Environment Good Bad Ugly In 2017
State Environmental Planning Controls(Draft Environment SEPP):Urban Bushland
From Issue 339
Draft Environment SEPP
Integra Mine Complex
Integra Underground Modification 8
Mine Rehabilitation Discussion Paper
New Research Program To Tackle PFAS
Update On Baleen 2D HR Seismic Survey
Avalon Boomerang Bags 2018 Dates
Diary Dates
Last workshop for the year at SewCraftCook for the year - passed.
Huge thanks to Kate for providing such an amazing and creative space for us to make the bags and store our "bits".
And a huge thanks to all those who have volunteered making bags, stamping bags, screen printing, cutting, ironing, folding, providing yummy treats, making cups of tea and for all the laughs, chats and good times. Without you we wouldn't be the team that we are.
On that note, dear sewers - if any of you, including the "at home" sewers need more fabric during the break, please contact Robyn via this email and she'll arrange it - the cupboards are bulging. Tuesday 31 JanuaryReturn to our regular workshops from 11am - 4pm.Come for a hour or two or come for the day.SewCraftCook 20/14 Polo Ave, Mona Vale.
Diary Dates
Last workshop for the year at SewCraftCook for the year - passed.
Huge thanks to Kate for providing such an amazing and creative space for us to make the bags and store our "bits".
And a huge thanks to all those who have volunteered making bags, stamping bags, screen printing, cutting, ironing, folding, providing yummy treats, making cups of tea and for all the laughs, chats and good times. Without you we wouldn't be the team that we are.
On that note, dear sewers - if any of you, including the "at home" sewers need more fabric during the break, please contact Robyn via this email and she'll arrange it - the cupboards are bulging.
Tuesday 31 January
Return to our regular workshops from 11am - 4pm.
Come for a hour or two or come for the day.
SewCraftCook 20/14 Polo Ave, Mona Vale.
Friends Of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment Activities
Spotlight Walk - 8pm Friday Dec 15
Spotlighting walk - meet at start of Slippery Dip Trail. Spaces limited to 20 people
Wildlife Walk - 7:30am Friday January 19, 2018Meet at end of Deep Creek Carpark. Spaces limited to 30 peopleEmail: Friends of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment to get a ticket and book a place for one of these fascinating Wildlife Walks led by Jayden Walsh.
Bush Regeneration - Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment This is a wonderful way to become connected to nature and contribute to the health of the environment. Over the weeks and months you can see positive changes as you give native species a better chance to thrive. Wildlife appreciate the improvement in their habitat.
Belrose area - Thursday mornings Belrose area - Weekend mornings by arrangementContact: Phone or text Conny Harris on 0432 643 295
Wheeler Creek - Wednesday mornings 9-11amContact: Phone or text Judith Bennett on 0402 974 105Or email: Friends of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment : email@narrabeenlagoon.org.au
Eco Paddle on Narrabeen Lagoon1pm, Sunday Feb 11, 2018Black Swan have returned to the lagoon after 20 years - come and see these majestic creatures! This paddle will visit the Western Basin, Deep and Middle Creeks. Beautiful Deep Creek attracts migratory birds from as far away as Russia and Middle Creek has been the subject of a substantial remediation programme. A relaxing 2 to 3 hour afternoon paddle. No previous kayaking experience required, tuition given. BYO boat or a hire kayak can be arranged for you at cost. Bookings essential.Email tonycarr@ozemail.com.au or call 0417 502 056.
Spotlight Walk - 8pm Friday Dec 15
Spotlighting walk - meet at start of Slippery Dip Trail. Spaces limited to 20 people
Wildlife Walk - 7:30am Friday January 19, 2018
Meet at end of Deep Creek Carpark. Spaces limited to 30 people
Email: Friends of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment to get a ticket and book a place for one of these fascinating Wildlife Walks led by Jayden Walsh.
Bush Regeneration - Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment
This is a wonderful way to become connected to nature and contribute to the health of the environment. Over the weeks and months you can see positive changes as you give native species a better chance to thrive. Wildlife appreciate the improvement in their habitat.
Belrose area - Thursday mornings
Belrose area - Weekend mornings by arrangement
Contact: Phone or text Conny Harris on 0432 643 295
Wheeler Creek - Wednesday mornings 9-11am
Contact: Phone or text Judith Bennett on 0402 974 105
Or email: Friends of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment : email@narrabeenlagoon.org.au
Eco Paddle on Narrabeen Lagoon
1pm, Sunday Feb 11, 2018
Black Swan have returned to the lagoon after 20 years - come and see these majestic creatures! This paddle will visit the Western Basin, Deep and Middle Creeks. Beautiful Deep Creek attracts migratory birds from as far away as Russia and Middle Creek has been the subject of a substantial remediation programme. A relaxing 2 to 3 hour afternoon paddle. No previous kayaking experience required, tuition given. BYO boat or a hire kayak can be arranged for you at cost.
Bookings essential.
Email tonycarr@ozemail.com.au or call 0417 502 056.
Sydney Harbour Federation Trust Board Meeting In Public
Repeal Of Two Operational SEPPs
Long Reef Walks 2018 Season
Warriewood Wetlands Update
Sydney Water Fined $30,000 For North Head Sewage Overflow
NSW Coastal National Park Safety Reminder
December 15, 2017: NPWSNational Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Surf Life Saving NSW (SLSNSW) are reminding park visitors to take care when venturing out into coastal areas this summer particularly when near cliff edges and ocean rock platforms, including Figure Eight Pools (Royal National Park).
Figure Eight Pool, ocean waves, Royal National ParkNPWS Area Manager Shaun Elwood said this safety message is timely, as the weather warms up and we head into the busy peak summer season.
"We've teamed up with Surf Life Saving NSW to urge park visitors to stay safe when visiting coastal areas by following warning signs and safety alerts issued by authorities," Mr Elwood said.
"NSW's coastline is vast, stretching over 2000 plus kilometres, with many cliff top walking tracks found within coastal national parks.
"Most visitors to coastal parks have a healthy respect for coastline safety and will stay on designated pathways and adhere to warning signs and barriers restricting access.
"We can't stress enough how important it is for park visitors to stop taking unnecessary risks near cliff lines," Mr Elwood said.
Surf Life Saving NSW said if you're planning on visiting a coastal area, particularly a rock platform such as Figure Eight Pools, it's important to follow ocean safety advice from authorities before stepping out onto the rock shelf.
"Rock platforms are natural areas exposed to the elements and inherently dangerous and unpredictable, particularly rock shelves that are open to the ocean," said Lifesaving Manager Matt du Plessis.
"If conditions on the day are safe to visit Figure Eight Pools, and once you are on the rock platform, stay alert and never turn your back on the ocean as large waves can crash across the platform even at low tide," Mr du Plessis said.
Mr Elwood said before visiting Figure Eight Pools, check the NPWS safety alerts issued daily as they advise when it's too dangerous to visit the pools due to dangerous swell conditions.
"Before you travel, check the Figure Eight Pools safety website to review the safety checklist, to know that you need to pack things like a small first aid kit and 2 litres of water per person and to decide if you are capable of walking the challenging 6km return hike to the site.
"It's important park visitors check ocean conditions and the weather and if conditions aren't right to visit the pools safely, don't risk it, go another day.
"We want people to enjoy our stunning coastal parks but please don't risk your safety. Stay on designated pathways, abide by warning signs and safety alerts and always check ocean conditions before climbing onto rock ledges," Mr Elwood said.
December 15, 2017: NPWS
National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Surf Life Saving NSW (SLSNSW) are reminding park visitors to take care when venturing out into coastal areas this summer particularly when near cliff edges and ocean rock platforms, including Figure Eight Pools (Royal National Park).
Figure Eight Pool, ocean waves, Royal National Park
NPWS Area Manager Shaun Elwood said this safety message is timely, as the weather warms up and we head into the busy peak summer season.
"We've teamed up with Surf Life Saving NSW to urge park visitors to stay safe when visiting coastal areas by following warning signs and safety alerts issued by authorities," Mr Elwood said.
"NSW's coastline is vast, stretching over 2000 plus kilometres, with many cliff top walking tracks found within coastal national parks.
"Most visitors to coastal parks have a healthy respect for coastline safety and will stay on designated pathways and adhere to warning signs and barriers restricting access.
"We can't stress enough how important it is for park visitors to stop taking unnecessary risks near cliff lines," Mr Elwood said.
Surf Life Saving NSW said if you're planning on visiting a coastal area, particularly a rock platform such as Figure Eight Pools, it's important to follow ocean safety advice from authorities before stepping out onto the rock shelf.
"Rock platforms are natural areas exposed to the elements and inherently dangerous and unpredictable, particularly rock shelves that are open to the ocean," said Lifesaving Manager Matt du Plessis.
"If conditions on the day are safe to visit Figure Eight Pools, and once you are on the rock platform, stay alert and never turn your back on the ocean as large waves can crash across the platform even at low tide," Mr du Plessis said.
Mr Elwood said before visiting Figure Eight Pools, check the NPWS safety alerts issued daily as they advise when it's too dangerous to visit the pools due to dangerous swell conditions.
"Before you travel, check the Figure Eight Pools safety website to review the safety checklist, to know that you need to pack things like a small first aid kit and 2 litres of water per person and to decide if you are capable of walking the challenging 6km return hike to the site.
"It's important park visitors check ocean conditions and the weather and if conditions aren't right to visit the pools safely, don't risk it, go another day.
"We want people to enjoy our stunning coastal parks but please don't risk your safety. Stay on designated pathways, abide by warning signs and safety alerts and always check ocean conditions before climbing onto rock ledges," Mr Elwood said.
Calls For Community Input Into Managing Murrah
Sixth Emissions Reduction Fund Auction Continues To Deliver Low Cost Abatement
Proposals Welcomed To Manage Smoky Cape And Sugarloaf Lighthouse Keeper's Cottages
Dolphin And Bear Studies Have Paved The Way To Improved Population Forecasting
December 1, 2017: Deborah Smith: UNSW
A new article by a UNSW Sydney-led team challenges the validity of current methods for forecasting the persistence of slow-growing species for conservation purposes, and provides a better approach to reducing the threat of extinction.
Previous research on wild dolphins in Australia and wild bears in North America has revealed that reproductive success is the best predictor of the viability of these long-lived populations, rather than their survival rates.
The findings of these and other studies fly in the face of decades of population modelling, which has led to a widespread generalisation that survival is the most important factor for population viability of long-lived species, the researchers say.
“Our analysis suggests that conservation planners are often getting it wrong,” says first author and UNSW scientist Dr Oliver Manlik.
“We believe our research will set a new course for wildlife biologists who are trying to minimize extinction. It shows them how to identify whether to focus on alleviating threats to reproduction, or to survival,” he says.
The review article, Applicability and limitations of sensitivity analyses for wildlife management, by Dr Manlik and Professor William Sherwin of UNSW, and Dr Robert Lacy of the Chicago Zoological Society, is published in the prestigious Journal of Applied Ecology.
The inspiration for carrying out their review of different population forecasting methods for conservation management was a research project led by Dr Manlik that compared two bottlenose dolphin populations in the wild in Western Australia.
The international team carrying out that study showed that the very different forecasts for the two dolphin populations could only be explained by differences in reproductive rates, not by the much smaller differences in survival rates.
After reviewing many other publications, Dr Manlik, Dr Lacy and Professor Sherwin found a small number, such as a study on bears, that showed similar results. On closer analysis of these studies, they realised the reason for this was not the biology of the animals, but the way the data had been analysed.
In this new study, the researchers evaluate several methods of assessing the effect of changes in reproduction and survival on the persistence of wildlife populations. They outline why some very commonly used methods are flawed when they are used to guide wildlife management.
“These methods often investigate potential changes in reproduction and survival that are quite unrealistic, assessing fluctuations of survival and reproduction that are unlikely or even impossible. This can lead to wildlife management actions that are ineffective,” says Dr Manlik.
The study also describes alternative tools, based on realistic parameters, which conservation planners can use to devise management actions to best protect wildlife populations.
A bottlenose dolphin mother and calf (Tursiops aduncus) of Western Australia. Photo: Kate Sprogis, Murdoch Cetacean Research Unit
December 1, 2017: Deborah Smith: UNSW
A new article by a UNSW Sydney-led team challenges the validity of current methods for forecasting the persistence of slow-growing species for conservation purposes, and provides a better approach to reducing the threat of extinction.
Previous research on wild dolphins in Australia and wild bears in North America has revealed that reproductive success is the best predictor of the viability of these long-lived populations, rather than their survival rates.
The findings of these and other studies fly in the face of decades of population modelling, which has led to a widespread generalisation that survival is the most important factor for population viability of long-lived species, the researchers say.
“Our analysis suggests that conservation planners are often getting it wrong,” says first author and UNSW scientist Dr Oliver Manlik.
“We believe our research will set a new course for wildlife biologists who are trying to minimize extinction. It shows them how to identify whether to focus on alleviating threats to reproduction, or to survival,” he says.
The review article, Applicability and limitations of sensitivity analyses for wildlife management, by Dr Manlik and Professor William Sherwin of UNSW, and Dr Robert Lacy of the Chicago Zoological Society, is published in the prestigious Journal of Applied Ecology.
The inspiration for carrying out their review of different population forecasting methods for conservation management was a research project led by Dr Manlik that compared two bottlenose dolphin populations in the wild in Western Australia.
The international team carrying out that study showed that the very different forecasts for the two dolphin populations could only be explained by differences in reproductive rates, not by the much smaller differences in survival rates.
After reviewing many other publications, Dr Manlik, Dr Lacy and Professor Sherwin found a small number, such as a study on bears, that showed similar results. On closer analysis of these studies, they realised the reason for this was not the biology of the animals, but the way the data had been analysed.
In this new study, the researchers evaluate several methods of assessing the effect of changes in reproduction and survival on the persistence of wildlife populations. They outline why some very commonly used methods are flawed when they are used to guide wildlife management.
“These methods often investigate potential changes in reproduction and survival that are quite unrealistic, assessing fluctuations of survival and reproduction that are unlikely or even impossible. This can lead to wildlife management actions that are ineffective,” says Dr Manlik.
The study also describes alternative tools, based on realistic parameters, which conservation planners can use to devise management actions to best protect wildlife populations.
A bottlenose dolphin mother and calf (Tursiops aduncus) of Western Australia. Photo: Kate Sprogis, Murdoch Cetacean Research Unit
Call For National Heritage List Nominations
Exhibition Of Proposed Changes To Noise And Dust Assessment For Mining Projects
Asparagus Fern
Navigation Warning - NSW Coastal Waters: Whale Migration Season
Magpie Voted Bird Of The Year
11 December 2017: BirdLife Australia
Australian White Ibis pipped at the postThe Australian Magpie has been officially voted Australia’s Bird of the Year, having won the Guardian/BirdLife Australia ‘Bird of the Year’ poll, scoring nearly 20,000 of the 149,000 votes cast. Runner up was the early leader, the often-maligned Australian White Ibis, with just over 19,000 votes.
Although the White Ibis leapt out to an early lead, and looked to be a runaway winner with just a few days to go, late votes for the magpie accumulated steadily in the latter stages of the poll, and this momentum was enough to see it win comfortably.
Magpies have long been a favourite with Australians, many of whom enjoy their rich, carolling songs. Further, magpies often become rather tame when people feed them in their back yards and gardens, providing a genuine link between people and their local birdlife. The only time when magpies are not so popular is during the spring nesting season, when the birds sometimes swoop passersby to protect their nestlings.
White Ibis, on the other hand, are seldom spoken about in positive terms, at least in built-up areas. In rural districts, they are sometimes referred to as ‘the farmer’s friend’, as they eke out a living eating all sorts of agricultural pests. However, now that they’ve become familiar residents in many of Australia’s major cities, their habit of scavenging scraps and annoying alfresco diners has not endeared them to many people. How can we explain their unexpectedly high vote? It appears to have been a ‘Boaty McBoatface’ moment, with many people voting for the bird in an effort to be ‘ironic’.
Behind the White Ibis were the perennially popular Laughing Kookaburra, Tawny Frogmouth and Superb Fairy-wren.
Thanks to everyone who took part.
Australia’s Top 10 Favourite BirdsAustralian Magpie (19,926 votes)Australian White Ibis (19,083 votes)Laughing Kookaburra (10,953 votes)Tawny Frogmouth (6869 votes)Superb Fairy-wren (6366 votes)Rainbow Lorikeet (6041 votes)Willie Wagtail (4789 votes)Wedge-tailed Eagle (4517 votes)Southern Cassowary (4168 votes)Splendid Fairy-wren (4129 votes)
Australian Magpie, Australian Ibis and Kookaburra photos by A J Guesdon - taken in Pittwater.
11 December 2017: BirdLife Australia
Australian White Ibis pipped at the post
The Australian Magpie has been officially voted Australia’s Bird of the Year, having won the Guardian/BirdLife Australia ‘Bird of the Year’ poll, scoring nearly 20,000 of the 149,000 votes cast. Runner up was the early leader, the often-maligned Australian White Ibis, with just over 19,000 votes.
Although the White Ibis leapt out to an early lead, and looked to be a runaway winner with just a few days to go, late votes for the magpie accumulated steadily in the latter stages of the poll, and this momentum was enough to see it win comfortably.
Magpies have long been a favourite with Australians, many of whom enjoy their rich, carolling songs. Further, magpies often become rather tame when people feed them in their back yards and gardens, providing a genuine link between people and their local birdlife. The only time when magpies are not so popular is during the spring nesting season, when the birds sometimes swoop passersby to protect their nestlings.
White Ibis, on the other hand, are seldom spoken about in positive terms, at least in built-up areas. In rural districts, they are sometimes referred to as ‘the farmer’s friend’, as they eke out a living eating all sorts of agricultural pests. However, now that they’ve become familiar residents in many of Australia’s major cities, their habit of scavenging scraps and annoying alfresco diners has not endeared them to many people. How can we explain their unexpectedly high vote? It appears to have been a ‘Boaty McBoatface’ moment, with many people voting for the bird in an effort to be ‘ironic’.
Behind the White Ibis were the perennially popular Laughing Kookaburra, Tawny Frogmouth and Superb Fairy-wren.
Thanks to everyone who took part.
Australia’s Top 10 Favourite Birds
Australian Magpie (19,926 votes)
Australian White Ibis (19,083 votes)
Laughing Kookaburra (10,953 votes)
Tawny Frogmouth (6869 votes)
Superb Fairy-wren (6366 votes)
Rainbow Lorikeet (6041 votes)
Willie Wagtail (4789 votes)
Wedge-tailed Eagle (4517 votes)
Southern Cassowary (4168 votes)
Splendid Fairy-wren (4129 votes)
Australian Magpie, Australian Ibis and Kookaburra photos by A J Guesdon - taken in Pittwater.
A Bird In The Bush Is Worth $223,851 In The Hand
December 12, 2017: Deborah Smith - UNSW
The arrival of a single Black-backed Oriole bird in rural Pennsylvania – 5000 kilometres from its usual home in Mexico – was worth an estimated $US223,851 to the economy from bird watchers flocking to see it.
The study, by a UNSW Sydney-led team, is the first to quantify the economic impact of a vagrant bird – a species observed outside its normal geographic range.
“More than 1800 birders from all over the Unites States and parts of Canada came to see the Black-backed Oriole, which was first spotted in a suburban backyard on 26 January 2017,” says study first author and UNSW Science PhD candidate Corey Callaghan.
“The bird stayed for 67 days, until 10 April, and we estimate this ecotourism event generated more than $3000 a day for the local and extended economy as a result of the travel, food and accommodation costs of the avitourists.”
A Black-backed Oriole. Photo: Susan Schmoyer
The study, by researchers from UNSW, the Australian Museum, Charles Sturt University and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, is published in the journal Human Dimensions of Wildlife.
“There is sometimes a mixed perception of the role biodiversity plays in our economy,” says study senior author Professor Richard Kingsford, Director of the UNSW Centre for Ecosystem Science.
“Here we show that real dollars come from conserving biodiversity. This one bird made an important contribution to the economy.”
The 2017 appearance of the Black-backed Oriole in a backyard bird feeder in rural Berks County in Pennsylvania was only the second time this species had been recorded as visiting the US.
The researchers examined a log book of visitors kept by the home owners, and surveyed the tourists about their travel costs, to estimate the economic value of the event.
“I’ve always wondered how much money is generated by this unique and unpredictable part of birding – vagrant bird chasing – given the number of people who sometimes travel long distances to see an individual bird outside its normal range,” says Mr Callaghan, who is himself a keen birder.
“This was a rare opportunity to find out, and our study reveals just how much people are prepared to pay. There are dozens of similar events around the world each year.”
Watching birds is big business in the United States, Australia and around the world. According to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service,up to $40 billion dollars per year is spent on watching birds in the US.
Ultimately, all birds depend on their habitats and so the benefits to the economy from bird watching need to be balanced against environmental threats that destroy their habitats, such as land clearing. There is a need to have thorough economic assessments of developments, given the value to the economy from passive bird watching, the researchers say.
Bird watchers watching the Black-backed Oriole in Pennsylvania. Photo: Jeffrey Gordon
December 12, 2017: Deborah Smith - UNSW
The arrival of a single Black-backed Oriole bird in rural Pennsylvania – 5000 kilometres from its usual home in Mexico – was worth an estimated $US223,851 to the economy from bird watchers flocking to see it.
The study, by a UNSW Sydney-led team, is the first to quantify the economic impact of a vagrant bird – a species observed outside its normal geographic range.
“More than 1800 birders from all over the Unites States and parts of Canada came to see the Black-backed Oriole, which was first spotted in a suburban backyard on 26 January 2017,” says study first author and UNSW Science PhD candidate Corey Callaghan.
“The bird stayed for 67 days, until 10 April, and we estimate this ecotourism event generated more than $3000 a day for the local and extended economy as a result of the travel, food and accommodation costs of the avitourists.”
A Black-backed Oriole. Photo: Susan Schmoyer
The study, by researchers from UNSW, the Australian Museum, Charles Sturt University and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, is published in the journal Human Dimensions of Wildlife.
“There is sometimes a mixed perception of the role biodiversity plays in our economy,” says study senior author Professor Richard Kingsford, Director of the UNSW Centre for Ecosystem Science.
“Here we show that real dollars come from conserving biodiversity. This one bird made an important contribution to the economy.”
The 2017 appearance of the Black-backed Oriole in a backyard bird feeder in rural Berks County in Pennsylvania was only the second time this species had been recorded as visiting the US.
The researchers examined a log book of visitors kept by the home owners, and surveyed the tourists about their travel costs, to estimate the economic value of the event.
“I’ve always wondered how much money is generated by this unique and unpredictable part of birding – vagrant bird chasing – given the number of people who sometimes travel long distances to see an individual bird outside its normal range,” says Mr Callaghan, who is himself a keen birder.
“This was a rare opportunity to find out, and our study reveals just how much people are prepared to pay. There are dozens of similar events around the world each year.”
Watching birds is big business in the United States, Australia and around the world. According to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service,up to $40 billion dollars per year is spent on watching birds in the US.
Ultimately, all birds depend on their habitats and so the benefits to the economy from bird watching need to be balanced against environmental threats that destroy their habitats, such as land clearing. There is a need to have thorough economic assessments of developments, given the value to the economy from passive bird watching, the researchers say.
