Addressing transboundary conservation challenges through marine spatial prioritization
By: Gissi, Elena, Jennifer McGowan, Chiara Venier, Davide Di Carlo, Francesco Musco, Stefano Menegon, Peter Mackelworth, Tundi Agardy, and Hugh Possingham. | Find with Google Scholar »
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Hi all,
The new Biosciences building in the Fauna Park is nearly ready for handover and we are looking forward to staff and students moving in from this coming week.
And a special thanks to all who have been working so hard on all the curriculum renewal that is currently going on at a rapid pace – there is a flurry of meetings and paperwork going on!
cheers,
Michelle
Save the Date
This coming week 15th – 19th October
Mon 15th: PURE Training; 1pm – 3.30pm; 14EAR (E8A) 280 Biology Tea Room. BYO laptop.
Wed 17th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am; 14EAR (E8A) 280 Biology Tea Room.
Wed 17th: Department Seminar – Panos Vlachopoulos, Quality and Standards, MQ; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 14EAR (E8A) 280 Biology Tea Room.
Thu 18th: Biology Social Club; 5.00pm – 7.00pm; Biological Sciences Courtyard.
Following week 22th – 26th October
Tues Oct 23rd – Nov 1st: Staff Wellbeing Week; MQ Campus events; registrations open now!
Wed 24th: The Great Biology Bake Off Morning Tea; 10.30am; 14EAR (E8A) 280 Biology Tea Room.
Wed 24th: Department Seminar; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 14EAR (E8A) 280 Biology Tea Room.
Thu 25th: aaRgh – R Users Group; 3.00pm – 5.00pm; 14EAR (E8A) 280 Biology Tea Room.
Future Events
Oct 31st: Mental Health Seminar – Toolkit for leaders and staff, Dr Ben Wilkes; 1pm – 2pm; Room A, Level 3, MUSE 18 Wally’s Walk.
Nov 5th – 7th: Supplementary HDR Conference; exact date and times TBA; Location TBA.
Nov 6th: One Health Antibiotic resistance Science Fair; 12pm – 2pm; Biology Courtyard.
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
High Impact Review – Congratulations to Jemma Geoghegan on her review in Nature Reviews Genetics (impact factor 42 – highest of any Nature journal) out this week at this link – https://www.nature.com/articles/s41576-018-0055-5
One Health Antibiotic Resistance Science Fair – Come along to the BIOL364 Symbiosis in Health and Disease and participate in activities developed by the students to showcase the issue of antibiotic resistance. The students have some great ideas, so it would be awesome to see strong participation from the Department. A light lunch will be provided. Register now here – http://events.mq.edu.au/antibiotic-resistance-2018
Want to write a great review? – For academics and HDR students wanting to write a review, this excellent editorial on “the anatomy of an excellent review paper“, recently published in Functional Ecology, provides some great guidance. Thanks to Alex Carthey (who has had not one but two first-author papers in Trends in Ecology and Evolution published this year!) for passing it on.
Campus Wellbeing Week Oct 23-Nov 1 – During the week, there will be a range of exciting activities including informative lunchtime sessions, campus walks, exercise classes, FREE massages and art classes for staff to attend. View the full program here. Wellbeing week is a collaborative effort brought to you by MQ Health, Campus Life, Centre for Emotional Health, Sustainability, Campus Wellbeing, and Human Resources. Registrations are a must so book in to avoid disappointment.
Train Station Closure 30th September 2018 With the Macquarie University train station closure from 30 September 2018 for 6-7 months, this website offers information about bus options from your closest train station. http://www.mysydney.nsw.gov.au/stationlink It will be the first place to look for information and will be continually updated. https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/travel/station-upgrade Also Stationlink Route Information and University Parking Info.
SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS
Biological Sciences Weekly Seminar – Date/Time/Venue: Wednesday, 17th October 2018, 1 – 2pm, 14EAR (E8A) 280 Biology Tea Room.
Speaker: Panos Vlachopoulos, Quality and Standards, MQ. Title: AJoining the dots: using structured e-portfolio assignments to enhance reflection and professional skills. More information on this and all department seminars ON OUR WEBPAGE HERE
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.
Molecular Sciences Seminar #1
Date/Time/Venue: Tuesday, 17th October 2018, 12 – 1pm, 4WW (F7B) 322 Seminar Room.
Speaker: Dr Mohsen Asadnia, the School of Engineering, MQU. Title: Advanced micro-engineered devices for sensing https://goto.mq/7l
Molecular Sciences Seminar #2
Date/Time/Venue: Tuesday, 18th October 2018, 12 – 1pm, 4WW (F7B) 322 Seminar Room.
Speaker: Dr Samantha J. Emery, Population Health and Immunity Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. Title: Advanced micro-engineered devices for sensing https://goto.mq/7l
ADMIN THINGS
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.
Photo Competition – OCTOBER 2018 – go into the draw to win a $100 Gift Card this month! This month’s theme is Your best shot! 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: 31 OCTOBER 2018. You can enter as many photos as you like – one entry to the draw per photo with caption info, good luck!
