Incomplete offspring sex bias in Australian populations of the butterfly Eurema hecabe
By: DJ Kemp, FE Thomson, W Edwards and I Iturbe-Ormaetxe (2016) Heredity 118: 284–292 | Find with Google Scholar »
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Dear all,
I hope everyone is enjoying the return of students – congrats to our teaching staff on surviving week one of session one for the year! This week we farewelled Lara Ainley who has been a valued member of our admin team, looking after all things HDR – we will miss her but wish her well in her new career as a scientist in the Cook Islands. Lara is replaced by Julian May who I’m sure will do an excellent job! We also welcome to the department Dr Jemma Geoghegan as our new Lecturer in Genetics and Bioinformatics and Andrew McNee in his role as School Liaison Officer.
Coming up next week are MRes seminars on Monday – please come along to support our students, and our regular Department meeting on Tuesday, starting with lunch at 12.30 with the meeting starting at 1pm. See you there!
cheerio,
Michelle
Save the Date
This coming week 6th – 10th March
Mon 6th: MRes Seminars; 11am – 1pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Tue 7th: Special Seminar – Geoff Hughes; 10:30 am – 11:00 am; The Lizard Lab (W19A).
Tue 7th: Department meeting (1-2pm) with lunch before (12.30-1pm); E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Tue 7th: MQ Centre for Green Cities Kick-Off Meeting; 4pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Wed 8th: Morning Tea with HoD; 10:30am – 11am; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Wed 8th: Weekly Seminar – Dr Antoine Wystrach of University of Edinburgh, UK; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Following week 13th – 17th March
Mon 13th: Celebration of Mark Westoby on his retirement; 4pm Biology Courtyard (or Tearoom if raining).
Wed 15th: Morning Tea with HoD; 10:30am – 11am; The Hill.
Wed 15th: Weekly Seminar – Dr Geertje van der Heijden of University of Nottingham, UK; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Coming up
Department seminar schedule
Mar 22th: Weekly Seminar – Dr Marko Miliša of University of Zagreb, Croatia; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Mar 29th: Weekly Seminar – Professor David Warton of University of NSW; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).
Apr 5th: Weekly Seminar – Associate Professor Clare McArthur of University of Sydney; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).
General News and Announcements
Don’t Miss 60 Seconds with Mark Westoby
http://www.mq.edu.au/thisweek/2017/02/24/60-seconds-with-mark-westoby/#.WLYfMH_kHzM
and a reminder that the department will be honouring Mark on the event of his retirement on Monday 13th March at 4pm with a wine & cheese gathering in the Biology Courtyard – please come along!
New Undergraduate Lab Safety Video
You may remember the shots from the filming of this video featured a few weeks ago in the Department Matters. Well now you can view the results the efforts of the actors, writers, film crew and editors. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/urRZn3xCtUA
Biology Safety Alert
1. Minutes from the Biology WHS committee meeting held on the 7th February. Biology WHS committee minutes 7th February 2017
2. What not to do if you have Hydrogen Peroxide in your lab.
AND
From the Faculty Health & Safety Advisor – Chemical Inductions
The new main webpage relating to chemicals can be found at https://staff.mq.edu.au/research/integrity-ethics-and-approvals/chemical .
As you know, the chemical induction procedure has changed mid 2016 and is now in two parts, one online and one practical.
I have setup a page, on our health and safety wiki page, with the instructions for this new chemical safety induction procedure.
Here is the link: https://wiki.mq.edu.au/display/healthandsafety/Chemicals (see attached pdf of it if the link does not work for some students).
Staff are automatically enrolled to the online training. For students to be enrolled, details must be sent to ohs@mq.edu.au as explained in the wiki page.
The student enrolment is done manually by our admin support and may take a couple of days to be processed.
I have attached the observation sheet. As stated in the observation sheet, the completed form should be sent back to ohs@mq.edu.au for record purposes.
Chemicals – Project – Health and Safety Macquarie – Wiki.mq.edu.au
Laboratory_safety_observation_record_form
iLearn / iTeach help
Kath is available to help with iLearn and iTeach issues on Thursdays and Fridays as she is teaching Monday – Wednesday this session. If you have an urgent issue and can’t wait you can email the FSE L&T team (fse.lt@mq.edu.au) or check out the self help pages here.
