Book reviews

Books reviewed in this article: Plant Community History: Long-term Changes in Plant Distribution and Diversity
J. H. Tallis Global Forest Resources
A. S. Mather Species Dispersal in Agricultural Habitats
Edited by R. G. H. Bunce and D. C. Howards The Australian Dragonflies: A Guide to the Identification, Distributions, and Habitats of Australian Odonata
J. A. L. Watson, G. Theischinger and H. M. Abbey Monsoonal Australia: Landscape, Ecology and Man in the Northern Lowlands
Edited by C. D. Haynes, M. G. Ridpath and M. A. J. Williams, A. A. Balkema Ferns and Allied Plants of Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia
B. D. Duncan and G. Isaac Ferns of Queensland
S. B. Andrews Introduction to Vegetation Analysis
D. R. Causton, Unwin Hyman     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
NIELSEN, E. S.; EDWARDS, D. S.; RANGSI, T. V. (eds): Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera,
CALDER A A.: Click-beetles: genera of Australian Elateridae (Coleoptera). Monographs on invertebrate taxonomy
HARTL, B.; MARKOWSKI, (eds): Ecological genetics in mammals 11. Acta Theriologica
BAUER, K.; SCHREIBER, A.: Primate phylogeny from a human perspective.     

Koalas use young Eucalyptus plantations in an agricultural landscape on the Liverpool Plains,New South Wales

Summary Revegetation within cleared farming landscapes offers the potential to restore habitat for many woodland‐dependent species that have declined since European settlement. Most species of arboreal marsupials require hollows for breeding and diurnal shelter, a resource that is usually available only in old trees; however, this constraint does not apply to the Koala. In this study, we describe the occupancy and use of young (4‐ to 7‐year old) eucalypt plantations by Koalas in a predominantly cleared landscape used for intensive cropping and grazing. We compare Koala occupancy in 27 eucalypt plantations, 5 paddocks and 11 remnant forest and woodland sites, and we report the relative usage of these three land cover types by two adult male Koalas that were radio‐tracked for 5 and 7 months using GPS transmitters. Koalas were recorded using young eucalypt plantations at 7 sites and remnant forest and woodland at 7 sites. Both radio‐collared Koalas used eucalypt plantations more than expected based on the availability of this land cover type in their home‐ranges. Occupancy of young eucalypt plantations and remnant patches by Koalas was strongly influenced by the proximity of these sites to remnant vegetation.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this articles: The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography . S. P. Hubbell. Australian Rainforests: Islands of Green in a Land of Fire . D. M. J. S. Bowman. Seed Dispersal and Frugivory: Ecology, Evolution and Conservation . Edited by D. J. Levey, W. R. Silva and M. Galetti. Monitoring Ecological Impacts: Concepts and Practice in Flowing Waters B. J. Downes, L. A. Barmuta, P. G. Fairweather, D. P. Faith, M. J. Keough, P. S. Lake, B. D. Mapstone and G. P. Quinn.     

Reviews

Books reviewed in this article:
The Physiology of Fungal Nutrition , by D. H. J ennings
Biochemistry of Metal Micronutrients in the Rhizo-sphere. By D. E. C rowley and E. L uster
The Haustorium. By N. N. B handari and K. G. M ckerji
Moss Protonema Differentiation. By S. C. B hatla
Plant Molecular Biology Labfax. Ed. by R. K. D. C roy
Plant Molecular Biology Manual. Ed. by S. B. G elvin and R. A. S chilperoort
The Cattleyas and their Relatives : 3. Schomburgkia, Sophronitis and other South American Genera. By C. L. W ithner
History of the Australian Vegetation : Cretaceous to Recent. Ed. by R obert S. H ill
Managing Habitats for Conservation. Ed. by W illiam J. S utherland and D avid A. H ill     

REVIEWS

Review in this article:
Active Transport and Secretion. Symposium of the Society of Experimental Biology. VIII. Edited by R. B rown add J. F. D anielli .
Protoplasmatologia. Handbuch der Protoplasmaforschung. Hrsg. v. L. V. Heilbrunn u. F. Weber. Band 1/1: Die makromolekulare Chemie und ihre Bedeutung für die Protoplasmaforschung. By H. S taudinger and M. S taudinger .
Flora of Egypt. Vol. III. Angiospermae, part Monocotyledons: Liliaceae—Musaceae. By V ivi T ackholm and M ohammed D rar .
Australian and New Zealand Botany. By J. M c L uckie , M.A., B.Sc. (Glas.), D.Sc. (Syd.) and H. S. M c K ee , B.A., D.Phil. (Oxon).
South African Pollen grains and Spores, Part I. By E. M. van Z inderen B akker .     

