Quantitative analysis of vocalizations of captive Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae)
By: Rose, Shanna J., Drew Allen, Dan Noble, and Jennifer A. Clarke. Bioacoustics (2017): 1-14. | Find with Google Scholar »
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Dear all,
A busy week with the final exam meeting for the year and the End-of-Year Party! Thanks to all who made the party such a success – the weather gods, Jenny and her team, and the Diversity & Inclusion group – you efforts are much appreciated!
The perennial favourite Golden Coin Toss raised $221.85 for Médecins Sans Frontières (doctors without borders) and Jenny Ghabache is still collecting if anyone wishes to make a donation.
About 20 staff and students enjoyed a great session on Thursday with Uncle Phil from Walanga Muru on cultural awareness training – we will run another in 2018 and I thoroughly recommend it to everyone.
All staff should book your annual leave now in the HR Online system – I’ve booked mine!
cheers,
Michelle
Save the Date
This coming week 11th – 15th December
Wed 13th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am – 11.30am; E8A 280 (Tea room).
Next week 18th – 22nd December
Wed 20th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am – 11.30am; The Hill.
Fri 22nd: Last day MQ is open for 2017!
Coming up in 2018
Tue Feb 13th: E8C Digital Teaching Labs Induction; 9 – 11.30am; E8C-106.
Fri Feb 16th: F7B Digital Teaching Labs Induction; 9.30 – 11.30am; F7B-108 & 105.
Thu Feb 22nd: E8A Digital Teaching Labs Induction; 9 – 12.00pm; E8A-129 & 150 (Red and Blue Labs).
General News and Announcements
Image Competition Win
First Prize: Moment in the Brain
Microglia and neurons cells in the hippocampus. Image was captured using a confocal microscope. The varying colours reflect the cells at different position within the brain.
Highly Recommended: String Art
Crystal is normally in symmetric form. CBMS PhD candidate: Masoud Kazem-Rostami in A/Prof Joanne Jamie lab has made this unique rake-shaped structure of a synthetic fluorescent crystal. The applied colour-code indicates the depth of the observed crystal.
End of Financial Year Deadlines – Again
Credit cards: try not to use these after Friday 8th December; admin will not accept charges on their credit cards after this date. All Concur expenses must be reconciled by the 12th of December.
Invoices: last date to send invoices to Admin is the 15th of December, to ensure that they will actually be processed before the end of the year. Earlier is better.
NOPF (reimbursements, etc.): last date to submit NOPFs to Admin is the 15th of December, to ensure that money comes off the account before the end of the year. This doesn’t ensure you will receive the money before 2018, though. Any later reimbursements will be collected, but not processed until next year.
If you are unsure about something, please call Julian (x4288: NOPFs) or Harriet (x4188; invoices, concur).
Biology Safety Alert
Minutes from the Faculty of Science and Engineering WHS committee Meeting held 26th October 2017.
Christmas Charity Collection – Last Chance to Give
Thanks to everyone who has already donated food or gifts for North Ryde COmmunity Aid. This coming Monday 11 December, is the last day to donate. All donations are gratefully received.
We are collecting food and gifts for:
North Ryde Community Aid
(for frail and elderly residents of North Ryde)
Please donate by Monday 11 December
Place labelled presents under the Christmas tree (or food in the adjacent box)
Food hampers will be packed on Friday 15 December and delivered Monday 18 December. If you can help with either of these please email Samantha Newton (Biology) <samantha.newton@mq.edu.au> and/or Laura Hamilton (Sustainability) <laura.hamilton@mq.edu.au>
See poster link below for suggestions.
Photo Competition – December 2017 & January 2018 – Chance to win $100 Gift Card
This month’s theme is TEAMWORK!
Please follow the drop box file request link to submit your images.
Submission close: 31 December 2017
The top photos each month will be shared on our Department website and this newsletter. The top winning photo for the month will be featured on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The best image from the preceding 12 months will be announced at the annual biology Christmas party and the lucky winner will receive a $100 Gift Card! You can enter as many photos as you like.
Criteria
- Shows what’s unique about the work being done
- Taken in the last five years
Please provide the following details to jenny.ghabache@mq.edu.au:
- Details of where/what/who/ is featured in the photo
- Who took the photo
- Date/Year is was taken
Summer Project Wanted for Third-Year Advanced Biology Student
There is one student from the 2017 Advanced Biology class who needs to complete her 50-hour PACE placement over the coming summer break. She would prefer a data analysis-type project but laboratory-based experimental work would also be fine. If you have a suitable project, please contact Koa Webster (<koa.webster@mq.edu.au>; phone ext. 6289).
Complex Systems Summer School (CSSS)
June 10 – July 6, 2018
Applications Accepted: Now through January 29, 2018.
