Impact of Wastewater Treatment on the Prevalence of Integrons and the Genetic Diversity of Integron Gene Cassettes
By: An, Xin-Li, Qing-Lin Chen, Dong Zhu, Yong-Guan Zhu, Michael R. Gillings, and Jian-Qiang Su. Applied and environmental microbiology 84, no. 9 (2018): e02766-17. | Find with Google Scholar »
|
Dear all,
I’m back from my wonderful holiday among the forests of SW Western Australia – thanks to the Exec Team for looking after our marvellous department so well in my absence. Everything still seems to be in order.
I hope that S1 convenors managed to have a short break and regroup before the final push to the end of the teaching session! Meanwhile, building is continuing apace in the Fauna Park, with the new building on track for completion at the end of August. The department recently hosted Abbotsleigh school students who were fascinated by our MiniBeasts – thanks to all those who made it a success! Our outreach and school partnership program is getting bigger and better daily under the leadership of Matt Bulbert and Kath McClellan. And over 720 followers on Twitter (@MQBiology) and 300 on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MQBiology/) now! Macquarie Research Fellowship Expressions of Interest are coming in thick and fast which is fabulous – fingers crossed we get to have a few of these talented people join us. And in our continual quest to enhance the student experience, we are making progress towards having student reps across our programs – watch this space!
At our Dept meeting on Tuesday, Drew presented the proposal to offer a Bachelor of Science major in Biology through Open Universities Australia – if you want any more info or have any comments please let Drew know. As well the Exec Dean Barbara Messerle visited us to talk about Faculty successes and the state of play in research, learning & teaching, HDR and WHS in the Department and Faculty – while we can improve our student feedback processes (yes, those LETs!), in general Biology is doing very well with excellent research income, HDR student numbers and publications – well done us!
Happy Star Wars Day,
Michelle
Save the Date
This coming week 7th – 11th May
Wed 9th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am – 11.30am; The Hill.
Wed 9th: Department Seminar – Dr. Bruno Buzatto, Macquarie University; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
Thu 10th: aaRgh – R drop-in help; 3.00pm – 4.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
Fri 11th: Writing Workshop with Ken Cheng; 2.00 – 4.00pm; 6SR (E8B) 111.
Following week 14th – 18th May
Wed 16th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am – 11.30am; Biology Tea Room.
Wed 16th: Department Seminar – Assoc. Prof. Michael Renton, School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
Fri 18th: Writing Workshop with Ken Cheng; 2.00 – 4.00pm; 6SR (E8B) 111.
Coming Up
May 23rd: Workshop – ‘The Art and Science of Getting Your Research Published’; All Day, 12WW (E7A) level 8.
May 30th: Workshop – ‘Developing Your 5-year Research Plan’; 12.00 – 1.00pm, 12WW (E7A) level 8.
July 24-25th: Research Enrichment Program – Outlook Conference “The Future of the Human Landscape”; Incubator Building, MQU.
Department Seminar Series
Wed May 23rd: Department Seminar – Prof. Michael Bunce, School of Plant Biology, ARC Future Fellow Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) laboratory, & Australian Wildlife Forensic Services (AWFS) Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
Wed May 30th: Department Seminar – Dr Iadine Chades, CSIRO; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
Wed June 6th: Department Seminar – Prof. Saul Cunningham, Fenner School, ANU; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; Biology Tea Room.
General News and Announcements
In Case You Missed it on Twitter… Vanessa Pirotta is a 2018 Finalist in the British Council FAMELab national competition for science communication – congratulations and GOOD LUCK!
Mental Health – an issue for our community
The issue of mental health awareness and support is a focus for the Department. So far this year we have held an HDR Supervisor workshop on the issue and we are working to expand our mentoring and support for students and staff. There is much current interest in the scientific journals – I found this recent piece from Nature quite a good read: Feeling overwhelmed by academia? You are not alone. Five researchers share their stories and advice on how to maintain good mental health in the hyper-competitive environment of science. …Michelle
RESEARCH STORIES, OUTCOMES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Outside Studies Program – The MQ Outside Studies Program (OSP) opens for academic staff on the 9th May 2018. Please discuss with your supervisor/Head of Department before putting in an application. All applications will be assessed by the Associate Dean Research and the Research Committee before being approved to proceed. The closing date will be Wednesday the 27th June 2018. There is a workshop scheduled for the 16th May 2018 – it is recommended you attend this if you are planning to apply for an OSP this round.
