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Molecular and morphological data indicate that the pest thrips damaging Myoporum species in California and Hawai'i, Klambothrips myopori Mound and Morris, originated in Tasmania, Australia. This trans-Pacific dispersal presumably resulted from the international horticultural trade in Myoporum species. The data distinguish the pest from K. adelaideae sp.n. that induces leaf deformation on M. insulare along the coast of mainland Australia that is separated by ~300 km from Tasmania by the Bass Strait. K. myopori is more damaging to its non-native hosts in California and Hawai'i than to M. insulare in Tasmania, and further research is needed to determine if this is the result of release from its natural enemies. However, in certain areas of California, some Myoporum species are invasive weeds, and K. myopori may be considered an example of an accidental but beneficial introduction in this instance because of its detrimental impact on the plant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: In a cross‐continental research initiative, including researchers working in Australia and Denmark, and based on joint external funding by a 3‐year grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, we have used DNA sequencing, extensive chemical profiling and molecular networking analyses across the entire Eremophila genus to provide new knowledge on the presence of natural products and their bioactivities using polypharmocological screens. Sesquiterpenoids, diterpenoids and dimers of branched‐chain fatty acids with previously unknown chemical structures were identified. The collection of plant material from the Eremophila genus was carried out according to a 'bioprospecting agreement' with the Government of Western Australia. We recognize that several Eremophila species hold immense cultural significance to Australia's First Peoples. In spite of our best intentions to ensure that new knowledge gained about the genus Eremophila and any potential future benefits are shared in an equitable manner, in accordance with the Nagoya Protocol, we encounter serious dilemmas and potential conflicts in making benefit sharing with Australia's First Peoples a reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite an ancient and well‐established use of insects in traditional medicine, our understanding of their bioactive compounds (entomochemicals) lags far behind that of medicinal plants (phytochemicals). In this review, we focus particularly on insect–plant interactions, to examine the possible dependence of the medicinal properties of insects on phytochemicals that they bioaccumulate or chemically modify. We suggest that a cross‐disciplinary approach including ethnobiology, insect ecology and phytochemistry can provide new opportunities in bioprospecting. Such opportunities lie not only in identifying medicinal entomochemicals that are based on phytochemical accumulation or modification but also on using insects as bioindicators of what plants may contain novel phytochemicals that have not yet been studied. Firstly, evidence is drawn from the international literature on the medicinal use of insects, many of which have pharmacological properties now well established in the Western scientific paradigm. Secondly, we highlight the value of a cross‐disciplinary approach to bioprospecting in an Australian context, where records of traditional Aboriginal use of medicinal insects are scant. Particularly, we explore the Aboriginal use of Lepidoptera as a case study, including witchetty grubs, hawkmoths and processionary caterpillars. We conclude that opportunities remain to connect traditional, ecological and chemical knowledge for biodiscovery, in collaboration with Indigenous communities. Ultimately, the success of any such endeavour is dependent on the successful conservation management of insect biodiversity into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diversity of Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera) in Australia and New Guinea (Australopapua) is reviewed. There are 3100 described species in 244 genera, with a further 2300 species to be described or confirmed. Approximately 11.6% of the world species of Chrysomelidae are found in Australopapua. Among the larger subfamilies, there is a relative dearth of Bruchinae, Cassidinae and Criocerinae and a relative abundance of Chrysomelinae, Cryptocephalinae and Eumolpinae. In the smaller subfamilies, Lamprosomatinae and Synetinae are absent, whereas Sagrinae and Spilopyrinae are strongly represented. Endemicity at generic level is high, exceeding 30% in all subfamilies, except Donaciinae (one species), and exceeding 50% in Chrysomelinae, Cryptocephalinae, Eumolpinae, Sagrinae and Spilopyrinae. The most diverse and ecologically dominant plant orders host the most chrysomelid genera (39 genera on Myrtales, 34 on Fabales, 15 genera on both orders), but many major plant orders in the region, such as Ericales, are almost ignored. Processes contributing to the diversity of Chrysomelidae in Australopapua are discussed, particularly co-speciation, co-evolution, dispersal and vicariance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