Here are some photo from last month’s catagory (click on the thumbnails to enlarge images)
Pure Training Registration – Date changed to 15 October 2018 – 1.00 pm to 3.30 pm
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 for this session via an email to jenny.ghabache@mq.edu.au.
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.
RESEARCH FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
CSIRO Postgraduate Scholarships – CSIRO is currently offering top-up postgraduate scholarships for students enrolled at an Australian University and holding a RTP scholarship (or equivalent), commencing in 2019. These scholarships are for PhD projects in priority research areas for CSIRO. The closing date for applications is Wednesday 31st October. Students must apply via the Careers webpage.
STEP’s John Martyn Research Grant for the Conservation of Bushland in Sydney – applications are welcomed from honours, masters and PhD students. To apply, complete the application form electronically, save it and email it to secretary@step.org.au by 31 March 2019. We will announce the winner by 7 April 2019. For more information go to http://step.org.au/index.php/grants and if you have any queries, please email or call Helen Wortham on 0423 534 148.
Lake Macquarie Environmental Research Grants 2018 – 2019
Letter to researcher – Lake Macquarie Environmental Research Grants 2018-2019
Information package – Lake Macquarie Environmental Research grants 2018-2019
Application form – Lake Macquarie Environmental Research Grants 2018-2019
Ecological Society of Australia Student Research Awards – closing date 31st October – Ten student research awards of up to $1,500 will be available to Australian postgraduate and honours students conducting ecological research. The award can be used to cover expenses such as field travel, research assistance, equipment or consumables. Applicants must be a member of the ESA and not have previously won a research award from the Society. Info here
OPPORTUNITIES
Mental Health support: Upcoming Workshops – One of the hardest parts of doing a research degree is giving your attention to the thesis each day. While students may face many kinds of obstacles, it is the ordinary experience of being with one’s work and oneself that often presents the greatest challenge.
This four-part workshop series focuses on the role that awareness and our states of mind play in the experience of being a researcher. It looks closely at the mind states – both positive and challenging – that students commonly report, and explores how these relate to experiences of self, research practice and the wider university culture.
15/10/2018 The Mindful Researcher, Part 4: Cultivating Balance
Register by clicking on the course names here: https://myrdc.mq.edu.au/
BLOGS AND OTHER THINGS OF INTEREST
Plant of the Week – click on thumbnail to enlarge the image
This week – Wisteria – Believe it or not, Wisteria belongs in the pea family, the Fabaceae, but its tough, woody twining stems are very different from the slender stems of the annual peas, beans and broad beans that we grow in our vegetable gardens. There appear to be about 9 Wisteria species in the world today, known from China, Japan and eastern North America, although fossil evidence from China, Japan and far eastern Russia indicates that eastern Asia was probably the centre of diversification early in the Cenozoic.
Documentaries at Cervantes Institute in Sydney, Wed 17th 2018 – You are invited to attend a free screening of a documentary that highlight the amazing work of Colombian scientist in unexplored areas of the country. For bookings and more information – https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/biodiversity-in-colombia-documentaries-free-screening-tickets-50209458843
Public Lecture delivered by Dr Karl Kruszelnicki – Join us on 4th December for a wonderful evening with Dr Karl, who will take us on an amazing optical adventure! Dr Karl Kruszelnicki just loves Science to Pieces. After all, Science is a way to not get fooled. Dr Karl’s media career spans more than 30 years, talking about Science in radio, TV, newspapers, and books – 44 to date with more on the way. Register at this link – http://events.mq.edu.au/events/public-lecture-with-dr-karl-kruszelnicki/event-summary-21e8126501734646a16ef9f209175192.aspx
Public lecture – As part of his Mahler lecture tour in Australia, Professor Corwin from Columbia University, USA will be visiting Macquarie University and giving a public lecture! Details and registration can be found here – https://public-lecture-prof-ivan-corwin.eventbrite.com.au
A Nature article with the troubling title: ‘Research is set up for bullies to thrive’ – https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06040-w
How are you being assessed? A thorough analysis of metrics in general and bibliometrics in particular from Princeton University Press: https://press.princeton.edu/titles/11218.html. Brief extracts: The key beliefs of advocates of metrics: 1) the belief that it is possible and desirable to replace judgement, acquired by personal experience and talent, with numerical indicators of comparative performance, 2) the belief that making such metrics public assures that institutions are actually carrying out their purposes, 3) the belief that the best way to motivate people within these organisations is by attaching rewards and penalties to their measured performance. Unintended consequences arise for many reasons, especially: “because not everything that is important is measurable and much that is measurable is unimportant. When organisations committed to metrics wake up to this fact, they typically add more performance measures which create a cascade of data that becomes ever less useful”, (J.W. Muller, author). Campbell’s Law states “The more any quantitative social indicator is used for social decision-making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor.” (Wikipedia)
Correct Method for Submitting to Department Matters
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