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The decisions that animals must make to achieve a balance between quantity and quality of resources become more difficult when their habitats are patchy and differ greatly in quality across space and time. Koalas are a prime subject to study this problem because they have a specialised diet of eucalypt leaves and need to balance nutrient and water intake against toxins in the leaves, all of which can change with soil type and climate. Koalas are nocturnal and spend most of the day resting and therefore choose trees for reasons other than feeding, particularly for thermoregulation. We GPS-tracked 40 koalas over 3 yr to determine their shift in tree selection between day and night, and in relation to daily maximum temperature, in a patchy rural landscape in north-western NSW, Australia. The species, degree of shelter, diameter, height and elevation of each visited tree were recorded. We used generalised linear mixed effects models to compare tree use between day and night and maximum daily temperature. Koalas used more feed-trees during the night, and more shelter-trees during the day. They also selected taller trees with more shelter in the day compared with night. As daytime temperatures rose, koalas increasingly selected taller trees at lower elevations. Our results demonstrate that koalas need taller trees, and non-feed species with shadier/denser foliage, to provide shelter from heat. This highlights the need both for the retention of taller, mature trees, such as remnant paddock trees, and the planting of both food and shelter trees to increase habitat area and connectivity across the landscape for arboreal species. Retaining and planting trees that provide optimum habitat will help arboreal folivores cope with the more frequent droughts and heatwaves expected with climate change.

There is significant interest in mining for coal and coal seam gas in Gunnedah in north-western New South Wales, Australia, including the town, the surrounding Liverpool Plains and the Pilliga forests to the west. The achievement of positive outcomes for koala conservation on mined landscapes will require a sound knowledge of koala ecology and local knowledge of koala movements, tree choice and associated threats to the continued survival of koalas, particularly road-kill from increased mining infrastructure. Recent koala research has shown that in 2006 Gunnedah had the largest koala population west of the Great Dividing Range, and the only population in New South Wales that was expanding. A detailed study in 2008-2011 was carried out to determine whether the koalas were using trees that were planted in the 1990s to cope with rising soil salinity. GPS-tracking showed that re-growth trees as young as ten years old could attract koalas. In 2009, the demise of about a quarter of the local koala population from an intense heat-wave provided a foretaste of how habitat and climate change interrelate at the landscape scale. The optimal combinations of tree choice and patch size and shape for habitat restoration are currently being investigated which will be relevant to local coal seam gas and coal mine proposals and ongoing mitigation actions. The Senate enquiry of September 2011 demonstrated the intense public interest in the survival of koala, and its subsequent listing for Queensland and New South Wales under the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 further raised its profile and the obligations for management of koalas and their habitat. The research approaches required are discussed and a set of guides is presented for environmental plantings., There is significant interest in mining for coal and coal seam gas in Gunnedah in north-western New South Wales, Australia, including the town, the surrounding Liverpool Plains and the Pilliga forests to the west. The achievement of positive outcomes for koala conservation on mined landscapes will require a sound knowledge of koala ecology and local knowledge of koala movements, tree choice and associated threats to the continued survival of koalas, particularly road-kill from increased mining infrastructure. Recent koala research has shown that in 2006 Gunnedah had the largest koala population west of the Great Dividing Range, and the only population in New South Wales that was expanding. A detailed study in 2008-2011 was carried out to determine whether the koalas were using trees that were planted in the 1990s to cope with rising soil salinity. GPS-tracking showed that re-growth trees as young as ten years old could attract koalas. In 2009, the demise of about a quarter of the local koala population from an intense heat-wave provided a foretaste of how habitat and climate change interrelate at the landscape scale. The optimal combinations of tree choice and patch size and shape for habitat restoration are currently being investigated which will be relevant to local coal seam gas and coal mine proposals and ongoing mitigation actions. The Senate enquiry of September 2011 demonstrated the intense public interest in the survival of koala, and its subsequent listing for Queensland and New South Wales under the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 further raised its profile and the obligations for management of koalas and their habitat. The research approaches required are discussed and a set of guides is presented for environmental plantings.