The SFI Complex Systems Summer School (CSSS) offers an intensive 4-week introduction to complex behavior in mathematical, physical, living, and social systems. Lectures are taught by the faculty of the Santa Fe Institute (SFI). The school is for students and professionals seeking to transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries and ask big questions about real-world complex systems.
The program consists of an intensive series of lectures, labs, and discussion sessions focusing on foundational concepts, tools, and current topics in complexity science. Participants collaborate in developing novel research projects throughout the 4 weeks of the program that culminate in final presentations and papers.
Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and professionals are eligible to apply. Women and members of underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.
More Information and to Apply: santafe.edu/CSSS
It is that time of year again!
Admin Office Hours
Effective Now…
End of year financial workload is high for the admin staff, so office hours are changing.
Admin Offices Open: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Admin Offices Closed: Tuesday and Thursday
Offices Affected:
- Sharyon O’Donnell – E8B203 (Project Accounts ending in 2017)
- Julian May, Harriet O’Sullivan and Ayden De Courcey – E8B 204 ( Financial processing team)
- Kate Barry, Caitlin Kordis – E8B 207 (Exam processing team)
If your matter is urgent, please see Ayden De Courcey or Jenny Ghabache – E8B206 who will arrange an appointment with the appropriate person.
Alternatively, please pick up the phone & call, to avoid increasing the email load.
We need your co-operation with this, to ensure the admin staff survives this stressful time.
Biological Sciences Administrative Requests
Please email any admin requests you have to <sci.bio-adm@mq.edu.au>. The email is monitored by the whole Admin Team, so your request won’t sit unanswered in a single person’s inbox should they be away or on leave. If you need to contact the individual admin staff member directly, you will find their contact details in this document.
And if you need HoD signoff on any applications, forms, etc please send to <fse.bio-hod@mq.edu.au>
2018 Fisheries Scientific Committee Student Research Grant Round Now Open
The NSW Fisheries Scientific Committee (FSC) is now accepting applications for their 2018 round of Student Research Grants.
The FSC has available $3,000 to fund 1-2 student projects, aimed at filling gaps in research information for threatened and rare species of fish and marine vegetation in NSW. The grants are intended for use by undergraduate 3rd year major project students, or as part of an Honours, Masters or PhD project.
The FSC assesses nominations for the listing (or de-listing) of threatened species, populations and ecological communities of fish and marine vegetation in NSW, and key threatening processes. This task relies on the availability of up-to-date scientific data on species distribution, abundance, habitat and ecology. Projects funded through the Student Research Grants provide the FSC with information on threatened fish and marine vegetation species and communities in NSW to help support their listing or de-listing. This information may also assist in managing species recovery through initiatives undertaken by NSW Department of Primary Industries.
How to apply
Visit the FSC website to access the online application form.
Applicants should read the Student Research Grants Terms and Conditions, and the Information for Applicants available on the website prior to commencing their Application.
Applications close 11.59 pm (AEDT) on Friday 16 February 2018.
Any questions should be directed to the FSC’s Executive Officer at <fsc@dpi.nsw.gov.au>
Plant of the Week
This week – Colours of Christmas – Red and Green – flowers, fruit and foliage.
Invitation — MU Species Spectrum Research Centre End-of-Year Event
The Species Spectrum Research Centre warmly invites you to its end-of-year event:
11:30am – 1pm, Tuesday 12th Dec — E7A, level 8.
Come and find out what the Species Spectrum Research Centre has been up-to in 2017 and the possible plans for 2018. A free lunch will be provided. Please RSVP – and let us know if you have any dietary requirements – in an e-mail to fse.Species-Spectrum-admin@mq.edu.au.
Please also pass this invitation to your colleagues. Everyone is warmly invited.
With best wishes
MUSSRC Executive Committee
Invitation — Research Enrichment Program ‘Breakfast’
This is a warm invitation to the Research Enrichment Program ‘breakfast’:
8 – 9:45am, this Monday (11th Dec) in the level 1 Function Room, E11A.
At the breakfast we will reflect on the achievements of the Research Enrichment Program in 2017, present the draft 2018 menu of offerings and invite suggestions and feedback from everyone. We will also hear from two distinguished speakers:
8:00am — Breakfast
8:30am — Introduction and welcome
8:40am — Summary of 2017 REP activities and presentation of the draft 2018 menu of offerings.
9:00am — Andrew Le Lievre, Global Head of Talent Acquisition, Cochlear — “What employers are looking for in university graduates”.
9:15am — Sakkie Pretorius, DVC Research, Macquarie University — “What Macquarie University is looking for in research directions”
9:30am — Discussion — ‘what do people want to see REP deliver in 2018 and beyond?’
9:45am – Thanks and close
Breakfast and coffee will be provided.
