We currently face a biodiversity and extinction crisis as human population pressures and climate change combine to push our natural environments to the limit. Because our urban and agricultural activities…
Biodiversity offsets are touted as a new tool for protecting our natural environment. While they have the potential to deliver real gains, understanding the possible consequences of these polices over…
If you live in eastern Australia there’s a good chance you’re one of nine million Australians who call the world’s newest biodiversity hotspot home. In a recent publication, “Forests of East Australia…
The United Nations has set Halloween as the day when homosapiens are estimated to reach seven billion, up from six billion in 1999 and five billion in 1987. Two centuries ago there were one billion people…
Hands up those who’ve heard of antimony. Now, keep them up if you can name its chemical symbol, list the world’s leading producers, or even name a single commercial product that contains the element. Most…
When my children are my age they will be living in a country with an economy that’s three times larger, and a population that’s twice as large as today. And, on current trends, my children will be living…
What comes to mind when you think of Indonesia? For biologists like myself, Australia’s northern neighbour provokes visions of ancient rainforests being razed by slash-and-burn farmers, and endangered…
It’s true: many species will go extinct due to the direct and indirect impacts of climate change. We will have to make some hard decisions about where to invest conservation dollars for the best effect…
Fifteen frog species have been discovered in the Western Ghats region of India, including 12 completely new species and three that had not been spotted in nearly 100 years. The “night frogs”, so named…
We live in an age of vanishing rainforests. Half of the world’s tropical forests have disappeared since World War II and roughly another 10 million hectares are being felled each year — the equivalent…
The issue of firewood management has recently attracted renewed attention in Victoria, where the State Government has changed the regulations on collecting firewood from State Forests. Firewood is cheap…
So, we have to feed an extra 2.5 billion people by 2050. For those of us interested in the future of biodiversity on this planet, this poses an uncomfortable challenge. It is also the topic of a recent…
Our planet is on the precipice of a sixth mass extinction event. But unlike the five previous mass extinctions, this one is man-made: a global biodiversity crisis in which species are disappearing three…
Human-induced climatic changes are altering ecosystems worldwide. Because of these ecosystem changes, the geographic range of species is shifting towards the poles or to higher elevations. The speed of…
Ocean acidification is often referred to as the “evil twin” of climate change. Greenhouse gasses are doing more than just warming the globe. Increasing C0₂ levels are also changing the chemical make-up…
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University