Glen Gallic Mallee (Eucalyptus dealbata subsp. aperticola, Myrtaceae), a new taxon from the sandstone escarpment of the Hunter Valley, New South Wales

Eucalyptus dealbata subsp. aperticola S.A.J. Bell & D. Nicolle, a new mallee red gum from Triassic aged sandstone benches in the northern part of Wollemi National Park north-west of Sydney, is described and illustrated, and notes on affinities, distribution, ecology and conservation status provided

Resolution of a 35-year taxonomic dilemma: Eucalyptus sp. Howes Swamp Creek (Myrtaceae) from eastern Wollemi National Park, New South Wales

The identity of a population of eucalypts from Howes Swamp Creek in the eastern part of Wollemi National Park in New South Wales has remained unresolved for over 35 years. Despite several workers inspecting both the site and the trees growing there over this period, little consensus has been achieved on its taxonomic status. Various suggestions have been made that the entity was a new species with affinities to Eucalyptus dalrympleana, E. viminalis or E. bridgesiana, and at one time the unpublished manuscript name E. ‘wollemiensis’ was used. Because of the perceived small population size and threats posed by wildfire and other factors, the entity phrase name E. sp. Howes Swamp Creek (M.Doherty 26) was listed as an endangered taxon in both Commonwealth and State threatened species legislation. Our investigations over the last few years, involving field, seedling, and herbarium studies, have determined the original reference specimen designated for the phrase name is E. bridgesiana, and that the population from which the specimen was gathered comprises a hybrid swarm of E. bridgesiana × E. viminalis. Both parent species are present at the site, although the former species is seemingly very rare there. We recommend that E. sp. Howes Swamp Creek be removed from threatened species legislation, and that the names E. sp. Howes Swamp Creek (M.Doherty 26) and E. ‘wollemiensis’ ms be considered nomenclatural synonyms of E. bridgesiana

Novel Distances for Dollo Data

We investigate distances on binary (presence/absence) data in the context of a Dollo process, where a trait can only arise once on a phylogenetic tree but may be lost many times. We introduce a novel distance, the Additive Dollo Distance (ADD), which is consistent for data generated under a Dollo model, and show that it has some useful theoretical properties including an intriguing link to the LogDet distance. Simulations of Dollo data are used to compare a number of binary distances including ADD, LogDet, Nei Li and some simple, but to our knowledge previously unstudied, variations on common binary distances. The simulations suggest that ADD outperforms other distances on Dollo data. Interestingly, we found that the LogDet distance performs poorly in the context of a Dollo process, which may have implications for its use in connection with conditioned genome reconstruction. We apply the ADD to two Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) datasets, one that broadly covers Eucalyptus species and one that focuses on the Eucalyptus series Adnataria. We also reanalyse gene family presence/absence data on bacteria from the COG database and compare the results to previous phylogenies estimated using the conditioned genome reconstruction approach

Application of the name Eucalyptus obtusiflora DC. (Myrtaceae).

Application of the name Eucalyptus obtusiflora DC. (Myrtaceae). Telopea #: #–# (2019). The name E. obtusiflora has been applied to both an eastern Australian species and to a distantly-related species from Western Australia. We have re-examined the literature and type material of E. obtusiflora and conclude that the holotype was most likely collected on the west coast of Western Australia, possibly as part of the Baudin Expedition, and was certainly not collected by Sieber, with whom the type specimen has previously been associated

Variety is the spice of life : flying-foxes exploit a variety of native and exotic food plants in an urban landscape mosaic

Generally, urbanization is a major threat to biodiversity; however, urban areas also provide habitats that some species can exploit. Flying-foxes (Pteropus spp.) are becoming increasingly urbanized; which is thought to be a result of increased availability and temporal stability of urban food resources, diminished natural food resources, or both. Previous research has shown that urban-roosting grey-headed flying-foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) preferentially forage in human-modified landscapes. However, which land-use areas and food plants support its presence in urban areas is unknown. We tracked nine P. poliocephalus roosting in Adelaide, South Australia, between December 2019 and May 2020, using global positioning systems (GPS), to investigate how individuals used the urban landscape mosaic for feeding. The most frequently visited land-use category was “residential” (40% of fixes) followed by “road-side,” “reserves” and “primary production” (13–14% each). However, “reserves” were visited four times more frequently than expected from their areal availability, followed by the “residential” and “road-side” categories that were visited approximately twice more than expected each; in contrast, the “primary production” category was visited approximately five times less than expected. These results suggest that while residential areas provide most foraging resources supporting Adelaide’s flying-fox population, reserves contain foraging resources that are particularly attractive to P. poliocephalus. Primary production land was relatively less utilized, presumably because it contains few food resources. Throughout, flying-foxes visited an eclectic mixture of diet plants (49 unique species), with a majority of feeding fixes (63%) to locally indigenous Australian native species; however, in residential areas 53% of feeding visits were to non-locally indigenous species, vs only 13% in reserves. Flowering and fruiting phenology records of the food plants visited further indicated that non-locally indigenous species increase the temporal availability of foraging resources for P. poliocephalus in urban Adelaide. Our findings demonstrate the importance of residential areas for urban-roosting P. poliocephalus, and suggest that the anthropogenic mixture of food resources available in the urban landscape mosaic supports the species’ year-round presence in urban areas. Our results further highlight the importance of conserving natural habitats within the urban landscape mosaic, and stress the need for accounting for wildlife responses to urban greening initiatives

