Department of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia

Effective management of invasive species requires robust projections of how alternative management strategies influence long-term invasion outcomes, required effort, and associated trade-offs. We used a spatially explicit population model, linked with empirical data on aerial culling efficiency, to project (from 2023 to 2060) alternative management scenarios for limiting the spread and establishment of an invasive fallow deer ( Dama dama ) population in a high-value conservation area, the Walls of Jerusalem National Park (WJNP), Tasmania, Australia. We compared six feasible aerial culling scenarios that varied in the frequency (annual, biennial, or five-yearly) and spatial extent (broad versus concentrated management zones) of control, relative to a baseline scenario with no future management. Scenarios were evaluated in terms of their ability to limit deer occupancy and abundance within the WJNP, the cumulative presence of deer over time, the amount of management effort required, and population-level animal welfare outcomes. All management scenarios reduced deer invasion into the WJNP relative to no management, but strategies that applied culling across a broad spatial extent were consistently more effective than those targeting only high-density source areas. More frequent culling further improved outcomes, although gains were modest relative to changes in spatial extent. Strategies that combined broad-scale culling with annual or biennial frequency achieved the best balance between reducing invasion pressure and limiting management effort, while also resulting in fewer deer being culled overall. Complete exclusion of deer from the WJNP was achievable only under a more intensive strategy involving annual culling across a substantially expanded area, but this required a nearly four-fold increase in effort compared to the scenarios aimed at minimising, rather than eliminating, invasion. Our results highlight trade-offs between management effectiveness, effort, and welfare outcomes, and demonstrate how spatial population models coupled with operational data can support practical, evidence-based decisions for managing invasive species.

ABSTRACTObjectiveAs the population ages more people are experiencing chronic conditions, placing substantial burden on the healthcare system. General practice plays a crucial role in managing chronic health conditions and early interventions to support healthy ageing. This study explored patients' perceptions of early intervention initiatives to support healthy ageing in Australian general practice settings.MethodsUsing a qualitative descriptive design, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with general practice patients aged 40 years and older living with chronic conditions, in Adelaide, South Australia. Interview data were analysed using inductive content analysis.ResultsTwenty participants from eight general practices were interviewed. Three themes were developed: (1) General practice consultations enable management planning but show gaps in ageing‐related support; (2) Management plans promote early problem identification, reinforce self‐management and foster positive healthcare relationships; and (3) Addressing gaps in management plans requires improved access, affordability and more comprehensive support.ConclusionsPatients perceive their general practice enables care and management of chronic conditions for healthy ageing. There is a need for proactive healthy ageing interventions including increased uptake of chronic disease management Medicare Benefit Schedule (MBS) items into routine general practice care. Primary care policies should address multidisciplinary team‐based care to facilitate optimal comprehensive care for healthy ageing. Further exploration and strategies to address barriers to proactive, comprehensive care for chronic conditions earlier in the ageing trajectory are needed.

• ML predicts tillage and stubble practices from 22 years of soil data. • Random forest outperforms spatial baseline in predicting farm practices. • Year and latitude are key drivers of no-till and stubble grazing adoption. • Gridded maps reveal national trends in tillage and residue management. • Framework supports GHG accounting modelling and soil health policy development. Tillage and stubble management are key drivers of soil health, crop productivity, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet long-term spatially explicit data on these practices remain scarce. Using data from two Australian national soil monitoring programs Soil Carbon Research Project (SCaRP) and Soil Organic Carbon Monitoring (SOC-M) we analyzed over two decades (2001–2023) of tillage and stubble management records collated across 300 Australian farmer paddock scale datasets. We developed machine learning models based on random forest to predict spatial and temporal trends in these practices, incorporating crop type, soil classification, climate variables, and spatial coordinates as predictors. Our models were benchmarked against multinomial logistic regression and a nearest-neighbour baseline, demonstrating that random forest consistently achieved higher accuracy, particularly for dominant practices such as no-tillage and stubble grazing. Variable importance analyses identified “Year” as the most influential predictors, capturing widespread no-tillage adoption post-2010, while latitude and crop type further explained regional variations. Partial dependence plots revealed sharp inflection points in adoption trajectories around 2010, coinciding with major policy and technological shifts. We applied the models to generate gridded predictions (0.5° resolution) across the Australian cropping zone, providing insights into the evolving distribution of tillage and stubble practices. These spatial products not only improve GHG accounting frameworks and Earth system models but also offer actionable intelligence for soil health policy and targeted extension programs. Our approach demonstrates how combining ground-based monitoring with machine learning can fill critical data gaps and provide a scalable framework for agricultural management assessment and climate mitigation strategies.

