On the utility of data from the International HapMap Project for Australian association studies

We compare patterns of linkage disequilibrium (LD) for 633 SNPs in two regions between samples collected in two Australian states and HapMap samples collected from Utah residents of Northern and Western (NW) European ancestry (CEU). Patterns of LD in the Australian and HapMap samples are similar, and tag SNPs chosen using HapMap genotypes perform almost as well on Australian samples as tags chosen using Australian genotypes. Electronic database information: URLs for the data in this article are as follows. Haploview Software, including Tagger program: ; The International Hapmap Project: ; Australian Bureau of Statistics, for population ancestry information:     

Myth and Ontology in Aboriginal Australian Society

Time Before Morning: Art and Myth of the Australian Aborigines . Louis A. Allen .
Australian Aboriginal Mythology . L. R. Hiatt , ed.
The Australian Aborigines: A Portrait of Their Society . Kenneth Maddock .     

AUDIOVISUALS REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Films on Southeast Asia: Australian Asian Neighbors Series: Thailand. Filmed by the Australian Commonwealth Film Unit. Produced by John Morris and Thanom Songnarata , directed by Brian Hannant
Films on Southeast Asia: Children of Bangkok.     

A comparative evaluation of the sensitivity of Salmonella detection on processed chicken carcasses using Australian and US methodologies

Aim: To confirm the reliability and sensitivity of Salmonella testing of processed poultry in Australia. Methods and Results: The detection of Salmonella in a whole carcass wash of 90 randomly selected processed broilers was compared using the Australian Standard method, an Australian industry method used by a major processor and the United States Department of Agriculture method published in the Federal Register. The sensitivity of each method was determined using a carcass wash containing a known number of Salmonella Typhimurium to determine the minimum concentration to be able to be identified as positive. The two Australian methods were found to be comparable with both the Australian methods detecting more positive carcasses than the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) method. The Australian methods were sensitive at the level of 1–3 CFU ml^?1 and the USDA method was sensitive at 10–30 CFU ml^?1. Conclusions: The Australian Standard method and the Australian industry method were both able to detect Salmonella reliably even at a low level of contamination. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study gives a high level of confidence both to the operators of poultry‐processing plants and to regulators dependent upon the outcome of Salmonella testing for process control in Australia.     

A Global History of Australian Trees

Scholars studying the globalization of Australian trees have previously emphasized the rapid natural propagation of Australian trees outside of their native habitats, believing their success to be a reversal of “ecological imperialism” from the “new world” to the “old world.” This article argues that the expansion of Australian trees should not be viewed as a biological phenomenon, but as the result of a long-term attempt by powerful states and state-sponsored scientists to select and breed Australian species that could grow in a variety of climates and ecological conditions. Five non-biological factors largely determined the success of these attempts to grow Australian trees: the abundance or paucity of natural forests, state power, the amount of scientific research directed to planting Australian trees, the cost of labor, and the ability to utilize hardwood timbers and bark. This paper compares the use of Australian trees in Australia, India, and South Africa to demonstrate that biology was not the determining factor in the long-term success of many Australian genera and species.     

Book reviews

Book Reviewed in this article: A Key to Australian Grasses B. K. Simon Arid Shrublands of Western Australia A. A. Wilcox and D. G. Wilcox Koalas: The little Australian we'd all hate to lose B. Phillips Koala Summit : Managing Koalas in New South Wales Edited by D. Lunney, C. A. Urquhart and P. Reedxs     

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.     

BOOK REVIEWS AND NOTES

Australian Aboriginal Social Organization . David H. Turner.
The Affinal Relationship System: A New Approach to Kinship and Marriage among the Australian Aborigines at Port Keats . Aslaug and Johannes Falkenberg.     

Key to the New Zealand species of Psyllaephagus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) with descriptions of three new species and a new record of the psyllid hyperparasitoid Coccidoctonus psyllae Riek (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

Abstract  This paper records seven species of wasps in the genus Psyllaephagus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) from New Zealand. All of these species are primary parasitoids of psylloids (Hemiptera: Psylloidea). Two are species previously described from New Zealand: P. acaciae Noyes and P. pilosus Noyes. Two are described Australian species which have established recently: P. bliteus Riek and P. gemitus Riek. Three new species are described here, from New Zealand: P. breviramus sp. nov., P. cornwallensis sp. nov. and P. richardhenryi sp. nov. All species are probably Australian in origin. A key to all seven Psyllaephagus species known from New Zealand is provided. An earlier first record of the Australian psyllid hyperparasitoid Coccidoctonus psyllae Riek (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), previously first recorded from New Zealand in 2006, is noted.     

