Chthonic Wildlife Ramblings

Featured image: The problem with cars

The problem with cars

Brendan Moyle • Feb 15, 2017

It seems appropriate this time of the year to be talking about cars.  In London, pollution from particulates generated by motor-vehicles have contributed to a dangerous smog that have invited comparisons to Beijing. Here in NZ we have February set up as a biking challenge.  I’ve commuted by bike every workday so far. I may go the whole … Read More

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Featured image: What difference will closing the Chinese domestic ivory market make?

What difference will closing the Chinese domestic ivory market make?

Brendan Moyle • Jan 13, 2017

The recent decision by China to close its domestic ivory trade industry has been welcomed by many conservationists. Nonetheless, I remain skeptical it will be a significant move to curb poaching.  This is generally accepted to have peaked in around 2011, albeit it is uncertain whether wild populations can sustain the illegal off-take.  The overall picture is still murky.  While … Read More

Featured image: Auckland Waterfalls: A collage

Auckland Waterfalls: A collage

Brendan Moyle • Dec 10, 2016

Over the last two years I’ve taken many more photos of waterfalls in the Auckland region.  There’s an amount I was never aware of over in the Waitakere Ranges.  I’ve visited many of these falls several times.  The trick (for photography) is go typically when it is overcast.  That way the clouds act as a giant diffusing filter for the … Read More

Featured image: Crocodilians have long been good mothers

Crocodilians have long been good mothers

Brendan Moyle • Dec 09, 2016

I like to keep informed about research on crocodilians, even if my work on them as waned in recent years.  As is usually popularly known, crocodilians (which includes true crocodiles, as well as alligators and caimans) survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction that wiped out most dinosaurs.  That leaves both birds and crocodilians as the only surviving archosaurs.  We know from living … Read More

Featured image: Auckland Waterfalls: Karekare

Auckland Waterfalls: Karekare

Brendan Moyle • Dec 06, 2016

The Auckland region has a surprising number of waterfalls to view.  A great number of these are located in the Waitakere ranges.  One of the falls I’d yet to see was Karekare.  One of the reasons is it’s a bit of a distance to the falls.  And a lot of the routes involve Auckland roads that really, don’t expedite travel.  I’ve … Read More

Featured image: Surviving Obesogenic NZ

Surviving Obesogenic NZ

Brendan Moyle • Dec 05, 2016

Much has been made recently of the growing obesity rates in NZ.  And the “obesogenic environment” is attributed as one of the underlying causes.  We are collectively less active than optimal, have too much food readily available, and many eat inadequate quantities of fruit and vegetables.  Fad-diets rise and wither away as the promised short-cuts to lose weight can’t be … Read More

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Featured image: Why bike when you can run…

Why bike when you can run…

Brendan Moyle • Nov 08, 2016

When I first started work in Auckland in the mid-1990s, my mode of transport to campus was by running.  It was just too hard to do twice a day though, over Auckland hills, on the knees.  So I switched to cycling and stuck to that for many years. This year I’ve started mixing runs with bike rides.  Run one day, … Read More