BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT MATTERS | MAY 1, 2015

Dear all,

It’s May and this can only mean one thing: EUROVISION! It is coming…..don’t be afraid, be prepared. In the next 2-3 weeks, we will review all songs to prepare you for the big event May 23! Of course there will be sweepstakes, of course there will be the Eurovision morning tea, of course there will be wind-machines.

To warm up, re familiarise yourself with last year’s final blog: https://thescienceofeurovision.wordpress.com/

cheerio

Mariella

General News and Announcements

Department Meeting – Tuesday May 5, 1-2pm E8 Tearom

All staff and students are requested to attend  next week’s Department Meeting. The agenda so far:

• New HOD – outcome of vote of confidence
• From the Committees
• Sustainability of Teaching
• TED surveys
• Opportunities with the University of Hamburg
• Curriculum update
• MRes update

Please email me for Agenda item inclusions

Next week’s seminar: Alex Carthey & John Alroy

Alex McCarthy: Chemical and behavioural approaches to novel species interactions

Abstract:

Invasions result in novel interactions between native and alien species. For example, alien predators often have devastating impacts on native prey where native prey fail to recognise or respond appropriately to a novel predation risk. I’m particularly interested in chemical and behavioural aspects of all types of novel antagonistic interactions involving vertebrates. My PhD research focused on evolutionary naivete in Australian native small mammal prey towards dogs, foxes and cats. My current research looks at novel interactions between native and alien plants and vertebrate herbivores. In this talk I will report on a chemical study of the olfactory cues that native small mammals use to recognise native and alien predators. I will also describe research looking at behavioural responses of wild small mammals to these predator odours in the field. Finally, I will outline some interesting research questions about how native and alien plant chemistry might influence the foraging behaviour of (introduced) rabbits and (native) wallabies in Australia, and whether pressure from novel herbivores could result in evolutionary change in native and alien plants.

Freecycle Nook – get in quick!

The Freecycle Nook (E8A Tearoom) has had a recent influx of funky items and top quality academic texts. The flip side is that it’s starting to take over the tearoom, so at the end of next week we’ll do a reset. Please have a look through what’s on offer by 5pm Friday 8th May – perhaps something different for Mothers Day? After that the remaining goods will be distributed to charity or recycling, as appropriate).

Tree Changes

During the recent wild weather, some of our large and special trees fell over. Anyone wanting an up close and personal look at a canopy, but without the vertigo, should take a wander around campus. There are a few trees down near the lake, one on the way up to The Hill. And our own Earth Science garden has a fallen Chorisia. The Chorisia is a spectacular tree from South America, that has beautiful pink flowers (or would have in a few weeks). It also has some terrific looking thorns covering the trunk. We’re going to try and rescue it for a resprout, so fingers crossed.

Arboretum Events

In June, Macquarie Sustainability is celebrating World Environment Day for the whole month as Earth Care Month. There will be tree planting, garden working bees, Arboretum tours, and workshops on permaculture gardening. More information will be coming soon.

In August, we’ll be celebrating 5 years since the Arboretum was launched as an official entity. We’ll have a celebration and tree planting on Monday 17th August, 10am. More details soon.

More Presenters needed for Advanced Biology in Semester 2

Advanced Biology units comprise 1 hour small-group tutorials held on a Friday afternoon (1-2pm in the Biology Department Museum). The core activity for the Friday sessions is intellectual stimulation, discussion and interaction focused on highly contemporary issues in Biology.

The students are expected to read and prepare advance material. It is generally best to assign a short paper or two (introducing your topic) so the students can gain some prior knowledge. The material you assign can be one of your latest papers, a recent reprint from a major journal (such as Nature, Science, TREE or PNAS or some leading journal in your field), news and views article or any document that generates serious issues and discussion. It can also be a very useful device to talk about something controversial or to set some problem exercises or questions to get them thinking before the tutorial begins. The students are also encouraged to come and see you if they have found your session particularly interesting.

There are still slots available for Semester 2 in August, early September and a couple of dates in October. Please contact Koa (koa.webster@mq.edu.au) to book a session or for further information.

University Strategic Priority grants

This is a new L&T grant scheme to support projects that align with the Learning and Teaching Strategic Framework.  Up to $30k is available for projects with 12-month timelines.  http://staff.mq.edu.au/teaching/awards_and_grants/grants/internal/applying/strategic_priority/

As these are strategic grants, it is essential you let the Faculty know you are thinking of applying.  By tomorrow there will be a form at the link below to register an expression of interest, due by 6th May.

https://wiki.mq.edu.au/display/sciencestudentcentre/Awards+and+Grants

Faculty Learning and Teaching grants

We will continue the simplified application process that was successful in 2014.  The aims of these grants are:

• Encouraging thinking and activities around L&T issues within Departments and across the Faculty.
• Encouraging discussion and sharing of ideas around L&T within Departments and across the Faculty.
• Identifying and assisting projects with the potential to be developed for University or external funding, especially those related to the emerging University L&T strategy.

One page applications are due by 5pm Friday 15th May and can be submitted via the link here:

https://wiki.mq.edu.au/display/sciencestudentcentre/Awards+and+Grants 

More information can be found in the document attached.

Learning and Teaching week

Learning and Teaching Week for 2015 will be held from 14 – 17^th September 2015.  We seek your enthusiastic participation in this endeavour.  The theme for this year is Connect More which aligns with ideas presented in the Green Paper.

The Call for Proposals is now open and the online submission process will be closed on Friday 15 May. For details and the links to complete your submission, please go to http://staff.mq.edu.au/teaching/workshops_programs/ltweek/

I have also attached the Call for Proposals and the Selection Criteria. 

