Global photosynthetic capacity is optimized to the environment
By: Smith, N.G., Keenan, T.F., Colin Prentice, I., Wang, H., Wright, I.J., Niinemets, Ü., Crous, K.Y., Domingues, T.F., Guerrieri, R., Yoko Ishida, F. and Kattge, J., 2019. . Ecology letters. | Find with Google Scholar »
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Hi all,
The undergrad students are here for Orientation Week so that means teaching starts next week – best wishes to all our S1 teaching staff! and department seminars also kick-off for the year.
We will be holding a welcome BBQ for first year biology students on Wednesday 13th March – please put the date in your diary so you can enjoy a free lunch, mingle with the new students and show them how nice we are!
Cheers,
Michelle
Save the Date
This coming week 25th February – 1st March
Mon 25th: Teaching Commences for S1, 2019.
Wed 27th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am – 11am; 205b Colloden Rd.
Wed 27th: Department Seminar – Professor Jutta Schneider, University of Hamburg; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Thu 28th: R-Users Group Help Session – How to save hours making figure panels in R; 3.30pm – 4.30pm; Continuum Room (75 Talavera Road, room 3114).
Fri 1st: Special Seminar – Dr Dinesh Rao, INBIOTECA, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Following week 4th – 8th March
Tue 5th: Department Meeting; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Wed 6th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am – 11am; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Wed 6th: Department Seminar – Dr Andrea Perna, Roehampton University, London; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Thu 7th: Biology Social Club; 5.00pm – 7.00pm; Biology Courtyard or 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room) if wet.
Fri 8th: International Women’s Day 2019 Afternoon Tea; 2.30 pm – 3.30 pm; 12WW Level 1 Mezzanine.
Weekly Events
Fri: Writing workshops with Prof Ken Cheng – to support HDRs and ECRs with scientific writing. 2–4pm, at 6 Wally’s Walk (E8C) 212.
Fri: Behaviour and Evolution Journal Club; Friday at 12:30pm (bring your lunch); 205B Culloden Rd Boardroom.
Future Events
March 12th: Welcome BBQ for first-year students, 12pm-2pm, come along and welcome our new cohort of students. Biology courtyard.
June 11th-13th: HDR Conference 2019, 9am-1pm, Panel Interviews: 2-5pm; venue TBD – Save the date!
General News and Announcements
Which Plant Where In Gardening Australia
The Which Plant Where project was featured on the ABC TV’s Gardening Show on Feb 15th (catch it on iView!) and in the March edition of Gardening Australia magazine.
The Plants of the Future article in Gardening Australia
Centre for Smart Green Cities – Co-ordinator Position – The Centre for Smart Green Cities is currently advertising for a new Administration and outreach coordinator. This is a part-time role (2 days) at a Level 5. Applications close on Wednesday 6th March 2019. Please contact Leigh Staas <leigh.staas@mq.edu.au> to chat about the role if you are interested. Additional information can be found here
MRes Student Research Hits the Media – MRes student Tim Maher’s work supervised by Rachael Gallagher & Ian Wright was recently published in Functional Ecology and received lots of media attention last week, including in COSMOS.
https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/gum-tree-parents-determine-heat-stress-survival-in-seedlings
International Women’s Day 2019 Afternoon Tea – Fri 8 March – 2.30 pm to 3.30 pm – 12WW Level 1 Mezzanine – more info & register at this Eventbrite link –https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/iwd-2019-womeesa-and-fse-women-in-stem-afternoon-tea-tickets-56766450983
Have you completed the MQ Inclusion Survey?
So far around 25 people from Biology have completed the survey, compared to nearly 50 in Molecular Sciences – let’s not let them beat us!
You can access the FSE inclusion survey here:
https://mqedu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ezm6mqVZkOhnonX
This survey has been designed to help us understand Macquarie’s current culture and provide information to help us to continue to build a community that is diverse, inclusive and where all staff are able to flourish. The data from this survey will enable our Department and the University to identify where progress is being made but also where further work and changes are needed to ensure all staff at MQ are supported, safe and treated equitably. An overview of the results and responses to the data will also be shared with the university community. Analysis will be conducted by the Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Team. Responses and personal details gathered in the course of the survey will remain anonymous. No data will be shared or made available where individuals can be identified. The survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. Please take some time to respond to this survey as your feedback will be extremely valuable to our department and to the University. For more information on the survey, please see that attached FAQs, or contact the Workplace Diversity & inclusion team – <workplacediversityinclusion@mq.edu.au>.
