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BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT MATTERS | March 23, 2018

 

Dear all,

Another great week of Biology flies by… Congratulations to our MRes students on an excellent day of seminars on Thursday that really showcased the great quality and diversity of research in our Department. A big thanks also to our Julian and Ayden for preparing the abstract book and to the students chairing each session who did a fantastic job.

Michelle will be back from her European sojourn next week. Until then, have a great weekend.

Cheers,

Grant Hose

Save the Date

This coming week 25th – 29th March

Mon 26th: MS Special Departmental Seminar – Professor Dietmar Haltrich, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 4WW (F7B) 322 seminar room.

Tue 27th: MS Departmental Seminar – Dr Michele Fabris, University of Technology Sydney (UTS); 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 4WW (F7B) 322 seminar room.

Wed 28th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am – 11.30am; The Hill.

Wed 28th: Departmental Seminar – Dr. Michael Stat – Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.

Thu 29th: HDR Supervision Training – Mental Health; 10.30am – 12.00pm; Biology Tea Room.

Thu 29th: R Users Group; 3.00pm – 5.00pm; Biology Tea Room.

Fri 30th: Public Holiday – Good Friday

Following week 3rd – 6th April

Mon 2nd: Public Holiday – Easter Monday

Tue 3rd: Department Meeting – with lunch beforehand; 12.30pm for 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.

Wed 4th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am – 11.30am; Biology Tea Room.

Wed 4th: Departmental Seminar – Dr. April Reside – University of Queensland; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.

Coming up

Fri Apr 13th: BioNetwork “Killing it in Science” Research Symposium; 8.30 am – 5.30 pm; Lvl 8, 12WW (E7A).

Tue Apr 17th: L&T Special Seminar Commitment, engagement and learning in a large cohort of students by Maurizio Manuguerra; 1 – 2pm; 6WW (E8C)-212 for (sign up here).

Wed Apr 18th: Biological Sciences Graduation Ceremony; 2.30pm; Location 14SCO (E7B) main hall.

Fri May 11th: Sapphire Bioscience morning tea; 10.30am – 11.30am; Biology Tea Room.

 

Departmental Seminar Series

Wed Apr 11th: Departmental Seminar – Assoc. Prof. Kira Westaway – Department of Environmental Science, Macquarie University; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.

General News and Announcements

 

RESEARCH STORIES, OUTCOMES AND OPPORTUNITIES

MRes Year 2 Seminars
Our entire MRes cohort were brought together this week for the Biology year 2 MRes student introductory and completion seminars. All 26 presenters displayed exceptional communication skills and enthusiasm for their research. The breadth of topics was fantastic and included the protein universe, bivalve predation, mimics, ant navigation, bandicoot ecology, fox control, plant transplantation, landscape genetics, finch genetics, sperm morphology, leaf flammability, zoozanthellae, sharks, vision, radiolarians, diatoms, so many more, and let’s not forget the penguins!
Five students will now be busy writing up their theses while starting students will be getting deep into experiments. Next time you wander by the tea room please look at the MRes year 2 Bios that are now displayed on the notice boards, and when you see our students around the Department stop and say hello! It was also great to see the students adding their flags to the Department Diversity map. We hope to see you all at the next round of Seminars on September 24!
 

Hidden Figures in STEM

The Hidden Figures in STEM exhibition was run as part of the celebrations for International Women’s Day. If you missed it, A4 copies of the posters have now been put up in the Tea Room Corridor, E8A (14EAR) 2nd floor. The exhibition consists of biographies of women scientists whose contributions and discoveries were ignored, dismissed, or even stolen. Come learn about the amazing discoveries these women made!

University bioQuest 1-30 April 2018

We are taking part in the University bioQuest challenge and we want your help! This is a worldwide program with Universities competing against each other for points and prizes.

Find out more on the event page: http://goo.gl/X38JPG Tell your students: see attached powerpoint slide, or email <samantha.newton@mq.edu.au>.

How does it work?
Step 1. Download the app (through the App Store for iPhone, or through Google Play for Android)
Step 2. Register with QuestaGame https://questagame.com/
Step 3: Join the Macquarie University Team https://questagame.com/university-bioquest/
Step 4. Take a photo and upload to the app. Location is automatically recorded. Sightings are verified by a team of experts.
Step 5. Take more photos and go in the running for great prizes and awards.

