Pittwater Online News

Cooee! Environmental Newsletter - September/October 2015

Did you know that Pittwater Council’s Coastal Environment Centre has its own facebook page? It’s a great way to keep up to date with environmental news and events happening in the area. Whether it’s a rock platform walk, the Kids on the Coast holiday program or environmental videos by local schools – there’s something for everyone.

Like us at: www.facebook.com/coastalenvironmentcentre

Sustainable House Day 2015

Sustainable House Day, onSunday 13 September 2015, is an international event where people who own houses that are doing good things with materials, energy, water and food, are opened up for any interested visitor to have a good long look at – to poke around, ask questions, and see for themselves.

It started in Australia, and has been going for about ten years, and over that period, tens of thousands of people have been inspired to ‘go and do likewise’. This is probably the most powerful tool we know of for educating and motivating people who know they want to do something, but are not quite sure what. And it’s something we all do – we see what somebody else has done, and say to ourselves “Hey – I can do that!”

THE TREEHOUSE - North Narrabeen, NSW

The owners of this award winning house wanted a sustainable home that would cater for their growing family and a separate granny flat for overseas visitors, all with a tree house feel. Lots of established trees, and steep land sloping away from the road contributed to the challenge of providing universal access to the main living […]

BEN BOYD ROAD HOUSE -  Neutral Bay, NSW

Many sites have limited solar access, and are often written off as unsuitable for a low-energy high-comfort house. This should not be. This site in Neutral Bay, like many urban sites, had significant shading to the north, but we took advantage of one ‘window’ of north sun at ground level, and then ‘borrowed’ the rest from […]

WOY WOY BAY HOUSE - Woy Woy Bay, NSW

Originally a fishing shack dating back to the 1950s, there have been extensions in the 1960’s, 1970’s, and then a deck replacement in 2011. A primary goal for the 2011 renovation was to make the house more sustainable. This ongoing project has involved insulating both internal and external walls, while fibro (asbestos) cladding is removed and […]

You can see all the available houses at: sustainablehouseday.com

 Katandra Sanctuary Open Days 2015 

www.katandra.org

Katandra opens to the public every Sunday in July, August, September and October, from 10am to 4pm. The first will be Sunday July 5th with entry by donation.

See: Katandra Sanctuary Open Days 2015 by Marita Macrae

 Online Service puts NSW Biodiversity Data at your Fingertips 

Monday, 31 August 2015  - A new biodiversity web service launched today by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage will provide easy and direct access to information on species sightings held within the BioNet Atlas of NSW Wildlife. Environment Minister Mark Speakman said anyone from government, ecological consultants and app developers would now be able to access more than seven million NSW biodiversity data records and integrate them into their own systems. 

“The new BioNet web service was the first of a series of open data standard web services that would progressively make NSW biodiversity data more easily accessible,” Mr Speakman said. “This service would enable better decision making by allowing planning and assessment tools used by local and state government agencies to automatically draw upon the latest NSW biodiversity information for NSW. In the past, users relied on data requests and manual downloads to keep up-to-date but now they have a trusted source of truth for their biodiversity data.” 

Mr Speakman said it would reduce barriers for non-developers as well by adopting an international open data standard called OData.

“Anyone with access to Microsoft Excel could easily create their own visual maps and ‘mash up’ the biodiversity data with other information sources,” Mr Speakman said. Businesses and app developers which create web based tools can now create applications using the biodiversity data to meet user needs. The BioNet Web Service project is part of a wider OEH Native Vegetation Information Strategy aimed at making data more open and more accessible. 

Below: Office of Environment and Heritage NSW Government- Heat map of all Bandicoot sightings in Sydney and Surrounds

 Mining Policy Reform to help restore balance

31.08.2015: Ministerial Media Release;  The Hon. Rob Stokes MP, Minister for Planning

Planning Minister Rob Stokes today announced the State’s mining policy will be changed to ensure economic, environmental and social considerations are appropriately balanced when considering mining projects.