Plant of the Week – click the images for larger versions –
This week – Deua Flame – Grevillea rhyolitica.
Grevillea rhyolitica, Deua Flame, is yet another stunning Grevillea that has become exceptionally popular with gardeners in recent years. In its natural environment it is restricted to a very small area in coastal ranges of southern NSW where it grows on skeletal soils overlying rhyolite, hence its specific name rhyolitica. And it has a special significance for us as it was recognised in 1997 as being a separate species from Grevillea victoriae by botanist Robert (Bob) Makinson, a graduate of Macquarie University.
SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS
Biological Sciences Seminar – Date/Time: Wednesday, 27th February, 2019; 1pm – 2pm. Speaker: Professor Jutta Schneider, University of Hamburg. Title: Sex specific plasticity in life-history and the mating system of Nephila senegalensis. Venue: 14EAR-280 (Biology Tea Room). More information on this and all department seminars ON OUR WEBPAGE HERE.
Biological Sciences Special Seminar – Date/Time: Friday, 1st March, 2019; 1pm – 2pm. Speaker: Dr Dinesh Rao, INBIOTECA, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Title: Deconstructing a visual signal: An exploration of the wing-waving display in tephritid flies against their jumping spider predators. Venue: 14EAR-280 (Biology Tea Room). More information on this and all department seminars ON OUR WEBPAGE HERE.
MolSci Special Seminar – Date/Time: Thursday, 7th March, 2019; 11.00am – 12.00pm. Speaker: Professor B. Jayaram, Department of Chemistry and Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India. Title: Genomes to Hit Molecules In Silico: Bioinformatics for a better tomorrow. Venue: 4WW 322 seminar room. For more, visit: https://goto.mq/7l
Aboriginal Cultural Safety Training – delivered by Phil Duncan, from Walanga Muru. The Manawari – “Respect, Reciprocity & Relationships workshop is focussed on creating a greater understanding of cultural values, knowledge and perspectives that will lead to greater cultural sensitivity. There are two components to the training – Online – must be completed at least four days prior to the Face 2 Face workshop. Staff must complete the online component prior to participating in the Face 2 Face workshop. We encourage staff to come to the Face 2 Face workshop with a “wondering mind’ and a sense to having some fun.
The Face 2 Face session will run on Tuesday, 26 March 2019 – 12 pm to 3 pm in the Biology Tearoom (14EAR-E8A Room 280).
Please contact Jenny Ghabache by email <jenny.ghabache@mq.edu.au> with your MQ ID to register for the training. She will then respond to you with your login details for the online training segment of this workshop. Registrations close: Friday, 1 March 2019
R-Users Group (RUG) Fortnightly Help Sessions – Title: How I save hours making figure panels in R. Presenter: Theotime Colin. Theo is currently wrapping up his PhD in Andrew Barron’s bee health & neuroethology lab. He studies the effect of stressors on the dynamics of bee colonies and uses R extensively in his work. Description of the workshop: In this short R tutorial, we’ll see how one can save time while writing and editing manuscripts by using compact R code to build figures with ‘ggplot2’. We’ll then see how to build panels within R with the package ‘cowplot’. Specifically, we’ll learn how to build the figure panel attached in only 27 lines of code, and they’ll fit on your screen. We’ll also see how to export a basic summary of the means, sd and sample size of a large dataset using ‘dplyr’ and ‘tidyr’ in only 6 lines. Date: 28 Feb, 2019. Time: 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM. Venue: Continuum Room (75 Talavera Road, room 3114). Example below.
– click for larger image –
Writing Workshop – While the REP has been rested (likely in peace), writing sessions with Ken Cheng will continue for the Department this year, Fridays 2–4. We are kicking off with an introductory session, in which Ken will give some general tips on scientific writing, Friday 22 February, 2–4, at 6 Wally’s Walk (E8C) 212. This session is especially meant for HDR students, but all are welcome.
Behaviour and Evolution Journal Club – every Friday at 12:30 (bring your lunch).
What: Discuss a paper in behaviour or evolution and how we do or should do science.
Where: The 205B Culloden Rd Boardroom.
Who: Anyone ready to get critical of or inspired by some science (and preferably has read that week’s paper).
Upcoming papers: Friday 22nd Feb: Nguyen, H.N. et al., 2019. Historical demography of four gecko species specializing in boulder cave habitat: Implications in the evolutionary dead end hypothesis and conservation. Molecular Ecology, 1(3), pp.171–34.
