P. A. Butcher results 35
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Remains of megatheres have been known since the 18th -century and were among the first megafaunal vertebrates to be studied. While several examples of preserved integument show a thick coverage of fur for smaller ground sloths living in cold climates such as Mylodon and Nothrotheriops , comparatively very little is known about megathere skin. Assuming a typical placental mammal metabolism, it was previously hypothesized that m...
Common, low-frequency, rare, and ultra-rare coding variants contribute to COVID-19 severityNARA Subscribed
The combined impact of common and rare exonic variants in COVID-19 host genetics is currently insufficiently understood. Here, common and rare variants from whole-exome sequencing data of about 4000 SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals were used to define an interpretable machine-learning model for predicting COVID-19 severity. First, variants were converted into separate sets of Boolean features, depending on the absence or the pr...
White ( Carcharodon carcharias L.), bull ( Carcharhinus leucas , Müller & Henle) and tiger ( Galeocerdo cuvier , Péron & Lesueur) sharks are the primary species responsible for unprovoked shark bites. Historically, management practices were based on culling “target” shark species (i.e. white, bull and tiger sharks), which resulted in high levels of bycatch and mortality. Shark‐Management‐Alert‐in‐Real‐Time (SMART) drumlines we...
Understanding fishing participation assists sustainable fisheries management. Relative to commercial fisheries, however, accurate quantitative data on recreational fishing is often more challenging to collect. The quality and robustness of recreational fishing surveys to assess fisher numbers may be improved with cost‐effective remote sensing platforms, such as aerial drones. Here, the precision and cost‐effectiveness of drone...
Illegal fishing is a global issue that threatens the viability of fishing industries and biodiversity conservation. Management agencies typically use on‐ground surveillance to monitor and minimise illegal fishing practices, the efficacy of which may be enhanced by integrating emerging remote sensing technology. Affordable drones may contribute to cost‐effective detection of illegal fishing activity and associated gear, althoug...
Variation in cownose ray Rhinoptera neglecta abundance and group size on the central east coast of AustraliaNARA Subscribed
Here, we provide baseline information about the relative abundance and group size of the Australian cownose ray Rhinoptera neglecta on the central east coast of Australia. Using drone monitoring over 2 years, we completed 293 transects, each 2 km in length, at four locations distributed along c .100 km of coast. In total, 5979 R. neglecta were observed with overall relative abundance (±SE) of, 20.4 (±3.3) individuals per trans...
Molecular phylogeny places the enigmatic subfamily Masoninae within the Ichneumonidae, not the BraconidaeNARA Subscribed
The Masoninae (type genus Masona van Achterberg) is a widespread but seldom collected group of morphologically aberrant tiny (body length 2 mm or less) wasps that have always been considered as a subfamily of Braconidae, albeit on little supporting evidence. Discovery of a fully winged female of Masona from remote Australia has enabled a reassessment of its relationships. This specimen yielded sequence data for the nuclear 28S...
The issues surrounding illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, and that of abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gears, leading to ghost fishing, are intensifying. Estuarine crab trapping is likely subject to high levels of illegal and potential ghost fishing, because it also has good economic incentives regarding potential catch, low gear acquisition costs and accessible fishing grounds. To improve the efficiency and eff...
Large adult carcharhinid and sphyrnid sharks have been targeted in coastal waters off New South Wales, eastern Australia, by commercial fishers using demersal longlines since 2005. Inaccurate fisher reporting of the composition of catches led in 2008 to a range of complementary management measures to help improve reliability, including a redesigned catch logbook, species identification guide and at‐sea education via an observe...
Sublethal effects of angling and release on golden perch Macquaria ambigua : implications for reproduction and fish healthNARA Subscribed
The present study tested the hypothesis of no delayed sublethal effects of mild angling and release on the feeding, growth, somatic condition and gonadal development of golden perch Macquaria ambigua during gametogenesis. Subsamples of adult M. ambigua ( n = 17–21 of 207), originally captured from the wild and stocked into ten 0·1 ha earthen ponds, were angled and released during early and late gametogenesis. Wild samples that...
Influences of twine diameter and mesh area on the efficiency and durability of baited hoop nets targeting portunidsNARA Subscribed
The utility of varying twine diameter (0.5–0.8 mm Ø) and/or mesh area (0.5:1) in south‐eastern Australian recreational hoop nets was assessed in response to concerns over (1) impacts to discarded, undersize Scylla serrata L. and Portunus pelagicus Forskål and (2) marine debris (lost meshes). There was a negative relationship between Ø and breakage, with more in the narrowest (16.16–18.42 meshes deployment −1 ) than thickest (8...
Age and growth of mangrove red snapper Lutjanus argentimaculatus at its cool‐water‐range limitsNARA Subscribed
This study investigates the age and growth of Lutjanus argentimaculatus at its southern (cooler) range limits in eastern Australia. Specimens were collected from New South Wales and southern Queensland between November 2011 and December 2013. Fork lengths ( L F ) ranged from 190 to 1019 mm, and ages ranged from 2+ to 57+ years. Growth was described by the von Bertalanffy growth function with coefficients L ∞ = 874·92 mm, K = 0...
This study assessed the effects of different retrieval depths (2, 10 or 20 m), surface intervals (none or 15 min) and release methods (untreated, vented or recompressed) on the incidence of external and internal clinical signs of barotrauma ( ECSB and ICSB ) and post‐release mortality in golden perch, Macquaria ambigua (Richardson). Fish were assessed for ECSB before and after surface intervals and either monitored for mortali...
This study assessed the mortality of 157 snapper Pagrus auratus (9–29 cm, total length, L T ) after being conventionally angled and then released into cages (along with 48 controls) for 4 days off south‐eastern Australia. Fatalities were restricted to 12 angled fish (7·6%) and mostly attributed to the ingestion of hooks and especially their subsequent removal, which caused substantial blood loss and immediate death. Hook inges...
Post‐release mortality of angled golden perch Macquaria ambigua and Murray cod Maccullochella peeliiNARA Subscribed
Short‐term (≤4 days) post‐release mortalities of two large, culturally and ecologically important Australian freshwater teleosts golden perch Macquaria ambigua (Richardson) and Murray cod Maccullochella peelii (Mitchell) were investigated. There was no angler‐induced mortality among golden perch that were immediately released in winter and spring, but 24% of this species and 15% of Murray cod died after delayed release in summ...