Host location by larvae of the reptile tick Amblyomma vikirri (Acari: Ixodidae)

The newly described tick Amblyomma vikirri has a narrow host range, being found mainly on the Australian lizard, Egernia stokesii and rarely on another lizard, Tiliqua rugosa. Both hosts are in the family Scincidae. Larvae of A. vikirri were as successful in locating E. stokesii as T. rugosa from a range of release distances between 20 and 120 mm from the host. Over this range the proportion of ticks which successfully located hosts declined and the time taken by successful ticks to locate hosts increased with increasing release distance. From 60 mm, larvae of A. vikirri located four other lizard species from the families Scincidae and Agamidae and two non-living targets as successfully as they did E. stokesii. The only evidence that there was any host specificity in the searching behaviour of larvae of A. vikirri was that A. vikirri larvae spent less time paused and questing when they were searching for E. stokesii than when they were searching for T. rugosa. Aponomma hydrosauri, a tick which commonly infests T. rugosa but not E. stokesii, spent less time paused and questing when it was searching for T. rugosa than when it was searching for E. stokesii. However, the results overall suggest that the narrow host range of A. vikirri cannot be explained by any ability of the larvae of that species to discriminate between their natural host and other reptile species.     

Spread and potential distribution of Senecio madagascariensis Poir. (fireweed) in Australia

Abstract The potential distribution of the herbaceous weed Senecio madagascariensis Poir. (fireweed) in Australia was estimated using the Bioclimate Prediction System, BIOCLIM. Climate profiles for S. madagascariensis predicted that suitable areas occurred only in the south-eastern region of Australia. Its potential to spread outside these areas was assessed by comparing the present African and South American distributions of this species with that observed in Australia. The rate of spread of S. madagascariensis in New South Wales was exponential, although in some regions, such as the Gloucester River Valley, the rates had decreased because all farms had become infested. The results indicate that S. madagascariensis may spread and increase in abundance along the far south coast of New South Wales and in south-eastern Queensland. Coastal areas in eastern Victoria and as far north in Queensland as the Tropic of Capricorn may be invaded.     

Reappearance of Eumarcia fumigata (G.B. Sowerby II, 1853) (Bivalvia: Veneridae) into the Swan River,Western Australia

ABSTRACT

The venerid bivalve Eumarcia fumigata was a common species in Western Australia (WA) during the Pleistocene, where it was distributed as far north as Shark Bay. It became extinct in WA as the climate changed several thousand years ago but remains common in eastern Australia from southern Queensland to South Australia and Tasmania. The species has recently reappeared in the Swan River, probably due to shipping movements. Of the > 60 marine and estuarine species introduced into WA it is only the third confirmed introduction from eastern Australia, and the first that is a reappearance in the Swan River of a species present in the geological past. The present reappearance of E. fumigata, and the introduction of other species, has been made possible by the removal of a rocky bar at the mouth of the estuary and the creation of more marine conditions in the lower Swan estuary.     

Assessment of the global potential distribution of the predatory land planarian Artioposthia triangulata (Dendy) (Tricladida: Terricola) from ecoclimatic data

Abstract

Artioposthia triangulata was originally described from New Zealand in 1895 but was subsequently found to have spread to Northern Ireland in 1963 and Scotland and England in 1965. It is now widespread in both Ireland and Scotland, where it has been shown to reduce earthworm numbers to below detectable levels. Ecoclimatic data were used in the computer program CLIMEX to estimate the potential spread of A. triangulata to Europe and the rest of the world. Results indicated it could establish in agricultural land in most of north‐western Europe, and persist in domestic gardens throughout much of central Europe, east and west North America, Australia, southern South America, and South Africa. It is difficult to assess either the extent to which earthworm numbers and diversity would be decreased or how far the effect of their loss to soil structure, nutrient cycling, or wildlife would be detrimental in these areas.     

