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Baseline haematology, blood chemistry and acute phase protein parameters have not previously been published for free-ranging eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus). Eight eastern grey kangaroos, including three adult males, three adult females and two subadult males from two different populations, were examined. Assays assessed the antibacterial activity of kangaroo serum against one Gram-positive and three Gram-negative bacteria. The kangaroo serum had a strong antibacterial response to Klebsiella pneumoniae, and moderate responses to Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The presence and level of acute phase proteins, haptoglobin and serum amyloid A in kangaroos was investigated. Haptoglobin and serum amyloid A were present in kangaroo serum, but only haptoglobin was elevated in a kangaroo with capture myopathy and necrotic wounds. The findings of this study provide preliminary data on health parameters of free-ranging eastern grey kangaroos. These parameters can be used to assist in assessing health in free-ranging populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a fine-grained analysis of variation in the macropod motif across the Sydney region demonstrates similar or different patterns when compared with previous stylistic studies of the area. Here we discuss the figurative representation of the macropod motif. We discuss the syntax of the rock art using concepts of conventions, language and symbols to interpret macropod stylistic representation. We show how a fine-grained assessment of both frequencies of design elements and measurements of shape complements previous regional stylistic studies by demonstrating how stylistic regions are multilayered and not definite. The paper suggests new stylistic zones that future work can test, and demonstrates that these zones do not correspond simply with one widely used reconstruction of language distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Management and conservation require a comprehensive understanding of species distributions and habitat requirements. Reliable species occurrence data are critical in the face of climate change and other anthropogenic activity, but are often difficult to obtain, particularly for wide ranging species. This directly affects ecological models of occurrence and habitat suitability and, in turn, conservation and management decisions. We used generalized linear mixed-effects models to identify ecological determinants of occurrence for four macropod species (across a region of tropical northern Australia) using a non-invasive genetic scat approach with and without additional observation records from visual surveys. We show that genetically derived occurrence data, alone, can be used to develop informative ecological models that describe the inter-specific habitat requirements of macropods. Furthermore, we show that genetic scat surveys of macropods are cheaper and less time consuming to conduct, and tend to provide more occurrence records (and less false absences) than visual surveys. We conclude that indirect surveys using molecular approaches have an important role to play in modelling species' occurrence, and developing future management practices and guidelines to aid species conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Asynchronous concurrent lactation (ACL) is an extreme lactation strategy in macropod marsupials including the tammar wallaby, that may hold the key to understanding local control of mammary epithelial cell function. Marsupials have a short gestation and a long lactation consisting of three phases; P2A, P2B and P3, representing early, mid and late lactation respectively and characterised by profound changes in milk composition. A lactating tammar is able to concurrently produce phase 2A and 3 milk from adjacent glands in order to feed a young newborn and an older sibling at heel. Physiological effectors of ACL remain unknown and in this study the extracellular matrix (ECM) is investigated for its role in switching mammary phenotypes between phases of tammar wallaby lactation. Using the level of expression of the genes for the phase specific markers tELP, tWAP, and tLLP-B representing phases 2A, 2B and 3 respectively we show for the first time that tammar wallaby mammary epithelial cells (WallMECs) extracted from P2B acquire P3 phenotype when cultured on P3 ECM. Similarly P2A cells acquire P2B phenotype when cultured on P2B ECM. We further demonstrate that changes in phase phenotype correlate with phase-specific changes in ECM composition. This study shows that progressive changes in ECM composition in individual mammary glands provide a local regulatory mechanism for milk protein gene expression thereby enabling the mammary glands to lactate independently. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Population differences in body condition, parasitic burden, hematology, and serum biochemistry of free-living tammar wallabies ( Macropus eugenii) are presented and compared to studies reporting values in captive tammar wallabies. The nutritional distinction in the composition and quality of the available vegetation on Garden Island produces 3 sub-populations that differ in their human disturbance, body condition, rates of reproduction, and survival, providing unique opportunities to examine condition-related health parameters in free-living wallabies. Our results show several hematology analytes (in particular, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration), all the measured serum biochemistry analytes (urea, creatinine, triglycerides, and albumin), and total gastrointestinal parasite burden are significantly associated with body condition (body mass index), providing reliable indices of wallaby condition and habitat quality. The means and standard errors for hematology analytes (in particular, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration) and all serum biochemistry