Ecos articles from January 2000

Ecos archives from January 2000

A welcome key to rain forest secrets.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... Identifying plants through the use of traditional dichotomous keys is something most mortals do their best to avoid. It's a refined form of torture: the clues are often so cryptic that most of us give up in disgust; one false move and you can...

The full book on beetles.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... MEET Mormolyce phyllodes, an elegant Indonesian carabid selected from a cast of thousands to grace the cover of Beetles of the World, a new identification system developed by CSIRO. Mormolyce phyllodes is one of the world's estimated 800...

Mixed plantings tap soils at two levels.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... Research has shown that different eucalypt species planted as part of a whole-farm approach to managing waterlogging and salinity in the Western Australian wheat belt help dry the soil in different ways. Two species monitored -- Sydney blue...

Keeping sightseers at bay.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... A STUDY of interactions between wildlife and tourists at Montague Island has provided some common-sense management solutions for the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. Montague Island National Park, situated nine...

New agriculture needed to combat salinity.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... In 50 to 100 years, much of our water will be undrinkable, important wetland habitats will be lost or threatened, current agricultural systems will be untenable, and infrastructure such as roads, water pipes and building foundations will...

Uncovering the enemy within.
January 1, 2000... Graeme O'Neill gets the dirt on our personal airspace. According to CSIRO's Dr Greg Ayers, it's what you can't see that can hurt you. Among the invisible components of air pollution are the hydrocarbon wastes from various combustion...

What price biodiversity?
January 1, 2000... How do we value something that is rarely traded for its true worth, yet sustains life on Earth? Steve Davidson outlines a collaborative beginning. Putting an economic value on biodiversity is a complex challenge involving both scientific...

the rise and rise of resistance.
January 1, 2000... Only 50 years since antibiotics were hailed as miracle drugs against potentially fatal bacterial infections, a new breed of `superbugs', resistant to many antibiotics in our arsenal, is on the rise. Multiple drug resistant (MDR) strains of...

hydro therapy.
January 1, 2000... Bryony Bennet considers the partial curing of a 60-year arrythmia in the once bountiful Barmah-Millewa Forest. Tall clumps of rusty-hued giant rush fringe the edge of Reed Beds Swamp: a flick in the eye for the unwary. `I never walk in...

Unravelling the floodplain foodweb.
January 1, 2000... A TEAM of 17 scientists from the CRC for Freshwater Ecology is midway through a three-year quest to unravel the intricacies of carbon flows in Australia's lowland floodplains and rivers. Organic carbon forms the base of the riverine food...

What makes sources sinks?
January 1, 2000... The uptake and release of carbon dioxide at land and sea is complicated by erratic phases of the global climate system. Graeme O'Neill describes efforts to account for these climatic influences when balancing the carbon budget. Like Wall...

Deconstructing ENSO.
January 1, 2000... Researchers first noted a connection between [CO.sub.2] and ENSO events in 1976. Analysis of 40 years of data has since revealed a complex but consistent relationship between ENSO events and atmospheric [CO.sub.2] anomalies, in particular, a...

Follow the exhaustive search for greenhouse solutions.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... CSIRO's greenhouse-related research involves more than 18 divisions and incorporates many partnerships with other research agencies such as the Bureau of Meterology and CRCs. A summary of this research, including examples and contact...

A therapeutic role for viruses.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2000... Modified animal cold viruses (adenoviruses) that ferry natural immune boosting molecules into cells have the potential to improve the health and growth of livestock raised under intensive conditions. A team of scientists led by Dr Adrian...