Bird watchers watching the Black-backed Oriole in Pennsylvania. Photo: Jeffrey Gordon
Lizards Of Oz Take Toll On Turtle Eggs
December 14, 2017: University of Queensland
Goannas have overtaken foxes as the number one predator of the endangered loggerhead turtle at its second largest Queensland nesting beach.
A University of Queensland study has found that since feral red foxes were controlled in the 1980s, there has been an increase in the number goanna raids on loggerhead turtle nests at Wreck Rock beach, south of Agnes Waters.
Yellow-spotted goanna on Wreck Rock Beach, Queensland. Credit: Courtesy Dr. David Booth
UQ School of Biological Sciences researchers PhD student Juan Lei and Dr David Booth observed -- with the assistance of Turtle Care Queensland Inc volunteers and camera traps -- that the predators disturb up to 400 nests at the beach in one year.
"We discovered that only large male yellow-spotted goannas dug open sea turtle nests, but once the nest was opened other lizards, such as lace monitors and smaller yellow-spotted goannas, raided them," Dr Booth said.
"We had expected most nests would be discovered within one or two days of being constructed because of the visual and scent cues left behind by the female turtle.
"But what we found was the likelihood of a turtle nest being opened by a goanna wasn't related to the nest age or even the presence of ghost crabs, which disturb nests by burrowing and potentially releasing those smells that attract a goanna's attention.
"So we still don't know the mechanism by which goannas discover and attack sea turtle nests that are several weeks into the incubation period."
Dr Booth said studying the relationships between predators and prey, and the interactions between different predators that hunt the same prey, were important in ecological research.
"One predator species may provide the cue signalling the location of prey to the other predator species, particularly when food sources become sparse," he said.
The study, supported by a Nest to Oceans Turtle Protection Program grant, is published in Austral Ecology.
Juan Lei, David T. Booth. How do goannas find sea turtle nests? Austral Ecology, 2017; DOI: 10.1111/aec.12568
December 14, 2017: University of Queensland
Goannas have overtaken foxes as the number one predator of the endangered loggerhead turtle at its second largest Queensland nesting beach.
A University of Queensland study has found that since feral red foxes were controlled in the 1980s, there has been an increase in the number goanna raids on loggerhead turtle nests at Wreck Rock beach, south of Agnes Waters.
Yellow-spotted goanna on Wreck Rock Beach, Queensland. Credit: Courtesy Dr. David Booth
UQ School of Biological Sciences researchers PhD student Juan Lei and Dr David Booth observed -- with the assistance of Turtle Care Queensland Inc volunteers and camera traps -- that the predators disturb up to 400 nests at the beach in one year.
"We discovered that only large male yellow-spotted goannas dug open sea turtle nests, but once the nest was opened other lizards, such as lace monitors and smaller yellow-spotted goannas, raided them," Dr Booth said.
"We had expected most nests would be discovered within one or two days of being constructed because of the visual and scent cues left behind by the female turtle.
"But what we found was the likelihood of a turtle nest being opened by a goanna wasn't related to the nest age or even the presence of ghost crabs, which disturb nests by burrowing and potentially releasing those smells that attract a goanna's attention.
"So we still don't know the mechanism by which goannas discover and attack sea turtle nests that are several weeks into the incubation period."
Dr Booth said studying the relationships between predators and prey, and the interactions between different predators that hunt the same prey, were important in ecological research.
"One predator species may provide the cue signalling the location of prey to the other predator species, particularly when food sources become sparse," he said.
The study, supported by a Nest to Oceans Turtle Protection Program grant, is published in Austral Ecology.
Juan Lei, David T. Booth. How do goannas find sea turtle nests? Austral Ecology, 2017; DOI: 10.1111/aec.12568
Shrinking Wilderness Ignored At Our Peril
Laser-Boron Fusion Now 'Leading Contender' For Energy
Mammal Long Thought Extinct In NSW Resurfaces In State’s West
December 15, 2017: UNSW MediaA Crest-tailed Mulgara, a small carnivorous marsupial known only from fossilised bone fragments and presumed extinct in NSW for more than century, has been discovered in Sturt National Park north-west of Tibooburra.
A team from the UNSW Sydney's Wild Deserts project made the unexpected discovery during recent scientific monitoring.
The Crest-tailed Mulgara was once widely distributed across sandy deserts in inland Australia. Photo: Reece Pedler
UNSW scientist and Wild Deserts ecologist Dr Rebecca West says it is particularly exciting to find a Crest-tailed Mulgara alive for the first time in NSW.
“The Crest-tailed Mulgara was once widely distributed across sandy desert environments in inland Australia, but declined due to the effects of rabbits, cats and foxes,” West says.
“The species weighs around 150 grams and has pale blonde fur and a thick tail with a distinctive black crest.”
The discovery comes at a great time, according to UNSW scientist and Wild Deserts project co-ordinator Reece Pedler.
“Next year we are due to begin introduced predator and rabbit eradication from a large area, which will no doubt help the Mulgara,” Pedler says.
National Parks and Wildlife Service area manager Jaymie Norris says the Wild Deserts project is contributing to the NSW Government’s Saving our Species conservation program (SOS).
Reduced rabbit populations over the past 20 years are thought to have benefited the species. Photo: Katherine Moseby
“The aim of this project is to return mammal species not seen in their natural habitat for over 90 years in Sturt National Park,” he says.
“Rabbits, cats and foxes will be eradicated from two 20-square-kilometre fenced exclosures in Sturt National Park, before locally extinct mammals are reintroduced.
“Reintroduced native mammal species will include Greater Bilby, Burrowing Bettong, Western Quoll and Western Barred Bandicoot.”
The Wild Deserts project is a partnership between UNSW and Ecological Horizons, in collaboration with Taronga Conservation Society Australia.
Wild Deserts has been contracted by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage to restore and promote desert ecosystems in Sturt National Park.
Previous work in South Australia by Wild Deserts team members suggests that the Crest-tailed Mulgara has been recovering in numbers and expanding its range.
Reduced rabbit populations during the past 20 years due to release of rabbit calicivirus is thought to have benefited the species by leading to increases in ground cover.
Reductions in populations of introduced predators such as cats and foxes has also increased the numbers of small rodents for Mulgara to prey on.
In recent years, Crest-tailed Mulgara have expanded their distribution in the Strzelecki Desert over the border in South Australia.
December 15, 2017: UNSW Media
A Crest-tailed Mulgara, a small carnivorous marsupial known only from fossilised bone fragments and presumed extinct in NSW for more than century, has been discovered in Sturt National Park north-west of Tibooburra.
A team from the UNSW Sydney's Wild Deserts project made the unexpected discovery during recent scientific monitoring.
The Crest-tailed Mulgara was once widely distributed across sandy deserts in inland Australia. Photo: Reece Pedler
UNSW scientist and Wild Deserts ecologist Dr Rebecca West says it is particularly exciting to find a Crest-tailed Mulgara alive for the first time in NSW.
“The Crest-tailed Mulgara was once widely distributed across sandy desert environments in inland Australia, but declined due to the effects of rabbits, cats and foxes,” West says.
“The species weighs around 150 grams and has pale blonde fur and a thick tail with a distinctive black crest.”
The discovery comes at a great time, according to UNSW scientist and Wild Deserts project co-ordinator Reece Pedler.
“Next year we are due to begin introduced predator and rabbit eradication from a large area, which will no doubt help the Mulgara,” Pedler says.
National Parks and Wildlife Service area manager Jaymie Norris says the Wild Deserts project is contributing to the NSW Government’s Saving our Species conservation program (SOS).
Reduced rabbit populations over the past 20 years are thought to have benefited the species. Photo: Katherine Moseby
“The aim of this project is to return mammal species not seen in their natural habitat for over 90 years in Sturt National Park,” he says.
“Rabbits, cats and foxes will be eradicated from two 20-square-kilometre fenced exclosures in Sturt National Park, before locally extinct mammals are reintroduced.
“Reintroduced native mammal species will include Greater Bilby, Burrowing Bettong, Western Quoll and Western Barred Bandicoot.”
The Wild Deserts project is a partnership between UNSW and Ecological Horizons, in collaboration with Taronga Conservation Society Australia.
Wild Deserts has been contracted by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage to restore and promote desert ecosystems in Sturt National Park.
Previous work in South Australia by Wild Deserts team members suggests that the Crest-tailed Mulgara has been recovering in numbers and expanding its range.
Reduced rabbit populations during the past 20 years due to release of rabbit calicivirus is thought to have benefited the species by leading to increases in ground cover.
Reductions in populations of introduced predators such as cats and foxes has also increased the numbers of small rodents for Mulgara to prey on.
In recent years, Crest-tailed Mulgara have expanded their distribution in the Strzelecki Desert over the border in South Australia.
Tasmanian Seed Market Letter Deemed Presumptuous
The thin edge of the wedge has arrived in Whitemore, Tasmania. Got a letter in the mail the other day from the international seed company, Bejo, asking me not to save my own vegetable seeds – specifically beetroot and silver beet. What the sh*t? Bejo say that they are growing beetroots for seed somewhere in Tasmania – they say not where.
Apparently these plants produce pollen which can spread by wind for up to 10 km and the seeds that I save in my garden (I currently have one plant being saved for seed) could stuff things up for them by cross pollinating with their plants. It seems that I could possibly, single-handedly with my one plant, destroy an industry worth millions. Well best of luck with that one. I am currently trying to word a letter that tells Bejo to basically go and get stuffed.
I don’t know much about Bejo but they seem to have a whiff of Monsanto about them. Apparently Bejo are part of the Dutch company Bejo Zaden. There also seems to be some information that their head office is actually in USA so it is hard to tell. They are a private company and they don’t seem to list their directors or who actually owns the operation (or if they do I can’t find it). They claim to be the third biggest vegetable seed company in the world and are active in 30 different countries. According to our ABC rural news department they are moving into Tasmania in a big way because of climate change.
They ask “that you please cut off, at ground level, any plants which are presently flowering in your garden”. Ah, well actually, no, I don’t intend to. They didn’t offer to supply me with free vegetable seed by way of compensation and I would also greatly appreciate it they stopped spraying their crops with insecticides that could adversely affect my bees. We were never consulted on this, just being requested to fall into line for the sake of the profits of an extraordinarily wealthy multi-national company - I don’t think so.
It is actually a bit hard to tell if Bejo are goodies or baddies because they seem to employee some extraordinarily capable spin doctors – as does Monsanto. They continually throw in impressive (but meaningless) motherhood statements like “we stay close to nature” and “exploring nature never stops”. They also seem to be using the power of association by trying to ride on the back of the organic movement by producing some organic seeds. They don’t say how much.
So far I have only come up with one line for my letter of reply, “You are possibly a villain masquerading as one of the good guys”. I may substitute bully for villain - haven’t decided yet. It’s a start.
I have attached a photo of myself and my supposedly sinister silver beet plant.
Steven FrenchTasmania.December 12, 2017
The thin edge of the wedge has arrived in Whitemore, Tasmania. Got a letter in the mail the other day from the international seed company, Bejo, asking me not to save my own vegetable seeds – specifically beetroot and silver beet. What the sh*t? Bejo say that they are growing beetroots for seed somewhere in Tasmania – they say not where.
Apparently these plants produce pollen which can spread by wind for up to 10 km and the seeds that I save in my garden (I currently have one plant being saved for seed) could stuff things up for them by cross pollinating with their plants. It seems that I could possibly, single-handedly with my one plant, destroy an industry worth millions. Well best of luck with that one. I am currently trying to word a letter that tells Bejo to basically go and get stuffed.
I don’t know much about Bejo but they seem to have a whiff of Monsanto about them. Apparently Bejo are part of the Dutch company Bejo Zaden. There also seems to be some information that their head office is actually in USA so it is hard to tell. They are a private company and they don’t seem to list their directors or who actually owns the operation (or if they do I can’t find it). They claim to be the third biggest vegetable seed company in the world and are active in 30 different countries. According to our ABC rural news department they are moving into Tasmania in a big way because of climate change.
