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To date, 53 helminth species have been discovered in the gastrointestinal tracts and other internal organs of Barents Sea birds. These parasites circulate in pelagic and coastal biocenoses. This paper analyzes their spatial distribution and host preferences in other geographical regions based on data collected by the author in the course of long-term studies and literature data. It is established that the only Barents Sea endemic is the cestode Tetrabothrius morschtini. Fifty-two species were recorded in the North Atlantic, 48 species in the North Pacific, six species in the South Atlantic, six in the Australia–New Zealand region, five in the Antarctic, four in the South Pacific, and three in the Indian Ocean basin. Analysis showed that these parasites feature two main distribution types. The amphiboreal distribution typical for the majority of species is determined by the existence of a single transarctic range of many intermediate and definitive helminth hosts in the Pliocene and the dispersion of their eggs by birds during interglacial periods of the Pleistocene. The bipolar distribution typical for 12 species is likely determined by the transfer of parasites from the Holarctic realm by their definitive hosts in the course of species divergence or during seasonal migrations. It cannot be ruled out that some helminth species have migrated from the Antarctic region to the Holarctic realm with their definitive hosts. The roles of key evolutionary–environmental factors (e.g., mobility of definitive hosts, presence of intermediate hosts, and life spans of sexually mature helminth stages) determining the biogeographical patterns of various host–parasite complexes were examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite decades of managerial university reforms, collegiality emerges as an idea that unites academics, and that both symbolises and legitimises the collective aspirations of the academy. Typically, collegiality is positioned as an unquestionably "good thing"—an unproblematic academic ideal or an academic structure—obscuring the contingency of social arrangements in universities. This paper investigates the plurality of collegial practices that unfold "on the ground" in the context of university reforms and the diversification of the academic workforce over recent decades. The paper presents a qualitative and exploratory study of collegial practices in seven contemporary Australian and New Zealand/Aotearoa universities, employing a social cartographic analysis. Eleven types of logics underpinning collegial practices are identified and described in detail, by drawing on examples of collegial practices offered by fifteen research participants. A reconfigured picture of academic relations is presented, revealing the range of collegial practices that tend to be subsumed under a generic notion of collegiality. The effects of different types of collegial practices are examined, contesting exclusionary collegial relations and highlighting practices that have the potential to produce a more inclusive and socially just academy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tradescantia fluminensis is an invasive plant species in New Zealand, Australia and parts of the USA. It reproduces vegetatively and can grow to form dense mats up to 60 cm deep. Growth is limited by available light, and shading is one of the few effective methods of control. In this paper, we develop a dynamic model of a vertical cross section of a T. fluminensis mat, capturing vertical variation in its biomass and internal light intensity. We measure both variables at different heights in experimental mats of the species and use these data to parameterize the model. The model produces realistic vertical biomass and light intensity profiles. We show that the mat grows to a steady-state biomass that depends only on: (i) the light absorption coefficient, which we estimate from experimental data and (ii) the ratio of photosynthesis to respiration rate. This steady state undergoes a transcritical bifurcation; when the ambient light intensity falls below a critical level, the biomass shrinks to zero and the mat cannot survive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term air temperature prediction is of major importance in a large number of applications, including climate-related studies, energy, agricultural, or medical. This paper examines the performance of two Machine Learning algorithms (Support Vector Regression (SVR) and Multi-layer Perceptron (MLP)) in a problem of monthly mean air temperature prediction, from the previous measured values in observational stations of Australia and New Zealand, and climate indices of importance in the region. The performance of the two considered algorithms is discussed in the paper and compared to alternative approaches. The results indicate that the SVR algorithm is able to obtain the best prediction performance among all the algorithms compared in the paper. Moreover, the results obtained have shown that the mean absolute error made by the two algorithms considered is significantly larger for the last 20 years than in the previous decades, in what can be interpreted as a change in the relationship among the prediction variables involved in the training of the algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to describe paediatric infectious diseases consultations across Australia and New Zealand. We surveyed infectious diseases physicians at 51 hospitals over a period of 2 weeks in 2012. Compared with adult consults, paediatric consults were more frequently received from general paediatricians/physicians and intensive care, yet less frequently from surgeons and emergency. Respiratory, skin/soft tissue and bone/joint infections were the most frequent consultations in children. These data demonstrate the breadth of formal infectious diseases consults in children. Differences between paediatric and infectious diseases consultations need to be considered when planning both paediatric and adult physician training and future curriculum development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]