Why join this BioQuest?
More than fun: BioQuesting with QuestaGame will empower you to experience, learn about, and protect the diversity of life on Earth. You’ll be taken on an adventure into nature, where you’ll see the life around you in a whole new light. Your sightings will contribute to open biodiversity research (through the Atlas of Living Australia, and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility).
BioQuest_slide

Participate in the Falling Walls Lab Australia 2018

The Academy invites applications from Australian researchers, postdocs and students, entrepreneurs, engineers and innovators from all areas to attend the Falling Walls Lab Australia 2018. Deadline for applications is 5pm (AEST) Monday 28th May 2018. 20 contestants will be invited to participate in this challenge with each required to give a 3 minute presentation on their research work, business model, social idea or initiative based on the “Which walls will fall next” concept. Candidates should be research active in any field of the natural sciences, including technology, engineering and medicine as well as social sciences and humanities. Follow this link to view more information and to apply.

SoS Science and Research – Call for Proposals

OEH is now calling for proposals for projects under the SoS Science and Research Plan. The SoS Science and Research Plan addresses critical program level knowledge needs and aligns with the SoS aim to improve the maximum number of species in the wild over the next 100 years. As such projects must benefit multi-species and/or ecological communities and maintain a collaborative approach between external partners and OEH. Proposals that focus on single species will not be considered.

Research priorities for the 2018/19 round of grants are:

  • Adaptive capacity of threatened species and threatened ecological communities
  • Monitoring, evaluation and reporting (MER)
  • Fire
  • Research grant pool

For the 2018/19 financial year there is an allocation of $400,000 for new projects.

The research project application and assessment process is set out in the attached SoS Science & Research Plan and Implementation Plan 2017/18. Please read the attached guiding documents carefully before preparing and submitting a proposal. If re-applying please ensure you have addressed previous feedback and that projects align with priority research themes for this year. Proposals can be submitted electronically to me via email using the attached template. The deadline for submitting a proposal is Sunday 13th May 2018. For information on the SoS Program visit http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/animals-and-plants/threatened-species/saving-our-species-program. If you require further information or assistance with your project proposal, please contact <Bryony.Horton@environment.nsw.gov.au>. SoS Science and Research Plan-Jul2016 Proposal template 2018_19 SoS Science and Research Implementation Plan – 201718

Ecological Society of Australia Grant Opportunities for HDR Students – As an added bonus, the dept will match funds up to $3k for successful applicants.

https://www.ecolsoc.org.au/news/2018/02/holsworth-round-1-applications-now-open https://www.ecolsoc.org.au/awards-and-prizes/student-awards-and-grants/jill-landsberg-trust-fund-scholarship

Raine Island Recovery Project – Turtle Nesting Environment Research Expression of Interest

Through the Queensland Department of Environment and Science the Raine Island Recovery Project is seeking Expressions of Interest for research proposals to address whether there is a relationship between the nest micro-environment and green turtle hatching failure at Raine Island. Details regarding the EOI can be found in the attached two documents.

The EOI closes on the 19th of March 2018 at 4pm Australian Eastern Standard time. EOIs will be considered and assessed against the evaluation criteria, following which selected applicants will be requested to develop a full application. Collaborations are strongly encouraged. Should you have any queries please email <Raineresearch@des.qld.gov.au>. Nesting Environment Expression of Interest Guidelines Nesting Environment Expression of Interest Form

LEARNING AND TEACHING

HDR Supervision Training – Mental Health

There is an upcoming workshop that will contribute to your requirement of ongoing HDR supervisory training. Dr Benjamin Wilkes, Clinical Psychologist, Campus Wellbeing will be facilitating the workshop: Responding to Mental Illness in the tertiary setting. Ben has graciously offered to run this session especially for the Biological Sciences Department.
When: Thursday 29th March 10:30-12 (Note new date!) Where: Biology Tea Room
This workshop will cover managing the supervisory relationship and supporting students with symptoms of mental illness. To register: please email <julian.may@mq.edu.au>.

SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS

Departmental Weekly Seminar

Day/Date/Time/Place: Wednesday, 28th March, 1:00pm – 2:00pm, 14EAR (E8A)-280 (Tea Room).

Speaker: Dr. April Reside, University of Queensland. Title: Land clearing across Australia, the regulated and un(der)-regulated

Abstract: https://goto.mq.edu.au/biologyseminar2018-abstracts

MOLSCI Departmental Seminar 

Date/Time/Place: Tuesday 27th March 2018,  1 – 2pm, 4WW (F7B) 322 seminar room

Speaker:  Dr Michele Fabris, CSIRO Synthetic Biology FSP Fellow, University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

Title: Exploring diatom metabolism towards synthetic biology applications – more info – https://goto.mq.edu.au/6k

MOLSCI Special Seminar

Date/Time/Place: Monday 26th March 2018, 1 – 2pm, 4WW (F7B) 322 seminar room

Speaker:  Professor Dietmar Haltrich, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna

Title: BioToP@BOKU – Biomolecular Technology of Proteins at BOKU University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences

STATISTICS DEPARTMENT SEMINAR
Enquiries:  Dr Georgy Sofronov  Email: <georgy.sofronov@mq.edu.au>

Speaker: Dr Ian Renner, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, The University of Newcastle
Date/Time/Place:  Tuesday 27 March 2018, Time 1-2pm,  Room 264, 14 Sir Christopher Ondaatje Ave (E7B)
Title: Species distribution models with point process models (and extensions!)

Research Enrichment Program – Outlook Conference

July 24-25, Incubator Building, Macquarie University – “The Future of the Human Landscape”

The Outlook Conference will bring together leading thinkers in diverse disciplines, spanning molecules to landscapes, and from scientific, historical and social viewpoints. The objective is to immerse participants in the frontiers of adjacent, and more distant disciplines. Speakers will present their vision for humanity’s future. These talks will not recount personal research findings, but will be future-scoping exercises. Our goal is to identify promising areas for high level trans-disciplinary collaboration, for novel applications, and to expose postgraduate students and early career researchers to different ways of thinking. To register, email <fse.rep-admin@mq.edu.au>. Research Enrichment Program Outlook Flyer

 HDR Students: Need Help Writing?

Peer Writing Assistance (PWA) is on again for 2018 – due to commence next week! 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 your teachers. Rather, they are trained to function as a ‘friendly audience’ or ‘fresh pair of eyes’ to help you gain new perspective on your writing or research ideas. Registrations are now open for individual consultation bookings. If you are interested, please go to our HDR workshops site to book in for a 30 minute session with a PWA. To see all available slots and venues, please select “Learning Skills” or “HDR Mentors” in the drop down menu at the top of the registration page and go to the workshop offerings under March and April.  Additional dates will be added in due course.

ACST for Biological Sciences Staff Postponed
Unfortunately the planned ACST for Biology staff set down for 12 April 2018, 14 Eastern Rd Level 2 Room 280, 9:00am – 1:00pm, has had to be postponed. The providers are taking stock of the many great recommendations from previous ACST participants and now working very closely with LIH partners to build a better product for delivery and that is beneficial for staff and the various Faculties, Departments and Offices. They are streamlining the whole package for every Faculty, Departments and Offices to ensure the quality of the content and accessibility for staff. Once customisation is complete, a new date will be set for the session.

Respect. Now. Always. Programme –  More information click here. Respect@MQ Workshops– More information click here.

BioNetwork “Killing it in Science” Research Symposium

Friday 13th of April 2018 at Macquarie University – Building 12WW (E7A), Level 8, 8.30 a.m. – 5.30 p.m., free event, catering included! The aim of this one day symposium is to foster the Macquarie University researcher community across the Faculties of Science & Engineering and Medicine & Health Sciences, with a common interest in the biosciences. The event is being organised by Macquarie’s own ECRs, for anyone keen to build their career in science in academia and industry. The program will consist of: a unique career building session in the morning: ‘Killing it in science: Adventures and misadventures of a research scientist’ and a dynamic scientific session in the afternoon to create a platform for interdisciplinary research collaborations to commence novel or strengthen existing projects.Click here for more information and to register.

Upcoming Workshop: Gender and Queer Perspectives in the Biological Sciences

Thursday 5th April (10am – 3pm) Continuum room, level 3, 75 Talavera road. Organisers: Andrew Barron, Malin Ah- King, Mariella Herberstein, and Simon Griffiths.

Can we ever explore questions of the evolution of human society without tripping over our own biases surrounding contemporary gender stereotypes and gender roles in society?
The meeting will consider current hypotheses of human social evolution, especially Survival of the Friendliest, and how gendered assumptions can cloud progress in this area.
Some pre-reading will be required for this workshop. Numbers will be capped – first-in secures a place. Click here to register for ‘Gender and queer perspectives in the biological sciences.’

Writing Workshops

Running weekly for most of the year: Fridays 2-4pm in room 6SR (E8B) 111. Convened by Ken Cheng. 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

FSE Town Hall Slides 18_03_20_FSE Town Hall_March18_FINAL

Administration Staffing Updates

Minor changes to admin staff will result in reduced staff availability as of April, so please make an effort to plan your admin needs and avoid potential delays to your request.

Changes:

Sharyon O’Donnell – Unavailable/On Leave from Monday 26 March until Friday 6 April, returning Monday 9 April

Julian May – Unavailable/On Leave from Thursday 29 March until Friday 27 April, returning Monday 30 April

Adyen De Courcey – Working Part Time and available Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays

For any administration enquiries please email them to <fse.bio-adm@mq.edu.au> as this is seen by all administrative staff. The most appropriate person will reply to your email.

Location-W (Fauna Park) Admin Support
Monday, Wednesday & Friday from 10am – 1pm in W19F

Deliveries
You will notice that we have placed a red “transfer Box” in W19F, put anything in this box that needs to be delivered to the E8 area location. We also have a red “Transfer Box” in E8B Level 2 location, which is for goods to betaken to the W location. These boxes will be emptied every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10am. Deliveries from the main “MQ” store will be delivered daily. Any questions please contact Sharyon O’Donnell

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.

Staff parking permits – Now available from the Admin Office – 6SR (E8B) 206.

Photo Competition – March 2018 – Hurry last chance to enter to win a $100 Gift Card this month!

This month’s theme is SUMMER
Your images could be used on our Department website, this newsletter, on our social media and in other biology publications. A lucky person’s name will be drawn each month, and they will receive a $100 Gift Card! Criteria: you must provide caption information including details of what/where/who(names of people)/date & you must have taken all photos & the image was taken in the last five years. Please follow the dropbox file request link to submit your images. Submission close: 30 March 2018 You can enter as many photos as you like – one entry to the draw for each good photo, good luck!

Correct Method for Submitting to Department Matters

Department Matters submissions now have their own email address.  Please send all future submissions to 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.

  1. Please write in third person. The information is coming from the Newsletter, not directly from you.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.

Keeping to these guidelines will streamline your article’s addition to the newsletter. Thank you.

   

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Are you getting credit for your Outreach Activities? Have participated in an activity for Biology recently?
Don’t forget to fill in the super-quick form here – ACCESS OUTREACH FORM HERE

JOB POSITIONS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Position Vacant – Administrative Assistant for CAPSTAN
 
The Collaborative Australian Postgraduate Sea Training Alliance Network (CAPSTAN) seeks an administrative assistant on a casual term for an expected average of 8 to 16 hours per week. Candidate should be responsible, organised, passionate about marine science and enthusiastic about STEM education. Questions? Please contact April Abbott at <april.abbott@mq.edu.au>.
Responsibilities will include:
  • Verbal and written communication with stakeholders through emails, newsletters, and short articles
  • Voyage planning and administration including application processing and making arrangements for travel and accommodation
  • Board member arrangements and communications
  • Representing CAPSTAN to the Australian Marine Science Community with potential for conference attendance
  • Supporting marine science education research efforts
  • Promoting CAPSTAN to potential partner universities and industries
Job Opportunity – Outreach activity development
As a Department we want to offer a range of high quality  learning activities, for outreach events, that are related to our research and teaching. We are currently adapting two undergrad practicals to create 40 min+ lesson plans for high school students (any year 7-11) for various events and school visits. We can pay HDR, MRes, or excellent UG students up to 10 hours at Dem rates.
 
So we are looking for one or two people depending on the skill set of the applicants. We are specifically looking for people that have:
  1. Some molecular skills to adapt a prac in Biol115 to create a versatile activity called solving mysteries with DNA
  2. Interests in marine conservation with an emphasis on fish to build resources for a marine reserve activity built around a fish ID prac
The second task will be delivered as part of an event later this semester and so there is further opportunity to also be paid to present it. Although we have the framework sorted original input into the activities will not be discouraged. Please contact <matthew.bulbert@mq.edu.au> or <katherine.mcclellan@mq.edu.au>

BLOGS AND OTHER THINGS OF INTEREST

Plant of the Week!

Schinus molle var. areira – Peppercorn, Pepper or Pepperina Trees come from South America and yet they can be found all over Australia. They are very common in country towns and on farming properties  and we have often wondered how often, in the early days of European settlement of Australia, handfuls of the conspicuous pink/red seeds were tucked into saddle bags, later to be planted around isolated homesteads.

2018 Nikon Small World Competition – For those with the skills and interest in microbiological photography. https://nikonsmallworld.magnet.fsu.edu/

Shuttle Bus – Did you know that the University has a free shuttle bus service during semester time? Follow this link to find out more – https://www.mq.edu.au/about/contacts-and-maps/getting-to-macquarie/shuttle-bus

New Publications

Human dissemination of genes and microorganisms in Earth’s Critical Zone

Zhu, Yong‐Guan, Michael Gillings, Pascal Simonet, Dov Stekel, Steven Banwart, and Josep Penuelas. Global change biology (2017). | Find with Google Scholar »

Short and fast vs long and slow: age changes courtship in male orb-web spiders (Argiope keyserlingi)

By: O’Hanlon, James C., Anne E. Wignall, and Marie E. Herberstein. The Science of Nature 105, no. 1-2 (2018): 3. | Find with Google Scholar »

Abundance and richness of key Antarctic seafloor fauna correlates with modelled food availability

By: Jansen, J., Hill, N.A., Dunstan, P.K., McKinlay, J., Sumner, M.D., Post, A.L., Eléaume, M.P., Armand, L.K., Warnock, J.P., Galton-Fenzi, B.K. and Johnson, C.R., 2018. Nature ecology & evolution, 2(1), p.71. | Find with Google Scholar »

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