The Conversation

It’s only fair to expect results from vast sums of public money spent on koala conservation. But continued land clearing badly undermines the investment. Lachlan G. Howell, Research Fellow | Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University Ryan R. Witt, Postdoctoral Researcher and Honorary Lecturer | School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle Shelby A. Ryan, PhD Candidate | School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia is one of the world’s top exporters of grain. Producing it at lower emissions is crucial for global climate action. Maartje Sevenster, Research Scientist Climate Smart Agriculture, CSIRO Aaron Simmons, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, University of New England Lindsay Bell, Research scientist, CSIRO Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Without these older Australians, my research wouldn’t be where it is today. So let’s meet a few of them. Rachael Fowler, Post doctoral research fellow plant evolution, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

New research finds the last 250 years has seen more than 100 million hectares of bird habitat destroyed on mainland Australia – that’s 15% of Australia’s landmass. Michelle Ward, PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

All nations must ramp up efforts to preserve and restore their coastal regions – and the time to start is right now. Brooke Williams, Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Queensland Amelia Wenger, Research Associate in Coral Reef Ecology, James Cook University James Watson, Professor, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Over 150 types of venomous snake live in Australia. But deaths from snakebite are vanishingly rare. From snake behaviour to human innovation, here are the reasons why. Christina N. Zdenek, Lab Manager/Post-doc at the Venom Evolution Lab, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

It may not be extinct, but our research suggests the buff-breasted button-quail may only be hanging on by a thread, at best. Patrick Webster, PhD candidate, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Some trees explode into bits when lightning strikes. Some seem fine and die later. But others are unaffected. Gregory Moore, Doctor of Botany, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The proposal is likely to mean economic and diplomatic costs for Australia, and should ring alarm bells in Canberra. Wesley Morgan, Research Fellow, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Labor wants to run the Kurri Kurri gas power station on green hydrogen. But the figures don’t stack up. Bruce Mountain, Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

New research finds Queensland’s laws fail to protect private conservation areas from the hidden impacts of mining on groundwater. Rebecca Louise Nelson, Associate Professor in Law, The University of Melbourne Rebecca Spindler, Adjunct associate professor, UNSW Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Saving the Great Barrier Reef is not about throwing money at it – what matters is how the dollars are spent. Jon C. Day, PSM, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University Scott F. Heron, Associate Professor, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Fungi come in a beautiful diversity of shapes, sizes and colours. See stunning photos of those growing in southwest Australia. Gregory Moore, Doctor of Botany, The University of Melbourne Mark Brundrett, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Hospitals will have to plan for larger floods - and find ways to safely evacuate staff and patients. Martin Loosemore, Professor of Construction Management, University of Technology Sydney Maziar Yazdani, Doctoral candidate, UNSW Mohammad Mojtahedi, Senior lecturer, School of Built Environment, UNSW Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Just because we’re in a period of social change, doesn’t mean we have to lose momentum on sustainability. There are six things we can do right now to offset our daily waste from disposable masks. Aleasha McCallion, Strategic Projects Manager, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University Forbes McGain, Associate Professor, The University of Melbourne Kim Borg, Research Fellow at BehaviourWorks Australia, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Many men see meat as a core part of their identity. That could pose a stumbling block for the newly popular plant-based meat sector. Dora Marinova, Professor of Sustainability, Curtin University Christopher Bryant, Research associate, University of Bath Diana Bogueva, Team Manager/ Adjunct Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Naturalistic thinking has long helped humanity grapple with complex urban predicaments. What role can it play today? Marco Amati, Associate Professor of International Planning, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

As climate change worsens,ther findings highlight the importance of conserving natural river flows to enable freshwater species to respond and adapt. Catherine R. M. Attard, Lecturer in Molecular Ecology, Flinders University Chris Brauer, Postdoctoral Fellow Molecular Ecology Lab, Flinders University Jonathan Sandoval Castillo, Postdoctoral Fellow Molecular Ecology, Flinders University Louis Bernatchez, Professeur en biologie, Université Laval Luciano Beheregaray, Professor of Biodiversity Genomics, Flinders University Peter Unmack, Research Fellow, University of Canberra Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The rapid rate of species declines means we should trial potential solutions before it’s too late. Tiffany Kosch, Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Climate models point to these extreme heatwaves becoming more frequent in southwest Australia – a region considered a climate change hotspot. Jatin Kala, Senior Lecturer and ARC DECRA felllow, Murdoch University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.