Australian Western Research Articles

Juvenile proportion as a predictor of freshwater turtle population change

AbstractThe extreme longevity of turtles and tortoises can make it difficult to determine the conservation status of their populations because high annual adult survival may mask gradual attrition due to low levels of recruitment. When long‐term demographic trends are unknown and available data are insufficient for population modelling, it may be assumed that a scarcity of juveniles indicates low recruitment that will result in population ageing and numerical decline. However, the reliability with which the proportion of juveniles foreshadows demographic change is uncertain. We tested the hypothesis that a low proportion of juveniles in a turtle population presages its ageing by analysing over 20 years of survey data for five discrete populations of the Australian western saw‐shelled turtle (Myuchelys bellii: Chelidae), a listed threatened species. The analysis tested whether the initial proportion of juvenile turtles in each population was related to its temporal trend in average body size. The five populations had varied structure and trends, with the initial proportion of juvenile turtles ranging from 10% to 39% and average body size increasing over time in some populations and decreasing in others. Contrary to expectation, the initial proportion of juveniles was unrelated to the trend in average body size and, by inference, average age, indicating that effective trend forecasting requires more detailed demographic information than merely population structure.

The cost–benefit trade‐off in young children's overimitation behaviour

AbstractIn overimitation, an observer reproduces a model's visually causally redundant actions in pursuit of an object‐directed outcome. There remains an assumption that costs involved in adopting redundant actions renders them maladaptive in the immediate context. Here, we report on an experiment designed to evaluate whether or not overimitating is costly in this way. One hundred and eight children from two contrasting cultural groups (Australian Western vs. South African Bushman) observed an adult open an apparatus using a process that locked one side and opened another. Two toys were then inserted in the locked side and one in the open side. Copying the model meant access only to the lower quantity reward would be possible. This process was repeated for a second trial. Contrary to expectation, children retrieved similar numbers of toys regardless of whether they reproduced the model's actions or not, suggesting that in contexts like that presented here, overimitation is not costly in the ways commonly assumed.

The dependable deep time Acacia: Anthracological analysis from Australia’s oldest Western Desert site

Despite environmental factors being at the forefront of socio-ecological models in Australian archaeology, detailed local environmental and vegetation datasets are uncommon. Such data is important in assessing, for instance, if and how shifting climatic conditions influenced and conditioned hunter-gatherer movements and choices. Archaeological re-excavation of Karnatukul (Serpents Glen) in Katjarra (the Carnarvon Ranges) provided an opportunity to undertake anthracological (archaeological wood macro-charcoal) analysis. This data offers an insight into the earliest uses of firewood and collection strategies in the Australian Western Desert. This study aimed at testing global anthracological methodologies to examine the problems and potentials offered by this important sub-discipline which is currently developing in Australian archaeology. This study makes an important contribution to international anthracological studies, given these are rarely applied to arid contexts, especially with an occupation record spanning almost 50 ka. The study demonstrates the presence and persistence of Acacia (sens. str.) woodlands from the Pleistocene, through the Last Glacial Maximum, and into the Holocene with the case made that this productive plant makes an essential contribution to the habitability of this arid landscape.

Rainfall-Linked Megafires as Innate Fire Regime Elements in Arid Australian Spinifex (Triodia spp.) Grasslands

