Wildlife

Analysis and Comment (8)

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To figure out where we’re safe from crocodiles, we need to know more about what makes them move around. Jeff Keir

Controlling crocs means knowing who’s boss

By Hamish Campbell and Ross Dwyer

The estuarine crocodile is the top predator in waterways across Northern Australia. Large crocodiles pose a risk to humans, so local governments take measures to control crocodile abundance and distribution…
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The Mekong in Xayaburi Province, Laos – the site of a proposed dam. But what will happen to biodiversity and people? Flickr/International Rivers.

Rhino horn and tiger blood: conservation in the Mekong

By Gerry Ryan, University of Melbourne

When Australians think of the Mekong they think cheap holidays or Vietnamese restaurants. Biodiversity-wise however, the Mekong is a frontier, a place where biological riches collide with human pressure…
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CSIRO’s ‘stealthy robot’, seen here observing a target through grass, will be able to discover much about natural wildlife. CSIRO

Stealth robots: spying on wildlife just got real

By Ashley Tews, CSIRO

The ability to track wildlife in natural environments while remaining undetected poses many technological challenges. The goal of CSIRO’s “robotic stealthy tracking” project, however, is to directly address…
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Back, sperm, back: a human egg on the tip of a pin. Flickr/wellcome images

Squaring up to difficult truths: how to reduce the population

By Cliff Hooker, University of Newcastle

Elephants in the room, part two For all our schemes and mantras about making our lives environmentally “sustainable”, humanity’s assault on the planet not only continues but expands. What are the deep…
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Our teeming attack on the natural world threatens to turn the wilderness into a fetish item. AAP/The Wilderness Society

Squaring up to difficult truths: population and the environment

By Cliff Hooker, University of Newcastle

Elephants in the room, part one For all our schemes and mantras about making this or that part of our lives environmentally “sustainable”, humanity’s assault on the planet not only continues but expands…
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Species have trouble getting around without landscape-scale corridors. Michael Dawes

Why a carbon tax for wildlife corridors is a good idea

By Karl Vernes and Tom Barrett

In the 1980s, ecologists were locked in a debate about how best to preserve biodiversity. Which, they asked, was better: a single large reserve, or several small reserves? The debate was never resolved…
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The plan provides nearly $100 million for our unique biodoversity. pierre pouliquin/flickr

What does the carbon price package mean for biodiversity?

By Andrew Campbell, Charles Darwin University

How effective will the carbon tax package’s biodiversity measures be in conserving Australia’s ecosystems? The carbon price package’s biodiversity measures are a pleasant surprise. To the extent that…
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The vaccine – which will be given to horses – is currently 18 months away. AAP

Hope for Hendra virus vaccination … but not this year

By Deborah Middleton, CSIRO

As Queensland authorities confirm the third outbreak of Hendra virus within a week, researchers are moving to fast track a horse vaccination for the deadly virus, which can spread from horses to humans…

Research and News (2)

Research Briefs (14)

New Vietnamese ferret-badger identified

Der Zoologische Garten

A new species of ferret-badger has been found in central Vietnam. The new species, Melogale cucphuongensis, differs from…

Crab claw keeps crustaceans cool

The American Naturalist

A male fiddler crab’s oversized claw has be found to help it regulate its body temperature Researchers placed crabs under…

Dishy plants get bats on the radar

University of Bristol

A rainforest vine, pollinated by bats, has evolved dish-shaped leaves with such conspicuous echoes that nectar-feeding bats…

Participants (27)