Events to be held globally April 30th to raise awareness of frog extinctions
Santa Cruz, CA, April 5, 2010 – The scientific community recently declared April 30th as the 2nd Annual Save The Frogs Day. The goal is to raise awareness of the rapid disappearance of frog species worldwide. Save The Frogs Day events are planned in a dozen countries, including the United States, Canada, Italy, Nepal, South Africa, and Australia. The events are being coordinated by SAVE THE FROGS!, which is America’s first and only public charity dedicated to amphibian conservation. Continue reading →
I’ve always liked great photographs, especially nature photographs. The South Australian Museum owns and runs the annual ANZANG Nature Photography Competition. As you can guess from the title, photographs focus (pun intended) on the natural heritage of the Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and the New Guinea regions. Continue reading →
The male Richmond Birdwing butterfly, on the way back from local extinction thanks to ecological knowledge and community work (Image: Dr Don Sands)
The Richmond Birdwing butterfly (Ornithoptera richmondia) is one of Australia’s biggest and most spectacular butterflies. Just 100 years ago, these butterflies were abundant throughout greater Brisbane.
Today they are gone. Not entirely extinct, but no longer in Brisbane. The reason is more than just building a city. It’s a story of habitat loss, isolation and invasive species.
We can give them the chance to return and we’ll explain how here. Continue reading →
Fiddler crabs are mangrove bioturbators, oxygenating the sediments (Image: TalkingNature.com)
People often think of mangroves as smelly muddy places that ‘get in the way’ and block your view of the water.
It’s true they can be smelly, sticky places, but they’re also an important habitat for juvenile fish and crabs which we want to catch when they’re adults. So what is that smell and which fish get a benefit from those mangroves? Continue reading →
A female green turtle (chelonia mydas) starts digging a nest on the beach (Image: van de Merve)
We all know marine turtles lay eggs and don’t provide any parental care for their turtle hatchlings. The mothers do leave some food for the hatchlings though, as yolk in the eggs. But how healthy is this yolk?
Mammals suckle their young and when they do, they can pass environmental pollutants from their bodies to their offspring’s. But are toxins that maternal turtles accumulate when feeding, passed on to their turtle hatchlings within the eggs? And if so, does it affect the turtle hatchlings’ chances of survival?
These are important questions when conserving turtles like Chelonia mydas, because it means you have to conserve the ecosystem. Dr Jason van de Merwe decided to find out the answer and determine if green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) pass on organic pollutants to their eggs and subsequently their hatchlings. But first here’s some background on pollution and marine turtles. Continue reading →
The banded sea krait (Laticauda saintgironsi) swimming over a seagrass bed in New Caledonia (Image: Xavier Bonnet)
Sea kraits (Laticaudine) are sea snakes. They’re front-fanged (proteroglyphous) venomous elapid snakes and are common through much of the Indo–Pacific region. When they’re pregnant, the females stop eating!
Seems like a strange thing to do when you need energy and nutrients to make eggs.
Why would they do that?
Francois Brisçhoux, Xavier Bonnet and Richard Shine set out to find out why by studying two of these kraits; Laticauda laticaudata and L. saintgironsi, on small islets in the Lagoon of New Caledonia. What a cool field site! Continue reading →
A dingo on Fraser Island, an ancient breed of dog (http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfrasersmith/ / CC BY 2.0)
When something is really dry, Aussie’s might refer to it as being “as dry as a dead dingo’s donger” after all, Australia is a pretty dry place. But if you’ve been around a bit and are clocking up the years, you could also be as “old as a dead dingo’s donger”! Continue reading →
The Cane Toad (Bufo marinus) another invader of Australia (http://www.flickr.com/photos/briangratwicke/ / CC BY 2.0)
When animals invade new places they either sink, swim, or just get along. Unfortunately, when an invader does well in its new land, it can have devastating consequences for the native animals and plants. Suddenly there is a new competitor or predator in the midst and the natives don’t have the skills, spines or teeth to compete or defend themselves. Evolution works over many generations and there’s rarely time to adapt. But people can help.
Understanding how animals interact may help us tip the ‘balance’ in favour of native Australian animals. Here’s one example from the ongoing battle against the invasive cane toad (Bufo marinus – a native of South America). Can meat ants and cat food slow them down? Continue reading →
The Leaf tailed gecko (Phyllurus platurus) a master of camouflage (Image: K Kriger Save The Frogs!)
The name ‘Gondwana Rainforests’ conjures up images of mist laden mountains, covered in prehistoric trees, ferns and mosses. Like something out of a dinosaur movie, you imagine a place far from civilization, untouched by man. Perhaps even on another planet or moon? You may be surprised to know that these forests are ‘just down the road’!
Two hours drive from Brisbane or Sydney and you can explore these unique world heritage listed Gondwanan rainforests. What will you find there that others may never see? Continue reading →
A caterpillar quietly chewing, but looking closer there's an ant as well (image: TalkingNature.com)
The best way to observe nature is to simply go slowly.
Next time you’re in the bush or strolling through a grassland slow down and just look around – find a place to stop and sit quietly.
After 5 or 10 minutes you’ll see all sorts of animals. Some that scurried away and hid when they heard you coming, and others walking past you in a hurry.
Patience outside a burrow, or patience within view of a nest will often be rewarded with the opportunity to see the animal that uses it. It’s quite amazing how quickly animals start to resume their activities when you sit quietly among them. All you need is a little patience! Continue reading →
