Extensive Tracking of Nomadic Waterbird Movements Reveals an Inland Flyway.

Waterbirds are highly mobile and have the ability to respond to environmental conditions opportunistically at multiple scales. Mobility is particularly crucial for aggregate-nesting species dependent on breeding habitat in arid and semi-arid wetlands, which can be ephemeral and unpredictable. We aimed to address knowledge gaps about movement routes for aggregate-nesting nomadic waterbird species by tracking them in numbers sufficient to make robust assessment of their movement patterns.

Satellite telemetry reveals complex mixed movement strategies in ibis and spoonbills of Australia: implications for water and wetland management.

Waterbird population and species diversity maintenance are important outcomes of wetland conservation management, but knowledge gaps regarding waterbird movements affect our ability to understand and predict waterbird responses to management at appropriate scales. Movement tracking using satellite telemetry is now allowing us to fill these knowledge gaps for highly mobile waterbirds at continental scales, including in remote areas for which data have been historically difficult to acquire. We used GPS satellite telemetry to track the movements of 122 individuals of three species of ibis and spoonbills (Threskiornithidae) in Australia from 2016 to 2023.

Teacher experiences and understanding of citizen science in Australian classrooms.

Citizen science represents an important opportunity for school students to make real-world connections with science through context-based learning with the potential to increase their engagement, enjoyment and understanding of science. However, to date, citizen science has not experienced wide uptake in school settings and there is a paucity of information about its implementation in the classroom. Here we present a mixed-method approach investigating teachers' knowledge and use of citizen science in Australian classrooms.

Bat mating systems-A review and recategorisation.

Mating systems, influenced by the social and ecological environment and individual attributes, are fundamental components of animal social organisation, impacting behaviour, animal distribution, ecosystem processes, individual reproductive success, and population dynamics. Bats are of particular interest for studies of mating systems as they are thought to exhibit a greater diversity in mating systems than any other mammalian order, and thus make great models for improving our fundamental understanding of causes and consequences of social organisation. Here, we review the current knowledge of bat mating systems.

Social network analysis reveals context-dependent kin relationships in wild sulphur-crested cockatoos Cacatua galerita.

A preference to associate with kin facilitates inclusive fitness benefits, and increased tolerance or cooperation between kin may be an added benefit of group living. Many species exhibit preferred associations with kin; however, it is often hard to disentangle active preferences from passive overlap, for example caused by limited dispersal or inheritance of social position. Many parrots exhibit social systems consisting of pair-bonded individuals foraging in variably sized fission-fusion flocks within larger communal roosts of hundreds of individuals.

Is bin-opening in cockatoos leading to an innovation arms race with humans?

Foraging innovations can give wild animals access to human-derived food sources. If these innovations spread, they can enable adaptive flexibility but also lead to human-wildlife conflicts. Examples include crop-raiding elephants and long-tailed macaques that steal items from people to trade them back for food.

TAMFT-3A and TAMFT-3B2 homeologs are associated with wheat preharvest sprouting.

The phenomenon of preharvest sprouting (PHS), caused by rain after physiological maturity and prior to harvest, negatively affects wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production and end use. Investigating the genetics that control PHS resistance may result in increased control of seed dormancy.

Genes Impacting Grain Weight and Number in Wheat ( L. ssp. ).

The primary goal of common wheat () breeding is increasing yield without negatively impacting the agronomic traits or product quality. Genetic approaches to improve the yield increasingly target genes that impact the grain weight and number. An energetic trade-off exists between the grain weight and grain number, the result of which is that most genes that increase the grain weight also decrease the grain number.

Innovation and geographic spread of a complex foraging culture in an urban parrot.

The emergence, spread, and establishment of innovations within cultures can promote adaptive responses to anthropogenic change. We describe a putative case of the development of a cultural adaptation to urban environments: opening of household waste bins by wild sulphur-crested cockatoos. A spatial network analysis of community science reports revealed the geographic spread of bin opening from three suburbs to 44 in Sydney, Australia, by means of social learning.

Urban children's connections to nature and environmental behaviors differ with age and gender.

Global conservation is increasingly reliant on young people forming meaningful connections with urban nature. However, interactions with nearby nature do not inspire all children and adolescents living in cities to act pro-environmentally. Our survey of over 1,000 school students from Sydney, Australia, revealed that 28% of respondents maintained strong nature connections.

Allelic response of yield component traits to resource availability in spring wheat.

Investigation of resource availability on allele effects for four yield component quantitative trait loci provides guidance for the improvement of grain yield in high and low yielding environments. A greater understanding of grain yield (GY) and yield component traits in spring wheat may increase selection efficiency for improved GY in high and low yielding environments. The objective of this study was to determine allelic response of four yield component quantitative trait loci (QTL) to variable resource levels which were manipulated by varying intraspecific plant competition and seeding density.

A Novel QTL in Durum Wheat for Resistance to the Wheat Stem Sawfly Associated with Early Expression of Stem Solidness.

The wheat stem sawfly (WSS) ( Norton) is a major yield-reducing pest of wheat ( L.). Varieties with pith-filled, or solid, stems provide a measure of resistance by inhibiting larval survival inside the stem.

Review: Revealing the genetic mechanisms of pre-harvest sprouting in hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important phenomenon that results in weather dependent reductions in grain yield and quality across the globe. Due to the large annual losses, breeding PHS resistant varieties is of great importance.

The Impact of the Wheat Semi-Dwarfing Allele on Photosynthesis and Seed Development Under Field Conditions.

The Reduced Height () genes formed the basis for the green revolution in wheat by decreasing plant height and increasing productive tillers. There are two current widely used mutant alleles, and . Both reduce plant height by 20% and increase seed yield by 5-10%.

Effects of climate on dental mesowear of extant koalas and two broadly distributed kangaroos throughout their geographic range.

Dental mesowear analysis can classify the diets of extant herbivores into general categories such as grazers, mixed-feeders, and browsers by using the gross wear patterns found on individual teeth. This wear presumably results from both abrasion (food-on-tooth wear) and attrition (tooth-on-tooth wear) of individual teeth. Mesowear analyses on extinct ungulates have helped generate hypotheses regarding the dietary ecology of mammals across space and time, and recent developments have expanded the use of dental mesowear analysis to herbivorous marsupial taxa including kangaroos, wombats, possums, koalas, and relatives.

AAVS1-Targeted Plasmid Integration in AAV Producer Cell Lines.

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) producer cell lines are created via transfection of HeLaS3 cells with a single plasmid containing three components (the vector sequence, the AAV rep and cap genes, and a selectable marker gene). As this plasmid contains both the cis (Rep binding sites) and trans (Rep protein encoded by the rep gene) elements required for site-specific integration, it was predicted that plasmid integration might occur within the AAVS1 locus on human chromosome 19 (chr19). The objective of this study was to investigate whether integration in AAVS1 might be correlated with vector yield.