Effects of reward magnitude and training frequency on the learning rates and memory retention of the Port Jackson sharkHeterodontus portusjacksoni
By: Heinrich, Dennis DU, Catarina Vila Pouca, Culum Brown, and Charlie Huveneers. Animal Cognition (2020): 1-11. | Find with Google Scholar »
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Dear all,
The campus is slowly beginning to come back to life – I was back in biology Monday-Wednesday this week and it was great to see some non-virtual friendly faces!
S1 convenors and teaching staff are busy finalising unit grades – we will have the formal department meeting next Thursday 2nd July from 12.30pm. It will require consideration and discussion of COVID-19 impacts so may take more time than usual! We also have MRes Year 2 poster presentations on Thursday and Friday – please join in to support our students and hear about their exciting research.
cheers
Michelle
Save the Date
Next Week
Thurs 2nd July; 12.30pm onwards; Formal Department Exam meeting – all academic staff are expected to attend (via Zoom). Any apologies should be sent to fse.bio-hod@mq.edu.au
Thurs-Fri 2nd and 3rd July; 10am – 12pm: Bio MRes y2 poster presentation over zoom (more info below)
Future Events
Tues 21st July: Orientation Day
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
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! See below for further details
Wed: Department seminars; HAVING A BREAK until S2.
General News and Announcements
MRes Y2: One-slide Presentation
On July 2nd and 3rd (10am-12pm) our MRes Y2 students will present their work over zoom. This would have typically been presented as a poster, but instead they will be presenting one slide. Each student presentation is for 10 minutes (includes 5 mins of questions/discussion). We will send out a zoom invitation and a schedule closer to the date. Please make time to attend, ask questions and support out MRes students.
Calling all potential mentors!
The Faculty is launching a mentoring program for early career researcher (ECRs). As one of the largest research departments, it would be great to see lots of our Level C, D and E academics sign up to be a mentor. This small (~4 hours per year) time investment could make a huge difference to up-and-coming Macquarie ECRs. Also, mentors and mentees will be matched based on overarching skills and not based on specific specialities within your field so it is a rare chance to meet interesting academics outside your department! Information and the sign-up form are attached – hurry, applications close on Friday 3rd July.
Assistance with Vertebrate Data Collection
If you would like to train some of the MARS professional staff to perform procedures to help you with your research, it can be done for cost recovery (Casual HEW03 step 1, $40.29 per hour). You will be charged according to the time required to perform the procedure. They will also need to be added to your ARA.
More more information contact Robby Miller <robert.miller@mq.edu.au>
Sydney Science Trail – we need you!
As part of National Science Week, the Australian Museum and Royal Botanic Gardens will celebrate contemporary Australian science through the Sydney Science Trail from 15 August – 15 September.
This year, the program will be delivered online as a virtual experience for teachers, students, parents and the general public. The online event creates a digital platform to deliver a diverse program to increase science, technology, engineering, art and mathematic (STEAM) literacy levels within the Australian community.
The Sydney Science Trail‘s website will host a range of digital content categorised into five categories: Plants, Animals, Earth, Space and Technology. Departments are encouraged to deliver content in the form of:
· Primary school digital presentation: 20-30 minute filmed presentation e.g. a talk, a science show or a workshop with accompanying worksheet/activity.
· Secondary school digital presentation: 20-30 minute filmed presentation e.g. a talk, a science show or a workshop with accompanying worksheet/activity.
· Vlog: Video: A “Day in the Life of…” one of your scientists.
· Blog: Written 400-500 words
· Virtual lab tour: 3-5 minute video behind the scenes of your research labs/spaces.
PLEASE CONSIDER PARTICIPATING TO SHOWCASE BIOLOGY AND THE DEPARTMENT! Contact Calli Miller as soon as possible – the deadline for the EOI form has been extended to next Thursday 2nd July.
Plant of the Week
This week: Syzygium moorei, a rare species in a genus key to the floristic origins of Malesian rainforests.
Syzygium is a key genus in recent studies of the origins of floristics of Malesian rainforests undertaken by a team of biologists headed by rainforest ecologist Rob Kooyman. Two continental plate collisions, firstly of the Indian Plate, secondly the Australian Plate, with Asia, are considered to have generated major interchange of plant species into and out of Malesia. Plant of the Week – Syzygium moorei – a genus key to the floristic interchange between Australia and Malesia 1
Survey on collaborative research
You are invited to participate in a study on the “Practices of identifying and initiating new research collaborations”. Participation in the study is voluntary and involves an online survey of approximately 5 minutes. During the survey you will indicate your preferences relating to email requests to collaborate on a research project. The study is being conducted by Mauricio Marrone, Senior Lecturer in the Macquarie Business School, and Jarryd Daymond, Research Associate in the University of Sydney Business School. Please email Mauricio directly if you would like further information on the project (mauricio.marrone@mq.edu.au). Please click here to complete the survey or find out more about the project.
OPPORTUNITIES
Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Spatial Sciences at University of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania are seeking to appoint a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Spatial Sciences within the discipline of Geography and Spatial Sciences. This is an exciting opportunity for an individual to further develop their academic career in a vibrant and highly collegial group.
