Pleopod Cuticular Morphology as an Index of Moult Stage in the Ornate Rock Lobster, Panulirus ornatus (Fabricius 1789)

Seven discrete stages and substages of moulting in the ornate rock lobster, Panulirus ornatus, have been distinguished by microscopic examination of the cuticle and setae of the pleopods . The diagnostic features and the duration of each of the stages are described. Freezing did not visually alter the tissue features used to identify each moult stage. Pleopod morphology can reliably indicate whether a lobster has moulted within the previous 24 h or is within 72 h of the next ecdysis.

The adoption of sustainable grazing land management practices in the Burdekin Rangelands of northern Australia.

The Burdekin Rangelands is a diverse area of semi-arid eucalypt and acacia savannah covering six million hectares in north eastern Australia. The major land use is cattle grazing on 220 commercial cattle properties (average size 26,000 ha) each carrying on average 2600 adult equivalents. Production was the focus of the beef industry and support agencies prior to the mid 1980's. Widespread land degradation during the 1980's led to a grassroots realisation that environmental impacts, including water quality had to be addressed for the beef industry to attain sustainability. The formation of a series of producer based landcare gropus and the support of several Queensland and Australian government research and extension agencies led to a greater awareness and adoption of sound grazing land management practices (Shepherd 2005).

Development of sustainable management for Pimelea and pimelea poisoning

Toxic Pimelea species (desert riceflower) are naturally occurring species found throughout beef cattle regions of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and the Northern Territory. Three species of Pimelea (simplex, elongata, and trichostachya) are poisonous to livestock and potentially fatal to cattle, with serious economic consequences through the loss of production, stock deaths and the costs of agistment. A better understanding of the ecology of the plant/disease is required to develop best practice to manage Pimelea in cattle-producing areas. Development of a chemical assay for the toxin (simplexin) is a key component of the current research project enabling toxin levels to be related to stage of plant growth, environmental and climatic factors.

ACIAR Improving soil health in support of sustainable development in the Pacific

The proposed project focuses on developing research-based indicators that growers and extensionists can use to assess soil health status (including key chemical, physical and biological variables), as well as extension approaches to communicate soil health.