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Database of References on the Ecology and Natural
Resources of Greater Melbourne
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to search the database.
About the database
This is a database of references relating to the
ecology and natural resources of the Melbourne
region. It includes references listed in ARCUE
Occasional Paper No. 1 A
Reference Guide to The Ecology and Natural Resources
of the Melbourne Region: A Bibliography of the
Biodiversity literature for Scientists, Teachers,
Policy Makers, Planners and Natural Resource
Managers but with the advantage of being
regularly updated and fully searchable, ie. search by
author, year and words in title as well as the
special descriptive search categories. It attempts to
list all books, scientific journal articles,
conference proceedings, consultant and organisational
reports, and articles in the popular scientific media
that relate both directly and indirectly to
biodiversity within the Melbourne-Geelong
Metropolitan area.
How the database was created
The library catalogues of six universities and
government departments were searched. The libraries
of the following institutions were accessed: Birds
Australia Library, Monash University, La Trobe
University, Deakin University, Parks Victoria
Corporate Library, State Library of Victoria, The
University of Melbourne, Victorian Department of
Natural Resources and Environment.
A number of electronic bibliographic databases
available through the University of Melbourne library
system were used to search for relevant references,
particularly journal articles. They are: Agricola,
BIOSIS, Current Contents, CAB Abstracts, Endangered
Species, HERIT:EVA (Environment), AUSTROM:ARCH and
AUSTROM:APAIS (Public Affairs),
We have attempted to include all Doctorate, Masters
and Honours theses relating to the biodiversity of
Melbourne in the database. To facilitate this, we
visited academic departments at the University of
Melbourne, Monash University, Latrobe University and
and Deakin University and viewed their thesis
collections.
Many Councils responded positively to our request for
information. They are: City of Banyule, City of
Bayside, City of Boroondara, City of Casey, City of
Greater Geelong , City of Hume, City of Manningham,
City of Maroondah , City of Melbourne, City of Port
Phillip, Shire of Mornington Peninsula, Shire of
Moorabool and the Shire of Nillumbik.
Biological Consultants Ecology Australia, Biosis
Research Pty. Ltd. and Randall Robinson kindly gave
us access to the studies they have completed.
Please email
us if you have any suggestions or know of any
relevant references that are not already on the
database.
Please note that ARCUE is unable to loan or
provide copies of the references in the
database.Sources of references in the database
can be found here.
Explanation of descriptive
terms
Each of the references in the database have been
described in up to four categories. These categories
are explained below.
Location
The location of the subject described in a reference
is listed either by Local Government Area (LGA) or,
where a reference pertains to all or part of
Melbourne or does not specify a location, is referred
to as Greater Melbourne Area.
Lifeform
This category records the taxonomic grouping of the
organism that is the primary focus of each reference.
Reports or research papers describing vegetation
surveys have been indexed under the category
Vegetation Community. Several non-taxonomic
categories have also been included. The terms used
are: Algae, Angiosperms, Birds,
Bryophytes, Climate, Ferns,
Fish, Fungi, Geology,
Gymnosperms, Human, Invertebrates -
aquatic, Invertebrates - terrestrial,
Mammals, Protozoa, Reptiles,
Amphibians, Soils and Vegetation
Community.
Ecosystem
The environment that is the subject of the reference
is listed in this category. All ecosystems detailed,
or implied by the reference, are listed.
The terms used and their definitions are:
-
Agricultural
-
Areas of agricultural land-use within the Study
Area. Generally in close proximity to urban
development
-
Built Environment
-
Urban or suburban areas dominated by roads,
buildings and other built structures
-
Coastal Dunes
-
All vegetation communities occurring on coastal and
near-coastal sand dunes, consolidated dunes and
cliffs. Includes primary dune scrub, coastal cliff
vegetation and coastal banksia woodland
-
Escarpment
-
The characteristic vegetation of cliff faces and
other steep areas
-
Forests
-
Vegetation with a high density of tree cover
-
Grassland
-
Open, treeless areas that are not managed as
farmland and are generally dominated by native
grasses
-
Heathland
-
Almost tree-less vegetation occurring on nutrient
deficient, sandy areas. In Melbourne, heathland
vegetation is generally dominated by silky tea-tree
(Leptospermum myrsinoides)
-
Lake/Reservoir
-
Large areas of permanent standing freshwater
-
Landscaped Urban Park
-
Includes sporting ovals, golf courses, botanic
gardens and other formally designed parklands
-
Mangroves
-
Shrubland occurring on intertidal mudflats and
creek mouths dominated by white mangroves
(Avicennia marina)
-
Marine
-
Port Phillip and Westernport Bays. Although only
references relating to the avifauna, islands or
intertidal portions of the Bay are included
-
Saltmarsh
-
Saline areas, typically near the coast, with a
characteristic halophyte flora
-
Shrubland
-
Shrubby vegetation types lacking a dominant tree
layer. For example, swamp paperbark (Melaleuca
ericifolia) scrub
-
Watercourse
-
The in-stream portion, and banks (ie. riparian
zone) of rivers and streams
-
Wetland
-
Ephemeral or permanent shallow water bodies that
may contain saline or fresh water
-
Woodland
-
Ecosystems supporting a low density of trees. In
the Melbourne area this term describes both grassy
woodlands and those containing heathy elements.
Coastal banksia woodlands are listed under coastal
dunes
Management Issue / Ecological Process This
category describes the major issues examined by each
study.
