User:MargaretRDonald/sandbox/Miscellaneous

A new species of robber fly, temporarily assigned to the genus Cerdistus Loew, Cerdistus hudsoni sp. nov., is described based on an examination of both sexes. This species has a limited known distribution in Western Australia, being found only in the southern part. This species has only been collected in remnant Banksia bushland in Kensington Bushland, Perth and within the confines of Russell Forest, an open Eucalypt woodland …

Kensington Bushland) to high disturbance (Warwick Bushland), to test the hypothesis that vegetation condition declines with increasing disturbance intensity. Site selection was based on a previous rapid assessment of disturbance and vegetation condition of 71 bushlands …

Surveys of butterflies and day-flying moths were conducted at 46 bushland remnants in the Swan Coastal Plain, Western Australia, between 2001 and 2005. A total of 17 075 individuals was recorded, representing 35 butterfly and 5 day-flying moth species. Individual site species richness varied between one and 27 species. Two main groups of taxa were identified: (i) species that are reliant on remnant native vegetation for breeding and are entirely or predominantly restricted to remnant bushland (resident species or urban avoiders, 27 taxa); and (ii) species that now breed primarily on introduced plants and disperse readily through the urban matrix, but which also visit remnant bushland and sometimes breed there (non-resident species or urban adapters, 13 taxa). Estimated species detectability varied widely between species and seasonally, but for most taxa was consistent across the three years of the study. Peak detectability was strongly related to observed abundance, something that is well known (intuitively), but has rarely been demonstrated (quantitatively). Only one listed endangered species was recorded, the Graceful Sun-moth Synemon gratiosa which was observed in low numbers at six sites. Several species were encountered less frequently, although these have populations outside the region. Few of the surveyed remnants were considered to have an intact butterfly fauna; it is inferred that the majority had lost some or all of their original resident species. The reliance of many species on specific host plants, and the ability of some to adapt to introduced weeds, are important factors in their persistence within remnants. These bushland remnants are effectively habitat islands for butterflies and day-flying moths, and the few remaining species-rich bushlands are therefore of regional importance for conservation of this group. This paper serves as a baseline study against which to monitor any future changes to the butterfly fauna of these remnants.

Because they breed on widespread plants this explains why these taxa are still extant in many remnants. The moth, Pollanisus cuprea, in particular seems able to persist in even very small and otherwise species-poor remnants such as Harry Sandon, Hill View and Kensington bushlands, so its absence from many other bushlands is curious, but may be the result of sampling bias (see below). However, it may be possible that other species in this group have become locally extinct in some sites. For example, the skipper butterfly, Mesodina cyanophracta, is notably absent from Kensington bushland, where P. occidentalis is abundant (358 plants / ha, data not shown).

First Australian records of the aphid, Uroleucon erigeronense, show it being found on Conyza sumatrensis and Conyza canadensis in Kensington Bushland.

A reduction in population size due to land clearing and habitat fragmentation may have negative effects on plant fitness. A relationship between population size and progeny performance for four small (n < 20 plants) and four large (n > 100 plants) populations of Banksia ilicifolia, a widespread but naturally fragmented species in south-western Australia, was assessed. Seeds collected from the field were germinated and a comparative growth study conducted in a greenhouse. After six months, the survival rate of seedlings from larger populations was double (36%) that of smaller populations, while germination rates and other measures of growth performance were independent of population size. The conservation and management implications of reduced fitness associated with small population size in B. ilicifolia are discussed.

Forest Redtailed Black-Cockatoo (FRTBC).FRTBCs show strong roost fidelity and year-round residency in at least three locations – Kensington bushland & ...