Eastern Seaboard Of Australia Research Articles

Early human occupation of Australia’s eastern seaboard

Secure archaeological evidence for human occupation on the eastern seaboard of Australia before ~ 25,000 years ago has proven elusive. This has prompted some researchers to argue that the coastal margins remained uninhabited prior to 25 ka. Here we show evidence for human occupation beginning between 30 ± 6 and 49 ± 8 ka at Wallen Wallen Creek (WWC), and at Middle Canalpin Creek (MCA20) between 38 ± 8 and 41 ± 8 ka. Both sites are located on the western side of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), the second largest sand island in the world, isolated by rising sea levels in the early Holocene. The earliest occupation phase at both sites consists of charcoal and heavily retouched stone artefacts made from exotic raw materials. Heat-treatment of imported silcrete artefacts first appeared in sediment dated to ~ 30,000 years ago, making these amongst Australia’s oldest dated heat-treated artefacts. An early human presence on Minjerribah is further suggested by palaeoenvironmental records of anthropogenic burning beginning by 45,000 years ago. These new chronologies from sites on a remnant portion of the continental margin confirm early human occupation along Sahul’s now-drowned eastern continental shelf.

Xylota norma sp. nov., a second hoverfly species (Diptera: Syrphidae) in its genus for Tasmania and for Australia

This work describes a new and distinctive species of hoverfly, Xylota norma sp. nov., discovered in Malaise trap samples collected from the Tarkine rainforests of northwest Tasmania during the austral summer of 2021-22. To date, the species is only known from the type series of six specimens. It is only the second species in its genus known from Australia – the other species, Xylota flavitarsis, is widespread along the eastern seaboard of Australia and throughout Tasmania.

Evidence of external contact between the Pacific Basin and the east coast of Australia during the Holocene: A review

The prospect that First Nations Australians were in contact with cultures beyond Australia prior to European arrival has fascinated theorists for over a century. Early views tended to see Aboriginal culture as too primitive to have independently developed ‘higher level’ cultural traits. Once this view was abandoned, further enquiry into external contact largely ceased. However, it has been gradually recognised that transformations occurred within Australia not only independently but also through external elements arriving from the north (Macassans and Papuans). This paper offers perhaps the first comprehensive overview of a less studied potential conduit: the eastern seaboard of Australia. Given the vast scale of the eastern seaboard (and its geographic position directly opposite the seafaring cultures of the Pacific Basin it is surprising that the notion of contact between these two realms has received such limited attention. The east coast is a potentially very large target for contact. Queensland and New South Wales mainland and island coastlines comprise in excess of 15,000 km. The Pacific Basin is similarly a huge potential source for contact, covering over one-third of the world’s surface, and containing over 20,000 islands. Our paper first considers the contrast between studies of the eastern and western edges of the Pacific Basin, and then the means (and evidence) by which ‘contact’ is normally discerned. We next consider the potential for contact based on ocean currents and similar factors. The bulk of the paper assesses specific source regions and purported evidence of contact from these regions: Papua New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia and two islands between these areas (Norfolk and Lord Howe). Our study concludes that evidence for Pacific-Australian contact ought to be relatively abundant, given the size of the source area (the Pacific Basin) and the target area (the eastern seaboard). Instead, contact must have been very limited and sporadic, as most evidence has been either inconclusive or requires further substantiation. Equally, the impact of these cultures on the development of Australian First Nations seems to have been negligible. On the other hand, this review accumulated enough evidence to suggest there was considerable potential for such contacts. We conclude that archaeological frameworks should be developed to investigate purported and possible Pacific-Eastern seaboard contacts.

The impact of two extensively-modified rivers (Georges and Cooks Rivers) on a receiving basin exhibiting minor ecological risk (Botany Bay) (Australia)

Botany Bay is a large, tide-dominated, drowned river valley on the eastern seaboard of Australia, which was initially planned as the first European settlement in the country. The Georges River has a large catchment (936.5 km 2) and comprises mainly undeveloped parkland (62%), while the Cooks River catchment is small (103 km 2) and substantially modified (90 %). The extent of anthropogenic change and level of ecologic risk were determined for these areas using sedimentary metals as an initial screening assessment of environmental condition of these waterbodies. Cooks River was assessed as one of the most anthropogenically-modified urban rivers on the east coast of Australia with sediments exhibiting severe metals enrichment and moderate ecologic risk. Georges River sediments were highly enriched with moderate to slight ecological risk. Both Georges and Cooks Rivers discharge to Botany Bay, which was mantled in highly metal-enriched sediments, but exhibited only minor ecological risk. These results illustrated an unusual example of an estuary significantly influenced by metal-enriched sediments, but exhibiting minimal ecological risk. This anomaly was due to high anthropogenic-metal concentrations in the fine fraction of surficial sediment, which were considerably diluted by abundant metal-poor coarse material resulting in low total metal concentrations and reduced adverse ecological risk. The low proportion of fine material in surficial sediment was possibly due to increased ambient wave and tidal energy in the bay. Size-normalised metal distributions show distinct dispersion pathways from Cooks and Georges Rivers to the mouth of Botany Bay. Stormwater was a major source of metals to the system, supplemented by leakage from waste dumps and secondary sourcing by remobilisation of enriched-legacy sediments.

High biomass and productivity of epifaunal invertebrates living amongst dead coral

Climate change is transforming coral reef structures, with important yet largely unknown consequences for reef food webs. Crustaceans, molluscs, polychaetes, and other small motile invertebrates living as epifauna on coral habitats represent an essential trophic link between primary producers and a diverse and abundant invertivorous fish fauna. Here, we investigate variation in assemblages of motile epifaunal invertebrates on live coral and dead coral heavily overgrown by turf algae. Sampling was conducted 2–3 years following mass bleaching within the study region at four locations broadly spanning the distribution of corals on the eastern seaboard of Australia—along the northern and central Great Barrier Reef, and, adjacent to the central east coast, the Solitary Islands and offshore Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs (> 2000 km total distance). Epifaunal assemblages differed significantly between live and dead ‘turf-covered’ coral habitats, with overall density, biomass, and productivity of epifauna more than an order of magnitude greater on dead than on live coral. The size structure and composition of assemblages also differed: turf-covered dead coral supported greater abundances of small animals than live coral, notably harpacticoid copepods, while live coral assemblages had proportionally greater abundances of larger decapods. A ten-fold increase in secondary productivity of motile invertebrates is predicted as live corals are replaced by turf-covered dead coral, however, this productivity will predominantly be available as small harpacticoid copepod prey (size range: 0.125–0.25 mm). Associated flow-on effects through reef food webs are likely, as changes to epifauna will directly affect invertivore communities, which in turn potentially influence larger carnivores and other functional groups.

Australian rainfall variability—Why is the eastern seaboard of Australia different to the rest of Australia and also internally inhomogeneous

AbstractThe Eastern Seaboard of Australia (ESA) has been identified as being different to the rest of Australia in terms of rainfall patterns. However, rainfall patterns within the ESA itself are not well understood. This study identifies Australian rainfall districts that exhibit similar (and different) temporal variation, with the primary aim being to determine if the ESA can be considered a homogenous region with respect to rainfall. The results (a) confirm that the ESA is different to the rest of Australia and (b) show that the ESA is not homogenous and that East Coast Lows (ECLs) are linked to this inhomogeneity. For winter (JJA) three separate divisions within the ESA are identified and at least two clear divisions are identified in other seasons. ECL sub‐types contribute to this inhomogeneity because each ECL sub‐type is associated with different spatio‐temporal rainfall patterns across the ESA. This is an important insight for natural resources management and emergency services within the heavily populated ESA because it demonstrates that existing climate related risks are different across the ESA. Further, the way climate risks change in the future is also likely to be inconsistent across the ESA. Future climate related risks will depend on how ECL behaviour (e.g., intensity, frequency, location, duration, path and geographical extent) changes. This reinforces the need for locally relevant and practically useful climate science information and adaptation strategies—as opposed to the State‐ or country‐wide information and adaptation approaches that are commonly used.

