Precipitation intensity is the primary driver of moss crust-derived CO2 exchange: Implications for soil C balance in a temperate desert of northwestern China.
Lin Wu, Yuanming Zhang, Jing Zhang, Alison Downing. 2015. Precipitation intensity is the primary driver of moss crust-derived CO2 exchange: Implications for soil C balance in a temperate desert of northwestern China. European Journal of Soil Biology. 67:27-34. | Find with Google Scholar »
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Dear all,
Thank you for a very busy week, with the new Dean visiting and a formal informal meeting. I attach the slides. If you have not done so yet, please give me your feedback: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6DNTRYB
There are drinks this afternoon…finish off a busy week with a cool alcoholic or non alcoholic beverage….courtyard, 4:30pm!
And yes, Australia will be competing at Eurovision (you can thank me for that)! Get into the spirit of Eurovision and recap last year’s event: https://thescienceofeurovision.wordpress.com/
cheerio
Mariella
General News and Announcements
Office of Learning and Teaching Awards
If you have been receiving Departmental, Faculty or University teaching awards, you should definitely go for one of these:
Information about the Australian Awards for University Teaching Programme is available on the OLT website:
– 2015 Australian Awards for University Teaching Nomination Instructions and Supporting Information
– 2015 Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning Nomination form
– 2015 Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning Nomination form
– 2015 Awards for Teaching Excellence Nomination form
– 2014 Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning Assessment Report
– 2014 Australian Awards for University Teaching Assessment Report
Animal Welfare Student Scholarship
A reminder that the closing date for receipt of applications for the Animal Welfare Student Scholarship (AWSS) awards is fast approaching. Worth £1600 to the successful scholar, applications must be in by the 28th February. In addition, successful scholars are invited to speak at the AWSS meeting that takes place in December in the UK. Further details and an application form can be found here: http://www.ufaw.org.uk/vacationScholarshipawards.php
Students wanting to apply must work on an animal welfare related project in Culum Brown’s lab.
Contact culum.brown@mq.edu.au for project ideas.
Seminar by Dr. Lee Lynd from Dartmouth College: 25th of February.
When: 25 Feb 2015
When: 2:30pm
Where: E8A tearoom
Title: Land, Food, and Bioenergy in Relation to the Great Challenges of our Time
Smoothly navigating the sustainable resource revolution and alleviating poverty are among the most important challenges of our time. Agricultural development is widely understood to offer the greatest benefits for the rural poor, representing 2/3 of persons living in extreme poverty. Provision of energy and food, representing the lion’s share of the human footprint and environmental impact, are core challenges associated with the sustainable resource revolution. Bioenergy (fuel, electricity, and heat from plant biomass) has an important role to play in a low-carbon energy future, representing about a quarter of primary energy supply in prominent scenarios for 2050. In particular, biofuels will likely be needed for long distance transport, representing about half of total projected transport energy even with aggressive efficiency enhancement and development of hydrogen and battery-powered vehicles. Failure to mitigate climate change is expected to have the greatest impact on the world’s poor, and will also impact food yields and thus land availability for bioenergy.
Given the observations above, economic development, food provision, and low-carbon energy supply are inextricably linked, with land being a key common factor. Although these objectives are often assumed to be in competition, complementarity is also possible and desirable. Perspectives on paths to achieve such complementarity will be offered, with aspects considered including causes and alleviation of food insecurity, land availability and intensified use in relation to food supply, a role for the consumer, and consideration of dynamic and mutually-reinforcing social and technological development trajectories. Interdisciplinary research involving the pasture and bioenergy research communities has great potential to be illuminating in this context, although these communities have worked largely in isolation to date.
Gender balance and expectations of brilliance
Another interesting paper in Science sent through by Ken.
Visits: David Shuker & Sue Healy (St Andrews)
Dave and Sue are visiting the Department for a couple of days from April 1 for seminars and chats. They are great value, so please let Kate Barry know if you want to catch up with them!
http://biology.st-andrews.ac.uk/contact/staffProfile.aspx?sunid=dms14
http://biology.st-andrews.ac.uk/contact/staffProfile.aspx?sunID=sdh11
Staff success
Congratulations Libby Eyre who has been awarded a prize from the Australian Museum Appreciation Society.
