Journal articles on the topic 'Amphibious buildings'

The study aims to present, compare, and assess three different types of buildings considered as flood-resilient construction: building on piles (also called static elevation), amphibious building (also called can-float), and floating building in terms of their performance in the context of a semiwild river in a large city. The comparative multiple-case study covers three objects realized between 2014 and 2017 at the Vistula riverbanks in Warsaw, Poland: pile founded Beach Pavilion, amphibious Boulevard Pavilion, and floating Water Tram Terminal. The research was based on the blueprints analysis as well as on on-site observations in the phase of construction and operation and interviews. The general characteristic of the three resilient typologies has been confirmed in the study. The pile building has an almost unlimited range of operation regarding the water level on the cost of a relatively remote location from the river, but during an exceptionally extreme flood, it will be flooded. Floating buildings provide the best visual and physical contact with water, cannot be flooded, and may be relocated but access to them from land is hampered, especially during very low and very high water levels. Amphibious buildings seem to be a compromise of water proximity and reliability of operation in all circumstances. A closer look reveals technical problems with buoyant structures. In the case of the floating terminals, problems with mooring on the semiwild freezing river remain a challenge. The amphibious buildings are still in the phase of implementation, waiting for their first test in natural flooding conditions.

This paper concerns the numerical analysis of closed rectangular tanks made in one stage, used as pontoons. Such structures can be successfully used as floating platforms, although they primarily serve as floats for ‘houses on water’. Amphibious construction has fascinated designers for many years and is becoming, in addition to a great and prestigious location for many purposes, a practical global necessity. Severe weather phenomena that no country is safe from, i.e., heavy rains or floods, combined with the scarcity of space intended for the construction of residential buildings, encourage development at the contact of water and land or on water only. This paper contains an analysis of the static work of tanks with different bottom thickness subjected to hydrostatic load acting on tank walls and the bottom plate and evenly distributed load acting on the upper plate, i.e., major impacts that occur when tanks are used as pontoons. Calculations were made using the finite difference method in terms of energy, assuming the Poisson’s ratio ν = 0. Based on the solutions obtained, charts were made that illustrated the change in bending moments at the characteristic points of the analysed tanks depending on acting loads. The article also includes calculations of buoyancy, stability and the metacentric height for tanks with different bottom thicknesses, with the main purpose being to improve and share knowledge on their safe use as pontoons.

A landscape is never so valuable as when it is under threat, and the English rural countryside has been the subject of alarm for centuries. Raymond Williams identified an ‘escalator’ on which literary representation continually looked back upon a past golden age of rural virtue, ensuring that the idea of a ‘true’ rural England has persisted into the twentieth century with extraordinary power Thus Howard Newby can write of the ‘stereotypes and myths which surround the popular image of the rural world’, while, at the same time, he claims this fallacious perception is ‘one of the major protecting illusions of our time’. This illusion has been reinforced by the nature of English society. Sir Lewis Narnier believed English society to be ‘amphibious’ in the eighteenth century, with no sharp divide between town and country among the interests of the ruling classes. By the end of the nineteenth century the countryside, under the influence of Romanticism and a changing class structure, had become the preserve of an upper-class society increasingly separated from industrialism and the great towns. Yet this upper class was cemented by the public schools and the universities to include not only landowners, but an array of occupations, including many intellectuals. Until the First World War, despite increasing mechanisation and specialisation in the countryside, the land presented a rural face largely unspoiled by the intrusion of industrial and urban uses. Land was held in large estates, farmed by tenants in a world of mostly irregular fields, lanes and hedgerows, with buildings that preserved vernacular styles.

AbstractThe proximate mechanisms of territorial behaviour in Boleophthalmus boddarti, an amphibious gobiid mudskipper that builds and maintains polygonal mud-walled territories provides a good example of the elastic disc concept of territories. The occurrence of wall building is density dependent and a contiguous mosaic of territories is only produced at high fish densities. Wall removal and replacement experiments show that the mud-wall acts as a visual barrier and reduces aggression between neighbouring territorial fish.

Habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation due to urbanization are implicated in amphibian declines worldwide. Conservation efforts require information on resident species and their habitat interactions, but amphibian ecology is largely unstudied in urban centers of the Southern High Plains. Here, we gathered baseline data on amphibian presence, species richness, and habitat preferences at site-specific and landscape scales during a severe drought year in the city of Lubbock, in northwestern Texas. Ephemeral playa wetlands are characteristic of this landscape. During urbanization, these have been extensively modifiied for stormwater drainage, agriculture, and construction of roads, buildings and neighborhoods. A semi-arid climate with frequent droughts, together with urbanization, could have an adverse effect on resident amphibians. In 2011, we sampled 23 urban lakes for amphibian presence, using a combination of audio, visual, and larval surveys. We detected five amphibian species at seven lakes; Texas Toads (Anaxyrus speciosus) and Spotted Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris clarkii) were the most frequently encountered species. We found significant negative effects of nearby road density on amphibian species presence and richness. We also detected significant negative effects of basic pH on amphibian species richness. These data can be used for prioritizing lakes for amphibian conservation strategies, to monitor ecosystem function in urban wetlands, and to guide future development and restoration efforts.

Abstract Buildings and facilities on waterways have significant landscaping, water management and ecological importance. They affect the landscape and create conditions for the emergence of new habitats. Small dams, mills, saws, small hydropower plants, dams and other water objects and structures, which more or less affect the flow of the surrounding countryside, are built and are building in the countryside. Within design and construction of these objects environmental relationships must be respected and in line with the sustainable exploitation of the territory. Many objects built in the past adversely affected the flow and the landscape while make it impossible the migration of fish and amphibians. A series of objects is currently non-functional and have a negative impact on the flow and the surrounding countryside. In such cases the streams are revitalized or inoperative objects are removed, fish ladders are often built. This study evaluates the possibility of using land adjacent to the fixed weir on the Svratka river in the Ujčov village, from the viewpoint of maintaining the existing biodiversity, aesthetic and economic potential of the territory. A study with several options of land use is the result.

SUMMARYArid regions are increasingly being anthropogenically altered. In the north-western Sahara, a growing road network facilitates the use of habitats adjacent to roads. In regions where livestock is the traditional and main economic resource, local people are currently building numerous water cisterns for watering livestock, leading to an increase in the extent of pasturing of domestic livestock. Cisterns may attract desert vertebrates and act as death traps for species with already sparse populations in these arid areas. This paper is the first to examine the impact of cisterns as lethal traps for amphibians and reptiles in the Sahara, using a survey of 823 cisterns in south-western Morocco to identify and quantify species affected. Four amphibians and 35 reptiles were trapped in cisterns, some of which were listed as threatened. At least 459 017 individual amphibians and reptiles were trapped annually within the study area. The low productivity and low population densities of terrestrial vertebrates in this arid region suggest cisterns have a substantial impact upon amphibian and reptile species. As cistern construction is increasing, management actions are required to mitigate this impact on the herpetological community.

Captivity should be the last resort in any attempt to conserve threatened species. However, for many species we are now at this point, particularly when we consider the lower vertebrates such as amphibians. Zoos have the potential to play a leading role in the conservation (as opposed the exploitation) of this often-neglected taxa. However, in order to do this will require two significant mind-shifts within the zoo world. Firstly we need to distinguish between those species which we maintain for exhibition purposes (i.e. large mammals) from those which have an important conservation role (e.g. amphibians) and be willing to discuss this openly with our visiting public. Second we must recognise that while educating children about the natural world is of value, our biggest impact on wildlife conservation will be through training conservation professionals worldwide and building their capacity to conserve their own wildlife.

From the very inception of the preliminary design phase of the U.S. Navy's new amphibious assault ship, which at the time was designated only as the LX, there has been an emphasis on generating a design which is producible—one that requires a minimum of redesign by the building yard and which can be built efficiently using modern ship construction techniques. This emphasis resulted in establishment of a Producibility Task Manager as a member of the LX Preliminary Design Team and in the creation of a Product-Oriented Design And Construction (PODAC) Working Group. The functions of this Group were to mimic a shipyard production planning effort and to interact with the design team on a regular basis. This paper describes the results of their efforts, including the development of a Generic Build Strategy and numerous Design for Producibility improvements during the LX Preliminary Design Phase.

