Limit search to available items
Streaming video

Title Catalyst: Koala Heatwave/Asthma Thunderstorm/Iron Whales/Batphone/Poobiotics
Published Australia : ABC, 2011
Online access available from:
Informit EduTV    View Resource Record  

Copies

Description 1 online resource (streaming video file) (26 min. 55 sec.) ; 162682542 bytes
Summary Koalas feeling the heat; asthma from thunderstorms; how whales fertilise oceans; why baby koalas eat mummy's poo; and emergency phone network.KOALA HEATWAVEKoalas get most of their moisture from the gum leaves that they eat while bushier trees also provide shade during hot weather. However, as heatwaves increase in duration and frequency due to climate change, koalas are going to find it more difficult to survive but there's another battle looming. Increased atmospheric carbon will make gum leaves less nutritious and more toxic. Paul Willis travels to Gunnedah in NSW where a successful colony of koalas is feeling the heat.ASTHMA THUNDERSTORMHay fever sufferers in Victoria rue the rye grass season, when airborne pollens bring on the uncomfortable symptoms. However, a rare phenomenon that's caused by a perfect storm of weather conditions and airborne allergens can turn hay fever into an asthma attack. Tanya Ha meets with researchers looking into the role rye grass plays in this explosive mix. IRON WHALESScientists suspect that like cows in a paddock, whales fertilise the ocean with their manure. The more marine plants grow, the more carbon dioxide the ocean absorbs. Mark Horstman investigates the interaction of carbon absorbing phytoplankton, krill and baleen whales and meets scientists who are working to determine whether the iron in whale poo has a significant effect on sustaining phytoplankton.BATPHONEThe aftermath of natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and bushfires is all the more chaotic when communications systems are knocked out. Paul Willis meets telecommunications expert, Paul Gardener Stephens who has devised a means of using a series of mobile phones to create an effective network for communication and GPS tracking.POOBIOTICSEucalyptus leaves are poisonous to most animals and are low in nutrients. Koalas, however, have a special bacteria in their stomachs that breaks down the toxins in the eucalyptus oil. But they aren't born with it - the essential digestive aid comes from the baby koala's mother and it's not in her milk
Event Broadcast 2011-04-14 at 20:00:00
Notes Classification: G
Subject Coding theory.
Feces -- Examination.
Koala -- Effect of habitat modification on.
Natural disasters -- Safety measures.
Whales -- Research.
Form Streaming video
Author Bush, Martin, contributor
Gardner-Stephen, Paul, contributor
Ha, Tanya, reporter
Horstman, Mark, host
Jones, Peter, contributor
Lannuzel, Delphine, contributor
Lemon, John, contributor
Lunney, Dan, contributor
Nicol, Steve, contributor
Suphioglu, Cenk, contributor
Townsend, Ashley, contributor
van der Merwe, Pier, contributor
Wallis, Ian, contributor
Willis, Paul, reporter