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Volume Eleven Conservation Science 2016 Western Australia Review and synthesis of knowledge of insular ecology, with emphasis on the islands of Western Australia IAN ABBOTT and ALLAN WILLS i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT 1 INTRODUCTION 2 METHODS 17 Data sources 17 Personal knowledge 17 Assumptions 17 Nomenclatural conventions 17 PRELIMINARY 18 Concepts and definitions 18 Island nomenclature 18 Scope 20 INSULAR FEATURES AND THE ISLAND SYNDROME 20 Physical description 20 Biological description 23 Reduced species richness 23 Occurrence of endemic species or subspecies 23 Occurrence of unique ecosystems 27 Species characteristic of WA islands 27 Hyperabundance 30 Habitat changes 31 Behavioural changes 32 Morphological changes 33 Changes in niches 35 Genetic changes 35 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 36 Degree of exposure to wave action and salt spray 36 Normal exposure 36 Extreme exposure and tidal surge 40 Substrate 41 Topographic variation 42 Maximum elevation 43 Climate 44 Number and extent of vegetation and other types of habitat present 45 Degree of isolation from the nearest source area 49 History: Time since separation (or formation) 52 Planar area 54 Presence of breeding seals, seabirds, and turtles 59 Presence of Indigenous people 60 Activities of Europeans 63 Sampling completeness and comparability 81 Ecological interactions 83 Coups de foudres 94 LINKAGES BETWEEN THE 15 FACTORS 94 ii THE TRANSITION FROM MAINLAND TO ISLAND: KNOWNS; KNOWN UNKNOWNS; AND UNKNOWN UNKNOWNS 96 SPECIES TURNOVER 99 Landbird species 100 Seabird species 108 Waterbird -
Intellagama Lesueurii Eastern Water Dragon: Cannibalism. Celine H
NATURAL HISTORY NOTE The Herpetological Bulletin 133, 2015: 38-39 Intellagama lesueurii Eastern water dragon: Cannibalism. CELINE H. FRÈRE*, DANIEL R. NUGENT, BETHAN LITTLEFORD-COLQUHOUN & KASHA STRICKLAND Faculty of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Queensland, Australia 4558. *Corresponding author email: [email protected] The presence of cannibalism across the animal kingdom is well known (e.g. Polis 1981) and may evolve under intense competition for food (e.g. Ribeiro et al., 2015) crowding of conspecifics (e.g. Cooper et al., 2015) and increased predation risk (Huang, 2008). In recent years there has been increased documentation of cannibalism in lizards which includes full (e.g. Podarcis siculu; Capula & Aloise 2011) and partial (e.g. tails) cannibalism (e.g. Podarcis gaigeae; Cooper et al., 2015), as well as siblicide (e.g. Sceloporus undulatus; Robbins et al., 2013). Here we report the first evidence of cannibalism in the eastern water dragon (Intellagama [Physignathus] lesueurii) within an urban city park, Roma Street Parkland (RSP), located in the central business’ district of Brisbane, Australia Figure 1. Young adult I. lesueurii during the cannibalism act. (27°27.046’S, 153°1.011’E). Previous observations on this Photograph taken by Daniel R. Nugent. species, for example at the Australian Botanical Gardens in Canberra ACT (Meek et al., 2001) found no evidence of cannibalistic behaviour in I. lesueurii during a 2 month study period (Meek & Avery, 2008). This was despite a City-park populations of eastern water dragons in South East high density of I. lesueurii that included the close proximity Queensland resemble in many ways island like communities of all age classes (Meek et al. -
Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Nomination: (2008)
Ningaloo Coast Ningaloo Coast © Commonwealth of Australia, January 2010 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under theCopyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Commonwealth, available from the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Published by: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts GPO Box 787 Canberra ACT 2061 National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data: Commonwealth of Australia Ningaloo Coast: World Heritage nomination I Australia. Dept. of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. ISBN 978-1-921733-03-1 Designed by 2B Advertising and Design All images © Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (and associated photographers) unless noted. Front cover image: Photograph Tony Howard © Western Australian Department of the Environment and Conservation Ningaloo Coast ❱ F R O M R eef T O R ange Table of ConTenTs ExEcutivE Summary IV KEy tErmS VII PART 1 IDENTIfICaTION OF THe PRoPeRTY 1 1.A COuntry 2 1.B State, province or region 2 1.C Name of property 2 1.D Geographical coordinates 2 1.E Maps and plans, showing the boundaries of the property 3 1.F Area of nominated property 12 PART 2 DESCRIPTION 13 2.A Description of property 14 2.B History and development 44 PART 3 JUsTIfICaTION FOR INSCRIPTION 53 3.A Criteria under which inscription is proposed (and Justification for inscription under these criteria) 54 Criterion (vii) 56 Criterion (viii) 64 Criterion -
Australia East Coast Tour and Tasmania Extension Trip Report