The proposed reforms were on exhibition in July and received more than 2,400 submissions, 98 per cent of which supported the proposed amendment.

Mr Stokes said the community overwhelmingly supported the reform.

“Mining plays an important role in the NSW economy, however we must ensure that our policies reflect the importance of balance in assessing the likely impacts of mining developments,” Mr Stokes said. 

“A crucial pillar of our planning system is that decision makers consider environmental impacts on both the natural and built environments, and social and economic impacts in their assessment of development applications.

“As with all development, it is critical that there is a balanced consideration of all impacts of developments on local communities, broader regions and the State.”

The policy will come into effect on Wednesday 2 September. A report outlining the amendment to the Mining SEPP and the submissions that were made will be published online on the same day.

Details of the policy can be found at:planspolicies.planning.nsw.gov.au/index.pl?action=view_job&job_id=7151

 Improving mining regulation in NSW: Stage 2

Media Release: Department of Planning and Environment

The Department of Planning and Environment today released a number of guidelines for public feedback, which provide clear and consistent requirements for State significant mining development in NSW.

The guidelines are part of the broader Integrated Mining Policy, and include:

Independent Audit Guidelines – to ensure that independent audits of State significant developments in NSW adopt a consistent approach and meet minimum standards.

Web-based Reporting Guidelines – to encourage operators to apply a consistent approach to the publication of information regarding mining operations and make more information available to the public.

Annual Review Guidelines – to assist operators of State significant mining developments to prepare annual reviews.

Water Regulation and Policy – to provide an overview of the current policies and regulations in relation to possible water impacts from mining and petroleum developments in NSW.

Planning Agreement Guidelines – to assist councils and mining companies in negotiating planning agreements for State significant mining developments.

A spokesperson said this was the second stage of the Integrated Mining Policy’s exhibition and gave the community and industry a chance to provide feedback on the draft documents.

“These Guidelines and policy documents will help major mining projects operate safely and comply with their approval conditions,” the spokesperson said.

This is part of a suite of mining policy reforms. The first stage of the Integrated Mining Policy, focussing on applying stringent, clear and consistent requirements to mining applications was released in May for public comment. The Department is currently considering feedback.

In addition, the NSW Government also released a draft amendment to the state policy governing mining in NSW – the State Environmental Planning Policy (Mining, Petroleum Production and Extractive Industries) known as the Mining SEPP.

The draft amendment would remove a provision making the significance of the resource the principal consideration under the Mining SEPP when determining mining projects. It was on exhibition for public feedback this month and the Department is currently considering the feedback.

The exhibition of the Integrated Mining Policy Stage 2 is openuntil 7 September.

To give feedback visit www.planning.nsw.gov.au/onexhibition

______________________________

Direct link: planning.nsw.gov.au/index.pl.actionjob_id=7123 

Marsupial Night Stalk

11th Sep 2015: 7pm - 9pm

Help celebrate Threatened Species Week!

Come and join us after dark for an exciting evening looking for some of the nocturnal creatures that live in Pittwater. In recognition of Threatened Species week, Pittwater Council will join with participants from all over Australia to take part in the Perth Zoo's annual night stalk!

This walk is suitable for children aged 5 and above.

Where: Meet point provided on booking. Cost: Free!

Bookings: Online, In person: Coastal Environment Centre, Lake Park Road, North Narrabeen, Phone: 1300 000 232 (Reception - Option 1)

Bushcare's Major Day Out! - North Narrabeen Headland Reserve

13th Sep 2015: 8:30am - 12pm

Bushcare's Major Day Out is a national day designed to encourage us all to take part in the restoration and maintenance of our remaining bushland. 

Bushcare's Major Day Out is a day specifically designed to give us the opportunity to find out what is being done and what can be done in our own neighbourhood. It's a fun day where you can work alongside and learn from experts and experienced volunteers. There are a range of activities depending on the location; walks, planting, weed removal, photography workshops as well as native plant identification and well celebrated morning teas.

