniles face disadvantages when foraging due to morphological or physiological limitation, which is the case for many marine mammals. We tracked the at-sea movements of 48 juvenile southern elephant seals ( Mirounga leonina) between the ages of 1 and 4 years from the population at Macquarie Island using locations derived from recorded light levels. There were significant differences in the total amount of the Southern Ocean covered by the different age-groups. The younger seals used a smaller area than the older seals. On average, the younger in iduals also made more trips to sea than the older seals and did not travel as far on each trip. Females spent more time at sea than males and there were no significant differences between the total areas used by male and females. In summary, younger seals remained closer to the island at all times, and they spent more time in more northerly regions that older seals. These differences in behavior created temporal and spatial segregation between juveniles of different ages. Therefore, we suggest that these temporal and spatial separations help to avoid intra-specific competition for resources on land, space on beaches, and at-sea foraging areas. Such modifications of haul-out timing and behavior enable them to exploit a patchy and unpredictable environment.
Remote sensing of Southern Ocean sea surface temperature: Implications for marine biophysical models
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2003
Experimental comparison of aerial larvicides and habitat modification for controlling disease-carrying Aedes vigilax mosquitoes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-11-2012
DOI: 10.1002/PS.2317
Abstract: Microbial and insect-growth-regulator larvicides dominate current vector control programmes because they reduce larval abundance and are relatively environmentally benign. However, their short persistence makes them expensive, and environmental manipulation of larval habitat might be an alternative control measure. Aedes vigilax is a major vector species in northern Australia. A field experiment was implemented in Darwin, Australia, to test the hypotheses that (1) aerial microbial larvicide application effectively decreases Ae. vigilax larval presence, and therefore adult emergence, and (2) environmental manipulation is an effective alternative control measure. Generalised linear and mixed-effects modelling and information-theoretic comparisons were used to test these hypotheses. It is shown that the current aerial larvicide application c aign is effective at suppressing the emergence of Ae. vigilax, whereas vegetation removal is not as effective in this context. In addition, the results indicate that current larval s ling procedures are inadequate for quantifying larval abundance or adult emergence. This field-based comparison has shown that the existing larviciding c aign is more effective than a simple environmental management strategy for mosquito control. It has also identified an important knowledge gap in the use of larval s ling to evaluate the effectiveness of vector control strategies.
Strength of density feedback in census data increases from slow to fast life histories
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-07-2012
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.298
Conversion of Indonesia's peatlands
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-2009
DOI: 10.1890/09.WB.013
Minimum viable population size: A meta-analysis of 30 years of published estimates
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2007
Dietary generalism accelerates arrival and persistence of coral-reef fishes in their novel ranges under climate change
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-07-2020
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.15221
Reply to o'neill et al. and o'sullivan: Fertility reduction will help, but only in the long term
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 23-01-2015
Warming and fertilization alter the dilution effect of host diversity on disease severity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-2016
DOI: 10.1890/15-1784.1
Abstract: An essential ecosystem service is the dilution effect of bio ersity on disease severity, yet we do not fully understand how this relationship might change with continued climate warming and ecosystem degradation. We designed removal experiments in natural assemblages of Tibetan alpine meadow vegetation by manipulating plot-level plant ersity to investigate the relationship between different plant bio ersity indices and foliar fungal pathogen infection, and how artificial fertilization and warming affect this relationship. Although pathogen group ersity increased with host species richness, disease severity decreased as host ersity rose (dilution effect). The dilution effect of phylogenetic ersity on disease held across different levels of host species richness (and equal abundances), meaning that the effect arises mainly in association with enhanced ersity itself rather than from shifting abundances. However, the dilution effect was weakened by fertilization. Among indices, phylogenetic ersity was the most parsimonious predictor of infection severity. Experimental warming and fertilization shifted species richness to the most supported predictor. Compared to planting experiments where artificial communities are constructed from scratch, our removal experiment in natural communities more realistically demonstrate that increasing perturbation adjusts natural community resistance to disease severity.
Changes in Body Mass Index and Obesity Risk in Married Couples Over 25 Years
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 23-09-2015
DOI: 10.1093/AJE/KWV112
Directionally supervised cellular automaton for the initial peopling of Sahul
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2023
Chemical immobilization of adult female Weddell seals with tiletamine and zolazepam: effects of age, condition and stage of lactation
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-02-2006
Abstract: Chemical immobilization of Weddell seals ( Leptonychotes weddellii ) has previously been, for the most part, problematic and this has been mainly attributed to the type of immobilizing agent used. In addition to in idual sensitivity, physiological status may play an important role. We investigated the use of the intravenous administration of a 1:1 mixture of tiletamine and zolazepam (Telazol ® ) to immobilize adult females at different points during a physiologically demanding 5–6 week lactation period. We also compared performance between IV and IM injection of the same mixture. The tiletamine:zolazepam mixture administered intravenously was an effective method for immobilization with no fatalities or pronounced apnoeas in 106 procedures however, there was a 25 % (one animal in four) mortality rate with intramuscular administration. Induction time was slightly longer for females at the end of lactation (54.9 ± 2.3 seconds) than at post-parturition (48.2 ± 2.9 seconds). In addition, the number of previous captures had a positive effect on induction time. There was no evidence for effects due to age, condition (total body lipid), stage of lactation or number of captures on recovery time. We suggest that intravenous administration of tiletamine and zolazepam is an effective and safe immobilizing agent for female Weddell seals. Although in idual traits could not explain variation in recovery time, we suggest careful monitoring of recovery times during longitudinal studies ( 2 captures). We show that physiological pressures do not substantially affect response to chemical immobilization with this mixture however, consideration must be taken for differences that may exist for immobilization of adult males and juveniles. Nevertheless, we recommend a mass-specific dose of 0.50 – 0.65 mg/kg for future procedures with adult female Weddell seals and a starting dose of 0.50 mg/kg for other age classes and other phocid seals.
More analytical bite in estimating targets for shark harvest
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 15-08-2013
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS10375
Foraging ecology of a generalist predator, the female New Zealand fur seal
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 2002
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS227011
Inter-ocean asynchrony in whale shark occurrence patterns
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2014
Differential resource allocation strategies for juvenile elephant seals in the highly seasonal Southern Ocean
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 16-02-2007
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS331281
Increased population size of fish in a lowland river following restoration of structural habitat
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-04-2019
DOI: 10.1002/EAP.1882
Diversity patterns of seasonal wetland plant communities mainly driven by rare terrestrial species
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-05-2016
Energetic implications of disturbance caused by petroleum exploration to woodland caribou
Publisher: Canadian Science Publishing
Date: 07-1998
DOI: 10.1139/Z98-076
Abstract: Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in Alberta are classified as endangered and apparently have declined. Disturbance from petroleum exploration has been implicated as a possible cause, so we constructed a simple model to estimate the energy costs of multiple encounters with disturbance (i.e., loud noise). Our objective was to estimate if woodland caribou in northeastern Alberta have been exposed to enough disturbance from 1988 to 1993 to cause winter mass loss to exceed either (i) 15% autumn mass or (ii) 20% autumn mass. A single disturbance event costs caribou 3.46-5.81 MJ. Caribou would have to encounter (i) 20-34 (mean = 27) disturbance events to lose % mass over winter and (ii) 41-137 (mean = 89) events to lose % mass. There were five occasions from 1988 to 1993 (i.e., in a particular caribou distribution zone and winter) when the encounter rate (number of potential encounters per square kilometre) exceeded a level expected to result in caribou losing more than the estimated mean 15% autumn mass. There were four occasions when the encounter rate exceeded the lower limit expected to cause % mass loss and one occasion when it approached the mean rate expected to cause % mass loss. Modelling the cumulative influence of disturbances demonstrates an effect on in idual energy loss during winter at certain exploration intensities. It is the first attempt at estimating the consequences of petroleum exploration for wildlife in northeastern Alberta and provides important information for future research and land-use management.
Nautilus at Risk – Estimating Population Size and Demography of Nautilus pompilius
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 10-02-2011
REVIEW: Mechanisms driving change: altered species interactions and ecosystem function through global warming
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-05-2010
DOI: 10.1111/J.1365-2656.2010.01695.X
Abstract: 1. We review the mechanisms behind ecosystem functions, the processes that facilitate energy transfer along food webs, and the major processes that allow the cycling of carbon, oxygen and nitrogen, and use case studies to show how these have already been, and will continue to be, altered by global warming. 2. Increased temperatures will affect the interactions between heterotrophs and autotrophs (e.g. pollination and seed dispersal), and between heterotrophs (e.g. predators-prey, parasites athogens-hosts), with generally negative ramifications for important ecosystem services (functions that provide direct benefit to human society such as pollination) and potential for heightened species co-extinction rates. 3. Mitigation of likely impacts of warming will require, in particular, the maintenance of species ersity as insurance for the provision of basic ecosystem services. Key to this will be long-term monitoring and focused research that seek to maintain ecosystem resilience in the face of global warming. 4. We provide guidelines for pursuing research that quantifies the nexus between ecosystem function and global warming. These include documentation of key functional species groups within systems, and understanding the principal outcomes arising from direct and indirect effects of a rapidly warming environment. Localized and targeted research and monitoring, complemented with laboratory work, will determine outcomes for resilience and guide adaptive conservation responses and long-term planning.
Predicting sustainable shark harvests when stock assessments are lacking
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 13-07-2018
Flexoelectricity at fractal rough surfaces
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2023
Long‐term breeding phenology shift in royal penguins
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-06-2012
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.281
ENDOGENOUS AND EXOGENOUS FACTORS CONTROLLING TEMPORAL ABUNDANCE PATTERNS OF TROPICAL MOSQUITOES
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2008
DOI: 10.1890/07-1209.1
Abstract: The growing demand for efficient and effective mosquito control requires a better understanding of vector population dynamics and how these are modified by endogenous and exogenous factors. A long-term (11-year) monitoring data set describing the relative abundance of the saltmarsh mosquito (Aedes vigilax) in the greater Darwin region, northern Australia, was examined in a suite of Gompertz-logistic (GL) models with and without hypothesized environmental correlates (high tide frequency, rainfall, and relative humidity). High tide frequency and humidity were hypothesized to influence saltmarsh mosquito abundance positively, and rainfall was hypothesized to correlate negatively by reducing the availability of suitable habitats (moist substrata) required by ovipositing adult female mosquitoes. We also examined whether environmental correlates explained the variance in seasonal carrying capacity (K) because environmental stochasticity is hypothesized to modify population growth rate (r), carrying capacity, or both. Current and lagged-time effects were tested by comparing alternative population dynamics models using three different information criteria (Akaike's Information Criterion [corrected AIC(c)], Bayesian Information Criterion [BIC], and cross-validation [C-V]). The GL model with a two-month lag without environmental effects explained 31% of the deviance in population growth rate. This increased to > 70% under various model combinations of high tide frequency, rainfall, and relative humidity, of which, high tide frequency and rainfall had the highest contributions. Temporal variation in K was explained weakly by high tide frequency, and there was some evidence that the filling of depressions to reduce standing water availability has reduced Aedes vigilax carrying capacity over the study period. This study underscores the need to consider simultaneously both types of drivers (endogenous and exogenous) when predicting mosquito abundance and population growth patterns. This work also indicates that climate change, via continued increases in rainfall and higher expected frequencies and intensities of high tide events with sea level rise, will alter mosquito abundance trends in northern Australia.
Using biogeographical patterns of endemic land snails to improve conservation planning for limestone karsts
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2008
Long-range electric deterrents not as effective as personal deterrents for reducing risk of shark bite
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-11-2022
Abstract: While personal electric deterrents can reduce the risk of shark bites, evidence for the efficacy of other products is limited. We assessed two versions of a novel electric deterrent—80 and 150 volts (V)—designed to protect a large area (8 m deep × 6 m wide) or to be linked together for greater spatial coverage. We did 116 experimental trials on 43 white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) to assess: (a) percentage of baits taken (b) distance between bait and shark (c) number of passes and (d) whether sharks reacted to the deterrent. The proportion of baits taken was reduced by 24% (80 V) and 48% (150 V), although the high variance of the effect coefficient precluded statistical differentiation. Only the 150-V deterrent increased the distance between bait and shark (control: 1.59 ± 0.28 m versus active deterrent: 3.33 ± 0.33 m), but both versions increased the likelihood of a reaction (average reaction distance: 1.88 ± 0.14 m). Results were similar whether we measured distances using stereo-cameras or estimated them in situ, suggesting that stereo-cameras might not be necessary to quantify distances between sharks and baits. Our findings provide more evidence that electric deterrents can reduce the risk of shark bite, but the restricted efficacy limits the suitability of this device.
iREDD hedges against avoided deforestation's unholy trinity of leakage, permanence and additionality
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-04-2012
Revised European Union renewable-energy policies erode nature protection
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-08-2018
South Korean energy scenarios show how nuclear power can reduce future energy and environmental costs
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2014
Stochastic population models to identify optimal and cost-effective harvest strategies for feral pig eradication
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 12-03-2023
DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.08.531659
Abstract: Eradicating feral pigs from island ecosystems can assist in restoring damaged bio ersity values and protect commercial industries such as agriculture. Although many feral pig eradications have been attempted, management decisions are often led by practitioner experience rather than empirical evidence. Few interventions have been guided by population models to identify harvest rates necessary to achieve eradication within a specified time frame, nor have they applied data on control effort and cost to evaluate the relative cost-effectiveness of proposed control strategies. We used effort and cost data from a feral pig-control program on Kangaroo Island, South Australia over 17 months to derive functional-response relationships between control effort (hours pig -1 ) and pig abundance for four control methods: ( i ) ground-based shooting, ( ii ) trapping with remote triggers, ( iii ) poison baiting, and ( iv ) thermal-assisted aerial culling. We developed a stochastic Leslie matrix with compensatory density feedback on survival and fertility to project population trajectories from an initial population ( N 0 ) of 250 female pigs with an estimated island-wide carrying capacity ( K ) of 2500 over 3 and 10 years for populations subjected to an annual harvest of 35% to 95%. We built functional-response models to calculate annual effort and cost for six cull scenarios across all harvest rates. We derived total cost and effort over 3- and 10-year projections from the sum of annual cost and effort within the projection intervals. Pig populations were reduced to 10% N 0 based on harvest rates 70% and 50% for culls of 3- and 10-year duration, respectively. In all scenarios except ‘trapping only’, the total cost to reduce population to ≤ 10% of N 0 decreased with increasing harvest proportion, with lower total costs incurred over 3 years compared to 10 years. The simulations suggest that the most cost-effective approach for most scenarios is to maximise annual harvest and complete eradication effort over the shortest periods.
Genetic studies of body mass index yield new insights for obesity biology
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-02-2015
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE14177
Lower infant mortality and access to contraception reduce fertility in low- and middle-income nations
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 17-12-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.12.16.21267946
Abstract: Although average contraceptive use has increased globally in recent decades, an estimated 222 million (26%) of women of child-bearing age worldwide face an unmet need for family planning — defined as a discrepancy between fertility preferences and contraception practice, or failing to translate desires to avoid pregnancy into preventative behaviours and practices. While many studies have reported relationships between availability of contraception, infant mortality, and fertility, these relationships have not been evaluated quantitatively across a broad range of low- and middle-income countries. Using publicly available data from 46 low- and middle-income countries, we collated test and control variables in six themes: ( i ) availability of family planning, ( ii ) quality of family planning, ( iii ) maternal education, ( iv ) religion, ( v ) mortality, and ( vi ) socio-economic conditions. We predicted that higher nation-level availability/quality of family-planning services, maternal education, and wealth reduce average fertility, whereas higher infant mortality and religious adherence increase it. Given the s le size, we first constructed general linear models to test for relationships between fertility and the variables from each theme, from which we retained those with the highest explanatory power within a final general linear model set to determine the partial correlation of dominant test variables. We also applied boosted regression trees, generalised least-squares models, and a generalised linear mixed-effects models to account for non-linearity and spatial autocorrelation. On average among all countries, we found an association between all main variables and fertility, with reduced infant mortality having the strongest relationship with reduced fertility. Access to contraception was the next-highest correlate with reduced fertility, with female secondary education, home health visitations, and adherence to Catholicism having weak, if any, explanatory power. Our models suggest that decreasing infant mortality and increasing access to contraception will have the greatest effect on decreasing global fertility. We thus provide new evidence that progressing the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals for reducing infant mortality can be accelerated by increasing access to any form of family planning.
50/500 rule and minimum viable populations: response to Jamieson and Allendorf
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2013
Ocean-scale prediction of whale shark distribution
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-10-2012
Shifting trends: detecting environmentally mediated regulation in long-lived marine vertebrates using time-series data
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-11-2008
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-008-1205-9
Abstract: Assessing the status and trends in animal populations is essential for effective species conservation and management practices. However, unless time-series abundance data demonstrate rapid and reliable fluctuations, objective appraisal of directionality of trends is problematic. We adopted a multiple-working hypotheses approach based on information-theoretic and Bayesian multi-model inference to examine the population trends and form of intrinsic regulation demonstrated by a long-lived species, the southern elephant seal. We also determined the evidence for density dependence in 11 other well-studied marine mammal species. (1) We tested the type of population regulation for elephant seals from Marion Island (1986-2004) and from 11 other marine mammal species, and (2) we described the trends and behavior of the 19-year population time series at Marion Island to identify changes in population trends. We contrasted five plausible trend models using information-theoretic and Bayesian-inference estimates of model parsimony. Our analyses identified two distinct phases of population growth for this population with the inflexion occurring in 1998. Thus, the population decreased between 1986 and 1997 (-3.7% per annum) and increased between 1997 and 2004 (1.9% per annum). An index of environmental stochasticity, the Southern Oscillation Index, explained some of the variance in r and N. We determined analytically that there was good evidence for density dependence in the Marion Island population and that density dependence was widespread among marine mammal species (67% of species showed evidence for population regulation). This approach demonstrates the potential functionality of a relatively simple technique that can be applied to short time series to identify the type of regulation, and the uncertainty associated with the phenomenon, operating in populations of large mammals.