•Stem mechanical properties are critically linked to foliage deployment and growth strategy, yet variation in stem mechanics across species and habitats is poorly understood. •Here, we compared 32 plant species growing across four sites of contrasting rainfall and soil nutrient availability in Australia. •The modulus of elasticity (MOE) and modulus of rupture (MOR) were tightly correlated with dry sapwood density within sites, but species from low-rainfall environments had higher wood density for a given MOE and MOR compared with species growing in high-rainfall environments. The ratio of MOE to MOR was slightly lower for species at low-rainfall sites, suggesting that wood was stronger for a given elasticity. Most species had thick bark, but the mechanical contribution of bark to stem MOE was small. •Our results suggest that arid-adapted species would need to deploy more dry mass to support stems. Our results also highlight the importance of understanding how the biomechanics–wood density relationship evolves under different environmental conditions to better understand plant growth across diverse habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Leaf trait relationships of native and exotic invasive species from a range of habitats were compared to assess consistency across habitats and the role of disturbance. 2. One hundred and twenty-two native and exotic species were sampled in five habitats in eastern Australia. Specific leaf area, foliar nitrogen ( Nmass), assimilation rate ( Amass) and dark respiration ( Rmass) were measured for each species. Plants were classified into four types: native undisturbed, native disturbed, exotic invasive undisturbed and exotic invasive disturbed. 3. All traits were positively correlated and slopes were homogeneous within habitats. Significant differences between plant types in slope elevation were found in only two of 18 cases. There were significant shifts in group means along a common slope between plant types within habitats. These shifts were associated with disturbed vs. undisturbed areas, with plant types from disturbed areas having higher trait values. 4. Synthesis. Exotic invasive and native species do not have fundamentally different carbon capture strategies. The carbon capture strategy of a species is strongly associated with disturbance, with species from disturbed sites having traits that confer capacity for fast growth. Thus, differences between exotic invasives and natives may reflect differences in the environmental conditions of the sites where they occur rather than differences between exotic invasives and natives per se. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaf miners are insects whose larval stages live between layers of leaf epidermis, feeding on mesophyll and lower epidermis to create mine-like cavities. Little is known about the ecology or distribution of leaf miners in Australia. We investigated the incidence of leaf miners in relation to aridity, vegetation types, host plant taxonomy, leaf traits, canopy cover and latitude. We surveyed leaf miners at 15 sites in NSW, eastern Australia, situated along a rainfall gradient from 300 to 1700 mm per annum and a latitudinal gradient of 28°S to 33°S, within four vegetation types (mallee, heath, woodland and rainforest). Leaf mining was recorded from 36 plant species, 89% of which had no previous record of mining. The proportion of mined plant species at each site varied, but there was no significant difference between vegetation types. Leaf mining presence was positively correlated with both total leaf length and leaf thickness. No significant correlations were found between the proportion of mined species at a site and rainfall, latitude or foliar projected cover. We conclude that leaf mining is a widespread type of insect herbivory whose distribution patterns are more likely to be influenced by biotic than abiotic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim We review several aspects of the structure of regional and local assemblages of nectar-feeding birds and bats and their relationships with food plants to determine the extent to which evolutionary convergence has or has not occurred in the New and Old World tropics. Location Our review is pantropical in extent and also includes the subtropics of South Africa and eastern Australia. Within the tropics, it deals mostly with lowland forest habitats. Methods An extensive literature review was conducted to compile data bases on the regional and local species richness of nectar-feeding birds and bats, pollinator sizes, morphology, and diets. Coefficients of variation (CVs) were used to quantify the morphospace occupied by the various families of pollinators. The extent to which plants have become evolutionarily specialized for vertebrate pollination was explored using several criteria: number and diversity of growth forms of plant families providing food for all the considered pollinator families; the most common flower morphologies visited by all the considered pollinator families; and the number of plant families that contain genera with both bird- and bat-specialized species. Results Vertebrate pollinator assemblages in the New World tropics differ from those in the Old World in terms of their greater species richness, the greater morphological diversity of their most specialized taxa, and the greater degree of taxonomic and ecological diversity and morphological specialization of their food plants. Within the Old World tropics, Africa contains more specialized nectar-feeding birds than Asia and Australasia; Old World nectar-feeding bats are everywhere less specialized than their New World counterparts. Main conclusions We propose that two factors – phylogenetic history and spatio-temporal predictability (STP) of flower resources – largely account for hemispheric and regional differences in the structure of vertebrate pollinator assemblages. Greater resource diversity and resource STP in the New World have favoured the radiation of small, hovering nectar-feeding birds and bats into a variety of relatively specialized feeding niches. In contrast, reduced resource diversity and STP in aseasonal parts of Asia as well as in Australasia have favoured the evolution of larger, non-hovering birds and bats with relatively generalized feeding niches. Tropical Africa more closely resembles the Neotropics than Southeast Asia and Australasia in terms of resource STP and in the niche structure of its nectar-feeding birds but not its flower-visiting bats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lake Nuga Nuga is a levee-dammed lake in the dry sub-humid tropics of the Fitzroy Basin in Central Queensland, Australia, that has expanded significantly since it was first mapped in 1866. 