Heavy metals in the sediments of Northern Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia

This project was the first comprehensive assessment of heavy metals to be conducted in the sediments of Northern Moreton Bay since the 1970s and found that shipping and shipping related activities contributed significantly to the level of sediment contamination in the area. The study was also used to develop and test new methods of assessing heavy metal sediment quality.

A road safety strategy for Norfolk Island, an Australian external territory

Norfolk Island is an Australian external territory in Oceania. The significant road safety reforms in Australia from the 1970s onward bypassed the island, and most road safety ‘silver bullets’ adopted in other Australian jurisdictions were not introduced. While legislative amendments in 2010 introduced mandatory seat belt wearing for vehicle occupants on Norfolk Island, other critical issues face the community including drink driving by residents and visitors, occupant protection for vehicle passengers, and the provision of a more protective road environment. The release of the first Norfolk Island road safety strategy 2014-2016 proposed, inter alia: • a lower BAC of 0.05 and the introduction of compulsory driver alcohol and drug testing by police; • targeted enforcement of occupant protection for vehicle passengers, particularly for passengers riding on vehicle tray backs; • education interventions to challenge values held by some members of the community that support unsafe road use; • ensuring that driver information, training and testing is adequate for all drivers; • identification and rectification of hazardous roadside infrastructure, particularly barrier protection at “high drop locations” within the road network; and • developing a specification for vehicle standards for vehicles imported into Norfolk Island. Norfolk Island is engaging in a process of integration with the Australian community, and wider issues relating to funding and resources have impacted on the implementation of the road safety strategy. The response to the strategy will be discussed, particularly in terms of current attempts to address drink driving and the provision of a safer road environment.

Deriving optimal fishing effort for managing Australia's Moreton Bay multispecies trawl fishery with aggregated effort data

Deriving an estimate of optimal fishing effort or even an approximate estimate is very valuable for managing fisheries with multiple target species. The most challenging task associated with this is allocating effort to individual species when only the total effort is recorded. Spatial information on the distribution of each species within a fishery can be used to justify the allocations, but often such information is not available. To determine the long-term overall effort required to achieve maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and maximum economic yield (MEY), we consider three methods for allocating effort: (i) optimal allocation, which optimally allocates effort among target species; (ii) fixed proportions, which chooses proportions based on past catch data; and (iii) economic allocation, which splits effort based on the expected catch value of each species. Determining the overall fishing effort required to achieve these management objectives is a maximizing problem subject to constraints due to economic and social considerations. We illustrated the approaches using a case study of the Moreton Bay Prawn Trawl Fishery in Queensland (Australia). The results were consistent across the three methods. Importantly, our analysis demonstrated the optimal total effort was very sensitive to daily fishing costs-the effort ranged from 9500-11 500 to 6000-7000, 4000 and 2500 boat-days, using daily cost estimates of $0, $500, $750, and $950, respectively. The zero daily cost corresponds to the MSY, while a daily cost of $750 most closely represents the actual present fishing cost. Given the recent debate on which costs should be factored into the analyses for deriving MEY, our findings highlight the importance of including an appropriate cost function for practical management advice. The approaches developed here could be applied to other multispecies fisheries where only aggregated fishing effort data are recorded, as the literature on this type of modelling is sparse.

A Phenomic Scan of the Norfolk Island Genetic Isolate Identifies a Major Pleiotropic Effect Locus Associated with Metabolic and Renal Disorder Markers

Multiphenotype genome-wide association studies (GWAS) may reveal pleiotropic genes, which would remain undetected using single phenotype analyses. Analysis of large pedigrees offers the added advantage of more accurately assessing trait heritability, which can help prioritise genetically influenced phenotypes for GWAS analysis. In this study we performed a principal component analysis (PCA), heritability (h2) estimation and pedigree-based GWAS of 37 cardiovascular disease -related phenotypes in 330 related individuals forming a large pedigree from the Norfolk Island genetic isolate. PCA revealed 13 components explaining >75% of the total variance. Nine components yielded statistically significant h2 values ranging from 0.22 to 0.54 (P<0.05). The most heritable component was loaded with 7 phenotypic measures reflecting metabolic and renal dysfunction. A GWAS of this composite phenotype revealed statistically significant associations for 3 adjacent SNPs on chromosome 1p22.2 (P<1x10-8). These SNPs form a 42kb haplotype block and explain 11% of the genetic variance for this renal function phenotype. Replication analysis of the tagging SNP (rs1396315) in an independent US cohort supports the association (P = 0.000011). Blood transcript analysis showed 35 genes were associated with rs1396315 (P<0.05). Gene set enrichment analysis of these genes revealed the most enriched pathway was purine metabolism (P = 0.0015). Overall, our findings provide convincing evidence for a major pleiotropic effect locus on chromosome 1p22.2 influencing risk of renal dysfunction via purine metabolism pathways in the Norfolk Island population. Further studies are now warranted to interrogate the functional relevance of this locus in terms of renal pathology and cardiovascular disease risk.

Nocturne

Chris Denaro is a Brisbane-based animator whose work incorporates a blend of physical stop motion and digital motion graphics. This exhibition, Nocturne, uses animation to embody the genius loci of the former Peel Island Lazaret on the island of Teerk Roo Ra in Moreton Bay, Queensland. This project developed a form of animation that harnesses animation’s plasmatic quality to express an in-between state of being, and examines the capacity of animation to push and pull at the boundary lines between what can be apprehended as the ‘real’ and the ‘imaginary’. The Nocturne constructions cycle forever, with no beginning and no end,only a slightly familiar hypnotic rhythm to describe a continual process of adaptation and renewal. These artworks consider the animation loop as a mental state, rather than a sequence of events which illustrate a narrative. The loop can also be an anxious, compulsive place, divorced from the linear nature of reality, hypnotised in a trance like repetition. Nocturne investigates how conceptions of place are overlaid by aspects of history, memory and the imagination.

