Avian influenza activities at CSIRO's Australian Animal Health Laboratory

CSIRO’s Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) performs two vital functions to prevent avian influenza from spreading in birds – disease diagnosis and research.

Beware the enemy within

Evidence supporting Australia’s internal quarantine restrictions designed to stop the spread of insect pests, has been published in the respected scientific journal, Nature Communications.

Bitou bush biocontrol agent: the leaf-rolling moth

CSIRO Entomology and New South Wales Agriculture collaborated on a project to rear, release and evaluate the performance of the leaf-rolling moth Tortrix species to help control bitou bush.

The CSIRO Fire Danger and Fire Spread Calculator

The CSIRO Fire Danger and Fire Spread Calculator is a computer program available as a 882 Kb zip file that can be downloaded for use in assisting rural fire authorities across Australia.

Future fire – still a wide open climate question

How the frequency and intensity of wildfires and intentional biomass burning will change in a future climate requires closer scientific attention, according to CSIRO’s Dr Melita Keywood.

Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) brochure

The Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) is a national centre of excellence in disease diagnosis, research and policy advice in animal health. This six-page brochure provides an overview of AAHL's achievements, capabilities and responsibilities.

Science for tomorrow: developments

Four CSIRO research projects from Farming Ahead: invigorating wheat production, accurately mapping water availability, weeding out the risk of pest plants and a survey to help refine seasonal forecasts. (1 page)

The CSIRO Fire Danger and Fire Spread Calculator

CSIRO’s grassland and forest fire danger and spread meters are now available as a computer program.

Biodiversity status and trends

Understanding the extent and health of the nation’s biological diversity is the first step to halting its decline.

Ecosystem Sciences PhD program

The PhD program at CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences offers university students an opportunity to conduct research with leaders in science.

Collaboration key to keeping new diseases in check

Collaboration across a diverse range of scientific disciplines is among the most important factors in efforts to detect and control outbreaks of new infectious diseases like Influenza A (H1N1), according to one of the world’s leading virologists, University of Texas Medical Branch Dr Thomas Ksiazek.

Kakadu still battling South American invader

Biological control of the aquatic weed salvinia in the billabongs of Kakadu National Park has been “fitful and incomplete”.

Noogoora burr throws researchers a curve ball

What do you do when a weed fights back? Noogoora burr in Australia’s tropical north has done just that but CSIRO scientists aren’t letting it get away with it.

Living with grassfires in Australia

Myths are debunked and fire behaviour revealed in the second edition of CSIRO’s essential guide to grassfires – Grassfires: Fuel, Weather and Fire Behaviour.

133insectbook Ento MedRelTsr

Increased international trade means the world community will have to be more vigilant in preventing economic loss and hardship due to destruction and spoilage of foodstuffs by insects, according to CSIRO entomologist David Rees.

Dr Geoff Baker: developing management strategies for invertebrates

Dr Geoff Baker is the Program Leader for Invasion Biology and Functional Ecology, whose research on insect pests and invasive plants aims to help protect Australia's agricultural and environmental landscapes.

Mesquite biocontrol with the sap-sucking Coreid, Mozena obtusa

The sap-sucking Coreid, Mozena obtusa was investigated as a potential biological control agent for mesquite, a woody weed invading semi-arid and arid parts of Australia.

Controlling mesquite in northern Australia

Scientists at CSIRO are using an integrated management approach aimed at providing a basis for long-term management of mesquite, including mechanical, chemical and biological techniques and the use of fire and grazing strategies.

Herbicides limit nitrogen-fixing ability

This two-page article from Farming Ahead looks at the effect of increased herbicide use on soil nitrogen fixation in grain legumes such as field peas.

217Salmon CMAR MedRelTsr

A new project led by CSIRO is exploring the genes of farmed Atlantic salmon with a view to breeding fish resistant to an amoeba that attacks their gills.

Dr Darren Kriticos: modelling the future of pests in Australia

Dr Darren Kriticos is researching the effects of climate change impacts on pests and diseases in Australia, as well as regional biosecurity threats from potential new invasive species.

Dr Helen Murphy: understanding the impact of weeds on rainforest habitats

Dr Helen Murphy works to understand the impact of weeds on rainforest habitats, focusing in post-cyclone areas.

McArthur Mk 5 Forest Fire Danger Meter

The McArthur Forest Fire Danger Meter, first introduced in 1967, helps rural fire authorities to predict fire danger in Australian forests.

Science for tomorrow: developments

This article from Farming Ahead contains four stories on increasing the range of durum wheat varieties, a joint venture to improve cotton varieties, how the sex life of silverleaf whiteflies affects their invasiveness and developing biofuels. (1 page)

What happens to landscapes after a tropical cyclone? (Podcast 28 Sep 2007)

Professor Steve Turton talks about the impacts of Cyclone Larry. (5:45)