Applied ecology and conservation research groupFunding is getting harder and harder to find right? And, the future doesn’t look great, well, at least in Australia. But, before you get depressed and start contemplating another career there is a way we can find funding to undertake important research. It doesn’t rely on governments or funding bodies, it relies on you, me, anyone! It’s called crowd funding.
Read my guest post on Professor Joern Fischer’s blog: Ideas for Sustainability
This morning I spoke on air with Geraldine Coutts about the threats to Papua New Guinea’s endangered tree kangaroos, my research plans, and the new crowd funding campaign to raise the capital.
Perhaps society’s biggest challenge, and arguably our largest failure, is the continuing loss of species from Earth.
We still have little idea of how many species exist on Earth. Only a fraction have been formally described, and even fewer assessed for their conservation status.
How do we conserve what we don’t know exists?
If Earth were a house, it would be as though we had listed the contents of only one room, and even then were not aware of their true value, while simultaneously the house was being demolished.
Species extinction happens and will continue to happen so should we care about it?
The most notable extinct species in Australia is the Tasmanian Tiger and its demise did have wide reaching impact on the local ecology.
I spoke to the ABC’s Chris Coleman to discuss this issue.
The state of extinction, what we know about declining species, and why biodiversity is so important.
![Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island Tortoise. Image: putneymark [CC-BY-SA-2.0] via Wikimedia Commons](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Lonesome_George_-Pinta_giant_tortoise_-Santa_Cruz.jpg)
Despite my wife and I working as biologists, our five-year-old son came to make this statement independently.
He is highlighting what I and many others consider to be society’s biggest challenge, and arguably failure: the continuing loss of species from Earth.
In this interview with The Science Show’s Robyn Williams, I discuss encouraging dingoes as a top predator to help control lower predators such as a cats and foxes.
Plans to extend Western Australia’s historic ‘rabbit-proof fence’ have been described as cruel and clumsy by environmental groups, who say native wildlife will be the victim.
Dingo expert Dr Euan Ritchie, from Deakin University in Melbourne, says that Australia has an outdated and inefficient approach to pest management. He argues that excluding predators such as dingoes can be counterproductive, leading to more kangaroos and rabbits where those predators are absent.
“We know from other places that setting up barriers can have unforeseen consequences, and we shouldn’t forget the original rabbit-proof fence didn’t keep the rabbits out,” he says. “And why is animal welfare not being talked about in relation to building a fence of this scale?”
I was interviewed by Victoria Laurie for this article in Australian Geographic
Home to some of the most extravagant, eccentric and dangerous animals, Australia also has some of the most endangered wildlife in the world.
Our unique marsupials and monotremes are a source of pride, but Australia also has the dubious honour of the highest extinction rate of any nation.
![The orange-bellied parrot, Neophema chrysogaster, is one of Australia's most endangered species. Image: JJ Harrison [CC-BY-SA-3.0] via Wikimedia Commons](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Neophema_chrysogaster_female_2_-_Melaleuca.jpg)
The pressure is on. More and more universities and academics are working in a culture that is untenable and cracks in the ivory tower have already begun to appear.
The work environment is now characterised by excessive hours, unrealistic benchmarks, high levels of competitiveness and inflexible work arrangements.
In this article, Joern Fischer and I discuss the growing trend to measure universities and academics by the numbers of papers they produce, the number of citations they receive and the grant dollars they are awarded.
We ask: is more always better?
When we talk of conserving an animal species, what do we actually mean? We might think of a rhinoceros (or any other species, for that matter) pursuing its natural way of life in its native environment, perhaps in a reserve or national park. And why should we want to conserve species? Our thinking may not go much beyond the idealistic position that they have a right to exist and that we (and our children and grandchildren) have a right to see them.
![Is the only way to save the rhinos to commodify it? Image by Trisha M Shears [public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Southern_White_Rhine_001.jpg)
The 5500 kilometre long dingo fence is a monument to predator xenophobia and costs millions of dollars annually to maintain, but is it worth it?
It turns out the dingo is a sorely under-utilised weapon in our feral animal arsenal. Pretty much everywhere we’ve looked across Australia, when dingoes are abundant, foxes and cats aren’t, and native marsupials are. It’s called the mesopredator effect, and highlights the important role of predators in maintaining healthy ecosystems.
![The dingo fence is a blunt instrument; we can do better. Image [CC-BY-SA-3.0] via Wikimedia Commons](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Dogfence.jpg)
Applied ecology and conservation research group