Novel associations between blood DNA methylation and body mass index in middle-aged and older adults
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-10-2017
DOI: 10.1038/IJO.2017.269
Abstract: There is increasing evidence of a relationship between blood DNA methylation and body mass index (BMI). We aimed to assess associations of BMI with in idual methylation measures (CpGs) through a cross-sectional genome-wide DNA methylation association study and a longitudinal analysis of repeated measurements over time. Using the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip, DNA methylation measures were determined in baseline peripheral blood s les from 5361 adults recruited to the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (MCCS) and selected for nested case-control studies, 2586 because they were subsequently diagnosed with cancer (cases) and 2775 as controls. For a subset of 1088 controls, these measures were repeated using blood s les collected at wave 2 follow-up, a median of 11 years later weight was measured at both time points. Associations between BMI and blood DNA methylation were assessed using linear mixed-effects regression models adjusted for batch effects and potential confounders. These were applied to cases and controls separately, with results combined through fixed-effects meta-analysis. Cross-sectional analysis identified 310 CpGs associated with BMI with P<1.0 × 10 Together, these findings suggest that BMI is associated with blood DNA methylation at a large number of CpGs across the genome, several of which are located in or near genes involved in ATP-binding cassette transportation, tumour necrosis factor signalling, insulin resistance and lipid metabolism.
Current and future threats from non-indigenous animal species in northern Australia: a spotlight on World Heritage Area Kakadu National Park
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2007
DOI: 10.1071/WR06056
Abstract: Non-indigenous animal species threaten bio ersity and ecosystem stability by damaging or transforming habitats, killing or out-competing native species and spreading disease. We use World Heritage Area Kakadu National Park, northern Australia, as a focal region to illustrate the current and potential threats posed by non-indigenous animal species to internationally and nationally recognised natural and cultural values. Available evidence suggests that large feral herbivores such as Asian sw buffalo, pigs and horses are the most ecologically threatening species in this region. This may reflect the inherent research bias, because these species are highly visible and impact primary production consequently, their control has attracted the strongest research and management efforts. Burgeoning threats, such as the already established cane toad and crazy ant, and potentially non-indigenous freshwater fish, marine invertebrates and pathogens, may cause severe problems for native bio ersity. To counter these threats, management agencies must apply an ongoing, planned and practical approach using scientifically based and well funded control measures however, many stakeholders require direct evidence of the damage caused by non-indigenous species before agreeing to implement control. To demonstrate the increasing priority of non-indigenous species research in Australia and to quantify taxonomic and habitat biases in research focus, we compiled an extensive biography of peer-reviewed articles published between 1950 and 2005. Approximately 1000 scientific papers have been published on the impact and control of exotic animals in Australia, with a strong bias towards terrestrial systems and mammals. Despite the sheer quantity of research on non-indigenous species and their effects, management responses remain largely ad hoc and poorly evaluated, especially in northern Australia and in high-value areas such as Kakadu National Park. We argue that improved management in relatively isolated and susceptible tropical regions requires (1) robust quantification of density–damage relationships, and (2) the delivery of research findings that stimulate land managers to develop cost-effective control and monitoring programs.
Changes in size distributions of commercially exploited sharks over 25 years in northern Australia using a Bayesian approach
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2012
Author response: Combining agent-based, trait-based and demographic approaches to model coral-community dynamics
Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Date: 22-06-2020
Ecological-economic models of sustainable harvest for an endangered but exotic megaherbivore in northern Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-06-2007
Large-scale genomic analyses link reproductive aging to hypothalamic signaling, breast cancer susceptibility and BRCA1-mediated DNA repair
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-09-2015
DOI: 10.1038/NG.3412
Allometric scaling of lung volume and its consequences for marine turtle diving performance
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2007
DOI: 10.1016/J.CBPA.2007.05.010
Abstract: Marine turtle lungs have multiple functions including respiration, oxygen storage and buoyancy regulation, so lung size is an important indicator of e performance. We determined maximum lung volumes (V(L)) for 30 in iduals from three species (Caretta caretta n=13 Eretmochelys imbricata n=12 Natator depressus n=5) across a range of body masses (M(b)): 0.9 to 46 kg. V(L) was 114 ml kg(-1) and increased with M(b) with a scaling factor of 0.92. Based on these values for V(L) we demonstrated that ing capacities (assessed via aerobic e limits) of marine turtles were potentially over-estimated when the V(L)-body mass effect was not considered (by 10 to 20% for 5 to 25 kg turtles and by >20% for turtles > or =25 kg). While aerobic e limits scale with an exponent of 0.6, an analysis of average e durations in free-ranging chelonian marine turtles revealed that e duration increases with a mass exponent of 0.51, although there was considerable scatter around the regression line. While this highlights the need to determine more parameters that affect the duration-body mass relationship, our results provide a reference point for calculating oxygen storage capacities and air volumes available for buoyancy control.
Implications of Australia's population policy for future greenhouse gas emissions targets
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2016
DOI: 10.1002/APP5.135
Age-related shifts in the diet composition of southern elephant seals expand overall foraging niche
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-08-2007
Gender-biased perceptions of important ecology articles
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 16-11-2017
DOI: 10.1101/219824
Abstract: Gender bias is still unfortunately rife in the sciences, and men co-author most articles ( 70%) in ecology. Whether ecologists subconsciously rate the quality of their peers’ work more favourably if men are the dominant co-authors is still unclear. To test this hypothesis, we examined how expert ecologists ranked important ecology articles based on a previously compiled list. Women proposed articles with a higher average proportion of women co-authors (0.18) than did men proposers (0.07). For the 100 top-ranked articles, women voters placed more emphasis on articles co-authored by women (0.06) than did men (0.02). However, women voters were still biased because they ranked men-dominated articles more highly, albeit not by as much as men did. This effect disappeared after testing read-only articles. This indicates a persistent, subconscious bias that men-dominated articles are considered to be of higher quality before actual assessment. We add that ecologists need to examine their own subconscious biases when appointing students, hiring staff, and choosing colleagues with whom to publish.
The Australian Shark-Incident Database for quantifying temporal and spatial patterns of shark-human conflict
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-07-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41597-022-01453-9
Abstract: We describe the Australian Shark-Incident Database , formerly known as the Australian Shark-Attack File , which contains comprehensive reports of 1,196 shark bites that have occurred in Australia over 231 years (1791–2022). Data were collated by the Taronga Conservation Society Australia using purpose-designed questionnaires provided to shark-bite victims or witnesses, media reports, and information provided by the department responsible for fisheries in each Australian state (including the Northern Territory). The dataset includes provoked and unprovoked bites from fresh, brackish, and marine waters in Australia. Data span 22 suspected shark species. This dataset will be publicly available, and can be used by analysts to decipher environmental, biological, and social patterns of shark bites in Australia. The information will aid scientists, conservationists, authorities, and members of the public to make informed decisions when implementing or selecting mitigation measures.
Explaining maximum variation in productivity requires phylogenetic diversity and single functional traits
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1890/14-1034.1.SM
Seasonal use of oceanographic and fisheries management zones by juvenile southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) from Macquarie Island
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-2004
Landscape rules predict optimal superhighways for the first peopling of Sahul.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-04-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41562-021-01106-8
Abstract: Archaeological data and demographic modelling suggest that the peopling of Sahul required substantial populations, occurred rapidly within a few thousand years and encompassed environments ranging from hyper-arid deserts to temperate uplands and tropical rainforests. How this migration occurred and how humans responded to the physical environments they encountered have, however, remained largely speculative. By constructing a high-resolution digital elevation model for Sahul and coupling it with fine-scale viewshed analysis of landscape prominence, least-cost pedestrian travel modelling and high-performance computing, we create over 125 billion potential migratory pathways, whereby the most parsimonious routes traversed emerge. Our analysis revealed several major pathways-superhighways-transecting the continent, that we evaluated using archaeological data. These results suggest that the earliest Australian ancestors adopted a set of fundamental rules shaped by physiological capacity, attraction to visually prominent landscape features and freshwater distribution to maximize survival, even without previous experience of the landscapes they encountered.
Genetic structure of introduced swamp buffalo subpopulations in tropical Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-03-2012
To catch a buffalo: field immobilisation of Asian swamp buffalo using etorphine and xylazine
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-05-2008
DOI: 10.1111/J.1751-0813.2008.00303.X
Abstract: To demonstrate the efficacy of a mixture of etorphine and xylazine to safely immobilise wild buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in the field. Body mass was estimated (to calculate mass-specific dosages) by deriving a predictive relationship between morphometric measurements (body length, height) and mass based on a dataset collected in Vietnam, because the study animals could not be weighed in the field. Mass-specific dosages varied between 0.02 and 0.03 mg/kg for etorphine and between 0.14 and 0.22 mg/kg for xyalazine induction times varied between 10 and 33 min, mean recumbency time was 68 min, and the mean time to standing was 10 min (range: 10-17 min). The mixture of ethorphine and xylazine was effective for immobilisation of this species and appeared to have a relatively large safety margin, based on the mass-specific dosages used. The allometric relationships described here should prove useful for those working with wild sw buffalo.
Identification of rays through DNA barcoding: An application for ecologists
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 11-06-2012
Folklore and chimerical numbers: review of a millennium of interaction between fur seals and humans in the New Zealand region
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 09-2001
Swimming in the deep end of the gene pool: global population structure of an oceanic giant
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2007
Recent advances in availability and synthesis of the economic costs of biological invasions
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 08-2023
Abstract: Biological invasions are a global challenge that has received insufficient attention. Recently available cost syntheses have provided policy- and decision makers with reliable and up-to-date information on the economic impacts of biological invasions, aiming to motivate effective management. The resultant InvaCost database is now publicly and freely accessible and enables rapid extraction of monetary cost information. This has facilitated knowledge sharing, developed a more integrated and multidisciplinary network of researchers, and forged multidisciplinary collaborations among erse organizations and stakeholders. Over 50 scientific publications so far have used the database and have provided detailed assessments of invasion costs across geographic, taxonomic, and spatiotemporal scales. These studies have provided important information that can guide future policy and legislative decisions on the management of biological invasions while simultaneously attracting public and media attention. We provide an overview of the improved availability, reliability, standardization, and defragmentation of monetary costs discuss how this has enhanced invasion science as a discipline and outline directions for future development.
Population size and structure of whale sharks Rhincodon typus at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 18-08-2006
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS319275
Reintroduction success of threatened Australian trout cod (Maccullochella macquariensis) based on growth and reproduction
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2012
DOI: 10.1071/MF12034
Abstract: Internationally, re-introductions of endangered species into their former ranges have largely failed. Here we assess a successful reintroduction program of the endangered trout cod (Maccullochella macquariensis) and examine factors contributing to this success. Stocking of marked fish (all stocked fish were marked) occurred between 1997 and 2006 in the Ovens River, south-eastern Australia, where trout cod were historically abundant but locally extinct by the 1980s. We found no natural recruits (i.e. from spawnings of stocked fish in the wild) over the age of six, indicating that natural recruitment started at most five years after stocking began. Of the 83 fish we examined for sexual maturity, 12 were immature, 20 were male, and 51 were female. The body length at which 50% of the population can be considered mature was 325 and 250 mm for females and males, respectively. The length at which 90% of the population was mature was 394 and 318 mm for females and males, respectively. The smallest mature female was 245 mm. Average relative fertility was 9 eggs g–1 fish weight. The results we obtained provide valuable insights into the aspects contributing to the success of reintroduction programs for endangered freshwater species.
Decoding fingerprints: elemental composition of vertebrae correlates to age-related habitat use in two morphologically similar sharks
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 28-07-2011
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS09222
Population trends of New Zealand fur seals in the Rakiura region based on long-term population surveys and traditional ecological knowledge
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 13-10-2014
Time-travelling pathogens and their risk to ecological communities
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 27-07-2023
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PCBI.1011268
Abstract: Permafrost thawing and the potential ‘lab leak’ of ancient microorganisms generate risks of biological invasions for today’s ecological communities, including threats to human health via exposure to emergent pathogens. Whether and how such ‘time-travelling’ invaders could establish in modern communities is unclear, and existing data are too scarce to test hypotheses. To quantify the risks of time-travelling invasions, we isolated digital virus-like pathogens from the past records of coevolved artificial life communities and studied their simulated invasion into future states of the community. We then investigated how invasions affected ersity of the free-living bacteria-like organisms (i.e., hosts) in recipient communities compared to controls where no invasion occurred (and control invasions of contemporary pathogens). Invading pathogens could often survive and continue evolving, and in a few cases (3.1%) became exceptionally dominant in the invaded community. Even so, invaders often had negligible effects on the invaded community composition however, in a few, highly unpredictable cases (1.1%), invaders precipitated either substantial losses (up to -32%) or gains (up to +12%) in the total richness of free-living species compared to controls. Given the sheer abundance of ancient microorganisms regularly released into modern communities, such a low probability of outbreak events still presents substantial risks. Our findings therefore suggest that unpredictable threats so far confined to science fiction and conjecture could in fact be powerful drivers of ecological change.
Blubber fatty acid profiles indicate dietary resource partitioning between adult and juvenile southern elephant seals
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 29-05-2009
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS08010
Statistical Language Backs Conservatism in Climate-Change Assessments
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 03-2019
Inferred global connectivity of whale shark Rhincodon typus populations
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-01-2013
DOI: 10.1111/JFB.12017
Abstract: Ten years have passed since the last synopsis of whale shark Rhincodon typus biogeography. While a recent review of the species' biology and ecology summarized the vast data collected since then, it is clear that information on population geographic connectivity, migration and demography of R. typus is still limited and scattered. Understanding R. typus migratory behaviour is central to its conservation management considering the genetic evidence suggesting local aggregations are connected at the generational scale over entire ocean basins. By collating available data on sightings, tracked movements and distribution information, this review provides evidence for the hypothesis of broad-scale connectivity among populations, and generates a model describing how the world's R. typus are part of a single, global meta-population. Rhincodon typus occurrence timings and distribution patterns make possible a connection between several aggregation sites in the Indian Ocean. The present conceptual model and validating data lend support to the hypothesis that R. typus are able to move among the three largest ocean basins with a minimum total travelling time of around 2-4 years. The model provides a worldwide perspective of possible R. typus migration routes, and suggests a modified focus for additional research to test its predictions. The framework can be used to trim the hypotheses for R. typus movements and aggregation timings, thereby isolating possible mating and breeding areas that are currently unknown. This will assist endeavours to predict the longer-term response of the species to ocean warming and changing patterns of human-induced mortality.
Evaluating options for the future energy mix of Japan after the Fukushima nuclear crisis
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2013
Limited genetic structure among broad-scale regions for two commercially harvested, tropical deep-water snappers in New Caledonia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-10-2013
Logistic‐growth models measuring density feedback are sensitive to population declines, but not fluctuating carrying capacity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2023
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.10010
Abstract: Analysis of long‐term trends in abundance of animal populations provides insights into population dynamics. Population growth rates are the emergent interplay of inter alia fertility, survival, and dispersal. However, the density feedbacks operating on some vital rates (“component feedback”) can be decoupled from density feedbacks on population growth rates estimated using abundance time series (“ensemble feedback”). Many of the mechanisms responsible for this decoupling are poorly understood, thereby questioning the validity of using logistic‐growth models versus vital rates to infer long‐term population trends. To examine which conditions lead to decoupling, we simulated age‐structured populations of long‐lived vertebrates experiencing component density feedbacks on survival. We then quantified how imposed stochasticity in survival rates, density‐independent mortality (catastrophes, harvest‐like removal of in iduals) and variation in carrying capacity modified the ensemble feedback in abundance time series simulated from age‐structured populations. The statistical detection of ensemble density feedback from census data was largely unaffected by density‐independent processes. Long‐term population decline caused from density‐independent mortality was the main mechanism decoupling the strength of component versus ensemble density feedbacks. Our study supports the use of simple logistic‐growth models to capture long‐term population trends, mediated by changes in population abundance, when survival rates are stochastic, carrying capacity fluctuates, and populations experience moderate catastrophic mortality over time.
Burden of proof: A comprehensive review of the feasibility of 100% renewable-electricity systems
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2017
Why do Argos satellite tags deployed on marine animals stop transmitting?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2007
Rapid development of cleaning behaviour by Torresian crows Corvus orru on non-native banteng Bos javanicus in northern Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-06-2006
Protein-altering variants associated with body mass index implicate pathways that control energy intake and expenditure in obesity
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-12-2017
Scaling laws of marine predator search behaviour
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-2008
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE06518
Abstract: Many free-ranging predators have to make foraging decisions with little, if any, knowledge of present resource distribution and availability. The optimal search strategy they should use to maximize encounter rates with prey in heterogeneous natural environments remains a largely unresolved issue in ecology. Lévy walks are specialized random walks giving rise to fractal movement trajectories that may represent an optimal solution for searching complex landscapes. However, the adaptive significance of this putative strategy in response to natural prey distributions remains untested. Here we analyse over a million movement displacements recorded from animal-attached electronic tags to show that erse marine predators-sharks, bony fishes, sea turtles and penguins-exhibit Lévy-walk-like behaviour close to a theoretical optimum. Prey density distributions also display Lévy-like fractal patterns, suggesting response movements by predators to prey distributions. Simulations show that predators have higher encounter rates when adopting Lévy-type foraging in natural-like prey fields compared with purely random landscapes. This is consistent with the hypothesis that observed search patterns are adapted to observed statistical patterns of the landscape. This may explain why Lévy-like behaviour seems to be widespread among erse organisms, from microbes to humans, as a 'rule' that evolved in response to patchy resource distributions.
Contact behaviour of simulated rough spheres generated with spherical harmonics
Publisher: arXiv
Date: 2022
Urgent preservation of boreal carbon stocks and biodiversity
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2009
A validated approach for supervised dive classification in diving vertebrates
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2008
Socio-economic predictors of environmental performance among African nations
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-06-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-019-45762-3
Abstract: Socio-economic changes in Africa have increased pressure on the continent’s ecosystems. Most research investigating environmental change has focused on the changing status of specific species or communities and protected areas, but has largely neglected the broad-scale socio-economic conditions underlying environmental degradation. We tested national-scale hypotheses regarding the socio-economic predictors of ecosystem change and degradation across Africa, hypothesizing that human density and economic development increase the likelihood of cumulative environmental damage. Our combined environmental performance rank includes national ecological footprint, proportional species threat, recent deforestation, freshwater removal, livestock density, cropland coverage, and per capita emissions. Countries like Central African Republic, Botswana, Namibia, and Congo have the best relative environmental performance overall. Structural equation models indicate that increasing population density and overall economic activity (per capita gross domestic product corrected for purchasing-power parity) are the most strongly correlated with greater environmental degradation, while greater wealth inequality (Gini index) correlates with better environmental performance. This represents the first Africa-scale assessment of the socio-economic correlates of environmental degradation, and suggests that dedicated family planning to reduce population growth, and economic development that limits agricultural expansion (cf. intensification) are needed to support environmental sustainability.