Fine‐scale genetic structuring in a group‐living lizard,the gidgee skink (Egernia stokesii)

By constraining gene flow, group living and natal philopatry can result in fine‐scale genetic structure. Although the genetic structure of some group‐living lizards has been characterised, studies are few compared with those for group‐living bird and mammal species. The Egerniinae group of lizards exhibits a high diversity of social structures, making it a useful group for comparative studies of genetic structure across a broader range of social taxa. A well‐studied member of Egerniinae is Egernia stokesii, a lizard that forms long‐term pair bonds and stable social groups and exhibits natal philopatry and limited dispersal. Evidence exists for consistent E. stokesii social structure across seven close but disconnected rocky outcrops within a 40 × 10 km area. We used summary statistics, analysis of molecular variance, Bayesian clustering, and discriminant analysis of principal components to assess if E. stokesii exhibit a consistent pattern of fine‐scale genetic structure across the same seven outcrops. Due to E. stokesii social structure and constrained dispersal, we predicted significant genetic structuring – based on microsatellite markers – among outcrops. We found significant fine‐scale genetic structuring and evidence for two genetic clusters. We discuss features of E. stokesii biology and ecology that may explain our findings. Some rocky outcrops, and some social groups, contained lizards from both genetic clusters. An examination of the composition of mixed cluster social groups did not detect any notable patterns. Therefore, further work is necessary to identify how the observed patterns may have arisen. Future investigations in E. stokesii and other group‐living lizard species are likely to contribute greatly to our understanding of the genetic consequences of group living.     

Monostephanostomum georgianum n. sp. (Digenea: Acanthocolpidae) from Arripis georgianus (Valenciennes) (Perciformes: Arripidae) off Kangaroo Island,South Australia,with comments on Monostephanostomum Kruse, 1979 and Stephanostomum Looss, 1899

Monostephanostomum georgianum n. sp. is described from Arripis georgianus off Kangaroo Island, South Australia. It differs from its congeners by the presence of a short second row of oral spines. M. manteri Kruse, 1979 is reported from A. georgianus off southern Western Australia and Kangaroo Island, South Australia and A. trutta off northern Tasmania. It is considered that the other two species, M. yamagutii Ramadan, 1984 and M. krusei Reimer, 1983, should probably be removed from this genus. Two new combinations are formed, M. gazzae (Shen, 1990) n. comb. (from Stephanostomum) and M. mesospinosum (Madhavi, 1976) n. comb. (from Stephanostomum). A key to the four recognised species of Monostephanostomum is given.     

Orthoglymma wangapeka gen.n., sp.n. (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Broscini): a newly discovered relict from the Buller Terrane,north‐western South Island,New Zealand,corroborates a general pattern of Gondwanan endemism

Orthoglymma Liebherr, Marris, Emberson, Syrett & Roig‐Juñent gen.n. (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Broscini) is described to accommodate the single type species Orthoglymma wangapeka Liebherr, Marris, Emberson, Syrett & Roig‐Juñent sp.n., known from the Wangapeka Track, Kahurangi National Park, north‐western South Island, New Zealand. Orthoglymma wangapeka sp.n. is analysed cladistically along with a comprehensive array of 42 other broscine generic terminals and four out‐group taxa, using information obtained from 73 morphological characters, and placed as adelphotaxon to the remainder of subtribe Nothobroscina, a clade distributed in New Zealand, southern South America and Australia. Based on fossil evidence for Carabidae, the occurrence of Orthoglymma wangapeka sp.n. on the Buller Terrane, a geological feature once situated on the eastern margin of Gondwana, and early cladistic divergence of Orthoglymma from the remaining Nothobroscina, Orthoglymma wangapeka sp.n. is interpreted as a Gondwanan relict. The New Zealand arthropod fauna is reviewed to identify other taxa in existence at the time of Cretaceous vicariance of New Zealand and Australia. These candidate Gondwanan taxa, all of which are specified using fossil data or molecular divergence‐based estimates, are analysed biogeographically. Where phylogenetic hypotheses are available, primordial distributions are optimized using event‐based, dispersal‐vicariance (DIVA) analysis. The hypothesized Gondwanan‐aged taxa demonstrate inordinate fidelity to the Gondwanan‐aged geological terranes that constitute the western portions of New Zealand, especially in the South Island. Persistence of these relicts through a hypothesized ‘Oligocene drowning’ event is the most parsimonious explanation for the concentration of Gondwanan relicts in the Nelson, Buller and Fiordland districts of the South Island. Geographic patterns of Gondwanan‐aged taxa are compared with distributions of taxa hypothesized to have colonized New Zealand across the Tasman Sea from Australia and New Caledonia, subsequent to Cretaceous vicariance. These post‐Gondwanan taxa exhibit very different patterns of distribution and diversification in New Zealand, including: (i) abundant endemism in Northland, and the islands and peninsulas of the North Island; (ii) species geographically restricted to areas underlain by the youngest Rakaia and Pahau geological terranes; and (iii) species exhibiting exceedingly widespread geographic distributions spanning geological terranes of disparate ages.

