Friday Fish Time
Posted: March 31, 2012 Filed under: Friday Fish Time Leave a comment »
Common name: Swordfish. Scientific name: Xiphias gladius. Family: Xiphiidae.
(Sorry this is late – it put up a good fight and took a few days to land)
Swordfish: This is a cool fish. Check this out - swordfish have special organs next to their eyes to heat their eyes and brain. Temperatures of 10 to 15C above the surrounding water temperature have been measured.
The heating of the eyes gives them better vision and so improves their ability to catch prey. Only 22 of the more than 25,000 fish species can do this. Marlin, tuna and some sharks can also do it.
The swordfish is named after its bill resembling a sword (Latin gladius) but is also known broadbill in some countries.
They are large, highly migratory and a good predator fish.
Swordfish are elongated, round-bodied, and lose all teeth and scales by adulthood. Found widely in tropical and temperate parts of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, and can typically be found from near the surface to a depth of 550m. They commonly reach 3m in length, and the maximum reported is 4.55m and 650kg in weight.
Planet Under Pressure gets underway
Posted: March 26, 2012 Filed under: Events, News | Tags: climate change, conference, london, plant under pressure Leave a comment »The Planet Under Pressure conference is kicking off in London.
CSIRO’s Mark Stafford-Smith is on the organising committee and other CSIRO scientists including Andrew Ash, Mark Lonsdale and others will be speaking.
There are a host of international speakers and scientists attending and you can find the list HERE.
According to the blurb for the conference, PUP is designed to “be a major opportunity to link global-change science in a two-way engagement with the wide range of other stakeholders working towards global sustainability”.
There has been a blog set up (not as witty and insightful as this one) and there will also be web streaming.
Simon Torok from CSIRO is over there and will be sending back some blogs during the event.
Friday Fish Time
Posted: March 23, 2012 Filed under: Friday Fish Time Leave a comment »
Common name: Pikey Bream. Scientific name: Acanthopagrus berda. Family: Sparidae
Pikey Bream: Sometimes known as the Black Bream and often misidentified as the Yellowfin Bream or the Silver Javelin (I like that name!), this little number lives on the bottom down to depths of about 50m. It is found north from Rockhampton in QLD.
They are grey, dark silver-grey, or dull olive-brown body with silvery/brassy reflections. The upper part of body and base of scales darkest.
Can reach 50cm but if you find one on the end of your line they must be over 25 cm.
They are a cracker to eat.
Bermagui under envionmental ‘blitz’
Posted: March 23, 2012 Filed under: Field Expeditions, News, Projects 1 Comment »A bunch (what is the collective noun?) of scientists and locals from Bermagui on the NSW south coast are going to “blitz” the area next weekend (March 30/31) to try and find out just what makes up their local environment.
Called the Bermagui Bioblitz, the explorers will comb the foreshore, sand dunes, forest, estuary and mangroves to discover which species are present, and make detailed descriptions of what they find. They will use cameras, smartphones and laptops to photograph and record their findings.
The data and photos will then be uploaded to the Atlas of Living Australia, where it is freely accessible to everyone. The ALA is a partnership between the CSIRO and a number of organisations, that provides a national database of Australia’s biodiversity.
The Atlas is a versatile tool that is valuable to both scientists and ‘citizen scientists’. Citizen scientists will love the ability use the Atlas to explore the flora and fauna already discovered in their neighbourhood, and to be able to add their observations to the database.
Scientists can use the Atlas to find detailed information, records and images about Australia’s flora and fauna, and to view the recorded information spatially.
A great way to access all this information is on a smartphone via the mobile website. If the smartphone has a built-in GPS, the Atlas can use it to find wildlife around your current location.
For up to date information you can follow ALA on twitter, read their blog, or if you are a budding ‘citizen scientist’ keen to get involved, you can set up an account and start contributing.
Gerry talks about his fantasic plastic work
Posted: March 21, 2012 Filed under: Projects Leave a comment »
Korean connection makes an 8000-km telescope
Posted: March 21, 2012 Filed under: ICT, News Leave a comment »Australian and Korean radio telescopes have been linked together for the first time, forming a system acting as a gigantic telescope more than 8000 kilometres across and with 100 times the resolving power of the Hubble Space Telescope.