Transmission of a cyclical translocation in two cranberry cultivars

The occurrence of cyclical translocation involving three non-homologous chromosomes and affecting pollen stainability has been observed in two cranberry cultivars: Howes, and Wilcox, a progeny of Howes. These cultivars were crossed with six normal cranberry cultivars to study the transmission of the cyclical translocation to their progeny. The translocational progeny were determined by pollen tetrad analysis. A total of 102 individuals (6 crosses) were analyzed in the progeny of Wilcox and 116 individuals (5 crosses) in the progeny of Howes. The ratios observed in the progeny of Wilcox and Howes were 71 translocated: 31 normal, and 79 translocated: 37 normal, respectively. The segregations deviated from the expected 1 translocated: 1 normal progeny ratio, but fit either a 3:1 or 2:1 ratio. The altered segregations may indicate the presence of a balanced lethal system located in the translocated segments of both Howes and Wilcox. Sterile individuals were found in the progeny of WilcoxxHowes, which could indicate that the two parents have non-identical translocations. The translocated progeny of both cultivars had a normal distribution for pollen stainability, which indicated that both the occurrence of crossing over in the interstitial region and the segregation of chromosomes are under polygenic control.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Urban Aborigines. By Fay Gale New Zealand Society. Contemporary Perspectives. Edited by Stephen D. Webb and John Collette Themes in Culture (Essays in Honour of Morris E. Oder). Edited bv M. D. Zamora. J. M. Mahar, H. Orenstein Buddhist Monk, Buddhist Layman: A Study of Urban Monastic Organization in Central Thailand. By Jane Bunnag A Borneo Childhood Enculturation in Dusun Society. By Thomas Rhys Williams Ritual in Industrial Society. By Robert Bocock. George Allen and Unwin Social Change and Human Behavior: Mental Health Challenges of the Seventies. Edited by George V. Coelho and Eli A Rubinstein Mental Health and Social Change: An Annotated Bibliography. Edited by George V. Coelho Social Anthropology and Language. Edited by Edwin Ardener The Roots of Civilisation. By Alexander Mar-shack Evolution of the Primates. An Introduction to the Biology of Man. By A. B. Chiarelli The Ascent of Man. An Introduction to Human Evolution. By David Pilbeam. Mac-millan Early Hominid Posture and Locomotion. By John T. Robinson Maori Greenstone Pendants in the Australian Museum, Sydney. By D. Wayne Orchi-ston Studies in Oceanic Culture History: Volume 3. Edited by R. C. Green and M. Kelly. The Languages of the Eastern Family of the East New Guinea Highland Stock. Edited by Howard McKaughan The Australian Aborigines. A Portrait of their Soaiety. By Kenneth Maddock Priorities in Melanesian Development. Edited by Ronald J. May Padju Epat: The Ma'anyan of Indonesian Borneo. By A. B. Hudson     

Are wildlife escape ramps needed along Australian highways?

Road escape ramps are structures developed in the USA to enable large mammals that become trapped on the roadside of a wildlife fence to escape the road and avoid vehicle collision. They are now commonly installed in eastern Australia to enable the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) and other fauna to escape through a roadside exclusion fence and return to the forest. We investigated the use of seven of 14 escape ramps over three years on the Oxley Highway at Port Macquarie in New South Wales. The Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) was the most frequently detected species, traversing the escape ramps on 502 occasions, followed by bandicoots (Isoodon macrourus and Perameles nasuta) on 148 occasions. Various other species were detected but no Koalas. Swamp Wallabies moved through the escape ramps in the reverse direction (i.e. towards the road) in 53% of detections of that species and bandicoots in 14% of their detections. There was no obvious pattern by these species of proportionately higher use of ramps closer to the end of the exclusion fences. The large number of reverse passages through the escape ramps reveals a poor design of these structures. Trials with taller ramps are required to determine how to minimise reverse passages. Concurrent monitoring of three underpasses detected numerous crossings by large mammals including Swamp Wallabies, and some crossings by Koalas. We believe evidence is needed to demonstrate the necessity for escape ramps along Australian highways.     

