Urban impacts across realms: Making the case for inter-realm monitoring and management. Science of The Total Environment, 648, 711-719.
By: Bugnot, Ana B., Grant C. Hose, Christopher J. Walsh, Oliver Floerl, Kristine French, Katherine A. Dafforn, Jayne Hanford, Elizabeth C. Lowe, and Amy K. Hahs. | Find with Google Scholar »
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Hi all,
This week we welcomed new academic staff member Professor Hendrik Poorter. Hendrik is a plant ecophysiologist based mostly at the Institute for Bio- and Geo-sciences, Forschungzentrum, Jülich, Germany. He is on campus here for the next month so please say hello if you see him in the corridors.
Next week we have the Supplementary HDR conference on Monday morning where there will be a wonderful array of seminars from our HDR students – all welcome to come along to support our students. Then on Tuesday (6 Nov) we have our monthly Department meeting, with a sausage sizzle in the courtyard beforehand for the One Health Antibiotic Resistance Science Fair – join your colleagues for a chat over lunch before the meeting!
cheers,
Michelle
Save the Date
This coming week 5th – 9th November
Mon 5th: Supplementary HDR Conference; 9am – 1pm; 14EAR (E8A) 280 Biology Tea Room. Interviews: 2pm – 5pm. Updated schedule here.
Tue 6th: One Health Antibiotic Resistance Science Fair; 12pm – 2pm; Biology Courtyard
Tue 6th: Monthly Department Meeting; 1pm – 2pm; 14EAR (E8A) 280 Biology Tea Room.
Wed 7th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am; Fauna Park Biosciences building (205 Culloden Rd) Tea Room.
Wed 7th: Volunteers Thank You Lunch; 12pm – 1pm; Biology Courtyard – register here.
Following week 12th November – 16th November
Wed 14th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am; 14EAR (E8A) 280 Biology Tea Room.
Wed 14th: Department Seminar; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; TBA.
Thu 15th: Biology Social Club Drinks; 5.00pm – 7.00pm; Biology Courtyard.
Future Events
Dec 4th: Exam Meeting followed by Dept EOY party – more details soon.
Dec 10-11th: Department Retreat for academic staff; MQ city campus.
Want to know what Department seminars are coming up? You can check out the Dept webpage at any time!
General News and Announcements
New Building Morning Tea – We held our first department morning tea in the fantastic new Biosciences Building this week. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the images.
Welcome to Professor Hendrik Poorter
Hendrik has joined the department as an academic staff member on a part-time basis. He is on campus all of November so please say hello to him if you see him around and make the opportunity for a chat. Hendrik is an internationally recognised plant ecophysiologist with special interest in plant traits and plant growth, as well as chemical composition and construction costs in plants. He will give a department seminar – date to be confirmed!
Join in the Super Spring Scoop with Scoop a Poop! – Do you have possums in your backyard or a nearby park? Do you own a smartphone or tablet? Then YOU can contribute to the Scoop a Poop project this Spring! Collect possum poop and we will screen it for antibiotic resistance genes.Pick up your Scoop a Poop kits in the foyer of 6 Wally’s Walk (E8B) – look near the Plant of the Week display. Please make sure you fill in your details on the sign-up sheet. Kits are available to pick up from 5-27 Nov. Please return kits (to the same point) by 30 Nov. You will also need the Scoop a Poop app – download it on the App Store or Google Play Any questions? Contact Koa Webster on ext. 6289 or koa.webster@mq.edu.au
Don’t miss out on 60 seconds with our very own Koa Webster in This Week – you can find it here
Gofundme, please donate what you can to help out a sick student – One of our PhD students, Muzahid Islam, has suffered a serious illness, requiring two urgent operations on a swollen kidney. Muzahid will not only be out of action for a while, but he and his family—they welcomed a baby daughter into the world in January—will be out of pocket for a large expense, over $10,000, because Muzahid’s health insurance only covers a minority of the medical expenses. As a result, we are rallying to raise some funds to defray Muzahid’s medical costs, via a gofundme page: https://www.gofundme.com/make-time-for-muzahid
High School Students Work Experience – Activities Needed – Do you have any field or lab activities happening 19-23 November? Do you want some free labour? We will be hosting 10 High School students for work experience, so if you are planning field work, field/lab work prep, or any lab activities and would like free help during this time, please read the information on the link below and contact Kath McClelland via email – katherine.mcclellan@mq.edu.au. Please click here for more information about work experience activities.
FSE Town Hall Presentation Slides – FoSE Town Hall October2018
SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS
Molecular Sciences Seminar
Date/Time/Venue: Monday, 6th November 2018, 1 – 2pm, 4WW (F7B) 322 Seminar Room.
Date/Time/Venue: Monday, 6th November 2018, 1 – 2pm, 4WW (F7B) 322 Seminar Room.
Speaker: Dr Briardo Llorente, Mol Sci, MU. Title: Reprogramming plastid identity. https://goto.mq/6s
BioLector Microbioreactor Seminar
Date/Time/Venue: Monday, 6th November 2018, 11 am – 12pm, 4WW (F7B) 322 Seminar Room.
Speaker:Becky Wong. Title: m2p-labs seminar. More information here.
Transparent data practice for reliable and reproducible research
Date/Time/Venue: Wednesday, 7th November 2018, 10 am – 1.30pm, Library Room M4.02
Facilitators: Shawn Ross (Data Science and eResearch) and Susan Shrubb (Research Skills Librarian). Details: This workshop will focus on the importance of transparent data practices. It will involve a mix of presentation and hands-on activities and is relevant for all researchers who collect, analyse, collaborate and publish data. Topics covered will include, making data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR), the use of code for analysis, open-source software, reproducible analytical environments and will be given the training necessary to implement these approaches. Everyone welcome, please register now here!
Workshop on Gender Bias in STEM Recruitment – 8 Nov 2018 10am – 12pm – You are invited to attend a seminar and workshop on perspectives on gender bias in STEM and recruitment. Prof Marlene Zuk, Associate Dean of Faculty, University of Minnesota is our speaker and this seminar will be particularly useful for members of hiring panels. More information and register here
The Spectacle of Science: Humanities at the Crossroad of Innovation
Date/Time/Venue: Thursday 8 November, 6pm – 9pm, Conference Room A, MUSE Building, 18 Wally’s Walk, Macquarie University.
This showcase event on the intersection between Art and Science will highlight the way humanities methods have been used to propel and communicate scientific discovery. Each project to be presented on the night represents the integration of scientific and humanities methods for the transformation of our understanding of the world and our place within it. The evening will feature presentations from the following speakers, accompanied by a cocktail reception. To register for the event for catering purposes please visit https://markersofauthenticity.com/spectacle/
Ecological Strategies Across Bacteria and Archaea Via Measurable Traits Workshop – MU Species Spectrum Research Centre
Date/Time/Venue: Wednesday, 14th November 2018, 11 am – 5 pm, 14EAR (E8A) 280 Biology Tea Room.
This workshop is associated with a Macquarie-group project to compare ecological strategies via measurable traits as widely as possible across bacteria and archaea. During Wednesday participants will give short informal talks introducing themselves and their research interests, and indicating what they would be interested to see the project achieve. If you wish to attend, please email jacqui.smith@mq.edu.au by 7 November 2018. More information about schedule and speakers here.
Futures of Neurorobotics
Date/Time/Venue: Monday, 19th November 2018, 11am – 4:30pm, Senate room (16 Wally’s Walk, room 310)
This workshop explores how robotics and computer science can accelerate understanding the brain, how understanding the brain can accelerate robotics, and the future of brain-machine interfaces. The workshop will consider the scientific, ethical and philosophical challenges posed by new developments in A.I. and autonomous machines. You can register now here!.
HDR OPPORTUNITIES
Are you a HDR student? Need help with writing? – HDR Mentors in collaboration with HDR Learning Skills is running another round of Peer Writing Assistance (PWA) for the rest of the year! 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. Registrations are now open for individual consultation bookings. If you are interested, please go to book in for a 30-minute session with a PWA. If you have questions about the PWA program please email hdrmentors@mq.edu.au
also…
Weekly Writing Workshops for HDR Students and Early Career Researchers – Convened by Ken Cheng – Running weekly for most of the year: Fridays 2-4pm in room E8B 111
If you are interested in attending a session email Ken Cheng <ken.cheng@mq.edu.au> by Wednesday 12:00-noon, preferably with a draft attached of what you are working on and some indication of what you especially need help with.
ADMIN THINGS
Biosciences building meeting room bookings – A new calendar has been created to manage the new meeting rooms and dining areas in the 205B Building. Meeting rooms are G05 (4 people), G06 (4 people), G28 Boardroom (20 people boardroom style, has AV), G26 Dining area (book for functions). There is also a calendar for the meeting table in 205A. If you wish to use the room, please send an email to fse.bio-adm@mq.edu.au with your meeting details and one of the admin team will book it for you.
Fauna Park Gates – Now that construction fence around the new building, 205B, has been removed, the FP side gate has been re-locked. The black personnel gate at the rear of W19F should remain closed but unlocked during the day and Security will lock this in the evenings. The gate should remain locked on weekends and public holidays. Then – to ensure the Fauna Park doesn’t become a short-cut for pedestrians – the gate into the 209 Culloden Rd car park will be closed, but not locked, during the day. Sorry for the inconvenience when driving in and out but now there is hardly anyone around the cottages, the risk to the animals has increased slightly. Again, this gate should remain locked on weekends and public holidays. As always, please keep internal gates closed but not locked in case a child ended up down at the lungfish dams. Thanks for your cooperation.
Travel Bookings Absence on Duty (AOD) Submissions – Due to the recent trend of last-minute AOD requests, any late submissions will not be approved. Please give a minimum of 3 weeks before you travel domestically, and 6 weeks internationally, for approvals to be processed and bookings made for you. The more notice you give, the easier it is, and the better prices you can get.
Not receiving general emails? – We have had some trouble with the email lists. If you or anyone you know seems to have dropped off the email lists to receive department seminar notices, Department Matters, etc, please email or drop in to see Jenny Ghabache in the admin office.
Last Photo Competition of the Year – NOVEMBER 2018 – go into the draw to win a $100 Gift Card this month and the theme is SPRING! 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 must have been taken in the last five years. Please follow the dropbox file request link to submit your images.
Submission close: 30 NOVEMBER 2018. You can enter as many photos as you like – one entry to the draw per photo with caption info, good luck!
Outreach Activities – Have You Participated in an Activity for Biology Recently? Don’t forget to fill in the super-quick form here – ACCESS OUTREACH FORM HERE
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.
OPPORTUNITIES
NPWS Bandicoot Surveys Volunteers Needed in November – Lee DeGail (NPWS Ranger) is looking for volunteers to assist with upcoming surveys for bandicoots and other wildlife. Surveys take place in National Parks around Sydney and are a great opportunity to get up close and personal with our native wildlife.It is also a great opportunity to connect with the National Parks and Wildlife Service to chat about other opportunities if you are thinking about a career along these lines. Days are 0530-0900 and evenings 2200-0130 or thereabouts. First day (Mon 12/11) is set up from 1000 to 1400 and last day (Thurs 14/11) is cleanup 0900 to 1200. Please contact Lee DeGail at Lee.DeGail@environment.nsw.gov.au. Or ask Alex Carthey alexandra.carthey@mq.edu.au if you have any questions before contacting Lee.
BLOGS AND OTHER THINGS OF INTEREST
Plant of the Week – click on thumbnail to enlarge the image
This week – Paper Daisies – Straw Flowers – Xerochrysum bracteatum
Back in the olden days, paper daisies, or straw flowers, were known as Helichrysum bracteatum. In 1991, two botanists decided to change the name, as botanists do, and moved the strawflowers previously included in Helichrysum into a new genus, Bracteantha bracteata. However, unbeknownst to them, the previous year a Russian botanist, Nikolai Tzvelev, had already moved the paper daisies into another genus, Xerochrysum, and this name, of course, takes precedence. Paper Daisies are extraordinary and very beautiful, found in every state and territory of Australia, and new horticultural varieties have made them even more popular as garden plants.
Wanted – Use of a Bike and Helmet for 3 Weeks – Do you have a bike and helmet that you can lend out for the coming three weeks? Please contact Hendrik Poorter.
Room available December/January in the Central Coast – Laura’s room will be available for rent in the months of December and January. Her three-bedroom house is located at Woy Woy, a nice 7 minutes bike ride from the train station. Rent is $135/week including services. If interested and/or for more details please send her an email to laura.fernandez@hdr.mq.edu.au
Laminated Posters Free to a Good Home – The Herbarium has posters of New South Wales national parks and other biological topics – free! Most are laminated. Excellent for display purposes, or perhaps useful for schools. Please contact Alison Downing or Karen Marais on x 8197
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>
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.
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- 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.
- Keep your submission short and direct (two paragraphs) and if possible provide a document, email or link where readers can get more information. Any long submissions will be cropped.
Keeping to these guidelines will streamline your article’s addition to the newsletter. Thank you.
Have You Missed Out on an Issue of Department Matters? Back issues can be found at this newsletter archive link for your reading pleasure.
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Post-attack defensive displays in three praying mantis species. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 72(11), 176.
By: O’Hanlon, James C., Darshana N. Rathnayake, Katherine L. Barry, and Kate DL Umbers. | Find with Google Scholar »Nutrient-rich plants emit a less intense blend of volatile isoprenoids. New Phytologist.
By: Fernández‐Martínez, Marcos, Joan Llusià, Iolanda Filella, Ülo Niinemets, Almut Arneth, Ian J. Wright, Francesco Loreto, and Josep Peñuelas. | Find with Google Scholar »The development of honey bee colonies assessed using a new semi-automated brood counting method: CombCount. PloS one 13.10 (2018): e0205816.
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