Sexual inhibition of female Queensland fruit flies mated by males treated with raspberry ketone supplements as immature adults
By: Akter, H., and P. W. Taylor. Journal of Applied Entomology. | Find with Google Scholar »
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Dear all,
Michelle is still at large – please send through any sightings! We hope you enjoyed the graduations this week and a somewhat quieter time on campus. Thanks to Ray and Jenny for putting together the weekly newsletter for your reading pleasure.
Melanie and Mariella (seemingly in charge)
Save the Date
This coming week 30th April – 4th May
Tue 1st: Department Meeting; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room – Special Guest – FSE Executive Dean – Barbara Messerle
Wed 2nd: Department Seminar – Lisa Schwanz, UNSW; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
Following week 7th – 11th May
Wed 9th: Department Seminar – Dr. Bruno Buzzato, Macquarie University; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
Thu 10th: aaRgh – R drop-in help; 3.00pm – 4.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
Department Seminar Series
Wed May 16th: Department Seminar – Assoc. Prof. Michael Renton, School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
Wed May 23rd: Department Seminar – Prof. Michael Bunce, School of Plant Biology, ARC Future Fellow Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) laboratory, & Australian Wildlife Forensic Services (AWFS) Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
Wed May 30th: Department Seminar – Dr Iadine Chades, CSIRO; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
Wed June 6th: Department Seminar – Prof. Saul Cunningham, Fenner School, ANU; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
General News and Announcements
RESEARCH STORIES, OUTCOMES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Publication Spotlight
Simon Clulow’s group has just had an article published on their flagship conservation and research program in Papua New Guinea to future-proof the country’s frogs against likely catastrophic species declines and extinctions from the amphibian chytrid disease, in the latest edition of the Amphibian Ark Newsletter.
Despite amounting to < 1% of the world’s landmass, New Guinea comprises more than 6% of the world’s frog species and is the last major refuge on earth that is currently free of the amphibian chytrid fungus. This research program is headed up by Simon and Dr. Deb Bower from UNE. They currently have an agreement and funding in place between several Australian and PNG zoological institutions, universities and the PNG government to begin construction on New Guinea’s first ever amphibian captive insurance and genome storage facilities in Port Moresby, PNG later this year. The article follows.
PhD Scholarship: Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in Australian Wildlife
Applications close 17th May 2018
This project will investigate the dissemination of antibiotic resistant bacteria to terrestrial wildlife species. The successful applicant will use molecular and microbiological methodologies to examine the epidemiology of antibiotic resistant bacteria in urban wildlife, specifically possums. Further detail in the attached file, or contact Dr Michelle Power <michelle.power@mq.edu.au> for more information. PhD opportunity
University of Tasmania – Seeking Project Proposals for National PhD Program in Horticulture
See attached documentation: Seeking Project Proposals for National PhD Program in Horticulture 2018….
National-PhD-Leadership-Program-Proposal-2018
Biology HDR Grants for Fieldwork and Conference Attendance NOW AVAILABLE!
The Department has two grants available for post-graduate students, with applications for both closing on 30 April 2018. These are amazing opportunities that enable post-grads to extend their research. The Rice Memorial Field Research Award is open to any PhD candidate who is undertaking fieldwork – irrespective of the field. Up to $2000 is available to help with the costs of fieldwork. The Milthorpe Memorial Award in Plant Biology is open to HDR students researching any aspect of plant biology, which can include plant-animal interactions, etc. Up to $2500 is available to help with research costs or conference attendance.
These Awards can greatly enhance the quality of your research, so be sure to submit your application by 30 April 2018. For further details, see the attached forms or email linda.beaumont@mq.edu.au. Rice Memorial Field Research Proposal Award_2018 Milthorpe Award Application_2018
Participate in the Falling Walls Lab Australia 2018
The Academy invites applications from Australian researchers, postdocs and students, entrepreneurs, engineers and innovators from all areas to attend the Falling Walls Lab Australia 2018. Deadline for applications is 5pm (AEST) Monday 28th May 2018. 20 contestants will be invited to participate in this challenge with each required to give a 3 minute presentation on their research work, business model, social idea or initiative based on the “Which walls will fall next” concept. Candidates should be research active in any field of the natural sciences, including technology, engineering and medicine as well as social sciences and humanities. Follow this link to view more information and to apply.
