Autumn in north-east NSW is likely to be wetter and warmer than usual - so mosquitoes may continue to be a nuisance and a health risk for the next 2-3 months

IMAGE: ABC News 28 March 2019

Rain was a constant feature in coastal north-east NSW last month.

Up to 27 February 2021 Yamba had recorded 242.2mm, Evans Head 296.8mm, Ballina 329.2mm, Cape Byron 247.4mm and Murwillumbah 299.4mm.

Autumn which begins on today, 1 March, is expected to bring more rain through to May.

Australian Bureau of Meteorology, 25 February 2021:

Autumn is likely to be wetter than average across Arnhem Land in the NT, southern and eastern Queensland, most of NSW, eastern SA, and eastern Tasmania. Chances greater than 70% are generally confined to small pockets of southern Queensland and north-east NSW.

Along with the rain Autumn is likely to be warm, with north-east NSW having a 60-70 per cent chance of exceeding median maximum and minimum temperatures.

This combination of a wetter and warmer March (beginning with median maximum temperatures on the coast from Clarence to the Tweed expected to be between 27-28 degrees Celsius) will likely see mosquitos remain active in our region, so locals need to remember to apply mosquito repellent when outdoors even though Summer has ended.

The incidence of aboroviral diseases, and Ross River Fever in particular, have been increasing since 2020.

ABC News, excerpt, 16 February 2021:

NSW Health says symptoms of Ross River infection include fever, rash and joint pains, and that prevention relies on avoiding mosquito bites.

"The majority of people recover completely in a few weeks. Others may experience symptoms such as joint pain and tiredness for many months."

Official figures show many regions experienced their worst year on record for the virus.

There were more than 640 cases in the Hunter-New England Local Health District, its highest number in the past 30 years.

About 400 cases were identified in the northern and mid north coast regions — the 30-year average for the Northern NSW Health District is 135 cases a year.

Cameron Webb, a researcher for NSW Health Pathology, said mosquito numbers exploded after heavy rain in February 2020.

"But it's incredibly difficult to predict ... even though you do get more cases of the disease when there are more mosquitoes about, it's a bit more complicated than that," Dr Webb said.

"Because mosquitoes don't hatch out of the wetland already infected with the virus, they have to bite native animals and those animals are typically kangaroos and wallabies.

"You will be at greater risk ... when you are outside some of the main urban areas, particularly when you are in that interface between the wetlands and areas where there is a lot of wildlife."

Council campaign

Councils on the far north coast, one of the worst-affected areas, recently launched the Tackling Mosquitoes Together campaign.

It was developed to raise awareness about risk factors, especially trouble spots around the home.

The Tweed Council's environmental health officer, Kelly Piazza, said mosquitoes would breed wherever there was still water.

"Anywhere and everywhere, and they will take any opportunity," she said.

"So anywhere the water can sit and be stagnant, that's where you're going to find that mosquitoes will come and lay their eggs."…...

Tackling Mosquitoes Together campaign runs through to end of April 2021. Details at https://www.tacklingmosquitoestogether.com.au/

Join our SMS program for helpful tips and reminders to protect yourself, your family and community from the disease risks and nuisance of mosquitoes.

Another reason why Australia's remaining native forests should be saved from the loggers - rare bees

 

An Australian native bee believed extinct is found after a 97 year absence from the records.

Pharohylaeus lactiferus 
IMAGE: James Dorey Photography

The Journal of Hymenoptera Research 81:165-180, 25 February 2021:

Missing for almost 100 years: the rare and potentially threatened bee, Pharohylaeus lactiferus (Hymenoptera, Colletidae)

James B. Dorey

Abstract

The Australian endemic bee, Pharohylaeus lactiferus (Colletidae: Hylaeinae) is a rare species that requires conservation assessment. Prior to this study, the last published record of this bee species was from 1923 in Queensland, and nothing was known of its biology. Hence, I aimed to locate extant populations, provide biological information and undertake exploratory analyses relevant to its assessment. Pharohylaeus lactiferus was recently rediscovered as a result of extensive sampling of 225 general and 20 targeted sampling sites across New South Wales and Queensland. Collections indicate possible floral and habitat specialisation with specimens only found near Tropical or Sub-Tropical Rainforest and only visiting Stenocarpus sinuatus (Proteaceae) and Brachychiton acerifolius (Malvaceae), to the exclusion of other available floral resources. Three populations were found by sampling bees visiting these plant species along much of the Australian east coast, suggesting population isolation. GIS analyses used to explore habitat destruction in the Wet Tropics and Central Mackay Coast bioregions indicate susceptibility of Queensland rainforests and P. lactiferus populations to bushfires, particularly in the context of a fragmented landscape. Highly fragmented habitat and potential host specialisation might explain the rarity of P. lactiferus. Targeted sampling and demographic analyses are likely required to thoroughly assess the status of this species and others like it.

