International Society for Applied Ethology. Special issue: a Selection of Papers from the 38th International Congress of the ISAE, Helsinki, Finland, August 2004

Welcome to the latest collection of papers selected from the International Society for Applied Ethology's (ISAE's) annual congress. The ISAE is a multi-faceted scientific society that supports applied research on animals under the influence of humankind. Every year, we aim to invite congress participants who have submitted papers, plenary talks, run workshops, or presented the memorial lecture on theoretical, review or discussion papers of topical interest to contribute to the Special Issue. These papers are peer-reviewed before being published here in Applied Animal Behaviour Science. International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE) Special Issue 2004.

International Society for Applied Ethology. Special issue: a selection of papers from the 39th International Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE), Tokyo, Japan, August 2005

Welcome to the latest collection of papers selected from the International Society for Applied Ethology's (ISAE's) annual congress. The ISAE is a multi-faceted scientific society that supports applied research on animals that are managed by humans. Every year, we aim to invite congress participants who have submitted papers, plenary talks, run workshops, or presented the memorial lecture on theoretical, review or discussion papers of topical interest to contribute to the Special Issue. These papers are peer-reviewed before being published here in Applied Animal Behaviour Science. This year, we have a variety of papers to bring to your attention. The David Wood-Gush Memorial lecture, the keynote address of the congress, was given by Shigeru Watanabe on animal cognition and welfare. His paper highlights how animal's sensory capabilities relate to their welfare. On the topic of human–animal bonds, Stine Christiansen and Björn Forkman explore how animal welfare is assessed in a veterinary context, and how those assessments might be improved by ethologists. Yoshie Kakuma and co-authors report on the discussions from a workshop on the welfare of working and companion dogs in five different countries. Based on their plenary lectures, Michael Cockram discusses the factors that affect farmed animals during road transport and how these might contribute in making decisions to restrict journey times, while Clive Phillips and co-author Danica Peck examine how personality influences the behaviour and interactions between zoo-housed tigers and their keepers. We hope you enjoy these papers. Our sincere thanks go to both the authors and referees, without whom these special issues would not be possible. A selection of papers from the 39th International Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE), Tokyo, Japan, August 2005.

Melaleuca densispicata in Currawinya National Park, South-West Queensland: Ecology and preliminary implications for management of a rare plant species

Melaleuca densispicata Byrnes is an uncommon species with a limited distribution, comprising disjunct populations in inland southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, Australia. It is a dense, woody shrub, 2–4 m in height, which exhibits a marked 'clumping' growth habit. It has thick, papery bark and displays many white flowers during spring or early summer. Although it has long been known to exist, M. densispicata was only formally described in 1984, and very little is currently known about its ecology or specific management requirements. There are only seven known subpopulations of the species across its range. A major population at the western limit of its distribution occurs on Currawinya National Park (28°52'S, 144°30'E). Here, it is locally abundant and listed as a noteworthy plant species under the Management Plan (Queensland Parks & Wildlife Service 2001). This study aimed to identify patterns in the distribution of M. densispicata in Currawinya National Park, describe its ecological niche and role, and provide management recommendations for the species within the study area. Recent anecdotal observations of recruitment failure in south-western Queensland (Peter McRae, QPWS, October 2004, pers. comm.; Dick O'Connell, local grazier, July 2005 pers. comm.) caused additional emphasis to be placed on the examination of recruitment and recruitment factors.

Campylobacter genotypes in chickens - national and regional

An understanding of whether Campylobacter are linked to particular companies and/or particular regional areas. An improved industry ability to respond to food-borne outbreaks associated with Campylobacter.

CSIRO lead National Citrus Scion Breeding Program

National Citrus Scion Breeding Program.

National Strawberry Varietal Improvement Program - Subtropical Regions

Industry development by providing competitive wonderful strawberry cutivars to subtropical industry and purchasers .

National Citrus Triploid Breeding

This project advances commercially desirable citrus selections that have resilient seedlessness. It builds on existing expertise and develops germplasm resources in the utilisation of interploid crossing for the production of new triploid hybrids with outstanding fruit quality. Advanced germplasm will progress toward commercialisation with fruit displays, and the production of a final generation of trees for semi-commercial plantings. At the opposite end of the breeding spectrum, new triploid hybrids will be produced. Growers will see triploid citrus from their national breeding project for the first time, providing a window on future new varieties that will emerge from the pipe-line of germplasm that has been developed through past project investment.

National Rhizobium Program - Managing rhizobia to maximise Nitrogen fixation

Inoculation of legumes with rhizobia is fundamental to sustainable productivity of Australian agriculture. The National Rhizobium Program has specific aims of sustaining and increasing Nitrogen fixation by legumes in Australian agriculture.

CRC27012 A National Diagnostic Database for Emergency Plant Pests

Development of a national diagnostic database for Emergency Plant Pests which will be web-accessible.

Variety Performance Trialling for the National Variety Trials

Conducting National Variety Testing for wheat, barley, durum and chickpea throughout Queensland.

National soil health consortium

Work with Land and Water Australia to coordinate soil health work across Queensland and Australia.

A national research program for climate-ready cereals

This project is to develop a program of research to implement existing wheat and sorghum germplasm for potential 'climate-change' environments.

National screening for barley grain defects

Three defects on barley grain can impact on the price paid to grain growers. Black point (BP), kernel staining (KS) and pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) can result in malting barley being downgraded to feed. Resistance to these defects is the best option, and in this project hundreds of breeding lines grown over three years were screened for these traits. A number of lines exhibited resistance to each defect but very few had resistance to all defects. The results from the screening program have been provided to the Australian barley breeders through the Barley Breeding Australia (BBA) program.

National Mungbean Improvement Program

Develop new, high yielding, disease resistant mungbean varieties that will increase crop reliability and grower confidence in the northern region.