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As one of the most vocal marsupials in Australia, conservation of the yellow-bellied glider (Petaurus australis brevirostrum) (YBG) could benefit from the extraction of more information from their calls during acoustic monitoring. This pilot study investigates the variability of syllable components of full calls and identifies acoustic parameters that underlie variability in recorded calls from wild YBGs in North Queensland, Australia. Full calls with three syllables and with two syllables were distinguished. Using batch correlations and principal component analyses (PCAs), it was found that syllable two and syllable three show high variability in their duration and that maximum frequency is the strongest contributing sound parameter to the observed variability. However, because data collection was done in wild populations, the identity of call emitters remained unknown during call analyses, demanding further studies. Further subdivision of calls, and investigation into further acoustic parameters, could aid in decoding sexual, seasonal and individual-based meanings of calls. In Far North Queensland, passive acoustic monitoring has been used to study the yellow-bellied glider, a species threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation. However, because this species is very vocal, it is likely that more information – related to gender, season or individual-specific parameters – can be extracted from its calls. We present an attempt to analyse acoustic parameters and their variability in components of full calls of this species as a basis for more meaningful acoustic monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restoration of natural vegetation is affected by many factors. Success in restoration is increasingly linked with knowledge sharing on restoration planning, preparation, implementation, and maintenance. This trend is reflected in the emergence of regional and international databases that collate and store information on restoration projects and allow the extraction of this information by practitioners. Here we describe how workshops with restoration stakeholders and educational institutions identified ways to collate project-specific spatial and non-spatial data on large-scale tropical rainforest restoration projects in Far North Queensland, Australia. We show how this data is stored in a regional knowledge sharing restoration platform that facilitates the planning and improved implementation of future restoration projects, and the identification of site-specific restoration inhibiting and facilitating factors. We provide examples on how the database promotes regional partnerships in conservation and restoration efforts, and how it can be made easily accessible to practitioners and researchers. We demonstrate how the longevity of this database can be ensured by its integration into a curriculum of a tertiary educational institution and by its potential linkage with existing global databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast microcalcifications are an important primary radiological indicator of breast cancer. However, microcalcification classification and diagnosis may be still challenging for radiologists due to limitations of the standard 2D mammography technique, including spatial and contrast resolution. In this study, we propose an approach to improve the detection of microcalcifications in propagation-based phase-contrast X-ray computed tomography of breast tissues. Five fresh mastectomies containing microcalcifications were scanned at different X-ray energies and radiation doses using synchrotron radiation. Both bright-field (i.e. conventional phase-retrieved images) and dark-field images were extracted from the same data sets using different image processing methods. A quantitative analysis was performed in terms of visibility and contrast-to-noise ratio of microcalcifications. The results show that while the signal-to-noise and the contrast-to-noise ratios are lower, the visibility of the microcalcifications is more than two times higher in the dark-field images compared to the bright-field images. Dark-field images have also provided more accurate information about the size and shape of the microcalcifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Large‐scale deforestation and forest fragmentation in the tropical area of the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland, Australia, have placed extensive strains on populations of many endemic species of this area, such as the Lumholtz's Tree‐Kangaroo (LTK). Despite LTKs predominantly arboreal life and their ability to quickly colonize and adapt to restored forested habitats, little is known about their terrestrial activity patterns within these habitats which put them at risk to predation by canines and to roadkill when crossing nearby roads. Using motion‐sensing cameras, forest floor‐related activities of LTKs were recorded in a restored riparian rainforest habitat in relation to seasons and moon phases. The results show that LTKs exhibit a cathemeral activity pattern of forest floor‐related movements with a tendency towards crepuscular activity at dawn. While there was a significant association between the daytime recordings and the seasons with more activity during the days of the wet season, there was no association between the nighttime recordings and the seasons, as well as the moon phases. These results suggest that seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation, but potentially also in food quality, are likely to affect the frequency at which LTKs access