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.
PhD Scholarship: Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in Australian Wildlife – Applications close 17th May 2018 – PhD opportunity
University of Tasmania – Seeking Project Proposals for National PhD Program in Horticulture – Seeking Project Proposals for National PhD Program in Horticulture 2018…. National-PhD-Leadership-Program-Proposal-2018
LEARNING AND TEACHING
Gender Bias in Student Feedback – Check out this website where you can search for gender bias in terms used by students (rate my professor) in describing their teachers. http://benschmidt.org/maps-visualizations-gallery/ Apparently, I am not as funny as I thought I was….Mariella
(click on image to enlarge)
Want to Develop your Teaching Portfolio? HEA Fellowship Opportunity
Macquarie academics and professional staff can now have their education practice and experience recognised through the Higher Education Academy (HEA) Fellowship program. These Fellowships provide international recognition of personal and institutional commitment, and professionalism, in higher education. HEA fellowships also look great on promotion applications, fitting into the categories of:
Professional development and/or accreditation: Record of continuous professional development, including through internal or external accreditation schemes (e.g. Higher Education Academy).
Scholarship of Learning and Teaching: Articulation of clear personal teaching philosophy with evidence of reflection and response to a range of evaluative feedback (this needs to be addressed in the HEA application).
This year MQ is funding applications for staff, including tutors and professional staff. Due to budget cuts this funding is not guaranteed for 2019 (~$5000 per person), so if you are interested please attend an info session to register. The work involved in applications increases with each level, but there are writing workshops and opportunities to have your application reviewed before submission to help.
Contact Kath McClellan if you are interested (katherine.mcclellan@mq.edu.au)
HDR Student Emails – Are you still using your students.mq.edu.au email? Did you know that you have a staff email? Naming profile is usually firstname.lastname@hdr.mq.edu.au Your staff email account can be accessed via Office 365. If you would prefer to keep using another email account, there are instructions here which outline how to forward all communications from your staff email account, to another email account. If you experience any issues or need help with this, please contact IT.
SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS
Biological Sciences Weekly Seminar
Date/Time/Venue: Wednesday, 9th May 2018, 1 – 2pm, 14EAR (E8A)-280 Biology Tearoom.
Speaker: Dr. Bruno Buzatto, Macquarie University. Title: Genetic constraints for the evolution of dimorphisms. More information at https://goto.mq.edu.au/biologyseminar2018-abstracts
MolSci Weekly Seminar
Date/Time/Venue: Tuesday, 8th May 2018, 1 – 2pm, 4WW (F7B) 422 APAF seminar room. Speaker: Dr Chandrika Deshpande. Title: Calcium is essential for the iron-export activity of the ferroportin transporter family. For more information visit – https://goto.mq.edu.au/6q
Sap Flow Technology Workshop – A workshop in July on sap flow technology is being organised for research applications on woody plant species. The workshop will be convened by Dr Michael Forster (Edaphic Scientific & University of Queensland). He will cover the essential theory on sap flow (9am-12pm) complemented by hands-on activities on the installation, operation and maintenance of sap flow systems and data analysis (1-4pm). If you, your students or colleagues are interested, please fill this poll (https://doodle.com/poll/g7hr7ebaa9dyb472 ) indicating your available dates or email Dr Alessandro Ossola <alessandro.ossola@mq.edu.au> for more info.
Wildlife Health & Pathology Short Course- 18 – 23 February 2019 – Location: Taronga Institute of Science and Learning, Sydney.
