Imagined terrain: literary nomadism in Venice and the Veneto

Many poets and writers have used Venice and, to a lesser extent, the Veneto as a creative topos. There is both the writing that might be said to belong to the Italian/Venetian literary tradition, as well as the non-Italian tradition of writing Venice, a phenomenon that spans English literature, in particular, from William Shakespeare’s time, to the Romantic period and into the present day. This paper explores my relationship to this creative topos and the writers and writing that are associated with it. In particular, it focuses on the notion of literary nomadism: a method for interacting with the literature of Venice and the Veneto that allows me to find intersections between my own work and that which already exists in a broad historical and literary terrain. Moving between and across the literatures of this region, I argue that it is possible to find multiple points of reference that guide and inform my own poetic responses to it, and which reflect my own subjective nomadism and in-between-ness. By taking such an approach I am able to map my hybrid, transnational and transcultural identity into this space, in order to locate myself—and my writing—in the ‘imagined terrain’ I have chosen as a creative topos.

Influence of environmental conditions on foraging behaviour and its consequences on reproductive performance in little penguins

During the breeding season, seabirds are central place foragers and have to adapt their foraging behaviour in response to environmental variation to maximize efficiency and reproductive output. Due to its small size and swimming mode of transport, the little penguin (Eudyptula minor) is expected to be greatly susceptible to such fluctuations. The links between local-, meso- and macro-scale environmental conditions and inter-annual variation in foraging behaviour and reproductive performance of little penguins were investigated during three consecutive breeding seasons at two colonies in south-eastern Australia marked by contrasting oceanographic conditions. At a local scale, foraging effort was correlated positively with wind direction and negatively with wave height. At a regional scale, foraging effort of individuals from both colonies was negatively correlated with higher sea surface temperature (SST) off the Bonney Coast in the previous Austral summer, suggesting a weaker Bonney Upwelling event and a cascade of effects throughout the Bass Strait region. At a larger scale, the El Niño Southern Oscillation was also found to correlate with foraging behaviour, with lower foraging effort being observed during La Niña event. Although individuals increased their foraging effort during years with poorer conditions, they were not able to maintain high breeding success. In addition, peak egg-laying was found to coincide with a decrease in local SST and a peak of sea surface chlorophyll-a concentration. In conclusion, these results highlight how different environmental conditions could influence foraging behaviour and ultimately reproductive success of little penguins. It also showed that under certain circumstances, these individual strategies were not sufficient to cope with environmental variability.

Home range, habitat use and movements by the little raven (Corvus mellori) in a coastal peri-urban landscape

Context In peri-urban environments, high availability of anthropogenic resources may result in relatively high abundances of some species, with potentially negative implications for other native biota. Effective management of such impacts requires understanding of the spatial ecology of problem species. However, home range and habitat use have not been described for the little raven (Corvus mellori), a superabundant native predator that occurs in urban and natural habitats, including those where threatened shorebirds breed. Aims The aim of this study was to provide basic information on little raven home range, habitat use and movements in a coastal peri-urban landscape. Methods Between October 2011 and January 2012 we radio-tracked 20 little ravens captured in a coastal wetland (near Melbourne, Australia). Key results Little ravens were highly mobile, moving up to 9.9km in an hour (median≤2km), and had large ranges: Minimum Convex Polygons were 1664-9989ha (median≤3362ha). Although most birds used both anthropogenic and natural habitats, some birds strongly selected for coastal wetland habitat. Birds used multiple roosts during the study period, most of which occurred in grassland (58.7%) or urban (22.3%) areas. Movement of up to 8.3km (median≤2.2km) between roosts during the night was also detected. Conclusions Ravens were highly mobile and used large home ranges and a variety of habitats, with habitat preferences varying between birds. Implications Considering the large home ranges and inter-individual variation in habitat preferences of little raven populations, localised management to reduce their impacts on breeding shorebirds is unlikely to be successful. Journal compilation

Benefits of group foraging depend on prey type in a small marine predator, the Little Penguin

Group foraging provides predators with advantages in over-powering prey larger than themselves or in aggregating small prey for efficient exploitation. For group-living predatory species, cooperative hunting strategies provide inclusive fitness benefits. However, for colonial-breeding predators, the benefit pay-offs of group foraging are less clear due to the potential for intra-specific competition. We used animal-borne cameras to determine the prey types, hunting strategies, and success of little penguins (Eudyptula minor), a small, colonial breeding air-breathing marine predator that has recently been shown to display extensive at-sea foraging associations with conspecifics. Regardless of prey type, little penguins had a higher probability of associating with conspecifics when hunting prey that were aggregated than when prey were solitary. In addition, success was greater when individuals hunted schooling rather than solitary prey. Surprisingly, however, success on schooling prey was similar or greater when individuals hunted on their own than when with conspecifics. These findings suggest individuals may be trading-off the energetic gains of solitary hunting for an increased probability of detecting prey within a spatially and temporally variable prey field by associating with conspecifics.

Conservation genetics of the little penguin: eudyptula minor

This first range-wide study of the ecology and systematics of the Little Penguin, Eudyptula minor, supported a single species model with two distinct groups and a New Zealand origin. Critical information collected on gene flow, connectivity and sex identification will greatly enhance conservation strategies for this iconic Australasian bird.

Are only the strong surviving? Little influence of restoration on beetles (Coleoptera) in an agricultural landscape

Habitat restoration has become an important part of biodiversity conservation in the face of extensive habitat loss and fragmentation, especially in agricultural landscapes. Study of invertebrates such as beetles (Coleoptera) may be important to assess the effectiveness of restoration techniques in maintaining native fauna, because they provide a variety of trophic roles and ecosystem services. In this study we examined the conservation value for beetles of revegetation in linear strips and alongside remnant patches compared with remnant vegetation and cleared roadsides. We also assessed how habitat variables structured beetle community composition. Beetle species richness and abundance did not substantially differ between revegetated, remnant and cleared areas, and was not substantially influenced by vegetation type and structure. Herbivorous beetles and the family Curculionidae were more species rich in cleared linear strips. Beetle fauna in these agricultural landscapes may be a robust subset of the pre-clearing beetle community, possibly due to the widespread degradation of remnant areas and the ground layer habitats within them. One beetle species had slightly higher abundance in remnant linear strips, suggesting that remnant habitats may be important for some beetle species. Importantly, environmental variables strongly influenced beetle community composition, signifying that beetle communities are still responding to factors such as soil type and native vegetation, rather than variables mainly associated with land management. The restoration practices currently being undertaken in agricultural areas may not maintain beetle species that require specific habitat variables to survive. Ground-layer attributes need to be included in future revegetation projects, and translocation of specialist species of beetles may be required to restore communities.

The Little Con-ference 2015

The Little Con is an artist led initiative and dedicated to the performance of dance improvisation. The Little Con-ference is a conference linked to The Little Con (organised by Dianne Reid)

Little raven (Corvus mellori) as an egg predator of other bird species

 Little ravens were major predators of ground-nesting red-capped Plover and burrow-nesting Little penguin eggs. Ravens also congregated at the breeding sites of these two species to exploit eggs. As raven numbers increase with human habitation of land, their impact on other bird species needs to be monitored and managed.

From the inside to the outside. Architecture Venice Biennales 2014 and 2016

The comparison between the Position Statements of the latest two Venice Biennale of Architecture, Fundamentals, directed by Rem Koolhaas in 2014 and Reporting from the front that Alejandro Aravena prepares for 2016, is an evident sign of the internal stress that architectural practice has been suffering during the last decade. Koolhaas intensively focused on the immediate past whilst Aravena presents a Biennalle strongly decided to explore possible alternatives for the future of Architecture. The first one tried to define the core, theessence, the most elemental particles that utterly compose Architecture. The second looks at the boundaries, the periphery, the outskirts, the limits of the discipline. Fundamentals was theoretical, personal, abstract, compact and aesthetic. Reporting from the front will be practical, collective, concrete, permeable and ethical. This fertile antagonism or counterpoint between both approaches is too frequently understood as incompatible. However, as a matter of fact the coexistence of these two different perspectives within architectural practice is the mostdistinctive feature of the complex contemporary architectural landscape. The insertion of the analysis of both position statements within the historical evolution of the Venice Bienale since 1980, allows a reinterpretation of the antagonism between the two exhibitions and evidences some lines of thought and action in the architectural world. Following the war industry terminology that Report from the front has chosen, Aravena identifies with precision the theatre of operations; the space and time that is requesting an urgent response from architecture.Previously Koolhaas had defined the armament that Architecture has available to undertake this crucial mission: to define the role and relevance of Architecture in the immediate future. Until now, battles in the front have been a guerrilla warfare. More reactive than proactive. Battles for survival more than for experience. Necessary but, at the same time, insufficient. Valuable actions in radical contexts; heroic acts in extreme situations; occasional infiltrations that find their final reason for being in their own audacity. Time has come for these counterattackarchitectures to evolve from protests to proposals.