Cooperative Research Centre

About: Cooperative Research Centre is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Sea ice. The organization has 7633 authors who have published 8607 publications receiving 429721 citations.

Genomic selection: A paradigm shift in animal breeding

Abstract: • Traditional marker-assisted selection (MAS) did not result in a widespread use of DNA information in animal breeding. The main reason was that the traits of interest in livestock production were much more complex than expected: they were determined by thousands of genes with small effects on phenotype. These effects were usually too small to be statistically significant and so were ignored. • Genomic selection (GS) assumes that all markers might be linked to a gene affecting the trait and concentrates on estimating their effect rather than testing its significance. Three technological breakthroughs resulted in the current wide-spread use of DNA information in animal breeding: the development of the genomic selection technology, the discovery of massive numbers of genetic markers (single nucleotide polymorphisms; SNPs), and high-throughput technology to genotype animals for (hundreds of) thousands of SNPs in a cost-effective manner. • Here we review current methods for GS, including how they deal with practical data, where genotypes are missing on a large scale. The use of whole-genome sequence data is anticipated, and its advantages and disadvantages are depicted. Current and predicted future impacts of GS on dairy and beef cattle, pigs, and poultry breeding are described. Finally, future directions for GS are discussed. • It is anticipated that future GS applications will either be: within breed (wbGS), where accuracy is obtained by maintaining huge withinbreed reference populations; or across breed (abGS) where accuracy is obtained from across-breed reference populations and high-density GS methods that focus on causative genomic regions. We argue that future GS applications will increasingly turn toward abGS.

Responses of ants to disturbance in Australia, with particular reference to functional groups

Abstract: Ants are widely used as bioindicators in environmental assessment in Australia, partly because the responses of ant communities to disturbance are relatively well understood. In particular, the use of functional groups has provided a predictive framework for analysing ant community responses to disturbance in the absence of reliable information on the responses of individual species. Here we review 45 studies of the responses of Australian ant communities to disturbance, in order to: (i) identify individual species or species-groups that respond consistently to disturbance; and (ii) examine the usefulness of the functional group scheme as a framework for predicting ant community responses under different disturbance regimes in different biogeographical regions. The most common forms of disturbance in our studies were fire (17 studies), mining (12; mostly studies of minesite restoration) and grazing (7), with other disturbances including clearing, logging, flooding, recreation, urbanization and farming. Responses of individual species were inevitably variable because of differences in vegetation type, severity of disturbance and time since disturbance. However, we identified a range of widespread species that showed predictable responses, including species of the metallica group of Rhytidoponera in temperate Australia ('increasers' in relation to disturbance), species of the terebrans and denticulatus groups of Camponotus (increasers), the aeneovirens group of Melophorus (increasers) from the arid zone, and Iridomyrmex pallidus (increaser) from the monsoonal region. The functional group scheme assessed here was not designed specifically in the context of disturbance, but nevertheless in some situations provides a useful framework for analysing ant community responses. Three distinct syndromes of functional group responses can be recognized. First, Dominant Dolichoderinae and Hot Climate Specialists are groups that prefer open environments, and tend to be favoured by low levels of disturbance in well-forested habitats. Second, Opportunists and often also Generalized Myrmicinae are broadly adapted taxa with wide habitat tolerances, but are particularly sensitive to competitive interactions such that their responses oppose those of Dominant Dolichoderinae. Finally, Cryptic Species and Specialist Predators have highly specialized requirements that make them especially sensitive to disturbance. Functional groups are of most use in situations where disturbance causes substantial change in habitat structure, particularly in the ground-layer. Functional groups are of least use in very open habitats, where disturbance merely increases what is already extensive bare ground, and has relatively little impact on microclimate. The ant functional group scheme can play an important role in assessing disturbance in mesic Australia, but may be of more limited use for this in the arid zone.

Optical remote sensing applications in viticulture - a review

Abstract: The emergence of precision agriculture technologies and an increasing demand for higher quality grape products have led to a growing interest in the practice of precision viticulture; monitoring and managing spatial variations in productivity-related variables within single vineyard blocks. Potentially, one of the most powerful tools in precision viticulture is the use of remote sensing, which has the ability to rapidly provide a description of grapevine shape, size and vigour over entire vineyards. Its potential for improving viticultural practice will rely on being able to define useful relationships between these canopy descriptors and grape quality and yield. This paper introduces the reader to remote sensing and reviews its recent, and potential, applications in viticulture.