Integrating revegetation with management methods to rehabilitate coastal vegetation invaded by Bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. rotundata) in Australia

Two multi‐year field experiments investigated the effects of integrating revegetation with invasive plant management methods to rehabilitate coastal dune and woodland vegetation invaded by Bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera (L.) Norl. ssp. rotundata (DC.) Norl.) in New South Wales, Australia. The revegetation technique used was to sow directly seeds of three native species common to coastal habitats. Management treatments involved combinations of prescribed fire, manual removal of Bitou bush and an application of herbicide. Addition of native seeds significantly increased density of native species in both habitats. The benefits of manually removing Bitou bush were observed only where densities of native species were at their lowest. Fire increased densities of some native species in the woodland, but decreased those of others in the dune. Densities of Acacia longifolia ssp. sophorae (Labill.) Court (woodland) and of Banksia integrifolia L.f. (woodland and dune) were significantly reduced within 4 months of herbicide application, alone or in combination with other treatments. The majority of these effects, however, did not persist. Manual removal in both habitats and addition of seed in the woodland were most effective in reducing Bitou bush densities when applied post‐fire. Herbicide treatment on its own or in combination with other treatments did not significantly reduce Bitou bush densities by the end of the experiments. We conclude that restoration of coastal ecosystems invaded by a major invasive plant species requires a whole‐of‐system approach involving revegetation in combination with known management methods to assist recovery of native species in the longer term.     

High phylogenetic diversity of the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) at two mitochondrial DNA markers

The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) (Bouché), is the most common flea species found on cats and dogs worldwide. We investigated the genetic identity of the cosmopolitan subspecies C. felis felis and evaluated diversity of cat fleas from Australia, Fiji, Thailand and Seychelles using mtDNA sequences from cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox1) and II (cox2) genes. Both cox1 and cox2 confirmed the high phylogenetic diversity and paraphyletic origin of C. felis felis. The African subspecies C. felis strongylus (Jordan) is nested within the paraphyletic C. felis felis. The south East Asian subspecies C. felis orientis (Jordan) is monophyletic and is supported by morphology. We confirm that Australian cat fleas belong to C. felis felis and show that in Australia they form two distinct phylogenetic clades, one common with fleas from Fiji. Using a barcoding approach, we recognize two putative species within C. felis (C. felis and C. orientis). Nucleotide diversity was higher in cox1 but COX2 outperformed COX1 in amino acid diversity. COX2 amino acid sequences resolve all phylogenetic clades and provide an additional phylogenetic signal. Both cox1 and cox2 resolved identical phylogeny and are suitable for population structure studies of Ctenocephalides species.     

Characterization of 15 single nucleotide polymorphism markers for chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

We report the characterization of 15 new single nucleotide polymorphism markers for a threatened species, the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), developed using a targeted gene approach. These markers are derived from the Y chromosome and autosomal regions of the genome and show frequency differences between chimpanzee subspecies from central and western Africa. These single nucleotide polymorphism markers are the first to be designed for the genotyping of wild chimpanzee populations and will provide a useful addition to the genetic tools employed for the conservation management of this threatened species.