Abstract Growth and fiscal policy conducive to economic development have been severely jeopardized in most NATO member countries since 2008. In sharp contrast, China has experienced only a relatively slower GDP growth, which it has mitigated with a fiscally expansionary outlook. Under these conditions, when can we expect the politico-military position of NATO to be challenged? This paper surveys amphibious force projection capabilities in six countries: the USA, the UK, France, Russia, India and the People's Republic of China (PRC). An assessment of the current capability for aircraft carrier building and a survey of carrier-related ambitions is undertaken to offer projections of probable aircraft carrier fleets by 2030. The three non-NATO countries are far better positioned to build aircraft carriers than the three NATO members, with China in the lead. Nevertheless, there is a high probability of the continued military dominance of the USA and NATO, but also of a military build-up focusing on the Indian Ocean.

Robots have an important role in all aspects of life, including the military field. The purpose of making this final project are building hardware and software of robot and to know the performance of robots. The method used in making the final project consists of identifying and analyzing requirements, designing and manufacturing hardware and software, and testing. The result of the performance of ASRO is that, the buoyancy force of the robot is greater than the weight of the object, namely Fa = 22,808 N and W = 15,696 N or Fa> W which makes the robot float while operate in the water field. The maximum range of control system robot is as far as 0-30 meters without obstacles and 0-15 meters with obstacles, while the monitoring system is as far as 0-75 meters without obstacles and 0-30 meters with obstacles. The Robot navigation system has a percentage of accuracy of reading 93.3% and the percentage response of the average robot when rotating 90⁰ is 100%, rotating 180⁰ is 100%, and rotating 270⁰ is 100%.

Habitat modification affects amphibians indirectly by reducing energy reserves and energy allocated to growth and reproduction, and by affecting population dynamics and viability. Marginal populations of amphibians in Latvia and Ukraine are particularly vulnerable. On the other hand, several studies have shown a positive relationship between human density and biodiversity, indicating that species-rich areas and human enterprises quite often co-occur. Therefore, both positive and negative correlations between human population and species richness may be expected. For a better understanding of what constitutes suitable habitat we used a habitat modeling approach, where modeling can be used for revealing species ecological requirements and relationships between the distribution of species and predictive variables, as well as the importance of each variable in model building. Here we employed maximum entropy (MaxEnt) niche modeling, as a tool to assess potential habitat suitability (HS) for amphibians in Europe, making special emphasis on anthropogenic impact. We used 2474 georeferenced point data (783 - B. bombina occurrence, and to compare results 1691 - L. vulgaris), including results of our field investigations in Latvia and Ukraine. The predictor variables used for modelling the toad species HS suitability were of climate derived from the WorldClim database (19 bioclimatic variables). Human impact was assessed by the Human Footprint (HF), produced through an overlay of a number of global data layers that represent the location of various factors presumed to exert an influence on ecosystems: human population distribution, urban areas, roads, navigable rivers, and various agricultural land uses. Using the Spearman rank correlation, a low, however statistically significant positive correlation (p<0.05), was found between the predicted HS and the HF.

Climate change will affect the same climate zones relatively similarly. When considering how to design residential architecture for future climates it is therefore relevant to understand how residential architecture can adapt within the specific climate zone. Denmark is placed within the oceanic climate zone and shares many of the same problems that countries in similar climates do. However, the architectural responses have developed radically different. Denmark has been building heating efficient housing for the last decade, which have lately caused increased overheating problems and surging energy demands for cooling. This paper compares the architecture of different oceanic zones with Danish architecture. The strategies for adapting to climate change represents a broad variety. Western European tradition has itself created varied methods for coping with the climatic struggles their societies meet. Danish architecture has for centuries been focused on heavy robust constructions that would withstand the large amount of precipitation and wind that is predominant in the country. In Holland flood danger has been a constant threat to society, which has led both to defensive and reactive measures in the form of dykes and amphibious housing. On the other side of the globe, New Zealand’s traditional architecture has adapted to similar problems but with a much lighter construction, leading to architecture that is resilient to lateral forces like wind and earthquakes. While lacking the thermal properties of northern European houses the New Zealand homes show a remarkable flexibility and mobility through simple timber-frame constructions. The vulnerabilities in the Danish building stock is due to an unwillingness to invest in adaptive measures. It might be necessary to integrate a flexible building style to future sustainable housing and build up a different expectation for how a house is used. In the face of climate change, architecture need to be adapted to the problems apparent on the building site and draw on experiences from other cultures that might have faced similar problems in the past. Danish architects might likewise use the non-rocky ground for water retention through planting and landscaping strategies in relation to architecture.

Anthropogenic infrastructures are one of the major threats to biodiversity. In the north-western Sahara shepherds are increasingly building water cisterns of reinforced concrete for watering livestock. These infrastructures attract desert fauna and act as indiscriminate death traps for the amphibians and reptiles (herps) in the surrounding habitats. Here we propose an on-site, cost-effective management measure. We selected two groups of 36 cisterns, managed a group by covering the lateral openings with wire mesh (managed cistern), leaving the other group unmanaged (control cistern). Managed cisterns trapped fewer species, fewer individuals (one third), and individuals of smaller body size and of less conservation concern than did control cisterns. In a multivariate approach by Generalized Mixed Models, the best models explaining the number of species and individuals of herps trapped within cisterns included as the predictor only the management condition, with a trend for higher values in control cisterns.

Abstract The aim of the study was to describe the species diversity of small mammals in the western part of the Skierniewice Forest District (Central Poland) using tawny owl (Strix aluco) pellets. The landscape itself is a field and forest mosaic with small forest complexes. Four forest complexes with an area between 70 and 750 ha and surrounded by arable lands as well as loosely scattered buildings were chosen to carry out our work in. Owl pellets were collected in the years 2014–2016 and examined for small mammal remains employing standard protocols. Altogether, we identified 963 items belonging to 17 different mammalian prey species. The most numerous was the yellow-necked mouse, Apodemus flavicollis, which accounted for 33.5% of all identified items. As the second most important group, voles (Microtus spp.) accounted for 12.8% of all identified mammals. Unfortunately, we were unable to find species considered rare in central Poland, i.e. hazel dormouse, Muscardinus avellanarius, European water vole, Arvicola amphibius and field vole, Microtus agrestis. In overall, the species composition of small mammal assemblages in the studied area was similar to adjacent regions.

SUMMARYA total of 20 749 bulk tank milk (BTM) samples was collected in November 2008 from all over Germany, corresponding to 20·9% of all German dairy herds. The BTM samples were analysed for antibodies against Fasciola hepatica using the excretory–secretory (ES) ELISA. A geospatial map was drawn to show herd prevalences per postal code area. Various spatial risk factors were tested for potential statistical associations with the ELISA results in logistic regression supported by a geographical information system (GIS). The mean seroprevalence was 23·6% and prevalences in different German federal states varied between 2·6% and 38·4%. GIS analysis revealed statistically significant positive associations between the proportion of grassed area and water bodies per postal code area and positive BTM ELISA results. This can be explained by the biology of the intermediate host, the amphibious snail Galba (Lymnea) truncatula and the pasture-borne nature of fasciolosis. The full logistic regression model had a Pseudo-R2 of 22%, while the final model obtained by controlled stepwise model building revealed a Pseudo-R2 of 14%, indicating that additional, unrecorded factors and random effects contributed substantially to the occurrence of positive ELISA results. Considering the high seroprevalences in some areas and the economic impact of fasciolosis, farmers and veterinarians should be strongly advised to implement effective liver fluke control programmes.