Intense east coast lows and associated rainfall in eastern Australia

East coast lows (ECLs) are low pressure systems that occur near the east coast of Australia. But not all lows cause the same level of impact, and a small proportion of ECLs are responsible for more than half of all days with widespread rainfall above 50 mm in this region. In this study, we combine analyses of cyclones at both the surface and 500 hPa levels to assess the locations of cyclones responsible for widespread heavy rainfall on the east coast. We found that the majority of days with widespread totals above 100 mm on the east coast occur when a low at 500 hPa over inland southeast Australia coincides with a surface low located more directly over the east coast. Such events occur on about 15 days per year but are responsible for more than 50% of days with widespread heavy rainfall on the eastern seaboard of Australia. We also found that extreme rainfall was most likely when both the surface and upper cyclones were very strong, when measured using the maximum Laplacian of pressure/height. The seasonal frequency of cyclones at the surface and 500 hPa were found to be only weakly correlated with each other and often had opposing relationships (albeit weak in magnitude) with both global climate drivers and indices of local circulation variability. Trends in cyclone frequency were weak over the period 1979–2019, but there was a small decline in the frequency of deep cyclone days, which was statistically significant in some parts of the southeast. Understanding which ECLs are associated with heavy rainfall will help us to better identify how future climate change will influence ECL impacts.

Population persistence, breeding seasonality and sexual dimorphism in the red-necked wallaby

The red-necked wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus) has a broad geographic range along the eastern seaboard of Australia, but ecological research on the mainland subspecies has been limited. We aimed to assess long-term monitoring (1974 to 2017) of abundance at a site in the Grampians National Park in Victoria. Our second aim was to evaluate trap success, sexual dimorphism, breeding seasonality, longevity and home range size from intensive studies (between 2008 and 2017) at this site. The abundance of red-necked wallabies increased over time, showing no negative effect of the arrival of the swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) in the 1970s. Red-necked wallabies were highly trappable: 64% of individuals were retrapped at least once, one was retrapped 38 times, and trap success did not vary seasonally. Red-necked wallabies showed high site-fidelity, with no instances of long-range movements and no sex bias in likelihood of remaining on site. One female was regularly resighted for almost eight years after her initial capture and one male lived to an estimated age of 20 years. All births occurred in the first half of the year, with a marked peak of births in February, and over three-quarters of births occurred in February and March. Red-necked wallabies were highly sexually dimorphic: the largest male (24.5kg) was nearly 10kg heavier than the largest female (15kg), and male home ranges were over five times larger than those of females.

Unravelling the epidemiology of tick paralysis in Australia: Application of passive surveillance and GIS