DEPARTMENTAL SEMINAR SERIES
Day/Date/Time/Place: Wednesday, 8th March, 1-2pm, E8A-280 (Tea Room)
Speaker: Dr Antoine Wystrach of University of Edinburgh, UK
The emergence of navigational behaviour in insects: lesson from crawling larvae and walking ants
Navigation requires the coordination between different type of actions (e.g., choosing a direction, going forward etc…), and the control mechanisms that ‘triggers’ these actions is often characterised as decision making. In the first part of this talk, we will see that distinct actions can spontaneously emerge from simple, continuous processes without the need to ‘trigger’ or ‘select’ actions. Such processes can provide a generalist solution to various navigational tasks from simple taxis behaviour as observed in fruit fly larva to complex visual route following as observed in ants. In the second part of this talk, we will see that ants construct additional, more sophisticated representations. These enable the higher behavioural flexibility required to solve more challenging navigational tasks, such as being displaced by wind, or needing to drag a heavy cookie backward.
Special Seminar – Geoff Hughes
Next Tuesday at 10:30 am the Lizard Lab (W19A) is hosting Geoff Hughes, who will give a brief (~30 min) talk about his MSc work at Laurentian University, Canada. His research examined the spatial and nesting ecology of an endangered Canadian turtle in a thermal context. If you’re interested in attending, we would love to have you!
Abstract: Thermal ecology studies of ectotherms, like turtles, have typically focused on a species’ thermal preferences and tolerances, or on thermoregulation site selections; only recently have landscape-scale thermal ecology studies been performed. I examined the spatial and nesting ecology of wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) in Sudbury District of Ontario, Canada, in a thermal context. Wood turtles cover a wide variety of terrestrial and aquatic habitats during their annual cycle, making them ideal for thermo-spatial studies. Wood turtle females are noted for their intensive and extensive nest-searching activities, often spending days probing their nesting beaches before laying their eggs. Presumably, these behaviours are indicative of a highly-choosy nest-selection regime, the benefit of which is increased female fitness. I examined wood turtle nest-site selection to determine if and how much temperature drives this selection process (i.e. is temperature a strong cue in determining nest-site selection). I selected three known nesting beaches and collected thermal imagery, soil moisture content, and soil texture (grain size distribution), to determine the strongest driver of female attention to different areas of the beaches. Temperature range was generally (but not definitively) the strongest predictor of female nest-searching attention, but soil moisture and mean temperature also showed varying degrees of importance. Wood turtle females either selected their nesting sites based on a mix of co-varying environmental cues, or a single cue that my statistical models were not sensitive enough to distinguish. Thermal imagery did not prove to be a cost-effective method of thermal mapping nesting beaches; more traditional methods of nest surveying, such as looking for the distinctive wood turtle trackways, may be more useful and cost-effective than thermal imagery.
MQRC Centre for Green Cities Kick-Off Meeting – 7th March 4pm E8A-280 Biology Tearoom
There is a new Macquarie University Research Centre that is located within the Department of Biological Sciences but has a multidisciplinary focus. The Centre will take an integrated approach to research on urban greening and sustainable energy innovations and will focus on developing partnerships between the university and industry to find solutions that ensure our cities remain liveable spaces.
If you are interested in the Centre’s research or consider becoming a member, please feel free to come along to the Kick-Off Meeting!
Contact Malin Hoeppner (malin.hoeppner@mq.edu.au) for more information.
$$$ PRIZES $$$
A number of prizes for scientific research or leadership are currently open, and we NEED YOUR HELP! Not only are prizes great for your own career progression, but they help to showcase research in our Department. So take a look at the prizes below and contact Linda Beaumont if you are eligible, or send Linda an email recommending someone.
Upcoming prizes:
L’Oreal Women in Science Fellowship: for women with < 5 years post-doctoral experience. $25,000 https://www.forwomeninscience.com.au/about Applications now open. Closes 3 April 2017.
Australian Academy of Science Honorific awards: Early and mid career awards, as well as lifetime achievement. https://www.science.org.au/opportunities-scientists/recognition/honorific-awards. Closes 20 April 2017.
Nancy Millis Medal for Women in Science, for mid-career researchers (8-15 years post-PhD). https://www.science.org.au/opportunities-scientists/recognition/honorific-awards/mid-career-awards/nancy-millis-medal-women. Closes 20 April 2017.
