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The geological heritage of Australia's landscapes and World Heritage areas has generally been underpromoted to the public by the tourism industry. However, in 2008, the fledgling world of geotourism in Australia received a significant boost with two events: the Inaugural Global Geotourism Conference 'Discover the Earth beneath our Feet' held in Fremantle, Western Australia, and the declaration of the UNESCO Kanawinka Global Geopark, which linked volcanic regions in South Australia and Victoria. Simultaneously the Australian Federal Government launched the 'Australian National Landscapes' (ANL) program. However, this impetus was not sustained when the Kanawinka Global Geopark was deregistered as a UNESCO-branded geopark in 2012, and the ANL program faded within a decade. Despite these setbacks, as an outcome of the 2008 Fremantle conference, several productive lines of geotourism have developed across Australia. This paper reviews the history of Australian geotourism since 2008. It examines the impacts of the experiences, lessons learned, problems for geology as perceived by National Parks and the Environment movement, geological communication problems, and the subsequent evolution of Australian geotourism. From these issues, new non-government bodies and initiatives have arisen, including the Australian Geoparks Network, the Australian Geoscience Council, and the recent development of a National Geotourism Strategy. Strong elements emerging from these initiatives are the increasing development of geotrails (which suit the large Australian continent) and the new Australian concept of 'GeoRegions'. These are in response to an awareness that geotourism requires a flexible outlook to widen the appreciation and appeal of geological heritage and landscapes to the broader public. A further new direction is suggested: for Australian geotourism to combine with some elements of ICOMOS Cultural Routes. An outstanding example, the ICOMOS Overland Telegraph Line (OTL) Cultural Route that crosses Australia from south to north, is considered. For 2000 km, the construction of this line in the 1870s followed the regional geology and hydrology, relying upon the available biota but bringing about a clash of human cultures. The six colonies of Australia were finally linked to the world by wire, but the arrival of the OTL had a significant impact on the country's Indigenous inhabitants. In Australia and globally, geotourism is incorporating the A–B–Cs (abiotic, biotic and cultural elements) to more effectively encourage the public to value their landscapes and the associated stories. The OTL provides an example of a newly introduced fourth dimension for geotourism, which gives consideration to the socio-political context of landscape adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers a problematic dynamic in the protection of natural World Heritage properties for sites that also possess significant cultural assets, but that fall short of the World Heritage designation 'outstanding universal value' standard for cultural significance. The destruction of cultural heritage places in natural settings is a global concern and we use an Australian case study to illustrate the argument that cultural assets located within natural properties should be given an allied protection status. We argue that protection problems arise, represented by a nature/culture binary trope, despite significant progress in using more holistic approaches, as exemplified by cultural landscapes. To demonstrate our argument, we consider controversy surrounding a development proposal within the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area (GBMWHA), located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. We find that a development proposal to raise a storage dam wall triggers significant problems for protecting both natural and cultural heritage features across the GBMWHA landscape and, in this context, we recommend a reconsideration of the rigid natural/cultural heritage binary of World Heritage classifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This timely collation of case studies, written by and with Traditional Owners of diverse Australian offshore islands, offers direct insights into benefits arising from strategic and participatory action planning for biocultural island conservation and monitoring. We pay respect to the Old People and Elders whose dedicated care of their island homelands means we today can still experience their cultural and natural diversity. We extend greetings to our Pacifika neighbours, and to carers of islands around Earth. Our paper scopes socio-economic benefits arising from planning for islands, for Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders, and more generally. Global, national, state and local co-investments support place-specific planning for some islands by Traditional Owners as a starting point toward shared governance and caring for Country. Case studies describe Country planning for Mayala Country in Australia's northwest, Woppaburra experiences within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and integrated biocultural health monitoring arising from remote island Indigenous Protected Area planning in Torres Strait. New institutional initiatives are also seeking to create solid foundations for more substantive island research collaborations. Across Australia, novel relationships grounded in culturally assured, holistically integrated approaches to island governance and caring for Country involving Traditional Owners and island resource users/managers are creating equity in livelihoods and stronger wellbeing. Australia's innovative Sea Country collaborations, with priorities initiated and led by island Traditional Owners, carry real value for sustained island conservation and provide positive inspirations for global humanity in the accelerating Anthropocene. Earth's islands face grave challenges. In Australia, innovation in island knowledge sharing between Traditional Owners and other island users and managers is moving beyond the participatory action planning space to generate equity in livelihoods and wellbeing on Sea Country. The tangible benefits arising are grounded in cultural governance and authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As heritage research has engaged with a greater plurality of heritage practices, scale has emerged as an important concept in Heritage Studies, albeit relatively narrowly defined as hierarchical levels (household, local, national, etcetera). This paper argues for a definition of scale in heritage research that incorporates size (geographical scale), level (vertical scale) and relation (an understanding that scale is constituted through dynamic relationships in specific contexts). The paper utilises this definition of scale to analyse heritage designation first through consideration of changing World Heritage processes, and then through a case study of the world heritage designation of the Ningaloo Coast region in Western Australia. Three key findings are: both scale and heritage gain appeal because they are abstractions, and gain definition through the spatial politics of interrelationships within specific situations; the spatial politics of heritage designation comes into focus through attention to those configurations of size, level and relation that are invoked and enabled in heritage processes; and researchers choice to analyse or ignore particular scales and scalar politics are political decisions. Utilising scale as size, level and relation enables analyses that move beyond heritage to the spatial politics through which all heritage is constituted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outstanding natural and cultural values of Cape York have been acknowledged for decades, but those decades have been characterised by deep conflict. Non-government organisation intervention in local politics has seen a forceful push for nominating some or all of the Cape York Peninsula as a World Heritage Site. We illuminate the authorised heritage discourse at work in heritage-making, and highlight contested issues of ownership, governance, authenticity, and value. These themes contribute to the possibility of marginalising the voices of local people who wish to contribute to heritage-making in Cape York. Politics infuses all aspects of heritage-making in Cape York, and the specific experiences on Cape York reflect larger political processes occurring in World Heritage discourse. The paper draws on interviews undertaken in May and June 2012. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a complex geography to Aboriginal-dingo-settler-dog relationships in Australia. This paper examines aspects of that geography in a world heritage area, heavily contested by multiple stakeholders for whom the dingo has come to represent resource and identity, as well as a powerful symbol of nature. The Butchulla people were recently recognised in Australian law as holding native title to world-heritage listed K’gari-Fraser Island, a decision that confers recognition and consultation rights; however, genuine ownership and control of the island is denied through a lack of joint management of the island. This paper reviews evidence from some Butchulla people who declare their ongoing dispossession through various discourses and actions that attempt to circumvent extinguishment of their title to territory. They implied that dingoes have equally endured dispossession and extinguishment of territory through common colonial discourses that subjugate the ‘other’, albeit Butchulla people and dingoes have different forms of resistance and agency. Butchulla people in our study parallel their treatment under colonial structures of governance with those of the dingo in that both have endured limited freedom of movement and expressions of sovereignty. We argue some Butchulla people liken notions of dingo agency and resistance with their own attempts to assert sovereignty and responses to displacement. Aligning with the dingo (and broader discourses and politics that surround the dingo) may afford Butchulla people a greater entitlement to be a major voice in dingo 'management' specifically, and management of the island more broadly, than their native title resolution confers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The case of Kakadu National Park has had an unusually large amount of time and expense devoted to it in meetings of the World Heritage Bureau and the World Heritage Committee since 1997. Major controversy arose following the announcement that a new uranium mine would be developed at Jabiluka, located in an enclave surrounded by the World Heritage property, but not legally part of it. The explosive juxtaposition of issues concerning the trio of conservation of heritage values, uranium mining, and Aboriginal land rights inevitably led to strong reactions against the Federal Government's decision to allow mining, not least on the part of Australian and international non-government organisations. It was felt that the mining development would jeopardise the integrity of the key values for which Kakadu had been inscribed on the World Heritage List. This paper attempts to unravel some of the strands of the ensuing debate — to at least begin to deconstruct the debate — that saw Kakadu almost placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. This is an important task to attempt because there were many undercurrents to the publicly reported debate, and a large degree of ‘reading between the lines’ is needed to interpret official records of meetings adequately. The paper also attempts to throw some light on the forceful opposition to such a move on the part of the Australian Government, based in large part on its underlying developmentalist philosophy, and at a time when it was giving less than wholehearted support to many international agreements to which Australia is a signatory. Finally, it is hoped that an insight into the workings of the World Heritage Convention and its supporting bodies will be gained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a reconstruction of the Holocene evolution of the Inskip Peninsula in SE Queensland. The peninsula links two major dune fields, the Cooloola Sand Mass to the south and K'gari (Fraser Island) to the north. Geomorphic features of this peninsula include remnant parabolic dunes, numerous beach ridges with foredunes, and a series of spits. Together these features provide insight into Holocene coastal evolution and changing marine conditions. A remnant beach ridge/foredune complex at the northern portion of Inskip may have been connected to K'gari and a river/tidal channel near Rainbow Beach township which separated it from the Cooloola Sand Mass to the south. This channel avulsed northward in the early mid-Holocene (after 8.8 ka) with spit development from the south. This was followed by a phase of beach-ridge/foredune complex development that started by ~6.7 ka. Stratigraphic evidence from the highest and best developed parabolic dunes in the northern portion of Inskip Peninsula indicates dune development from the mid-Holocene beach complex by 4.8 ka. Beach ridges with foredunes continued to prograde but notably declined in size during the late-Holocene. In the latest Holocene (<4.8 ka) many of the late-Holocene beach ridges/foredune complexes have been truncated by a re-orientation of the shoreline and longshore sediment transport has promoted the growth of the modern spit at the northern end of the peninsula. Erosive and longshore processes continue to be highly active because of tidal interactions between Great Sandy Strait and the Coral Sea. This detailed study of Inskip Peninsula's evolution aids significantly in future coastal management decisions, and provides evidence for World Heritage Area extension for the Cooloola Sand Mass, including the incorporation of Inskip Peninsula itself. It also contributes to the global understanding to coastal evolution in an area of strong wave and tidal interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia has recently completed their term as member of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, securing the seat from 2017 to 2021. Australia has 20 sites inscribed on the World Heritage Listi1. Australia has more natural World Heritage sites than any other country. During the 2017 - 2021 term, Australia worked to strengthen the operation of the Committee, placing emphasis on the effective management of existing properties, and encouraging greater geographic balance in the list and more focus on listing natural places of Outstanding Universal Value. However, funding is always a problem, particularly where historic populations of Indigenous and non-Indigenous exist. What is proposed to cope with such problems, is a new model using the concept of public private partnerships. Corporations wishing to reduce their footprints could purchase from the governments carbon and diversity credits, which are directly tied to the maintenance of highly forested areas, which are often subject to almost complete devastation from fires and floods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable destinations must deliver products that perform better than their competitors and at the same time protect key environmental drawcards. This research explores the environmental–economic interface of a major destination, both as a case study in how to approach this complex relationship and as a contribution to the methodology of tackling the need for understanding competitive pressures as part of sustainable tourism strategy creation. Using the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) as an example, the paper assesses 21 key environmental values, including Indigenous culture, against market-based factors, in terms of their importance for visitors as regional drawcards, satisfaction with them and the way in which changes in them might affect trip numbers and duration across different regions. While the natural values of the GBRWHA are found to be the most important drawcards, satisfaction scores were significantly lower than importance scores for a number of these values. Visitors responded more negatively to the prospect of environmental degradation than to the prospect of a 20% increase in local prices: the detailed impact depends, however, on location and visitor mix. Clear ocean, healthy coral reefs, healthy reef fish, and lack of rubbish were the top four most important values. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Long distance dispersal (LDD) contributes to the replenishment and recovery of tropical seagrass habitats exposed to disturbance, such as cyclones and infrastructure development. However, our current knowledge regarding the physical attributes of seagrass fragments that influence LDD predominantly stems from temperate species and regions. The goal of this paper is to measure seagrass fragment density and viability in two tropical species, assessing various factors influencing their distribution. We measured the density and viability of floating seagrass fragments for two tropical seagrass species (Zostera muelleri and Halodule uninervis) in two coastal seagrass meadows in the central Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, Australia. We assessed the effect of wind speed, wind direction, seagrass growing/senescent season, seagrass meadow density, meadow location and dugong foraging intensity on fragment density. We also measured seagrass fragment structure and fragment viability; i.e., potential to establish into a new plant. We found that seagrass meadow density, season, wind direction and wind speed influenced total fragment density, while season and wind speed influenced the density of viable fragments. Dugong foraging intensity did not influence fragment density. Our results indicate that wave action from winds combined with high seagrass meadow density increases seagrass fragment creation, and that more fragments are produced during the growing than the senescent season. Seagrass fragments classified as viable for Z. muelleri and H. uninervis had significantly more shoots and leaves than non-viable fragments. We collected 0.63 (±0.08 SE) floating viable fragments 100 m−2 in the growing season, and 0.13 (±0.03 SE) viable fragments 100 m−2 in the senescent season. Over a third (38%) of all fragments collected were viable. There is likely to be a large number of viable seagrass fragments available for long distance dispersal. This study's outputs can inform dispersal and connectivity models that are used to direct seagrass ecosystem management and conservation strategies. • There are large numbers of viable seagrass fragments available for dispersal. • Moderate winds with high seagrass density increases seagrass fragment creation. • More seagrass fragments are produced during the growing than the senescent season. • Seagrass fragments have more shoots and leaves than non-viable fragments. • Over a third (38%) of all floating fragments are viable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Queensland, Australia, is one of the most recognisable coral reefs in the world. In 1981 the reef was listed on the World Heritage List, to be preserved as an environmental asset of global significance for all people in perpetuity. The GBR is also a landmark Marine Protected Area (MPA) under the World Heritage Marine Programme. Yet management of this iconic property is not without controversy and in recent years a number of impacts, including coastal developments, increased shipping traffic and global warming, have all threatened the reef. Any breach of Australia's World Heritage obligation to protect and conserve the property may yet result in the GBR being placed on the World Heritage List in Danger. In light of the persistent controversy surrounding GBR management, this paper gives voice to the perspectives and values of stakeholders located in and around one site of controversy, Gladstone Harbour, in the southern section of the GBR World Heritage Area. We present the views of users directly exposed to the controversial port expansion development at Gladstone Harbour in the southern GBR to shed light on the importance of community perspectives in marine park management. Our findings show that local views act to reinforce the global environmental protection narrative which underpins the World Heritage (WH) system. In this study local and global values collide and, we argue, that overlooking the perspectives of users has potential deleterious consequences for WH marine site management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical rainforests are under threat and tourism has been identified as one industry that has some potential to add value to this important natural resource. This paper examines how nature-based hiking trails may be developed in a sustainable manner within a planning framework that recognizes the role of inputs and outputs. Consideration of inputs is restricted to visitor demand for hiking experiences and consideration of outputs is similarly restricted to measuring the satisfaction of the hiking experience, although it is acknowledged that the impact of hiking on the ecosystem is also important. A case study approach is adopted, based on an assessment in 2007 of visitor demand and satisfaction with hiking trails in Australia's World Heritage tropical rainforest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Heritage brand signals the best in protected areas. Certain destinations and places hold particular appeal to special interest tourists resulting in the conscious collection of those sites. TV programs, authors and others take advantage of this penchant to collect places; yet, there is little literature on this behaviour. This paper reports on research testing the contention there is a specific group of visitors who collect World Heritage listed sites. The article examines World Heritage visitor recognition prior to and after time on-site. A case study approach is applied and visitor surveys used across five Australian properties. Findings demonstrate only 13% of site visitor do collect World Heritage Areas but their socio-demographics profiles are too diverse to develop a specific socio-demographic profile of this group. Additionally, only 60% of respondents knew they were visiting a World Heritage listed site indicating a significant weakness in the World Heritage brand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian National Heritage and Tourism Thematic Interpretation Framework (NHTTIF) is an interpretive framework methodology that can be used to develop an enhanced visitor experience by integrating heritage more effectively in tourism. It was developed for the Australian Department for the Environment and Heritage in response to the 'telling the story' opportunity identified by the National Tourism and Heritage Taskforce. The NHTTIF is used to identify a site-specific interpretive theme through to a national or international interpretive theme, as part of an interconnected web of 'stories' about Australia. Sites used during the development of the NHTTIF included the World Heritage Australian Fossil Mammal Site at Naracoorte, South Australia, the Port Arthur Historic Site in Tasmania and the Brambuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Victoria. This paper demonstrates the development and application of the NHTTIF at the Naracoorte Caves World Heritage Site, with a site-specific story theme of 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall!', referring to the fossilised extinct Australian mega-fauna. Other themes are demonstrated at a local, regional, state, and national level with implications at the international level as a World Heritage Site. The integration of heritage more effectively in tourism planning, development and management, and the interpretation of heritage sites fosters an understanding and appreciation of heritage, resulting in conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between heritage and tourism at Word Heritage Sites is thought to be particularly problematic. Yet, each year more heritage sites gain this status. This paper explores the issues that emerge between tourism and heritage at two heritage sites, one with World Heritage listing and the other embarking on the application process. Interview data were collected in relation to the Royal Exhibition Buildings and Carlton Gardens (REB), Australia and Oamaru's Historic Precinct, New Zealand; secondary data were used to contextualise the findings. The findings of the two case studies indicate that the process, and outcomes, of World Heritage (WH) status influence the nature of the relationship between heritage and tourism. The findings of this case study analysis indicated that prospect of WH listing seems to be a catalyst for decision-making and developing networks between the various stakeholders of heritage and tourism, but heritage stakeholders seem to be grappling for power at this time. Once the listing process is successful, heritage then seems to gain the balance of power, and tourism seems to be less successful in controlling the situation. Further research is warranted on this topic to explore whether the findings from two sites can be generalised to other heritage sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defining spaces and places in retrojective Geographical Information Systems (GIS) of land use and occupancy is not an easy task. Research into the areas described as suitable for land use and occupancy need to incorporate multiple perspectives of what makes a land use patch useful or salient ecologically. The effect of the concept of 'Terra Nullius' and European colonisation is deeply apparent in the current GIS models of historical land use and occupancy of Aboriginal communities within arid zones in Australia. Biocultural zones of land use and occupancy zones omit spaces and places of habitation due to European