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     

Genus Carvaka Distant in Australia (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Selenocephalinae)

Abstract  The leafhopper genus Carvaka Distant (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Selenocephalinae) in Australia is reviewed in light of recent publications on the subfamily Selenocephalinae in the Oriental region. The genus Exitianellus Evans is transferred from the subfamily Deltocephalinae to the Paraboloponini and synonymised with Carvaka . Carvaka elegantula (Evans) comb. nov. is redescribed and three new species, C. mouldsorum , C. maculata and C. flava are added to the genus. A key for the separation of the Australian species of Carvaka is provided. The Australian fauna represents all three recognised species groups of the genus. The significance of this to the biogeographical origins of the Australian fauna is discussed.     

Genetic differentiation between Australian and North American populations of the monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus (L.) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae): an exploration using allozyme electrophoresis

Allozyme analysis was used to address the question of the source of the Australian populations of the monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus (L.). The study had three major aims: (1) To compare the levels of diversity of Australian and Hawaiian populations with potential source populations. (2) To determine whether eastern and western North American populations were sufficiently divergent for the Australian populations to be aligned to a source population. (3) To compare the differentiation among regions in Australia and North America to test the prediction of greater genetic structure in Australia, as a consequence of reduced migratory behaviour. The reverse was found, with F _ST values an order of magnitude lower in Australia than in North America. Predictably, Australian and Hawaiian populations had lower allelic diversity, but unexpected higher heterozygosity values than North American populations. It was not possible to assign the Australian populations to a definitive source, although the high levels of similarity of Australian populations to each other suggest a single colonization event. The possibility that the Australian populations have not been here long enough to reach equilibrium is discussed. © 2002 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2002, 75 , 437–452.     

Australian Natural History Series: Albatrosses. Terence Lindsey.

Australian Natural History Series: Great Whales. John Bannister. 2008. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. 142 pp. $27.45. ISBN: 978-0-64309-373-7 (softcover). Australian Natural History Series: Platypus. Fourth Edition. Tom Grant, illustrated by Dominic Fanning. 2008. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. 159 pp. $27.45. ISBN: 978-0-64309-370-6 (softcover).     

Phylogenetic relationships of the Australian lomatiines (Diptera: Bombyliidae)

Cladistic analysis is used to isolate the monophyletic group of genera that comprise the Australian Lomatiinae and to investigate the relationships between the Australian genera. Cladograms of genera in the Australian Tomophthalmae and Lomatiinae are presented. Myonema Roberts and Neosardus Roberts are placed in the Cylleniinae, Antonia Loew remains in the Antoniinae and Petrorossia Bezzi is placed in the Anthracinae. The relationship of the Australian lomatiines to the world fauna is discussed, as are the relationships between the Australian genera. Docidomyia White is included in the Lomatiinae and is the sister group of all other genera of the subfamily: Comptosia Macquart sens.lat.; Doddosia Edwards, Oncodosia Edwards and Paramonovomyia Evenhuis. The current diagnosis of the Lomatiinae is changed to reflect the inclusion of Docidomyia. The two subgenera of Comptosia sensu Edwards, Aleucosia Edwards and Comptosia , were not each others' closest relatives in the strict consensus tree. Thus Comptosia as currently recognized is paraphyletic and the two subgenera are treated as genera, Aleucosia stat.nov. and Comptosia stat.nov.     

Sympatric Australian Lasaea species (Mollusca: Bivalvia) differ in their ploidy levels, reproductive modes and developmental modes

The cosmopolitan marine bivalve genus Lasaea is predominantly composed of highly polyploid asexual lineages with one exception: the diploid, sexual Australian species L. australis. Two undescribed, direct-developing congeners co-occur with the indirect-developing L. australis on the rocky intertidal of southeastern Australia. One of these, L. colmani sp. nov., is also diploid and sexual. The other direct-developing congener is an asexual polyploid composed of a variety of clonal lineages. All three sympatric Australian Lasaea congeners are morphologically distinguishable, although prodissoconch distinctions are required to separate large polyploid clams from equivalently-sized L. australis. Similarities in mitochondrial gene sequence and in shell morphology suggest that L. australis and the Australian sympatric polyploid clones share an exclusive common ancestor despite differing in developmental mode, ploidy and reproductive mode. However, detailed karyological analyses failed to identify a chromosome set morphologically similar to that of L. australis among the sympatric Australian polypoid complement. We propose that generation of the polyploid Australian clones (presumably by hybridization) was followed by radical karyological rearrangement.     

