The fatal flaws of compassionate conservation
By: Oommen, M.A., Cooney, R., Ramesh, M., Archer, M., Brockington, D., Buscher, B., Fletcher, R., Natusch, D.J., Vanak, A.T., Webb, G. and Shanker, K., 2019. Conservation Biology. | Find with Google Scholar »
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Hi All
I trust you have had a great week and enjoyed the calm before the storm as students return next week. I wish everyone all the best for the semester ahead.
Michelle will be back next week, but until then, enjoy feasting on the goodness of this week’s Department matters.
Cheers,
Grant
Save the Date
This coming week 29th July – 2nd August
Mon 29th: Department Seminar – Douglas Sheil, NMBU’s Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management; 1.00 – 2.00pm, 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Wed 31st: Julia Raftos’ Farewell Morning Tea; 10:30-11.30am, 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room) – there will be delicious cakes!
Wed 31st: Department Mentoring Workshop; 12.00pm – 1.00pm; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Wed 31st: Department Seminar – Melanie Zeppel, MQU; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Following week 5th – 9th August
Tue 6th: Department Meeting; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Wed 7th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am – 11.30am; 205B Culloden Rd.
Wed 7th: Department Seminar – Jennie Mallela, ANU; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Thu 8th: Biology 3-Minute Thesis competition; 4:30-5pm, 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room) – followed by…
Thu 8th: Biology Social Club; 5.00pm – 7.00pm; Biology Courtyard.
Weekly Events
Wed: Shut up and Write sessions; 11.00am – 12.00pm; 6WW(E8C)-212 or 14EAR(E8A)-360A.
Thu: Venture Café; 3–8pm; (map). Find out what is on each week here – https://venturecafesydney.org/
Fri: Writing workshops with Prof Ken Cheng – to support HDRs and ECRs with scientific writing; 2–4pm; Ken’s office at 205b Culloden Road, G12.
Fri: Behaviour and Evolution Journal Club; Friday at 12:30pm (bring your lunch); 205B Culloden Rd Boardroom.
Weekly Biological Sciences seminar program is here
Future Events
August 14th: Rick Shine’s 1000’s paper celebration morning tea; 10:30-11.30am, 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room) – there will be delicious cakes!
August 22nd: REP: The Art & Science of Getting Published; 9:30 am – 3:00 pm; 14 EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room) – Register here.
September 19th: REP: Reviewing for Journals workshop; 3:00 – 5:00 pm; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room) – Register here.
September 23rd: MQ graduation ceremony for Biological Sciences; 10.30am.
October 2nd: Developing your five-year plan workshop; 12:30 – 2:00 pm; 12 Wally’s Walk, 801 – Register here.
General News and Announcements
Julia Raftos’ Farewell Morning Tea – Wednesday 31 July – 10.30am-11.30am – Biology Tearoom – Julia will shortly going on LSL before retiring. The Department will be holding a special morning tea to honour Julia’s contribution to teaching over her many years of service. Come along and join in the celebration with delicious cakes and don’t forget to BYO mug!
Farewell Ray Cameron – After more than 40 years of service, Ray Cameron has resigned from his current role as teaching Microscopes’ manager. His expertise and friendly personality will be missed by many of us.
Winnie Man will take over part of Ray’s role. She will be on her “L” plates with some aspects of microscope support. Please allow extra time for your requests.
Congratulations to Alumnus, Dom McAfee (Benthic Ecology Lab Alumus) for being awarded the 2018 Tony Roach Prize for the best paper, published by a young scientist in 2017, on any aspect of marine or estuarine environmental science done in NSW. The prize, awarded by the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) and the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH). This prize is in memory of Dr. Tony Roach and his long career and contributions to marine science in New South Wales. Dom receives the award for the follow paper, produced on his PhD research:
Lunchtime Litter – solid first haul. Last Tuesday was the first Lunchtime Litter gathering. Nola is top of the leaderboard with a solid haul on our first day.
The next session is Tuesday 13 August. Spend half an hour in the sun with us and help clean up the environment.