Australian Ecology Research Award. http://www.ecolsoc.org.au/research/aera. Closes 30 April, 2017.
Australian Museum Eureka Prizes: For Research & Innovation or Leadership or Citizen Science. https://eureka-entry.australianmuseum.net.au/. Closes 5 May 2017.
The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, 2017 Tinker-Muse Prize for Science and Policy in Antarctica. USD$100,000. http://www.scar.org/2017/1010-muse-prize. Closes 17 May 2017.
MQ Biology HDR Student Forum
This is a forum for discussing various academic and non-academic career-related issues and information. One can also discuss the common issues faced by MQ Biology HDR students.
Members can post articles, links, opinions and other interesting stuff to either start a discussion about it, or just share information. These discussions could be taken forward in actual encounters during coffee breaks or happy hours. The aim is to have a forum to discuss and raise concerns over issues faced by us. Also, to disseminate non-academic career related information which is rarely discussed otherwise. Feel free to add yourself or other MQ Biology HDR students. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1875143726032753/
Members can post articles, links, opinions and other interesting stuff to either start a discussion about it, or just share information. These discussions could be taken forward in actual encounters during coffee breaks or happy hours. The aim is to have a forum to discuss and raise concerns over issues faced by us. Also, to disseminate non-academic career related information which is rarely discussed otherwise. Feel free to add yourself or other MQ Biology HDR students. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1875143726032753/
New HDR Student Representative
Mo Haque is now the student rep. on the HDR committee. Students, if you have any topics or issue that you would like to raise at the next committee meeting, Please let Mo know.
<md-mohasinul.haque@students.mq.edu.au>
Biology Outreach Activities
Dear all, it’s a new year and outreach is here. There is quite lot happening in this space from the department to university level. And this year we have a real fair dinkum committee. So, expect more to come. To get things going we have started with a means to record and advertise activities.
If you are doing any outreach activities please please let us know! We have created a very quick and easy online form (which spits out a handy spreadsheet we can email to the Dean!) to let us know what you have done or are planning.
The Faculty is particularly keen on hearing about what is coming up. If you know in advance please put the details in as soon as you know. If something comes up and you do not get around to entering the details then please enter it in the form anyway. There are a bunch of strategic initiatives that the department could use this data for so it is not just about meeting the university’s desires.
If that is not enough to convince you, then chew on this: it turns out that physics and chemistry do a lot less than us but get much more acknowledgement from the Dean… why?! because they let everyone know what they are doing. So, let’s get some acknowledgement for our hard work!
Outreach can take many forms from: scientist in school activities, contributing to curricula, products or tools being released to the wider community, school visits, to on-campus activity days, hosting work experience students, science festival activities and presentations to amateur societies or community groups, to stronger engagements through citizen science programmes.
Any questions or ideas for events or activities please contact: Matthew Bulbert or one of the wonderful committee members: Katherine McCellan, Andrew McNee, Kerstin Bilgmann, Chris Reid, Jemma Geoghegan, Ken Cheng and Ajay Narendra.
Plant of the Week
For this week – Frangipani – Plumeria rubra. Looks belie a cheating lifestyle.
Welcoming New HDR Student: Wendy Grimm
Wendy is working with Michelle Leishman on Genoplesium baueri, an endangered terrestrial orchid growing in the northern suburbs of Sydney as well as near the Royal National Park and in the Shoalhaven area. Wendy is interested in understanding why this species is uncommon and hopes that research will lead to an improved knowledge of its biology and ecology and will help support its long-term preservation in the wild.
Wendy can be found in E8B 103 (x8160).
February Volunteers’ List
The latest version of this list can be requested by emailing <ray.duell@mq.edu.au>. To add people to this list, have them fill out the form at the bottom of this page.
Coal Loader Living Lab
Macquarie University has partnered with North Sydney Council to set up a Coal Loader Living Lab. We would like to invite any interested unit conveners to:
1. participate in an up coming Bioblitz
2. submit expressions of interest to utilise the living lab for unit course work. This may include such things as experimental design and long-term data collection on the site (see below).
