VIDEO: Tasmanian sea surface temperatures for December 2024
A drop in little penguin numbers was noticed around the middle of the month. Scientists say the East Australia Current is extending further south and impacting ecosystems. (Data from Australia's Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS))
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ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Critically endangered Victorian grassland earless lizard habitat threatened by land sale limbo
On a sheep farm west of Melbourne two years ago, a lizard species thought extinct was discovered to be well and truly alive. State and federal environment ministers jointly announced the surprise find that Victorian grasslands earless dragons (Tympanocryptis pinguicolla) were still going half a century after their last sighting. The species survived in a remnant of once-widespread native grasses that were periodically grazed by sheep and left to go to seed in summer. But after the plaudits, the family that owns the property has faced a stressful conundrum as they try to conserve the species amid drought, dropping wool prices and rising farm costs. The farm owners — whose identities and location can't be revealed because of the threat posed by wildlife poachers — want to sell the portion of their land suitable for conservation to the Victorian government. But the state government won't buy them out despite having a program that aims to purchase land containing endangered grasslands as an offset to urban development. "There's zero incentive for farmers to protect native pastures," a spokesperson for the family said. "We feel that the financial incentive is for us to do the opposite … the problem is with climate change and the drought it's always changing how we do things. With the preservation of the lizard in mind, the family has refrained from changing grazing practices used since World War II. Reptile ecologist Peter Robertson, who is a member of the recovery team for the dragon, said any grazing management changes could be disastrous for the remaining lizards. "Farming with sheep grazing appears to be what has most likely allowed the dragon to persist on that land," he said. Mr Robertson was a co-author of a new report from the Biodiversity Council, an independent biodiversity expert group founded by 11 Australian universities, with a list of recommendations to conserve the dragon and the wider grasslands. He said the number-one priority in the report, titled "Delivering houses and saving dragons", was to secure the wild site. "It may well be that we never find this species anywhere else," Mr Robertson said. University of Melbourne wildlife ecologist Brendan Wintle, who is also a Biodiversity Council lead councillor, said the species could be lost again without action. "We're not even seeing a guarantee of its protection of its last wild population, despite the goodwill of the people who currently own the land. "The obvious action is for the Victorian government and maybe with some help from the commonwealth government to purchase and secure the only known wild population." Around 98 per cent of the grasslands have been lost since European colonisation. The Victorian government in 2010 agreed to purchase 15,000 hectares of private land containing what's left of the grasslands over a decade to create the Western Grassland Reserve. That commitment was made as part of an agreement — called the Melbourne Strategic Assessment (MSA) — with the federal government for suburban development to go ahead in other sensitive areas. But the property in which the dragons were found doesn't fall into the acquisition zone that was drawn up by the state some 13 years before the rediscovery. And despite provisions allowing changes, the MSA has not been updated to include likely lizard habitat in the new reserves. A federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water spokesperson said land purchases for the reserve were the responsibility of the state government. "The department is working with the Victorian government on specific protections for the Victorian grassland earless dragon." The Victorian government would not say why it wouldn't buy the property nor update the MSA. But a spokesperson said it was working with the private landholder and other stakeholders on ways to protect the dragon rediscovery site, "as well as delivering a successful conservation breeding program for the Victorian grassland earless dragon with the commonwealth government". Melbourne Zoo successfully hatched dragon babies at the end of 2023 after 16 male and 13 females were removed from the farm. Dragon-detecting dogs have also been trained on the farm to potentially find other surviving lizards elsewhere in the state. But the Biodiversity Council's report states this isn't enough, and calls out the speed of government initiatives to help the dragon. It recommends more funding to survey potential dragon sites and to translocate zoo-bred lizards to establish at least 12 new wild populations. Professor Wintle said more resources were needed to urgently undertake translocations and remove threats such as cats. "But at the moment we're not seeing any investment in trials." The report is also critical of the effectiveness of the MSA and conservation reserve planning. New proposals for urban development around Bacchus Marsh and Geelong haven't been incorporated into the MSA, but are instead covered by separate federal environment legislation. The Biodiversity Council also reported several alleged incidents of habitat (protected by federal law) in the proposed Western Grassland Reserve being cleared illegally. And while 15,000 hectares of land was supposed to be purchased by 2020 for the reserve, so far about 4,000 hectares (or 26 per cent of properties) have been bought by the Victorian government. Professor Wintle said that should put the state in breach of its agreement, and the Biodiversity Council has called on the federal government to audit the MSA and bring it up to date. He also said the original environmental value of flagged conservation land was declining because of the lack of urgency to finalise the reserves. But a Victorian government spokesperson defended the pace of its buy-up. "We're protecting our native grassland habitats and the species that occupy them by continuing to acquire and rehabilitate land to create the Western Grasslands Reserve," they said. "This is funded by the MSA levy that is paid by developers and therefore proceeds in line with the rate of development in the area." A Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water spokesperson added the MSA was a "robust framework" balancing housing and threatened species. But back at the farm with the dragons, the view is government policies need to change to better balance landscape management. "There are big issues on farms in peri-urban areas," a family spokesperson said. "If you want farmers to maintain Australia's landscape, particularly the western plains, there has to be something better."