A salmonellosis outbreak occurred during the summer of 1995 among individuals who consumed nonpasteurized orange juice from a Florida citrus-processing facility. Clinical isolates were identified by the Centers for Disease Control as Salmonella serovars Hartford, Gaminara, and Rubislaw. At the processing facility, 70 samples (equipment swabs, fruit surface swabs, juice, and miscellaneous environmental samples) were collected before, during, and after processing runs on two different dates. Bottled juice samples from eight previous extraction dates were also collected. Total plate counts, fecal coliforms, and Escherichia coli were enumerated for each sample. Analyses for Salmonella cells were conducted on all juice samples, fruit surface swabs, environmental samples, and selected equipment swabs using direct enrichment and pre-enrichment techniques. Salmonella serovars Hartford, Rubislaw, Saintpaul, and Newport were detected from either juice, unwashed fruit surfaces, or amphibians (Hyla cinerea and Bufo terrestris) captured outside the processing building. Salmonella cells in juice were associated with population levels of fecal coliforms and E. coli above the upper most probable number (MPN) limits of detection (&gt;110/ml).

Phylogenetic analysis and interpretation can be challenging for many students, but emerging infections can provide a rich tapestry for addressing these topics while maintaining student interest. Ranaviruses are a group of emerging infections in amphibians that have been associated with morbidity and mortality events around the globe. They have also been implicated in population declines and local extirpations of some amphibian species. Many ranaviruses have been subject to intense study by scientists as they seek to understand the impacts of these viruses on a variety of ectothermic animals. A large amount of sequence data is available on GenBank and is easily accessible for students to use to study phylogenetic relationships between different viral species, strains, and isolates. This article examines the general process of obtaining sequence data, sequence alignments, and tree building by using databases, servers, and computer programs that are freely available to all high school and undergraduate students and their instructors. Providing students with a guided framework for exploring their own questions with respect to the evolutionary relationships of ranaviruses can produce some very unique and thought-provoking results.

The new zoological exposition of the National Museum will be installed in eight exhibition halls on the second floor of the Historical Building. The exposition has the preliminary title Evolution and thematically, it will follow several significant evolutionary events, which enabled animals to occupy Earth. The first two exhibition halls will be devoted to invertebrates and their ability to occupy all kinds of environments. The following two exhibition halls will introduce fish-like vertebrates, amphibians, and reptiles and they will focus on the most important evolutionary step of vertebrates – stepping out of the water and onto land. The next hall will be devoted to the origin of flight and birds’ conquering of the skies. The last two halls will be dedicated to mammals and their origins and conquering of land, water, and air. The visitor will become acquainted with contemporary organisms as the results of a long evolutionary process. The exhibitions will be based on authentic collection items to the maximum possible extent, though models and multimedia will also be used on several occasions. The exposition should also include the restoration of the popular Pokoutník Gallery.

ABSTRACT Male gladiator frogs of Hypsiboas Wagler, 1830 build nests on available substrate surrounding ponds and streams where female spawn eggs during the breeding period. Although gladiator frogs seem to show plasticity in the way they construct their nests, there is no study reporting if these species present preferences about microhabitat conditions for nest-building (mainly under subtropical climate). Predation pressure and environmental conditions have been considered major processes shaping the great diversity of reproductive strategies performed by amphibians, but microhabitat conditions should explain where to build a nest as well as how nest looks. This study aimed to test nest site selection for nest-building by Hypsiboas faber(Wied-Neuwied, 1821), determining which factors are related to nest site selection and nest features. The survey was conducted at margins of two permanent ponds in Southern Brazil. Habitat factors were evaluated in 18 plots with nest and 18 plots in the surrounding without nest (control), describing vegetation structure and heterogeneity, and substrate characteristics. Water temperature was measured inside the nest and in its adjacency. Nest features assessed were area, depth and temperature. Habitat characteristics differed between plots with and without nest. Microhabitat selected for nest-building was characterized by great vegetation cover and height, as well as shallower water and lower cover of organic matter in suspension than in plots without nest. Differences between temperature inside nest and in its adjacency were not observed. No relationship between nest features and habitat descriptors was evidenced. Results revealed that Hypsiboas faber does not build nests anywhere. Males seem to prefer more protected habitats, probably avoiding predation, invasion of conspecific males and inclement weather. Lack of differences between temperature inside- and outside-nest suggest that nest do not improve this condition for eggs and tadpole development. Nest architecture was not related to habitat characteristics, which may be determined by other factors, as nest checking by females before amplexus. Nest site selection should increase offspring survival as well the breeding success of Hypsiboas faber.

Established in 1857, the Michigan State University (MSU) Museum houses natural science collections that include 117,000 research and teaching specimens of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, and vertebrate fossils. These collections are worldwide in scope and provide a record of biodiversity that ranges from 1844 to the present day. The collections contain specimens of rare, endangered, threatened, and extinct species. Within each vertebrate discipline, specimens are cataloged into designated research or teaching collections; these are housed within multiple research and preservation spaces, occupying 678 square meters. Currently, 394 natural science specimens are on exhibit in the Museum's gallery spaces, which include an additional 1,830 square meters. Over the past three decades, the Museum has experienced a number of thefts from both collections and exhibit areas, with the most recent specimen theft occurring in 2011: a silky anteater (Cyclopes didactylus) stolen from the Museum's rainforest habitat diorama. That theft, along with the history of the others, initiated a series of improvements to the Museum's security. These included changes in personnel access to the Museum building and to collections areas; replacement and installation of new technological equipment, including key-card access and camera systems Museum-wide; and revisions of associated policies and procedures. These effectively closed "loopholes" that formerly compromised security best practice. Targeted improvements have been made at the building, gallery, elevator, room, and cabinet levels, and included specialized accommodation for specimens that are particularly sensitive, such as rhino horn (in keeping with Natural Sciences Collections Association guidance). In addition, the Museum modified operating procedures for behind-the-scenes tours of the research and collections spaces (for example, staff-to-visitor ratio and policy for use of imaging and recording equipment).

Abstract Amphibians play a key role in structuring biological assemblages of agricultural landscapes, but they are threatened by global agricultural intensification. Landscape structure is an important variable influencing biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. However, in the Yangtze River Delta, where a "farmland-orchard-fishpond" agricultural pattern is common, the effects of landscape construction on anuran populations are unclear. In this study, we examined the effects of agricultural landscape parameters on the abundance and body condition of the rice frog (Fejervarya multistriata), which is a dominant anuran species in farmland in China. Employing a visual encounter method, we surveyed rice frog abundance for 3 years across 20 agricultural landscapes. We also calculated the body condition index (BCI) of 188 male frog individuals from these agricultural landscapes. Landscape variables, comprising landscape compositional heterogeneity (using the Shannon diversity index of all land cover types except buildings and roads), landscape configurational heterogeneity (using landscape edge density), breeding habitat diversity (using the number of 5 waterbody types available as breeding habitats), and areas of forest were also measured for each 1-km radius landscape. We found that the amount of forest in each agricultural landscape had a significant positive relationship with rice frog abundance, and breeding habitat diversity was positively related to the BCI of male rice frogs. However, body condition was negatively impacted by landscape configurational heterogeneity. Our results suggested the importance of nonagricultural habitats in agricultural landscapes, such as waterbodies and forest, to benefit rice frog population persistence.

The environmental and socio-economic impacts of invasive species have long been recognised to be unequal, with some species being benign while others are disastrous. Until recently there was no recognised standard impact scoring framework with which to compare impacts of species from very different taxa. The advent of the Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) and Socio‐Economic Impact Classification of Alien Taxa (SEICAT) schemes allows for the possibility of assessing impact through a standard approach. However, both these schemes are still in their infancy and the associated costs of the research that informs them is unknown. We aimed to determine the study costs and complexity associated with assessing invasive species’ socio-economic and environmental impacts. We used amphibians as a model group to investigate papers from which EICAT and SEICAT scores could be drawn up to 2019. Our analysis shows that studies that resulted in higher impact scores were more costly. Furthermore, the costs of studies were best predicted by their complexity and the time taken to complete them. If impact scores from EICAT and SEICAT are allowed to inform policy, then we need to carefully consider whether species with low scores represent true impact, or require more research investment and time. Policy makers needing accurate assessments will need to finance larger, more complex, and rigorous studies. Assessing impacts in low and middle income countries may need investment using international research collaborations and capacity building with scientists from high income areas.

