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The Seminar Series is held at 1:00-2:00 pm in room 388 Goddard Building (8).
All are welcome to attend.
25 JUNE
Assistant Prof. Andrew Mac Dougall
Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Ontario
The quest for the hidden niche in spatially ambiguous communities.
More information…
BIOL postgraduates can join the speaker for lunch on the day of the seminar. Similarly, if you are an academic or postdoc and would like to join a speaker for dinner on the Friday evening contact the coordinator Dr Kerrie Wilson, numbers are limited. |
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THE STEVE IRWIN MEMORIAL LECTURE - Dr Chadden Hunter
'From Clipboard to Camera:
The Role of Media in Conserving Nature’s Biodiversity'
6 July
More...
INVITATION
On Monday 5 July, the Science Faculty is hosting lunch with Dr Chadden Hunter. Interested honours, postgrads and ASP students who are completing majors in Biological Science are invited to register interest to attend. Numbers are strictly limited please email Tracey Franchi with your request. |
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| UQ FINAL: THE THREE MINUTE THESIS (3MT) COMPETITION INFORMATION SESSION
The UQ Graduate School is hosting information sessions for staff and students participating in the 2010 3MT competition, as well as staff members coordinating their School’s competition. St Lucia 3MT Information Session, Thursday, June 24, 10am–11am, Parnell Building (07), Room 222. The session will cover the rules and requirements, judging criteria, dates and details for the UQ final. Information about the inaugural Australia and New Zealand Three Minute Thesis competition will also be provided at this session. Please register your attendance via email by Monday, June 21. More... |
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UQ OPEN DAY - 1 August
The School of Biological Sciences will be participating in program presentations for current year 11 and 12 secondary students. More... |
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| TERTIARY STUDIES EXPO 2010 The Tertiary Studies Expo (TSXPO) is an exciting event for those seeking to explore tertiary studies, training and career options. TSXPO is Australia's largest tertiary studies expo with over 250 stands in one location. Exhibitors include every Queensland university and TAFE Queensland. The Expo is held from 10am – 4pm, 17 & 18 July, the Exhibition Building RNA Showgrounds. Admission is free. More... |
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| EXPERIENCE SCIENCE WORKSHOPS are an initiative of the Science Faculty, exposing senior high school students to a diverse range of science disciplines. This event is a great opportunity for high school students to get up close with exciting fields in science and to gain hands-on experience in workshops with science experts from the University and industry. The workshops will be held on 14, 15, 16, 19 and 20 July and will run twice each day from 10:40am to 12:05pm and then repeated from 12:55pm to 2:20pm. More... |
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| CAREERS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD will be held on Thursday 15 July. Year 11 students are invited to a multi-faculty event at UQ to discover more about the careers available from the many disciplines available at UQ. “Scientists on the loose” will be held at 9:00am. Arrival and registration is open from 8:00-8:45am same day. More... |
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| CONTRIBUTIONS |
| BIOLinks is a monthly newsletter sent to BIOL School members, UQ executives, alumni, Government agencies and industry partners. To submit articles and announcements or nominate an alumni or research partner you would like to see contribute to Biolinks contact Tracey Franchi.
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| THE MARINE AND ESTUARINE ECOLOGY UNIT
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| Along the coast of Western Australia, between Exmouth and Shark Bay is one of Australia’s great natural wonders. Ningaloo is Australia’s largest fringing coral reef and the only large reef positioned very close to a landmass. In 2010, Ningaloo was nominated for World Heritage Listing. Associate Professor Greg Skilleter head of the Marine Ecology and Estaurine Unit has been working on the Great Barrier Reef at Heron Island Research Station and One Tree Island Research Station for nearly 30 years. But none of that experience could prepare him for Ningaloo Reef. To start work, you step off the sharp rocks that line the water’s edge and you are immediately on the reef. Read more... |
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| Team member photographing marked quadrats on the reef. The photos were later analysed to identify all the species present on that patch. |
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| The only way to develop curiosity, sympathy, principle and independence of mind is to practice being curious, sympathetic, principled and independent. BIOL1030 lab coordinator Lyn Beard and lecturer Robbie Wilson have implemented a fresh approach to a new prac session which has been designed to concentrate all the aspects of teaching biology as well as reinforce the environmental attitudes of the course – and it just happened to be completely entertaining for all the students. Read more... |
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| SUPER SCIENTISTS - TREADING WATER |
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| Experts from across the disciplines of water, environment, business, law and urban planning have come together from across the School and other centres at UQ to build recommendations to government and the community on how to adapt in the face of rising sea levels. Cath Lovelock, Peter Mumby and Hugh Possingham have joined with other UQ Scientists under $1.5 million new funding from the Federal Government’s Super Science Fellowships to apply the best available science to evaluate ways to address rising sea levels which pose serious threat to South-east Queensland and to the Great Barrier Reef Islands. Climate change will alter natural ecosystems and affect the habitability of coastal cities and towns. Read more... |
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| The Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) took up residence in the Goddard building this June. TERN will do to terrestrial ecosystem scientific data what the introduction of standard rail gauge did to train travel in Australia last century – it will allow integration, standardisation and broader use of ecosystem data in Australia. Importantly, it will lead to ecosystem managers making better informed decisions and policies about the environment. Read more...
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| ALUMNUS ELIZABETH BERNAYS |
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I write from the village of Patagonia, in the beautiful mountains of Southern Arizona in the USA, where I live sustainably in a straw bale house on acres of grassland dotted with mesquite trees. Here, I write, watch birds, and reflect on the wonderful life I have had. In February 1959, I stepped into my first undergraduate classes at UQ, shuttling back and forth from George Street to St Lucia, eager to discover a life that no one in my family knew about.
Read more...
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| MERMAIDS AT THE SMITHSONIAN |
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Elizabeth Burgess from the MarVERG and Spatial Ecology labs has been awarded a Queensland-Smithsonian Fellowship. The award will allow Liz to travel to the USA in August this year to conduct collaborative endocrine research with Dr Janine Brown at the Conservation Research Centre, Smithsonian National Zoo, Virginia and will provide Liz with an opportunity to complete her reproductive endocrine studies of the vulnerable dugong at one of the world’s largest and most productive wildlife endocrinology laboratories.
Read more...
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WELCOME
Ross Strong is the new Manager of International Programs and comes to us from the Business Schools at UQ and the University of the Sunshine Coast. Most recently Ross coordinated the operations of the UQ MBA Program and was heavily involved in promoting the program in the European markets. Ross has also taught into undergraduate courses in Marketing, Management and International Business. When not at work Ross is usually indulging in his passion for martial arts which he has been studying since he was 6 years old.
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RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
Australasian Science
Conserving large carnivores in the Northern Hemisphere is a major issue that researchers are having to deal with. The issues are different but the approaches are the same as those being pioneered in Australia. Professor Hugh Possingham writes.
SURFS UP AS CROCS RIDE TIDES IN SEARCH OF FOOD AND MATES
The Age - Melbourne l Canberra Times l Courier Mail l Weekend Post - Cairns l Townsville Bulletin l ABC 774 Melbourne l ABC 666 Canberra l ABC Western Qld Longreach l BBC Radio Five Live bulletins l BBC Radio 4 Today Programme l ABC National TV News l ABC1 Brisbane l ABC North Qld Townsville l ABC 612 Brisbane l ABC Newcastle
Scientists have revealed that saltwater crocodiles surf the ocean in search of food, mates and territory, travelling hundreds of kilometres by hitching a ride on the tides. Professor Craig Franklin comments.
ILLUMINATING THE HIDDEN DEPTHS
The Age - Melbourne
World Oceans Day was a cause for international celebration as well as a call for greater international conservation. Amid the more frivolous activities, including Monday’s world record attempt at naked snorkelling on Magnetic Island, the occasion yielded a more serious, concerned side. Mentions Professor Hugh Possingham who comments.
MangroveWatch CELEBRATES SUCCESS OF PARTNERSHIPS
Bundaberg Bugle lFraser Coast Chronicle
The Burnett Mary region’s MangroveWatch will mark its first birthday this month with a weekend of public regional workshops. The workshops will offer local participants and supporters the opportunity to hear how their support for the program has generated real scientific data on the health of their local estuaries and coasts. This Caring for Our Country funded initiative with the UQ, is enhancing local awareness of mangrove ecosystems and is a great example of how monitoring helps preserve a healthy outdoor environment. Mentions Mangrove Hub director, Dr Norm Duke who comments.
STUDY OF THE CASSOWARIES
ABC Radio North Qld Townsville l ABC Far North Cairns
Scientists from The University of Queensland are using GPS technology to study the behaviour of cassowaries in North Queensland. Research aims to determine how urban development affects cassowaries, particularly younger birds. Mentions Dr Hamish Campbell, Duration: 1:49
GENE PROBE SHOWS DILEMMA OF PLANTS FIGHTING INFECTIONS
Queensland Country Life
Scientists say they have helped uncover an evolutionary dilemma where plants that develop disease resistance pay a high price for this trait. Dr Sureshkumar Balasubramanian, was a lead author on a paper to be published in Nature on June 3 that shows plants which are more resistant to disease grow more slowly and are less competitive than susceptible relatives when enemies are rare.
RESEARCH INTO PLANTS
Radio 2NM Muswellbrook
The School of Biological Sciences say plants that are more disease resistant grow slower and are less dominant when resources are scarce. The research was done with the Max Planck Institute of Developmental Biology. Duration: 0:23
OIL SPILL DAMAGES GULF OF MEXICO
Radio ABC Sunshine & Cooloola Coasts
Stokes discusses the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico with Dr Norm Duke who says the damage oil spills can cause in mangrove habitats of which he is a specialist is immense. Duke explains a third of the seafood production for the US comes from the region now being affected by the spill. Duration: 11:46
DECREASE IN KOALA POPULATION
ABC Radio North Mackay
Koala researcher Bill Ellis visited the region after sightings of koalas in trees along the Bruce Highway north of Mackay. Compare plays a recorded interview with Ellis, who discusses some of the research he did on his visit, during which he says he only sighted one koala. He says this was worrisome, but that the koala was a healthy male. Ellis says Cyclone Ului may have potentially led to a loss of some koalas in the area, though he says the research team did not find any signs of koalas having died. He says there has been a significant decrease of koala numbers in the area over the past 30-40 years. He says this is due to habitat being fragmented by development. Ellis says there are questions about koalas migrating between islands and the mainland. He says the UQ’s genetic study of koalas gives the national parks a tool for developing management guidelines and says it is important to convince the Federal Govt of the plight of koalas, and that a high level of protection is extremely important. Duration: 11:46
LIFE, DEATH ALONG THE FOOD CHAIN: PROTECTING ENDANGERED SPECIES PAY OFF, LITERALLY
Sunday Examiner - Tasmania
Scientists are warning of an unprecedented number of species facing extinction. Mentions Professor Hugh Possingham who comments.
TURTLE RESEARCH TO HELP SPECIES
Gympie Times
Mariana de Micheli Campbell is working to secure the future of the Mary River turtle in a project led by Professor Craig Franklin. The turtle may have received some hope with the Traveston Crossing dam being renounced, but its plight as an endangered species continues.
RESEARCH INTO DINOSAUR'S
Radio ABC Sydney
Steve Salisbury, talks about the work scientists in the US have been doing to try to determine whether dinosaur’s were warm- blooded or cold-blooded. They are looking at isotopes in body water to try to determine the body temperature of these extinct creatures. The results so far have not been conclusive, and it is not certain that any definitive answers will ever be reached. Duration: 6:47
TROUBLE AT MILL
Campus Review
Some PhD and supervisor relationships are not perfect. And there might be incidences of bullying. But let’s get some perspective, writes Joseph Gora. Mentions Dr Suzanne Morris who comments. |
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