The advancement of knowledge
The RST Northern Chapter has organized a special event for National Science Week to highlight work currently being carried out by scientists in Tasmania.
Fish Health and Seafood will presented by three speakers from the National Centre for Marine Conservation and Resource Sustainability, University of Tasmania, Launceston in the:
Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk at 2pm Sunday 11 August 2013
RSVP bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au
see attachment below for further details
Presentation by Chair: The Hon. Michael Field AC,
Sir Stanley Burbury Theatre, University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay
Tuesday, 16th July 2013 Commencing 7.30 pm until 9.00pm
Session Two: Food from the sea: the changing marine environment.
1. Professor Colin Buxton, Director – Fisheries, Aquaculture and Coasts Centre, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania. 2. Professor Chris Carter, Aquaculture Program Leader, Fisheries, Aquaculture and Coasts Centre, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania. Chris Carter has worked in aquaculture research since his PhD on grass carp at London University and a Research Fellowship on salmon nutrition at Aberdeen University. His research ranges from understanding the nutritional physiology of aquatic animals to improving aquafeeds through ingredient development and better understanding nutrient requirements. He is currently Professor of Aquaculture Nutrition at IMAS having previously been Professor of Aquaculture and Head, School of Aquaculture, and the Aquaculture Program Leader for TAFI. 3. Dr Gretta Peclis a Fulbright Fellow and a Senior Research Fellow leading several projects within the Estuaries and Coasts Program at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies. Her current research activity spans a range of topics including assessing population and fishery responses to climate change, developing and evaluating management adaptation options for fisheries, and on using citizen science approaches for ecological monitoring and engagement (e.g. www.REDMAP.org.au). She is one of several researchers building a virtual network connecting researchers from rapidly warming regions (Global Marine Hotspots Network) and the lead convenor of an international conference Species on the move: detection, impacts, prediction and adaptation planned for Hobart in February 2016.
1. Sustainable marine fisheries. 2. Sustainable marine aquaculture. In the last 50 years marine aquaculture has evolved from small scale commercial experiments to be a mature industry supplying millions of people with seafood. Global aquaculture production comes from fresh and marine waters, it encompasses over 200 species, and production continues to increase at an incredible rate of around 10% per annum. This presentation aims to examine aspects of Tasmanian aquaculture and relate these to the future of national and global aquaculture. Emphasis will be on developing feeds and ingredients for sustainable aquaculture. 3. Our changing marine environment: Redmap and the contributions of citizen science. Over the next century, marine ecosystems off the coast of south-eastern Australia are expected to exhibit some of the largest climate-driven changes in the Southern Hemisphere, impacting both fisheries and conservation management. Major distributional shifts in marine species have already been recorded for several dozen taxa. Even though shifts in species distributions are one of the major responses to climate change recorded here (and globally), monitoring for species range-shifts at the necessary temporal and spatial scales is very challenging. However, observations made by the countless men and women spending time in their environment are rarely recorded, though the potential coverage is vast. As a function of the digital age, advances in our technological capacity have also radically improved the precision and accuracy with which many types of community reported information can now be recorded. REDMAP (Range Extension Database and Mapping project) is an online database and mapping resource allowing members of the public to submit and access observational data (including photographs) of marine species occurring outside their known distribution (i.e. species that may be undergoing range shifts).