Constraints in naming parts of the Tree of Life

There are now overlapping codes of nomenclature that govern some of the same names of biological taxa. The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) uses the non-evolutionary concept of a "type species" to fix the names of animal taxa to particular ranks in the nomenclatural hierarchy. The PhyloCode, in contrast, uses phylogenetic definitions for supraspecific taxa at any hierarchical level within the Tree of Life (without associating the names to particular ranks), but does not deal with the names of species. Thus, biologists who develop classifications of animals need to use both systems of nomenclature, or else operate without formal rules for the names of some taxa (either species or many monophyletic groups). In addition, the ICZN does not permit the unique naming of many taxa that are considered to be between the ranks of genus and species. Hillis and Wilcox [Hillis, D.M., Wilcox, T.P., 2005. Phylogeny of the New World true frogs (Rana). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 34, 299-314] provided recommendations for the classification of New World true frogs that utilized the ICZN to provide names for species, and the PhyloCode to provide names for supraspecific taxa. Nonetheless, they created new taxon names that followed both sets of rules, to avoid conflicting classifications. They also recommended that established names for both species and clades be used whenever possible, to stabilize the names of both species and clades under either set of rules, and to avoid conflicting nomenclatures. Dubois [Dubois, A., 2006. Naming taxa from cladograms: a cautionary tale. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 42, 317-330] objected to these principles, and argued that the names provided by Hillis and Wilcox [Hillis, D.M., Wilcox, T.P., 2005. Phylogeny of the New World true frogs (Rana). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 34, 299-314] are unavailable under the ICZN, and that the two nomenclatural systems are incompatible. Here, I argue that he is incorrect in these assertions, and present arguments for retaining the established names of New World true frogs, which are largely compatible under both sets of nomenclatural rules.     

Kinship and Alliance in South India and Australia

Dravidien et Kariera: l'alliance de marriage dans l'Inde du Sud, et en Australie. Louis Dumont . Textes de sciences sociales 14. Paris & The Hague: Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales and Mouton, 1975. 148 pp. 38 F (paper).
The Adnjamathanha Personal Pronoun and the "Wailpi Kinship System." R. Schebeck . Perception of Kinship Structure Reflected in the Adnjamathanha Pronouns. Luise A. Hercus and Isobel M. White . Papers in Australian Linguistics No. 6, Pacific Linguistics, Series A, No. 36. Department of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra, 1973. 74 pp. n.p.
Texts on The Social System of the Adnjamathanha People With Grammatical Notes. B. Schebeck . Pacific Linguistics, Series D, No. 21. Department of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra, 1974. xviii + 278 pp. n.p.     

Dietary specialization and Eucalyptus species preferences in Queensland koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus)

Koalas specialize on Eucalyptus leaves, but also feed selectively. Food choice is not random, but depends on various factors that are not well understood, although most research has focused on the role of secondary plant compounds. We studied the feeding choices of four adult male koalas housed at the San Diego Zoo. All subjects had a choice of nine types of Eucalyptus leaves over the eight‐week study. The most preferred species was E. camuldulensis, but individual males exhibited different feeding preferences. We conclude that food selectivity among koalas is probably due to multiple factors, rather than only a consequence of secondary plant chemicals. A combination of intrinsic factors, such as developmental trajectory and reproductive state, as well as extrinsic factors, such as leaf chemical fingerprint and moisture, probably interact to shape koala foraging preferences. Koalas forage almost exclusively on Eucalyptus species, but have evolved an adaptive flexibility, enabling them to exploit various Eucalyptus species. Zoo Biol 30:52–58, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

REVIEWS

Les Associations Végétales de la Vallée Moyenne du Niger. By G. R oberty .
Botany, Principles and Problems. By E dmund W. S innott .
A Textbook of Systematic Botany. By D eane B. S wingle .
Botany by Observation: A Text-Book for Australian Schools. By G ladys C arey
A Botanical Bibliography of the Islands of the Pacific. By E lmer D. M errill ; and a Subject Index to the same, by E. H. W alker .
Advances in Genetics. Vol. i. Edited by M. DEMEREC.
Woodland Mosses. By H. W atson .
The Evolution of Gossypium and the Differentiation of the Cultivated Cottons. By J. B. H utchinson , R. A. S ilow and S. G. S tephens .
Ancient Plants and the World They Live in. By H enry N. A ndrews .
The Arboretums and Botanical Gardens of North America. By D onald W yman .
Practical Plant Anatomy . By A driance S. F oster .     