-
Biological Survey
-
All references that include an inventory of the
species occurring at a particular site or in a
specific area
-
Biomass/Productivity
-
References studying the biomass or productivity of
communities or populations of organisms
-
Community Ecology
-
Studies examining the interaction between organisms
at a particular site or in a specific area
-
Dieback
-
References concerning the death of trees from
dieback, which could be attributed to a variety of
causes
-
Diseases/Pathogens
-
References focusing on the impact of plant or
animal pathogens. This category includes studies of
cinnamon fungus (Phytophthora cinnamomi)
-
Edges/Fragmentation
-
Studies of the impacts of isolation, fragmentation
and the creation of edge environments
-
Environmental Weeds
-
References that study or discuss the impacts of any
non-native or non-indigenous pest plants
-
Feral animals
-
References that study or discuss the impacts of any
non-native animal pests
-
Fire
-
All references concerning the effects, incidence or
management of fire
-
Grazing
-
References describing the impact of grazing by
herbivores such as cattle, rabbits or kangaroos
-
Life History
-
Ecological studies at the species level including
physiology, behaviour and autecology of plants or
animals
-
Nutrients
-
References concerning nutrient monitoring, nutrient
cycling or the effect of nutrients on organisms or
ecosystems.
-
Pollution
-
Studies reporting or analysing air, water, noise or
soil pollution within the Study Area, or its
remediation
-
Rare Species
-
A study or report of a plant or animal species
considered endangered, vulnerable, rare or
regionally significant by the author(s) of the
reference
-
Recreation Impacts
-
Studies reporting the effects of human recreational
activities on natural areas
-
Revegetation/Restoration
-
References describing the methodology or outcome of
attempts to restore degraded areas. Includes
revegetation programs and faunal re-introductions
-
Salinity
-
Studies concerning the process of land salinisation
-
Significance Assessment
-
Studies, generally consultants reports, that assess
the significance of a site, or its flora and fauna
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Succession
-
Studies of the ecological process of succession and
vegetation dynamics
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Urbanisation
-
References examining the impact or potential
impacts of expanding cities and towns
-
Vegetation Management
-
All references relating to the management of
vegetation, including approaches and techniques
(excluding studies associated with revegetation and
restoration)
-
Wildlife Management
-
All references relating to the management of
wildlife, both individual animals and populations.
Excludes information on feral animals
Reference Type -the types of references included
in the database are:
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Consultants' Report
-
Reports written by biological, ecological or other
consultants for a paying client
-
Educational
-
Educational publications intended for the general
public and school children. These include field
guides, information brochures, teaching guides and
other educational material
-
Management Plan
-
Documents containing prescriptions to manage all
aspects of a particular area. Reports describing
the management of only one component of an area,
such as vegetation, have not been included in this
category
-
Organisational Series/Technical Report
-
Report completed by government departments or
authorities.
Technical Report Includes ecological survey
reports and technical reports.
-
Popular
-
Articles written for newspapers, popular scientific
and environmental magazines (e.g. Australian
Geographic) and trade publications. Less scientific
articles from Victorian Naturalist such as
excursion reports are also included
-
Scientific Literature
-
Journal articles, books or book chapters that have
been peer reviewed
-
Conference Proceedings
-
Papers reporting on presentations given at
conferences, seminars or workshops
-
Thesis
-
Honours, Masters and PhD theses written to attain
the corresponding degree
Acknowledgements
This database is based on the ARCUE publication A
Reference Guide to The Ecology and Natural Resources of the
Melbourne Region: A Bibliography of the Biodiversity literature
for Scientists, Teachers, Policy Makers, Planners and Natural
Resource Managers, prepared by Mark J. McDonnell, Nicholas
S. G. Williams and Amy K. Hahs, with additional material collected
by ARCUE staff. We would like to thank Peter Neish for converted
the database to a searchable, web-based format.
The compilation of this database would not have been possible
without the assistance of staff from libraries, institutions
and local councils. The authors wish to especially thank the
Library Staff of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Helen Cohn and Jill
Thurlow, who diligently tracked down references; NRE Corporate
Library staff particularly Jeanette McArthur, Jennifer Pett
and Carolyn Rooke; and Carol Harris of the Arthur Rylah Institute
library.
We also express our thanks to staff at the following libraries,
university departments and consulting firms:
Biosis Research Pty. Ltd.
Birds Australia
Department of Natural Resources and Environment Library System
Ecology Australia Pty. Ltd.
La Trobe University, Department of Botany
La Trobe University, Department of Zoology
Monash University, School of Biological Sciences
Parks Victoria
Practical Ecology Services
Randall Robinson - Botanical Consultant
The University of Melbourne Library System
The following municipal and Shire council staff assisted in
the production of this Bibliography by contributing lists of
references held by their council: Neil Blake, Damien Closs,
Michael Coleman, Brad Curtis, Bryce Hughes, Bruce Humphries,
Sotirios Kataouzinos, Melissa King, Gil Marshall, Ron Mildren,
Rebecca Millar, Nicole Moore, Ron Musker, Adam Muyt, Paul Osmond,
Alastair Phillips, Mark Stubbs, Joanne Webber and Stephen Wray.
Geoff Brown, Fiona Coates, Vanessa Craigie, Tim Entwistle,
Simon Lewis, Ian Lunt, Tom May and Bill O'Connor provided thoughtful
comments on the comprehensiveness of our bibliographic searches.
Emma Seager prepared the maps and we are also grateful to Chandra
Jayasuriya for her assistance with earlier draft versions of
the map figures.
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