BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT MATTERS | March 13, 2015

Dear all,

Monday is MRes seminar day (abstract booklet attached). Please support our MRes students at a crucial time when they present their research plans for the rest of the year!!!

2015 MRes Abstract Booklet

cheerio

Mariella

General News and Announcements

Changes to vehicle charges

Dear vehicle users,

Please note that vehicle usage costs for the department have been revised. Biology vehicle users will now be charged at 50c/km and non-Biology users will be charged at 75c/km

Many thanks

Regards

Tarun Rajan

Potassium Chloride needed

I am looking for a small aliquot (50-100 uL) of >100mM Potassium Chloride (KCl), suitable for testing in a PCR protocol. If you have some please email peri.bolton@mq.edu.au

L-dopa needed

If anyone has L-Dopa that I can borrow (until I can buy some more) for phenoloxidase assays in insects, could you please contact me. Also if you have advice/experience with such assays, I’d appreciate hearing from you.  julian.may@mq.edu.au

AMIS or/and Finance One Users

Remember to upgrade your Citrix Client/Metaframe by 31 March. You can do this yourself if you have Administrator access to your computer,

just go here >  http://www.citrix.com/go/receiver.html?posit=glnav

Then go to AMIS or Finance One through, https://apps.mq.edu.au

More detail in the email sent by Phil Ingram on 4 March

New to the Department

New PhD Student Maria Vozzo

Research: Maria’s PhD will examine the ecological role of and ecosystem services provided by remnant Sydney rock oyster reef and the benefits of investment in oyster reef restoration for eastern Australian estuaries.

Location: E8C153 (Climate Futures Office) 

Departmental post-doc meeting

We will hold the first meeting with and for the Department post-doctoral researchers on Thursday 19th, 3-4pm in the E8 tearoom. The aim of the meeting is to welcome any new post-docs to the Department and to discuss activities in the Department in 2015 that hopefully will enrich your tenure with us.

There will be tea and coffee and biscuits!

Data Analysis And Visualization With R’ – Monday 13th April to Friday 17th April 2015

The R statistical computing environment has become a standard for scientific data analysis, visualization and reproducible research. At the HIE, we offer an introductory course to help you overcome the steep learning curve. This five-day course is aimed at postgraduate students and staff, and is for newcomers to R. Run by experts in vegetation function (Remko Duursma), community ecology (Jeff Powell) and biostatistics (Glenn Stone), the course has a focus that is directly relevant to HDR students, early career researchers, and established academics in the environmental sciences.

Please pass on to any students and postdocs that you think would benefit from this opportunity. Information at: 

www.uws.edu.au/rcourse

Why sitting is bad for you

Here is a TEDs lesson on this (thanks Rekha) – http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-sitting-is-bad-for-you-murat-dalkilinc

Biology Safety Alert

1. Minutes for FSE WHS Advisory Group meeting held 19th February 2015

FoS WHS Minutes 19 February 2015

Meeting with the post-graduate students

Thank you all for attending the meeting this week. For those who missed it, here are the slides.

postgradtalk2015

Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Neuroethology

The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Neuroethology will be held from June 28^th to July 3^rd 2015 in Tuscany, Italy (at the Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco Resort at Lucca, a spectacular conference site set in 1000 acres of parkland on the top of a Tuscan mountain). We are currently putting an exciting program together with the title “The future is now: Innovative concepts in neuroethology and new technologies”, where we will combine cutting-edge fundamental research in Neuroethology with the world’s leading research in biomimetics and neuromorphic engineering, allowing an unparalleled forum for biologists and engineers to inspire and learn from each other in a small and collegial environment. The meeting web site is:

http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?id=14578

Paperless assignments

It can be done! Read all about it here: http://teche.ltc.mq.edu.au/science/moving-to-paperless-assignments-in-maths-does-it-add-up/

Earth Hour

Earth Hour is on Saturday the 28th of March, 8:30-9:30pm. In 2015, Earth Hour in Australia will celebrate Aussie food and farmers, reminding Australians of the need to tackle global warming for the sake of our rural communities and our supply of fresh, healthy, homegrown food. As part of the campaign Earth Hour will release Planet to Plate: an Earth Hour Cookbook, a collection of 52 recipes by Australia’s top celebrity chefs including Margaret Fulton, Matt Preston, Neil Perry, Luke Mangan, Kylie Kwong, Jill Dupleix and Matt Stone. The recipes are combined with first­hand stories from Australian farmers highlighting the impact global warming is having on their farms and the availability of our favourite foods grown here in Australia. 

Central Coast residents: We need volunteers to man a stall at the Cast Off Food & Wine Festival to be held at Woy Woy Fisherman’s wharf on Sat 28th of March. At least 3 people are needed to have a stall at all, and we hope to raise awareness of climate change by handing out some recipes and stories from farmers. If you can come for all or part of the day (12-7pm), please contact Lauren: lhughes@wwf.org.au.

More info: https://earthhour.org.au/home/ & https://www.facebook.com/castofffest

ECA Research Grants 2015

The Ecological Consultants Association of NSW supports ecological research in Australia and would like to award two grants each year to assist researchers to carry out their ecological projects. Please see the information attached, which includes information on the grant and an application form.

ECA Research Grant Application 2015

ECA Research Grants 2015

Amplify Festival

Attention all PhD students. Heard about the Amplify Festival? If not, read on…

Pitch your PhD and you could win $5000 at Amplify Festival‘s 2015 Bright Sparks.

AMP’s Amplify Festival – the largest corporate innovation and learning platform in Australia – is giving PhD students with breakthrough research the opportunity to win $5000.

The cool prize money is not the only attraction! Finalists will also receive mentoring, media and performance training, as well as a crowdfunding campaign, to equip them with skills that will help them further their careers. 

Each finalist will have two and a half minutes to use storytelling or performance to turn their complex ideas into punchy, relevant messages. They might use metaphor, storytelling, spoken poetry, music, or even comedy. 

For more info on Bright Sparks http://bit.ly/1z1WoMN

Hear from the 2013 winner, 

Entry to Bright Sparks is now open and will close on Monday 6 April 2015.

To nominate yourself or someone you know go to http://bit.ly/1vetzv2

For further assistance or information please contact Danielle Miller, Bright Sparks Project Manager on (02) 9257 6073 or 0419 479 566.

attached

AN OPEN LETTER REGARDING THE IGR AND GLOBAL WARMING SIGNED BY 64 ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE SCIENTISTS

Harassment during field research

Interesting article in Nature: http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/2015/150312/pdf/nj7542-251a.pdf

Free seminar: Manage Compliance in the Companion Animal Industry

WHEN: Thursday 19^th March 2015

WHERE: W19F Seminar Room

Guest Speakers:

10.15-11.15am: Ian Hughes; Chief Inspector Animal Welfare League of NSW

11.30-12.30pm: Dr Joanne Sillince; CEO Pets Australia

12.40- 1.40pm: Kathy Reidy; Founder Petucation; Lecture: ‘Starting Your Own Pet Industry Business’

Compliance FREE SEMINAR FLYER

Expeditions in the Himalayas

Monique Ladds took part in one of these: https://wwf-explorers.exposure.co/the-hemissphere

more info attached

Photographic expedition, Ladakh-Saba-With contact Hemis-Snow leopards-Saba-With contact

New Publications

In the Media

Recent Completions

PhD – Julietta Martinelli: Ecological Interaction and Community Structure in Living and Subfossil Mollusc Assemblages from the Southern Great Barrier Reef

Supervised by Matthew Kosnik and Josh Madin

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