title: Regional and seasonal variation in airborne grass pollen levels between cities of Australia and New Zealand.
abstract: Although grass pollen is widely regarded as the major outdoor aeroallergen source in Australia and New Zealand (NZ), no assemblage of airborne pollen data for the region has been previously compiled. Grass pollen count data collected at 14 urban sites in Australia and NZ over periods ranging from 1 to 17 years were acquired, assembled and compared, revealing considerable spatiotemporal variability. Although direct comparison between these data is problematic due to methodological differences between monitoring sites, the following patterns are apparent. Grass pollen seasons tended to have more than one peak from tropics to latitudes of 37°S and single peaks at sites south of this latitude. A longer grass pollen season was therefore found at sites below 37°S, driven by later seasonal end dates for grass growth and flowering. Daily pollen counts increased with latitude; subtropical regions had seasons of both high intensity and long duration. At higher latitude sites, the single springtime grass pollen peak is potentially due to a cooler growing season and a predominance of pollen from C3grasses. The multiple peaks at lower latitude sites may be due to a warmer season and the predominance of pollen from C4grasses. Prevalence and duration of seasonal allergies may reflect the differing pollen seasons across Australia and NZ. It must be emphasized that these findings are tentative due to limitations in the available data, reinforcing the need to implement standardized pollen-monitoring methods across Australasia. Furthermore, spatiotemporal differences in grass pollen counts indicate that local, current, standardized pollen monitoring would assist with the management of pollen allergen exposure for patients at risk of allergic rhinitis and asthma.
authors.affiliation: The Canberra Hospital, PO Box 11, Woden, ACT 2606, Australia.
authors.forename: Danielle E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Medek
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Beggs
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Bircan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Erbas
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Alison K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Jaggard
authors.affiliation: School of Agriculture and Food Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Bradley C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Don
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vicendese
authors.affiliation: Menzies Research Institute Tasmania, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.
authors.forename: Fay H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.affiliation: School of Agriculture and Food Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Godwin
authors.affiliation: Plant Functional Biology and Climate Change, University of Technology, Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Alfredo R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Huete
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown, WV, USA.
authors.forename: Brett J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: Campbelltown Hospital and the School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Macarthur, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Pamela K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Burton
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.
authors.forename: David M J S
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Bowman
authors.affiliation: School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Rewi M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Newnham
authors.affiliation: Campbelltown Hospital and the School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Macarthur, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Constance H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Katelaris
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
authors.forename: Simon G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Haberle
authors.affiliation: School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Ed
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Newbigin
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Translational Research Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Janet M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Davies
keywords: Aerobiology; Australia; Grass pollen; Latitude; New Zealand; Plant distribution