Australia

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The flooding caused a HUGE impact on Australian wildlife

‘The sad reality is many don’t survive’: how floods affect wildlife…. For over two decades, bull sharks have called a Brisbane golf course home after, it’s believed, a flood washed them into the course’s lake in 1996. Now, after severe floods connected their landlocked home back to the river system, these sharks have gone missing, perhaps attempting to seek larger water bodies. This bizarre tale is one of many accounts illustrating how Australia’s wildlife respond to flooding. But the sad...

World Engineering Day

In New Zealand… Engineering New Zealand Wonder Project nightlights STEM The Wonder Project is Engineering New Zealand’s initiative to get the next generation excited about a career in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). It’s about sparking wonder in STEM from a young age, building confidence, and having all young Kiwis believing they can achieve remarkable things. In Australia… Engineers Australia is set to celebrate the UNESCO designated World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development (WED) on Friday 4 March. The...

Rabbit plague and how to handle

Rabbits are an enormous problem for Australian ecosystems – they’re a major threat to 322 species of plants and animals already at risk of extinction. This is more than double the number of species threatened by cats and foxes. The Conversation investigation To keep rabbit numbers down, many land managers roll out rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus, a powerful biocontrol. Land managers play a crucial role in conserving the environment and managing pest species – their involvement is essential to the...

“Just add water” – Lake Eyre, Australia, is back

Water Giver of new life Lake Eyre begins filling with water – much to delight of tourists, businesses   Few rivers in the world remain as untamed and free-flowing as those that run through the ancient landscape of the Lake Eyre Basin. Recent generous rainfall over Australia’s inland Channel Country is breathing new life into ecosystems and it’s getting graziers and businesses excited for a big year ahead. Red dirt country has transformed into lush green expanses, cobbled with patterns...

Australia conservation: iconic Koala becomes ‘endangered’

  Very interesting news today in The Guardian Australia edition…. No recovery plan for the Australian marsupial was in place despite it being identified as a requirement nine years ago * Today – 2022 : The Australian government has officially listed the koala as ‘endangered’  after a decline in its numbers due to land clearing and catastrophic bushfires shrinking its habitat.   * back in 2019 ….. A report claims koalas are ‘functionally extinct’ – but what does that mean?  In THE...

Great Barrier Reef is amazing

What makes the ‘Great Barrier Reef” great?   “The Great Barrier Reef – a world heritage site- is a site of remarkable variety and beauty on the north-east coast of Australia. It contains the world’s largest collection of coral reefs, with 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc. It also holds great scientific interest as the habitat of species such as the dugong (‘sea cow’) and the large green turtle, which are threatened with...

Newsflash! New species discovered in 2021

In a year of challenges and frustration, here’s some good news from BBC Wildlife team… “Taxonomists – scientists that classify species – describe thousands and thousands of new extant (living) species every year, and 2021 has seen some amazing new discoveries, including impressive spiders in Papua New Guinea named after the activist Greta Thunberg and a tiny chameleon in Madagascar. Sometimes these species are completely new ones that have never been studied by scientists before, and sometimes it’s a case of...

National Parks of Australia: Christmas Island turns 40

“Located 1500 km from the Australian mainland, Christmas Island is a remarkable ecotourism destination. This tiny dot of land in the Indian Ocean boasts tropical rainforests, freshwater wetlands, spectacular sea cliffs and diverse wildlife both above and below the water. Visit us to encounter rare birds, millions of crabs and an extraordinary array of marine life. ( Source : https://parksaustralia.gov.au/christmas/ ) Geology Christmas Island’s steep cliffs, stepped terraces and abundant caves are the result of a fascinating geological past. The...

Museums – digitising collections & making discoveries

The Australian Museum is digitising its collections, including the historic and diverse Marine Invertebrate collection. Below the Museum explains how is opening up its treasure trove of specimens to the world and the discoveries we are making along the way – but first, two some questions that the digitising raises…    Why are museums important? In today’s uncertain times, museums can act as an anchor in the storm. To those who aren’t as passionate about the power of museums as...

Australia land of extremes. Why?

One of the issues that came out of the recent #Cop26 climate conference was – that Australia is very much impacted by extremes of climate and the impacts can seen in bushfires which have devastated both wildlife and people in New South Wales and other states. So, why is Australia so very much affected by climate? Australia is a land of “drought and flooding rains”. As rainfall varies significantly from year to year and from decade to decade, recurring floods...

Australian wildlife report : fighting plagues & predators

  A new report, Fighting plagues and predators Australia’s path to a pest and weed-free future, released last week, reveals the environment is facing a “sliding doors” moment, with two possible futures for Australia, depending on the decisions made in the very near future. It highlights a looming wave of new extinctions and outlines two futures for Australia, one based on an unsustainable ‘business as usual’ approach and the other based on implementing targeted actions that will help save our...