Michael Reddell • Aug 13, 2018 •
There is a reason why we do not let primary school children make policy or vote. They are children, precious and growing but prone to all the enthusiasms of children, easily influenced, and not responsible (as taxpayers or anything else) for their expressed preferences. And yet, as the Prime Minister was reported, it seemed that the fact that lots … Read More
Guest Author • Aug 06, 2018 •
Jan Jansen, University of Tasmania; Craig Johnson, University of Tasmania, and Nicole Hill, University of Tasmania What sort of life do you associate with Antarctica? Penguins? Seals? Whales? Actually, life in Antarctic waters is much broader than this, and surprisingly diverse. Hidden under the cover of sea-ice for most of the year, and … Read More
Guest Author • Apr 03, 2018 •
Alison Kock, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. How big is South Africa’s white shark population? Nobody really knows: estimates range from 500 to more than 1200. This is an important question because the species is under enormous pressure. South Africa’s sharks … Read More
Guest Author • Apr 02, 2018 •
Madeleine De Gabriele, The Conversation This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Rising ocean temperatures may result in worldwide change for shallow reef ecosystems, according to research published yesterday in Science Advances. The study, based on thousands of surveys carried out by volunteer scuba divers, gives new insights into the … Read More
Jean Balchin • Mar 09, 2018 •
A groundbreaking Griffith University study has found Antarctic krill which ingest microplastics are able to turn them into nanoplastics through digestion. What are Krill? Krill is a general term used to refer to around 85 species of free-swimming crustaceans called euphausiids, of which Antarctic krill is one species. Antarctic krill are one of the most abundant and successful animal species on … Read More
Nic Rawlence • Mar 05, 2018 •
New Zealand has long been considered the cradle of penguin evolution. But two new fossil discoveries, affectionately known as Bice’s, (pronounced Bee-chee’s), and Rosie’s Penguins, are rewriting early penguin evolution and have taken the world by storm. Move aside Penguins of Madagascar; there are some new and cool kids on the block! But how did we get to this … Read More
Guest Author • Dec 03, 2017 •
By Kim Pickering, University of Waikato Plastics have got themselves a bad name, mainly for two reasons: most are made from petroleum and they end up as litter in the environment. We’re reposting this article from The Conversation as part of our Consuming Science series. However, both of these are quite avoidable. An increased focus on … Read More
Guest Author • Dec 02, 2017 •
By Ursula Ellenberg, La Trobe University. Fishing nets pose a serious risk to the survival of penguin species, according to a new global review of the toll taken by “bycatch” from commercial fishing. Fourteen of the world’s 18 penguin species have been recorded as fishing bycatch. Among the species under threat are Tasmania’s little penguins and New … Read More
Guest Author • Feb 16, 2017 •
By Peter Evans, Bangor University Around 600 pilot whales recently became stranded on a New Zealand beach, around 400 of which died before volunteers could refloat them back into the sea. Sadly, this kind of mass whale stranding has occurred since human records began, and happens somewhere in the world on a regular basis. At the end … Read More
Peter Griffin • Oct 23, 2013 •
The Greenpeace-commissioned report looking at the estimated impact of a deep water oil well leak in New Zealand waters has received a lot of attention this morning and for good reason. In the whole argument over oil exploration and whether we should drill or not, there’s been little science-based public discussion of the impact of a spill. Sure, … Read More