“This is another step in Australia’s ongoing collaboration with Asia in the field of radio astronomy,” said CSIRO’s Astronomy and Space Science Chief, Dr Philip Diamond.
Australia has been making similar linkups with Japan and China for many years, and now is also doing initial tests with telescopes in India.
More HERE
Growing atmospheric nitrous oxide levels explained
Posted: March 16, 2012 Filed under: News | Tags: emissions, global warming, greenhouse gas, Nature, nitrous oxide Leave a comment »Australian, Korean and USA scientists have produced a 65-year record of nitrous oxide changes in the Southern Hemisphere to better predict the future for this long-lived greenhouse gas which is increasing with expanding fertiliser use.
Published this week in the journal Nature Geoscience, the record is drawn from atmospheric sampling at the Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station, Tasmania, and air extracted from the Antarctic ice sheet.
Its significance, says co-author CSIRO’s Dr David Etheridge, will be its contribution to the development of emissions protocols as countries step up their monitoring of gases contributing to global warming and ozone depletion.
Nitrous oxide, N2O, is produced naturally by microbial activity in soils and the oceans as well as by agriculture. With a lifetime in the atmosphere of around 120 years, it is eventually broken down by oxidation in the stratosphere.
Scientists have measured a 20 per cent increase in atmospheric nitrous oxide since 1750.
Full News Release HERE
MEDIA: Craig Macaulay Ph: 03 62325219 Mb: 0419 966 465 E: Craig.Macaulay@csiro.au
Friday Fish Time
Posted: March 16, 2012 Filed under: Friday Fish Time Leave a comment »
Common name: Northern Pacific Seastar. Scientific name: Asterias amurensis. Class: Asteroidea
Northern Pacific Seastar: I know, I know, some you are reeling in indignation… while the rest of you are looking at this marvelous specimen, exclaiming in joy ‘ooh, pretty colours!’
For, it is true, this is not a fish. For a fish is a ‘limbless cold-blooded vertebrate animal with gills and fins and living wholly in water’ and a starfish is a ‘marine echinoderm with five or more radiating arm’.
We wanted to take this opportunity to educate you all on this distinction. So there.
This pretty specimen lives up to five years and can reach sizes up to 40 to 50 cm in diameter. Interestingly, it is native to the coasts of northern China, Korea, Russia and Japan and is an invasive species in Australia. Rumour has it that it was accidentally introduced to our shores in the 1980s.
Really, how does a STARFISH get accidentally introduced to a country? Perhaps a Chinese fisherman got a little lost and happened to drop his beloved pet overboard near Tassie?
My theory is that they’re actually highly intelligent alien beings from the planet Starileous, here to spy on us.
Watch your back.
Pi Day – eat pies and enjoy the eternal beauty of maths
Posted: March 14, 2012 Filed under: Maths, Random Stuff 3 Comments »
You’re eating a pie, aren’t you? In celebration of Pi Day, and all.
Indeed, today is Pi Day – 3.14 if you write the date that way. It’s a day to celebrate the mathematical constant that is 3.1415926… I could go on. I mean really go on. Because Pi has no end.
In fact, on Pi Day 2004, a guy named Daniel Tammet recited Pi to 22,514 decimal places. So much for thinking we’d struck upon genius a few years ago at CSIRO when one of our Newcastle scientists managed to get to 241 decimal places before slipping up. She was eating a pie at the time, so we blamed it.
You’ve probably got fond memories of Pi and the efforts you went to trying to remember equations like πr2 and 2πr for your maths exams. Stupid circles, you uttered. Well, today’s the day to replace those haunted memories with celebration.
According to Wikipedia, there are many ways to celebrate Pi Day: “Some of them include eating pie and discussing the relevance of π.” Sounds like a hoot.
So, in the interest of celebration, let me begin my steak and kidney delight (with a generous squirt of tomato sauce) and tell you what I found out when I tried to ‘discuss the relevance of Pi’ with a few of my colleagues from CSIRO’s Mathematics, Informatics and Statistics gang:
“What would we do without Pi? Probably spend most of our time going in circles, because we wouldn’t know when they finish.”