BACKGROUND
North Sydney Council is transforming a former industrial site in Waverton to create a unique public facility – the Coal Loader Living Lab. The former coal loader platform will become a green roof outfitted with community garden harvest plots, picnic areas, solar panels, native plant gardens, water use monitoring devices and people counters. The site is set to be a valuable place of learning and demonstration of sustainability technology and practice.
LIVING LAB
Macquarie University has partnered with North Sydney Council to provide research support in developing the living lab, and build a framework for ongoing monitoring of success. The Coal Loader Platform Living Lab will create a place where project-based partnerships, practical programmes and academic activities (student learning & teaching, courses and academic research) will connect with non-academic partners including, North Sydney Council, primary and secondary schools and community groups, through on-site activities and an online portal.
TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES
There is considerable potential for the site to be utilised by Macquarie University for learning and teaching in units at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level. Educational opportunities on the Coal Loader Living Lab cover several broad themes, including: climate change – mitigation, adaptation and risk management; water sensitive urban design – bioswales and raingardens; green infrastructure – biodiversity conservation and provision of ecosystem services; sustainability – low carbon footprints and renewable energy; urban harvest – growing food in the city; outdoor education – designing effective learning programs.
For more information contact Katherine <katherine.berthon@mq.edu.au> |9850 8160
Do You Wish to Participate in This Year’s Science Festival?
Submissions for the Science festival 2017 The deadline for submissions for the science festival close March 17.
The festival is from 10-20 August. The are many ways in which you can participate including conducting talks, workshops, exhibitions and so on. The university is hiring a causal staff member to help with logistics while the festival organisers will market and promote the activities. If you are interested please let the outreach team know. The form you need to fill in allows you to announce the event without having organised venues and other logistics.
Funding Opportunities for HDR Students
This June AMP and partner MinterEllison will bring the Amplify PhD Pitch Competition, Ignite, back to the stage at Sydney’s The Basement, as part of AMP’s Amplify innovation and ideas program. And in true disruptive style, we’re shaking things up a little; doing things a little differently.
We’re looking for 20 of Australia’s boldest, brightest PhD students with BIG ideas, BIG vision and their sights set on the BIG stage. So if you know a PhD student whose idea explores ‘The Edge of the Possible’, is truly disruptive and provides an original solution to a universal problem, we’re keen to see what they’ve got and have them pitch it BIG, in just 150 seconds or less, for a shot winning up to $6000 Australian Dollars, courtesy of AMP and MinterEllison.
AMP’s Amplify Ignite Competition operates in the pursuit of three key objectives:
- To bridge classroom theory and real-world applicability to meet the challenges of industry, government and the broader business community;
- To challenge and empower University PhD students to expand their research into real-world application;
- To provide practical networking opportunities and bridge the gap between students and entrepreneurial communities, both locally and abroad.
Full details here:
https://www.amp.com.au/amplify/ignite/ignite-terms-and-conditions
Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment
The ESA is delighted to partner with the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment in 2017. The Holsworth Endowment invites applications for post-graduate student research support in ecology, wildlife management and natural history studies. The first round of 2017 applications are now open, and close on 31 March.
More information about the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment is available at http://www.ecolsoc.org.au/endowments
More Opportunities for Postgrads
2017 Jill Landsberg Trust Fund Scholarship. Funds research in the field of Applied Ecology. https://www.ecolsoc.org.au/forms/2017-jill-landsberg-trust-fund-scholarship-application-form. Applications close 30 April 2017.
Tony Price Award for plant ecology. Funds can be used for fieldwork or conference presentation. Applications close 30 April 2017, and must be submitted to fse.bio-hod@mq.edu.au. (application form is attached).
Tony Price Award Application_2017
Visiting Researcher Fellowship Scheme
The next round of the Faculty Visiting Researcher Fellowship Scheme is now open – applications will close on the 27th of March 2017, for the visits happening during the period from May to August of 2017.
Applications outside this period will be considered under exceptional circumstances.
Visiting Researcher Fellowship Scheme is targeted at researchers of very high standing relative to their career stage, and who are invited to Macquarie by a Faculty academic staff member for a short period of time. The Faculty will provide up to $10,000 for each visitor to help cover the costs of the visit, depending upon length of stay and travel costs.
Please email sci.research@mq.edu.au if you have any questions regarding this scheme.
Science in Public
Science in Public are running a media and communication training course for scientists in Sydney on Thursday 16 March. We also have courses mid-year in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.