They ask “that you please cut off, at ground level, any plants which are presently flowering in your garden”. Ah, well actually, no, I don’t intend to. They didn’t offer to supply me with free vegetable seed by way of compensation and I would also greatly appreciate it they stopped spraying their crops with insecticides that could adversely affect my bees. We were never consulted on this, just being requested to fall into line for the sake of the profits of an extraordinarily wealthy multi-national company - I don’t think so.
It is actually a bit hard to tell if Bejo are goodies or baddies because they seem to employee some extraordinarily capable spin doctors – as does Monsanto. They continually throw in impressive (but meaningless) motherhood statements like “we stay close to nature” and “exploring nature never stops”. They also seem to be using the power of association by trying to ride on the back of the organic movement by producing some organic seeds. They don’t say how much.
So far I have only come up with one line for my letter of reply, “You are possibly a villain masquerading as one of the good guys”. I may substitute bully for villain - haven’t decided yet. It’s a start.
I have attached a photo of myself and my supposedly sinister silver beet plant.
Steven French
Tasmania.
December 12, 2017
CLARIFICATION ON CIRCULATION LETTER
Further to our magazine article on seed production in Tasmania, we would like to give a more detailed explanation to a letter that we circulated to households close to our production fields in Tasmania, and which has received many reactions on social media recently.
This letter has been circulated to households near our seed production areas for more than 20 years, and indeed, it is common practice by all seed producing companies around the world to make this request. It is a kind request from our side in which we merely appeal to the good nature of gardeners – people who share our interest in producing quality seed for quality crops. In Tasmania, our seed production operation is thriving in order to supply commercial growers with quality seed for the global food market. We do not use any GMO products, and currently our focus is on producing quality organic seed for the organic grower. With the growing success each year, we are able to offer more employment opportunities within the local community, and we strive to build relationships with our growers and neighbours.
We unreservedly apologise if our intentions have been misconstrued, and we encourage you to check the following links for more information on our company.
Further to our magazine article on seed production in Tasmania, we would like to give a more detailed explanation to a letter that we circulated to households close to our production fields in Tasmania, and which has received many reactions on social media recently.
This letter has been circulated to households near our seed production areas for more than 20 years, and indeed, it is common practice by all seed producing companies around the world to make this request. It is a kind request from our side in which we merely appeal to the good nature of gardeners – people who share our interest in producing quality seed for quality crops. In Tasmania, our seed production operation is thriving in order to supply commercial growers with quality seed for the global food market. We do not use any GMO products, and currently our focus is on producing quality organic seed for the organic grower. With the growing success each year, we are able to offer more employment opportunities within the local community, and we strive to build relationships with our growers and neighbours.
We unreservedly apologise if our intentions have been misconstrued, and we encourage you to check the following links for more information on our company.
World-First Uses Satellites, Ocean Models To Explain Antarctic Seafloor Biodiversity
December 12th, 2017: University of Tasmania - Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
In a world-first, a research team of Australian and international scientists has used data collected by satellites and an ocean model to explain and predict biodiversity on the Antarctic seafloor.
The researchers combined satellite images of phytoplankton colour on the sea surface with a suite of connected models of how the microscopic phytoplankton are swept by ocean currents, sink to the seafloor and are then redistributed across it, to accurately predict the extent of seafloor life without the need for extensive physical sampling.
The study's lead author, IMAS PhD student Jan Jansen, said the breakthrough, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, would support better conservation and management of biodiversity in the Antarctic.
"For the first time, we are able to predict how much food is available to organisms on the Antarctic sea floor, and therefore how much life is supported across the region," Mr Jansen said.
"Scientists have long known that there was a relationship between organic matter on the surface and life on the sea floor.
"But until now there hasn't been a reliable model that not only explained the link but also enabled predictions of biodiversity.
"Our 'food availability model' brings satellite data and analysis of the rate at which organic matter sinks together with data about fluctuating ocean currents on and above the seafloor.
"The model's predictions about how much food there will be in a particular area have been verified by physical sampling of seafloor sediments.
"This system of models allows broad scale predictions of seafloor biodiversity over vast regions of the Antarctic continental shelf that were previously hidden, as well as predictions about how climate change will affect the ecosystem.
"It will also support better informed decisions about how parts of the ocean can be best managed and conserved in the future," Mr Jansen said.
Co-author IMAS Professor Craig Johnson said that while the study was based on a region in eastern Antarctica, the new approach could be used to generate maps of biodiversity across the continental shelf right around the Antarctic continent, including areas where information is currently limited or difficult to collect.
"This information would be very valuable and is an exciting prospect," Professor Johnson said.
"Jan Jansen is to be congratulated for his lead role in pulling together many threads across several disciplines to help answer a major research question. It is a remarkable achievement by a scientist so early in his career
"With further research, this system of models has the potential to provide valuable insights into seafloor biodiversity across other parts of the world's oceans.
Professor Johnson said an extraordinarily diverse team of researchers were involved in this study, including earth scientists, physicists, geologists and biologists. The research team included Jan Jansen, Dr Nicole Hill and Professor Craig Johnson from IMAS, and scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), CSIRO, ACE CRC, Geoscience Australia, Macquarie University, and research organisations in France and the United States.
Jan Jansen, Nicole A. Hill, Piers K. Dunstan, John McKinlay, Michael D. Sumner, Alexandra L. Post, Marc P. Eléaume, Leanne K. Armand, Jonathan P. Warnock, Benjamin K. Galton-Fenzi, Craig R. Johnson. Abundance and richness of key Antarctic seafloor fauna correlates with modelled food availability. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2017; DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0392-3
Image taken during Collaborative East-Antarctic Marine Census 20072008 Copyright-Australian-Antarctic-Division
December 12th, 2017: University of Tasmania - Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
In a world-first, a research team of Australian and international scientists has used data collected by satellites and an ocean model to explain and predict biodiversity on the Antarctic seafloor.
The researchers combined satellite images of phytoplankton colour on the sea surface with a suite of connected models of how the microscopic phytoplankton are swept by ocean currents, sink to the seafloor and are then redistributed across it, to accurately predict the extent of seafloor life without the need for extensive physical sampling.
The study's lead author, IMAS PhD student Jan Jansen, said the breakthrough, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, would support better conservation and management of biodiversity in the Antarctic.
"For the first time, we are able to predict how much food is available to organisms on the Antarctic sea floor, and therefore how much life is supported across the region," Mr Jansen said.
"Scientists have long known that there was a relationship between organic matter on the surface and life on the sea floor.
"But until now there hasn't been a reliable model that not only explained the link but also enabled predictions of biodiversity.
"Our 'food availability model' brings satellite data and analysis of the rate at which organic matter sinks together with data about fluctuating ocean currents on and above the seafloor.
"The model's predictions about how much food there will be in a particular area have been verified by physical sampling of seafloor sediments.
"This system of models allows broad scale predictions of seafloor biodiversity over vast regions of the Antarctic continental shelf that were previously hidden, as well as predictions about how climate change will affect the ecosystem.
"It will also support better informed decisions about how parts of the ocean can be best managed and conserved in the future," Mr Jansen said.
Co-author IMAS Professor Craig Johnson said that while the study was based on a region in eastern Antarctica, the new approach could be used to generate maps of biodiversity across the continental shelf right around the Antarctic continent, including areas where information is currently limited or difficult to collect.
"This information would be very valuable and is an exciting prospect," Professor Johnson said.
"Jan Jansen is to be congratulated for his lead role in pulling together many threads across several disciplines to help answer a major research question. It is a remarkable achievement by a scientist so early in his career
"With further research, this system of models has the potential to provide valuable insights into seafloor biodiversity across other parts of the world's oceans.
Professor Johnson said an extraordinarily diverse team of researchers were involved in this study, including earth scientists, physicists, geologists and biologists. The research team included Jan Jansen, Dr Nicole Hill and Professor Craig Johnson from IMAS, and scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), CSIRO, ACE CRC, Geoscience Australia, Macquarie University, and research organisations in France and the United States.
Jan Jansen, Nicole A. Hill, Piers K. Dunstan, John McKinlay, Michael D. Sumner, Alexandra L. Post, Marc P. Eléaume, Leanne K. Armand, Jonathan P. Warnock, Benjamin K. Galton-Fenzi, Craig R. Johnson. Abundance and richness of key Antarctic seafloor fauna correlates with modelled food availability. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2017; DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0392-3
Image taken during Collaborative East-Antarctic Marine Census 20072008 Copyright-Australian-Antarctic-Division
Oceans Book Launches At Critical Time
CSIRO has launched Oceans: Science and Solutions for Australia (Oceans), a book bringing together the latest science to explain the crucial role oceans play in the lives of all Australians.
CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Director Dr Tony Worby said Australia faced several opportunities and challenges, with three of the world’s four major oceans in its marine estate.
"Australia’s oceans cover almost 14 million square kilometres, nearly twice the area of our land, and hold the key to our climate, weather, economy, international security, and social well-being," Dr Worby said.
"It is important that we strike a balance between our national economic and resource requirements, while ensuring long term sustainability of our marine estate and this is key research focus for CSIRO and the Australian marine science community.
"Our oceans do the heavy lifting with respect to carbon dioxide and heat absorption and their capacity to continue to do these things is one of many areas we are focused on through our climate research.
"The effects of ocean warming can be seen already as tropical fish are found further south from warming coastal waters, cold water species decline in some regions, and coral bleaching becomes more frequent.
"There has never been a more important time to focus on marine research."
Oceans editor and CSIRO Chief Research Scientist Dr Bruce Mapstone said national and international collaboration was essential, with Australia having stewardship of the third largest marine estate in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
"The book focuses on Australia’s marine estate which includes the Indian, Pacific and Southern Oceans, however many of the topics covered have global relevance because of the interconnectedness of the world’s oceans," Dr Mapstone said.
"Collaboration is the only way we can tackle the breadth of marine research Australia and the world need to fully understand our oceans.
"Indigenous coastal peoples have had cultural and livelihood connections with Australia’s oceans for thousands of years and their knowledge is extremely valuable.
"Importantly, this book takes complex and detailed research and translates it into clear English that can be understood by policy makers and just as importantly students, some of whom are Australia’s future marine scientists."
Oceans: Science and Solutions for Australia has been authored by scientists from CSIRO and other Australian research agencies and is available for free download: Oceans [PDF 21.5MB] or to order a hardcopy through CSIRO Publishing visit: Oceans.
CSIRO has launched Oceans: Science and Solutions for Australia (Oceans), a book bringing together the latest science to explain the crucial role oceans play in the lives of all Australians.CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Director Dr Tony Worby said Australia faced several opportunities and challenges, with three of the world’s four major oceans in its marine estate.
"Australia’s oceans cover almost 14 million square kilometres, nearly twice the area of our land, and hold the key to our climate, weather, economy, international security, and social well-being," Dr Worby said.
"It is important that we strike a balance between our national economic and resource requirements, while ensuring long term sustainability of our marine estate and this is key research focus for CSIRO and the Australian marine science community.
"Our oceans do the heavy lifting with respect to carbon dioxide and heat absorption and their capacity to continue to do these things is one of many areas we are focused on through our climate research.
"The effects of ocean warming can be seen already as tropical fish are found further south from warming coastal waters, cold water species decline in some regions, and coral bleaching becomes more frequent.
"There has never been a more important time to focus on marine research."
Oceans editor and CSIRO Chief Research Scientist Dr Bruce Mapstone said national and international collaboration was essential, with Australia having stewardship of the third largest marine estate in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
"The book focuses on Australia’s marine estate which includes the Indian, Pacific and Southern Oceans, however many of the topics covered have global relevance because of the interconnectedness of the world’s oceans," Dr Mapstone said.
