What happens if climate change improves ecological functions?

By Ryan Pearson

Just for a moment, let’s consider what might happen if temperature rise actually improves conditions, because that’s exactly what we predict might happen in our recent study - for some animals, in some places, at least. But we also argue that it’s not necessarily a good thing…

What is this? A world for ants?

 

By Ryan Pearson

To quote the ever-intelligent Derek Zoolander, it seems that this world needs to be at least 'three times bigger'. We simply have too many people that are consuming (and throwing away) too much stuff for the resources we have available.

Birds of Springbrook

Golden whistler

By Ryan Pearson
In the hills near Queensland's Gold Coast lies some beautiful rainforest at Springbrook. A short camping trip up there allowed some hiking time, and plenty of wildlife encounters. It was a rainy weekend so my camera didn't come out as often as I'd like but below are a handful of bird photos I managed to take entirely within The Settlement camp ground area.. along with some crappy pics of a couple of other critters (taken on a rainy night with my phone).

A photo tour of Australia's wild and wonderful Top End

The estuarine or saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) at Yellow Waters in Kakadu.

By Ryan Pearson
I recently had the pleasure of attending and presenting at the 3rd Australian Sea Turtle Symposium which was held at the Territory Wildlife Park, about 45 mins outside of Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory. Following the symposium I took the opportunity to travel the length of the Top End through a number of national parks, including Australia's largest, Kakadu. This really is a must-do adventure where we encountered some of Australia's most iconic wildlife and landscapes. Here are some of the nature pics taken along the journey.

The Incredible Bowra Station

A thirsty Galah (Elophus roseicapilla) Photo: Ryan Pearson

By Ryan Pearson

Over New Years this year I had the pleasure of spending almost a week at Bowra Station (outside of Cunnamulla), a wildlife sanctuary run by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. This was my first ever trip into semi-arid Southwest QLD, and damn was I impressed. 

Climate Change: Our Backs to the Future

By Ryan Pearson

This week climate change has been at the forefront of the media, and is finally getting some of the attention it deserves. Unfortunately, it's for all the wrong reasons because, in his first couple of days as Australia's new Prime Minister, Tony Abbott has already made his agenda abundantly clear. There is no space under his government for environmental protection, or those who endorse it.

One way ecology could save the planet!

By Ryan Pearson

Ecology is a science. To the layperson it is not as famous a science as the 'big three' - physics, chemistry, and biology - but it's a completely valid science, and arguably one of the most complex. In this day and age, a time of rapid global change, it is also arguably one of the most important sciences.

Into the Twilight Zone: Some cutting edge exploratory science!

By Ryan Pearson

As I believe I've made abundantly clear already, I'm a scientist, and I'm particularly fascinated with the marine world. For the past few months I have been focusing my research efforts into some of the deeper water rocky reefs offshore from the Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. Using baited remote underwater video (BRUV) sampling techniques, I've been looking particularly closely at the number and types of scavenging species that occur at these reefs between depths of approximately 30m-85m. This zone in scientific terms is called the mesophotic zone which roughly translated into plain english means 'middle light'. That means there is some light available, but it is at much lower intensities than in shallow waters or at the surface. Combine this intermediate light phenomena with the Gold Coast's location firmly in the sub-tropics and we get to see some very interesting dynamics between tropical and temperate fish species from both shallow and very deep water. 

Don't worry guys, evolution is just a 'theory'.

By Ryan Pearson

Didn't you hear? Evolution is just a theory, so clearly it's just made up. It's a lie. Animals didn't 'evolve' to be what we see today, plants, and fungi, and bacteria didn't either. They just appeared one day (approximately 6,000 years ago) after being placed here by a higher power. Clearly all of the evidence and 'facts' support this fundamental bit of knowledge and evolution has already been proven wrong... right? Surely someone out there has tried, and found it very easy to disprove the 'guess' that people are calling evolution... surely... right? Well, in truth, plenty of people have tried...

Queenslands Hidden Secrets: Carnarvon Gorge

Carnarvon Gorge from within.

By Ryan Pearson

I had a few days off this week so I borrowed my parents Winnebago, and trekked as far west as I've been in Australia to the fabled Carnarvon Gorge. This place is a wonderland of flora and fauna and natural history dating back thousands of years. It's a hidden, ancient secret amidst Queenslands semi-arid west that harbours an amazing diversity of species from a variety of much wetter habitats than the surrounds suggest. In fact, the planned walks encompass such a variety of habitats that it almost feels like you're walking through a number of exhibits in the worlds largest museum. Here's a break-down of the park with a lot of pictures along the way...