The status of the greater glider Petauroides volans in the Illawarra region

Anecdotal evidence suggested that the Greater glider Petauroides volans Kerr 1792 had been eliminated from Royal National Park by wildfires in 1994. This thesis is concerned with the distribution of the Greater glider in the Illawarra region, the reasons why it appears unable to recolonise an area in which it was formerly found, and the potential for re-establishing the former population. The specific aims of this study were to (1) clarify the taxonomy of this species; (2) review the distribution and abundance of Greater gliders in the Illawarra area and the current threats to populations; (3) conduct a detailed field study in the region; and (4) develop a translocation proposal for reintroduction of Greater gliders to Royal National Park. Early accounts of the Greater glider Petauroides volans (Marsupialia: Pseudocheiridae), started with Arthur Phillips’ 1789 account in The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay, but, since then, the species has had a quite peripatetic and confusing taxonomic history. It has been listed as a member of 10 genera, with about 23 different binomial names. The taxonomy and early descriptions of the species’ morphology, dentition, behaviour, distribution and abundance are complex, and P. volans has frequently been confused with a number of other gliding possums, particularly the Yellow-bellied glider, Petaurus australis. Early descriptions of the morphology of P. volans were given only in broad general terms. More value can be placed on the early behavioural observations, and on the earliest records of their occurrence. Recent distribution records of the Greater glider in the study area show that its range and numbers have declined over a 35 year period. Many factors may have contributed to this decline including; removal of habitat and den trees, predators, and the timing and frequency of fire events. The population of Greater gliders that was present at Royal National Park prior to 1994 was depleted by the shooting of 21 individuals between 1978 to 1980. A number of barriers in the landscape will limit the ability of the Greater glider to disperse from adjacent areas back to Royal National Park. My detailed field study, using spotlighting, at 19 sites confirmed that it is no longer present in many areas in which it was once observed. It is present in areas that are conserved as part of Sydney catchment Authority, and is indeed absent from Royal National Park. This information suggests that a reintroduction of the Greater glider to Royal National Park would be worthwhile, particularly as the Greater glider was formerly abundant at Royal National Park. The biological and ecological factors required by the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service policy document for the translocation of fauna are considered for the translocation proposal of the Greater glider to Royal National Park. These factors include; the reintroduction of 18 individuals using a sex ratio of 1:2 (6 males and 12 females), at two sites (Jersey Springs and Bola Creek) with three lots of F-M-F at each site (3 males and 6 females). Monitoring of the translocated individuals would use radio collars, reflective tags and spotlighting to determine initial success of the reintroduction. The low population numbers of the Greater glider in the Illawarra region call for sourcing the individuals from other areas. The taxonomy and the current and former range of the Greater glider are reviewed. The Greater glider lives for 10 – 15 years with adult females having one young per year, with greater success in forests with higher nutrient levels. The species is solitary and virtually silent, with populations ranging from 0.01 to 5 individuals per hectare. It is a hollow dependent, nocturnal folivorous marsupial which feeds high in the canopy and consumes some 33 eucalypt and ten non eucalypt species across its distribution. The home range size for the Greater glider is 1.4 to 2.6 ha for males and 0.8 to 2.5 ha for females. Threats to this species include habitat clearing, logging, fire and predation with ten predators reported. The only disease reported is Chlamydia which appears not to have any effect, while three ectoparasites and eight endoparasites were also recorded for this species. There have been no previous translocation programs undertaken for the Greater glider; other analogous species which have been translocated include the Sugar glider, Koala and Common Brushtail possum. The source population for the translocation of the Greater glider to Royal National Park, should come from an area other than the Illawarra as these populations are in low numbers and are of local conservation priority

“Small steps, or giant leaps?” Comparing game demands of U23, U18, and U16 English academy soccer and their associations with speed and endurance

The current study aimed to compare locomotive outputs across English U16, U18 and U23 academy soccer and investigate possible relationships with neuromuscular and aerobic capacities. Participants included 46 outfield players from an English Category Two soccer academy. Global positioning system (18Hz) data were utilised to analyse locomotive outputs across twenty eleven-a-side matches in each age group. Maximal sprinting speed (MSS) and aerobic speed (MAS) were assessed at the beginning of the season. Absolute total distance (TD), high-speed running (HSR), acceleration and deceleration workloads were higher in U18’s and U23’s vs. U16’s (g = 1.09-2.58; p < 0.05), and absolute sprinting distances were higher in U23’s vs. U16’s (g = 0.96; p < 0.05). In addition, relative HSR outputs were higher in U23’s vs. U18’s (g = 1.84-2.07; p < 0.05). Across the whole cohort, players’ MSS was positively associated with absolute HSR and sprinting distances (ρ = 0.53-0.79; p < 0.05) but not with relative parameters. MAS was positively associated with total distance, decelerations, and both absolute and relative HSR outputs (ρ = 0.33-0.56; p < 0.05). Overall, absolute locomotive outputs were significantly higher in U23’s and U18’s vs. U16’s. Locomotive outputs were also associated with maximal sprinting and aerobic speeds. Thus, training programmes should be tailored to competition demands to optimally prepare each age group for competition and reflect the increasing demands of each level of competition. Further, improving physical fitness (speed and endurance) is likely to drive greater outputs in competition

