Two types of protein isolates were prepared from de-hulled yellow mustard flour by aqueous extraction, membrane processing and acid precipitation of proteins at the isoelectric point (IEP 5.5). Their electrophoretic, main functional properties and protein composition were determined. The precipitated and acid soluble protein isolates had 83.0 and 96.0% protein content on a moisture and oil free basis, respectively. The acid soluble protein isolate had comparable functional properties to those of commercially available soybean and other protein isolates. The precipitated protein isolate exhibited less desirable functionality than the soluble isolate, due to its high lipid content (~25%); however, it was still comparable to soybean isolates. Storage temperature had limited effect on lipid oxidation, and hence the stability of the precipitated protein isolate at 25-45ºC. Taste and texture of wieners and bologna prepared with 1-2% of this isolate as binder were comparable to those prepared with soy protein isolates.

Two types of protein isolates were prepared from de-hulled yellow mustard flour by aqueous extraction, membrane processing and acid precipitation of proteins at the isoelectric point (IEP 5.5). Their electrophoretic, main functional properties and protein composition were determined. The precipitated and acid soluble protein isolates had 83.0 and 96.0% protein content on a moisture and oil free basis, respectively. The acid soluble protein isolate had comparable functional properties to those of commercially available soybean and other protein isolates. The precipitated protein isolate exhibited less desirable functionality than the soluble isolate, due to its high lipid content (~25%); however, it was still comparable to soybean isolates. Storage temperature had limited effect on lipid oxidation, and hence the stability of the precipitated protein isolate at 25-45ºC. Taste and texture of wieners and bologna prepared with 1-2% of this isolate as binder were comparable to those prepared with soy protein isolates.

Turnip yellow mosaic virus is a monopartite, plus sense RNA virus infecting the Cruciferae, and is a model system for the study of RNA virus replication. A cDNA clone (pTYMC) representing an infectious RNA genome of the European isolate of TYMV was constructed and used to assess the importance of virus genes in virus infectivity. Derivatives of pTYMC with alterations in open reading frame 69 (ORF- 69) were made. The mutations disrupted the expression of ORF-69 in vitro as predicted. Although the ORF-69 mutants were competent for replication in protoplasts, none of the mutants detectably infected turnip or Chinese cabbage plants, except where reversion mutations led to the restoration of an uninterrupted ORF-69. The data suggest a role for ORF-69 expression in the cell-to-cell movement of the virus. Mutant RNAs with a deletion or frameshift in the coat protein ORF infected protoplasts and plant leaves. No systemic infection symptoms were generated by these mutants, and no viral products were detected in young, expanding tissue of infected plants. When the coat protein deletion mutant and an ORF-69 mutant were co-inoculated onto plants, only a virus producing a coat protein of wild type size was detected in symptomatic, systemic tissue in these inoculations, emphasizing a requirement for the expression of native size coat protein for the systemic translocation of TYMV infection. The role of ORF-206 expression in TYMV replication was examined. Three classes of mutants were made in ORF-206: those affecting the synthesis of the 150 kDa protein, those affecting the synthesis of the 70 kDa protein, and those affecting the synthesis of both the 150 and the 70 kDa proteins. All ORF- 206 mutations eliminated RNA infectivity. Protoplast inoculations using mixtures of individual ORF-206 mutant RNAs and a helper genome demonstrated that co-replication of defective genomes could occur. Moreover, inoculations in which individual 150 kDa and 70 kDa protein mutant RNAs were combined showed that complementation between these two classes of mutants was possible. The data indicate that RNAs expressing wild type 150 kDa protein are favored replication substrates in mixed infections, and suggest that the 150 kDa protein functions preferentially in cis. / Graduation date: 1993

