Aim This study aimed to explore the perceptions of residential aged care nursing and management staff regarding oral care, to develop strategies to improve the oral health of aged care residents. Design A qualitative approach was used. Methods Two focus groups were conducted with nursing and management staff at two residential aged care facilities and transcripts were thematically analysed. Results All staff had an awareness of the importance of oral health; however, they highlighted the significant challenges in the current system that affect implementation of oral health training and practice guidelines in the residential aged care facility. High staff turnover, time constraints, difficulties in accessing dental services and working together with residents, their families and external staff were barriers to providing oral health care. Staff highlighted the need for formalized clinical guidelines and processes and efficient dental referral pathways to create a more cohesive system of care.

This study highlighted the need for research and strategies that focus on capacity building care staff in oral health care and improving access of aged care residents to dental services.

Introduction Description of t h e Study Area Abiotic Environment Land Use and Herbivores F l o r a and Vegetation Methods Map Analysis: Description and Relationships of t h e Mapping Units C l a s s i f i c a t i o n of Vegetation and Relationships of Vegetation Types t o t h e Mapping Units Determination of t h e Environmental Factor Complexes C o n t r o l l i n g t h e D i s t r i b u t i o n of Vegetation Discussion Summary, Conclusions, and Future Recommendations References 18 Mapping unit 15. DRY, Seeale eereaze-Bromus tectorwn, FIELD 19 Mapping unit 16. MOIST, Crataegus erythropoda-GaZiwn aparine, SCRUB 20 Similarity among the mapping units based on their species composition 21 A hierarchical dendrogram of 32 vegetation stands representing 16 mapping units, based on species composition 22 Rocky Flats species representative for the growth form categories which were used as ordination input for the determination of controlling environmental complexes 23 Bray and Curtis ordination of 32 vegetation stands representing 16 mapping units PREFACE The publication of this paper as an Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research Occasional Paper is the product of the continuing efforts by the Institute to contribute and involve its expertise in two directions not necessarily related to arctic or alpine environments: (1) local geoecological problems, related to the well-being of the people of Colorado, and (2) informed development and management of resources. , Prudent development and management of local resources has to be based on detailed field information. Understanding and prediction of short-and long-term changes in ecosystems are necessary prerequirements of management decisions and formulation of future management policies. Vegetation is one of the key elements in ecosystems'and is of particular importance as an indicator and agent of ecosystem recovery after disturbance. It is hoped. that land management and landuse planning will be based in part on detailed field vegetation studies in the future, and that the present paper will make a contribution to applied ecology.

The purpose of this study is to develop a novel, visual method in analyzing complex functional trait data in freshwater ecology. We focus on macroinvertebrates in stream ecosystems under a gradient of habitat degradation and employ a combination of taxonomic and functional trait diversity analyses. Then we use graph theory to link changes in functional trait diversity to taxonomic richness and habitat degradation. We test the hypotheses that: 1) taxonomic diversity and trophic functional trait diversity both decrease with increased habitat degradation; 2) loss of taxa leads to a decrease in trophic function as visualized using a bipartite graph; and 3) loss of taxa will result in loss of redundancy. The first hypothesis was supported by the similarity of Shannon-Wiener diversity values for taxa and trophic function, correlated at r = 81%. The bipartite graph theoretic approach we developed clearly was effective in showing the linkages between taxonomic diversity and trophic functional traits related to habitat condition. In the most impaired site, loss of taxa led to the complete loss of some trophic functions and significantly less overall redundancy, supporting the third hypothesis. The implications are that taxa loss directly affects trophic function and that loss of taxonomic diversity may affect ecosystem function.

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