AUSTRALIA EAST COAST TOUR AND TASMANIA EXTENSION TRIP REPORT 28th OCTOBER – 13th NOVEMBER 2016 AND 14th – 19th NOVEMBER 2016 By Andy Walker Spotted Pardalote – a common but simply stunning species seen frequently during the tour www.birdingecotours.com [email protected] 2 | T R I P R E P O R T Australia: East Coast and Tasmania 2016 This East Coast tour commenced on 28th October 2016 in Melbourne, Victoria, then continued through southern New South Wales and north through southern and then northern Queensland, and terminated in Cairns on 13th November 2016. The extension commenced in Hobart on 14th November 2016 and terminated back there on 19th November 2016. The mainland tour was designed to take in a wide range of the numerous different habitats present in the east of the country and to enjoy the plentiful endemic and key species in each of these regions/habitats, including rare and endangered species such as Plains-wanderer and Mallee Emu-wren in the south and the Atherton Tablelands endemics in the north, as well as some truly remarkable species such as Superb Lyrebird, Great-billed Heron, Golden Bowerbird, and Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher. The focus of our time in Tasmania was to connect with the endemic birds found on the island state as well as with two Critically Endangered (IUCN) breeding endemics, Orange-bellied Parrot and Swift Parrot. A total of 405 bird species was recorded, among them 181 endemics, along with an impressive list of 36 mammals including such emblematic species as short-beaked echidna, platypus, koala, and red kangaroo, 25 reptiles including a huge saltwater crocodile, and five amphibians. -
Husbandry Guidelines for Australian Water Dragon
Husbandry Guidelines for Australian Water Dragon Physignathus lesueurii (Reptilia: Agamidae) Compiler: Chris Hosking Date of Preparation: June 2010 Western Sydney Institute of TAFE, Richmond. Course Name and Number: Certificate III Captive Animal Management. Lecturers: Graeme Phipps, Jackie Salkeld, Brad Walker Chris Hosking Live Exhibit Keeper [email protected] www.australianmuseum.net.au/Live-Exhibits Australian Museum 6 College St, Sydney NSW 2010. Front cover image: Eastern Water Dragon, Physignathus lesueurii lesueurii. Photo: Rebekah Hosking. 2 DISCLAIMER These husbandry guidelines were produced by the compiler at TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute, Richmond College, N.S.W. Australia as part assessment for completion of Certificate III in Captive Animals, Course number 1068, RUV30204. Since the husbandry guidelines are the result of student project work, care should be taken in the interpretation of information therein, - in effect, all care taken but no responsibility is assumed for any loss or damage that may result from the use of these guidelines. It is offered to the ASZK Husbandry Manuals Register for the benefit of animal welfare and care. Husbandry guidelines are utility documents and are ‘works in progress’, so enhancements to these guidelines are invited. Image 1. Male Eastern Water Dragon. Photo: Rebekah Hosking 3 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS The Australian Water Dragon, Physignathus lesueurii, is generally not an aggressive lizard to maintain in captivity; however like all large Agamids they are capable of inflicting a severe bite when agitated. They can also use tail whips as a way to discourage unwanted attention when cornered. This species also possesses long sharp claws which can inflict serious lacerations which at minimum will require first aid or even medical treatment. -
Biodiversity Summary: Rangelands, Western Australia
Biodiversity Summary for NRM Regions Guide to Users Background What is the summary for and where does it come from? This summary has been produced by the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPC) for the Natural Resource Management Spatial Information System. It highlights important elements of the biodiversity of the region in two ways: • Listing species which may be significant for management because they are found only in the region, mainly in the region, or they have a conservation status such as endangered or vulnerable. • Comparing the region to other parts of Australia in terms of the composition and distribution of its species, to suggest components of its biodiversity which may be nationally significant. The summary was produced using the Australian Natural Natural Heritage Heritage Assessment Assessment Tool Tool (ANHAT), which analyses data from a range of plant and animal surveys and collections from across Australia to automatically generate a report for each NRM region. Data sources (Appendix 2) include national and state herbaria, museums, state governments, CSIRO, Birds Australia and a range of surveys conducted by or for DEWHA. Limitations • ANHAT currently contains information on the distribution of over 30,000 Australian taxa. This includes all mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs and fish, 137 families of vascular plants (over 15,000 species) and a range of invertebrate groups. The list of families covered in ANHAT is shown in Appendix 1. Groups notnot yet yet covered covered in inANHAT ANHAT are are not not included included in the in the summary. • The data used for this summary come from authoritative sources, but they are not perfect. -
Species Richness in Time and Space: a Phylogenetic and Geographic Perspective