Koalas are prime candidates to study the impact of climate change because they are specialised folivores and lack any ready means of avoiding weather extremes. Koalas are widely but patchily distributed throughout eastern mainland Australia. Efforts to protect them from landscape-scale threats have been identified in the NSW 2008 Koala Recovery Plan, the 2010 NSW Priorities for biodiversity adaptation to climate change and the 2009-14 National Koala Conservation and Management Strategy. The statements in the formal strategies and recovery plans identify a number of problems, two of which we address in this paper. The first problem is that of extreme weather and the second is the change of leaf quality from rising levels of carbon dioxide. This paper capitalises on our field study in Gunnedah, in north-west NSW, which examined a 1990s success story where the local koala population benefited from the plantings of trees and shrubs to hold down the water table in the face of a rising salinity crisis. In late 2009, heatwaves killed an estimated 25% of the Gunnedah koala population. This foreshadows how increased climate variability will impact on koala populations. In 2008, chlamydiosis - a disease causing infertility - had been established as being present in the Gunnedah population. The likely spread of this disease throughout the Gunnedah koala population presents a further challenge to wildlife managers in the context of a changing climate. The potential indirect effects of global climate change - how increasing concentrations of atmospheric CO2 may reduce the availability of the nutrients in Eucalyptus foliage to koalas - is described and the implication drawn that elevated concentrations of atmospheric CO2 may threaten some populations of free-ranging koalas. The Liverpool Plains are among Australia's prime agricultural landscapes where the conservation of biodiversity occurs largely on private land. Consequently, we need to integrate climate change adaptation with

Due to the endangered status of African painted dogs (Lycaon pictus) it is important to understand what parasitic diseases they are exposed to and what effect these are having on the rapidly declining wild populations. Conversely, zoo collections of these animals are under different pressures due to their captive lifestyle such as stress, nutrition, inbreeding and intensive housing. Faecal samples were collected from captive populations housed at Perth Zoo, Monarto and Adelaide Zoos and DeWildt Wildlife Trust in South Africa. Wild populations have been sampled from Zambia and Namibia with further sampling to be undertaken Zimbabwe and South Africa. Samples have been analysed via microscopy and parasites observed identified to genus. Giardia cysts and Spirometra sp. were detected in captive populations while parasite eggs of Taeniidae, Ancylostomatidae and Sarcocystis were detected in the wild populations. Molecular characterisation was then conducted in order to characterise those parasites found. Of particular interest is the zoonotic potential of the Giardia sp. detected in captive animals and the determination of Echinococcus sp. from the Taeniid ova found. Further sampling will add statistical rigour in order to quantify faunal structure.

Background: Common psychological adjustment difficulties have been identified for groups of implantable cardioverter defibrillator patients, such as those who are young (< 50 years old), have been shocked, and are female. Specific aspects and concerns, s

Forty-nine patients scheduled for implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation completed self-report psychological questionnaires prior to surgery and at 2, 4 and 6 months after surgery. The most common psychological problem identified was anxiety, with clinically significant cases based on the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) ranging between 26% and 34%. Clinically significant depression ranged between 8% and 20%. Anxiety sensitivity was associated with high levels of anxiety, depression and stress at baseline, but not at follow-up assessments. It is possible that within this population anxiety sensitivity is associated with distress during high-threat situations, but the relationship diminishes once the threat has passed. In addition, the reassurance provided by the ICD may reduce negative perceptions of symptoms, promoting psychological adaptation.

Objective The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of a brief educational intervention administered two weeks after Automatic Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (AICD) implantation on subsequent levels of anxiety, depression, stres

BACKGROUND: Although the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) has become standard therapy for some malignant cardiac arrhythmias, the shocks delivered by the device are often experienced as aversive. Anecdotal accounts of patients avoiding specific objects or places raise the possibility that conditioned avoidance responses can be established in response to ICD shocks. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to better understand the nature of avoidance behavior among ICD recipients and to examine the relevance of classical conditioning and cognitive models to ICD-related avoidance behavior. METHODS: A total of 143 recipients of ICDs completed an anonymous survey reporting on aspects of their experience with the ICD and whether they had begun avoiding specific places, objects, or activities since receiving an ICD. RESULTS: Fifty-five percent of respondents reported at least 1 category of avoidance since receiving an ICD. The frequency of reported avoidances was highest in activities (39%), followed by objects (27%) and places (17%), which were least avoided. There was no relationship between the reported experience of shocks and avoidance behavior, and little evidence for conditioned avoidance. CONCLUSION: Avoidance that is not medically recommended is common among patients with ICDs. This may have adverse effects on quality of life and perhaps the physical health of some patients. Cognitive models, rather than classical conditioning, seem to explain the majority of avoidance behavior reported in this sample. A brief educational intervention or regular participation in ICD support groups could help to dispel misinformation among patients and discourage inappropriate avoidance.

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs) are an increasingly common therapy for the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias. Whereas most ICD recipients adjust well to living with the implant, a substantial minority suffer anxiety, depression, and anger that appears to be related to the ICD. A large number of studies have reported on the incidence of psychopathology and common psychosocial problems among patients with ICDs, however very few psychological interventions with this cohort have been reported. In an extensive literature search we identified only a handful of studies that described outcomes of psychological interventions, and most of these were in pilot form. Only one randomized controlled study with a homogenous sample of ICD patients has been reported to date. Given the unique situation of patients with ICDs and the particular vulnerability of those who experience frequent shocks, the evaluation of interventions that may improve psychological adjustment within this group would appear a worthwhile endeavor.