Can reintroductions to degraded habitat succeed? A test using the common brushtail possum

Habitat degradation contributes to species decline, and habitat quality is an important factor influencing reintroduction success globally. Habitat quality can include a range of physical resources such as nest sites and food resources but also anything that can restrict the use of these resources such as predation risk or competition. In arid Australia, introduced predators are thought to be the primary cause of mammal extinction and reintroduction failure although habitat clearance and alteration are also major causes of population decline. Common brushtail possums are one arid Australian marsupial close to regional extinction. To understand whether habitat quality was limiting their recovery, we reintroduced 148 possums into an area where introduced red foxes were controlled but historic overgrazing had degraded the habitat. We measured both direct (hollow availability, midstorey cover and high‐quality plant foods) and indirect (survival, condition, reproduction, movement) measures of habitat quality. Sixty‐seven released possums and 26 post‐release recruits were radiocollared for up to 2 years after release. Post‐release survival of radiocollared possums was high after 12 months (0.70), and there were no deaths from starvation. Predation by feral cats was the most common cause of mortality, and the open, degraded habitat may have exacerbated predation risk. Continuous breeding, good body condition and comparative home ranges with other sites suggested that food resources were not limiting. Possums used natural tree hollows in Eucalyptus spp. with no use of artificial nest boxes. Results suggest that historically degraded habitat was not a barrier to short‐term reintroduction success when foxes were controlled and natural tree hollows were plentiful. However, demographic data on hollow‐bearing tree species suggest a possible future decline in availability of hollows. These factors, combined with the unknown effects of drought, and synergistic effects of predation and poor quality habitat, suggest long‐term reintroduction success may require improved habitat and cat control.     

Ethics in Indigenous Research – Connecting with Community

The challenge for those responsible for funding, brokering and assessing the merit of proposed Indigenous research is to identify and then work co-operatively with appropriate representatives of Indigenous interests in order to increase the flow of benefits from research to Indigenous peoples. Experience in Australia has shown that this is not a straightforward process. In this paper we indicate some reasons why it is important for the research community to broker research with representative Indigenous organisations and to involve Indigenous peoples in the ethical assessment and conduct of research. We then identify some barriers to the achievement of these objectives and outline recently developed interventions from the field of health research that aim to promote a more effective working relationship between Indigenous peoples and members of the research community.

Parasitic diseases of remote Indigenous communities in Australia

Indigenous Australians suffer significant disadvantage in health outcomes and have a life expectancy well below that of non-Indigenous Australians. Mortality rates of Indigenous Australians are higher than that of Indigenous populations in developed countries elsewhere in the world. A number of parasitic diseases which are uncommon in the rest of the Australian population contribute to the high burden of disease in many remote Indigenous communities. High rates of infection with enteric parasites such as Strongyloides stercoralis, hookworm and Trichuris have been recorded and infection of the skin with the ecto-parasitic mite Sarcoptes scabiei is also a substantial problem. Secondary infection of scabies lesions, including with Staphylococcus aureus and group A Streptococcus, can produce serious sequelae such as rheumatic fever and post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis. Transmission of many parasites in many remote communities is facilitated by overcrowded living conditions and infrastructure problems which result in poor sanitation and hygiene. Improvements in environmental health conditions must accompany medical initiatives to achieve sustainable improvement in the health of Indigenous Australians.     

Theileria gilberti n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Theileriidae) in the Gilbert's Potoroo (Potorous gilbertii)

ABSTRACT. The morphology and genetic characterisation of a new species of piroplasm identified in the blood of the Gilbert's potoroo ( Potorous gilbertii ) from the Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve near Albany, Western Australia, is described from blood and tissue samples from 16 Gilbert's potoroos. Microscopy of blood showed these parasites are highly pleomorphic with a mean length of 1.8 μm and mean width of 0.85 μm. Phylogenetic analysis of 18S rRNA sequence data identified the piroplasm as a new species of Theileria that is closely related to other Australian marsupial piroplasm species. Based on biological and molecular data, it is proposed that the parasite from Gilbert's potoroo be given the name Theileria gilberti n. sp.     