New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-02-2015
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE14132
Sequencing ancient calcified dental plaque shows changes in oral microbiota with dietary shifts of the Neolithic and Industrial revolutions
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-02-2013
DOI: 10.1038/NG.2536
Mass cetacean strandings-a plea for empiricism
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-03-2006
An efficient protocol for the global sensitivity analysis of stochastic ecological models
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2016
DOI: 10.1002/ECS2.1238
Biophysical correlates of relative abundances of marine megafauna at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2007
DOI: 10.1071/MF06213
Abstract: Changes in the relative abundance of marine megafauna (whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles, manta rays, dugongs) from aerial survey sightings in the waters adjacent to Ningaloo Reef between June 2000 and April 2002 are described. Generalised linear models were used to explore relationships between different trophic guilds of animals (based on animal sighting biomass estimates) and biophysical features of the oceanscape that were likely to indicate foraging habitats (regions of primary/secondary production) including sea surface temperature (SST), SST gradient, chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), bathymetry (BTH) and bathymetry gradient (BTHg). Relative biomass of krill feeders (i.e. minke whales, whale sharks, manta rays) were related to SST, Chl-a and bathymetry (model [AICc] weight = 0.45) and the model combining these variables explained a relatively large amount (32.3%) of the variation in relative biomass. Relative biomass of fish/cephalopod feeders (dolphins, sharks) were weakly correlated with changes in SST, whereas that of other invertebrate/macroalgal feeders (turtles, dugong) was weakly correlated with changes in steepness of the shelf (bathymetry gradient). Our results indicate that biophysical variables describe only a small proportion of the variance in the relative abundance and biomass of marine megafauna at Ningaloo reef.
Cardiovascular reactivity, stress, and physical activity
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 2013
The optimal spatial scale for the analysis of elephant seal foraging as determined by geo-location in relation to sea surface temperatures
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 08-2002
At-sea distribution of female southern elephant seals relative to variation in ocean surface properties
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2004
DOI: 10.1016/J.ICESJMS.2004.07.012
Abstract: We examined the relationships between physical oceanography (sea surface temperature – SST, sea surface height anomaly – SSH, ocean colour – OC, bathymetry – BA, sea-ice concentration – SI, and their associated gradients) and the foraging distribution (time at sea) of female southern elephant seals using generalized linear and generalized additive models (GLM and GAM). Using data from 28 separate foraging trips (22 unique in iduals) over two years, we found that during the post-lactation trips (summer), the best GLM demonstrated a negative relationship between time at sea and SST and BA, but a positive relationship with SST gradient and SSH. During the post-moult (winter) trips, there was a negative relationship with OC gradient, SSH, and BA. The best post-lactation GAM identified a positive relationship with OC gradient, negative relationships with OC and SST gradient, and a non-linear relationship with SST. For the post-moult trip there was a negative relationship with OC, SST, BA and BA gradient, and a positive relationship with SST gradient. The relationship between the predicted time and observed time at sea was significant only for the post-lactation GAM, although predictability was low. That SST and its gradient predicted a small, but significant proportion of the variation in time at sea is indicative of the frontal zones within this area that are generally more biologically productive than surrounding regions. It appears that coarse-scale oceanographic configuration influences foraging behaviour in southern elephant seals only subtly. Nonetheless, some of the mechanisms influencing predator foraging are congruent with expectations of distribution of marine food resources at coarse spatial scales.
FosSahul 2.0, an updated database for the Late Quaternary fossil records of Sahul
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-11-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41597-019-0267-3
Abstract: The 2016 version of the FosSahul database compiled non-human vertebrate megafauna fossil ages from Sahul published up to 2013 in a standardized format. Its purpose was to create a publicly available, centralized, and comprehensive database for palaeoecological investigations of the continent. Such databases require regular updates and improvements to reflect recent scientific findings. Here we present an updated FosSahul (2.0) containing 11,871 dated non-human vertebrate fossil records from the Late Quaternary published up to 2018. Furthermore, we have extended the information captured in the database to include methodological details and have developed an algorithm to automate the quality-rating process. The algorithm makes the quality-rating more transparent and easier to reproduce, facilitating future database extensions and dissemination. FosSahul has already enabled several palaeoecological analyses, and its updated version will continue to provide a centralized organisation of Sahul’s fossil records. As an ex le of an application of the database, we present the temporal pattern in megafauna genus richness inferred from available data in relation to palaeoclimate indices over the past 180,000 years.
Aerial culling feral fallow deer with shotguns improves efficiency and welfare outcomes
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 02-2023
DOI: 10.3897/ARPHAPREPRINTS.E101198
Abstract: Feral deer are some of Australia’s worst emerging pest species. Recently, the Government of South Australia launched a four-year program to reduce the populations of feral fallow deer ( Dama dama ). The program will focus on coordinating landscape-scale aerial culls and seeks to deliver the most efficient and humane approach to aerial culling. We sourced data from a recent program trialling a new approach to aerial culling that incorporated advanced thermal technology and a second shooter with a shotgun to target fallow deer. We reviewed available video and audio records of 104 deer culled in the program to assess efficiency and welfare outcomes. We collected information on the number of shotgun and rifle rounds fired per animal, time between first shot with a shotgun and confirmed death, and pursuit time. We completed field dissections of 20 in iduals targeted in the program to assess the lethality of wounds inflicted with shotgun pellets. We also compared program costs and efficiency against published and unpublished data from ten other aerial-culling programs for feral deer in South Australia since 2009. A total of 383 shotgun rounds and 10 rifle rounds were used on 104 fallow deer in the focal program. We documented strong improvements to animal welfare for feral deer targeted with shotguns. The mean (± standard error) time between first shot and confirmed kill with a shotgun was 11.1 ± 0.7 seconds mean pursuit time between detection and a confirmed kill was 49.5 ± 3.4 seconds. Pursuit time increased with subsequent deer controlled within a group the maximum pursuit time for any in idual was 159.0 seconds. All autopsied animals had received lethal wounds from shotgun pellets, with 100% receiving lung-penetrating damage and 70% also receiving heart-penetrating damage. While a program that uses a shotgun and rifle combined with a second shooter and thermographer can cost more to mobilise, the outcomes measured in cost deer -1 made it the most cost-effective approach of any program we assessed. Control options that deliver improved animal welfare outcomes and increase efficiency are desirable for managing expanding populations of feral deer in South Australia and elsewhere.
Permeability of Uniformly Graded 3D Printed Granular Media
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 03-2021
DOI: 10.1029/2020GL090728
Abstract: The present work explores water permeability of uniformly graded irregular grains using 3D printing with controlled shapes and fractal morphological features at low Reynold's number for viscous flow. From large amount of real 3D granular morphological data, a scaling law, in terms of fractal dimension, is found to be followed. With this universal law, sand grains with controlled fractal morphological features are generated using Spherical Harmonics, and then created using 3D printing technique for water permeability tests. A modified Kozeny‐Carman equation is proposed through more accurate determination of specific area, as a function of relative roughness and fractal dimension, than approximation using the volume‐equivalent sphere. By isolating the contributions from specific area, the shape coefficient is found to be insensitive to particle morphology. Through benchmarking the model prediction against experiments from both this work and past literature, we demonstrate the validity and wide applicability of the modified Kozeny‐Carman equation.
Correction: Corrigendum: Rare coding variants and X-linked loci associated with age at menarche
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-12-2015
DOI: 10.1038/NCOMMS10257
Abstract: Nature Communications 6, Article number: 7756 (2015) Published 4 August 2015 Updated 17 December 2015 In the Results section and in the legend of Table 1 of this Article, the company deCODE genetics, Inc. is incorrectly referred to as ‘Diabetes Epidemiology: collaborative analysis of Diagnostic criteria in Europe’.
Harem choice and breeding experience of female southern elephant seals influence offspring survival
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-2004
Eating frogs to extinction
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-07-2009
Predicting Publication Success for Biologists
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 10-2013
Seaweed communities in retreat from ocean warming
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2011
DOI: 10.1016/J.CUB.2011.09.028
Abstract: In recent decades, global climate change [1] has caused profound biological changes across the planet [2-6]. However, there is a great disparity in the strength of evidence among different ecosystems and between hemispheres: changes on land have been well documented through long-term studies, but similar direct evidence for impacts of warming is virtually absent from the oceans [3, 7], where only a few studies on in idual species of intertidal invertebrates, plankton, and commercially important fish in the North Atlantic and North Pacific exist. This disparity of evidence is precarious for biological conservation because of the critical role of the marine realm in regulating the Earth's environmental and ecological functions, and the associated socioeconomic well-being of humans [8]. We interrogated a database of >20,000 herbarium records of macroalgae collected in Australia since the 1940s and documented changes in communities and geographical distribution limits in both the Indian and Pacific Oceans, consistent with rapid warming over the past five decades [9, 10]. We show that continued warming might drive potentially hundreds of species toward and beyond the edge of the Australian continent where sustained retreat is impossible. The potential for global extinctions is profound considering the many endemic seaweeds and seaweed-dependent marine organisms in temperate Australia.
Reef shark movements relative to a coastal marine protected area.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2016
Correlates of extinction proneness in tropical angiosperms
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-07-2008
Winter peatland habitat selection by woodland caribou in northeastern Alberta
Publisher: Canadian Science Publishing
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.1139/Z95-185
Abstract: Woodland caribou in northeastern Alberta are relatively sedentary, occur at low densities, and are classed as endangered in Alberta. Increasing encroachment of the forest and petroleum industries into the southern regions of the boreal woodland caribou range has highlighted the need for detailed habitat analysis for this species. We obtained approximately 1000 locations of 47 woodland caribou fitted with very high frequency telemetry collars, providing data on winter habitat use from 1991 to 1994. Telemetry data were combined with digital peatland coverages that best represented lowland habitat ersity. Woodland caribou selected forested fen peatland complexes at both the population and in idual spatial scales. Woodland caribou concentrated feeding activity in forested, raised bog islands. The raised bogs provide more xeric substrate for increased lichen biomass, possibly a key factor in their selection during winter. The hypothesized connection between discontinuous permafrost and the maintenance of raised bog islands in terms of caribou forage distribution and availability is discussed.
Humans and seasonal climate variability threaten large-bodied coral reef fish with small ranges
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-02-2016
DOI: 10.1038/NCOMMS10491
Abstract: Coral reefs are among the most species-rich and threatened ecosystems on Earth, yet the extent to which human stressors determine species occurrences, compared with biogeography or environmental conditions, remains largely unknown. With ever-increasing human-mediated disturbances on these ecosystems, an important question is not only how many species can inhabit local communities, but also which biological traits determine species that can persist (or not) above particular disturbance thresholds. Here we show that human pressure and seasonal climate variability are disproportionately and negatively associated with the occurrence of large-bodied and geographically small-ranging fishes within local coral reef communities. These species are 67% less likely to occur where human impact and temperature seasonality exceed critical thresholds, such as in the marine bio ersity hotspot: the Coral Triangle. Our results identify the most sensitive species and critical thresholds of human and climatic stressors, providing opportunity for targeted conservation intervention to prevent local extinctions.
Response: Commentary: Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 04-10-2021
Criteria for assessing the quality of Middle Pleistocene to Holocene vertebrate fossil ages
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2015
Publisher Correction: Protein-altering variants associated with body mass index implicate pathways that control energy intake and expenditure in obesity
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-06-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41588-019-0447-2
Abstract: An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Genomic analyses identify hundreds of variants associated with age at menarche and support a role for puberty timing in cancer risk
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-04-2017
DOI: 10.1038/NG.3841
Lack of chronological support for stepwise prehuman extinctions of Australian megafauna
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 25-07-2013
Dangers of Sensationalizing Conservation Biology
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-05-2007
Methylome-wide association study of central adiposity implicates genes involved in immune and endocrine systems
Publisher: Future Medicine Ltd
Date: 09-2020
Abstract: Aim: We conducted a methylome-wide association study to examine associations between DNA methylation in whole blood and central adiposity and body fat distribution, measured as waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and waist-to-height ratio adjusted for body mass index, in 2684 African–American adults in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study. Materials & methods: We validated significantly associated cytosine–phosphate–guanine methylation sites (CpGs) among adults using the Women's Health Initiative and Framingham Heart Study participants (combined n = 5743) and generalized associations in adolescents from The Raine Study (n = 820). Results & conclusion: We identified 11 CpGs that were robustly associated with one or more central adiposity trait in adults and two in adolescents, including CpG site associations near TXNIP, ADCY7, SREBF1 and RAP1GAP2 that had not previously been associated with obesity-related traits.
Informing CITES Parties : Strengthening science ‐ based decision ‐ making when listing marine species
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-10-2019
DOI: 10.1111/FAF.12411
Scarring patterns and relative mortality rates of Indian Ocean whale sharks
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2008
Aerial culling invasive alien deer with shotguns improves efficiency and welfare outcomes
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 25-04-2023
DOI: 10.3897/NEOBIOTA.83.100993
Abstract: Invasive alien deer (known in Australia as ‘feral deer’ hereafter, ‘alien deer’) are some of Australia’s worst emerging pest species. Recently, the Government of South Australia launched a four-year program to reduce the populations of alien fallow deer ( Dama dama ). The program will focus on coordinating landscape-scale aerial culls and seeks to deliver the most efficient and humane approach to aerial culling. We sourced data from a recent program trialling a new approach to aerial culling that incorporated advanced thermal technology and a second shooter with a shotgun to target fallow deer. We reviewed available video and audio records of 104 deer culled in the program to assess efficiency and welfare outcomes. We collected information on the number of shotgun and rifle rounds fired per animal, time between first shot with a shotgun and apparent death, and pursuit time. We completed field dissections of 20 in iduals targeted in the program to assess the lethality of wounds inflicted with shotgun pellets. We also compared program costs and efficiency against published and unpublished data from ten other aerial-culling programs for alien deer in South Australia since 2009. A total of 383 shotgun rounds and 10 rifle rounds were used on 104 fallow deer in the focal program. We documented strong improvements to animal welfare for alien deer targeted with shotguns. The mean (± standard error) time between first shot and apparent death with a shotgun was 11.1 ± 0.7 seconds mean pursuit time between detection and apparent death was 49.5 ± 3.4 seconds. Pursuit time increased with subsequent deer controlled within a group the maximum pursuit time for any in idual was 159.0 seconds. All autopsied animals had received lethal wounds from shotgun pellets, with 100% receiving lung-penetrating damage and 70% also receiving heart-penetrating damage. While a program that uses a shotgun and rifle combined with a second shooter and thermographer can cost more to mobilise, the outcomes measured in cost deer -1 made it the most cost-effective approach of any program we assessed. Control options that deliver improved animal welfare outcomes and increase efficiency are desirable for managing expanding populations of alien deer in South Australia and elsewhere.
Predicting predator–prey interactions in terrestrial endotherms using random forest
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-07-2023
DOI: 10.1111/ECOG.06619
Abstract: Species interactions play a fundamental role in ecosystems. However, few ecological communities have complete data describing such interactions, which is an obstacle to understanding how ecosystems function and respond to perturbations. Because it is often impractical to collect empirical data for all interactions in a community, various methods have been developed to infer interactions. Machine learning is increasingly being used for making interaction predictions, with random forest being one of the most frequently used of these methods. However, performance of random forest in inferring predator‐prey interactions in terrestrial vertebrates and its sensitivity to training data quality remain untested. We examined predator–prey interactions in two erse, primarily terrestrial vertebrate classes: birds and mammals. Combining data from a global interaction dataset and a specific community (Simpson Desert, Australia), we tested how well random forest predicted predator–prey interactions for mammals and birds using species' ecomorphological and phylogenetic traits. We also tested how variation in training data quality – manipulated by removing records and switching interaction records to non‐interactions – affected model performance. We found that random forest could predict predator–prey interactions for birds and mammals using ecomorphological or phylogenetic traits, correctly predicting up to 88 and 67% of interactions and non‐interactions in the global and community‐specific datasets, respectively. These predictions were accurate even when there were no records in the training data for focal species. In contrast, false non‐interactions for focal predators in training data strongly degraded model performance. Our results demonstrate that random forest can identify predator–prey interactions for birds and mammals that have few or no interaction records. Furthermore, our study provides guidance on how to prepare training data to optimise machine learning classifiers for predicting species interactions, which could help ecologists 1) address knowledge gaps and explore network‐related questions in data‐poor situations, and 2) predict interactions for range‐expanding species.
Estimating co‐extinction threats in terrestrial ecosystems
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-06-2023
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.16836
Abstract: The biosphere is changing rapidly due to human endeavour. Because ecological communities underlie networks of interacting species, changes that directly affect some species can have indirect effects on others. Accurate tools to predict these direct and indirect effects are therefore required to guide conservation strategies. However, most extinction‐risk studies only consider the direct effects of global change—such as predicting which species will breach their thermal limits under different warming scenarios—with predictions of trophic cascades and co‐extinction risks remaining mostly speculative. To predict the potential indirect effects of primary extinctions, data describing community interactions and network modelling can estimate how extinctions cascade through communities. While theoretical studies have demonstrated the usefulness of models in predicting how communities react to threats like climate change, few have applied such methods to real‐world communities. This gap partly reflects challenges in constructing trophic network models of real‐world food webs, highlighting the need to develop approaches for quantifying co‐extinction risk more accurately. We propose a framework for constructing ecological network models representing real‐world food webs in terrestrial ecosystems and subjecting these models to co‐extinction scenarios triggered by probable future environmental perturbations. Adopting our framework will improve estimates of how environmental perturbations affect whole ecological communities. Identifying species at risk of co‐extinction (or those that might trigger co‐extinctions) will also guide conservation interventions aiming to reduce the probability of co‐extinction cascades and additional species losses.