“I still remember the feeling that came over me when my lecturer proved that Pi equalled Pi. It was quite profound.”
“I don’t celebrate Pi Day on 3.14 – I celebrate Pi day on 22/7. The date’s in the right order for Australia, and it’s also a slightly better mathematical approximation of Pi. On 22/7, I team up with a local Canberra maths guy to give a presentation on the wonders of Pi. We usually do it down at the pub, so we can enjoy pies and pints afterwards.”
“If mathematics is the music with which the symphony of the universe is written, then the eternity of Pi is the measure of its beauty.”
Poetic. A pie to each of them. It’ll certainly be an energy (albeit calorie-laden) boost for the more serious work they’re doing… find out more at http://www.csiro.au/org/CMIS
State of the Climate 2012
Posted: March 14, 2012 Filed under: News | Tags: BOM, climate change, environment, state of the climate Leave a comment »Australia’s land and oceans continue to get hotter and our climate continues to change.
These are two of the findings in State of the Climate 2012, an updated summary of Australia’s long term climate trends released by the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO today.
CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Megan Clark said the latest analysis painted a clear decade-to-decade picture of Australia’s climate while at the same time noting its highly variable nature from one year to the next.
The report is available on our website.
Video interviews and images are here.
Spectacular wheat yield increase in salty soils
Posted: March 12, 2012 Filed under: News | Tags: bowler, breeding, cricket, durum, glenn mcgrath, salinity, test, wheat 2 Comments »A salt-tolerant variety of durum wheat that outperforms other varieties by 25 per cent on salty soils has been developed by CSIRO scientists using traditional crop breeding techniques.
Researchers have introduced a salt-tolerant gene into a commercial durum wheat which has produced spectacular results in field trials.
“Salinity already affects more than 20 per cent of the world’s agricultural soils and is an increasing threat to food production due to climate change,” CSIRO’s Dr Rana Munns said, a lead author on a paper just published in the prestigious journal, Nature Biotechnology.
In close collaboration with researchers at the University of Adelaide, Dr Munns and the team now understand how the gene delivers salinity tolerance to the plants.
Former Australian Test cricketer and now Australia Farmer of the Year Ambassador Glenn McGrath gets a wheat breeding lesson from Dr Richard James.
The research is the first of its kind in the world to fully describe the development of a salt-tolerant agricultural crop – from understanding the function of the salt-tolerant gene in the lab to demonstrating increased grain yields in the field.
“Under salty conditions, the new salt tolerant breeding line has outperformed normal commercial durum wheat, with increased yields of up to 25 per cent,” CSIRO researcher Dr Richard James, who led the successful field trials in 2009, said.
“Farmers now have additional options for maximising profits by growing a premium wheat in those more saline paddocks which they may typically avoid or reserve for less valuable crops.”
The results are now published in the journal Nature Biotechnology. The lead authors are CSIRO Plant Industry scientists Dr Rana Munns and Dr Richard James and University of Adelaide student Bo Xu; the study’s senior author is Dr Matthew Gilliham from the University’s Waite Research Institute.
“The salt-tolerance comes from a gene that stops sodium getting to the leaves. This gene was introduced into modern wheat from an ancestral cousin, Triticum monococcum,” Dr Gilliham said.
This research is a collaborative project between CSIRO, NSW Department of Primary Industries, University of Adelaide, the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology. It is supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).
MEDIA: Kylie Williams. Ph: +61 2 6246 5426. Mb: 0477316795. E: kylie.williams@csiro.au
Friday Fish Time
Posted: March 9, 2012 Filed under: Friday Fish Time Leave a comment »
Common name: Bigscale Duckbill. Scientific name: Bembrops curvatura. Family: Percophidae
Bigscale Duckbill: I chose this one because it was an interesting looking fish. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find out much about it.
It does live in northern Australian waters around Qld, NT, WA, Japan and Indonesia. It is found along the Continental Shelf and rocky bottoms.
It grows to about 16cm in length and lives at between 100m to 280m deep.