Large, high-severity wildfires, or “megafires,” occur periodically in arid Australian spinifex (Triodia spp.) grasslands after high rainfall periods that trigger fuel accumulation. Proponents of the patch-burn mosaic (PBM) hypothesis suggest that these fires are unprecedented in the modern era and were formerly constrained by Aboriginal patch burning that kept landscape fuel levels low. This assumption deserves scrutiny, as evidence from fire-prone systems globally indicates that weather factors are the primary determinant behind megafire incidence, and that fuel management does not mitigate such fires during periods of climatic extreme. We reviewed explorer’s diaries, anthropologist’s reports, and remotely sensed data from the Australian Western Desert for evidence of large rainfall-linked fires during the pre-contact period when traditional Aboriginal patch burning was still being practiced. We used only observations that contained empiric estimates of fire sizes. Concurrently, we employed remote rainfall data and the Oceanic Niño Index to relate fire size to likely seasonal conditions at the time the observations were made. Numerous records were found of small fires during periods of average and below-average rainfall conditions, but no evidence of large-scale fires during these times. By contrast, there was strong evidence of large-scale wildfires during a high-rainfall period in the early 1870s, some of which are estimated to have burnt areas up to 700,000 ha. Our literature review also identified several Western Desert Aboriginal mythologies that refer to large-scale conflagrations. As oral traditions sometimes corroborate historic events, these myths may add further evidence that large fires are an inherent feature of spinifex grassland fire regimes. Overall, the results suggest that, contrary to predictions of the PBM hypothesis, traditional Aboriginal burning did not modulate spinifex fire size during periods of extreme-high arid zone rainfall. The mechanism behind this is that plant assemblages in seral spinifex vegetation comprise highly flammable non-spinifex tussock grasses that rapidly accumulate high fuel loads under favorable precipitation conditions. Our finding that fuel management does not prevent megafires under extreme conditions in arid Australia has parallels with the primacy of climatic factors as drivers of megafires in the forests of temperate Australia.

Using satellite imagery to evaluate precontact Aboriginal foraging habitats in the Australian Western Desert

Modern satellite imaging offers radical new insights of the challenges and opportunities confronting traditional Aboriginal ecology and land use in Australia’s Western Desert. We model the likely dynamics of historic and precontact desert land use using Earth observation data to identify the distribution of suitable foraging habitats. Suitability was modelled for an ideal environmental scenario, based on satellite observations of maximal water abundance, vegetation greenness, and terrain ruggedness. Our model shows that the highest-ranked foraging habitats do not align with land systems or bioregions that have been used in previous reconstructions of Australian prehistory. We identify impoverished desert areas where unsuitable foraging conditions have likely persisted since early in the last glacial cycle, and in which occupation would always have been rare. These findings lead us to reconsider past patterns of land use and the predicted archaeological signature of earlier desert peoples.

Diving into fisher experience: Do new entrants and fleet turnover depress catch rates in abalone (Haliotis laevigata and H. rubra) fisheries

A fisher’s experience may provide greater efficiency and enhanced catches through time. Compared to new entrants to the fishery, experienced fishers often have developed tactics: the advantage of knowing ‘the best’ fishing grounds, having established efficient fishing practices, and developing relationships and trust within their fishing community. The influence of experience on catch rates, a key indicator of abundance, may be particularly strong in fisheries such as abalone, which rely on hand-collection and local knowledge for catches. We investigated diver records for greenlip (Haliotis laevigata) and blacklip (Haliotis rubra) abalone fisheries in South Australia to 1) examine annual catch rates (CPUE) and the number of diver entrants among licenses, 2) determine if CPUE of new diver entrants is lower than average fleet CPUE, and 3) establish relationships between CPUE and experience. We additionally simulated fleet turnover in the South Australian Western Zone Abalone Fishery by randomly replacing 25 %, 50 %, and 75 % of daily CPUE records with new diver catch rates and applied decision rules in the proposed abalone harvest strategy that allow for, and if needed account for, the impacts of new divers on catch rates. Catch rates varied among licenses and, on average, each license had less than one diver entrant per year (i.e., on average 5–20 % fleet turnover). During the first three years post-entry, annual license catch rates were generally 3–10 % lower than fleet catch rates, and license CPUE was positively correlated to experience in both greenlip and blacklip fisheries. However, depressed catch rates of entrants were unlikely to impact fleet trends given the small proportion of new entrants annually, and in cases where new divers impact CPUE, the proposed harvest strategy enables adjustment of recommended catches at a fine spatial scale prior to calculating the total allowable commercial catch. Of greater concern is ≥ 50 % fleet turnover, which, during simulations of the Western Zone Fishery, depressed fleet CPUE by ∼1 kg/hr or more; a reduction that is sufficient to result in lower recommended catches and, if such exceptional circumstances were to occur, may require modification of harvest strategy application. Assessing fisher experience as a driver of catch rate, builds a greater understanding of primary indicators for stock assessment and, together with appropriate decision-making tools, provides a more reliable management outcome.

