The quality of the seed dispersal performed by a dispersal agent has two components. Disperser efficiency is the probability that a seed dispersed by the vector will lodge in a safe site and germinate. Disperser effectiveness is the proportion of seedlings in a population that any one seed vector is responsible for disseminating. Two birds, the Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Acanthagenys rufogularis) and the Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum), dispersed the seeds of the host-specific mistletoe Amyema quandang in arid western myall (Acacia papyrocarpa) woodland in South Australia.

The threat posed by invasive species, in particular weeds, to biodiversity may be exacerbated by climate change. Lantana camara L. (lantana) is a woody shrub that is highly invasive in many countries of the world. It has a profound economic and environmental impact worldwide, including Australia. Knowledge of the likely potential distribution of this invasive species under current and future climate will be useful in planning better strategies to manage the invasion. A process-oriented niche model of L. camara was developed using CLIMEX to estimate its potential distribution under current and future climate scenarios. The model was calibrated using data from several knowledge domains, including phenological observations and geographic distribution records. The potential distribution of lantana under historical climate exceeded the current distribution in some areas of the world, notably Africa and Asia. Under future scenarios, the climatically suitable areas for L. camara globally were projected to contract. However, some areas were identified in North Africa, Europe and Australia that may become climatically suitable under future climates. In South Africa and China, its potential distribution could expand further inland. These results can inform strategic planning by biosecurity agencies, identifying areas to target for eradication or containment. Distribution maps of risk of potential invasion can be useful tools in public awareness campaigns, especially in countries that have been identified as becoming climatically suitable for L. camara under the future climate scenarios.

Small frugivorous birds that Jeed largely on the fruit.s ofstem-parasitie mi.'stletoes have independently evolved in various parts of the \yorld. Local populations of mistletoes may be di.spersed almost exelusively by these birds. Four attributes of mistletoe dispersal systems may have enhanced the evolution of reeiprocal dependence between mistletoes and specialized dispersers:(1) Safe sites for mistletoe seeds (i.e. the young branches of a compatible host) are precisely defined in space and time.

Many environmental issues facing society demand considerable public investment to reverse. However, this investment will only arise if the general community is supportive, and community support is only likely if the issues are widely understood. Scientists often find it difficult to communicate with the general public. The role of the visual and performing arts is often overlooked in this regard, yet the arts have long communicated issues, influenced and educated people, and challenged dominant paradigms. To assess the response of professional ecologists to the role of the arts in communicating science, a series of constructed performances and exhibitions was integrated into the program of a national ecological conference over five days. At the conclusion of the conference, responses were sought from the assembled scientists and research students toward using the arts for expanding audiences to ecological science. Over half the delegates said that elements of the arts program provided a conducive atmosphere for receiving information, encouraged them to reflect on alternative ways to communicate science, and persuaded them that the arts have a role in helping people understand complex scientific concepts. A sizeable minority of delegates (24%) said they would consider incorporating the arts in their extension or outreach efforts. Incorporating music, theatre, and dance into a scientific conference can have many effects on participants and audiences. The arts can synthesize and convey complex scientific information, promote new ways of looking at issues, touch people's emotions, and create a celebratory atmosphere, as was evident in this case study. In like manner, the visual and performing arts should be harnessed to help extend the increasingly unpalatable and urgent messages of global climate change science to a lay audience worldwide

McKey's (1975) hypothesis that avian dispersers with a specialized gut provide higher quality seed dispersal than unspecialized frugivores was tested using grey mistletoe (Amyema quandang) fruits, and captive mistletoebirds (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) and spinycheeked honeyeaters (Acanthagenys refogularis) in arid South Australia. Mistletoebirds have a specialized gut, unlike spiny-cheeked honeyeaters. The gut passage time of A. quandang fruits through mistletoebirds was 820±29 s (mean±SE, n=188), compared to 2434±36 s (n=436) for honeyeaters. The seeds defecated by both bird species were deployed on twigs of host trees. Despite the longer retention time of fruit in the gut of honeyeaters, the germination percentage of seeds defecated by mistletoebirds (85% of 485 seeds) and honeyeaters (81% of 485 seeds) did not differ significantly 1 week after deployment. However, after 5 months, a significantly greater proportion of seedlings had established from seeds passed by mistletoebirds (42.7%) than from seeds defecated by honeyeaters (31.1%). The data support the notion that the more gentle treatment of seeds in the gut of specialized dispersers translates into higher seedling establishment.