Conservation Crossroads

In this week’s episode of #ConservationCrossroads we're continuing with our theme of conservation finance, and digging into the realm of crowdfunding. You may have heard of Kickstarter projects, or GoFundMe campaigns, but how much have you thought about crowdfunding’s contribution to conservation? We spoke with PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, Eduard Gallo, about a recently published study on Crowdfunding Biodiversity Conservation. Join the conversation on Twitter by tagging Carla @CarlaWildlife, Rachel @YumMusings or #ConservationCrossroads! Catch the media! Gallo‐Cajiao, E., Archibald, C., Friedman, R., Steven, R., Fuller, R.A., Game, E.T., Morrison, T.H., & Ritchie, E.G. (2018). Crowdfunding biodiversity conservation. Conservation Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13144 Crowdfunded campaigns are conserving the Earth’s environment - The Conversation https://theconversation.com/crowdfunded-campaigns-are-conserving-the-earths-environment-97312 Music and editing in GarageBand. Cover Photo: Blake Alexander Simmons

In this week’s episode of #ConservationCrossroads we're getting an introductory lesson on financing conservation efforts. We spoke with Dr. Adrian Ward, Program Director (Natural Capital) at the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, about what constitutes “conservation finance” and some of the opportunities and challenges in funding conservation programs and activities. Dr. Ward is also on the College of Experts with the Global Change Institute at The University of Queensland. Join the conversation on Twitter by tagging Carla @CarlaWildlife, Rachel @YumMusings or #ConservationCrossroads! To learn more about the work Dr. Adrian Ward is involved with at the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists visit -> http://wentworthgroup.org/ or his Google Scholar here -> http://bit.ly/2G9ZgBz Resources to learn some economics! Crash Crouse, Youtube: http://bit.ly/2Gc5HDW Khan Acadamy: https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain A/Prof David Pannell, The Public Private Goods Framework: http://dpannell.fnas.uwa.edu.au/ppf3pgr.htm Nature Capital: https://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/ Music and editing in GarageBand. Cover Photo: Blake Alexander Simmons

In this weeks episode of #ConservationCrossroads we're gorilla-ing two experts working on the front line of Great Ape conservation! We start by talking with Courtney Morgans from The University of Queensland about Orangutan conservation in Indonesia. We speak with Dr Johannes Refisch from the Great Ape Survival Partnership (or GRASP) to provide us with the bigger picture of the status of great ape conservation and why the United Nations has gotten involved in their protection. Join the conversation on Twitter by tagging Carla @CarlaWildlife, Rachel @YumMusings or #ConservationCrossroads! To learn more about Courtney Morgans' research on Orangutan conservation in Indonesia find it here -> http://bit.ly/2K8sWCd, and catch her "NGO Collaboration" paper here -> http://bit.ly/2K8kClW For more information about Dr Johannes Refisch's work click here -> http://bit.ly/2K8krHi and more information about GRASP can be found here -> http://www.un-grasp.org/ Music and editing in GarageBand. Cover Photo: Blake Alexander Simmons

Have you thought about the impact of mining on deforestation? Yeah, neither had we! So in this week's QUICKIE episode of #ConservationCrossroads we chat with Dr Laura Sonter about whether or not the Amazon Rainforest worth its weight in gold! Dr Laura Sonter is a postdoctoral research fellow/lecturer at the University of Queensland's and previously a postdoctoral research fellow at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, The University of Vermont. You can find her paper about the impacts of mining on deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest here -> http://go.nature.com/2zn6um3 To learn more about Laura's work go here: http://www.laurasonter.com/ And for some more related media, go here: http://bit.ly/2EYNqO4 Join the conversation on Twitter by tagging Carla @CarlaWildlife, Rachel @YumMusings or #ConservationCrossroads! Music and Editing: GarageBand. Cover Photo: Blake Alexander Simmons.

