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First detection and tracing of grapevine red blotch virus (GRBV) in Australia using tiled amplicon sequencing
No full textGrapevine red blotch virus (GRBV; species Grablovirus vitis, genus Grablovirus, family Geminiviridae) poses a significant threat to viticulture worldwide, impacting grapevine health and wine quality. Here, we report the first detection and tracing of GRBV in Australia and provide a summary of a subsequent survey to determine the extent of GRBV distribution in Western Australia. Additionally, the study introduces a tiled amplicon sequencing method, which, when combined with long-read nanopore sequencing, enables rapid GRBV genome sequencing. Our analysis suggests a single introduction of GRBV from North America to Australia through the state of Victoria and subsequently to Western Australia. Finally, this study provides insight into the epidemiology of GRBV, based on strain variation and distribution, which is a crucial step in supporting an emergency biosecurity response and implementing effective control measures to safeguard the sustainability of the wine industry in Australia
WAARC, a state government funding initiative to catalyse agricultural research in northern Western Australia
No full textThere is broad agreement that research and development is an investment in the future viability and success of an industry. This view has underpinned the establishment of the Western Australian Agricultural Research Collaboration (WAARC). This Western Australian (WA) state government initiative is designed to foster collaboration among WA’s participating research organisations (DPIRD, CSIRO, Grower Group Alliance and the universities of Curtin, Murdoch and WA to support WA-centric new projects and research capacity building. WAARC is seeking to support longer-horizon research developing and integrating new areas of science with potential for industry application and to enhance early-career development opportunities for researchers. Its creation is a response to the diminution of a consolidated research capacity in WA. The WAARC initiative currently comprises six program of work, all of which are potentially relevant to the sustainable intensification of agricultural production in northern Australia. Of these, the Northern Agriculture program focuses exclusively on developing research and research capacity in this region. The objective of the program is to increase the Gross Value of Production through intensification of agriculture by 2030 focusing on sustainable growth of irrigated agriculture and the northern beef industry. A key priority in the Northern Agriculture program is the integration of irrigated agriculture and beef production. Growth in agriculture in northern WA focuses on intensifying the cattle industry and optimising irrigated agriculture, ensuring that this is achieved in a way that is environmentally and socially responsible. A related key priority is capturing economic benefit of growth by First Nations’ pastoral and related enterprises
Review of a regional scale grassland condition monitoring method
No full textThis paper outlines the review and development of site selection and field data collection protocols for enabling the continuation of the state government\u27s Western Australian Rangeland Monitoring System (WARMS) beyond 2024. The primary purpose of WARMS remains to detect change in the condition and trend of the extensive rangelands across Western Australia. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) aims to align WARMS with the move to risk-based monitoring and assessment outlined in DPIRD\u27s Framework for Sustainable Pastoral Land Management. Regular reviews of monitoring methods, collaboration with industry stakeholders and governing bodies are required to ensure the system\u27s robustness and relevance for management of public lands. A revision of DPIRD\u27s grassland field site-selection and data collection protocols is presented with two main goals: (1) to improve monitoring effectiveness by aligning sites with key pastures and broad ecosystem types identified in ecological State and Transition models (Richards et al. 2023), and reducing the total number of sites monitored; and (2) to modify site spatial configuration and align data collection with national standards for fractional cover data collection, while maintaining longitudinal continuity with the WARMS program. The co-location of nationally comparable sites with suitable WARMS sites would be an efficient way to provide the ground measured data needed for calibration of remotely sensed fractional cover estimates, if the changes in data collection protocols prove compatible with previous WARMS condition trend detection. Methods for using remote sensing data to directly monitor rangeland condition and degradation risk will be explored. In 2024 we began a field program of monitoring pasture condition using the existing WARMS site layout in tandem with the star transect layout for cover measurement in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Data from the two transect configurations will be analysed to assess the practicality of substituting the existing WARMS measurement layout for the star layout without compromising the long-term trend detection
Put your money where success has been – a rapid review of interventions to improve pastoral land condition in the southern rangelands of Western Australia
No full textThe paper reports on a six-day study trip of rangeland regeneration efforts implemented between 1984 - 99 in the Goldfields Region of Western Australia (WA). Results of land regeneration efforts have been influenced by the extent and severity of degradation, fragility of soil type, episodic flooding and drought, and the degree of total grazing pressure (TGP) control. Locally endemic plant species fared better than sown native species. The long-term effect of cultivation has been variable as have the benefits of shallow water ponding. The benefit of any cultivation has depended on the proximity of seed source areas of native species. Plant establishment has been improved where the water ponding has made the surface soil more sodic and cracked. Deeper, longer-lasting ponding behind bulldozer-built banks has been effective in rehabilitating rangelands. A small study of fracturing hardpan with explosives has shown benefits. Measurement of Mulga (Acacia aneura) trees planted in water-ponded areas has allowed an assessment of mean annual increments of carbon that could inform future carbon farming initiatives in the rangelands
The potential of feeding young cattle with irrigated crops to manage supply chain challenges in north Australian beef enterprises
