Ecosystem management
Digitising our biological collections
Three quarters of the species that live in Australia don’t exist anywhere else in the world. We're digitisation our collections to make the data easily available to have bigger impacts in areas like conservation, biosecurity and climate change.
The water needs of floodplain trees – the inside view
For the first time, scientists have quantified how much water trees on the Murray-Darling floodplain need, and when they need it. The results show that we cannot tell the health of a tree just by looking at its canopy—we need to look inside the tree.
Celebration of life in the forests of Borneo
Timm Döbert spent three years working towards his PhD based in a research camp in Borneo’s lowland rainforests. It was a chance to study close at hand the human impact on a diverse ecosystem – and a privileged opportunity to marvel at the diversity of life on Earth. It’s also a photographer’s paradise. He and colleagues have shared with us some of their favourite images.
How researchers are mapping an invasive species advancing across an entire region
In Northern Australia, researchers have Gamba grass in their sights. They're applying cutting-edge advances in satellite, airborne and terrestrial remote sensing along with emerging tools in computer vision and machine learning to address environmental challenges such as invasive species.
Trawling for insights about the North West shelf
Following decades of heavy trawling off the north-west shelf of Australia in the 1970s and 1980s, researchers are back to assess how the region has recovered, providing scientific advice to guide sustainable fishing practices both in Australia and internationally.
Profile: Bardi Jawi marine scientist Marlee Hutton
Marlee Hutton is contributing to a better understanding of west coast marine ecosystems and learning about the role science can play in the issues her and her community in the Kimberley care about.
Arid springs: the hidden evolutionary cradles of Outback Australia
At the Edgbaston springs in Central Queensland, a precarious ecosystem unknown to science until 25 years ago, scientists are uncovering a treasure trove of species found nowhere else on the planet. Together with the springs ecosystems in other arid areas of the Great Artesian Basin, these species are revealing a fascinating evolutionary tale.
Native Australian bees hone in on the prize
Native Australian bees have taken out the prize for Small Publishers' Adult Book of the Year at the 2017 Australian book awards - with some thanks to former CSIRO entomologist Tim Heard.
Reclaiming our rivers from feral carp
Five years ago, ECOS reported on new research investigating the potential for a biological control to manage the problem of carp in the Murray-Darling river system. The ongoing research is now part of a $15m national plan.