Non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination (nMDS) of the major pollen taxa in Australia and New Zealand.

<p>(<b>A</b>) Distribution of urban areas using a matrix of percentage representation of major pollen taxa (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0097925#pone-0097925-t002" target="_blank">Table 2</a> and using top eight pollen taxa at each site). The pie charts depict the relative contribution of the most abundant pollen taxa in each urban area. (<b>B</b>) Distribution of pollen taxa contributing to the differentiation of aerobiology of each urban area Note: coloured squares associated with each taxa depicted in (B) match the pie chart colours shown in (A), with diamonds showing taxa with a low percentage representation. The vectors (dotted lines) for the environmental variables show positions for each variable within the environmental space. Longer vectors (higher r² values, see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0097925#pone-0097925-t003" target="_blank">Table 3</a>) indicate a stronger association of the environmental variable with site/species variation in the ordination space.</p

Land cover attribute for Australia and New Zealand with climatological summaries for each major urban centre associated with an aerobiology study.

<p>Climate summaries include average monthly precipitation and minimum and maximum temperatures for each urban area (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0097925#pone-0097925-t003" target="_blank">Table 3</a> for data sources). Data shown for Whangarei represents the Kaikohe pollen count site.</p

Aerobiologically significant pollen taxa contributing >80% to the total annual atmospheric pollen in urban areas across Australia and New Zealand.

<p>Pollen taxa values are expressed as a percentage of the total pollen count for the record period available in each urban area (*excluded from ranking as only occurs in one urban area). The average and rank of percentage values across all urban areas is given in the right hand column. The category “Other” includes all pollen taxa counted in the total pollen sum and not identified to taxa here.</p

Pollen calendar for aerobiologically significant pollen taxa (contributing 80%+ to the annual atmospheric pollen) in Australian and New Zealand urban areas.

<p>The pie charts are divided into monthly segments with the red shade depicting the pollen season for each taxa to the nearest month in a given urban area. The pollen season for each taxon is determined using the period encompassing 90% of the annual pollen rain (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0097925#pone-0097925-g002" target="_blank">Figure 2</a>).</p

Sites and methodologies employed in aerobiology recording stations across Australia and New Zealand.

<p>Data derived from unpublished and published data (Newnham <i>et al</i>. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0097925#pone.0097925-Newnham2" target="_blank">[13]</a>; Bass and Morgan <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0097925#pone.0097925-Bass1" target="_blank">[14]</a>; Ong <i>et al</i>. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0097925#pone.0097925-Ong1" target="_blank">[15]</a>; Green <i>et al</i>. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0097925#pone.0097925-Green1" target="_blank">[16]</a>; Stevenson <i>et al</i>. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0097925#pone.0097925-Stevenson1" target="_blank">[17]</a>; Tng <i>et al</i>. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0097925#pone.0097925-Tng1" target="_blank">[4]</a>; Medek <i>et al</i>. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0097925#pone.0097925-Medek1" target="_blank">[18]</a>). Note that data from secondary stations in Darwin (Palmerston), Canberra (Holder) and Auckland (Grafton Museum) are not included in the numerical analysis in this paper. The raw pollen counts for each site used in this paper have been archived in excel files at the Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis data portal (<a href="http://aceas-data.science.uq.edu.au/portal/" target="_blank">http://aceas-data.science.uq.edu.au/portal/</a>). Click on the following hyperlinked text to download data from each aerobiology recording station. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4227/05/5344EE4AF0F9B" target="_blank">Darwin</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4227/05/5344EF2108839" target="_blank">Brisbane</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4227/05/5344ECE79AA0C" target="_blank">Perth</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4227/05/5344EDBCB0FDD" target="_blank">Sydney</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4227/05/5344EC15D1AAD" target="_blank">Canberra</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4227/05/5344E4980DAF6" target="_blank">Melbourne</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4227/05/5344E9A41A124" target="_blank">Hobart</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4227/05/5344EA6090E97" target="_blank">Kaikohe</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4227/05/5344EFCEAA84E" target="_blank">Auckland</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4227/05/5344F09170094" target="_blank">Christchurch</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4227/05/5344F1159A1A9" target="_blank">Dunedin</a>.</p><p>Assumptions: All air sampled at 10 l/minute (except NZ rotorod: 1.59×32 mm rods spun at 2400 rev/min for 6 min/hr), and all express concentration as grains/m3 of air.</p><p>*Not Saturdays and Sundays.</p><p>A; Australia, NZ; New Zealand, NT; Northern Territory, QLD; Queensland, WA; Western Australia, NSW; New South Wales, ACT; Australian Capital Territory, VIC; Victoria, TAS; Tasmania.</p

Land cover attributes within a 100

<p>The significant relationships (p<0.05) between environmental variables and airborne pollen are indicated in bold (T = temperature, MAP = Mean Annual Precipitation). Meteorological data derived from Worldclim <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0097925#pone.0097925-Hijmans1" target="_blank">[34]</a> and land cover data from Giri <i>et al</i>. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0097925#pone.0097925-Giri1" target="_blank">[35]</a>.</p

Ranking for top 20 pollen taxa based on average percentage representation of airborne pollen areas across all urban areas (black bars).

<p>These urban areas are then grouped into regional biogeographic zones (blank space = taxa not recorded). Australian Tropical/Subtropical = Darwin, Brisbane; Australian Temperate = Perth, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Hobart; NZ North = Kaikohe, Auckland; NZ South = Christchurch, Dunedin.</p

Climate summary and daily airborne pollen (Poaceae and Non-native arboreal taxa) for Canberra (26 Sept 2007–31 Dec 2009).

<p>Pollen season is depicted by the shaded columns and defined by 90% of the airborne pollen falling in this time for each year (July 1 to June 30). Climate data from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.</p