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Botryocladius gen.n.: a new transantarctic genus of orthocladiine midge (Diptera: Chironomidae)

A new genus of orthocladiine Chironomidae, Botryocladius (type species B. grapeth sp.n. from eastern Australia) is described and illustrated in all life history stages. All thirteen included species are described as new, six from eastern Australia (B. grapeth, B. brindabella, B. mdfrc, B. collessi, B. tasmania, B. australoalpinus), two from Western Australia (B. bibulmun and B. freemani), one from ephemeral streams in Australia (B. petrophilus) and four from Patagonian Argentina and Chile (B. edwardsi, B. glacialis, B. mapuche and B. tronador). All Australian species are known from at least pupal exuviae, most from adult males and several from larvae. In contrast, only B. edwardsi amongst Neotropical species is known from the adult male; all others are described from pupal exuviae. The immature stages are lotic in Australian permanent and temporary streams and Patagonian glacial streams and rivers, and lentic in Neotropical glacial-fed and Australian subalpine lakes. Botryocladius appears to belong with a grouping centred on two formally undescribed taxa from Australia. The genus evidently demonstrates a vicariant distribution with at least two sister-group relationships between South American and Australian taxa, providing a minimum dating for the clade of 38 Ma., with apparent absence from New Zealand indicating a maximum date of 80 Ma.     

Gracilaria species (Gracilariaceae, Rhodophyta) from southeastern Australia, including a new species, Gracilaria perplexa sp. nov.: Morphology, molecular relationships and agar content

Select species of the agarophyte Gracilaria were studied from southeastern Australia. The morphology and anatomy of species is described and molecular relations are inferred based on plastid and mitochon‐drial DNA sequence data. Agar yields and qualities are determined for each species. Gracilaria chilensis, found in Tasmania and Victoria, is morphologically and molecularly similar to G. chilensis from New Zealand and Chile and has low agar yields of 11–16%. Gracilaria cliftonii from Victoria, has high crude agar yield (52%) and is molecularly uniform. Gracilaria perplexa sp. nov., known only from Botany Bay, New South Wales, has an agar yield of 39%. The agar of G. perplexa is unusual in requiring the addition of 0.1 mol L^?1 NaCl for alcohol precipitation and is cold‐water (25°C) soluble because of the very high sulfate ester content. Molecular phylogeny shows that G. perplexa is closely related to Gracilaria preissiana from western Australia, but differs from the latter in its reduced branching and narrower more terete axes.     