Where to meet: At the walking track at the end of Peal Place, Warriewood

What to bring: Wear clothes that you don't mind getting dirty and are safe and suitable for weeding and planting activities e.g. long trousers, long sleeves and sturdy shoes or boots (no thongs). Remember to bring you hat and sunglasses! Water is available but you may prefer your own supply.

Morning tea will be provided.

For more information visit the Bushcare's Major Day Out website www.bushcaresmajordayout.org

To register your interest please contact Council's Bushcare Officer, Helena Dewis 9970 1367 or bushcare@pittwater.nsw.gov.au 

North Bilgola Beach Native Plant Giveaway

19th Sep 2015: 8am - 12pm

Free native plants for local residents!

Protect our coastal environment by planting local native species adapted to the local climate. Find out about the Biodiversity Restoration of the Bilgola Creek catchment project. 

Receive free native plants, advice on weed control and help to identify native species.

Where: North Bilgola Beach on grass area at the end of Allen Avenue. 

This event is being supported by Pittwater Council and the Sydney Coastal Council Salty Communities grant to help restore the Bilgola Creek catchment. For further information please call Council on 9970 1363 or 9970 1390.  

Dog Day by the Bay

20th Sep 2015: 10am - 3pm

An annual day out of fun and learning for dogs and their owners

This year, Pittwater Council will host their popular Dog Day by the Bay at Rowland Reserve Bayview on Sunday 20 September 2015.

Dog Day by the Bay will again be including agility demonstrations, education talks, competitions with great prizes to win, including the very popular Canine Fancy Dress Parade and children’s activities in kids’ corner.

All proceeds donated to the Animal Welfare League

Mark your calendar now!

Wildlife Adventures Talk with John Young

26th Sep 2015: 3:30pm - 5:30pm

Come and join us for an afternoon of epic Wildlife Adventures with John Young. 

As a cinematographer and naturalist John Young has been filming and photographing Australia's wildlife for over 20 years. His principle area of interest is Australian birdlife and he's one of Australia's leading authorities on the subject. Over the last 20 years, he's been involved with numerous projects for television, film, books, periodicals, university studies and conservation.

In May 2013, after an incredible 15 years of searching, John rediscovered the endangered Night Parrot which was thought to be extinct. John was the first person to obtain film and photographs of a living specimen. Further research is currently being performed to learn more about the biology of this mysterious bird.  

Where: Mona Vale Memorial Hall (next to Mona Vale Library)

Cost: Free!

Bookings Essential! Online In person: Coastal Environment Centre, Lake Park Road, North Narrabeen Phone: 1300 000 232 (Reception - Option 1)

Headland Grass Restoration - Community Planting Day

27th Sep 2015: 1pm - 4pm

Come and get your hands "dirty"!

Please help protect the endangered native grasslands of our coastal headlands. 

Fill your nostrils with salty air, enjoy the superb view and assist us to replant the native grass community. Tools, equipment and a delicious afternoon tea will be provided.

Please wear comfortable clothes and closed shoes and bring a hat and water bottle.

Meet: South Bilgola Headland lookout on the coastal walkway. Parking available at the Serpentine parking area or Allen Avenue.

This project is being supported through the Sydney Coastal Council's Salty Communities Grant for the "Biodiversity Restoration of Bilgola Creek Catchment" during 2015 and 2016.

For further information please call 9970 1363 or 9970 1390.

Native Bee Workshops: Two sessions on offer - morning or afternoon

10th Oct 2015: 9am - 4pm

Do you want to learn more about native bees? Pittwater Council will be holding workshops on native bees and how to keep them. Native bees are a fantastic part of our natural environment and are very seldom seen. Learn about how these communities of native bees live, breed and forage for food. Find out how and what they pollinate in your garden and what you need to do, grow and avoid in your garden to ensure a healthy hive. Can you tell the difference between a fruit fly and a Stingless bee?