210Pb dating of a sediment core from the lake indicates that the rate of sedimentation has been constant for the past 67 years at 3 mm yr−1 despite widespread clearing and land use intensification in the catchment during that time. Pollen analysis confirms this and shows that there was little change in vegetation during the early settlement period (1863–1962), but the intensification of land use that started in the early 1960s brought about a dramatic change in the vegetation communities. This study demonstrates that while sediment production may be significantly impacted by land-use activities, sediment delivery is primarily controlled by topography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Conflicting perceptions of past and present rangeland condition and limited historical data have led to debate regarding the management of vegetation in pastoral landscapes both internationally and in Australia. In light of this controversy we have sought to provide empirical evidence to determine the trajectory of vegetational change in a semi-arid rangeland for a significant portion of the 20th century using a suite of proxy measures. Location Ambathala Station, approximately 780 km west of Brisbane, in the semi-arid rangelands of south-western Queensland, Australia. Methods We excavated stratified deposits of sheep manure which had accumulated beneath a shearing shed between the years 1930 and 1995. Multi-proxy data, including pollen and leaf cuticle analyses and analysis of historical aerial photography were coupled with a fine resolution radiocarbon chronology to generate a near annual history of vegetation on the property and local area. Results Aerial photography indicates that minor (< 5%) increases in the density of woody vegetation took place between 1951 and 1994 in two thirds of the study area not subjected to clearing. Areas that were selectively or entirely cleared prior to the 1950s (approximately 16% of the study area) had recovered to almost 60% of their original cover by the 1994 photo period. This slight thickening is only partially evident from pollen and leaf cuticle analyses of sheep faeces. Very little change in vegetation is revealed over the nearly 65 years based on the relative abundances of pollen taxonomic groups. Microhistological examination of sheep faeces provides evidence of dramatic changes in sheep diet. The majority of dietary changes are associated with climatic events of sustained above-average rainfall or persistent drought. Most notable in the dietary analysis is the absence of grass during the first two decades of the record. Main conclusions In contrast to prevailing perceptions and limited research into long-term vegetation change in the semi-arid areas of eastern Australia, the record of vegetation change at the Ambathala shearing shed indicates only a minor increase in woody vegetation cover and no decrease in grass cover on the property over the 65 years of pastoral activity covered by the study. However, there are marked changes in the abundance of grass cuticles in sheep faeces. The appearance and persistence of grass in sheep diets from the late 1940s can be attributed to the effects of periods of high rainfall and possibly some clearing and thinning of vegetation. Lower stock numbers may have allowed grass to persist through later drought years. The relative abundances of major groups of plant pollen have not changed significantly over the past 65 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary paediatric practices of Australian Aboriginal men and women, in more than 100 Aboriginal Language Groups, comprise a living discipline whose origins predate Western medicine by tens of millennia. The history of paediatrics acknowledges this surviving continuum of the world's oldest child-care practices. Because of the inextricable nexus between Aboriginal men and women and the land in which they live, medical ethnobotany forms a major part of the medical aspects of Aboriginal child care. Traditional tribal healers, called‘Nungungi’ in some language groups of Central Australia, are identified as such whilst still young children and are given special education in the healing arts, especially that of medical ethnobotany, by older healers. Distinct from this specialized role, all Aboriginal men and women (and in particular grandmothers) in traditional communities use a sophisticated botanicalmateria medicain the treatment of sick and injured children.In cultures in transition, medical ethnobotanical practices may persist long after the local use of flora as sources of traditional food, weaponry, totemic identity and religious rites have disappeared. Some selected botanical‘cures’ were adopted by early European settlers and a number of such relict uses have become part of mainstream Western life today, particularly as this applies to self-medication. Drugs and medicaments used in the treatment of children are obtained from leaves, bark, roots and flowers, usually as fresh preparations. They are prepared as infusions, decoctions and macerations and may be enjoined with emollients such as emu or kangaroo fat for topical application. Botanical drugs and medicaments are usually prepared fresh for each administration and are rarely stored. Contemporary Australian ethnobotany exploits the medicinal properties of more than 100 genera– using such extracts as antiseptics, analgesics, astringents, antipyretics, sedatives, hypnotics, expectorants and carminatives. Their widespread use, by the world's oldest surviving cultures, reflect perhaps 50 millennia of acute observation and clinical interpretation, trial and error, serendipidity and experimentation.Australian medical ethnobotany generally, and that used specifically for children, is characterized by several features including (i) the multipurpose or‘broad-spectrum’ use of many floral species; (ii) a paradigm of the use of botanical material to treat symptoms and symptom-complexes rather than disease-based treatment; (iii) the widespread and universal medical knowledge of botanical remedies byallmembers of local Aboriginal communities, not only traditional community or tribal healers and (iv) the use of botanical material in the context of preventive medicine. Seventy per cent of the world's population uses traditional herbal remedies in the treatment of sick or injured children. In this context, the detailed and extensive ethnobotanical pharmacopoeia of the Aboriginal Peoples of Australia holds an important place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary1. Species in the genus Neoseiulus are considered to be generalist predators, with some species used in biological control programmes against phytophagous mites and insects. 