Beavers (Castor fiber), as typical ecosystem engineers, alter living conditions especially for amphibians through the building of dams and felling of trees, thereby changing the hydroperiod and substantially affecting forest succession stages. In this study we quantify the effects of beavers on the availability of amphibian breeding waters in the Hürtgenwald, a woodland area in the Central European Rhenish Massif, its colonisation by common frogs (Rana temporaria) and the effects of age and succession stage of beaver ponds on ovipositional site selection. In 2013, beaver ponds comprised about half (49%) of all lentic water bodies but contained 82.5% of all common frog egg masses. Mature beaver ponds (>6 years old) harboured approximately half of the egg masses (), but new beaver ponds (1-3 years old) can also be home to large breeding aggregations. Abandoned beaver ponds are of minor importance as ovipositional sites for common frogs. High egg mass counts were also found in artificially-dammed ponds (). We believe that common frogs prefer occupied beaver ponds as ovipositional sites because of high insolation and a permanent hydroperiod, which lead to rapid tadpole emergence. Beaver ponds are generally located in close proximity to each other, facilitating movement and rapid colonisation by common frogs. Our research provides additional evidence to show that beavers enhance habitat availability, heterogeneity and connectivity, thereby fostering amphibian populations at a landscape level. As natural elements of small streams, beaver ponds must be taken into account in the context of the EU Water Framework Directive.

Uninterrupted morphogenesis shows the informational potentials of biological organisms. Experimentally disturbed morphogenesis shows the compensational dynamics of the biological informational system, which is the rich informational redundancy. In this paper, we use these data to describe morphogenesis in terms of the development of supracellular levels of the organism, and we define complex epigenesis and supracellular differentiation. We review the phenomena of regeneration and induction of Hydra and amphibians, and the higher animal’s informational needs for developing their complex nervous systems. We argue, also building on the NO-GO theorem for ontogenesis as chemistry, that the traditional chemical explanations of high-level informational events in ontogenesis, such as transmutation, regeneration, and induction, are insufficient. We analyze the informational dynamics of three embryonic compensatory reactions to different types of disturbances: (1) transmutations of the imaginal discs of insects, (2) regeneration after removal of embryonic tissue, and (3) embryonic induction, where two tissues that normally are separated experimentally are made to influence each other. We describe morphogenesis as a complex bifurcation, and the resulting morphological levels of the organism as organized in a fractal manner and supported by positional information. We suggest that some kind of real nonchemical phenomenon must be taking form in living organisms as an information-carrying dynamic fractal field, causing morhogenesis and supporting the organism’s morphology through time. We argue that only such a phenomenon that provides information-directed self-organization to the organism is able to explain the observed dynamic distribution of biological information through morphogenesis and the organism's ability to rejuvenate and heal.

In the current scenario where urban areas are exposed to extreme climate phenomena, resilience of cities and buildings becomes fundamental. Thus, not only defensive, traditional actions, but also alternative solutions towards resilience need to be implemented. Amphibious and floating houses, still not investigated in literature, allow the building to adapt to water presence due to their specific construction and technical properties. Here, we consider such buildings’ typologies under the construction and thermal-energy performance lenses, by means of yearly dynamic energy simulations.

ABSTRACT Oil spill experience often shows that response activities are hampered due to the absence of operative autonomous support capable of reaching particular sites or operate in safe and efficient conditions in areas such as saltmarshes, mudflats, river banks, cliff bottoms… This is the purpose of the so-called FP7 Hoverspill project (www.hoverspill.eu), a 3-year European project that recently reached completion: to design and build a small-size amphibious vehicle designed to ensure rapid oil spill response. The result is an air-cushion vehicle (ACV), known as Hoverspill, based on the innovative MACP (Multipurpose Air Cushion Platform) developed by Hovertech and SOA. It is a completely amphibious vehicle capable of working on land and on water, usable as a pontoon in floating conditions. Its compactness makes it easy to transport by road. The project also included the design and building of a highly effective integrated O/W Turbylec separator developed by YLEC. Spill response equipment will be loaded on-board based on a modular concept enabling the vehicle to carry out specific tasks with just the required equipment.

Ecuador is well-known as one of the most biodiverse countries, but this species richness is being threatened by invasive alien species. The early detection of these invasive species is crucial for their fast and successful eradication and for limiting their effects on aquatic communities. Therefore, a Belgian VLIR-UOS project was started that aims at the development of a fast detection method to monitor the Ecuadorian Amazon river basin for the presence of invasive fishes, macroinvertebrates and amphibians. An (e)DNA field lab, equipped with miniaturized and portable DNA-processing equipment, such as centrifuges, thermal cyclers, and electrophoresis equipment (MiniPCR), was developed. In the next phase, the Nanopore Next-Generation sequencing (NGS) technique (MinION) will be optimized to enable the eDNA-based biomonitoring of tropical aquatic environments in the field. The fast detection of invasive species may help to prevent their further spread and perhaps even facilitate their eradication, and will promote more effective actions for the conservation of aquatic ecosystems. Furthermore, new DNA-sequences of amphibians, macroinvertebrates, and fishes are being incorporated into the newly developed Ecuadorian DNA database. We also focus on building and strengthening the capacities of staff and students (Ecuadorian as well as Belgian) through theses, practical courses, field work, trainings and internships.

Background: Conservation relies on the strategic use of resources because monies for conservation action are limited, especially in developing countries. South Africa’s Frog Atlas project established a baseline for the country’s amphibian data and threat levels in 2004, and in 2009 a prioritisation exercise developed a strategy for conservation research.Objectives: In this article, we assess this strategy for conservation research.Method: We conducted a quantitative and qualitative assessment of research undertaken since the strategy was developed.Results: The strategy has produced a lasting impact on taxonomy, ecological studies, monitoring and capacity building. Publications in all areas have increased, but particularly in conservation ecology. Other indicators are increases in the numbers of locality records for target taxa, species descriptions and postgraduate degrees with amphibians as the principal topic. We document important milestones for South African amphibian conservation, including the first Biodiversity Management Plan for Species (BMP-S) for Hyperolius pickersgilli, a smart device app that uploads locality data to an open access database, 15 years of monitoring data and new amphibian identification books for adults and children. The Red List Index calculated for South African amphibians shows that the country’s species are becoming more threatened (a 1% reduction in 10 years), but a hindcasting exercise suggests that most of the damage was already done by 1990. We provide a checklist for 131 amphibian species in South Africa, of which 82 species are endemic.Conclusion: A strategy for conservation research was found to greatly augment the focus of research on South African frogs. A new strategy should focus on fewer taxa over meaningful time spans.

Ultraviolet-protective compounds, such as mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) and related gadusols produced by some bacteria, fungi, algae, and marine invertebrates, are critical for the survival of reef-building corals and other marine organisms exposed to high-solar irradiance. These compounds have also been found in marine fish, where their accumulation is thought to be of dietary or symbiont origin. In this study, we report the unexpected discovery that fish can synthesize gadusol de novo and that the analogous pathways are also present in amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Furthermore, we demonstrate that engineered yeast containing the fish genes can produce and secrete gadusol. The discovery of the gadusol pathway in vertebrates provides a platform for understanding its role in these animals, and the possibility of engineering yeast to efficiently produce a natural sunscreen and antioxidant presents an avenue for its large-scale production for possible use in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

Anuran amphibians show the largest diversity of amphibian reproductive modes, many of which imply egg deposition out of the water. This kind of egg deposition requires specialisations to avoid egg desiccation. Physiological, anatomical and ethological traits integrate to define these modes. In particular, morphological features of the urogenital system correlate with these reproductive modes and the environmental conditions where egg-laying occurs. In this study, we describe the testicular histology and spermatogenesis of the nest building frog Leptodactylus latinasus, and we compare it with other species that breed out of water. We found variations in tes tis size, the thickness of interstitial tissue, tunica albuginea, and peritubular tunics, flagellum length, and in the shape and size of the spermatozoal nucleus. Certain specifics’ characters differed at the species level, but not between families. Such variation could be an indicator of spermatozoal performance and environmental constraints under which fertilisation takes place.