Delving into the soil carbon black box
Presentation by Dr Leigh Sparrow
QVMAG
Sunday, 24th November 2013 Commencing 2.00 pm until
Trace Element Chemistry of the Oceans Reveals New Theory onMass Extinction Events
Presentation by Ross Large – School of Earth Sciences – University of Tasmania
The Royal Society Room TMAG 19 Davey St Hobart
Tuesday, 5th November 2013 Commencing 8.00 pm until 9.00 pm
The causes of mass extinctions of marine life remain a matter of debate. It has been suggested that changes in the composition of seawater may be a cause, especially oxygen and H2S content, and that concentrations of certain trace elements are a key to bio-productivity and evolutionary change in the ocean. In this talk we present data on temporal variations in the concentrations of trace elements in early-formed sedimentary pyrite from marine black shales, and interpret trends in ocean chemistry over the last 3.5 billion years. Our results show that trace element variations over the last 700 million years of ocean history have been strongly cyclical. We interpret these cycles to indicate that the Late Neoproterozoic to Phanerozoic oceans went through dramatic changes in mean oxygen content. Four major cycles are recognised: Late Cryogenian to Late Ordovician, Early Silurian to late Devonian, Early Carboniferous to Late Triassic and Jurassic to Quaternary. Oxygen maxima, indicated by Se, U and Moproxies, occur at 540, 390, 310 and 0 Ma, supporting Bernerʼs previous models. Oxygen minima, indicated by trace element drawdown, occur at 700, 455, 365 and 200 Ma. Extended periods of trace element drawdown in the oceans have led to extreme deficiency of some elements that are critical for life. The periods of
extreme Se depletion coincide with the mass extinction events at end Ordovician, Late Devonian and the Triassic-Jurassic boundary, suggesting that Se-deficiency in the oceans may be a contributing cause of marine mass extinctions.
Professor Ross Large is the Director of CODES. He received his BSc (Hons) from UTAS in 1969, and PhD from University of New England in 1974 under the supervision of Richard Stanton. For 13 years Ross worked in mineral exploration for Geopeko Ltd., exploring for IOCG, VHMS and carbonate replacement deposits. In 1983 he left the mineral exploration industry to accept a lecturing position at the University of Tasmania. In 1989 Ross established CODES’ jointly funded by the Australian Research Council, UTAS, the mining industry and the State Government. CODES has since become recognised as one of the top ore deposit research centres in the world.
Ross received the Lindgren Award from the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG) in 1983, the Presidents’ Award from the AusIMM in 1989, was the SEG Distinguished Lecturer in 1998, was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 1999, was awarded the Haddon King Medal in 2005 by the Australian Academy of Science and in 2011 he was awarded the UTAS Distinguished Alumni Award for outstanding contribution in the field of ore research. Ross was president of the SEG in 2004.
Presentation by three speakers
The Royal Society Room TMAG 19 Davey St Hobart
Tuesday, 1st October 2013 Commencing 8.00 pm until 9.30 pm
Abstract
Behaviour mediates all aspects of an individual’s life and can act as the link between ecology and evolution. Increasingly, consistent intra-individual differences in behaviour (animal personality) have become a focus of attention in behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology. However, few studies have considered both the causes, and consequences, of personality within a single, free-living, population. My PhD examined personality in Egernia whitii, a social Tasmanian lizard species, and considered both the potential proximate underpinnings (causes) and ecological outcomes (consequences) of personality in this species. I focus on the personality trait of aggression, and will present to the Society an overview of my PhD, and attempt to ask the question, why are Egernia so angry?
Biography
I have recently completed my PhD in the School of Zoology at UTas, supervised by Erik Wapstra, Geoff While and Sue Jones. During the course of my studies I have been lucky enough to have worked on a variety of species, including squirrels in Canada and small rodents in Indonesia, as well as Tasmanian species including the velvet furred rat, dusky antechinus, Tassie devils, snow skinks, and my PhD species, White’s skink. My particular interest is personality in non-human animals, and how personality differences within a population influence ecological dynamics, but I am broadly interested in animal behaviour and behavioural ecology.
Abstract
An important challenge in microbial ecology is the quantification of species richness and evenness in diversity studies, as well as the degree of metabolic involvement of taxa in functional studies. Existing molecular biological based methodologies can only be partially addressed the first aspect. This poses a dilemma whereby to date there is no one single characterisation method that can provide species diversity, abundance and degree of metabolic activity simultaneously. Combined methodological approaches to derive information on species diversity, abundance and function may be expensive, complex, time consuming and not widely accessible. Hence, acquiring a simple, cost effective and ‘single method’ approach to achieve this is an ongoing challenge in microbial ecology. This presentation will provide an overview and highlights of the strategies carried out in my PhD research aimed to address the methodological challenges facing microbial ecology, which involves the development of two new microbial community characterisation methods.
Biography
After finishing my high school in Malaysia, I attended UTAS for my tertiary education in 2003. I graduated with B.Biotech Hons in Chemistry in 2006, then I spent 1 year at the University of New South Wales (Centre for Marine Bioinnovation), and another 1.5 years back in UTAS as a research assistant before commencing my PhD candidature in 2009. I submitted my thesis recently and I am expecting to receive my doctorate degree later this year. Currently I am a postdoctoral research fellow in Pfizer Analytical Research Centre, School of Chemistry, UTAS.
