| WILDLIFE AUSTRALIA Magazine - Spring 2009 |
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Relationships
Relationships are so vital to our lives that it’s not surprising the theme has drawn in a wonderful range of articles on taxonomy, animal behaviours, a co-operative wildlife sanctuary, an ancient lineage of plants, extreme microbes and what we hope should be an easily solved threat to a national icon.
Dingoes have a close genetic resemblance to domestic dogs but, says researcher Bradley Smith, behaviourally they are much closer to wolves. Living in highly structured family groups, they share the work of raising their young, teaching and reinforcing social and hunting behaviours. Find out more about dingo relationships and social behaviours in 'Friends, foes, food and ferals' |
| FEATURES |
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| Danger in the opera house |
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By Tom Grant
Catching yabbies is a time-honoured Australian tradition. It should not, and does not have to mean death to platypuses.
Catching yabbies in muddy creeks and farm dams is a cherished memory of many Australian childhoods; the practice often continues into adult years.
Reports from people often unaware of the possibility of drowning wildlife in yabby traps appear to be more frequent |
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| Think like an island: New Zealand’s ZEALANDIA – Karori Sanctuary |
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By Saren Starbridge
New Zealand is green, beautiful and full of wildlife, mostly from somewhere else. European deer, ship rats, Australian possums. The list goes on – but what was life like on these remote islands before the rest of the world came ashore and began disrupting a landscape developed through millions of years of isolation?
On a balmy, starlit summer night, a dozen visitors from London, Singapore, Auckland, Wellington and Brisbane are finding out. |
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| A genus by any other name: the science of taxonomy |
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By Greg Czechura
The scientific name of the cane toad has recently
changed from Bufo marinus to Chaunus marinus (briefly)
and then Rhinella marina – much to the consternation
of many frog-watchers.
Name changes can be vexing, especially if
long-standing names (such as Bufo marinus) suddenly
'disappear' from usage. Believe it or not, scientific names
are not altered lightly. There are actually international codes
guiding their use. |
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| Friends, foes, food and ferals: dingo relationships in Australia |
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By Bradley Smith
What do we really know about the biology, behaviour
and significance of this controversial predator?
The dingo (Canis lupus dingo), Australia’s largest wild mammalian predator, is
arguably the most maligned and misunderstood of our native fauna. The
perception of the dingo as a bloodthirsty, cunning, and devious killer is a product
of generations of conflict with livestock farmers. |
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| Join the crowd: seabird nesting in the tropics |
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By Damon Ramsey
Some tropical seashores attract noisy, colourful mobs interested in eating and
showing off, but how do you find your kid in the crowd?
Many seabirds and shorebirds breed in colonies. In fact, compared to approximately 10-15 percent of non-marine based birds, some 95 percent of seabird species nest in colonies. However, nesting in colonies has signficant disadvantages. |
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| Cycads – fading future for a long heritage |
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By Paul Forster
Australia is well-placed to conserve remnant populations of this fascinating and
once-widespread group of plants
Individuals are resilient and, in the right conditions, long-lived, but threats to isolated populations of this ancient lineage put their future at risk.
Modern cycad species are probably relatively recent.
However, the history of these long-lived, woody, dioecious
(male and female individuals) perennials dates back to the
Permian, preceding dinosaurs and the currently diverse and
widespread group of plants known as angiosperms. |
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| Extreme microbes: tough enough to eat rocks |
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By Kayley Usher
Life in unusual conditions offers intriguing possibilities.
Mineral extraction requires considerable effort, but it’s all in a day’s work for some of
our smallest organisms living in what we would consider life-threatening conditions.
Despite their small size, most microbes don’t sit around waiting for a free lunch. They swim in an erratic fashion towards energy sources they can 'smell' such as a sulphide mineral, propelled by rapidly rotating flagella. |
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| Wildlife Australia CyberJungle |
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| Also in this edition |
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Editorial, CityAnimal, Trekabout Photography, Six Species, NatureWatch, Books Reviews, Spring Skies, Young and Wild, Scratchings and Rustlings, WPSQ in Action, Swamp Cartoon and our regular environmental crossword.
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