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The grass emperor Lethrinus laticaudis is a conspicuous element of the commercial and recreational catch from nearshore reef systems across northern Australia. The nearshore reef systems across northern Australia are exposed to increasing levels of fishing pressure from commercial and recreational fishers. To inform ongoing management of this species, the present study examined the stock structure of L. laticaudis across northern Australia using a combination of complementary techniques. In all, 342 L. laticaudis samples were collected from 13 locations in the coastal waters of northern Australia ranging from the Pilbara region of Western Australia to Moreton Bay in south-east Queensland. Population genetic analyses using microsatellite markers demonstrated that there were at least four genetically distinct populations across northern Australia with gene flow between management jurisdictions (with significantly more separation between Western Australian and Northern Territory locations than between Northern Territory and Queensland locations). An isolation by distance effect was evident (genetic differences increasing linearly with distance). Otolith microchemistry and parasitology analyses indicated some spatial structuring of populations within broader regions. These findings of restricted connectivity at small spatial scales suggest that L. laticaudis is vulnerable to localised depletion in areas where fishing effort is concentrated. This conclusion is consistent with recent observations of fishery declines in heavily fished locations.

Animal‐borne telemetry has revolutionized our ability to study animal movement, species physiology, demography and social structures, changing environments and the threats that animals are experiencing. While there will always be a need for basic ecological research and discovery, the current conservation crisis demands we look more pragmatically at the data required to make informed management decisions. Here, we define a framework that distinguishes how research using animal telemetry devices can influence conservation. We then discuss two critical questions which aim to directly connect telemetry‐derived data to applied conservation decision‐making: (i) Would my choice of action change if I had more data? (ii) Is the expected gain worth the money and time required to collect more data? Policy implications. To answer questions about integrating telemetry‐derived data with applied conservation, we suggest the use of value of information analysis to quantitatively assess the return‐on‐investment of animal telemetry‐derived data for conservation decision‐making.

As pressure on coastal marine resources is increasing globally, the need to quantitatively assess vulnerable fish stocks is crucial in order to avoid the ecological consequences of stock depletions. Species of Sciaenidae (croakers, drums) are important components of tropical and temperate fisheries and are especially vulnerable to exploitation. The black-spotted croaker, Protonibea diacanthus, is the only large sciaenid in coastal waters of northern Australia where it is targeted by commercial, recreational and indigenous fishers due to its food value and predictable aggregating behaviour. Localized declines in the abundance of this species have been observed, highlighting the urgent requirement by managers for information on fine- and broad-scale population connectivity. This study examined the population structure of P. diacanthus across north-western Australia using three complementary methods: genetic variation in microsatellite markers, otolith elemental composition and parasite assemblage composition. The genetic analyses demonstrated that there were at least five genetically distinct populations across the study region, with gene flow most likely restricted by inshore biogeographic barriers such as the Dampier Peninsula. The otolith chemistry and parasite analyses also revealed strong spatial variation among locations within broad-scale regions, suggesting fine-scale location fidelity within the lifetimes of individual fish. The complementarity of the three techniques elucidated patterns of connectivity over a range of spatial and temporal scales. We conclude that fisheries stock assessments and management are required at fine scales (100 s of km) to account for the restricted exchange among populations (stocks) and to prevent localized extirpations of this species. Realistic management arrangements may involve the successive closure and opening of fishing areas to reduce fishing pressure.

© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. As pressure on coastal marine resources is increasing globally, the need to quantitatively assess vulnerable fish stocks is crucial in order to avoid the ecological consequences of stock depletions. Species of Sciaenidae (croakers, drums) are important components of tropical and temperate fisheries and are especially vulnerable to exploitation. The black-spotted croaker, Protonibea diacanthus, is the only large sciaenid in coastal waters of northern Australia where it is targeted by commercial, recreational and indigenous fishers due to its food value and predictable aggregating behaviour. Localized declines in the abundance of this species have been observed, highlighting the urgent requirement by managers for information on fine- and broad-scale population connectivity. This study examined the population structure of P. diacanthus across north-western Australia using three complementary methods: genetic variation in microsatellite markers, otolith elemental composition and parasite assemblage composition. The genetic analyses demonstrated that there were at least five genetically distinct populations across the study region, with gene flow most likely restricted by inshore biogeographic barriers such as the Dampier Peninsula. The otolith chemistry and parasite analyses also revealed strong spatial variation among locations within broad-scale regions, suggesting fine-scale location fidelity within the lifetimes of individual fish. The complementarity of the three techniques elucidated patterns of connectivity over a range of spatial and temporal scales. We conclude that fisheries stock assessments and management are required at fine scales (100 s of km) to account for the restricted exchange among populations (stocks) and to prevent localized extirpations of this species. Realistic management arrangements may involve the successive closure and opening of fishing areas to reduce fishing pressure.

Sustainable exploitation of fisheries populations is challenging to achieve when the size of the population prior to exploitation and the actual numbers removed over time and across fishing zones are not clearly known. Quantitative fisheries' modeling is able to address this problem, but accurate and reliable model outcomes depend on high quality input data. Much of this information is obtained through the operation of the fishery under consideration, but while this seems appropriate, biases may occur. For example, poorly quantified changes in fishing methods that increase catch rates can erroneously suggest that the overall population size is increasing. Hence, the incorporation of estimates of abundance derived from independent data sources is preferable. We review and evaluate a fisheries-independent method of indexing population size; inferring adult abundance from estimates of the genetic effective size of a population (Ne). Recent studies of elasmobranch species have shown correspondence between Ne and ecologically determined estimates of the population size (N). Simulation studies have flagged the possibility that the range of Ne/N ratios across species may be more restricted than previously thought, and also show that declines in Ne track declines in the abundance of model fisheries species. These key developments bring this new technology closer to implementation in fisheries science, particularly for data-poor fisheries or species of conservation interest.

© 2016 Taillebois et al.Thirty-four microsatellite loci were isolated from three reef fish species; golden snapper Lutjanus johnii, blackspotted croaker Protonibea diacanthus and grass emperor Lethrinus laticaudis using a next generation sequencing approach. Both IonTorrent single reads and Illumina MiSeq paired-end reads were used, with the latter demonstrating a higher quality of reads than the IonTorrent. From the 1-1.5 million raw reads per species, we successfully obtained 10-13 polymorphic loci for each species, which satisfied stringent design criteria. We developed multiplex panels for the amplification of the golden snapper and the blackspotted croaker loci, as well as post-amplification pooling panels for the grass emperor loci. The microsatellites characterized in this work were tested across three locations of northern Australia. The microsatellites we developed can detect population differentiation across northern Australia and may be used for genetic structure studies and stock identification.

Since the first investigation 25 years ago, the application of genetic tools to address ecological and evolutionary questions in elasmobranch studies has greatly expanded. Major developments in genetic theory as well as in the availability, cost effectiveness and resolution of genetic markers were instrumental for particularly rapid progress over the last 10 years. Genetic studies of elasmobranchs are of direct importance and have application to fisheries management and conservation issues such as the definition of management units and identification of species from fins. In the future, increased application of the most recent and emerging technologies will enable accelerated genetic data production and the development of new markers at reduced costs, paving the way for a paradigm shift from gene to genome-scale research, and more focus on adaptive rather than just neutral variation. Current literature is reviewed in six fields of elasmobranch molecular genetics relevant to fisheries and conservation management (species identification, phylogeography, philopatry, genetic effective population size, molecular evolutionary rate and emerging methods). Where possible, examples from the Indo-Pacific region, which has been underrepresented in previous reviews, are emphasized within a global perspective. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Fish Biology

Constitutive activation of pro-survival kinases has become a promising target of small molecules with an increasing interest in developing multi-targeted agents. The mechanisms underlying the responsiveness to most agents targeting cancer specific survival pathways are still poorly understood but critical for their clinical application. In this study, we found that sunitinib, a small molecule inhibitor of multiple tyrosine kinases including VEGFRs and PDGFRs induces apoptosis and inhibits cell growth in colon cancer cells in cell culture and xenograft models via the BH3-only protein PUMA. Sunitinib treatment induced PUMA transcription via the AKT/FoxO3a axis. PUMA, BH3 mimetics, or 5-Flurourical sensitized colon cancer cells to sunitinib-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, PUMA was induced by sunitinib treatment in xenograft tumors, and deficiency in PUMA significantly suppressed the anti-tumor effects of sunitinib. Our study suggests that PUMA-mediated apoptosis is important for the therapeutic responses to sunitinib, and activation of the mitochondrial pathway by BH3 mimetics or PUMA manipulation may be useful for improving the antitumor activity of sunitinib. Modulation of PUMA and selective Bcl-2 family members might be potential biomarkers for predicting sunitinib responses. © 2012 Sun et al.

