An archaeology of West Polynesian prehistory

There can be little doubt on linguistic evidence that East Polynesia was first settled from West Polynesia. The author argues, however, that the related archaeological record has been made to fit with this dominant interpretative paradigm. Her objective assessment of the material evidence contradicts the popularly held view.

Middle permian brachiopods from central Peninsular Malaysia - faunal affinities between Malaysia and west Cambodia

A moderately diverse Permian brachiopod fauna is described from a new rock unit, the Bera Formation, in the Bera District, central Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. The fauna consists of 19 taxa, including 14 genera and 17 (both identified and unidentified) typically Tethyan species. The fauna appears to be correlative on the basis of brachiopods with the Neoschwagerina-Yabeina fusulinid Zones in Indochina and South China. In particular, it has strong linkage to Member C (Yabeina beds) of the Sisophon Limestone, west Cambodia. This is indicated by three of the Bera species — Urushtenoidea chaoi (Ching), Spyridiophora gubleri Termier and Termier, and Transennatia termierorum sp. nov., being shared with the Cambodian fauna. A possible early Capitanian (Middle Permian) age is proposed for the Bera brachiopod fauna.

Amalgamation of health services in South-West Victoria: reinvention or survival?

In Australia 'the hospital' has long been considered the cornerstone of small, rural health services. However, this premise has been altered significantly by the introduction of casemix loading and diagnostic-related groups that promote a rationalised output-based model of management. In the light of these changes, many rural health services have struggled to reinvent themselves by establishing a range of service models such as Multi-purpose Service (MPS) and Health Streams, while maintaining traditional models (i.e. bush nursing centres, nursing homes and aged-care facilities). These changes are about survival. This paper analyses one such case in south-west Victoria, the Macarthur and District Community Outreach Service, and compares the outcomes with other similar Victorian rural health research projects. Particular attention is paid to the nature of the health services, the management of change and the proposed health outcomes for the local rural communities. In conclusion, it is argued that this study adds to the body of knowledge surrounding the construction of models of community health and development programming, These models impact upon future rural and remote area initiatives throughout Australia.

Allozyme evidence for a new species of freshwater crayfish of the genus Cherax Erichson (Decapoda : Parastacidae) from the south-west of Western Australia

The marron, Cherax tenuimanus (Smith), is one of the most easily recognisable members of the freshwater crayfish genus Cherax. Since its description in 1912, the taxonomy of the species has not been in dispute, but recent genetic studies have demonstrated that the species is not homogenous and consists of two genetically distinct forms. One of these forms is widespread and exploited via aquaculture and the other is restricted to a single river system, the Margaret River. This paper presents allozyme data, collected over a 19-year period, which documents the introduction of the widespread form into the Margaret River and the subsequent reproductive interactions between the two forms. These data indicate minimal interbreeding between the two forms of marron and so justify their recognition as distinct species. As the original description of the marron was based on specimens collected from the Margaret River, the form native to this river retains the name C. tenuimanus and a new species, Cherax cainii Austin is described for the common, widespread form of marron. An additional outcome of this study is that C. tenuimanus has been rapidly displaced by the introduced C. cainii within the Margaret River. Consequently, urgent conservation measures are required to protect C. tenuimanus and prevent its possible extinction.

Distribution and density of the hooded plover Thinornis rubricollis along a remote coastline in North West Tasmania

The Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area, on the north-west coast of Tasmania, provides many kilometres of ocean beach habitat for the vulnerable Hooded Plover Thinornis rubricollis. Hooded Plovers were surveyed along a 43.5 km section of coast which included both rocky shores and sandy beaches. They were absent from the rocky portion of the coastline (17.0 km), but 65 individuals were recorded along the sandy portion of coastline (26.5 km). The recorded population density of 2.45 birds/km compares favourably with reported mean densities for most parts of south-eastern Australia. Careful management and monitoring are required if the current numbers of the Hooded Plover in this area are to be maintained.