ABC News
15 hours ago
- ABC News
Acidification and warming: the twin threats to precious marine colonies
Even as global leaders meet in France to discuss the future of the oceans, new research shows ocean acidification is happening more quickly than was predicted. The UN this week announced new targets: to guarantee marine protection to 30% of the world's oceans by 2030. One of the first scientists to raise the alarm over acidification says energy transformation is now more necessary than ever.
ABC News
16 hours ago
- ABC News
Why are people calling tonight's full moon a 'strawberry moon'?
If you've been seeing a lot of chatter about tonight's full moon being a "strawberry moon" on your social media feed, you'd be forgiven for expecting a lunar eclipse tonight. But that's not the case. Here's what you can expect from the full moon tonight. Tonight's full moon is appealing to people for different reasons. It's a big deal in the UK, for example, because of a phenomenon called a "major lunar standstill". That means the moon will be the lowest in the UK skies it's been in more than 18 years. But there's a lot of hype about the moon because people are calling it "the strawberry moon". And with a name that sounds as visually appealing as "strawberry moon", it has been getting a lot of traction in some social media circles. We're not expecting it to be. The moon appears to glow red during a lunar eclipse, with many people calling the phenomenon a blood moon. But the next total lunar eclipse visible in Australia isn't until September. Local atmospheric conditions like bushfire smoke, dust and haze can also make the moon appear reddish. So the moon might look reddish if there's haze in your area this evening, but it wouldn't be something all of Australia would be seeing. It's also known as "lunistice" — think "solstice", but with the moon instead of the sun. "It's when the Moon reaches the extremes of its northernmost and southernmost rising and setting points on the horizon," Matt Woods from the Perth Observatory said. "These standstills happen because the Moon's orbit is tilted at a 5 degrees inclination relative to the Earth's equator and slowly shifts over time." These shifts happen over a cycle that lasts 18.6 years. "During a major lunar standstill, the Moon appears to travel much further across the sky over a month than usual, rising and setting at more extreme points and reaching higher or lower altitudes in the sky," Mr Woods says. "It's not something that happens in just one night — it happens over weeks or months." In the UK, the full moon's track throughout the night will be at its lowest point in the sky. But it'll be the opposite for us here in Australia. "This is the time it will be as high as it will ever get in the sky," University of Southern Queensland astrophysics professor Jonti Horner said. So, if you were to go out and look up at the moon at midnight, it should be directly over you, rather than closer to the horizon. "It will pass directly overhead," Professor Horner says. In terms of the moonrise and moonset locations, it's not all that noticeable unless you're comparing it to previous years. "You won't notice a big shift in just one night — and there's no sudden visual event like an eclipse — but astronomers are already tracking the gradual changes in the Moon's rising and setting positions," Mr Woods said. Ancient cultures were very in tune with these events because they used the moon to track the passage of time. And without big city buildings obstructing the horizon or smartphones sucking their attention, they would have been acutely aware of where on the horizon the moon rose and set each night. But a smartphone can help you understand the significance of the phenomenon. Professor Horner says you can download a stargazing app to show you where the moon is expected to rise in the future — which will help you understand what's happening tonight. He recommends facing the horizon when the moon rises this evening and then using the app to show you where the full moon will rise in June next year, the year after, and so on until 2033. And as for the night owls? Stay awake until about midnight because that's when the moon will be at its highest. "Look at the length of the shadows … you'll barely have a shadow," Professor Horner said. He recommended taking a photo of the moon in the sky with visible landmarks in the horizon. Take note of the exact spot you stood in and return mid-way through the cycle — about a decade from now — and retake that photo. "If you go out at midnight in Brisbane, the moon will be directly overhead," Professor Horner said. "If you go out in 9.3 years in June, instead of being overhead, it'll be 36 degrees lower in the sky." Because it only happens every 18.6 years. "The major lunar standstill would have been a generational event, spoken about in the stories that passed orally from one generation to the next," the English Heritage's Stone Henge website says. "The phenomenon may have marked huge celebrations of religious, spiritual and social significance, and perhaps also mark the time for the rites of initiation of young members of the community into adulthood." It's another name for the full moon in June. It's not unlike the other names you might have for full moons at different times of the year, like the sturgeon moon or the hunter's moon. Different cultural groups in different parts of the world may have their own names for full moons at certain times of the year, but many people go with the names used by a US publication called The Old Farmer's Almanac. The annual magazine has been in print since 1792 and is something of a cultural institution in the US. "The moon names we use in The Old Farmer's Almanac come from Native American, colonial American, or other traditional North American sources passed down through generations," the publication's website says. However, Professor Horner is skeptical of the publication, saying it has "butchered" traditional beliefs and raised concerns about cultural appropriation. It has nothing to do with the colour of the moon. "The name comes from North American Indigenous peoples, marking the time of the strawberry harvest," Mr Woods said. But the Southern Hemisphere is experiencing wintry conditions right now, so the term might not feel right for all of us here in Australia. Strawberry season typically doesn't start for a few more months for growers in places like Victoria, South Australia and parts of southern Queensland, according to Berries Australia. However, strawberry season does kick off in June for growers in Perth, Bundaberg and Sunshine Coast regions.
