A new species of Pista Malmgren, 1866 Polychaeta, Terebellidae) from the north-western Mediterranean Sea
By: Labrune, Céline, Nicolas Lavesque, Paulo Bonifácio, and Pat Hutchings. ZooKeys 838 (2019): 71. | Find with Google Scholar »
|
Hi all,
It’s been a very quiet few weeks around the department with many people taking the opportunity for a break over Easter and Anzac Day – hopefully everyone will return refreshed and revitalised!
The annual Easter Treasure Hunt was hotly contested, with the spider lab declared the winners – congratulations! The hot cross buns provided compensation for the rest of us.
Next Friday is the Department’s annual L&T Planning Day with all academic and some professional staff attending. Topics for discussion will include smarter teaching delivery for increasing student numbers, how can teaching clusters be used for better integration of our teaching and the new Indigenous Connected Curriculum Framework.
cheers,
Michelle
-click the link to see full image-
Save the Date
This coming week 29th April – 3rd May
Wed 1st: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am – 11.30am; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Wed 1st: Department Seminar – Dr Ted Stankowich, California State University Long Beach; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Thu 2nd: Biology Social Club; 5.00pm – 7.00pm; Biology Courtyard.
Fri 3rd: Learning and Teaching Planning Day – all Biology academic staff; location MGSM Conference Room.
Following week 6th – 10th May
Tue 7th: Department Meeting; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Wed 8th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am – 11.30am; 205b Culloden Rd.
Wed 8th: Department Seminar – Prof Dieter Hochuli, USyd; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Thu 9th: Ask An R Geek for Help (aaRgh); 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM; Continuum room (75 Talavera road, room 3114); snacks provided.
Weekly Events
Thu: Venture Cafe; 3–8pm; (map).
Fri: Writing workshops with Prof Ken Cheng – to support HDRs and ECRs with scientific writing; 2–4pm; Ken’s office at 205b Culloden Road, G12.
Fri: Behaviour and Evolution Journal Club; Friday at 12:30pm (bring your lunch); 205B Culloden Rd Boardroom.
Weekly Biological Sciences seminar program is here
Weekly Molecular Sciences seminar program is here
Future Events
May 23rd: Workshop on introduction to tidyverse package in R; 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM; Continuum room (75 Talavera road, room 3114); snacks provided.
June 11th-13th: HDR Conference 2019, 9am-1pm, Panel Interviews: 2-5pm; venue TBD – Save the date!
General News and Announcements
Congratulations to Jemma Geoghegan and Jane Williamson who, along with Eddie Holmes from the University of Sydney, have secured a Recreational Fishing Trust grant to look at virus host jumping on ecological time-scales in freshwater fishes.
SHRP Future Female Leaders and Marine Science Communication Workshops – At the beginning of April Dr Katie Dafforn (EnvSci-MQU) and Dr Ana Bugnot (USyd) hosted two workshops at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science. These were an inaugural WSTEM and ECR skills initiative supported by the Sydney Harbour Research Program and targeted towards marine scientists and engineers. The workshops focused specifically on Women in Leadership and Science Communication. Future female leaders and science communicators joined from Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences and Earth and Planetary Sciences at Macquarie University. Also represented at the workshops were UNSW, USyd, UTS, Uni of Newcastle, Deakin University, the Ian Potter Foundation, NSW OEH, Australian Maritime Museum and the Australian Museum.
There was a contest for best pitch and the prize was awarded to Dr Vivian Cumbo of Biological Sciences! Congratulations Viv! She will now get a full day of media training courtesy of “Science in Public” and you should look forward to hearing her stories in print, on the radio or TV!
Call for Yellow Pages Books: Any unwanted yellow pages books old or new can be donate to PGF. Pages will be used to line pots. Kindly leave them outside office 14EAR(E8A)-175.
Opportunity for Feedback for NSW OEH Webpages – The Estuaries and Catchments team at the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage is developing a tool to report on the water quality and ecosystem health for estuaries across the NSW coast. They are aiming to have this tool integrated on webpages at https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/water/estuaries.
The team is in the process of collecting feedback on how website users currently interact with these pages, how they value estuaries and their ideas for future designs of webpages.
