Dynamics of class 1 integrons in aerobic bio film reactors spiked with antibiotics
By: Huyan, Jiaoqi, Zhe Tian, Yu Zhang, Hong Zhang, Yanhong Shi, Michael R. Gillings, and Min Yang. Environment International 140 (2020): 105816. | Find with Google Scholar »
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Message from the HoD
Dear all,
First off, I would like to formally thank Michelle for her tireless work as Head of Department. She has been a wonderful ambassador and steered the Department through some very challenging times. When circumstances allow, we will organise an event to thank her properly and in person. As most of you know, I have stepped into the role as interim HoD until the end of 2020, by which time a decision about the ‘permanent’ HoD should have been made.
It’s been a frantic week for S2 convenors and L&T staff with multiple requests for changes to Unit offerings and timetables due to the need for simultaneous face-to-face and online offerings of Units. My sincere thanks to all those involved, especially Linda, Drew and Phil.
This week we also welcome our new cohort of MRes students and we wish them every success in their coursework and research endeavours.
Next week, MQ staff will resume working full-time on campus under Phase 3 of the Return to Campus plan. For further details, refer to the update from the Vice Chancellor available here. I look forward to seeing you all again in person soon, albeit in a socially distanced way!
Cheers,
Nathan
Save the Date
Next Week
Tues 21st July: Orientation Day (online)
Thurs 23rd July, 12-2pm: L&T retreat – Unit reviews (ecology and skills units) and S2 unit learning outcomes (by zoom). All academic staff to attend.
Wed 22nd July, 12.30-1.45pm: Research workshop ‘Pathway to Impact’ for Mid-career and Senior career academics. Brought to you by the Department Research committee
Fri 24th July, 11am-12.15pm: Research workshop ‘Pathway to Impact’ for Early career academics and postdocs. Brought to you by the Department Research committee
Future Events
Sat 15th August: MQ’s Open Day (mostly online)
15 August – 15 September: Sydney Science Trail (more info below)
Weekly Events
Wed: Shut Up and Write sessions – now online!
Wed: Department seminars; HAVING A BREAK until S2.
General News and Announcements
Positive News
Congratulations to Brian Atwell
Brian was awarded the 2020 Australian Society of Plant Scientists (ASPS) Teaching Award. ASPS is the over-arching representative body for plant science in Australia and this ASPS Teaching Award was made for an essay he helped prepare with his former PhD supervisor and two UWA colleagues.
Grant Success – Congratulations Michelle Power
Congratulations to Michelle Power, Mel Taylor (FMHHS), Fiona McDougall, Wayne Boardman (U-ADL) and Merran Govendir (USYD) who received a small grant from the Morris Animal Foundation. ‘Treatment and rehabilitation of fire-affected wildlife:Unravelling antimicrobial use during 2019-2020 wildfires in preparedness for future fire events’.
More Grant success – Congratulations Simon Clulow
Congratulations to Simon Clulow who was part of a team awarded $751,982 through a Commonwealth Bushfire Recovery Grant called ‘Securing threatened frogs from bushfire impact’ along with colleagues from the University of Newcastle, UNE, Taronga Zoo and the Australian Museum. The award is for 12 months and aims to study the impacts of on-ground recovery actions for nine threatened frogs, including establishing a genebank (frozen gamete repositories and cell lines) for populations where extinction is predicted. See here for the Grant Announcement.
General Updates
Update on preferred suppliers for IT equipment
Laptops, desktops, phones and iPads must not be purchased directly from JB HiFi. Any exceptions to this will be at the discretion of the Office of the CIO.
Smaller accessories/equipment will be able to be purchased through JB Hi Fi and larger items will still have to go through the other usual preferred IT equipment suppliers.
