http://hdl.handle.net/2440/290 Sun, 26 May 2013 00:42:59 GMT 2013-05-26T00:42:59Z http://hdl.handle.net/2440/77963 Title: Germination requirements of Brachyscome species in South Australia Author: Aleman, Rina; Ainsley, Phillip John; Gibbs, Joan; Tiver, Fleur; Jusaitis, Manfred Abstract: The genus Brachyscome, in the daisy family, Asteraceae, has approximately 75 Australian species, many of conservation significance and at risk of extinction in the wild (Salkin et al. 1995). Brachyscome plants are annual or perennial herbs or subshrubs, with characteristic, solitary flower heads of a single row of ray florets that are white, blue, pink or mauve. Most notable of the South Australian Brachyscomes are the endangered species: B. decipiens, B. diversifolia, and B. muelleri (National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972). Fri, 31 Dec 2010 13:30:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2440/77963 2010-12-31T13:30:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2440/77958 Title: Germination of Pterostylis arenicola - an endangered greenhood orchid from South Australia Author: Jusaitis, Manfred; Sorensen, Birgitte Abstract: Pterostylis arenicola is an endangered, solitary greenhood orchid from South Australia. Its habitat has been largely cleared, leaving three remnant populations of just over 300 plants in total. These populations were threatened by introduced weeds, rabbits and human activity. A mycorrhizal fungus was isolated from the stem of plants collected from Tailem Bend and was successfully used to symbiotically germinate seed in vitro. Optimal germination rate was observed when seed was incubated in darkness at 23°C. Developing protocorms were transferred to outdoor growing conditions in early winter and rapidly became established in pots. The techniques developed here will be used to reintroduce plants into their native habitats as part of ongoing recovery plans for this species. Thu, 31 Dec 1992 13:30:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2440/77958 1992-12-31T13:30:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2440/77952 Title: Serendipity during long-term monitoring of translocation trials Author: Jusaitis, Manfred Abstract: An essential component of all translocation projects is the monitoring of outcomes and evaluation of processes after planting has taken place. Monitoring goals and objectives are usually formulated early in the translocation planning process based on available knowledge of the species' biology and ecology. However, nature is rarely predictable, and occasionally unexpected and even surprising observations can be made during the course of long-term monitoring that may be missed altogether in the short-term. Such serendipitous observations may be readily explainable, or may lead to further experimentation or extended monitoring in order to understand their underlying mechanisms. I have experienced several examples of such serendipity in the course of long-term monitoring of translocation trials in South Australia, and will briefly discuss four of them here. None of these outcomes were predicted to occur in the way they did when the translocation trials were first planned or set up, and each one was revealed only after a significant period of consistent and regular monitoring. Fri, 31 Dec 2010 13:30:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2440/77952 2010-12-31T13:30:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2440/77935 Title: Youngest reported radiocarbon age of a moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) dated from a natural site in New Zealand Author: Rawlence, Nicolas James; Cooper, Alan Abstract: The extinction date of the giant flightless New Zealand ratite bird, the crested moa (Pachyornis australis), is of considerable interest because the youngest verified remains are dated to the Pleistocene–Holocene transition c. 10,000 yr BP, which was characterised by severe climatic and habitat change, and are considerably earlier than the late Holocene extinctions of the other eight moa species. Analysis of a partial crested moa skeleton (NMNZ S23569) from Castle Keep Entrance, Bulmer Cave System, Mount Owen, South Island, generated a radiocarbon date of 564±26 yr BP (544–508 cal yr BP; 95.4% AD 1396–1442). As a result the Bulmer Cave specimen represents the youngest moa yet found from a natural site in New Zealand. Combined with additional crested moa remains dated to the late Holocene from Cheops Cave (Mount Arthur) and Magnesite Quarry (Cobb Valley), this indicates that crested moa did not go extinct during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition but survived until after Polynesian colonisation in c. AD 1280. The new radiocarbon dates reported here have important implications for the timing of moa extinction and the late survival of moa in alpine areas of New Zealand. Description: Published online: 14 Jun 2012 Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:30:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2440/77935 2011-12-31T13:30:00Z