http://hdl.handle.net/10453/37630 2026-05-20T07:08:45Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/195005 Title: Fresh out of the seed coat: first leaves of germinants are equally heat tolerant but less cold tolerant than later life stages. Authors: Alvarez, PR; Jutta Imdahl, M; Cook, AM; Briceño, VF; Offord, CA; Nicotra, AB; Leigh, A Abstract: BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Plant photosystem thermal thresholds are regularly used as indicators for plant tolerance under extreme temperature scenarios. Photosystem tolerance can vary with species, leaf traits and environmental conditions. To date, most research into plant thermal tolerance has been conducted on established plants; likewise, leaf traits are routinely measured on fully expanded, adult leaves. To fully understand function and survival of plant communities, the first leaves of early life stages must be considered. METHODS: We sought to understand germinant photosystem thermal tolerance breadth through upper and lower critical temperature (Tcrit) thresholds, leaf mass per area (LMA) and leaf water content (LWC) for 22 species from three contrasting biomes - extreme desert and alpine, and benign coastal temperate. For seven of these species, we compared the relationship between these traits with those of older juvenile and adult life stages. KEY RESULTS: Biome of origin had no effect on germinant thermal thresholds. Thermal tolerance breadth (heat minus cold tolerance thresholds) varied significantly among germinant species, but not across the three life stages. However, although germinant heat tolerance within species was comparable to adult thermal tolerance, germinants were significantly less cold tolerant than adults. LMA was greater in older life stages than in germinants, LWC decreased across the life stages. LMA was greater in older life stages than in germinants and LWC decreased as LMA increased. CONCLUSIONS: In the first known study examining photosystem thermal tolerance breadth of newly emerged leaves of germinants, we found germinant PSII to be as heat tolerant as later life stages, but less cold tolerant, associated with their lower LMA and higher LWC. This demonstrates that not all physiological aspects of germinant tolerance are more vulnerable to thermal extremes than older life stages, with certain leaf traits potentially playing an important role in early survival. 2026-05-05T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194685 Title: Improved estimates of growth for wild Yellowtail Kingfish (Seriola lalandi) off eastern-Australia using multiple data sources Authors: Stewart, J; Stuart, S; Hughes, JM; Booth, DJ Abstract: Unbiased growth functions are imperative for stock assessment and sustainable management of fisheries. We present a case-study demonstrating implications of data collection biases from fishery-dependent sampling where length-selective fishing occurs. Yellowtail Kingfish Seriola lalandi supports substantial fisheries around the world and is the focus of a developing aquaculture industry. Estimating growth rates in wild populations has been challenging, with uncertainties around accurate estimates of length-at-age from which to model growth. Length-at-age data are generally derived from sectioned sagittal otoliths. We generated new estimates of growth rates for Yellowtail Kingfish from south-eastern Australia by excluding data for age classes not fully recruited to the fishery based on significance tests of normality and skewness. New length-at-age estimates for young fish were generated from dive surveys around offshore Fish Aggregation Devices (FADs) to inform early growth. Otolith-derived age classes younger than 5 years old were biased in terms of faster growing individuals being sampled. Length-selective biases from fishery dependent sampling results in over-estimation of the von Bertalanffy growth function parameter L∞ and under-estimation of the parameters K and t0. Revised growth function parameters of L∞ = 133.40 cm fork length, K = 0.13 year -1, and t0 = −1.20 years are substantially different from those used for stock assessment. We recommend that future studies of growth rates would benefit from more fishery-independent sampling, the collection of greater numbers of larger and older fish, and regular sampling and direct aging of young-of-the year fish recruiting to offshore FADs. http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194647 Title: Defining "cure" for the asthmas. Authors: Thomas, D; McDonald, VM; Gibson, PG; Kim, RY 2025-11-17T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194645 Title: Towards a standard approach to investigating the Thermal Load Sensitivity of photosystem II via chlorophyll fluorescence Authors: Arnold, PA; Harris, RJ; Aitken, SM; Hoek, MM; Cook, AM; Leigh, A; Nicotra, AB 2026-04-10T00:00:00Z