Synopsis of biological, fisheries and aquaculture-related information on mulloway Argyrosomus japonicus (Pisces: Sciaenidae), with particular reference to Australia

Argyrosomus japonicus is a member of the family Sciaenidae, which are commonly known as drums and croakers. A. japonicus occurs in estuarine and nearshore Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean waters surrounding Australia, Africa, India, Pakistan, China, Korea and Japan. The biology of A. japonicus is relatively well studied in South Africa, and more recently studied in Australia, but no information is readily available from other areas of its distributional range. The early life history distribution of A. japonicus may differ among regions, with their distribution in estuaries linked to salinity, turbidity, freshwater flows and depth of water. Studies in South Africa and Australia found that juvenile fish grow rapidly, attaining 35 cm TL in 1 year and 87–90 cm TL in 5 years. Sexual maturity also differs among regions and is attained at 2–3 years of age and >50 cm in eastern Australia, 5–6 years of age and >80 cm TL in western Australia and southern Africa. The maximum reported length and age of A. japonicus is 175 cm and 42 years, respectively. Spawning most likely occurs in nearshore coastal waters although there is evidence to suggest that it may also occur in the lower reaches of estuaries. Time of spawning varies among geographic localities and is probably linked to water temperature and oceanography. Juvenile fish (<2 years) appear to be relatively sedentary, but sub‐adults and adults can move relatively long distances (>200 km) and such movements may be linked to pre‐spawning migrations. A. japonicus is important in many recreational and commercial fisheries, but like other sciaenids, is prone to overfishing. It is classified as recruitment overfished in South Africa and overfished in eastern Australia. Although much research has been done to minimize the capture of juveniles in Australian prawn‐trawl fisheries, greater protection of spawners and improved fishing practices to enhance survival of discarded juveniles, particularly from prawn trawling, may be required. An aquaculture industry is developing for A. japonicus in Australia and preliminary research on the impacts and success of re‐stocking wild populations has begun in an attempt to arrest the apparent decline in populations.     

Molecular evidence that fireweed (Senecio madagascariensis, Asteraceae) is of South African origin

ITS1 sequence data was obtained for fireweed (Senecio madagascariensis) andS. lautus from Australia,S. madagascariensis andS. inaequidens from South Africa andS. madagascariensis from Madagascar. Despite the low level of variation (0.0–3.4%), these data further resolve the controversy concerning the identity and origin of fireweed. They confirm that fireweed is part of the South AfricanS. madagascariensis/S. inaequidens complex, and indicate that the infestation in Australia originated from South Africa as opposed to Madagascar. This will facilitate a resumption of biological control efforts in Australia and will direct surveys for control agents to South Africa.     

Marginal distribution and high heterozygosity of asexual Caloglossa vieillardii (Delesseriaceae,Rhodophyta) along the Australian coasts

In animals and land plants, many asexual species originate through inter‐ or intraspecific crosses, and such heterozygous asexuals frequently are more abundant than their sexual relatives in marginal habitats. Although asexual species have been reported in various macroalgal taxa, detailed information regarding their distribution, heterozygosity, and origin is limited. Because many asexual tetrasporophyte strains of Caloglossa vieillardii have been isolated from South Australia, far from their core tropical habitats, we re‐examined the distribution range of asexual C. vieillardii and genotyped these and other western Pacific strains using an actin gene marker. We confirmed the marginal distribution of the asexuals; however, a small patch of sexual thalli was newly discovered 450 km further west from asexual populations in South Australia. Three heterozygous genotypes and one homozygous genotypes were detected from nine asexual populations; 21 heterozygous strains were obligately asexual, but one homozygous strain suddenly produced sexual gametophytes after several years of culture. We hypothesized that the most abundant heterozygous genotype (defined as type 3/4) in asexual populations occurred by a cross between type 3 and type 4 allele gametophytes, both of which were isolated from the Australian coasts. In the crossing experiments, certain combinations between type 3 females and type 4 males produced tetrasporophytes, which recycled successive tetrasporophytes. In the culture experiments, whereas both sexual and asexual strains successfully produced tetraspores at 12°C, no sexual strains released carpospores below 14°C. However, it is uncertain whether this slight difference of maturation temperature was related to the marginal distribution of asexual C. vieillardii.     

