Alison Ballance

Over the last few weeks Alison Ballance has been bringing us stories from the Leigh Marine Lab about noisy fish, and the loud dawn and dusk choruses that snapping shrimps and sea urchins make. We also… Audio

Alison Ballance talks to Andy Reisinger at the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute at Victoria University. He played a key role in the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change… Audio

When Massey University's wildlife vets are not rushed off their feet looking after injured animals such as kiwi and albatrosses, they're busy trying to solve wildlife health mysteries. Audio

Dorthe Dahl-Jensen is professor at the University of Copenhagen's Centre for Ice and Climate. She'll be delivering a keynote address at the climate change conference in Copenhagen about how… Audio

The sounds that fish make. When john dory are caught, for example, they make a sound, and divers report mysterious 'pops' coming from crevices where crayfish are hiding. Audio

Sun-loving humans aren't the only ones who like summer time. Unfortunately for the insect phobic or easily bitten amongst us, creepy crawlies also like the summer warmth. Audio

Crayfish. We love to eat them, but we seldom spare a thought for what they've had to go through to get big enough to end up on our plates. Audio

In today's environment story, Alison Ballance talks with author Neville Peat on writing about nature and the land. Audio

Sea urchins and snapping shrimps are noisy eaters - but they're noisier at some times of the month than at others. Find out more about the noisy underwater world of the Leigh Marine Reserve. Audio

In this Afternoon's Science story, not for the squeamish - staff from the Otago Medical School discuss the value of medical students learning anatomy and dissection skills on dead human bodies. Audio

The Leigh Marine Reserve lies a hundred kilometres north of Auckland - New Zealand's first marine reserve, it's officially known as the Cape Rodney to Okakari Point Marine Reserve, and has been an… Audio

Social insects. They're the ones that live together in large related groups, and have particular jobs. Evolutionary biologist Ross Crozier, from James Cook University in Australia, is interested in… Audio

Just up-river from the famous Pupu Springs in Golden Bay there's a small historic hydroelectric scheme, the Pupu hydro scheme. In the 1980s, two local men set up a community group to restore the… Audio

How do some scale insects manage to feed exclusively on sugar? Microbiologists Mike Taylor and Manpreet Dhami suspect microbes in the gut are the key. Audio

Many New Zealand beech forests contain an unusual ecosystem which is based on sugar - enormous quantities of sugar. As a consequence the forests look and smell quite unlike other forests. Audio

NIWA's Stu Hanchet is studying Antarctic toothfish, a"keystone"species in the Ross Sea ecosystem Audio

Olin Picher explains how the Cawthron Institute's oyster hatchery is expanding its production of Pacific oyster spat Audio

The Cawthron Institute hatchery has been breeding Pacific oysters for many years. Audio