The Politics of the Gap: Indigenous Australians, Liberal Multiculturalism, and the End of the Self-Determination Era

ABSTRACT  Since the 1970s, "self-determination" has been the dominant trope for expressing national aspirations for Indigenous Australians. Through the principles of self-determination, the liberal multicultural state has attempted to deliver postcolonial justice to its first peoples. In this new century, the sheen of the self-determination era has faded. Once heralded as the antidote to the racist assimilation era, it is now depicted as the cause of social ills. In this article, I draw on an ethnographic study of White antiracists working in Indigenous health in northern Australia to analyze the brand of liberal rationality that dominated the discourse of the self-determination era. By engaging with a "tribe" of White people who identify with the aims of the self-determination era, we can decipher the logic of self-determination as an instrument of the liberal state and better understand the internal contradictions and ambiguities that have led to its recent demise.     

Five new records of bee flies (Bombyliidae,Diptera) from Saudi Arabia with zoogeographical remarks

Five bee-fly species (Bombyliidae, Diptera) have been listed in this paper as new to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Four of the recorded species have been identified to the level of species, namely: Bombomyiadiscoidea (Fabricius, 1794), Spogostylumcandidum (Sack, 1909), Exoprosopalinearis Bezzi, 1924, and Exoprosopaminos (Meigen, 1804), while the fifth one only to genus, Desmatoneura sp. The species have been collected from Al-Baha and Asir Provinces in the south-western part of the Kingdom. One of the four identified species, Exoprosopalinearis, has an Afrotropical affinity, and another two, Spogostylumcandidum and Bombomyiadiscoidea, have considerable Afrotropical distributions, and this result agrees to some extent with studies considering these parts of the Arabian Peninsula, including Al-Baha and Asir Provinces, having Afrotropical influences and may be included in the Afrotropical Region rather than in the Palaearctic Region or the Eremic zone.     

内蒙古典型草原地带退化草原的恢复动态

对退化草原自然恢复演替过程的监测,是认识其恢复过程、机理、探讨恢复的限制因子和进一步制定快速、低投入生态恢复措施的基础。通过对内蒙古典型草原地带退化草原［星毛委陵菜（Potentila acaulis）、冷蒿（Artemisia frigida）和寸草苔（Carex duriuscula）等为主］封育恢复动态 8年的监测表明：在退化草原群落自然恢复过程中,植物高度上升;植被盖度和生物量先增加,尔后基本稳定,或略有下降的趋势。群落的物种丰富度增加微弱,这可能与该区草原植物和野生动物协同进化有关,同时与数千年的家畜放牧史有关。即植物物种对放牧有较大的耐性,停止放牧,物种的丰富度也增加较少;群落结构的变化主要表现在不同种群优势度的消长上。群落均匀度指数的动态过程分析表明,恢复8年的草原群落尚未达到天然草原状态,尚需进一步的监测研究。     

草地退化恢复评估方法述评

世界范围内草地生态系统的大面积退化严重影响了其生产和生态功能,因此对退化草地进行恢复成为世界范围内的持久不衰的研究热点,同时针对恢复实践效果的评估方法也在逐渐地发展和完善。在退化草地恢复进程中及时准确地评估恢复的效果有利于指导今后的恢复实践。研究概述了退化草地恢复的措施和恢复目标,对退化草地恢复的评估方法从不同的组织尺度上进行综述。研究中大多采取指示物种、植物群落的多样性和群落结构、活力-组织-恢复力(VOR)及其改良模型以及一系列数学分析方法等来评价退化草地的恢复状况。通过述评这些方法的应用和效果可以为未来的退化草地恢复实践的实施、恢复效果的科学评估以及后续的草地管理提供理论基础。