Rural women and local economic development in south-west Victoria

In the 1990s, the appearance of women in leadership roles in local economic development organisations in small south-west Victorian towns heralded a change in gender relations in rural Australia. This paper contributes to an understanding of this process by investigating the actions and motives of women in leadership roles in small rural towns in south-west Victoria. The paper begins by establishing a framework of analysis based upon a notion of ‘paradigms in progress’. The argument is that in an increasingly interconnected world broader economic, social and political concerns encroach upon local cultures. In this process, older social paradigms or popularly accepted models for how the world works are either transformed, discarded or replaced on different levels. The different levels to which this paper refers are the macromodels of patriarchy, the mesomodels of economic development and the micromodels of leadership. It is the way that these levels intersect and how they are being changed that informs the explanation of women and leadership in south-west Victoria. The paper applies this framework to an analysis of interviews with 15 women in small towns in south-west Victoria. The paper concludes that women in the south-west have been able both to feminise the politics of local economic development as well as reposition the feminine in local social discourses.

Environment, resource sustainability and sustainable behaviour: exploring perceptions of students in South West Victoria

The movement toward a sustainable future has begun in many parts of the world, as the seriousness of the environmental problems faced by the planet become more widely recognised. Waste reduction, improved efficiency of energy use, water saving devices and changes in modes of transport are the first steps in the transition to a sustainable future. The students of today will be the decision makers of tomorrow and, thus, can have a significant effect on future development and the environmental
impacts of that development. If students today are to become active participants in the environmental decision-making process, education for sustainability becomes a key component in ensuring sustainable futures. There is a need to establish data describing students’ attitudes toward environmental and resource sustainability issues so that challenges to implementing sustainable development policy can be better recognised. The aims of this study were to identify the perceptions of students in
the south west region of Victoria regarding environment and resource sustainability, and to identify their level of participation in sustainable behaviours. A survey of students has found that global environmental issues perceived by students as being in urgent need of attention were access to freshwater, loss of tropical rainforest and exhaustion of natural resources. At the local level the most urgent issues identified were water pollution, salinization and soil degradation, and clearing of native vegetation. Students perceive that Australians are overusing natural resources. They indicated particular concern for the sustainability of fossil fuels, water, coastal environments and fisheries resources. The results of this study indicate that students are responding to concerns for the environment and resource sustainability by embracing some forms of sustainable behaviour. However, as educators we need to ensure that
the link is made between environment and resource sustainability and the implementation of policies that will further encourage sustainable behaviour.

Breeding biology, adult survival and territoriality of the white-browed treecreeper (climacteris affinis) in north-west Victoria, Australia

This is the first study to present empirical data describing the social organisation and breeding biology of the White-browed Treecreeper (Climacteris affinis). The species is typical of many small Australian passerines in that it has high annual survival (~80%), small clutches (mean = 1.95 ± 0.05), long breeding seasons (eggs laid August to November) and long incubation (17–18 days) and nestling periods (25–26 days), corrected for body weight. Reproductive effort is modified in response to variation in climatic conditions by adjusting the commencement of breeding and number of clutches laid per season, which is facilitated by an extended breeding season. White-browed Treecreepers occupied relatively large (mean = 8.4 ± 0.8 ha), all-purpose territories throughout the year. However, unlike many group territorial birds, territory size was not related to the number of occupants. The role of food limitation and climatic variability in relation to territory dispersion and life-history traits is explored. Facultative cooperative breeding was confirmed. Cooperative groups were formed through male philopatry, with usually only one, but up to three, male helpers present in a moderate fraction (35%) of breeding units. Thus, all species of Climacteris are now confirmed as facultative cooperatively breeding species, which provides further evidence for the aggregation of cooperative breeders at the generic level in mixed (i.e. cooperative and pair breeders) phylogenetic clades. In C. affinis, males may attain breeding positions through inheritance of their natal territory or by filling vacancies in nearby territories. Females obtained breeding positions by ‘floating’ as non-breeding residents in established territories, waiting for a vacancy to arise.

The consequences of land use change on nutrient exports: a regional scale assessment in south-west Victoria, Australia

Estimation of nutrient load production based on multi-temporal remotely sensed land use data for the Glenelg–Hopkins region in south-west Victoria, Australia, is discussed. Changes in land use were mapped using archived Landsat data and computerised classification techniques. Land use change has been rapid in recent history with 16% of the region transformed in the last 22 years. Total nitrogen and phosphorus loads were estimated using an export coefficient model. The analysis demonstrates an increase in modelled nitrogen and phosphorus loadings from 1980 to 2002. Whilst such increases were suspected from past anecdotal and ad-hoc evidence, our modelling estimated the magnitude of such increases and thus demonstrated the enormous potential of using remote sensing and GIS for monitoring regional scale environmental processes.