Sustainability – New Recycling Labels. Planet Ark is currently working with FMCG companies to use better recycling labels for Australian consumers. Known as ARL (Australiasian Recycling Label), the label is designed to reduce confusion about recycling and shows exactly what needs to be done with each piece of packaging to ensure correct disposal. https://recyclingnearyou.com.au/arl/
Plant of the Week – click the thumbnails for larger images-
This week: Some additional interesting and curious facts about Viola.
There are about 16 species of Viola native to Australia. One of the best known, Viola banksii was collected in Botany Bay in 1770 by botanists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander. Chromosome numbers for Viola vary a lot between species; Viola banksii has a relatively high chromosome number (2n – 50) and ploidy level (10x) but a surprisingly small genome size (2C DNA = 1.27 pg).
OPPORTUNITIES
STEM Careers Forum – Monday, 12 August 2019 – The annual STEM Careers Forum is taking place on Monday 12 August, and the event is for ALL FSE UG, PG, and HDR students (careers outside of academia) and academic/professional staff who are interested in industry engagement. More information can be found here:
Expression of interest – Stephan Leu is looking for an assistant on his exciting social behaviour and network project in the outback. He is working with sheep and tracks large groups of animals with GPS collars to address questions about how environmental and social factors affect social network structure and collective behaviour. For details see https://stephanleu-ecology.com
All costs will be covered. There is potential to pay you a little bit, as well. The period is from mid-September for approximately 6 to 8 weeks, with potential to extend to mid-December. If you are interested in the project and keen to spend some time in the outback, please email Stephan to express your interest and discuss this further: <stephan.leu@mq.edu.au>. If you have previous experience with GPS collars, animal handling and spatial data that’s a plus.
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
One round remain for the rest of the year:
– Round 3 closes Friday 27 September 2019
Apply as soon as possible for any travel you intend on taking in 2019, that meets the criteria. Funds awarded must be spent in 2019 and will not be carried into 2020.
Women in Research website – The Faculty Women in STEM committee recommend the following website for those interested. https://www.womeninresearch.org.au
Media training opportunity for ECRs! – Nominations are now open for Fresh Science 2019 (closing: Wed, 14 August 2019 – 11.59pm).
This national competition is targetted at ECRs with no media experience but whose peer-reviewed research (e.g. a discovery, invention, patent) is deserving of attention. Selected applicants will receive a day of media training, to help them find their voice and tell their “story”. Full details of what’s involved is available from the Fresh Science webpage. Eligibility criteria:
- ECR with PhD completed no more than five years ago.
- Currently working in Australia and preferably for work done in Australia.
- Research which has produced peer-reviewed results – e.g. a discovery, invention, patent, etc.
- Research which is currently being undertaken or has been published/ concluded since January 2018.
- Research that is newsworthy but has not had significant media coverage.
- Researchers who can demonstrate (through the online nomination form) some ability to present their research to a lay audience in a clear, interesting and informative way.
NOTE: Your research must be cleared for public and media presentation – may need to consult with collaborators and commercial partners before nominating.
SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS
Biological Sciences Seminar – Date/Time: Monday, 29th July, 2019; 1pm – 2pm. Speaker: Douglas Sheil, NMBU’s Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management. Title: Forests and water – advances and controversies. Venue: 14EAR-280 (Biology Tea Room). More information on this and all department seminars ON OUR WEBPAGE HERE.
Department Mentor Workshop – all academic and professional staff – Wednesday July 31, 12-1 pm, Biology Tearoom.
Mentoring and being mentored is an important aspect of working in higher education. This workshop is designed to help discuss the function of mentorship and how to get the most out of a mentor/mentee. We will facilitate some intellectual speed-dating to allow people to approach potential mentors and mentees.
Enquiries – <marie.herberstein@mq.edu.au>
Biological Sciences Seminar – Date/Time: Wednesday, 31st July, 2019; 1pm – 2pm. Speaker: Dr Melanie Zeppel, MQU. Title: Forests and water – advances and controversies. Venue: 14EAR-280 (Biology Tea Room). More information on this and all department seminars ON OUR WEBPAGE HERE.
Renewal of the Research Enrichment Program (REP) Workshop Series – Since the Research Enrichment Program (aka Genes to Geosciences) was sadly let-go at the end of 2018, there has been a vacuum of research development workshops. Now, due to the dedication of Biology academics, this workshop series is being renewed!
Reviewing for Journals is detailed below; keep an eye out for details and registration links of the other workshops in upcoming Department Matters. For more information about these upcoming workshops click on this PDF.
Reviewing for Journals – Thursday 19 September, 3:00 – 5:00 pm; 14EaR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room); facilitated by Rachael Gallagher.
Would you like to review for journals, but are not too sure how the whole process works? Have you already reviewed, but would like to brush-up on your skills?
This short, two-hour course is designed to introduce young researchers to the ethics and skills required to become a good journal reviewer.
WHAT WILL BE COVERED:
– The ethics of reviewing – how to be fair and helpful to authors
– Examples of good and not-so-good reviews
– Worked examples of scenarios that may arise when reviewing
– The opinions of journal editors from within the Department
Suitable for: Early-mid career researchers.
To attend: REGISTER HERE
Shut Up and Write Sessions, every Wednesday 11am. It’s pretty simple, we shut up… and we write. Using the pomodoro technique we’ll meet at 11am to write, stop 25 minutes in for a 10 min break, then settle down again for another 25 minutes of writing. You’ll be amazed how productive you can be. More details on the concept here: https://thesiswhisperer.com/shut-up-and-write/
Room will be either 6WW(E8C)-212 or 14EAR(E8A)-360A, email <lizzy.lowe@mq.edu.au> to confirm or with any questions.
All welcome!
Getting Funding from the PGRF Travel Scheme – ran 9th July, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm; 205b Culloden Rd Boardroom; facilitated by Linda Beaumont.
PhD students remember to email draft PGRF applications to <linda.beaumont@mq.edu.au> by 30th July to receive feedback.
Full applications are due to <fse.bio-adm@mq.edu.au> by 6th August at 5pm for HoD sign-off.
REP Workshop: The Art and Science of Getting Published – Thursday 22 August, 9:30 am – 3:00 pm; 14 EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room); facilitated by Michael Gillings.
This whole-day workshop will cover:
– Planning and writing papers – Structure of papers, Plans and mind maps, Pivotal parts of papers, Who should be an author, Writing a good title, Choosing good keywords, Writing abstracts and other sections of papers, Editing and feedback, Writing skills, and What makes a good paragraph.
– The submission process – Choosing a journal, What is an impact factor, Predatory journals, Instructions to authors, The letter to the editor, How editors make decisions, Dealing with rejection, and Dealing with reviewers.
– Improving the impact of your papers – What papers are high impact, Social media for researchers, Popular science writing, Understanding research metrics, Media and press releases.
– Planning and writing papers – Structure of papers, Plans and mind maps, Pivotal parts of papers, Who should be an author, Writing a good title, Choosing good keywords, Writing abstracts and other sections of papers, Editing and feedback, Writing skills, and What makes a good paragraph.
– The submission process – Choosing a journal, What is an impact factor, Predatory journals, Instructions to authors, The letter to the editor, How editors make decisions, Dealing with rejection, and Dealing with reviewers.
– Improving the impact of your papers – What papers are high impact, Social media for researchers, Popular science writing, Understanding research metrics, Media and press releases.
Suitable for: all
Morning tea will be provided.
To attend: REGISTER HERE
MolSci Seminar – Date/Time: Tuesday, 30th July, 2019; 1pm – 2pm. Speaker: Associate Professor Majid Ebrahimi Warkiani, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney. Title: Novel Microfluidic Systems for Biomedical Research. Venue: 4WW 322 seminar room. More information https://goto.mq/6s
Lunchtime Litter Collection – The days may be cooler, but they’re also clear and sunny. Lunchtime is a great time to go for a walk and get some vitamin D! It’s also a great time to join the Biology Litter Collection competition! The next event will be Tuesday13th August, 1pm. Meet in the Biology courtyard, bring a bucket or bag if you can.