This project describes procedures for assessingand comparing alternative designs of a well to extractwater from an unconsolidated confined aquifer. Theaquifer considered is a simplified model of the Rosevaleaquifer system (Ref, 2) for which the hydraulic coefficientshave been determined from pumping tests.Hydraulic performance of wells having variousdimensional features are investigated using two of thecomputer programs developed by Huyakorn (Ref. 12)for theAustralian Water Resources Council. These programstake into account non-Darcy flow which may occur in thenear-well zone under certain conditions.The cost of pumped water per acre-foot is taken asa basis for comparing the alternate well designs.Following the selection of suitable well constructiontechniques, the costs of construction are calculated andpresented in tabular form. Other factors affecting theselection of an optimum well design such as the totalamount of water applied, the time necessary to pump agiven amount of water, the horsepower requirements andmotor size for given rate of discharge, the cost ofpower and the total cost of pumping are discussed. Thevalues involved are calculated or assigned.

It has long been known that a correlation existsbetween the velocity of water and the rate of dissipation ofenergy from a hot body placed in the water. This thesis presentsa novel use of the correlation to measure water velocities inhydraulic models.The instrument as designed incorporates a temperaturesensitive thermistor which is placed in the flowing water andheated. When the thermistor is allowed to cool, the varyingelectrical resistance is recorded, and converted to a temperaturedecay curve by using the known thermistor temperature-resistancerelation. The shape of the decay curve depends on the rate ofdissipation of heat from the surface of the thermistor, andhence on the water velocity. It is proposed to utilise thecorrelation between velocity and a parameter defining the shapeof the decay curve.as the calibration of the current meter.A theoretical analysis shows that it should be possibleto use a thermistor in this way, although the preliminary testsconducted to date have indicated that commercially availablethermistors need to be modified before a useful current meteris obtained.If fully developed, this instrument would haveadvantages over other velocity meters in terms of cost and size,and would give an electrical signal which could serve as aninput for a real-time computer.

Friction loss testa were carried out on a 287mm I.D. cement mortar lined pipeline. The test length was 81 m. consisting of 9 x 9m lengths of flanged pipe, preceded by a 36 m long approach section. The steel pipes were centrifugally lined. The results showed that over the range of Reynolds numberts from 4.7 x 10 to the fourth to 8.1 x 10 to the fifth achieved during the tests, Darcy friction factors for the pipe followed the Colebrook-White transition function with a roughness k of .01 mm.

This contains descriptions and listings of eight finite element programs (FORTRAN IV) to simulate either Darcy or two-regime flow of groundwater towards a pumped well. A wide range of different aquifer conditions and well constructions has been considered. The flow can be either transient or steady state. Each program designed to handle specific flow cases encountered in practice with a minimum of input data and to operate with any consistent set of units.

Literature divided into 15 basic categories. Closing date 1971.

Additional cooling water from Lake Macquarie through a new screening chamber. Tests on junction between existing and new intake system to check flows. Modifications recommended after testing to screen structure and entrances.

The project has four phases. 1. A Field study by the Queensland Irrigation and Water Supply Commission to examine the effect of the type of construction on well yield. This has been published separately by the Commission. 2. A literature survey. 3. Preliminary design study for an experimental facility in which the hydraulics of flow in close proximity to wells could be studied and in which practical problems such as the effects of drilling and development techniques on well performance could be examined. 4. A theoretical, experimental and field study aimed at improving the selection of the optimum type of construction for wells under various aquifer conditions.

To provide cooling water for the thermal power station an open channel will reduce flow velocity below that to carry sand to pump pite. Drum screens to prevent entry of organisms, weed, algae, to be constructed. A 1 in 30 scale model tested the design. Results were satisfactory.