To identify barriers and enablers to primary care in Australian residential aged care homes (RACHs). Scoping review of articles published from 2019 to June 2024 in which barriers and enablers to primary care in Australian RACHs have been quantitatively measured, qualitatively collected or reported following implementation. Medline, CINAHL, AgeLine, Cochrane, Scopus, JBI, and Google Scholar. Of 1705 records screened, 28 studies were included, which were predominantly qualitative or mixed methods. They included general practitioner, nurse practitioner, pharmacy, allied health, oral health and dental services. Ninety barriers and 72 enablers were identified, and inductively classified into seven categories: System Level: 1. Funding and Resources; Organisational Level: 2. Employment and Service Models, 3. Management and Culture and, 4. Collaboration, Coordination and Communication; and Individual Level: 5. Workload, Job Satisfaction and Security, 6. Attributes, Skills and Preparedness for Role and, 7. Recipient Needs, Attitudes and Preferences. Barriers and enablers related to 'Funding and Resources' and 'Employment and Service Models' appeared key, interacting with multiple categories. On-site models were reported to foster greater collaboration and care. This review revealed the systems-, organisational- and individual-level factors that influence primary care in Australian RACHs. These can be considered when designing future initiatives to increase primary care access in RACHs. With the Australian Government recently introducing funding to employ on-site pharmacists, this is an opportunity for systematic evaluation of on-site models to inform future policies, which can be considered for extension to other professions. Open Science Framework, https://osf.io/nyqrm/.

Adding to the global burden of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, an unprecedented five HPAI H7 outbreaks occurred globally in 2024. Of these, three occurred in southeast Australia, with the independent emergence of HPAI H7N9, H7N8, and H7N3, resulting in the destruction of 2 million poultry. Historical data demonstrates that H7 outbreaks in Australia do not occur randomly, rather, there is a strong association between the timing of the previous H7 outbreaks and rainfall patterns in southeastern Australia. We aimed to address a hypothesis wherein prior to H7 outbreaks in poultry, there was a detectable change in H7 prevalence and/or virus diversity in wild bird populations. We addressed this using virological and serological surveillance data generated from multiple programs. Despite the collection of thousands of samples, there was only weak evidence to support our hypothesis, which provides strong incentive to evaluate current surveillance approaches for the purposes of risk prediction. However, in alignment with a previous analysis, there is strong support for a relationship between H7 outbreak probability and rainfall patterns across southeast Australia. Overall, improved understanding of the ecology and evolution of H5 and H7 viruses in wild bird reservoirs is pivotal to global disease preparedness and response.

Acmella radicans (Jacquin) R.K.Jansen is an annual herb native to Central America. In China, it is becoming increasingly invasive and often co-occurs with the native congener A. paniculata (Wall. ex DC.) R.K.Jansen in some habitats. In order to understand the invasion mechanism of A. radicans, we investigated the growth parameters of both the invasive A. radicans and the native congener, A. paniculata, under different light conditions (5%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of light availability) using potted plants in a glasshouse. Light level, plant species, and their interaction were significant, with plant species generally having a greater effect than light level. Acmella radicans and A. paniculata showed great phenotypic plasticity to various light intensities and had a similar trend with increased shade. The plasticity indices of all parameters of A. radicans, except for branch length and inflorescence number, were greater than those of A. paniculata under the same light intensity. The physiological parameters for A. radicans under both favorable (high light intensity) and unfavorable (low light intensity) conditions showed less inhibition than those of A. paniculata. All these responses indicated that A. radicans had greater phenotypic plasticity and higher adaptability to low light, which may contribute to its invasion success.

ABSTRACTPest management in horticultural crops must become more efficient, capitalising on non‐chemical means of pest reduction. In mango (Mangifera Indica), the development of highly productive orchard and canopy management systems offers a potential means to reduce pressure and damage from economically important pests such as mango scale (Aulacaspis tubercularis Newstead), but these effects have not previously been examined. High‐density narrow hedge and espalier canopy management systems were compared with Australian industry standard low‐density wide open‐vase canopies. Initially, female scale populations on infested foliage were assessed in three commercial mango varieties for the three canopy systems over three years. Scale fruit damage in the three canopy systems was then assessed in Calypso variety for two following harvests. Narrow canopy management systems had significantly fewer female scale present on foliage, and significantly less fruit damage from scale (64%–84% reduction), resulting in fewer fruit downgrades (58%–89% reduction). This effect may result from changes in the canopy microclimate, with a potential contribution from greater spray penetration in narrow canopies. We suggest that the adoption of highly productive mango canopy designs will provide additional benefit to farmers and consumers by improving pest control and potentially reducing pesticide use.

Presented on 27 May 2025: Session 8 The Otway Basin is one of the best-known Mesozoic rift basins that span the southern coastline of Australia. The onshore portion of the basin covers nearly 10,000 km2 in South Australia (SA), from which both oil and gas have been produced. In 2023, the Department for Energy and Mining conducted an integrated geological, chemostratigraphic, geochemical and geophysical study, which identified intervals of potential hydrocarbon source rocks as well as potential suitable reservoirs, with the information used to prepare a petroleum systems model of the onshore Otway Basin in SA. The model showed significant hydrocarbon generation in the Penola Trough as expected, but also, for the first time, it appears that significant hydrocarbons may have been generated and expelled in the lightly explored Robe and Tantanoola Troughs. Subsequently, the Geological Survey of South Australia conducted play analysis of eight potential hydrocarbon reservoir intervals in the region, to understand the distribution of reservoirs, seals, mature source rocks and potential hydrocarbon migration pathways, to aid hydrocarbon exploration in the region. This process required review of the initial gross depositional environment mapping, with iteration further highlighting prospectivity; the Casterton Formation is presented as an example. Maps for the Lower Sawpit Shale are presented as an example of the play analysis process. To access the Oral Presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here