"Collaboration is the only way we can tackle the breadth of marine research Australia and the world need to fully understand our oceans.
"Indigenous coastal peoples have had cultural and livelihood connections with Australia’s oceans for thousands of years and their knowledge is extremely valuable.
"Importantly, this book takes complex and detailed research and translates it into clear English that can be understood by policy makers and just as importantly students, some of whom are Australia’s future marine scientists."
Oceans: Science and Solutions for Australia has been authored by scientists from CSIRO and other Australian research agencies and is available for free download: Oceans [PDF 21.5MB] or to order a hardcopy through CSIRO Publishing visit: Oceans.
Archaeologist Finds World's Oldest Funereal Fish Hooks
December 14, 2017: Australian National UniversityAn archaeologist from The Australian National University (ANU) has uncovered the world's oldest known fish-hooks placed in a burial ritual, found on Indonesia's Alor Island, northwest of East Timor.
The five fish hooks were among items carefully placed under the chin, and around the jaws of a female from the Pleistocene era, dating back 12,000 years.
Distinguished Professor Sue O'Connor from the School of Culture, History and Language in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific said the discovery turns on its head the theory that most fishing activities on these islands were carried out by men.
"These are the oldest known fish-hooks associated with mortuary practices from anywhere in the world and perhaps indicate that fishing equipment was viewed as essential for transition to the afterlife in this area," Professor O'Connor said.
"The discovery shows that in both life and death, the Pleistocene inhabitants of the Alor Island region were intrinsically connected to the sea, and the association of the fish-hooks with a burial denotes the cosmological status of fishing in this island environment."
Prior to the find, the earliest fish-hooks associated with a burial site date back only about 9,000 years and were found in a river environment of the Mesolithic era in Siberia, known as the Ershi cemetery.
Professor O'Connor said in a maritime context, the earliest burials with fish-hooks are from Oman, where rotating fish-hooks made of pearl shell have been dated to about 6,000 years ago.
Older fish hooks from Japan, Europe and East Timor date back as far as 22,000 years, but they were not related to burial rites.
In the Alor Island find, two different types of fish-hooks were buried -- a J-Shaped hook and four circular rotating hooks fashioned from the shell of a species of sea-snail.
Professor O'Connor said the appearance of the Alor rotating fish-hooks so early on a disconnected island suggests that several fishing communities developed the same technology separately, rather than learning from each other through contact.
"The Alor hooks bear an uncanny resemblance to rotating hooks used in Japan, Australia, Arabia, California, Chile, Mexico and Oceania," she said.
"We argue that the same sort of artefact was developed independently because it was the most fitting form to suit the ecology, rather than through cultural diffusion."
Sue O'Connor, Mahirta, Sofía C. Samper Carro, Stuart Hawkins, Shimona Kealy, Julien Louys, Rachel Wood. Fishing in life and death: Pleistocene fish-hooks from a burial context on Alor Island, Indonesia. Antiquity, 2017; 91 (360): 1451 DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2017.186
These are skeletal remains and fish hooks on Alor. Credit: ANU
December 14, 2017: Australian National University
An archaeologist from The Australian National University (ANU) has uncovered the world's oldest known fish-hooks placed in a burial ritual, found on Indonesia's Alor Island, northwest of East Timor.
The five fish hooks were among items carefully placed under the chin, and around the jaws of a female from the Pleistocene era, dating back 12,000 years.
Distinguished Professor Sue O'Connor from the School of Culture, History and Language in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific said the discovery turns on its head the theory that most fishing activities on these islands were carried out by men.
"These are the oldest known fish-hooks associated with mortuary practices from anywhere in the world and perhaps indicate that fishing equipment was viewed as essential for transition to the afterlife in this area," Professor O'Connor said.
"The discovery shows that in both life and death, the Pleistocene inhabitants of the Alor Island region were intrinsically connected to the sea, and the association of the fish-hooks with a burial denotes the cosmological status of fishing in this island environment."
Prior to the find, the earliest fish-hooks associated with a burial site date back only about 9,000 years and were found in a river environment of the Mesolithic era in Siberia, known as the Ershi cemetery.
Professor O'Connor said in a maritime context, the earliest burials with fish-hooks are from Oman, where rotating fish-hooks made of pearl shell have been dated to about 6,000 years ago.
Older fish hooks from Japan, Europe and East Timor date back as far as 22,000 years, but they were not related to burial rites.
In the Alor Island find, two different types of fish-hooks were buried -- a J-Shaped hook and four circular rotating hooks fashioned from the shell of a species of sea-snail.
Professor O'Connor said the appearance of the Alor rotating fish-hooks so early on a disconnected island suggests that several fishing communities developed the same technology separately, rather than learning from each other through contact.
"The Alor hooks bear an uncanny resemblance to rotating hooks used in Japan, Australia, Arabia, California, Chile, Mexico and Oceania," she said.
"We argue that the same sort of artefact was developed independently because it was the most fitting form to suit the ecology, rather than through cultural diffusion."
Sue O'Connor, Mahirta, Sofía C. Samper Carro, Stuart Hawkins, Shimona Kealy, Julien Louys, Rachel Wood. Fishing in life and death: Pleistocene fish-hooks from a burial context on Alor Island, Indonesia. Antiquity, 2017; 91 (360): 1451 DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2017.186
These are skeletal remains and fish hooks on Alor. Credit: ANU
Lyme Bacteria Survive 28-Day Course Of Antibiotics Months After Infection
December 13, 2017
Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading sponsor of Lyme disease research in the US, today announced results of two papers published in the peer-reviewed journals PLOS ONE and American Journal of Pathology, that seem to support claims of lingering symptoms reported by many patients who have already received antibiotic treatment for the disease.
Based on a single, extensive study of Lyme disease designed by Tulane University researchers, the study employed multiple methods to evaluate the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes, the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, before and after antibiotic treatment in primates. The study also measured the antibody immune response to the bacteria both pre- and post- treatment, as this is how current diagnostics typically evaluate Lyme disease in humans.
The data show that living B. burgdorferi spirochetes were found in ticks that fed upon the primates and in multiple organs after treatment with 28 days of oral doxycycline. The results also indicated that the immune response to the bacteria varied widely in both treated and untreated subjects.
"It is apparent from these data that B. burgdorferi bacteria, which have had time to adapt to their host, have the ability to escape immune recognition,tolerate the antibiotic doxycycline and invade vital organs such as the brain and heart," said lead author Monica Embers, PhD, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at Tulane University School of Medicine.
"In this study, we were able to observe the existence of microscopic disease and low numbers of bacteria, which would be difficult to 'see' in humans but could possibly be the cause of the variable and nonspecific symptoms that are characteristic of post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. Although current antibiotic regimens may cure most patients who are treated early, if the infection is allowed to progress, the 28-day treatment may be insufficient, based on these findings," Embers said.
The findings also demonstrated:
- All subjects treated with antibiotics were found to have some level of infection 7 -- 12 months post treatment.
- Despite testing negative by antibody tests for Lyme disease, two of 10 subjects were still infected with Lyme bacteria in heart and bladder.
- Lyme bacteria which persist are still viable.
To better elucidate previous animal studies demonstrating that some B. burgdorferi bacteria survive antibiotics, the study explored Lyme disease infection in rhesus macaque primates treated with antibiotics and a control group who were also infected but not treated. This species has been shown to demonstrate a progression of Lyme disease most similar to humans, particularly related to erythema migrans, carditis, arthritis, and neuropathy of the peripheral and central nervous systems.
"Clearly, some medical practices governing diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease should be reconsidered in light of this study. This study shows that we must reevaluate the current paradigm of antibody response tests for diagnosis and move away from the one size fits all approach to Lyme treatment," said Wendy Adams, Research Grant Director, Bay Area Lyme Foundation. "Every day, patients with Lyme disease are told their symptoms cannot be caused by Lyme, because they test negative on antibody tests or because they have received a single course of antibiotics. More research and funding are imperative."
In the study, ticks carrying B. burgdorferi spirochetes fed on ten primates. Four months post infection, half of the primates (five) received the antibiotic doxycycline orally for 28 days at a proportional dose to that used in human treatment. Five subjects were treated with placebo and all ten were evaluated by more than five different diagnostic methods to characterize any remaining infection. The researchers used several important techniques, including xenodiagnoses, to determine if the spirochete bacteria persisted.
The results show:
- Few subjects displayed a rash. Although all subjects were infected, only one of the 10 displayed a rash with central clearing, the classical "bulls-eye" rash. The subject that developed this rash, interestingly, never mounted an immune response to five borrelia antigens throughout the study period, prior to and following treatment.
- Organs may be infected even if antibody tests are negative. One subject which tested negative for B. burgdorferi by skin biopsy cultures, PCR and in vivo cultures, was found to have B. burgdorferi infecting the heart. Another untreated subject, who was ultimately shown to have residual Lyme bacteria inthe bladder, showed a decrease in immune response over the course of infection, with a negative xenodiagnosis test in the late stage, which would signal that the animal self-cured.
- Intact spirochetes were found in three of five treated and four of five untreated subjects based on xenodiagnosis results 12 months after the tick bite.
- Immune responses to B. burgdorferi varied greatly post-treatment, with one subject's antibody levels dropping to pre-bite levels for three antigens while another subject experienced elevated antibodies for the same antigens throughout the study period. This is significant because it demonstrates that subjects infected with the same strain of B. burgdorferi may have different immune responses to the same antigen. And, because humans, like primates, are genetically diverse, it underscores that testing antibody responses may be inherently unreliable as a singular diagnostic modality for Lyme disease.
- Widespread and variable microscopic disease was observed in all infected subjects, despite antibiotic treatment. Compared to uninfected subjects of the same age, infected subjects in this study (treated and untreated) demonstrated Inflammation in and around the heart, in skeletal muscles, joints, and the protective sheath that covers the brain, and near peripheral nerves.
- Rare, but intact B. burgdorferi spirochetes were found in the tissues of both the treated and untreated subjects. In two subjects treated with doxycycline, multiple Lyme bacteria were observed in the brain tissue. Others organs in which the spirochetes were observed included the heart, joints, bladder, skeletal muscle and adjacent to peripheral nerves.
Journal References:
- Monica E. Embers, Nicole R. Hasenkampf, Mary B. Jacobs, Amanda C. Tardo, Lara A. Doyle-Meyers, Mario T. Philipp, Emir Hodzic.Variable manifestations, diverse seroreactivity and post-treatment persistence in non-human primates exposed to Borrelia burgdorferi by tick feeding. PLOS ONE, 2017; 12 (12): e0189071 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189071
- Nicholas A. Crossland, Xavier Alvarez, Monica E. Embers. Late Disseminated Lyme Disease: Associated Pathology and Spirochete Persistence Post-Treatment in Rhesus Macaques. The American Journal of Pathology, 2017; DOI:10.1016/j.ajpath.2017.11.005
Matildas & Kerr Australia’s Fan Favourites At AIS Awards 2017
December 12, 2017 Australian Institute of Sport
Australia’s women’s football team the Matildas and superstar striker Sam Kerr were the big winners with fans at the AIS Sport Performance Awards in Sydney tonight.
Kerr was awarded ABC Sports Personality of the Year, voted on by the Australian public, ahead of Australian Kangaroos rugby league skipper Cameron Smith, AFL star Dustin Martin and Paralympic champion Curtis McGrath.
Proving the soaring popularity of the Matildas, Australian sport fans also voted them Public Choice Team of the Year ahead of NRL premiers the Melbourne Storm, AFL champions the Richmond Tigers and the Australian Diamonds netball team. The online poll, run in partnership between the AIS and ABC Grandstand, attracted almost 19,000 votes from fans.
Completing a trifecta of awards for the Matildas, Alen Stajcic was recognised by an AIS panel of experts as Coach of the Year.