Event Abstract Back to Event Unravelling the epidemiology of tick paralysis in Australia: Application of passive surveillance and GIS Michael P. Ward1* and Mark R. Kelman1 1 Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Australia Introduction Tick paralysis is a neuromuscular disease, which occurs commonly in companion animals in endemic areas in Australia. The typical presentation is rapid ascending flaccid paralysis, with death occurring due to respiratory failure (Masina and Broady, 1999; Stone et al., 1986). It is a serious condition, and is distressing for pet owners. I. holocyclus is the most widespread tick species in Australia causing paralysis. It undergoes a 3-stage, approximately 3 year lifecycle consisting of both free living and host stages. Endemic areas of tick paralysis are found along the eastern seaboard of Australia, from Victoria to Queensland, particularly the coastal regions of New South Wales and southern Queensland (Eppleston et al., 2013). The distribution of I. holocyclus is defined by the presence of host species, climate and vegetation. Areas with high annual precipitation and high minimum average temperatures favour the free living stages of I. holocyclus (Heath, 1981), and low vegetation and scrub coverage provide protection (Doube, 1975; Eppleston et al., 2013). Brazier et al., 2014 An association between tick paralysis cases in pets within the urban environment of Brisbane, Queensland and parklands and recreational areas with natural vegetation has been reported (Gerasimova et al., 2018). Native wildlife – particularly bandicoots – are the natural hosts of I. holocyclus and are able to carry multiple ticks without being affected (Stone et al., 1989). Due to continuing habitat fragmentation from increasing urbanisation, these hosts have been brought into proximity with humans and consequently their pets (FitzGibbon and Jones, 2006). The objective of the current study was to determine whether evidence exists to support the anecdotal association between the distribution of the long-nosed bandicoot (Perameles nasuta) and occurrence of tick paralysis cases in pet dogs. Materials and methods Cases of canine and feline tick paralysis reported by Australian veterinarians were sourced from Disease WatchDog (Ward and Kelman, 2011). This passive surveillance system was designed to allow veterinarians and their staff to report on a range of common disease conditions in dogs and cats. Data included case date, residential postcode and Australian state, and number of cases. Cases were restricted to those canine cases with a reported date of diagnosis between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2016 (5 complete years of data reporting), with a residential state of New South Wales (including the Australian Capital Territory, which is entirely surrounded by New South Wales). The number of cases reported from each postcode were summed. This distribution of cases reported per postcode was then joined with a postcode polygon shape file (WDA 1994; ArcMap 10.5, Redlands CA) and a symbol map proportional to number of cases reported was created. The predicted distribution of bandicoots was derived from a study described by Simpson et al. (2019). Briefly, occurrences of long-nosed bandicoots (Perameles nasuta) were obtained from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (www.gbif.org). The ecological niche of bandicoots was then quantified using a Maxent machine learning algorithm, using the following variables (ranked in order of importance): precipitation (wettest quarter), distance to open shrubland, disease to barren/sparsely vegetated areas, distance to permanent wetlands and mean temperature (coolest quarter). This model produced an area under the curve of 0.859 (Simpson et al., 2019; Appendix A, Supplementary file 1, Table 1). The resulting bandicoot niche probability function raster was converted to a binary raster with the value 1 (i.e. suitable habitat) if the probability of species habitat suitability was ≥0.85 and 0 (i.e. unsuitable habitat) if the probability was <0.85 (Simpson et al., 2019). The raster map of bandicoot habitat suitability was then joined with the polygon map of reported tick paralysis cases by postcode. For each postcode, the mean, minimum and maximum bandicoot habitat suitability metrics were extracted. The association between reported tick paralysis cases and bandicoot habitat suitability was explored using Spearman rank correlation (Statistix 8.0. Analytical Software, Tallahassee FL). Results A total of 13,782 cases of tick paralysis were reported in Disease WatchDog; 11,998 (87%) of these were reported during the study period, and of these, 7,916 (66%) were reported from New South Wales (including the Australian Capital Territory). There were 6,123 cases reported in dogs during the study period and from the study area, and this subset of data was used in further analyses. Cases were reported from 199 postcodes within New South Wales (including the Australian Capital Territory). This ranged from one to 983 cases. The distribution of cases reported per postcode was skewed: mean 31 (95% CI, 16─45) and median 4 (interquartile range, 1─19). Cases were predominantly reported from eastern coastal area of New South Wales (Figure 1A), but the distribution did not display global spatial clustering (Moran’s I = 0.04, P = 0.5582), with. Large numbers of cases (>200) were reported from postcodes on the north coast (2450 – 983; 2484 – 306; 2463 – 204), central coast (2259 – 262; 2290 – 210) and south coast (2540 – 545; 2537 – 752). These 7 postcodes accounted for >50% of all reported cases. Bandicoot habitat suitability is shown in Figure 1B. For all 628 postcodes in New South Souths (including the Australian Capital Territory), the correlation between the number of cases reported and the minimum, mean and maximum bandicoot habitat suitability index was 0.201, 0.438 and 0.519, respectively. All correlations were significantly (P<0.0001) > 0. For the subset of 199 postcodes from which one or more cases of tick paralysis were reported, the correlation between the number of cases reported and the minimum, mean and maximum bandicoot habitat suitability index was 0.152, 0.369 and 0.453, respectively. Again, all correlations were significantly (P<0.0001) > 0. Conclusions Anecdotally, bandicoots have been suggested as a reservoir species of I. holocyclus, and therefore it has been assumed that areas supporting larger populations of this bandicoots present a greater risk of tick paralysis in pet populations residing within these areas. The current study provides evidence to support this hypothesis. However, it is an ecological study and other factors might confound the moderately strong associations found. In addition, surveillance bias might exist whereby veterinarians residing in areas of large bandicoot population might be more likely to report cases of tick paralysis in pet animals. Nevertheless, the evidence that bandicoots play a role in tick paralysis in pets residing in the same area is compelling. Figure 1 Acknowledgements Kelly Simpson is thanked for making the bandicoot habitat suitability raster available. References Brazier, I., Ward, M.P., Kelman, M., 2014. The association between landscape and climate and reported tick paralysis cases in dogs and cats in Australia. Veterinary Parasitology 204, 339–345 Doube, B.M., 1975. Cattle and the paralysis tick Ixodes holocyclus. Australian Veterinary Journal 51, 511–515. Eppleston, K.R., Ward, M.P., Kelman, M., 2013. Distribution, seasonality and risk factors for tick paralysis in Australian dogs and cats. Veterinary Parasitology 196, 460–468. FitzGibbon, S.I., Jones, D.N., 2006. A community-based wildlife survey: the knowledge and attitudes of residents of suburban Brisbane, with a focus on bandicoots. Wildlife Research 33, 233–241. Gerasimova, M., Kelman, M., Ward, M.P. Are recreational areas a risk factor for tick paralysis in urban environments? Veterinary Parasitology 2018; 254: 7277 Heath, A.C.G., 1981. The temperature and humidity preferences of Haemaphysalis longicornis, ixodes holocyclus and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (ixodidae): Studies on engorged larvae. International Journal of Parasitology 11, 169–175 Masina, S., Broady, K.W., 1999. Tick paralysis: development of a vaccine. International Journal of Parasitology 29, 535–541. Simpson, K.M.J., Mor, S.M., Ward, M.P., Walsh, M.G., 2019. Divergent geography of Salmonella Wangata and Salmonella Typhimurium epidemiology in New South Wales, Australia. One Health 7, 100092. Stone, B.F., Uren, M.F., Neish, A.L., Morrison, J.J., 1986. Toxoid stimulation in dogs of high titres of neutralising antibodies against holocyclotoxin, the paralysing toxin of the Australian paralysis tick Ixodes holocyclus. Australian Veterinary Journal 63, 125–127. Ward, M.P., Kelman, M., 2011. Companion animal disease surveillance: A new solution to an old problem? Spatial and Spatiotemporal Epidemiology 2, 147–157. Keywords: Tick Paralysis, Dogs, Passive surveillance systems, wildlife, Australia Conference: GeoVet 2019. Novel spatio-temporal approaches in the era of Big Data, Davis, United States, 8 Oct - 10 Oct, 2019. Presentation Type: Regular oral presentation Topic: Spatio-temporal surveillance and modeling approaches Citation: Ward MP and Kelman MR (2019). Unravelling the epidemiology of tick paralysis in Australia: Application of passive surveillance and GIS. Front. Vet. Sci. Conference Abstract: GeoVet 2019. Novel spatio-temporal approaches in the era of Big Data. doi: 10.3389/conf.fvets.2019.05.00017 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 05 Jun 2019; Published Online: 27 Sep 2019. * Correspondence: Prof. Michael P Ward, Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, michael.ward@sydney.edu.au Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Michael P Ward Mark R Kelman Google Michael P Ward Mark R Kelman Google Scholar Michael P Ward Mark R Kelman PubMed Michael P Ward Mark R Kelman Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

The Australian high performance and sport science workforce: A national profile

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to provide a profile of the demographics and employment characteristics of the Australian high performance and sport science workforce. DesignThis study used a cross-sectional, quantitative survey methodology to collect data about the Australian high performance and sport science workforce. Method175 Australian high performance and sport science employees completed an online survey which captured demographic information and work-related characteristics such as role, industry sector, income, permanence of employment and hours worked. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise information and some comparisons were made between position titles, industry sectors and sexes. ResultsThe Australian high performance and sport science workforce is predominantly male (76.0%), ≤35 years of age (50.3%), located on the eastern seaboard of Australia (69%) and have been in their current position for 2–5 years (37.4%). They are mostly employed on a fixed term contract of 2.4 years, by an institute of sport. Income varied, with those working in professional sporting clubs and/or employed as high performance managers earning the highest wage. On average, participants worked well over their contracted hours, with a considerable proportion of these hours outside the standard 9–5 working week. ConclusionsEmployees in the high performance and sport science workforce in Australia face significant professional issues that relate to long and unusual work hours, job insecurity and income disparity. Policy makers and the managers of this workforce should consider the impact of these issues on work-life balance, staff retention rates and the risk of burnout.

Flowering in darkness: a new species of subterranean orchid Rhizanthella (Orchidaceae; Orchidoideae; Diurideae) from Western Australia

Few plants are so cryptic as the underground orchids, Rhizanthella Rogers (1928: 1), of Australia. Unlike the species on the eastern seaboard of Australia, the Western Australian species spend their entire life cycle, including flowering, below the soil surface (only rarely with the tips of the bracts showing), making them unique among orchids and indeed, among flowering plants generally (Brown et al. 2013). Discovery in 1928 of the first underground orchid in Western Australia was an international sensation where the plant was described as ‘a remarkable subterranean orchid’ (Wilson 1929). The new taxon described in this paper resolves the enigmatic, disjunct distribution of Rhizanthella in Western Australia, where there was thought to be a central and southern node of a single species, R. gardneri Rogers (1928: 1).

Exploring the Utilisation of Stand up Paddle Boarding in Australia.

Stand Up Paddle Boarding (SUP) has grown exponentially in the last few years with unprecedented participation rates globally. Despite some scientific research on physiological and performance variables, minimal information exists regarding participation and utilisation. The purpose of this study was to discover more about how and where people participate in the relatively new sport of SUP. An open-source online survey application was administered internationally to active SUP participants to capture information relevant to both demographics and participation. Of a total of 240 responses, 154 (64.2%) were Australian. The average SUP rider was 42.9 ± 11.7 years, mass 80.4 ± 18.7 kg, 1.75 ± 0.10 m tall with a BMI of 26.1 ± 4.9. More males (69.5%) participate in SUP than females with the majority of participants from the eastern seaboard of Australia. Participants most commonly used SUP for fun and fitness, for around 3 h per week, predominantly at the beach with friends, with around half of the respondents reporting a competitive involvement. This is the first study to date to quantify participation of SUP within Australia. Results revealed SUP is a global activity with a high representation within Australia. Key findings from this study reveal the geographical and demographic distribution of SUP use. Consequently, these findings may inform the industry about its target audience. Additionally, information regarding the ‘typical’ SUP rider may serve to further promote and grow the sport.

An Overview of the Practitioner Research and Collaboration Initiative (PRACI): a practice-based research network for complementary medicine

BackgroundThe Practitioner Research and Collaboration Initiative (PRACI) is an innovative, multi-modality practice-based research network (PBRN) that represents fourteen complementary medicine (CM) professions across Australia. It is the largest known PBRN for complementary healthcare in the world and was launched in 2015. The purpose of this paper is to provide an update on the progress of the PRACI project, including a description of the characteristics of PRACI members in order to facilitate further sub-studies through the PRACI PBRN.MethodsA CM workforce survey was distributed electronically to CM practitioners across fourteen disciplines, throughout Australia. Practitioners electing to become a member of PRACI were registered on the PBRN database. The database was interrogated and the data analysed to described sociodemographic characteristics, practice characteristics, professional qualification and practice interest of PRACI members.ResultsFoundational members of PRACI were found to be predominately female (76.2%) and middle-aged (82.5%). Members were primarily located in urban settings (82.5%) across the Eastern seaboard of Australia (82.5%), with few working remotely. The main modalities represented include massage therapists (58.5%), naturopaths (26.4%) and nutritionists (14.4%). The primary area of clinical interest for PRACI members were general health and well-being (75.4%), musculoskeletal complaints (72%) and pain management (62.6%).ConclusionsPRACI provides an important infrastructure for complementary healthcare research in Australia and its success relies on CM practitioners being involved in the research being conducted through the PBRN. The aim of this database is to ensure that the research conducted through PRACI is rigorous, robust, clinically relevant and reflects the diversity of clinical practice amongst CM practitioners in Australia.