Seabirds have become adapted for foraging in an oceanic environment that can be highly dynamic. Oceanographic processes determine the spatial distribution of seabird prey, while seasonality often has a temporal influence on prey availability. In penguins, these factors are reflected in the different species� foraging strategies. Penguins can broadly be categorized as inshore foragers that live in subtropical to temperate regions and profit from a stable food supply throughout the year close to their breeding sites, and offshore foragers that breed in a pelagic environment at higher latitudes where oceanographic processes and seasonality create much more dynamic, temporally limited prey situations. In this light, offshore foragers can be expected to be much more flexible in their foraging behaviour so as to quickly respond to changes in a dynamic marine environment, while inshore foragers are more likely to exhibit predictable foraging patterns. I examined the foraging ecology of two New Zealand penguin species - the offshore foraging Snares penguin Eudyptes robustus and the inshore foraging Yellow-eyed penguin Megadyptes antipodes and how their foraging strategies reflect an adaptation to the marine environment they exploit. Diet composition of breeding Snares penguins (incubation and early chick-guard) was determined using the water-offloading method. Before the chicks hatched, the penguins generally brought little food back from their long foraging trips. During chick-guard, the stomach contents comprised mainly of crustaceans (~55%), fish (~24%) and cephalopods (~21%). However, the presence at times of many fish otoliths and squid beaks suggests that the latter two prey classes may play an even more important role in the adults� diet than the simple percentages based on mass suggest. The penguins� nesting routines were strongly synchronised between the years and correlated with the onset of the spring planktonic bloom. Using GPS data loggers and dive recorders I found that during the incubation phase, male penguins that performed long (ca. 2 week) foraging trips exhibited a strong affinity to forage in the Subtropical Front some 200 km east of the Snares. At that stage (late mid-October) the front featured elevated chlorophyll a concentrations, a pattern that can be observed every year. Thus, it seems that the front represents a reliable and predictable source of food for the male penguins. After the males returned, the female penguins also performed long foraging trips (<1 week) but never reached the front, primarily because they had to time their return to the hatching of their chicks. After the chicks had hatched, the female Snares penguins were the sole providers of food. At this stage, the penguins performed short foraging trips (1-3 days) and foraged halfway between the Snares and Stewart Island (ca. 70-90 km north of the Snares), where nutrient-rich coastal waters flow eastwards to form the Southland Current. The penguins concentrated their diving effort in these waters, underlining the importance of the warm coastal waters as a food source for breeding Snares penguins. However, diving behaviour between 2003 and 2004 differed with penguins searching for prey at greater depths in the latter year. This underlines the Snares penguins� behavioural flexibility in response to a changing marine environment. The Yellow-eyed penguins as typical inshore foragers showed very consistent foraging patterns at all stages. GPS logger deployments on penguins at Oamaru revealed that the birds foraged almost exclusively at the seafloor and targeted specific areas that featured reefs or epibenthic communities. As a result, the penguins� at-sea movements appeared conservative and at times almost stereotypic. Nevertheless, a comparison of Yellow-eyed penguins breeding on the adjacent Codfish and Stewart islands revealed a degree of plasticity in the species� foraging behaviour. Birds from Codfish Island extended their foraging ranges considerably and switched from primarily bottom to mid-water foraging during the post-guard stage of breeding. It seems likely that this switch is a result of enhanced feeding conditions (e.g. increased prey abundance/quality) in an area further away from the island, but the time required to get there renders this strategy not viable when chicks are small and need to be guarded and fed on a daily basis. As such, the change of behaviour represents a traditional pattern rather than a dynamic response to a sudden change in the marine environment. In comparison, penguins from Stewart Island showed consistent foraging patterns during all stages of breeding. Given the high levels of chick starvation on Stewart Island, the lack of plasticity in foraging behaviour is surprising and might indicate that Yellow-eyed penguins find it difficult to react quickly to a sub-optimal food situation. Overall, it seems that Yellow-eyed penguins show a specialisation for a consistent benthic environment and, thus, lack the behavioural flexibility apparent in Snares penguins, which find their food in a changing pelagic marine environment.

Conservation biology is primarily concerned with the amelioration of species decline. The Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby (Petrogale xanthopus xanthopus) is a medium sized Macropod that inhabits the semiarid rangelands of South Australia and New South Wales. Its conservation status is Vulnerable C2a(i). In this study, population modelling, spatially explicit habitat modelling and Population Viability Analysis (PVA) have been used to better understand the factors that affect the abundance and distribution of the P. x. xanthopus in South Australia. The processes that drive the population dynamics of a species operate at different scales. As such this research involves a collection of several inter-related and scale-specific empirical studies that provide insights about the population dynamics of P. x. xanthopus. Each of these studies captures environmental, demographic and behavioural process acting on the population at different scales. These include the analysis of relative abundance data derived from an aerial census, mark recapture sampling of demographic parameters in relation to rainfall patterns and a collection of habitat models derived at different scales using presence-absence data. Spatially explicit PVAs enable the population dynamics of a species to be modelled in space and time. Using these data, a PVA is conducted to explore and rank the importance of the factors that threaten this species and help guide their future monitoring and management. Movement is also a key issue when considering problems such as isolation and inbreeding. Given that little is known about the dispersal behaviour of this species, a range of different dispersal behaviours are also simulated in the PVA using random and non-random mating algorithms, to estimate the potential for inbreeding. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2004.

Based on the recommendations of both the 1993 Reintroduction biology of Australasian Fauna Conference and the 1994 Rock Wallaby Symposium, captive-bred Yellow footed rock wallabies were reintroduced into areas of their former ranges in both South Australia and Queensland

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, 1984. / Some mounted ill. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-186).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Plant Science, 1996? / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Plant Science, 2001. / Errata attached to inside front cover. Bibliography: leaves [156-188].

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xviii, 168 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.