They would appreciate academics/researchers to impart their insight and knowledge of estuarine ecosystems and how ecosystem health is communicated. All are invited to fill out this short survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/77XFVL8. It will take approximately 5 minutes.
For further enquiries, please contact Emily Rayner @ <emily.rayner@environment.nsw.gov.au>.
OFFICE INSPECTIONS – The WHS team will be conducting office inspections over the next month, starting from mid-April. Please take the opportunity to clean up your office so that these are as painless as possible for everyone. We will get reports back out to you by mid-May, and any corrective actions need to be taken within a month if you want to remain eligible for any Departmental financial support this year. If you have any personal belongings in your office/ desk drawers etc, that you are not happy with the inspection team seeing, then please also take the chance to take these home before the inspections begin.
Plant of the Week – click the images for larger versions –
On Anzac Day, sprigs of Rosemary are worn on the lapel in remembrance of soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who gave their lives at Gallipoli on the Turkish coast in 1915. This tradition has continued, with rosemary a symbol of remembrance in all theatres of war. Rosemary is an apt tribute to European conflicts because it is a native of much of the Mediterranean coast and common along the Gallipoli Peninsula.
Call for Research and Professional Development Workshop Suggestions The Department is compiling a program of workshops focused on research and professional development for postgraduate students and ECRs in the Biological Sciences, and we want your suggestions! Perhaps there is a particular skill you want to develop or advice that you are seeking. Or you may want to deliver a session on something relevant! This could range from writing and data analysis, to publishing and interview skills, and anything in between. We are looking for suggestions of workshop topics as well as nominations for people or groups to run them.
Please submit your suggestions via this google form: https://forms.gle/KaYnCr4fp2b1ucWm8
OPPORTUNITIES
Job Vacancies: Travelers Ecology in Gosford is currently looking to fill three ecological positions within the company. The positions available are for a botanist/ecologist, a GIS officer and a fauna ecologist. They are very interested in potentially hiring existing graduates, post graduates or soon to graduate competent ecologists at a degree, honours, masters or PhD level from the university.
GIS MAPPING OFFICER
Botanist position description – March 2019
Fauna Ecologist position description – March 2019
MQ Marine 2019 Launch: Come and learn about what’s happening in the marine scene at Macquarie. All students (undergrad and HDRs) and staff interested in marine research, volunteering, upcoming marine workshops and marine things in general are encouraged to attend. We’ll be showcasing the exciting opportunities coming up for all levels of participation during the year as well as Macquarie’s available marine facilities, research labs and collaborative network of like-minded scientists.
Details: Tuesday 30th April 2019, 1-2 pm, Biology Tea Room, E8A 280, no rsvp needed.
Follow @mq_marine on twitter or join our mailing list at <marinescience@mq.edu> for updates.
Faculty Staff (Professional & Academic) Travel Grants – support for staff travel is now provided centrally by the Faculty. Funding is available for ECR travel, international collaboration, teaching and professional staff development. If you would like to apply, please discuss with your supervisor and A/Prof Andrew Barron (for research travel) or Dr Drew Allen (for teaching travel). Research Eligibility and application details can be found here.
https://staff.mq.edu.au/intranet/science-and-engineering/faculty-awards,-schemes-and-procedures
Two rounds remain for the rest of the year:
– Round 2 closes Friday 31 May 2019
– Round 3 closes Friday 27 September 2019
Apply as soon as possible for any travel you intend on taking in 2019, that meets the criteria. Funds awarded must be spent in 2019 and will not be carried into 2020.
ABC Top 5 – Applications are now open for two media residencies in the ABC’s Top 5 Media Residency Program: Science and Humanities. In partnership with UNSW, the ABC Top 5 Science program is now in its fifth year. For a second year, the ABC is partnering with the University of Sydney for the Top 5 Humanities & Social Sciences.
The Top 5 residency provides an in-house intensive two-week media experience based at ABC RN in Sydney. The program is designed to nurture the communication skills and media awareness of our emerging thinkers – to help them share their knowledge and expertise with audiences seeking credible material and informed debate. The Science program is for early career university researchers in science, technology, engineering, maths and medical research (STEMM). The five winners will undertake a two-week media residency at the ABC in July, ahead of National Science Week.
