Environment, Sustainability & Climate Change

We’re firmly in nature’s corner. With world-recognised expertise in identifying and understanding natural patterns and processes, we undertake a steady stream of successful environmental research projects with local, national and international partners.

Our findings support policy and action on habitat reclamation and rehabilitation. Our insights inform species conservation and ecosystem sustainment. For today, tomorrow and a better future for generations to come.

Impact stories

Bringing oyster reefs back from extinction

Oyster reefs carpeted thousands of kilometers of Australian coastline 200 years ago, but were dredged to near extinction within a century of colonial settlement. An ambitious nationwide restoration program now seeks to bring them back. In South Australia, the largest reef restoration in the Southern Hemisphere, Windara Reef, was constructed in 2017 to restore the ecosystem of the native mud oyster, Ostrea angasi, off the Yorke Peninsula.

Bushfire and the challenge to respond to new levels of environmental risk

There have been terrible bushfires this summer across southern Australia – and they are still going. Part of the reason for this disaster is the unprecedented climatic conditions that the country has been facing, including record hot and dry conditions.

Wildlife trade threatening unprotected animals

Have you ever wanted a two-toed sloth for a pet? How about a Chinese water dragon? Well, if you live in the United States you might just have a chance of snagging one of these exotic species. New research from the University of Adelaide’s Invasion Science and Wildlife Ecology Group shows that three times as many of these unregulated species are being imported into the US compared to regulated species.

Ocean Warming Threatens Richest Marine Biodiversity

Creatures that make their homes in tropical waters have enjoyed mostly unchanged temperatures for the past twenty thousand years. Now, new research from the University of Adelaide suggests that these extremely biodiverse areas will be hit the hardest by climate change-induced oceanic warming – and the wildlife is not ready to adapt.

Stress less! Targeting the plant cargo hub to help them deal with environmental stress

Just like an international port in a big city, every individual plant cell contains its own cargo hub that responds to their import and export needs.

Citizen scientists recruited to EchidnaCSI

Echidnas are one of Australia’s most iconic mammals, but although the prickly critters have made their homes in hundreds of different habitats across the country, some populations are sadly in decline.

The foundation for cereal crops that beat the heat

A project conducted by University of Adelaide and Macquarie University researchers has revealed insights into how an Australian ‘wild rice’ thrives in extreme heat, opening the door for the breeding of new cereal crops that can withstand high temperatures.

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