Approaches to selecting native plant replacements for fleshy-fruited invasive species

Invasive plants are a serious threat to biodiversity. Yet, in some cases, they may play an important ecological role in heavily modified landscapes, such as where fleshy-fruited invasive plants support populations of native frugivores. How can such conservation conflicts be managed? We advocate an approach in which native fleshy-fruited plants are ranked on their ability to provide the fruit food resources for native frugivores currently being provided by invasive plants. If these native taxa are preferentially used, where ecologically appropriate, in plantings for restoration and in park and garden settings, they could help support native frugivore populations in the event of extensive invasive plant control. We develop and critically examine six approaches to selecting candidate native plant taxa: a multivariate approach based on the frugivore assemblage, a scoring model, and several multivariate approaches (including trait combinations having the greatest correlation with the diet of the native frugivore assemblage) based on the functional traits of fruit morphology, phenology, conspicuousness, and accessibility. To illustrate these approaches, we use a case study with Bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundata) (Asteraceae), an Australian Weed of National Significance. The model using a dissimilarity value generated from all available traits identified a set of species used by the frugivores of C. monilifera more than null models. A replacement approach using species ranked by either all traits available or the frugivore community appears best suited to guide selection of plants in restoration practice.

Review of approaches to evaluate the effectiveness of weed biological control agents

We review key issues, available approaches and analyses to encourage and assist practitioners to develop sound plans to evaluate the effectiveness of weed biological control agents at various phases throughout a program. Assessing the effectiveness of prospective agents before release assists the selection process, while post-release evaluation aims to determine the extent that agents are alleviating the ecological, social and economic impacts of the weeds. Information gathered on weed impacts prior to the initiation of a biological control program is necessary to provide baseline data and devise performance targets against which the program can subsequently be evaluated. Detailed data on weed populations, associated plant communities and, in some instances ecosystem processes collected at representative sites in the introduced range several years before the release of agents can be compared with similar data collected later to assess agent effectiveness. Laboratory, glasshouse and field studies are typically used to assess agent effectiveness. While some approaches used for field studies may be influenced by confounding factors, manipulative experiments where agents are excluded (or included) using chemicals or cages are more robust but time-consuming and expensive to implement. Demographic modeling and benefit–cost analyses are increasingly being used to complement other studies. There is an obvious need for more investment in long-term post-release evaluation of agent effectiveness to rigorously document outcomes of biological control programs.

Past, current and future approaches to mango genetic improvement in Australia

Improving the genetic base of cultivars that underpin commercial mango production is generally recognized as necessary for long term industry stability. Genetic improvement can take many approaches to improve cultivars, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. This paper will discuss several approaches used in the genetic improvement of mangoes in Australia, including varietal introductions, selection of monoembryonic progeny, selection within polyembryonic populations, assisted open pollination and controlled closed pollination. The current activities of the Australian National Mango Breeding Program will be outlined, and the analysis and use of hybrid phenotype data from the project for selection of next generation parents will be discussed. Some of the important traits that will enhance the competitiveness of future cultivars will be introduced and the challenges in achieving them discussed. The use of a genomics approach and its impact on future mango breeding is examined.

Abstract concepts made real: A pilot study examining pedagogical approaches in thermodynamics tutorials