The Australian Registry of Wildlife Health, supported by the Cybec Foundation and CL Davis Foundation, is hosting a Wildlife Health and Pathology Short Course, and a Translocation Health Symposium. The course is open to anyone with an interest in wildlife disease, including pathologists, veterinarians, conservation biologists, veterinary students and postgraduate students. Practical workshops on necropsy, laboratory skills, and histopathology will be offered. The Translocation Health Symposium will highlight the many disciplines of translocation science including ecology, nutrition, behaviour, welfare, and disease risk analysis. Panel discussions will provide an opportunity for engagement and the exchange of ideas and best practice. Internationally acclaimed wildlife pathologists Drs Judy St Leger (SeaWorld), Bruce Rideout (San Diego Zoo), Michael Garner (Washington State University), and nutritionist Ellen Dierenfeld (Nottingham Trent University), and others will join local wildlife specialists to deliver this fascinating program. Registrations will open: July 2018. Scholarships for local graduate students and wildlife veterinarians from developing countries will be made available. Keep an eye on the Registry website for more details: theRegistry.org.au
What Should Universities Be? Conference USYD, 22nd – 23rd Nov, 2018. What should Universities be
Research Enrichment Program – Outlook Conference
July 24-25, Incubator Building, Macquarie University – “The Future of the Human Landscape”
The Outlook Conference (Research Enrichment Program Outlook Flyer) will bring together leading thinkers in diverse disciplines, spanning molecules to landscapes, and from scientific, historical and social viewpoints. Speakers at 2018 Outlook conference include Professor Tim Flannery (Writer and Social Commentator), Professor Angela Moles (UNSW), Associate Professor Greg Downey (MQ) and Professor Rob Brooks (UNSW). The objective of Outlook 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>.
The Art and Science of Getting Your Research Published – Wednesday 23rd May (all day) level 8, E7A Organised by Michael Gillings and Haidee Kruger. This workshop is an introduction to research authorship and communication. In addition to Postgraduate students, academics and postdocs are most welcome to attend. Click here to register for ‘The Art and Science of getting your research published’
Developing Your 5-year Research Plan – Wednesday 30 May (12-1pm), level 8 E7A – Delivered by Andrew Barron. Hitting any mid- and long-term research and career goals is impossible if you don’t know what they are. This seminar discusses how you can identify what you want to do, and how you can plan to give yourself the greatest chance of hitting your targets. No need to register, simply turn-up.
aaRgh (ask an R geek for help) – Second Thursday of every month 3 – 4pm, Biology Tearoom – 14EAR (E8A) 280. Frustrated? Having an R-related problem? We will also run regular afternoon tea sessions where you can get one-on-one help, or just introduce yourself and chat. Snacks provided!
Writing Workshops – Running weekly for most of the year: Fridays 2-4pm in room 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
How to Get the Stars in Your Eyes – The Department of Physics and Astronomy are calling for volunteers to take part in their annual Astronomy Open Night. We are now calling for those interested to please come forward and let us know if you are keen to lend a serious hand on the night. There is the usual payment of a t-shirt and food voucher, and the added bonus of the joy and warm feelings of helping out. Please email <kelly.sharpless@mq.edu.au> or <liz.hennebry@mq.edu.au> if you would like to volunteer. Please note that there will be a compulsory briefing session(s) in the weeks(s) before the event (no more than 2) and that you will very likely be required to arrive in the late afternoon on 19 May to help set up. More details about the event can be found athttps://students.mq.edu.au/study/faculties-schools-and-colleges/faculty-of-science-and-engineering/department-of-physics-and-astronomy/association-for-astronomy/astronomy-open-night
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. Adyen De Courcey – On Leave for 3 months, please direct your enquires to the <fse.bio-adm@mq.edu.au>. 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.
PURE Training – The PURE system is used to manage researcher profiles, outputs including publications, funding applications, awards, projects and reports. Do you feel like you could use some more PURE training? Please register your interest via an email to <jenny.ghabache@mq.edu.au>.
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
Photo Competition – May 2018 – Enter to win a $100 Gift Card this month!
This month’s theme is COLOUR! 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 MAY 2018 You can enter as many photos as you like – one entry to the draw for each good photo, good luck!
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.
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.
- Please write in third person. The information is coming from the Newsletter, not directly from you.
- 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.
- 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.
Follow us on Social Media
SUSTAINABILITY
University BioQuest – Preliminary Results – A big thanks to all who participated in the University BioQuest in April, particularly Jenny Donald, who not only encouraged and cajoled people to join in, but is also our top identifier, and largely responsible for how high we ranked. The final results aren’t in yet, as they are still identifying all the sightings submitted. Stay tuned for next week’s update.
Sustainability Survey – Survey’s have been emailed, and hard copies are in place outside the Biology tearoom, and in the E8C ground floor foyer. Please help this department become more sustainable by having your say on what you think the priorities are. Write a post it note, place a tick, or email Samantha Newton <samantha.newton@mq.edu.au> with your feedback.
BLOGS AND OTHER THINGS OF INTEREST
Eurovision Ahoy – It’s that time of the year again, when good taste and logic goes out the window: Eurovision ante portas! Do not fret, we are on your side and we will see you through this! Follow the blog, http://www.thescienceofeurovision.website, buy a sweepstake ticket from the HOD office, and join the Eurovision morning tea (May 14, 10:30). Semi-finales and finales will be screened on SBS May 11-13. Eurovisionposter2018
Plant of the Week – will return next week!
2018 Nikon Small World Competition – Entries for both Small World competitions can be uploaded directly to the MicroscopyU servers at the following URL: https://nikonsmallworld.magnet.fsu.edu/
New Publications
Habitat filtering determines the functional niche occupancy of plant communities worldwide
By: Li, Y., Shipley, B., Price, J.N., L Dantas, V., Tamme, R., Westoby, M., Siefert, A., Schamp, B.S., Spasojevic, M.J., Jung, V. and Laughlin, D.C., 2017. Journal of Ecology. | Find with Google Scholar »Under the weather?-The direct effects of climate warming on a threatened desert lizard are mediated by their activity phase and burrow system
By: Moore, Danae, Adam Stow, and Michael Ray Kearney. Journal of Animal Ecology (2018). | Find with Google Scholar »Release from ecological constraint erases sex difference in social ornamentation
By: Funghi, Caterina, Sandra Trigo, Ana Cristina R. Gomes, Marta C. Soares, and Gonçalo C. Cardoso. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 72, no. 4 (2018): 67. | Find with Google Scholar »Comparability and repeatability of three commonly used methods for measuring endurance capacity
By: Baxter‐Gilbert, James, Max Mühlenhaupt, and Martin J. Whiting. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology (2017). | Find with Google Scholar »An interdisciplinary approach to designing online learning: fostering pre-service mathematics teachers’ capabilities in mathematical modelling
By: Geiger, Vince, Joanne Mulligan, Liz Date-Huxtable, Rehez Ahlip, D. Heath Jones, E. Julian May, Leanne Rylands, and Ian Wright. ZDM (2018): 1-16. | Find with Google Scholar »Signatures of local adaptation along environmental gradients in a range-expanding damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
By: Rachael Y Dudaniec, Chuan Ji Yong , Lesley T Lancaste, Erik I Svensson, Bengt Hansson (2018) Molecular Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14709 | Find with Google Scholar »Food approach conditioning and discrimination learning using sound cues in benthic sharks
By: Vila Pouca, Catarina and Brown, Culum. Animal cognition, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-018-1183-1. | Find with Google Scholar »Nest size is predicted by female identity and the local environment in the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), but is not related to the nest size of the genetic or foster mother
By: O'Neill, Louis G., Timothy H. Parker, and Simon C. Griffith. Open Science 5, no. 4 (2018): 172036. | Find with Google Scholar »In the Media
Rachael Dudaniec’s new paper covered in Cosmos Magazine
Dr Rachael Dudaniec’s paper “Signatures of local adaptation along environmental gradients in a range-expanding damselfly (Ischnura elegans)” covered in Cosmos Magazine.
https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/damselflies-dismiss-distress
Culum Brown was featured in an article on how to kill a fish
Associate Professor Culum Brown, from the Department of Biological Sciences, was featured in an article on how to kill a fish:
Elizabeth Madin, Rachael Woods and Damaris Torres-Pulliza were all mentioned in the lastest Australian Coral Reffe Society Newsletter
The new edition of the Australian Coral Reef Society Newsletter includes a few MQBiology mentions:
Elizabeth Madin p. 22
Rachael Woods p. 40
Damaris Torres-Pulliza p. 42
https://australiancoralreefsociety.org/library/newsletters/