CSIR♀: Why we love what we do…
Posted: March 8, 2012 Filed under: News, Random Stuff | Tags: international women's day 1 Comment »Happy International Women’s Day! To celebrate, here’s our visual contribution to your day- an album showcasing just a small fraction of all the lovely ladies in our organisation. We asked them why they love what they do…
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- Linda Colla * Group Human Resources Manager * As a HR Manager, what I really love about working here is the wonderful opportunity to work closely with business leaders and our staff in such a fascinating, complex business environment! I have incredible breadth, variety and challenge in my work and there is a real opportunity to make a difference. As a working parent, the flexible work environment is also something that I truly value!
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- Susan Blackburn * Head Australian National Algae Culture Collection * I’m passionate about microalgae! I love investigating the ecological roles and the sustainable applications of microalgae: both critical for the health of our planet. I love leading a team of enthusiastic scientists and working across the breadth and expertise of CSIRO on multidisciplinary projects.
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- Toni Moate * Deputy Chief Science Operations & Executive Director Future Research Vessel Project * Almost every day something crosses my desk that nudges me out of my comfort zone. I love the different people that I get to know– I’m always amazed at how bright they are, and yet so friendly and unassuming. I love the challenges that CSIRO trusts me to meet, and that allow me to grow as a person.
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- Kate Brooks * ASKAP Executive Officer & Research Astronomer * I love that my job is a bag of all sorts and is never boring. I get to work with fantastic people, learn new skills, travel to amazing places and tackle tricky scientific and social challenges. As a mother of three young children, I often come to work for a rest!
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- Michelle Groarke * Chemist * Mixing chemicals to make new materials for blue Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) for lighting and displays. It’s better than cooking as I don’t have to taste what I make!
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- Lydia Lopes * Client and Market Advisor, Corporate Development * I love what I do because I am proud to be surrounded by incredibly talented people and be a part of truly amazing science. Outside of work, I am obsessed with Crossfit where I run, jump, swing and lift heavy stuff
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- Dr Karen Kozielski * Stream Leader, Oil and Gas Production * I love my job because I get to work with a wide variety of interesting people who are truly passionate about what they do and who want to make a difference to the people and world around them. No two days are ever alike – there are always new people to meet, new ideas to share and new possibilities to discuss.
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- Megan Fisher * Executive Manager, Intellectual Property & Licensing * I love that I work across a wide range of science areas, with great people from science and business and that I have the opportunity to explore and implement new ideas.
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- Helga Denes * PhD student, CSIRO Astronomy & Space Science/Swinburne University of Technology * Uncovering the secrets of the stars and galaxies is much like a quest for hidden treasure. Although it usually does not involve creeping through a jungle, but climbing a telescope is almost as exciting!
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- Wendy Minato * PhD Student, Land and Water * I have loved being a full-time PhD student, able to devote all of my time to research in a subject area (NRM and social psychology) that I find fascinating. I love the challenge of academic writing and I look forward to transforming what I know into practical outcomes for improved NRM policy and implementation.
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- Sheridan Mayo * Research scientist, X-ray micro-tomography & X-ray phase-contrast microscopy * I get a kick out of solving tricky technical challenges in my work, and I really enjoy the opportunities I have to work at major scientific facilities like synchrotrons in Australia and overseas.
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- Leanne Bischof * Image Analyst, Mathematics Informatics & Statistics * I write software to extract information from images. I love it because I get to work on a fascinating variety of applications – anything from diagnosing melanoma, to screening for toxic effects of new pharmaceuticals to grading opals.
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- Nicola Scarlett * X-ray diffraction specialist * I love unravelling structural puzzles with X-ray diffraction and playing electric and double bass.
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- Prof Louise Ryan * Chief, Mathematics Informatics & Statistics * I manage a division of just under 200 mathematical scientists. I spend my days advocating for them and seeking out opportunties so they can thrive and do great science for Australia! I love my job because I get to brainstorm with lots of smart people every day!
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- Sarah Reeves * PhD student, CSIRO Astronomy & Space Science/University of Sydney * I study galaxy evolution, and I love learning how the universe works. My favourite part of the job is observing – sitting at the controls of an entire telescope is amazing.
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- Sarah Bolt * Graduate Fellow, Data Analyst, Mathematics Informatics & Statistics * I love that we can take data, which is just bits and useless on its own, and abstract from it valuable information that might do anything from increasing production in manufacturing to helping us understand disease processes.