Tim Heard a native bee expert will be presenting his very popular workshop on keeping native bees. You will learn how to identify and keep native bees as well as how to extract honey from the hives. 

Two sessions of the same workshop are being held. Please choose either Session 1 - 9am to 12noon or Session 2 - 1 to 3pm. 

Where: Coastal Environment Centre  

Cost: $20 (this includes a copy of Tim Heard latest publication) 

Bookings Essential! Online In person: Coastal Environment Centre, Lake Park Road, North Narrabeen Phone: 1300 000 232 (Reception - Option 1)

Ingleside Escarpment Walk

18th Oct 2015: 9am - 12pm

Come and join us for a spring walk through Ingleside Chase Reserve.

Ingleside Chase Reserve is Pittwater's largest continuous piece of bushland. It contains many beautiful plant communities and threatened fauna. Spring is an outstanding time to experience our bushland come alive with wildlife and flowering plants. 

The walk will commence at Irrawong-Epworth Reserve and climb to Ingleside Park. At the park we will have a morning tea break and then head back down. The track is 1.5km one-way and is a little steep in parts so although we will be taking it at a gentle pace a reasonable level of fitness is required.

Where: Ingleside Chase Reserve (meeting point provided on booking).

Cost: Free!  Bookings Essential! Online In person: Coastal Environment Centre, Lake Park Road, North Narrabeen Phone: 1300 000 232 (Reception - Option 1)

Caring for Mullet Creek

Saturday 31 October, 8:30am – 12noon

Bushcare planting day at Irrawong Reserve. Come and join us for a fun family morning and help plant a tree. It’s a great opportunity to get involved with this positive environmental project. 

This six year project, now in its 4th year, aims to protect the biodiversity of Mullet Creek and tributaries from Elanora Heights down to Warriewood through Ingleside Chase and Irrawong Reserves. 

Where: Meet at the end of Irrawong Road near the main walking track. 

Please bring a hat, water bottle and wear enclosed shoes. Morning tea provided. No bookings are required for this activity. 

Wetlands to waterfall walk 

Saturday 31 October, 9 – 11am

Come and join us for a spring walk through the Warriewood Wetlands. Spring is an outstanding time to experience our wetlands come alive with wildlife and flowering plants. With a range of native vegetation communities this area provides significant habitat for many larger fauna species now lost in the Sydney region. This is a great opportunity to discover more about our amazing plants and wildlife from our expert guide. If interested you can also be part of the bushcare planting day. 

Where: Warriewood Wetlands and Irrawong Reserve (meet point provided on booking) Bookings Essential! 

Online: www.pittwater.nsw.gov.au/cecbookings In person: Coastal Environment Centre, Lake Park Road, North Narrabeen. Phone: 1300 000 232 (Reception – Option 1)

 Draft Report Solar Feed-in Tariffs for 2015-2016

31 August 2015 - The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has today released its Draft Report on solar feed-in tariffs.  IPART’s draft decision is that the benchmark range for voluntary solar feed-in tariffs in 2015-16 is 4.4 to 5.8 cents per kilowatt hour (c/kWh).

Electricity retailers in NSW have the flexibility to set their own feed-in tariffs. IPART sets a benchmark range each year as a guide for retailers and solar customers on the likely value of electricity exported to the grid from solar PV units.  The voluntary benchmark does not affect the rates paid to consumers who are part of the Solar Bonus Scheme.

IPART Chairman, Dr Peter Boxall, said IPART’s draft decision on the benchmark range for 2015-16 is lower than last year due to lower and less volatile wholesale spot electricity prices.

“High spot prices during the day generally increase the value of PV exports.  In recent years, spot prices have been fairly low and flat during the day, and this has contributed to the lower value of PV exports,” Dr Boxall said.

“Solar customers should consider feed-in tariffs as part of an overall electricity contract package and shop around for the best deal that takes both their electricity consumption and solar exports into account,” Dr Boxall said.  “Feed-in tariffs are only one component of a retailer’s market offer and the retailer with the highest feed-in tariff may not provide the best deal overall.”

