Bagworm decorations are an anti-predatory structure
By: Khan, Md Kawsar. bioRxiv (2019). | Find with Google Scholar »
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Dear all,
Last week our graduating students were sent a congratulatory email with embedded videos put together by many of our teaching staff (you can check them out below) – many thanks to Ajay and Linda for co-ordinating this to help our students not feel so sad at missing out on their graduation ceremony and celebration.
We have our monthly department meeting by Zoom this Tuesday – come along to see your friends and colleagues virtually and catch up on all the department news. I’m looking forward to seeing the best background images!
cheers
Michelle
Save the Date
This Week
Tues 5th May: Department Meeting via Zoom; 1pm – 2pm
Wed 6th May: MolSci Guest Lecture, 3-4pm – ‘Climbing the ladder in Science’ – Prof Cathy Foley from CSIRO. (Zoom Meeting ID 636135883)
Next Week
Teaching, work from home, not much else!
Future Events
Tuesday 9th – Thursday 11th June: HDR Conference via Zoom; three days; 9:00am-12:30pm.
Weekly Events
Wed: Shut Up and Write sessions – now online! See below for further details
Wed: Department seminars; Schedule ON OUR WEBPAGE HERE – Chris Reid will send out notices for future seminars to be held on Zoom
General News and Announcements
COVID-19 need to know
GENERAL
- everyone who has been approved to access campus facilities should now have received their official letter. You must call Campus Security on arrival and departure. Otherwise, enjoy working from home!
RESEARCH
- facilities are currently open for essential research. If you are not approved for campus access but would like to be, you should contact Calli Miller. Access to labs/facilities will require sign-off by academic supervisor, lab supervisor, HoD & ExecDean. Physical distancing and working alone guidelines apply.
- only very limited local fieldwork is being approved. Please discuss with our fieldwork managers – Josh (terrestrial) or Nick (marine) – if you would like to go in the field
L&T
- Wednesday zoom drop-in sessions for teaching staff to exchange ideas and stay connected are now on an ‘as needs’ basis – Linda will let teaching staff know if/when they are on each week
- L&T Directors are now co-ordinating input from unit convenors on the mode of delivery of units, learning outcomes, learning activities, student workload and assessment structure for all S2 units
- Reminder that information about resources for online delivery are available at the FSE000 iLearn site, including the Biology section. The Faculty L&T April Newsletter also has lots of tips for online teaching and the wiki has lots of information for S2 2020 Unit Transition for COVID-19
Biology Safety Alert
The Biology WHS committee met on the 29th April, 2020.
The minutes are documented here: Biology WHS committee minutes 29th April 2020.
Welcome Liisa!
Liisa Hämäläinen joins us as a postdoctoral researcher in Mariella Herberstein’s group. Liisa is originally from Finland and before coming to Macquarie, she completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge. She is interested in predator-prey interactions, with her research focusing on prey warning signals and predator learning. At Macquarie she will be working on aposematic Amata moths aiming to understand more on their chemical defences and colouration.
2020 LEAP – Partnership Engagement Grant Scheme
Congratulations to Katherine McClellan for securing $31,000 of LEAP PEGS funding to engage low socioeconomic schools to attend the HSC Depth Study and participate in both the MQ RoadsShow and InRoads programs.
Biology Garden Update
Autumn is a great time to get into the garden. See the attached PDF for updates on Biology garden activities: Biology Garden Update May 2020
Virtual Graduation Celebration
With the help from Linda Beaumont and Ajay Narendra the department organised two informal video messages to go out to our students who would have had their graduation ceremony this April. A huge thanks to all those involved!
Watch the Undergraduate video message.
Watch the Research and Postgraduate video message.
Do you have great ideas for staying connected? Want to share what your friends and colleagues are doing to stay physically distant but socially close?
Send us ideas to share, images to post on the Biology Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to Calli Miller: <calli.miller@mq.edu.au>
Plant of the Week
This week: Chinese Money Plant – Pilea peperomioides – 镜面草
This is an intriguing story about a plant from the forests of the Cang Mountains in Yunnan Province, western China, a plant scarcely known to science and yet popular as a Scandinavian houseplant for the last 70 years.
The Chiro Corrected Series
The Department of Chiropractic has launched a new project! Get your weekly dose of functional health advice & strategies to optimise mobility, strength and prevention of injury related to the musculoskeletal system, especially tailored for the home environment (that is, iso-friendly!). The content will appear weekly on the Chiro Instagram, on the MQ UniMoves App (download on apple or google play), with reposts on the MQ Sport and Health Club Instagrams as well.
Check it out!
OPPORTUNITIES
Graduate Program Opportunity
The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources is leading the Australian Public Service (APS) Graduate STEM stream, enabling individuals to apply for STEM graduate roles within the department as well as other agencies in 2021. The APS is looking for graduates with qualifications in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Successful applicants will be considered for positions in a range of host departments in STEM specific roles. This may include working in areas such as women in STEM, international and national space negotiations and agreements, earth observations, robotics, neuromorphic engineering, chemical and biological analysis and electro technology.
Applications for the 2021 Graduate Development Program are now open through the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources website and will be closing on Wednesday 6 May 2020 at 11:55pm.
Further information can be found on the Graduate Development Program website. Alternatively, if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Employment Programs.
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: NSW Premier’s Prizes for Science & Engineering
The NSW Premier’s Prizes for Science & Engineering seek to recognise excellence in science and engineering, and reward leading researchers for cutting-edge work that has generated economic, environmental, health, social or technological benefits for New South Wales.
Over $100,000 Prize Pool, including $60,000 for the 2020 NSW Scientist of the Year.
See the NSW Premier Prizes website for more details.