The identity of Alfred Wallace's mysterious butterfly taxon Lycaena nisa solved: Famegana nisa comb. nov., a senior synonym of F. alsulus (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Polyommatinae).

Lycaena nisa Wallace, 1866 was described from Formosa (Taiwan) and is here recognized as a senior subjective synonym of Lycaena alsulus Herrich-Schäffer, 1869. It is resurrected to serve as the valid name, Famegana nisa (Wallace, 1866), comb nov. of the species commonly known as Famegana alsulus. The name Zizera taiwana Sonan, 1938 (syn. nov.), also described from Formosa, is recognized as a junior subjective synonym of L. nisa. Another name, Zizeeria alsulus eggletoni Corbet, 1941 (syn. nov.), described from Hong Kong is also considered a junior subjective synonym of L. nisa. Moreover, all former synonyms of alsulus automatically become new junior synonyms for nisa. This species occurs in the Oriental and Australian regions and western Pacific.

In the red: substances and materials in the Australian Western Desert

AbstractThis article discusses the diversity, distribution, and qualities of materials and substances categorized as red among Pitjantjatjara‐ and Yankunytjatjara‐speaking Western Desert Aboriginal people: Anangu. Valued red materials and substances include elements of the encultured landscape – country – such as ochre, timber, food, blood, and fire, alongside cloth and other industrially produced materials. Previous scholarship defines reds among central Australian Aboriginal cultures only in static symbolic terms as representing blood. Based on long‐term fieldwork, this article discusses how Anangu employ a system of analogy across domains which connects together red materials and substances with particular affordances. I argue that Anangu conceptualize these red materials and substances as making visible kurunpa/spirit. This has implications for concepts of health and for constructing the local cultural value of consumer goods and substances found in country. Reds connect the mental and the material. The article contributes to studies of how contemporary Anangu mediate relationships between kin and country and participate in a wider market economy. It addresses anthropological knowledge about, and the importance of, the materiality of colours and the role of coloured materials and substances in shaping local ontologies and epistemologies.

Two Is a Crowd: An Australian Case Study on Legislative Process, Law Reform Commissions and Dealing with Duplicate Offences

Abstract This article utilizes the sexual offence reform in Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, and Western Australia as a case study to critically examine the perils and causes of duplicate offences. For perils, this article demonstrates that the failure to abolish a lesser offence (i.e. the procurement by false pretence offence) that was rendered redundant by a statutory expansion of the primary offence (i.e. rape vis-à-vis sex obtained by fraud) would create structural incoherency in the legal framework and impede the court from giving full effect to the plain words of the amended provision. For causes, this article identifies the positive but insufficient role of law reform commissions in ensuring appropriate treatment of the lesser duplicate offence by the legislature. The article proposes that law reform commissions should be more forcefully explicit when making recommendations relating to the abolishment of redundant offences.

Closing the Gap Between the Coral Sea and the Equator: Direct Observations of the North Australian Western Boundary Currents

AbstractBoundary currents along northeastern Australia provide source waters for the East Australian Current and redistribute water to the equator within the Gulf of Papua Current (GPC). These currents are formed following the bifurcation of two Coral Sea westward jets, the North Vanuatu Jet (NVJ) and the North Caledonian Jet. While the existence of the boundary currents has been inferred from limited geostrophic sections, gridded climatological analyses, and modeling studies, no direct measurements have been collected. This study synthesizes current and water property measurements from a 7‐year record at Lizard Island and multiple Seaglider deployments between 2010 and 2014. Both repeat glider transects at 14.5 and 18°S and deployments spanning latitudes between 18 and 11°S are included. Cross‐track velocities of these currents show their vertical structure, seasonal changes, and the spatial translation of the bifurcation latitude. The NVJ bifurcation varies seasonally about a mean latitude between 14.4 and 14.7°S. It has a peak northward extent in summer, when the East Australian Current and GPC exhibit maximum and minimum transports, respectively. The deeper GPC originates from the North Caledonian Jet south of 18°S and varies seasonally by 4 Sv. When the westward flow of the NVJ reaches the boundary, the GPC's northward transport grows by ~13 Sv. The salinity signature of the glider data confirms that up to 6 Sv of this influx is sourced from the base of the NVJ. The observed seasonal cycle of current strength and changes in along boundary transport are consistent with the results from an ocean general circulation model.

Karnatukul (Serpent's Glen): A new chronology for the oldest site in Australia's Western Desert.

The re-excavation of Karnatukul (Serpent’s Glen) has provided evidence for the human occupation of the Australian Western Desert to before 47,830 cal. BP (modelled median age). This new sequence is 20,000 years older than the previous known age for occupation at this site. Re-excavation of Karnatukul aimed to contextualise the site’s painted art assemblage. We report on analyses of assemblages of stone artefacts and pigment art, pigment fragments, anthracology, new radiocarbon dates and detailed sediment analyses. Combined these add significantly to our understanding of this earliest occupation of Australia’s Western Desert. The large lithic assemblage of over 25,000 artefacts includes a symmetrical geometric backed artefact dated to 45,570–41,650 cal. BP. The assemblage includes other evidence for hafting technology in its earliest phase of occupation. This research recalibrates the earliest Pleistocene occupation of Australia’s desert core and confirms that people remained in this part of the arid zone during the Last Glacial Maximum. Changes in occupation intensity are demonstrated throughout the sequence: at the late Pleistocene/Holocene transition, the mid-Holocene and then during the last millennium. Karnatukul documents intensive site use with a range of occupation activities and different signalling behaviours during the last 1,000 years. This correlation of rock art and occupation evidence refines our understanding of how Western Desert peoples have inscribed their landscapes in the recent past, while the newly described occupation sequence highlights the dynamic adaptive culture of the first Australians, supporting arguments for their rapid very early migration from the coasts and northern tropics throughout the arid interior of the continent.

Western herbal medicine consultations for common menstrual problems; practitioner experiences and perceptions of treatment.

To explore the prevalence with which Australian Western herbalists treat menstrual problems and their related treatment, experiences, perceptions, and interreferral practices with other health practitioners. Members of the Practitioner Research and Collaboration Initiative practice-based research network identifying as Western Herbalists (WHs) completed a specifically developed, online questionnaire. Western Herbalists regularly treat menstrual problems, perceiving high, though differential, levels of effectiveness. For menstrual problems, WHs predominantly prescribe individualised formulas including core herbs, such as Vitex agnus-castus, and problem-specific herbs. Estimated clients' weekly cost (median=$25.00) and treatment duration (median=4-6months) covering this Western herbal medicine treatment appears relatively low. Urban-based women are more likely than those rurally based to have used conventional treatment for their menstrual problems before consulting WHs (p=.001). Only 19% of WHs indicated direct contact by conventional medical practitioners regarding treatment of clients' menstrual problems despite 42% indicating clients' conventional practitioners recommended consultation with WH. Western herbal medicine may be a substantially prevalent, cost-effective treatment option amongst women with menstrual problems. A detailed examination of the behaviour of women with menstrual problems who seek and use Western herbal medicine warrants attention to ensure this healthcare option is safe, effective, and appropriately co-ordinated within women's wider healthcare use.

Aboriginal crime at the cultural interface in Central Australia

Very high levels of Australian Aboriginal offending, incarceration and recidivism have been analysed almost exclusively in terms of the classic association between crime rates and low socioeconomic status, poor education, unemployment and alcohol and substance abuse. This article draws on participatory research with Central Australian Aboriginal prisoners and former prisoners and their families to provide understandings of the difficulties both societies experience at the justice interface. It is argued that conflicting cultural precepts underpinning Australian Aboriginal and Western ideas of justice are significant in explaining the high rates of offending in Central Australia.

Such Is Western: An Overview of the Australian Western via Ned Kelly Films

The very existence of such athing as the “Australian Western” has been the subject of scholarly debate. This article utilizes the lens of Ned Kelly filmic representations to explore the development of the Western genre in Australia, and especially the ways in which historical consonances and dissonances, and processes of transatlantic cultural exchange have led to the development of films that can be reasonably recognized as both distinctly Western and distinctly Australian. Thus, this article gives consideration to the history, production and themes of Ned Kelly filmic representation in order to illu­minate the development of the Western in Australia. Such consideration highlights the ways in which the Western genre functions as alanguage through which to explore the meaning of settlement in occupied spaces, but whose dialectic differences reflect particular national contexts and relationships to Hollywood soft power.„TAKI JEST WESTERN” — PRZEGLĄD AUSTRALIJSKIEGO WESTERNU NA PODSTAWIE FILMÓW O NEDZIE KELLYMSamo istnienie czegoś takiego jak „australijski western” jest tematem akademickiej dyskusji. Niniej­szy artykuł wykorzystuje pryzmat filmowych reprezentacji słynnego australijskiego bandyty Neda Kelly w celu zbadania rozwoju gatunku westernu w Australii, a w szczególności sposobów, w jakich historyczne harmonie i dysharmonie oraz procesy transatlantyckiej wymiany kulturowej doprowadziły do rozwoju filmy mogące być słusznie postrzegane zarówno jako wyraźnie westernowe, jak i wyraź­nie australijskie. Tak więc esej ten poddaje pod rozwagę historię, produkcję i tematykę filmowych interpretacji postaci Neda Kelly'ego, żeby rzucić światło na rozwój gatunku westernu w Australii. Taki wzgląd uwydatnia sposoby, w jakich gatunek westernu funkcjonuje jako język, przez który można badać znaczenie osadnictwa na kolonizowanych terenach, ale którego dialektalne różnice odzwiercie­dlają konkretne narodowe konteksty i powiązania z „miękką siłą” soft power Hollywoodu. Przeł. Kordian Bobowski]]>

Discontinuities in arid zone rock art: Graphic indicators for changing social complexity across space and through time

For several decades it been argued that episodic behavioral dynamism provides a better explanation for Australian arid zone social organization than earlier models founded on perceptions of long term, widespread cultural conservatism. This new understanding continues to develop with the consideration of rock art as a behavioral proxy. The development of a rock art style sequence in the Australian Western Desert has modelled for changing occupation indices and art production modes through time based on environmental changes and their likely effects on mobility patterns and territoriality (McDonald and Veth, 2013a). This model which sees rock art accompanying the first peopling of Australia’s deserts and stands in stark contrast to that of Smith (2013) which sees rock art as a mid-Holocene addition to the adaptive social repertoires of arid-zone peoples. We have argued that rock art provides evidence for an early mapping onto arid landscapes and that there is a long, albeit syncopated, arid zone style chronology. Early pigment rock art dates from Sulawesi (Aubert el al., 2014) support the view that symbolic behaviour was part of the social repertoire of human groups colonizing Australia and its interior. This paper tests the arid-zone style sequence by quantifying the synchronic and diachronic stylistic discontinuities observable at Kaalpi and Katjarra – two style provinces in the Australian Western Desert. While stylistic variability in the recent past demonstrates the nature of synchronic discontinuity in arid zone symbolic behaviour, punctuated changes in style graphics and changes in the way that this art has been placed through time demonstrate deep-time stylistic discontinuities, providing support for the phased art sequence and evidence for earlier configurations of arid-zone social networks.

Human T-lymphotropic virus-1 serology in the Northern Territory: 2008–2011

A retrospective observational study of human T-lymphotropic virus-1 (HTLV-1) serology requests made to the Northern Territory Government Pathology Service (NTGPS) between 2008 and 2011, was undertaken to review aspects of HTLV-1 sero-epidemiology and performance of the assays. A total of 5686 HTLV-1 serology requests, representing 3555 individual patients, were received during the study period; 368 HTLV-1 confirmed positive serology results were identified from the 3555 individual patients included in the sample. There was a distinct difference in the performance of the two antibody assays in use during this period, with the Serodia particle agglutination having a 5.7% indeterminate positivity rate compared to 18.1% indeterminate positivity rate of the Abbott HTLV 1/2 assay. We believe this is partially a serological anomaly related to current Australian western blot positive interpretative criteria, rather than false positive screening assay results.The majority (99.7%) of positive results occurred in Indigenous patients. The HTLV-1 positive rate varied geographically from a regional high of 51.7%, and falling inversely with distance from Central Australia. Patients with positive serology had a mean age of 49.9 (±13.9) years, with positivity occurring equally in males and females.

How Bob Tonkinson and The Jigalong Mob Influenced My Analysis of Kakadu’s Joint Management

This paper details the ways in which Bob Tonkinson’s classic ethnography of intercultural contact on the margins of the Australian Western Desert influenced my own analysis of Kakadu National Park’s joint management. I draw on my own notes and reflections of a particular period towards the end of my PhD fieldwork and beginning of data analysis to illustrate the difficulties these and other data presented. I argue that key aspects of Tonkinson’s book showed me how I might begin to analyse a contradictory and confusing sociality.

Factors influencing the higher education of international students from Confucian East Asia

Higher education, especially that leading to a degree from a high-prestige university, is strongly related to social status and employment opportunities in East Asian countries. This is a consequence of both traditional Confucian attitudes to education and the social and economic changes accompanying industrialisation. Since the number of places available at high-prestige universities is limited, competition is intense. Successful entry to such a university is not only an important achievement for the future career of the student, but also a victory for the family. In contrast, failure to do so is often seen as shameful for the family, sometimes resulting in psychological problems or suicide. This background affects the international education of East Asian students, who often have a high level of family support, with correspondingly high expectations of their success. Motives for international study vary, from avoidance of the hyper-competitive domestic system, pursuit of an overseas degree as an ‘easy option’ of moderate prestige, to an expectation of more up-to-date teaching and content. Understanding this background can be a first step for Australian or other Western educators to better meet the needs of East Asian international students and to attract students from East Asia in the long term.

Protocol for a Respondent-Driven Sampling Study Exploring the Roles of Peer Norms in HIV-Related Practices of Gay Men

Introduction: Sexual behaviour among gay and other men who have sex with men (GMSM) is influenced by the shared understanding of HIV/STI risk and peer norms regarding sexual behaviour. However, there is little research evidence to support this relationship. The unique geographic spread of Australian communities, the history of Australian HIV epidemic and the different patterns in risky sexual practices and HIV diagnoses across Australia present an opportunity to explore the role of social norms and GMSM behaviours in shaping different patterns of HIV epidemics. We describe the protocol of the study of contemporary norms in networks and communities of GMSM (CONNECT) which investigates gay community behavioural norms and practices. Methods: CONNECT is aimed to 1) identify the patterns of connections between individuals in GMSM communities and assess how they shape HIV-related behaviours; 2) describe the relationship between social norms and sexual practices; and 3) compare the norms and patterns of behaviour in geographically and epidemiologically distinct GMSM populations in three Australian states New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, in order to identify local community norms and barriers to effective HIV prevention. This quantitative cross-sectional study uses respondent-driven sampling (RDS) for recruitment. Results: Analyses will be carried out on individual and community level and will investigate the relationship between community-level behavioural norms and associated practices of individuals. Conclusion: CONNECT is anticipated to inform HIV prevention services to better target and increase the effectiveness of the current health promotion for GMSM in the context of increasing HIV/STI incidence.

From Consanguinity to Consubstantiality: Julian Pitt-Rivers’ ‘The Kith and the Kin’

In 1973, Julian Pitt-Rivers published a chapter in Goody's The Character of Kinship that, although rather infrequently used and quoted, suggested a work-around to the major criticisms that were expressed towards kinship studies in the 1970s. Reintroducing the notion of consubstantiality, Pitt-Rivers suggested a bringing together of emic and etic approaches to kinship classification and ontology. As straightforward as it may appear, the concept, when combined with Burke's use of the notion in relation to that of con- text, crystallizes a methodology for embedding structural and formal approaches of kinship within the social domains of relatedness and action. While discussing Pitt- Rivers' proposition, this paper illustrates the application of consubstantiality as an ex- planatory model of the extension of self in the Australian Western Desert through two examples: the diversity of marriage scenarios and their consequences and the unusual usage of some terminological classes in relation to close kin.