Seasonal variability in whale encounters in the Western Antarctic Peninsula

Cetacean sighting surveys were conducted as part of nine multidisciplinary research cruises over late summer, autumn and winter of 2 years (2001–2003) during the Southern Ocean Global Ocean Ecosystems (SO GLOBEC) program. Sea-ice cover differed markedly between years, with apparent effects on cetacean distribution. No ice was present until late June in 2001, while the previous winter sea ice never fully retreated (>30% cover) during the 2002 or 2003 summer, thus increasing the proportion of thicker and more complex ice, including multi-year floes. Humpback (237 sightings; 537 individuals) and minke (103 sightings: 267 individuals) whales were the most commonly detected species. Data from seven comparable cruises were used to identify habitat for minke and humpback whales over five geographically distinct spatial divisions in the study area. In all years, both species were predominantly found in near coastal habitat, particularly in the fjords where complex habitat likely concentrated prey. In 2002 and 2003 the presence of sea ice provided additional feeding habitat, and the numbers of minkes (in winter) and humpbacks (late summer and autumn) in the area doubled compared with 2001. Humpbacks in particular were concentrated at the ice boundaries during late summer and autumn, while minke numbers increased in the winter that followed and occupied ice-covered areas along the entire shelf edge. Important resource sites for these species are mainly located in near-coastal areas and are used in all years, but when ice margins exist and intersect with resource sites they attract much larger numbers of animals due to the dynamics between sea ice and prey.

A conceptual model for recruitment and retention : allied health workforce enhancement in Western Victoria, Australia

Attracting and retaining allied health professionals in rural areas is a recognised problem in both Australia and overseas. Predicted increases in health needs will require strategic actions to enhance the rural workforce and its ability to deliver the required services. A range of factors in different domains has been associated with recruitment and retention in the allied health workforce. For example, factors can be related to the nature of the work, the personal needs, or the way an organisation is led. Some factors cannot be changed (eg geographical location of extended family) whereas others can be influenced (eg education, support, management styles). Recruitment and retention of allied health professionals is a challenging problem that deserves attention in all domains and preparedness to actively change established work practices, both individually as well as collectively, in order to cater for current and predicted health needs. Changes to enhance workforce outcomes can be implemented and evaluated using a cyclic model. The Allied Health Workforce Enhancement Project of the Greater Green Triangle University Department of Rural Health (GGT UDRH) is working towards increasing the number of allied health professionals in the south west of Victoria. Based on themes identified in the literature, an interactive model is being developed that addresses recruitment and retention factors in three domains: (1) personal or individual; (2) organisation; and (3) community.

High-resolution terrestrial permian-triassic eventostratigraphic boundary in western Guizhou and eastern Yunnan, southwestern China

The adjoining area of western Guizhou and eastern Yunnan Provinces in southwest China is an ideal place to investigate the feasibility of correlating marine and nonmarine Permian–Triassic boundary (PTB) sequences, as it contains outcrop sections of shallow marine, marginal marine (or paralic), and terrestrial PTB sections, all in close geographic proximity. This paper documents for the first time multiple stratigraphic data from several well-preserved terrestrial PTB sections in the area and attempts to use these data to define, locate, and correlate the PTB in the area. A study of the spores and pollen and vegetation types across the terrestrial PTB sections in the study area suggests three distinct evolutionary stages across the boundary: Stage 1 (Xuanwei Formation) is characterised by Late Permian or Paleozoic-type ferns and pteridosperms (85.0%), with a few gymnosperms (15.0%); stage 2 is marked by an abrupt drop of sporopollen elements of Late Permian aspects, coupled with the appearance of fungal spores and limited Early Triassic palynomorphs; stage 3 (top Xuanwei Formation and Kayitou Formation) is dominated by gymnosperm pollen (58.8%) of clearly Early Triassic aspect, although still retaining limited ferns and pteridosperms. The three biotic stages seem to well correspond with the changing trend of the δ13Corg curves from the same sections, which is characterized by a sharp drop just before the PTB, followed by a short term partial recovery across the boundary, and then succeeded by a gradual decline after the PTB in the Early Triassic. Combining evidence from eventostratigraphic (i.e., the succession of boundary clay beds), biostratigraphic (using both macroplants and palynomorphs), and chemostratigraphic (i.e., organic carbon isotope excursion signals), we propose that a high-resolution PTB succession, closely correlatable to its marine counterpart at the Meishan section in eastern China, is recognisable at the terrestrial PTB sections in the western Guizhou–eastern Yunnan area in southwest China.