“We encourage customers to look for the best overall deal for their own situation, which includes usage rates, and other terms and conditions as well as the feed-in tariff.  The Commonwealth Government’s Energy Made Easy website is a good place to start.”

IPART has also made a Draft Determination that the mandatory contribution from electricity retailers to the NSW Government should be 4.9 c/kWh of PV electricity exported by Solar Bonus Scheme customers in 2015-16.  The retailer contribution is also lower than last year due to lower and less volatile spot electricity prices.

IPART’s decisions do not affect customers in the Solar Bonus Scheme who will continue to receive a subsidised feed-in tariff of either 20c or 60 c/kWh until the scheme ends on 31 December 2016.

IPART’s draft report and accompanying documents are available on IPART’s website. Here

 Citizen scientists needed to help save sick wombats

As wombats fight for survival against a deadly skin disease that kills in months, University of Western Sydney scientists are asking Australians to help take a census of wombats using an innovative new app.

WomSAT, launched by the University of Western Sydney, allows everyday citizens to report wombat sightings and record the animal's health.

Chief investigator on the project, Associate Professor Julie Old, says wombats across the country are under threat from a parasitic mite which causes sarcoptic mange.

The mites initially burrow into the skin causing the wombats to become itchy. In the longer term, they are likely to become blind, deaf and die due to the secondary effects of the infestation. Early physical signs of the infestation include missing patches of fur and scratching.

"Wombats across eastern and southern Australia are dying in the thousands because of this deadly disease," says Associate Professor Old, a biologist from the UWS School of Science and Health.

"To fully understand the challenges facing wombats and ensure their future survival, we need to take a comprehensive census of wombat numbers, their distribution and their health."

"And the best way to adequately monitor the vast and often remote habitat of wombats is through the eyes and phones of millions of Australians."

UWS is calling on everyone around the country to join the fight by using WomSAT, a new website and app allowing anyone to easily record the exact location of a wombat using a phone's inbuilt GPS.

The app and website have images and text to guide people on how to identify the wombat and how to visually diagnose mange.

"Wombats severely affected by mange suffer painful skin infections and are often seen during the day," says Associate Professor Old.

"It's likely these wombats are venturing out during the day to spend more time foraging to compensate for the energy used scratching."

"By taking the time to log onto WomSAT every time a wombat is spotted, Australians can participate in science and help monitor the population and alert experts about changes and threats to the population."

WomSAT is supported by Emirates Airlines and Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley.

The WomSAT website is hosted by the NSW Department of Primary Industries.

Get involved here: womsat.org.au/womsat

 Sunday Morning Birdwatching with PNHA

Would you like to know more about our local birds? Our guides can help you discover the birdlife in these wonderful bushland reserves.

20 September, Irrawong Reserve, Warriewood

15 November, Warriewood Wetlands, Warriewood

Our birdwalks start at 7.30 or 8am and last for a couple of hours. Bring binoculars and morning tea for afterwards if you like. Older children welcome.

Contact us to book and get details for each walk. Email pnhabirdwatching@gmail.com or ph: 0439 409 202 / 0402 605 721. 

 Oxygen oasis in Antarctic lake reflects Earth in distant past

September 1, 2015 - At the bottom of a frigid Antarctic lake, a thin layer of green slime is generating a little oasis of oxygen, a team including UC Davis researchers has found. It's the first modern replica discovered of conditions on Earth two and a half billion years ago, before oxygen became common in the atmosphere. The discovery is reported in a paper in the journal Geology.

The switch from a planet with very little available oxygen to one with an atmosphere much like today's was one of the major events in Earth's history, and it was all because some bacteria evolved the ability to photosynthesize. By about 2.4 billion years ago, geochemical records show that oxygen was present all the way to the upper atmosphere, as ozone.

