Bryophytes are a group of plants that are familiar to most but are rarely called by their species name – even amongst many botanists. They represent some of the smallest plants in the world. Unfortunately, they are among the forgotten species in conservation planning and land management, as their ecosystem requirements and functions are given too little consideration, if any.

How can Victoria support the development of a market for biodiversity certificates that is based on integrity and trust and, in doing so, deliver nature positive outcomes? Supporting biodiversity scientists to provide independent opinions for biodiversity certificates is one way to help to build a market based on integrity and trust. 

In certain ecosystems, frogs feast on spiders, while in others, spiders devour frogs. It’s unlikely to find the pair co-existing harmoniously without one attacking the other. Yet, located in a burrow somewhere in the Amazon rainforest, scientists have observed an unexpected friendship between the Dotted humming frog (Chiasmocleis ventrimaculata) and the burrowing tarantula (Xenesthis immanis).

Only in ‘dark skies’, away from the bright lights of Australian cities, can we see the Milky Way arcing across the sky, humanity’s most fundamental connection to the cosmos. Our artificial light also masks day length and other cues used by animals to regulate their daily activity and annual reproduction. Under the relentless glare of urban light pollution, behaviours change and instincts falter.

Our oceans are loud places. Whales, dolphins, fish, and even corals produce sounds that shape underwater life. But while some humans love listening to “underwater soundscapes,” the human-made noise that marine animals have to endure is anything but comforting. The noise levels stress over 150 species – not only whales and dolphins, but also invertebrates like jellyfish, octopuses, and coral reefs.