Keywords

Conservation, extinction risk, fragmentation, Hylaeinae, invertebrate conservation, Queensland, wildfire, rainforest

Introduction

The greatest threats to ecosystems and species worldwide are habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation (Vie et al. 2009). Australia has already cleared over 40% of its forests and woodlands since European colonisation, leaving much of the remainder fragmented and degraded (Bradshaw 2012). The vast majority of clearing has occurred on freehold and leasehold land and for animal agriculture (Evans 2016). In particular, Queensland is a contemporary land-clearing hotspot and is responsible for more than half of all land-clearing in Australia over the past four decades (Evans 2016). It is a failing of state and federal government policy and regulation that land clearing in Queensland continues at rates that should be of concern both nationally and internationally (Reside et al. 2017).

Despite the ecological importance of Australian native bees, we know very little about their biology (Batley and Hogendoorn 2009) or conservation status. North Queensland hosts high species richness and endemism (Crisp et al. 2001; Orme et al. 2005; Hurlbert and Jetz 2007) and several bee genera that are found nowhere else in Australia (Houston 2018; Smith 2018). These restricted bee genera include: Ctenoplectra Kirby (Apidae: Apinae), Nomada Scopoli (Apidae: Nomadinae), Mellitidia Guérin-Méneville (Halictidae: Nomiinae), Reepenia Friese (Halictidae: Nomiinae), Patellapis Friese (Halictidae: Halictinae) and Pharohylaeus Michener (Colletidae: Hylaeinae).

Pharohylaeus has only two described species: P. papuaensis Hirashima & Roberts in Papua New Guinea and P. lactiferus (Cockerell) in Australia (Houston 1975; Hirashima and Roberts 1986). Both species are relatively large (9–11 mm), robust, mostly black with distinctive white facial and body markings, and have the first three tergal segments enlarged and enclosing the others. The former is known only from two females which were collected on Syzygium aqueum (Burm.f.) Alston (Myrtaceae) in 1982 (Hirashima and Roberts 1986). No published records of P. lactiferus have been made since the third of January 1923, when three males were collected in the Atherton Tablelands; in May of 1900 a male and a female were collected in Mackay while another female was collected in Kuranda prior to 1910 (Cockerell 1910; Houston 1975). However, the collection localities of these specimens are imprecise and no biological data were recorded.

Due to the dearth of biological information on P. lactiferus prior to this study, I aimed to locate extant populations and contribute biological information as part of a broader bee survey. Because of this, much of what follows are exploratory analyses of the potential risks for P. lactiferus and suggestions for future research. Hence, I undertook a series of post-hoc analyses in order to provide insights into the biology, ecology and potential extinction risks associated with P. lactiferus. I provide insights into the circumstances of the rediscovery of P. lactiferus and what is now known of its floral and habitat associations. I also explore spatial data relating to P. lactiferus (vegetation association, potential fire risks and occurrences) and my sampling methods (for potential biases). The possible floral and habitat specialisation along with the rarity of P. lactiferus raises concerns about its conservation status. I further highlight the need for preservation of remnant vegetation and better arthropod-diversity monitoring, particularly for at-risk and phylogenetically important species.

Methodology can be found here.

Australia's violent far-right racism gets read into the parliamentary record in February 2021

 Labor MP for Scullin Andrew Giles in Australian Parliament, House of Representatives, Hansard, Statements by Members, 24 February 2021:

Mr GILES (Scullin) (13:50): A Neo-Nazi assaulting a woman with a homemade flamethrower—this isn't 1930s fascist Europe; this is happening in Australia in 2021. At a Gosnells shopping centre, near Perth, a man with a Nazi symbol on his forehead used a flamethrower to assault an innocent mother who was shopping with her daughter. The WA police said that, after blasting flames at them, the perpetrator said he was doing this because they were Indigenous. This attack is horrific. I hope that the mother and the daughter are doing okay and that they are getting all the support that they need and deserve.

Neo-Nazis are emerging as one of Australia's biggest security threats. ASIO's director-general, Mike Burgess, has said that cells of right-wing extremists are regularly gathering in Australia to salute the Nazi flag and disperse their hateful ideology. Yet this government's response to the threat has been inadequate, to say the very least. This rise of right-wing extremism, this rise of racism—these things are not happening in a vacuum. Not enough is being done to tackle racism and stamp out right-wing extremism. So I once more call on the Morrison government to finally establish a national antiracism strategy with a zero-tolerance approach to racism at its core.