Winter has come to this week’s #ConservationCrossroads episode and today we are speaking with three Antarctic scientists about conservation in a truly unique landscape! We start by talking with Dr Justine Shaw about what it’s like to be an Antarctic scientist and her research on the conservation of terrestrial organisms on the mainland and sub-Antarctic islands. Then we speak with Jasmine Lee about her PhD research on ice-free areas, which are only going to become more prevalent with climate change. We round out the episode by having a casual chat with Jeremy Bird about his PhD research on post-pest eradication petrel colonisation Macquarie island. Join the conversation on Twitter by tagging Carla @CarlaWildlife, Rachel @YumMusings or #ConservationCrossroads! To learn more about Dr Justine Shaw's research on terrestrial conservation in Antarctica find her research page here -> http://bit.ly/2zkxPFj . Justine works at the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Queensland (bit.ly/2yh0lVC) and collaborates with the University of Tasmania and the Antarctic Division (http://bit.ly/2zl5BdG). To learn more about Jasmine Lee’s research on ice-free areas and climate change impacts in Antarctica find her research page here -> http://bit.ly/2zn3hmw , or contact her on twitter at @JaszzyJas. Jasmine works at the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Queensland (bit.ly/2yh0lVC) and collaborates with the University of Tasmania and the Antarctic Division (http://bit.ly/2zl5BdG). Her Nature paper about ice-free areas can be found here: "Climate change drives expansion of Antarctic ice-free habitat" http://go.nature.com/2zlrXeR. To learn more about Jeremy "Jez" Bird’s research on bird conservation post-pest-eradication on Macquarie island find his page here -> http://bit.ly/2zl2r9O, or contact him on twitter at @_jezbird. Jez works at the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Queensland (bit.ly/2yh0lVC) and collaborates with the University of Tasmania and the Antarctic Division (http://bit.ly/2zl5BdG). Music and editing in GarageBand. Bird calls provided by Jasmine and Jez. Cover Photo: Blake Alexander Simmons

Have you thought about what you want to do when you pass away? In this QUICKIE episode of #ConservationCrossroads we learn about the conservation burials with mathemagician Dr Matthew Holden (http://bit.ly/2yYDq4f). Dr Matthew Holden is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Queensland's ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED). You can find his paper about conservation burials here -> http://bit.ly/2gXIKy2 And here is some related media: http://bit.ly/2gXIKy2 Join the conversation on Twitter by tagging Carla @CarlaWildlife, Rachel @YumMusings or #ConservationCrossroads! Music and Editing: BensSounds (https://www.bensound.com/) and GarageBand. Cover Photo: Blake Alexander Simmons.

In this episode of #ConservationCrossroads we learn about the threat of marine plastic pollution and what is being done to resolve it! We chat to Stephanie Avery-Gomm, a conservation scientist at The University of Queensland, and Leela Dilkes-Hoffman, a chemist at The University of Queensland. We start by talking with Stephanie about the threat of plastics pollution and her research using seabirds to measure the extent of plastic pollution. Then we speak with Leela about what's being done to reduce the impact of plastics pollution and her research developing new types of bioplastics. To learn more about Stephanie's research on seabirds and plastics pollution find her personal blog here -> http://bit.ly/2ykbbwH or research page here -> http://bit.ly/2yjjxEL. Steph works with the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science (http://bit.ly/2yh0lVC) and the Centre of Excellence in Environmental Decision Making (http://ceed.edu.au/) at The University of Queensland. To learn more about Leela's research find her research page here -> http://bit.ly/2yjy9Eh, or her blog, PhD files, here -> http://bit.ly/2ylDR8o. Leela works with the School of Chemical Engineering at The University of Queensland (http://bit.ly/2yjGh7J) and collaborates with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (http://bit.ly/2yk1QoP). Join the conversation on Twitter by tagging Carla @CarlaWildlife, Rachel @YumMusings or #ConservationCrossroads! Music and editing in GarageBand. Cover Photo: Blake Alexander Simmons

