Community? What do you mean? An investigation into how differing understandings of the term ‘community’ shapes care-leavers’ move to independence

We explored the ways in which a performance-led approach to community formation and personal development can inform care-leavers’ move to independence. We adopted a case study approach, working with two groups of participants: young people leaving care and their support workers in Devon County Council’s Children in Care team (DCCCCS). The project was co-designed and co-developed with participants from both groups and our colleagues from Exstream Theatre Company. In this action–research project all researchers acted as participant-observers. It had two key objectives: first, to better understand how the term ‘community’ shaped the processes that the participating young people engaged with, and second, to take a practice-led approach to explore if, and how, performance-based methods and principles could be used to support the participants as they left care. A number of findings challenged our early assumptions, in particular the complexity of working with people with unstable and unpredictable lives. By working with the young people and DCCCCS managers and support workers, we developed a new way of using the creation of a theatrical performance, a deeply-supportive, peer-enabled environment and a theatre company, to enable a space in which participants could reimagine both their sense of self and community. The development and implementation of this model raises further research questions relating to how new communities might be formed, as well as suggesting a number of uses that may inform the future development of the Connected Communities community engagement strategy

2017 President’s Lecture – A willing suspension of disbelief: context, healing and the stories of acute medicine

Conference Paper Abstrac

Population recovery following decline in an endangered stream-breeding frog (mixophyes fleayi) from subtropical Australia

Amphibians have undergone dramatic declines and extinctions worldwide. Prominent among these have been the streambreeding frogs in the rainforests of eastern Australia. The amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been postulated as the primary cause of these declines. We conducted a capture-mark-recapture study over a 7-year period on the endangered Fleay’s barred frog (Mixophyes fleayi) at two independent streams (30 km apart) in order to assess the stability of these populations. This species had undergone a severe decline across its narrow geographic range. Markrecapture modelling showed that the number of individuals increased 3–10 fold along stream transects over this period. Frog detection probabilities were frequently above 50% but declined as the populations increased. Adult survival was important to overall population persistence in light of low recruitment events, suggesting that longevity may be a key factor in this recovery. One male and female were present in the capture record for .6 years. This study provides an unambiguous example of population recovery in the presence of Bd

A Multi-Scale Distribution Model for Non-Equilibrium Populations Suggests Resource Limitation in an Endangered Rodent

Species distributions are known to be limited by biotic and abiotic factors at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Species distribution models, however, frequently assume a population at equilibrium in both time and space. Studies of habitat selection have repeatedly shown the difficulty of estimating resource selection if the scale or extent of analysis is incorrect. Here, we present a multi-step approach to estimate the realized and potential distribution of the endangered giant kangaroo rat. First, we estimate the potential distribution by modeling suitability at a range-wide scale using static bioclimatic variables. We then examine annual changes in extent at a population-level. We define "available" habitat based on the total suitable potential distribution at the range-wide scale. Then, within the available habitat, model changes in population extent driven by multiple measures of resource availability. By modeling distributions for a population with robust estimates of population extent through time, and ecologically relevant predictor variables, we improved the predictive ability of SDMs, as well as revealed an unanticipated relationship between population extent and precipitation at multiple scales. At a range-wide scale, the best model indicated the giant kangaroo rat was limited to areas that received little to no precipitation in the summer months. In contrast, the best model for shorter time scales showed a positive relation with resource abundance, driven by precipitation, in the current and previous year. These results suggest that the distribution of the giant kangaroo rat was limited to the wettest parts of the drier areas within the study region. This multi-step approach reinforces the differing relationship species may have with environmental variables at different scales, provides a novel method for defining "available" habitat in habitat selection studies, and suggests a way to create distribution models at spatial and temporal scales relevant to theoretical and applied ecologists

Rapid turnover in site occupancy of a pond-breeding frog demonstrates the need for landscape-level management

Habitat loss and habitat isolation have contributed to declines in the green and golden bell frog (Litoria aurea) over much of its former range in south-eastern Australia. Understanding the parameters critical for the persistence of extant populations is required to halt further declines. We assessed waterbody occupancy in a local network of potential L. aurea breeding habitats on Kooragang Island, Australia, by conducting surveys over two years (2000 and 2001) at 30 waterbodies, and using site-occupancy models. The probability that a waterbody was used by L. aurea in 2000 increased with increasing waterbody area, and decreasing distance to the nearest waterbody where L. aurea was detected and where reproductive recruitment was observed. Large waterbodies where high numbers of L. aurea were detected in 2000 were more likely to be used in 2001. The probability that a waterbody used in 2000 was not used in 2001 (i.e., turnover) decreased with increasing waterbody area and increasing numbers of L. aurea detected at the site in 2000. Our results demonstrate the potential for frog abundance, immigration, and recruitment to reduce local turnover. We recommend that conservation strategies for extant populations of L. aurea protect mosaics of wetland habitat and maintain connectivity among waterbodies

Low phylogeographic structure in a wide spread endangered Australian frog Litoria aurea (Anura: Hylidae)

The green and golden bell frog (Litoria aurea) has a widespread distribution along the south-east coast of Australia. The species range, however, is highly fragmented and remaining populations are predominately isolated and restricted to the coastline. Previously, the range extended further inland and the species was considered common. Here we report a study designed to identify the phylogeographic and conservation genetic parameters of L. aurea. Mitochondrial DNA sequences were examined from 263 individuals sampled from 26 locations using both phylogenetic and population analyses. Despite a general consensus that amphibians are highly structured we found no phylogeographic divisions within the species, however, there was significant structure amongst extant populations (F ST=0.385). Patterns of haplotype relatedness, high haplotypic diversity (mean h=0.547) relative to low nucleotide diversity (mean π=0.003) and mismatch distribution analysis supported a Pleistocene expansion hypothesis with continued restricted dispersal and gene flow. We conclude that the genetic structure of the species may permit ‘well managed’ intervention to mediate gene flow amongst isolated populations and provide some guidelines for the implementation of such conservation strategies