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Category: Science communication
Changes in marine ecosystems going undetected
Existing ways of calculating biodiversity dynamics are not very effective in detecting wholesale species community change due to the effects of ocean acidification. University of Adelaide research shows that in cases where biodiversity metrics show no change or little change, there may still be reorganisation of ecological communities in our oceans. “The belief that climate […]
Study finds famous Australian caves are up to 500,000 years older than we thought – and it could help explain a megafauna mystery
South Australia’s Naracoorte Caves is one of the world’s best fossil sites, containing a record spanning more than half a million years. Among the remains preserved in layers of sand are the bones of many iconic Australian megafauna species that became extinct between 48,000 and 37,000 years ago. The reasons for the demise of these […]
We helped fill a major climate change knowledge gap, thanks to 130,000-year-old sediment in Sydney lakes
Plants capture around half the carbon we emit by burning fossil fuels, making them a crucial part of mitigating climate change. But carbon is often released back into the atmosphere when plants die, decompose and eventually turn into dirt. Carbon is only permanently removed from the atmosphere if it’s stored in sediments that accumulate at the bottom […]
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Upcoming Three Minute Thesis final
Good luck to School of Agriculture, Food and Wine PhD Candidate Isobel Hume, who is a Three Minute Thesis (3MT) finalist and will present her research on ‘Urban Food Security’ at tomorrow’s 3MT Final! Isobel is a student of Environment Institute’s Soil Scientist Prof Tim Cavagnaro. The 3MT competition involves explaining years of research, or their 100,000 word thesis, in […]
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Tropical and desert grasses may migrate further south
The maximum summer temperature and the amount of rainfall in summer are the two climate factors that determine the type of native grass that grows in a region, Australian researchers have found in a recent study. A rise in global temperatures due to a change in climate may lead to tropical and desert grasses growing […]
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Housing design for older South Aussies under the spotlight
University of Adelaide researchers will investigate the quality of housing for older South Australians to improve their wellbeing and resilience to extreme weather. People at least 65 years old and who live independently in the Charles Sturt, Playford, Salisbury, Port Adelaide Enfield and Murray Bridge council areas are invited to take part in the study. […]
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Protecting Adelaide’s Urban Trees
Growing Adelaide’s tree canopy has been in the news in recent months, and reports have revealed that we are losing trees at an alarming rate, with potentially devastating consequences for the liveability of our city. To support a review of South Australia’s tree protection laws, the South Australian Attorney General’s Department, Planning and Land Use Services, […]
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SEMINAR: Assessing the Diverse Values of Nature – Professor Christopher Raymond
Recently, The University of Adelaide’s Environment Institute, Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Resources (ISER) and School of Social Sciences jointly hosted a seminar by Professor Christopher Raymond of the Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science: ‘Conceptualising and Assessing the Diverse Values of Nature’. The IPBES Values Assessment, published in July 2022, represents a definitive new global synthesis […]
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Once the fish factories and ‘kidneys’ of colder seas, Australia’s decimated shellfish reefs are coming back
Australia once had vast oyster and mussel reefs, which anchored marine ecosystems and provided a key food source for coastal First Nations people. But after colonisation, Europeans harvested them for their meat and shells and pushed oyster and mussel reefs almost to extinction. Because the damage was done early – and largely underwater – the destruction of […]
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Fishing for Data on Plastics
The problem of plastics in our oceans and their potential impact on people, plants, animals and entire ecosystems was front and centre at the recent United Nations Ocean Conference in Portugal. Through the UN Environment Assembly, more than 500 organisations and 21 additional governments, including Australia, have signed up to commitments to change how plastic […]
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