Nature Conservation: Call to Act on Global Groundwater Sustainability

Water Conservation Resources – PDFs The Cape Town Government has made the following downloadable files available: Top ways to save water Water-saving tips/checklist to help avoid Day Zero Safe use of Grey Water Find and Fix Leaks Water Conservation: Smart Office Handbook (only pages 57-65) Smart Office Handbook: A Guide to Greening Your Office (full […]

What Is Music to a Fish's Ears?

Article Summary Snap Crackle and Pop! An update on more coral restoration strategies, see the previous post on this topic here! Playing sounds of healthy coral reefs attracts fish to degraded areas to assist with reef recovery Why Is This Important? Fish play important ecological roles in reef, such as cleaning and recycling of nutrients […]

Nature Conservation: Massive Butterfly Genome Project

Article Summary 845 butterfly genomes have been sequenced, these include all the butterflies of the United States and Canada! Armed with the data, evolutionary biologists set out to create a tree that tracts the relationship between all the species Isn’t that such a cool graphic?! This is my favourite part of Genetics = phylogenetic trees! […]

Nature Conservation: DNA Detective for Endangered Species

Article Summary The presence of an endangered Australian bird species, the Gouldian finches (Erythrura gouldiae), was detected by trace DNA from a frequented watering hole. It has been established that large animal and plants can leave enough trace DNA in their environment to be able to track their presence in a given location. Water bodies […]

Nature Conservation: Coral Reef Restoration with 3D printing!

Article Summary Global temperature rises in the ocean cause coral reefs to expel their symbiotic algae, which give them nourishment. Afterwards they bleach, starve and die 50% of global coral reefs have expired Conservationists from Mote and other institutions are planting out lab-grown and naturally genetically resistant/robust corals between remnants of remaining reefs. These grow, […]

Nature Conservation: The 100 million Euro Action Plan for Declining Insect Populations of Germany

A reported 76% loss of insect biomass has occurred over the last 3 decades. This prompted the federal government to announce a €100 million “action plan for insect protection” Their nine-point plan includes recommendations from leading entomologists: Protection of insect-rich habitats, such as the semi-wild fruit orchards and stone walls of the countryside Phasing out […]

Save Our Species with Science: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Earth Day

The International Earth Day campaign started as a socio-environmental movement back in 1970 and is promoted yearly on the 22nd of April. In the 90’s the movement went global with the aim to raise awareness of environmental problems and driving the inclusion of environmental guidelines during law making decisions. The #EndPlasticPollution movement of 2018 was […]

Begryp: ‘n Afrikaanse Gedig / Realise: an Afrikaans Poem

In die feëwoude Raak dit al hoe benouder Want voëlneste word verwyder En hoeveelheid inwoners al hoe kleiner Is daar geen verligting? Aan die oprigting? Daar is geen meer bome Vir die beeldskone Woudgeeste om onder te dans Deur die dag en saans Niemand gee om Want die mensdom is stom Hul kinders gaan eendag […]