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Sadlier, Ross A., Swan, Gerry, Astrongatt, Stéphane, McCoy, Stephane, Bauer, Aaron M. (2018): A Review of the Morphology, Biology, Distribution and Conservation Status of the New Caledonian Scincid Lizard Simiscincus aurantiacus (Reptilia: Scincidae). Records of the Australian Museum (Rec. Aust. Mus.) 70 (5): 435-446, DOI: 10.3853/j.2201-4349.70.2018.1709, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3853/j.2201-4349.70.2018.1709

New insights into distribution and habitat preferences of the large scincid lizard Lacertoides pardalis at a local scale were made during the course of a translocation study undertaken on the Kwe Range, in the region of the Plaine des Lacs of southern New Caledonia. Information gathered showed it to be distributed widely in elevation across the range where suitable habitat of outcropping rock was present, with a preference for rock habitat located within moderately low but dense maquis shrubland with a ground cover of tall sedges. Association with this particular stunted vegetative structure in part likely reflects the extent to which plant matter, primarily fruits of shrubs, constitutes a substantial component of the species' diet, as confirmed by scat analysis of captured individuals during the study. Lacertoides pardalis is currently recognized as “Vulnerable” under IUCN criteria, a designation assigned by virtue of its extremely limited area of extent and specialized biology. However, we here report a major extension in range, indicating that the species could be more widespread in suitable habitat across the whole of the southern ultramafic region of the island.

A fire through hummock grassland in Western Queensland adjacent to a gas pipeline trench resulted in a 650% increase in the number of animals that were recovered from the trench in the seven days following the fire compared to the seven days prior. Those lizard species that shelter within spinifex or grass clumps, such as Tiliqua multifasciata, Ctenotus leonhardii, C. pantherinus, Lialis burtonis and Strophurus elderi had the largest increases, and the mammals Pseudomys desertor and Planigale tenuirostris showed similar increases. Species that typically shelter in burrows or ground cracks showed a decline in numbers recorded following the fire. Seven days after the fire event 91 animals were removed from the last 3km of open trench. However, no animals were ever observed moving across the burnt areas during the day. So where they came from and when they travelled remains unanswered.

The purpose of this study was to determine parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of standards-based and traditional report cards. Participants included 115 parents/guardians of students from a single, midsize school district that had implemented a standards-based report card. During the first two marking periods, all parents/guardians received both a traditional report card in which teachers assigned a single overall grade for each subject and a standards-based report card that included marks for individual standards within subjects. After midyear, parents were asked to complete a survey that asked which form they preferred and the reasons for their preference. Three hundred and eighty three teachers from two nearby midsize school districts considering the adoption of the same standards-based report card completed a similar survey. Parents overwhelmingly preferred the standards-based form. The teachers considering the adoption of a standards based report card were positive overall, but significantly less than the parents who had received them.

We removed and recorded vertebrate fauna caught in a 392 km pipeline trench running from Moranbah to Townsville, Queensland. During the entire construction all open trench was checked daily, resulting in the retrieval of 3301 animals comprising 91 species. Because many kilometres of trench were open we devised a simple system of shelter sites in the trench, using material available on the job. These sites had the effect of concentrating the animals for easier retrieval and also considerably reduced mortality. We compare our results with four previously published studies. In all cases reptiles and amphibians account for the majority of removals. The composition of the reptiles removed varied between the five studies, reflecting the regions through which the pipelines passed.

A group of teachers, school leaders, and education researchers create report cards that link course grades to student progress on mastering state standards.

Attempts at school reform and improvement have experienced difficulty creating and implementing feedback systems that energize and sustain change efforts. If the call for reform at all levels of education is to be met, attention must be given to establishing effective feedback mechanisms in educational institutions as they embark on improvement efforts. The purpose of this article is to describe application of an educational design metaphor to create a Knowledge Management System that provides teachers with timely and constructive feedback about their professional practice. This system includes the way in which a corpus of professional knowledge about differentiated content and instruction, classroom grouping, evidence-based practice and classroom management can be embedded in a set of tools that provides multiple stakeholders (teachers, students, administrators) the opportunity to generate feedback about instructional practice. Use of the approach is discussed within the broader context of Knowledge Management as a vehicle to extend the role of feedback in school reform and improvement within a long term pilot application in one school.