AINSE Winter School – applications now open. The Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering (AINSE Ltd.) offers scholarships to its Member Universities to enable a nominated student to attend the Winter School on applications of nuclear techniques. The School is held at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation’s (ANSTO’s) Lucas Heights campus, located approximately 30km south of Sydney. The 23rd AINSE Winter School will run over five days from Monday 8th to Friday 12th July 2019. The scholarship is open to all senior undergraduate students to whom a knowledge of nuclear analysis techniques would be of interest. See Winter School 2019 Poster for more.
The AINSE Councillor at each university is responsible for coordinating the selection of a scholarship student. Please contact your University Councillor, or AINSE administration <ainse@ainse.edu.au>, to find out more about the AINSE Winter School. Applications close 15th May 2019.
SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS
Biological Sciences Seminar – Date/Time: Wednesday, 1st May, 2019; 1pm – 2pm. Speaker: Dr Ted Stankowich, California State University Long Beach. Title: Spines, Sprays, and Shields: The Evolution of Prey Defenses and Aposematism in Mammals Venue: 14EAR-280 (Biology Tea Room). More information on this and all department seminars ON OUR WEBPAGE HERE.
Molecular Sciences Seminar – Date/Time: Tuesday, 30th April, 2019; 1pm – 2pm. Speaker: Dr Michael Collins, the National Measurement Institute, Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, Australian Government. Title: Forensic Applications of NMR in Illicit Drug Chemistry. Venue: 4WW 322 seminar room. More information https://goto.mq/6q.
And: Date/Time: Thursday, 2nd May, 2019; 10am – 12pm. Speaker: James Khoury, Territory Manager, Anton Paar Australia Pty. Ltd. Title: Characterization & Synthesis Seminar. Venue: 4WW 322 seminar room.
If you would like to attend, please register your name in the link below:
And: Date/Time: Tuesday, 7th May, 2019; 1pm – 2pm. Speaker: Professor Nilay Hazari, Department of Chemistry, Yale University; Title: Iron Complexes for the Reversible Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide to Formic Acid or Methanol. Venue: 4WW 322 seminar room. More Information: https://goto.mq/7n
Women of Mathematics Event – May 2, includes a Public Lecture and Opening of an Exhibition. ALL ARE WELCOME
https://women-of-mathematics-event.eventbrite.com.au
WiMaths Public Lecture & Exhibition__May 2_Promotional Poster
Voyage to Antartica Talk by 2 MQ STEMM women Thursday 2 May at 3pm – This is a talk by two AAO – MQ women who have participated in Homeward Bound in 2018. They completed a year-long leadership course culminating in a 3-week voyage to Antarctica, to observe the effects of climate change and develop their own perspective as leaders and women in STEMM.
The talk is in Week 8 of semester just after the break. Please respond to this eventbrite RSVP to help the organisers arrange catering.
Wildlife at the Watering Hole – 3rd Tuesday of each month, 6:30pm @ Botany View Hotel, King St Newtown!
Workshop on Ecological and Evolutionary Genomics – August 4th-9th 2019. Where: Katoomba, Blue Mountains, NSW
Website: https://www.weeg2019.com/
The Workshop on Ecological and Evolutionary Genomics will provide training in a select suite of recent approaches using modern genomic sequencing data in the fields of ecology and evolution. Topics covered will include landscape genomics, detecting selection, genomic structural variants, and DNA metabarcoding. Each day of the workshop is dedicated to a particular topic, with international and national academic presenters who are experts in their fields. The content is aimed at PhD and Masters students, post-docs, including all levels of faculty.Keynote presenters: Ary Hoffman (University of Melbourne, VIC), Brenna Forester (Colorado State University, USA), Niko Balkenhol (University of Goettingen, Germany), Maren Wellenreuther (University of Auckland/ Plant and Food Research, New Zealand), and Michael Bunce (Curtin University, WA).
