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Presidential Address: Some aspects of soil ecology

[First paragraph...]
It is well known that in most soils vast numbers and great variety of living organisms may be found. They range in complexity from the simplest of single-celled animals plants and bacteria, through to burrowing mammals and higher plants, and include representatives of almost every major group of organisms. Photosynthesis by the green plants that grow on the soil surface is the source of energy upon which the whole population ultimately depends, and most of the organisms are decomposers of plant tissue.

Animal modification of native vegetation: Interactions between man, deer & vegetation in Michigan

[First paragraph...]
Compared with New Zealand, ecological communities in North America are very complex. In the state of Michigan alone there are over 50 different species of mammals, about 300 of birds and perhaps 40 terrestrial or partly terrestrial reptiles and amphibians. Many of these species of animals are very abundant and exert considerable influences on a rich and varied flora. This short paper will, however, discuss only man and the whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus), perhaps the two most important animals influencing the vegetation of Michigan.

Animal modification of native vegetation: Relations between feral goats and vegetation in New Zealand

[First paragraph...]
This paper describes some relations between feral goats and vegetation, and attempts to show how understanding their reciprocal nature may assist in improving methods of controlling goats. Examples are drawn from the Rimutaka Range where goats, red deer, pigs and opossums are present; Mt. Egmont and the adjacent Pouakai Range where goats and opossums are present; and Cuvier Island, 24 miles east of Cape Colville, where goats were the only browsing mammals prior to their extermination in 1961. Methods used in this study follow those described by Atkinson (1963).

Parasitic isopods on trout

[First paragraph...]
Although parasitic Crustacea are not uncommon on migratory salmonids in the northern hemisphere, there appear to be no records of such an association in Australasia. A trout (Salmo trutta L.) was taken in Lake Waituna, Southland in April 1963 and seven parasitic isopods found attached to it. Three specimens were examined and identified as Nerocila orbigni (Gueren, 1832). The specimens were females and the lengths were 24, 28 and 28 mms.