Coral reef connectivity is crucial for conservation
New global assessment could better inform the placement of protected areas.
With an ambitious global push underway to protect a third of the world’s ocean environments by 2030, the race to dist...
Marine life
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Why don’t whales drown when they eat?
‘Oral plug’ prevents water getting into the animals’ lungs.
If you’ve ever seen a lunge-feeding whale, you might have wondered why the animal didn’t drown while gulping down tho...
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60 million icefish nests found in Antarctica
Massive fish breeding colony discovered in the chilly Weddell Sea.
2000 kilometres south of the southernmost tip of Antarctica lies the Weddell Sea. These cold, iceberg-filled waters a...
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Female dolphins like to get frisky
The cetaceans’ clitoris is found to be a lot like ours.
It was long thought – perhaps naively – that humans were the only animal to take pleasure in sex. This fusty attit...
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Can any species win from climate change?
Changes in killer whale hunting patterns raise important questions about winners and losers in ou...
When it comes to climate change, scientists are finding that killer whales may be nature’s equivalent of rich Western...
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Ivermectin could throw a lifeline to endangered Australian sea lions
Wonder drug with a troubled image could be key to saving this iconic species from a deadly parasite.
Ivermectin has been burdened with a seriously bad reputation in recent times. Infamously – and incorrectly – touted a...
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Crafty coastal species are colonising plastics – with potentially devastating results
Persistent human-made debris is providing pelagic habitat for some coastal species. What happens ...
The sheer volume of plastics dumped, trickled or escaped into our oceans is seen as a major global problem, threateni...
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How to read a jellyfish’s mind
Researchers get to know the diffuse neural system of a tiny Cnidarian – and discover there’s much...
Jellyfish may be brainless, but that didn’t stop these scientists from reading their minds – well, sort of. Resear...
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The great eel odyssey
Aussie eels travel a whopping 2500 kilometres to spawn… and then they die.
The epic odyssey of Australasian eels to spawning grounds spans all the way from south-eastern Australia to the far r...
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The ocean is our greatest climate regulator
It must be a stronger part of climate policy and action.
The German linguist Heinrich Zimmer once described the ocean as “limitless and immortal … the beginning and end of al...
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Shark-bait tourism
Wildlife tourism is the fastest growing sector of the travel industry, bringing in billions of do...
Three hours off the coast of South Australia, in the remote and rugged Neptune Islands, white sharks gather. These...
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Video
Antarctica: A window to the future
Find out why Antarctica is a frontier for scientific research.
Remote and wild, Antarctica is a spectacular place that most people on Earth won't ever get to. But it's a frontier f...