bias of what a suitable ecological or hydrological land use zone should look like. This article employs Exploratory GIS methods to interrogate the data layers within the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area, NSW, Australia. This work conclusively demonstrates that there are ranges of areas and land suitability zones prior to colonisation in the nineteenth century. In turn, these Exploratory GIS models of an active Country comprehensively address the question of why visually salient areas of hydrological and ecological Indigenous land use and occupancy continue to be ignored, destroyed, and damaged by settlements in semi-arid regions. Biocultural GIS mapping unpacks the myth that areas were empty or uninhabited by Aboriginal communities and underlines the need for biocultural GIS mapping tools to understand the habitable spaces and places of the arid zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Mitigation of wildfires at the wildland-urban interface (WUI) will be enhanced by understanding the flammability of plants growing in this zone. Aims. We aimed to: (1) compare shoot flammability among wildland native, and both urban native and urban exotic ornamental plants; (2) quantify relationships between shoot traits and flammability; and (3) establish flammability scores to distinguish low-from high-flammability species. Methods. Flammability and traits of field-collected shoots were measured and relationships quantified in 44 species from the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, Australia. Key results. In our study area, urban exotic plants were less flammable than wildland and urban native plants. Slow-igniting shoots had high fuel moisture and bulk density; short-burning shoots had low bulk density and volume; shoots recording low maximum temperatures had high fuel moisture, low bulk density and volume; and shoots with low biomass consumed in flames had high fuel moisture and low volume. Our novel flammability scores distinguished low-flammability (e.g. Lophostemon confertus) from high-flammability native species (e.g. Callistemon citrinus). Conclusions and implications. Low-flammability plantings at the WUI should preferably use native species given potential ecological impacts of exotics. We suggest that future work should seek to identify broader suites of low-flammability native species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Climatic events can have rapid and widespread environmental impacts on peatlands. This is concerning because peatlands are restricted environments in Australia and are vulnerable to degradation. Aims. This study aimed to investigate the loss of carbon from a burnt and eroded peatland. The cumulative effects of drought, bushfire and erosion events in south-eastern Australia was documented in a peatland in the Kings Tableland region within the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area in New South Wales, Australia. Methods. Following a fire and subsequent rain event, soil classification and the total export of soil materials and nutrients were quantified. Key results. The fire and erosional events caused an estimated loss of 28.80 t of organic material and 3.46 t of carbon from this site in a single 3-month period. Conclusions. Peatlands are slow-forming accretionary systems and this study highlights the potential for considerable loss of organic material and carbon from peatland systems due to rapid, climatic-driven changes. Implications. Peatland degradation in world heritage areas can have implications for carbon accounting and soil erosional loss, which may impact downstream environments and the functioning of these sensitive systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring provides important feedback on how social and environmental systems are tracking and whether or not human activities, including management activities, are having an impact. This paper describes an approach applied to develop an integrated monitoring framework to inform adaptive management of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, a complex, multi-jurisdictional, multi-sectoral marine system of international importance. It identifies the gaps and opportunities to integrate the existing long-term, short-term and compliance-related monitoring and reporting initiatives to provide the information for more effective and efficient (adaptive) management of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. And as importantly it aligns expectations among different agencies about how monitoring will inform management. Fifty two high priority values, processes and pressures for management were identified along with 65 existing monitoring programs. Developing the monitoring framework was useful in several ways. First it brought together scientists, policy-makers, managers, and other interested stakeholders with different agendas, philosophies and incentives and established a common purpose, lexicon and language for an integrated monitoring program. Second, it highlighted the importance and usefulness of qualitative conceptual models as a framework for focused discussion around a set of hypotheses with relevance for management. Third, the process started an important conversation about defining and setting a realistic number of monitoring priorities for management. Finally, it has provided direction for how to build on existing initiatives to develop an integrated monitoring program for a globally significant world heritage area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Report cards that are designed to monitor environmental trends have the potential to provide a powerful communication tool because they are easy to understand and accessible to the general public, scientists, managers and policy makers. Given this functionality, they are increasingly popular in marine ecosystem reporting. We describe a report card method for seagrass that incorporates spatial and temporal variability in three metrics—meadow area, species and biomass—developed using long-term (greater than 10 years) monitoring data. This framework summarises large amounts of spatially and temporally complex data to give a numeric score that provides reliable comparisons of seagrass condition in both persistent and naturally variable meadows. We provide an example of how this is applied to seagrass meadows in an industrial port in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area of north-eastern Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tropical and subtropical rainforests of eastern Australia are a major component of the Forests of East Australia global hotspot. Australian rainforests are maintained orographically and are embedded within vast tracts of pyrogenic open forest and woodland. Australian tropical and subtropical forests stretch over 24° of latitude from Cape York, Queensland, to south of Sydney, New South Wales. Since European colonization in 1788 these rainforests have been reduced in extent by about 30%. The most abundant and functionally significant animal species within these forests are arthropods. These have attracted the attention of western science since before formal colonization. Through the twentieth century this focus increased and comparative biogeographic studies began to emerge. Some taxa have received much more attention than others. Selected butterflies and beetles plus economically important species stand out in this respect. From the late 1980s mass sampling approaches developed. Recent research foci have included tropical and subtropical elevational transects, latitudinally diverse multi-method one-hectare surveys, and use of canopy knockdown as a way of sampling the canopy. Important and distinct patterns reflecting latitude, altitude and vertical position have emerged. A focus on moths in remnant and elevational studies has led to the identification of indicator sets of species which may be most useful for tracking the impacts of environmental degradation and global warming. Arthropods are increasingly being nominated on lists of rare, threatened and endangered species; a range of species of insects, particularly butterflies, have been so identified in Australia but few of these are rainforest species. The vulnerable Richmond Birdwing butterfly, a species of subtropical rainforests, has become an icon of how recovery methods can be applied to invertebrate species. Regarding the entire rainforest community—microbiota, plants, vertebrates and invertebrates—as the 'object' to be conserved is an essential and much more realistic mindset for future conservation efforts. Most of Australia's tropical and subtropical rainforests are held in National Parks