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- Shari Breen * Bolton Postdoctoral Fellow, Astronomy & Space Science * I use world-class radio telescopes to unlock the secrets behind the formation of elusive large stars, which are born hidden within dense clouds of gas and dust. After that I get to travel the world to tell people about it – what’s not to love!
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- Alix Waters * HR Administrator, Process Science & Engineering * My role has lots of variety which means I get to work with a huge range of very talented people throughout CSIRO. I enjoy being able to work on and contribute to a number of different areas and projects which support our staff in achieving great science!
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- Sandra Arico * Market & Business Analyst, Business Development & International * Because I get to work on some of Australia and the world’s biggest and most interesting challenges, because what I do each day has a positive impact on these challenges and actually makes a difference, and because my colleagues are among the most intelligent and inspirational people I’ve ever met!
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- Sarah Pearce * Deputy Chief, Astronomy & Space Science * Australia has an amazing history of radio astronomy, and I love being part of that. We’re also building a new world-leading telescope (ASKAP) with 36 dishes in remote Western Australia.
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- Delphine Cantin * Metallurgist, Titanium Technologies * I enjoy solving the problems that I come across as a metallurgist. I get to work in the lab but also do in-depth characterisations, so my work has variety as well as challenge.
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- Dr Fiona Scholes * Research scientist, Flexible Electronics * I get to work with people who, like me, are passionate about doing great science and communicating our science to the broader community
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- Cathy Foley * Business Unit Leader, Materials Science * The opportunity to influence and contribute to future science each day is what gets me up in the morning. Working here is quite unique. I have the opportunity to get my hands dirty in the lab and have a seat in the boardroom. It’s exciting!
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- Evette Steele * Researcher, Sustainable Biofuels * My work is my passion. I look forward to my day-to-day tasks, am endlessly fascinated by the science behind it all, and fortunate enough to be able to apply my research in the field I love – sustainable biofuels. What can I say? I love my job!
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- Alex Kingsbury * Chemical Engineer, Process Development & Evaluation Group * Working here makes me feel like I’m giving something back, and I get to work with intelligent people on new and exciting projects.
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- Dr Christine O’Keefe * Privacy & confidentiality researcher * Mathematics Informatics & Statistics * I help protect people’s privacy when data like health or census data are used for research. I love it because it’s a win-win … Information from data as well as personal privacy!
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- Allison Hortle * Research Scientist, Earth Science & Resource Engineering * I do something that matters, I work with interesting people from all over the world, I have a lot of fun.
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- Meg Moate * Enterprise Pipeline Advisor, Development * I am proud to play a role in such a dynamic and valuable institution. I feel that by working here I am helping to make a positive difference both internally (supporting colleagues) and externally (environmental, social or economic impact). I am proud to announce I work for CSIRO and enjoy talking about what we do.
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- Oona Nielssen * Communication Manager * It’s the fascinating science and it’s the positive impact that is made to everybody’s lives by that science.
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- Tania Ritchie * Solar scientist * I not only get to work in a field I’m interested in, like solar energy, I get to tell others about it via the blog – csirosolarblog.com.
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- Carole Jackson * Research astronomer & ‘dish manager’, Astronomy & Space Science * I consider it a privilege to work in a specialised field where the challenges are so varied; I’m regularly asked about my ‘every-day job’ outside of the work place and find public interest is an amazing motivator too.
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- Sarah King * Leader, Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative, Future Manufacturing * I work in a truly innovative environment with great people. We work on nationally relevant issues, underpinned by great science and I work on incubating new projects in the area of sustainable manufacturing.
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- Bronwyn Harch * Deputy Director, Sustainable Agriculture * I have been privileged to be here for 16 years, starting as a postdoc and moving through different technical leadership positions and into strategic leadership roles. The people in CSIRO are the real draw card– world leading expertise, breadth of disciplines, vibrancy of young people with new ideas and opportunities to engage in the global research arena on issues that benefit Australia and our ability to be global citizens.
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- Tara Konarzewski * Phd Student, Plant Industy * My project is looking at how the invasive species Paterson’s curse is able to successfully invade so many habitats across Australia. It is amazing to work on a species with so many adaptations. I find myself discovering something new every week.
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- Dr Angelica Vecchio-Sadus * Health Safety & Environment Leader * I can see the impact from sharing my knowledge and skills to help staff work safely. In my non-work environment I like to travel, and I’ve particularly taken a shine to cruising.
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- Jenny O’Connell * Research Scientist, OLED Device Fabrication * I enjoy working as part of a team all focussed on the same goal, making very small very complex structures with a lot of variables and challenges. I love making minor changes each time I make a new set of devices and looking for improvements when I measure their performance. Each time I am hoping that this will be the one elusive clue to solve the puzzle.
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- Sussan Au * Journal Production Editor, Publishing * Working on scientific journals combines my love of disseminating science and the publishing process. Outside of work, I enjoy participating in Everyday Hero fundraising events to support various charities.
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- Liz Yuncken * Europe & India Advisor * I find out about all the cool research that we’re doing, then tell the world about it. Plus I learn about all the science policy and research going on in the rest of the world and share that within CSIRO. It’s always interesting, and I get to meet some fascinating people.
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- Jacqui Cook * Project Officer, SESKA Geothermal Project * I love that I’m helping to find renewable energy solutions for the future Australia.
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- Megan LeFournour * Technical Officer, Land & Water * I have greatly enjoyed putting my tomboy childhood and logical thinking to good use. In my 19 years here I’ve had ample opportunity doing cool stuff and trouble shooting problems for both field and laboratory activities.
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- Megan Clark * Chief Executive * Everyday I am involved in helping our great science and scientists make a profound impact on the big questions for Australia and humanity. It’s both fascinating and worthwhile.
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- Cindy Ong * Research Group Leader, Senior Research Scientist * The thrill of new discoveries and the excitement of being involved in new adventures. The ability to make a difference.
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- Sharon Hook * Senior Ecotoxicologist * I love the problem solving aspect of the job – the “puzzle” nature of data analysis appeals to my analytical side!
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- Dr Natalie Kelly * Ecological Statistician, Mathematics, Informatics & Statistics * In my job, I get to travel to Antarctica to study whale populations in and around the sea ice zone. Our research is delivered directly to the International Whaling Commission, and has a high impact in terms of management decisions. I have the best job in the world!
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- Susan Burchill * South QLD Manager, Education * I love what I do because every day is different from the previous one. I get to work with amazing colleagues who inspire me to inspire students and teachers.
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- Linda Karssies * Archivist, National Soil Archive * I work part-time as an archivist of soil samples within our Land and Water Division, and part-time as a mother. I love both roles. My archivist’s role has a detective element. As an archivist I am building an invaluable resource for further soil research.
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- Debbie Lewis * Contract Manager * I love being a Contract Manager because it is a varied role and you get to work with both the corporate and the scientific side of the organisation
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- Edwina Hollander * Communication Officer, Global Research Alliance * After spending 2.5 years working in Development, this role allows me to combine my passion for science and science communication to unite people in our vision of meeting needs and improving lives for communities in developing countries through the delivery of innovative and inclusive science and technology.
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- Deborah Lau * Research Program Leader, Materials Science & Engineering * Science is an exciting exploration of both who we are and the nature of the vastly diverse matter and energy that surrounds us. It’s extraordinarily satisfying to be a part of research that is able to answer some of the big questions, and ask even more.
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- Dr Hayley Norman * Research Scientist, Livestock Industries * I love being a scientist because there’s rarely a dull moment – last week I was in Jordan talking about feeding systems for sheep, this week I am preparing for a conference in Amsterdam and next week I’ll be showing farmers outside Perth some new plants for salt-affected land.’
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- Louise Fisher * Geochemist & Mineral Geochemistry Team Leader * I get to work with great people, travel to interesting places and spend a lot of time looking at gold and thinking about how mineral deposits form.
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- Anita Hill * Business Unit Leader, Processing Science * They say if you can find a job that satisfies your personal and professional passions, you’ve struck gold. I’ve been here for over a decade and never tire of the challenges of working in science and research. It’s a long way from home (USA), but seeing our influence and research stretch to countries far beyond Australia is something I enjoy most.