2. A general survey of Neoseiulus species in inland Australia indicated that different species are associated with particular tree species. This pattern of host plant use was investigated for four Neoseiulus species (N. buxeus, N. cappari, N. brigarinus, N. eremitus) by means of a sampling programme through time and across space. 3. Each species of Neoseiulus was collected entirely or mostly from one species of tree; little or no overlap was detected despite the tree species growing in well-mixed stands. Host plant specificity thus appears to be strong in this genus. 4. Species in two other genera (Pholaseius and Australiseiulus), also considered to be predatory, showed a similar association with particular tree species. 5. The implications for the use of these predators in biological control are considerable. In particular, phytoseiid species with specific needs in terms of host plants may not be suitable for use as general purpose predators. Meeting the needs of phytoseiids through the modification of host plant attributes may be a step towards enhancing their efficacy as biological control agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe structure of the internal reproductive system of males of 12 Australian species of Psylloidea is described. These are Acizzia loranthacae Taylor, A. acaciaebaileyanae (Froggatt) and two undescribed species of Acizzia Heslop-Harrison (Psyllidae: Acizziinae), Protyora sterculiae (Froggatt) (Carsidaridae), Aacanthocnema dobsoni (Froggatt), three undescribed species of Trioza Förster, Schedotrioza apicobystra Taylor, S. distorta Taylor and S. multitudinea (Maskell) (Triozidae). Chromosome numbers were determined for all but the last three species. All species karyotyped had diploid chromosome numbers of 2n = 25 (24 + X) in males. Aspects of the karyology and morphology of the male internal reproductive system are discussed, and some comments on the placement of the Australian psylloid fauna within the higher classification of the Psylloidea are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A migration of Helicoverpa punctigera (Wallengren), Heliothis punctifera (Walker) and Agrotis munda Walker was tracked from Cameron Corner (29°00S, 141°00E) in inland Australia to the Wilcannia region, approximately 400 km to the south-east. A relatively isolated source population was located using a distribution model to predict winter breeding, and confirmed by surveys using sweep netting for larvae. When a synoptic weather pattern likely to produce suitable conditions for migration developed, moths were trapped in the source region. The next morning a simulation model of migration using wind-field data generated by a numerical weather-prediction model was run. Surveys using sweep netting for larvae, trapping and flush counts were then conducted in and around the predicted moth fallout area, approximately 400 km to the south-east. Pollen carried on the probosces of moths caught in this area was compared with that on moths caught in the source area. The survey data and pollen comparisons provided evidence that migration had occurred, and that the migration model gave accurate estimation of the fallout region. The ecological and economic implications of such migrations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed size and shape predict seed persistence in the soil for British and Argentinian herbaceous plant species. Those species with small, rounded seeds tend to have persistent seeds while those with larger, more elongate or flattened seeds usually lack persistence. It has been suggested that the mechanism underlying this pattern may be ease of burial, as small, rounded seeds are incorporated into the soil more easily than large, elongate or flattened seeds and are therefore less likely to be eaten by seed predators. We tested whether seed size and shape were related to persistence in the soil for 47 species native to New Zealand forests. There was a tendency for species with persistent seeds to have smaller seeds than species with transient seeds. However, species with large and/or elongate or flattened persistent seeds were relatively common. This indicates that seed size and shape are not related to persistence in New Zealand in the same way as in Britain and Argentina. A similar negative result has been found in Australia. The underlying cause of the patterns observed is unlikely to be ease of burial, since incorporation of seeds into the soil is likely to operate in all countries in a similar manner on seeds without specialised seed burial mechanisms. Data from all four floras studied to date also suggest that species with small, rounded seeds that do not germinate immediately must have the ability to survive periods of burial.