Vertebrates of the Wet Tropics rainforests of Australia: species distributions and biodiversity

One of the most basic elements of ecology and conservation biology is knowing what species occur in what places. As conceptually simple as this may sound, it is an incredibly difficult and complex undertaking, although probably the single most important fact underpinning all of ecology. It is impossible to make informed decisions about conservation management without some knowledge on the general geographic distributions of species. The aim of this report is to provide readers with my best estimate of the distribution of as many species of rainforest vertebrates as possible at this time within the Wet Tropics bioregion. Understanding biodiversity necessitates understanding the factors that determine the distribution of each constituent species. Approximately 350 species of vertebrates occur in the rainforests of the Wet Tropics bioregion, however, only about 153 species have their core distributions in the rainforest. In this report, I present distribution maps for the 177 species of Wet Tropics vertebrates where there was sufficient data to produce a useful map (the vast majority of true rainforest species), and twelve species richness maps based on overlaid distribution maps (Appendix B). The distribution maps represent a combination of bioclimatic modeling, habitat preferences, biogeographic distributions and expert knowledge. Also included is a comprehensive species list of all vertebrates in the Wet Tropics bioregion (Appendix A), with information on the conservation status, range size (of the mapped species), habitat specialisation and summaries of species richness by taxa both in spatially continuous maps and in tabulated form. The CD-ROM enclosed in the back cover (Appendix C) provides a PDF version of this report, which is embedded with hyperlinks to enable easy viewing of any species maps from the Index to Maps and those mapped species listed in Appendix A

Fluctuation Theorems

Fluctuation theorems, which have been developed over the past 15 years, have resulted in fundamental breakthroughs in our understanding of how irreversibility emerges from reversible dynamics, and have provided new statistical mechanical relationships for free energy changes. They describe the statistical fluctuations in time-averaged properties of many-particle systems such as fluids driven to nonequilibrium states, and provide some of the very few analytical expressions that describe nonequilibrium states. Quantitative predictions on fluctuations in small systems that are monitored over short periods can also be made, and therefore the fluctuation theorems allow thermodynamic concepts to be extended to apply to finite systems. For this reason, fluctuation theorems are anticipated to play an important role in the design of nanotechnological devices and in understanding biological processes. These theorems, their physical significance and results for experimental and model systems are discussed.Comment: A review, submitted to Annual Reviews in Physical Chemistry, July 2007 Acknowledgements corrected in revisio

Non-equilibrium umbrella sampling applied to force spectroscopy of soft matter

Physical systems often respond on a timescale which is longer than that of the measurement. This is particularly true in soft matter where direct experimental measurement, for example in force spectroscopy, drives the soft system out of equilibrium and provides a non-equilibrium measure. Here we demonstrate experimentally for the first time that equilibrium physical quantities (such as the mean square displacement) can be obtained from non-equilibrium measurements via umbrella sampling. Our model experimental system is a bead fluctuating in a time-varying optical trap. We also show this for simulated force spectroscopy on a complex soft molecule--a piston-rotaxane

Mortality from disease among fishermen employed in the UK fishing industry from 1948 to 2005

Background. Although commercial fishing has become established as the most hazardous occupation in Western countries, relatively little has been reported on mortality from disease among fishermen. Objectives. To investigate the causes of work-related mortality from disease in the UK fishing industry from 1948 to 2005, trends in mortality over time and how it varies according to the sector of the fishing industry, to investigate non-work related mortality among fishermen ashore, and to compare it with that in other populations. Methods. Examination of paper death inquiry files, death registers and death returns, as well as GIS mapping for a defined population of 1.45 million fishermenyears at risk. Results. From 1948 to 2005, there were a total of 449 work-related deaths from disease identified in the UK fishing industry, with a corresponding mortality rate of 30.9 per 100 000. The mortality rate increased from about 35 per 100 000 in the late 1940s to 60 in the early/mid 1970s but fell sharply to about 10 by the late 1970s. Most of the deaths were caused by ischaemic heart disease followed by other circulatory diseases, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases. The highest mortality rates were identified for fishermen employed on board distant water trawlers, particularly those operating in Arctic waters. Conclusions. The study shows that fishermen in distant water trawlers, particularly in Arctic conditions, have the highest risks of mortality from disease. The high risks presumably reflect lifestyle risk factors as well as extremely hazardous and stressful working and sleeping conditions

The STRS (shortness of breath, tremulousness, racing heart, and sweating): A brief checklist for acute distress with panic-like autonomic indicators; development and factor structure