Species Richness in Time and Space: a Phylogenetic and Geographic Perspective by Pascal Olivier Title A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) in The University of Michigan 2018 Doctoral Committee: Assistant Professor and Assistant Curator Daniel Rabosky, Chair Associate Professor Johannes Foufopoulos Professor L. Lacey Knowles Assistant Professor Stephen A. Smith Pascal O Title [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6316-0736 c Pascal O Title 2018 DEDICATION To Judge Julius Title, for always encouraging me to be inquisitive. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research presented in this dissertation has been supported by a number of research grants from the University of Michigan and from academic societies. I thank the Society of Systematic Biologists, the Society for the Study of Evolution, and the Herpetologists League for supporting my work. I am also extremely grateful to the Rackham Graduate School, the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology C.F. Walker and Hinsdale scholarships, as well as to the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Block grants, for generously providing support throughout my PhD. Much of this research was also made possible by a Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship, and by a fellowship from the Michigan Institute for Computational Discovery and Engineering. First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Dan Rabosky, for taking me on as one of his first graduate students. I have learned a tremendous amount under his guidance, and conducting research with him has been both exhilarating and inspiring. I am also grateful for his friendship and company, both in Ann Arbor and especially in the field, which have produced experiences that I will never forget. -
Appendix K Vertebrate Fauna Survey Report
Appendix K Vertebrate Fauna Survey Report VERTEBRATE FAUNA SURVEY COBURN MINERAL SAND PROJECT Prepared for URS Australia Pty Ltd on behalf of Gunson Resources Limited By Ninox Wildlife Consulting May 2005 I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report has been prepared for Gunson Resources Limited and describes the results of vertebrate fauna surveys of the Coburn Mineral Sand (CMS) Project Area. The Project Area is situated near the Shark Bay World Heritage Property and its current land use is pastoral. The main study objectives of this study were to: assess the potential of the habitats in the Project Area to support a range of fauna species; produce an inventory of the vertebrate fauna recorded in the Project Area; review vertebrate fauna considered to be rare, threatened, vulnerable or geographically restricted; assess the relationships between vertebrate fauna and the vegetation communities of the Project Area in order to clearly identify any habitats of significance; review the zoogeographic region as a whole and assess the regional and local conservation status of the Project Area; based on all the above, assess the potential impact of mining and associated infrastructure on vertebrate fauna; and, produce a comprehensive analysis suitable for integration with the reports on landform, soils, flora and vegetation. The size and complexity of the study area and the condition of the access tracks were such that the fauna survey area had to be divided into two distinct zones. The northern sector of the Project Area, which was situated mainly within Hamelin Station, was sampled during September 2003. The southern sector (mainly Coburn Station) was sampled in April and October 2004. -
Denisonia Hydrophis Parapistocalamus Toxicocalamus Disteira Kerilia Pelamis Tropidechis Drysdalia Kolpophis Praescutata Vermicella Echiopsis Lapemis
The following is a work in progress and is intended to be a printable quick reference for the venomous snakes of the world. There are a few areas in which common names are needed and various disputes occur due to the nature of such a list, and it will of course be continually changing and updated. And nearly all species have many common names, but tried it simple and hopefully one for each will suffice. I also did not include snakes such as Heterodon ( Hognoses), mostly because I have to draw the line somewhere. Disclaimer: I am not a taxonomist, that being said, I did my best to try and put together an accurate list using every available resource. However, it must be made very clear that a list of this nature will always have disputes within, and THIS particular list is meant to reflect common usage instead of pioneering the field. I put this together at the request of several individuals new to the venomous endeavor, and after seeing some very blatant mislabels in the classifieds…I do hope it will be of some use, it prints out beautifully and I keep my personal copy in a three ring binder for quick access…I honestly thought I knew more than I did…LOL… to my surprise, I learned a lot while compiling this list and I hope you will as well when you use it…I also would like to thank the following people for their suggestions and much needed help: Dr.Wolfgang Wuster , Mark Oshea, and Dr. Brian Greg Fry. -
Reptiles of Dirk Hartog Island Mark Cowan (October 2018)