values for free-ranging wallabies lie below and outside of reference ranges for captive wallabies, despite the naval base sub-population benefiting from human modified habitats with a consistent availability of food. This indicates that free-ranging tammar wallabies may be suffering from some challenges that captive wallabies do not face. The hematology and serum biochemistry values coupled with body condition indices suggest wallabies in the south bush sub-population are under greater nutritional stress and suffering from prolonged malnutrition. Examining all parameters in a single year and across years would be beneficial to further investigate habitat differences driving this change to help distinguish if vegetative structure and associated nutritional deficiencies and/or disease are limiting this population. Health monitoring is an integral part of the management of both captive and free-living populations and the data presented here will serve as an effective management tool in assessing the health status of free-living tammar wallabies. © 2013 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Many animal species, including macropods, have the potential to act as atypical reservoirs of the causative agent of Q fever, Coxiella burnetii. The objective of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of C. burnetii in various macropod species in Australia. Competitive and indirect ELISAs were developed for the testing of macropod sera for antibodies to phase II and I C. burnetii antigens separately. A total of 500 macropod serum samples from selected species sampled in eastern and western coastal states of Australia were screened for the presence of anti-C. burnetii antibodies. An overall seroprevalence of 20.8% (95% CI 20.8–20.9%) was observed with 30.4% (30.2–30.9%) in northern Queensland, 13.0% (12.9–13.1%) in southern Queensland, 7.1% (7.1–8.0%) in western Queensland and 22.8% (22.7–22.9%) in south-western Western Australia. These data indicated that macropods represented a potential reservoir for zoonotic transmission of C. burnetii to domestic animals and the human population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Range-restricted species, such as regional endemics, possess traits that may make them particularly vulnerable to environmental change. The quokka, Setonix brachyurus, is a small macropod, endemic to south-western Australia and two adjacent islands. Climatic factors appear to play a role in defining the distribution of this species. Mainland populations are historically restricted to areas with an annual average rainfall in excess of 700mm and their current distribution is almost completely confined within the 1000mm rainfall isohyet. As such, the predicted increasing aridity of south-western Australia due to climate change is likely to threaten the continued persistence of the quokka on the mainland. To examine this possibility, we modelled the distribution of the quokka with Maxent using records of occurrence and a combination of historical climate (1961–1990) and habitat variables. Future projections of this distribution were then examined assuming two simple dispersal scenarios (zero and full migration) and three climate-change scenarios of increasing severity for 2030, 2050 and 2070. The predictive performance of the distribution model generated under historical climate conditions was high (AUC>0.8), with annual precipitation contributing the most information to the model. Except for the low-severity climate-change scenario under the full dispersal assumption, the future projected distribution of quokka was shown to contract over time. The extent of range contraction tended to increase with the severity of the climate-change scenario, with the species predicted to lose almost all range by the year 2070 under the most extreme climate-change scenario. The results indicate the importance of identifying potential refuges for the quokka (i.e. areas where the species is predicted to persist) and defining management strategies to protect these areas from threatening processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We detail the social behaviour of the quokka, a small macropod marsupial. Most of the study population were habituated to humans, and were individually marked, and weighed regularly. Males formed a dominance hierarchy and interacted regularly. Heavier males were the most dominant, and spent most time with females. There was a tendency for males to defend a female after mating, but not at other times. Females rarely initiated interactions and appeared to avoid associating with other females. Males routinely attempted to form liaisons with females, but most liaisons lasted for <10 min. Consistency in the liaisons formed indicated partner preferences ('consorts'), and these lasted at least two breeding seasons. Females formed a consort with 1–3 males and rejected non-consort males. Males formed consorts with 1–5 females, regardless of their dominance, and approached many other females. Superficially, quokkas have a typically mammalian social system in which males compete with other males for access to females and females are selective of their mates. However, the social system of quokkas is characterized by subtlety in social relationships which required detailed information on known individuals over at least two breeding seasons to detect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high diversity of rock-dwelling macropod species inhabit the tropics of the Northern Territory, Australia. Within this region, individual species have varied distributions, with ranges variously being widespread, restricted, or geographically disjunct with variable levels of sympatry between them. The cause of these patterns is unknown and little is known of the ecology of these rock-dwelling macropods. We hypothesized that differences in the habitat requirements is the key to understanding the biogeography and sympatry of the species. We examined this hypothesis