Taxonomy and palaeoecology of Quaternary faunas from caves in eastern tropical Queensland : a record of broad-scale environmental change

Analysis of fossils from cave deposits at Mount Etna (eastern-central Queensland) has established that a species-rich rainforest palaeoenvironment existed in that area during the middle Pleistocene. This unexpected finding has implications for several fields (e.g., biogeography/phylogeography of rainforest-adapted taxa, and the impact of climate change on rainforest communities), but it was unknown whether the Mount Etna sites represented a small refugial patch of rainforest or was more widespread. In this study numerous bone deposits in caves in north-east Queensland are analysed to reconstruct the environmental history of the area during the late Quaternary. Study sites are in the Chillagoe/Mitchell Palmer and Broken River/Christmas Creek areas. The cave fossil records in these study areas are compared with dated (middle Pleistocene-Holocene) cave sites in the Mount Etna area. Substantial taxonomic work on the Mount Etna faunas (particularly dasyurid marsupials and murine rodents) is also presented as a prerequisite for meaningful comparison with the study sites further north. Middle Pleistocene sites at Mount Etna contain species indicative of a rainforest palaeoenvironment. Small mammal assemblages in the Mount Etna rainforest sites (>500-280 ka) are unexpectedly diverse and composed almost entirely of new species. Included in the rainforest assemblages are lineages with no extant representatives in rainforest (e.g., Leggadina), one genus previously known only from New Guinea (Abeomelomys), and forms that appear to bridge gaps between related but morphologically-divergent extant taxa ('B-rat' and 'Pseudomys C'). Curiously, some taxa (e.g., Melomys spp.) are notable for their absence from the Mount Etna rainforest sites. After 280 ka the rainforest faunas are replaced by species adapted to open, dry habitats. At that time the extinct ‘rainforest’ dasyurids and rodents are replaced by species that are either extant or recently extant. By the late Pleistocene all ‘rainforest’ and several ‘dry’ taxa are locally or completely extinct, and the small mammal fauna resembles that found in the area today. The faunal/environmental changes recorded in the Mount Etna sites were interpreted by previous workers as the result of shifts in climate during the Pleistocene. Many samples from caves in the Chillagoe/Mitchell-Palmer and Broken River/Christmas Creek areas are held in the Queensland Museum’s collection. These, supplemented with additional samples collected in the field as well as samples supplied by other workers, were systematically and palaeoecologically analysed for the first time. Palaeoecological interpretation of the faunal assemblages in the sites suggests that they encompass a similar array of palaeoenvironments as the Mount Etna sites. ‘Rainforest’ sites at the Broken River are here interpreted as being of similar age to those at Mount Etna, suggesting the possibility of extensive rainforest coverage in eastern tropical Queensland during part of the Pleistocene. Likewise, faunas suggesting open, dry palaeoenvironments are found at Chillagoe, the Broken River and Mount Etna, and may be of similar age. The 'dry' faunal assemblage at Mount Etna (Elephant hole Cave) dates to 205-170 ka. Dating of one of the Chillagoe sites (QML1067) produced a maximum age for the deposit of approximately 200 ka, and the site is interpreted as being close to that age, supporting the interpretation of roughly contemporaneous deposition at Mount Etna and Chillagoe. Finally, study sites interpreted as being of late Pleistocene-Holocene age show faunal similarities to sites of that age near Mount Etna. This study has several important implications for the biogeography and phylogeography of murine rodents, and represents a major advance in the study of the Australian murine fossil record. Likewise the survey of the northern study areas is the first systematic analysis of multiple sites in those areas, and is thus a major contribution to knowledge of tropical Australian faunas during the Quaternary. This analysis suggests that climatic changes during the Pleistocene affected a large area of eastern tropical Queensland in similar ways. Further fieldwork and dating is required to properly analyse the geographical extent and timing of faunal change in eastern tropical Queensland.

