The Conversation
Are catnip and treats like it safe for cats? Here's how they affect their minds and moods
Are plant-based treats like catnip, cat thyme and silver vine safe for cats? And it it ethical to use them?
Mia Cobb, Research Fellow, Animal Welfare Science Centre, The University of Melbourne
Anne Quain, Senior Lecturer, Sydney School of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney
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Crocs love feral pigs and quolls have a taste for rabbit – but it doesn't solve the invasive species problem
Invasive species such as deer, pigs and rabbits might help boost native predator populations.
Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University
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Won’t my cat get bored if I keep it inside? Here's how to ensure it's happy
Keeping your cat indoors is safer for your pet and wildlife. There are some simple steps you can take to ensure its quality of life doesn’t suffer.
Tiffani J. Howell, Senior Research Fellow, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University
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No climate for cricket: how global warming is putting the heat on NZ’s summer game
The climate crisis poses an existential threat to cricket. Governing bodies like New Zealand Cricket need to up their sustainability game.
Chris McMillan, Professional Teaching Fellow in Sociology, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
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'Ecology on steroids': how Australia's First Nations managed Australia's ecosystems
When people first came to Australia 65,000 years ago, the Earth was in an ice age. Then the seas rose, drought and floods came – and still people endured.
Penny van Oosterzee, Adjunct Associate Professor James Cook University and University Fellow Charles Darwin University, James Cook University
Barry Hunter, Acting CEO, North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance, Indigenous Knowledge
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'Foul and loathsome’ or jewels of the natural world? The complicated history of human-frog relations
There is a rich history of people really loving frogs. But the history of human-frog relations is long and complicated – and not all of it is nice.
Susan Broomhall, Director, Gender and Women's History Research Centre, Australian Catholic University
Andrea Gaynor, Professor of History, The University of Western Australia
Andy Flack, Senior Lecturer in Modern and Environmental History, University of Bristol
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'Rights of nature' are being recognised overseas. In Australia, local leadership gives cause for optimism
One way to protect our ecosystems is to confer legal rights on them. This idea is at the heart of the ‘rights of nature’ movement – but Australia has few examples of this principle in action.
Alexandra McEwan, Lecturer: Law, CQUniversity Australia
Michael Hewson, Senior Lecturer Geography
Rolf Schlagloth, Koala Ecologist, CQUniversity Australia
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At a time of giving and receiving, our many Australian mistletoes do it too
Australia has nearly 100 mistletoe species and they’re the source of plenty of magic and mystery. We even have a couple with their own home-grown associations with Christmas.
Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne
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Avian influenza has killed millions of seabirds around the world: Antarctica could be next
A deadly strain of bird flu is circulating in animals. So far the virus has been detected in seabirds on islands near Antarctica. What does this mean for wildlife, tourism and research?
Hanne E F Nielsen, Senior lecturer, University of Tasmania
Meagan Dewar, Lecturer in the School of Science, Psychology and Sport, Federation University Australia
Michelle Wille, Senior research fellow, The University of Melbourne
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What octopus DNA tells us about Antarctic ice sheet collapse
Did the enormous West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapse the last time global temperatures were 1.5°C above preindustrial levels? The answer lay in the DNA of an octopus.
Sally Lau, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, James Cook University
Jan Strugnell, Professor Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University
Nerida Wilson, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, The University of Western Australia
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When disaster strikes, emergency responders can't respond to every call. Communities must be helped to help themselves
The North Queensland floods remind us of the need to build community resilience to disasters – during the event, in the immediate aftermath and beyond.
Rebecca McNaught, Research Fellow, University of Sydney
Amanda Howard, Associate Professor, University of Sydney
Jean S. Renouf, Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Southern Cross University
Jo Longman, Senior Research Fellow, The University Centre for Rural Health, University of Sydney
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If you've got solar, can you run aircon without worrying about cost? Not quite
With a record hot summer expected, will rooftop solar cover our need to be cool?
Wasim Saman, Emeritus Professor of Sustainable Energy Engineering, University of South Australia
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Australian beachgoers are told to always 'swim between the flags' – but what if there aren't any?
All 54 drownings on the Australian coast last summer occurred in locations not patrolled by professional lifeguards or volunteer surf lifesavers. That is a stark statistic.
Rob Brander, Professor, UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney
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Invasive grasses are worsening bushfires across Australia's drylands
Grassfires are normal in central and northern Australia. But fast-growing invasive grasses are supercharging grassfires – and this summer looks like it will be big.
Andrew Edwards, Research Fellow Bushfires, Charles Darwin University
Christine Schlesinger, Associate Professor in Environmental Science, Charles Darwin University
Ellen Ryan-Colton, PhD candidate, Charles Darwin University
Greg Barber, PhD student, Charles Darwin University
Peter Jacklyn, NAFI Service Manager and Knowledge and Adoption Coordinator, Charles Darwin University
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Carbon in, carbon out: Australia's 'carbon budget' assessment reveals astonishing boom and bust cycles
The most comprehensive Australian carbon budget assessment completed to date shows the nation flip-flops from source to sink of carbon emissions, depending on the prevailing conditions.
Yohanna Villalobos, Postdoctoral research fellow, Lund University
Benjamin Smith, Director of Research, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University
Pep Canadell, Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Environment; Executive Director, Global Carbon Project, CSIRO
Peter Briggs, Scientific Programmer and Data Analyst, CSIRO
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From COVID to climate: Queensland's new emissions pledge shows state governments are once again leading change
Australia’s federal government has been hollowed out in recent decades. But states can – and still do – deliver. That’s why they are the main drivers of climate action.
John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland
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Australia's freight used to go by train, not truck. Here's how we can bring back rail – and cut emissions
Trains once carried most of our freight. Could a return to rail help us meet our emissions cutting goals?
Philip Laird, Honorary Principal Fellow, University of Wollongong
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From laggard to leader? Why Australia must phase out fossil fuel exports, starting now
Australia supported a phase-out of fossil fuels at the recent UN climate summit but is still expanding coal and gas production. It’s a contradiction that threatens the planet. There is a better way.
Fergus Green, Lecturer in Political Theory and Public Policy, UCL
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Planting pine or native forest for carbon capture isn’t the only choice – NZ can have the best of both
Pine grows faster and sequesters more carbon. But native forest is better for biodiversity in the long run. Transitioning between the two offers a win-win solution.
Sebastian Leuzinger, Professor of Environmental Science, Auckland University of Technology
Len Gillman, Professor of Biogeography, Auckland University of Technology
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North Queensland's record-breaking floods are a frightening portent of what's to come under climate change
Once the immediate crisis in North Queensland has subsided, authorities will need to grapple with how to deal with the ‘new normal’ of extreme weather events. The big question is: are they prepared?
Steve Turton, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Geography, CQUniversity Australia
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