Research

When English historian, Derek Neville, was researching letters written by David Blackburn, navigator and ‘master’ of the First Fleet vessel Supply, he was disappointed to discover that the small island in the Lagoon at Lord Howe had lost its original name – ‘Blackburn Isle’. This name had been given to it by Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball in March, 1788, when the very first landing was made at Lord Howe.

Commodity markets are pondering the risk of a recession, especially in the EU-27+UK, where inflation and monetary tightening are combining with a looming winter energy crisis. A recession could weaken the demand side for a number of energy and luxury commodities.

The myths about water are many. They range from Australia being the driest continent on earth, to all of our rivers dying from overuse, right up to the government being required to return water to the environment ... here are some not-so-well-known facts that should be shouted out in the present flood of misinformation about our water resources.

Catastrophic floods and droughts are currently being experienced across the world. Paul Wyrwoll and Quentin Grafton argue that our existing approaches to managing water are not working. We need a new paradigm for how we manage water, a rethinking where human societies work with and nurture the hydrological cycle, instead of trying to master it.

John O'Donnell considers the economics of bushfire mitigation in Australia and highlights opportunities for economic reform with fire management across South East Australia, critical considering the high ongoing impact of disastrous bushfires.

The capability of scientists investigating solutions to Australia’s invasive pest problems shone out at the Australian Academy of Science’s Shine Dome in Canberra earlier this month at an event hosted by the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions ... “Graduates of our Balanced Researcher Program are now adding to Australia’s biosecurity and invasive species research and innovation within the government and university sectors...": Andreas Glanznig, Chief Executive, CISS.

Back in May, NSW’s Natural Resources Commission and Department of Primary Industries, as well as three universities, quietly published a report about forest monitoring. It states that north coast koala populations have been stable for the last five years, despite 30 per cent of koala habitat being burnt by the disastrous Black Summer megafires ... NSW bureaucrats obviously know that the koala population wasn’t adversely affected by Black Summer. So, one wonders why they’re not shouting the good news from the rooftops.

Regional Australians angry over continued bank closures have a chance to have their voice heard in federal parliament. The Regional’s Australian parliamentary petition calling for an immediate moratorium on closures and a new banking inquiry has been approved and can be signed online until 12.29am on October 6. It comes as the number of regional ‘big four’ banks looks set to slip below 1000 by the end of the year, a reduction of nearly two thirds of their network since 1975.

Plan Bee, Australia’s national honey bee genetic improvement program has had its hives at Tocal Agricultural College euthanised as part of the all-of-industry response to the 2022 varroa mite incursion. Prior to the hive euthanasia, selected highest value queen bees were removed securely and re-homed to ensure these genetics are banked for future breeding and research.  

Botanists have stumbled across a new and unexplored field of carnivorous plants along with multiple new species of the animal-eating flora at the remote Charnley River-Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary in the Kimberley. The new site, aptly named Sundew Spring, was discovered by Curtin University PhD candidate and botanist Thilo Krueger, his academic co-supervisor Dr Andreas Fleischmann and Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) Wildlife Ecologist Dr Tom Sayers while conducting research at the AWC managed sanctuary.  

After more than six years of multi-disciplinary research, the Q Fever Group ... has released the findings of its flagship research project,  Taking the Q (query) out of Q fever. The project findings fell into three broad themes; improving knowledge and management of Q fever in dairy goat herds; understanding Q fever in the environment; and structures to support Q fever management across the human, animal and environmental health sectors.

There is no better time than now. Australian agriculture is primed and ready to take on the next five years with a strong sense of purpose, determination, and excitement for the possibilities that lie ahead.

John O'Donnell considers a recent US report on fire and land management, "Wildland Urban Interface: A Look at Issues and Resolutions", and finds that it holds valuable lessons that could be adapted for Australian land and bushfire management.

It’s  been nearly two years since  fall armyworm was  first  detected in Australia, and in that time  the  pest  has made its presence felt. With the ability to travel vast distances of up to 100 kilometres overnight, and an appetite for summer crops, the fall armyworm can devour large quantities of crops  – including ginger – in  a matter of days.  

The latest issue of Australian Zoologist is titled “Out of the ashes: Lessons learned from bushfires and how we can better manage our fauna”. But the editorial wrap-up suggests we’ve learnt nothing. It seems our fauna will continue to suffer from mismanagement under a Lock It Up and Let It Burn conservation’ paradigm. The abstract mentions monitoring, mapping and research, but the only reference to management is “use of supplementary resources such as nest boxes and artificial roosts to replace those lost in fires”.

In two decades, the number of people who die of a heart attack in our region has plummeted by more than 20 percent – thanks to visiting cardiologist Philip Tideman and longtime rural GPs at Kincraig Medical Clinic. In Naracoorte alone, more than 500 people have benefited from their work. Now Naracoorte and the SE are being recognised nationally and internationally for reducing death rates from heart attacks in country areas.

Climate change threatens our forests, but it is not necessarily an existential threat, according to a leading Australian scientist. “It’s not necessarily the case that we will be wiped out by wildfire. The existential threat of fire can be mitigated, but we must use ALL knowledge,” Mark Adams, Professor of Bioscience and Innovation at Swinburne University of Technology ... This included indigenous people’s use of fire as a management tool.

Charles Sturt academic, Dr Joanne Connolly explores what makes koalas unique and how Charles Sturt University is contributing to saving endangered populations, including research into the Narrandera koala population ... ARR.News asks some questions of Dr Connolly.

Bushfire affected environmental recovery monitoring in south-west NSW by a Charles Sturt University PhD research student has revealed a hitherto un-noted lizard species in Woomargama National Park. Mr Grant Linley in the Charles Sturt  Gulbali Institute of Agriculture, Water and Environment  said his research obtained photographic evidence of a species, the  heath goanna  (also known as  Rosenberg’s goanna), in Woomargama NP which has not been observed by scientists to occur in the park.

Exceptional growing conditions and high global prices are continuing to benefit Australian agricultural production and exports. The ABARES September quarter Agricultural Commodities Report is forecasting agricultural export earnings to climb to a record $70.3 billion for 2022-23 – almost 50% more than what it was 10 years ago after accounting for inflation.

Marine ecosystems and coastal communities will benefit from increased investment and restoration projects as a result of the new NSW Blue Carbon Strategy ... “The simplest way to understand blue carbon is to liken it to underwater forests – just as trees store carbon, marine and coastal plants and ecosystems do too, except even more efficiently” : Minister for Environment, James Griffin.

The resistance of  green peach aphid (Myzus persicae,  GPA)  to numerous chemical mode of action groups makes it an ongoing management challenge. In Australia, GPA has evolved resistance to synthetic pyrethroids, carbamates, organophosphates, neonicotinoids, and quite recently, to sulfoxaflor. And now, Australian researchers have found populations of GPA with resistance to spirotetramat, the active ingredient in Movento ® 240 SC Insecticide, as well as several generic products containing the same active ingredient.