These courses will help your team find the best way to communicate your work to different audiences, manage tricky questions about their research, and give them the chance to practice interviews with working journalists from TV, radio and print.
The Sydney course will run for a full day, from 8.30am to 5pm (in central Sydney – location TBC). It costs $800 (ex. GST) per person, and includes lunch, morning and afternoon tea, and coffees throughout the day.
We also have the following media training dates available around the country:
- Sydney: Thursday 16 March, Thursday 25 May
- Melbourne: Tuesday 2 May, Thursday 22 June
- Adelaide: Tuesday 6 June
- Perth: Wednesday 5 July
I’ve included more information about our courses below.
To register your place in a course, head to www.eventbrite.com.au/o/science-in-public-8313184779 or email my colleague Ellie Michaelides at <ellie@scienceinpublic.com.au>.
Job Vacancy
Newcastle Uni is looking for a Lecturer in Marine Science. If you have any interest see the pdf below.
Lecturer in Marine Science – University of Newcastle
Research Assistant Position Sought
I am Yanan Sun and I have just completed my PhD program on the taxonomy, barcoding and phylogeny of marine tubeworm Hydroides, with Jane Williamson. I am seeking any short term position of research assistant. I am particularly experienced in benthic sample sorting, identification of marine polychaetes, lab work on molecular genetics, phylogenetic analysis and de novo genome data assembly. Please email me at <yanan.sun2@students.mq.edu.au>. CV available on request.
New Publications
Compass cues used by a nocturnal bull ant, Myrmecia midas
By: Freas CA, Narendra A & Cheng K. 2017. Journal of Experimental Biology DOI: 10.1242/jeb.152967 | Find with Google Scholar »Regional differences in the preferred e-vector orientation of honeybee ocellar photoreceptors
By: Ogawa Y, Ribi WA, Zeil J & Hemmi JM. 2017. Journal of Experimental Biology DOI: 10.1242/jeb.156109 | Find with Google Scholar »Subtle changes in the landmark panorama disrupts visual navigation in a nocturnal bull ant
By: Narendra A & Ramirez-Esquivel F. 2017. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 372: 20160068 | Find with Google Scholar »Divorce in the socially monogamous zebra finch: Hormonal mechanisms and reproductive consequences
By: Crino, Ondi L., Katherine L. Buchanan, Benjamin G. Fanson, Laura L. Hurley, Kristina O. Smiley, and Simon C. Griffith. Hormones and behavior 87 (2017): 155-163. | Find with Google Scholar »Diversity, temporal distribution and physiology of the centric diatom Leptocylindrus Cleve (Bacillariophyta) from a southern hemisphere upwelling system
By: Ajani, Penelope A., Linda H. Armbrecht, Oliver Kersten, Gurjeet S. Kohli, and Shauna A. Murray. Diatom Research (2016): 1-15. | Find with Google Scholar »In the Media
Michael Gillings provided comment to The Age, Bendigo Advertiser, The Sydney Morning Herald, SBS World News Australia and Aged Care Insite
Professor Michael Gillings from the Department of Biological Sciences provided comment to The Age, Bendigo Advertiser, The Sydney Morning Herald, SBS World News Australia and Aged Care Insite regarding the need for people to stop overusing antibiotics to help prevent superbugs.
More details:
2GB Morning Show – Macquarie National News
1st March 2017 WHO releases hit list of antibiotic resistant bacteria
The Age Melbourne
1st March 2017 These are the 12 most deadly superbugs, WHO warns
Nursing Review and Aged Care Insight
March 2017 WHO publishes list of most threatening bacteria
Culum Brown provided comment to 2SER radio
Associate Professor Culum Brown from the Department of Biological Sciences provided comment to 2SER radio regarding the potential risks involved in using the koi herpes virus in Asia to help control the carp population. See page 5 of the report.
Michael Gillings was featured in Fitness First Magazine
Professor Michael Gillings from the Department of Biological Sciences was featured in Fitness First Magazine regarding the microbiome and the different ecosystems in the body.
Ajay Narendra was interviewed on ABC Radio Darwin
Dr Ajay Narendra from the Department of Biological Sciences was interviewed on ABC Radio Darwin in further coverage of his research into bull ants and how these insects acquire visual information in low-light. See page 3 of the report.