and they are defining features of two of Australia's largest World Heritage Areas. Growing impacts of global warming means they cannot be regarded as 'safe' from a conservation point of view. Increasing frequency of wildfires impinging upon rainforest areas is having a devastating effect on some of these fire-sensitive forests. Implications for insect conservation: Most of Australia's tropical and subtropical rainforests are held in National Parks and they are defining features of two of Australia's largest World Heritage Areas. Nevertheless the growing impacts of global warming means they cannot be regarded as 'safe' from a conservation point of view. Increasing frequency of wildfires impinging upon rainforest areas is having a devastating effect on these fire-sensitive forests. Regarding the entire rainforest community—microbiota, plants, vertebrates and invertebrates—as the 'object' to be conserved is an essential and much more realistic mindset for future conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The spectacled flying fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) is an endangered frugivorous megabat with a restricted habitat in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area in far north Queensland, Australia. Its population is in decline, and as such, mortality events in the species require investigation and the development of mitigation strategies. Cleft palate syndrome, first observed in the spectacled flying fox population in 1998, has produced sporadic neonatal mortality events over the past two decades. This study presents the rudimentary morphological signs of cleft palate syndrome in spectacled flying fox neonates, presenting gross pathology of syndromic signs upon visual inspection and a histological examination of palate malformations. It examines syndrome incidence data from the past two decades and reviews recent flying fox research to develop hypotheses related to the causes of the syndrome and to develop future research focuses. This, and future studies, will provide a greater understanding of the risk factors associated with the syndrome to guide the development of mitigation strategies that can deliver conservation outcomes for an endangered species, while presenting a unique opportunity for a novel comparative study into syndromic cleft palate in mammalian species. Cleft palate syndrome, first observed in the spectacled flying fox population in 1998, has produced sporadic neonatal mortality events over the past two decades, with an estimated incidence of up to 1/1000 births per year. This study presents a rudimentary characterisation of the syndrome, presenting gross pathology of syndromic signs upon visual inspection, a histological examination of palate malformations, and syndrome incidence data representing the past two decades. The syndrome presents with a range of signs, primarily congenital palate malformations ranging from a pinhole cleft to a complete hard and soft palate deficit, resulting in the death or abandonment of neonates shortly after birth. The congenital palate malformations are often associated with claw deformities, wiry facial hair, and in some instances, muscle weakness and neurological signs. The natural occurrence of the lethal congenital orofacial birth defects in the spectacled flying fox presents a unique opportunity for the investigation of putative aetiologies, drawing parallels between bat and other mammalian cleft palate risk factors. Further syndrome investigation has the potential to deliver both biodiversity conservation and comparative veterinary and biomedical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2003, human footprints were discovered preserved in silt in Australia's Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area. Excavations revealed over 400 footprints. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of the sediments indicated the footprints were created 20,000 years ago. Erosion of the overlying sediments exposed the site. Conservation strategies were formulated after discussion between the First Nations custodians, archaeologists and government agencies. The excavated site was reburied on the recommendation of a detailed management plan. Various models were considered for keeping the site open. The decision to rebury the footprints was the only practical option for preservation due to the harsh local conditions and the remote location. The dynamic nature of the landscape generates challenges for the site, and more footprints are periodically exposed. Further work is planned to create more detailed 3-D scans of all the prints. The site provides a powerful link with the ancestors of the current First Nations community of the region. It is also a unique snapshot of life as Australia became increasingly arid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia, as in many other parts of the world, open access is the default policy setting for most protected natural areas, including World Heritage Sites. This is despite considerable evidence that unrestrained levels of visitation can be unsustainable in terms of the impact on the environment and recreational experience. This paper seeks to answer two questions. First, to what extent are visitors willing to forego access to publicly owned protected natural areas in order to ensure less crowding and/or better environmental outcomes? And second, if access were restricted, how would visitors like remaining access rights to be allocated? The results show that visitors are, in general, willing to trade off some degree of access rights for better environmental outcomes and reduced crowding; particularly the former. It is clear that peak pricing is not supported, whereas visitor caps have broad support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian environmentalists have confidently staked a claim to leading roles in both activism at a global scale and in bringing transnational ideas to bear, successfully, on local environmental issues. Amongst these successes, World Heritage listing for south-west Tasmania stands out. But failures to comprehend Australia's metropolitan character and slowness in accepting Aboriginal rights to land meant that environmentalists have not made much use of this global recognition. In that light, the heroic self-image of environmental movements, 1964-84, deserves reconsideration. The activities considered here were all, in one way or another, reactions to a rapid industrial modernising of post-war Australia. Iconic events, the formation of the Australian Conservation Foundation, the struggle over south-west Tasmania and Green Bans in Sydney and Melbourne remained local in objectives and ideas. In contrast the anti-Concorde campaign was integrated into a transnational protest movement. Yet it is overlooked in adulatory histories of Australian environmentalism. In reacting to a modernising Australia, environmentalists took up some transnational ideas and responded positively to mediators in their transmission. In the long run, however, a limited acceptance of transnational expertise, especially as regards cultural heritage and urbanism, calls into question the self-ascribed vanguard role of Australian environmental movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iconic species can present particular political and management imperatives and often shape national identities, and are shaped by them. More importantly, in the case of K'gari-Fraser Island and the dingo, shape the perceptions of iconicity in that landscape. Iconic species are used to represent diverse human valuing such as commercial, recreational, national, conservation and cultural. The dingo is contested as an introduced species in social evolution, is identified as a pest animal in contemporary land management, raises ancient human fears of predation and is, at the same time, the iconic representative of a World Heritage Listed landscape, due partly to the alleged genetic purity of K'gari-Fraser Island dingoes. Iconic species are viewed differently depending on epistemological biases and disciplinary frameworks, but these multiple constructions are rarely acknowledged or articulated. This paper searches for commonalities in constructions of the dingo across three literatures: scientific, anthropological/cultural analyses and tourism geographies. We find that each of these disciplinary literatures is divided. Within this contestation the dingo remains a liminal being in human perception defined by a predominantly anthropocentric vision. But there are two participants in any gaze, and future research might seek to understand how the dingo looks back at humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploratory GIS models present multiple different conceptual versions of space. This article focusses on the landscape level pathways between areas defined as suitable for land use and occupancy within the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area (WLRWHA), New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Models of the potential connections between ecologically significant land use patches and key hydrology provide iterative networks of functional connectivity, highlighting salient pathways of past land use and occupancy of Country. The shape of the connections between places is important to understanding Country from the inside. Outputs from these network models are a powerful visualisation tool because they display areas where contact with the 19thc Europeans, particularly through fence construction and ground water appropriation, caused greater levels of exploitation and damage than currently recognised. Concomitantly, the benefit of situating these network techniques within an exploratory framework cannot be understated. The iterative nature of the exploratory design allows for multiple presentations of the connectivity between the spaces within the WLRWHA and therefore multiple ways of knowing and seeing space. Modelling the potential pathways between suitable patches opens the door to discussions about the diverse possible corridors of activity within pre-European settlement of Country and the corollary discussion of how European settlement substantially impacted upon these connections and continues to impact on a living Country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The paper analyses the benefits and costs of the Coral Sea Marine Reserve which, together with the contiguous Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, creates the largest marine protected area in the world. The benefits are found to be minimal, in both anthropocentric and ecocentric terms. Nevertheless establishment and management costs could be in the order of $A20 million and $A13 million, respectively. Meanwhile, serious depletion of the vital fish stocks of the largest tuna fishery in the world in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean—in which Australia is a management partner—continues, as does the rapid erosion of the unique and outstanding values of the Great Barrier Reef. It is concluded that current investment in the creation and management of the Coral Sea Reserve—in the face of the demonstrably urgent needs for investment in the management of marine resources in the near region and in Australia – is problematic. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An 800 km stretch of the Eastern coast of Australia contains some of the last remnant fragments of the sub-tropical rainforests that once covered much of the region. This natural resource – declared as World Heritage in 1986 as the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves of Australia, but now known as the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia – serves as an important drawcard for tourist visitation to the region. Using a content analysis of 343 tourism brochures collected across one section of the Gondwana Rainforests area, this study examined the extent to which ‘rainforest’, ‘World Heritage’ and the ‘Gondwana Rainforests’ are present within text and imagery. Findings reveal a low prevalence of this ‘branding’; indeed only 3% of brochures mention ‘Gondwana’ or ‘Gondwana Rainforests’. As presentation is a key component of World Heritage-listed forests like Gondwana, the study's results reveal the importance of building awareness of the brand in the minds of users and the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) in north eastern Australia spans 2500 km of coastline and covers an area of ~ 350,000 km2. It includes one of the world's largest seagrass resources. To provide a foundation to monitor, establish trends and manage the protection of seagrass meadows in the GBRWHA we quantified potential seagrass community extent using six random forest models that include environmental data and seagrass sampling history. We identified 88,331 km2 of potential seagrass habitat in intertidal and subtidal areas: 1111 km2 in estuaries, 16,276 km2 in coastal areas, and 70,934 km2 in reef areas. Thirty-six seagrass community types were defined by species assemblages within these habitat types using multivariate regression tree models. We show that the structure, location and distribution of the seagrass communities is the result of complex environmental interactions. These environmental conditions include depth, tidal exposure, latitude, current speed, benthic light, proportion of mud in the sediment, water type, water temperature, salinity, and wind speed. Our analysis will underpin spatial planning, can be used in the design of monitoring programs to represent the diversity of seagrass communities and will facilitate our understanding of environmental risk to these habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Angiosperms have co‐evolved with animals over thousands of years leading to an array of mutualistic relationships. Passage of plant seeds through animal intestines leads to an important mutualism providing the animal with food and the plant with seed dispersal and enhanced germination. This phenomenon is well studied in terrestrial angiosperms, but there is less research in aquatic environments. We studied the effect of gut passage in marine mega‐herbivores (green sea turtles and dugongs) on seed germination for a common Australian seagrass, Zostera muelleri. We collected fecal samples likely to contain seeds, as well as seagrass seeds from plants at two coastal seagrass meadows in the central Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, Australia. Seeds collected from feces and plants were subjected to germination trials across different temperature treatments: low (19°C), medium (26°C), and high (32°C). We found excreted seeds had a significantly greater germination probability (two to four times greater) and germinated significantly faster (18–61% faster) than seeds from the plant. Excreted seeds which had not germinated at the end of the experiment were significantly less likely to be viable compared with seeds taken from the plant. Seeds released from the plant have a slow germination and low germination probability compared with excreted seeds, but retain a high percentage of seed viability. Our study is the first record of marine mega‐herbivores enhancing germination of Z. muelleri seeds. By transporting seeds to new locations and enhancing germination, these animals are important in seagrass resilience and connectivity among metapopulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area in Queensland, Australia contains globally significant seagrasses supporting key ecosystem services, including habitat and food for threatened populations of dugong and turtle. We compiled 35 years of data in a spatial database, including 81,387 data points with georeferenced seagrass and species presence/absence, depth, dominant sediment type, and collection date. We include data collected under commercial contract that have not been publicly available. Twelve seagrass species were recorded. The deepest seagrass was found at 76 m. Seagrass meadows are at risk from anthropogenic, climate and weather processes. Our database is a valuable resource that provides coastal managers and the global marine community with a long‐term spatial resource describing seagrass populations from the mid‐1980s against which to benchmark change. We address the data issues involved in hindcasting over 30 years to ensure confidence in the accuracy and reliability of data included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding feeding ecology of extinct kangaroos is fundamental to understanding the evolution of kangaroos and the Australia paleoenvironment during the Oligo-Miocene. Comparisons with extant species have suggested that the macropodiforms of the Oligo/Miocene (kangaroos and allies) from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northern Australia, were predominantly folivorous browsers or fungivores, unlike the majority of extant species. To further test this hypothesis, we investigate the relationship between variation in cranial and mandibular shape of extant and extinct macropodiforms and ecological factors such as diet, locomotion, and body mass using 3D geometric morphometric analysis of 42 living species and eight extinct species from two radiations (the extinct clade of Balbaridae and some early representatives of the extant Macropodidae. Dietary class (fungivore, browser, grazer, and