Jobs: Director, University of Nebraska State Museum
Details here
Upcoming seminars at UNSW
How to live long: meta-evidence and advice
Date/Time: 6 March at 3 p.m.
Speaker: A/Prof Shinichi Nakagawa
Location: Mathews Theatre D
Host: Evolution & Ecology Research Centre
And Ever the Twain shall Meet: An Expose of Sexual Differences in the Animal Kingdom
Date/Time: 9 March at 3 p.m.
Speaker: Professor Daphne Fairbairn, University of California Riverside
Location: CLB Theatre 1
Host: Evolution & Ecology Research Centre
The Evolution of Mate Choice: Call Me and I’ll Come Over, Maybe.
Date/Time: 10 March at 3 p.m.
Speaker: Professor Derek A. Roff, University of California Riverside
Location: Rountree Room, L3, D26
Host: Evolution & Ecology Research Centre
Looking for a job
Hi all! I’m Urvashi and I am looking for a position as a full-time or part-time research assistant. I’m currently a volunteer for Dr Chris Reid at the Australian Museum. I have also worked in the department as a research assistant and field assistant on multiple projects over the last year. I am interested in conservation ecology and management, Invertebrate taxonomy and behaviour, and marine and fresh water ecology. I have a degree in Bachelors in Applied Sciences majoring in Biodiversity Management through Unitec in New Zealand completed in 2013. I am experienced in the field as well as working in the lab.
Jobs: postdoc University of California, Berkeley
I am writing to solicit referrals for a postdoctoral appointment in my lab in the Department of Integrative Biology and the UC Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) at the University of California, Berkeley. The appointment would begin in the summer or early fall of 2015.
We are looking for somebody to complement or extend lab expertise in the following broad areas of interest: (1) Stable isotope and trace metal analysis of marine invertebrate skeletons with application to paleoclimate reconstruction and/or phenology and paleoecology, (2) Analytical paleobiology and multivariate statistics, particularly as applied to questions of extinction vs. survival during episodes of global change, (3) The structure and function of benthic marine ecosystems through time, or (4) Marine biogeography and macroecology. Strong quantitative skills and familiarity with the R programming language are strongly preferred. Field and/or specimen-based research experience is desirable but not essential depending on the specific area of expertise.
The ideal candidate will have a strong publication record (adjusted for time since PhD), be self-directed with a demonstrated ability to initiate and complete projects, and be interested in interacting with and mentoring students. They should also be comfortable being part of a biology department, albeit one with a large contingent of paleobiologists. They would have access to UCMP collections and would be expected to actively participate in UCMP’s intellectual community. Participation in teaching is welcome but not mandatory.
The candidate must have an awarded PhD by the beginning of the appointment period and must never have held a faculty appointment. UC Berkeley has an active postdoctoral community <http://postdoc.berkeley.edu/>, and UC Berkeley postdoctoral scholars are represented employees under a UAW-UC contract. Salaries and benefits are competitive with compensation at NIH NRSA rates, which are here for FY2015 <http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-15-048.html>. The initial appointment would be for one year, renewable for a second year assuming adequate progress. Additional monies to support conference travel may be available.
Environmental Research Grants Program
The 2015 round of the Environmental Research grants program opened to Expressions of Interest on 9 February 2015 and closes 13 March 2015. Priority areas are: (1) land and seascape management, (2) water-dependent ecosystems, (3) soil health, (4) mechanisms for social engagement.
See webpage http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/grants/research.htm
Special seminar
March 19th, 10-2pm – W19F seminar room
We are running a seminar for the Animal Behaviour course: Cert IV in Companion Animal Services (Animal Behaviour & Training). The unit is ‘Manage Compliance in The Animal Care Industry’.
