ScienceNetwork WA

A NEW method for estimating the time-since-fire in infrequently burnt woodlands in the Goldfields has been developed by scientists at the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) and CSIRO.

AN article by Western Australian and American environmental scientists is putting forward a new way of looking at the native versus non-native species debate and proposes species origin is no longer the best judgement tool in the ever-changing environment.

THE declared rare flora poison pea (Gastrolobium graniticum) does not need fire to propagate as previously believed.

THE highly successful Bromilow Soft Trap, used to catch wallabies in conservation efforts, has been upgraded by its inventors who created the trap more than 30 years ago.

THE United Nations has set a target to restore 150 million hectares of degraded land globally by 2020, but a UWA study has cautioned there are significant challenges facing global landscape-scale restoration efforts.

THE first detailed analysis of a WA native carnivorous plant by a group of German scientists has confirmed the presence of a unique mechanism for trapping prey.

THIS year’s cool spring has delayed the emergence of locusts in a number of WA shires, highlighting not only the unpredictability of the current weather but also the impact of temperature changes for insect species such as this one.

USING key specimens from the Western Australian Museum researchers have concluded that the extinction of the Australian mainland population of the thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was in part due to direct competition by dingoes (Canis lupus dingo).

RECENT research indicates Australia may be lacking in effective regional responses to climate change adaptation, with two key case studies showing a lack of coordination among local organisations.

RESEARCHERS at UWA have discovered the chemical used by a local orchid to trick male wasps into believing it is a female on heat.

RESEARCH published by CSIRO on live-lure techniques to control the Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) concludes that live-lure remains the most successful control method for one of the world’s top 100 invasive bird species.

AN AQUATIC ecology and water management scientist has highlighted the need for greater awareness and research on potential effects of personal care product residues contaminating WA lakes and rivers.

RESEARCH from the UWA steers the investigation of magnetic navigation by pigeons back on course, demonstrating that cells previously believed to be the basis of magnetosensation are instead non-magnetoreceptive white blood cells.

A WA researcher has received a national grant to examine climate adaptation in plants species used for landscape restoration.

A SEED conservation program is helping to save some of WA’s most threatened plant species from extinction.

A WESTERN Australian expert on retaining carbon in the soil in the agriculture sector has been appointed to a national committee to advise on the carbon offsets scheme.

ONE of WA's leading environmentalists has called for major improvements to the quality of public debate over environmental issues, warning a culture of adversarial views is stifling much needed action to protect the State’s ecosystems.

NEW research shows the endangered species Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris) has been decimated by stochastic events in 2009 and 2010.

THE Curtin Institute for Biodiversity and Climate (CIBC) has recently pointed at the primary importance of the presence of invertebrates in mine-site rehabilitation in a seminar held by CIBC Resilience Theme Leader Professor Jonathan Majer.

THE Department of Environment and Conservation is re-introducing 11 species of medium-sized mammals, considered to be extinct in WA’s arid rangelands, to a specially-purchased property near Wiluna in central WA.