Freshwater mussels are one of the most endangered groups of animals on the planet. Their demise will have dramatic consequences for freshwater environments worldwide.
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Wildlife conservation – Analysis and Comment
It’s usually good news when a once-scarce species starts to recover – unless it starts getting in humans’ way. An ecologist explains how science can help predict unwelcome encounters.
A barrier built to stop human migrants will instead cut off animals and scientific cooperation.
Northern Australia’s tropical savanna is one of the most fire-prone regions on the planet. We need to change the way we manage fires so we can help native wildlife come back from the brink.
There are so few wild ocelots in the US that the cats are becoming inbred, with a bad prognosis for their ultimate survival. But researchers are perfecting ways to get new genes into the population.
Rabbits destroy huge numbers of critical regenerating seedlings over more than half the continent. This has devastating flow-on effects for the rest of the ecosystem. So how do we control them?
Recovering historical genetic data has been severely impeded by the methods used to preserve specimens, from dried butterfly wings to platypus bills floating in alcohol.
Recent sighting of a leopard in the Campo-Ma’an National Park area of Southern Cameroon shows the importance of conservation efforts.
Helicoptering heavy herbivores across Africa is no laughing matter.
Roaming pet cats can kill more than 180 animals each year. But most people who keep cats inside do so for the welfare of their pet.
Meet the parma wallaby: for decades it was presumed extinct, until it turned up in New Zealand. Today, its failure to charm Australians may have doomed it – for good.
This fluffy-eared marsupial was listed as ‘vulnerable’ under the national environment law in 2016. Five years later, it meets the criteria to be listed as ‘endangered’. Australia must do better.
We’ve identified three frog species very likely to already be extinct. Another four species on our list are still surviving, but not likely to make it to 2040 without help.
These phallic, burrowing invertebrates are certainly worth your time as integral and fascinating members — of Australia’s marine ecosystems.
To many people, Australia’s spider diversity is a source of fear. To arachnologists, it’s a goldmine, with most Australian spider species still yet to be discovered.
It’s typically rare to see a dead frog. Yet, we’ve received a flurry of emails from people coming across them in this truly unusual, and tragic, mass death event.
New research reviewed more than 200 studies, and found the science underpinning artificial refuges — think nest boxes and artificial burrows — must be improved.
There have been just six verified sightings of the pygmy blue whale off Sydney in 18 years. Rare sightings like these are crucial, because the giants are considered ‘data deficient’.
The Convention on Biological Diversity aims to achieve a world “living in harmony with nature”. This won’t happen if the plan goes ahead in its current form.
The broad-toothed rat rarely, if ever, gets its own story, so I want to introduce you properly to this fascinating, unique and beautiful species. It really needs our help.
The remaining populations are threatened by a lack of genetic diversity, which makes them less likely to bounce back from new pressures such as climate change.
Australia has one of the worst track records in the world for species extinctions. The federal government’s proposed changes could weaken our already inadequate environment law.
Tassie devils are notorious scavengers, eating everything from echidnas to stranded whales. Understanding how their teeth wear down can help us feed and protect captive populations.
For phascogales, tree hollows are getting harder to find. I venture into forests and study how well artificial hollows made with chainsaws can replace them.
It’s hard to preserve national parks “unimpaired,” as US law directs, when they’re overrun with tourists who stray off paths, strew trash and harass wildlife. A parks scholar calls for crowd control.