Editorial of "International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies Volume 3, Number 1, 2010"

The articles in this edition of the International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies engage collectively with how different epistemologies and cultural values inform power relations in different locations, situations and contemporary contexts. As a group, these articles demonstrate, over varying facets, how meaning, communicative intent and interpretive effect are constitutive of power relations between Indigenous people and non Indigenous people. Jackie Grey discusses the labour of belonging as played out in a dispute over Indigenous fishing rights in a small New England town of Aquinnah, located on Noepe Island the traditional lands of the Wampanoag in the United States of America. She reveals the ways in which the jurisdiction of non Indigenous belonging operates discursively and materially to preclude Indigenous rights and self determination. Grey's analysis highlights the incommensurability of Indigenous and non Indigenous belonging that are played out in power relations born of colonisation.

Editorial of "International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies, Volume 8, Number 1, 2015"

This edition includes a diverse range of contributions that collectively illustrate two elevated concerns of critical Indigenous studies: First, an interest in establishing ways and means of conducting ethical research with Indigenous communities; and second, critically engaging with constructions of Indigeneity. The first article, by Craig Sinclair, Peter Keelan, Samuel Stokes, Annette Stokes and Christine Jefferies-Stokes, examines the increasingly popular use of participatory video (PV) as a means of engagement, in this case with children in remote Aboriginal communities as participants in health research. The authors note that, whilst not without methodological disadvantages, the PV method, with its flexibility to respond to community priorities is particularly well suited to research with remote Aboriginal communities.

Economics of tourism & growth for small island countries

We theoretically analyze the impact of changes in foreign income from tourism source countries on the growth of tourism dependent small island economies. Using a general theoretical construct, we attempt to answer the question of how price elasticity of demand, income elasticity of tourist and the degree of competition in the service sector influence the economic development of small economies. One of the main results is that politicians may consider applying policies which lead to a competitive environment in the service sector to maximize growth and the consequent labor income share.

Structural-stratigraphic reconstruction of the lower Whakataki formation, north island, New Zealand

This thesis details a Miocene aged sedimentary rock formation located in north island New Zealand. Mapping, stratigraphic logging and petrographic analysis of the rock formation ascertained that it was deposited in a deep-marine, tectonically active region. The work details the make-up of the sedimentary rocks using geochemistry and microscopy to define their origin. This definition was used to interpret the depositional model of the sediments detailing how they were transported and how they were emplaced.

'Mutiny on the Bounty': The genetic history of Norfolk Island reveals extreme gender-biased admixture

Background The Pacific Oceania region was one of the last regions of the world to be settled via human migration. Here we outline a settlement of this region that has given rise to a uniquely admixed population. The current Norfolk Island population has arisen from a small number of founders with mixed Caucasian and Polynesian ancestry, descendants of a famous historical event. The ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ has been told in history books, songs and the big screen, but recently this story can be portrayed through comprehensive molecular genetics. Written history details betrayal and murder leading to the founding of Pitcairn Island by European mutineers and the Polynesian women who left Tahiti with them. Investigation of detailed genealogical records supports historical accounts. Findings Using genetics, we show distinct maternal Polynesian mitochondrial lineages in the present day population, as well as a European centric Y-chromosome phylogeny. These results comprehensively characterise the unique gender-biased admixture of this genetic isolate and further support the historical records relating to Norfolk Island. Conclusions Our results significantly refine previous population genetic studies investigating Polynesian versus Caucasian diversity in the Norfolk Island population and add information that is beneficial to future disease and gene mapping studies.

Serum bilirubin concentration is modified by UGT1A1 Haplotypes and influences risk of type-2 diabetes in the Norfolk Island Genetic Isolate

Background Located in the Pacific Ocean between Australia and New Zealand, the unique population isolate of Norfolk Island has been shown to exhibit increased prevalence of metabolic disorders (type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease) compared to mainland Australia. We investigated this well-established genetic isolate, utilising its unique genomic structure to increase the ability to detect related genetic markers. A pedigree-based genome-wide association study of 16 routinely collected blood-based clinical traits in 382 Norfolk Island individuals was performed. Results A striking association peak was located at chromosome 2q37.1 for both total bilirubin and direct bilirubin, with 29 SNPs reaching statistical significance (P < 1.84 × 10−7). Strong linkage disequilibrium was observed across a 200 kb region spanning the UDP-glucuronosyltransferase family, including UGT1A1, an enzyme known to metabolise bilirubin. Given the epidemiological literature suggesting negative association between CVD-risk and serum bilirubin we further explored potential associations using stepwise multivariate regression, revealing significant association between direct bilirubin concentration and type-2 diabetes risk. In the Norfolk Island cohort increased direct bilirubin was associated with a 28 % reduction in type-2 diabetes risk (OR: 0.72, 95 % CI: 0.57-0.91, P = 0.005). When adjusted for genotypic effects the overall model was validated, with the adjusted model predicting a 30 % reduction in type-2 diabetes risk with increasing direct bilirubin concentrations (OR: 0.70, 95 % CI: 0.53-0.89, P = 0.0001). Conclusions In summary, a pedigree-based GWAS of blood-based clinical traits in the Norfolk Island population has identified variants within the UDPGT family directly associated with serum bilirubin levels, which is in turn implicated with reduced risk of developing type-2 diabetes within this population.