Aquatic invertebrate fauna of western Tasmania

Although there are close associations with the south-western fauna , there are nevertheless some aquatic invertebrates found predominantly in western Tasmania, and some biological problems best studied by reference to such animals; examples from two families of crustacea and two insect orders are discussed in this paper . Western Tasmania may be regarded as the freshwater crayfish ( Parastacidae) centre of the State , all four Tasmanian genera being found there . Each genus is discussed in turn ; the habitats utilised are considered and adaptation to these habitats is illustrated by particular reference to burrow systems , calcium distribution in the exoskeleton and where possible , breeding patterns . Data is also provided on distribut i on and associated zoogeographical questions are briefly considered . Two genera of the fami ly Koonungidae ( Syncarida) are found in the west - Micraspides and Koonunga . Their habitats �nd distribution are discus s ed and att ent ion is drawn to the need for more ecological data in order to formulate answers to the zoogeographical issues invo lved . The Odonata exemplify an insect order with g enerally good dispersal power s . Al l dragonfly species found in west ern Tasmania, t ogether with their nymphal habitats, are co llated and discussed. The mo st interest ing speci es are the co ld- c l imat e adapted species , especial ly archai cs such as Archipetalia auriculata and Synthemiopsis gomphomacromioides. At t ention is drawn to the probable importance of diapaus e as an adaptat ion to cold montane habitat s . Three component s are recogni sed in the odonatan fauna , - cosmopo l i tan groups , anci ent Aus tralasian groups , and very anc i ent Gondwanal and re lict s . The Plecoptera is an order demonstrat ing poor vagi l i ty and only 6 of 31 Tasmani an species are shared with mainl and Aus tral i a . The maj ori ty of Tasmanian speci es are cold c l imat e adapted forms and cons equent ly west ern wat ers have a part i cularly conspi cuous s tone fly fauna . Data on the habitats and di stribut ion of a l l speci es found in west ern Tasmania is co l l at ed and discussed. The influence of man on aquat ic environments in west ern Tasmania is bri efly cons idered . Environmental modi fication result s from mining act ivities , hydro -el ectri c deve l opmen t , fore s try practices and from the introduction of exotic speci es such a

Henry Prinsep's Empire

Henry Prinsep is known as Western Australia’s first Chief Protector of Aborigines in the colonial government of Sir John Forrest, a period which saw the introduction of oppressive laws that dominated the lives of Aboriginal people for most of the twentieth century. But he was also an artist, horse-trader, member of a prominent East India Company family, and everyday citizen, whose identity was formed during his colonial upbringing in India and England. As a creator of Imperial culture, he supported the great men and women of history while he painted, wrote about and photographed the scenes around him. In terms of naked power he was a middle man, perhaps even a small man. His empire is an intensely personal place, a vast network of family and friends from every quarter of the British imperial world, engaged in the common tasks of making a home and a career, while framing new identities, new imaginings and new relationships with each other, indigenous peoples and fellow colonists. This book traces Henry Prinsep’s life from India to Western Australia and shows how these texts and images illuminate not only Prinsep the man, but the affectionate bonds that endured despite the geographic bounds of empire, and the historical, social, geographic and economic origins of Aboriginal and colonial relationships which are important to this day

Development of new global lake brGDGT-temperature calibrations:advances, applications, challenges, and recommendations

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are a group of temperature-sensitive membrane lipids found in bacteria that have been widely used in palaeo-temperature reconstruction. Despite recent advances in analytical methods, calibration datasets and statistical modelling approaches, one of the current challenges in Quaternary science remains in determining the most appropriate calibration model for reconstructing past changes in climate. We address this challenge by expanding existing calibration datasets, and by evaluating calibration models constructed using a range of statistical modelling approaches. We further evaluate model performance by applying the calibrations to published downcore records from contrasting environments and across different Quaternary timescales.Our study expands existing calibrations and includes new data from Antarctic lakes, providing greater confidence and applicability across a wider range of global environments. Results show robust brGDGT-temperature relationships on a global scale within the temperature range of approximately −2 °C to +31 °C covered in this study, with the random forest (RF) models performing the best (highest R2cv and lowest RMSEP) to estimate mean temperature of Months Above Freezing (MAF) and Mean Summer (air) Temperature (MST). Examination of uncertainties suggests the best models are accurately modelling all the features of the brGDGT-temperature relationships.To evaluate model performance downcore we apply and recommend a suite of exploratory statistical analyses to help identify core-samples that have unusual, no-analogue compositions, and use measures of correlation and concordance to summarise the similarity in trends and absolute values among reconstructions as a tool to suggest which reconstructions may be more reliable and where to use caution. Our results demonstrate that, although cross-validated calibration R2cv and RMSEP may indicate good model performance for the calibration data, a thorough assessment is required to assess reconstruction reliability when a model is applied downcore at a specific site. Our findings highlight the complexities and caveats of different methods for global temperature calibrations. The implications of our work are also relevant to other calibration studies in Quaternary science