The Matildas were finalists in six award categories, including Best Sporting Moment of the Year for their historic victory at the Tournament of Nations. The Best Sporting Moment, voted on by national media, was taken out by world champion boxer Jeff Horn for his underdog victory against Manny Pacquiao.
Almost 400 guests gathered at The Star in Sydney for the black tie function to celebrate the year in Australian sport, also highlighted by achievements in winter sport and women’s sport.
Australia’s form is building ahead of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in South Korea next year, winter sports taking out three major awards. World champion snowboarder Scott James claimed Male Athlete of the Year and Australian Freestyle Skiing and Snowboard was named Team of the Year after a record-breaking 2016-17 season. Alpine skier Mitchell Gourley produced Para Performance of the Year with a world championship victory.
Olympic gold medalist and hurdler Sally Pearson (pictured at the awards, above) was named Female Athlete of the Year for her inspirational world championship victory in the 100m hurdles in London. Young track cyclist Kelland O’Brien was named Emerging Athlete of the Year as a prominent member of Australia’s Men’s Track Pursuit team.
The inaugural AFL Women’s competition was another major milestone for women’s sport in 2017 and Susan Alberti was presented with the Award for Leadership for her vision and influence in driving the competition’s launch. President of the Australian Paralympic Committee Glenn Tasker was honoured for his long Service to Sport, particularly his dedication to increasing opportunity for athletes with a disability.
AIS Director Peter Conde said: “The AIS Sport Performance Awards are a wonderful chance to gather and celebrate world-class achievements. As new AIS Director I look forward to working with our Australian sporting partners in 2018 to deliver more success, including at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.”
AIS Sport Performance Awards winners
ABC Sports Personality of the Year (presented by ABC)
Sam Kerr (Football)
Female Athlete of the Year (presented by Berlei)
Sally Pearson (Athletics)
Male Athlete of the Year (presented by The Complete Dairy)
Scott James (Winter Sport)
Public Choice Team of the Year (presented by A.H. Beard)
Matildas (Football)
Best Sporting Moment (presented by 2XU)
Jeff Horn’s world boxing title (Boxing)
Coach of the Year (presented by Melbourne Business School)
Alen Stajcic (Football)
Para Performance of the Year (presented by Nestle)
Mitchell Gourley (Winter Sport)
Emerging Athlete of the Year (presented by Commonwealth Games Australia)
Kelland O’Brien (Cycling)
Team of the Year (presented by Gatorade)
Australian Freestyle Skiing and Snowboard (Winter Sport)
Award for Leadership (presented by Melbourne Business School)
Susan Alberti (Australian Football)
Service to Sport
Glenn Tasker (Australian Paralympic Committee)
Appointments To The Federal Courts
14 December 2017: Media release- Attorney-General for Australia, Senator the Hon George Brandis QC
Today I announce a number of appointments to the federal courts, bringing a wealth of experience across a range of practice areas to the Federal Court of Australia, the Family Court of Australia and Federal Circuit Court of Australia.
On behalf of the Government, I congratulate all new federal court judges on their appointments and thank them for their willingness to serve the people of Australia. I wish each of them well in their judicial service.
Appointment of Deputy Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia
The Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, the Hon William Alstergren, has also been appointed Deputy Chief Justice of the Family Court. He will continue to hold a dual commission as Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit Court. Chief Judge Alstergren completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Melbourne in 1989. He practised as a barrister in Melbourne from 1991, and took silk in 2012. During this time he was also elected President of the Australian Bar Association and Chairman of the Victorian Bar.
Appointments to the Federal Court of Australia
Perth Registry
The Hon Justice Katrina Banks-Smith and Mr Craig Colvin SC will commence in the Perth Registry on 12 and 13 February 2018, respectively.
The Hon Justice Katrina Banks-Smith is currently a Judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. She completed a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Tasmania in 1988 and a Master of Laws from Cambridge in 1993. Her Honour signed the Bar Roll in 2009 and was appointed as Senior Counsel in 2013.
Mr Colvin completed a Bachelor of Jurisprudence in 1982 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1983 at the University of Western Australia. He signed the Bar Roll in 1995 and was appointed as Senior Counsel in 2001. He is widely regarded as one of the leaders of the Perth Bar. Mr Colvin’s principal areas of practice include administrative law, competition law, mining and petroleum, corporations law, equity and property.
Sydney Registry
Mr Thomas Thawley SC will commence in the Sydney Registry on 14 February 2018. Mr Thawley completed a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts at the Australian National University in 1995 and a Master of Laws at the University of Sydney in 2015. He signed the Bar Roll in 1998 and was appointed as Senior Counsel in 2012. He is a leading commercial silk, specialising in revenue law. Mr Thawley’s principal areas of practice include banking and financial services, bankruptcy and insolvency, commercial law, taxation and revenue, equity, trusts, administrative law and corporations law.
Appointments to the Family Court of Australia
Brisbane Registry
Judge Michael Baumann, who is currently a Judge of the Federal Circuit Court, has been promoted to the position of Judge at the Family Court, based in Brisbane. Judge Baumann was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1979 after completing Articles at the Solicitors Board Queensland. He completed a Master of Laws from the Queensland University of Technology in 2000.
Appointments to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia
Perth Registry
Dr Christopher Kendall will commence in the Perth Registry on 29 January 2018. Dr Kendall completed a Bachelor of Arts (Political Studies) (Honours) in 1988 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1991 from Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada. He signed the Bar Roll in Australia in 2001 and completed his Doctorate of Law at the University of Michigan that same year. Dr Kendall was appointed the Deputy President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in 2015. Dr Kendall’s principal areas of practice include administrative law, intellectual property law, trade practices law, immigration law, and constitutional law.
Melbourne Registry
Ms Caroline Kirton QC will commence in the Melbourne Registry on 29 January 2018. Ms Kirton completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Bachelor of Laws in 1986 from the University of Melbourne, and a Master of Law from Monash University in 1994. She commenced as a barrister in 1990 and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2011. Ms Kirton’s principal areas of practice include family law, construction law, arbitration, criminal law, property law, banking and finance law, equity and trusts, trade practices law and commercial litigation.
Sydney Registry
Ms Julia Baird SC will commence in the Sydney Registry on 20 February 2018. Ms Baird completed a Bachelor of Arts in 1981 and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) in 1983 from the University of Sydney. Ms Baird commenced as a barrister in 1992 and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2008. Ms Baird’s principal areas of practice include commercial law, competition and consumer law, trade practices law, contract law, equity and intellectual property law.
Brisbane Registry
Mr Gregory Egan will commence in the Brisbane Registry on 18 December 2017. Mr Egan completed a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Queensland in 1980 and signed the Bar Roll in 1984. He has had an extensive practice at the Bar in both Queensland and New Guinea, where he has appeared as Counsel in many significant constitutional cases. He has also appeared in court martial proceedings in his capacity as a Commissioned Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force. Mr Egan’s principal areas of practice include commercial law, maritime law, mining and mineral exploration and company law.
Appointment of Chief Executive and Principal Registrar of the High Court of Australia
I also announce the appointment of Ms Philippa Lynch PSM as the Chief Executive and Principal Registrar of the High Court of Australia. Ms Lynch is currently the First Assistant Secretary of Government Division in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Her term is for five years and commences on 10 February 2018.
Window Safety Device Requirements In Strata Schemes By March 13, 2018
To prevent children falling from windows, all strata buildings in NSW must be fitted with devices that enable the maximum window openings to be less than 12.5cm. Owners corporations must have devices installed on all common property windows above the ground floor by 13 March 2018. The safety devices must be robust and childproof.
Residents will still be able to open their windows. However, they will have the security of knowing that when the devices are engaged, children will be protected.
Details and answers to the below questions are available on the NSW Department of Fair Trading Page HERE
Which windows does this apply to?
Are there any alternatives to locks?
When do the window safety devices need to be installed?
Will this mean the windows will never be able to open?
How can we arrange for window safety devices in our scheme that won't cost a fortune?
If the windows have grills over them, do they still need locks?
How do I know if a window safety device is compliant?
Do I need a certified professional to install the window safety device?
As a lot owner, do I need to obtain permission to install a window safety device in my own lot?
Can the installation of window safety devices be delegated to each individual lot owner?
Information for manufacturers and suppliers
Information for building professionals
Are window safety devices included in the Tenancy Condition Report?
Is an owners corporation required to monitor the use of the window safety devices?
My window forms part of a swimming pool barrier, do the window safety requirements still apply?
Where can I get more information?
Which windows does this apply to?
The laws apply to openable windows where the internal floor is more than 2m above the ground surface outside and within a child's reach (less than 1.7m above the inside floor) - see the diagram below.
Further details are explained in the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016.
The window safety requirements in NSW are based on the Deem-to-Satisfy provisions D2.24 of the Building Code of Australia (BCA). The BCA is part of the National Construction Code of Australia (NCC). For more information on the BCA or the NCC, visit the Australian Building Codes Board website.
Are there any alternatives to locks?
The alternative is security screens, such as bars or grills on the windows so long as they have gaps less than 12.5cm. Flyscreens do not comply unless they are the reinforced security type and capable of resisting the very strong outward pressure which would prevent a child falling through.
For a handy window safety product guide, visit the Kids Don't Fly page on the NSW Health website. Information is provided in 11 languages.
When do the window safety devices need to be installed?
If the window safety requirements are not met by 13 March 2018, owners corporations may face fines. Leaving it to the last minute places your scheme at risk of not complying by the due date and leaves young children vulnerable to falls from windows in your scheme.
Lot owners may install a window safety device in their property at any time, letting the owners corporation know. Tenants must get written permission from their landlord before installing locks that require drilling. Landlords cannot refuse a tenant's request unless they have a very good reason.
10 Best Sydney Science Discoveries In 2017
December 15, 2017: University of Sydney
It's been a bumper year for scientific findings
From squirtable surgical glue to gravitational waves, University of Sydney scientists have been hitting the headlines in 2017.
1. Squirtable surgical glue
Biomedical engineers at the University of Sydney working with scientists in Boston, USA, developed potentially life-saving glue.
Named MeTro, the revolutionary product sets in just 60 seconds once treated with UV light. It also a built-in degrading enzyme which can be modified to determine how long the sealant lasts – from hours to months, in order to allow adequate time for the wound to heal.
University of Sydney McCaughey Chair in Biochemistry Professor Anthony Weiss said: "The potential applications are powerful – from treating serious internal wounds at emergency sites such as following car accidents and in war zones, as well as improving hospital surgeries."
2. How seasnakes lost their stripes
Professor Rick Shine, working with researchers in New Caledonia, found that industrial pollution was having an evolutionary impact on turtle-headed seasnakes living on coral reefs.
Professor Shine says that the findings are yet another example of rapid adaptive evolutionary change in action. For him, it’s also a more sinister reminder that “even on an apparently pristine coral reef, human activities can pose very real problems for the animals that live there”.
Claire Goiran, the study’s lead author, from Labex Corail & Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, got the idea that blacker skin might be related to pollutant exposure after learning that the darker feathers of urban pigeons in Paris store more zinc than lighter feathers.
3. Neutron stars collide
A University of Sydney team was the first in the world to confirm radio wave emissions emanating from the collision of two neutron stars 130 million light years away that produced measureable gravitational waves.
University of Sydney Associate Professor Tara Murphy was in the US when the announcement of the gravitational wave event occurred.
“We immediately rang our team in Australia and told them to get onto the CSIRO telescope as soon as possible,” she said. “We were lucky in a sense in that it was perfect timing but you have to be at the top of your game to play in this space. It is intense, time-critical science.”
4. Brains don't stream, they strobe
An Australian-Italian collaboration found that our brains most likely process data from our environment as oscillations.
While our conscious experience appears to be continuous, the University of Sydney and Italian universities study suggests that perception and attention are intrinsically rhythmic in nature.
