The devastating bushfires in Victoria, Australia on 7 February 2009 resulted in the loss of 173 lives and caused major property and asset damage. The fires are considered to be Australia’s worst peacetime disaster.
Understanding Black Saturday
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Research combats invasive ants on Indigenous lands in northern Australia
Invasive ants are among the greatest environmental, social and economic threats to Australia, potentially costing the nation more than $1 billion annually. However, knowledge of the basic biology of these pest species remains rudimentary, and many management operations have been unsuccessful.
Continue reading Research combats invasive ants on Indigenous lands in northern Australia
Surviving in the city
Why do some plant and animal species thrive in the city while others disappear?
Most ecological studies are done in natural environments not in towns and cities so we lack information on urban ecology.
A team from Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens is changing that.
Lake Mungo reveals ancient human adaptation to climate change
Aboriginal Elders from the Traditional Tribal Groups in the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area are collaborating with researchers to produce the first integrated account of the history of human settlement, landscape evolution and past environmental change for Australia’s foremost ‘Ice Age’ archive.
Continue reading Lake Mungo reveals ancient human adaptation to climate change
The lighting revolution has only just begun
LED lighting is sweeping the world. It’s energy efficient, long lasting, and could save users billions of dollars worldwide and dramatically reduce carbon emissions. But it’s still a young technology. Much more efficient lights are on the way.
Continue reading The lighting revolution has only just begun
Building water sensitive cities
Annually, almost as much stormwater falls on Melbourne as its citizens use, but only a fraction is captured and reused. Billions of litres of stormwater literally go down the drain and into Port Phillip Bay, degrading the ecological health of Melbourne streams and the bay.
Invasion of the grasses
DNA barcodes could help farmers and conservationists identify wanted and unwanted grasses.
Identifying grasses is difficult especially when they’re not flowering. But identification is important. Australia’s agriculture and ecology are threatened by invading grasses, such as Chilean needle grass (Nassella neesiana) and serrated tussock (N. trichotoma). And efforts to re-introduce native grasses can be hampered if you can’t tell the grasses apart.
Two million containers—but how many pests?
Every visitor to Australia quickly learns that we take quarantine seriously. Our country is free of many pests, weeds and diseases that are widespread overseas. Our relative disease-freedom is good news for our people, for agriculture and for the environment.
Visitors’ luggage is screened at the airports. But what about the two million shipping containers that enter Australia each year? How do we strike a balance between open trade and quarantine?
Are forests really the carbon sink we need?
Australian Rivers Institute’s Assoc. Prof. Peter Pollard has researched rainforest lakes and rivers to test a provocative theory. The respiration of bacteria living and ‘breathing’ in these freshwater ecosystems is a major pathway for the return of rainforest carbon back to the atmosphere as the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
Continue reading Are forests really the carbon sink we need?
Algae that make biofuels and hydrogen