What is not clear is what happened in between, or how long the transition -- called the Great Oxidation Event -- lasted, said Dawn Sumner, professor and chair of earth and planetary sciences at UC Davis and an author on the paper. Scientists have speculated that here may have been "oxygen oases," local areas where was abundant before it became widespread around the planet.

The new discovery in Lake Fryxell in the McMurdo Dry Valleys could be a modern example of such an ancient oxygen oasis, and help geochemists figure out what to look for in ancient rocks, Sumner said.

Sumner and collaborators including Ian Hawes of the University of Canterbury, New Zealand have been studying life in these ice-covered lakes for several years. The microbes that survive in these remote and harsh environments are likely similar to the first forms of life to appear on Earth, and perhaps on other planets.

The discovery occurred "a little by accident," Sumner said. Hawes and Tyler Mackey, a UC Davis graduate student working with Sumner, were helping out another research team by diving in Lake Fryxell. The lakes of the Dry Valleys typically contain oxygen in their upper layers, but are usually anoxic further down, Sumner said. Lake Fryxell is unusual because it becomes anoxic at a depth where light can still penetrate.

During their dives below the oxygen zone, Hawes and Mackey noticed some bright green bacteria that looked like they could be photosynthesizing. They took measurements and found a thin layer of oxygen, just one or two millimeters thick, being generated by the bacteria.

Something similar could have been happening billions of years ago, Sumner said.

"The thought is, that the lakes and rivers were anoxic, but there was light available, and little bits of oxygen could accumulate in the mats," she said.

The researchers now want to know more about the chemical reactions between the "oxygen oasis" and the anoxic water immediately above it and sediments below. Is the oxygen absorbed? What reactions occur with minerals in the water?

Understanding how this oxygen oasis reacts with the environment around it could help identify chemical signatures preserved in rocks. Researchers could then go looking for similar signatures in rocks from ancient lake beds to find "whiffs of oxygen" prior to the Great Oxidation Event.

Dawn Y. Sumner, Ian Hawes, Tyler J. Mackey, Anne D. Jungblut, Peter T. Doran. Antarctic microbial mats: A modern analog for Archean lacustrine oxygen oases. Geology, 2015; G36966.1 DOI:10.1130/G36966.1

Top: Lake Fryxell, Antarctica is permanently covered in ice, and the waters at the bottom are oxygen-free but still receive some sunlight. Scientists have discovered a thin layer of oxygen created by photosynthetic bacteria at the bottom of the lake. This could be a model for conditions on Earth 2.4 billion years ago, before oxygen became common in the atmosphere. Credit: Tyler Mackey, UC Davis

 Fossil specimen reveals a new species of ancient river dolphin

September 1, 2015 - The careful examination of fossil fragments from Panama has led Smithsonian scientists and colleagues to the discovery of a new genus and species of river dolphin that has been long extinct. The team named it Isthminia panamensis. The specimen not only revealed a new species to science, but also shed new light onto the evolution of today's freshwater river dolphin species. The team's research was published Sept. 1 in the scientific journal PeerJ.

The fossil, which dates from 5.8-6.1 million years ago, was found on the Caribbean coast near the town of Piña, Panama. It consists of half a skull, lower jaw with an almost entire set of conical teeth, right shoulder blade and two small bones from the dolphin's flipper. In comparison with other river dolphins--both fossil and living--the shape and size of these parts suggests that the full specimen may have been more than 9 feet in length.

Today there are only four species of river dolphins -- all living in freshwater or coastal ecosystems and all endangered, including the Chinese river dolphin, which is likely now extinct. Each of the modern river dolphin species show a common solution to the problem of adapting away from marine to freshwater habitats by converging upon a body plan that includes broad, paddle-like flippers, flexible necks and heads with particularly long, narrow snouts--all the better to navigate and hunt in winding, silty rivers.

