For some unfathomable reason, cane toads stir the popular imagination. Most invasive species are simply not noticed by most of us, or, if they are, they are quickly assimilated into our mental landscape…
The Indian Myna is an invasive species – but has its behaviour changed in Australia?
Wikimedia Commons.
Plants and animals that are seemingly harmless in their native habitats can become quite aggressive or even destructive in a new location. Think of the rats that have been a source of human and animal…
One of the worst Christmas presents Australia has had.
Richard Taylor
Domesticated rabbits arrived in Australia with the first fleet and some became established as feral populations around colonial settlements as early as the 1830s. However, the situation changed dramatically…
Starlings were introduced to Australia by humans, but does that matter?
Simon Evans
My cat caught a starling this week. By the time I intervened, the poor bird’s leg was broken, the kitchen floor was strewn with feathers, and I had to make one of those awful decisions. Was I to leave…
Native or not? Red cabbage palms found in Palm Valley in the Northern Territory were introduced by Aboriginal people thousands of years ago.
Jurriaan Persyn
New molecular techniques show that an iconic palm only grows in central Australia because humans moved it there thousands of years ago. It poses the question: should we still regard this as a native species…
An introduced species can be invasive without causing native species’ decline. Leaping to conclusions won’t help manage the problem.
Degilbo/Flickr
In Australia we are all too familiar with devastating environmental impacts of introduced species such as foxes, rabbits and cane toads. But did you know that some introduced species may have a relatively…
Dingo: when they come to rely on humans for food and water, not killing them can be naive.
Flickr/woulfe
The sad reality of human-dingo relations is that blood will be shed, as Brad Purcell recently reminded us in these pages with his article about non-violent co-existence, The Australian Dingo: to be respected…
The rapacious invader has defied all efforts to stop its spread across tropical Australia.
Flickr/blundershot
The cane toad’s highly toxic poison could ultimately prove the most effective weapon against the invasive species itself, according to a team of researchers who say the poison is an effective bait for…
The public often thinks science and technology are the cause of their problems, not the solution.
Erik Berndt
Worldwide, and especially in Australia, much valuable science is being wasted or stalled through what is known as technology rejection – the public’s hostile reception of new technologies or scientific…
Honeybees are important pollinators, but not the only ones.
BugMan50
In many countries there has been concern about a decline in honeybees. You may have even heard that honeybees face dangers so dire that their imminent decline threatens world food production, with potential…
Are rabbits poised to take back the landscape?
AAP
Rabbit-killing viruses - first myxoma, then rabbit haemorrhagic disease - have rid many of our landscapes of rabbits and lulled Australians into a false sense of security. Rabbits are now fighting back…
Dingos are introduced, but have they gone native?
AAP
Native status is a big deal. It affects where conservation dollars are spent, and our inherent reaction to a species. Most people believe that native equals good and alien equals bad, but in some cases…
Just because an idea seems ridiculous, doesn’t mean it’s not worth discussing.
moirabot/Flickr
Last week I published an opinion piece in Nature attempting to crystallise debate on a number of issues in Australian environmental management: bushfires, weeds, feral animals, management of Aboriginal…
A chemical produced naturally by cane toad tadpoles may one day be used to help control the invasive species, according to new research published today. Cane toads are native to South America but have…