Protein-coding variants implicate novel genes related to lipid homeostasis contributing to body-fat distribution
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-02-2019
Contact behaviour of simulated rough spheres generated with spherical harmonics
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2020
Strange bedfellows? Techno-fixes to solve the big conservation issues in southern Asia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2012
Robust estimates of extinction time in the geological record
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2012
Early human settlement of Sahul was not an accident
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-06-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-019-42946-9
Abstract: The first peopling of Sahul (Australia, New Guinea and the Aru Islands joined at lower sea levels) by anatomically modern humans required multiple maritime crossings through Wallacea, with at least one approaching 100 km. Whether these crossings were accidental or intentional is unknown. Using coastal-viewshed analysis and ocean drift modelling combined with population projections, we show that the probability of randomly reaching Sahul by any route is % until ≥40 adults are ‘washed off’ an island at least once every 20 years. We then demonstrate that choosing a time of departure and making minimal headway (0.5 knots) toward a destination greatly increases the likelihood of arrival. While drift modelling demonstrates the existence of ‘bottleneck’ crossings on all routes, arrival via New Guinea is more likely than via northwestern Australia. We conclude that anatomically modern humans had the capacity to plan and make open-sea voyages lasting several days by at least 50,000 years ago.
Limited evidence for the demographic Allee effect from numerous species across taxa
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-2010
DOI: 10.1890/09-1128.1
Abstract: Extensive theoretical work on demographic Allee effects has led to the latent assumption that they are ubiquitous in natural populations, yet current empirical support for this phenomenon is sparse. We extended previous single-taxon analyses to evaluate the empirical support for demographic Allee effects in the per capita population growth rate of 1198 natural populations spanning all major taxa. For each population, we quantified the empirical support for five population growth models: no growth (random walk) exponential growth, with and without an Allee effect and logistic growth, with and without an Allee effect. We used two metrics to quantify empirical support, information-theoretic and Bayesian strength of evidence, and observed top-rank frequency. The Ricker logistic model was both the most supported and most frequently top-ranked model, followed by random walk. Allee models had a combined relative support of 12.0% but were top-ranked in only 1.1% of the time series. Accounting for local climate variation and measurement error caused the loss of top-ranked Allee models, although the latter also increased their relative support. The 13 time series exhibiting Allee models were shorter and less variable than other time series, although only three were non-trending. Time series containing observations at low abundance were not more likely and did not show higher support for Allee effect models. We conclude that there is relatively high potential for demographic Allee effects in these 1198 time series but comparatively few observed cases, perhaps due to the influences of climate and measurement error.
Strong but opposing β -diversity–stability relationships in coral reef fish communities
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 22-02-2014
Abstract: The ‘ ersity–stability hypothesis’, in which higher species ersity within biological communities buffers the risk of ecological collapse, is now generally accepted. However, empirical evidence for a relationship between β - ersity (spatial turnover in community structure) and temporal stability in community structure remains equivocal, despite important implications for theoretical ecology and conservation biology. Here, we report strong β - ersity–stability relationships across a broad s le of fish taxa on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. These relationships were robust to random s ling error and spatial and environmental factors, such as latitude, reef size and isolation. While β - ersity was positively associated with temporal stability at the community level, the relationship was negative for some taxa, for ex le surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae), one of the most abundant reef fish families. This demonstrates that the β - ersity–stability relationship should not be indiscriminately assumed for all taxa, but that a species’ risk of extirpation in response to disturbance is likely to be taxon specific and trait based. By combining predictions of spatial and temporal turnover across the study area with observations in marine-protected areas, we conclude that protection alone does not necessarily confer temporal stability and that taxon-specific considerations will improve the outcome of conservation efforts.
Predicting current and future global distributions of whale sharks
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-01-2014
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.12343
Abstract: The Vulnerable (IUCN) whale shark spans warm and temperate waters around the globe. However, their present-day and possible future global distribution has never been predicted. Using 30 years (1980-2010) of whale shark observations recorded by tuna purse-seiners fishing in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, we applied generalized linear mixed-effects models to test the hypothesis that similar environmental covariates predict whale shark occurrence in all major ocean basins. We derived global predictors from satellite images for chlorophyll a and sea surface temperature, and bathymetric charts for depth, bottom slope and distance to shore. We randomly generated pseudo-absences within the area covered by the fisheries, and included fishing effort as an offset to account for potential s ling bias. We predicted sea surface temperatures for 2070 using an ensemble of five global circulation models under a no climate-policy reference scenario, and used these to predict changes in distribution. The full model (excluding standard deviation of sea surface temperature) had the highest relative statistical support (wAICc = 0.99) and explained ca. 60% of the deviance. Habitat suitability was mainly driven by spatial variation in bathymetry and sea surface temperature among oceans, although these effects differed slightly among oceans. Predicted changes in sea surface temperature resulted in a slight shift of suitable habitat towards the poles in both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans (ca. 5°N and 3-8°S, respectively) accompanied by an overall range contraction (2.5-7.4% and 1.1-6.3%, respectively). Predicted changes in the Pacific Ocean were small. Assuming that whale shark environmental requirements and human disturbances (i.e. no stabilization of greenhouse gas emissions) remain similar, we show that warming sea surface temperatures might promote a net retreat from current aggregation areas and an overall redistribution of the species.
Novel coupling of individual‐based epidemiological and demographic models predicts realistic dynamics of tuberculosis in alien buffalo
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-10-2011
Temporal variation in the vertical stratification of blubber fatty acids alters diet predictions for lactating Weddell seals
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2007
Association of Adiposity Genetic Variants With Menarche Timing in 92,105 Women of European Descent
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-04-2013
DOI: 10.1093/AJE/KWS473
Population status, trends and a re‐examination of the hypotheses explaining the recent declines of the southern elephant seal Mirounga leonina
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2005
Evaluating the Relative Environmental Impact of Countries
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 03-05-2010
Lower reproductive success in hybrid fur seal males indicates fitness costs to hybridization
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-06-2007
Twenty Landmark Papers in Biodiversity Conservation
Publisher: InTech
Date: 12-10-2011
DOI: 10.5772/23984
Accuracy of species identification by fisheries observers in a north Australian shark fishery
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2012
The SAFE index: using a threshold population target to measure relative species threat
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-03-2011
DOI: 10.1890/100177
Particle shape quantification using rotation-invariant spherical harmonic analysis
Publisher: Thomas Telford Ltd.
Date: 06-2017
Abstract: A three-dimensional particle surface can be mathematically represented by a spherical harmonic (SH) coefficient matrix through surface parameterisation and SH expansion. However, this matrix depends not only on the particle shape, but also on the size, position and orientation. This study adopts a rotation-invariant analysis to explore the relationship between SH coefficient matrices and particle shape characteristics. Particle shapes are quantified at different scales (i.e. form, roundness and compactness). These methods are applied to two groups of particles [i.e. Leighton Buzzard sand (LBS) particles and LBS fragments] with distinct shape features. Using rotation invariants, the multi-scale nature of the particle shape is illustrated, and two novel shape descriptors are defined. The results in this paper serve as a starting point for the generation of particle shapes with the prescribed shape features using SHs.
An ecological regime shift resulting from disrupted predator-prey interactions in Holocene Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2014
DOI: 10.1890/13-0746.1
Minimum viable population size: not magic, but necessary
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2011
Convergence of Culture, Ecology, and Ethics: Management of Feral Swamp Buffalo in Northern Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-03-2009
Spatial and temporal movement patterns of a multi-species coastal reef shark aggregation
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 16-05-2011
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS09080
The devil in the (demographic) detail
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-2006
Influence of maternal mass and condition on energy transfer in Weddell seals
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2006
Measuring the Meltdown: Drivers of Global Amphibian Extinction and Decline
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 20-02-2008
Predicting targets and costs for feral-cat reduction on large islands using stochastic population models
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 14-06-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.06.12.149393
Abstract: Feral cats are some of the most destructive invasive predators worldwide, particularly in insular environments hence, density-reduction c aigns are often applied to alleviate the predation mortality they add to native fauna. Density-reduction and eradication efforts are costly procedures with important outcomes for native fauna recovery, so they require adequate planning to be successful. These plans need to include empirical density-reduction models that can guide yearly culling quotas, and resource roll-out for the duration of the culling period. This ensures densities are reduced over the long term and that no resources are wasted. We constructed a stochastic population model with cost estimates to test the relative effectiveness and cost-efficiency of two main culling scenarios for a 10-year eradication c aign of cats on Kangaroo Island, Australia: (1) constant proportional annual cull (one-phase), and (2) high initial culling followed by a constant proportional maintenance cull (two-phase). A one-phase cull of at least 0.35 of the annual population size would reduce the final population to 0.1 of its original size, while a two-phase cull with an initial cull of minimum 0.6 and minimum 0.5 maintenance cull would reduce the final population to 0.01 of its initial size by 2030. Cost estimates varied widely depending on the methods applied (shooting, trapping, aerial poison baits, Felixer ™ poison-delivery system), but using baiting, trapping and Felixers with additional shooting to meet culling quotas was the most cost-effective combination (minimum cost: AU$19.56 million range: AU$16.87 million–AU$20.69 million). Our model provides an adaptable and general assessment tool for cat reductions in Australia and potentially elsewhere, and provides relative culling costs for the Kangaroo Island programme specifically.
The Positive Association of Obesity Variants with Adulthood Adiposity Strengthens over an 80-Year Period: A Gene-by-Birth Year Interaction
Publisher: S. Karger AG
Date: 2013
DOI: 10.1159/000351742
Abstract: b i Objective: /i /b To test the hypothesis that the statistical effect of obesity-related genetic variants on adulthood adiposity traits depends on birth year. b i Methods: /i /b The study s le included 907 related, non-Hispanic White participants in the Fels Longitudinal Study, born between 1901 and 1986, and aged 25-64.99 years (474 females 433 males) at the time of measurement. All had both genotype data from which a genetic risk score (GRS) composed of 32 well-replicated obesity-related common single nucleotide polymorphisms was created, and phenotype data [including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and the sum of four subcutaneous skinfolds]. Maximum likelihood-based variance components analysis was used to estimate trait heritabilities, main effects of GRS and birth year, GRS-by-birth year interaction, sex, and age. b i Results: /i /b Positive GRS-by-birth year interaction effects were found for BMI (p 0.001), waist circumference (p = 0.007), and skinfold thickness (p 0.007). For ex le, each one-allele increase in GRS was estimated to result in a 0.16 increase in BMI among males born in 1930 compared to a 0.47 increase among those born in 1970. b i Conclusions: /i /b These novel findings suggest the influence of common obesity susceptibility variants has increased during the obesity epidemic.
A tropical perspective on conserving the boreal ‘lung of the planet’
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2012
Disease and the devil: density-dependent epidemiological processes explain historical population fluctuations in the Tasmanian devil
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-03-2005
A Numerical Investigation on Effective Diffusion in Cement-Based Composites: The Role of Aggregate Shape
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-06-2022
DOI: 10.1007/S11242-022-01804-5
Abstract: Diffusive behaviour is the fundamental mechanism of ionic-induced corrosion in cement–granular composites. Aggregate characteristics, including shape anisotropy, spatial orientation, and size distribution, significantly influence effective diffusivity. However, influences of all such types of aggregate irregularity have rarely been systematically quantified, and most of the representative aggregate shapes in numerical simulations are convex than realistic concave. In this study, we apply the finite element method (FEM) to investigate diffusion behaviour of 2D cement-based composites. Realistic multi-scale aggregate shapes, characterised by fractal dimension ( F d ) and relative roughness ( R r ), are generated to highlight the influence of aggregate morphology on the effective diffusivity. The spatial distribution is evaluated by the disorder index. From numerical results, s les with a larger disorder index, indicating a broader throat size distribution, show smaller effective diffusivities. Meanwhile, aggregate shape irregularity causes much smaller effective diffusivities, highlighting the necessity of the realistic concave particle shapes in numerical simulations. Sensitivity studies show F d and R r are more related to the effective diffusivity than other single-scale classical shape parameters. At last, a model with only these two shape parameters is proposed to predict effective diffusivity. This work further improves the understanding of the role of aggregate morphology on the effective diffusivity, towards applications in ionic-induced corrosion in two-phase composites. Realistic grain shapes in composites are generated using Fourier transformation. Effects of aggregate characteristics on the effective diffusivity are investigated. F d and R r are key geometrical parameters influencing the effective diffusivity.
Threat or invasive status in legumes is related to opposite extremes of the same ecological and life-history attributes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-08-2008
Effectiveness of Biological Surrogates for Predicting Patterns of Marine Biodiversity: A Global Meta-Analysis
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 14-06-2011
Meta-analysis of genome-wide association data identifies two loci influencing age at menarche
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-05-2009
DOI: 10.1038/NG.386
Minimum viable population sizes and global extinction risk are unrelated
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-02-2006
DOI: 10.1111/J.1461-0248.2006.00883.X
Abstract: Theoretical and empirical work has shown that once reduced in size and geographical range, species face a considerably elevated risk of extinction. We predict minimum viable population sizes (MVP) for 1198 species based on long‐term time‐series data and model‐averaged population dynamics simulations. The median MVP estimate was 1377 in iduals (90% probability of persistence over 100 years) but the overall distribution was wide and strongly positively skewed. Factors commonly cited as correlating with extinction risk failed to predict MVP but were able to predict successfully the probability of World Conservation Union Listing. MVPs were most strongly related to local environmental variation rather than a species’ intrinsic ecological and life history attributes. Further, the large variation in MVP across species is unrelated to (or at least dwarfed by) the anthropogenic threats that drive the global bio ersity crisis by causing once‐abundant species to decline.
Environmental and allometric drivers of tree growth rates in a north Australian savanna
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2006
SUSCEPTIBILITY OF SHARKS, RAYS AND CHIMAERAS TO GLOBAL EXTINCTION
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2009
Fine-scale habitat selection of crabeater seals as determined by diving behavior
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2008
Population abundance and apparent survival of the Vulnerable whale shark Rhincodon typus in the Seychelles aggregation
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 25-09-2009
Grand Challenges in Global Biodiversity Threats
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 09-11-2020
Stochastic models support rapid peopling of Late Pleistocene Sahul
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-04-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-021-21551-3
Abstract: The peopling of Sahul (the combined continent of Australia and New Guinea) represents the earliest continental migration and settlement event of solely anatomically modern humans, but its patterns and ecological drivers remain largely conceptual in the current literature. We present an advanced stochastic-ecological model to test the relative support for scenarios describing where and when the first humans entered Sahul, and their most probable routes of early settlement. The model supports a dominant entry via the northwest Sahul Shelf first, potentially followed by a second entry through New Guinea, with initial entry most consistent with 50,000 or 75,000 years ago based on comparison with bias-corrected archaeological map layers. The model’s emergent properties predict that peopling of the entire continent occurred rapidly across all ecological environments within 156–208 human generations (4368–5599 years) and at a plausible rate of 0.71–0.92 km year −1 . More broadly, our methods and approaches can readily inform other global migration debates, with results supporting an exit of anatomically modern humans from Africa 63,000–90,000 years ago, and the peopling of Eurasia in as little as 12,000–15,000 years via inland routes.
Distribution models predict large contractions of habitat‐forming seaweeds in response to ocean warming
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-09-2018
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.12767
Near-Complete Extinction of Native Small Mammal Fauna 25 Years After Forest Fragmentation
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 27-09-2013
Abstract: Most of the planet's terrestrial bio ersity is found in tropical forests, but much of this critical habitat now persists as fragmented patches surrounded by agriculture. Smaller forest patches sustain fewer species than larger patches or contiguous forest. However, the numbers of species that will disappear from a forest fragment—and the rate of species loss—remain poorly understood. Gibson et al. (p. 1508 ) surveyed islands in a reservoir in Thailand to measure the rate of loss of small mammals from small forest fragments. Collapse of the entire native community (up to 12 species) from 16 forest fragments was observed after 25 years of isolation. Thus, small forest fragments hold little value for mammalian bio ersity, and conservation efforts should instead focus on the preservation of large forest expanses.
Conservation Value of Non-Native Banteng in Northern Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-06-2006
DOI: 10.1111/J.1523-1739.2006.00428.X
Abstract: The global species extinction crisis has provided the impetus for elaborate translocation, captive breeding, and cloning programs, but more extreme actions may be necessary. We used mitochondrial DNA, Y-chromosome, and nuclear lactoferrin-encoding gene sequencing to identify a wild population of a pure-strain endangered bovid (Bos javanicus) introduced into northern Australia over 150 years ago. This places the Australian population in a different conservation category relative to its domesticated conspecific in Indonesia (i.e., Bali cattle) that has varying degrees of introgression from other domesticated Bos spp. The success of this endangered non-native species demonstrates that although risky, the deliberate introduction of threatened exotic species into non-native habitat may provide, under some circumstances, a biologically feasible option for conserving large herbivores otherwise imperiled in their native range.
Body mass index is negatively associated with telomere length: a collaborative cross-sectional meta-analysis of 87 observational studies
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2018
DOI: 10.1093/AJCN/NQY107
Synergies among extinction drivers under global change
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2008
DOI: 10.1016/J.TREE.2008.03.011
Abstract: If habitat destruction or overexploitation of populations is severe, species loss can occur directly and abruptly. Yet the final descent to extinction is often driven by synergistic processes ( lifying feedbacks) that can be disconnected from the original cause of decline. We review recent observational, experimental and meta-analytic work which together show that owing to interacting and self-reinforcing processes, estimates of extinction risk for most species are more severe than previously recognised. As such, conservation actions which only target single-threat drivers risk being inadequate because of the cascading effects caused by unmanaged synergies. Future work should focus on how climate change will interact with and accelerate ongoing threats to bio ersity, such as habitat degradation, overexploitation and invasive species.
Fertility partially drives the relative success of two introduced bovines (Bubalus bubalis and Bos javanicus) in the Australian tropics
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2011
DOI: 10.1071/WR10174
Abstract: Context Some large herbivores introduced to Australia have achieved population densities so high as to cause considerable ecological damage. Intriguingly, others have been relatively less successful and have correspondingly perturbed their new environments less. An excellent ex le is two similar-sized bovine species that established feral populations in the Northern Territory of Australia in the mid-19th century. Asian sw buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) rapidly colonised the tropical savannas, causing ecological degradation, especially on freshwater sw s. In contrast, banteng (Bos javanicus) are restricted to their point of introduction and have caused relatively negligible ecological damage. Understanding the reasons of this differential success is of theoretical and applied interest and contributes to managing large herbivore populations for ex situ conservation and feral-animal control. Aims To compare the population structure of buffalo and banteng on the basis of shot s les, so as to construct life tables for four contemporary (low-density) buffalo populations, and collated data from previous work from three historical (high-density) buffalo populations and one banteng population (the only extant ex situ population in existence). Further, to provide a validation of age estimation with and without informed priors in a Bayesian model comparing horn length and ages estimated from tooth cementum annuli. Finally, to interpret our results in the context of relative invasion potential of the two bovid species. Key Results For both species, survival of juveniles was the most important demographic component influencing deterministic population growth. However, buffalo have the demographic capacity to recover swiftly after control because of high survival and fertility rates across a range of population densities. Fertility of buffalo was historically greater than that of banteng, and buffalo fertility increased as their populations were reduced. Conclusions These findings highlight how subtle differences in demographic rates and feeding ecology can influence the success (high population growth and range expansion) of large herbivores, knowledge which is increasingly important for managing invasive species effectively. Implications We show that that in idual life-history traits and demographic performance, especially fertility, play an important role in determining the spread of invasive bovids in a novel environment.
Spatially explicit analyses of environmental and health data to determine past, emerging, and future threats to child health
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-2021
DOI: 10.1111/JPC.15822
Abstract: Dire forecasts predict that an increasingly hostile environment globally will increase the threats to human health. Infants and young children are especially at risk because children are particularly vulnerable to climate‐related stressors. The childhood diseases most affected, the breadth and magnitude of future health problems and the time frame over which these problems will manifest remain largely unknown. To review the possibility that spacially explicit analyses can be used to determine how climate change has affected children's health to date and whether these analyses can be used for future projections. As an ex le of whether these objectives can be achieved, all available Australian environmental and health databases were reviewed. Environmental and health data in Australia have been collected for up to 30 years for the same spatial areas at ‘Statistical Area level 1’ (SA1) scale. SA1s are defined as having a population of between 200 and 800 people and collectively they cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlap. Although the SA1 environmental and health data have been collected separately, they can be merged to allow detailed statistical analyses that can determine how climate change has affected the health of children. The availability of environmental and health datasets that share the same precise spatial coordinates provides a pathway whereby past and emerging effects on child health can be measured and predicted into the future. Given that the future health and well‐being of children is one of society's greatest concerns, this information is urgently needed.
Fine-scale benthic biodiversity patterns inferred from image processing
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2015
Testing the socioeconomic and environmental determinants of better child-health outcomes in Africa: A cross-sectional study among nations
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 09-2019
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2019-029968
Abstract: We sought to test hypotheses regarding the principal correlates of child-health performance among African nations based on previous evidence collected at finer spatial scales. Retrospective, cross-sectional study. All countries in Africa, excluding small-island nations. We defined a composite child-health indicator for each country comprising the incidence of stunting, deaths from respiratory disease, deaths from diarrhoeal disease, deaths from other infectious disease and deaths from injuries for children aged under 5 years. We also compiled national-level data for Africa to test the effects of country-level water quality, air pollution, food supply, breast feeding, environmental performance, per capita wealth, healthcare investment, population density and governance quality on the child-health indicator. Across nations, child health was lowest when water quality, improved sanitation, air quality and environmental performance were lowest. There was also an important decline in child health as household size (a proxy for population density) increased. The remaining variables had only weak effects, but in the directions we hypothesised. These results emphasise the importance of continued investment in clean water and sanitation services, measures to improve air quality and efforts to restrict further environmental degradation, to promote the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 3 target to ‘… end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5’ and Goal 6 to ‘… ensure access to water and sanitation for all’ by 2030.
Climate change enhances the potential impact of infectious disease and harvest on tropical waterfowl
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-06-2009
Modelling effects of water regulation on the population viability of threatened amphibians
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 21-04-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.04.20.440713
Abstract: The regulation of river systems alters hydrodynamics and often reduces lateral connectivity between river channels and floodplains. For taxa such as frogs that rely on floodplain wetlands to complete their lifecycle, decreasing inundation frequency can reduce recruitment and increase the probability of local extinction. We virtually reconstructed the inundation patterns of wetlands under natural and regulated flow conditions and built stochastic population models to quantify the probability of local extinction under different inundation scenarios. Specifically, we explored the interplay of habitat size, inundation frequency, and successive dry years on the local extinction probability of the threatened southern bell frog Litoria raniformis in the Murray River floodplains of South Australia. We hypothesised that the changes to wetland inundation resulting from river regulation are a principal driver of L. raniformis declines in this semi-arid system. Regulation has reduced the inundation frequency of essential habitats below critical thresholds for the persistence of many fresh water-dependent species. Successive dry years raise the probability of local extinction, and these effects are strongest in smaller wetlands. Larger wetlands and those with more frequent average inundation are less susceptible to these effects. Elucidating these trends informs the prioritisation of treatment sites and the frequency of conservation interventions. Environmental water provision (through pumping or the operation of flow-regulating structures) is a promising tool to reduce the probability of breeding failure and local extinction. Our modelling approach can be used to prioritise the delivery of environmental water to L. raniformis and potentially many other frog species.
Chemical immobilisation of wild banteng (Bos javanicus) in northern Australia using detomidine, tiletamine and zolazepam
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2005
Estimating survival and capture probability of fur seal pups using multistate mark-recapture models
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 02-2003
You are what you eat: describing the foraging ecology of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) using blubber fatty acids
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 22-06-2003
Directionally supervised cellular automaton for the initial peopling of Sahul
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 10-05-2022
Abstract: Reconstructing the patterns of expansion out of Africa and across the globe by modern Homo sapiens have been advanced using demographic and travel-cost models. However, modelled routes are ipso facto influenced by migration rates, and vice versa. It is therefore timely to combine these two intertwined phenomena in reconstructing the migratory history of our species. We applied such an approach to one of the world’s earliest peopling events in Sahul covering the period from 75,000–50,000 years ago by combining recently published models producing highest-likelihood ‘superhighways’ of movement with predictions of expansion based on a demographic cellular automaton. The superhighways-supervised model approximately doubled the predicted time to continental saturation (~ 10K years 0.4–0.5 km year-1) compared to that based on the original, directionally unsupervised model (~ 5K years 0.7–0.9 km year-1), suggesting that rates of migration need to account for topographical constraints in addition to rate of saturation. The modification indicates a slower progression than Neolithic farmers (~ 1 km year-1) from the Near East through Europe. Additionally, the scenarios assuming two dominant entry points into Sahul exposed a previously undetected movement corridor south through the centre of Sahul early in the expansion wave. Our combined model infrastructure provides a data-driven means to examine how people initially moved through, settled, and abandoned different regions of the globe, and demonstrates how combining sophisticated continental-scale path modelling with spatial-demographic models can shed light on the complicated process of ancient peopling events.
Predicting sustainable shark harvests when stock assessments are lacking
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 22-03-2018
Abstract: Effective fisheries management generally requires reliable data describing the target species’ life-history characteristics, the size of its harvested populations, and overall catch estimates, to set sustainable quotas and management regulations. However, stock assessments are often not available for long-lived marine species such as sharks, making predictions of the long-term population impacts of variable catch rates difficult. Fortunately, stage- or age-structured population models can assist if sufficient information exists to estimate survival and fertility rates. Using data collected from the bronze whaler (Carcharhinus brachyurus) fishery in South Australia as a case study, we estimated survival probabilities from life tables of harvested in iduals, as well as calculated natural mortalities based on allometric predictions. Fertility data (litter size, proportion mature) from previous studies allowed us to build a fertility vector. Deterministic matrices built using estimates of life-table data or natural mortality (i.e. harvested-augmented and natural mortality) produced instantaneous rates of change of 0.006 and 0.025, respectively. Assuming an incrementing total catch at multiples of current rates, stochastic simulations suggest the relative rate of population decline starts to become precipitous around 25% beyond current harvest rates. This is supported by a sharp increase in weighted mean age of the population around 25% increase on current catches. If the catch is assumed to be proportional (i.e. a constant proportion of the previous year’s population size), the relative r declines approximately linearly with incrementing harvest beyond the current rate. A global sensitivity analysis based on a Latin-hypercube s ling design of seven parameters revealed that variation in the survival estimates derived from the life tables was by far the dominant (boosted-regression tree relative influence score = 91.14%) determinant of model performance (measured as variation in the long-term average rate of population change r). While current harvest rates therefore appear to be sustainable, we recommend that fisheries-management authorities attempt to s le a broader size range of in iduals (especially older animals) and pursue stock assessments. Our models provide a framework for assessing the relative susceptibility of long-lived fishes to harvest pressure when detailed stock data are missing.
Vertical stratification of fatty acids in the blubber of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina): implications for diet analysis
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2003
A Scientific Rationale to Improve Resistance Training Prescription in Exercise Oncology
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-01-2017
DOI: 10.1007/S40279-017-0673-7
Abstract: To date, the prevailing evidence in the field of exercise oncology supports the safety and efficacy of resistance training to attenuate many oncology treatment-related adverse effects, such as risk for cardiovascular disease, increased fatigue, and diminished physical functioning and quality of life. Moreover, findings in the extant literature supporting the benefits of exercise for survivors of and patients with cancer have resulted in the release of exercise guidelines from several international agencies. However, despite research progression and international recognition, current exercise oncology-based exercise prescriptions remain relatively basic and underdeveloped, particularly in regards to resistance training. Recent publications have called for a more precise manipulation of training variables such as volume, intensity, and frequency (i.e., periodization), given the large heterogeneity of a cancer population, to truly optimize clinically relevant patient-reported outcomes. Indeed, increased attention to integrating fundamental principles of exercise physiology into the exercise prescription process could optimize the safety and efficacy of resistance training during cancer care. The purpose of this article is to give an overview of the current state of resistance training prescription and discuss novel methods that can contribute to improving approaches to exercise prescription. We hope this article may facilitate further evaluation of best practice regarding resistance training prescription, monitoring, and modification to ultimately optimize the efficacy of integrating resistance training as a supportive care intervention for survivors or and patients with cancer.
Detailed assessment of the reported economic costs of invasive species in Australia
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 29-07-2021
DOI: 10.3897/NEOBIOTA.67.58834
Abstract: The legacy of deliberate and accidental introductions of invasive alien species to Australia has had a hefty economic toll, yet quantifying the magnitude of the costs associated with direct loss and damage, as well as for management interventions, remains elusive. This is because the reliability of cost estimates and under-s ling have not been determined. We provide the first detailed analysis of the reported costs associated with invasive species to the Australian economy since the 1960s, based on the recently published InvaCost database and supplementary information, for a total of 2078 unique cost entries. Since the 1960s, Australia has spent or incurred losses totalling at least US$298.58 billion (2017 value) or AU$389.59 billion (2017 average exchange rate) from invasive species. However, this is an underestimate given that costs rise as the number of estimates increases following a power law. There was an average 1.8–6.3-fold increase in the total costs per decade since the 1970s to the present, producing estimated costs of US$6.09–57.91 billion year -1 (all costs combined) or US$225.31 million–6.84 billion year -1 (observed, highly reliable costs only). Costs arising from plant species were the highest among kingdoms (US$151.68 billion), although most of the costs were not attributable to single species. Of the identified weedy species, the costliest were annual ryegrass ( Lolium rigidum ), parthenium ( Parthenium hysterophorus ) and ragwort ( Senecio jacobaea ). The four costliest classes were mammals (US$48.63 billion), insects (US$11.95 billion), eudicots (US$4.10 billion) and monocots (US$1.92 billion). The three costliest species were all animals – cats ( Felis catus ), rabbits ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) and red imported fire ants ( Solenopsis invicta ). Each State/Territory had a different suite of major costs by species, but with most (3–62%) costs derived from one to three species per political unit. Most (61%) of the reported costs applied to multiple environments and 73% of the total pertained to direct damage or loss compared to management costs only, with both of these findings reflecting the availability of data. Rising incursions of invasive species will continue to have substantial costs for the Australian economy, but with better investment, standardised assessments and reporting and coordinated interventions (including eradications), some of these costs could be substantially reduced.
Population biology and vulnerability to fishing of deep-water Eteline snappers
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 10-01-2013
DOI: 10.1111/JAI.12123
Inferring population trends for the world's largest fish from mark-recapture estimates of survival
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-01-2007
DOI: 10.1111/J.1365-2656.2006.01201.X
Abstract: 1. Precise estimates of demographic rates are key components of population models used to predict the effects of stochastic environmental processes, harvest scenarios and extinction probability. 2. We used a 12-year photographic identification library of whale sharks from Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia to construct Cormack-Jolly-Seber (CJS) model estimates of survival within a capture-mark-recapture (CMR) framework. Estimated survival rates, population structure and assumptions regarding age at maturity, longevity and reproduction frequency were combined in a series of age-classified Leslie matrices to infer the potential trajectory of the population. 3. Using data from 111 in iduals, there was evidence for time variation in apparent survival (phi) and recapture probability (p). The null model gave a phi of 0.825 (95% CI: 0.727-0.893) and p = 0.184 (95% CI: 0.121-0.271). The model-averaged annual phi ranged from 0.737 to 0.890. There was little evidence for a sex effect on survival. 4. Using standardized total length as a covariate in the CMR models indicated a size bias in phi. Ignoring the effects of time, a 5-m shark has a phi = 0.59 and a 9 m shark has phi = 0.81. 5. Of the 16 model combinations considered, 10 (63%) indicated a decreasing population (lambda < 1). For models based on age at first reproduction (alpha) of 13 years, the mean age of reproducing females at the stable age distribution (A) ranged from 15 to 23 years, which increased to 29-37 years when alpha was assumed to be 25. 6. All model scenarios had higher total elasticities for non-reproductive female survival [E(s(nr))] compared to those for reproductive female survival [E(s(r))]. 7. Assuming relatively slow, but biologically realistic, vital rates (alpha = 25 and biennial reproduction) and size-biased survival probabilities, our results suggest that the Ningaloo Reef population of whale sharks is declining, although more reproductive data are clearly needed to confirm this conclusion. Combining relatively precise survival estimates from CMR studies with realistic assumptions of other vital rates provides a useful heuristic framework for determining the vulnerability of large oceanic predators for which few direct data exist.
Spatial climate patterns explain negligible variation in strength of compensatory density feedbacks in birds and mammals
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 11-03-2014
Taxonomic status of the Australian dingo: The case for Canis dingo Meyer, 1793
Publisher: Magnolia Press
Date: 04-03-2019
DOI: 10.11646/ZOOTAXA.4564.1.6
Abstract: The taxonomic status and systematic nomenclature of the Australian dingo remain contentious, resulting in decades of inconsistent applications in the scientific literature and in policy. Prompted by a recent publication calling for dingoes to be considered taxonomically as domestic dogs (Jackson et al. 2017, Zootaxa 4317, 201-224), we review the issues of the taxonomy applied to canids, and summarise the main differences between dingoes and other canids. We conclude that (1) the Australian dingo is a geographically isolated (allopatric) species from all other Canis, and is genetically, phenotypically, ecologically, and behaviourally distinct and (2) the dingo appears largely devoid of many of the signs of domestication, including surviving largely as a wild animal in Australia for millennia. The case of defining dingo taxonomy provides a quintessential ex le of the disagreements between species concepts (e.g., biological, phylogenetic, ecological, morphological). Applying the biological species concept sensu stricto to the dingo as suggested by Jackson et al. (2017) and consistently across the Canidae would lead to an aggregation of all Canis populations, implying for ex le that dogs and wolves are the same species. Such an aggregation would have substantial implications for taxonomic clarity, biological research, and wildlife conservation. Any changes to the current nomen of the dingo (currently Canis dingo Meyer, 1793), must therefore offer a strong, evidence-based argument in favour of it being recognised as a subspecies of Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758, or as Canis familiaris Linnaeus, 1758, and a successful application to the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature - neither of which can be adequately supported. Although there are many species concepts, the sum of the evidence presented in this paper affirms the classification of the dingo as a distinct taxon, namely Canis dingo.
Spatial and temporal predictions of inter-decadal trends in Indian Ocean whale sharks
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 25-03-2013
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS10166
Global zero-carbon energy pathways using viable mixes of nuclear and renewables
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2015
Turning Pests into Profits: Introduced Buffalo Provide Multiple Benefits to Indigenous People of Northern Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-12-2010
Climate‐driven shifts in the distribution of koala‐browse species from the Last Interglacial to the near future
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-06-2019
DOI: 10.1111/ECOG.04530
Trophy Hunting Does and Will Support Biodiversity: A Reply to Ripple et al.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2016
Estimating the rate of quasi-extinction of the Australian grey nurse shark (Carcharias taurus) population using deterministic age-and stage-classified models
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2004
Tipping elements and amplified polar warming during the Last Interglacial
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2020
Co-extinctions annihilate planetary life during extreme environmental change
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 13-11-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-018-35068-1
Abstract: Climate change and human activity are dooming species at an unprecedented rate via a plethora of direct and indirect, often synergic, mechanisms. Among these, primary extinctions driven by environmental change could be just the tip of an enormous extinction iceberg. As our understanding of the importance of ecological interactions in shaping ecosystem identity advances, it is becoming clearer how the disappearance of consumers following the depletion of their resources — a process known as ‘co-extinction’ — is more likely the major driver of bio ersity loss. Although the general relevance of co-extinctions is supported by a sound and robust theoretical background, the challenges in obtaining empirical information about ongoing (and past) co-extinction events complicate the assessment of their relative contributions to the rapid decline of species ersity even in well-known systems, let alone at the global scale. By subjecting a large set of virtual Earths to different trajectories of extreme environmental change (global heating and cooling), and by tracking species loss up to the complete annihilation of all life either accounting or not for co-extinction processes, we show how ecological dependencies lify the direct effects of environmental change on the collapse of planetary ersity by up to ten times.
Tracking and data–logging devices attached to elephant seals do not affect individual mass gain or survival
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2008
Global evidence that deforestation amplifies flood risk and severity in the developing world
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-08-2007
Misconceptions about analyses of Australian seaweed collections
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 04-2014
DOI: 10.2216/13-197.1
Dangerous Ideas in Zoology: Plenary Session 1
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 06-2017
DOI: 10.7882/AZ.2016.036
Clarity and Precision of Language Are a Necessary Route in Ecology
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 14-04-2014
Using artificial neural networks to model the suitability of coastline for breeding by New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri)
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2002
Protein mining the world's oceans: Australasia as an example of illegal expansion-and-displacement fishing
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-08-2009
Ecologically realistic estimates of maximum population growth using informed Bayesian priors
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-11-2013
Species decline under nitrogen fertilization increases community-level competence of fungal diseases
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 25-01-2017
Abstract: The artificial fertilization of soils can alter the structure of natural plant communities and exacerbate pathogen emergence and transmission. Although the direct effects of fertilization on disease resistance in plants have received some research attention, its indirect effects of altered community structure on the severity of fungal disease infection remain largely uninvestigated. We designed manipulation experiments in natural assemblages of Tibetan alpine meadow vegetation along a nitrogen-fertilization gradient over 5 years to compare the relative importance of direct and indirect effects of fertilization on foliar fungal infections at the community level. We found that species with lower proneness to pathogens were more likely to be extirpated following fertilization, such that community-level competence of disease, and thus community pathogen load, increased with the intensity of fertilization. The amount of nitrogen added (direct effect) and community disease competence (indirect effect) provided the most parsimonious combination of parameters explaining the variation in disease severity. Our experiment provides a mechanistic explanation for the dilution effect in fertilized, natural assemblages in a highly specific pathogen–host system, and thus insights into the consequences of human ecosystem modifications on the dynamics of infectious diseases.
Applying the Heat to Research Techniques for Species Conservation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-10-2006
Parent-of-origin-specific allelic associations among 106 genomic loci for age at menarche
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-07-2014
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE13545
Modeling tag loss in New Zealand fur seal pups
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-2000
DOI: 10.2307/1400661
Predicting targets and costs for feral‐cat reduction on large islands using stochastic population models
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-05-2021
DOI: 10.1111/CSP2.448
Abstract: Feral cats are some of the most destructive invasive predators worldwide, particularly in insular environments hence, density‐reduction c aigns are often applied to alleviate the predation mortality they add to native fauna. Density‐reduction and eradication efforts are costly procedures with important outcomes for native fauna recovery, so they require adequate planning to be successful. These plans should include empirical density‐reduction models that can guide yearly culling quotas, and resource roll‐out for the duration of the culling period. This ensures densities are reduced over the long term and that resources are not wasted. We constructed a stochastic population model with cost estimates to test the relative effectiveness and cost‐efficiency of two main culling scenarios for a 10‐year eradication c aign of cats on Kangaroo Island, Australia: (a) constant proportional annual cull (one‐phase), and (b) high initial culling followed by a constant proportional maintenance cull (two‐phase). A one‐phase cull of at least 0.35 of the annual population size would reduce the final population to 0.1 of its original size, while a two‐phase cull with an initial cull of minimum 0.6 and minimum 0.5 maintenance cull would reduce the final population to 0.01 of its initial size within the 10‐year time frame. Cost estimates varied widely depending on the methods applied (shooting, trapping, aerial poison baits, Felixer ™ poison‐delivery system), but using baiting, trapping and Felixers with additional shooting to meet culling quotas was the most cost‐effective combination (minimum cost: AU$19.56 million range: AU$16.87 million–AU$20.69 million). Our model provides an adaptable and general assessment tool for cat reductions in Australia and potentially elsewhere, and provides relative culling costs for the Kangaroo Island c aign specifically.
The winter migration of Adelie penguins breeding in the Ross Sea sector of Antarctica
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-2001
Net benefit of smaller human populations to environmental integrity and individual health and well-being
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 06-09-2023
Gender bias when assessing recommended ecology articles
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 11-04-2018
DOI: 10.3897/RETHINKINGECOLOGY.3.24333
Abstract: Gender bias is still unfortunately rife in the sciences, and men co-author most articles (& 70%) in ecology. Whether ecologists subconsciously rate the quality of their peers’ work more favourably when they are the same gender (homophily) is still unclear. To test this hypothesis, we examined how ecologist editors ranked important ecology articles based on a previously compiled list where they had first each proposed some articles and then voted on all proposed articles. The proportion of female co-authors on the articles proposed by men were lower (0.06 to 0.09) than those proposed by women (0.13 to 0.27), although the data were highly skewed and most proposed articles (77%) had no female co-authors. For the 100 top-ranked articles voted by women or men only, the gender difference remained: female voters ranked articles in the top 100 that had more female co-authors (0.029 to 0.093 proportion women) than did those voted by men (0.001 to 0.029). Female voters tended to rank articles more highly as the number of male co-authors increased, and the relationship between article rank and proportion of male co-authors was even stronger when only men voted. This effect disappeared after testing only articles that editors declared they had actually read. This could indicate a persistent, subconscious tendency toward homophily when assessing the perceived quality of articles that ecologists have not actually read.
Blubber and buoyancy: monitoring the body condition of free-ranging seals using simple dive characteristics
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 10-2003
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.00583
Abstract: Elephant seals regularly perform es during which they spend a large proportion of time drifting passively through the water column. The rate of vertical change in depth during these `drift' es is largely a result of the proportion of lipid tissue in the body, with fatter seals having higher (more positive or less negative) drift rates compared with leaner seals. We examined the temporal changes in drift rates of 24 newly weaned southern elephant seal(Mirounga leonina) pups during their first trip to sea to determine if this easily recorded e characteristic can be used to continuously monitor changes in body composition of seals throughout their foraging trips. All seals demonstrated a similar trend over time: drift rates were initially positive but decreased steadily over the first 30-50 days after departure(Phase 1), corresponding to seals becoming gradually less buoyant. Over the following ∼100 days (Phase 2), drift rates again increased gradually,while during the last ∼20-45 days (Phase 3) drift rates either remained constant or decreased slightly. The daily rate of change in drift rate was negatively related to the daily rate of horizontal displacement (daily travel rate), and daily travel rates of more than ∼80 km were almost exclusively associated with negative changes in drift rate. We developed a mechanistic model based on body compositions and morphometrics measured in the field,published values for the density of seawater and various body components, and values of drag coefficients for objects of different shapes. We used this model to examine the theoretical relationships between drift rate and body composition and carried out a sensitivity analysis to quantify errors and biases caused by varying model parameters. While variations in seawater density and uncertainties in estimated body surface area and volume are unlikely to result in errors in estimated lipid content of more than±2.5%, variations in drag coefficient can lead to errors of ≥10%. Finally, we compared the lipid contents predicted by our model with the lipid contents measured using isotopically labelled water and found a strong positive correlation. The best-fitting model suggests that the drag coefficient of seals while drifting passively is between ∼0.49 (roughly corresponding to a sphere-shaped object) and 0.69 (a prolate spheroid), and we were able to estimate relative lipid content to within approximately±2% lipid. Our results suggest that this simple method can be used to estimate the changes in lipid content of free-ranging seals while at sea and may help improve our understanding of the foraging strategies of these important marine predators.
Rare and low-frequency coding variants alter human adult height
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-2017
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE21039
Dispersal-driven homogenization of wetland vegetation revealed from local contributions to β-diversity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-06-2017
DOI: 10.1111/JVS.12546
Continental-Scale Governance and the Hastening of Loss of Australia's Biodiversity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2013
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.12189
MEASUREMENT ERROR CAUSES SCALE-DEPENDENT THRESHOLD EROSION OF BIOLOGICAL SIGNALS IN ANIMAL MOVEMENT DATA
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2007
DOI: 10.1890/06-0964
Abstract: Recent advances in telemetry technology have created a wealth of tracking data available for many animal species moving over spatial scales from tens of meters to tens of thousands of kilometers. Increasingly, such data sets are being used for quantitative movement analyses aimed at extracting fundamental biological signals such as optimal searching behavior and scale-dependent foraging decisions. We show here that the location error inherent in various tracking technologies reduces the ability to detect patterns of behavior within movements. Our analyses endeavored to set out a series of initial ground rules for ecologists to help ensure that s ling noise is not misinterpreted as a real biological signal. We simulated animal movement tracks using specialized random walks known as Lévy flights at three spatial scales of investigation: 100-km, 10-km, and 1-km maximum daily step lengths. The locations generated in the simulations were then blurred using known error distributions associated with commonly applied tracking methods: the Global Positioning System (GPS), Argos polar-orbiting satellites, and light-level geolocation. Deviations from the idealized Lévy flight pattern were assessed for each track after incrementing levels of location error were applied at each spatial scale, with additional assessments of the effect of error on scale-dependent movement patterns measured using fractal mean dimension and first-passage time (FPT) analyses. The accuracy of parameter estimation (Lévy mu, fractal mean D, and variance in FPT) declined precipitously at threshold errors relative to each spatial scale. At 100-km maximum daily step lengths, error standard deviations of > or = 10 km seriously eroded the biological patterns evident in the simulated tracks, with analogous thresholds at the 10-km and 1-km scales (error SD > or = 1.3 km and 0.07 km, respectively). Temporal subs ling of the simulated tracks maintained some elements of the biological signals depending on error level and spatial scale. Failure to account for large errors relative to the scale of movement can produce substantial biases in the interpretation of movement patterns. This study provides researchers with a framework for understanding the limitations of their data and identifies how temporal subs ling can help to reduce the influence of spatial error on their conclusions.
Tropical turmoil: a biodiversity tragedy in progress
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-06-2009
DOI: 10.1890/070193
Differential Mobilization of Blubber Fatty Acids in Lactating Weddell Seals: Evidence for Selective Use
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Date: 09-2008
DOI: 10.1086/590397
Abstract: A major source of energy during lactation in mammals is provided through the mobilization of blubber fatty acids (FAs). We investigated the extent to which FAs were mobilized to support both maternal metabolic requirements and milk production in the Weddell seal and how this was reflected in the FA composition of the pup's blubber at the end of lactation (EL). FA composition of postpartum female blubber was similar in the 2 yr of study (2002 and 2003) but differed markedly by EL. Pup blubber FAs (at EL) were also different between years and did not match that of the mother's milk or blubber. Milk FA composition changed during lactation, which may have been a reflection of an increase in pup energy demands at different stages of development. In addition, there was evidence of feeding by some females during lactation, with higher levels of some FAs in the milk than in the blubber. Our results indicate that differential mobilization of FAs occurred in lactating Weddell seals and that this was related to total body lipid stores at postpartum. Furthermore, growing pups did not store FAs unmodified, providing evidence that selective use does occur and also that using FA composition to elucidate dietary sources may be problematic in growing in iduals.
Climate change not to blame for late Quaternary megafauna extinctions in Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-01-2016
DOI: 10.1038/NCOMMS10511
Abstract: Late Quaternary megafauna extinctions impoverished mammalian ersity worldwide. The causes of these extinctions in Australia are most controversial but essential to resolve, because this continent-wide event presaged similar losses that occurred thousands of years later on other continents. Here we apply a rigorous metadata analysis and new ensemble-hindcasting approach to 659 Australian megafauna fossil ages. When coupled with analysis of several high-resolution climate records, we show that megafaunal extinctions were broadly synchronous among genera and independent of climate aridity and variability in Australia over the last 120,000 years. Our results reject climate change as the primary driver of megafauna extinctions in the world’s most controversial context, and instead estimate that the megafauna disappeared Australia-wide ∼13,500 years after human arrival, with shorter periods of coexistence in some regions. This is the first comprehensive approach to incorporate uncertainty in fossil ages, extinction timing and climatology, to quantify mechanisms of prehistorical extinctions.
Pup density related to terrestrial habitat use by New Zealand fur seals
Publisher: Canadian Science Publishing
Date: 12-1999
DOI: 10.1139/Z99-125
Abstract: Features of the terrain are important in the selection of terrestrial habitat by otariid seals. Fur seals use rocky shorelines where terrain features such as crevices and ledges may provide shelter for pups. New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) are increasing in number and expanding their range, requiring them to select new habitat for breeding. Predicting population expansion is important for assessing potential conflicts with commercial fisheries. We quantified terrain features at 25 breeding colonies and 8 nonbreeding colonies around South Island. Univariate tests demonstrated some differences in terrain between breeding and nonbreeding colonies, although principal components analysis (PCA) did not reveal any obvious differences. We suggest that the power to detect differences is reduced by the tendency for nonbreeding colonies to become breeding colonies over time as the population increases. We found a significant relationship between pup density and terrain (i.e., PCA variables) within breeding colonies. The terrain occupied by high-density colonies contained more and smaller rocks, more crevices and ledges, less-pronounced slopes, higher cliffs, and a more westerly exposure than that occupied by low-density colonies. Smaller rocks may provide more spaces in which pups can find shelter less-pronounced slopes may facilitate pup mobility and higher cliffs may increase shading. We suggest that in addition to terrain features, other phenomena are also involved in breeding-site selection.
Selection of diving strategy by Antarctic fur seals depends on where and when foraging takes place
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 23-06-2010
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS08611
Depletion of deep marine food patches forces divers to give up early
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-08-2013
DOI: 10.1111/J.1365-2656.2012.02021.X
Abstract: Many optimal foraging models for ing animals examine strategies that maximize time spent in the foraging zone, assuming that prey acquisition increases linearly with search time. Other models have considered the effect of patch quality and predict a net energetic benefit if es where no prey is encountered early in the e are abandoned. For deep ers, however, the energetic benefit of giving up is reduced owing to the elevated energy costs associated with descending to physiologically hostile depths, so patch residence time should be invariant. Others consider an asymptotic gain function where the decision to leave a patch is driven by patch-depletion effects - the marginal value theorem. As predator behaviour is increasingly being used as an index of marine resource density and distribution, it is important to understand the nature of this gain function. We investigated the e behaviour of the world's deepest- ing seal, the southern elephant seal Mirounga leonina, in response to patch quality. Testing these models has largely been limited to controlled experiments on captive animals. By integrating in situ measurements of the seal's relative lipid content obtained from drift rate data (a measure of foraging success) with area-restricted search behaviour identified from first-passage time analysis, we identified regions of high- and low-quality patches. Dive durations and bottom times were not invariant and did not increase in regions of high quality rather, both were longer when patches were of relatively low quality. This is consistent with the predictions of the marginal value theorem and provides support for a nonlinear relationship between search time and prey acquisition. We also found higher descent and ascent rates in high-quality patches suggesting that seals minimized travel time to the foraging patch when quality was high however, this was not achieved by increasing speed or e angle. Relative body lipid content was an important predictor of e behaviour. Seals did not schedule their ing to maximize time spent in the foraging zone in higher-quality patches, challenging the widely held view that maximizing time in the foraging zone translates to greater foraging success.
Crabeater seal diving behaviour in eastern Antarctica
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 14-05-2007
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS337265
Ten principles for achieving scientific impact with integrity in policy and management
Publisher: Authorea, Inc.
Date: 06-2021
DOI: 10.22541/AU.162255783.35193499/V1
Abstract: In the face of mounting environmental problems, it is essential that accurate and timely scientific information is available to inform policy development and guide management. Scientists have specialised knowledge necessary for evidenced-based decision making, but despite extensive literature on the interface between science and policy, there is little guidance on achieving policy relevance while maintaining high standards of scientific integrity. Here, we provide a set of principles for environmental scientists to engage with policy makers and environmental water managers. We propose the adoption of a contemporary pluralistic approach using a ersity of modes of engagement between scientists, policy makers, and managers. We define a set of ‘roles’ for environmental scientists to engage effectively with policy and management, and discuss the advantages and pitfalls of each. We illustrate the breadth of modes of engagement at the science-policy-management interface using an ex le from Australia’s largest river system, the Murray-Darling Basin. We challenge the anachronistic, yet persistent concept that engaging with industry or government compromises the objectivity of involved scientists. We argue that there are multiple assurance processes in place to protect scientific integrity. Society needs scientists to be actively involved in finding solutions to the many urgent environmental issues we are facing, and if our principles are followed there are opportunities for healthy interaction between science, policy, and management.
Environmental and spatial predictors of species richness and abundance in coral reef fishes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-02-2010
Density-independent processes decouple component and ensemble density feedbacks
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 22-09-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.09.19.460939
Abstract: Analysis of long-term trends in abundance provide insights into population dynamics. Population growth rates are the emergent interplay of fertility, survival, and dispersal, but the density feedbacks on some vital rates (component) can be decoupled from density feedback on population growth rates (ensemble). However, the mechanisms responsible for this decoupling are poorly understood. We simulated component density feedbacks on survival in age-structured populations of long-living vertebrates and quantified how imposed nonstationarity (density-independent mortality and variation in carrying-capacity) modified the ensemble feedback signal estimated from logistic-growth models to the simulated abundance time series. The statistical detection of ensemble density feedback was largely unaffected by density-independent processes, but catastrophic and proportional mortality eroded the effect of density-dependent survival on ensemble-feedback strength more strongly than variation in carrying capacity. Thus, phenomenological models offer a robust approach to capture density feedbacks from nonstationary census data when density-independent mortality is low.
Strength of evidence for density dependence in abundance time series of 1198 species
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-2006
DOI: 10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[1445:SOEFDD]2.0.CO;2
Abstract: Population limitation is a fundamental tenet of ecology, but the relative roles of exogenous and endogenous mechanisms remain unquantified for most species. Here we used multi-model inference (MMI), a form of model averaging, based on information theory (Akaike's Information Criterion) to evaluate the relative strength of evidence for density-dependent and density-independent population dynamical models in long-term abundance time series of 1198 species. We also compared the MMI results to more classic methods for detecting density dependence: Neyman-Pearson hypothesis-testing and best-model selection using the Bayesian Information Criterion or cross-validation. Using MMI on our large database, we show that density dependence is a pervasive feature of population dynamics (median MMI support for density dependence = 74.7-92.2%), and that this holds across widely different taxa. The weight of evidence for density dependence varied among species but increased consistently, with the number of generations monitored. Best-model selection methods yielded similar results to MMI (a density-dependent model was favored in 66.2-93.9% of species time series), while the hypothesis-testing methods detected density dependence less frequently (32.6-49.8%). There were no obvious differences in the prevalence of density dependence across major taxonomic groups under any of the statistical methods used. These results underscore the value of using multiple modes of analysis to quantify the relative empirical support for a set of working hypotheses that encompass a range of realistic population dynamical behaviors.