Please send a statement of interest and a brief 1-page CV to <weeg2019@mq.edu.au> by the CLOSING DATE APRIL 26th. Any queries, please email Rachael Dudaniec <rachael.dudaniec@mq.edu.au>.
Workshop: Spatio-Temporal Statistics with R (Sydney, 29-30 April 2019)
Instructors: Prof. Noel Cressie and Dr. Andrew Zammit-Mangion (University of Wollongong, Australia).
Where: UOW Sydney Business School, Gateway Building, Circular Quay, Sydney.
When: 29 April (full day) and 30 April (half day).
Details: For more information and registration details visit https://niasra.uow.edu.au
Venture Café – ALL academics, staff, their families etc, are very welcome to attend each week. It’s free and there is a bar which is also free to those who attend – more details about this week’s program and more at this link:
https://venturecafesydney.org/events/2019/2/28/the-power-of-story-telling
Sensing Technology Conference 2-4 Dec – The 13th International Conference on Sensing Technology (ICST 2019) will be held on December 2 to 4, 2019 at Macquarie University. Topics include vision sensing, biological sensors, acoustic, noise & vibration sensors, sensor arrays and application of sensors. The conference flyer with all details is attached here.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Professional Staff Development Grants scheme opens on 11 March Grants of up to $4000 are available for professional staff to develop their knowledge, skills and experience through activities such as study tours, professional development programs and conferences.
Applications for the 2019 Ethel Mary Read (EMR) Research Grants are Now Open. EMR Grants are composed of small research grants. They are intended for researchers who are just starting out in their respective fields of study and will cover minor costs. The maximum grant awarded is $AUD1500 per year. Applications close midnight 30 April 2019 and are awarded in July and run for one financial year. Apply Now.
Australian Academy of Science
There is a wide range of funding opportunities available for research, travel and conference support, closing dates generally 1st June. For details see here
Considering Study Leave or Research in Germany? Check out opportunities for funding from the German Academic Exchange Service here
HDR NEWS AND OPPORTUNITIES
See photos from Laura Fernandez’s completion seminar.
The library has announced that the HDR Study Space on level 5 of the library is now open with automatic swipe card access, i.e. you no longer need to apply for access. This space is available to students enrolled in approved HDR courses, Bachelor of Philosophy / Master of Research students, and academic and professional staff. This may be of interest to those of you who are looking for a quiet place to finish off a writing project.
PhD Students: got a grant? Dept. will co-fund up to $1500 – The Department would like to encourage students to seek external sources of funding, and has a small budget with which to support successful candidates. New limits from 2019: PhD students ONLY: Dept. will match up to $1500 of external (non-MQ) funding ONCE during the student’s candidature.
If you have received a grant (student as chief investigator) and wish to request co-funding, please forward a copy of the award letter to <sharyon.odonnell@mq.edu.au> and <julian.may@mq.edu.au>.
Australian Wildlife Society University Research Grants are scholarships offered to honours or postgraduate students at Australian universities. Each year, ten $1,500 grants are awarded. Applicants wishing to become a member of the Society can do so at www.aws.org.au. Closing date: 31st May 2019.
If you are, or supervise, a female PhD candidate who is an Aust citizen or permanent resident, please take a look at these Fellowships:
The 2019 Barbara Hale Fellowships and the 2019 Georgina Sweet Fellowship will close to applications on the 30th April 2019.
The 2019 AFGW Barbara Hale Fellowships
The 2019 AFGW Georgina Sweet Fellowship
Are You a HDR Student? Need Help with Writing? – HDR Mentors in collaboration with HDR Learning Skills is running another round of Peer Writing Assistance (PWA) for the rest of the year! This program is designed to support MRES and HDR candidates in managing thesis writing and research-related concerns. All peer writing assistants have undergone training for their role and are current PhD candidates at Macquarie. Registrations are now open for individual consultation bookings. If you are interested, please go to book in for a 30-minute session with a PWA. If you have questions about the PWA program please email hdrmentors@mq.edu.au>
ADMIN THINGS
Outreach Activities – Have You Participated in an Activity for Biology Recently? Don’t forget to fill in the super-quick form here – ACCESS OUTREACH FORM HERE
Building Name Changes – Cheat Sheet – If you are trying to identify buildings on campus with new names or old names, please use this link to convert them from old to new or vice versa.
