The western scientific revolution birthed the scientific method and professional research scientists took over from the church in investigating the way the world works. Now science is enjoying another transformation...
Category: Science
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Eucalypt mythbusting: a comprehensive guide
Misconceptions about eucalypts abound. They seem to be as widespread and diverse as the eucalypts themselves...
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Catching hope: the race against fire
Burnt leaves litter the heathland at Howe Flat in the eastern-most tip of Victoria, blown on the wind as the fire edges ever-closer. For a small, ground-dwelling bird called the Eastern Bristlebird, this spells trouble...
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Rethinking burning for biodiversity
Management of bushfire regimes through planned burning represents an opportunity to deliver positive outcomes for fire-sensitive plants and animals – if we can get it right.
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An extraordinary day in the life of a field scientist
I went to take a closer look at the first Slender-billed White-eye nest I had ever seen. Nestled at the bottom was a single precious egg...
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Threatened species day is an event, but extinction is a process
Setting aside a single day of the year for threatened species awareness posits extinction as an event. But extinction is a process.
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A time-travelling botanist and Australia’s first plants
The vast continent of Australia is home to some of the world’s most unusual plants, so it’s hardly surprising that the extinct plants that once dwelt here were just as strange...
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Reptiles of Victoria: 40 years of chasing Victoria’s reptiles
Reptiles of Victoria is an extensive, user-friendly and engaging account of the staggering reptile diversity of Victoria. It has filled a niche left empty in the literature for far too long...
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Seabirds that can’t get wet: the bizarre lifestyle of frigatebirds
There are a lot of weird birds in the world. A couple that spring to mind are...
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Growing pains: eucalypt leaves and tree adolescence
The eucalypts are a strange group of species when compared with other trees around the world...