at both regional and local scales. We analysed records of occurence of Petrogale brachyotis, P. concinna, Macropus bernardus and M. robustus and environmental correlates (such as geology type, vegetation type, distance to drainage and distance to ‘rugged’ terrain) throughout the monsoon tropics using geographic information systems and generalized linear modelling. We surveyed 80 sites across the tropics of the Northern Territory and collected presence-absence data using scats and environmental correlates to examine fine-scale habitat requirements. From the regional scale analysis, it was clear that distance to rugged terrain strongly influences presence of all four species. Responses to this variable suggest M. bernardus and P. concinna have greater requirements for rugged terrain, whereas M. robustus and P. brachyotis are found across a broader range of habitats. The local scale analysis suggested presence of M. robustus is primarily driven by vegetation type, M. bernardus by the cover of outcrops, boulders and large rocks, and P. brachyotis by the density of caves. Although these species overlap in their use of habitats, there are also differences in their habitat requirements that are likely to play a role in their niche separation and in some cases their biogeography. However, it is apparent that the distributions of the species have also been influenced by historical factors given the absence of these species from some apparently suitable sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five new polycyclic Daphniphyllum alkaloids, macropodumines F (1) and G (2), 17-oxoyuzurimine (3), and macropodumines H (4) and I (5), were isolated from the leaves of D. macropodumMiq., collected in Sichuan Province, China. The structures and relative configurations of the new compounds – as well as of four known, related alkaloids – were elucidated on the basis of in-depth spectroscopic and mass-spectrometric analyses, by chemical derivatization, and by comparison of spectroscopic data with those of known compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An unusually high diversity of macropods inhabit the rocky areas in the monsoon tropics of the Northern Territory, Australia, yet the mechanisms that allow their niche separation are not clear. Previous studies suggest that the nabarlek, Petrogale concinna, may have a more grazing diet than the short-eared rock-wallaby, Petrogale brachyotis, with whom it coexists. Thus, diet may be an important mechanism of niche separation between these species. We examined the diet of the four sympatric species (the black wallaroo Macropus bernardus, common wallaroo Macropus robustus, P. brachyotis and P. concinna) to determine whether there are differences in the dominant plant groups eaten by the species across the landscape and with season. Diets were determined with a macroscopic analysis of the seed and fruit content of scats and an analysis of the 12C to 13C isotope ratios of scats using mass spectrometry. In the dry season the rock-wallaby species predominantly consumed browse and/or forbs, and the larger wallaroos predominantly consumed grass. However, there was large variation across the landscape in the dry season diets of P. brachyotis, M. bernardus and M. robustus; including high proportions of grass eaten at some sites and high proportions of browse at other sites. In the wet season, greater proportions of grass were eaten by P. brachyotis and M. bernardus than in the dry season. Generally, there was little evidence to support the previous suggestion that P. concinna is more of a grazer than P. brachyotis, but there was some evidence than M. bernardus consumes greater amounts of browse and/or forbs than M. robustus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the size and moisture content of faecal pellets of small African antelope and Australian macropods. Collection of the faecal pellets; Relationship between faecal-pellet mass and body mass; Size and moisture content of the faecal pellets of small macropods; Habitat preferences.

A gammaherpesvirus was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in ocular, nasal and oropharyngeal swab samples collected from an adult free-ranging male eastern grey kangaroo ( Macropus giganteus) with clinical signs of severe respiratory disease. This is the first time a gammaherpesvirus has been detected in a free-ranging macropod in Australia. The nucleotide sequence of a conserved region of the DNA polymerase gene of the detected virus showed a high degree of identity to a gammaherpesvirus recently detected in a zoological collection of eastern grey kangaroos in North America. The detection of this gammaherpesvirus in a free-ranging, native eastern grey kangaroo provides evidence that this species is a natural host. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macropodus erythropterusis a small well-known aquarium fish. In the present study, the complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences ofM. erythropteruswere first determined. The mtDNA ofM. erythropterus(GenBank accession no. KU215670) was a circular molecule of 16 495 bp in length with two ribosome RNA (rRNA) genes, 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, an L-strand replication origin and a control region (CR). The entire mitogenome nucleotide acid was 15.71% for G, 29.66% for A, 28.37% for T and 26.26% for C with an A + T content of 58.03%. And the A + T contents of 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA and CR were 55.63%, 57.66% and 66.79%, respectively. This study provides basic molecular data for studying the conservation biology, phylogenetic and evolutionary analysis of Macropodusinae fishes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Narrates the author's experience in witnessing the practice of bathing limbs in pools for fish to help wound healing in India. Background on the use of living organisms to help in treating illnesses; Information on Macropodus cupanus, a healing fish.