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- Denise Hardesty * Research Scientist, Ecosystem Sciences * I get to do great science with fantastic people and address interesting, diverse research questions that are timely and relevant.
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- Jo Watkins * Education, Earth Science Western Australia * I love what I do because I get to help schools, teachers and students all over the state with the most interesting subject of all – Earth and Environmental Science (I might be biased!). I am also always humbled by how helpful the Geoscience community is and the great support we receive. Did I also mention the travelling and being there when a student has a ‘that’s what I want to do’ moment!?!
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- Lisa Harvey-Smith * Research Astronomer, SKA Project Scientist * I get to see the most beautiful places in the universe with the biggest telescopes on earth! When I get a spare minute to myself, I like to run ultra-marathons. I enjoy timed challenges on road and track (12hr, 24hr races) but you can’t beat the excitement of running the mountains at night by torchlight!
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- Felicity Henning * Administration Support & Personal Assistant, Manufacturing, Materials & Minerals * One of the best aspects of my job is the variety. As I assist around 50 people, everyday is different. I look forward to researching and booking travel for staff as I get to learn more about the world. But what I enjoy the most is organising workshops, conferences and symposiums.
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- Anna Johnston * IP Manager * I love my work because it is multidisciplinary- I get to learn a new science at least once a month, I get to tackle legal or patent issues, I get to communicate to all of staff and educate my peers, I get to do some analytical work of my own (some finances, some statistics), and I get to talk, discuss argue/debate and laugh with a great bunch of people of all ages. What more could one want?
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- Lou Morrissey * Group Communication Manager, Information Sciences * Every day I get to learn about our mind-boggling space, maths and ICT science and how it’s being used to improve people’s lives. I then have the freedom to find creative ways to share these stories with the world… it’s my dream job, really.
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- Melissa Dobbie * Statistician * I love my job because I get to collaborate on and help solve some very interesting, important and challenging problems to help us understand and manage our aquatic resources better.
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- Charlotte Stalvies * Research Projects Officer, Hydrocarbon Sensors Team * I love having the chance to travel within Australia and overseas, to places I didn’t expect to visit carrying out work I never thought I would be involved in. My work at sea has brought me into contact with a great many highly interesting people from diverse backgrounds, and has enabled me to live “a life less ordinary”.
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- Josephine Chong * PhD student * It’s a good feeling to be working on an area that hasn’t been explored before. Also it’s nice to know that research you perform now will make a difference later on.
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- Dr Emma Huang * Statistical Geneticist, Mathematics Informatics & Statistics * I search through thousands of genes for the few which affect yield and disease resistance in wheat. I love my job because I get to answer meaningful biological questions just by looking at millions of ones and zeroes.
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- Yunxia Yang * Research Scientist * I love what I do because it gives me a feeling that I can be creative and that I am achieving something by handling challenges, finding solutions for problems and publishing work.
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- Naomi McClure-Griffiths (I’m on the left!) * Deputy Astrophysics Group Leader, Astronomy & Space Science * I was once told that being an Astronomer is a lot like being one of the early world explorers – you’re always on a voyage of discovery. This is completely true of my work, which maps the hydrogen gas in our own Galaxy, the Milky Way. Every time I look at the sky I find something new. It’s a pretty fun way to spend my days and nights!
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- Vivian Boyce * Senior HR Advisor * I love what I do because I can go home knowing that I have made someone’s day easier.
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- Sarah Miller * CSP Science Development * I love the challenge of solving problems and making things happen as well as working with like-minded people. It’s essential to ensure we use the world’s remaining fossil energy reserves to create and transition to a renewable energy future and sustainable lifestyle, making the present a critical transition period for humanity.
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- Silvia Marchesan * Postdoctoral researcher in self-assembly * Because you set your own limits and you can challenge them every day in a different way, to explore the unknown and create something useful.
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- Baerbel Koribalski * Senior Research Scientist, Astronomy & Space Science * Using radio telescopes I study the formation of galaxies and their dark matter content. I love collecting radio waves with the world’s best telescopes, including the 64-m Parkes Dish and the Australia Telescope Compact Array.
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- Linda Stalker * Director of Science for the National Geosequestration Laboratory * Who says I love it?