the forest floor. Mitigating threats to LTKs in restored habitats should focus on facilitating terrestrial movements of LTKs, the control of feral dogs, enlarging and connecting available habitat, and educating drivers about peak times of LTK movements on the ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: von Willebrand disease (vWD) is a heterogeneous hereditary bleeding disorder and is associated with risk of primary postpartum haemorrhage (PPH). Design and Methods: An observational study at a tertiary referral centre in Australia of 16 women with 23 deliveries with a median age of 27.5 years (range, 21‐39; IQR = 9). Median gestational age at delivery was 39 weeks (range, 35‐41; IQR = 1.1). Results: All cases had type 1 vWD, apart from one case with type 2. Patients were managed in combined obstetrics and haematology clinics. PPH occurred in ten deliveries (44%). Intravenous desmopressin was administered in 6 cases, and IV human vWF was administered in 4 cases. Two cases with mild vWD had received oral tranexamic acid. The median Apgar score at 1 and 5 min was 9 (IQR = 1.0), while the median Apgar score at 10 min was 10.0 (IQR = 0.0). One case required transfusion of blood products postdelivery. There were no other significant complications observed. Conclusions: vWD was associated with a high incidence of primary PPH. Individualised treatment to restore haemostasis, according to the severity of the disease, could achieve as possible, normal haemostasis with favourable outcomes for both mothers and their infants. Further studies to confirm our findings are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia has one of the highest rates of biodiversity loss globally. Both a lack of long-term monitoring and inefficient management have been identified as major contributing factors. Reviewing national and international reports, perspectives and scientific studies on Australia's biodiversity management, I propose five steps to promote more effective management and monitoring of protected biodiversity assets by utilising available resources more efficiently. These steps involve: (1) better promotion of existing legislative instruments to protect biodiversity on private land; (2) creating strategic buffer zones around Australia's World Heritage Areas (WHAs) – such buffer zones would provide opportunities to reduce threats to the biological assets of WHAs that emanate from adjacent areas; (3) better engagement with stakeholders of the buffer zones in managing WHAs through their participation in evidence-based monitoring and early-threat detection (e.g. as 'Buffer-based Heritage Watch'); (4) targeted and coordinated restoration of native habitats adjacent to WHAs that are supported by effective carbon sequestration schemes; and (5) periodic integration of private protected areas within buffer zones into adjacent WHAs in accordance with the guidelines for extensions of WHAs by the World Heritage Committee. I demonstrate and justify the proposed steps using a spatial analysis of protected areas in Far North Queensland, but the proposed steps have relevance to protected areas in other Australian jurisdictions. The proposed steps would make current efforts of biodiversity protection and monitoring more efficient and would thus contribute to Australia's response to its current loss of biodiversity. Australia's high loss of biodiversity demands new approaches to the conservation and management of its natural assets. Based on identified shortcomings of current biodiversity management and existing national and international legislative mechanisms for biodiversity conservation, a five-step approach is presented to respond to Australia's biodiversity crisis. The approach aims at a better synergy between private and public protected areas [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Carpal glands (CG) of 105 feral pigs Sus domesticus, caught in the tropical lowland rainforest in north-east Queensland, Australia, between 1999 and 2004, were investigated to examine their function in chemical communication between animals, and their histology. Female feral pigs show significantly larger CG on the right leg than on the left leg while there were no side-specific differences in males. CG on both legs were significantly larger in reproductive than in non-reproductive females, but they did not differ between pregnant and lactating females. The results suggest that CG are involved in the defensive behaviour of reproductive females but not in the identification of the mother by piglets. The area of the left CG was significantly bigger in males compared to females, but no significant difference could be shown for the CG on the right legs. CG of same-aged boars did not change significantly in size throughout the year while females showed smaller CG on the left leg in January and February suggesting that CG may be involved in intra-matriarchal group communication. Same sized and aged boars did not show any correlations between the size of the CG and the weight of their testes and the serum levels of testosterone. These results suggest that CG are not involved in advertising dominance in boars. The histological investigation of CG showed that they are active in feral pigs in the lowland rainforest, consist mainly of apocrine tissue and that their hairs may play a role in distributing secretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of biological control measures to reduce the impact of invasive species is a desired goal. Rhabdias species have recently been advocated as biological control agents for invasive anurans. This study describes a field-based