Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats [2nd. Ed.]

"First published in 1988, Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats is widely acknowledged as the primary reference for both amateur and professional bat researchers. Bats are the second most diverse group of mammals on the earth. They live on every continent except Antarctica, ranging from deserts to tropical forests to mountains, and their activities have a profound effect on the ecosystems in which they live. Despite their ubiquity and importance, bats are challenging to study. This volume provides researchers, conservationists, and consultants with the ecological background and specific information essential for studying bats in the wild and in captivity. Chapters detail many of the newest and most commonly used field and laboratory techniques needed to advance the study of bats, describe how these methods are applied to the study of the ecology and behavior of bats, and offer advice on how to interpret the results of research. The book includes forty-three chapters, fourteen of which are new to the second edition, with information on molecular ecology and evolution, bioacoustics, chemical communication, flight dynamics, population models, and methods for assessing postnatal growth and development. Fully illustrated and featuring contributions from the world’s leading experts in bat biology, this reference contains everything bat researchers and natural resource managers need to know for the study and conservation of this wide-ranging, ecologically vital, and diverse taxon."--Publisher website

Measuring in-vehicle child comfort to study barriers to appropriate and correct use of restraints

Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death and injury among children aged between 4-14 years1,2 and premature graduation to adult seat belts2,3 and restraint misuse4 are common and known risk factors. Children are believed to prematurely graduate to adult belts and misuse the seat belt in booster seats if uncomfortable2,5,6. Although research has concentrated on educating parents and designing better restraints to reduce errors in use, comfort of the child in the restraint has not been studied. Currently there is no existing method for studying comfort in children in restraint systems, although self-report survey tools and pressure distribution mapping is commonly used to measure comfort among adult in vehicle seats. This poster presents preliminary results from work aimed at developing an appropriate method to measure comfort of children in vehicle restraint systems. The specific aims are to: 1. Examine the potential of using modified adult self-report/survey and pressure distribution mapping in children 2. Develop a video based, objective measure of comfort in children.

Addressing the road trauma burden in China: Exploring attitudes, behaviours, risk perceptions and cultural uniqueness

As China continues to motorise rapidly, solutions are needed to reduce the burden of road trauma that is spread inequitably across the community. Little is currently known about how new drivers are trained to deal with on-road challenges, and little is also known about the perceptions, behaviours and attitudes of road users in China. This paper reports on a pilot study conducted in a driver retraining facility in one Chinese city where people who have had their licence suspended for accrual of 12 demerit points in a one year period must attend compulsory retraining in order to regain their licence. A sample of 239 suspended drivers responded to an anonymous questionnaire that sought information about preferred driving speeds and perceptions of safe driving speeds across two speed zones. Responses indicated that speeds higher than the posted limits were commonly reported, and that there was incongruence between preferred and safe speeds, such that a greater proportion of drivers reported preferred speeds that were substantially faster than what were reported as safe speeds. Participants with more driving experience reported significantly fewer crashes than newly licensed drivers (less than 2 years licensed) but no differences were found in offences when compared across groups with different levels of driving experience. Perceptions of risky behaviours were assessed by asking participants to describe what they considered to be the most dangerous on-road behaviours. Speeding and drink driving were the most commonly reported by far, followed by issues such as fatigue, ignoring traffic rules, not obeying traffic rules, phone use while driving, and non-use of seatbelts, which attracted an extremely low response which seems consistent with previously reported low belt wearing rates, unfavourable attitudes towards seatbelt use, and low levels of enforcement. Finally, observations about culturally specific considerations are made from previous research conducted by the authors and others. Specifically, issues of saving face and the importance and pervasiveness of social networks and social influence are discussed with particular regard to how any future countermeasures need to be informed by a thorough understanding of Chinese customs and culture.

Optimum position of steel outrigger system for high rise composite buildings subjected to wind loads

The responses of composite buildings under wind loads clearly become more critical as the building becomes taller, less stiff and more lightweight. When the composite building increases in height, the stiffness of the structure becomes more important factor and introduction to belt truss and outrigger system is often used to provide sufficient lateral stiffness to the structure. Most of the research works to date is limited to reinforced concrete building with outrigger system of concrete structure, simple building plan layout, single height of a building, one direction wind and single level of outrigger arrangement. There is a scarcity in research works about the effective position of outrigger level on composite buildings under lateral wind loadings when the building plan layout, height and outrigger arrangement are varied. The aim of this paper is to determine the optimum location of steel belt and outrigger systems by using different arrangement of single and double level outrigger for different size, shape and height of composite building. In this study a comprehensive finite element modelling of composite building prototypes is carried out, with three different layouts (Rectangular, Octagonal and L shaped) and for three different storey (28, 42 and 57-storey). Models are analysed for dynamic cyclonic wind loads with various combination of steel belt and outrigger bracings. It is concluded that the effectiveness of the single and double level steel belt and outrigger bracing are varied based on their positions for different size, shape and height of composite building.

STEM: Challenges and opportunities for mathematics education

Climbing Mountains, Building Bridges is a rich theme for exploring some of the “challenges, obstacles, links, and connections” facing mathematics education within the current STEM climate (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). This paper first considers some of the issues and debates surrounding the nature of STEM education, including perspectives on its interdisciplinary nature. It is next argued that mathematics is in danger of being overshadowed, in particular by science, in the global urgency to advance STEM competencies in schools and the workforce. Some suggestions are offered for lifting the profile of mathematics education within an integrated STEM context, with examples drawn from modelling with data in the sixth grade.

Will you move again?

This poem is in response to the Call for Submissions for a themed edition of the About Place Journal titled ‘Enlightened Visions in the Wake of Trauma’, which focused on Indigenous, marginalized, and small island peoples in addressing global warming.

A road safety strategy for Norfolk Island, an Australian external territory

Norfolk Island is an Australian external territory in Oceania. The significant road safety reforms in Australia from the 1970s onward bypassed the island, and most road safety ‘silver bullets’ adopted in other Australian jurisdictions were not introduced. While legislative amendments in 2010 introduced mandatory seat belt wearing for vehicle occupants on Norfolk Island, other critical issues face the community including drink driving by residents and visitors, occupant protection for vehicle passengers, and the provision of a more protective road environment. The release of the first Norfolk Island road safety strategy 2014-2016 proposed, inter alia: • a lower BAC of 0.05 and the introduction of compulsory driver alcohol and drug testing by police; • targeted enforcement of occupant protection for vehicle passengers, particularly for passengers riding on vehicle tray backs; • education interventions to challenge values held by some members of the community that support unsafe road use; • ensuring that driver information, training and testing is adequate for all drivers; • identification and rectification of hazardous roadside infrastructure, particularly barrier protection at “high drop locations” within the road network; and • developing a specification for vehicle standards for vehicles imported into Norfolk Island. Norfolk Island is engaging in a process of integration with the Australian community, and wider issues relating to funding and resources have impacted on the implementation of the road safety strategy. The response to the strategy will be discussed, particularly in terms of current attempts to address drink driving and the provision of a safer road environment.

Immunochemical approach to the mapping of an assembled epitope of human chorionic gonadotropin: Proximity of CTP-alpha to the receptor binding region of the beta-subunit

A single-step solid-phase RIA (SS-SPRIA) developed in our laboratory using hybridoma culture supernatants has been utilised for the quantitation of epitope-paratope interactions. Using SS-SPRIA as a quantitative tool for the assessment of epitope stability, it was found that several assembled epitopes of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) are differentially stable to proteolysis and chemical modification. Based on these observations an approach has been developed for identifying the amino acid residues constituting an epitopic region. This approach has now been used to map an assembled epitope at/near the receptor binding region of the hormone. The mapped site forms a part of the seat belt region and the cystine knot region (C34-C38-C88-C90-H106). The carboxy terminal region of the alpha-subunit forms a part of the epitope indicating its proximity to the receptor binding region. These results are in agreement with the reported receptor binding region identified through other approaches and the X-ray crystal structure of hCG.