An EISCAT UHF/ESR Experiment That Explains How Ionospheric Irregularities Induce GPS Phase Fluctuations at Auroral and Polar Latitudes

A limitation to the use of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) for precise and real-time services is introduced by irregularities in the ionospheric plasma density. An EISCAT UHF/ESR experiment was conducted to characterize the effect of electron density irregularities on temporal fluctuations in TEC along directions transverse to GPS ray paths in the high latitudes ionosphere. Two representative case studies are described: Enhancements in temporal TEC fluctuations originating (a) in the auroral ionosphere following auroral particle precipitation and (b) in the polar ionosphere following the drift of a polar patch as well as particle precipitation. The results indicate that the origin of enhancements in TEC fluctuations is due to the propagation through large-to-medium scale irregularities (i.e., ranging from few kilometres in the E region to few tens of kilometres in the F region) and occurring over spatial distances of up to approximately 400 km in the E region and up to approximately 800 km in the F region with a patchy distribution. Furthermore, the results indicate that enhancements in TEC fluctuations produced by polar plasma patches and particle precipitation occur over similar temporal scales, thus explaining the overall observation of higher phase scintillation indices in the high-latitude ionosphere. The similarity in the temporal scales over which enhancements in TEC fluctuations occur in the presence of both particle precipitation and plasma patches suggests an intrinsic limitation in the monitoring and tracking of plasma patches through ground GNSS observations

Calpain 3 is important for muscle regeneration: Evidence from patients with limb girdle muscular dystrophies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Limb girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) type 2A is caused by mutations in the CAPN3 gene and complete lack of functional calpain 3 leads to the most severe muscle wasting. Calpain 3 is suggested to be involved in maturation of contractile elements after muscle degeneration. The aim of this study was to investigate how mutations in the four functional domains of calpain 3 affect muscle regeneration.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We studied muscle regeneration in 22 patients with LGMD2A with calpain 3 deficiency, in five patients with LGMD2I, with a secondary reduction in calpain 3, and in five patients with Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) with normal calpain 3 levels. Regeneration was assessed by using the developmental markers neonatal myosin heavy chain (nMHC), vimentin, MyoD and myogenin and counting internally nucleated fibers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that the recent regeneration as determined by the number of nMHC/vimentin-positive fibers was greatly diminished in severely affected LGMD2A patients compared to similarly affected patients with LGMD2I and BMD. Whorled fibers, a sign of aberrant regeneration, was highly elevated in patients with a complete lack of calpain 3 compared to patients with residual calpain 3. Regeneration is not affected by location of the mutation in the <it>CAPN3 </it>gene.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest that calpain 3 is needed for the regenerative process probably during sarcomere remodeling as the complete lack of functional calpain 3 leads to the most severe phenotypes.</p

A LOFAR observation of ionospheric scintillation from two simultaneous travelling ionospheric disturbances

This paper presents the results from one of the first observations of ionospheric scintillation taken using the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR). The observation was of the strong natural radio source Cassiopeia A, taken overnight on 18–19 August 2013, and exhibited moderately strong scattering effects in dynamic spectra of intensity received across an observing bandwidth of 10–80 MHz. Delay-Doppler spectra (the 2-D FFT of the dynamic spectrum) from the first hour of observation showed two discrete parabolic arcs, one with a steep curvature and the other shallow, which can be used to provide estimates of the distance to, and velocity of, the scattering plasma. A cross-correlation analysis of data received by the dense array of stations in the LOFAR “core” reveals two different velocities in the scintillation pattern: a primary velocity of ~20–40 ms−1 with a north-west to south-east direction, associated with the steep parabolic arc and a scattering altitude in the F-region or higher, and a secondary velocity of ~110 ms−1 with a north-east to south-west direction, associated with the shallow arc and a scattering altitude in the D-region. Geomagnetic activity was low in the mid-latitudes at the time, but a weak sub-storm at high latitudes reached its peak at the start of the observation. An analysis of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and ionosonde data from the time reveals a larger-scale travelling ionospheric disturbance (TID), possibly the result of the high-latitude activity, travelling in the north-west to south-east direction, and, simultaneously, a smaller-scale TID travelling in a north-east to south-west direction, which could be associated with atmospheric gravity wave activity. The LOFAR observation shows scattering from both TIDs, at different altitudes and propagating in different directions. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time that such a phenomenon has been reported