The “capacity to reason” in conservation biology and policy: the southern elephant seal branding controversy
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2004
To go or not to go with the flow: Environmental influences on whale shark movement patterns
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2010
Age at menarche and risk of type 2 diabetes among African-American and white women in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-07-2012
Averting biodiversity collapse in tropical forest protected areas
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-07-2012
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE11318
Abstract: The rapid disruption of tropical forests probably imperils global bio ersity more than any other contemporary phenomenon. With deforestation advancing quickly, protected areas are increasingly becoming final refuges for threatened species and natural ecosystem processes. However, many protected areas in the tropics are themselves vulnerable to human encroachment and other environmental stresses. As pressures mount, it is vital to know whether existing reserves can sustain their bio ersity. A critical constraint in addressing this question has been that data describing a broad array of bio ersity groups have been unavailable for a sufficiently large and representative s le of reserves. Here we present a uniquely comprehensive data set on changes over the past 20 to 30 years in 31 functional groups of species and 21 potential drivers of environmental change, for 60 protected areas stratified across the world’s major tropical regions. Our analysis reveals great variation in reserve ‘health’: about half of all reserves have been effective or performed passably, but the rest are experiencing an erosion of bio ersity that is often alarmingly widespread taxonomically and functionally. Habitat disruption, hunting and forest-product exploitation were the strongest predictors of declining reserve health. Crucially, environmental changes immediately outside reserves seemed nearly as important as those inside in determining their ecological fate, with changes inside reserves strongly mirroring those occurring around them. These findings suggest that tropical protected areas are often intimately linked ecologically to their surrounding habitats, and that a failure to stem broad-scale loss and degradation of such habitats could sharply increase the likelihood of serious bio ersity declines.
Eric De Brabandere: Investment treaty arbitration as public international law: procedural aspects and implications
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-2015
50/500 rules need upward revision to 100/1000 – response to Franklin et al
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2014
Spot the match - wildlife photo-identification using information theory
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-01-2007
Abstract: Effective approaches for the management and conservation of wildlife populations require a sound knowledge of population demographics, and this is often only possible through mark-recapture studies. We applied an automated spot-recognition program (I 3 S) for matching natural markings of wildlife that is based on a novel information-theoretic approach to incorporate matching uncertainty. Using a photo-identification database of whale sharks ( Rhincodon typus ) as an ex le case, the information criterion (IC) algorithm we developed resulted in a parsimonious ranking of potential matches of in iduals in an image library. Automated matches were compared to manual-matching results to test the performance of the software and algorithm. Validation of matched and non-matched images provided a threshold IC weight (approximately 0.2) below which match certainty was not assured. Most images tested were assigned correctly however, scores for the by-eye comparison were lower than expected, possibly due to the low s le size. The effect of increasing horizontal angle of sharks in images reduced matching likelihood considerably. There was a negative linear relationship between the number of matching spot pairs and matching score, but this relationship disappeared when using the IC algorithm. The software and use of easily applied information-theoretic scores of match parsimony provide a reliable and freely available method for in idual identification of wildlife, with wide applications and the potential to improve mark-recapture studies without resorting to invasive marking techniques.
Efficiency of electrofishing in turbid lowland rivers: implications for measuring temporal change in fish populations
Publisher: Canadian Science Publishing
Date: 06-2014
Abstract: To quantify how electrofishing capture probability varies over time and across physiochemical and disturbance gradients in a turbid lowland river, we tagged between 68 and 95 fish·year −1 with radio transmitters and up to 424 fish·year −1 with external and passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags. We surveyed the site noninvasively using radiotelemetry to determine which of the radio-tagged fish were present (effectively closing the radio-tagged population to emigration) and then electrofished to estimate the proportion of available fish that were captured based on both this and standard mark–recapture methods. We replicated the electrofishing surveys three times over a minimum of 12 days each year, for 7 years. Electrofishing capture probability varied between 0.020 and 0.310 over the 7 years and between four different large-bodied species (Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii), trout cod (Maccullochella macquariensis), golden perch (Macquaria ambigua ambigua), and silver perch (Bidyanus bidyanus)). River turbidity associated with increased river discharge negatively influenced capture probability. Increasing fish length increased detection of fish up to 500 mm for Murray cod, after which capture probability decreased. Variation in capture probability in large lowland rivers results in additional uncertainty when estimating population size or relative abundance. Research and monitoring programs using fish as an indicator should incorporate strategies to lessen potential error that might result from changes in capture probabilities.
Temporal changes in the quality of hot-iron brands on elephant seal (Mirounga leonina L.) pups
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2004
DOI: 10.1071/WR03101
Abstract: Hot-iron brands were used to mark permanently 14 000 six-week-old southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina L.) pups at Macquarie Island between 1993 and 2000. We assessed temporal changes in the quality of 4932 brands applied in 1998 and 1999 to determine the duration of the brand wound, and the relationships between brand healing, brand readability and the amount of skin and hair damage peripheral to the brand characters. Most (98%) brand wounds were healed within one year. Brand-mark healing, peripheral skin damage and brand readability were significantly (P 0.05) correlated. The proportion of healed and readable brands increased in the population during the first annual moult, and thereafter these proportions remained high ( %) for the marked population. The mean number of brand characters with peripheral skin damage decreased significantly over the same period. The seal’s annual hair and skin moult is the process that contributed most to the healing of brand wounds. We also assessed our branding technique to determine whether any of the features we measured contributed to a poor-quality brand. Excessive pressure used during brand-iron application is the most probable cause of unsightly peripheral skin damage, but this damage is short lived.
Summer foraging behaviour of a generalist predator, the New Zealand fur seal (Arctocephalus forsteri)
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2001
DOI: 10.1071/WR01045
Abstract: This study examined the e behaviour of 20 lactating New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) breeding at Fuchsia Gully (Ohinepuha, 45˚52S, 170˚44E), Otago Peninsula, New Zealand, over five consecutive austral summers (1993/94–1997/98). We examined annual variation in e behaviour by classifying series of es into e bouts using an iterative statistical technique. We found a non-random pattern of e bouts and bout classification was relatively insensitive to changes in the clustering parameters used. Minimum bouts consisted of at least three es 10 m occurring within a 20-min period. Bouts were classified into three bout types (clusters) using a multi-variate clustering procedure. These clusters described bouts of: (1) long duration with many es of medium depth (LONG) (2) short duration with few, shallow es (SHALLOW) and (3) short duration consisting of long, deep es and long surface intervals and bottom times (DEEP). Diving was primarily nocturnal, and bout type varied significantly with time of day. The proportion of LONG bouts was greatest at dusk and least near dawn, SHALLOW bouts predominated during the night, and DEEP bouts were of importance near dawn. Few es occurred during the day. We detected no annual differences in in idual parameters of e behaviour due to low statistical power. We used randomisation tests to assess whether the proportion of each bout type might vary in years of differing prey consumption, but no significant differences were found. Changes in prey composition were detected in two of these years, which suggests that using the e behaviour of generalist predators to detect changes in resource availability may be a poor option. The high degree of flexibility in foraging behaviour of the New Zealand fur seal means that, inevitably, analyses of e behaviour will have low statistical power. Changes in foraging behaviour may only be useful to detect very large changes in resource availability. Alternatively, very large s le sizes may be able to detect more subtle changes.
The conservation biologist's toolbox – principles for the design and analysis of conservation studies
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Date: 2010
Homage to an Avant-Garde Conservation Leader, Navjot Sodhi Obituary
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-07-2011
Aerial survey as a tool to estimate whale shark abundance trends
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2009
Oceanographic and atmospheric phenomena influence the abundance of whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2010
Estimating the energetic cost of whale shark tourism
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2023
Flexible inter-nesting behaviour of generalist olive ridley turtles in Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2008
Ecology needs a convention of nomenclature
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 18-02-2014
Survival of the fittest technology-problems estimating marine turtle mortality.
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 2005
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS287261
Processes controlling programmed cell death of root velamen radicum in an epiphytic orchid
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 22-04-2020
DOI: 10.1093/AOB/MCAA077
Abstract: Development of the velamen radicum on the outer surface of the root epidermis is an important characteristic for water uptake and retention in some plant families, particularly epiphytic orchids, for survival under water-limited environments. Velamen radicum cells derive from the primary root meristem however, following this development, velamen radicum cells die by incompletely understood processes of programmed cell death (PCD). We combined the use of transmission electron microscopy, X-ray micro-tomography and transcriptome methods to characterize the major anatomical and molecular changes that occur during the development and death of velamen radicum cells of Cymbidium tracyanum, a typical epiphytic orchid, to determine how PCD occurs. Typical changes of PCD in anatomy and gene expression were observed in the development of velamen radicum cells. During the initiation of PCD, we found that both cell and vacuole size increased, and several genes involved in brassinosteroid and ethylene pathways were upregulated. In the stage of secondary cell wall formation, significant anatomical changes included DNA degradation, cytoplasm thinning, organelle decrease, vacuole rupture and cell wall thickening. Changes were found in the expression of genes related to the biosynthesis of cellulose and lignin, which are instrumental in the formation of secondary cell walls, and are regulated by cytoskeleton-related factors and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase. In the final stage of PCD, cell autolysis was terminated from the outside to the inside of the velamen radicum. The regulation of genes related to autophagy, vacuolar processing enzyme, cysteine proteases and metacaspase was involved in the final execution of cell death and autolysis. Our results showed that the development of the root velamen radicum in an epiphytic orchid was controlled by the process of PCD, which included initiation of PCD, followed by formation of the secondary cell wall, and execution of autolysis following cell death.
Density dependence: An ecological Tower of Babel
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 31-05-2012
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-012-2347-3
Abstract: The concept of density dependence represents the effect of changing population size on demographic rates and captures the demographic role of social and trophic mechanisms (e.g. competition, cooperation, parasitism or predation). Ecologists have coined more than 60 terms to denote different statistical and semantic properties of this concept, resulting in a formidable lexicon of synonymies and polysemies. We have examined the vocabulary of density dependence used in the modern ecological literature from the foundational lexicon developed by Smith, Allee, Haldane, Neave and Varley. A few simple rules suffice to abate terminological inconsistency and to enhance the biological meaning of this important concept. Correct citation of original references by ecologists and research journals could ameliorate terminological standards in our discipline and avoid linguistic confusion of mathematically and theoretically complex patterns.
Fatty acid profiles of more than 470 marine species from the Southern Hemisphere
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-11-2022
DOI: 10.1002/ECY.3888
Abstract: Lipid and fatty acid datasets are commonly used to assess the nutritional composition of organisms, trophic ecology, and ecosystem dynamics. Lipids and their fatty acid constituents are essential nutrients to all forms of life because they contribute to biological processes such as energy flow and metabolism. Assessment of total lipids in tissues of organisms provides information on energy allocation and life‐history strategies and can be an indicator of nutritional condition. The analysis of an organism's fatty acids is a widely used technique for assessing nutrient and energy transfer, and dietary interactions in food webs. Although there have been many published regional studies that assessed lipid and fatty acid compositions, many only report the mean values of the most abundant fatty acids. There are limited in idual records available for wider use in intercomparison or macro‐scale studies. This dataset consists of 4856 records of in idual and pooled s les of at least 470 different marine consumer species s led from tropical, temperate, and polar regions around Australia and in the Southern, Indian, and Pacific Oceans from 1989 to 2018. This includes data for a erse range of taxa (zooplankton, fish, cephalopods, chondrichthyans, and marine mammals), size ranges (0.02 cm to ~13 m), and that cover a broad range of trophic positions (2.0–4.6). When known, we provide a record of species name, date of s ling, s ling location, body size, relative (%) measurements of tissue‐specific total lipid content and abundant fatty acids, and absolute content (mg 100 g −1 tissue) of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n3) as important long‐chain (≥C 20 ) polyunsaturated omega‐3 fatty acids. These records form a solid basis for comparative studies that will facilitate a broad understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution of marine lipids globally. The dataset also provides reference data for future dietary assessments of marine predators and model assessments of potential impacts of climate change on the availability of marine lipids and fatty acids. There are 480 data records within our data file for which the providers have requested that permission for reuse be granted, with the likely condition that they are included as a coauthor on the reporting of the dataset. Records with this condition are indicated by a “yes” under “Conditions_of_data_use” in Data S1: Marineconsumer_FAdata.csv (see Table 2 in Metadata S1 for more details). For all other data records marked as “No” under “Conditions_of_data_use,” there are no copyright restrictions for research and/or teaching purposes. We request that users acknowledge use of the data in publications, research proposals, websites, and other outlets via formal citation of this work and original data sources as applicable.
Effectiveness of five personal shark-bite deterrents for surfers
Publisher: PeerJ
Date: 31-08-2018
DOI: 10.7717/PEERJ.5554
Abstract: The number of shark-human interactions and shark bites per capita has been increasing since the 1980s, leading to a rise in measures developed to mitigate the risk of shark bites. Yet many of the products commercially available for personal protection have not been scientifically tested, potentially providing an exaggerated sense of security to the people using them. We tested five personal shark deterrents developed for surfers ( Shark Shield Pty Ltd [ Ocean Guardian ] Freedom+ Surf, Rpela, SharkBanz bracelet, SharkBanz surf leash, and Chillax Wax ) by comparing the percentage of baits taken, distance to the bait, number of passes, and whether a shark reaction could be observed. We did a total of 297 successful trials at the Neptune Islands Group Marine Park in South Australia, during which 44 different white sharks ( Carcharodon carcharias ) interacted with the bait, making a total of 1413 passes. The effectiveness of the deterrents was variable, with the Freedom+ Surf affecting shark behaviour the most and reducing the percentage of bait taken from 96% (relative to the control board) to 40%. The mean distance of sharks to the board increased from 1.6 ± 0.1 m (control board) to 2.6 ± 0.1 m when the Freedom Surf+ was active. The other deterrents had limited or no measureable effect on white shark behavour. Based on our power analyses, the smallest effect size that could be reliably detected was ∼15%, which for the first time provides information about the effect size that a deterrent study like ours can reliably detect. Our study shows that deterrents based on similar principles—overwhelming a shark’s electroreceptors (the ullae of Lorenzini) with electrical pulses—differ in their efficacy, reinforcing the need to test each product independently. Our results will allow private and government agencies and the public to make informed decisions about the use and suitability of these five products.
Managing an Endangered Asian Bovid in an Australian National Park: The Role and Limitations of Ecological-Economic Models in Decision-Making
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-2012
DOI: 10.1007/S00267-005-0157-7
Abstract: Should north Australia's extensive populations of feral animals be eradicated for conservation, or exploited as a rare opportunity for Indigenous enterprise in remote regions? We examine options for a herd of banteng, a cattle species endangered in its native Asian range but abundant in Garig Gunak Barlu National Park, an Aboriginal land managed jointly by traditional owners and a conservation agency in the Northern Territory of Australia. We reflect on the paradoxes that arise when trying to deal effectively with such complex and contested issues in natural resource management using decision-support tools (ecological-economic models), by identifying the trade-offs inherent in protecting values whilst also providing incomes for Indigenous landowners.
Consequences of recreational hunting for biodiversity conservation and livelihoods
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2021
High-quality fossil dates support a synchronous, Late Holocene extinction of devils and thylacines in mainland Australia
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 2018
Abstract: The last large marsupial carnivores—the Tasmanian devil ( Sarcophilis harrisii ) and thylacine ( Thylacinus cynocephalus )—went extinct on mainland Australia during the mid-Holocene. Based on the youngest fossil dates (approx. 3500 years before present, BP), these extinctions are often considered synchronous and driven by a common cause. However, many published devil dates have recently been rejected as unreliable, shifting the youngest mainland fossil age to 25 500 years BP and challenging the synchronous-extinction hypothesis. Here we provide 24 and 20 new ages for devils and thylacines, respectively, and collate existing, reliable radiocarbon dates by quality-filtering available records. We use this new dataset to estimate an extinction time for both species by applying the Gaussian-res led, inverse-weighted McInerney (GRIWM) method. Our new data and analysis definitively support the synchronous-extinction hypothesis, estimating that the mainland devil and thylacine extinctions occurred between 3179 and 3227 years BP.
Inferring the invasion history of coral berry Ardisia crenata from China to the USA using molecular markers
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-05-2012
Massive yet grossly underestimated global costs of invasive insects
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-10-2016
DOI: 10.1038/NCOMMS12986
Abstract: Insects have presented human society with some of its greatest development challenges by spreading diseases, consuming crops and damaging infrastructure. Despite the massive human and financial toll of invasive insects, cost estimates of their impacts remain sporadic, spatially incomplete and of questionable quality. Here we compile a comprehensive database of economic costs of invasive insects. Taking all reported goods and service estimates, invasive insects cost a minimum of US$70.0 billion per year globally, while associated health costs exceed US$6.9 billion per year. Total costs rise as the number of estimate increases, although many of the worst costs have already been estimated (especially those related to human health). A lack of dedicated studies, especially for reproducible goods and service estimates, implies gross underestimation of global costs. Global warming as a consequence of climate change, rising human population densities and intensifying international trade will allow these costly insects to spread into new areas, but substantial savings could be achieved by increasing surveillance, containment and public awareness.