A preliminary examination of the diet and feeding of sea sweep Scorpis aequipinnis (Pisces: Scorpididae) from coastal waters of south-western Victoria, Australia

The diet and feeding of sea sweep (Scorpis aequipinnis) was investigated from 230 specimens collected from the south-western Victorian coastline between January and July, 2002. Stomach content analysis indicated that S. aequipinnis are browsing omnivores (55.6% algae, 25.4% animal, by dry weight), with rhodophytes found to be the most important component of their diet (93.5% frequency of occurrence; 42.6% dry weight; 45.5% prey-specific abundance). However, the relative proportions of the major dietary components differed significantly between size classes. The dietary composition of small individuals ( < 150 mm total length) was significantly different to larger individuals, primarily due to a higher degree of carnivory exhibited by the smaller fish. S. aequipinnis were found to be highly flexible feeders exploiting both benthic and pelagic food resources, characterised by irregular periods of selective carnivorous feeding.

Locating non-western enlightenment texts for a global curriculum

The context of this paper is a university-based teacher education course in Melbourne, Australia. The assumption underpinning the course is that it is crucial for trainee teachers to examine the lenses they typically use in terms of common-sense understandings of children and adolescents. We point to the 18th century Western enlightenment period as the source of this thinking. I argue that it is important to be aware of other enlightenments that have shaped the traditions of students in our multicultural mix. In this paper, I explore the writings of the Mahabharata and other early Indian texts to see how they have also influenced ways of thinking about childhood and adolescence. Data for this paper have been drawn from course materials, student responses, translations of early Indian texts and popular stories depicting childhood and adolescence.

Western maps/Yanyuwa meaning: an interview with John Bradley

In July 2003 an important one-volume text, Forget about Flinders: A Yanyuwa atlas of the south west gulf of Carpentaria produced in a limited edition of 14 copies, returned to Yanyuwa country and to the families who collaborated with John Bradley and artist Nona Cameron on the project. Subsequently, a second edition of 20 copies has been released, mainly to institutions. It is the most comprehensive attempt yet to restore Yanyuwa names to country and to produce a multilayered, dynamic, history-rich, and bilingual representation of how country is known in this community, and how the central song cycle texts intersect with Yanyuwa tradition. What follows is a condensed and edited interview with Frances Devlin-Glass, in which John Bradley discusses the motivations, the hybridised methodologies employed, the innovations of this new genre, and the pedagogical ends served by this latest iteration of Yanyuwa song cycles.

Estimates of Heterozostera tasmanica, Zostera muelleri and Ruppia megacarpa distribution and biomass in the Hopkins Estuary, western Victoria, by GIS

Knowledge of the spatial arrangement of the seagrass distribution and biomass within the Hopkins Estuary is an essential step towards gaining an understanding of the functioning of the estuarine ecosystem. This study marks the first attempt to map seagrass distribution and model seagrass biomass and epiphyte biomass along depth gradients by the use of global positioning system (GPS) and geographical information system (GIS) technologies in the estuary. For mapping seagrass in small estuaries, ground-surveying the entire system is feasible. Three species of seagrasses, Heterozostera tasmanica (Martens ex Aschers), Zostera muelleri (Irmisch ex Aschers) and Ruppia megacarpa (Mason), were identified in the Hopkins Estuary. All beds investigated contained a mixed species relationship. Three harvest techniques were trialed in a pilot study, with the 25 × 25-cm quadrat statistically most appropriate. Biomass of seagrasses and epiphytes was found to vary significantly with depth, but not between sites. The average estimate of biomass for total seagrasses and their epiphytes in the estuary in January 2000 was 222.7 g m^–2 (dry weight). Of the total biomass, 50.6% or 112.7 g m^–2 (dry weight) was contributed by seagrasses and 49.4% of the biomass (110.0 g m^–2) were epiphytes. Of the 50.6% of the total biomass represented by seagrasses, 39.3% (87.5 g m^–2) were leaves and 11.3% (25.2 g m^–2) were rhizomes. The total area of seagrasses present in the Hopkins Estuary was estimated to be 0.4 ± 0.005 km², with the total area of the estuary estimated to be 1.6 ± 0.02 km² (25% cover). The total standing crop of seagrasses and epiphytes in the Hopkins Estuary in January 2000 was estimated to be 102.3 ± 57 t in dry weight, 56% (56.9 ± 17 t, dry weight) seagrasses and 44% (45.4 ± 19 t, dry weight) epiphytes. Of the seagrass biomass, 39% (39.7 ± 13 t, dry weight) was contributed by leaves and 17% (17.3 ± 7 t, dry weight) by rhizomes.

Land retirement: a biodiversity policy for the rangelands of Western N.S.W.

In this article we examine land retirement as a biodiversity policy option for the rangelands of Western NSW, a region seriously under-represented in biodiversity provision. We argue that the use of policies that rely on moral suasion, education and minimal costsharing will not yield the level of on-farm biodiversity provision demanded by society. Instead, a much greater commitment to the use of monetary incentives to induce the voluntary cooperation and production of biodiversity is required. The analysis explains the importance in policy design of determining transparent, meaningful and achievable objectives in delivering cost-effective environmental outcomes. We propose a land retirement
policy that rakes account of environmental, economic and political criteria. Finally, our land retirement proposal is supported quantitatively by benefit-cost analysis.

