Stories of science from the Australian Rivers Institute
By Dr Michael Sievers and Dr Mahua Roy Chowdhury Read Time: 481 words about 3 minutes. Royal Bengal Tiger. Photo: Unknown. Despite historic clearing and an Endangered status, there are positive signs when it comes to one of the largest mangrove ecosystems in the world - The Indian Sundarbans. The Indian Sundarbans form part of [...]
By PhD candidate Rebekah Grieger Read Time: 468 words about 4 minutes. Wetlands are important features in the coastal landscape, providing many important ecosystem services. Much of the research into coastal wetlands focuses on the salty ones – mangroves, saltmarsh, seagrass – but there are equally important wetlands just up-stream that are generally overlooked, coastal freshwater wetlands. Our [...]
By PhD Candidate Tessa Page, Read Time: 404 words about 3 minutes. Our new research has revealed adults from one species of reef building coralline algae may be somewhat resilient to the degree of change oceans are predicted to endure by year 2100. As humans continue to emit CO2 into the atmosphere at an unprecedented rate, major changes are occurring in our oceans, [...]
By PhD Candidates Carolina Olguin Jacobson and Nur Arafeh Dalmau (Guest Co-Author) Read Time: 449 words about 3 minutes. Extreme climatic events, such as marine heatwaves, are threatening one of the most productive (but often forgotten) marine ecosystems; kelp forests. Sea lions among kelp forest in a remote island Cedros, in Baja California, Mexico. Photo by: Nur Arafeh Dalmau. The importance of terrestrial forests is well known, but their marine counterpart, underwater kelp forests, are [...]
By PhD candidate Sebastian Lopez-Marcano Read Time: 416 words about 3 minutes. Data creates magic. In ecology, data is necessary to make targeted management decisions. New tools (i.e. deep learning / computer vision) are allowing data to be processed at vast rates which is making data more accessible and useful. However, converting raw data into meaningful insights for ecological research can be challenging. Data nodes. Photo: Akamai. Through the years, ecologists have become familiar [...]
By Dr Mischa Turschwell Read Time: 342 words about 2 minutes. Mangrove forest conservation is increasingly attracting international interest. That’s because mangroves support incredible biodiversity, enhance fisheries, protect vulnerable coastal communities from storms, and reduce climate change by storing carbon. Lone Mangrove Sunset. Photo: Unknown. Unfortunately, mangrove forests remain one of the worlds most threatened ecosystems. Pressures from forest fragmentation, climate change, increasing exploitation [...]
Dr Ryan Pearson Read Time: 503 words about 3 minutes. The effects of COVID-19 on the world has been profound. We're now re-evaluating intergovernmental, trade and personal relationships, and rethinking our consumer needs. Environmental groups have been encouraging people to 'eat more fish' in response to this pandemic. Consumer surveys during the pandemic have also highlighted [...]
By Dr Michael Sievers Reading Time: 485 words about 3 minutes. Habitat degradation is a global crisis. Quantifying and evaluating habitat change and its impacts on ecosystem function is needed to inform management and conservation that ultimately safeguards biodiversity and human benefits. Many of these benefits in coastal ecosystems depend not only on habitat status, [...]
By Melanie Roberts and Fernanda Adame Article Read Time: 524 words about 3 minutes. The 2019 Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report from the Australian Government Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority identifies the risk of nutrient runoff from catchments for the reef as Very High, the same rating as the 2014 and 2009 reports. --- This [...]
By Dr Viv Tulloch Read Time: 508 words about 3 mins. Marine ecosystems are increasingly threatened by climate change, human activities in the oceans and on the land, yet significant gaps still exist in managing the impacts of these pressures around the world. Marine Habitat Destruction. Photo Jeff Yonover. Efficient conservation investment requires linking dominant pressures [...]