Mitral valve endocardiosis in Cavalier King Charles spaniels in France: epidemiological, clinical and echo-Doppler study of 451 cases

A retrospective study was performed in the Cardiology Unit of Alfort in 451 Cavalier King Charles (CKC) spaniels. A left apical systolic murmur was detected in 183 of them (40.6 %). The prevalence of the murmur increased with age (18.8 % for CKC 11 years old). Mitral valve endocardiosis represented 93.3 % of the ultrasound anomalies. There was a positive correlation between age and several echo-Doppler parameters (P<0.01): atrium/aorta ratio, diastolic left ventricular diameter, thickness of the mitral valve leaflets, and mitral regurgitant mapping area. A positive correlation was also noted between the intensity of the murmur and these echo- Doppler parameters (P<0.0001). In conclusion, mitral valve endocardiosis is a frequent valvulopathy which occurs at an early age in CKC spaniels in France. Several clinical and echo-Doppler parameters have a predictive value for the severity of the disease.Une étude rétrospective a été menée dans l'Unité de Cardiologie d'Alfort chez 451 Cavaliers King Charles (CKC). Un souffle systolique apexien gauche a été détecté chez 183 d'entre eux (40,6 %). La prévalence de ce souffle augmentait avec l'âge (18,8 % pour les CKC 11 ans). L'endocardiose valvulaire mitrale a représenté 93,3 % des anomalies diagnostiquées à l'échocardiographie. Une corrélation positive a été observée entre l'âge et différents paramètres échographiques (P<0,01): le rapport atrium/aorte, le diamètre diastolique ventriculaire gauche, l'épaisseur des feuillets mitraux et la surface colorimétrique du reflux mitral. Une corrélation positive a aussi été observée entre l'intensité du souffle et ces paramètres échographiques (P<0,0001). En conclusion, l'endocardiose mitrale est une valvulopathie à la fois précoce et fréquente chez le CKC en France. Certains paramètres cliniques et écho-Doppler ont une valeur prédictive de la gravité de la maladie

A taxonomic revision of the Eucalyptus striaticalyx group (Eucalyptus series Rufispermae : Myrtaceae)

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Eucalyptus expressa (Myrtaceae): a distinctive new stringybark from the sandstone ranges north-west of Sydney, New South Wales

Eucalyptus expressa, a new tall forest tree species from sheltered gullies in the sandstone ranges north-west of Sydney, is described and illustrated, and notes on affinities, distribution, ecology and conservation status provided. A key to the stringybarks (E. ser. Pachyphloius) of the Sydney Basin is also presente

Available and not total nitrogen in leaves explains key chemical differences between the eucalypt subgenera

Many ecologists regard nitrogen as a key element in the life-histories of herbivore populations. Consequently, those studying interactions between plants and animals often attempt to link feeding to the concentration of nitrogen (N) in plants. This approach disregards the possibility that in many plants, especially those rich in tannins, animals cannot digest much of the N. The ubiquity of tannins in plants led us to hypothesise that the concentrations of available nitrogen may be more informative for ecologists than are measures of total N. Eucalypts provide a good model for examining this hypothesis because subgeneric differences in foliar chemistry cause dietary niche separation in marsupials.We used an in vitro assay that integrates fibre, digestibility, tannins and N into a single measure of " available nitrogen" (AvailN) to compare the concentrations of total and available nitrogen in the leaves of 138 eucalypt species. There were distinct differences between the subgenera. Most notably, even though differences in total N were minor, species within Eucalyptus contain half the AvailN of those within Symphyomyrtus (0.27% vs. 0.59% dry matter). Among all species (N=138), there was a relationship between AvailN and total N (r2=0.23; P<0.001). The relationship, however, was much stronger (r2=0.84; P<0.001) and the concentrations of AvailN much higher after inactivating tannins with polyethylene glycol (PEG).By integrating several measures, we showed that tannins defend eucalypts against herbivory but this is pronounced in species within Eucalyptus. This likely explains the different feeding niches of arboreal folivores and likely affects many other processes in eucalypt forests and woodlands. Furthermore, it suggests that ecologists should be far more careful in their measure of N; AvailN rather than total N is important, especially when diets contain tannins