Links between East Coast Lows and the spatial and temporal variability of rainfall along the eastern seaboard of Australia

East Coast Lows (ECLs) are intense low-pressure systems which occur over the subtropical east coasts of southern and northern hemisphere continents. ECLs are typically associated with gale force winds, large seas, storm surges, heavy rainfall and flooding. While ECL impacts are typically seen as negative the rainfall associated with ECLs is also very important for urban water security within the heavily populated eastern seaboard of Australia (ESA). This study investigates historical ECLs to gain insights into the timing, frequency, intensity and location of ECL occurrence as well as the magnitude and spatial extent of ECL impacts on rainfall. The different characteristics and impacts associated with different ECL sub-types are highlighted and it is proposed that this spatial and temporal variability in ECL behaviour at least partially explains why the ESA is hydroclimatically different to the rest of Australia and why different locations within the ESA have such different rainfall patterns—and therefore different levels of flood and drought risk. The-se insights are critical to the objectives of the New South Wales government funded Eastern Seaboard Climate Change Initiative (ESCCI), in particular Project 5 which focuses on the water security impacts of ECLs. The results of this work will be used to produce climate-informed stochastic daily rainfall simulations that are more realistic than existing stochastic rainfall simulation methods at preserving the statistics important for catchment-scale hydrology (e.g. clustering of extreme events, long-term persistence, frequency/duration/magnitude of wet and dry spells). These simulated rainfall sequences, that incorporate the spatial and temporal hydroclimatic variability caused by ECLs and other climate phenomena, are important inputs into the hydrological models used to determine current and future urban water security within the ESA.

Identifying East Coast Lows with climate hazards on the eastern seaboard

East Coast Lows are an important weather system that can produce severe wind, wave and rainfall events along the eastern seaboard of Australia. While a number of databases of these systems have been produced, this information has historically not been readily accessible to potential users outside the research sec-tor. This paper details the development of a new product, Maps and Tables of Climate Hazards on the Eastern Seaboard (MATCHES), that bridges this gap. It combines a new database of East Coast Lows with weather impacts across the eastern seaboard. Through use of user-defined impacts thresholds and an intuitive front-end interface, this new tool provides an easy way to link East Coast Lows with their weather impacts.

Links between East Coast Lows and the spatial and temporal variability of rainfall along the eastern seaboard of Australia

East Coast Lows (ECLs) are intense low-pressure systems which occur over the subtropical east coasts of southern and northern hemisphere continents. ECLs are typically associated with gale force winds, large seas, storm surges, heavy rainfall and flooding. While ECL impacts are typically seen as negative the rainfall associated with ECLs is also very important for urban water security within the heavily populated eastern seaboard of Australia (ESA). This study investigates historical ECLs to gain insights into the timing, frequency, intensity and location of ECL occurrence as well as the magnitude and spatial extent of ECL impacts on rainfall. The different characteristics and impacts associated with different ECL sub-types are highlighted and it is proposed that this spatial and temporal variability in ECL behaviour at least partially explains why the ESA is hydroclimatically different to the rest of Australia and why different locations within the ESA have such different rainfall patterns—and therefore different levels of flood and drought risk. The-se insights are critical to the objectives of the New South Wales government funded Eastern Seaboard Climate Change Initiative (ESCCI), in particular Project 5 which focuses on the water security impacts of ECLs. The results of this work will be used to produce climate-informed stochastic daily rainfall simulations that are more realistic than existing stochastic rainfall simulation methods at preserving the statistics important for catchment-scale hydrology (e.g. clustering of extreme events, long-term persistence, frequency/duration/magnitude of wet and dry spells). These simulated rainfall sequences, that incorporate the spatial and temporal hydroclimatic variability caused by ECLs and other climate phenomena, are important inputs into the hydrological models used to determine current and future urban water security within the ESA.