Abstract Many conservation projects have weak capacity to monitor their target species and the threats they face, compromising adaptive management. We assessed 74 vertebrate and plant conservation projects worldwide that were supported by the SOS–Save Our Species Programme (now IUCN Save Our Species) during 2012–2015. Our aim was to determine how and where monitoring efforts were focused, identify trends in data availability and make recommendations for improvement. Project managers reported more of a decrease in threats (73%) and improved habitat conditions (68%) than positive population changes (19%), primarily because of the focus of their objectives and limited time to collect population data. More population data were collected on reptiles and amphibians than mammals and birds, contrary to global trends. This probably reflects a greater focus of mammal and bird projects on improving habitats or reducing threats. There were geographical differences in data availability. Lessons learnt that could be applied to future project portfolios include: a common strategic framework should be developed, along with a set of common indicators against which projects can align and demonstrate their contributions; more guidance and capacity building support should be provided to grantees; and a greater allocation of project budgets should be dedicated to monitoring.

Abstract. Maulidi A, Purnaningsih T, Maulina A, Gunawan YE, Rizki M. 2020. Short Communication: Herpetofauna diversity at University of Palangka Raya, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 4509-4514. Research on herpetofauna at the University of Palangka Raya (UPR) is vital as there has been no official data so far and remains to be anecdotal evidence from various members of the university. The present study aimed to analyze and report the herpetofauna diversity on the Tunjung Nyaho Campus. It was conducted between October 2019 and November 2019. Herpetofauna data were collected using the Visual Encounter Survey (VES) method. Diurnal and nocturnal surveys were carried out between 07:00-10:00 and 19:00-22:00, respectively. The results showed that as many as 12 species of herpetofauna were present, including six species of reptiles from six families and six species of amphibians from four families. Comparative diversity analyses of these species, unburned, post-burnt, and around building, indicated that the unburned area had a relatively high diversity (2.06) compared to the other two (0.86 and 0.88, respectively). However, the evenness index (E) for the herpetofauna community in all three locations was > 0.70. The resulting species list from this study consisted of two species with threatened statuses under the IUCN Red List, i.e., Ophiophagus hannah (VU), and Cuora amboinensis (EN).

Abstract How best can we summarize sets of phylogenetic trees? Systematists have relied heavily on consensus methods, but if tree distributions can be partitioned into distinct subsets, it may be helpful to provide separate summaries of these rather than relying entirely upon a single consensus tree. How sets of trees can most helpfully be partitioned and represented leads to many open questions, but one natural partitioning is provided by the islands of trees found during tree searches. Islands that are of dissimilar size have been shown to yield majority-rule consensus trees dominated by the largest sets We illustrate this large island bias and approaches that mitigate its impact by revisiting a recent analysis of phylogenetic relationships of living and fossil amphibians. We introduce a revised definition of tree islands based on any tree-to-tree pairwise distance metric that usefully extends the notion to any set or multiset of trees, as might be produced by, for example, Bayesian or bootstrap methods, and that facilitates finding tree islands a posteriori. We extract islands from a tree distribution obtained in a Bayesian analysis of the amphibian data to investigate their impact in that context, and we compare the partitioning produced by tree islands with those resulting from some alternative approaches. Distinct subsets of trees, such as tree islands, should be of interest because of what they may reveal about evolution and/or our attempts to understand it, and are an important, sometimes overlooked, consideration when building and interpreting consensus trees. [Amphibia; Bayesian inference; consensus; parsimony; partitions; phylogeny; Chinlestegophis.]

A forensic engineering analyses of a chemical incident is presented that was classified as a self-sustaining decomposition (SSD) event, which occurred in a load of 10,000 tons of NK 21-00-21 fertilizer bulk stored inside a warehouse in the city of São Francisco do Sul in Brazil. The chemical reaction developed within the fertilizer mass and took several days to be controlled, resulting in the evacuation of thousands of residents. The water used to fight against the reaction, after having contact with the load of fertilizer material, promoted changes in adjacent water bodies, causing the death of animals (fish, crustaceans, and amphibians). The smoke from the chemical reaction products damaged the incident’s surrounding vegetation. Large SSD events are rare, with an average worldwide frequency of one every three years. Therefore, in addition to presenting a case study of this type of phenomenon, the main objective of this work is to discuss the causes that led to SSD reaction at this event, evaluate its consequences, and motivate future studies.

<p>In several cases, human impact on water bodies and on their freshwater communities is detrimental, but in some cases the human activity may favour and enhance the biodiversity of small water bodies, as traditional cattle drinking pools. Despite their small size, small water bodies may constitute hot spot of biodiversity often representing the only lentic aquatic biotope in landscapes where superficial water lacks or flows in lotic environments like creeks and streams. Predators are good indicators of biodiversity in ponds and give information of food chain web complexity. In particular, semi-aquatic predators like amphibians and dragonflies may account for a substantial percentage of energy flow between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, we evaluated the conservation value of traditional cattle drinking pools building by assessing the factors determining the occurrence and distribution of the semi-aquatic predators. From April to August 2015, we investigated 30 distinct pools recording several abiotic and biotic environmental variables. We detected 4 semi-aquatic predators: <em>Salamandra salamandra</em> larvae, <em>Triturus carnifex</em>, <em>Aeshna</em> sp. larvae and <em>Libellula</em> sp. larvae. Abiotic features played a major role in shaping the predator community that resulted linked to stable, with no dryness period, and large drinking pools. Invertebrate prey biomass was not particularly important, while vegetation cover and occurrence of unpalatable tadpoles were the most important biotic features of the pools. Our study provides novel evidence on the importance of cattle drinking pools management to preserve biodiversity especially in areas where traditional pastoral activity is disappearing.</p>

IPB University has declared as a Biodiversity Campus since 2011. This declaration was carried out considering the high biodiversity at the IPB University Campus. One of the causes of the high campus biodiversity is the uniqueness of the campus landscape and the maintained proportion between the built and open-green areas. The existence of lakes, forests, arboretums, plantations, and three rivers that cross the campus area has contributed to the high diversity of habitats and consequently to the biodiversity. At least 22 species of mammals, 99 species of birds, 12 species of amphibians, 38 species of reptiles, 128 species of butterflies, 173 species of woody-plants, 40 species of bamboos and 127 species of medicinal plats have been recorded inhabiting the 257 ha of the campus area. The biodiversity has significant role as objects for research of the students, lecturers, researchers as well as for tourism such as for bird watching, picture hunting, outbond and other recreational activities. Therefore the campus functions for education and for tourism, thus ecoedutourism for academic community as well as community around the campus. To maintain the biodiversity, IPB University issued several policy innovations. The first policy innovation is monitoring of population and distribution of biodiversity on a regular basis. Second, habitat management for biodiversity. Third, on-site and offsite socialization to campus and offcampus communities. Fourth, conserving the habitats of the flora and fauna. Fifth, rare tree planting. Sixth, the movement to plant fruit trees by each faculty. Seventh, conservation of biopharmaceutical medicinal plants. Eighth, building a garden for food sovereignty. Ninth, conducting research on campus biodiversity. All of these policies involve the academic community, experts, alumni and the community around the campus.

Abstract Ambient levels of nonionizing electromagnetic fields (EMF) have risen sharply in the last five decades to become a ubiquitous, continuous, biologically active environmental pollutant, even in rural and remote areas. Many species of flora and fauna, because of unique physiologies and habitats, are sensitive to exogenous EMF in ways that surpass human reactivity. This can lead to complex endogenous reactions that are highly variable, largely unseen, and a possible contributing factor in species extinctions, sometimes localized. Non-human magnetoreception mechanisms are explored. Numerous studies across all frequencies and taxa indicate that current low-level anthropogenic EMF can have myriad adverse and synergistic effects, including on orientation and migration, food finding, reproduction, mating, nest and den building, territorial maintenance and defense, and on vitality, longevity and survivorship itself. Effects have been observed in mammals such as bats, cervids, cetaceans, and pinnipeds among others, and on birds, insects, amphibians, reptiles, microbes and many species of flora. Cyto- and geno-toxic effects have long been observed in laboratory research on animal models that can be extrapolated to wildlife. Unusual multi-system mechanisms can come into play with non-human species — including in aquatic environments — that rely on the Earth’s natural geomagnetic fields for critical life-sustaining information. Part 2 of this 3-part series includes four online supplement tables of effects seen in animals from both ELF and RFR at vanishingly low intensities. Taken as a whole, this indicates enough information to raise concerns about ambient exposures to nonionizing radiation at ecosystem levels. Wildlife loss is often unseen and undocumented until tipping points are reached. It is time to recognize ambient EMF as a novel form of pollution and develop rules at regulatory agencies that designate air as ‘habitat’ so EMF can be regulated like other pollutants. Long-term chronic low-level EMF exposure standards, which do not now exist, should be set accordingly for wildlife, and environmental laws should be strictly enforced — a subject explored in Part 3.

Extracting and formulating an animal trait ontology is the basis of building a trait database. The character selection from existing traditional biodiversity databases is limited and biased by the information already in a collection. With the increasing amount of character data and the advance of character information acquisition projects, the success of making animal trait ontologies or specifications of terms is imminent. According to the general workflow of our ontology project, after investigating a large number of biodiversity databases, we extracted relatively complete character terms from dictionaries, training handbooks, journals and classical textbooks, and then constructed relationships according to some rules to form a preliminary animal trait ontology. When formulating the domain ontology/specification, our process is as follows: Select the group and related materials; select the "specification" as the starting point of work; and then supplement with the teaching materials, journal citations and dictionaries of the relevant group for reference; Extract terms from multiple sources, so only a few additions and modifications are needed after the second time; Make structural adjustments to all terms according to the specification of description sequence; Invite experts to examine and approve the project and repeat steps 2 and 3 (sometimes beginning from step 1) according to their opinions until they are approved. Select the group and related materials; select the "specification" as the starting point of work; and then supplement with the teaching materials, journal citations and dictionaries of the relevant group for reference; Extract terms from multiple sources, so only a few additions and modifications are needed after the second time; Make structural adjustments to all terms according to the specification of description sequence; Invite experts to examine and approve the project and repeat steps 2 and 3 (sometimes beginning from step 1) according to their opinions until they are approved. At present, we have completed the construction of terms and their relationships for a morphological description of feature ontologies in birds, mammals, insects (only Lepidoptera), amphibians and reptiles. While constructing such morphology / taxonomy-based ontologies, we also formulated their attributes, which are supplemented by ontologies in various fields. All these terms are undergoing the second review by domain experts. Although the existing work is only one small tip of the iceberg of the whole zoological trait ontology project, it is of great public interest. Compared with existing ontologies such as OBA (ontology of biological attributes, for development researchers) and UBERON (for surgeons), our ontologies are more suitable for taxonomists and biodiversity researchers.

Aquatic environmental DNA (eDNA) studies have considerably taken off during the last 10 years, promptly establishing eDNA as a new approach to monitoring the ecological status of European surface waters. On the one hand due to the numerous biological methods based on aquatic species, on the other hand due to the development of group-specific primers that allowed discrimination between species or at least genera. Understandably, rapid achievements were made for animal groups that include a small number of species (fish, amphibians) whereas it is still in development for plants, due to the complexity of obtaining a universal barcode applicable to eDNA for the latter. Nonetheless, research in plant eDNA barcoding and metabarcoding is making significant progress, mainly expanding in the detection of plant species in freshwater ecosystems. With a multi-barcode eDNA metabarcoding approach in mind, we are preparing a plant DNA barcode reference library for our study area, the Northern Vosges Regional Natural Park. Drawing from this experience and supported by current publications, we focus on the strong connection between metabarcoding of plant eDNA and floristic inventories, local barcode libraries, and herbaria. Prior knowledge of species distribution and abundant genetic data are the key to increasing species detection through eDNA (Cordier et al. 2020). We ought to standardise this practice before eDNA metabarcoding of plants can cover large river basins and span through time. Following the consensus on a combination of barcodes for the plant kingdom, the most recurrent ones in freshwater eDNA studies include the plastid DNA trnL, matK, rbcL regions and the nrDNA internal transcribed spacers (ITS) although it is likely that new barcodes emerge from further research. To date, the selection of primers seems to be of utmost importance since they offer different properties based on the research question. Seminal efforts have focused on the development of species-specific assays based on tailor-made primers. These have demonstrated the reliability of eDNA to be used for monitoring the distribution of aquatic plant species. Today, three of the most common aquatic invaders, Elodea canadensis, Elodea nutalli and Hydrilla verticillata have now their own assays aiming to identify the earliest invasions (Gantz et al. 2018). On the contrary, “universal” primers, such as those from White et al. (1990) within the ITS, prove to be useful in metabarcoding studies where many plant species from differing families are involved (Coghlan et al. 2020). Despite the fast-moving research in aquatic plant eDNA, DNA barcode reference libraries still lack many species, hindering the progress of applying eDNA surveys to large river basins through metabarcoding. Such studies still rely heavily on building local genetic libraries which is extremely time consuming and require important taxonomic knowledge of species, encumbered by the polyphyly of aquatic plant groups.