Retention of allied health professionals in the south-west of Victoria

The article reports on the research studies about the role of the allied health professionals in primary and preventive health care in Victoria. The studies shows that allied health practice in rural areas provide information on the strategies to maintain the health workforce. The results of the final report regarding the allied workforce issues in south-west Victoria was discussed. The details about the participants, methods and results of the survey regarding the retention of allied health professionals in south-west Victoria.

Early carboniferous brachiopod faunas from the Baoshan block, west Yunnan, southwest China

38 brachiopod species in 27 genera and subgenera are described from the Yudong Formation in the Shidian-Baoshan area, west Yunnan, southwest China. New taxa include two new subgenera: Unispirifer (Septimispirifer) and Brachythyrina (Longathyrina), and seven new species: Eomarginifera yunnanensis, Marginatia cylindrica, Unispirifer (Unispirifer) xiangshanensis, Unispirifer (Septimispirifer) wafangjieensis, Brachythyrina (Brachythyrina) transversa, Brachythyrina (Longathyrina) baoshanensis, and Girtyella wafangjieensis. Based on the described material and constraints from associated coral and conodont faunas, the age of the brachiopod fauna from the Yudon Formation is considered late Tournaisian (Early Carboniferous), with a possibility extending into earlyViseacutean.

Fisheries and cage culture of three reservoirs in west Java, Indonesia; a case study of ambitious development and resulting interactions

The interactions between cage culture and wild fishery activities in three Indonesian reservoirs, Saguling, Cirata and Jatiluhur, of the greater Ciratum watershed, West Java, were evaluated using historical data and interviews with cage culture operators. In all three reservoirs, cage culture of common carp, Cyprinus carpio L., and later of common carp and Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.), were encouraged as an alternative livelihood for persons displaced by the impoundment. Currently, a two-net culture system, locally known as 'lapis dua', in which in the inner cage (7 × 7 × 3 m) is used for common carp culture and the outer cage (7 × 7 × 5/7 m) is stocked with Nile tilapia, is practised. On average each cage is stocked with  approximately 100 kg fingerlings each of common carp and Nile tilapia. The numbers of cages and production of cultured fish has increased in the reservoirs, but total and per cage production began to decline from about 1995 in Saguling from 2200 kg cage−1 in 1989 to <500 kg cage−1 in 2002, and in Cirata from a peak of approximately 2300 kg cage−1 in 1995 to approximately 400 kg cage−1 in 2002. In Jatiluhur, which has a considerably lower cage density, total fish production and production per cage has increased since 2000, and currently is approximately 4000 kg cage−1, close to production in the early years of cage culture activities. The cage culture operations also resulted in substantial nutrient loading, estimated at 3.2, 15.2 and 3.1 t of nitrogen and 134, 636 and 128 kg of phosphorous per year in the maximum years of production for Saguling, Cirata and Jatiluhur reservoirs, respectively. In later years, when cage culture production was high, fish kills occurred in the cages, and in Jatiluhur reservoir coincided with a dramatic decline in wild fishery catches. An attempt is made to determine the maximum number of cages for each of the reservoirs that will bring long-term sustainability of cage culture operations and the wild fisheries in the three reservoirs.

Investigating the distribution of acacia longifolia ssp. sophorae in south-west Victoria using satellite remote sensing and GIS

Mapping and analysis of the distribution of environmental weeds is an important component of strategic weed management. Such information is particularly important in managing 'native invaders', where invasion characteristics must be clearly understood prior to any management action being taken. This paper reports on an investigation of the current distribution of the native invader Acacia longifolia ssp. sophorae (Labill.) Court (coast wattle) in south-west Victoria, using remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Coast wattle was successfully mapped from Landsat ETM imagery using a supervised classification procedure, with 82%, of coast wattle shown on the map accurately depicting coast wattle on the ground. An estimated 11,448 ha were classified as supporting coast wattle, representing 12% of native vegetation in the study area. A more detailed GIS analysis in the Lower Glenelg National Park revealed coast wattle has invaded a limited number of vegetation types, and is more prevalent close to roads and within management zones associated with disturbance. The current regional extent of the species means widespread control is unlikely; hence the immediate focus should be on preventing further spread into areas where it is currently absent. Landsat imagery also proved to be a successful tool for mapping large scale coast wattle distribution, and could be used in long-term monitoring of the species.