“These findings that auditory perception also goes through peaks and troughs supports the theory that perception is not passive but in fact our understanding of the world goes through cycles,” said Professor David Alais.
5. Babies' lives saved by later clamping
Thousands of preterm babies could be saved by waiting 60 seconds before clamping the umbilical cord after birth instead of clamping it immediately - according to two international studies coordinated by the University of Sydney’s National Health and Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Centre.
“We estimate that for every thousand very preterm babies born more than 10 weeks early, delayed clamping will save up to 100 additional lives compared with immediate clamping,” said the University of Sydney’s Associate Professor David Osborn, the review’s lead author and a neonatal specialist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
6. Storing 'lightning inside thunder'
A team at Sydney Nano developed a world-first prototype microchip that allows photonic - or light - information to be stored as acoustic waves. The design will help develop photonic chips, which can process data without producing the heat in typical chips.
“The information in our chip in acoustic form travels five orders of magnitude slower than in the optical domain,” said Dr Birgit Stiller, research fellow at the University of Sydney and supervisor of the project. “It is like the difference between thunder and lightning,” she said.
7. 'Bin chickens' like to carb load
Australian white ibis - loved or loathed as Sydney's 'bin chicken' - prefer acarbohydrate-rich diet in their adopted urban environment.
The research, by PhD student Sean Coogan, shows the ibis abandoning its traditional low-carb, high-protein diet from its western NSW wetland environment when it reaches the city.
“Urban Australian white ibis seem to be taking advantage of the abundance of high-carb human foods available in the city,” Mr Coogan said.
8. Ferals a big threat in the bush
Feral foxes and cats pose a bigger threat to native rodents than climate change, research from the University's School of Life and Environmental Sciences found.
Lead author Dr Aaron Greenville said removing introduced cats and foxes could increase rodent population by almost one in 10 in the study area within the Simpson Desert.
In earlier research this year, Dr Thomas Newsome, found that reintroducing dingoes and other apex predators could help control the feral pests.
“Humans need a greater tolerance of apex predators if we want to enjoy the environmental benefits they can provide”, said Dr Newsome.
9. Coffee + nap = zip!
Associate Professor Chin Moi Chow has been reviewing the relationship between sleep and caffeine and says that combining the two can give people an extra zing during the day.
She says that while coffee naps will power you for a couple of hours, they’re not the best way to pay back your sleep debt.
Getting enough sleep on most days is a better solution for alertness, performance and productivity. That’s because sleeping is vital for a range of brain and body functions.
10. Quantum component invented
A team led by Professor David Reilly in collaboration with Stanford University has invented a microcomponent important for the scaling up of quantum computers.
Invention of the microwave circulator is part of the device engineering needed to build a large-scale quantum computer.
“It is not just about qubits, the fundamental building blocks for quantum machines. Building a large-scale quantum computer will also need a revolution in classical computing and device engineering,” Professor Reilly said.
Lead author of the research,and PhD candidate Alice Mahoney said: “Such compact circulators could be implemented in a variety of quantum hardware platforms, irrespective of the particular quantum system used."
Morning Star Tapestry To Shine In France
December 13, 2017: Media Release - Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield MP, Minister for Communications, Minister for the Arts , Manager of Government Business in the Senate and The Hon Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Minister for Defence Personnel, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security , Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC
An Australian-made tapestry created to hang in the Sir John Monash Centre in France was cut from its loom today.
The Morning Star tapestry was designed by prominent Australian war artists Lyndell Brown and Charles Green and depicts winter dawn light illuminating a pathway through eucalypt trees and bush towards sunlight, with inset images of young soldiers departing for war.
The tapestry took close to 4,000 weaving hours to complete, with wool sourced from sustainable producers in Australia.
It will be permanently displayed in the Sir John Monash Centre, which opens in Villers-Bretonneux, France in April 2018.
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Dan Tehan said the tapestry was a moving tribute to the men and women who served on the Western Front.
“The Morning Star tapestry is a powerful tribute to the brave Anzacs who fought on the Western Front battlefields of the First World War,” Mr Tehan said.
“It is also a clear demonstration of the extraordinary talent of Australian weavers who have undertaken thousands of hours of painstaking work to produce this meaningful artwork.”
Minister for the Arts Mitch Fifield said the Morning Star tapestry was one of several projects to receive funding through the Anzac Centenary Arts and Culture Fund, which was part of the Australian Government’s national Anzac Centenary program.
“The Anzac Centenary Arts and Culture Fund is providing $4 million over four years for arts and culture projects that contribute to the Anzac legacy,” Mr Fifield said.
“The Morning Star tapestry will help visitors understand what Australians fought for and the places they kept in their hearts as they endured unimaginable hardship.”
The Sir John Monash Centre will be the focal point of the Australian Remembrance Trail along the Western Front, which links First World War sites of significance to Australia, including museums, battlefields, memorials and cemeteries.
Entry to the Centre is free, and bookings are strongly encouraged for peak periods around Anzac Day, the Centenary of the Battle of Hamel and Remembrance Day 2018.
For more information visit the Sir John Monash Centre website.
For more information on the Morning Star Tapestry visit the Australian Tapestry Workshop
Morning Star: Artist Statement - Lyndell Brown and Charles GreenThis tapestry seeks to evoke the experience of arrival at a war, and in particular of Australians at the Western Front. With them on their arrival were their memories of Australia and their departure from home. These are the subjects of the tapestry. This tapestry aims to evoke the soldiers’ pathway from home to the Front, and emphasizes the incongruity between the Australia that they imagined as they journeyed further and further towards the Front. Just as the Centre provides both Australian and non-Australian visitors with an understanding of the impact of Australia’s involvement on the Western Front through an engagement with the places in which the Australians fought and the experiences of those who were there, so this tapestry aims to communicate to non-Australians and to Australian pilgrims an understanding of the places for which the Australians fought and the imaginary spaces that they carried with them. We know this is the case: Charles Green’s grandfather was one of those WW1 Australian soldiers at the Western Front, badly wounded and invalided on these precise battlefields, and we have his letters to home.
It therefore seems to us that it is absolutely essential, first, to evoke a mental place of Australian freedom and clear light; and, second, to evoke the sea-borne passage towards the soldiers’ arrival at the Front. The tapestry emphasises the disjunction between the terrible experiences that the museum describes rather than repeats them. It seems to us very important to present images such as soldiers might have carried in their hearts and imaginations as they arrived at the Western Front. If the Centre had been located in Australia, we would have chosen the reverse, to evoke the Front.
There are two personal contexts that we offer to illuminate our work. Charles Green’s grandfather served as an Australian soldier on the Western Front. He was gassed and lived the rest of his life as an invalid, as a deeply disturbed shadow. Although he died decades before Green was born, that WW1 tragedy was very present in his family and especially with his grandmother, by then a war widow. And interestingly, she spoke often about the soldiers’ love of Sir John Monash, describing him to us with great devotion. Second, in 2007 we were Australia’s Official War Artists, deployed into Iraq and Afghanistan for a period longer than any War Artist since the program was reinstituted in 1996, and during those deployments we spent all our time amongst soldiers on active duty, surprised by their complete support for war artists and humbled by their sense of public service. Ever since, our art has been dominated by reflections on the aftermath of war and the survival of the past into the present.
The imagery:The overall image is dawn light during winter illuminating a pathway through eucalypt trees and bush towards sunlight. The inset images are a combination of departures to war by ship from Australia punctuated by visual comments (snaps of these young men, those who were about to enlist). We have deliberately chosen to make these images almost monochromatic—very tonal with a subtle but definite minimum of colour—since it seems to us, counter-intuitive though that seems, that the weavers at ATW have repeatedly demonstrated enormous, subtle virtuosity in translating very tonal images with precise grey ranges into tapestry (we are thinking of the remarkable Brook Andrew and David Noonan commissions of recent years).
December 13, 2017: Media Release - Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield MP, Minister for Communications, Minister for the Arts , Manager of Government Business in the Senate and The Hon Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Minister for Defence Personnel, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security , Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC
An Australian-made tapestry created to hang in the Sir John Monash Centre in France was cut from its loom today.
The Morning Star tapestry was designed by prominent Australian war artists Lyndell Brown and Charles Green and depicts winter dawn light illuminating a pathway through eucalypt trees and bush towards sunlight, with inset images of young soldiers departing for war.
The tapestry took close to 4,000 weaving hours to complete, with wool sourced from sustainable producers in Australia.
It will be permanently displayed in the Sir John Monash Centre, which opens in Villers-Bretonneux, France in April 2018.
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Dan Tehan said the tapestry was a moving tribute to the men and women who served on the Western Front.
“The Morning Star tapestry is a powerful tribute to the brave Anzacs who fought on the Western Front battlefields of the First World War,” Mr Tehan said.
“It is also a clear demonstration of the extraordinary talent of Australian weavers who have undertaken thousands of hours of painstaking work to produce this meaningful artwork.”
Minister for the Arts Mitch Fifield said the Morning Star tapestry was one of several projects to receive funding through the Anzac Centenary Arts and Culture Fund, which was part of the Australian Government’s national Anzac Centenary program.
“The Anzac Centenary Arts and Culture Fund is providing $4 million over four years for arts and culture projects that contribute to the Anzac legacy,” Mr Fifield said.
“The Morning Star tapestry will help visitors understand what Australians fought for and the places they kept in their hearts as they endured unimaginable hardship.”
The Sir John Monash Centre will be the focal point of the Australian Remembrance Trail along the Western Front, which links First World War sites of significance to Australia, including museums, battlefields, memorials and cemeteries.
Entry to the Centre is free, and bookings are strongly encouraged for peak periods around Anzac Day, the Centenary of the Battle of Hamel and Remembrance Day 2018.
For more information visit the Sir John Monash Centre website.
For more information on the Morning Star Tapestry visit the Australian Tapestry Workshop
Morning Star: Artist Statement - Lyndell Brown and Charles Green
This tapestry seeks to evoke the experience of arrival at a war, and in particular of Australians at the Western Front. With them on their arrival were their memories of Australia and their departure from home. These are the subjects of the tapestry. This tapestry aims to evoke the soldiers’ pathway from home to the Front, and emphasizes the incongruity between the Australia that they imagined as they journeyed further and further towards the Front. Just as the Centre provides both Australian and non-Australian visitors with an understanding of the impact of Australia’s involvement on the Western Front through an engagement with the places in which the Australians fought and the experiences of those who were there, so this tapestry aims to communicate to non-Australians and to Australian pilgrims an understanding of the places for which the Australians fought and the imaginary spaces that they carried with them. We know this is the case: Charles Green’s grandfather was one of those WW1 Australian soldiers at the Western Front, badly wounded and invalided on these precise battlefields, and we have his letters to home.
It therefore seems to us that it is absolutely essential, first, to evoke a mental place of Australian freedom and clear light; and, second, to evoke the sea-borne passage towards the soldiers’ arrival at the Front. The tapestry emphasises the disjunction between the terrible experiences that the museum describes rather than repeats them. It seems to us very important to present images such as soldiers might have carried in their hearts and imaginations as they arrived at the Western Front. If the Centre had been located in Australia, we would have chosen the reverse, to evoke the Front.
There are two personal contexts that we offer to illuminate our work. Charles Green’s grandfather served as an Australian soldier on the Western Front. He was gassed and lived the rest of his life as an invalid, as a deeply disturbed shadow. Although he died decades before Green was born, that WW1 tragedy was very present in his family and especially with his grandmother, by then a war widow. And interestingly, she spoke often about the soldiers’ love of Sir John Monash, describing him to us with great devotion. Second, in 2007 we were Australia’s Official War Artists, deployed into Iraq and Afghanistan for a period longer than any War Artist since the program was reinstituted in 1996, and during those deployments we spent all our time amongst soldiers on active duty, surprised by their complete support for war artists and humbled by their sense of public service. Ever since, our art has been dominated by reflections on the aftermath of war and the survival of the past into the present.
