'Raising the bar' : improving the standard and utility of weed and invasive plant research

Fil: Murray, Justine V.. Water for Healthy Country Flagship; AustraliaFil: Lehnhoff, Erik A.. Montana State University; Estados UnidosFil: Neve, Paul. University of Warwick; Reino UnidoFil: Poggio, Santiago Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Webber, Bruce L.. CSIRO Ecosystems Sciences; Australia. The University of Western Australia; Australi

Comparative Invasion Ecology of Carpobrotus From Four Continents: Responses to Nutrients and Competition

[Abstract] Two key hypotheses in invasion biology are that certain traits underlie invasiveness in introduced species, and that these traits are selected for during or after introduction. We tested these hypotheses by focusing on two traits likely to confer invasiveness, high increase in growth in response to increase in nutrients and low decrease in growth in response to competition. We compared four species of Carpobrotus that differ in invasiveness, using species from four continents: Africa, Australia, Europe and North America. To test for selection for these traits in Carpobrotus edulis, a highly invasive species, we compared plants from its native range in South Africa to plants from the other three regions, where C. edulis has been introduced. Plants were propagated in a common garden. Offspring were then grown alone with or without added nutrients, and together with another species of Carpobrotus or with the grass Ammophila arenaria (a co-occurring native species in Europe) without added nutrients. Response to nutrients did not differ between species of Carpobrotus, nor was competitive response less negative in more invasive species. However, increase in growth in response to added nutrients was greater in introduced than in native C. edulis. Moreover, fresh mass per ramet at the start of treatments was higher in the two invasive species than in the two non-invasive ones. We provide new evidence that introduction can select for response to nutrient enrichment in invasive species and add to the evidence for an association between size and invasiveness in introduced plants.[摘要] 四大洲食用昼花属的比较入侵生态学：对养分和竞争的响应 入侵生物学的两个关键假设是，某些特征是外来物种入侵的基础，且这些特征是在引入期间或之后选择的。我们通过关注两个可能赋予入侵性的特征来检验这些假设，即营养增加引起的较高生长加速和竞争引起的较低生长减速。我们对采自非洲、澳洲、欧洲和北美洲的4个食用昼花属(Carpobrotus)品 种进行了比较。为了测试高入侵物种莫邪菊(Carpobrotus edulis)对这些特征的选择，我们将原产于南非 的植株与入侵其他3个地区的植株进行了比较。在一个同质园中繁殖植株。然后，在添加或不添加养分的情况下单独培育子代，并在不添加养分的情况下将子代与另一个食用昼花属品种一起、或与欧洲的一种共生本土物种马兰草(Ammophila arenaria)一起培育。不同品种的食用昼花属对营养物质的反应并无差异，在入侵性更强的物种中，竞争反应的负面性也没有减弱。然而，与本土莫邪菊相比，添加营养物质引起外来莫邪菊更高的生长加速。此外，在处理开始时，两种入侵物种每分株的鲜质量高于两种非入侵物种。我们的研究结果表明，引种可以选择入侵物种对营养富集的反应进行选择，也证明了外来植物的体积和入侵性之间的关联。Australian samples were collected under licenses SW018396 and CE005442 issued by the Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife. This paper is a contribution from the Alien Species Network (Ref. ED431D 2017/20—Xunta de Galicia, Autonomous Government of Galicia). Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Grant CGL2013-44519-R, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, to S.R.R.) and CSIRO Julius Career Award (to B.L.W.)Xunta de Galicia; ED431D 2017/2

Prioritising search effort to locate previously unknown populations of endangered marine reptiles

Strategies aimed to conserve and manage rare species are often hindered by the lack of data needed for their effective design. Incomplete and inaccurate data on habitat associations and current species distributions pose a barrier to effective conservation and management for several species of endemic sea snakes in Western Australia that are thought to be in decline. Here we used a correlative modelling approach to understand habitat associations and identify suitable habitats for five of these species (Aipysurus apraefrontalis, A. foliosquama, A. fuscus, A. l. pooleorum and A. tenuis). We modelled species-specific habitat suitability across 804,244 km(2) of coastal waters along the North-west Shelf of Western Australia, to prioritise future survey regions to locate unknown populations of these rare species. Model projections were also used to quantify the effectiveness of current spatial management strategies (Marine Protected Areas) in conserving important habitats for these species. Species-specific models matched well with the records on which they were trained, and identified additional regions of suitability without records. Subsequent field validation of the model projections uncovered a previously unknown locality for A. fuscus within the mid-shelf shoal region, outside its currently recognised global range. Defining accurate geographic distributions for rare species is a vital first step in defining more robust extent of species occurrence and range overlap with threatening processes