BACKGROUND OR CONTEXT Thermodynamics is a core concept for mechanical engineers yet notoriously difficult. Evidence suggests students struggle to understand and apply the core fundamental concepts of thermodynamics with analysis indicating a problem with student learning/engagement. A contributing factor is that thermodynamics is a ‘science involving concepts based on experiments’ (Mayhew 1990) with subject matter that cannot be completely defined a priori. To succeed, students must engage in a deep-holistic approach while taking ownership of their learning. The difficulty in achieving this often manifests itself in students ‘not getting’ the principles and declaring thermodynamics ‘hard’. PURPOSE OR GOAL Traditionally, students practice and “learn” the application of thermodynamics in their tutorials, however these do not consider prior conceptions (Holman & Pilling 2004). As ‘hands on’ learning is the desired outcome of tutorials it is pertinent to study methods of improving their efficacy. Within the Australian context, the format of thermodynamics tutorials has remained relatively unchanged over the decades, relying anecdotally on a primarily didactic pedagogical approach. Such approaches are not conducive to deep learning (Ramsden 2003) with students often disengaged from the learning process. Evidence suggests (Haglund & Jeppsson 2012), however, that a deeper level and ownership of learning can be achieved using a more constructivist approach for example through self generated analogies. This pilot study aimed to collect data to support the hypothesis that the ‘difficulty’ of thermodynamics is associated with the pedagogical approach of tutorials rather than actual difficulty in subject content or deficiency in students. APPROACH Successful application of thermodynamic principles requires solid knowledge of the core concepts. Typically, tutorial sessions guide students in this application. However, a lack of deep and comprehensive understanding can lead to student confusion in the applications resulting in the learning of the ‘process’ of application without understanding ‘why’. The aim of this study was to gain empirical data on student learning of both concepts and application, within thermodynamic tutorials. The approach taken for data collection and analysis was: - 1 Four concurrent tutorial streams were timetabled to examine student engagement/learning in traditional ‘didactic’ (3 weeks) and non-traditional (3 weeks). In each week, two of the selected four sessions were traditional and two non-traditional. This provided a control group for each week. - 2 The non-traditional tutorials involved activities designed to promote student-centered deep learning. Specific pedagogies employed were: self-generated analogies, constructivist, peer-to-peer learning, inquiry based learning, ownership of learning and active learning. - 3 After a three-week period, teaching styles of the selected groups was switched, to allow each group to experience both approaches with the same tutor. This also acted to mimimise any influence of tutor personality / style on the data. - 4 At the conclusion of the trial participants completed a ‘5 minute essay’ on how they liked the sessions, a small questionnaire, modelled on the modified (Christo & Hoang, 2013)SPQ designed by Biggs (1987) and a small formative quiz to gauge the level of learning achieved. DISCUSSION Preliminary results indicate that overall students respond positively to in class demonstrations (inquiry based learning), and active learning activities. Within the active learning exercises, the current data suggests students preferred individual rather than group or peer-to-peer activities. Preliminary results from the open-ended questions such as “What did you like most/least about this tutorial” and “do you have other comments on how this tutorial could better facilitate your learning”, however, indicated polarising views on the nontraditional tutorial. Some student’s responded that they really like the format and emphasis on understanding the concepts, while others were very vocal that that ‘hated’ the style and just wanted the solutions to be presented by the tutor. RECOMMENDATIONS/IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSION Preliminary results indicated a mixed, but overall positive response by students with more collaborative tutorials employing tasks promoting inquiry based, peer-to-peer, active, and ownership of learning activities. Preliminary results from student feedback supports evidence that students learn differently, and running tutorials focusing on only one pedagogical approached (typically didactic) may not be beneficial to all students. Further, preliminary data suggests that the learning / teaching style of both students and tutor are important to promoting deep learning in students. Data collection is still ongoing and scheduled for completion at the end of First Semester (Australian academic calendar). The final paper will examine in more detail the results and analysis of this project.

Tuning of PID controllers for water networks—different approaches

Better operational control of water networks can help reduce leakage, maintain pressure, and control flow. Proportional integral derivative (PID) controllers, with proper fine-tuning, can help water utility operators achieve targets faster without creating undue transients. The authors compared three tuning methods, in different test situations, involving flow and level control to different reservoirs. Although target values were reached with all three tuning methods, the methods’ performances varied significantly. The lowest performer among the three was the method most widely used in the industry—standard tuning by the Ziegler-Nichols method. Achieving better results was offline tuning by genetic algorithms. Achieving the best control, though, was a fuzzy logic–based online tuning approach—the FZPID controller. The FZPID controller had fewer overshoots and took significantly less time to tune the gains for each problem. This new tuning approach for PID controllers can be applied to a variety of problems and can increase the performance of water networks of any size and structure

A taxonomic approach to understanding managerial ethical decision making approaches of clinically and non-clinically trained healthcare managers in Australia