But fossil evidence suggests that river dolphins' ancestors were widespread around the globe. I. panamensis was clearly one of them, and its fossil remains have helped the team understand something less clear: When in their evolutionary tract did river dolphins transition from the saltwater of the ocean to the freshwater of rivers?

"We discovered this new fossil in marine rocks, and many of the features of its skull and jaws point to it having been a marine inhabitant, like modern oceanic dolphins," said the study's lead author Nicholas D. Pyenson, curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. "Many other iconic freshwater species in the Amazon, such as manatees, turtles and stingrays have marine ancestors, but until now, the fossil record of river dolphins in this basin has not revealed much about their marine ancestry. Isthminia now gives us a clear boundary in geologic time for understanding when this lineage invaded Amazonia."

Other fossilized animals found at the same site as I. panamensis were marine species, indicating that unlike river dolphins living today, I. panamensis lived in the salty waters of a food-rich Caribbean Sea, before the full closure of the Panama Isthmus.

"Isthminia is actually the closest relative of the living Amazon river dolphin," said study co-author Aaron O'Dea, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. "While whales and dolphins long ago evolved from terrestrial ancestors to fully marine mammals, river dolphins represent a reverse movement by returning inland to freshwater ecosystems. As such, fossil specimens may tell stories not just of the evolution these aquatic animals, but also of the changing geographies and ecosystems of the past."

The Smithsonian's Digitization Program Office collaborated with the scientific team to create a high resolution 3-D scan of the fossil, allowing the scientists to create 3-D prints of the delicate specimen, whose bones are too fragile to be molded and casted by traditional approaches. A 3-D print of the fossil is on permanent display at Panama's BioMuseo--the original specimen will remain in the Smithsonian's collection at the National Museum of Natural History.

The name of the new genus, Isthminia, recognizes both the Panama Isthmus and the fossil specimen's living relative, the Amazon river dolphin, Inia geoffrensis. The study's authors chose the species name, panamensis, to recognize "the Republic of Panama, its people, and the many generations of scientists who have studied its geological and biological histories."

Nicholas D. Pyenson, Jorge Vélez-Juarbe, Carolina S. Gutstein, Holly Little, Dioselina Vigil, Aaron O’Dea. Isthminia panamensis, a new fossil inioid (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Chagres Formation of Panama and the evolution of ‘river dolphins’ in the Americas. PeerJ, 2015; 3: e1227 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1227

Top: This is an artistic reconstruction of Isthminia panamensis, a new fossil dolphin from Panama, feeding on a flatfish. Many features of this new species appear similar to today's ocean dolphins, yet the new fossil species is more closely related to the living Amazon River dolphin. The fossils of Isthminia panamensis were collected from marine rocks that date to a time (around 6 million years ago) before the Isthmus of Panama formed and a productive Central American Seaway connected the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Credit: Julia Molnar / Smithsonian Institution

 Landmark conference a boost for Australian data science

September 2nd, 2015 - UTS

If government and industry needed assurance of Australia's capacity to take a leadership role in the expanding field of data science, an international conference hosted recently by UTS and its Advanced Analytics Institute (AAI) provided all the necessary evidence according to Professor Longbing Cao.

"The conference demonstrated Australia's world-class leadership and expertise in big data analytics and the strong organising capabilities of the host in the global big data analytics communities," said Professor Cao, the general co-chair of the 21st ACM SIGKDD Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD2015).

KDD2015 was the first Australian edition of the largest international conference in data analytics and only the second time it had been held in the Asia-Pacific region.

"In 2013, when I put my hand up to bid for KDD2015 in Sydney, some executive committee members of ACM SIGKDD worried about the high risk of moving the conference from the US to Australia, due to high costs, distance and small population of data analysts in Australia," Professor Cao said.

In the end it was second largest KDD conference with 1192 registrations, had the largest technical program and poster session, gained the highest amount of sponsorship and the highest level of support from local government, with the participation of the NSW Premier and Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation.