In this QUICKIE episode of #ConservationCrossroads we learn about the catastrophic land clearing rates in Queensland, Australia. New data has been published revealing the annual land clearing rates for Queensland which have increased by 30% in the past year: http://bit.ly/2ygAeOM. The land clearing data report we are discussing in this episode can be found here: http://bit.ly/2yg1rB5 Dr April Reside works as a post-doctoral research fellow at the NESP Threatened Species Hub (http://bit.ly/2yi0VCH) at The University of Queensland (http://bit.ly/2yh0lVC). To learn more about April’s research find her here -> http://bit.ly/2ygUAaJ or find April’s recent paper about land clearing in Queensland here -> Reside et al, 2017, Ecological consequences of land clearing and policy reform in Queensland, Pacific Conservation Biology: http://bit.ly/2ygUOOQ. Another recent paper by A/Prof Jonathan Rhodes on the effectiveness of Queensland's vegetation management regulations can be found here -> Rhodes at al 2017, Assessing the effectiveness of regulation to protect threatened forests, Biological Conservation: http://bit.ly/2yfVbcy. Join the conversation on Twitter by tagging Carla @CarlaWildlife, Rachel @YumMusings or #ConservationCrossroads! Media article associated with the spike in land clearing and land clearing more broadly in Australia can be found here: The Conversation: http://bit.ly/2ygHbPT and http://bit.ly/2yh1MmY The Guardian: http://bit.ly/2yh6Nfw and http://bit.ly/2yg2j8P WWF news: http://bit.ly/2yfH5Im ABC news and World Today: http://ab.co/2yhOkzA and http://ab.co/2ygBP7a Green Fire Science blog: http://bit.ly/2ygfQx3 ALERT: http://bit.ly/2yhNWkF 4zzz radio: http://bit.ly/2yggH0J Rural weekly and The Chronical: http://bit.ly/2yhOdnH and http://bit.ly/2yhOB5D NGO’s you can get into contact with about land-clearing Qld Conservation Council: http://bit.ly/2yhOGpA WWF: http://bit.ly/2ygacLF Wilderness Society: http://bit.ly/2ygHOcl EDO: https://www.edoqld.org.au/ Music and Editing: GarageBand Cover Photo: Blake Alexander Simmons

In this episode of #ConservationCrossroads we learn about Citizen Science and how it's being used around the world! We chat to some researchers from #Peru and #Australia about how they are using citizen science. We start in the Amazon Rainforest and speak to Diego Balbuena about the #monster research project he is a part of which consists of hundreds of camera traps generating thousands of images. Then we come back to Australia and speak with Jessie Cappadonna and Zoe Stone about how they are using citizen science to conserve hard to find threatened species. To learn more about the Amazon Cam Project or help with identifying animals, check out their website here -> http://bit.ly/2wKs2Wf or find them on Zooniverse here -> http://bit.ly/2wJY8kY. Diego Balbuena completed this work with the San Diego Zoo Global (http://www.sandiegozooglobal.org/) but you can find him on his personal page here -> http://bit.ly/2wKMp5I or blog here -> http://bit.ly/2wJQYNI. If you want to learn more about The Bristle Bird Projects you can find Jessie Cappadonna here -> http://bit.ly/2wKWoYS and Zoe Stone here -> http://bit.ly/2wKJkCC. Join the conversation on Twitter by tagging Carla @CarlaWildlife, Rachel @YumMusings or #ConservationCrossroads! Music from GarageBand and BensSound: https://www.bensound.com/ Cover Photo: Blake Alexander Simmons

In this episode of #ConservationCrossroads we try to understand the value of nature! We chat to some people around our university and ask them why they like nature, and which aspects they really value. We talk about #EcosystemServices and get into the nitty-gritty details to highlight all the different ways nature can be valued. To explore the nuances around how to put a value on all of the benefits we receive from nature, we talk to Professor Niels Strange who talks us through ecosystem services valuation! If you want to keep updated with Professor Niels Strange you can find him on Twitter at @StrangeNiels or check out his publication list on GoogleScholar bit.ly/2sNlVBj. Join the conversation on Twitter by tagging Carla @CarlaWildlife, Rachel @YumMusings or #ConservationCrossroads! Music: GarageBand & Bensound bit.ly/2sMXcNA Cover Photo: Blake Alexander Simmons

Conservation science is at crossroads, species are declining at rapid rates and ecosystems are being thrown out of balance! During this podcast hosts, Carla Archibald and Rachel Friedman will be exploring and sharing the most up-to-date thinking in conservation science and environmental problem-solving. Keep up to date, or tell us what you want to hear, by tweeting at us #ConservationCrossroads. Join the conversation on Twitter by tagging Carla @CarlaWildlife, Rachel @YumMusings or #ConservationCrossroads! Thanks to Bensounds and GarageBand for the backing tracks and to Blake Simmons for the Thumbnail!