Characterisation of atmospheric deposited particles during a dust storm in urban areas of Eastern Australia

The characteristics of dust particles deposited during the 2009 dust storm in the Gold Coast and Brisbane regions of Australia are discussed in this paper. The study outcomes provide important knowledge in relation to the potential impacts of dust storm related pollution on ecosystem health in the context that the frequency of dust storms is predicted to increase due to anthropogenic desert surface modifications and climate change impacts. The investigated dust storm contributed a large fraction of fine particles to the environment with an increased amount of total suspended solids, compared to dry deposition under ambient conditions. Although the dust storm passed over forested areas, the organic carbon content in the dust was relatively low. The primary metals present in the dust storm deposition were aluminium, iron and manganese, which are common soil minerals in Australia. The dust storm deposition did not contain significant loads of nickel, cadmium, copper and lead, which are commonly present in the urban environment. Furthermore, the comparison between the ambient and dust storm chromium and zinc loads suggested that these metals were contributed to the dust storm by local anthropogenic sources. The potential ecosystem health impacts of the 2009 dust storm include, increased fine solids deposition on ground surfaces resulting in an enhanced capacity to adsorb toxic pollutants as well as increased aluminium, iron and manganese loads. In contrast, the ecosystem health impacts related to organic carbon and other metals from dust storm atmospheric deposition are not considered to be significant.

Changing tastes in food media : a study of recipe sharing traditions in the food blogging community

Food is inherently cultural yet traditionally overlooked in many disciplines as a topic worthy of serious investigation. This thesis investigates how food, as a topic of interest, is thriving in an online environment through recipe sharing on food blogs. It applies an ethnographic approach to online community studies, providing a rich description of the food blogging community. The thesis demonstrates how the food blogging can be seen as a community. Through a case study focusing on a one recipe shared across many blogs, it also examines the community in action. As the community has grown, it has become more complex, structured and diverse. The thesis examines its evolution and the response of food-related media and other industries to food blogging. The nature of the food blogging community reflects the cultural and social nature of food and the ongoing evolution of recipe sharing through food-related media. Food blogs provide an insight into the eating habits of ‘ordinary’ people, in a more broad-based manner than traditional food-related media such as cookbooks. Beyond this, food blogs are part of wider cultural trends towards DIY, and provide a useful example of the ongoing transformation of food-related media, food culture, and indeed, culture more broadly.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cookbooks : promoting Indigenous foodways or reinforcing Western traditions?

This article examines the recent emergence of cookbooks written for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. The cookbooks are health promotion initiatives, developed through a desire to improve the health status of Indigenous Australians. They focus on nutritious, family meals that can be cooked on a low budget. In this article, the authors argue that the cookbooks designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are developed within a Western paradigm of health and nutrition that subtly reinforces Western approaches to food and disregards traditional diets. While the authors recognize the value of the cookbooks as health promotion tools, they suggest that cookbooks centred around Indigenous foodways – with a focus on traditional ingredients and traditional cooking methods – may be more appropriate for improving the health of Indigenous people and helping Indigenous cultures to thrive. They advocate for a decolonizing approach to food and nutrition, that specifically promotes Indigenous traditions and culture, and incorporates traditional foodways into modern recipes.

Late Quaternary vegetation history of North Stradbroke Island, Queensland, eastern Australia

Currently there is a paucity of records of late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental variability available from the subtropics of Australia. The three continuous palaeoecological records presented here, from North Stradbroke Island, subtropical Queensland, assist in bridging this large spatial gap in the current state of knowledge. The dominance of arboreal taxa in the pollen records throughout the past >40,000 years is in contrast with the majority of records from temperate Australia, and indicates a positive moisture balance for North Stradbroke Island. The charcoal records show considerable inter-site variability indicating the importance of local-scale events on individual records, and highlighting the caution that needs to be applied when interpreting a single site as a regional record. The variability in the burning regimes is interpreted as being influenced by both climatic and human factors. Despite this inter-site variability, broad environmental trends are identifiable, with changes in the three records comparable with the OZ-INTIMATE climate synthesis for the last 35,000 years.

Two cycles of voluminous pyroclastic volcanism and sedimentation related to episodic granite emplacement during the late Archean : Eastern Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia

The thick piles of late-Archean volcaniclastic sedimentary successions that overlie the voluminous greenstone units of the eastern Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia, record the important transition from the cessation in mafic-ultramafic volcanism to cratonisation between about 2690 and 2655 Ma. Unfortunately, an inability to clearly subdivide the superficially similar sedimentary successions and correlate them between the various geological terranes and domains of the eastern Yilgarn Craton has led to uncertainty about the timing and nature of the region's palaeogeographic and palaeotectonic evolution. Here, we present the results of some 2025 U–Pb laser-ablation-ICP-MS analyses and 323 Sensitive High-Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) analyses of detrital zircons from 14 late-Archean felsic clastic successions of the eastern Yilgarn Craton, which have enabled correlation of clastic successions. The results of our data, together with those compiled from previous studies, show that the post-greenstone sedimentary successions include two major cycles that both commenced with voluminous pyroclastic volcanism and ended with widespread exhumation and erosion associated with granite emplacement. Cycle One commences with an influx of rapidly reworked feldspar-rich pyroclastic debris. These units, here-named the Early Black Flag Group, are dominated by a single population of detrital zircons with an average age of 2690–2680 Ma. Thick (up to 2 km) dolerite bodies, such as the Golden Mile Dolerite, intrude the upper parts of the Early Black Flag Group at about 2680 Ma. Incipient development of large granite domes during Cycle One created extensional basins predominantly near their southeastern and northwestern margins (e.g., St Ives, Wallaby, Kanowna Belle and Agnew), into which the Early Black Flag Group and overlying coarse mafic conglomerate facies of the Late Black Flag Group were deposited. The clast compositions and detrital-zircon ages of the late Black Flag Group detritus match closely the nearby and/or stratigraphically underlying successions, thus suggesting relatively local provenance. Cycle Two involved a similar progression to that observed in Cycle One, but the age and composition of the detritus were notably different. Deposition of rapidly reworked quartz-rich pyroclastic deposits dominated by a single detrital-zircon age population of 2670–2660 Ma heralded the beginning of Cycle Two. These coarse-grained quartz-rich units, are name here the Early Merougil Group. The mean ages of the detrital zircons from the Early Merougil Group match closely the age of the peak in high-Ca (quartz-rich) granite magmatism in the Yilgarn Craton and thus probably represent the surface expression of the same event. Successions of the Late Merougil Group are dominated by coarse felsic conglomerate with abundant volcanic quartz. Although the detrital zircons in these successions have a broad spread of age, the principal sub-populations have ages of about 2665 Ma and thus match closely those of the Early Merougil Group. These successions occur most commonly at the northwestern and southeastern margins of the granite batholiths and thus are interpreted to represent resedimented units dominted by the stratigraphically underlying packages of the Early Merougil Group. The Kurrawang Group is the youngest sedimentary units identified in this study and is dominated by polymictic conglomerate with clasts of banded iron formation (BIF), granite and quartzite near the base and quartz-rich sandstone units containing detrital zircons aged up to 3500 Ma near the top. These units record provenance from deeper and/or more-distal sources. We suggest here that the principal driver for the major episodes of volcanism, sedimentation and deformation associated with basin development was the progressive emplacement of large granite batholiths. This interpretation has important implication for palaeogeographic and palaeotectonic evolution of all late-Archean terranes around the world.

The Black-tailed Antechinus, Antechinus arktos sp. nov.: a new species of carnivorous marsupial from montane regions of the Tweed Volcano caldera, eastern Australia

We describe a new species of dasyurid marsupial within the genus Antechinus that was previously known as a northern outlier of Dusky Antechinus (A. swainsonii). The Black-tailed Antechinus, Antechinus arktos sp. nov., is known only from areas of high altitude and high rainfall on the Tweed Volcano caldera of far south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales, Australia. Antechinus arktos formerly sheltered under the taxonomic umbrella of A. swainsonii mimetes, the widespread mainland form of Dusky Antechinus. With the benefit of genetic hindsight, some striking morphological differences are herein resolved: A. s. mimetes is more uniformly deep brown-black to grizzled grey-brown from head to rump, with brownish (clove brown—raw umber) hair on the upper surface of the hindfoot and tail, whereas A. arktos is more vibrantly coloured, with a marked change from greyish-brown head to orange-brown rump, fuscous black on the upper surface of the hindfoot and dense, short fur on the evenly black tail. Further, A. arktos has marked orange-brown fur on the upper and lower eyelid, cheek and in front of the ear and very long guard hairs all over the body; these characters are more subtle in A. s. mimetes. There are striking genetic differences between the two species: at mtDNA, A. s. mimetes from north-east New South Wales is 10% divergent to A. arktos from its type locality at Springbrook NP, Queensland. In contrast, the Ebor A. s. mimetes clades closely with conspecifics from ACT and Victoria. A. arktos skulls are strikingly different to all subspecies of A. swainsonii. A. arktos are markedly larger than A. s. mimetes and A. s. swainsonii (Tasmania) for a range of craniodental measures. Antechinus arktos were historically found at a few proximate mountainous sites in south-east Queensland, and have only recently been recorded from or near the type locality. Even there, the species is likely in low abundance. The Black-tailed Antechinus has plausibly been detrimentally affected by climate change in recent decades, and will be at further risk with increasing warming trends.