THIS AND THAT
Harvest Hub – great food that doesn’t cost the earth
Do you want:
- To eat with the seasons?
- Have fresh fruit and veg delivered weekly?
- Buy from local growers and support local farmer more directly?
- Access weekly specials and a flexible, easy to use ordering system?
- Have produce delivered to you at work?
- Buy grains and cereals too?
Then try Harvest Hub www.harvesthub.com.au
Hub name: MACQUARIE04 F: @harvesthubau
More information?
- Check out the website
- Talk to Samantha Newton <samantha.newton@mq.edu.au>.
- Orders are delivered weekly, on Tuesdays
Correct Method for Submitting to Department Matters
Department Matters submissions now have their own email address. Please send all your news items for the newsletter to <fse.bionewsletter@mq.edu.au>
Also, please see the following to correctly format your additions, and keep them rolling in!
You may have noticed that we try to keep all the articles to the same format for the Department Matters, however, rest assured, they do NOT all turn up in this format! To help keep your Department Matters looking as good as possible, when sending in additions to the Newsletter, please try to keep these formatting guidelines in mind.
- Please write in third person. The information is coming from the Newsletter, not directly from you.
- Do not use fancy text formatting. Bold heading, normal text, and only italics or bold to highlight. No font size changes will make it through, sorry.
- If sending via email, set your email output to basic. HTML output will add all sort of formatting that will have to be removed before your article can go into the newsletter.
- Keep your submission short and direct (two paragraphs) and if possible provide a document, email or link where readers can get more information. Any long submissions will be cropped.
Keeping to these guidelines will streamline your article’s addition to the newsletter. Thank you.
Have You Missed Out on an Issue of Department Matters? Back issues can be found at this newsletter archive link for your reading pleasure.
New Publications
Zingerone feeding affects mate choice but not fecundity or fertility in the melon fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Diptera: Tephritidae)
By: Inskeep, Jess R., Todd E. Shelly, Roger I. Vargas, and Helen Spafford. Florida Entomologist 102, no. 1 (2019): 161-167. | Find with Google Scholar »Temporal and spatial pattern of trail clearing in the Australian meat ant, Iridomyrmex purpureus
By: Middleton, Eliza JT, Simon Garnier, Tanya Latty, and Chris R. Reid. Animal Behaviour 150 (2019): 97-111. | Find with Google Scholar »Ghosts from the past: even comprehensive sampling of the native range may not be enough to unravel the introduction history of invasive speciesthe case of Acacia dealbata invasions in South Africa
By: Hirsch, Heidi, Maria L. Castillo, Fiona AC Impson, Catharina Kleinjan, David M. Richardson, and Johannes J. Le Roux. American journal of botany (2019). | Find with Google Scholar »In the Media
Matthew Bulbert was featured on News.com.au
Dr Matthew Bulbert from the Department of Biological Sciences was featured on News.com.au regarding ways to prevent insects going extinct. This article was originally published on The Lighthouse.
Lesley Hughes was interviewed on ABC Radio Sydney’s Myf Warhurst
Distinguished Professor Lesley Hughes, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research Integrity and Development was interviewed on ABC Radio Sydney’s Myf Warhurst regarding getting more scientists elected into public office.
Daniel Natusch was interviewed on Radio National Counterpoint
Dr Daniel Natusch from the Department of Biological Sciences was interviewed on Radio National Counterpoint regarding whether exotic leathers should be banned.
Lizzy Lowe was interviewed on ABC Radio Sydney Weekends
Dr Lizzy Lowe from the Department of Biological Sciences was interviewed on ABC Radio Sydney Weekends about various types of spiders.
Rick Shine was featured in the Canberra Times
Professor Rick Shine from the Department of Biological Sciences was featured in the Canberra Times regarding the fight against the spread of cane toads.
Tim Pearson was featured in the Bellingen Courier-Sun
HDR student Tim Pearson from the Department of Biological Sciences was featured in the Bellingen Courier-Sun.