The charophyte Lamprothamnium succinctum as an environmental indicator: a Holocene example from Tom Thumbs Lagoon,eastern Australia

The palaeobiota from a middle to late Holocene succession in Tom Thumbs Lagoon, N.S.W., Australia, reflects a range of environmental conditions caused by sea-level changes and active estuarine sedimentation. At the base of the succession (～ ?0.4 m AHD) a thin bed, containing molluscs dated at 6.7 ka B.P. by radiocarbon and amino acid racemisation, and foraminifers is indicative of open estuarine conditions. From +0.35 m AHD towards the top of the sequence the charophyte Lamprothamnium succinctum occurs in subrecent deposits. This species is characterised here by statistical measurements, and new characters are described and illustrated. The charophytes record a drop in sea level and the establishment of a lower salinity artificial wetland. The investigation has also established that decalcification in charophytes can be related to acidification produced by the release of organic acids, aggravated after 1928 by anthropogenic pollution.     

A Generic Method for Identifying Regional Koala Habitat using GIS

The conservation status of the koala in Australia is not a homogeneous entity but is subject to regional variation according to the predicament of each population with respect to disease and habitat availability. Habitat is the primary factor affecting koala population dynamics in both critical decline and expansion. Key koala management and planning decisions necessitate a regional identification of potentially suitable koala habitat. The environmental factors constituting preferred koala habitat were identified and existing GIS databases used to combine Eucalyptus species preferred and utilised by koalas with soil properties to predict optimal, sub-optimal and unsuitable koala habitat in the southern Mt. Lofty Ranges. The methodological framework is flexible and particularly suited to regional koala management in Australia.