Pteropus poliocephalus Dispersing Seeds of the Queen Palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana) in Albury, NSW

Flying Foxes have adapted to feed on a range of introduced ornamental plants species. In the past, Flying Foxes have been implicated in seed dispersal from the source plant back to the roost. This paper documents a dispersal of Queen palm drupes to an intermediate feeding location. The state of knowledge on the consumption of Queen Palm drupes by Flying Foxes is reviewed in the context of the distribution, dispersal and establishment of the palms in the Australian environment

Persistence and Attrition among Participants in a Multi-Page Online Survey Recruited via Reddit’s Social Media Network

Participant attrition is a major concern for the validity of longer or complex surveys. Unlike paper-based surveys, which may be discarded even if partially completed, multi-page online surveys capture responses from all completed pages until the time of abandonment. This can result in different item response rates, with pages earlier in the sequence showing more completions than later pages. Using data from a multi-page online survey administered to cohorts recruited on Reddit, this paper analyses the pattern of attrition at various stages of the survey instrument and examines the effects of survey length, time investment, survey format and complexity, and survey delivery on participant attrition. The participant attrition rate (PAR) differed between cohorts, with cohorts drawn from Reddit showing a higher PAR than cohorts targeted by other means. Common to all was that the PAR was higher among younger respondents and among men. Changes in survey question design resulted in the greatest rise in PAR irrespective of age, gender or cohort

Instant Gloss: Promoting Paint in 1840s Paris. The Example of Louis Viard’s Chromo-Duro-Phane Varnish

To successfully promote his products, the small-scale paint manufacturer Louis Viard employed a range of strategies. These ranged from the true and tried media of newspaper advertisements, product packaging and advertising cards to more innovative modes of promotion, such as mobile advertising on delivery carts as well as flamboyant street processions, to clever and engaging use of billboards and product placement in plays. In addition, he maintained a workforce of loudly attired roaming painters, who combined promotion and marketing at the same time

Canary Island date palms, Phoenix canariensis, invading a remnant riverine eucalypt forest in south-eastern Australia: processes and patterns of recruitment

The recruitment processes and resulting distribution pattern of bird-dispersed Canary Island Date Palm, Phoenix canariensis (family Arecaceae) in a riverine forest setting are described. All palms on a near-urban peninsula of the Murrumbidgee River near Hay, New South Wales were GPS mapped and classified into height-dependent age categories. The distribution of the plants was examined spatially in relation to possible source palms and in relation to elevation with regard to flooding levels. Successful recruitment is subject to a range of environmental parameters, primarily palatability to vectors and seedling mortality due to lack of moisture, frost or grazing by herbivores. If a seedling survives that critical period of the first 18 months, long-term success is (almost) guaranteed, unless catastrophic events (bushfires, prolonged flooding) intervene. Based on the findings, a conceptual model for the recruitment of Phoenix canariensis palms is provided. Even though the palms produce fruit for much of the year (March–December), the time window for successful recruitment is restricted to a period from August to mid-September with short shoulder periods on either side