We will be having talks from:
- AWLNSW Chief Inspector Ian Hughes
- RSPCA Senior Inspector Skye Adams
- A seminar from Kathy Reidy ‘Start Your Own Business in the Pet Industry’
It will run from 10-2pm with a short break at 12.30-1pm. BYO lunch
All (and particularly interested undergraduate/MRes students) are welcome, so could you please distribute the information in your classes.
Contact Eloise: eloise.deaux@gmail.com
EUREKA PRIZES
The Eureka Prizes are now open. There are 16 prizes on offer. Entries close on May 1, 2015, 7pm AEST. Let me know if you want to enter!
Looking for accommodation
Joshua Zimmt is looking for housing between ~ May 25th and June 25th. He will be an intern in Conservation Palaeobiology laboratory during his term break at William and Marry (USA). Please contact him (jbzimmt@email.wm.edu) if you have / know of an available room.
Invitation to the Australian Institute of Health Innovation Research Symposium 2015
On behalf of Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite, Foundation Director of the Australian Institute of Health Innovation (AIHI), you are cordially invited to attend the AIHI Research Symposium to be held at Macquarie University on Tuesday 31 March, 2015.
This Symposium will showcase our research, and highlight future areas of proposed study. It will be an exciting and interactive introduction to the work of the Institute.
A Draft Program for the day is also linked to this invite. We encourage you to attend and to also forward this invite onto any of your colleagues who may be interested in hearing about our work.
Date: Tuesday 31 March 2015
Venue: Level 3, Campus Hub, Macquarie University.
Time: 9:00am to 4:00pm followed by drinks and canapés.
Registration commences at 8:15am.
- To view the Symposium Program click here.
- To register for the Symposium please click here.
- View Venue map here.
- Learn more about AIHI here
- For further information please email Jackie Mullins
Looking for lab tech job
My name is Alice, I’m a recent graduate of Macquarie University with a B Science in Biomolecular sciences and a minor in biology. I am about to start a Masters in Biostatistics at Macquarie with the aim of working in a research group and eventually a PhD. I’m currently looking for technical positions to enhance and maintain my laboratory skills as well as the research techniques that I have gained from my studies. I’ve got an interest in genomics, proteomics and informatics; I am comfortable with lab techniques for both. I’m currently volunteering as a lab assistant in the Nair lab under Julian May. I’m also a volunteer first responder with St John Ambulance as well as being involved with Guides and Scouts Australia.
PhD opportunity at UQ
We’re looking for an enthusiastic PhD student to work with us on our recently awarded Australian Research Council Discovery Project, seeking to understand how production landscapes can be most effectively managed to enhance the delivery of multiple ecosystem services.
The successful PhD candidate will focus on developing and applying new decision-support technology to evaluate land management strategies over whole landscapes for multiple ecosystem services. The project is interdisciplinary, policy relevant, and flexible, and could potentially involve a range ecosystem services including biodiversity, and techniques including landscape modelling, land use optimisation, scenario analysis, generation of data on ecosystem service benefits, regional climate modelling, and elicitation of information from experts. The case study for this PhD is the intensive agricultural zone of continental Australia, with particular focus on the Brigalow Belt bioregion of Queensland, and will work in parallel with case studies in Central Kalimantan and British Columbia.
The project is based at the vibrant Wilson Conservation Ecology Lab (wilsonconservationecology.com) within the Environmental Decisions Group (www.edg.org.au) at the University of Queensland, with partners at CSIRO and UBC. The supervisory team will include: Assoc. Prof. Kerrie Wilson (UQ), Prof. Clive McAlpine (UQ), Elizabeth Law (UQ/UBC), and Dr Brett Bryan (CSIRO). Resources are available to support the PhD research as part of the broader project, though prospective applicants should apply or be the recipient of an APA (or equivalent) scholarship. Interested students should provide a professional CV and a short letter of interest to Assoc. Prof. Kerrie Wilson (k.wilson2@uq.edu.au).
More Scientists in Schools
We need more scientists to visit schools. Let me know if you are interested. I believe Culum, Leanne and Simon are SiS. Anyone else? We have connections to Epping Boys HS, Cheltenham Girls HS and Chatswood HS and are looking for some Scientists to visit!