Abstract
During the Black War (c. 1823-1830), settler-colonists in Van Diemen’s Land responded to frontier collision with Indigenous people in a variety of ways. Official responses drew on a repertoire of strategies deployed throughout the British colonial world, and ranged from the criminalisation of Aboriginal resistance, to attempts at spatial separation and, ultimately, negotiation. This paper traces these shifting responses through key phases of the Black War.
Biography
Jacqueline Fox is an historian whose research interests focus on the social, cultural and legal dimensions of British settler colonialism in the early nineteenth century. Her PhD thesis (UTAS, 2012) proposed a revisionist judicial biography of Chief Justice Pedder of Van Diemen’s Land. Dr Fox is currently attached to UTAS’s School of Humanities as a University Associate and Research Assistant.
Presentation by Tony Hope
The Royal Society Room TMAG 19 Davey St Hobart
Tuesday, 3rd September 2013 Commencing 8.00 pm until 9.00 pm
FAusIMM CP Geo , MAIME, FSEG
Summary Resume
Tony is a Mining Industry professional with 50 years’ experience. He graduated from The University of Sydney majoring in geology and gained experience in technical and managerial roles in mineral exploration activities, project and mine feasibility studies in Australia and overseas. He is a Fellow of the AusIMM and a past Chairman of the Central Queensland branch and Chairman of the Australian Business Group in the Philippines. He is also a member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers and fellow of the Society of Exploration Geochemists. In 2012 he was asked to present at the China/ASEAN Mining Conference held in China.
In 2006 he published A Quarry Speaks now in its second edition and in 2011 he published The Hope Factor which provides histories of discoveries of various mines in Australia, PNG and the Philippines.
He currently works part time for GHD out of Hobart, including playing an active role in developing China and Tasmania business and cultural relationships through his company HoJi Pty Ltd.
Summary Kennedy and Sons
During the nineteenth century, a number of settlers migrated to Tasmania where a strong demand for goods, services and equipment saw the proliferation of foundry works, shipyards, timber mills, flour mills, packing sheds, railways and mines including quarries.
In 1860, Robert Kennedy a ship’s carpenter, emigrated from Scotland and established a firm of ship builders and ship smiths in Melbourne. R. Kennedy and Sons moved to Hobart in 1884 and acquired the Derwent Ironworks and Engineering Company in Salamanca Place, together with the Ross patent Slip and Shipyard at Battery Point and advertised themselves as ‘Shipbuilders, Engineers, Boilermakers, Blacksmiths, Iron and Brass Founders’ including the manufactures of steam machines, boilers and mining machinery.
In the early 1830s, convict chain gangs were put to work to quarry the toe of Battery Point to reclaim land for a new wharf and to build a row of merchant warehouses one of which was later purchased by R. Kennedy and Sons. At the close of World War II, Robert Kennedy’s grandson, John Kennedy, took over the Salamanca quarry site and ran its operations until the end of the quarry’s life in 1949.
Today the quarry site is home to residential apartments, government and commercial offices, shops, restaurants and an underground car park.
talk summary the kennedy family 2013 – Copy
Childhood Obesity (TBC)
Presentation by Professor Alison Venn
QVMAG – Inveresk
Sunday, 25th August 2013 Commencing 2.00 pm until
Royal Society of Tasmania – 2013 Launceston Lecture Series
Professor Alison Venn, BSc Hons PhD
Deputy Director; Associate Director – Research
Menzies Research Institute, Tasmania
will present
Cardiovascular Disease and type 2 Diabetes – links to childhood overweight and obesity.
in the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk
2.00 pm Sunday August 25th 2013
Admission: $5 General Public, $3 Friends of the Museum, $2 Students
Free for members of the Royal Society of Tasmania
To assist us with the organization of this event
RSVP by Thursday 22nd August 2013:
Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798
Cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes are common and costly health problems in Australia. Adult risk factors are well understood but the contribution made by childhood factors is uncertain. The Childhood Determinants of Adult Health (CDAH) study, led by the Menzies Research Institute Tasmania, is a follow-up study over nearly three decades of 8,500 children from 109 schools nation-wide. It is helping to define, for the first time, the key contributions of childhood overweight and obesity to adult disease.