Refereed publications (also known as peer-reviewed) are the currency of academia, yet many PhD theses in Australia result in only one or two such papers. Typically, a doctoral thesis requires the candidate to present (and pass) a public Confirmation Seminar, around nine to twelve months into candidacy, in which a panel of the candidate’s supervisors and invited experts adjudicate upon whether the work is likely to continue and ultimately succeed in the goal of a coherent and original contribution to knowledge. A Final Seminar, also public and sometimes involving the traditional viva voce or oral defence of the thesis, is presented two or three months before approval is given to send the 80,000 to 100,000 word tome off for external examination. And that soul-destroying or elation-releasing examiner’s verdict can be many months in the delivery: a limbo-like period during which the candidate’s status as a student is ended and her or his receipt of any scholarship or funding guerdon is terminated with perfunctory speed. This is the only time most students spend seriously writing up their research for publication although, naturally, many are more involved in job hunting as they pin their hopes on passing the thesis examination.There is, however, a slightly more palatable alternative to this nail-biting process of the traditional PhD, and that is the PhD by Published Papers (also known as PhD by Publications or PhD by Published Works). The form of my own soon-to-be-submitted thesis, it permits the submission for examination of a collection of papers that have been refereed and accepted (or are in the process of being refereed) for publication in academic journals or books. Apart from the obvious benefits in getting published early in one’s (hopefully) burgeoning academic career, it also takes away a lot of the stress come final submission time. After all, I try to assure myself, the thesis examiners can’t really discredit the process of double-blind, peer-review the bulk of the thesis has already undergone: their job is to examine how well I’ve unified the papers into a cohesive thesis … right? But perhaps they should at least be wary, because, unfortunately, the requirements for this kind of PhD vary considerably from institution to institution and there have been some cases where the submitted work is of questionable quality compared to that produced by graduates from more demanding universities. Hence, this paper argues that in my subject area of interest—film and television studies—there is a huge range in the set requirements for doctorates, from universities that award the degree to film artists for prior published work that has undergone little or no academic scrutiny and has involved little or no on-campus participation to at least three Australian universities that require candidates be enrolled for a minimum period of full-time study and only submit scholarly work generated and published (or submitted for publication) during candidature. I would also suggest that uncertainty about where a graduate’s work rests on this continuum risks confusing a hard-won PhD by Published Papers with the sometimes risible honorary doctorate. Let’s begin by dredging the depths of those murky, quasi-academic waters to examine the occasionally less-than-salubrious honorary doctorate. The conferring of this degree is generally a recognition of an individual’s body of (usually published) work but is often conferred for contributions to knowledge or society in general that are not even remotely academic. The honorary doctorate does not usually carry with it the right to use the title “Dr” (although many self-aggrandising recipients in the non-academic world flout this unwritten code of conduct, and, indeed, Monash University’s Monash Magazine had no hesitation in describing its 2008 recipient, musician, screenwriter, and art-school-dropout Nick Cave, as “Dr Cave” (O’Loughlin)). Some shady universities even offer such degrees for sale or ‘donation’ and thus do great damage to that institution’s credibility as well as to the credibility of the degree itself. Such overseas “diploma mills”—including Ashwood University, Belford University, Glendale University and Suffield University—are identified by their advertising of “Life Experience Degrees,” for which a curriculum vitae outlining the prospective graduand’s oeuvre is accepted on face value as long as their credit cards are not rejected. An aspiring screen auteur simply specifies film and television as their major and before you can shout “Cut!” there’s a degree in the mail. Most of these pseudo-universities are not based in Australia but are perfectly happy to confer their ‘titles’ to any well-heeled, vanity-driven Australians capable of completing the online form. Nevertheless, many academics fear a similarly disreputable marketplace might develop here, and Norfolk Island-based Greenwich University presents a particularly illuminating example. Previously empowered by an Act of Parliament consented to by Senator Ian Macdonald, the then Minister for Territories, this “university” had the legal right to confer honorary degrees from 1998. The Act was eventually overridden by legislation passed in 2002, after a concerted effort by the Australian Universities Quality Agency Ltd. and the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee to force the accreditation requirements of the Australian Qualifications Framework upon the institution in question, thus preventing it from making degrees available for purchase over the Internet. Greenwich University did not seek re-approval and soon relocated to its original home of Hawaii (Brown). But even real universities flounder in similarly muddy waters when, unsolicited, they make dubious decisions to grant degrees to individuals they hold in high esteem. Although meaning well by not courting pecuniary gain, they nevertheless invite criticism over their choice of recipient for their honoris causa, despite the decision usually only being reached after a process of debate and discussion by university committees. Often people are rewarded, it seems, as much for their fame as for their achievements or publications. One such example of a celebrity who has had his onscreen renown recognised by an honorary doctorate is film and television actor/comedian Billy Connolly who was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters by The University of Glasgow in 2006, prompting Stuart Jeffries to complain that “something has gone terribly wrong in British academia” (Jeffries). Eileen McNamara also bemoans the levels to which some institutions will sink to in search of media attention and exposure, when she writes of St Andrews University in Scotland conferring an honorary doctorate to film actor and producer, Michael Douglas: “What was designed to acknowledge intellectual achievement has devolved into a publicity grab with universities competing for celebrity honorees” (McNamara). Fame as an actor (and the list gets even weirder when the scope of enquiry is widened beyond the field of film and television), seems to be an achievement worth recognising with an honorary doctorate, according to some universities, and this kind of discredit is best avoided by Australian institutions of higher learning if they are to maintain credibility. Certainly, universities down under would do well to follow elsewhere than in the footprints of Long Island University’s Southampton College. Perhaps the height of academic prostitution of parchments for the attention of mass media occurred when in 1996 this US school bestowed an Honorary Doctorate of Amphibious Letters upon that mop-like puppet of film and television fame known as the “muppet,” Kermit the Frog. Indeed, this polystyrene and cloth creation with an anonymous hand operating its mouth had its acceptance speech duly published (see “Kermit’s Acceptance Speech”) and the Long Island University’s Southampton College received much valuable press. After all, any publicity is good publicity. Or perhaps this furry frog’s honorary degree was a cynical stunt meant to highlight the ridiculousness of the practice? In 1986 a similar example, much closer to my own home, occurred when in anticipation and condemnation of the conferral of an honorary doctorate upon Prince Philip by Monash University in Melbourne, the “Members of the Monash Association of Students had earlier given a 21-month-old Chihuahua an honorary science degree” (Jeffries), effectively suggesting that the honorary doctorate is, in fact, a dog of a degree. On a more serious note, there have been honorary doctorates conferred upon far more worthy recipients in the field of film and television by some Australian universities. Indigenous film-maker Tracey Moffatt was awarded an honorary doctorate by Griffith University in November of 2004. Moffatt was a graduate of the Griffith University’s film school and had an excellent body of work including the films Night Cries: A Rural Tragedy (1990) and beDevil (1993). Acclaimed playwright and screenwriter David Williamson was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by The University of Queensland in December of 2004. His work had previously picked up four Australian Film Institute awards for best screenplay. An Honorary Doctorate of Visual and Performing Arts was given to film director Fred Schepisi AO by The University of Melbourne in May of 2006. His films had also been earlier recognised with Australian Film Institute awards as well as the Golden Globe Best Miniseries or Television Movie award for Empire Falls in 2006. Director George Miller was crowned with an Honorary Doctorate in Film from the Australian Film, Television, and Radio School in April 2007, although he already had a medical doctor’s testamur on his wall. In May of this year, filmmaker George Gittoes, a fine arts dropout from The University of Sydney, received an honorary doctorate by The University of New South Wales. His documentaries, Soundtrack to War (2005) and Rampage (2006), screened at the Sydney and Berlin film festivals, and he has been employed by the Australian Government as an official war artist. Interestingly, the high quality screen work recognised by these Australian universities may have earned the recipients ‘real’ PhDs had they sought the qualification. Many of these film artists could have just as easily submitted their work for the degree of PhD by Published Papers at several universities that accept prior work in lieu of an original exegesis, and where a film is equated with a book or journal article. But such universities still invite comparisons of their PhDs by Published Papers with honorary doctorates due to rather too-easy-to-meet criteria. The privately funded Bond University, for example, recommends a minimum full-time enrolment of just three months and certainly seems more lax in its regulations than other Antipodean institution: a healthy curriculum vitae and payment of the prescribed fee (currently AUD$24,500 per annum) are the only requirements. Restricting my enquiries once again to the field of my own research, film and television, I note that Dr. Ingo Petzke achieved his 2004 PhD by Published Works based upon films produced in Germany well before enrolling at Bond, contextualized within a discussion of the history of avant-garde film-making in that country. Might not a cynic enquire as to how this PhD significantly differs from an honorary doctorate? Although Petzke undoubtedly paid his fees and met all of Bond’s requirements for his thesis entitled Slow Motion: Thirty Years in Film, one cannot criticise that cynic for wondering if Petzke’s films are indeed equivalent to a collection of refereed papers. It should be noted that Bond is not alone when it comes to awarding candidates the PhD by Published Papers for work published or screened in the distant past. Although yet to grant it in the area of film or television, Swinburne University of Technology (SUT) is an institution that distinctly specifies its PhD by Publications is to be awarded for “research which has been carried out prior to admission to candidature” (8). Similarly, the Griffith Law School states: “The PhD (by publications) is awarded to established researchers who have an international reputation based on already published works” (1). It appears that Bond is no solitary voice in the academic wilderness, for SUT and the Griffith Law School also apparently consider the usual milestones of Confirmation and Final Seminars to be unnecessary if the so-called candidate is already well published. Like Bond, Griffith University (GU) is prepared