The imagery:
The overall image is dawn light during winter illuminating a pathway through eucalypt trees and bush towards sunlight. The inset images are a combination of departures to war by ship from Australia punctuated by visual comments (snaps of these young men, those who were about to enlist). We have deliberately chosen to make these images almost monochromatic—very tonal with a subtle but definite minimum of colour—since it seems to us, counter-intuitive though that seems, that the weavers at ATW have repeatedly demonstrated enormous, subtle virtuosity in translating very tonal images with precise grey ranges into tapestry (we are thinking of the remarkable Brook Andrew and David Noonan commissions of recent years).
Telescopes Team Up To Study Giant Galaxy
December 12, 2017: International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research
Astronomers have used two Australian radio telescopes and several optical telescopes to study complex mechanisms that are fuelling jets of material blasting away from a black hole 55 million times more massive than the Sun.
In research published today, the international team of scientists used the telescopes to observe a nearby radio galaxy known as Centaurus A.
"As the closest radio galaxy to Earth, Centaurus A is the perfect 'cosmic laboratory' to study the physical processes responsible for moving material and energy away from the galaxy's core," said Dr Ben McKinley from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) and Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia.
Centaurus A is 12 million light-years away from Earth -- just down the road in astronomical terms -- and is a popular target for amateur and professional astronomers in the Southern Hemisphere due to its size, elegant dust lanes, and prominent plumes of material.
The giant radio galaxy Centaurus A as observed by the Murchison Widefield Array telescope. Credit ICRAR/Curtin.
"Being so close to Earth and so big actually makes studying this galaxy a real challenge because most of the telescopes capable of resolving the detail we need for this type of work have fields of view that are smaller than the area of sky Centaurus A takes up," said Dr McKinley.
"We used the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and Parkes -- these radio telescopes both have large fields of view, allowing them to image a large portion of sky and see all of Centaurus A at once. The MWA also has superb sensitivity allowing the large-scale structure of Centaurus A to be imaged in great detail," he said.
A ‘radio colour’ view of the sky above a ‘tile’ of the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope, located in outback Western Australia. The Milky Way is visible as a band across the sky and the dots beyond are some of the 300,000 galaxies observed by the telescope for the GLEAM survey. The Centaurus A radio galaxy is visible to the right of the image. Red indicates the lowest frequencies, green the middle frequencies and blue the highest frequencies. Credit: Radio image by Natasha Hurley-Walker (ICRAR/Curtin) and the GLEAM Team. MWA tile and landscape by Dr John Goldsmith / Celestial Visions.
The MWA is a low frequency radio telescope located at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in Western Australia's Mid West, operated by Curtin University on behalf of an international consortium. The Parkes Observatory is 64-metre radio telescope commonly known as "the Dish" located in New South Wales and operated by CSIRO.
Observations from several optical telescopes were also used for this work -- the Magellan Telescope in Chile, Terroux Observatory in Canberra, and High View Observatory in Auckland.
"If we can figure out what's going in Centaurus A, we can apply this knowledge to our theories and simulations for how galaxies evolve throughout the entire Universe," said co-author Professor Steven Tingay from Curtin University and ICRAR.
"As well as the plasma that's fuelling the large plumes of material the galaxy is famous for, we found evidence of a galactic wind that's never been seen -- this is basically a high speed stream of particles moving away from the galaxy's core, taking energy and material with it as it impacts the surrounding environment," he said.
By comparing the radio and optical observations of the galaxy the team also found evidence that stars belonging to Centaurus A existed further out than previously thought and were possibly being affected by the winds and jets emanating from the galaxy.
B. McKinley, S. J. Tingay, E. Carretti, S. Ellis, J. Bland-Hawthorn, R. Morganti, J. Line, M. McDonald, S. Veilleux, R. Wahl Olsen, M. Sidonio, R. Ekers, A. R. Offringa, P. Procopio, B. Pindor, R. B. Wayth, N. Hurley-Walker, G. Bernardi, B.M. Gaensler, M. Haverkorn, M. Kesteven, S. Poppi, L. Staveley-Smith.The jet/wind outflow in Centaurus A: a local laboratory for AGN feedback. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2017; DOI:10.1093/mnras/stx2890
December 12, 2017: International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research
Astronomers have used two Australian radio telescopes and several optical telescopes to study complex mechanisms that are fuelling jets of material blasting away from a black hole 55 million times more massive than the Sun.
In research published today, the international team of scientists used the telescopes to observe a nearby radio galaxy known as Centaurus A.
"As the closest radio galaxy to Earth, Centaurus A is the perfect 'cosmic laboratory' to study the physical processes responsible for moving material and energy away from the galaxy's core," said Dr Ben McKinley from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) and Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia.
Centaurus A is 12 million light-years away from Earth -- just down the road in astronomical terms -- and is a popular target for amateur and professional astronomers in the Southern Hemisphere due to its size, elegant dust lanes, and prominent plumes of material.
The giant radio galaxy Centaurus A as observed by the Murchison Widefield Array telescope. Credit ICRAR/Curtin.
"Being so close to Earth and so big actually makes studying this galaxy a real challenge because most of the telescopes capable of resolving the detail we need for this type of work have fields of view that are smaller than the area of sky Centaurus A takes up," said Dr McKinley.
"We used the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and Parkes -- these radio telescopes both have large fields of view, allowing them to image a large portion of sky and see all of Centaurus A at once. The MWA also has superb sensitivity allowing the large-scale structure of Centaurus A to be imaged in great detail," he said.
A ‘radio colour’ view of the sky above a ‘tile’ of the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope, located in outback Western Australia. The Milky Way is visible as a band across the sky and the dots beyond are some of the 300,000 galaxies observed by the telescope for the GLEAM survey. The Centaurus A radio galaxy is visible to the right of the image. Red indicates the lowest frequencies, green the middle frequencies and blue the highest frequencies. Credit: Radio image by Natasha Hurley-Walker (ICRAR/Curtin) and the GLEAM Team. MWA tile and landscape by Dr John Goldsmith / Celestial Visions.
The MWA is a low frequency radio telescope located at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in Western Australia's Mid West, operated by Curtin University on behalf of an international consortium. The Parkes Observatory is 64-metre radio telescope commonly known as "the Dish" located in New South Wales and operated by CSIRO.
Observations from several optical telescopes were also used for this work -- the Magellan Telescope in Chile, Terroux Observatory in Canberra, and High View Observatory in Auckland.
"If we can figure out what's going in Centaurus A, we can apply this knowledge to our theories and simulations for how galaxies evolve throughout the entire Universe," said co-author Professor Steven Tingay from Curtin University and ICRAR.
"As well as the plasma that's fuelling the large plumes of material the galaxy is famous for, we found evidence of a galactic wind that's never been seen -- this is basically a high speed stream of particles moving away from the galaxy's core, taking energy and material with it as it impacts the surrounding environment," he said.
By comparing the radio and optical observations of the galaxy the team also found evidence that stars belonging to Centaurus A existed further out than previously thought and were possibly being affected by the winds and jets emanating from the galaxy.
B. McKinley, S. J. Tingay, E. Carretti, S. Ellis, J. Bland-Hawthorn, R. Morganti, J. Line, M. McDonald, S. Veilleux, R. Wahl Olsen, M. Sidonio, R. Ekers, A. R. Offringa, P. Procopio, B. Pindor, R. B. Wayth, N. Hurley-Walker, G. Bernardi, B.M. Gaensler, M. Haverkorn, M. Kesteven, S. Poppi, L. Staveley-Smith.The jet/wind outflow in Centaurus A: a local laboratory for AGN feedback. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2017; DOI:10.1093/mnras/stx2890
Floating Sculpture Of Heritage Escalators Unveiled At Wynyard
December 2017: By University of Sydney
Public art project evokes past histories and future journeysUniversity of Sydney lecturer, artist and sculptor Chris Fox has unveiled a major site-specific installation suspended from the ceiling above a bank of escalators inside Wynyard Station in Sydney's CBD.
Chris Fox (centre) with his new installation Interloop at Wynyard Station. Photo: Josh Raymond.
The historic wooden escalators that served Sydney commuters at Wynyard Station for more than eight decades were removed this year. Now the iconic timber-structure has been reborn as part of a five-tonne floating sculpture titled Interloop.
Chris Fox, a senior lecturer in art processes and architecture in the Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning commented: “Connecting yesterday and tomorrow, ‘Interloop’ interrogates the conceptual and material boundaries between art and architecture. It is a physical re-interpretation of the historic wooden-stepped Wynyard escalators initially built in 1931, that re-purposes the hardwood from the heritage treads of now retired escalators, into a sculpture weighing over five tonnes.”
The hovering sculpture at Wynyard loops together two pairs of reconfigured heritage escalators measuring more than 50 metres in length and incorporating 244 wooden escalator treads and 4 escalator combs.
Taking six months to design and engineer, the sculpture took 12 weeks to fabricate with over a kilometre of welding, before an intensive 48-hour installation period. Interloop is built from high strength marine grade aluminium and suspended via new steel beams installed into Wynyard Station. The wooden treads from the original escalators have been refastened to the accordion like aluminium surface.
Interloop floats above the heads of commuters as they travel on the escalators linking York Street to the main concourse level of Wynyard Station.
With the re-purposing of the wooden treads the sculpture aims to evoke memories of passengers and modes of travel from the past while conjuring complimentary ideas of journey and travel, start and finish, here and there, as well as past and future.
Chris Fox’s past works have playfully explored the technical and conceptual grammar of architecture and construction by altering sites through installation, object and drawing. He has exhibited in numerous solo, group and collaborative exhibitions in Australia, the USA and Europe, with an established sculptural practice of large-scale public and private commissioned artworks. Chris has recently completed a Master of Fine Arts at Sydney College of the Arts.
December 2017: By University of Sydney
Public art project evokes past histories and future journeys
University of Sydney lecturer, artist and sculptor Chris Fox has unveiled a major site-specific installation suspended from the ceiling above a bank of escalators inside Wynyard Station in Sydney's CBD.
Chris Fox (centre) with his new installation Interloop at Wynyard Station. Photo: Josh Raymond.
The historic wooden escalators that served Sydney commuters at Wynyard Station for more than eight decades were removed this year. Now the iconic timber-structure has been reborn as part of a five-tonne floating sculpture titled Interloop.
Chris Fox, a senior lecturer in art processes and architecture in the Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning commented: “Connecting yesterday and tomorrow, ‘Interloop’ interrogates the conceptual and material boundaries between art and architecture. It is a physical re-interpretation of the historic wooden-stepped Wynyard escalators initially built in 1931, that re-purposes the hardwood from the heritage treads of now retired escalators, into a sculpture weighing over five tonnes.”
The hovering sculpture at Wynyard loops together two pairs of reconfigured heritage escalators measuring more than 50 metres in length and incorporating 244 wooden escalator treads and 4 escalator combs.
Taking six months to design and engineer, the sculpture took 12 weeks to fabricate with over a kilometre of welding, before an intensive 48-hour installation period. Interloop is built from high strength marine grade aluminium and suspended via new steel beams installed into Wynyard Station. The wooden treads from the original escalators have been refastened to the accordion like aluminium surface.
Interloop floats above the heads of commuters as they travel on the escalators linking York Street to the main concourse level of Wynyard Station.
With the re-purposing of the wooden treads the sculpture aims to evoke memories of passengers and modes of travel from the past while conjuring complimentary ideas of journey and travel, start and finish, here and there, as well as past and future.
Chris Fox’s past works have playfully explored the technical and conceptual grammar of architecture and construction by altering sites through installation, object and drawing. He has exhibited in numerous solo, group and collaborative exhibitions in Australia, the USA and Europe, with an established sculptural practice of large-scale public and private commissioned artworks. Chris has recently completed a Master of Fine Arts at Sydney College of the Arts.