Professor Alison Venn completed her PhD in immunology at the National Institute for Medical Research in the UK. Following postdoctoral research in malaria immunology at the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, she trained as an epidemiologist and spent ten years researching women’s reproductive health at La Trobe University. Since joining the Menzies Research Institute in 2000 she has broadened her research interests to cover the causes and prevention of chronic disease. Her particular focus is on how lifestyle (smoking, physical activity, diet, alcohol consumption) and obesity in childhood and early adulthood affect the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes later in life.
Presentation by Bill Bleathman
The Royal Society Room TMAG 19 Davey St Hobart
Tuesday, 6th August 2013 Commencing 8.00 pm until 9.00 pm
Presentation by Professor Don Chalmers
QVMAG – Inveresk
2:00 pm Sunday, 28th July 2013.
Admission: $5 General Public, $3 Friends of the Museum, $2 Students
Free for members of the Royal Society of Tasmania
To assist us with the organization of this event RSVP by Thursday 25 July : Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798
Francis Collins – one of the chief architects of the Human Genome Project and now director of the National Institutes of Health in the USA – in his book Language of Life: DNA and the Revolution in Personalized Medicine – presents a more hopeful vision of the future of medicine compared with the disorder of our current health-care system. This vision is of personalised medicine where most people have their whole genome sequenced (WGS) and their results integrated with their personal decisions about diet, lifestyle, healthcare and treatments.
In the pharmaceutical area, personalised medicine aims, based on an individual’s genetic profile, to develop new drugs, to better match drugs to the individual patient and to minimise adverse drug reactions for individual patients. In genetic testing, there is an increasing range of direct–to-customer (DTC) tests available, which have raised concerns amongst other national regulatory authorities. A PHG Foundation Research Report in 2008 concluded that a failure to improve clinical evaluation of genetic tests will undermine the development of personalised medicine.
This address will discuss the hopes and hype in personalised medicine and whether the future of personalised medicine may depend on developing new ethical and legal standards to ensure public trust and confidence in personalised medicine.
Professor Don Chalmers is Dean of the Law School and Distinguished Professor at the University of Tasmania. He is Director of the Centre for Law and Genetics and Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law.
Professor Chalmers is Chair of the Gene Technology Ethics and Community Consultative Committee and Deputy – Chair of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Licensing Committee.
He is a member of the international Human Genome Organization Ethics Committee and of the International Cancer Genome Consortium.
Professor Chalmers was chair of the NHMRC Australian Health Ethics Committee from 1994-2000 and is the author of many publications related to gene research and bioethics.
Presentation by Mr David Maynard
QVMAG – Inveresk
Sunday, 23rd June 2013 Commencing 2.00 pm until
This lecture is presented with the generous support of QVMAG
David Maynard has been Curator of Natural Sciences at the Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery since 2012. His research interest is temperate marine biodiversity. Prior to this he lectured for 13 years on fisheries and marine environment related topics at the Australian Maritime College. David has a passion for cataloguing fish and marine invertebrates and does so through underwater photography. In 2010 David co-authored an exhibition and book Beneath the Tamar More Than Silt with AMC colleague Dr Troy Gaston.
The Tamar River estuary is unique in many ways. It is Australia’s longest navigable waterway, receiving freshwater from nearly 1/5th of Tasmania’s landmass. This freshwater meets an estimated 300,000,000 cubic metres of salt water entering the system twice a day on the incoming tides. The estuary, Tamar Valley and the broader catchment supports diverse activities including heavy industry, shipping, agriculture and forestry, wineries, aquaculture, tourism, and population centres and includes significant protected areas, reserves and wetlands. All these contribute significant economic and social benefits to our region. However the Tamar River estuary has some image problems. Many in the community only recognise the estuary for the unsightly mud flats exposed in the upper reaches which impact on the aesthetics and amenity of the river. Below the surface of the Tamar is another world. This lecture presents a visual snapshot of the habitats and inhabitants that reside just below the Tamar’s surface waters that remain invisible to the broader community.