Does size matter? Effects of small vs. large pitch small-sided game training on speed and endurance in collegiate soccer players

The aim of this study was to compare the training effect of small-sided games (SSGs) played using large (SSG-L) and small (SSG-S) area per player (ApP) on speed and endurance in college soccer players. Twenty male NCAA division 1 soccer players were randomly assigned to 2 experimental training groups: SSG-L (n = 10), or SSG-S (n = 10). During the 4-week intervention, both groups performed 3 sets of 4-8 minutes of 5 vs 5 SSGs using either a large (300m2; SSG-L) or small (75m2; SSG-S) ApP. Pre- and post-training, players completed linear sprint (20- and 40-m sprint), repeated sprint, and aerobic endurance tests. Following the intervention, both groups exhibited improvements in 20-m, 40-m, and maximum sprinting speed (all p 0.05, g = 0.04 –0.29). No differences or interaction effects in repeat-sprint ability were found for either group (p > 0.05). A decline in maximal aerobic speed occurred in SSG-S (p = 0.010, g = 0.60) whilst no change was reported for SSG-L. Following the intervention, anaerobic speed reserve was lower for SSG-L versus SSG-S (p = 0.013; g = -0.23). No further between-group differences were reported at either time-point. These results suggest that SSGs played with small ApP may not be adequate to maintain aerobic fitness

The Smith Cloud: HI associated with the Sgr dwarf?

The Smith high velocity cloud (V(LSR) = 98 kms) has been observed at two locations in the emission lines [OIII]5007, [NII]6548 and H-alpha. Both the [NII] and H-alpha profiles show bright cores due to the Reynolds layer, and red wings with emission extending to V(LSR) = 130 kms. This is the first simultaneous detection of two emission lines towards a high velocity cloud, allowing us to form the ratio of these line profiles as a function of LSR velocity. At both cloud positions, we see a clear distinction between emission at the cloud velocity, and the Reynolds layer emission (V(LSR) = 0). The [NII]/H-alpha ratio (=0.25) for the Reynolds layer is typical of the warm ionised medium. At the cloud velocity, this ratio is enhanced by a factor of 3-4 compared to emission at rest with respect to the LSR. A moderately deep upper limit at [OIII] (0.12R at 3-sigma) was derived from our data. If the emission arises from dilute photoionisation from hot young stars, the highly enhanced [NII]/H-alpha ratio, the [OIII] non-detection and weak H-alpha emission (0.24-0.30R) suggest that the Smith Cloud is 26+/-4 kpc from the Sun, at a Galactocentric radius of 20+/-4 kpc. This value assumes that the emission arises from an optically thick slab, with a covering fraction of unity as seen by the ionizing photons, whose orientation is either (a) parallel to the Galactic disk, or (b) such as to maximize the received flux from the disk. The estimated mass and size of the cloud are 4x10^6 Msun and 6 kpc. We discuss a possible association with the much larger Sgr dwarf, at a galactocentric radius of 16+/-2 kpc, which lies within 35 degrees (~12 kpc) of the Smith Cloud.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures, mn.sty. Our first application of a new method for establishing distances to high velocity clouds. This version matches paper to appear in MNRAS, 299, 611-624 (Sept. 11 issue

Evolution of displacements and strains in sheared amorphous solids

The local deformation of two-dimensional Lennard-Jones glasses under imposed shear strain is studied via computer simulations. Both the mean squared displacement and mean squared strain rise linearly with the length of the strain interval $\Delta \gamma$ over which they are measured. However, the increase in displacement does not represent single-particle diffusion. There are long-range spatial correlations in displacement associated with slip lines with an amplitude of order the particle size. Strong dependence on system size is also observed. The probability distributions of displacement and strain are very different. For small $\Delta \gamma$ the distribution of displacement has a plateau followed by an exponential tail. The distribution becomes Gaussian as $\Delta \gamma$ increases to about .03. The strain distributions consist of sharp central peaks associated with elastic regions, and long exponential tails associated with plastic regions. The latter persist to the largest $\Delta \gamma$ studied.Comment: Submitted to J. Phys. Cond. Mat. special volume for PITP Conference on Mechanical Behavior of Glassy Materials. 16 Pages, 8 figure

A note on positive energy of topologically massive gravity

I review how "classical SUGRA" embeddability establishes positive energy E for D=3 topologically massive gravity (TMG), with or without a cosmological term, a procedure familiar from D=4 Einstein gravity (GR). It also provides explicit expressions for E. In contrast to GR, E is not manifestly positive, due to the peculiar two-term nature of TMG.Comment: 7 page