research Climate change and humans together pushed Australia’s biggest beasts to extinction 25 Nov 201926 Nov 2019 Over the last 60,000 years, many of the world’s largest species disappeared forever. Some of the largest that we generally call ‘megafauna’ were first lost in Sahul — the super-continent…
research Logbook of Australia’s ancient megafauna 20 Nov 201920 Nov 2019 Australia is home to some of the most unique species worldwide, including egg-laying mammals, tree-climbing, desert-bouncing and and burrow-digging marsupials, and huge flightless birds. While these animals are fascinating, the…
policy Fires, floods and “inner-city raving lunatics” 16 Nov 2019 It’s a Monday night and I am frantically checking with friends from back home on the Eyre Peninsula if they and their homes are safe from the fire. I am scrolling social…
concepts What is a ‘mass extinction’ and are we in one now? 13 Nov 2019 (reproduced from The Conversation) -- For more than 3.5 billion years, living organisms have thrived, multiplied and diversified to occupy every ecosystem on Earth. The flip side to this explosion of…
policy Respecting Aboriginal culture through language 16 Oct 201916 Oct 2019 What's in a name? Well, rather a lot, I think. Names have meanings, and not just in the way that they tag people, places or objects. I am of the…
careers… A new environment for personal transformation: what Australia has meant to me 12 Sep 2019 When developing an academic career, sticking in one’s homeland has its pros and cons. -- On your home turf there will usually be at least a few family members with…
student experiences 10 things I wish I knew before doing an Honours degree 19 Aug 201921 Nov 2019 In 2018 I started my Honours degree in biodiversity and conservation at Flinders University. I had completed my Bachelor of Science in 2017, after being accepted in the Honours stream…
research Rising human populations drive environmental degradation in Africa 27 Jun 201925 Jun 2019 Almost a decade ago, I (co-) wrote a paper examining the socio-economic correlates of gross, national-scale indices of environmental performance among the world's nations. It turned out to be rather…
research First Australians arrived in large groups using complex technologies 18 Jun 2019 One of the most ancient peopling events of the great diaspora of anatomically modern humans out of Africa more than 50,000 years ago — human arrival in the great continent…
research Koala extinctions past, present, and future 12 Jun 201912 Jun 2019 Koalas are one of the most recognised symbols of Australian wildlife. But the tree-living marsupial koala is not doing well throughout much of its range in eastern Australia. Ranging as…
careers… Being empathetic for better interdisciplinarity 4 Jun 2019 Scientists appear to have mixed feelings when it comes to interdisciplinarity in science — the reaction spans from genuine enthusiasm right through to pure disdain. I myself have crossed many…
careers… 11 things academic research and surfing have in common 2 May 2019 The last time I went surfing the waves were very slow and between sets I had a lot of time to contemplate life. This was when it occurred to me…
careers… Skydive your PhD 23 Apr 201923 Apr 2019 Many students start a PhD by just continuing in the same subject and same institution from their Masters or Honours project. But this is not necessarily the best way…
workshop Network Analysis Workshop 6 Apr 2019 We are most fortunate that Dr Giovanni Strona of the EU Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy, will be visiting Flinders University for most of April. As a recipient of…
publishing The push for open access 1 Mar 20193 Mar 2019 Academic articles from publicly funded research are frequently hidden behind paywalls. The research community spends a huge amount of money to access this research — more than AU$12.5 billion goes…
careers Good English and the scientific career: hurdles for non-native English speakers 13 Feb 2019 It's no secret that to be successful in academia, it's not enough just to be a good scientist — being able to formulate and test hypotheses. You also need to…
cartoons Cartoon guide to biodiversity loss LII 2 Jan 2019 [Reblogged from ConservationBytes.com] The first set of six biodiversity cartoons for 2019 to usher in the New Year. See full stock of previous ‘Cartoon guide to biodiversity loss’ compendia here. —…
policy… Perseverance eventually gets the policy makers’ attention 30 Dec 20182 Jan 2019 [Reblogged from ConservationBytes.com] I've often commented on it over the years, as well as written about it both in my latest book, as well as featured it here on CB.com,…