LEARNING AND TEACHING
HDR Student Emails
Are you still using your students.mq.edu.au email? Did you know that you have a staff email? Naming profile is usually firstname.lastname@hdr.mq.edu.au
Your staff email account can be accessed via Office 365. If you would prefer to keep using another email account, there are instructions here which outline how to forward all communications from your staff email account, to another email account. If you experience any issues or need help with this, please contact IT.
SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS
Biological Sciences Weekly Seminar
Date/Time/Venue: Wednesday, 2nd May 2018, 1 – 2pm, 14EAR (E8A)-280 Biology Tearoom.
Speaker: Dr Lisa Schwanz, UNSW.
Title: Thermal parental effects: how parents shape the thermal world and phenotype of their offspring.
Abstract: https://goto.mq.edu.au/biologyseminar2018-abstracts
MolSci Special Seminar
Date/Time/Venue: Monday, 30th April 2018, 12 – 1pm, 4WW (F7B) 422 APAF seminar room.
Speaker: Professor Seth Cohen, the University of California, San Diego.
Title: Proving Our “Mettle” in Drug Discovery. For more information visit – https://goto.mq.edu.au/6s
MolSci Weekly Seminar
Date/Time/Venue: Tuesday, 1st May 2018, 1 – 2pm, 4WW (F7B) 422 APAF seminar room.
Speaker: Dr Nicholas Bedford.
Title: Nanomaterials Development using Structure/Function Relationships Established by Synchrotron Radiation Characterization Techniques. For more information visit – https://goto.mq.edu.au/6k
Wildlife Health & Pathology Short Course- 18 – 23 February 2019
Location: Taronga Institute of Science and Learning, Sydney.
The Australian Registry of Wildlife Health, supported by the Cybec Foundation and CL Davis Foundation, is hosting a Wildlife Health and Pathology Short Course, and a Translocation Health Symposium. The course is open to anyone with an interest in wildlife disease, including pathologists, veterinarians, conservation biologists, veterinary students and postgraduate students. Practical workshops on necropsy, laboratory skills, and histopathology will be offered. The Translocation Health Symposium will highlight the many disciplines of translocation science including ecology, nutrition, behaviour, welfare, and disease risk analysis. Panel discussions will provide an opportunity for engagement and the exchange of ideas and best practice. Internationally acclaimed wildlife pathologists Drs Judy St Leger (SeaWorld), Bruce Rideout (San Diego Zoo), Michael Garner (Washington State University), and nutritionist Ellen Dierenfeld (Nottingham Trent University), and others will join local wildlife specialists to deliver this fascinating program.
Registrations will open: July 2018.
Scholarships for local graduate students and wildlife veterinarians from developing countries will be made available.
Keep an eye on the Registry website for more details: theRegistry.org.au
What Should Universities Be? Conference
USYD, 22nd – 23rd Nov, 2018. What should Universities be
Research Enrichment Program – Outlook Conference
July 24-25, Incubator Building, Macquarie University – “The Future of the Human Landscape”
The Outlook Conference will bring together leading thinkers in diverse disciplines, spanning molecules to landscapes, and from scientific, historical and social viewpoints. The objective is to immerse participants in the frontiers of adjacent, and more distant disciplines. Speakers will present their vision for humanity’s future. These talks will not recount personal research findings, but will be future-scoping exercises. Our goal is to identify promising areas for high level trans-disciplinary collaboration, for novel applications, and to expose postgraduate students and early career researchers to different ways of thinking. To register, email <fse.rep-admin@mq.edu.au>. Research Enrichment Program Outlook Flyer
aaRgh (ask an R geek for help)
Second Thursday of every month 3 – 4pm, Biology Tearoom – 14EAR (E8A) 280.