Objective To understand differences in the managerial ethical decision-making styles of Australian healthcare managers through the exploratory use of the Managerial Ethical Profiles (MEP) Scale. Background Healthcare managers (doctors, nurses, allied health practitioners and non-clinically trained professionals) are faced with a raft of variables when making decisions within the workplace. In the absence of clear protocols and policies healthcare managers rely on a range of personal experiences, personal ethical philosophies, personal factors and organizational factors to arrive at a decision. Understanding the dominant approaches to managerial ethical decision-making, particularly for clinically trained healthcare managers, is a fundamental step in both increasing awareness of the importance of how managers make decisions, but also as a basis for ongoing development of healthcare managers. Design Cross-sectional. Methods The study adopts a taxonomic approach that simultaneously considers multiple ethical factors that potentially influence managerial ethical decision-making. These factors are used as inputs into cluster analysis to identify distinct patterns of influence on managerial ethical decision-making. Results Data analysis from the participants (n=441) showed a similar spread of the five managerial ethical profiles (Knights, Guardian Angels, Duty Followers, Defenders and Chameleons) across clinically trained and non-clinically trained healthcare managers. There was no substantial statistical difference between the two manager types (clinical and non-clinical) across the five profiles. Conclusion This paper demonstrated that managers that came from clinical backgrounds have similar ethical decision-making profiles to non-clinically trained managers. This is an important finding in terms of manager development and how organisations understand the various approaches of managerial decision-making across the different ethical profiles.

DAQ566 Genetic approaches to resist to Fusarium and Bipolaris in wheat/barley

Genetic approaches to resistance of bread wheat to crown rot and common root rot.

Genetic approaches to resistance to Fusarium and Bipolaris in wheat and barley

This project provided information on the genetics of crown rot (CR) resistance to help breeding work, located new parent lines in wheat and barley, and provided an insight into yield losses that occur in commercial varieties with increasing levels of CR for risk management. Genetic experiments found some highly resistant lines were poor parents, and CR resistance was complex. Best parent lines and many specific crosses were identified for further work. New potential parent lines were identified in wheat and barley, some now used in breeding programs. Yield loss can be severe even with low levels of CR when combined with drought stress. CR can reduce yield even with a wet finish.

Some direct numerical approaches to the solution of the singular nonlinear transonic integral equation

The nonlinear singular integral equation of transonic flow is examined, noting that standard numerical techniques are not applicable in solving it. The difficulties in approximating the integral term in this expression were solved by special methods mitigating the inaccuracies caused by standard approximations. It was shown how the infinite domain of integration can be reduced to a finite one; numerical results were plotted demonstrating that the methods proposed here improve accuracy and computational economy.

Economic theory informing approaches to phoenix activity in small business: A neo-Schumpeterian analysis

The adequacy and efficiency of existing legal and regulatory frameworks dealing with corporate phoenix activity have been repeatedly called into question over the past two decades through various reviews, inquiries, targeted regulatory operations and the implementation of piecemeal legislative reform. Despite these efforts, phoenix activity does not appear to have abated. While there is no law in Australia that declares ‘phoenix activity’ to be illegal, the behaviour that tends to manifest in phoenix activity can be capable of transgressing a vast array of law, including for example, corporate law, tax law, and employment law. This paper explores the notion that the persistence of phoenix activity despite the sheer extent of this law suggests that the law is not acting as powerfully as it might as a deterrent. Economic theories of entrepreneurship and innovation can to some extent explain why this is the case and also offer a sound basis for the evaluation and reconsideration of the existing law. The challenges facing key regulators are significant. Phoenix activity is not limited to particular corporate demographic: it occurs in SMEs, large companies and in corporate groups. The range of behaviour that can amount to phoenix activity is so broad, that not all phoenix activity is illegal. This paper will consider regulatory approaches to these challenges via analysis of approaches to detection and enforcement of the underlying law capturing illegal phoenix activity. Remedying the mischief of phoenix activity is of practical importance. The benefits include continued confidence in our economy, law that inspires best practice among directors, and law that is articulated in a manner such that penalties act as a sufficient deterrent and the regulatory system is able to detect offenders and bring them to account. Any further reforms must accommodate and tolerate legal phoenix activity, at least to some extent. Even then, phoenix activity pushes tolerance of repeated entrepreneurial failure to its absolute limit. The more limited liability is misused and abused, the stronger the argument to place some restrictions on access to limited liability. This paper proposes that such an approach is a legitimate next step for a robust and mature capitalist economy.

The application of one health approaches to henipavirus research

Henipaviruses cause fatal infection in humans and domestic animals. Transmission from fruit bats, the wildlife reservoirs of henipaviruses, is putatively driven (at least in part) by anthropogenic changes that alter host ecology. Human and domestic animal fatalities occur regularly in Asia and Australia, but recent findings suggest henipaviruses are present in bats across the Old World tropics. We review the application of the One Health approach to henipavirus research in three locations: Australia, Malaysia and Bangladesh. We propose that by recognising and addressing the complex interaction among human, domestic animal and wildlife systems, research within the One Health paradigm will be more successful in mitigating future human and domestic animal deaths from henipavirus infection than alternative single-discipline approaches. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.

Eco-Taxonomic Insights into Actinomycete Symbionts of Termites for Discovery of Novel Bioactive Compounds

Termites play a major role in foraging and degradation of plant biomass as well as cultivating bioactive microorganisms for their defense. Current advances in “omics” sciences are revealing insights into function-related presence of these symbionts, and their related biosynthetic activities and genes identified in gut symbiotic bacteria might offer a significant potential for biotechnology and biodiscovery. Actinomycetes have been the major producers of bioactive compounds with an extraordinary range of biological activities. These metabolites have been in use as anticancer agents, immune suppressants, and most notably, as antibiotics. Insect-associated actinomycetes have also been reported to produce a range of antibiotics such as dentigerumycin and mycangimycin. Advances in genomics targeting a single species of the unculturable microbial members are currently aiding an improved understanding of the symbiotic interrelationships among the gut microorganisms as well as revealing the taxonomical identity and functions of the complex multilayered symbiotic actinofloral layers. If combined with target-directed approaches, these molecular advances can provide guidance towards the design of highly selective culturing methods to generate further information related to the physiology and growth requirements of these bioactive actinomycetes associated with the termite guts. This chapter provides an overview on the termite gut symbiotic actinoflora in the light of current advances in the “omics” science, with examples of their detection and selective isolation from the guts of the Sunshine Coast regional termite Coptotermes lacteus in Queensland, Australia

Integrating different approaches in the definition of biological stocks: A northern Australian multi-jurisdictional fisheries example using grey mackerel, Scomberomorus semifasciatus

A holistic approach to stock structure studies utilises multiple different techniques on the same individuals sampled from selected populations and combines results across spatial and temporal scales to produce a weight of evidence conclusion. It is the most powerful and reliable source of information to use in formulating resource management and monitoring plans. Few examples of the use of a holistic approach in stock structure studies exist, although more recently this is changing. Using such an approach makes integration of results from each technique challenging. An integrated stock definition (ISD) approach for holistic stock structure studies was developed in this study to aid in the appropriate interpretation of stock structure results to guide the determination of fishery management units. The ISD approach is applied herein to a study of the northern Australian endemic grey mackerel, Scomberomorus semifasciatus (Scombridae). Analyses of genetic (mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites), parasite, otolith stable isotope, and growth data are synthesised to determine the stock structure of S. semifasciatus across northern Australia. Integration of the results from all techniques identified at least six S. semifasciatus stocks for management purposes. Further, the use of the ISD approach provided a simple basis for integrating multiple techniques and for their interpretation. The use of this holistic approach was a powerful tool in providing greater certainty about the appropriate management units for S. semifasciatus. Future stock structure studies investigating spatial management questions in the fisheries context should adopt a holistic approach and apply the ISD approach for a more accurate definition of biological stocks to improve fisheries management.