Analysis of damage to buildings following the 2010–11 Eastern Australia floods

This research analyses the extent of damage to buildings in Brisbane, Ipswich and Grantham during the recent Eastern Australia flooding and explore the role planning and design/construction regulations played in these failures. It highlights weaknesses in the current systems and propose effective solutions to mitigate future damage and financial loss under current or future climates. 2010 and early 2011 saw major flooding throughout much of Eastern Australia. Queensland and Victoria were particularly hard hit, with insured losses in these states reaching $2.5 billion and many thousands of homes inundated. The Queensland cities of Brisbane and Ipswich were the worst affected; around two-thirds of all inundated property/buildings were in these two areas. Other local government areas to record high levels of inundation were Central Highlands and Rockhampton Regional Councils in Queensland, and Buloke, Campaspe, Central Gold Fields and Loddon in Victoria. Flash flooding was a problem in a number of Victorian councils, but the Lockyer Valley west of Ipswich suffered the most extensive damage with 19 lives lost and more than 100 homes completely destroyed. In all more than 28,000 properties were inundated in Queensland and around 2,500 buildings affected in Victoria. Of the residential properties affected in Brisbane, around 90% were in areas developed prior to the introduction of floodplain development controls, with many also suffering inundation during the 1974 floods. The project developed a predictive model for estimating flood loss and occupant displacement. This model can now be used for flood risk assessments or rapid assessment of impacts following a flood event.

Development and application of a predictive model of freshwater fish assemblage composition to evaluate river health in eastern Australia

Multivariate predictive models are widely used tools for assessment of aquatic ecosystem health and models have been successfully developed for the prediction and assessment of aquatic macroinvertebrates, diatoms, local stream habitat features and fish. We evaluated the ability of a modelling method based on the River InVertebrate Prediction and Classification System (RIVPACS) to accurately predict freshwater fish assemblage composition and assess aquatic ecosystem health in rivers and streams of south-eastern Queensland, Australia. The predictive model was developed, validated and tested in a region of comparatively high environmental variability due to the unpredictable nature of rainfall and river discharge. The model was concluded to provide sufficiently accurate and precise predictions of species composition and was sensitive enough to distinguish test sites impacted by several common types of human disturbance (particularly impacts associated with catchment land use and associated local riparian, in-stream habitat and water quality degradation). The total number of fish species available for prediction was low in comparison to similar applications of multivariate predictive models based on other indicator groups, yet the accuracy and precision of our model was comparable to outcomes from such studies. In addition, our model developed for sites sampled on one occasion and in one season only (winter), was able to accurately predict fish assemblage composition at sites sampled during other seasons and years, provided that they were not subject to unusually extreme environmental conditions (e.g. extended periods of low flow that restricted fish movement or resulted in habitat desiccation and local fish extinctions).

Pleistocene climate fluctuations influence phylogeographical patterns in Melomys cervinipes across the mesic forests of eastern Australia

Aim Our aim was to clarify the lineage-level relationships for Melomys cervinipes and its close relatives and investigate whether the patterns of divergence observed for these wet-forest-restricted mammals may be associated with recognized biogeographical barriers. Location Mesic closed forest along the east coast of Australia, from north Queensland to mid-eastern New South Wales. Methods To enable rigorous phylogenetic reconstruction, divergence-date estimation and phylogeographical inference, we analysed DNA sequence and microsatellite data from 307 specimens across the complete distribution of M. cervinipes (45 localities). Results Three divergent genetic lineages were found within M. cervinipes, corresponding to geographically delineated northern, central and southern clades. Additionally, a fourth lineage, comprising M. rubicola and M. capensis, was identified and was most closely related to the northern M. cervinipes lineage. Secondary contact of the northern and central lineages was identified at one locality to the north of the Burdekin Gap. Main conclusions Contemporary processes of repeated habitat fragmentation and contraction, local extinction events and subsequent re-expansion across both small and large areas, coupled with the historical influence of the Brisbane Valley Barrier, the St Lawrence Gap and the Burdekin Gap, have contributed to the present phylogeographical structure within M. cervinipes. Our study highlights the need to sample close to the periphery of putative biogeographical barriers or risk missing vital phylogeographical information that may significantly alter the interpretation of biogeographical hypotheses.

