Innate cruelty and exploitation: does biodiversity stand a chance?
Earlier this year I took my daughter to the South Australian Museum, as I often do on weekends. We usually have lunch at the Art Gallery, and then wander the various levels of the Museum at a pace...
View ArticleAustralia’s perfect storm of negligence
If, for the purposes of some sick and twisted thought experiment, you were to design policies that would ensure the long-term failure of a wealthy, developed nation, you wouldn’t have to look farther...
View ArticleHow things have (not) changed
The other night I had the pleasure of dining with the former Australian Democrats leader and senator, Dr John Coulter, at the home of Dr Paul Willis (Director of the Royal Institution of Australia). It...
View ArticleMulticulturalism in the lab
With all the nasty nationalism and xenophobia gurgling nauseatingly to the surface of our political discourse1 these days, it is probably worth some reflection regarding the role of multiculturalism in...
View ArticleWorld of urban rangers
Bridging the gap between an urban population and the wildlife we love. The world continues to urbanise. According to the Population Reference Bureau, the developed nations of the world are 74% urban,...
View ArticleGiving a monkey’s about primate conservation
Saving primates is a complicated business. Primates are intelligent, social animals that have complex needs. They come into conflict with humans when they raid rubbish bins and crops, chew power...
View ArticleThe Effective Scientist
What is an effective scientist? The more I have tried to answer this question, the more it has eluded me. Before I even venture an attempt, it is necessary to distinguish the more esoteric term...
View ArticleMy interview with Conservation Careers
The online job-search engine and careers magazine for conservation professionals — Conservation Careers — recently published an interview with me written by Mark Thomas. Mark said that he didn’t mind...
View ArticleUniversity rankings are questionable at best
Measuring educational performance is difficult at any stage, especially since most school-level performance indicators are based on ‘standardised’ tests of a few select students in particular years....
View ArticleThe Great Dying
Here’s a presentation I gave earlier in the year for the Flinders University BRAVE Research and Innovation series: There is No Plan(et) B — What you can do about Earth’s extinction emergency Earth is...
View ArticleThe politics of environmental destruction
You’d think I’d get tired of this, wouldn’t you? Alas, the fight does wear me down, but I must persist. My good friend and colleague, the legendary Professor Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University, as...
View ArticleWhy do conservation scientists get out of bed?
I have, on many occasions, been faced with a difficult question after giving a public lecture. The question is philosophical in nature (and I was never very good at philosophy – just ask my IB...
View ArticleAdvice for getting your dream job in conservation science
A few weeks ago I heard from an early-career researcher in the U.S. who had some intelligent things to say about getting jobs in conservation science based on a recent Conservation Biology paper she...
View ArticleI fucking love biodiversity
A corker of an idea, and post, from Diogo Veríssimo. — I don’t like biodiversity. I like beef lasagna, I like the British museum and I like everything Jules Verne ever wrote. When it comes to...
View ArticleMaking science matter
I’ve been home from my last overseas trip now for nearly two weeks, but despite not feeling caught up, it’s high time I report what I was up to. Some of you who follow my Twitter feed or who saw a CB...
View ArticleSchool finishers and undergraduates ill-prepared for research careers
Having been for years now at the pointy end of the educational pathway training the next generation of scientists, I’d like to share some of my observations regarding how well we’re doing. At least in...
View ArticleI still fucking love biodiversity
One year ago, I launched the Facebook page “I fucking love biodiversity” (IFLB) with a post here on ConservationBytes. My goal was to get people talking about biodiversity in a positive and...
View ArticleAustralia should have a more vibrant ecological culture
I’ve always had the gut feeling that Australia punched above its weight when it comes to ecology and conservation. For years I’ve been confidently bragging to whomever might listen (mostly at...
View ArticleInnate cruelty and exploitation: does biodiversity stand a chance?
Earlier this year I took my daughter to the South Australian Museum, as I often do on weekends. We usually have lunch at the Art Gallery, and then wander the various levels of the Museum at a pace...
View ArticleQueer science
(Originally posted by Kathryn Venning on the GEL.blog) Happy Pride Month to the beautiful Queers of the scientific community, and beyond! I decided to write this post to help non-queer scientists...
View Article