The synonymy and distribution of the crenaticeps-group of Atractomorpha Saussure, 1862 (Orthoptera, Acridoidea, Pyrgomorphidae)

The general distribution of Atractomorpha australis Rehn, A. similis Bolívar and A. crenaticeps (Blanchard) in Australia and the South Pacific is discussed. Detailed synonymies and lists of known localities are given for each species, together with a distribution map. A. australis is confined to cooler, moister regions of Australia from eastern Victoria to south-western Queensland; A. similis is more tropical, occurring in the southern Moluccas, Timor, southern New Guinea and associated islands to northern and eastern Australia, but it extends, in suitable localities, as far south as central New South Wales, and, in inland areas, even to north-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia; A. crenaticeps , formerly thought to embrace both the above species, is restricted to the northern Moluccas, western and other parts of New Guinea north of and including the central mountain chains and associated islands to the north and west, and to the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands.     

Alcidodes sedi (Col.: Curculionidae), a natural enemy of Bryophyllum delagoense (Crassulaceae) in South Africa and a possible candidate agent for the biological control of this weed in Australia

The Madagascan endemic, Bryophyllum delagoense (Crassulaceae), is a major weed in Queensland, Australia. Despite having first been recorded in Australia in the 1940s, it is far more invasive there than on the African mainland where it was introduced more than 170 years ago. This may be due to a number of factors, one of which could be the occurrence of new natural enemy associations in southern Africa. Among the insects of crassulaceous plants that have extended their host ranges, a stem-boring weevil, Alcidodes sedi, was studied to elucidate its status as a natural enemy of B. delagoense in southern Africa and as a candidate biological control agent for introduction to Australia. Laboratory studies indicated that damage inflicted by adult and larval feeding caused significant reductions in stem length and number of leaves. Preliminary host-range trials revealed that A. sedi can complete its development on other species in the Crassulaceae, including most of the introduced Bryophyllum species and some Kalanchoe species native to South Africa. Despite the oligophagous nature of A. sedi and the fact that it can complete its development on a number of ornamental species in the Crassulaceae, it should be considered a potential biological control agent in Australia. All of the native Crassulaceae in Australia are in the genus Crassula, most of which are very small and therefore unlikely to support the development of a large weevil like A. sedi. However, additional host-range trials will have to be undertaken in Australia to determine whether the weevil can be considered safe for release.     

The distribution and abundance of the Portuguese millipede Ommatoiulus moreletii (Diplopoda: Iulidae) in Australia

The Portuguese millipede Ommatoiulus moreletii is widespread in South Australia, well-established in Victoria and Tasmania and has recently been found in Perth. Western Australia. It is predicted that this millipede will eventually occur in pest numbers in large areas of southern Australia. Within South Australia, O. moreletii initially erupts in very large numbers following invasion of a new area, then declines to a lower abundance. The decrease in abundance may be caused by a shortage of food. There was no evidence to suggest changes in the sex ratio, age distribution or percentage maturity of O. moreletii following invasion. However, millipedes in newly-invaded areas were larger (and therefore more fecund in the case of females) than those in older populations. There was no evidence that O. moreletii is competing with native millipedes in South Australia. Three to four years after a bushfire in a Eucalyptus woodland, there was no difference between the numbers of O. moreletii in burnt and unburnt areas.     

Allopodocotyle skoliorchis n. sp. (Opecoelidae: Plagioporinae) from Parequula melbournensis (Castelnau) (Gerreidae), a temperate marine fish in Australian waters

A new species of Allopodocotyle Pritchard, 1966 is described from the intestine and pyloric caeca of Parequula melbournensis (Gerreidae) caught from the waters off South and Western Australia. The new species is distinguished from other species by its larger eggs, broader form, pre-bifurcal genital pore and a number of other measurable features that are discussed. Of the species that share morphological similarities with Allopodocotyle skoliorchis n. sp., it is the only species known from a gerreid; all the other species are from serranids.     