Oded Schramm and the Schramm-Loewner evolution: In memoriam

Oded Schramm, the inventor of the stochastic Loewner evolution (SLE), died on 1 September 2008 in a tragic hiking accident in the Cascades Mountains. He was forty-six. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Evidence for Permo-Triassic collision in Far East Asia: The Korean collisional orogen

Eclogites from paragneiss in the Korean Peninsula are characterized by a peak pressure assemblage of garnet + omphacite + quartz + rutile, that is overprinted by multiphase symplectites involving augite, amphibole, orthopyroxene, ilmenite and plagioclase and by a similar high-pressure assemblage with a pronounced absence of the omphacite component in clinopyroxene formed during the peak and orthopyroxene in the retrograde stage. Eclogites were metamorphosed at a minimum pressures of not, vert, similar 20–23 kbar at temperatures of not, vert, similar 840–1000 °C, equivalent to a crustal depth of not, vert, similar 70–75 km, whereas high-pressure granulite in Late Paleozoic rocks underwent metamorphic conditions of not, vert, similar 18–19 kbar at not, vert, similar 950 °C with a minimum crustal depth of not, vert, similar 60–65 km. The presence of the eclogites and high-pressure granulite suggests deep-seated subduction of crustal complexes with metamorphism at different crustal levels. The eclogites were exhumed quickly resulting in near- isothermal decompression. On the other hand, the multistage exhumation of the high-pressure granulites suggests retrograde overprinting after initial decompression. The similarity of these petrological characteristics, metamorphic conditions and also the regional structural styles with those of the Sulu belt (China) strongly suggests the existence of a Permo-Triassic Alpine-type “Korean collision belt” in Far East Asia. This model provides a better understanding of the paleogeograpic evolution of Permo-Triassic East Asia, including a robust tectonic correlation of the Korean collision belt with the Qinling–Dabie–Sulu collision belt.

Five new species of Aptenocanthon Matthews (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) from tropical Australia, with notes on distribution

Five new species of the flightless scarabaeine genus Aptenocanthon Matthews are described from northern Australia: jimara sp. nov. from the Northern Territory; kabura sp. nov., wollumbin sp. nov., winyur sp. nov. and speewah sp. nov. from mountains in the wet tropics of northern Queensland. A key is given to the eight species in the genus. A. jimara is the first record of the genus away from the east coast. Biology and distribution are discussed.

A new species of Aptenocanthorn Mathews from North Queensland. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

Aptenocanthorn monteithi sp. Nov. is described from Atherton Tableland areas in northern Queensland. The nearest relatives are from mountains in eastern New South Wales.

A new flightless species of Aulacopris White from north Queensland (coleoptera : scarabaeidae : scarabaeinae)

Aulacopris mallhewsi sp. nov. is described from mountains behind Cape Tribulation in northern Queensland. Its nearest relatives are in southeastern Queensland. The species is the smallest in the genus and is flightless. Individuals engaged in ball making and ball rolling activities in the laboratory.

Survey of Fusarium species associated with crown rot of wheat and barley in eastern Australia

Fusarium species associated with crown rot were isolated and identified from 409 wheat, barley or durum wheat crops from the eastern Australian grain belt between 1996 and 1999. Fusarium pseudograminearum was almost the only species isolated from crops in Queensland and New South Wales. F. pseudograminearum was also the most common species in Victoria and South Australia, but F. culmorum was frequently isolated in these states. F. culmorum accounted for more than 70% of isolates from the Victorian high-rainfall (> 500 mm) region and the South-East region of South Australia. F. culmorum comprised 18% of isolates from the Victorian medium-rainfall (350-500 mm) region, and 7% of isolates from each of the Victorian low-rainfall region and the Mid-North region of South Australia. F. avenaceum, F. crookwellense and F. graminearum were isolated very infrequently. The proportion of F. culmorum among isolates of Fusarium from districts in Victoria and South Australia was strongly correlated with climatic conditions around the end of the growing season, especially with rainfall in November.

Low-density koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations in the mulgalands of south-west Queensland. II. Distribution and diet

This study used faecal pellets to investigate the broadscale distribution and diet of koalas in the mulgalands biogeographic region of south-west Queensland. Koala distribution was determined by conducting faecal pellet searches within a 30-cm radius of the base of eucalypts on 149 belt transects, located using a multi-scaled stratified sampling design. Cuticular analysis of pellets collected ffom 22 of these sites was conducted to identify the dietary composition of koalas within the region. Our data suggest that koala distribution is concentrated in the northern and more easterly regions of the study area, and appears to be strongly linked with annual rainfall. Over 50% of our koala records were obtained from non-riverine communities, indicating that koalas in the study area are not primarily restricted to riverine communities, as bas frequently been suggested. Cuticular analysis indicates that more than 90% of koala diet within the region consists of five eucalypt species. Our data highlights the importance of residual Tertiary landforms to koala conservation in the region.