Paleobiogeographical extinction patterns of Permian brachiopods in the Asian-western Pacific region

Spatial and temporal variations in biological diversity are critical in understanding the role of biogeographical regulation (if any) on mass extinctions. An analysis based on a latest database of the stratigraphic ranges of 89 Permian brachiopod families, 422 genera, and 2059 species within the Boreal, Paleoequatorial, and Gondwanan Realms in the Asian–western Pacific region suggests two discrete mass extinctions, each possibly with different causes. Using species/family rarefaction analysis, we constructed diversity curves for late Artinskian–Kungurian, Roadian–Wordian, Capitanian, and Wuchiapingian intervals for filtering out uneven sampling intensities. The end-Changhsingian (latest Permian) extinction eliminated 87–90% of genera and 94–96% of species of Brachiopoda. The timing of the end-Changhsingian extinction of brachiopods in the carbonate settings of South China and southern Tibet indicates that brachiopods suffered a rapid extinction within a short interval just below the Permian/Triassic boundary.

In comparison, the end-Guadalupian/late Guadalupian extinction is less profound and varies temporally in different realms. Brachiopods in the western Pacific sector of the Boreal Realm nearly disappeared by the end-Guadalupian but experienced a relatively long-term press extinction spanning the entire Guadalupian in the Gondwanan Realm. The end-Guadalupian brachiopod diversity fall is not well reflected at the timescale used here in the Paleoequatorial Realm because the life-depleted early Wuchiapingian was overlapped by a rapid radiation phase in the late Wuchiapingian. The Guadalupian fall appears to be related to the dramatic reduction of habitat area for the brachiopods, which itself is associated with the withdrawal of seawater from continental Pangea and the closure of the Sino-Mongolian seaway by the and-Guadalupian.

Water, land use change and 'new forests': what are the challenges for South-Western Victoria?

Land use change has occurred rapidly in southwestern Victoria over the last decade and is expected to continue, albeit at a slower pace. One of these changes has been the development of 'new forests', that is industrial and farm forestry plantations and environmental plantings. Some of the challenges that these land use changes pose for water and natural resource managers are discussed. Land use change is expected to substantially reduce potential water yield in four of the region's seven drainage basins (A).

Whale distribution in relation to prey abundance and oceanographic processes in the shelf waters of the Western Antarctic Peninsula

The Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is a biologically rich area supporting large standing stocks of krill and top predators (including whales, seals and seabirds). Physical forcing greatly affects productivity, recruitment, survival and distribution of krill in this area. In turn, such interactions are likely to affect the distribution of baleen whales. The Southern Ocean GLOBEC research program aims to explore the relationships and interactions between the environment, krill and predators around Marguerite Bay (WAP) in autumn 2001 and 2002. Bathymetric and environmental variables including acoustic backscattering as an indicator of prey abundance were used to model whale distribution patterns. We used an iterative approach employing (1) classification and regression tree (CART) models to identify oceanographic and ecological variables contributing to variability in humpback Megaptera novaeangliae and minke Balaenoptera acutorstrata whale distribution, and (2) generalized additive models (GAMs) to elucidate functional ecological relationships between these variables and whale distribution. The CART models indicated that the cetacean distribution was tightly coupled with zooplankton acoustic volume backscatter in the upper (25 to 100 m), and middle (100 to 300 m) portions of the water column. Whale distribution was also related to distance from the ice edge and bathymetric slope. The GAMs indicated a persistent, strong, positive relationship between increasing zooplankton volume and whale relative abundance. Furthermore, there was a lower limit for averaged acoustic volume backscatter of zooplankton below which the relationship between whales and prey was not significant. The GAMs also supported an annual relationship between whale distribution, distance from the ice edge and bathymetric slope, suggesting that these are important features for aggregating prey. Our results demonstrate that during the 2 yr study, whales were consistently and predictably associated with the distribution of zooplankton. Thus, humpback and minke whales may be able to locate physical features and oceanographic processes that enhance prey aggregation.

Potential microbial and chemical hazards to waterbirds at the Western Treatment Plant

The Western Treatment Plant, a major sewage treatment plant west of Melbourne, Australia, is widely regarded as a significant conservation site for waterbirds. But experiences from various parts of the world suggest that sewage can also be hazardous to waterbirds, and has probably been responsible for mass-kill events. The intent of this contribution is to raise awareness about the potential for adverse impacts of sewage treatment plants on waterbirds, and to stimulate debate on the issue, with the ultimate objective of developing appropriate management strategies to mitigate the risk of mass kills.