The Committee is also seeking reviewers.  If you are interested, please contact Liz Shoostovian directly on Elizabeth.shoostovian@mq.edu.au.

Some great description of the Department’s History 

Hannelore Paxton brought by a book (Liberality of Opportunity – A History of Macquarie University 1964-1989) . Here some excellent quotes about the Department:

“Biological Sciences, as many have marvelled, was the one School in an institution devoted t the interdisciplinary ideal which did not divide itself into its constituent disciplines.”

I attach a pdf of the relevant chapter…

Mansfield B & Hutchinson M (1992) Liberality of Opportunity – A History of Macquarie University 1964-1989 Hale & Iremonger, Sydney

Sydney Plant Ecophysiology Group Meeting Monday May 4th 4pm

A reminder that our monthly plant ecophysiology meeting has been rescheduled to next Monday afternoon, May 4th, from 4pm to 6pm at Sydney Uni (see below for location details).

Our talks this month:

Dr Steve Van Sluyter, Macquarie University

“Quantifying leaf proteins by mass spectrometry: applications in plant ecophysiology”

Total leaf nitrogen is used as a predictor for carbon fixation because photosynthesis proteins are a large fraction of leaf nitrogen. Yet leaf nitrogen may also be allocated to other functional categories of proteins, such as stress response and defense, at the expense of photosynthesis proteins. New quantitative proteomics methods are just now making it possible to accurately measure amounts of hundreds of proteins per sample. Grouping quantified proteins into functional categories makes it possible to answer ecological questions across large numbers of samples. For example: Why is total leaf nitrogen not always a good predictor of photosynthesis? Why does photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency decline with leaf age? Why is nitrogen recovery from senescent leaves low and variable? I am trying to answer these questions using dozens of native Australian plants from Queensland to Tasmania.

And Dr Mike Aspinwall, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney

“Tree responses to heatwaves: is species distribution and thermal acclimation important?”

A key feature of global climate change is the increased frequency and intensity of heatwaves, superimposed on gradual atmospheric warming.  Heatwaves have important implications for tree growth and function, yet many questions remain.  Here, I present the results of a recent heatwave experiment aimed at addressing two basic questions: 1) does acclimation to warming provide physiological or fitness benefits to trees during heatwaves? and 2) do widely distributed and narrowly distributed species differ in their ability to tolerate heatwaves?  To address these questions we grew temperate origin provenances’ of four Eucalyptus species (two broadly distributed species (E. camaldulensis, E. tereticornis) and two endemic species (E. botryoides, E. smithii)) under two temperatures (mean daily summer temperature conditions, +3.5 °C warming), and exposed them to a 5-day heatwave where midday temperatures exceeded 45 °C.  Interestingly, trees grown under warmer conditions were often more negatively affected by heat stress, both in terms of growth and function (e.g. photosynthesis, maintenance of PSII).  Alternatively, widely distributed taxa were generally more tolerant of heat stress than endemic taxa.  These results indicate that acclimation to climate warming may not improve tree responses to heatwaves, but species distribution may partly influence tree responses to extreme heat.  Potential mechanisms are discussed.  Finally, I present high-resolution temperature response curves of leaf dark respiration measured before and during the heatwave which demonstrate trees remarkable ability to increase leaf thermotolerance in response to short-term extreme heat events.

Venue:

Room 422, Biomedical Building, 1 Central Ave, Australian Technology Park (Sydney University). 

The building is about a 5 min walk from Redfern station and it is best to walk south along platform 10 before exiting the station

Hope to see you there,

Cheers,

Tory

Jobs – Research Associate / Research Fellow in Theory of Change for PACE

We are seeking an enthusiastic and talented researcher to join our Professional and Community Engagement (PACE) Research and Evaluation Team. The Research Associate / Research Fellow will be responsible for developing a ‘theory of change’ for the PACE program. A particular objective of the position is to further knowledge and understanding of the impact PACE is having and if and how it is meeting its goals. An associated project will also seek to understand different stakeholders’ views of what constitutes success in PACE both for themselves and other stakeholders. Reporting to the Senior Academic Developer in PACE, this position will work collaboratively with students, staff in the PACE Office, faculties, research centres and a range of local and national partners.  Depending on research background the appointee may wish to affiliate with another department within the university and may also be expected to assist with the co-supervision of postgraduate and undergraduate research students working on the impact professional and community engagement has on key stakeholder groups (students, partner organisations and the university).

Details: http://jobs.mq.edu.au/cw/en/job/495458/research-associate-research-fellow-in-theory-of-change-for-pace

New Colombo Plan – a government funded student mobility program

The scheme funds semester-long and shorter term trips for Australian undergraduate groups to universities in the Asia Pacific region.  Funding is given to the students to cover travel, accommodation and course costs.

If you are aware of any existing programs in your department or know of a program in one of the participating countries that we could tap into, please let Kelsie Dadd know.  All applications have to come to Kelsie Dadd before May 11 so that I can rank them for the international office.  The funding is for programs in 2016 but you can apply for funding for up to 3 years.  The application form is fairly short.

New Colombo Plan Briefing Presentation

Australian Conference on Mathematics and Science Education 2015

Wednesday 30^th September to Friday 2^nd October 2015 at Curtin University and Murdoch University

This is the first Call for Papers for the Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education (ACSME). The theme for this year’s conference, which will be held from Wednesday 30th September to Friday 2nd October 2015, is Transforming practice: Inspiring innovation.

 We invite submissions using our online submission portal.

 http://sydney.edu.au/iisme/conference/2015/index.shtml, 

New Publications

In the Media

Recent Completions

PhD – Diego Barneche: Scaling fish energetics from individuals to communities

Supervised by Drew Allen

---