Frustrated? Having an R-related problem? We will also run regular afternoon tea sessions where you can get one-on-one help, or just introduce yourself and chat.
Snacks provided!
ADMIN THINGS
Administration Staffing Updates
Minor changes to admin staff will result in reduced staff availability as of April, so please make an effort to plan your admin needs and avoid potential delays to your request.
Adyen De Courcey – On Leave for 3 months, please direct your enquires to the <fse.bio-adm@mq.edu.au>.
For any administration enquiries please email them to <fse.bio-adm@mq.edu.au> as this is seen by all administrative staff. The most appropriate person will reply to your email.
PURE Training
The PURE system is used to manage researcher profiles, outputs including publications, funding applications, awards, projects and reports. Do you feel like you could use some more PURE training? Please register your interest via an email to <jenny.ghabache@mq.edu.au>.
Are you getting credit for your Outreach Activities? Have participated in an activity for Biology recently?
Don’t forget to fill in the super-quick form here – ACCESS OUTREACH FORM HERE
Photo Competition – April 2018 – Enter to win a $100 Gift Card this month!
This month’s theme is ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL
Your images could be used on our Department website, this newsletter, on our social media and in other biology publications. A lucky person’s name will be drawn each month, and they will receive a $100 Gift Card! Criteria: you must provide caption information including details of what/where/who(names of people)/date & you must have taken all photos & the image was taken in the last five years. Please follow the dropbox file request link to submit your images. Submission close: 30 APRIL 2018 You can enter as many photos as you like – one entry to the draw for each good photo, good luck!
Location-W (Fauna Park) Admin Support
Monday, Wednesday & Friday from 10am – 1pm in W19F
Deliveries
You will notice that we have placed a red “transfer Box” in W19F, put anything in this box that needs to be delivered to the E8 area location. We also have a red “Transfer Box” in E8B Level 2 location, which is for goods to betaken to the W location. These boxes will be emptied every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10am. Deliveries from the main “MQ” store will be delivered daily. Any questions please contact Sharyon O’Donnell.
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.
Correct Method for Submitting to Department Matters
Department Matters submissions now have their own email address. Please send all future submissions to 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.
Keeping to these guidelines will streamline your article’s addition to the newsletter. Thank you.
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BLOGS AND OTHER THINGS OF INTEREST
Plant of the Week!
For this week – Goodenia ovata. You don’t often find shrubs in the Australian bush with soft, light, bright apple green leaves. Goodenia ovata is an exception. This lovely native shrub is also really easy to grow in the home garden.
Plant of the Week – Contributors – 2018
2018 Nikon Small World Competition
Entries for both Small World competitions can be uploaded directly to the MicroscopyU servers at the following URL:
https://nikonsmallworld.magnet.fsu.edu/
New Publications
The capacity of oysters to regulate energy metabolism-related processes may be key to their resilience against ocean acidification
By: Goncalves, Priscila, Kelli Anderson, David Andrew Raftos, and Emma Louise Thompson. Aquaculture Research (2018). | Find with Google Scholar »Influences of diel and tidal cycles on fish assemblage in eelgrass (Zostera marina) bed of southern Korea during autumn
By: Kwak, Seok Nam, Joo Myun Park, Seong Oh Im, and Laith A. Jawad. Acta Oceanologica Sinica 37, no. 4 (2018): 40-47. | Find with Google Scholar »Shoot growth of woody trees and shrubs is predicted by maximum plant height and associated traits
By: Gleason, S.M., Stephens, A.E., Tozer, W.C., Blackman, C.J., Butler, D.W., Chang, Y., Cook, A.M., Cooke, J., Laws, C.A., Rosell, J.A. and Stuart, S.A., 2018. Functional Ecology, 32(2), pp.247-259. | Find with Google Scholar »Honey bee (Apis mellifera) sociability and nestmate affiliation are dependent on the social environment experienced post-eclosion.
By: Hewlett, Susie E., Deborah M. Wareham, and Andrew B. Barron. Journal of Experimental Biology 221, no. 3 (2018): jeb173054. | Find with Google Scholar »