Tag: conservation
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What can cattle teach us about evolution?
Ary Hoffmann Charles Darwin in his On the Origin of Species used data from domestic animals to argue for the power of natural selection in changing phenotypes. These included examples from birds and dogs as well as livestock. The latter having been selected across many years to increase productive yields such as milk and meat. […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/pearg/2020/04/17/what-can-cattle-teach-us-about-evolution
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Rediscovering a ‘lost’ species
This article was first published on Pursuit. Read the original article. Associate Professor Michael Kearney and Professor Ary Hoffmann People usually go to cemeteries to visit or bury their dead but, in the name of research, we visited 25 cemeteries in Victoria, NSW and the ACT to try and find a tiny rare species of […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/pearg/2019/09/19/rediscovering-a-lost-species
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Cracking the kinship code: Measuring animal dispersal across generations with DNA
NEW paper! Dispersal is a key component of the ecology and evolution of animal populations. It allows animals to colonize new habitats, escape deteriorating conditions, and locate mates. When animals disperse and breed successfully in new habitats that are already occupied by the same species, there will be an exchange of genes. This exchange is […] -
A cat-astrophe waiting to happen!!!
Words: Samantha Ward Friend or foe? When you look at your fluffy pet cat curled up beside you on the sofa, do you see a cute companion or a calculating killer? Cute companion or calculating killer? Credit: Author’s own. I’m going to assume the former, but now let me ask you this: Do you let […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/pearg/2018/11/01/a-cat-astrophe-waiting-to-happen
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Zoos – the good, the bad and the ugly
Words: Samantha Ward We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo. How about you, you, you…?” Perhaps you remember singing the song when you were a child. If you do, you probably have it stuck in your head now! If you don’t, I’m sure you remember those fun-filled zoo days watching gigantic elephants spraying themselves with […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/pearg/2018/11/01/zoos-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly
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The diversity of Aussie grasshoppers | Part two
Words and images: Vanessa White Some important lessons learnt and new questions around Vandiemenella laboratory rearing In the previous grasshopper blog, I reported “reasonable success with room for improvement” in our attempts to rear Vandiemenella grasshopper nymphs in the laboratory. Alternative housing is an important focus for improvement, but a discussion with Mike and Ary […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/pearg/2018/10/15/the-diversity-of-aussie-grasshoppers-part-two
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The diversity of Aussie grasshoppers | Part one
Words: Vanessa White Images: Mike Kearney and Vanessa White Why Australian grasshoppers are fantastic research subjects: The Morabine grasshoppers (subfamily Morabinae) commonly known as “matchstick grasshoppers” are endemic to Australia and comprise 40 genera and around 250 species (Rentz 1996). Both sexes are wingless with a characteristic matchstick-like appearance. Some Morabine species have been studied […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/pearg/2018/10/08/the-diversity-of-aussie-grasshoppers-part-one
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The economic benefit of biodiversity in agriculture
Words: Linda Thomson Image: Zagrammosoma latilineatum by Elia Pirtle Along with sustainability, biodiversity is a current catchword. Our work demonstrating the benefits of non crop vegetation on increasing biodiversity and especially “beneficials’ which contribute to pest control in crops. Enthusiasm for the project is shown by the excellent attendance at a recent workshop – report of […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/pearg/2018/09/07/the-economic-benefit-of-biodiversity-in-agriculture
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Progressing genetic rescue with eastern barred bandicoots
Words: Ary Hoffmann Cover image: John Gould 1863 As featured recently in a Pursuit piece, we are making steady progress with the genetic rescue of eastern barred bandicoots through our joint work with Mt Rothwell sanctuary. Genetic rescue provides a way of introducing new genetic material into threatened populations which in turn allows these […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/pearg/2018/09/06/progressing-genetic-rescue-with-eastern-barred-bandicoots
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New paper | Interspecific hybridization may provide novel opportunities for coral reef restoration
A new paper is out in Frontiers in Marine Science – article link A nicely digestible review of the article is available at Ocean bites here
Number of posts found: 20