As well as a stark warning about climate change, the disaster underlines the importance of wildlife monitoring.
Konik ponies graze in Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire. The UK National Trust used TESSA to calculate that each hectare of the fen was worth US$200 more per year as wetland than as farmland.
Gailhampshire/Flickr
The Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessment (TESSA) allows NGOs to quantify the economic advantages of maintaining ecosystems, helping preserve biodiversity by putting a value on it.
Invertebrates out greatly outnumber mammals everywhere, including in bushfire zones.
Michael Lee
Once you include insects, snails, worms and other small creatures, it’s clear the fires could cause one of the biggest extinction events of the modern era.
Birds are disoriented by smoke and often cannot escape a fire.
James Ross/AAP
It’s well-established that green spaces are good for our well-being. Now we can demonstrate that greater biodiversity boosts this benefit, as well as helping to sustain native plants and animals.
Black-and-white ruffed lemurs are important indicators of rainforest health.
Franck Rabenahy
New research shows that slowing deforestation is the most essential step for saving Madagascar’s lemurs, and can help protect them against the longer-term threat of climate change.
Wildlife TV producers used to think that focus on environmental issues could only be structured around doom and gloom stories – scaring away large audiences.
Scientists need your help to protect Australia’s insects and track their numbers.
Joe Castro/AAP
Insects are vital to sustaining life on Earth – and their numbers are falling fast. So consider ditching the fly spray and see what you can do to help.
New research says there is no reliable evidence that shark nets protect swimmers.
Ben Rushton/AAP
Indigenous people used small fires skilfully to prevent larger bushfires. In this time of crisis, we must learn from them.
The declaration of the 5 million-hectare Katiti Petermann Indigenous Protected Area around Uluru in 2015 helped take the land area of northern Australia in the hands of traditional owners to around 60%.
Central Land Council/AAP
Expanding on sustainable practices in remote parts of Australia can deliver great benefits to both local Indigenous owners and national and global communities.
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University