Stories of science from the Australian Rivers Institute
"We tend to use our ironic acronym loosely, habitually, with limited regard for our listeners’ comprehension: it’s the ‘hour of comfort’, when everyone, worldwide, wants to turn on a tap, go to the toilet, wear clean clothes, and yes, wash. Bodies, faces, children, hands, to wash. Water to drink. A safe and dignified place to defecate. We all need Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)."
By Dr Chris Brown Coastal wetlands are globally threatened. However, the plight of these habitats, like mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and saltmarshes, is not well recognised relative to other coastal ecosystems, such as coral reefs. This translates into funding shortfalls both for the science needed to address coastal wetland decline and for the protection and [...]
Michael Sievers, Griffith University; Rod Connolly, Griffith University, and Tom Rayner, Griffith University When we think of mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and saltmarshes, we don’t immediately think of shark habitats. But the first global review of links between large marine animals (megafauna) and coastal wetlands is challenging this view – and how we might respond [...]
By Mischa Turschwell Predator-prey interactions between fishes are important ecological processes that help maintain healthy populations and ecosystems. But often we don’t know if predators control prey numbers (top-down control) or if the number of prey available controls predator numbers (bottom-up control). We also don’t know how these interactions might change if environmental conditions like [...]
Author: Dr Ryan Pearson Sea turtles are threatened. Literal boatloads of things affect their already low survival rates, most attributable to humans. Plastics, fishing entanglements, temperature increases, habitat degradation and actual boat strikes are killing turtles and affecting their populations in many other ways. Ultimately threatening their very existence. Knowing this, when my buddy [...]
Author: Dr Vanessa Reis, Wetland ecosystems are important hotspots of biodiversity in the Amazon River Basin, but they're under threat from human activity. These ecosystems rely on the maintenance of the annual river flood pulse that drives inundation across the major wetlands of the Amazon. Infrastructure project proposals such as dams have increased in response to higher [...]
Author: Laura Griffiths Emergent is a five-part blog series that takes a fresh look at ARI’s early career researchers – a group of driven, passionate people with a shared sense of responsibility about our changing world. These emerging scholars are developing skills and applying them to real world issues. Some are even taking opportunities [...]
“I used to read fish ID books for fun… Now I get to do that stuff for work” Author: Laura Griffiths Emergent is a five-part blog series that takes a fresh look at ARI’s early career researchers – a group of driven, passionate people with a shared sense of responsibility about our changing [...]
ARI Emeritus Professor Angela Arthington, Attending the 21st International Riversymposium (IRS) held in Sydney (Darling Harbour) earlier this year was a personal highlight. This symposium is famous for its diverse and inclusive program on the theme of global river basin science and management. Delegates come from far and wide, from river managers to policy developers, [...]
"We found that prawns collected closer to shore had higher concentrations of potential pollutants" says Dr Munroe
Catchment to Coast 