Hanford Site Guidelines for Preparation and Presentation of Geologic Information

A complex geology lies beneath the Hanford Site of southeastern Washington State. Within this geology is a challenging large-scale environmental cleanup project. Geologic and contaminant transport information generated by several U.S. Department of Energy contractors must be documented in geologic graphics clearly, consistently, and accurately. These graphics must then be disseminated in formats readily acceptable by general graphics and document producing software applications. The guidelines presented in this document are intended to facilitate consistent, defensible, geologic graphics and digital data/graphics sharing among the various Hanford Site agencies and contractors

Characteristics of the National Applicant Pool for Clinical Informatics Fellowships (2016-2017)

We conducted a national study to assess the numbers and diversity of applicants for 2016 and 2017 clinical informatics fellowship positions. In each year, we collected data on the number of applications that programs received from candidates who were ultimately successful vs. unsuccessful. In 2017, we also conducted an anonymous applicant survey. Successful candidates applied to an average of 4.2 and 5.5 programs for 2016 and 2017, respectively. In the survey, unsuccessful candidates reported applying to fewer programs. Assuming unsuccessful candidates submitted between 2-5 applications each, the total applicant pool numbered 42-69 for 2016 (competing for 24 positions) and 52-85 for 2017 (competing for 30 positions). Among survey respondents (n=33), 24% were female, 1 was black and none were Hispanic. We conclude that greater efforts are needed to enhance interest in clinical informatics among medical students and residents, particularly among women and members of underrepresented minority groups

Genomics reveals the history of a complex plant invasion and improves the management of a biological invasion from the South African-Australian biotic exchange

Many plants exchanged in the global redistribution of species in the last 200 years, particularly between South Africa and Australia, have become threatening invasive species in their introduced range. Refining our understanding of the genetic diversity and population structure of native and alien populations, introduction pathways, propagule pressure, naturalization, and initial spread, can transform the effectiveness of management and prevention of further introductions. We used 20,221 single nucleotide polymorphisms to reconstruct the invasion of a coastal shrub, Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. rotundata (bitou bush) from South Africa, into eastern Australia (EAU), and Western Australia (WAU). We determined genetic diversity and population structure across the native and introduced ranges and compared hypothesized invasion scenarios using Bayesian modeling. We detected considerable genetic structure in the native range, as well as differentiation between populations in the native and introduced range. Phylogenetic analysis showed the introduced samples to be most closely related to the southern-most native populations, although Bayesian analysis inferred introduction from a ghost population. We detected strong genetic bottlenecks during the founding of both the EAU and WAU populations. It is likely that the WAU population was introduced from EAU, possibly involving an unsampled ghost population. The number of private alleles and polymorphic SNPs successively decreased from South Africa to EAU to WAU, although heterozygosity remained high. That bitou bush remains an invasion threat in EAU, despite reduced genetic diversity, provides a cautionary biosecurity message regarding the risk of introduction of potentially invasive species via shipping routes

2017 Scientific Consensus Statement: land use impacts on the Great Barrier Reef water quality and ecosystem condition. Chapter 4: management options and their effectiveness

This chapter seeks to answer the following questions: 1. What are the values of the Great Barrier Reef? 2. How effective are better agricultural practices in improving water quality? 3. How can we improve the uptake of better agricultural practices? 4. What water quality improvement can non-agricultural land uses contribute? 5. How can Great Barrier Reef water quality improvement programs be improved? Each section summarises the currently available peer reviewed literature and comments on implications for management and research gaps. This chapter has a wider scope than previous Scientific Consensus Statements, including, for the first time, the social and governance dimensions of management and the management of non-agricultural land uses. These new sections are constrained by a lack of Great Barrier Reef–specific data and information. The relevance of information from other locations must be carefully considered. In comparison, the agricultural practice change and economics sections provide an update on material compiled as part of the 2013 Scientific Consensus Statement. This report has been confined to peer reviewed literature, which is generally published in books and journals or major reports. There is additional evidence in grey literature, such as project and program reports, that has not been included here. Each section of this chapter has been compiled by a writing team and then revised following a series of review processes