Cybercrime attribution : an Eastern European case study

Phishing and related cybercrime is responsible for billions of dollars in losses annually. Gartner reported more than 5 million U.S. consumers lost money to phishing attacks in the 12 months ending in September 2008 (Gartner 2009). This paper asks whether the majority of organised phishing and related cybercrime originates in Eastern Europe rather than elsewhere such as China or the USA. The Russian “Mafiya” in particular has been popularised by the media and entertainment industries to the point where it can be hard to separate fact from fiction but we have endeavoured to look critically at the information available on this area to produce a survey. We take a particular focus on cybercrime from an Australian perspective, as Australia was one of the first places where Phishing attacks against Internet banks were seen. It is suspected these attacks came from Ukrainian spammers. The survey is built from case studies both where individuals from Eastern Europe have been charged with related crimes or unsolved cases where there is some nexus to Eastern Europe. It also uses some earlier work done looking at those early Phishing attacks, archival analysis of Phishing attacks in July 2006 and new work looking at correlation between the Corruption Perception Index, Internet penetration and tertiary education in Russia and the Ukraine. The value of this work is to inform and educate those charged with responding to cybercrime where a large part of the problem originates and try to understand why.

Finding country

The Finding Country Exhibition seeks a pluralist contest between the traditions of aboriginal space (Country), and European space (property) in Australia. Aboriginal Country is excluded from the Australian city. The city of Brisbane, located on the aboriginal Country of the Turrbal people, is the common ground of this confrontation. It is the show Australia rejected. Despite the 1992 landmark Mabo case High Court decision, a decision that struck down the doctrine of terra nullius (an empty land belonging to no-one), architecture in Australia continues its 18th century European tradition of drawing on empty paper. The aboriginal position is that this paper is not empty, but is full of what can’t be seen. The aboriginal map of Australia reveals a continent with many Countries and many spaces. The prevailing spectrum of architectural positions, bookended by decorated sheds and metaphysical decks, continues to bring aboriginal Country into decline. If the opposite position is considered it is possible to find something lost. Cities historically enter states of decline, frequently associated with some form of catastrophe. Others end in a whimper. It is not unreasonable to imagine an opportunity for the recovery of Country through decline. The central exhibit is an 8×3m drawing of the city of Brisbane consisting of approximately 50 individual grid submissions emptied by half to find something special. Each grid is an explicit architectural negotiation with decline, whilst carrying an implicit personal challenge to non-aboriginal architects to engage Country. Since 2006, the Finding Country project has endeavoured to assert an aboriginal origin for architecture in Australia. It is led and directed by Kevin O’Brien a descendent of the Kaurareg and Meriam people of north-eastern Australia, and an architect working in Brisbane.

Privacy, modesty, hospitality, and the design of Muslim homes: A literature review

Traditional Islamic teachings and traditions involve guidelines that have direct applications in the domestic sphere. The principles of privacy, modesty, and hospitality are central to these guidelines; each principle has a significant effect on the design of Muslim homes, as well as on the organization of space and domestic behaviors within each home. This paper reviews literature on the privacy, modesty, and hospitality within Muslim homes. Nineteen publications from 1986 to 2013 were selected and analyzed for content related to the meaning of privacy, modesty, and hospitality in Islam and the design of Muslim homes. Despite the commonly shared guidelines for observing privacy, modesty, and hospitality within each home, Muslims living in different countries are influenced by cultural factors that operate within their country of residence. These factors help to shape the architectural styles and use of space within Muslim homes in different ways. Awareness of the multifactorial nature of the influences on the Muslim perception of home and the use of space is necessary for architects, building designers, engineers, and builders to be properly equipped to meet the needs of clients.

Are Australian homes liveable and adaptable for Muslim families? - Six case studies in Brisbane

This paper investigates how Muslims living in Brisbane live within their current Australian homes and the liveability and adaptability of these homes from the perspective of home dwellers with respect to their Islamic faiths, cultural traditions and lifestyle. A qualitative case study approach was used to gather information about Muslims’ use of domestic spaces through their lived experiences, within an Australian context. Six participants were interviewed, including: a) three Muslim families residing in one suburb of Brisbane, and; b) three international Muslim students living in three different Brisbane suburbs. These cases indicate that apart from minor difficulties, case study participants were able to perform their daily activities within their current homes through various adaptations made to ensure their respective domestic domains provided their families with privacy and a sense of security and safety. Insight gained from these cases suggest the need for more research into the homes of Muslims homes within an Australian context and the development of culturally adaptable housing as a means of meeting the diverse needs of modern Australian multicultural society.