Research & Conservation


 

biodiversity - Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology

Database of References on the Ecology and Natural Resources of Greater Melbourne


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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

Succession
Studies of the ecological process of succession and vegetation dynamics
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:

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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Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne incorporates the National Herbarium of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne and the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology.