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BatMap is a project that has enabled the development of spatial distribution maps for all mainland Australian and Tasmanian bat species. The distribution maps were developed by bat experts and are actively updated and maintained by utilising the collective knowledge of the members of the Australasian Bat Society. Distribution maps are the most accurate maps that are currently available for Australian bat species. The distribution maps are freely available on-line in a variety of formats. The distribution maps have been used for a variety of purposes, including the assessment of the spatial and taxonomic accuracy of bat records from ecological datasets, particularly datasets that are managed by the Atlas of Living Australia, which are considered by many to be the key source of spatial information for bats. BatMap enables better conservation outcomes for Australian bat fauna through the provision of authoritative, readily accessible and usable maps that can be used to increase the accuracy and reliability of bat records that contribute to decision making processes for conservation purposes. BatMap (https://www.ausbats.org.au/batmap.html) is a set of distribution maps, that have been developed by experts, for every bat species in Australia. The maps can be used for a variety of purposes including: discovering where bats occur; checking the accuracy of bat records; brochures and posters; and assessing areas proposed for development against bat species that are likely to occur there. Knowing what bats occur where can help us to better manage and achieve better conservation outcomes for the Australian bat fauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Microbat studies are uncommon in the Wet Tropics of north‐east Queensland, despite the group comprising 20% of the bioregion's mammal fauna. The significance of fragmentation and habitat connectivity to the echolocating insectivore group is unknown. Over a 12‐month period in 2021–2022, microbat presence was recorded in a 25‐year‐old restored wildlife corridor 1.2 km in length. We deployed Anabat detectors in the restored corridor, in adjacent open paddocks and in mature rainforest at either end of the corridor. Species in reference forest and corridor vegetation were consistently 'clutter‐adapted' bats, with low aspect ratio wings; there was little overlap with high aspect ratio species of the open pasture. Low aspect ratio microbats appear to respond to the similarity in structure between restored and adjacent natural vegetation. Re‐establishing structural and functional connectivity may improve the local persistence of 'clutter‐adapted' microbats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passive acoustic detectors are increasingly used for monitoring biodiversity, particularly for echolocating bat species (Microchiroptera). However, identification of calls collected at large scales is hindered by substantial variation within and between species, and the considerable time investment needed to manually identify acoustic data. We use acoustic data from 14 species of echolocating bats, occurring in temperate forests and woodlands of southeastern Australia to build a supervised classification model that identifies species from large acoustic datasets. Acoustic data from hand‐release (39,567) and free‐flying (8851) bat calls were used to build a predictive model, which was then validated using field‐collected calls (149,097) from the same region. We maximized the model fit per species by validating the associated confidence scores against manually identified presence and absence values. This allowed us to model the identification success of each species as a function of the confidence score. From this relationship, we set specific thresholds for accepting species identification, enabling more accurate classification of calls and identification of multiple bat species within a single acoustic recording. Including calls from manually identified free‐flying bats improved overall identification accuracy, including a 60% improvement for bats that navigate in open spaces. Assigning species‐specific thresholds achieved substantial improvements in overall model confidence, with functionally meaningful changes in the identification of species exhibiting considerable acoustic overlap in time and frequency measures. Research into the ecological requirements of species is hampered by problems with identification. Our research illustrates that internal train–test validation overestimates model accuracy particularly for species that were in low abundance or for uncommon species, which are acoustically similar to more common ones. Recognizing this, we set specific thresholds per species below which identifications were not accepted. Our method is particularly relevant in locations with high overlap in species' call parameters, which can result in false negatives in preference for species that are easier to identify because of the common practice of assigning one species per acoustic recording. This research proposes a cautious method to substantially reduce the burden of manual identification of large acoustic datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbats perform important ecological services in agro-ecosystems, but several species are globally threatened by loss of roosting and breeding habitats. The successful conservation of bats in agricultural land requires adequate knowledge of their ecology. Using ultrasonic recorders, we studied the activity of insectivorous bats in areas of macadamia production in eastern Australia at two spatial scales: across woodland-orchard transects at the local scale and across three levels of fragmentation at the landscape scale. At the local scale, activity patterns of 'clutter' and 'edge' specialists were consistently higher in woodland patches, gradually decreasing towards isolated orchards, where only a few 'open' specialists were active. At the landscape scale, bat community activity was affected by the level of fragmentation, partly because three of the most recorded taxa ( Austronomus australis, Saccolaimus flaviventris and Miniopterus australis) had their highest activity in less-fragmented areas. A distance-based model explained 24% of the bat community activity based on a combination of six environmental variables. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that a number of bat taxa were associated with open areas of macadamia, whereas other taxa were associated with increasing values of landscape composition, and arthropod and water availability. In addition, total bat activity was highly correlated with foraging rate. These results suggest that most bat taxa were influenced by proximity to woodland and the degree of fragmentation, and only few taxa were able to exploit isolated orchards. Environmental factors that promote bat activity could be exploited to strengthen conservation efforts. Preserving remnant woodland and promoting habitat heterogeneity will benefit several bat species. In particular, the foraging activity of 'edge' specialists could be fostered by increasing landscape connectivity and maintaining unobstructed water bodies near macadamia orchards. Considering that bats forage as they navigate these areas, conservation efforts could also bring benefits to farmers through pest-reduction services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aspergillus flavusinfects several food and feed crops, such as corn (Zea maysL.), cotton (Gossypium hirsutumL.), peanuts (Arachis hypogaeaL.), and tree nut crops and contaminates the seed with carcinogenic aflatoxins. These susceptible crops contain rich reserves of lipids and fatty acids. The nature of relationship between lipids and the ability of the fungus to infect and produce aflatoxins in mature cottonseed, a protein-rich animal feed, has been addressed previously. In this study, we tracked lipid accumulation in developing cottonseed (15–35 days post-anthesis [DPA]) and also the ability of an aflatoxigenic strain and an isogenic non-aflatoxigenic strain to grow and produce aflatoxinsin planta. The aflatoxigenic strain Af-70 green fluorescent protein (GFP) and the isogenic, non-aflatoxigenic strain SRRC 1500 (fungal collections maintained at the Southern Regional Research Center) did not differ much in infection and colonization of cottonseed. The non-aflatoxigenic strain did not produce aflatoxin at all stages of cottonseed development, whereas the aflatoxigenic strain Af-70 GFP produced copious amounts of aflatoxin and it coincided with the increasing levels of lipids, especially in mature cottonseed (30–35 DPA). Fungal growth, as quantified by the GFP expression in the fungus, was highly correlated with toxin production. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Financial power includes the ability to create and allocate credit-based money, to call on government subsidies, to decide which economic projects go ahead, and to determine the intellectual and political agendas for regulation. Regulators, politicians, and market self-regulation mechanisms failed to hold these powers to account throughout the financial crisis. Reform advocates in civil society have struggled to fill the gap in the face of powerful lobbying by the financial industry. Finance Watch was created in 2011 in response to a call from MEPs for a counter-lobby and has established itself as an effective, independent public interest advocate. Its presence highlights a number of ways for reform advocates to coordinate their actions and for policy-makers to help bring financial power to account. These include asking policy-makers to engage more with non-industry respondents, give greater weight to non-industry voices in consultations and increase financial and technical support for public interest advocacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In conservation management, ensuring that the most appropriate research is conducted and results are actually put into practice is a complex and challenging process. While there are success stories, many hurdles can reduce the likelihood of appropriate research being initiated and its findings communicated and implemented. This article describes the ideal research-management cycle, summarizes the major factors that impede it and draws on the experiences of the authors to provide a series of examples of successful approaches to help keep the cycle going. We consider that the major impediments to a functioning research-management cycle relate to a lack of collaboration, poor communication, inappropriate funding and political timelines, change inertia and a lack of capacity. Although addressing structural difficulties such as matching funding timelines to those required for ecological research is a fundamental challenge, we can make incremental improvements to the way in which we operate that will improve the chances that research is both useful and used. The principles underpinning our success stories are (i) strategic development of capacity, (ii) increased breadth and depth of collaborations between researchers and managers and (iii) improved communications. Participants in the research-management cycle must seek to involve stakeholders through all project stages from project conception, to implementation, evaluation and knowledge updating. Finally, we should only see the first iteration of the research process as complete when new knowledge is applied operationally with monitoring and ongoing evaluation in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determines the usefulness of the mini-mental state exam scores (MMSE) in predicting functional impairment in white and African American population diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Effect of racial and educational factors on the validity of the MMSE in detecting the presence of cognitive impairment.