Gene flow of the canker pathogen Botryosphaeria australis between Eucalyptus globulus plantations and native eucalypt forests in Western Australia

Abstract The eucalypt plantation industry in Western Australia provides a unique opportunity to study the movement of pathogens between closely related host taxa. Eucalyptus globulus, a native to Tasmania and south‐eastern Australia, is the predominant species in Western Australian plantations, often being planted adjacent to native forest containing Eucalyptus marginata and Eucalyptus diversicolor. Since the commencement of the plantation industry 20 years ago, several fungal species, previously known only to eastern Australia or overseas, have been reported on E. globulus in Western Australia. Botryosphaeria australis is a newly described species, recently found causing cankers on Acacia spp. in eastern Australia. However, during a routine survey, B. australis was found to be the predominant species associated with E. globulus plantations and native Eucalyptus spp. in Western Australia. In this study, six short simple repeat markers were used to evaluate genetic diversity and gene flow between collections of B. australis from native eucalypt forest and E. globulus plantations at two locations in south‐western Australia. In both cases, there was no restriction to gene flow between the plantations and the adjacent native forest. Botryosphaeria australis has now been isolated from a wide range of hosts across south‐western Australia and was not isolated from E. globulus in Tasmania or South Australia. This extensive distribution and host range suggests B. australis is native to Western Australia. This study demonstrates the ability of a pathogen to move between plantation and forests.     

Phylogeography of Australian and New Zealand spray zone spiders (Anyphaenidae: Amaurobioides): Moa's Ark loses a few more passengers

Amaurobioides are restricted to the spray zone of southern continents, where they live in small, isolated populations and hunt from silk retreats built in rock crevices. A Star BEAST species tree based on ITS1 nuclear and ND1 mitochondrial genes did not support the hypothesis that this unusual niche linked the evolutionary history of these spiders to geological events reshaping Gondwana into present‐day Australia and New Zealand. Instead, it showed that Amaurobioides reached Australia approximately 4.5 Mya and dispersed twice to New Zealand. Approximately 2.37 Mya, spiders from Tasmania colonized the Deep South of the South Island and, approximately 0.38 Mya, those from South Australia colonized more northern regions. Thus, the present study further limits the scope of the Moa's Ark hypothesis of vicariant New Zealand biogeography.     

Biogeography of sexual and asexual populations in Bostrychia moritziana (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta)

Bostrychia moritziana (Sonder ex Kützing) J. Agardh is recorded from many regions around the world. Our laboratory culture investigations have verified a sexual life cycle in isolates from Australia, Venezuela, Colombia, South Africa, Fiji, New Zealand and Indonesia. By contrast, asexual isolates producing successive generations of tetrasporophytes in laboratory culture and, presumably, in the field, are known from Australia. New Caledonia and Japan. In Australia, asexual reproduction is absent only in Victoria. In Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland, 99% of the isolates have asexual reproduction. In New South Wales (NSW), asexual and sexual populations are often intermixed. Of the 176 worldwide field collections, 58% were vegetative, 39% were tetrasporic, 2% were female and 1% were male. After several years of observations on the asexual isolates in culture, at least 30 successive asexual tetrasporophytic generations have developed. Only two asexual isolates (3558 and 3575) from NSW have formed a single male and female gametophyte in culture. In a self-cross of 3568, the carpospores developed into tetrasporophytes that recycled asexually. All outcrosses done with normal sexual isolates produced normal carposporophytes and the carpospores developed into tetrasporophytes that also recycled asexually. Asexual populations may arise repeatedly by loss of meiosis in tetrasporangia of sexual populations. Asexual reproduction apparently does not diminish the overall dispersal and abundance in the field. Our present bio-geographic data show that sexually reproducing popuiations of B. moritziana occur worldwide, while asexuaily reproducing populations are confined to the western Pacific. Bostrychia bispora West et Zuccarello, initially described on the basis of its asexual reproduction to distinguish it from B, moritziana, is now reduced to synonymy with B. moritziana.     

Identification of Planococcus citri (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae) and the description of a new species

Planococcus pacificus sp.n. is described from the South Pacific, Australia and South East Asia. P.citricus is synonymized with P.citri. A key and illustrations are given to separate the species discussed from each other and from the similar P.ficus group.