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SummaryA phylogeny for seventy-two species of Australian thrips in the subfamily Phlaeothripinae, based on cladistic analysis of forty morphological adult characters, is presented. We use this phylogeny to infer the evolutionary history of host-plant affiliations, gall induction and other types of domicile use, and different forms of social behaviour. Maximum parsimony analysis yielded forty-eight cladograms of length 316, and the strict consensus of these cladograms was well resolved. This phylogeny indicated that: (1) associations of thrips with their host plants tend to be evolutionarily conservative, with monophyletic groups of thrips on the host-plant genera Acacia, Casuarina and Geijera, (2) galling has evolved multiple times, on different host plants, (3) transitions in domicile use include changes between galling and living in holes or old galls, between living in glued phyllodes and living in old galls, and between leaf-feeding and galling, and (4) in three of five cases, inquiline lineages were not closely related to their host lineages and the evolution of inquilinism apparently involved a host-plant shift. However, in two cases, inquilines were very closely related to their gall-inducing hosts. Eusocial behaviour (involving soldier castes) has evolved in different lineages from those that exhibit communal behaviour (cooperation in building or defending domiciles), suggesting a lack of direct transition between the two social systems. This phylogeny serves as a framework for future molecular systematic studies, and future comparative analysis of ecology and behaviour in the Phlaeothripinae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrate was found to be the predominant form of available nitrogen in mulga soils. Nitrate reductase activities on a fresh mass basis of a range of plants from eastern (Queensland) mulga ecosystems 2 weeks after partial relief from drought were uniformly low for both herbaceous species (165 &plumn; 25 pkat g-1) and woody perennials (77 ± 14 pkat g-1). Supply of nitrate for 24 h to cut transpiring shoots of woody species or application of nitrate solution to the rooting zone of herbaceous species promoted little further increase in mean shoot nitrate reductase activities. Most species exhibited high tissue nitrate concentrations during water stress and soluble organic N profiles were in many cases dominated by the osmoprotective compounds, proline or glycine betaine. Species with low levels of proline or glycine betaine showed high foliar concentrations of other compatible osmotica such as polyols or sugars. Effects of relieving water stress on nitrate reductase activity, proline, glycine betaine and nitrate levels were followed over 3 d of irrigation. Available soil nitrate rose 10-fold immediately and, following rapid restoration of leaf water status of the eight study species, a 4-fold increase occurred in mean tissue concentrations of nitrate, proline and glycine betaine over the 3 d period. Similar changes in soil nitrate, nitrate reductase activity, proline and tissue nitrate were observed in the some ecosystem following a natural rainfall event and in western (S.W. Australia) mulga following irrigation. It is concluded that, although nitrate nitrogen is present at high concentrations and is the predominant inorganic nitrogen sources in soils of the mulga biogeographic region, its assimilation by perennial and ephemeral vegetation is limited primarily by water availability. A scheme is presented depicting interrelated physiological and biochemical events in typical mulga species following a rain event and subsequent drying out of the habitat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pollen diagram from Lynch's Crater extends the climatic and vegetation record for the Atherton Tableland back to about 60,000 years B.P. Subtropical rain forest, with abundant Araucaria, was present around the site from before 60,000 B.P. to about 38,000 B.P. and existed under about half the present-day annual rainfall. This was replaced by sclerophyll vegetation between 38,000 and 27,000 B.P. as a result of a decrease in precipitation, a decrease in temperature or the activities of aboriginal man. In any case the agent of rain forest destruction was probably fire. The record for the last 10,000 years or so is probably incomplete and radiocarbon dates unreliable, but changes during this period are in broad agreement with those evidenced from previously described sites within the area. The sequence from Lynch's Crater provides a basis for the interpretation of many problematical features of present-day vegetation distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on pollen as a marker for migration of Helicoverpa armigera and H. punctigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from western Queensland, Australia. Identification of the pollen by scanning electron microscopy; Exceptions to the rule that pollen loads reflected the abundance of locally flowering plants; Percent of moths which carried the pollen of such plants.

Describes the floristic composition of the rainforest and the relationship of the Liverpool Range rainforest to other Australian rainforests. Description of the Liverpool Range; Total number of vascular plant species found in the range; Affinity of the Liverpool Range with the rainforests of the southern coast of New South Wales.

This article presents a study which investigated the plant patterns of different seasons in two stands of mallee vegetation in Australia. A brief background on the study areas, a review of previous related literature and a description of the study's methodology are provided. The study found that mallee vegetation is dominated by tall shrubby individuals of Eucalyptus and in many areas it can be divided into mallee thickets and large openings. The phytosociological patterns of stands based on seasons are explored.

The article discusses the physiology of xerophytic plants in Australia. It cites a study which has shown that succulent plants have a low intensity of transpiration while hard-leaved xerophytes and those xerophytes with semi-succulent leaves transpired more than mesophytic leaves under high tension of meteorological factors. In addition, the study found that plants subjected to permanent wilting possess a greater number of stomata per unit area than those that develop in an unwilted condition. Data on stomatal size and stomatal index are also provided.