mixed feeder) correlated strongly with variation in cranial shape (20–25% of variance explained). There was also significant association between cranial shape, and both locomotor mode and body mass. In a principal component analysis of shape variation for crania (including the shape of the molar row), Riversleigh macropodiforms cluster with extant folivorous browsers on principal components (PC) 1 and 3, providing support for previous interpretations of these species as browsing kangaroos. However, as a group and regardless of phylogenetic association, the shape centroid of extinct species differs significantly from that of extant species. Riversleigh macropodiforms cluster with regular hoppers or arboreal tree kangaroos, but this may be a result of the correlation between diet and locomotor mode in kangaroos. Their similarity to extant browsers supports previous interpretations of rainforest and woodland environments at Riversleigh during the early and middle Miocene, respectively. Procrustes ANOVA Analysis of the full shape dataset and diet also shows that diet accounts for a significant portion of variation; however, when phylogeny is taken into account these results become nonsignificant. In analyses of dentary shape, some balbarid species cluster with extant mixed feeders, although this may reflect phylogenetic differences rather than ecological signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sheath-tailed bats (Family Emballonuridae) from the early Pleistocene Rackham's Roost Site cave deposit in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, north-western Queensland are the oldest recorded occurrence for the family in Australia. The fossil remains consist of maxillary and dentary fragments, as well as isolated teeth, but until now their precise identity has not been assessed. Our study indicates that at least three taxa are represented, and these are distinguished from other Australian emballonurids based on morphometric analysis of craniodental features. Most of the Rackham's Roost Site emballonurid remains are referrable to the modern species Taphozous georgianus Thomas, 1915, but the extant species T. troughtoni Tate, 1952 also appears to be present, as well as a very large, as-yet undetermined species of Saccolaimus Temminck, 1838. We identify craniodental features that clearly distinguish T. georgianus from the externally very similar T. troughtoni. Results suggest that the distributions of T. georgianus and T. troughtoni may have overlapped in north-western Queensland since at least the early Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to determine moisture thresholds for combustion of organic soils sampled from various vegetation types at 63 locations in Tasmania, Australia. To observe whether the soil sample sustained smouldering combustion, moisture content was experimentally manipulated and heat was applied. Combustion was primarily determined by moisture content, but was also influenced by soil bulk density and organic content: the gravimetric moisture content corresponding to a 50% probability of burning ranged from 25 to 94% as organic content varied from 34 to 96%. There was no evidence of differences among vegetation types in the relationship between soil combustibility and organic content. Combustion in Tasmanian organic soils occurred with moisture levels similar to those reported elsewhere, despite differences in vegetation and environment. It was also found that a hand-held meter that measured volumetric moisture content using time domain reflectometry could be used to satisfactorily predict organic soil combustion. Finally, combining the data with estimates of volumetric soil moisture based on high-resolution gridded weather data (Bureau of Meteorology Atmospheric high-resolution Regional Reanalysis for Australia, or BARRA), it was demonstrated that most Tasmanian organic soils are likely to be combustible at some time almost every summer (December to February). We experimentally determined the combustibility of organic soils from representative Tasmanian vegetation communities. We found soil combustion was primarily determined by moisture content, with a slight influence of organic content. Analysis of meteorological data shows most Tasmanian organic soils are probably combustible for at least a few days each summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Transdisciplinary research is important where information from multiple fields is required to develop ecologically and culturally appropriate environmental planning that protects local conservation and socio-cultural values. Objectives: Here, we describe research to inform ecosystem restoration and conservation of Chumbrumba Swamp within the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, Australia. Many such open wetlands in the region have been degraded through agriculture and pastoral production, but there has been little research into their status, history and conservation needs. Methods: The recent to pre-European settlement history of the site was explored, along with spatial variation of vegetation communities at the site, and these data integrated with historical and ethnographical information on the site and its cultural values. Results: The botanical and palaeoecological analyses showed that Chumbrumba Swamp comprises a unique and highly sensitive ecosystem mosaic with high biodiversity. An endangered ecosystem complex, 82 vascular plant species, several disjunct or endemic taxa, and species at new northern range limits were recorded within its 20 ha area. The site comprises a stable swamp site with fringing woodland and rainforest that has persisted for around 5000 years. European settlement overlaid changes in the vegetation from disturbance (e.g. fire, clearing, grazing). However, fire also affected the swamp site during pre-European times. Conclusions: Historical and ethnographic information contextualised the biophysical data and confirmed the cultural importance of the site and the dynamic interactions between 'people and nature'. These results have been used to inform environmental restoration and validate the importance of a transdisciplinary and precautionary approach to planning wetland restoration and conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Understanding past distributions of people across the landscape is key to understanding how people used, affected and related to the natural environment. Here, we use habitat suitability modelling to represent the landscape distribution of Tasmanian Aboriginal archaeological sites and assess the implications for patterns of past human activity. Location: Tasmania, Australia. Methods: We developed a RandomForest 'habitat suitability' model of site records in the Tasmanian Aboriginal Heritage Register. We applied a best‐effort bias correction, considered 31 predictor variables relating to climate, topography and resource proximity, and used a variable selection procedure to optimize the final model. Model uncertainty was assessed via bootstrapping and we ran an analogous MaxEnt model as a cross‐validation exercise. Results: The results from the RandomForest and MaxEnt models are highly congruent. The strongest environmental predictors of site occurrence include distance to coast, elevation, soil clay content, topographic roughness and distance to inland water. The highest habitat suitability scores are distributed across a wide range of environments in central, northern and eastern Tasmania, including coastal areas, inland water body margins and forests and savannas in the drier parts of Tasmania. With the exception of coastal areas much of western Tasmania has low habitat suitability scores, consistent with theories of low‐density Holocene Tasmanian Aboriginal settlement in this region. Main conclusions: Our modelling suggests Tasmanian Aboriginal people occupied a heterogeneity of habitats but targeted coastal areas around the whole island, and drier, less steep and/or open forest and savanna environments in the central lowlands. The western interior was identified as being rarely used by Aboriginal people in the Holocene, with the exception of isolated pockets of habitat; yet whether this is a true reflection of Aboriginal‐resourceuse demands increased archaeological surveys, particularly in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenges faced by Aboriginal groups and other interested parties in protecting cultural heritage sites in the current Australian economic and legislative context are discussed. While the focus is primarily on Queensland, many of the issues raised here are applicable in other parts of Australia and in other