Smoking behaviour among Indigenous secondary school students in North Queensland

This study investigated smoking behaviour among Indigenous youth. A sample of schools (n = 12) in north Queensland with large proportions of Indigenous students was selected. Details about the prevalence of smoking behaviour in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students ( n = 883) were gathered. Data were also collected on the cultural, social, and psychological factors associated with cigarette smoking for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. This survey indicated smoking rates for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students were 24% and 30%, respectively. The study found similarities between both groups regarding where they obtained their cigarettes ( friends) and their reasons for not smoking ( their parents and health). Results of this survey challenge the belief that Indigenous youth are significantly different in their smoking patterns and behaviours compared to non-Indigenous secondary school students in rural regions. It indicated the potential importance of school communities in promoting non-smoking behaviours among Indigenous students even in the face of strong normative pressures from elsewhere in the community. This survey can be used to monitor smoking prevalence among Indigenous secondary students in north Queensland, help guide the development of culturally appropriate school curriculum resources and contribute to the overall evaluation of smoking prevention and smoking cessation programs which are developed for Indigenous secondary school students.

Telemedicine for rural and remote child and youth mental health services

The E-Child and Youth Mental Health Service was designed to provide children and adolescents in Queensland with access to specialist mental health consultations using telemedicine. A project officer provided a single point of contact for referral management and clinic coordination, thereby reducing barriers of access to the service. Over a six-month period from November 2004, 42 point-to-point videoconferences were conducted to nine sites in Queensland. Three multipoint conferences were also conducted. Eleven videoconferences (24%) were arranged for administrative purposes, and 34 (76%) were conducted for the delivery of clinical services (30 patients). The referral and consultation activity suggests an improvement in the capacity of rural and remote mental health service providers to deliver specialist services for children and adolescents.

Significant patterns of population genetic structure and limited gene flow in a threatened macropodid marsupial despite continuous habitat in southeast Queensland, Australia

Many endangered species worldwide are found in remnant populations, often within fragmented landscapes. However, when possible, an understanding of the natural extent of population structure and dispersal behaviour of threatened species would assist in their conservation and management. The brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata), a once abundant and widespread rock-wallaby species across southeastern Australia, has become nearly extinct across much of the southern part of its range. However, the northern part of the species' range still sustains many small colonies closely distributed across suitable habitat, providing a rare opportunity to investigate the natural population dynamics of a listed threatened species. We used 12 microsatellite markers to investigate genetic diversity, population structure and gene flow among brush-tailed rock-wallaby colonies within and among two valley regions with continuous habitat in southeast Queensland. We documented high and signifcant levels of population genetic structure between rock-wallaby colonies embedded in continuous escarpment habitat and forest. We found a strong and significant pattern of isolation-by-distance among colonies indicating restricted gene flow over a small geographic scale (< 10 km) and conclude that gene flow is more likely limited by intrinsic factors rather than environmental factors. In addition, we provide evidence that genetic diversity was significantly lower in colonies located in a more isolated valley region compared to colonies located in a valley region surrounded by continuous habitat. These findings shed light on the processes that have resulted in the endangered status of rock-wallaby species in Australia and they have strong implications for the conservation and management of both the remaining 'connected' brush-tailed rock-wallaby colonies in the northern parts of the species' range and the remnant endangered populations in the south.

The importance of forest area and configuration relative to local habitat factors for conserving forest mammals: A case study of koalas in Queensland, Australia

The loss and fragmentation of forest habitats by human land use are recognised as important factors influencing the decline of forest-dependent fauna. Mammal species that are dependent upon forest habitats are particularly sensitive to habitat loss and fragmentation because they have highly specific habitat requirements, and in many cases have limited ability to move through and utilise the land use matrix. We addressed this problem using a case study of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) surveyed in a fragmented rural-urban landscape in southeast Queensland, Australia. We applied a logistic modelling and hierarchical partitioning analysis to determine the importance of forest area and its configuration relative to site (local) and patch-level habitat variables. After taking into account spatial auto-correlation and the year of survey, we found koala occurrence increased with the area of all forest habitats, habitat patch size and the proportion of primary Eucalyptus tree species; and decreased with mean nearest neighbour distance between forest patches, the density of forest patches, and the density of sealed roads. The difference between the effect of habitat area and configuration was not as strong as theory predicts, with the configuration of remnant forest becoming increasingly important as the area of forest habitat declines. We conclude that the area of forest, its configuration across the landscape, as well as the land use matrix, are important determinants of koala occurrence, and that habitat configuration should not be overlooked in the conservation of forest-dependent mammals, such as the koala. We highlight the implications of these findings for koala conservation. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.