Tagged: predators

Forensics and ship logs solve a 200-year mystery about where the first kiwi specimen was collected - Hot off the press

Guest Author • Apr 14, 2021 •

• History,
• Kiwi,
• New Zealand stories,
• predators

Paul Scofield, University of Canterbury and Vanesa De Pietri, University of Canterbury The flightless kiwi is an iconic bird for New Zealanders, but all five species are threatened by habitat loss and introduced predators. Recent genomic analysis focused on one species, the South Island brown kiwi or tokoeka, suggests several as yet undescribed lineages. Before these can be fully … Read More

Scientists used ‘fake news’ to stop predators killing endangered birds — and the result was remarkable - Hot off the press

Guest Author • Mar 11, 2021 •

• banded dotterels,
• mammalian predators,
• odours,
• predators,
• shorebirds

Peter Banks, University of Sydney and Catherine Price, University of Sydney Animals, including humans, depend on accurate information to navigate the world. But we can easily succumb to deliberate misinformation or “fake news”, fooling us into making a poor choice. The concept of fake news came to the fore during the term of former US president Donald Trump. It … Read More

The fishy problem of underwater noise pollution - Guest Work

Guest Author • Apr 13, 2018 •

• acoustic signals,
• antrhopogenic,
• atmosphere,
• coral,
• cuttlefish,
• damselfish,
• fish,
• Great Barrier Reef,
• Island,
• machines,
• marine,
• military SONAR,
• motorboats,
• noise pollution,
• offshore development,
• predators,
• seafloor,
• sharks,
• swim bladders

Adam Crane, University of Saskatchewan and Maud Ferrari, University of Saskatchewan This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. When the famous explorer Jacques Cousteau released The Silent World, a documentary of his underwater adventures in 1953, he inspired generations of scientists to study the world’s oceans. We now know … Read More

Put the brakes on ‘gene drives’ for predator control, say researchers - News

John Kerr • Nov 17, 2017 •

• daisy drive,
• gene drive,
• genetic,
• possums,
• predator free 2050,
• predators,
• rats,
• stoats,
• trojan female

New Zealand wants to get rid of predators. But some of the genetic tools under consideration for the task could have disastrous consequences if they spread beyond our shores, warn researchers. Last year New Zealand boldly announced its ambitious Predator Free 2050 goal, and just yesterday unveiled a detailed strategy for reaching the goal. Investigating the potential of new … Read More

Conservation’s horizon in New Zea la-la land - Politecol

- Wayne Linklater • Jan 30, 2017 •

• conservation,
• ecology,
• exotic,
• Horizon Scan,
• invasive,
• pests,
• predator free New Zealand,
• predators

Designing ecosystems, reconciliation ecology for conservation The theme for the influential Ecological Society of America’s annual conference last year was “Novel Ecosystems in the Anthropocene”. A novel ecosystem is a human-made habitat and community of plants and animals. Novel ecosystems can be planned, accidental, or caused by poor environmental management that cannot be undone. And Anthropocene describes the current geological age when … Read More

Bright city lights are keeping ocean predators awake and hungry - Guest Work

Guest Author • Nov 27, 2016 •

• artificial light,
• human impacts,
• light pollution,
• lighting,
• marine conservation,
• marine ecology,
• predators

By Damon Bolton, UNSW Australia; Alistair Becker; Emma Johnston, UNSW Australia; Graeme Clark, UNSW Australia; Katherine Dafforn, UNSW Australia, and Mariana Mayer-Pinto, UNSW Australia Light pollution is changing the day-night cycle of some fish, dramatically affecting their feeding behaviour, according to our recently published study. In one of the … Read More

Invasive predators are eating the world’s animals to extinction – and the worst is close to home - Unsorted

Guest Author • Sep 25, 2016 •

• Biodiversity,
• cats,
• conservation,
• extinction,
• pests,
• possums,
• predators,
• rats

By Tim Doherty, Research Fellow, Deakin University; Chris Dickman, Professor in Terrestrial Ecology, University of Sydney; Dale Nimmo, Lecturer in Ecology, Charles Sturt University, and Euan Ritchie, Senior Lecturer in Ecology, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Invasive species are a threat to wildlife across the … Read More

Predator free NZ: Can we do it? - News

John Kerr • Jul 26, 2016 •

• 1080,
• cats,
• conservation,
• native birds,
• pest control,
• pests,
• possums,
• predator,
• predator free New Zealand,
• predators,
• rats,
• stoats

The New Zealand Government has just unveiled ‘the world’s most ambitious conservation project’: eliminating introduced predators such as rats, possums and stoats by 2050. But is it a realistic goal? The Prime Minister John Key announced the target yesterday , starting off with with a new $28 million joint venture, Predator Free New Zealand Limited, which will sponsor community partnerships and pest … Read More