Police identity kit photo of the alleged assailant:

Satire of the Week

 

https://www.betootaadvocate.com/

Quotes of the Week

 

“You withhold? That's a choice. I know journalism, I know editing, I know publishing, and I fucking *see* you. You've chosen a side and will not even *seek* the truth.”  [Richard Chirgwin, on the subject of Australian journalism and the Canberra Press Gallery, Twitter, 24 February 2021]

“My shirt is not an invitation to rape me. My dress is not an invitation to follow me home. My strappy singlet is not the reason you lost your job. My body is not responsible for your behaviour.” [Columnist & standup comedian Mandy Nolan writing in the Echo NetDaily, 16 February 2021]

“The News Media Bargaining Code is a small-minded move that will only further cement what the backward NBN began: a smaller, less informed, more conservative and less democratic Australia. A Murdoch backwater, with no way out.”  [Managing editor Michelle Pini, writing in Independent Australia on 24 February 2021]

Re-tweet of the Week

 

Holy shit balls this is funny 😂 😂😂
Empty slogans from an empty man.pic.twitter.com/k5TdLqBja6

— The Tilba Hillbilly (@HillbillyTilba) August 16, 2020

 

Prime Minister & Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison relentlessly pursues his personal war on the poor and vulnerable

Australian Prime Minister Scott John Morrison
IMAGE: AAP

The Guardian, 23 February 2021:

The strategy behind the federal government’s increase to the jobseeker payment is crystal clear: Scott Morrison will say he is the first leader in almost 30 years to increase the rate of welfare for unemployed people. Never mind that it is only by less than $3.60 per day. Damned if it keeps people in poverty; too bad that it won’t even recover lost ground since the payment was decoupled from (flat) wages growth in 1997.

Already, the new figure represents a $100 per fortnight cut in the rate, as the coronavirus supplement of $150 is due to end on 31 March.

The Morrison government will consider the political issue solved and brand as ungrateful anyone who dares question it.

The prime minister thinks only in the hollow terms of political problems. Humanity does not figure into the equation. Worse, for a man who thinks he knows the answer he has never suffered the real problem. Neither he nor almost anyone in his government has ever had to do the threadbare arithmetic of blunt survival. Never had to make a decision to skip meals or medications to feed a family. Never had a single, sudden expense trigger a five-year debt spiral. There have been no back-to-back years of punishing stress which exacts its toll not only on the mind but on the body, too. His children have not been raised in the kind of penury that scientific studies have shown actually reduce the volume and surface area of brain matter in young people, by as much as 20%. These shrinkages of the brain occur not because of a lack of access to nourishing food (though these are also problems). Nor do they occur because of poorer access to health, dentistry and quality education, although these are all issues, too. I want this to sink in so read it slowly: the studies show our brains fade away precisely because of the stress that poverty breeds in the home. It is the mental and physical exertion that does it; the ambient terror of not knowing how the day will unfold or if you will make it through it. Young children absorb this persistent anxiety in their own bodies, the way our teeth collect and preserve caesium isotopes after radioactive exposure. None of these things has ever applied to Scott Morrison.

The problem is not necessarily that he has not lived this life, but that he refuses to accept the testimony of the millions who have. Millions. It reaches further down, into the public service, where often well-meaning people are forced to reduce the rich and complicated human tapestry to mere budget constraints and policy priorities. For those who have not lived the life of gritty survival, it is difficult to really understand the consequences of enduring scarcity. These aftershocks bleed into every area of government service delivery and into every budget…..

Read the full article here .

The Guardian, 23 February 2021:

Business leaders and welfare advocates have blasted the Morrison government’s decision to establish a hotline for employers to dob in unemployed Australians who refuse job offers, calling the measure out of touch with small business owners who believe “most unemployed people are not dole bludgers”.

Unions have been even more critical of what they see as the “dangerous” hotline, warning it could force women into accepting jobs from employers who treat them poorly or who make “sleazy propositions” to them during an interview.

In revealing a $50-a-fortnight rise to the base rate of jobseeker on Tuesday, the government also announced it would launch “an employer reporting line” to “refer jobseekers who are not genuine about their job search or decline the offer of a job”.

Explaining the government’s reasoning behind the measure, the employment minister, Michaelia Cash, said “you often hear, though, employers saying, ‘Joe applied for a job. He was qualified for the job ... and they said no”.

“If someone does apply for a job, they’re offered the job and they’re qualified for the job but they say no, the employer will now be able to contact my department and report that person as failing to accept suitable employment.

“This will then mean that my department can follow up with that person or alternatively, Jobactive can follow up with that person, to ascertain exactly why they said no to a suitable job,” Cash said.

Cash said unemployed Australians who were found not to have “a valid reason” for refusing a job “will be breached for that”…..