Friday 1st March: Week off! We will be attending the “Where does a PhD take you in 2019?” https://myrdc.mq.edu.au/registration/new/38021
Contact Callum McDiarmid (Griffith Lab) <callum.mcdiarmid@hdr.mq.edu.au> to get on the mailing list.
Trade Morning Tea – Date & time: Wednesday, 27th February, 10am – 12pm (pop by anytime to see Raina). Location: 322 seminar room, 4 Wally’s Walk (4WW). Presented by: Leica Microsystems. See flyer for details.
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.
Flying-fox Grant Program 2019 Opens – Offered by Local Government NSW in partnership with the NSW Office of Environment & Heritage, our $500,000 Flying-fox Grants Program is open to NSW councils from Friday 8 February. The closing date for applications is 13 March 2019.
With a new Communications Stream, maximum grant amounts range from $10,000 to $50,000, with up to $150,000 available to groups of councils. Councils match grant requests with their own contribution, which can be cash and/or in-kind. Details available on the LGNSW website.
Environmental Research Program Grants Now Open – The NSW Environmental Trust is inviting Expressions of Interest (EOIs) to its Research Program. The closing time and date for Research EOIs is 3pm 11 March 2019. This year’s Research Program is offering grants up to $200,000 primarily for applied research relating to the following priority areas:
1. Mechanisms for social engagement
2. Resource management
3. Landscape management
4. Wetlands and river systems
Applicants must demonstrate a collaborative approach that engages end-users from the outset of their proposal, through to dissemination of research findings. Program information: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/grants/research.htm.
Questions? Please contact <info@environmentaltrust.nsw.gov.au>
and don’t forget to put in an EoI to the Faculty first, as number of applications is limited
HDR FUNDING
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 support successful candidates. New limits from 2019: PhD students ONLY: Dept. will match up to $1500 of external (non-MQ) funding ONCE per candidate.
Unfortunately, due to budget cuts at the Faculty level, the Department will not be able to provide this funding to MRes students. If you have received a grant (student is 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>.
Val Williams Scholarship in Botany – Applications are invited from scholars undertaking scientific research at the Honours, Masters or PhD levels. The research should contribute to the knowledge, conservation or propagation of Australian native plant species in the Sydney or surrounding regions. The North Shore Group of Australian Plants Society NSW awarded the inaugural $2,000 scholarship in 2009 and since then thirteen scholars have used their scholarship money to augment their research. It amounts to $3,000 for Round Eleven in 2019.
Application forms are attached or can be downloaded from our web site at
Applications close on 8th March 2019 and the successful applicant will be notified by 5th April 2019. In addition, a complementary one-year membership of Australian Plants Society sponsored by Australian Plants Society NSW will be offered to the successful applicant.
VWS Application Form 2019
VWS Application Form 2019
VWS Applic Information 2019
Applications for STEP’s John Martyn Research Grant for the Conservation of Bushland in Sydney are welcomed from Honours, Masters and PhD students. The value of the grant is $2,500. To apply, complete the attached application form electronically, save it and email it to <secretary@step.org.au> by 31 March 2019. We will announce the winner by 7 April 2019. For more information go to http://step.org.au/index.php/grants and if you have any queries, please email <secretary@step.org.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
Grants are available for research projects of direct relevance to the conservation of Australian wildlife – plant or animal. Grants may be used for the purchase of equipment and consumables, travel expenses related to field research, or attendance at conferences at which you are presenting your work. The grant is paid directly to the student. Closing date: applications are due by the 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 are offered to women graduates who are Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia and are enrolled for a PhD degree by research in any discipline at an Australian university. Only citizens of Australia or Australian permanent residents may apply. In 2019, two (2) AFGW Barbara Hale Fellowships will be offered at $7500 each.
The 2019 AFGW Georgina Sweet Fellowship is offered to women graduates who are Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia and are enrolled for a PhD degree by research in any discipline at an Australian university. Only citizens of Australia or Australian permanent residents may apply.
Australian Plant Society Scholarships – Applications are now invited from scholars undertaking scientific research at the Honours, Masters or PhD levels. The research should contribute to the knowledge, conservation or propagation of Australian native plant species in the Sydney or surrounding regions.