Film Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Emu Ritual at Ruguri. Filmed in 1966 and 1967 by R oger S andall , for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies with N icholas P eterson as consultant.
Walbiri Ritual at Ngama. Filmed in 1966 by R oger S andall , for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies with N icholas P eterson as consultant.     

Review of the Australian aphrophorid spittlebugs (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae)

Abstract A review of the Aphrophoridae (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cercopoidea) occurring in Australia has revealed closer links between the Australian fauna and those of the Pacific region than were previously acknowledged. A key to the Australian genera is provided along with a diagnosis for each genus and a list of described Australian species with notes on each. Taxonomic changes proposed are: Neoaphrophora China synonymised with Anyllis Kirkaldy; Eurycercopis Kirkaldy synonymised with Interocrea Walker; Aphrophora rufiventris Walker and Philagra vittata Metcalf and Horton synonymised with Philagra parva (Donovan). New combinations proposed are: Amarusa australis (Jacobi) (from Eoptyelus ); Anyllis tiegsi (China) (from Neoaphrophora ); Interocrea nigrofasciata (Kirkaldy) (from Eurycercopis ); Interocrea regalis (Lallemand) (from Clovia ); Liorhina loxosema (Hacker) (from Clovia ). To provide a single reference point for the species and, for species described by Hacker (1926) and Jacobi (1928) , to validate apparent holotype intentions by those authors, lectotypes are designated for: Ptyelus homochrous Hacker; Eurycercopis nigrofasciata Kirkaldy; Clovia regalis Lallemand; Clovia loxosema Hacker; Philagra concolor Hacker; Philagra fulvida Hacker; Philagra recurva Jacobi. The probable whereabouts of the type specimen of Philagra parva (Donovan) are discussed. The origin of the holotype of Novaphrophara tasmaniae Lallemand is discussed; the Australian record is almost certainly incorrect.     

Revision of the Australian Gagrellinae (Arachnida: Opiliones: Sclerosomatidae), with a description of a new species

A new species of the Indo-Australian Gagrellinae (Arachnida: Opiliones: Sclerosomatidae), Gagrella cauricrepa , is described from the Iron Range, Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. This represents the first definite indigenous Australian record of Sclerosomatidae, though the family has previously been known from Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The previous record of Zaleptus marmoratus Roewer 1910 from the Australian fauna is regarded as currently unconfirmable.     

Role of soil pH in the development of enhanced biodegradation of fenamiphos

Repeated treatment with fenamiphos (ethyl 4-methylthio-m-tolyl isopropylphosphoramidate) resulted in enhanced biodegradation of this nematicide in two United Kingdom soils with a high pH (>/= 7.7). In contrast, degradation of fenamiphos was slow in three acidic United Kingdom soils (pH 4.7 to 6.7), and repeated treatments did not result in enhanced biodegradation. Rapid degradation of fenamiphos was observed in two Australian soils (pH 6.7 to 6.8) in which it was no longer biologically active against plant nematodes. Enhanced degrading capability was readily transferred from Australian soil to United Kingdom soils, but only those with a high pH were able to maintain this capability for extended periods of time. This result was confirmed by fingerprinting bacterial communities by 16S rRNA gene profiling of extracted DNA. Only United Kingdom soils with a high pH retained bacterial DNA bands originating from the fenamiphos-degrading Australian soil. A degrading consortium was enriched from the Australian soil that utilized fenamiphos as a sole source of carbon. The 16S rRNA banding pattern (determined by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) from the isolated consortium migrated to the same position as the bands from the Australian soil and those from the enhanced United Kingdom soils in which the Australian soil had been added. When the bands from the consortium and the soil were sequenced and compared they showed between 97 and 100% sequence identity, confirming that these groups of bacteria were involved in degrading fenamiphos in the soils. The sequences obtained showed similarity to those from the genera Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium, and CAULOBACTER: In the Australian soils, two different degradative pathways operated simultaneously: fenamiphos was converted to fenamiphos sulfoxide (FSO), which was hydrolyzed to the corresponding phenol (FSO-OH) or was hydrolyzed directly to fenamiphos phenol. In the United Kingdom soils in which enhanced degradation had been induced, fenamiphos was oxidized to FSO and then hydrolyzed to FSO-OH, but direct conversion to fenamiphos phenol did not occur.