A co-located event, the 2015 Big Data Summit (BDS2015), also chaired by Professor Cao, attracted 450 registrations, making it the largest big data forum in Australia, bridging gaps between academia, industry and government. BDS2015 also featured two interesting forums: Big Data in China and Data Science in India.

Three international panels with KDD2015 and BDS2015, on data-driven science, bringing data analytics into the mainstream and big data in Asia, brought together world-leading scientists and practitioners as moderators and panellists.

"The successful organisation of KDD2015 and the 2015 Big Data Summit in Sydney will substantially lift the international leadership of the Australian community and boost potential applications, collaborations and interactions between Australia and regional and global users, designers and policy-makers," Professor Cao said.

"In 2005, when I started to talk about data science, nobody in Australia had heard about it or believed data science could become such a big thing today."

In the past 10 years Professor Cao has led work with many federal and state government and industry organisations showing the ways of undertaking advanced analytics to address critical business problems and inform evidence-based decision making, saving hundreds of millions of dollars per annum for society.

Professor Cao said that Australia has been playing an international leading role in initiating and promoting data science and analytics research, education and development, as well as professional activities including task forces, conferences and publications.

Led by Professor Cao since its founding in 2011, AAI has been widely recognised as a leading Australian group in data analytics, creating two world first degrees: a Master of Analytics (Research) and a PhD majoring in Analytics in 2011.

Related: Big data, big future

 How the mind sharpens the senses: Meditation

August 27, 2015 - A study conducted with experienced scholars of Zen-Meditation shows that mental focussing can induce learning mechanisms, similar to physical training. Researchers at the Ruhr-University Bochum and the Ludwig-Maximilians-University München discovered this phenomenon during a scientifically monitored meditation retreat. The journal Scientific Reports has now published their new findings on the plasticity of the brain.

Participants of the study use a special meditation technique

The participants were all Zen-scholars with many years of meditation practice. They were scientifically escorted during a four-day Zen-retreat in the spiritual center “Benediktushof”, Germany. The retreat was held in complete silence, with at least eight hours of meditation per day. All participants practiced their familiar meditation, which is characterized by a non-specific monitoring of thoughts and surroundings. Additionally, some participants applied a special finger-meditation for two hours per day, during which they were asked to specifically focus on their right index finger and become aware of spontaneously arising sensory percepts in this finger. Subsequent assessment of the group that practiced finger-meditation showed a significant improvement in the tactile acuity of the right index and middle finger. A control group that had maintained their familiar meditation practice for the whole time, showed no changes in tactile acuity.

Data show significant improvement of the sense of touch

In order to assess the sense of touch quantitatively, researchers measured the so-called “two-point discrimination threshold”. This marker indicates how far apart two stimuli need to be, in order to be discriminated as two separate sensations. After the finger meditation, the performance improved on average by 17 percent. By comparison, tactile acuity of the visually impaired is 15 to 25 percent above that of typical sighted individuals, because their sense of touch is used so intensively to make up for the reduced visual information. Hence, the changes induced by meditation are comparable to those achieved by intense long-term training.

Meditation induces plasticity and learning processes as active training or physical stimulation

It is known for long that extensive training induces neuroplasticity, which denotes the ability of the brain to adapt and restructure itself, thereby improving perception and behavior.  Recently, the group of neuroscientists of the Neural Plasticity Lab headed by Hubert Dinse has shown that these processes can be initiated even without training by mere exposure to passive stimulation, which was translated only recently into a stimulating glove, which is used as therapeutical intervention in stroke patients. The fact that merely mental states without any physical stimulation can improve perception has now been shown for the first time. “The results of our study challenge what we know about learning mechanisms in the brain. Our concept of neuroplasticity must be extended, because mental activity seems to induce learning effects similar to active stimulation and physical training,” Dinse suggests.

Sebastian T. Philipp, Tobias Kalisch, Thomas Wachtler, Hubert R. Dinse. Enhanced tactile acuity through mental states. Scientific Reports, 2015; 5: 13549 DOI: 10.1038/srep13549