Disturbance

• They typically enter homes between October and February looking for food, water and shelter from the cold .
• Rodents can cause health issues and also severe structural damage with their strong jaws and burrowing skills.
• They have oversized front teeth for gnawing, and teeth which are adapted for chewing a variety of items including electrical wires, water pipes and gas lines.
• Using the tips above, homes and businesses across the nation can be better equipped to keep rats and mice out.

• These isolated ecosystems present unparalleled opportunities to study evolution, and the archipelagos of the southwest Pacific are no exception.
• So their total land area may be small, but south-west Pacific islands punch well above their weight in terms of their contributions to global biodiversity.
• Let’s meet five charismatic species you’ve probably never have heard of, but simply must get to know.

1. Black dorcopsis or black forest wallaby (Dorcopsis atrata)

• It looms more than 2,500 metres above sea level, but it’s only about 3,900 metres wide – at the widest point.
• Here among the clouds is the only place you’ll find black dorcopsis.
• Black dorcopsis often have very worn claws, suggesting they spend a great deal of time digging for truffles in the rocky soil.

2. Waigeo cuscus (Spilocuscus papuensis)

Conservation status: vulnerable Distribution: Waigeo (Indonesia) Waigeo cuscus have a remarkable coat. Irregular black splotches stand out against a background of almost pure white. In young animals these contrasting colours are subdued by the presence of blackish-grey tips to the hairs. The cuscus have been photographed in the branches of fruiting fig (Ficus spp.) and breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) trees, so they have a taste for fruit.

3. Bougainville melomys (Melomys bougainville)

• Conservation status: data deficient Distribution: Bougainville (Papua New Guinea), Choiseul and Mono (Solomon Islands) Pacific Island native rodents have proven vulnerable to disturbance, but thankfully Bougainville melomys seems to remain relatively common.
• An active climber, Bougainville melomys can be found tiptoeing along thin woody vines (lianas), in fruiting trees among Bismarck common cuscuses (Phalanger breviceps), or scaling the trunks of wild betel nut palms (Areca spp.).

4. Lesser sheath-tailed bat (Mosia nigrescens)

• Lesser sheath-tailed bats are alert little creatures with good eyesight.
• They rest in small groups huddled together under the cover of a palm leaf where they’re sheltered from the rain.
• Lesser sheath-tailed bats are among the first to emerge of an evening, leaving their palm tree tents while there is still plenty of twilight.

5. Palau flying-fox (Pteropus pelewensis)

• Conservation status: vulnerable Distribution: Ulithi, Yap (Federated States of Micronesia), Palau The south-west Pacific supports an incredible diversity of endemic Pteropus flying-foxes.
• Thankfully the introduction of restrictions under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species stabilised populations of the Palau fying-fox.

So much to learn

• So many unique species evolved here, on discrete areas of land separated by ocean.
• There is still much to learn about many of these mammals.

• PRAX-628 is a next-generation, functionally selective small molecule targeting the hyperexcitable state of sodium-channels in the brain.
• PRAX-628 is currently being developed as a once daily, oral treatment for adult focal onset epilepsy.
• “The ultimate goal of an anti-seizure medication is seizure freedom for all affected patients, and a wide therapeutic window is critical to reach that goal.
• Based on the Phase 1 results and preclinical profile, Praxis intends to advance PRAX-628 into a Phase 2 study in focal epilepsy in the fourth quarter of 2023.

• This is ultimately what we all wish to see when spending time in nature watching animals.
• Sound travels almost five times faster underwater than it does in the air, so it’s an important sense for whales.
• Our new research confirms noise from a boat watching whales at a distance of 300 metres can still disturb them.
• Yet current whale-watching guidelines, including Australia’s, do not include noise levels.

How does noise affect whales and dolphins?

• Despite these benefits, watching whales from a motorised boat and swimming with whales can disturb their natural behaviour.
• Read more:
  Drones gather new and useful data for marine research, but they can disturb whales and dolphins

Whale-watching guidelines overlook noise impacts

• Guidelines, however, do not consider the noise level of the boat’s engine.
• Research confirms louder boat noise disturbs whales more than quiet boat noise.
• We recommend a noise threshold be added to whale-watching regulations, ideally around the volume of the natural underwater background noise.

What do whale-watching boats sound like underwater?

• We have calculated the underwater noise level of whale-watching boats operating at low speeds.
• The vessel with the quieter electric engines was later used in an experiment with short-finned pilot whales.
• This study compared the whales’ responses to the boat’s quieter electric engines and its louder petrol engines.

Noise when arriving and departing matters too

• This is because as a vessel increases in speed to leave the whales, it produces higher underwater noise levels.
• So we recommend boats maintain a slow speed when approaching and departing whales – say, less than 10 knots within 1km of the whales.

5 tips to reduce boat noise

• On an individual level, boat operators can easily reduce disturbance to whales and dolphins by considering the following five factors.
• Distance: the closer a vessel is the greater the peak in noise, so keep to the regulated distance.
• To further reduce noise, whale-watching companies can use larger, slower-moving propellers (to minimise the water disturbance that creates noise), quieter/electric engines and/or install noise absorption gear.