The successful applicant for this position will contribute to the research activities of Geography and Spatial Sciences, undertake supervision of research higher degree candidates and have a significant role in the coordination and teaching of relevant undergraduate and postgraduate units in the spatial sciences. Applications are particularly invited from individuals with research and teaching interests in the fields of GIS and advanced geospatial data analysis.
They particularly encourage applicants who have interests in either the development of advanced geospatial techniques themselves or also the application of those techniques in areas of strength within their discipline, such as climate risk, landscape-scale conservation, resilient socio-ecological systems or earth observation, or across the University, such as ecology, Antarctic, marine, bushfire or health. The teaching component of the role is envisaged to focus mainly on GIS and geospatial analysis.
This is a balanced academic role with teaching, research and service roles. They are looking for someone to commence in early 2021 ideally. A part-time appointment will also be considered.
Please note: To be eligible for this position, you are required to have Australian citizenship, permanent residence or a current valid visa that allows you to fulfil the requirements of this role.
Applications close Sunday, July 5, 2020, 11.55pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time; GMT+10h)
Further information and instructions for applying are at:
https://careers.utas.edu.au/cw/en/job/494736/lecturersenior-lecturer-in-spatial-sciences
SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS
Animal Behaviour Live: Annual Online Conference
The Animal Behaviour Live: Annual Online Conference is an international online conference taking place for the first time on 20-21 August 2020. Fully broadcasted online, the participation to the conference is completely free of charge and designed to allow researchers from every time zone to get involved in the meeting. The deadline for abstract submission is June 30th. This conference is a unique opportunity to connect with otherwise difficult to reach researchers from all continents, at no cost, with a very low carbon footprint. Great efforts are being made to ensure attendees will be able to connect, share, discuss and meet beyond the virtual talks. See leaflet
More information can be found on http://www.animalbehaviour.live.
Upcoming Franklin Women Event: Reducing Stress and Building Resilience
Working in the health and medical research sector brings unique stressors and we often hear about how important resilience is for a successful career; however, we’re rarely told how to develop this resilience. To teach us how to reduce stress and build resilience, we are thrilled to host mindfulness and meditation practitioner and R u Ok? Ambassador, Chelsea Pottenger, for this online 1-hour workshop. Chelsea will share some tools to help you become calmer and enhance your productivity so that you can maximise your output while performing under pressure. Take a break for morning tea to learn some valuable new skills and connect with women from across the sector!
All the details are in the Reducing Stress and Building Resilience_Flyer
When: Wednesday 15 July 2020
Time: 10.30 to 11.30 am
Inclusions: Inspiring speaker and new skills
Registration: Essential via our website – spaces are limited
Cost (excl GST): Members – $14.50 Guests – $35
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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Strengthening Personal Resilience: Staff
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Wed, 15 July |
9.30am to 11.30am |
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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 scholarship available in MQ Neurobiology Lab
“Genetic and anatomical basis of brain lateralisation”. One of the ultimate goals of neuroscience is to link genes to anatomy and behaviour. This Project aims to understand how the left and right sides of the brain become specialised for different cognitive functions—a phenomenon called lateralisation. The Project is funded by the Australian Research Council and the work will be conducted primarily at Macquarie University (Sydney), but with opportunities to work with collaborators at the University of Queensland (Brisbane). Using a chicken model of brain lateralisation, you will quantify patterns of differential gene expression that give rise to anatomical and functional asymmetries during development and localise changes in gene expression to specific brain areas and circuits. The successful applicant will conduct gene expression microarray/RNAseq analysis, in situ hybridisation and immunohistochemistry experiments, and potentially behavioural testing of birds.
Scholarship type: Domestic/International Scholarship (direct entry to PhD, or MRes Yr2 + PhD) see website for more information.
Contact Nathan Hart for more information: <nathan.hart@mq.edu.au>
THIS AND THAT
Do you have a spare 10 minutes to help our research digitally?
Are you interested in the health of Sydney estuaries? By responding to our survey, you can help us identify the feasibility of oyster reef restoration in Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay.
Help our research digitally using this link ➡️ https://app.maptionnaire.com/en/8916/
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
Novel Transposon Tn6433 Variants Accelerate the Dissemination of tet(E) in Aeromonas in an Aerobic Biofilm Reactor under Oxytetracycline Stresses
By: Shi, Yanhong, Zhe Tian, Michael R. Gillings, Yu Zhang, Hong Zhang, Jiaoqi Huyan, and Min Yang. Environmental Science & Technology (2020). | Find with Google Scholar »Putting the ecology back into insect cognition research
By: Lihoreau, Mathieu, Thibault Dubois, Tamara Gomez-Moracho, Stéphane Kraus, Coline Monchanin, and Cristian Pasquaretta. In Advances in Insect Physiology, vol. 57, pp. 1-25. Academic Press, 2019. | Find with Google Scholar »In the Media
Ray Duell and Prasanth Subramani provided comment to The Scientist magazine about virtual lab tours.
Read more »