Source & full text: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200706/s1942296.htm
5 June 2007
An international survey commissioned by an environmental group has found that the majority of people in 14 countries want governments to do more about climate change. The report was initiated by Australian environmentalist Jon Dee. Mr Dee says concern about the consequences of climate change is high among Australians. Jon Dee said that there is an emotional engagement because people, nine out of 10 Australians, are concerned about the impact climate change is going to have on the future of Australia's kids. Seventy-three per cent of people now feel that seasons are not arriving at the same time of year any more. Mr Dee says most Australians still have a deep distrust of nuclear energy as a replacement for coal and oil-fuelled power stations. What scored higher was geothermal energy, hydro, tidal, wind and solar power, which was the most popular alternative of all.

One of the most unexpected consequences of global climate change may well turn out to be one of the most severe in terms of impacts on life on earth. As continued carbon emissions accelerate global warming, the carbon dioxide contained in those emissions is able to silently yet dramatically reduce the alkalinity of the oceans. And as the pH drops, marine organisms that produce shells and carbonate skeletons grow weak and die off. The discovery that carbon dioxide emissions can lower global ocean pH is very recent, even though chemists and biologists have for long known that when carbon dioxide dissolves in water, carbonic acid results.

One of the most unexpected consequences of global climate change may well turn out to be one of the most severe in terms of impacts on life on earth. As continued carbon emissions accelerate global warming, the carbon dioxide contained in those emissions is able to silently yet dramatically reduce the alkalinity of the oceans. And as the pH drops, marine organisms that produce shells and carbonate skeletons grow weak and die off.

The discovery that carbon dioxide emissions can lower global ocean pH is very recent, even though chemists and biologists have for long known that when carbon dioxide dissolves in water, carbonic acid results. However, the sheer volume of water in the oceans has always been assumed to be so vast as to be safe from changes in chemical balance brought about by small scale inputs. In effect, it is just plain hard to imagine that atmospheric inputs of any kind could significantly alter the chemical composition and nature of over 1.3 trillion cubic kilometers of ocean water. Thus when intrepid oceanographers and marine ecologists set out to address the question of how changing atmospheric conditions that lead to changes in pH could affect marine life, they raised alarms about the possibilities of very large scale impacts.

Like all significant and surprising scientific discoveries, many great minds may have simultaneously converged on the idea that loading up the atmosphere with carbon emissions would begin to affect the ocean environment, and in turn its ability to further sequester carbon and maintain environmental parameters in balance. The story of one such scientist playing a key role in uncovering the phenomenon of ocean acidification was Victoria Fabry. According to New Scientist magazine1, Fabry was doing shipboard experiments on small pteropod mollusks she kept in sealed jars, when she began to notice that their shells were dissolving. She surmised that the carbon dioxide respired by the pteropods was making the seawater more acidic and dissolving the calcium carbonate of their shells

Cane toad

Research from Sydney University's Shine Institute suggests the long-term impact of cane toads on wildlife is less destructive than first thought. The arrival of the toad in the Northern Territory has caused the populations of death adders, goannas and quolls to be drastically reduced. But researcher Ben Phillips says all of the species under threat are evolving to cope with the toad's deadly poison. Research from Sydney University's Shine Institute suggests the long-term impact of cane toads on wildlife is less destructive than first thought.

Research from Sydney University's Shine Institute suggests the long-term impact of cane toads on wildlife is less destructive than first thought. The arrival of the toad in the Northern Territory has caused the populations of death adders, goannas and quolls to be drastically reduced. But researcher Ben Phillips says all of the species under threat are evolving to cope with the toad's deadly poison. He says a 2005 research paper shows many native animals initially killed by the poisonous toads are evolving and their offspring are becoming immune.  He says he is confident the study being conducted at Fog Dam, south of Darwin, will show wildlife have the potential to be back at normal population levels within 50 years.

"The facts are that there's species that we know that have been impacted by cane toads very badly that are still surviving in areas where there is toads and there have been toads for a very long time, so something must have changed," he said. "The most likely explanation is that all those populations have evolved - that we have certainly shown for a couple of species now." Mr Phillips says a campaign to stop the cane toad's march across the country is ineffective. "Trapping toads is a little bit like standing out here in the flood plain and swatting at mosquitos," he said. *ABC

Source & full text: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20802039-30417,00.html

It lived more than 100 million years ago, swimming in the southern ocean when Australia was effectively a polar continent.
At two metres long with large blade-like teeth, it was an impressive carnivore, something of a cross between a modern-day barracuda and a swordfish.
Now a pair of South Australian amateur fossil hunters, Tom and Sharon Hurley, say they have uncovered a wonderfully preserved snout of the previously unknown species, which will eventually bear their name.
Their find came on a trip to Queensland last year, when the couple's curiosity was sparked by an odd looking skull inside a large lump of rock..
It was handed over to the South Australian Museum and after many months of work has emerged as a new species of fish…

Green turtle tracks at Ningaloo. Image courtesy of Robert Thorn and DEH

The Minister for Education, Science and Training the Hon Julie Bishop MP has announced a $12 million research collaboration for Western Australia's Ningaloo Reef Region.

The research collaboration will be led by Murdoch University in collaboration with Curtin University of Technology, The Sustainable Tourism CRC, The University of Western Australia, Edith Cowan University, The University of Queensland, The Australian National University and CSIRO's Wealth from Oceans National Research Flagship.

"The Ningaloo region is a unique marine ecosystem and we need to ensure that we understand how we can best manage and conserve it for the future," Minister Bishop said.

"The cluster will bring the research capacity of eight institutions together to address the challenges affecting the management strategy for the Ningaloo Marine Park and adjacent coastal regions.

"It will be a unique research project for the Ningaloo region which will examine the reef's habitats and biodiversity along with the human uses of the reef, and the social and economic aspects of tourism in the region.

"The aim is to develop integrated computer models and having these readily adopted to drive the effective planning for conservation and sustainable development."

Minister Bishop said the Cluster would complement the research being undertaken by the Ningaloo Research Program that is part of the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI), a programme initiated by the Western Australian Government.

All research results will be shared with WAMSI and other government agencies to deliver information and management data to ensure the conservation and appropriate development options for the region.

As part of the $305 million over seven years provided by the Australian Government to the National Research Flagships, $97 million was specifically allocated to further enhance collaboration between CSIRO, Australian universities and other publicly funded research agencies.

The Flagship Collaboration Fund enables the skills of the wider Australian research community to be applied to the major national challenges targeted by CSIRO's Flagship Initiative.