to consider a collection of films to be equivalent to a number of refereed papers. Dr Ian Lang’s 2002 PhD (by Publication) thesis entitled Conditional Truths: Remapping Paths To Documentary ‘Independence’ contains not refereed, scholarly articles but the following videos: Wheels Across the Himalaya (1981); Yallambee, People of Hope (1986); This Is What I Call Living (1988); The Art of Place: Hanoi Brisbane Art Exchange (1995); and Millennium Shift: The Search for New World Art (1997). While this is a most impressive body of work, and is well unified by appropriate discussion within the thesis, the cynic who raised eyebrows at Petzke’s thesis might also be questioning this thesis: Dr Lang’s videos all preceded enrolment at GU and none have been refereed or acknowledged with major prizes. Certainly, the act of releasing a film for distribution has much in common with book publishing, but should these videos be considered to be on a par with academic papers published in, say, the prestigious and demanding journal Screen? While recognition at awards ceremonies might arguably correlate with peer review there is still the question as to how scholarly a film actually is. Of course, documentary films such as those in Lang’s thesis can be shown to be addressing gaps in the literature, as is the expectation of any research paper, but the onus remains on the author/film-maker to demonstrate this via a detailed contextual review and a well-written, erudite argument that unifies the works into a cohesive thesis. This Lang has done, to the extent that suspicious cynic might wonder why he chose not to present his work for a standard PhD award. Another issue unaddressed by most institutions is the possibility that the publications have been self-refereed or refereed by the candidate’s editorial colleagues in a case wherein the papers appear in a book the candidate has edited or co-edited. Dr Gillian Swanson’s 2004 GU thesis Towards a Cultural History of Private Life: Sexual Character, Consuming Practices and Cultural Knowledge, which addresses amongst many other cultural artefacts the film Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean 1962), has nine publications: five of which come from two books she co-edited, Nationalising Femininity: Culture, Sexuality and Cinema in Britain in World War Two, (Gledhill and Swanson 1996) and Deciphering Culture: Ordinary Curiosities and Subjective Narratives (Crisp et al 2000). While few would dispute the quality of Swanson’s work, the persistent cynic might wonder if these five papers really qualify as refereed publications. The tacit understanding of a refereed publication is that it is blind reviewed i.e. the contributor’s name is removed from the document. Such a system is used to prevent bias and favouritism but this level of anonymity might be absent when the contributor to a book is also one of the book’s editors. Of course, Dr Swanson probably took great care to distance herself from the refereeing process undertaken by her co-editors, but without an inbuilt check, allegations of cronyism from unfriendly cynics may well result. A related factor in making comparisons of different university’s PhDs by Published Papers is the requirements different universities have about the standard of the journal the paper is published in. It used to be a simple matter in Australia: the government’s Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) held a Register of Refereed Journals. If your benefactor in disseminating your work was on the list, your publications were of near-unquestionable quality. Not any more: DEST will no longer accept nominations for listing on the Register and will not undertake to rule on whether a particular journal article meets the HERDC [Higher Education Research Data Collection] requirements for inclusion in publication counts. HEPs [Higher Education Providers] have always had the discretion to determine if a publication produced in a journal meets the requirements for inclusion in the HERDC regardless of whether or not the journal was included on the Register of Refereed Journals. As stated in the HERDC specifications, the Register is not an exhaustive list of all journals which satisfy the peer-review requirements (DEST). The last listing for the DEST Register of Refereed Journals was the 3rd of February 2006, making way for a new tiered list of academic journals, which is currently under review in the Australian tertiary education sector (see discussion of this development in the Redden and Mitchell articles in this issue). In the interim, some university faculties created their own rankings of journals, but not the Faculty of Creative Industries at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) where I am studying for my PhD by Published Papers. Although QUT does not have a list of ranked journals for a candidate to submit papers to, it is otherwise quite strict in its requirements. The QUT University Regulations state, “Papers submitted as a PhD thesis must be closely related in terms of subject matter and form a cohesive research narrative” (QUT PhD regulation 14.1.2). Thus there is the requirement at QUT that apart from the usual introduction, methodology and literature review, an argument must be made as to how the papers present a sustained research project via “an overarching discussion of the main features linking the publications” (14.2.12). It is also therein stated that it should be an “account of research progress linking the research papers” (4.2.6). In other words, a unifying essay must make an argument for consideration of the sometimes diversely published papers as a cohesive body of work, undertaken in a deliberate journey of research. In my own case, an aural auteur analysis of sound in the films of Rolf de Heer, I argue that my published papers (eight in total) represent a journey from genre analysis (one paper) to standard auteur analysis (three papers) to an argument that sound should be considered in auteur analysis (one paper) to the major innovation of the thesis, aural auteur analysis (three papers). It should also be noted that unlike Bond, GU or SUT, the QUT regulations for the standard PhD still apply: a Confirmation Seminar, Final Seminar and a minimum two years of full-time enrolment (with a minimum of three months residency in Brisbane) are all compulsory. Such milestones and sine qua non ensure the candidate’s academic progress and intellectual development such that she or he is able to confidently engage in meaningful quodlibets regarding the thesis’s topic. Another interesting and significant feature of the QUT guidelines for this type of degree is the edict that papers submitted must be “published, accepted or submitted during the period of candidature” (14.1.1). Similarly, the University of Canberra (UC) states “The articles or other published material must be prepared during the period of candidature” (10). Likewise, Edith Cowan University (ECU) will confer its PhD by Publications to those candidates whose thesis consists of “only papers published in refereed scholarly media during the period of enrolment” (2). In other words, one cannot simply front up to ECU, QUT, or UC with a résumé of articles or films published over a lifetime of writing or film-making and ask for a PhD by Published Papers. Publications of the candidate prepared prior to commencement of candidature are simply not acceptable at these institutions and such PhDs by Published Papers from QUT, UC and ECU are entirely different to those offered by Bond, GU and SUT. Furthermore, without a requirement for a substantial period of enrolment and residency, recipients of PhDs by Published Papers from Bond, GU, or SUT are unlikely to have participated significantly in the research environment of their relevant faculty and peers. Such newly minted doctors may be as unfamiliar with the campus and its research activities as the recipient of an honorary doctorate usually is, as he or she poses for the media’s cameras en route to the glamorous awards ceremony. Much of my argument in this paper is built upon the assumption that the process of refereeing a paper (or for that matter, a film) guarantees a high level of academic rigour, but I confess that this premise is patently naïve, if not actually flawed. Refereeing can result in the rejection of new ideas that conflict with the established opinions of the referees. Interdisciplinary collaboration can be impeded and the lack of referee’s accountability is a potential problem, too. It can also be no less nail-biting a process than the examination of a finished thesis, given that some journals take over a year to complete the refereeing process, and some journal’s editorial committees have recognised this shortcoming. Despite being a mainstay of its editorial approach since 1869, the prestigious science journal, Nature, which only publishes about 7% of its submissions, has led the way with regard to varying the procedure of refereeing, implementing in 2006 a four-month trial period of ‘Open Peer Review’. Their website states, Authors could choose to have their submissions posted on a preprint server for open comments, in parallel with the conventional peer review process. Anyone in the field could then post comments, provided they were prepared to identify themselves. Once the usual confidential peer review process is complete, the public ‘open peer review’ process was closed and the editors made their decision about publication with the help of all reports and comments (Campbell). Unfortunately, the experiment was unpopular with both authors and online peer reviewers. What the Nature experiment does demonstrate, however, is that the traditional process of blind refereeing is not yet perfected and can possibly evolve into something less problematic in the future. Until then, refereeing continues to be the best system there is for applying structured academic scrutiny to submitted papers. With the reforms of the higher education sector, including forced mergers of universities and colleges of advanced education and the re-introduction of university fees (carried out under the aegis of John Dawkins, Minister for Employment, Education and Training from 1987 to 1991), and the subsequent rationing of monies according to research dividends (calculated according to numbers of research degree conferrals and publications), there has been a veritable explosion in the number of institutions offering PhDs in Australia. But the general public may not always be capable of differentiating between legitimately accredited programs and diploma mills, given that the requirements for the first differ substantially. From relatively easily obtainable PhDs by Published Papers at Bond, GU and SUT to more rigorous requirements at ECU, QUT and UC, there is undoubtedly a huge range in the demands of degrees that recognise a candidate’s published body of work. The cynical reader may assume that with this paper I am simply trying to shore up my own forthcoming graduation with a PhD by Published papers from potential criticisms that it is on par with a ‘purchased’ doctorate. Perhaps they are right, for this is a new degree in QUT’s Creative Industries faculty and has only been awarded to one other candidate (Dr Marcus Foth for his 2006 thesis entitled Towards a Design Methodology to Support Social Networks of Residents in Inner-City Apartment Buildings). But I believe QUT is setting a benchmark, along with ECU and UC, to which other universities should aspire. In conclusion, I believe further efforts should be undertaken to heighten the differences in status between PhDs by Published Papers generated during enrolment, PhDs by Published Papers generated before enrolment and honorary doctorates awarded for non-academic published work. Failure to do so courts cynical comparison of all PhD by Published Papers with unearnt doctorates bought from Internet shysters. References Brown, George. “Protecting Australia’s Higher Education System: A Proactive Versus Reactive Approach in Review (1999–2004).” Proceedings of the Australian Universities Quality Forum 2004. Australian Universities Quality Agency, 2004. 11 June 2008 ‹http://www.auqa.edu.au/auqf/2004/program/papers/Brown.pdf>. Campbell, Philip. “Nature Peer Review Trial and Debate.” Nature: International Weekly Journal of Science. December 2006. 11 June 2008 ‹http://www.nature.com/nature/peerreview/> Crisp, Jane, Kay Ferres, and Gillian Swanson, eds. Deciphering Culture: Ordinary Curiosities and Subjective Narratives. London: Routledge, 2000. 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