Comparative influence of forest management and habitat structural factors on the abundances of hollow-nesting bird species in subtropical Australian eucalypt forest

We examined the impact of single-tree selective logging and fuel reduction bums on the abundance of hollow-nesting bird species at a regional scale in southeastern Queensland, Australia. Data were collected on species abundance and habitat structure of dry sclerophyll production forest at 36 sites with known logging and fire histories. Sixteen bird species were recorded with most being resident, territorial, obligate hollow nesters that used hollows that were either small (18 cm diameter). Species densities were typically low, but combinations of two forest management and three habitat structural variables influenced the abundances of eight bird species in different and sometimes conflicting ways. The results suggest that habitat tree management for biodiversity in production forests cannot depend upon habitat structural characteristics alone. Management histories appear to have independent influence (on some bird species) that are distinguishable from their impacts on habitat structure per se. Rather than managing to maximize species abundances to maintain biodiversity, we may be better off managing to avoid extinctions of populations by identifying thresholds of acceptable fluctuations in populations of not only hollow-nesting birds but other forest dependent wildlife relative to scientifically valid forest management and habitat structural surrogates.

Mapping glider habitat in dry eucalypt forests for Montreal Process indicator 1.1: Fragmentation of forest types

Accurate habitat mapping is critical to landscape ecological studies such as required for developing and testing Montreal Process indicator 1.1e, fragmentation of forest types. This task poses a major challenge to remote sensing, especially in mixedspecies, variable-age forests such as dry eucalypt forests of subtropical eastern Australia. In this paper, we apply an innovative approach that uses a small section of one-metre resolution airborne data to calibrate a moderate spatial resolution model (30 m resolution; scale 1:50 000) based on Landsat Thematic Mapper data to estimate canopy structural properties in St Marys State Forest, near Maryborough, south-eastern Queensland. The approach applies an image-processing model that assumes each image pixel is significantly larger than individual tree crowns and gaps to estimate crown-cover percentage, stem density and mean crown diameter. These parameters were classified into three discrete habitat classes to match the ecology of four exudivorous arboreal species (yellowbellied glider Petaurus australis, sugar glider P. breviceps, squirrel glider P. norfolcensis , and feathertail glider Acrobates pygmaeus), and one folivorous arboreal marsupial, the greater glider Petauroides volans. These species were targeted due to the known ecological preference for old trees with hollows, and differences in their home range requirements. The overall mapping accuracy, visually assessed against transects (n = 93) interpreted from a digital orthophoto and validated in the field, was 79% (KHAT statistic = 0.72). The KHAT statistic serves as an indicator of the extent that the percentage correct values of the error matrix are due to ‘true’ agreement verses ‘chance’ agreement. This means that we are able to reliably report on the effect of habitat loss on target species, especially those with a large home range size (e.g. yellow-bellied glider). However, the classified habitat map failed to accurately capture the spatial patterning (e.g. patch size and shape) of stands with a trace or sub-dominance of senescent trees. This outcome makes the reporting of the effects of habitat fragmentation more problematic, especially for species with a small home range size (e.g. feathertail glider). With further model refinement and validation, however, this moderateresolution approach offers an important, cost eff e c t i v e advancement in mapping the age of dry eucalypt forests in the region.

Severe hypokalaemia secondary to dicloxacillin (Case report)

No Abstract

Evolution of the secondary structure of the rRNA internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) in hard ticks (Ixodidae, Arthropoda)

ITS2 sequences are used extensively in molecular taxonomy and population genetics of arthropods and other animals yet little is known about the molecular evolution of ITS2. We studied the secondary structure of ITS2 in species from each of the six main lineages of hard ticks (family Ixodidae). The ITS2 of these ticks varied in length from 679 bp in Ixodes scapularis to 1547 bp in Aponomma concolor. Nucleotide content varied also: the ITS2 of ticks from the Prostriata lineage (Ixodes spp.) had 46-49% GC whereas ITS2 sequences of ticks from the Metastriata lineage (all other hard ticks) had 61-62% GC. Despite variation in nucleotide sequence, the secondary structure of the ITS2 of all of these ticks apparently has five domains. Stems 1, 3, 4 and 5 of this secondary structure were obvious in all of the species studied. However, stem 2 was not always obvious despite the fact that it is flanked by highly conserved sequence motifs in the adjacent stems, stems 1 and 3. The ITS2 of hard ticks has apparently evolved mostly by increases and decreases in length of the nucleotide sequences, which caused increases, and decreases in the length of stems of the secondary structure. This is most obvious when stems of the secondary structures of the Prostriata (Ixodes spp.) are compared to those of the Metastriata (all other hard ticks). Increases in the size of the ITS2 may have been caused by replication slippage which generated large repeats, like those seen in Haemaphysalis humerosa and species from the Rhipicepalinae lineage, and the small repeats found in species from the other lineages of ticks.

Phylogeography of the pipefish, Urocampus carinirostris, suggests secondary intergradation of ancient lineages

We assayed the pattern of mitoehondrial DNA evolution in the live bearing, seagrass specialist pipefish, Urocampus carinirostris, in eastern Australia. These life history attributes were predicted to result in strong phylogeographic structure in U. carinirostris. Phylogenetic analysis of cytochrome b sequences detected two monophyletic mtDNA clades that differed by 8.69% sequence divergence - a large level of intraspecific divergence for a marine fish. The geographical distribution of clades was non-random and resembled clinal secondary intergradation over a 130-km stretch of coastline. Contrary to phylogeographic predictions, this large phylogeographic break does not occur across a traditionally recognised biogeographic boundary. Analyses of historical demography suggested that individuals belonging to the most widespread clade underwent a population expansion from a small refuge population during the Pleistocene.

Expression of specific glycoconjugates in both primary and secondary olfactory pathways in BALB/C mice

Binding of cell surface carbohydrates to their receptors specifically promotes axon growth and synaptogenesis in select regions of the developing nervous system. In some cases these interactions depend upon cell-cell adhesion mediated by the same glycoconjugates present on the surface of apposing cells or their processes. We have previously shown that the plant lectin Dolichos biflorus agglutinin (DBA) binds to: a subpopulation of mouse primary olfactory neurons whose axons selectively fasciculate prior to terminating in the olfactory bulb. In the present study, we investigated whether these glycoconjugates were also expressed by postsynaptic olfactory neurons specifically within the olfactory pathway. We show here for the first time that DBA ligands were expressed both by a subset of primary olfactory neurons as well as by the postsynaptic mitral/tufted cells in BALB/C mice. These glycoconjugates were first detected on mitral/tufted cell axons during the early postnatal period, at a time when there is considerable synaptogenesis and synaptic remodelling in the primary olfactory cortex. This is one of the few examples of the selective expression of molecules in contiguous axon tracts in the mammalian nervous system. These results suggest that glycoconjugates recognized by DBA may have a specific role in the formation and maintenance of neural connections within a select functional pathway in the brain. J. Comp. Neurol. 443:213-225, 2002. (C) 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Effect of a control burn on lizards and their structural environment in a eucalypt open-forest

The composition of an open-forest lizard assemblage in eastern Australia was examined before and after a low-intensity controlled fire and concurrently compared with that in an adjoining unburnt area. The effect of fire on the available structural environment and the habitat used by two focal species, Carlia vivax and Lygisaurus foliorum, was also examined. Lizard species richness was unaffected by the controlled burn as was the abundance of most species. C. vivax was the only species to display a significant reduction in abundance after fire. While the low-intensity fire resulted in significant changes to the available structural environment, there were no compensatory shifts in the habitat preferences of either C. vivax or L. foliorum. The reduction in abundance of C. vivax was congruent with this species' avoidance of burnt areas. C. vivax displayed a non-random preference for ground cover and litter cover, which were reduced in burnt areas. Changes in the availability of preferred structural habitat features are likely to contribute to changes in the abundance of some lizard species. Therefore, even low-intensity disturbances can have an impact on lizard assemblages if critical habitat features are lost or become limiting.

Hydrofluoric acid pre-treatment for improving 13C CPMAS NMR spectral quality of forest soils in south-east Queensland, Australia

Hydrofluoric acid (HF) was used to pre-treat forest soils of south-east Queensland for assessing the effectiveness of iron (Fe) removal, carbon (C) composition using C-13 cross-polarisation (CP) with magic-angle-spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) before and after the HF pre-treatment, and the improvement of C-13 CPMAS NMR spectra. Soil samples were collected from 4 experimental sites of different soil types, harvest residue management or prescribed burning, and tree species. More than 86% of Fe was in all soil types removed by the HF treatment. The C-13 NMR spectral quality was improved with increased resolution, especially in the alkyl C and O-alkyl C regions, and reduced NMR run-time (1-5 h per sample compared with >20 h per sample without the pre-treatment). The C composition appeared to alter slightly after the pre-treatment, but this might be largely due to improved spectrometer conditions and increased resolution leading to more accurate NMR spectral integration. Organic C recovery after HF pre-treatment varied with soil types and forest management, and soluble soil organic matter (SOM) could be lost during the pre-treatment. The Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR) spectra of HF extracts indicated the preferential removal of carboxylic C groups during the pre-treatment, but this could also be due to adsorbed water on the mineral matter. The NMR spectra revealed some changes in C composition and quality due to residue management and decomposition. Overall, the HF treatment was a useful pre-treatment for obtaining semi-quantitative C-13 CPMAS NMR spectra of subtropical Australian forest soils.

Crisis, change, and institutions in forest management: the Wet Tropics of northeastern Australia

This paper tests the four-phase heuristic model of change in resource management regimes developed by Gunderson et al. (1995. In: Barriers and Bridges to the Renewal of Ecosystems and Institutions. Columbia University Press, New York, pp. 489-533) by applying it to a case analysis of rainforest management in northeastern Australia. The model suggests that resource management regimes change in four phases: (i) crisis caused by external factors, (ii) a search for alternative management solutions, (iii) creation of a new management regime, and (iv) bureaucratic implementation of the new arrangements. The history of human use arid management of the tropical forests of this region is described and applied to this model. The ensuing analysis demonstrates that: (i) resource management tends to be characterized by a series of distinct eras; (ii) changes to management regimes are precipitated by crisis; and (iii) change is externally generated. The paper concludes by arguing that this theoretical perspective oil institutional change in resource management systems has wider utility. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors influencing the germination of macroconidia and secondary conidia of Claviceps africana

The influences of temperature, time, and moisture on the germination of macroconidia and secondary conidia of Australian isolates of Claviceps africana were studied in vitro. The optimum temperature for germination of both macroconidia and secondary conidia of C. africana was 20degreesC. Although germination of macroconidia ceased near 31degreesC, approximately 30% of secondary conidia germinated at 37degreesC after 48 and 72 h of incubation. Sorghum flower extract agar stimulated macroconidium and secondary conidium germination, irrespective of temperature. Germination of macroconidia and secondary conidia on water agar started after 4 h of incubation at 20degreesC, reaching a maximum after 16-24 h and 14 h, respectively. Maximum germination of both macroconidia and secondary conidia was at greater than or equal to-5 bars at 20degreesC. Germination of secondary conidia ceased at -35 bars, whereas macroconidia germinated at water potentials as low as -55 bars at 20degreesC.