Lower Permian brachiopods from Wasp Head Formation, Sydney Basin, southeastern Australia

Although there is a generally accepted framework for the Permian marine biogeography of Australia, significant uncertainties remain concerning the temporal biogeographical changes closely related to the timing of Permian glacial-interglacial events. Several recent studies along these research lines demonstrate the importance of a reliable high-resolution biostratigraphical timescale for paleobiogeographical and paleoclimatic reconstructions. This paper provides, for the first time, a full taxonomic and biostratigraphical study of the brachiopod fauna from the Wasp Head Formation, southern Sydney Basin, southeastern Australia. The fauna is associated with deposits of the first Permian glacial interval suggested for eastern Australia. Three brachiopod assemblages are recognized. The lower and middle assemblages contain scarce brachiopods although associated bivalves are comparatively more common. Despite very low diversity and low abundance, these two brachiopod assemblages contain characteristic species of the Strophalosia concentrica and Strophalosia subcircularis brachiopod zones, both considered of late Asselian age. The third assemblage, occurring in the uppermost part of the formation, contains more brachiopods than bivalves and is referred to early Sakmarian in age. The species diversity and stratigraphic occurrences of the brachiopod assemblages in relation to sedimentary facies suggest that the lower two assemblages may represent an intra-glacial interval while the younger third assemblage, characterized by abundant occurrences of Trigonotreta and Tomiopsis species, accompanied by the bivalve Eurydesma, is more indicative of a post-glacial benthic marine fauna comparable to coeval brachiopod faunas found elsewhere in Gondwana. © 2014, The Paleontological Society.

Seasonal stress physiology and body condition differ among co-occurring tropical finch species.

Seasonal changes in avian hormonal stress responses and condition are well known for common species found at temperate and arctic latitudes, but declining and tropical species are poorly studied. This study compares stress and condition measures of co-occurring declining and non-declining tropical grass finch species in Australia. We monitored declining Gouldian finches (Erythrura gouldiae) and non-declining long-tailed and masked finches (Poepila acuticauda and P. personata) during two seasons that are potentially stressful: peak breeding (early dry season when food is plentiful) and moult (late dry to early wet season when food may be scarce). We measured body condition (muscle and fat), haematocrit, and stress response to capture using plasma corticosterone and binding globulin concentrations. All species had higher muscle and lower fat indices during breeding than moult. Haematocrit did not consistently differ between seasons. Long-tailed finches had higher stress responses during breeding than moult, similar to other passerines studied. Masked finches showed no seasonal changes in stress response. Gouldian finches had stress response patterns opposite to those of long-tailed finches, with higher stress responses during moult. However, seasonal trends in Gouldian and long-tailed finch stress responses sometimes differed between years or sites. The differences in stress response patterns between species suggest that the declining Gouldian finch is more sensitive to recent environmental changes which are thought to further reduce grass seed food resources during the late dry to early wet season. Retention of stress responsiveness during a protracted moult could increase the survival potential of Gouldian finches. This study highlights the utility of stress and condition indices to determine the sensitivity of co-occurring species to environmental conditions.

Barriers among Danish women and general practitioners to raising the issue of intimate partner violence in general practice: a qualitative study

Thirty-five percent of Danish women experience sexual or physical violence in their lifetime. However, health care professionals are not in the practice of asking about intimate partner violence (IPV) in Denmark. It is currently unknown what hinders general practitioners from asking about partner violence and how Danish women would perceive such an inquiry. This aspect has not previously been explored in Denmark. An exploratory study was conducted to examine what hinders general practitioners (GPs) from asking and what Danish women's views and attitudes are regarding being asked about IPV.

Does urbanization have the potential to create an ecological trap for powerful owls (Ninox strenua)?

Landscape transformation associated with urbanization is one of the most damaging and pervasive impacts humans have on natural ecosystems. The response of species to increasing urbanization has become a major focus of research globally. Powerful owls ( Ninox strenua) are a top-order predator the have been shown to reside in urban environments, but increasing urbanization has also been demonstrated to significantly reduce available habitat. In this paper we use species distribution models established for key food and nesting resources of powerful owls across an urban-forest gradient to constrain habitat predictions from a previously developed powerful owl species distribution model. This multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach allowed us to investigate the impacts of urbanization on potential powerful owl habitat when challenged with food and nesting requirements. As powerful owls only use tree cavities for nesting we propose that the cue for settlement in an area is associated with the presence of habitat and food and as such breeding requirements may be disconnected from settlement requirements.Our results demonstrate that incorporation of a general prey resource (at least one group of arboreal marsupials) as a cue for settlement does not reduce the amount of available habitat for powerful owls substantially. Further constraining the model with a tree cavity resource, however, leads to a substantial reduction in powerful owl habitat in the urban and urban fringe environments. If a diverse prey resource (two or more groups of arboreal marsupials) is used as the cue for settlement, this sees a substantial reduction in available habitat in urban environments. Incorporation of tree cavities into this model does not reduce the available habitat for powerful owls substantially.We propose that powerful owls do not need a diverse prey base for survival, and that breeding resources are unlikely to be a cue for settlement. As such, we argue in this paper that increasing urbanization has the potential to create an ecological trap for powerful owls as there is a significant difference between habitat capable of supporting powerful owls, and habitat in which owls can breed.Management of powerful owls in urban environments will be difficult, but this research highlights the potential for the use of nest boxes to enhance the breeding activities in increasingly urbanized environments. Replacement of this critical resource may be able to reverse any potential ecological trap that is occurring. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

Sex-biased space-use response to urbanization in an endemic urban adapter

Urbanization impacts on the composition and distribution of wildlife. The tawny frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) is an endemic, nocturnal bird species widespread throughout Australia with recent research highlighting high densities within urban environments. The aim of this study was to investigate homerange size and land-use in response to a gradient of urbanization by determining (a) the key land-use types influencing home-range size and location in the urban landscape (b) whether urbanization impacts on home-range size; and (c) whether the response to urbanization is gender specific. Twelve birds, seven male and five female were radio-tracked within a study zone located in Melbourne, Australia. We used minimum convex polygons (MCP) 95% and 50% fixed-kernel isopleths to calculate home-range size and areas of core use within each home-range. In both the landscape and core areas of their home-range, birds positioned their home-range in areas with more trees, avoiding impervious surfaces and utilizing grassed areas. Male mean kernel home-range was 17.65 ± 4.35 ha and female 6.55 ± 1.40 ha. Male home-ranges contained higher levels of impervious surfaces than females. Modelling demonstrated that as urbanization intensified the home-range size of males increased whereas female home-ranges remained static in size. This research identifies land-use selection and highlights the possibility that spatial behaviour in the species is sex-biased in response to a gradient of urbanization. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

Bark in the park: a review of domestic dogs in parks

The presence of domestic dogs Canis familiaris in public open spaces is increasingly controversial. In our review of the literature, we located 133 publications of various types (papers, reports etc.) that examine some aspect of dogs in parks and open spaces (50 % focussed solely on dogs). There has been an exponential growth in the cumulative number of articles (R (2) = 0.96; 82 % published since 1997); almost all pertain to temperate latitudes (97 %) and most to the northern hemisphere (62 %). Most articles focus on impacts on wildlife (51 %), zoonotic diseases (17 %), and people's perceptions regarding dogs (12 %). Articles mostly describe problems associated with dogs, while reports of low compliance with dog regulations are common. We outline six major findings regarding dogs in parks: (1) there is a paucity of information on dogs in parks, particularly in relation to their interactions with wildlife and regarding their management; (2) published studies are mainly restricted to a handful of locations in developed countries; (3) sectors of societies hold different views over the desirability of dogs in parks; (4) the benefits and risks of dogs to humans and park values are poorly documented and known; (5) dogs represent a notable disease risk in some but not all countries; and (6) coastal parks are over-represented in the literature in terms of potential negative impacts. Park managers globally require better information to achieve conservation outcomes from dog management in parks.

Acute resistance exercise increases the expression of chemotactic factors within skeletal muscle.

Intense resistance exercise causes mechanical loading of skeletal muscle, followed by muscle adaptation. Chemotactic factors likely play an important role in these processes.