Teaching in BIOL2220 Systems Physiology
We are seeking expressions of interest for casual teaching, specifically convening and lecturing, for BIOL2220 Systems Physiology in S2. If you are interested please send a short CV with a letter outlining your teaching experience to <fse.bio-hod@mq.edu.au> by May 8th. Any enquiries please contact Michelle Leishman at the same email.
Student Bird Data Collection during COVID – BirdLife
BirdLife Australia is currently helping research students affected by the COVID-19 shutdown with a community-, volunteer-led data collection. If your project /data collection has been affected, please consider contacting Katherine Aburrow (katherine.aburrow@birdlife.org.au), indicating your contact details, project title, location and details/methods for data collection. Kathrine will be advertising student projects in the 29th April BirdLife eNews as well as social networks and email channels to seek community and volunteer support, and link students with dedicated volunteers able to help. Citizen-science with a COVID flavour!
The 2020 ECA Research Grants are now extended!
The Ecological Consultants Association of NSW supports ecological research in Australia and would like to award three grants each year to assist researchers to carry out their ecological projects.
- ECA of NSW Conservation Grant ($2000)
- Ray Williams Mammal Research Grant ($2000)
- Bushfire Ecology Research Grant ($1000)
Download a PDF Information and Application Form – Grant Application 2020
Download a Word Application Form – Grant Application Form 2020
Due to the uncertainty of how long the university-imposed restrictions will be in place as a result of COVID-19, the ECA NSW has decided to extend the deadline for the receipt of student grant applications to 30 June 2020.
2020 Eureka Prizes program extended
The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes are back – and in 2020 we’re marking 30 years of celebrating outstanding scientific achievement. This year, there are 17 prizes on offer across the categories of Research & Innovation, Leadership, Science Engagement and School Science.
Prizes cover a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines, aiming to recognise the work of scientists, researchers and science communicators at all career stages. There’s a prize pool of $170,000 to be shared between winners, and it’s free to enter!
Entry deadline extended to 7pm AEST Friday 15 May.
SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS
Shut Up and Write Sessions now online!
We have a WhatsApp group and we make times as they suit us, so if you’re interested in being involved, pop Lizzy Lowe an email with your phone number and she’ll add you to the group.
Venture Café – will be convening their community online, via Zoom, and offering the #ThursdayGathering programming in a Virtual format.
For more information visit: https://venturecafesydney.org/whats-on-this-week
HDR NEWS AND OPPORTUNITIES
CSL Florey Next Generation Award 2020 – Call for Nominations
The Australian Institute of Policy and Science is pleased to announce the 2020 CSL Florey Next Generation Awards.
Detailed information about the awards is available on the AIPS Website – CSL Florey Next Generation Award Page .
The CSL Next Generation Award is awarded every second year to a current Australian PhD candidate who has demonstrated outstanding capability, creativity and potential in the biomedical sciences and human health advancement.
Nominations must be via the Nomination Form which is linked to the AIPS Website – CSL Florey Next Generation Award page.
The 2020 applications are open from Monday 20th April and close at COB (Sydney time) on Friday 5th June 2020.
For more information please contact Steve Burke, General Manager, AIPS on director@aips.net.au
Free one-year RZS NSW membership for students
The Royal Zoological Society of NSW (RZS NSW) is offering free one-year student membership. Students can join online here: rzsnsw.org.au
THIS AND THAT
The funny sides of working from home:
Correct Method for Submitting to Department Matters
Department Matters submissions now have their own email address. Please send all your news items for the newsletter to <fse.bionewsletter@mq.edu.au>
Have You Missed Out on an Issue of Department Matters? Back issues can be found at this newsletter archive link for your reading pleasure.
New Publications
Rapid and repeated divergence of animal chemical signals in an island introduction experiment
By: Donihue, Colin M., Anthony Herrel, José Martín, Johannes Foufopoulos, Panayiotis Pafilis, and Simon Baeckens. Journal of Animal Ecology (2020). | Find with Google Scholar »Retinal topography and spectral sensitivity of the Port Jackson shark (Heterodontus portusjacksoni)
By: Peel, Lauren R., Shaun P. Collin, and Nathan S. Hart. Journal of Comparative Neurology (2020). | Find with Google Scholar »A new species of turtle-headed sea Snake (Emydocephalus: Elapidae) endemic to Western Australia
By: Nankivell, James H., C. L. A. I. R. E. Goiran, Mathew Hourston, Richard Shine, ARNE R. Rasmussen, Vicki A. Thomson, and KATE L. Sanders. Zootaxa 4758, no. 1 (2020): zootaxa-4758. | Find with Google Scholar »A phylogenomic approach reveals a low somatic mutation rate in a long-lived plant
By: Orr, Adam J., Amanda Padovan, David Kainer, Carsten Külheim, Lindell Bromham, Carlos Bustos-Segura, William Foley et al. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 287, no. 1922 (2020): 20192364. | Find with Google Scholar »Mars Rover Techniques and Lower/Middle Cambrian Microbialites from South Australia: Construction, Biofacies, and Biogeochemistry
By: Teece, Bronwyn L., Simon C. George, Oluwatoosin Bunmi A. Agbaje, Sarah M. Jacquet, and Glenn A. Brock. Astrobiology (2020). | Find with Google Scholar »Envisioning the future with ‘compassionate conservation’: An ominous projection for native wildlife and biodiversity
By: Callen, Alex, Matt W. Hayward, Kaya Klop-Toker, Benjamin L. Allen, Guy Ballard, Femke Broekhuis, Rohan H. Clarke et al. Biological Conservation 241 (2020): 108365. | Find with Google Scholar »In the Media
Dr Vanessa Pirotta was featured on ABC Radio Sydney Afternoons regarding the humpback whale migration.
Read more »