Some interesting pages
New Publications
Female receptivity, mating history, and familiarity influence the mating behaviour of cuttlefish
Schnell AK, Smith CL, Hanlon RT, Harcourt RT, 2015. Female receptivity, mating history, and familiarity influence the mating behavior of cuttlefish. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 69:283-292. doi: 10.1007/s00265-014-1841-5. | Find with Google Scholar »Seasonal dynamics in diatom and particulate export fluxes to the deep sea in the Australian sector of the southern Antarctic Zone
Rigual-Hernandez AS, Trull TW, Bray SG, Closset I, Armand LK, 2015. Seasonal dynamics in diatom and particulate export fluxes to the deep sea in the Australian sector of the southern Antarctic Zone. Journal of Marine Systems 142:62-74. doi: 10.1016/j.jmarsys.2014.10.002. | Find with Google Scholar »Direct and indirect effects of copper-contaminated sediments on the functions of model freshwater ecosystems
Gardham S, Chariton AA, Hose GC, 2015. Direct and indirect effects of copper-contaminated sediments on the functions of model freshwater ecosystems. Ecotoxicology 24:61-70. doi: 10.1007/s10646-014-1355-y. | Find with Google Scholar »Assisted colonization as a climate change adaptation tool
Gallagher RV, Makinson RO, Hogbin PM, Hancock N, 2015. Assisted colonization as a climate change adaptation tool. Austral Ecology 40:12-20. doi: 10.1111/aec.12163. | Find with Google Scholar »Roses are red, violets are blue – so how much replication should you do? An assessment of variation in the colour of flowers and birds
Dalrymple RL, Hui FKC, Flores-Moreno H, Kemp DJ, Moles AT, 2015. Roses are red, violets are blue - so how much replication should you do? An assessment of variation in the colour of flowers and birds. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 114:69-81. doi: 10.1111/bij.12402. | Find with Google Scholar »Behavioural and physiological responses of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) to agonistic growls from conspecifics
Wood PA, de Bie J, Clarke JA, 2014. Behavioural and physiological responses of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) to agonistic growls from conspecifics. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 161:105-112. doi: 10.1016/j.applanim.2014.10.004. | Find with Google Scholar »The value of including intraspecific measures of biodiversity in environmental impact surveys is highlighted by the Amazonian brilliant-thighed frog (Allobates femoralis)
Simoes PI, Stow A, Hodl W, Amezquita A, Farias IP, Lima AP, 2014. The value of including intraspecific measures of biodiversity in environmental impact surveys is highlighted by the Amazonian brilliant-thighed frog (Allobates femoralis). Tropical Conservation Science 7:811-828. | Find with Google Scholar »Implication of methodological uncertainties for mid-Holocene sea surface temperature reconstructions
Hessler I, Harrison SP, Kucera M, Waelbroeck C, Chen MT, Anderson C, de Vernal A, Frechette B, Cloke-Hayes A, Leduc G, Londeix L, 2014. Implication of methodological uncertainties for mid-Holocene sea surface temperature reconstructions. Climate of the Past 10:2237-2252. doi: 10.5194/cp-10-2237-2014. | Find with Google Scholar »Dangerous mating systems: Signal complexity, signal content and neural capacity in spiders
Herberstein ME, Wignall AE, Hebets EA, Schneider JM, 2014. Dangerous mating systems: Signal complexity, signal content and neural capacity in spiders. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 46:509-518. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.07.018. | Find with Google Scholar »In the Media
Biology in The Conversation
Scott Fabricant on cryptic stink bugs
James O’Hanlon’s work on orchid mantids
Bee colony collapse
Biologist Andrew Barron and colleagues propose a mechanism as to why bee colonies are collapsing world-wide. Read more about it here:
Nature News
The complexities of cuttlefish sex
Biology PhD student Alex Schnell talks to the New Scientists about her research on the mating behaviour in cuttlefish.