No full textThe northern Western Australian (WA) beef industry is characterised by a reduction in dry-season forage quality leading to weight loss in livestock and reduced market readiness. A potential solution is the use of irrigated forage to provide a reliable source of energy and protein to finish cattle before sale. The feasibility of this feeding strategy was simulated using the Crop Livestock Enterprise Model (CLEM) and compared with the baseline of the usual practice of grazing on dry native pasture. Calving oc curs during the wet season and weaning and mustering during the dry season, with a finishing scenario for castrated males (steers) based on feeding irrigated forage during the dry season. The CLEM results showed an improvement in livestock productivity under this scenario, with higher live weight (LW) at sale due to faster weight gain while fed the irrigated forage. Furthermore, selling a higher proportion of animals at an earlier age, could potentially reduce methane emissions (and thereby create a more sustainable system) or there is the possibility of diversifying the market to include animals with higher LW but at an older age. Overall, integrating cattle production with irrigated pasture/forage, presents a significant opportunity to enhance the efficiency of beef production
State and transition modelling as a contextual framework for indicators of restoration in the Western Australian Mulga rangelands
No full textOpportunities for ecological restoration are rapidly increasing and require consistent tools to assess outcomes. In Australia, state and transition models have been used as a communication tool for land managers, to support ecosystem condition assessment o n pastoral leases, and more recently, in the federal Nature Repair Market. A three-day expert elicitation workshop was conducted with government rangelands officers, pastoralists and restoration practitioners to develop a state and transition model for shrub-grass mulga in the WA rangelands. A reference and nine modified states were described, including four regenerating states. Modified states reflect key differences in ecosystem condition along gradients of degradation and regeneration. The key drivers of degradation are overgrazing and associated hydrological dysfunction as grazing impacts worsen, while restoration and regeneration are largely implemented through grazing management and (where soil surface condition has been degraded) hydrological interventions to increase water infiltration. Overall, the state and transition model provides a synthesised, coherent model of WA shrub-grass mulga ecology that is accessible to both experts and non-experts. The model is targeted at supporting the development of rangelands monitoring and condition standards, and the planning and implementation of appropriate management interventions for restoration, enabling land manager access to emerging nature markets
Aquatic Resource Assessment Report No. 5: West Coast Deep Sea Crustacean Resource 2024 assessment
No full textThe West Coast Deep Sea Crustacean resource consists of crystal crab (snow) (Chaceon albus), champagne crab (spiny) (Hypothalassia acerba) and giant crab (Pseudocarcinus gigas). The resource is mainly accessed by the commercial West Coast Deep Sea Crustacean Managed Fishery (WCDSCMF), which primarily targets crystal crabs. The West Coast Rock Lobster Managed Fishery (WCRLMF) also retains a small amount of champagne crabs as byproduct of deep-water rock lobster fishing. The WCDSCMF is a pot-based fishery using baited pots operated in a long-line formation in shelf edge waters ( \u3e 150 m in depth) off the West Coast and Gascoyne Bioregions (see How et al. 2015). The fishery is primarily managed using a Total Allowable Catch (TAC). In 2016 and 2020, the WCDSCMF achieved Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, confirming the sustainable management of the fishery. In 2024, 121.9 t of crystal crab, 0.83 t of giant crab, and 0.94 t of champagne crab was landed form this resource, generating approximately $6.9 million in GVP.
This document provides the 2025 research advice (based on data up to and including the 2024 fishing season) on the stock status and risk to sustainability of the West Coast Deep Sea Crustacean Resource, as well as advice for the TAC settings of crystal crabs, champagne crabs, and giant crabs in the West Coast Deep Sea Crustacean Managed Fishery
Fisheries Research Report No. 362: Characterising essential benthic habitats and environmental drivers of fishery recruitment in the Exmouth Gulf Prawn Managed Fishery
No full textFisheries management relies on the development and evolution of effective assessment and monitoring techniques that are applicable in a range of fishery contexts (Fletcher et al., 2016; L. M. Robinson et al., 2021). The assessment of fish habitats and environmental drivers that influence recruitment is central to sustainable fisheries management (de Lestang et al., 2010; Galindo-Cortes et al., 2010; Gao & Wang, 2021). Western Australia conducts robust fishery-specific monitoring and assessment programs to ensure the sustainable use of its aquatic resources (Newman et al., 2023). However, few long-term datasets exist that directly monitor critical fish habitats and environmental conditions that underpin stock productivity
South-west Western Australia average annual rainfall zones 2000-2024 compared to 1910-1999
No full textMap of the south-west of Western Australia (intensive land use zone) showing change in average annual rainfall for the period 2000-2024 compared to 1910-1999.https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/gis_climate/1007/thumbnail.jp
Transcriptional profiles reveal physiological mechanisms for compensation during a simulated marine heatwave in Yellowtail Kingfish (Seriola lalandi)
No full textBackground
Changing ocean temperatures are already causing declines in populations of marine organisms. Predicting the capacity of organisms to adjust to the pressures posed by climate change is a topic of much current research effort, particularly for species we farm or harvest. To explore one measure of phenotypic plasticity, the physiological compensations in response to heat stress as might be experienced in a marine heatwave, we exposed Yellowtail Kingfish (Seriola lalandi) to sublethal heat stress, and used the transcriptome in gill and muscle, benchmarked against heat shock proteins and oxidative stress indicators, to characterise the acute heat stress response (6 h after the initiation of stress), and the physiological compensation to that response (24 and 72 h after the initiation of stress). Results
The heat stress experiments induced elevations in heat shock proteins, as measured in blood, demonstrating the sublethal stress level. The initial response (6 h) to heat stress included the expected cellular stress response. Exposure of 24 h or more led to altered transcriptomic patterns for protein degradation, membrane transporters, and primary metabolism. In the muscle, numerous transcripts with mitochondrial function had altered abundance. There was a profound change to the regulation of transcription, as well as numerous transcripts with differential exon usage, suggesting that this may be a mechanism for conferring physiological resilience to heat stress. Conclusions
These results demonstrate the processes involved in acclimation to heat stress in this species, and the utility of using the transcriptome to assess plasticity. It also showed that differential exon usage may be an important mechanism for conferring plasticity. Future work should investigate the role of genome regulation, and alternative splicing in particular, on conferring resilience to temperature changes. Graphic Abstrac