countries, although, of course, there are varying legislations in force in the different regions. The analysis in this article is based not only on research into the various pieces of applicable legislation and programs currently available but also on multiple discussions with various Traditional Owners in Queensland and across northern Australia. Throughout many years working with a variety of groups of Aboriginal people, some central themes have emerged concerning the obstacles facing communities in terms of cultural heritage protection. Aboriginal groups in Australia confront issues concerning gaps in the cultural heritage protection legislation, increasingly diminished funding support and limited access to appropriate training and professional advice. These concerns cross state boundaries, and Indigenous communities in Australia face similar impediments and pressures regardless of their location. Many of these barriers are also shared by Indigenous groups around the world. This article concludes with some recommendations, both immediate and long-term, for supporting Aboriginal communities who wish to be proactive in protecting cultural heritage sites in Australia. These measures may also aid Indigenous communities elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the origins of the 1994 Global Strategy for a Representative, Balanced and Credible World Heritage List as a lens through which to view the process of constructing and re-elaborating a global heritage discourse. Using untapped archival records, it shows that the Global Strategy crystallized after lengthy prior discussions reaching to the early 1980s. Most important, it demonstrates that the novel element in 1994 was the influence of new actors, although not from the Global South that was intended to be the beneficiary of change. The contributors to the Global Strategy were rather from regions (Australia) or disciplines (anthropology) that had hitherto failed to claim their share of influence in shaping international cultural heritage concepts despite being firmly situated within the North. By highlighting such influences, this article resonates with the efforts of anthropologists and other scholars to eschew a reductive center-periphery framework in conceptualizing global cultural flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

K'gari is a popular international tourism destination, having gained World Heritage (WH) status for its natural values. In spite of the local indigenous population, the Butchulla, having clear aspirations for its management, indigenous cultural heritage values have yet to be recognised in the listing. This project examined the degree to which indigenous values are visible in the promotion of K'gari as a tourism destination, through content and image analysis. The study found a lack of representation of indigenous culture in tourism marketing material. This acts to marginalise indigenous values and misses the opportunity to share a rich history, makes indigenous perspectives visible for visitors and provides a different perspective to the values for which WH status is nominated. The research provides recommendations about promoting indigenous cultural values in tourism and a future review of K'gari's WH status, as well as recommendations for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

K’gari-Fraser Island, the world's largest barrier sand island, is at the crossroads of World Heritage status, due to destructive environmental use in concert with climate change. Will K’gari-Fraser Island exemplify innovative, adaptive management or become just another degraded recreational facility? We synthesize the likely impact of human pressures and predicted consequences on the values of this island. World-renown natural beauty and ongoing biological and geological processes in coastal, wetland, heathland and rainforest environments, all contribute to its World Heritage status. The impact of hundreds of thousands of annual visitors is increasing on the island's biodiversity, cultural connections, ecological functions and environmental values. Maintaining World Heritage values will necessitate the re-framing of values to integrate socioeconomic factors in management and reduce extractive forms of tourism. Environmentally sound, systematic conservation planning that achieves social equity is urgently needed to rectify historical mistakes and update current management practices. Characterizing and sustaining biological refugia will be important to retain biodiversity in areas that are less visited. The development of a coherent approach to interpretation concerning history, access and values is required to encourage a more sympathetic use of this World Heritage environment. Alternatively, ongoing attrition of the islands values by increased levels of destructive use is inevitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aboriginal inhabitants of the Wet Tropics of Queensland advocate for greater inclusion of their Indigenous knowledge (IK) in natural resource management (NRM) to fulfil their customary obligations to country and to exert their Native Title rights. Despite a legal and institutional framework for inclusion of IK in NRM, IK has so far been applied only sporadically. We conducted an ethnographic case study to investigate perceptions on IK, science and how they affect integration of the two knowledge systems in the Wet Tropics. Our results show that IK and science are perceived as different concepts; that integration is limited by weak Indigenous internal and external governance; and that stronger Aboriginal governance and more focused engagement strategies are required to further the application of IK in local NRM. We conclude by arguing that NRM in the Wet Tropics needs to be reconceptualised to accommodate IK holistically, by considering its epistemology and the values and ethic that underpin it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an extensive ostracod assemblage recovered from the Bitesantennary Site, an Early Miocene (23–16 Ma) cave deposit within the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in north-west Queensland, Australia, 26 specimens were found to have soft part preservation. This is the first known example of soft part preservation in ostracods that were living in a palaeo-subterranean habitat. These exceptionally preserved specimens represent three new species, described herein:Heterocypris collarissp. nov.,Candonocypris fimibolussp. nov. andNewnhamia mckenzianasp. nov. The appendages of a few of the specimens showed a highly detailed mode of preservation, typical of mineralization by Ca-phosphate (apatite). This preservation can be ascribed to an elevated supply of phosphate from guano derived from bats living in the cave. Two specimens feature an extraordinary mineral surface precipitation, partly embedding surface structures, such as fines setules on setae. After the decay or mechanical loss of the latter, only sharp imprints are left. Another specimen is characterized by a differential preservation of the ovaries and hepatopancreases, visible from outside the carapace as differences in coloration, a first in ostracod fossil preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Biomonitoring has been used internationally from as early as the 1970s to monitor environmental change associated with the transport of metals within airborne particulate matter. The low cost methods have allowed early detection of environmental change enabling regulatory adjustment of emissions limits and supporting emissions reductions, and the ability to monitor over large distances. However, without standardised methodology in Australia, the approach has largely been over-looked nationally as a screening tool for environment change. Media releases in Australia highlight the national significance of long-range metal migration in air. The health relevance includes South Australian regulators imposing bans on eating locally caught seafood and guidance against using rainwater tanks in Port Pirie due to contamination by atmospheric lead. The environmental relevance includes atmospheric metals from historic mining having contaminated the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and significantly altering the natural geochemical signal of lakes. The cultural relevance includes the 2009 dust storm which made international news that ‘radioactive laced’ dust from inland mines was being deposited on Sydney. This poster reviews current international approaches to the use of lichen and moss for biomonitoring and considers limitations and benefits of the implementation of techniques in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]