Australasian Association of Nematologists

Regional News

Retraction and apology

In Regional News (ANN 10 (1) Jan 1999 I included the words "i.e. proper curation had not been possible and the collection was now virtually unusable". I used hyperbole inappropriately. This was an unfortunate choice of words and I apologise for their use and for any hurt they may have caused or misinformation generated. Despite financial constraints the collection has been professionally maintained: and on reflection I should have found a better way of expressing my view that without adequate funding it is increasingly difficult to provide the full range of uses and services which is desirable for any collection.

Lester Cannon

Dr Lester R.G.Cannon
Senior Curator, Worms, Queensland Museum
PO Box 3300, South Brisbane, Qld. 4101, Australia
Ph +617 3840 7724: FAX +617 3846 1226
Email: L.Cannon@uq.net.au OR LesterC@qm.qld.gov.au

SARDI

Dr Jackie Nobbs was appointed as Nematode Taxonomist at SARDI, Field Crops Pathology Unit in February 1999. She is currently working on a part-time basis on funds provided by GRDC, HRDC, SRDC, SARDI and AQIS and will be developing a CD ROM of Plant Parasitic Nematodes of Australia. She will be updating "Plant-parasitic nematodes of Australia" and will be contacting people regarding new records of nematodes or hosts (so be prepared!!). Jackie is also available for diagnostic work.

Rachel Hutton is another new face at SARDI. She began work in August 1998 on a GRDC and SAGITF (South Australian Grains Industry Trust Fund) project to assess the pathology component of medic decline in South Australia. Rachel has already shown both Rhizoctonia and Pratylenchus cause root and shoot reduction in pot trials. Symptoms observed in pots when these pathogens occur in combination were the same as those observed in affected field specimens.

In other news, we have been successful in securing a visit by Professor Diana Wall (formerly Freckman) to the APPS Conference in Canberra. She will also be visiting Adelaide following the conference.

The University of Adelaide

Grains Research and Development Corporation has provided a Visiting Fellowship Award for Dr Wim Wouts to visit agricultural research institutions in SA and WA. Wim will be visiting for two months (Sept-Oct) to review the taxonomy of root lesion and burrowing nematodes in Mediterranean climate zones of southern Australia. His visit will also have a much appreciated training role. The visit is also supported by AgWA and SARDI. Wim will also attend the Canberra meeting providing opportunity for nematologists from other states to talk with him during his visit.

Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation has provided support for a PhD student to work on plant parasitic nematodes in viticulture. The project is to be conducted within the CRC for Viticulture and in collaboration with Greg Walker, Alan McKay and Kathy-Ophel Keller, SARDI. We will be advertising within a couple of months, so get in touch if you are interested.

Andreas Hensel has completed his project on Rhabditis necromena and the black Portuguese millipede. He has returned to Germany to present his PhD thesis and prepare for his viva at the University of Berlin.

Robin Giblin-Davis (Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida) recently spent a fortnight in SA with Kerrie Davies and Gary Taylor working on Fergusonia/Fergusobia galls in Eucalyptus. It was a very busy trip for Robin, who gave three seminars and made several extended field trips all within the two weeks. Kerrie and Gary will travel to Brisbane for July to work on Melaleuca galls with Robin and Mathew Purcell at the USDA Biocontrol Laboratory at CSIRO Entomology, Indooroopilly.

Astrid Schmitz, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat Bonn, Germany will be visiting for six months from mid October to undertake her diploma research project in nematology. The project being planned is an investigation of some aspects of the biology of Anguina australis and its interaction with bacterial and fungal associates of Anguina spp. Her contribution will be valuable as A. australis shows unique biology worthy of investigation in its own right and is also a non-target organism that would need to be screened for secondary impact in further research on exotic non-toxicogenic bacteria for biocontrol of annual ryegrass toxicity (ARGT).

The nematology discussion group at the Waite campus had an interesting range of speakers and topics in the first semester, viz. John Lewis, SARDI (Cereal cyst nematode resistance screening), Robin Giblin-Davis, University of Florida (Nematode phoresis), Vivien Vanstone, University of Adelaide (Pratylenchus neglectus: hosts and impact) and V. Gutpa, CRC Soil and Land Management (Free-living nematodes and nutrient cycling). If any members are visiting Adelaide, let us know in advance so you don’t miss out on coming along or better still being a speaker.

Sharyn Taylor (SARDI) and Ian Riley (The University of Adelaide)

NEWS FROM NEW ZEALAND

Gregor Yeates (Landcare Research) is involved in a new 3 year, Marsden funded programme which includes looking at nematode diversity and feeding group abundance in epiphyte 'islands'. David Wardle (also Landcare Research) is the principal investigator. Landcare had a visit from Brian Boag earlier this year. Gregor and Brian have a wee project on the ecological implications of the developmental stages of nematodes. Brian returned to Scotland with specimens of the NZ flatworms which are devastating earthworm populations in the UK.

David Wharton (Zoology Dept., Univ. Otago) is heading for the UK in July as part of his study leave. He'll be working with Rolo Perry at Rothamsted Experimental Station trying to do electrical recordings from nematodes recovering from anhydrobiosis. He'll also be visiting the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, the University of Wales at Aberystwyth and the University of Bristol.

With Chris Mercer (AgResearch Grasslands), a Massey University PhD student, Pyone Pyone Kyi from Myanmar, has started a nematode sampling programme in pasture at the AgResearch Grasslands site at Palmerston North. Monthly soil samples will give a pattern of clover cyst nematode development in white clover. Later experiments will quantify the effects of fungal pathogens infecting the nematode cysts.

Chris Mercer found large numbers of nematodes in 13 of 14 samples from farms in the Northland "Clover 300" survey confirming other data that nematodes are a problem for clover in Northland. The findings were discussed at the Massey University Dairy Farmer’s conference in Whangarei in May.