Background: Peritraumatic response, as currently assessed by Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnostic criterion A2, has weak positive predictive value (PPV) with respect to PTSD diagnosis. Research suggests that indicators of peritraumatic autonomic activation may supplement the PPV of PTSD criterion A2. We describe the development and factor structure of the STRS (Shortness of Breath, Tremulousness, Racing Heart, and Sweating), a one page, two-minute checklist with a five-point Likert-type response format based on a previously unpublished scale. It is the first validated self-report measure of peritraumatic activation of the autonomic nervous system.\ud \ud Methods: We selected items from the Potential Stressful Events Interview (PSEI) to represent two latent variables: 1) PTSD diagnostic criterion A, and 2) acute autonomic activation. Participants (a convenience sample of 162 non-treatment seeking young adults) rated the most distressing incident of their lives on these items. We examined the factor structure of the STRS in this sample using factor and cluster analysis.\ud \ud Results: Results confirmed a two-factor model. The factors together accounted for 68% of the variance. The variance in each item accounted for by the two factors together ranged from 41% to 74%. The item loadings on the two factors mapped precisely onto the two proposed latent variables.\ud \ud Conclusion: The factor structure of the STRS is robust and interpretable. Autonomic activation signs tapped by the STRS constitute a dimension of the acute autonomic activation in response to stress that is distinct from the current PTSD criterion A2. Since the PTSD diagnostic criteria are likely to change in the DSM-V, further research is warranted to determine whether signs of peritraumatic autonomic activation such as those measured by this two-minute scale add to the positive predictive power of the current PTSD criterion A2. Additionally, future research is warranted to explore whether the four automatic activation items of the STRS can be useful as the basis for a possible PTSD criterion A3 in the DSM-V

Survey of the vertebrate fauna of the Dotswood area, North Queensland

The results of a survey of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish of the Dotswood area west of Townsville are presented. Habitats included in the survey were woodland, open forest, tall open forest, closed forest (rainforest), riparian forest and rocky outcrops. A total of 297 species of vertebrates were observed using a variety of survey techniques including live trapping, pit trapping, observational transects, mist netting and spotlighting. Exact locations of observation and indices of relative abundance of each species are included

Vertebrate fauna of three mountain tops in the Townsville region, north Queensland : Mount Cleveland, Mount Elliot and Mount Halifax

Vertebrate fauna surveys were carried out on the summits of Mount Cleveland, Mount Elliot and Mount Halifax in north Queensland. The main focus was on mammals and birds, but observations on all vertebrate groups are included. Habitats included rainforest and open eucalypt/casuarina forest. The surveys recorded a total of 136 species of vertebrates including 17 mammal, 77 bird, 32 reptile and 10 frog species. Habitat descriptions and measures of relative abundance for mammals and birds are included

Effect of refractive index mismatch on multi-photon direct laser writing

This work reports how the process of three-dimensional multi-photon direct laser writing (mpDLW) is affected when there is a small mismatch in refractive index between the material being patterned and the medium in which the focusing objective is immersed. Suspended-line microstructures were fabricated by mpDLW in the cross-linkable epoxide SU-8 as a function of focus depth and average incident power. It is found that even a small refractive index contrast of Delta n = +0.08 causes significant variation in feature width and height throughout the depth of the material. In particular, both the width and height of features can either increase or decrease with depth, depending upon how much the average incident laser power exceeds the threshold for writing. Vectorial diffraction theory is used to obtain insight into the origin of the effect and how to compensate for it. We demonstrate that varying the average focused power is a practical means for controlling the variation in feature size with focal depth

Long-term changes in populations of rainforest birds in the Australia Wet Tropics bioregion: a climate-driven biodiversity emergency

Many authors have suggested that the vulnerability of montane biodiversity to climate change worldwide is significantly higher than in most other ecosystems. Despite the extensive variety of studies predicting severe impacts of climate change globally, few studies have empirically validated the predicted changes in distribution and population density. Here, we used 17 years (2000–2016) of standardised bird monitoring across latitudinal/elevational gradients in the rainforest of the Australian Wet Tropics World Heritage Area to assess changes in local abundance and elevational distribution. We used relative abundance in 1977 surveys across 114 sites ranging from 0-1500m above sea level and utilised a trend analysis approach (TRIM) to investigate elevational shifts in abundance of 42 species. The local abundance of most mid and high elevation species has declined at the lower edges of their distribution by >40% while lowland species increased by up to 190% into higher elevation areas. Upland-specialised species and regional endemics have undergone dramatic population declines of almost 50%. The “Outstanding Universal Value” of the Australian Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, one of the most irreplaceable biodiversity hotspots on Earth, is rapidly degrading. These observed impacts are likely to be similar in many tropical montane ecosystems globally

Climate change threatens the future of rain forest ringtail possums by 2050

Aim: The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather escalate the pressure of global warming on biodiversity. Globally, synergistic effects of multiple components of climate change have driven local extinctions and community collapses, raising concern about the irreversible deterioration of ecosystems. Here, we disentangle the pressure of increasing warming and frequency of extreme heatwaves on the population dynamics of tropical ringtail possums (family: Pseudocheiridae). Location: The Australian Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. Method: Ringtail possums' population dynamics were estimated between 1992 and 2021 using a hierarchical population model that explicitly described the state process and accounted for imperfect detection. Under our model, we propagated the estimated mechanisms governing the system by forecasting ringtails' population dynamics between 2022 and 2050. Derived from this process, we calculated the probability of absolute and quasi-extinction using different population viability thresholds. Results: We find a strong negative effect of climate change on population dynamics, particularly extreme heatwaves, resulting in a rapid and severe decline in ringtails' population size in the last three decades. Main Conclusions: Forecasted increases in temperature and heatwaves threaten the collapse of rain forest ringtail possums by 2050, with populations falling below viability thresholds within three decades