It’s a tough time for young conservation scientists
Sure, it’s a tough time for everyone, isn’t it? But it’s a lot worse for the already disadvantaged, and it’s only going to go downhill from here. I suppose that most people who read this blog can...
View ArticleCitizens meet coral gardening
It is possible to cultivate corals in the sea like growing a nursery of trees to restore a burned forest. Cultivated corals grow faster than wild corals and can be outplanted to increase the healthy...
View ArticleAn eye on the past: a view to the future
originally published in Brave Minds, Flinders University’s research-news publication (text by David Sly) Clues to understanding human interactions with global ecosystems already exist. The challenge is...
View ArticleRemote areas not necessarily safe havens for biodiversity
The intensity of threats to biodiversity from human endeavour becomes weaker as the distance to them increases. As you move away from the big city to enjoy the countryside, you’ll notice the obvious...
View ArticleFancy a pangolin infected with coronavirus? Apparently, many people do
The logic of money contradicts the logic of species conservation and human health. As illegal trade has driven pangolins to near extinction, their hunting and market value has kept increasing ― even...
View ArticleNeo-colonialist attitudes ignoring poachernomics will ensure more extinctions
No matter most people’s best intentions, poaching of species in Sub-Saharan Africa for horn and ivory continues unabated. Despite decades of policies, restrictions, interventions, protections, and...
View ArticleCan we resurrect the thylacine? Maybe, but it won’t help the global...
(published first on The Conversation) Last week, researchers at the University of Melbourne announced that thylacines or Tasmanian tigers, the Australian marsupial predators extinct since the 1930s,...
View ArticleA cascade of otters
Carnivores are essential components of trophic webs, and ecosystem functions crumble with their loss. Novel data show the connection between calcareous reefs and sea otters under climate change. For...
View ArticleBane of the bees
Bees are essential for pollination, but their critical function can be perturbed by pesticides. The detrimental effects of those chemicals accumulate through a bee’s life, and become stronger if...
View ArticleFallacy of zero-extinction targets
Nearly a decade ago (my how time flies*), I wrote a post about the guaranteed failure of government policies purporting no-extinction targets within their environmental plans. I was referring to the...
View ArticleJournal ranks 2021
Now that Clarivate, Google, and Scopus have recently published their respective journal citation scores for 2021, I can now present — for the 14th year running on ConvervationBytes.com — the 2021...
View ArticleShould we bring back the thylacine? We asked 5 experts
Signe Dean, The Conversation In a newly announced partnership with Texas biotech company Colossal Biosciences, Australian researchers are hoping their dream to bring back the extinct thylacine is a...
View ArticleWhat does ‘collapse’ mean, and should we continue using the term?
The conservation, environment, and sustainability literature is rife with the term ‘collapse’, applied to concepts as diverse as species extinction to the complete breakdown of civilisation. I have...
View ArticleChildren born today will see literally thousands of animals disappear in...
Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Flinders University and Giovanni Strona, University of Helsinki Climate change is one of the main drivers of species loss globally. We know more plants and animals will die as...
View ArticleInfluential conservation papers of 2022
Following my annual tradition, I present the retrospective list of the ‘top’ 20 influential papers of 2022 as assessed by experts in Faculty Opinions (formerly known as F1000). These are in no...
View ArticleIntricate dance of nature — predicting extinction risks in terrestrial...
Have you ever watched a nature documentary and marvelled at the intricate dance of life unfolding on screen? From the smallest insect to the largest predator, every creature plays a role in the grand...
View ArticleAncient pathogens released from melting ice could wreak havoc on the world
Shutterstock Science fiction is rife with fanciful tales of deadly organisms emerging from the ice and wreaking havoc on unsuspecting human victims. From shape-shifting aliens in Antarctica, to...
View ArticleOpen Letter: Public policy in South Australia regarding dingoes
08 August 2023 The Honourable Dr Susan Close MP, Deputy Premier and Minister for Climate, Environment and Water, South Australia The Honourable Claire Scriven MLC, Minister for Primary Industries and...
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