Any OneHelp ticket requests lodged for Laptops, desktops, phones and iPads are likely to be rejected by the CIO unless there is a compelling reason why they can’t be made through other preferred suppliers.
iLearn Drop-in Clinic Session 2, 2020 – 3 July, 2020 – 31 July, 2020 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
The iLearn Drop-in Clinic is back for Session 2 2020 where help is on hand for all things iLearn. This session will be very different from previous sessions, but we are aiming to provide you with the same level of face-to-face service via Zoom.
From 13 till 31 July between 11am and 1pm you can click on a Zoom link where you will find support staff there waiting to assist you. Our concierge will take your details and sign you in, then you will be assigned to a breakout room where you will receive one-on-one help.
Get help with:
- iLearn – Editing and building your unit
- iTeach – iLearn Spaces (in plain English, creating/activating your iLearn unit for the new session)
- iTeach – Unit Guides
- Echo360 and Active Learning Platform
- Turnitin and Feedback Studio
Drop in any time via the Zoom Link on the following dates:
Open 11am till 1pm
Monday 13 – Friday 17 July
Monday 20 – Friday 24 July
Monday 27 – Friday 31 July
No need to register, just log in during the opening hours.
If you can’t make it to drop-in you can always request support via an email to ilearn.help@mq.edu.au and a team member will get back to you to help with your issue.
Plant of the Week
This Week: Misty Plume Bush, Tetradenia riparia.
Misty Plume Bushes, Tetradenia riparia, come from Africa and are flowering in Sydney now, producing delicate clouds of eye-catching, light greyish-white sprays. It belongs in the Mint Family, Lamiaceae, and has many of the characteristics, including square stems and aromatic leaves, typical of Australian Lamiaceae, such as Prostanthera, the mint bushes, and Westringia, the coast rosemaries. Plant of the week – Tetradenia riparia – out of Africa
OPPORTUNITIES
ECR Mentoring Program
ECR Mentoring Program – Level C, D and E academics are reminded to consider signing up for the Faculty ECR mentoring scheme if you have not already done so. The time commitment is relatively small (4 hours/year) and it is an opportunity to help guide ECRs through a challenging career and University landscape. Please email <fse.ecrmentor@mq.edu.au> if you are interested in getting involved. Thanks to those who have already signed up.
Business and sustainability journalist – Indigenous identified position
The Fifth Estate has been leading coverage of sustainability in the built environment for more than a decade and is one of the most respected and trusted publications in the sector, read by leaders in property and government. We are now in the fortunate position to have funding to cover how Indigenous businesses and professionals in Sydney and around Australia are contributing to better sustainability and understanding of traditional practices related to sustainability and the built and natural environments.
You will need to have demonstrated proficiency as a strong journalist with at least some understanding of business and sustainability practices. Newsroom experience is ideal.
This position is limited to this series for now and may include podcasts. Please send your resume to info@thefifthestate.com.au
Positions vacant: Threatened Species Scientific Committee
The Australian Government is currently seeking leading scientists to play a critical role in protecting native species and ecological communities by joining the Threatened Species Scientific Committee. The Committee is central to the protection of native species and ecological communities, providing independent scientific advice to the Minister for the Environment on the listing, conservation and recovery of threatened species and ecological communities, and the listing and abatement of key threatening processes.
Multiple positions will be filled. MORE DETAILS
Applications close COB 20 July 2020.
Free online media training from the AusSMC
The Australian Science Media Centre is offering 10 researchers from the Faculty the opportunity to participate in an online training workshop delivered via Zoom. The session will focus on dealing with and understanding the mainstream media, explaining tricky science simply, and preparing for media interviews.
Registration for the sessions can be accessed via EventBrite.
The workshop will run from 09:30 AEST – 12:30 AEST on Friday July 24th
SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS
July Online Workshops – MQ
Please see below some online workshops that will be taking place in July. Staff can register by logging into HR Online > My HR > Training and Development > Training Requests > Register for a Course > SD – Skill Development > (select workshop of their choice). If anyone has issues registering, they can contact Katrina Hizo katrina.hizo@mq.edu.au and she will manually add the staff member to the workshop.
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Online Workshop |
Date |
Time |
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Managing Projects Participants need to attend all four sessions (the full day workshop has been split into 4 sessions) |
Session 1: Tues 21 July Session 2: Tues 21 July Session 3: Tues 28 July Session 4: Tues 28 July |
9.30am – 11.30am 1pm – 2pm 9.30am – 11.30am 1pm – 2pm |
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Responding to Mental Illness |
Wed, 22 July |
10am to 11am |
Venture Café – will be convening their community online, via Zoom, and offering the #ThursdayGathering programming in a Virtual format.
For more information visit: https://venturecafesydney.org/whats-on-this-week
HDR NEWS AND OPPORTUNITIES
PhD extensions for COVID-19 disruption
The HDRO office has now clarified the policy and procedure for extensions required as a result of COVID-19 disruption to PhD scholarship and submission deadlines. All of the details are now lodged on the HDR iLearn page under Announcements here.
The university and department are very sympathatic to the issues that are likely to have disrupted students plans, and will endeavour to help where possible. Please direct any questions you may have to Emma and Simon, and we will try to address them and support any applications made.
For those who are not able to submit an extension request at the moment, make sure that you are documenting any issues that you are currently facing, to support a case made later in your candidature.
IASS Fellow Programme: Call for Applications for 2021 – Potsdam Germany
The Institute of Advanced Sustainability Studies is in Potsdam and covers work across;
• Perception, values, orientation
• Democratic transformations
• Governance for the environment and society
• Systemic interdependencies: technology, nature, society
• Energy systems and societal change
• Forums: science, policy and society
Applicants should have a recent PhD or equivalent experience and can apply here;
See more info via the following:
THIS AND THAT
Bike back to Campus…
I am sure that you all read the article in ThisWeek about biking your commute… and Biologists are well represented in the Macquarie Bicycling community / Ambassador network. As you plan your return to campus, think about biking to minimise your carbon footprint and/or maximising your time in open vs. confined spaces.
You now have new official channels to ask for help, receive information or follow announcements from the MQ Cyclist Ambassadors Network:
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We encourage you to fill out this quick survey so we can a better idea of numbers and how we can help. You can confirm in the survey whether you would like us to contact you by email in the future (last question). The more responses we get, the stronger our voice is!
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Email us directly at cycling@mq.edu.au
… and it is never too early to start thinking about participating in the biketober business challenge Last year we had nine members of the department participate (and I know several more rode, but didn’t log rides).
Macquarie Uni’s Waste – Explained
Many people have asked about how the one bin system works and if Macquarie Uni does any recycling. The MQU Waste Explained provides an overview of waste management at Macquarie.
Do you want to share a piece of your research, or want to brag about a cool fieldwork trip you have been on?
Send your photos and a blurb to post on the Biology Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to Calli Miller: <calli.miller@mq.edu.au>
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>
Have You Missed Out on an Issue of Department Matters? Back issues can be found at this newsletter archive link for your reading pleasure.
New Publications
Consistent individual differences in ecto-parasitism of a long-lived lizard host
By: Payne, Eric, David L. Sinn, Orr Spiegel, Stephan T. Leu, Caroline Wohlfeil, Stephanie S. Godfrey, Michael Gardner, and Andy Sih. Oikos (2020). | Find with Google Scholar »Backshore nourishment of a beach degraded by off -road vehicles: Ecological impacts and benefits
By: Cooke, Belinda C., Jason K. Morton, Alan Baldry, and Melanie J. Bishop. Science of The Total Environment (2020): 138115. | Find with Google Scholar »Seasonal variation of sexually dimorphic spatial learning implicates mating system in the intertidal Cocos Frillgoby (Bathygobius cocosensis)
By: Carbia, Penelope S., and Culum Brown. Animal Cognition (2020): 1-8. | Find with Google Scholar »Female prereproductive coloration reduces mating harassment in damselflies
By: Khan, Md Kawsar. Evolution. | Find with Google Scholar »Effects of reward magnitude and training frequency on the learning rates and memory retention of the Port Jackson shark Heterodontus portusjacksoni (vol 53, pg 861, 2020)
By: Heinrich, Dennis DU, Catarina Vila Pouca, Culum Brown, and Charlie Huveneers. Animal Cognition (2020): 1-11. | Find with Google Scholar »Exploring the key drivers of forest flammability in wet eucalypt forests using expert-derived conceptual models
By: Cawson, Jane G., Victoria Hemming, Andrew Ackland, Wendy Anderson, David Bowman, Ross Bradstock, Tegan P. Brown et al. Landscape Ecology (2020): 1-24. | Find with Google Scholar »A model protocol for the cryopreservation and recovery of motile lizard sperm using the phosphodiesterase inhibitor caffeine
By: Campbell, Lachlan, Shenae L. Cafe, Rose Upton, J. Sean Doody, Brett Nixon, John Clulow, and Simon Clulow. Conservation Physiology 8, no. 1 (2020): coaa044. | Find with Google Scholar »Strong and Tough Silk for Resilient Attachment Discs: The Mechanical Properties of Piriform Silk in the SpiderCupiennius salei(Keyserling, 1877)
By: Greco, G., J. O. Wolff, and N. M. Pugno. Front. Mater. 7: 138. doi: 10.3389/fmats (2020). | Find with Google Scholar »The role of attractive and repellent scene memories in ant homing (Myrmecia croslandi)
By: Murray, Trevor, Zoltan Kocsi, Hansjürgen Dahmen, Ajay Narendra, Florent Le Möel, Antoine Wystrach, and Jochen Zeil. Journal of Experimental Biology 223, no. 3 (2020). | Find with Google Scholar »Corn-white Clover Intercropping in Terms of Herbicide Tolerance of White Clover
By: Byers, Otto, Tyrell Gates, and Lynn Mcknight. CCAMLR Science 26, no. 4 (2019): 528-532. | Find with Google Scholar »Evaluation of Germany’s Parasitoid Wasp Fauna
By: Le Souef, James. CCAMLR Science 26, no. 4 (2019): 560-564. | Find with Google Scholar »Acoustic Telemetry: An Essential Sensor in Ocean-Observing Systems
By: Ledee, E. J. I., Udyawer, Vinay, and Harcourt, Robert. AMSTERDAM: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV, 2019. | Find with Google Scholar »In the Media
Dr Simon Clulow was featured on Radio National, Science Bulletin and Phys.org, with interviews conducted for ABC Drive Darwin and RTRFM Radio regarding a recent paper on developing a successful method for freezing lizard sperm using caffeine.
Dr Vanessa Pirotta was interviewed on ABC Sunshine Coast Breakfast regarding whether the increased risk of shark attacks is linked to more dead whales in the water.
Read more »
Associate Professor Nathan Hart was interviewed on ABC Radio Sydney Drive regarding research into shark movements to mitigate the risks of shark attacks. This story was originally published on The Lighthouse.
Read more »
Professor Culum Brown was featured in Reader’s Digest regarding sharks’ preferred food sources.
Read more »
Distinguished Professor Lesley Hughes, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research Integrity and Development was featured on 3WM Country Today regarding the effects of climate change on farming communities.
Read more »
Professor Robert Harcourt was featured on 2GB News, 4BC Drive and LA FM News about the increasing risk of shark attacks due to warming waters off the east coast of Australia.
Read more »
Dr Vanessa Pirotta was interviewed on ABC News Breakfast, ABC Radio Melbourne Mornings and ABC Radio Sydney Breakfast about the factors that increase the risk of shark attacks.
Read more »
Professor Robert Harcourt provided comment to The Australian and the Herald Sun about the increasing risk of shark attacks due to warming waters off the east coast of Australia.
Read more »