The North Shore Group of Australian Plants Society NSW awarded the inaugural $2,000 scholarship in 2009 and since then thirteen scholars have used their scholarship money to augment their research. It amounts to $3,000 for Round Eleven in 2019. Application forms are attached or can be downloaded from our web site at 
https://austplants.com.au/NS-4
Applications close on 8th March 2019 and the successful applicant will be notified by 5th April 2019. An independent selection committee of three North Shore Group members will have the responsibility of selecting the recipient. VWS Applic Information 2019 VWS Application Form 2019 VWS Application Form 2019
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
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 2018, that meets the criteria. Funds awarded must be spent in 2019 and will not be carried into 2020.
Not receiving general emails? – We have had some trouble with the email lists. If you or anyone you know seems to have dropped off the email lists to receive department seminar notices, Department Matters, etc, please email or drop in to see Jenny Ghabache in the admin office.
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
Shark and Marine Research Institute and Volunteer Programme – The SMRI is an NGO that is dedicated to protecting and conserving shark and ray populations, and safeguarding the health and vitality of our oceans. They have an exciting opportunity available for students or post-graduates who are looking to gain some hands on experience in the field of marine biology (and particularly elasmobranch research) by volunteering with our organisation in Gansbaai, South Africa – the great white shark capital of the world.
They are currently recruiting volunteers for 2019 & 2020! Positions are available for a period of one to three months; longer stays are subject to additional visa requirements. To learn more please click on the link below:
https://www.sharkcagedive.com/research/overview/
Alternatively, please email <volunteer@sharkcagedive.com> or <info@sharkcagedive.com>.
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.
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New Publications
Digging for DNA at depth: rapid universal metabarcoding surveys (RUMS) as a tool to detect coral reef biodiversity across a depth gradient
By: DiBattista, Joseph D., James D. Reimer, Michael Stat, Giovanni D. Masucci, Piera Biondi, Maarten De Brauwer, and Michael Bunce. PeerJ 7 (2019): e6379. | Find with Google Scholar »Label-free and isobaric tandem mass tag (TMT) multiplexed quantitative proteomic data of two contrasting rice cultivars exposed to drought stress and recovery
By: Wu, Yunqi, Mehdi Mirzaei, Brian J. Atwell, and Paul A. Haynes. Data in brief 22 (2019): 697-702. | Find with Google Scholar »Future Directions in Eubalaena spp.: Comparative Research to Inform Conservation
By: Harcourt, Rob, Julie van der Hoop, Scott Kraus, and Emma L. Carroll. Frontiers in Marine Science (2019). | Find with Google Scholar »Greening in style: Urban form, architecture and the structure of front and backyard vegetation
By: Ossola, A., Locke, D., Lin, B., Minor, E., 2019. Landscape and Urban Planning, 185: 141-157. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.02.014 | 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 species—the case of Acacia dealbata invasions in South Africa
By: Hirsch, H., Castillo, M. L., Impson, F. A. C., Kleinjan, C., Richardson, D. M. and Le Roux, J. J.. American Journal of Botany, 2019. 106, pp 1–11. | Find with Google Scholar »In the Media
Adam Stow was interviewed on ABC Radio Sydney Breakfast
Associate Professor Adam Stow from the Department of Biological Sciences was interviewed on ABC Radio Sydney Breakfast regarding sharks being killed for products such as shark fin soup.
Tim Maher was featured in COSMOS magazine
Mr Tim Maher, MRes student supervised by Dr Rachael Gallagher, was featured in COSMOS magazine.
Rachael Gallagher was featured on 4RO Rockhampton News and 4BU Bundaberg News
Dr Rachael Gallagher from the Department of Biological Sciences was featured on 4RO Rockhampton News and 4BU Bundaberg News regarding Eucalyptus trees remembering and adapting to extreme heat.
Lesley Hughes was interviewed on ABC South East NSW Breakfast
Distinguished Professor Lesley Hughes, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research Integrity and Development was interviewed on ABC South East NSW Breakfast regarding a proposed coal mine on the Mid North Coast of NSW which has been denied in the Land and Environment Court.
Alessandro Ossola and Michelle Leishman contributed to the 30th Anniversary Special Issue of ABC’s Gardening Australia
Dr Alessandro Ossola and Professor Michelle Leishman contributed to the 30th Anniversary Special Issue of ABC’s Gardening Australia with an interview and article titled “Plants of the Future” presenting findings from the Which Plant Where Project.
Lizzy Lowe contributed to The Conversation
Dr Lizzy Lowe from the Department of Biological Sciences contributed the article ‘The battle against bugs: it’s time to end chemical warfare’ to The Conversation.