approach to support laboratory results on the potential impact of the lung nematode Rhabdias pseudosphaerocephala on the prey consumption of its host, the invasive cane toad ( Rhinella marina, Bufonidae). Toads were sampled from various populations in the Wet Tropics of Australia during the wet seasons of 2010 and 2012. Consumed prey items were counted in 212 cane toads and identified to class and order levels and the number of lung nematodes was counted for each toad. The number of R. pseudosphaerocephala in free-ranging cane toads affected negatively the diversity of prey items consumed, but was not related to the number of prey items or the number of ants consumed. The results suggest that infection of free-ranging cane toads by the lung nematode reduces their range of prey items. Possible reasons could be a reduced locomotor activity resulting in changes of foraging modes of infected toads which was reported from some laboratory trials. Infection of cane toads by R. pseudosphaerocephala may therefore have the potential to alter the impact of cane toads on invertebrate communities and their competition for food resources with native Australian anurans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-invasive methods are essential in the study of cryptic species. For estimations on abundances and distributions of arboreal folivores, such as Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtz) in Far North Queensland, Australia, scat counts seem to be the most promising ecological technique. However, the occurrence of Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroos in seasonal rainforests with dense understory, a high diversity of coprophagous invertebrates and with sympatric folivores increases the probability of invalidating results based on scat surveys. This study investigates scat production and scat decomposition patterns to select diagnostic traits of Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroo scats that can, under varying environmental conditions, assist in distinguishing between fresh and old scats to reduce false positive and false negative errors in species presence due to non- or/and misidentification of scats. Scat production rates of six captive Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroos were highly variable resulting in different scat numbers and masses. Changes in scat size (mass and circumference), pH and the appearance of mould were monitored under different laboratory conditions and in forest trials. Under wet conditions scats gained mass until they reached an apparent plateau of 130% of their original mass. Scats under dry conditions lost up to 90% of their original mass. Changes in mass were accompanied by changes in circumference of scats. By Day 3 scats had developed signs of mould under laboratory conditions and showed an acidic pH. Field trials revealed a high loss of scats due primarily to their consumption by dung beetles (Scarabaeoidea). For studying Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroos in their rainforest environment, scat surveys should be confined to dry periods to reduce the probability of false negative errors due to activity of coprophagous invertebrates. Additionally, only fresh scats of average size and with an acidic pH should be used to minimize the risk of misidentifying small sized scats from Red-legged Pademelons (Thylogale stigmatica) as tree-kangaroo scats. More studies on species-specific diagnostic traits of Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroo scats are necessary to validate false negative and false positive errors in scat counts for this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have measured multiple sulfur isotope ratios (34S/33S/32S) for sulfide sulfur in shale and carbonate lithofacies from the Hamersley Basin, Western Australia. The Δ33S values (Δ33S&ap;δ33S−0.515×δ34S) shift from −1.9 to +6.9‰ over a 22-m core section of the lower Mount McRae Shale (∼2.5 Ga). Likewise, sulfide sulfur analyses of the Jeerinah Formation (∼2.7 Ga) yield Δ33S values of −0.1 to +8.1‰ over a 50-m section of core. Despite wide variations in Δ33S and δ34S, these two shale units yield a similar positive correlation between Δ33S and δ34S. In contrast, pyrite sulfur analyses of the Carawine Dolomite (∼2.6 Ga) yield a broad range in δ34S (+3.2 to +16.2‰) but a relatively small variation and negative values in Δ33S (−2.5 to −1.1‰). The stratigraphic distribution of δ33S, δ34S, and Δ33S in Western Australia allows us to speculate on the sulfur isotopic composition of Archean sulfur reservoirs and to trace pathways in the Archean sulfur cycle. Our data are explained by a combination of mass-independent fractionation (MIF) in the atmosphere and biological mass-dependent fractionation in the ocean. In the Archean, volcanic, sulfur-bearing gas species were photolysed by solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation in an oxygen-free atmosphere, resulting in MIF of sulfur isotopes. Aerosols of S8 (with Δ33S>0) and sulfuric acid (with Δ33S<0) formed from the products of UV photolysis and carried mass-independently fractionated sulfur into the hydrosphere. The signatures of atmospheric photolysis were preserved by precipitation of pyrite in sediments. Pyrite precipitation was mediated by microbial enzymatic catalysis that superimposed mass-dependent fractionation on mass-independent atmospheric effects. Multiple sulfur isotope analyses provide new insights into the early evolution of the atmosphere and the evolution and distribution of early sulfur-metabolizing organisms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]