Links between East Coast Lows and the spatial and temporal variability of rainfall along the eastern seaboard of Australia

Links between East Coast Lows and the spatial and temporal variability of rainfall along the eastern seaboard of Australia

Identifying East Coast Lows with climate hazards on the eastern seaboard

East Coast Lows are an important weather system that can produce severe wind, wave and rainfall events along the eastern seaboard of Australia. While a number of databases of these systems have been produced, this information has historically not been readily accessible to potential users outside the research sec-tor. This paper details the development of a new product, Maps and Tables of Climate Hazards on the Eastern Seaboard (MATCHES), that bridges this gap. It combines a new database of East Coast Lows with weather impacts across the eastern seaboard. Through use of user-defined impacts thresholds and an intuitive front-end interface, this new tool provides an easy way to link East Coast Lows with their weather impacts.

An improved diagnostic for summertime rainfall along the eastern seaboard of Australia

ABSTRACTThe eastern seaboard of Australia (ESB) is a unique climate entity. A region of complex topography bound by the coastline and the ridge of the Great Dividing Range, the ESB exhibits distinctly different rainfall patterns to the rest of southeastern Australia. As a large percentage of the Australian population resides along the ESB, understanding current and future rainfall variability in this region presents an important and difficult challenge. This challenge is compounded by the inability of most general circulation models to properly resolve the region. This study presents a diagnostic for characterizing the variability in summertime rainfall along the ESB. This simple yet effective East Coast Flow Index (ECFI) infers easterly geostrophic flow from the meridional pressure gradient along the ESB, and vertical circulation from the upper‐level ω field. The ECFI outperforms the common indices for drivers of rainfall variability, achieving statistically significant correlations with ESB summertime rainfall for a range of different timescales. The ECFI is shown to have great potential as a predictor for statistically downscaling rainfall along the ESB as (1) it provides a physical link between large‐scale forcings and local precipitation responses, (2) is capable of capturing multiyear variability and (3) is realistically represented by general circulation models. While the ECFI was designed for the summer months (December–February) it is still capable of performing well in the other seasons, especially spring (September–November).

The association between landscape and climate and reported tick paralysis cases in dogs and cats in Australia

The aim of this study was to describe the association between landscape and climate factors and the occurrence of tick paralysis cases in dogs and cats reported by veterinarians in Australia. Data were collated based on postcode of residence of the animal and the corresponding landscape (landcover and elevation) and climate (precipitation, temperature) information was derived. During the study period (October 2010–December 2012), a total of 5560 cases (4235 [76%] canine and 1325 [24%] feline cases) were reported from 341 postcodes, mostly along the eastern seaboard of Australia and from the states of New South Wales and Queensland. Significantly more cases were reported from postcodes which contained areas of broadleaved, evergreen tree coverage (P=0.0019); broadleaved, deciduous open tree coverage (P=0.0416); and water bodies (P=0.0394). Significantly fewer tick paralysis cases were reported from postcodes which contained areas of sparse herbaceous or sparse shrub coverage (P=0.0297) and areas that were cultivated and managed (P=0.0005). No significant (P=0.6998) correlation between number of tick paralysis cases reported per postcode and elevation was found. Strong positive correlations were found between number of cases reported per postcode and the annual minimum (rSP=0.9552, P<0.0001) and maximum (rSP=0.9075; P=0.0001) precipitation. Correlations between reported tick paralysis cases and temperature variables were much weaker than for precipitation, rSP<0.23. For maximum temperature, the strongest correlation between cases was found in winter (rSP=0.1877; P=0.0005) and for minimum temperature in autumn (rSP=0.2289: P<0.0001). Study findings suggest that tick paralysis cases are more likely to occur and be reported in certain eco-climatic zones, such as those with higher rainfall and containing tree cover and areas of water. Veterinarians and pet owners in these zones should be particularly alert for tick paralysis cases to maximize the benefits of early treatment, and to be vigilant to use chemical prophylaxis to reduce the risk of tick parasitism.