We’ll be holding events throughout the rest of the year, every few weeks. At each event you go out to collect litter, between 1 and 1:30pm. Collections will be assessed at the end of each collection and gold stars awarded accordingly. Event results are tallied at the end of the year with a prize for the best collector.
Event dates: Tues 13th August; Tues 10th September; Tues 8th October; Tues 12th November; Tues 10th December.
Venture Café – Want to know more about innovation, and how to achive it? Come along to the Venture Cafe, Thursday, 3pm – 8pm, (map). Find out what is on each week here – https://venturecafesydney.org/
This week: 3.00pm: Innovate Here Meetup; 5.15pm: AI & US: Striking the Beneficial Balance; 6.15pm: Workshop: How to Put Your AI on a Leash.
Wildlife at the Watering Hole – 3rd Tuesday of each month, 6:30pm @ Botany View Hotel, King St Newtown!
HDR NEWS AND OPPORTUNITIES
3-Minute Thesis – PhD students: the Department round of this competition will be held on Thursday 8th August, 4:30-5pm, in 14EaR 280 Biology Tea Room – followed by Dept. Social Club to celebrate! Faculty and University finals will follow in Sept.
TO ENTER: Send your slide to <lizzy.lowe@mq.edu.au> and <julian.may@mq.edu.au> by 31st July 5pm. See info and videos of previous year’s winners: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-research-program/3-minute-thesis-competition
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 to support successful candidates.New limits from 2019:PhD students ONLY: Dept. will match up to $1500 of external (non-MQ) funding ONCE during the student’s candidature.
If you have received a grant (student as 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>.
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.
The PWA program is based on the principle of collaborative learning in which a more experienced research student helps you develop stronger academic and research skills. Peer Writing Assistants are not teachers. Rather, they are trained to function as a ‘friendly audience’ or ‘fresh pair of eyes’ to help you gain new perspectives on your writing or research ideas.
Registrations are now open for individual consultation bookings. If you are interested, please go to book in for a 45-minute session with a PWA here.
And:
Writing workshops – Convened by Ken Cheng, running weekly for most of the year: Fridays 2-4pm in Ken’s office at 205b Culloden Road, G12.
These writing workshops are meant for HDR students and early-career researchers. In these face-to-face encounters, writing at any stage of any genre is welcome, from first draft to final polish, from empirical paper to literature review to popular news story. Ken envisages personal feedback linked perhaps with rounds of revisions on selected passages during the session. The aim is not just to get stuff written, but to write everything well.
Those interested in attending a session should email Ken Cheng <ken.cheng@mq.edu.au> by Wednesday 12:00-noon, preferably with a draft attached of what they are working on and some indication of what they especially need help with.
ADMIN THINGS
Department Fleet Cars – Josh Griffiths will be managing the departmental vehicles between the 11th of July and the 2nd of August as Tarun Rajan is off to Prague to try and win a medal for Australia at the World Championships. Please direct all vehicle queries, induction requests to Josh Griffiths <josh.griffiths@mq.edu.au> during this time.
Need to Contact the Biology Admin Team via Email? Please send your email to <fse.bio-adm@mq.edu.au> or drop in and see us. The old google group (sci.bio-adm) email no longer works, if you have this email as a remembered address please delete.
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
Room to Let – Very good housing opportunity for a single PhD or postdoc, female only and available immediately for a lease of at least 6 months. Just a few minutes walk from campus, single room with private bathroom in a shared apartment with only the owner, a very nice and respectful Taiwanese-Australian lady. The apartment and room are fully furnished, the kitchen is also furnished, there is a nice ground-floor terrace. The apartment is situated in a residential complex that includes swimming pool, sauna, tennis court, barbecue area, and basketball court. The rent is around $270/week and includes all expenses, further details about the price should be discussed with the owner. Please email Fabio Berzaghi <fabio.berzaghi@mq.edu.au> if you have any questions or are interested and he will put you in touch with the owner.
Harvest Hub – great food that doesn’t cost the earth
Do you want:
- To eat with the seasons?
- Have fresh fruit and veg delivered weekly?
- Buy from local growers and support local farmer more directly?
- Access weekly specials and a flexible, easy to use ordering system?
- Have produce delivered to you at work?
- Buy grains and cereals too?
Then try Harvest Hub www.harvesthub.com.au
Hub name: MACQUARIE04 F: @harvesthubau
More information?
- Check out the website
- Talk to Samantha Newton <samantha.newton@mq.edu.au>.
- Orders are delivered weekly, on Tuesdays
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.
New Publications
Bold New World: urbanization promotes an innate behavioral trait in a lizard
By: Baxter-Gilbert, James, Julia L. Riley, and Martin J. Whiting. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 73, no. 8 (2019): 105. | Find with Google Scholar »A Maternal Effect on Queen Production in Honeybees
By: Wei, Hao, Xu Jiang He, Chun Hua Liao, Xiao Bo Wu, Wu Jun Jiang, Bo Zhang, Lin Bin Zhou, Li Zhen Zhang, Andrew B. Barron, and Zhi Jiang Zeng. Current Biology (2019). | Find with Google Scholar »Whispers on the wind: male cane toads modify mate searching and amplexus tactics based on calls from other males
By: Clarke, Gregory S., Richard Shine, and Benjamin L. Phillips. Animal Behaviour 153 (2019): 131-136. | Find with Google Scholar »Social Complexity and Brain Evolution: Comparative Analysis of Modularity and Integration in Ant Brain Organization
By: Kamhi, J. Frances, Iulian Ilieş, and James FA Traniello. Brain, behavior and evolution (2019): 1-16. | Find with Google Scholar »Botryosphaeriaceae associated with Acacia heterophylla (La Réunion) and A. koa (Hawaii)
By: Jami, F., Marincowitz, S., Crous, P.W., Slippers, B., Le Roux, J.J., Richardson, D.M., Wingfield, M.J. Fungal Biology, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2019.07.001 | Find with Google Scholar »The potential evolutionary impact of invasive balloon vines on native soapberry bugs in South Africa
By: Foster, J.D., Ellis, A.G., Foxcroft, L.C., Carroll, S.P., Le Roux, J.J. NeoBiota, 2019, 49: 19-35. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.49.34245 | Find with Google Scholar »Notes on Fissidens (Fissidentaceae) in tropical Australia: Fissidens darwinianus
By: Rod D. Seppelt 2019 Acta Mus. Siles. Sci. Natur., 68: 151-155. DOI: 10.2478/cszma-2019-0015 Published: online 1 July 2019, print July 2019 | Find with Google Scholar »In the Media
Rick Shine was featured in the Newcastle Herald
Professor Rick Shine from the Department of Biological Sciences was featured in the Newcastle Herald regarding a study which found that male cane toads are more interested in dispersal than sex at the invasion front.
Robert Harcourt was featured in the Daily Telegraph, Courier Mail and syndicated publications, and The Guardian
Professor Robert Harcourt from the Department of Biological Sciences was featured in the Daily Telegraph, Courier Mail and syndicated publications, and The Guardian in relation to shark populations that are at increasing risk of becoming bycatch of international fishing fleets.
Michelle Leishman, Linda Beaumont, Alessandro Ossola, Hugh Burley, Rachael Gallagher and Leigh Staas contributed the article in The Conversation
Distinguished Professor Michelle Leishman, Associate Professor Linda Beaumont, Dr Alessandro Ossola, Dr Hugh Burley, Dr Rachael Gallagher and Leigh Staas from the Department of Biological Sciences contributed the article ‘Our cities need more trees, but some commonly planted ones won’t survive climate change’ to The Conversation.
Robert Harcourt was interviewed on ABC Radio Hobart Evenings
Professor Robert Harcourt from the Department of Biological Sciences was interviewed on ABC Radio Hobart Evenings regarding research into southern right whales’ communication methods.