Three criteria for meaningful student learning—construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and value beyond school—are assessed as authentic learning outcomes for an implementation of a digital documentary project in two fifth grade history classrooms where teachers’ practices are constrained by a high-stakes testing climate. In all three areas, there was ample evidence of student engagement in authentic intellectual work in the student-created movies. Only when teachers are ambitious in looking beyond test score outcomes will students have opportunities for meaningful and authentic intellectual experiences.

Recent biodiversity surveys of the Barrier Ranges in far western New South Wales resulted in the discovery of an undescribed vegetation community dominated by spinifex grass growing on rocky ranges. Reptile surveys within this vegetation community revealed the presence of three reptile species not known to, or predicted to occur in the Broken Hill Complex Bioregion. These were the Spinifex Snake-lizard Delma butleri, Marble-headed Snake-lizard Delma australis and Southern Spinifex Slender Blue-tongue Cyclodomorphus melanops elongatus. The conservation value of these populations is regarded as regionally significant. All three species were detected by hand-searches of the spinifex grass highlighting the need to use experienced herpetologists when conducting reptile surveys in complex microhabitats. Their presence in the study area on a rocky substrate provides additional information on their habitat requirements in New South Wales.

In 2003, a portfolio system was implemented to manage the data associated with the field experiences in a teacher education program at a research institution in the southeast region of the United States. In this longitudinal study, the implementation trends from usage data extracted from the system are used to discuss the implications for the use of the system in terms of how it “fits” within the organizational structure. This analysis is framed by concepts related to the implementation of Management Information Systems (Markus & Robey, 1988) and diffusion of innovation (Rogers, 2003). Findings suggest that decentralized environments result in higher degrees of reinvention.

We report on the effects of almost a decade of 1080-fox baiting on a lizard community in a mosaic Australian habitat. Replicated comparisons of baited versus non-baited control areas with near-identical histories of bush fires, grazing and climate showed a higher density of red fox tracks (Canis vulpes) in the non-baited areas. Furthermore, the fox-baited areas showed a more than five times higher density of sand goannas (Varanus gouldii), a species that strongly overlaps the red fox in food niche breadth and is itself a direct target of fox predation, in particular its eggs and young. Exclusion of predators from a natural habitat led to significant increases in the density of small lizards, suggesting that predation can drive lizard population dynamics in this ecosystem. Replicated pitfall-trapping in three habitats in the control areas (with high fox and low goanna density) versus the baited areas (with low fox and high goanna density) showed that fox baiting had positive effects on the density of diurnal scincid lizards in open grassland, whereas the control areas showed higher density of nocturnal gecko lizards. Our interpretation is that fox removal may result in a shift in the top predator towards the sand goanna. Historically, this indigenous, endemic species was the natural top predator. It has co-evolved with its prey and that may have moulded it into a more efficient lizard predator per encounter than the introduced fox.

The herpetofauna of Mutawintji (previously Mootwingee) National Park (31°17′ S, 142°15′ E) was surveyed on five occasions from 1994 to 1996. From these surveys and other sources, a total of 49 reptile species and 5 amphibian species were recorded, or probably occur in the region. Five species, now listed under the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, were recorded during the surveys. Two of these species, Egernia margaretae (endangered) and Ramphotyphlops endoterus (endangered), were confirmed in NSW for the first time. Egernia margaretae and Antaresia stimsoni (vulnerable) were recorded only from the rocky gorges, which are a feature of the Bynguano Range in the Park, and the agamid species Ctenophorus decresii (endangered) and varanid Varanus tristis tristis were also restricted to this habitat type. Five species (Diplodactylus steindachneri, Nephrurus levis, Lerista labialis, Ramphotyphlops endoterus and Brachyurophis fasciolatus (vulnerable)) were recorded only from the adjacent r...

This paper is a report on the findings of a study conducted on the implementation of a portfolio system at the University of Kentucky. Interviews were conducted with faculty members and university supervisors about the use of a portfolio management tool that had been implemented in the teacher education program. Factors such as small program size and ability to engage in frequent interpersonal communication decreased the perceived need for a management information system. Faculty placed more value in high resolution data sources, but tended to use low resolution data when program size increased.