News: Environmental Science
Weeds take over kelp in high carbon dioxide oceans
![Kelp image](/sites/default/files/styles/ua_landscape/public/2018-11/news-kelp.jpg?h=f9db93db&itok=zQT2Uw1K)
Weedy plants will thrive and displace long-lived, ecologically valuable kelp forests under forecast ocean acidification, new research from the University of Adelaide shows.
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Uncovering health threats to Mount Lofty koalas
![Koala image](/sites/default/files/styles/ua_landscape/public/2018-11/news-koala.jpg?h=4eccb7f4&itok=uj2JAfsg)
Researchers uncover the leading causes of koala death and disease in the Mount Lofty Ranges.
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Emu DNA uncovers size secrets of our native bird
![Emu image](/sites/default/files/styles/ua_landscape/public/2018-11/news-emu.jpg?h=80f8ec70&itok=wVcpkPAE)
Genetics researchers from the Faculty of Sciences have discovered that the size of emus correlated to the size of the islands they inhabited.
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Giant handaxes suggest that different groups of early humans coexisted in ancient Europe
![Stone axeheads](/sites/default/files/styles/ua_landscape/public/2018-11/news-stone-tools.jpg?h=5dabf909&itok=wPyOqjdS)
Even our earliest human ancestors made and used technology - something we can look back on thanks to the lasting nature of stone tools.
#EpicDuckChallenge shows we can count on drones
![Lead author Jarrod Hodgson, University of Adelaide, standing in one of the replica colonies of seabirds constructed for the #EpicDuckChallenge.](/sites/default/files/styles/ua_landscape/public/2018-11/news-duck-drone.jpg?h=036f3151&itok=q1CxjTBQ)
A few thousand rubber ducks, a group of experienced wildlife spotters and a drone have proven the usefulness and accuracy of drones for wildlife monitoring.
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What’s Australia made of? Geologically, it depends on the state you’re in
![Scrub on the Nullarbor Plains](/sites/default/files/styles/ua_landscape/public/2018-11/news-nullarbor.jpg?h=c3a3a793&itok=mttAxntY)
We think of Australia as a solid landmass. But it’s actually more like a jigsaw puzzle that has been put together over many millions of years.
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