Book reviews

Book Reviewed in this article: Pesticide Impact on Stream Fauna with Special Reference to Macroinvertebrates R. C. Muirhead-Thomson The World Mining Industry: Investment Strategy and Public Policy. World Industry Studies No. 6 R. F. Mikesell and J. W. Whitney. Australian Arachnology Edited by A. D. Austin and N. W. Heather. Effects of Atmospheric Pollutants on Forests, Wetlands, and Agricultural Ecosystems. NATO ASI Series, Series G. Ecological Sciences, Vol. 16. T. C. Hutchinson, K. M. Meema. Environmental Policies in East and West Edited by G. Enyedi, A. J. Gijswijt and B. Rhode. The Koala — A Natural History Anthony Lee and Roger Martin.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
BONING, J.: The insect ovary. Ultrastructure, previtello-genic growth and evolution
ROBINSON, G. S.; NIELSEN, E. S.: Tineid Genera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, Vol. 2
COMMON, I. F. B.: Oecophorine genera of Australia I. The Wingia group. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, Vol. 3
REAL, L. A. (ed.): Ecological genetics
KRIMBAS, C. B.: Drosophila subobscura. Biology, Genetics and Inversion Polymorphism
BENECKE, N.: Der Mensch und seine Haustiere     

Iotrochamides A and B, antitrypanosomal compounds from the Australian marine sponge Iotrochota sp

Bioassay-guided isolation of the CH(2)Cl(2)/MeOH extract from the Australian sponge Iotrochota sp. resulted in the purification of two new N-cinnamoyl-amino acids, iotrochamides A (1) and B (2). The chemical structures of 1 and 2 were determined by 1D/2D NMR and MS data analyses. Compounds 1 and 2 were shown to inhibit Trypanosoma brucei brucei with IC(50) values of 3.4 and 4.7 μM, respectively.     

Reviews

Advances in Botanical Research . Vol. 14. Ed. by J. A. C allow .
Inorganic Nitrogen Metabolism . Ed. by W. R. U llrich , P. J. A paricio , P. J. S yrett and F. C astillo .
A Centry od Nitrogen Fixation Research . Ed. by F. J. B ergersen and J. R. P ostgate .
Horizons in Lichenology . Ed. by D. H. D alby , D. L. H awksworth and S. L. J ury .
Introduction to Ecological Biochemistry , By J. B. H arborne .
Russell's Soil Conditions and Plant Growth, Ed. by A lan W ild .
Disease and Plant Population Biology . By J. J. B urdon.
Molecular Determinants of Plant Diseases . Ed. by S. N ishimura , C. P. V ance and N. D oke.
British Fungus Flora, Agrics and Boleti 5. Strophariaceae & Coprinaceae P.P.: Hypholoma, Melanotus, Psilocybe, Stropharia, Lacrymaria & Panaeolus, Psilocybe, Stropharia, Lacrymaria & Panaeolus, By R W atling and M. N. G regory .
Mechanisms of Woody Plant Defenses Against Insects . Ed. by W. J. M attson , J. L evieux and C. B ernard -D agan .
Air Pollution and Acid Rain. The Biological Impact . By A. W ellburn .
The Australian Paniceae (Paniceae) . By R. D. W erster .
Kew Index for 1986 . Compiled by R.A. D avies and K.M. L loyd .
Kew Index for 1987 . Compiled by R. A. D avies and K. M. L loyd .
Index Kewensis Supplement XVII . Compiled by J. L. M. P inner , T. A. B ence , R. A. D avies and K. M. L loyd .
Index Kewensis Supplement XVIII . Compiled by J. L. M. P inner , T. A. B ence , R. A. D avies and K. M. L loyd . Edited by R. A. D avies .
The Botany of Mangroves . By P. B. T omlinson .
Floweroing Plants in West Africa . By M argaret S teentoft .
Plants in Danger . By S. D. D avies     

Activity Patterns of Free-Ranging Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) Revealed by Accelerometry

An understanding of koala activity patterns is important for measuring the behavioral response of this species to environmental change, but to date has been limited by the logistical challenges of traditional field methodologies. We addressed this knowledge gap by using tri-axial accelerometer data loggers attached to VHF radio collars to examine activity patterns of adult male and female koalas in a high-density population at Cape Otway, Victoria, Australia. Data were obtained from 27 adult koalas over two 7-d periods during the breeding season: 12 in the early-breeding season in November 2010, and 15 in the late-breeding season in January 2011. Multiple 15 minute observation blocks on each animal were used for validation of activity patterns determined from the accelerometer data loggers. Accelerometry was effective in distinguishing between inactive (sleeping, resting) and active (grooming, feeding and moving) behaviors. Koalas were more active during the early-breeding season with a higher index of movement (overall dynamic body acceleration [ODBA]) for both males and females. Koalas showed a distinct temporal pattern of behavior, with most activity occurring from mid-afternoon to early morning. Accelerometry has potential for examining fine-scale behavior of a wide range of arboreal and terrestrial species.