BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT MATTERS |September 2, 2016

Hi all,

As Michelle has spent the week in Montpellier dining on french wine and soft cheeses (see photographic evidence below), it has been a pleasure to be at your service…. but breathe a sigh of relief as Michelle will be back next week.

Until then, enjoy reading the highlights of the biological world and a weekend of celebration for fathers or birthdays or both..

Grant

Save the Date

This coming week 5th – 9th September

Tue 6th: Department Meeting; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Wed 7th: Departmental Seminar – Chris Reid – Insights from the swarm: understanding collective problem-solving using ants and slime mould; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Thu 8th: GGREP Masterclass on “Trait Ecology”; 9am – 4pm; 75T 3. Continuum Room.

Following week 12th – 16th September

Tue 13th: MRes information session for students; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room) – staff welcome to spruke projects & free lunch!

Wed 14th: Morning Tea; 10:30am – 11:00am; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Wed 14th: Departmental Seminar – Jonathan Rhodes – Managing Trade-offs for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Thu 15th: GGREP Masterclass on “Trait Ecology”; 9am – 2pm; 75T 3. Continuum Room.

Thu 15th; Department Secret Safety Activity.

Coming up

Sept 19th: ECR research showcase day.

Sept 20th: Graduation for Biological Sciences, 2.30-4pm. Register for the academic procession here

Sept 22nd: MRes Seminar Day (final and introductory seminars); all day, E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Sept 29th: Supplementary HDR Conference.

Oct 26th; Faculty Safety day

Oct 31st: Applications for domestic (APA) PhD scholarships due.

General News and Announcements

Representation at Ecosummit 2016 Conference

Left to Right: Vivian Cumbo, Maria Vozzo, Leigh Staas and Michelle Leishman.

Important Boating Fieldwork Message

Between the 14th of October and the 12th December, there will not be any manager approving boating activities in the department. Diving, snorkeling and other marine non-boating activities will be approved by the University Dive Officer. If you are already aware of boating activities undertaken during this period, please get them approved as soon as possible, or definitely before the 14th October.

Weekly Seminar Series

Day/Date/Time/Place: Wed 7th Sept, 1pm – 2pm, E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Speaker: Dr Chris Reid

Title: Insights from the swarm: understanding collective problem-solving using ants and slime mould.

Abstract: Complex systems are those systems that are comprised of a large number of interacting units, such as neurons in a brain, and individual animals in fish schools and ant colonies. Each unit acts on its own, using only local information, and there is no centralised control of the collective. The thousands of tiny interactions between the individuals leads to sophisticated ‘emergent’ behaviour at the group level, such as solving mazes, making efficient trade-offs and building self-assembled, adaptive structures. This is sometimes referred to as ‘swarm intelligence’, and offers an alternative approach to the hierarchical, top-down control used in most human-designed systems. I will outline some of my past and future work in this field – using a combination of field work, lab studies and computational models to uncover how ant colonies and the slime mould Physarum polycephalum use simple behavioural rules to gain the benefits of swarm intelligence. For more info, check out my website: https://chrisrreid.wordpress.com/

Learning and Teaching News

Frankly speaking

could this be named after Frank the Bear? Take a look at what is happening in the Faculty (and a picture of Frank reading the news!)

http://teche.ltc.mq.edu.au/?wysija-page=1&controller=email&action=view&email_id=347&wysijap=subscriptions&user_id=320

Disruption to study

The policy and process has been changed and begins from this session.

(at: http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html). Serious disruptions (over three days) will be handled through Tracker and requested by students via ask.mq. Disruptions under three days will be at the discretion of the unit convenors. We will chat about this at the Department meeting and the curriculum committee will prepare new guidelines for such cases.

Up-coming Genes to Geoscience Masterclass (first session next Thursday)

Trait Ecology – 8 and 15 September – Presented by Michelle Leishman, Mark Westoby, Ian Wright, Will Cornwell (UNSW), and Daniel Falster.

Trait ecology is a distinctive strength of Macquarie university. This masterclass will summarise the current state of trait research and identify possible fruitful future directions across multiple taxa.  Both days will involve presentations and focus-group sessions. Presentations will revolve around key papers and issues in the interpretation of trait data. Focus group sessions will delve into trait analyses, the practicalities of working across multiple lab groups and the possible future directions of trait research.

The preliminary schedule for the two days is attached.

Everyone’s welcome. Please e-mail if interested in attending: <g2g-admin@mq.edu.au>

Trait Ecology for circ 2016-8-18

Climate Council Videos On Renewables

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClazFctmy4A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtkXFMuLv0A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPr34JcIsg8

Survey Enquiry

My name Kay Naumann and I am a PhD student in Department of Marketing and Management (FBE). My research is on customer engagement and disengagement within a variety of service contexts.

I am looking for participants to complete a questionnaire for my PhD research that explores the positive and negative perceptions you have towards two types of services: your Local Government, or, a social media brand (Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter).

There is a prize draw incentive to win 1 of 18 $100 Coles Myer Group gift cards upon completion of the survey.

If you are interested in filling out this survey please click the link below:

Start Survey

Thank you!

Plant of the Week

Indigofera australis – Australian Indigo

Your voice needed for a podcast series about research questions

Ravindra Palavalli Nettimi is looking for volunteers to read one sentence each for podcast summary of a series called ‘Just-questions.’ Please listen to the initial episodes to get an idea of it. https://soundcloud.com/user-951555253

About Just-questions:

Science often starts with questions. Each question has a story. But most podcasts are about answers and their associated stories. In this series, I will talk to researchers about their research questions, methods, and how they ask their questions. There is a lot one can learn about asking questions. This is useful for students starting/learning to ask research questions.

Please email Ravi to learn more or lend your voice. rvndrpn@gmail.com  (Ravindra, Room 139, W19F).

Ajay Narendra in the News

Ajay’s recent publication on pupillary mechanism in ants featured in Inside JEB [http://jeb.biologists.org/content/219/16/2411.2]

Ajay has been invited on the editorial board of Scientific Reports for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Well done, Ajay!

Casual research positions available

Two casual research positions are immediately available in the Ecological Neuroscience group to work in an ongoing ARC funded project on nocturnal ant navigation. This is ideal for anybody interested in learning to analyse fine scale movements using Matlab. Please contact Ajay Narendra for more details: ajay.narendra AT mq.edu.au; Tel: 9850 8187

Bush Heritage Internship Opportunity

We have a position available now for a recent graduate (ideally with honours) for a Field Ecology Internship. This position is for a full time, three month fixed term contract (Sep-Dec). This role will be based at our Boolcoomatta Reserve, South Australia (100 km west of Broken Hill).

This is a fantastic opportunity for a recent graduate who holds a Bachelor’s degree with Honours in an ecology or conservation program (e.g. BSc Hons). No prior work experience is required for this internship.

If you know someone who is enthusiastic, methodical, has the ability to take the initiative and work independently then please let Jacqui know as soon as possible. Alternatively you can forward them this link for further details and how to apply.

Applications close 5 September 2016

PD_Boolcoomatta internship -Aug 2016

PostDoc Position

Code: 112/D/Bio
Faculty: Science
Job type: Full time
Location: Bremerhaven

The Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) is a member of the Helmholtz Association (HGF) and funded by federal and state government. AWI focuses on polar and marine research in a variety of disciplines such as biology, oceanography, geology and geophysics thus allowing multidisciplinary approaches to scientific goals.

PostDoc Position
Background and tasks:
This position is available in a 3-year research project, starting end of 2016 / beginning of 2017.The project aims at investigating population-level genomic and phenotypic variability and local adaptation in a broadly distributed polar pelagic diatom species. The work plan includes field- and laboratory work and bioinformatic analyses of next generation sequence data (genomes and transcriptomes). Since the project is a joint effort of groups at AWI Bremerhaven and the University of Cologne, the project requires work place flexibility and/or frequent travelling between both places. The initial one year employment at the AWI is followed by a 2-year employment at the University of Cologne for the bioinformatics analyses and data synthesis. For further information, please contact Bánk Beszteri, Klaus Valentin or Uwe John at AWI and/or Gernot Gloeckner at the University of Cologne.
Requirements:
The ideal candidate has a PhD degree in marine biology, population genetics, evolutionary genomics, or another related field; a willingness to work with a broad range of methodologies; a strong interest in sequence based bioinformatics; and experience with one or more of the following fields: microalgal cultivation and ecophysiological experiments, molecular biology techniques (nucleic acid extraction, PCR, genotyping-by-sequencing), and bioinformatic analyses of large-scale sequence data sets.
For further information please contact Dr. Bánk Beszteri (bank.beszteri@awi.de, Tel.: +49 (0)471-4831- 1530).
The position is limited to 3 years. The salary will be paid in accordance with the German Tarifvertrag des öffentlichen Dienstes (TVöD Bund) up to salary group 13, based on qualifications and transferred tasks. The place of employment will be Bremerhaven.
We offer you a multi-disciplinary, international, and fascinating professional environment with flexible working hours, state-of-the-art research equipment, and a first-rate infrastructure.
AWI aims to increase the number of women in the scientific staff and therefore encourages women to apply. Disabled applicants will be given preference when equal qualifications are present. The AWI fosters the compatibility of work and family through various means. Because of our engagement in the area of work-life compatibility we have been awarded the certificate “Career and Family”.
Please forward your applications with the standard documentation by October 12th, 2016 referencing code 112/D/Bio to: Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Personalabteilung (human resources), Postfach 12 01 61, 27515 Bremerhaven/Germany (or by e-mail (all documents merged into one PDF file) to < personal@awi.de>.

Dear Researcher

We have a posting on Trialect  soliciting applications for The Gates Cambridge Scholarship for Life Sciences Research. The Gates Cambridge Scholarship programme was established in October 2000 by a donation of US$210m from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the University of Cambridge; this is the largest ever single donation to a UK university. Gates Cambridge considers applications from citizens from outside the United Kingdom who wish to pursue a full-time postgraduate degree at the University of Cambridge. Applications will open on 5 September 2016 for entry in October 2017. There are separate programs for Non- US Scholars and US scholars. We are reaching out to see if you would be willing to refer your fellows to this program.  The details can be perused at:

• Gates Cambridge Scholarship- Non US Scholars

• Gates Cambridge Scholarship- US Scholars

Sydney Chapter for Society for Conservation Biology: Upcoming events

REMINDER: Saturday Sept 3rd: Creative Conservation and Conservation Cafe Double Feature: Drawn from

This September, Patrick Shirvington will tell us about his work and how the arts can help us to connect with nature and conservation, then he will take us on an artistic journey of our own. Patrick’s main area of study is the nexus between art and the natural world, believing the process of drawing is fundamental to the cognitive process opening doors to the unseen. He believes this process can guide us on a new journey, enhancing knowledge and creatively visualising further enquiry. Patrick will present his findings and take us through some practical examples before engaging us in a drawing workshop

Price: Students $20, Non-students $35. Get your tickets on Eventbrite (https://creativecafe2016.eventbrite.com.au)

Lovers of Chamber Music

While I am overseas in October, we will be missing a great concert in our Musica Viva concert series.  I have a pair of tickets to the concert free to a good home – it is a shame to see them wasted.  The concerts are held in the City Recital Hall at 7pm on Mondays.

Monday 10 October two award-winning young stars  Benjamin Beilman Violin and Andrew Tyson Piano are performing  MOZART Sonata no 35 in A major, K. 526, JANÁČEK Violin Sonata, JANE STANLEY New Work (World Premiere) and SAINT-SAËNS Sonata no 1 in D minor, op 75

Please get in contact with me as soon as possible if you are interested, as we leave on 10 September.    Jenny Donald  x8161.

Looking for accommodation

Philippe Ahier is a new intern from AgroCampus in Paris who will be working with Melanie Bishop’s Benthic Ecology Lab for the next 5 months. If anyone has a room to rent, or can suggest some affordable accommodation not too far from campus, please contact him on 0432247780 or by email at <philippe.aheir@agrocampus-ouest.fr>.

New Publications

In the Media

Recent Completions