Differences in the phototaxis of pollen and nectar foraging honey bees are related to their octopamine brain titers
Scheiner, R., A. Toteva, T. Reim, E. Sovik, and A. B. Barron. 2014. Differences in the phototaxis of pollen and nectar foraging honey bees are related to their octopamine brain titers. Frontiers in Physiology 5. | Find with Google Scholar »
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Dear all,
The long weekend is upon us! Yeah!
cheerio
Mariella
General News and Announcements
Staff meeting to discuss Department Review Report
Academic and Professional staff and Honorary staff are requested to join a Department meeting to discuss the various recommendations made by the review committee.
When: Tuesday, Jan 27, 1-2pm
Where: E8 tearoom
Drop in Clinic with the HOD
Need a 5 minute chat with me? Drop in Tuesdays and Thursdays 1-2pm. No need to make an appointment or disrupt the front desk…just pop in. Happy to chat about it all – the good, the bad and the ugly!
You can also chat with me Wednesdays during ‘Morning Tea with me”, 10:30 either in E8 tearoom or the Hill…I’d love your company!
At other times, I might have my door closed to get through a pressing piece of work….
New to the Department
Hello, my name is Hannah Woodrow Clark. I am the new Junior Administrator for the Department of Biological Sciences. I am very excited to be working for Macquarie University and meeting lots of new people while offering administrative support.
The social side of work life
Here is an interesting article about looking out for each other at work and encouraging positive interpersonal behaviours:
http://www.mondaq.com/australia/x/367800/Health+Safety/The+social+side+of+workplace+safety
Media coverage of your research
Do you have an exciting paper coming out? Make sure it gets the media coverage it deserves. Culum Brown will help you put together a media release, please contact him before the paper is available online.
Register your expertise with the Australian Science Media Center:
Meet the new Dean – Barbara Messerle
Barbara will visit Biology on February 9th, 12-1pm in the E8 tearoom! Come along and have a chat with her….there will be nibbles!
Join the Biology Fruit and Vegetable Cooperative
Reminder: Biology Delivery of Fruit and Veg
Where: Delivered to Biology IF (Exact location tbc)
What: 7 or more members needed to form the cooperative
Locally grown fruit and veg
When: Actually determined by us*
Who: Contact Veronica Peralta, veronica.peralta@mq.edu.au 9850 9235 to make this happen
Door knocking will happen to get this off the ground, if required.
Benefits: Eat yummy fruit and veg, get discount on your fruit & veg order as a packer, be part of Biology activities, add this to your PDR!
*Veronica Peralta is confirming this with Harvest Hub
Amazing Race Biology Checkpoint 2015
When: Thursday 26 March 2015, 2-7pm
Where: To be organised
What: Awesome Biology related task for Amazing Racers to do to get the checkpoint checked.
Who: Contact Veronica Peralta, veronica.peralta@mq.edu.au, 9850 9235 for ideas/plan
Benefits: Meet fun/cool people from across the Uni, be part of Biology activities, add this to your PDR!
MQ social sport
Reminder! Registration open Feb 2nd!
If there are any keen sports-people out there, registrations for MQ social sport open in February with competitions running during semester. If you’re interested in playing some sport (perhaps an outlet for stress management?), either as a team or an individual, then let’s get an MQ Biology team happening!! Let me know what sport/day/time you would be interested in and I can help manage it and get it started (lara.ainley@students.mq.edu.au). There is a small cost involved, but well worth it to play sport over the semester, AND, the more people, the less the cost!
https://www.mq.edu.au/on_campus/sport_and_recreation/sport_programs/social_sport/
Celebrate World Wetlands Day
Monday 2nd February
12-1:30pm
Celebrate World Wetlands Day with a Tai Chi class at the Macquarie University Wetland, followed by lunch and a talk from John Macris, Macquarie University’s Biodiversity Planner. A short tour will take place after the talk.
Registration: http://tinyurl.com/n8awfc2
Visit the Arboretum page for more info: http://www.mq.edu.au/arboretum/index.html
Advanced Biology 2015
We need some presenters and topics for the 2015 Advanced Biology units. Teaching involves a commitment of a maximum of 1 hour on a Friday that suits (mixed-year group).
Advanced Biology units comprise 1 hour small-group tutorials held on a Friday afternoon (1-2pm in the Biology Department Museum). The tutorials are discussion-based and focused on highly contemporary issues in Biology.
The students are expected to read and prepare advance material. We ask that you assign 1-2 short papers for the students to read before your session. Ideally, one of these should be a “news & views” article or an accessible review paper, in order to introduce your topic area. It can also be useful to set some problem exercises or questions to get them thinking before the tutorial begins.
The students enrolled in Advanced Biology are our best and brightest. By the end of their third year they are required to have undertaken at least one 3-week research internship in a lab of their choice. So this is a great opportunity to find talented research interns, and also to enlist potential MRes students!
Please contact Koa Webster (koa.webster@mq.edu.au) to book a session or ask for further information. Some additional information, including the list of available dates, is contained in the attached file.
Usage for shredded paper
We have discovered that shredded paper is not recyclable. Apparently it gums up the machines. We’re trying to think of ways to make our confidential waste more sustainable so if anyone can think of ways to use shredded paper drop your suggestion into Anne Marie annemarie.monchamp@mq.edu.au – all suggestions get a gold star!
Obsolete forms
The University is getting rid of forms…here is a start. The old ‘taking loan IT equipment off university grounds no longer needed’. Let’s celebrate!
Seminar: “What does it mean to call a chimpanzee a person?”
Kristin Andrews (York University)
Friday 6th of February from 10.30am – 12.00pm
Room 107, Building W6A
Abstract: Recent lawsuits in the US and Argentina are promoting the idea that other great apes should also be considered persons. This idea can sound odd, given the tendency to equate “person” with “human”. I will show that these concepts come apart, and offer reasons for thinking it makes sense to call great apes (and members of many other species) persons. Finally, I will examine some of the implications for research on great apes and cetaceans given the conclusion that they can be persons.
New Macquarie branding
Before floating a new web page or sending out promotional material, please check with sharedidentity@mq.edu.au for compliance. This does not include lecture slides and teaching material used on ilearn.
Looking for Wildlife TV Show Host
This outfit is looking to cast for a new wildlife show…check them out if you are interested;
My name is Ari and I’m a Casting and Development Assistant at Lucky Dog Films in Washington, DC. We are currently working on a new TV show for a major cable network that will feature Wildlife Adventurers, Guides, and explorers, who encounter wild animals on a daily basis.
I found your school’s awesome program and I’m hoping either you’re interested or that you can help point me in the right direction and give me some guidance on where to cast. Or perhaps you can distribute the attached casting call in any manner you feel comfortable, Facebook, your listserv, or perhaps a bulletin board.
My phone number is 240.670. 8496 or you can email me at castingluckydogfilms@gmail.com.
I look forward to speaking with you and answering any questions you may have!
Sharing ILearn content amongs conveners
As we have done in the past, we will enable all conveners to access all Biology ILearn units in order to share innovations and ideas.
Society for Conservation Biology – Sydney Chapter
“Conservation Cafe” — monthly get-together with speakers at Centennial Park launching Feb 7th by the Sydney Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology
“The Extinction Crisis – Man the Lifeboats” — event at Taronga Zoo on Feb 9th for the Oceania Section of the Society for Conservation Biology (Lesley Hughes will be one of the speakers)
SCB_Information night_Extinction crisis_final
New Publications
In the Media
Protecting people from sharks
Biologist Adam Stow talks to the ABC about shark conservation.
Read more »