Learning, evolvability and exploratory behaviour: extending the evolutionary reach of learning

Traditional accounts of the role of learning in evolution have concentrated upon its capacity as a source of fitness to individuals. In this paper I use a case study from invasive species biology—the role of conditioned taste aversion in mitigating the impact of cane toads on the native species of Northern Australia—to highlight a role for learning beyond this—as a source of evolvability to populations. This has two benefits. First, it highlights an otherwise under-appreciated role for learning in evolution that does not rely on social learning as an inheritance channel nor “special” evolutionary processes such as genetic accommodation (both of which many are skeptical about). Second, and more significantly, it makes clear important and interesting parallels between learning and exploratory behaviour in development. These parallels motivate the applicability of results from existing research into learning and learning evolution to our understanding the evolution of evolvability more generally.23 page(s

Grass response to shrub removal in two semi-arid vegetation communities

The control of woody weeds in the mulga lands of south-west Queensland is commonly regarded as essential for restoration of degraded systems. However, these shrubs have become a dominant and stable component of many mulga land ecosystems, and their removal may have unknown ecosystem impacts. This paper reports an experiment to determine the effect of woody weeds and grazing pressure on grass recruitment, cover and diversity in two vegetation communities in Queensland's mulga lands. Both factors influence grass recruitment, cover and diversity, but the response differs between the two vegetation communities investigated. The overall grass cover is consistently greater in sites where woody weeds were removed, and where grazing pressure was lowest. However, in the Dunefields community the cover and frequency of grass plants responded mon to the removal of woody weeds than in the Mulga Sandplain community. In contrast, in the Mulga Sandplain community the grasses responded more to reducing or removing grazing pressure. Results suggest that subtle differences between systems influence grass dynamics, highlighting the need for community-specific research and management

Retrospective Monitoring of Rangeland Vegetation Change: Ecohistory from Deposits of Sheep Dung Associated with Shearing Sheds

This paper explores the potential of a new method of reconstructing historical vegetation change in the Australian rangelands. Historical monitoring of rangeland vegetation has been so deficient that it is not possible to determine whether a long-term trend toward degradation has occurred (as is often assumed) or, indeed, if it is continuing to occur. Because long-term records are unavailable any attempt to monitor vegetation retrospectively must be based on proxy measures rather than direct observation. Where historical data are lacking an integration of palaeoecological, archaeological and ecological methods is required to reconstruct the past. Our research is based on a detailed analysis of sheep faeces deposited near a shearing shed in the semiarid rangelands of south-west Queensland between the late 1930s and the mid-1990s. The faeces in these deposits represent the diet of sheep in the days leading up to the property's annual shearing and as such are a potentially useful index to changes in vegetation. Results indicate significant changes in the diet of sheer since the late 1940s. The potential of this method, and its limitations, are discussed. Long-term records are critical in understanding issues of sustainability in land management and it is intended that this paper will stimulate further research into historical vegetation change in rangelands

Isotopes, wool, and rangeland monitoring: Let the sheep do the sampling

Stable carbon isotope analyses of wool staples provided insight into the vegetation consumed by sheep at a temporal resolution not previously studied. Contemporary Australian and historic South African samples dating back to 1916 were analyzed for their stable carbon isotope ratio, a proxy for the proportion of C-3 and C-4 plant species consumed by animals. Sheep sample vegetation continuously throughout a year, and as their wool grows it integrates and stores information about their diet. In subtropical and tropical rangelands the majority of grass species are C-4. Since sheep prefer to graze, and their wool is an isotopic record of their diet, we now have the potential to develop a high resolution index to the availability of grass from a sheep's perspective. Isotopic analyses of wool suggest a new direction for monitoring grazing and for the reconstruction of past vegetation changes, which will make a significant contribution to traditional rangeland ecology and management. It is recommended that isotopic and other analyses of wool be further developed for use in rangeland monitoring programs to provide valuable feedback for land managers

Two-phase numerical study of the flow field formed in water pump sump: influence of air entrainment

In a pump sump it is imperative that the amount of non-homogenous flow and entrained air be kept to a minimum. Free air-core vortex occurring at a water-intake pipe is an important problem encountered in hydraulic engineering. These vortices reduce pump performances, may have large effects on the operating conditions and lead to increase plant operating costs.This work is an extended study starting from 2006 in LML and published by ISSA and al. in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Several cases of sump configuration have been numerically investigated using two specific commercial codes and based on the initial geometry proposed by Constantinescu and Patel. Fluent and Star CCM+ codes are used in the previous studies. The results, obtained with a structured mesh, were strongly dependant on main geometrical sump configuration such as the suction pipe position, the submergence of the suction pipe on one hand and the turbulence model on the other hand. Part of the results showed a good agreement with experimental investigations already published. Experiments, conducted in order to select best positions of the suction pipe of a water-intake sump, gave qualitative results concerning flow disturbances in the pump-intake related to sump geometries and position of the pump intake. The purpose of this paper is to reproduce the flow pattern of experiments and to confirm the geometrical parameter that influences the flow structure in such a pump. The numerical model solves the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations and VOF multiphase model. STAR CCM+ with an adapted mesh configuration using hexahedral mesh with prism layer near walls was used. Attempts have been made to calculate two phase unsteady flow for stronger mass flow rates and stronger submergence with low water level in order to be able to capture air entrainment. The results allow the knowledge of some limits of numerical models, of mass flow rates and of submergences for air entrainment. In the validation of this numerical model, emphasis was placed on the prediction of the number, location, size and strength of the various types of vortices coming from the free surface. Contours of vorticity at free surface, air cores, isoline of pressure surface were particularly examined for some cases. Streamlines issued from the free surface and the volume of fraction of air allows visualizing the air entrainment

The scaling of water governance tasks: A comparative federal analysis of the European Union and Australia

Conflicts over how to "scale" policy-making tasks have characterized environmental governance since time immemorial. They are particularly evident in the area of water policy and raise important questions over the democratic legitimacy, economic efficiency and effectiveness of allocating (or "scaling") tasks to some administrative levels as opposed to others. This article adopts a comparative federalism perspective to assess the "optimality" of scaling-either upward or downward-in one issue area, namely coastal recreational water quality. It does so by comparing the scaling of recreational water quality tasks in the European Union (EU) and Australia. It reveals that the two systems have adopted rather different approaches to scaling and that this difference can partly be accounted for in federal theoretical terms. However, a much greater awareness of the inescapably political nature of scaling processes is nonetheless required. Finally, some words of caution are offered with regard to transferring policy lessons between these two jurisdictions