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- Sally Seeto * Executive Assistant to Group Executive, Food Health & Life Sciences * I love that every day is different which keeps it interesting. I also feel like I’m part of a great team that is contributing positively to lifestyle areas I am interested in, like food and health.
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- Joanna Parr * Stream Leader, Wealth From Oceans * It’s a chance to be involved in a whole range of science projects that can have a real impact to how we live in Australia. I also get to be involved in some amazing cutting edge science, including exploring the seafloor. I love working with teams that include a wide range of scientists, from social scientists, physicists to ecologists.
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- Carol Saab *Communication Project Manager* I love it because it’s varied and exciting. Because I’m proud of the work we do at the CSIRO.
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- Michelle Storey * SKA Executive Officer, Astronomy & Space Science * I love the challenge of interpreting science and technology requirements into requirements that can be assessed as policy, and being part of the process of providing informed advice on policy. Working with diverse stakeholders it is really rewarding to be able to assist in identifying outcomes that satisfy everyone’s requirements.
Friday Fish Time
Posted: March 2, 2012 Filed under: Friday Fish Time 2 Comments »
Common name: Bigspine Boarfish. Scientific name: Pentaceros decacanthus. Family: Pentacerotidae.
Bigspine Boarfish: Grows to a maximum length of about 24cm. A deep water fish ranging from 37m to about 600m!
Found around southern Australia and New Zealand.
It is an important section of the Western Australian trawl fishery and is caught at depths of between 300m and 600 m.
It is also taken as by-catch in the southeast Australian trawl fishery, where it has been assessed as a medium risk species.
Mixed fish platter best for all concerned
Posted: March 2, 2012 Filed under: News 1 Comment »Fishing for a ‘balanced harvest’ can achieve productive fisheries as well as environmental conservation, an international scientific team reports today in the journal Science.
In contrast, increasing fishing selectivity to catch a small group of species and sizes neither maximises production nor minimises the ecological effects of fishing, according to the paper Reconsidering the Consequences of Selective Fisheries.
Abstract HERE.
The collaboration that led to the paper was fostered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Commission on Ecosystem Management and involved both conservation and fisheries scientists.
It supports earlier research by co-authors Shijie Zhou, Beth Fulton and Tony Smith of the CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship that found a moderate level of fishing – spread across a wide range of species, stocks and sizes – can achieve high catch levels while conserving biodiversity.
The new evidence, including results from Dr Fulton’s modelling of 30 ecosystems worldwide, confirms that with fishing spread over more groups and sizes, yields are higher and the adverse impacts of fishing on biodiversity are lower.
“Traditionally, fisheries have used species and size limits, gear technology and spatial and temporal fishing restrictions to increase selectivity: capturing species, sexes, and sizes in proportions that differ from their occurrence in the ecosystem,” Dr Smith says.
“This has been intended to help sustain target populations, protect rare and charismatic species, and minimise the capture of unwanted species and sizes (bycatch).
“But selective removals, except at economically unacceptably low levels of harvest, inevitably alter the composition of a population or community and, consequently, ecosystem structure and biodiversity.”
The authors show that heavy selective fishing has caused structural changes to fish communities in the North Sea and elsewhere.
By contrast, in several African small-scale inland fisheries, the fish size spectrum – a measure of community structure – has been maintained under intensive and diverse fishing activities that cause high mortality with low selectivity.
Implementing balanced harvesting requires coordinated management at an ecosystem level across all fisheries in a region. Ecosystem modelling could help in determining appropriate patterns of fishing.
Markets and the processing sector in some regions would need encouragement to accommodate sizes and species not traditionally utilised.
The authors say that while issues regarding the potential benefits and implementation of balanced harvesting remain, consideration of food security and ecosystem impacts suggests the time has come to take action.
The paper’s lead authors are Serge Garcia of the IUCN-CEM Fisheries Expert Group; Jeppe Kolding of the University of Bergen, Norway; Jake Rice of Fisheries and Oceans, Ottawa, Ontario; Marie-Joëlle of L’Institut Francais de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), and Shijie Zhou of CSIRO.
MEDIA: Bryony Bennett. M: 0438 175 268. E: bryony.bennett@csiro.au
