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Member Posts: 4499 |
This scandal has been circling within ornithological circles for the last 3 weeks and it has finally broken into the mainstream media. Good on the Australian Wildlife Conservancy taking the right action. Other media releases: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/12/wildlife-group-investigates-claim-night-parrot-photos-were-staged http://www.australianwildlife.org/field-updates/2018/night-parrot-investigation.aspx | |
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Member Posts: 16431 | Apologies for my above entry. It should have been in the News thread. | |
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Moderator Posts: 21945 |
Fact check: Is two-thirds of Australia's food production reliant on bee pollination? Apparently not. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-15/fact-check-honey-bee-pollination/10365750 | |
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Member Posts: 4499 |
A good article. Thanks for sharing, Rumpy. | |
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Moderator Posts: 21945 |
Rarest mineral on earth found in WA meteorite crater. | |
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Member Posts: 4499 |
DON'T FEED THE BIRDS!
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Member Posts: 16431 |
Not guilty sir, since you gave me advice about it. All I do now is keep my bird baths topped up. | |
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Member Posts: 4499 |
Well done Gussy! | |
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Moderator Posts: 21945 |
How science works when money is involved. Surely the Marine Park Authority should have commissioned this report ? | |
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Member Posts: 4499 | Wise words from a former Governor-General: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/22/look-after-the-soil-save-the-earth-farming-in-australias-unrelenting-climate | |
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Member Posts: 4499 |
Yes, it does seem to be odd. I can only think that this was meant to be an internal review within the company that conducted the work but, somehow, got passed on to government. Any report sent onto government has to be independently peer-reviewed, so I'm sure that government bureaucrats will send out the reef report they received for review. | |
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Moderator Posts: 21945 |
Bees dropping dead in SA. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-25/mystery-surrounds-dying-bees-in-sa/10424674 | |
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Member Posts: 4499 |
There's insufficient information in the story to reach any definitive conclusion. While it could be the result of spraying insecticides (most likely) or disease, it could be due to stress and starvation. The article says that the bees were from small hives in the Peterborough area. Bees are normally confined to their hives over winter and live on the nectar that they have stored there, until it is warm enough to emerge. Small hive colonies often can't collect enough nectar over the spring, summer and autumn to survive the winter confinement, whereas the larger hive coloniies can because there are more bees to collect the food. If the bees emerge from the hive in a stressed and starving condition, then they often don't have enough energy to search for food and thus die. | |
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Moderator Posts: 21945 |
Ways to prevent drought. | |
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Member Posts: 16431 |
I remember seeing what Peter Andrews had achieved on his property with his personal method of caring for the land some years ago and I look forward to seeing him again. I have both his books, bought soon after that programme. It was sad he lost Tarwyn Park to mining but I'm delighted he is still trying to educate other farmers about drought- proofing their properties. | |
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Member Posts: 4499 |
The principle behind his river and creek restoration is good, but the concern that a lot of other ecologists (including myself) have is his use of invasive plants such as willows and cumbungi. Once established, they can spread quickly and disrupt native flora communities and ecosystems, and provide breeding habitat for vermin (rats and mice) and mosquitoes. I also heard them mention that they use bundles of dead blackberry brambles to slow down water flow - the neighbours downstream would probably not like that happening, especially if the running water carries residual seed from the brambles. As I said, the technique has a lot of merit, but it would be best if native plant species with extensive root systems were used to stabilise the banks and maintain soil moisture, instead of weeds. | |
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Moderator Posts: 21945 |
So what about farms that don't have creeks running through them ? | |
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Member Posts: 16431 |
Could the same spectacular result be obtained with native flora? If so I would have thought he would have used that. I got the impression they used the blackberry canes because there was nothing else available where they were working. With the Mulloon Institute now established perhaps they will experiment with different specimens and eventually come up with the ideal setup. | |
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Member Posts: 7839 |
I found myself asking the same question. | |
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Moderator Posts: 21945 |
Very disturbing report. More than half the world's vertebrates have disappeared since 1970; WWF sounds warning https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-10-30/wwf-species-loss-living-planet/10434956 | |
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