Reptiles of Dirk Hartog Island Mark Cowan (October 2018) Dirk Hartog Island has a rich reptile fauna with over 40 species recorded. This is more species than most other Western Australian islands which is probably due, in part, to the large size of the island (620 km2), and to the relatively short time it has been isolated from the mainland. The species recorded on the island include four dragons (Family Agamidae), eight geckos (families Carphodactylidae, Diplodactylidae and Gekkonidae), five legless lizards (family Pygopodidae), fifteen skinks (family Scincidae), one goanna (family Varanidae), eight front fanged snakes (family Elapidae), one python (family Pythonidae) and one blind snake (family Typhlopidae). While no species are endemic to the island, a number are endemic to Western Australia with several of these having distributions restricted along the adjacent Western Australian coast or to the Shark Bay area. Species confined more or less to the Shark Bay area are Ctenophorus butloreum (Shark Bay Heath Dragon), Aprasia haroldi (Shark Bay Worm-Lizard), Ctenotus youngsoni (Shark Bay Sand Ctenotus) and, Lerista varia (Variable-striped Robust Slider). A fifth species, Egernia stokesii (Stokes’ Skink) has a subspecies (Egernia stokesii badia) occurring on Dirk Hartog Island that is a threatened species; listed as vulnerable under the WA Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and as endangered under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. It is a relatively large and robust skink covered in small spiny scales and is approximately 190mm head-body length. It usually occupies rocky environments or hollow logs. The following pages show all but one of the recorded species, Demansia calodera (black-necked whipsnake). -
Toxins of Animals) [Biological-Origin Toxins]
4: Zootoxins (toxins of animals) [Biological-origin toxins] Distinction should be made between poisonous animals – those with toxins in their skin or other organs and which are toxic on ingestion – and venomous animals – those with specialised structures for production and delivery of toxins (venoms) to prey species or adversaries. Halstead (1988) published a monumental review of poisonous and venomous marine animals. A world list of snake venoms and other animal toxins including bee venoms, sawfly toxins, amphibian and fish toxins has been compiled by Theakston & Kamiguti (2002). Animals acquire toxins by one of three methods (Mebs 2001): • expression of genes coding for the toxin structures • metabolic synthesis (production of secondary metabolites) • uptake, storage and sequestration of toxins produced by other organisms (microbes, plants, or other animals) References: Halstead BW (1988) Poisonous and Venomous Marine Animals of the World. 2nd revised edition. The Darwin Press Inc., Princeton, New Jersey. Mebs D (2001) Toxicity in animals. Trends in evolution? Toxicon 39:87-96. Theakston RDG , Kamiguti AS (2002) A list of animal toxins and some other natural products with biological activity. Toxicon 40:579-651. PROTOZOA (PROTISTA) - DINOFLAGELLATES See Marine Microalgal (Dinoflagellate & Diatom) Toxins ARTHROPODS - INSECTS Sawfly larval peptides Core data Common sources: Lophyrotoma interrupta (Australian cattle-poisoning sawfly larvae) Arge pullata (European birch sawfly larvae) Perreyia flavipes & P. lepida (South American sawfly larvae) Animals affected: cattle, sheep, pigs Mode of action: uncharacterised Poisoning circumstances: consumption of larvae (dead & alive) at base of trees or on pasture Main effects: acute liver necrosis Diagnosis: pathology + evidence of larval presence Therapy: nil Prevention: deny access Syndrome names: sawfly larval poisoning, sawfly poisoning Chemical structure: Lophyrotomin [L] is a linear octapeptide (Oelrichs et al. -
Fauna of Australia 2A
FAUNA of AUSTRALIA 35. FAMILY ELAPIDAE Glenn Shea, Richard Shine & Jeanette C. Covacevich 35. FAMILY ELAPIDAE Pl. 8.4. Vermicella annulata (Elapidae): a burrower, feeds on blind snakes (Typhlopidae) in diverse habitats, from wet coastal forests to spinifex deserts; central and eastern Australia to central west coast. [J. Wombey] Pl. 8.5. Simoselaps warro (Elapidae): a nocturnal burrower, inhabiting forests and woodland along the north-eastern coast and ranges of Queensland. [G. Shea] 2 35. FAMILY ELAPIDAE Pl. 8.6. Demansia psammophis (Elapidae): found from coastal habitats to the arid interior, this species is widespread in mainland Australia except in the central north. [J. Wombey] Pl. 8.7. Notechis scutatus (Elapidae): occupies a wide range of habitats from rainforests to open woodlands and floodplains; its main food is frogs; found in south-eastern mainland Australia. [J. Wombey] 3 35. FAMILY ELAPIDAE Pl. 8.8. Pseudonaja guttata in aggressive posture; inhabits tussock grassland of interior north-eastern Australia. [H. Cogger] Pl. 8.9. Acanthophis pyrrhus (Elapidae): occurs in desert regions and adjacent arid lands in central and western Australia. [H. Cogger] 4 35. FAMILY ELAPIDAE Pl. 8.10. Oxyuranus microlepidotus (Elapidae): Australia’s most venomous snake; it feeds mainly on rats and occurs on floodplains in the central east of the continent. [J. Wombey] Pl. 8.11. Furina diadema (Elapidae): raises its characteristically coloured head high when alarmed; often associated with ants and termites in eastern Australia. [H. Cogger] 5 35. FAMILY ELAPIDAE Pl. 8.12. Suta suta (Elapidae): in coil-spring offensive posture; found in sandy- stony deserts to savannah woodlands in central and eastern Australia.