Behavioral Inference of Diving Metabolic Rate in Free‐Ranging Leatherback Turtles
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Date: 03-2007
DOI: 10.1086/511142
Abstract: Good estimates of metabolic rate in free-ranging animals are essential for understanding behavior, distribution, and abundance. For the critically endangered leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), one of the world's largest reptiles, there has been a long-standing debate over whether this species demonstrates any metabolic endothermy. In short, do leatherbacks have a purely ectothermic reptilian metabolic rate or one that is elevated as a result of regional endothermy? Recent measurements have provided the first estimates of field metabolic rate (FMR) in leatherback turtles using doubly labeled water however, the technique is prohibitively expensive and logistically difficult and produces estimates that are highly variable across in iduals in this species. We therefore examined e duration and depth data collected for nine free-swimming leatherback turtles over long periods (up to 431 d) to infer aerobic e limits (ADLs) based on the asymptotic increase in maximum e duration with depth. From this index of ADL and the known mass-specific oxygen storage capacity (To(2)) of leatherbacks, we inferred ing metabolic rate (DMR) as To2/ADL. We predicted that if leatherbacks conform to the purely ectothermic reptilian model of oxygen consumption, these inferred estimates of DMR should fall between predicted and measured values of reptilian resting and field metabolic rates, as well as being substantially lower than the FMR predicted for an endotherm of equivalent mass. Indeed, our behaviorally derived DMR estimates (mean=0.73+/-0.11 mL O(2) min(-1) kg(-1)) were 3.00+/-0.54 times the resting metabolic rate measured in unrestrained leatherbacks and 0.50+/-0.08 times the average FMR for a reptile of equivalent mass. These DMRs were also nearly one order of magnitude lower than the FMR predicted for an endotherm of equivalent mass. Thus, our findings lend support to the notion that ing leatherback turtles are indeed ectothermic and do not demonstrate elevated metabolic rates that might be expected due to regional endothermy. Their capacity to have a warm body core even in cold water therefore seems to derive from their large size, heat exchangers, thermal inertia, and insulating fat layers and not from an elevated metabolic rate.
Exploitation of distant Antarctic waters and close neritic waters by short‐tailed shearwaters breeding in South Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-09-2010
Juvenile southern elephant seals exhibit seasonal differences in energetic requirements and use of lipids and protein stores
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Date: 07-2005
DOI: 10.1086/430227
Tracking changes in relative body composition of southern elephant seals using swim speed data
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 28-10-2008
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS07613
Trophic ecology of reef sharks determined using stable isotopes and telemetry
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-11-2011
Identifying rising stars in biology: A response to bruna
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 06-02-2014
Application of spherical harmonics analysis on LBS particles and LBS fragments
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 2017
Effects of age, size and condition of elephant seals (Mirounga leonina ) on their intravenous anaesthesia with tiletamine and zolazepam
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2002
DOI: 10.1136/VR.151.8.235
Abstract: Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) were caught as part of a long-term demographic study on Macquarie Island. Over 18 months, 1033 seals were caught by hand and anaesthetised intravenously with a 1:1 mixture of tiletamine and zolazepam. Assessments were made of the effects of variations in the body condition and age at capture of the seals on the characteristics of their anaesthesia, including induction time and weighted recovery time. The size and condition of the seals were assessed by morphometric and ultrasound measurements. Weighted recovery times decreased as the body condition and age of the seals increased, but there were no residual effects of sex. There were no fatalities, and no periods of apnoea longer than five minutes were recorded. In in idual seals there was a significant increase in weighted recovery time with successive captures.
Periodic variability in cetacean strandings: links to large-scale climate events
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 16-05-2005
Abstract: Cetacean strandings elicit much community and scientific interest, but few quantitative analyses have successfully identified environmental correlates to these phenomena. Data spanning 1920–2002, involving a total of 639 stranding events and 39 taxa groups from southeast Australia, were found to demonstrate a clear 11–13- year periodicity in the number of events through time. These data positively correlated with the regional persistence of both zonal (westerly) and meridional (southerly) winds, reflecting general long-term and large-scale shifts in sea-level pressure gradients. Periods of persistent zonal and meridional winds result in colder and presumably nutrient-rich waters being driven closer to southern Australia, resulting in increased biological activity in the water column during the spring months. These observations suggest that large-scale climatic events provide a powerful distal influence on the propensity for whales to strand in this region. These patterns provide a powerful quantitative framework for testing hypotheses regarding environmental links to strandings and provide managers with a potential predictive tool to prepare for years of peak stranding activity.
Large-Scale Genomic Analyses Link Reproductive Aging to Hypothalamic Signaling, Breast Cancer Susceptibility, and BRCA1-Mediated DNA Repair
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 12-2015
Improving the Performance of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil for Nature Conservation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-03-2010
Corrigendum to To go or not to go with the flow: Environmental influences on whale shark movement patterns [J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 390 (2010) 84-98]
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2011
Sahul’s megafauna were vulnerable to plant-community changes due to their position in the trophic network
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 20-01-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.01.19.427338
Abstract: Extinctions stemming from environmental change often trigger trophic cascades and coextinctions. However, it remains unclear whether trophic cascades were a large contributor to the megafauna extinctions that swept across several continents in the Late Pleistocene. The pathways to megafauna extinctions are particularly unclear for Sahul (landmass comprising Australia and New Guinea), where extinctions happened earlier than on other continents. We investigated the role of bottom-up trophic cascades in Late Pleistocene Sahul by constructing pre-extinction (~ 80 ka) trophic network models of the vertebrate community of Naracoorte, south-eastern Australia. These models allowed us to predict vertebrate species’ vulnerability to cascading extinctions based on their position in the network. We tested whether the observed extinctions could be explained by bottom-up cascades, or if they should be attributed to other external causes. Species that disappeared from the community were more vulnerable, overall, to bottom-up cascades than were species that survived. The position of extinct species in the network – having few or no predators – also suggests they might have been particularly vulnerable to a new predator. These results provide quantitative evidence that trophic cascades and naivety to predators could have contributed to the megafauna extinction event in Sahul.
Demographic models predict end-Pleistocene arrival and rapid expansion of pre-agropastoralist humans in Cyprus
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 23-10-2023
Reef size and isolation determine the temporal stability of coral reef fish populations
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-2010
DOI: 10.1890/10-0267.1
Abstract: Temporal variance in species abundance, a potential driver of extinction, is linked to mean abundance through Taylor's power law, the empirical observation of a linear log-log relationship with a slope between 1 and 2 for most species. Here we test the idea that the slope of Taylor's power law can vary both among species and spatially as a function of habitat area and isolation. We used the world's most extensive database of coral reef fish communities comprising a 15-year series of fish abundances on 43 reefs of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Greater temporal variances were observed at small and isolated reefs, and lower variances at large and connected ones. The combination of reef area and isolation was associated with an even greater effect on temporal variances, indicating strong empirical support for the idea that populations on small and isolated reefs will succumb more frequently to local extinction via higher temporal variability, resulting in lower resilience at the community level. Based on these relationships, we constructed a regional predictive map of the dynamic fragility of coral reef fish assemblages on the Great Barrier Reef.
Decline in whale shark size and abundance at Ningaloo Reef over the past decade: The world's largest fish is getting smaller
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2008
Author response: Relative demographic susceptibility does not explain the extinction chronology of Sahul’s megafauna
Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Date: 19-03-2021
Previous exposure to myxoma virus reduces survival of European rabbits during outbreaks of rabbit haemorrhagic disease
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-06-2018
The theta-logistic is unreliable for modelling most census data
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-07-2010
The role of particle morphology on concrete fracture behaviour: A meso-scale modelling approach
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2020
Relative need for conservation assessments of vascular plant species among ecoregions
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-08-2011
Multi‐scale marine biodiversity patterns inferred efficiently from habitat image processing
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2012
DOI: 10.1890/11-2105.1
Abstract: Cost-effective proxies of bio ersity and species abundance, applicable across a range of spatial scales, are needed for setting conservation priorities and planning action. We outline a rapid, efficient, and low-cost measure of spectral signal from digital habitat images that, being an effective proxy for habitat complexity, correlates with species ersity and requires little image processing or interpretation. We validated this method for coral reefs of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia, across a range of spatial scales (1 m to 10 km), using digital photographs of benthic communities at the transect scale and high-resolution Landsat satellite images at the reef scale. We calculated an index of image-derived spatial heterogeneity, the mean information gain (MIG), for each scale and related it to univariate (species richness and total abundance summed across species) and multivariate (species abundance matrix) measures of fish community structure, using two techniques that account for the hierarchical structure of the data: hierarchical (mixed-effect) linear models and distance-based partial redundancy analysis. Over the length and breadth of the GBR, MIG alone explained up to 29% of deviance in fish species richness, 33% in total fish abundance, and 25% in fish community structure at multiple scales, thus demonstrating the possibility of easily and rapidly exploiting spatial information contained in digital images to complement existing methods for inferring ersity and abundance patterns among fish communities. Thus, the spectral signal of unprocessed remotely sensed images provides an efficient and low-cost way to optimize the design of surveys used in conservation planning. In data-sparse situations, this simple approach also offers a viable method for rapid assessment of potential local bio ersity, particularly where there is little local capacity in terms of skills or resources for mounting in-depth bio ersity surveys.
What caused extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna of Sahul?
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 10-02-2016
Abstract: During the Pleistocene, Australia and New Guinea supported a rich assemblage of large vertebrates. Why these animals disappeared has been debated for more than a century and remains controversial. Previous synthetic reviews of this problem have typically focused heavily on particular types of evidence, such as the dating of extinction and human arrival, and have frequently ignored uncertainties and biases that can lead to misinterpretation of this evidence. Here, we review erse evidence bearing on this issue and conclude that, although many knowledge gaps remain, multiple independent lines of evidence point to direct human impact as the most likely cause of extinction.
Incorporating known cources of uncertainty to determine precautionary harvests of saltwater crocodiles
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2006
DOI: 10.1890/1051-0761(2006)016[1436:IKSOUT]2.0.CO;2
Abstract: It has been demonstrated repeatedly that the degree to which regulation operates and the magnitude of environmental variation in an exploited population will together dictate the type of sustainable harvest achievable. Yet typically, harvest models fail to incorporate uncertainty in the underlying dynamics of the target population by assuming a particular (unknown) form of endogenous control. We use a novel approach to estimate the sustainable yield of saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) populations from major river systems in the Northern Territory, Australia, as an ex le of a system with high uncertainty. We used multimodel inference to incorporate three levels of uncertainty in yield estimation: (1) uncertainty in the choice of the underlying model(s) used to describe population dynamics, (2) the error associated with the precision and bias of model parameter estimation, and (3) environmental fluctuation (process error). We demonstrate varying strength of evidence for density regulation (1.3-96.7%) for crocodiles among 19 river systems by applying a continuum of five dynamical models (density-independent with and without drift and three alternative density-dependent models) to time series of density estimates. Evidence for density dependence increased with the number of yearly transitions over which each river system was monitored. Deterministic proportional maximum sustainable yield (PMSY) models varied widely among river systems (0.042-0.611), and there was strong evidence for an increasing PMSY as support for density dependence rose. However, there was also a large discrepancy between PMSY values and those produced by the full stochastic simulation projection incorporating all forms of uncertainty, which can be explained by the contribution of process error to estimates of sustainable harvest. We also determined that a fixed-quota harvest strategy (up to 0.2K, where K is the carrying capacity) reduces population size much more rapidly than proportional harvest (the latter strategy requiring temporal monitoring of population size to adjust harvest quotas) and greatly inflates the risk of resource depletion. Using an iconic species recovering from recent extreme overexploitation to examine the potential for renewed sustainable harvest, we have demonstrated that incorporating major forms of uncertainty into a single quantitative framework provides a robust approach to modeling the dynamics of exploited populations.
Woodland Caribou Relative to Landscape Patterns in Northeastern Alberta
Publisher: JSTOR
Date: 07-1997
DOI: 10.2307/3802170
Forest Fragment and Breeding Habitat Characteristics Explain Frog Diversity and Abundance in Singapore
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2010
Wash and spin cycle threats to tropical biodiversity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2010
Epigenome-wide meta-analysis of BMI in nine cohorts: examining the utility of epigenetic BMI in predicting metabolic health
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 27-07-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.07.26.498234
Abstract: This study sought to examine the association between DNA methylation and body mass index (BMI) and the potential utility of these cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites in predicting metabolic health. We pooled summary statistics from six trans-ethnic EWAS of BMI representing nine cohorts (n=17058), replicated these findings in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI, n=4822) and developed an epigenetic prediction score of BMI. In the pooled EWAS, 1265 CpG sites were associated with BMI (p E-7), and 1238 replicated in the WHI (FDR 0.05). We performed several stratified analyses to examine whether these associations differed between in iduals of European descent and in iduals of African descent. We found five CpG sites had a significant interaction with BMI by race/ethnicity. To examine the utility of the significant CpG sites in predicting BMI, we used elastic net regression to predict log normalized BMI in the WHI (80% training/20% testing). This model found 397 sites could explain 32% of the variance in BMI in the WHI test set. In iduals whose methylome-predicted BMI overestimated their BMI (high epigenetic BMI) had significantly higher glucose and triglycerides, and lower HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol compared to accurately predicted BMI. In iduals whose methylome-predicted BMI underestimated their BMI (low epigenetic BMI) had significantly higher HDL-cholesterol and lower glucose and triglycerides. This study identified 553 previously identified and 685 novel CpG sites associated with BMI. Participants with high epigenetic BMI had poorer metabolic health suggesting that the overestimation may be driven in part by cardiometabolic derangements characteristic of metabolic syndrome.
A fairer way to compare researchers at any career stage and in any discipline using open-access citation data
Publisher: Authorea, Inc.
Date: 26-10-2020
How to rank journals
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 03-2016
An enhanced tool for probing the microscopic behavior of granular materials based on X-ray micro-CT and FDEM
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2021
Highly localized replenishment of coral reef fish populations near nursery habitats
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 24-03-2017
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS12062
Related Organisations
Related Funding Activities
Designing Successful Genetic-rescue Approaches For Threatened Species
Start Date: 2021
End Date: 2025
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityEffect Of Spatial And Temporal Variation In Marine Productivity On Energy Acquisition In Female Wedd
Start Date: 1999
End Date: 2000
Funder: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
View Funded ActivityEffect Of Spatial And Temporal Variation In Marine Productivity On Energy Acquisition In Female Wedd
Start Date: 2000
End Date: 2001
Funder: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
View Funded ActivityEcological-epidemiological Models Of Feral Swamp Buffalo Control In Northern Australia
Start Date: 2006
End Date: 2010
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityModelling And Control Of Mosquito-borne Diseases In Darwin Using Long-term Monitoring
Start Date: 2006
End Date: 2008
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityMulti-model Predictions Of Ecosystem Flux Under Climate Change Based On Novel Genetic And Image Analysis Methods
Start Date: 2011
End Date: 2014
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityGeneralised Methods For Testing Extinction Dynamics Across Geological, Near And Modern Time Scales
Start Date: 2013
End Date: 2016
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityDensity Regulation As A Major Determinant Of Population Persistence: Advancing Empirical And Theoretical Approaches To Conserve Biodiversity
Start Date: 2008
End Date: 2012
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityEnhancement Of South Australian High-performance Computing Facilities
Start Date: 2011
End Date: 2012
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityMeta-modelling Of Ecological, Evolutionary And Climatic Systems Dynamics
Start Date: 2012
End Date: 2015
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityDeveloping Best-practice Approaches For Restoring Forest Ecosystems That Are Resilient To Climate Change
Start Date: 2012
End Date: 2014
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivitySolving The Problems Of Estimating Extinction Rates In Recent And Geological Time
Start Date: 2012
End Date: 2017
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityEffects Of Maternal Foraging Success And Oceanographic Variation On Offspring Behaviour And Survival In The Weddell Seal
Start Date: 2003
End Date: 2003
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivitySeascape Genetics For Shark Management: An Innovation In Sustainable Fisheries Modelling
Start Date: 2012
End Date: 2015
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityEstimating Fishing-related Mortality And Designing Sustainable Management Protocols For Shark Fisheries In Northern Australia
Start Date: 2006
End Date: 2012
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityARC Centre Of Excellence Of Australian Biodiversity And Heritage
Start Date: 2017
End Date: 2023
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityIdentifying Cost-effective Reforestation Approaches For Biodiversity Conservation And Carbon Sequestration In The Australian Wet Tropics
Start Date: 2009
End Date: 2016
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityIdentifying Cost-effective Reforestation Approaches For Biodiversity Conservation And Carbon Sequestration In Southern Australia
Start Date: 2012
End Date: 2015
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityLinkage Projects - Grant ID: LP0667702
Start Date: 06-2006
End Date: 12-2012
Amount: $221,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityLinkage Projects - Grant ID: LP120100652
Start Date: 08-2012
End Date: 12-2015
Amount: $290,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityLinkage Projects - Grant ID: LP210100450
Start Date: 09-2022
End Date: 09-2026
Amount: $770,622.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityLinkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE110100234
Start Date: 07-2011
End Date: 07-2012
Amount: $430,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityARC Future Fellowships - Grant ID: FT110100306
Start Date: 01-2012
End Date: 12-2017
Amount: $857,358.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityDiscovery Projects - Grant ID: DP0342714
Start Date: 02-2003
End Date: 12-2007
Amount: $45,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityDiscovery Projects - Grant ID: DP130103842
Start Date: 2013
End Date: 12-2016
Amount: $515,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivitySuper Science Fellowships - Grant ID: FS110200051
Start Date: 09-2011
End Date: 11-2014
Amount: $556,800.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityLinkage Projects - Grant ID: LP110200805
Start Date: 06-2012
End Date: 12-2014
Amount: $405,222.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityLinkage Projects - Grant ID: LP0669303
Start Date: 10-2006
End Date: 04-2010
Amount: $265,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityDiscovery Projects - Grant ID: DP120101019
Start Date: 2012
End Date: 12-2015
Amount: $510,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityDiscovery Projects - Grant ID: DP0878582
Start Date: 2008
End Date: 12-2012
Amount: $315,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityLinkage Projects - Grant ID: LP0989161
Start Date: 09-2009
End Date: 03-2016
Amount: $425,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityLinkage Projects - Grant ID: LP120200601
Start Date: 11-2012
End Date: 06-2015
Amount: $180,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityARC Centres Of Excellence - Grant ID: CE170100015
Start Date: 06-2017
End Date: 12-2024
Amount: $33,750,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityARC Centres Of Excellence - Grant ID: CE230100009
Start Date: 07-2024
End Date: 06-2031
Amount: $35,000,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityLinkage Projects - Grant ID: LP0667619
Start Date: 04-2006
End Date: 08-2009
Amount: $638,251.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded Activity