TalkingNature.com » Explore, understand and restore nature, wildlife, ecology and conservation in Australia and New Zealand

The Powerful Owl: a stealthy top predator or a fancy umbrella for Hunter Valley forests?

admin — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:46:12 +0000

This article is a special contribution from guest author Hayley Averell. If you’ve seen these birds in your back yard add your comments below because we’d love to hear about them. They are magnificent birds. Australasia’s largest owl is found right on my doorstep, in the beautiful Hunter Valley and Lake Macquarie region of New [...]

Everybody needs a place to live

Dr Ruth Young — Mon, 30 May 2011 11:44:13 +0000

What did your neighbourhood look like 10, 50, or 100 years ago? If you live on the edge of an expanding city or town, like many people do, it’s likely that there was a lot more natural forest, grassland, scrub and bush around then than there is today. What happened to the residents who were therethen? Can you restore your local area or back yard? Here are some tips.

3rd Annual ‘Save The Frogs Day’ 29th April 2011

Dr Ruth Young — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 05:36:13 +0000

SAVE THE FROGS! America's first and only public charity dedicated exclusively to amphibian conservation, has declared Friday April 29th, 2011 the 3rd Annual 'Save The Frogs Day'. Please get involved and help spread the word!

And just for fun… the Takapo!

Dr James Webley — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:14:23 +0000

Here on Maud Island in the Marlborough Sounds we’re very excited and a little bemused at finding what could be the world’s first takapo eggs this morning.

Are societies still dependent on the stability and resilience of nature?

Dr Ruth Young — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:41:42 +0000

People often say we have evolved beyond nature but it is our very progress and growth which has bound us closer to its fate.

ANZANG: Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea nature photography

Dr James Webley — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 10:29:37 +0000

I've always liked great photographs, especially nature photographs. The South Australian Museum owns and runs the annual ANZANG Nature Photography Competition. As you can guess from the title, photographs focus (pun intended) on the natural heritage of the Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and the New Guinea regions.

Richmond Birdwing butterfly: knowledge of ecology aides recovery

Dr Ruth Young — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:46:09 +0000

The Richmond Birdwing butterfly (Ornithoptera richmondia) is one of Australia’s biggest and most spectacular butterflies. Just 100 years ago, these butterflies were abundant throughout greater Brisbane. Today they are gone. Not entirely extinct, but no longer in Brisbane. The reason is more than just building a city. It’s a story of habitat loss, isolation and invasive species. We can give them the chance to return and we’ll explain how here.

Mangroves: Smelly habitats but fantastic nurseries!

Dr Ruth Young — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 10:33:11 +0000

People often think of mangroves as smelly muddy places that 'get in the way' and block your view of the water. It's true they can be smelly, sticky places, but they're also an important habitat for juvenile fish and crabs which we want to catch when they're adults. So what is that smell and which fish get a benefit from those mangroves?

Turtles! You are what your mum eats! POP’s passed from mother to egg to turtle

Dr James Webley — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 01:30:56 +0000

We all know marine turtles lay eggs and don't provide any parental care for their turtle hatchlings. The mothers do leave some food for the hatchlings though, as yolk in the eggs. But how healthy is this yolk? Mammals suckle their young and when they do, they can pass environmental pollutants from their bodies to their offspring's. But are toxins that maternal turtles accumulate when feeding, passed on to their turtle hatchlings within the eggs? And if so, does it affect the turtle hatchlings' chances of survival?

Anorexia when you’re pregnant? Sounds like an oxymoron unless you’re a sea krait!

Dr James Webley — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:27:23 +0000

Sea kraits (Laticaudine) are sea snakes. They're front-fanged (proteroglyphous) venomous elapid snakes and are common through much of the Indo–Pacific region. When they're pregnant, the females stop eating! Seems like a strange thing to do when you need energy and nutrients to make eggs. Why would they do that? Francois Brisçhoux, Xavier Bonnet and Richard Shine set out to find out why by studying two of these kraits; Laticauda laticaudata and L. saintgironsi, on small islets in the Lagoon of New Caledonia. What a cool field site