Public Lecture 13 Dec 6pm
Prof Small is the author of one of the most used texts on time series analysis and he has a very well regarded research activity at UWA.
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
11 December, 2017 – MQMarine Collaboration Workshop & End-of-Year Function
This workshop will be a follow-up on our first, and very successful, ‘MQMarine Collaboration Workshop 2015’. As with our previous workshop, which connected MQ researchers at various career stages and from multiple disciplines, the focus is on initiating and/or strengthening collaborations!
Program outline:
We will begin the workshop with a presentation by Prof. Michael Gillings, who will talk about existing collaborations at MQ, and how to initiate and maintain productive collaborations.
The afternoon will be filled with short (5 min) presentations by MQ Early Career Researchers on their research – all research students (Masters and PhD’s), postdocs and other ECR’s are welcome to present. All participating Academics are encouraged to focus on the bigger picture and identify potential links that might connect the ECR projects to initiate avenues of collaboration.
We will end the workshop with a summary of MQMarine’s achievements in 2017 by the Director Prof. Simon George and an end-of-year function starting at 4pm to which everyone is warmly invited!
If you have any questions please email marinescience@mq.edu.au.
To register for this workshop follow this link and use the password = Collaboration2017.
Test Out the Scoop a Poop kit!
Do you have brushtail or ringtail possums in your yard?
The Scoop a Poop project needs more possum poop. The team would also appreciate feedback on the usability of the collection kit they use for their citizen science project.
If you can collect poop and return the kit by 8th December, please contact Koa Webster (<koa.webster@mq.edu.au>; ext. 6289) for a kit.
NOTE: both BRUSHTAIL and RINGTAIL possum poop now accepted!
Commonwealth Rutherford Fellowship to Work in UK – Due Dec 11
http://cscuk.dfid.gov.uk/apply/rutherford-fellowships/
The 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.
STEM Speakers in Schools
What is it?
The Speakers in Schools program places Macquarie University academics in schools to connect students and teachers with researchers who inspire, inform and challenge students to question their thinking. Presentations discuss hot topics, global issues affecting society, have inspirational and significant impact for students.
How does it work?
We request that interested schools give us 4 weeks’ notice with some suggested dates, Alison Willard (FSE Future Students) will then liaise with you to see if any of those dates suit your schedule. The FSE Future Students Team provides transport for you (either someone will accompanying and drive you, or you can get a cab charge voucher).
Are you interested?
Please express your interest here:
Worm Farm and Tea Bags
Our worms are healthy and enjoying the lovely coffee, banana and salad scraps you’ve been providing. The worm farm is about to be refreshed, with lovely worm castings available for the home veggie garden.
A quick inspection reveals a layer of tea bags and tags.
Further investigation, via google, has revealed some interesting information about tea bags:
- Most teabags (including the Dilmah tea supplied by the department) is 70-80% biodegradable
- T2 tea bags are made of Nylon (not biodegradable)
- Loose leaf tea is fully biodegradable and tastes better
Therefore, for the sake of our worms, our gardens and or planet, please switch to loose-leaf tea, or non-T2 teabags where possible. If you absolutely must use a T2 tea bag, or a bag sealed with a staple, please throw the used bag into the general waste, not the worm container.
If you would like to take home some worm castings for your garden, please email Samantha Newton, <samantha.newton@mq.edu.au>
Searching For A Room To Rent
Caterina Funghi, a joint PhD student finishing her fieldwork, is searching for a Room in Sydney between December 19 to January 7. If you have a room, or know someone renting out a room, please let her know at <caterina.funghi@students.mq.edu.au>
New Publications
Evidence for Concerted and Mosaic Brain Evolution in Dragon Lizards
By: Hoops, Daniel, Marta Vidal-García, Jeremy FP Ullmann, Andrew L. Janke, Timothy Stait-Gardner, David A. Duchêne, William S. Price, Martin J. Whiting, and J. Scott Keogh. Brain, behavior and evolution 90, no. 3 (2017): 211-223. | Find with Google Scholar »Biomimetics: What Can We Learn From Arachnids?
By: Wolff, Jonas O., and Stanislav N. Gorb. In Attachment Structures and Adhesive Secretions in Arachnids, pp. 163-172. Springer International Publishing, 2016. | Find with Google Scholar »In the Media
John Alroy provided comment to Cosmos Magazine
Associate Professor John Alroy from the Department of Biological Sciences provided comment to Cosmos Magazine in relation to a new study which has found that Great Barrier Reef’s health could be boosted by just three per cent of its reefs.
Recent Completions
Arnaud Badiane submitted his PhD thesis entitled “Evolution of colour signals in lizards.”
Supervised by Martin Whiting and Pau Carazo (University of Valencia)