Identification of different song types in the European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus

Capsule: Two distinct song types were identified for male European Nightjars Caprimulgus europaeus with their relative frequency of use changing through the breeding season, indicating a possible link to paired status. Aims: To test whether two song types could be defined in audio recordings and whether use differed in relation to the paired status of males. Methods: Unattended acoustic recording devices were placed at a Nightjar study site in Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom, and recordings of churring vocalizations were made during two periods of the breeding season. These recordings were then analyzed to identify the presence/absence of the song terminal phrase and associated audible features. Results: Two distinct song types were identified in the recorded audio data that differed in their terminal phrasing and overall song duration. The number of Nightjar songs with a terminal phrase increased significantly between the two sampling periods, from lower levels during the site arrival period, to higher levels during the first clutch initiation period. Conclusion: This study showed that the use of Nightjar song types appears to vary through the breeding season, with males being more likely to produce song with a terminal phrase during the first clutch initiation period, when they are more likely to be paired or in the presence of a female. The unattended acoustic recording method may provide a minimally intrusive means of assessing the number of Nightjar breeding pairs and not just singing males

Disentangling the response of fishes to recreational fishing over 30 years within a fringing coral reef reserve network

Few studies assess the effects of recreational fishing in isolation from commercial fishing. We used meta-analysis to synthesise 4444 samples from 30 years (1987–2017) of fish surveys inside and outside a large network of highly protected reserves in the Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia, where the major fishing activity is recreational. Data were collected by different agencies, using varied survey designs and sampling methods. We contrasted the relative abundance and biomass of target and non-target fish groups between fished and reserve locations. We considered the influence of, and possible interactions between, seven additional variables: age and size of reserve, one of two reserve network configurations, reef habitat type, recreational fishing activity, shore-based fishing regulations and survey method. Taxa responded differently: the abundance and biomass inside reserves relative to outside was higher for targeted lethrinids, while other targeted (and non-targeted) fish groups were indistinguishable. Reef habitat was important for explaining lethrinid response to protection, and this factor interacted with reserve size, such that larger reserves were demonstrably more effective in the back reef and lagoon habitats. There was little evidence of changes in relative abundance and biomass of fishes with reserve age, or after rezoning and expansion of the reserve network. Our study demonstrates the complexities in quantifying fishing effects, highlighting some of the key factors and interactions that likely underlie the varied results in reserve assessments that should be considered in future reserve design and assessment

Towards Sustainable Environmental Quality : Priority Research Questions for the Australasian Region of Oceania

Environmental challenges persist across the world, including the Australasian region of Oceania, where biodiversity hotspots and unique ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef are common. These systems are routinely affected by multiple stressors from anthropogenic activities, and increasingly influenced by global megatrends (e.g., the food-energy-water nexus, demographic transitions to cities) and climate change. Here we report priority research questions from the Global Horizon Scanning Project, which aimed to identify, prioritize, and advance environmental quality research needs from an Australasian perspective, within a global context. We employed a transparent and inclusive process of soliciting key questions from Australasian members of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Following submission of 78 questions, 20 priority research questions were identified during an expert workshop in Nelson, New Zealand. These research questions covered a range of issues of global relevance, including research needed to more closely integrate ecotoxicology and ecology for the protection of ecosystems, increase flexibility for prioritizing chemical substances currently in commerce, understand the impacts of complex mixtures and multiple stressors, and define environmental quality and ecosystem integrity of temporary waters. Some questions have specific relevance to Australasia, particularly the uncertainties associated with using toxicity data from exotic species to protect unique indigenous species. Several related priority questions deal with the theme of how widely international ecotoxicological data and databases can be applied to regional ecosystems. Other timely questions, which focus on improving predictive chemistry and toxicology tools and techniques, will be important to answer several of the priority questions identified here. Another important question raised was how to protect local cultural and social values and maintain indigenous engagement during problem formulation and identification of ecosystem protection goals. Addressing these questions will be challenging, but doing so promises to advance environmental sustainability in Oceania and globally

Three-dimensional mapping of salt load in the Murray-Darling Basin, 1 Steps in calibration of airborne electromagnetic surveys

An airborne electromagnetic survey yields a three-dimensional map of ground electrical conductivity. The remotely sensed data are translated into salt load by field and laboratory calibration: drilling, measurement of borehole conductivity, electrical conductivity of 1 : 5 soil¿water extracts (EC1:5) and chemical analysis of pore fluids. Using these field measurements, the conductivity map is calibrated by constraining model parameters within limits defined by the measured values. Once the airborne data is calibrated, we can derive a regional constant (Ksalt) by comparing total ground conductivity with the mass of salt measured in bore samples. Pore fluid chemistry provides a definitive measure of salt, but EC1:5 values may be used, provided that the procedure ensures complete dispersal of clay aggregates to release all the salt. Maps of salt load can be generated from the conductance (total conductivity) maps using a geographical information system. Without calibration, airborne electromagnetic surveying is misleading. Properly calibrated, it provides a detailed, semi-quantitative, three-dimensional map of the distribution of salt in the landscape: a prerequisite for the effective management of salinity. Salt appearing at the surface and in streams is the result of processes operating throughout entire catenas and groundwater flow systems. Across the southeastern catchments of the Murray-Darling Basin, we found that salt is stored predominantly in thick clay horizons within the regolith (encompassing the soil cover, weathered parent material and unlithified sediments down to unweathered basement). Coarse materials, for example in prior stream channels, may serve as conduits for salt transport to rivers and the land surfac

Airborne electromagnetics supporting salinity and natural resource management decisions at the field scale in Australia

Airborne geophysics has been used at the catchment scale to map salt stores, conduits and soil variability, but few studies have evaluated its usefulness as a land management tool at the field scale. We respond to questions posed by land managers with: (1) comparison of airborne and ground-based electromagnetic surveys in the Lower Balonne catchment, Queensland, and (2) comparison with historical and anecdotal knowledge of landscape response in the country around Jamestown in mid-South Australia. In the Lower Balonne, direct comparison between ground electromagnetic survey (EM) and airborne electromagnetics (AEM) showed a strong relationship for both the absolute values and spatial patterns of conductivity. The penetration of AEM to greater than 100 m is valuable in defining hydrological barriers. In the Jamestown area, AEM conductivity corresponded well with specific outbreaks of salinity and observed variability in crop response; local inconsistencies at the ground surface could be resolved when sub-surface data were considered. AEM can provide valuable information at the field scale that is relevant to salinity management. Farmers can have confidence in any of these techniques (historical information, EM and AEM) and they may directly compare or integrate the results. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved