South-western Atlantic reef fishes: Zoogeographical patterns and ecological drivers reveal a secondary biodiversity centre in the Atlantic Ocean
By: Pinheiro, H.T., Rocha, L.A., Macieira, R.M., Carvalho‐Filho, A., Anderson, A.B., Bender, M.G., Di Dario, F., Ferreira, C.E.L., Figueiredo‐Filho, J., Francini‐Filho, R. and Gasparini, J.L., Diversity and Distributions. | Find with Google Scholar »
|
Dear all,
I hope you all enjoyed the easter break and returned to work refreshed and energised by chocolate. Thanks to all those who came to this week’s department meeting – you can find the slides in the Admin section below, and find out more about the enterprise bargaining process and status at next Tuesday’s meeting (see Save the Date).
Cheers,
Michelle
Save the Date
This coming week 9th – 13th April
Tues 10th: NTEU Enterprise Bargaining Update Meeting for Academic Staff; 12:00-13:00; 14SCO 163 Active Learning Space E7B
Tues 10th: BioQuest information session; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
Wed 11th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am – 11.30am; The Hill.
Wed 11th: Department Seminar – Assoc. Prof. Kira Westaway – Department of Environmental Science, Macquarie University; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
Thu 12th: aaRgh – R drop-in help; 3.00pm – 4.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
Fri 13th: BioNetwork “Killing it in Science” Research Symposium; 8.30 am – 5.30 pm; Lvl 8, 12WW (E7A).
Following week 16th – 20th April
Tue 17th: L&T Special Seminar Commitment, engagement and learning in a large cohort of students by Maurizio Manuguerra; 1 – 2pm; 6WW (E8C)-212 for (sign up here).
Wed 18th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am – 11.30am; Biology Tea Room. (supported by Logical Freight Solutions)
Wed 18th: Biological Sciences Graduation Ceremony; 2.30pm; Location 14SCO (E7B) main hall.
Coming up
Fri May 11th: Sapphire Bioscience morning tea; 10.30am – 11.30am; Biology Tea Room.
Department Seminar Series
Wed May 2nd: Department Seminar – Lisa Schwanz, UNSW; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
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 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
Rob Harcourt’s lab group’s research made it onto the front cover of PNAS last week!
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
Hidden Figures in STEM
The Hidden Figures in STEM exhibition was run as part of the celebrations for International Women’s Day. If you missed it, A4 copies of the posters have now been put up in the Tea Room Corridor, E8A (14EAR) 2nd floor. The exhibition consists of biographies of women scientists whose contributions and discoveries were ignored, dismissed, or even stolen. Come learn about the amazing discoveries these women made!
Conference Sponsorship Program
The Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer is pleased to advise that applications are now open for the Conference Sponsorship Program round for conferences being held between June 2018 and June 2019. Please visit our website at http://www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/investing-in-science/conference-sponsorship-program for further details on eligibility and how to apply.
To submit an application, please email raap.grants@industry.nsw.gov.au by COB Friday 20 April.
2018 Research Grant Opportunities from the Royal Zoological Society of NSW
Each year, RZS NSW coordinates two grant schemes dedicated to furthering the field of Australian zoology and conservation biology. Both of these programs are aimed at supporting young researchers and urge you to share the following information with your students and wider research networks. Please feel free to contact Dr Martin Predavec <office@rzsnsw.org.au> should you have any questions about these opportunities.
Small and short-term grants
The Ethel Mary Read Research Grant Fund aims to support short term research projects and student researchers working in any aspect of zoology within Australasia. Nine grants of up to $1500 are made available each year. The grant may be used to bridge a gap in existing funding, instigate pilot studies, alleviate fieldwork travel costs or support major equipment purchases. Applicants must be a member of RZS NSW to apply. Applications close on April 30th 2018 and grant recipients will be contacted in July 2018. More information including application details can be found at http://www.rzsnsw.org.au/emr
Postgraduate and early career researcher grants
In partnership with Paddy Pallin and the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife, RZS NSW is offering annual grants of up to $7000 for field-based ecological research. The objective of the grant program is to provide financial support for conservation‐based research of Australian ecosystems that will ultimately lead to tangible outcomes for management. Grants are open to postgraduate students or early career researchers with less than 3 years of research-related experience post-PhD. Applicants must be a member of RZS NSW and be enrolled with, or employed by, an Australian University or research institution. Applications for these grants will open in August 2018. More information can be found at http://www.rzsnsw.org.au/paddy-pallin-research-grants
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.
SoS Science and Research – Call for Proposals
OEH is now calling for proposals for projects under the SoS Science and Research Plan. The SoS Science and Research Plan addresses critical program level knowledge needs and aligns with the SoS aim to improve the maximum number of species in the wild over the next 100 years. As such projects must benefit multi-species and/or ecological communities and maintain a collaborative approach between external partners and OEH. Proposals that focus on single species will not be considered.
Research priorities for the 2018/19 round of grants are:
- Adaptive capacity of threatened species and threatened ecological communities
- Monitoring, evaluation and reporting (MER)
- Fire
- Research grant pool
For the 2018/19 financial year there is an allocation of $400,000 for new projects.
The research project application and assessment process is set out in the attached SoS Science & Research Plan and Implementation Plan 2017/18. Please read the attached guiding documents carefully before preparing and submitting a proposal. If re-applying please ensure you have addressed previous feedback and that projects align with priority research themes for this year. Proposals can be submitted electronically to me via email using the attached template. The deadline for submitting a proposal is Sunday 13th May 2018. For information on the SoS Program visit http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/animals-and-plants/threatened-species/saving-our-species-program. If you require further information or assistance with your project proposal, please contact <Bryony.Horton@environment.nsw.gov.au>. SoS Science and Research Plan-Jul2016 Proposal template 2018_19 SoS Science and Research Implementation Plan – 201718
Ecological Society of Australia Grant Opportunities for HDR Students – As an added bonus, the dept will match funds up to $3k for successful applicants.
https://www.ecolsoc.org.au/news/2018/02/holsworth-round-1-applications-now-open https://www.ecolsoc.org.au/awards-and-prizes/student-awards-and-grants/jill-landsberg-trust-fund-scholarship
Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund: Supporting Conservation of Threatened Species
Deadline: Saturday, June 30, 2018
Opportunity type: Funding
Applicants are invited to apply for the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund that has been established to provide targeted grants to individual species conservation initiatives, recognize leaders in the field and elevate the importance of species in the broader conservation debate. Its focus is global and eligibility for grants will extend to all plant, animal and fungi species conservation efforts, without discrimination on the basis of region or selected species. The Fund intends to be as flexible and accommodating as possible when reviewing applications, and to take into account as many different factors as is reasonable when assessing the merit of a suggested project. To support this and to try to streamline the application process, the review process is kept comparatively simple.
Funding Information
The Fund maximum grant size is $25,000, and any application asking for more than this from the Fund will be rejected. The total budget of a project can be higher if there are other sources of funding.
Eligibility Criteria
Funding Information
The Fund maximum grant size is $25,000, and any application asking for more than this from the Fund will be rejected. The total budget of a project can be higher if there are other sources of funding.
Eligibility Criteria
– Anyone directly involved in species conservation can apply to the Fund for a grant.
– The Fund will consider grants for the conservation of any threatened or poorly known animal, plant or fungus species.
– The Fund is primarily interested in situ species conservation work, but will consider applications for an ex situ project where it is demonstrated to be critical to the survival of the species concerned.
– Language: Applications must be submitted in English.
– Currency: Budgets must be submitted in US Dollars.
– The Fund will consider grants for the conservation of any threatened or poorly known animal, plant or fungus species.
– The Fund is primarily interested in situ species conservation work, but will consider applications for an ex situ project where it is demonstrated to be critical to the survival of the species concerned.
– Language: Applications must be submitted in English.
– Currency: Budgets must be submitted in US Dollars.
How to Apply
Interested applicants must fill the application form via given website.
For more information, please visit Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund.
Interested applicants must fill the application form via given website.
For more information, please visit Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund.
LEARNING AND TEACHING
Calling All Academics
The graduation ceremony for biological sciences is at 2.30pm on 18 April. So far ONLY TWO academic staff are registered to be in the procession! So please be prepared to gown-up and strut down the aisle to support our graduates – although registration has now oficially closed, you are still able to register by contacting graduation enquiries graduation@mq.edu.au.
Call Out for Industry Partners!
We want to improve the employability of our Master of Conservation Biology graduates by giving them opportunities to work with partner organisations outside of Macquarie University, as part of their coursework degree. If you have already established a relationship with an someone within an organisation (e.g. OEH, Nature Conservancy, Australian Museum, etc…) please let us know! Fill in database here, and please indicate if you think they might be interested in having internship students.
SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS
Department Weekly Seminar
Day/Date/Time/Place: Wednesday, 11th April, 1:00pm – 2:00pm, 14EAR (E8A)-280 (Tea Room).
Speaker: Assoc. Prof. Kira Westaway, Department of Environmental Science, Macquarie University.
Title: ‘Reigniting student curiousity’ – the art of dynamic engagement, intrinsic motivation, visual stimulation…..and the hard sell!!
Abstract: https://goto.mq.edu.au/biologyseminar2018-abstracts
Logical Freight Solutions Morning Tea
Day/Date/Time/Place: Wednesday, 18th April, 10:30am, Where: E8A (14EAR) 280 Biology tea room
Logical Freight Solutions is holding a morning tea to showcase its business services, which include shipping perishable goods and lab relocations. Contact: boeya@lfs.com.au www.lfs.com.au See flyer – 20180418 Logical Freight Solutions morning tea
MolSci Weekly Seminar
Date/Time/Venue: Tuesday, 10th April 2018, 1 – 2pm, 4WW (F7B) 322 seminar room
Speaker: Associate Professor Elizabeth New, School of Chemistry, the University of Sydney
Title: Molecular imaging tools for the study of oxidative stress and metal ions in biology. For more information visit – https://goto.mq.edu.au/6q
Australian Mangrove and Saltmarsh Network conference
The Department of Environmental Sciences is hosting the annual “Australian Mangrove and Saltmarsh Network” conference here at Macquarie University on 17-18 of April, with two field days following. The draft program is attached. Registration can be for the full meeting or a single day at this link.
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
Aboriginal Cultural Safety Training (ACST) for Biological Sciences Staff Postponed
Unfortunately the planned ACST for Biology staff set down for 12 April 2018, 14 Eastern Rd Level 2 Room 280, 9:00am – 1:00pm, has had to be postponed. The providers are taking stock of the many great recommendations from previous ACST participants and now working very closely with LIH partners to build a better product for delivery and that is beneficial for staff and the various Faculties, Departments and Offices. They are streamlining the whole package for every Faculty, Departments and Offices to ensure the quality of the content and accessibility for staff. Once customisation is complete, a new date will be set for the session.
BioNetwork “Killing it in Science” Research Symposium
Friday 13th of April 2018 at Macquarie University – Building 12WW (E7A), Level 8, 8.30 a.m. – 5.30 p.m., free event, catering included! The aim of this one day symposium is to foster the Macquarie University researcher community across the Faculties of Science & Engineering and Medicine & Health Sciences, with a common interest in the biosciences. The event is being organised by Macquarie’s own ECRs, for anyone keen to build their career in science in academia and industry. The program will consist of: a unique career building session in the morning: ‘Killing it in science: Adventures and misadventures of a research scientist’ and a dynamic scientific session in the afternoon to create a platform for interdisciplinary research collaborations to commence novel or strengthen existing projects.Click here for more information and to register.
Gender and Queer Perspectives in the Biological Sciences Workshop
Thursday 5th April (10am – 3pm) Continuum room, level 3, 75 Talavera road.
Organisers: Andrew Barron, Malin Ah- King, Mariella Herberstein, and Simon Griffiths.
A large focus of the biological sciences is to understand the evolution of sex, sexes and sex roles. This workshop will explore how our own assumptions of gender and sex roles in human society have influenced the scientific study of sex and vice versa. Some pre-reading will be required for this workshop. Numbers will be capped – first-in secures a place.
Click here (https://hdrworkshops.mq.edu.au/registration/new/15404?year=2018) to register for ‘Gender and queer perspectives in the biological sciences.’
Writing Workshops – resting for the next 2 weeks!
Running weekly for most of the year: Fridays 2-4pm in room 6SR (E8B) 111. Convened by Ken Cheng. These writing workshops are meant for HDR students and early-career researchers. In these face-to-face encounters, writing at any stage of any genre is welcome, from first draft to final polish, from empirical paper to literature review to popular news story. Ken envisages personal feedback linked perhaps with rounds of revisions on selected passages during the session. The aim is not just to get stuff written, but to write everything well. Those interested in attending a session should email Ken Cheng <ken.cheng@mq.edu.au> by Wednesday 12:00-noon, preferably with a draft attached of what they are working on and some indication of what they especially need help with.
Enterprise Bargaining Update Meeting for Academic Staff
Where: 14SCO 163 Active Learning Space E7B
When: Tuesday, 10 April, 12:00-13:00
The Australian Eye-Tracking Conference 2018 (AusET2018) – Framing the Future of Eye-Tracking Research
Thursday 26 April – Saturday 28 April 2018, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia www.mq.edu.au/eye-tracking
The Australian Eye-Tracking Conference 2018 is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary conference with the primary goal of providing a forum for cutting-edge eye-tracking research. The program is now available at http://www.cvent.com/events/the-australian-eye-tracking-conference-2018/agenda-9ba7562aa2724595af27d6f9e039f7cc.aspx Registrations are now open. If you want more information, please contact “Leidy Castro-Meneses” <leidy.castro-meneses@mq.edu.au>.
Respect. Now. Always. Programme – More information click here. Respect@MQ Workshops– More information click here.
ADMIN THINGS
April Departmental Meeting Slides – Dept meeting 03April2018
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: 27 APRIL 2018 You can enter as many photos as you like – one entry to the draw for each good photo, good luck!
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.
Changes:
Sharyon O’Donnell – Unavailable/On Leave from Monday 26 March until Friday 6 April, returning Monday 9 April
Julian May – Unavailable/On Leave from Thursday 29 March until Friday 27 April, returning Monday 30 April
Adyen De Courcey – Working Part Time and available Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays
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.
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.
Staff parking permits – Now available from the Admin Office – 6SR (E8B) 206.
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.
Follow us on Social Media
JOB POSITIONS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Research Associate, Climate Risk – Estuarine Ecology – Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University
We are seeking a Research Associate to contribute to a project on estuarine risk assessment and strategic responses to climate change, as part of the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage’s Adaptation Hub. The Research Associate will contribute to a desk-top study which collates experimental and survey data from published and grey literature studies to calculate quantitative climate thresholds of key estuarine taxa (e.g. heat extremes for oysters, depth limitations for seagrass, inundation maximums for salt marsh, etc). Closing Date: 13/04/2018. Please see attached for full details. Research Associate Climate Risk- Estuarine Ecology
BLOGS AND OTHER THINGS OF INTEREST
Plant of the Week!
This week – Fire Spike – Odontonema tubaeforme
This showy plant from Central America will produce brilliant display of scarlet flowers in your garden, but avoid it like the plague if you live close to bushland creeks or wetlands.
A Strong Start in University bioQuest
The University bioQuest started on 1 April, and Macquarie is making a good showing so far. At the time of writing we are 3rd in the list of University teams for Spotters and 4th for species identifications. We will be having a lunchtime gathering in the tearoom next Tuesday 10 April at 1pm to share tips and experiences with finding biodiversity on campus, so come along and encourage the students to come too.
Why should you or your students [undergrad or postgrad] get involved?
- All the data gathered through this is contributed to biodiversity databases.
- It is good for the University’s prestige and public presence.
- It is an excellent way to get your students to learn about the biodiversity around them on this great campus.
- It is fun!
There are different categories, including a Best Life on Campus category for observations on campus. However you can also submit observations from off campus and in fact anywhere in the world. So people heading out on field trips in the break, get snapping. All observations must be made and submitted by the end of April, and you are limited to 40 each, so you may want to be selective in putting up your more interesting observations. You can also earn lots of points for the University team by identifying species, and we are doing well in that so far.
So please sign up now, join the Macquarie University team and then in the app join the Macquarie University clan so that we can communicate with you. BioQuest_slide JAD
New Publications
Long-Term Irrigation Affects the Dynamics and Activity of the Wheat Rhizosphere Microbiome
By: Mavrodi, Dmitri V., Olga V. Mavrodi, Liam DH Elbourne, Sasha Tetu, Robert F. Bonsall, James Parejko, Mingming Yang, Ian T. Paulsen, David M. Weller, and Linda S. Thomashow. Frontiers in Plant Science 9 (2018): 345. | Find with Google Scholar »Convergence of marine megafauna movement patterns in coastal and open oceans
By: Sequeira, A.M., Rodríguez, J.P., Eguíluz, V.M., Harcourt, R., Hindell, M., Sims, D.W., Duarte, C.M., Costa, D.P., Fernández-Gracia, J., Ferreira, L.C. and Hays, G.C., 2018. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, p.201716137. | Find with Google Scholar »Biogeographical disparity in the functional diversity and redundancy of corals
By: McWilliam, Mike, Mia O. Hoogenboom, Andrew H. Baird, Chao-Yang Kuo, Joshua S. Madin, and Terry P. Hughes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018): 201716643. | Find with Google Scholar »Trilobites and agnostids from the Goyder Formation (Cambrian Series 3, Guzhangian; Mindyallan), Amadeus Basin, central Australia
By: SMITH, PATRICK M., JOHN R. PATERSON, and GLENN A. BROCK. Zootaxa 4396, no. 1 (2018): 1-67. | Find with Google Scholar »Impacts of the invasive fungus Austropuccinia psidii (myrtle rust) on three Australian Myrtaceae species of coastal swamp woodland
By: Fernandez Winzer, Laura, Angus J. Carnegie, Geoff S. Pegg, and Michelle R. Leishman. Austral Ecology 43, no. 1 (2018): 56-68. | Find with Google Scholar »Feeling the pressure at home: Predator activity at the burrow entrance of an endangered arid-zone skink
By: Moore, Danae, Michael Ray Kearney, Rachel Paltridge, Steve McAlpin, and Adam Stow. Austral Ecology 43, no. 1 (2018): 102-109. | Find with Google Scholar »In the Media
Lesley Hughes contributed to ‘Bush Tracks,’ the Bush Heritage Australia newsletter
Professor Lesley Hughes of the Department of Biological Sciences contributed to ‘Bush Tracks,’ the Bush Heritage Australia newsletter, discussing how many of our native species will soon find their environments uninhabitable due to a rapidly changing climate.